Chapter One
Kemara
The universe was conspiring against me. That was the only way to explain the morning I was having. When I got to work, all I wanted was a lukewarm cup of the free coffee in the breakroom, in hopes that the strong blend of mojo would perk me up. However, just as I was about to exit and head to my office to enjoy that coffee, an intern rushed into the room and bumped right into me. Instead of drinking the hot, life-changing fluid, I was wearing it. Perfect.
I spent the next twenty minutes in the ladies' room trying to rinse the stubborn brown stains out of my chemise, but it was no use. No matter how hard I scrubbed, the shirt wasn’t coming clean. I didn’t have an extra change of clothes and too much work piling up to leave, so I ended up wearing my blazer with nothing underneath but a black sports bra. As I stuck one last safety pin in the top of my blazer to make it look presentable, I took a look in the mirror and sighed.
I’m still going to make this a good day, some way, somehow.
Walking out of the bathroom, the itchy material against my skin looked better than it felt. I was immediately struck by an endless barrage of issues upon entering my office and sitting behind my cluttered desk. I dealt with so many clients that I was already five minutes into my lunch hour before I looked at the time on my computer. Dang, it’s lunchtime already? Usually, time wouldn't matter, but I promised to meet Sharon for lunch, and I was going to be late.
As I drove twenty miles away to Moss Tavern in Lafayette, Alabama, work was still on my mind. I had to follow up with two customers about their insurance claims, and investigate at least ten more before I got around to my regular daily duties. Mulling over the details of what needed to be done, I absentmindedly took a wrong turn, which was going to push me even further behind with meeting Sharon. I hoped my friend would understand that, for some reason, shit was happening that was beyond my control.
I reached over and took my phone out of my purse to call and let her know I was on the way, when I noticed the screen was black except for the image of a red blinking battery. Damn, damn, damn. I threw the phone down and cursed the universe that helped to land me in this position of wearing a blazer with no shirt underneath, taking a wrong turn and now having a dead cell phone with no charger.
I laid my foot onto the pedal and flew down 431. As I drove, I looked for a place that I might be able to buy a charger. Up ahead, I saw this dinky old gas station—the kind in 80s horror movies that anyone with an ounce of sense knew to stay away from. But much like the characters in those movies, I was desperate. So, I pulled up to the place and got out of the car. Not two steps later, I felt a squish under my heel. I closed my eyes and took long, deep breaths to keep me from screaming and tearing my hair out and someone dragging me away for my dramatics. I spent five minutes scraping gum off my shoe before I finally headed into the shop. An old man behind the counter tipped his hat at me.
"Howdy ma'am."
I gave him a small nod and asked, "Do you have any iPhone chargers?"
"They're in the back aisle on the top shelf, ma'am."
Scanning the half empty rows of shelves, I headed to the back of the store. There was a group of white men huddled up in a little rancid lounge area near the back wall. Some were standing to the side chewing tobacco and some were sitting around an ancient, fat-back TV watching Fox News, at least they were until they noticed me. At that point, they all stopped what they were doing and just stared with their faces twisted with looks ranging from shock to displeasure. Now, I was never the type of person to assume someone was a racist, but the way they looked at me suggested I needed to haul my black ass out of there, pronto.
I turned on my sticky heels and didn't even make it a step forward before I slammed into a broad chest covered by a dirty white tee. My eyes trailed up to his face and my breath caught. Was he with the evil-looking group in the back? Lord, I hoped not. He was positively yummy. His hazel eyes had specks of green. He had a slight grin that would make a girl want to stand on tip-toe and lick his lips, and I would have to stand on tip-toe because even in my heels I had to look up at him. He had such a presence. Even though he was only standing in front of me, it felt like he was all around me, and his body was warm. I could feel the heat rippling off his muscles. It took a moment for me to come to my senses and look away.
With my face turned, I could feel his eyes still on me. It felt like he was memorizing every curve of my face. Part of me wanted to turn and look at him again, but another part was far too intimidated. I wasn't sure if he wanted to kill me or devour me. Given the grimaces on the faces of his friends, I figured it would be best not to stick around and find out.
I stepped to the side. "Excuse me," I said trying to get past him.
He pulled something off a shelf and spoke. I wasn't expecting him to say anything, and I was so dazed that I didn't even get what he said.
"I'm sorry?"
"An iPhone charger. That's what you were looking for, right?" His gruff voice rattled through me as he waved the package in front of me.
As I took it, our hands touched for the briefest of time and it felt magical. I could barely speak. "Yes, thank you." I stammered before quickly retreating to the front of the shop. As I walked away, I could still feel his eyes on me.
I paid the clerk and headed out the door not daring to look over my shoulder. I got in the car and sat there for far too long. At first, I told myself I was just getting my phone set up on the charger. After that was done, I didn't know how to explain it. I felt like I'd just run miles and couldn't catch my breath.
He's just a guy, I told myself.
But I didn't believe that for one minute. There was something about him that made my skin tingle. He was imposingly muscular with a roaring voice that should scare away anyone from his vicinity. Yet, I was smitten at the thought of him helping me out. I shook my head laughing. I was acting like a crazy person. It had to be from a lack of coffee. The result of too much stress on the job, maybe?
Sure, he was an attractive man. A very attractive man, but my reaction probably had more to do with hunger than desire. Yeah, I needed a tall cup of coffee and some food. That’s what I chalked it up to, when I put the car into drive and headed for the tavern.