Passion Overtime

Kyra shot him a look. Goodness gracious, how did he know about that? Choosing to keep her personal life private, she dodged his question by playing dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“It never came? That’s weird. I got an e-mail confirmation hours ago.”

“You sent the fruit basket?” Shaking her head, as if unable to believe what she was hearing, she rubbed a hand along her forehead. Charles hadn’t sent it? But that didn’t make any sense. He should have. After all, he was the one who’d embarrassed her at the Azure Bar & Lounge, not Terrence. “I’m shocked. I don’t know what to say.”

“You hated it, didn’t you? Damn, I should have gone with real roses.” Stopping abruptly, he turned to her, his eyes soft and his smile apologetic. “This was my way of starting over. I remembered how much you loved exotic fruit, and thought you’d like it.”

“I did,” she blurted, wishing she could hit Rewind and snatch the words back. Encouragement was something Terrence didn’t need. Her mind was closed to the idea of seeing him outside of work, but she thanked him for the bouquet. “It was very sweet of you, Terrence. The staff loved it.” She added, “I saw some faculty members eating from it when I left this afternoon.”

“It’s the least I could do.” Returning the compliment, he inclined his head to the right and gently touched her shoulder. “You’re a very special woman, Kyra, and you deserve the very best that life has to offer.”

Kyra arched her eyebrows. Terrence lived for drama and excitement, and she was perceptive enough to know the star athlete was only after one thing. Refusing to fall for his slick line, she said, “Terrence, you don’t even know me.”

“That’s why I’m here. I want to change that. We were friends once and—”

She met his gaze head on. “I don’t need any more friends.”

“Is this about Charles?”

The truth stuck in her throat. “Yes and no.”

“Are you guys serious?”

Kyra felt her face flush. She’d given new meaning to stretching the truth, but what choice did she have? Terrence had more questions than Katie Couric during a sit-down interview, and he wasn’t easily satisfied. “He’s a good, decent man and I’m not willing to jeopardize a great—” she stumbled over the word “—relationship by being friends with you. It’s nothing personal, Terrence. It’s just not worth it.”

“Do you love him?”

How had a conversation about an edible fruit basket led to this? she wondered, retrieving her car keys from her pocket and dangling them between two fingers. There was a time when Terrence had been her best friend. They’d lie in bed for hours, talking, joking and planning for their future. But that was a long time ago. Ten years, to be exact. And she didn’t feel comfortable talking to him about her relationship. In part because she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. Nothing about Charles thrilled her. He was just…okay. A hard-working, decent guy who’d be a good husband and provider, so why wasn’t she sprinting to the altar? “My private life is none of your business.”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

They slipped into silence. Unable to control herself, her eyes strayed to his chest and slipped down his stomach. Kyra roped in her emotions before they got the best of her. Lusting led to fantasizing, and in the last three days she’d done enough daydreaming to last her a lifetime. Personal history aside, she was paid to do a job, and flirting with Terrence wasn’t one of the requirements. They were working together and it didn’t matter how many gifts he sent her, she wasn’t going out with him. Not in a romantic sense, anyway. Charles didn’t light her fire, but he was safe. He wouldn’t hurt her, and that beat tall, dark and sexy any day.

“Are we still on for tomorrow?” Terrence asked.

“Yes. I informed the assistant coach that we’d be coming and Mr. Mayo is very excited to meet you.”

“Do you know what I’m excited about?”

Terrence lowered his head and for one fear-packed second, Kyra worried he would kiss her. The closer his mouth came, the faster her heart beat. When his lips were just inches away, she forced a cough. “Oh, look, we’re here,” she said, backing up. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Feeling a sudden burst of energy, Kyra waved goodbye and skated over to her red car. A minute later, she chucked her Rollerblades into the truck, tugged on her sneakers and hopped into the driver’s seat. Lurching out of her stall, she shot through the parking lot and disappeared into rush-hour traffic.

Chapter 5

Terrence watched Kyra shoot across the parking lot, a gleam in his eye and a wry smirk on his lips. Had he ever seen a backside so sweet? In his heart, lust, confusion and remorse battled for supremacy. And like a tourist wandering through the streets of Amsterdam, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her luscious body. Was this just about their intense attraction, or something more? Seriously hot, Kyra Dixon had the carefree disposition of an all-American girl and the sexual energy of a pinup model.

Kyra towed the line between sweet and sexy, but there was a very elegant way about her. A down-home beauty with bewitching eyes and a flirty laugh, she embodied all the qualities he admired in a woman—optimism, passion, honesty.

Terrence had been back in Hollington for seventy-two hours, but he felt as if he’d never left. The energy between them was electric and as he headed back up the trail, he reviewed their brief but noteworthy conversation. A woman in love talked with animation. Her face lit up at the mention of her man’s name, and her cheeks flushed with delight. Love literally oozed from every pore. Not only were those telltale signs missing from his conversation with Kyra, her voice had flatlined when he asked if she was in love in Charles.

Terrence was no relationship guru, and he’d never have his own syndicated talk show for the brothers, but he knew complacency when he saw it. Hell, he’d been in that dark, lonely pit before. Since his rookie season, he’d dated one brainless woman after another. Sisters who’d rather spend the day at the beauty shop than volunteer in their communities. They all looked good, and smelled good and filled out their designer dresses better than Kim Kardashian, but they couldn’t hold an intelligent conversation. Beauty and brains were the perfect mix, not booty and beauty, as his teammates used to say. Too bad it had taken him ten years to realize the truth.

Kyra exuded a confident-in-her-own-skin vibe and didn’t have any of the generic traits he was used to seeing in females on the west coast. He liked his women real, natural, fresh-faced, and the curvy PR director certainly fit the bill.

“I can’t believe it, it’s Terrence Franklin!”

Turning around, he matched the sultry voice to an oval face with red pouty lips.

“I’m LaTisha.” The temptress smiled.

Terrence gave her a quick once-over. It was a punishing eighty degrees, but her makeup was flawless. What kind of woman wore fake eyelashes and diamond earrings to the park? Kyra wasn’t even wearing a watch, while this girl looked like she was ready for a semi-nude video shoot. Her fuchsia bra-top overflowed with silicone, and booty hung out of her Daisy Duke shorts. Shoulder-length, honey-blond hair twirled in the wind like strings of nutty putty. Her face was impassive, but her eyes shimmered with mischief.

“You probably don’t remember me, but we met at an L.A. night club the year your team clinched the playoffs.”

His groupie antennae shot up. Only a woman who memorized team schedules and charted the hangouts of professional athletes would remember a five-second meeting in a packed club. Had she followed him to Atlanta? Before entering the league, he wouldn’t have believed it, but groupies were inventive and dedicated to their craft. In Las Vegas, a burlesque dancer once cornered him in the men’s room; at a friend’s birthday party a pair of twins had bum-rushed him in the hot tub; and at his grandmother’s church a few years back, the pastor’s teenage daughter had surprised him with a French kiss in her father’s office. Terrence hated being suspicious of fans, but when females stepped up to him, caution had to be the order of the day.

“I have a flat,” she announced, pointing a finger toward the parking lot, but not singling out a specific car. “Think you can help me out?”

LaTisha appeared to be in her late twenties, but he couldn’t be a hundred percent sure. Her outfit said junior section at Macy’s, but her body language suggested she was mature, conspicuous, experienced. Glad Kyra wasn’t around to witness this blatant display of entrapment, he pulled his keys out of his back pocket. He’d had enough sun for one day and they were starting to attract curious stares from sunseekers passing by. “I wish I could help,” he lied, starting for the marked crosswalk, “but I gotta jet.”

The woman pursued. “It’ll only take a minute and I promise to make it worth your while.” He heard a hint of anxiety in her voice. “You’ll be thanking me later. I can do things with my tongue that will make your head spin.”

Stopping beside his luxury sports car, he yanked open the door and retrieved his cell phone from the center console. Back in the day, he would have fallen for this obvious ruse, but now his eyes were wide open. If he wanted to be with a quality woman, someone with poise and class and substance, he had to start making better choices. “I’ll call a tow truck for you. What’s the make and model of your car?”

A delicate hand touched his forearm. “I don’t believe in beating around the bush, so let me spell this out for you.” She leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Change my flat, and I’ll thank you in the backseat of your car.”

“I have a girlfriend,” he lied, wishing that it were true.

A coy, mysterious look came over her face. “I’m not greedy.” Her smile displayed every tooth. “I don’t mind sharing.”

“Still not interested.”

“Not interested?” Her bottom lip curled. “Are you blind? Look at me. I’ve been in Playboy magazine twice and hooked up with Lil Wayne last month. I’m the hottest….”

Terrence slid into his car.

“Hey, what about my tire?” she yelled, bending down and knocking on his window. “You’re not going to leave me stranded, are you?”

To silence her, he depressed the power-window button and said, “Wave down park security. They’ll help you.”

“But I want you,” she cooed, propping her chest up on the window sill. “Come on, Flash, help me out.”

A man in tattered sweats stopped at a rusted blue car. He was wide and chubby and his stomach lapped over his Chicago Bulls basketball team T-shirt. The guy didn’t look strong enough to bench five pounds, but Terrence wasn’t looking for a workout partner. He needed to get this girl off his back before she caused a scene. “Hey, you!”

The guy looked up, and recognition flashed in his eyes. “You’re Terrence Franklin! Holy crap. Dude, I’m like your biggest fan ever!”

“Do me a favor,” he began, motioning to LaTisha with his index finger, “change her flat. She’ll show you where her car is parked.” Terrence didn’t wait for an answer. Starting the engine, he whipped the Ferrari into reverse and tore out of the parking lot.