Chapter Six
Yvette found herself tossing and turning most of the night. She could only hope there would be another chance to show Adam how she felt about him. It could’ve had something to do with the basic Catholic decency raising its ugly head. It could have also been some misplaced guilt over how this would affect Adam’s relationship with his brother.
She was in the mood to burn off some of the excess energy from last night. What she had done in the bathtub had barely scratched the surface. There was another outlet, but it wasn’t as satisfying as climbing to new heights of pleasure. She had a new life and she hardly recognized the reflection looking back at her in the mirror.
The signs of Adam’s arousal weren’t lost on her. The glazed look in his eyes and the way his jeans filled out nicely had made it almost impossible to push him out the door. It took some amazing willpower not to drop to her knees in worship of his love muscle. It would’ve been so satisfying to claim her independence by sleeping with another man.
She put on a pair of black jogging pants and matching sports bra. It was still early at 6:00 AM with only the crack of dawn on the horizon. There were still going to be some having the same idea she did, but she could avoid the rush.
Pounding the pavement with her purple Nikes blinking incessantly was a good way to keep her mind off of the sexual tension in the air. She wasn’t expecting to see a familiar sight jogging right beside her in a skimpy pair of blue shorts.
“It’s nice to finally see you again on this crisp December morning. I've been debating on whether or not to contact you. I don’t know how many times I had the phone in my hand or walked by your door about to knock to see if you were home.” Blake wasn’t expecting to see her early in the morning but felt their meeting like this was kismet.
“I would say you ambushed me, but I don’t feel you could be manipulative. This would be considered premeditated had it been Adam. You are both very different. I hope you don’t take it as an insult.” She was rather impressed by how easily he matched her long strides. Their pace was quick, and it was almost like they were pushing each other to the limit.
“I love my brother dearly, but he can be rather pushy. Some girls like that and others find it in distaste. I’ve seen him in the club wearing his shirt open and the prerequisite gold chain swinging from his neck. It’s a little cheesy in my opinion, but I can’t tell him that without the risk of getting into a spirited debate on the subject.” Blake felt it was easy to talk to her. It was casual and made him feel like they had known each other for years.
“He’s not the type of guy I would normally find myself gravitating toward. To be perfectly honest, you are more my type. You are down to earth, but you still have the ability to get my pulse racing. I hope I didn’t shock you.” She didn’t want to do anything to scare him off.
“It’s very refreshing to know how you feel about me. You don’t put on airs and I don’t have to read between the lines. I have coffee brewing back at my place. Don’t worry; Adam won’t be getting out of bed until the afternoon. He has a tendency to go out dancing and partying like he is still twenty-one.” Blake was ready to settle down and try something different.
“I would love to have a cup of coffee with you.” Blake wasn’t as brazen in his approach, but she still felt something more than friendship.
They sat there looking at each other over the rim of their cups. The coffee was strong with both of them taking it with two sugars and one cream. It was just another thing they had in common including their love of art.
Yvette found herself walking over to the one piece that made her feel something. She wanted to break free of the cocoon courtesy of her mother sheltering her from life from an early age.
“I find myself weak in the knees. What I feel for the both of you is complicated and I really don’t know what to do. I would like to date the both of you to find out which one of you captures my attention most.” She was burning hot and cold. There was no way to justify the very thoughts of impropriety swirling around in her mind.
“You’re throwing down the gauntlet. I don’t mind some healthy competition. I don’t know how you feel about Adam. I really don’t want to go and tug at that thread. I would like the chance to win you over by doing it without any pretense. Let the best man win.” He wasn’t very happy about competing with his brother, knowing full well it very rarely went his way.
“I don’t want you to think you don’t have a chance. There’s no reason to change who you are because of your brother. A woman would be lucky to be with either one of you. How do you suppose Adam will feel about me dating the both of you?” She didn’t want to upset the balance between the brothers and cause a rift they couldn’t come back from.
“I would imagine he will find it amusing. He will think his chances of success are pretty much guaranteed. I’m not going to make it easy on him.” He had to level the playing field and felt the only way to do that was by being honest about his feelings.
“I’m glad to hear that. I don’t find the same fulfillment in conversation with your brother. He always fills the awkward silence with sexual innuendo. Do you even like me or is this a way to stick it to your brother? I think I deserve to know the answer.” She waited with bated breath to hear his response. She was hoping the answer would not make her realize it was a mistake to date both of them.
“I like you more than I want to admit. I’ve been off the market and I was through with dating altogether. The vapid airheads did nothing to stroke my ego, but I can’t say the same thing for Adam.” He watched for the chance of Adam eavesdropping on their conversation.
The open space made the penthouse look bigger with a wall of windows to bring the outside inside. There was a deck spanning the entire floor. She went and opened the door. She stood at the railing looking over Central Park.
“I can’t understand why either one of you is devoting this time to me. I’m almost positive there are easier ways to get laid. With your success and money, it has to be easy to woo unsuspecting victims into your bedroom.” She was testing the waters to see if it was worth the possible heartbreak to get involved with either one of them.
“It gets boring, which is the reason why I took a break. Girls are only after one thing and it starts with my bank account. They’re looking for their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s been six months. I can’t say the idea of going out for one night of debauchery hasn’t crossed my mind.” He didn’t want to mention it had been two weeks since he had seen any strange piece of ass going in and out of his brother’s bedroom.
“Pick me up…whoa… what are you doing?” He had his arms around her with her feet dangling in the air.
“I was only doing what you told me to. I’m not sure what this accomplishes, but I’m not complaining. I do like being this close to you.” The heat of her body was making him smile.
“I think you know this wasn’t what I meant. Before I was rudely interrupted, I was going to say pick me up tomorrow night. I don’t want you to ask me where we should go to dinner. I feel it’s the man’s job to have confidence enough to make some of the tough decisions. I doubt I have to be the one to tell you this, but chivalry isn’t dead in my eyes.” She was lowered to the floor and her shoes had temporarily fallen from her feet.
The warmth of the heated floors made her toes curl, but that wasn’t the only reason.
“I have a place in mind, but it’s not what you might expect from someone with my wealth. There’s a little hole in the wall that makes the best hamburgers I’ve ever tasted. It’s one of those not-so-well-kept secrets and something I would like to share with you.” He followed her to the door and had his hands on top of the frame.
“I’ve always been a meat and potatoes kind of girl. I don’t understand the need to lavish a girl with extravagant gifts and expensive dinners. It’s not my style. This is the happiest I have been in a long time and I don’t want to lose it.” She walked down the hall knowing full well he was staring at her the entire time.
She purposely put an extra wiggle in her step to have him pining for something he might have before long. The idea was planted and flourishing into thoughts which would’ve made a grown sailor blush.