“Hold up!” Jamal yelled. “You all the way left, right now.”
Lorna held up the check. “I’m left?”
Jamal remembered his anger management technique and took a calming breath before letting his emotions run rampant.
“Lorna, Cass is not my business partner. I had no idea how much that check even was. I told her that I wouldn’t take her money. She must’ve left it in the truck when I dropped her off at the Inn. Why would I take money from her?”
“Take me home,”
“We’re here, now.”
Lorna looked around and saw the old cabin where they used to meet. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, she hadn’t recognized where he’d been driving.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Jamal laid his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. “I wanted to come to the place where I fell in love with you.”
Lorna looked at him, then at the check in her hand. She dropped it on the console before Jamal heard the door open then slam close. He was out of the truck in a flash, chasing her down.
“Lorna!”
She was headed back in the direction of the Inn. “I told you I wasn’t repeating this, Jamal! I’m not going to have people talking about me like I’m stupid!”
Jamal grabbed her from behind, and Lorna broke away from him easily. “Don’t make me hurt you!” she warned.
“Lorna, you got it all wrong!”
She kept walking in the dark, knowing the route by heart. This time when Jamal grabbed her, he held her tightly, not letting her get away.
“I didn’t ask Cass for the money. I didn’t even tell her about my business plans,” Jamal explained.
Breathing hard, Lorna remained in the confines of his arms. “So she just happened to give you ten thousand dollars, the same amount you need for your application?”
“I know it’s sounds like some bullshit, but it’s true. I don’t know how she came up with that number.”
“Let me go, Jamal.”
He held her tighter and closed his eyes. “I’m not lying to you Lorna. I swear…” Jamal took another deep breath, feeling himself about to lose control emotionally.
“Baby, why would I risk everything to go into business with Cass, of all people?” he asked in her ear. “She left my ass in a stolen car.”
Jamal buried his face in her neck. “I’m not stupid,” he whispered.
Lorna blinked as the cool air kissed her damp cheeks. “I trusted you to talk to her and put an end to this drama.”
“That’s what I did…I promise you.”
“Why did she give you money, Jamal?”
“She wanted to make amends for what happened and I told her that wasn’t necessary.”
Lorna tried to control her breathing. “Why didn’t you mention that she’d given you a check when you told me about your date?”
He frowned and lifted his head. “It wasn’t a date.”
“Let me go,” Lorna demanded again.
“Are you going to stay and talk to me?”
She nodded. “Yes,”
He loosened his grip and she immediately tried to take off, so he tightened it again. “You lied, Lorna Sable.”
“So, everybody else does it!”
Jamal turned her in his arms and looked into her face. “Not you…not my Beauty.”
She sniffed as he stared at her. “It’s cold. I want to go home.”
“I have blankets in the truck,” Jamal said quietly. “Come sit with me,”
He released her and turned back to where his truck was parked with the headlights on. Walking away, he called out to her. “If you take off, I’m just going to chase you…and you know I’ll catch you.”
Lorna watched him and hugged herself, now feeling the cold without the heat of his body. He went to the truck and pulled out some heavy blankets and pillows. Walking around, he lowered the back of the truck and climbed into the cargo bed, then arranged the items before sitting back and staring up at the stars.
“Lorna Sable, I love you.” Jamal called out into the darkness, knowing that she was still standing in the same spot. He waited until she appeared at the back of the truck. Getting to his feet, he walked to the edge and held his hand out for her.
Lorna’s dark eyes watched him, as she put her hand in his. The instant connection, made both their hearts beat faster. Jamal helped her up, then led her over to where he’d arranged their sitting area. Lorna quietly took a seat against the pillows and he joined her, pulling the blankets over both of them, up to their necks.
Lorna didn’t resist, when he pulled her closer and held her in his arms. “Do you remember when we’d sit out here and watch the stars?” he asked.
She gave a little smile at the memory. “Yes, and you’d kiss me.”
“Then you’d have to run home because we’d stayed too late?” he reminded her.
Lorna laid her head on his shoulder. “And you’d follow me, to make sure that I made it safely.”
Jamal nuzzled her face and she felt his warm breath on her cheek. “I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“You know I don’t like being angry with you,” Lorna rested her forehead on his. “It makes me feel sick inside.”
Jamal placed a hand on her stomach underneath the heavy blankets. “Now why would I want that?” he whispered.
Lorna touched his cold jaw. “We’re going to freeze out here.”
“These are camping blankets and we’ve got body heat,” he said, covering her body with his.
Welcoming his warmth, she stared up at the night sky as he kissed her jawline. Closing her eyes, she sighed and embraced him. “You know that I love you…”
Jamal lifted his head and stared down into her eyes. “I’ll make sure that Cass gets her check back tomorrow.”
“I don’t want you to take money from her, but then again, I don’t want you to lose this opportunity either,” Lorna told him. “I can’t be that selfish.”
“I told you, I’m going to get the money,” Jamal repeated. “And I don’t want to be tied to Cass in any kind of way.”
“I have some savings,” she offered.
He frowned. “Beauty, I’m not taking your money. Let me do this…”
“I want to help you,”
“Your support is all that I need,” Jamal said quietly. “I just want you to have my back.”
Lorna smiled. “I’ll always have your back. We’re connected,” she glanced up at the sky. “Through our stars.”
“My kindred spirit.” Jamal touched her hair. “The one who I want to share my whole life with.”
She rubbed his back, through his jacket. “Do you ever want to leave Grayling?”
He laughed. “Sometimes Grayling is the last place that I want to be and then it’s my home and my foundation. I love and hate it at the same time.”
“You know, Lana loves Grayling and the Sable Inn. She almost lost Derek because of her tie to this place. Lena, on the other hand, would probably leave in a heartbeat,” she explained.
“And what about Lorna?”
She shrugged. “I’m kinda like you. I love it and then sometimes I wish I could be somewhere else.”
“Well, we could have a home here in Grayling and another somewhere else, like Derek and Lana,” he suggested.
“I love the country, though,” Lorna said, inhaling the fresh air. “I wouldn’t want to be in a big city.”
“We could travel and see what you like,”
She smiled and wiggled her body underneath him.
“Am I hurting you?” he asked.
“No, you’re making me hot,” she whispered.
Grinning, he reversed their positions. “Now you can make me hot,”
Lorna placed her face next to his. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
“I needed to be with you, in our spot. I wanted you to remember what you mean to me,” Jamal said quietly.
“I love the quiet here,”
“It’s the perfect place to hear your thoughts, and read a pretty girl’s mind.”
Lorna looked at him. “You think you can read my mind?”
“Who said I was talking about you?”
She frowned and he laughed as Lorna hit his shoulder.
“Yes, Beauty, I can read your mind out here…”
Lorna lifted a brow. “What am I thinking?”
Jamal grinned. “You’re not thinking about punching me, that’s for sure.” He held her tighter, positioned on top of his body. “You want me to touch you…”
Her eyes darkened before she moved to lie beside him, looking up as the moon appeared.
“How do you know that?”
Jamal joined her looking at the bright light above. “Because I want to touch you…”
She smiled. “You’ve always wanted to touch me.”
He nodded. “True, but now, you want it too.”
Lorna’s eyes increased in size as he stood, then jumped from the truck to the ground. He walked to the door and climbed inside, cutting the headlights and piping soft music through the speakers. Jamal exited the cab and came back around to the bed. He hopped up and closed the tailgate, before moving over to where Lorna sat watching him in the moonlight.
Removing his jacket, Jamal joined her and began to remove her coat. Like a child, she obeyed and allowed him to put both of their garments aside before settling them underneath the blankets with her in his arms.
“What if somebody comes out here?” Lorna whispered.
“Nobody comes out here, and if they want trouble, I’ve got a few friends in this truck they can meet,” he told her.
She laughed. “You’re such a bad boy.”
“That’s why you love me,”
Encircling his neck, she agreed. “It is…”
Jamal let his hands roam underneath her flannel shirt and over her bra covered breasts. His mouth latched on to hers in a heated exchange that numbed them both to the chill in the air. Lorna moved closer when his hand moved lower.
She distantly heard Jamal saying something…but somewhere between his fondling her breasts, coupled what he was doing outside her pants, add in the music and the moonlight…and she’d lost all touch with her surroundings.
Jamal heard her breath catch and continued until she moaned and squeezed him tightly, trying to regain her breath.
“I didn’t bring you out here to make love to you, Lorna.” Jamal explained, still touching her gently. “I brought you here because I love you, so much. I wanted us to connect with one another, and disconnect from that nonsense.”
Lorna opened her eyes. “Let’s connect some more, baby,” she whispered, opening her mouth under his.
******
Jamal kissed Lorna after he pulled up in front of her house in the wee hours of the morning.
“I’ll see you in a little while with your order,” he told her.
Lorna returned his kiss. “Okay, I’m going inside to shower and dress, then I’m heading right over.”
With one last joining of lips, she hopped out of the truck and he watched until she opened the door and waved at him, before disappearing inside.
Lorna closed her door and locked it, then placed her forehead against the wood along with a flat palm. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes.
“Where the hell have you been?”
She turned quickly with her heart racing. “Lena! What are you doing here?”
Lena lifted a brow. “Checking on my little sister, who hasn’t been answering her phone.”
Lorna walked away from the door and began removing her coat. “I was with Jamal.”
“Doing what?”
She smiled to herself. “None of your business. This town is too nosey.”
“I’m not the town. I’m your sister.”
After hanging up her coat in the closet, Lorna turned to Lena.
“We spent the night under the stars, at the old cabin, where we used to meet,” Lorna told her, with her body reheating from the memory.
She headed towards her bedroom as she began unbuttoning her shirt. “I need to get ready for work,” she announced and Lena followed her.
“I’m assuming things are cool between you and Jamal after him being out with Cassandra last night?” Lena asked.
Lorna sat on her bed and began removing her boots. “Yes, we’re fine. He talked to her and she’s leaving after the Boot Camp.” She frowned. “She tried to give him money.”
Lena leaned against the wall. “Money for what?”
Shrugging, Lorna kicked off the boots. “To make amends…”
“Or to keep her hooks in him,” Lena offered.
Lorna sighed. “I know, that’s what I was afraid of…I was so angry with him. Then he explained that he hadn’t accepted it and wouldn’t accept it.”
“How much money?”
“Ten thousand dollars!”
Lena frowned. “That’s a lot of making up. What all did she do to him?”
Lorna stood. “Enough…”
“I hope she does leave at the end of the week, because my patience is running thin with her already,” Lena told her. “Willie too,”
Lorna looked at her sister. “Speaking of, I need to talk to him. Jamal said that Cassandra couldn’t get a car last night and she had to take Mr. Wellington’s old taxi.”
Lena screamed. “Willie! No he didn’t!”
“What?” Lorna questioned.
“He was teaching Miss Thing a lesson,” Lena answered. “One that she deserved.”
“We can’t jeopardize business like that,” Lorna admonished.
Lena shrugged her shoulders. “I doubt she’d be a repeat customer anyway.”
“A few more days,” Lorna said, shaking her head. “Then Jamal and I can just focus on us.”
“Us?”
Lorna smiled. “Yes, us…”
“You’re claiming him now?” Lena asked.
Touching her lips, Lorna nodded.
“Well it’s about damn time,” Lena said throwing her hand up. “I guess Cassandra lit a fire under you.”
Lorna rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t say all that.”
“She made you see that having a man like Jamal who drops rose petals at your feet, is not something to take for granted.”
Sitting back on the bed, Lorna stared at Lena. “I didn’t want to let him all the way in, again…”
Lena came and sat next to her. “That’s understandable Lorna, but it’s been years since you both came home.”
“I couldn’t let him make me look like a fool again,”
Lena shook her head. “He didn’t do that. No one even knew about you and Jamal.”
“He knew…and that’s all that mattered.” Lorna pointed out.
“That’s true,” Lena agreed. “But that’s the past, right?”
She nodded. “Yes, and I’m ready to move forward with him.”
Lena slid her a look. “Did you have sex with Jamal before he went away?”
Lorna blinked. “No! Daddy would’ve killed me.”
“If he found out, he sure would.”
Lorna looked at her sister. “Have you really had sex?
“Girl, why do you think I was so anxious to go to college?” Lena asked confused.
“You met someone there?”
Lena laughed. “Yeah, I met him, he was fine and he satisfied all of my curiosities.”
“You weren’t scared?” Lorna questioned softly.
“Lorna, you’ve always been the good girl with the sweet heart. Lawd, when you and Jamal finally get it in, we aren’t going to see you two for days,” she teased.
Lorna blushed. “He tried, before he left and I punched him in the face.”
Lena fell back on the bed in laughter. “You two are a book. The Book Club would love this story.”
“I didn’t know anything,” Lorna said, shaking her head. “Daddy had just told me if a boy touched me in those places, to let loose.”
Sitting back up, Lena wiped her face. “Daddy is crafty. He was keeping those chastity belts in place without even being around.”
“Even at college, all I thought about was Jamal.” Lorna confessed. “If anyone was going to touch me, it was going to be him. No one even came close.”
“I can’t believe he’s waited this long, especially spending nights out at the old cabin,” Lena pointed out. “That’s some hella love.”
Lorna grinned. “Yes, we do have some hella love.”
Lena looked at her watch and stood. “I’m going to let you get ready. I’ll go over and start the set up.”
“Thanks, Lena.” Lorna got to her feet. “I may need some tips from you.”
“Tips?”
Lorna nodded and gyrated her hips with a naughty look.
“You two are going to kill each other,” Lena said, shaking her head and walking out of the room.
“Lena? You can’t really die, right?”
******
Jamal climbed into his work van after loading all the flowers for the Sable Inn. This event added a big boost to his bottom line. Which would come in handy, when he needed to hire some more staff. The majority of his help had initially came from Lorna.
Her eye for design had helped him created his signature arrangements. Jamal tested his own skills, by making her a special bouquet each day, just for her. He looked at the envelope that he’d placed on his clipboard.
Cass…
A few more days and she’d be gone, hopefully for good. Then, he and Lorna could get back to growing their new relationship as a couple. He’d just gotten her to act on their mutual feelings and didn’t want to go back to being ‘best friends’. Jamal wanted to be her man, her lover and eventually her husband.
He drove to the Inn and got to work immediately. In the dining room, he began placing the centerpieces on the tables, and when he looked up, Lloyd Sable was walking over to him.
“Good morning, Mr. Sable,”
“Good morning, Jamal,” Lloyd returned.
When he stood staring at him, Jamal asked, “Did you need something from me, sir?”
Lloyd smiled. “No, I just wanted to tell you what a good job you do with the flowers here.”
“Thank you,”
“I’m giving you the opportunity at something very special, Jamal.” Lloyd told him.
Jamal nodded, understanding he was no longer talking about flowers. “I know, sir and I won’t mess it up.”
Lloyd rubbed his chin. “My advice would be no more meetings with another woman, especially one that you have a past with.”
Jamal paused. “I understand.”
Lloyd smiled again and patted him on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you son.”
“That means a lot to me,” Jamal told him.
Lorna breezed happily into the room and both men smiled. She greeted her father first with a hug.
“Hi Daddy,”
“Good morning,” Lloyd said, kissing her cheek. “You look lively this morning.”
She glanced at Jamal. “It’s a beautiful day.”
Lloyd looked between the two and chuckled. “I’ll let you two finish your work.”
He went about his rounds, leaving the two alone in the empty dining room.
“Good morning, Beauty,”
Lorna smiled. “It is…what was Daddy talking about?”
“It was my warning about his daughter,”
She froze. “What?”
“In his smooth ass way, your father just gave me the, ‘I like you, but if you fuck up with my daughter again, your ass is done’ speech.” Jamal explained.
Lorna put a hand to her face. “Daddy is protective of us…”
“I know and I respect him for that.” Jamal said staring down at her. “He was here when I dropped Cass off last night and he let me know that he didn’t find that acceptable.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Lorna told him.
“Nah, he’s right. There’s no reason for me to be seen with Cass again.”
Lorna touched her lips to his softly and quickly. “Thank you for last night.”
Jamal smiled as Mrs. Langston came into the room.
“I’m working!” he yelled in defense, before she could chastise them.
Smiling, she turned and went back into the kitchen. Jamal looked at Lorna. “Stop distracting me, Beauty. Go do some work.”
Lorna laughed, then turned and headed towards the kitchen. Near the door, she turned back and blew a kiss at him.
He shook his head. “Nope, I’m not getting Mrs. Langston’s switch.”
She smiled and blew another while giving him a sexy look, and he took off in her direction. Screeching, she ran into the kitchen and right into Mrs. Langston.
“Ooops,” Lorna said smiling. “Sorry, Mrs. Langston.”
The older woman looked at her. “I know Lloyd better be hearing some wedding bells around here real soon.”
Lorna glanced back at the door to the dining room and saw Jamal peeking inside. He’d stopped on the other side, when he’d seen the wily cook with Lorna. He stared at Lorna until Mrs. Langston snapped a finger in front of her face. Smiling, Jamal turned and went back to work.
“You’ve got that boy ruined,”
“Nope, he’s just fine,” Lorna said happily.
Mrs. Langston looked at her. “Put him out of his misery. We’re all tired of seeing him around here like a little lost boy, wishing for his favorite toy.”
Lorna laughed. “Yes ma’am.”
******
Cassandra returned from the morning activities with the group. To be honest, she couldn’t wait to leave. This waking up at the crack of dawn and eating ‘healthy’ was going to drive her insane. Entering, the lobby, she stopped at the desk.
Lana Sable greeted her with their usual smiles. “Good morning Cassidee, how may I help you?”
“I’d like some extra bath salts for my room.”
“Of course, I’ll have those sent right up.”
“And send my breakfast up too,” Cassandra ordered. “I’d rather eat alone.”
Lana smiled. “Would you like me to take your breakfast order or would you prefer to call it in?”
“Just send me whatever that damn instructor has designated. My contract says that I have to abide by her instructions.”
“Will do,”
Cassandra turned toward the stairs.
“Oh, Cassidee?”
She turned back. “Yes?”
“There’s something here at the desk for you.” Lana said, handing her an envelope.
Cassandra frowned. “What the hell is this?”
Lana lifted her shoulders. “It was here, when I got here.”
Opening the envelope, Cassandra’s eyes narrowed when she saw the check she’d left for Jamal. Also inside was a brief note.
I told you that I didn’t want your money. Donate it to the school and start an after school program, so that the kids don’t make the same mistakes we did. - Jamal