Page 9 of Anything Goes

She was no longer dressed in the t-shirt and leggings that she’d sported around the track earlier. Now, she was wearing a gray camisole top and black shorts that showed off the thick thighs that I’d missed running my hands over. Her hair was slicked back into a tight bun and she’d traded her contacts for a pair of thick framed glasses.

“Nah, I’m trying to get in touch with my sister. I didn’t say anything while we were at practice, but I noticed that my nephew wasn’t there. Do you know why?”

“Oh, right. I forgot that Keyon is your nephew.” She plopped down next to me and shook her head. “I'm not sure why he wasn’t at practice. But this isn’t the first one that he’s missed, which is weird since he's usually always at practice. It's a little frustrating seeing as this is his senior year. I said I was going to talk to him about it this coming week.”

“Wow, I didn’t know that he’d been missing practice.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure there’s a good explanation. He’s always been a devoted captain for the boys team.”

“Well, hopefully, I can get his mom on the phone and see what's going on. This year is important for him.”

“Yeah, it is. I need him to keep his grades up, stay focused and make a decision on which school he plans to attend. He has a lot of scholarship offers on the table. Do you think you can talk to him about it?”

“Will do. I actually tried calling him first, but it went straight to voicemail.”

“Maybe he’s at work.”

“Damn, I forgot he has a job now. I wish he didn’t. He has enough to juggle already.”

Placing her hand on my shoulder, she said, “Keyon’s a smart kid. I’m sure he’ll figure out how to balance it all. Especially with an uncle like you on his team.”

Grateful to hear those words, I smiled. But my pleased grin must have sparked an unwarranted buzz in Alauni’s sweet spot. As fast as she could, she slammed her thighs together and scooted away from me.

I understood her torture. It wasn’t easy sitting next to her while trying to pretend like I didn’t want her. Alauni was beautiful inside and out. Her eyes, her face, her caramel skin. She had the kind of power that she didn’t even know that she possessed.

It was insane.

Clearing her throat, she pressed her hands into her thighs. “So…um…thanks again for coming over as a friend. That’s what I need at the moment…afriend.”

I gave her a half-smile before looking down and then back at her. “You don't have to put so much emphasis on the word friend. I know why I'm here. You made that pretty clear before we left the track.”

“Sorry, I just—”

“No need to explain. Tell me what’s going on with your ex? What has you so bothered?”

She fell deeper into the couch and folded her arms beneath her breasts.

I swallowed hard, struggling to ignore the hardening of her nipples, which she was doing a poor job of covering up.

Not that she had to.

It wasn’t a woman’s job to keep a man’s emotions and desires in check. But damn, I desperately wanted to push her arms up a little more to cover them up and help tame the drool that was slowly seeping from my mouth.

This is a damn shame.

Focus.

I lifted my head, keying in on her words as she said, “So, for months Latrell has been trying to get back with me, which isn’t anything outside of the ordinary. But the fact that he actually thought that it was okay to keep badgering me when he’s carrying on a relationship with another woman is insane to me. It pisses me off.”

“Oh, so, he has a girlfriend now?”

“According to him, she’s not his girlfriend. She’s just some chick that he’s cool with.”

“But you don’t believe him?”

“Honestly, I don’t know what I believe, and it really doesn’t even matter. He’s free to date whoever he wants. He just needs to make sure that he has her under control. She damn sure shouldn’t be contacting me on social media with bullshit.”

“Oh, wow. Is that what happened?”