Star of His Heart - Brenda Jackson [55]
“No, I was performing at a championship football game that day.”
“That’s right, you are a majorette at Howard University, aren’t you?” She certainly had the legs for it, he thought to himself. They were great-looking legs.
“Yes. I can’t believe Trask and Felicia got married. I was totally shocked.”
Alex chuckled. “You weren’t the only one.” After a few moments of silence he asked, “So, how is school going?”
Christy smiled. “Wonderful, but I’m enjoying being home during spring break. I miss being around my family and friends. I’ll be glad when the summer rolls around.”
“Big plans?”
“Yes. I plan to work with the twins at Madaris Construction Company. They’re supposed to start construction on the Madaris Building by then.”
“I know. I plan to be one of their tenants when it’s completed.”
“You are? That’s great.” Christy had begun to relax until Alex tightened his hold around her waist. The heat of his fingers penetrated through the silky material that she wore.
“You smell good,” he said. His breath felt warm against her ear, and the huskiness of his voice vibrated against her spine. “You no longer smell like peanut butter. I take it you grew out of that.”
Christy chuckled. She used to eat peanut butter straight from the jar by the truckload as a kid. “I still like it but not as much as I used to.”
Although the two of them were trying desperately to keep up a steady stream of conversation, they knew something was happening between them. Something that made Christy’s stomach feel all warm and heated inside, and made Alex’s body tingle just from the sound of her voice. Dancing together wasn’t working, and he was glad when the music finally came to an end.
“Are you ready for me to take you home now?”
“Yes.”
His hold on her hand tightened. “Then let’s get your things so we can be on our way.”
In another area of the crowded room Rome’s gaze found Jada, and the muted sound of the music faded in the background. A smile eased across his lips, and he headed over in her direction.
Jada saw his approach, chewed on her bottom lip and wondered if things were moving too fast between her and Rome. She liked him. She really liked him a lot but she knew they could never be just friends. She was attracted to him too much for that. She couldn’t look at his mouth without remembering the deep, slow kisses that he could so effectively give.
She let out a resigned sigh. Getting back into the dating scene was almost overwhelming to her. She had married Tony when she was nineteen, inexperienced and innocent in the ways of men, and from him she had learned the hard way. She had endured lessons she never wanted to be taught again. But a part of her wanted to believe there was still a chance she could share a good, lasting relationship with a man—sometime in her future. However, in the meantime she wanted to spend as much time with Rome as she could, enjoy the moment while it lasted and not think about how lonely her life would be when he left.
“Hi, you’re about finished here?” Rome asked her when he had reached her side.
The deep huskiness of his voice strummed down her spine like caressing fingers. “Yes.”
“Need a ride home?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be at the bar waiting for you.”
“All right.” Jada watched him walk away. Ignoring the heat flushing her skin, she went about completing her final chores before she could leave and go home.
“Thanks for bringing me home, Alex. You don’t have to walk me to the door.”
“Yes, I do. You don’t know if your parents have returned from the hospital yet, and I have to see you safely inside.” He got out of the car and walked around the vehicle to her side. He thought that once he got her tucked safely inside, he would have fulfilled her brothers’ expectations, and he could be on his way. The sooner he got away from Christy the better. Hopefully it would be another year or so before he saw her again. By then he would have figured out a way to better control his attraction to her. He was still trying to recover from the rippling heat that had been