Pamela Yaye - Other People's Business

What the hell? Bewildered, Autumn peeked over her shoulder. Strolling across the grass wearing wide smiles and with tennis rackets in their hands were Peter and L.J. The two men could pass for brothers in their wrinkle-free T-shirts, knee-length black shorts and dark, rounded sunglasses. Ultra-casual and laid-back, L.J. looked more like the Adonis who had changed her flat tire and less like the ebony hunk she remembered from the Grisbey party. He was a shade above six feet, but with his long limbs and bulging muscles he seemed much taller.

Autumn snatched her towel from the back of her chair. If she’d known they were stopping by she would have put on a more respectable bikini—not a suit that barely covered her chest and served up a healthy dose of her behind. When Melissa had called that morning to invite her over, she had said that her parents were in New York and they would have the house to themselves. She’d neglected to mention that Peter and his best friend would be coming over. “Why didn’t you tell me we were having company?”

“Slipped my mind?”

Autumn wanted to heave Melissa into the pool. She didn’t believe for a second her best friend “forgot.” Melissa had a penchant for details and the sharpest memory of anyone she knew. This was no slip of the mind. It was a hook-up if Autumn had ever seen one. “If I’d known he was coming over, I wouldn’t have put this on,” Autumn said as she plucked at her barely there bikini top. “I can’t walk around in this. He’s going to think I’m—”

“Stop your bellyaching, Autumn. You look tasty.” Melissa licked her lips in an exaggerated fashion. “Relax. Take a breath. Better yet, get up and go for a swim. The water looks cool.”

“Are you out of your mind? I can’t prance around in high-heels and a teeny-weeny bikini. He’s going to think I’m showing off. Or trying to impress him.”

Autumn’s stomach muscles tensed. L.J. was closing in on her. The familiar scent of his overwhelming cologne brought her mind back to their sexy dance. She could still feel the warmth of his hands as he’d clutched her waist. The memory of his tender embrace transported her mind and body to another place.

Autumn fixed her eyes on the charming, soft-spoken man who had had a recurring role in her daydreams for the past fourteen days. L.J. looked like a man who’d just spent the last hour under the skilled hands of a masseuse rather than playing tennis. He moved with total ease. His voice carried across the lawn with buoyancy. Autumn pretended not to be touched by his presence, but she was. A bit too touched. Before she could properly get herself together, the two men were at the table offering greetings. She took a deep breath. Slipping on her sunglasses, she donned her ready-for-anything smile.

Melissa welcomed Peter with a tight hug and a kiss that lasted long enough to make L.J. and Autumn feel invisible. Greeting L.J. with the smile she reserved for her big-money clients, Melissa turned to Autumn. “Look who’s here, girl. You remember L.J., don’t you?”

Autumn suppressed an eye roll. What a stupid question. Of course she remembered him! How could she forget the man who’d rescued her on the highway and stirred all sorts of passions within? L.J.’s penetrating gaze unnerved her and the stifling heat didn’t help, either. The weather and intolerable humidity made it hard for Autumn to think, let alone formulate words and organize them into coherent sentences. She was sitting at the table as good as naked. Raising her towel higher, she crossed her arms underneath her chest. No sense in giving him a glimpse of something he would never see. “Nice to see you again, L.J. How have you been?”

L.J. smiled. That was all he could do. His tongue was twisted in knots and just standing upright seemed to require serious effort. Being in Autumn’s presence made him nervous. L.J. drank up every delectable inch of her. The brown-sugar skin; round, expressive eyes, slender fingers and trim arms. Autumn sat in a drool-worthy swimsuit fiddling with her napkin, oblivious to what she was doing to him. Her red-and-white bikini top made him think of a candy cane—and what he wouldn’t do for a lick. L.J. couldn’t remember the last time he was this enamored of a woman. It was as if she were a magnet and he was a paperclip trying to avoid getting stuck. But this thing he felt, this pull, was more than something physical. There was no denying the chemistry, but there was something else. He didn’t know what to call it yet. It wasn’t love. It wasn’t lust. What was it?

L.J. helped himself to a chair. “I’m good, can’t complain. You?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”

He thought of what to say next. He had been looking forward to seeing her all day, but now that she was sitting in front of him, his mind was blank.

When a few seconds passed without another word from him, Autumn picked up the newspaper lying in the middle of the table. She concealed the top half of her body with the entertainment section of the Tribune, and L.J. felt as if an iron door had slammed shut in his face.

“So, have you two ladies decided what movie we’re going to see?” Peter asked, squeezing his fiancée’s waist. “L.J. and I want to check out that new DMX movie.”

Autumn folded the newspaper. “Movie? What movie?”

“Did I forget to mention that, too?” Melissa flicked her hair over her shoulders.

“I hope you guys aren’t dragging us to see some sappy love story,” Peter warned, stealing a piece of bacon off his fiancée’s plate, “’cause I can’t take another movie where all the characters do is talk, talk some more, argue and then make up. I want to see something blow up!”

Melissa waved her hand absently in front of Peter’s face. “Honey, please. We’re going to see Head Over Heels. I heard it’s an adorable date movie and since it’s my turn to pick, that’s what we’re going to see.”

“Is that right?” Peter’s hand fell from around Melissa’s waist. He pointed at himself, then L.J. “What if we don’t want to see that one?”

“Then I guess you can sit in the car, because that’s what I want to see,” Melissa snapped back. “You didn’t see me kicking up a fuss when you dragged me to see that horrific war movie last weekend, did you? Or what about when you convinced me to wait in line an hour to buy tickets for that martial arts thriller? Don’t get me started, Peter. I’m not in the mood.” Switching gears and the tone of her voice, she said, “Now, do you want something to eat? The movie doesn’t start for another hour.”

Autumn had to give it to Melissa. She could out-argue anybody. She’d checked in on her at the courthouse a time or two, and watching her friend in action had given her tingles. Melissa could go up both sides of the opposing counsel, then turn on the charm for the judge and play the sympathy card with the jury. If Autumn was ever arrested, she’d want Melissa representing her. Autumn returned her eyes to the newspaper. She didn’t have to see the end of this scene to know how things were going to play out. They were going to see Head Over Heels.

Peter rubbed his hand across the base of his jaw, a devilish grin taking shape on his lips. His eyes were twinkling brighter than a star-filled sky and before Melissa could blink, Peter had scooped her up and tossed her high in the air. Nuzzling his stubbly chin against her neck, he whirled her around. “Now, who’s the man?”

Melissa struggled to get free, but she was no match for Peter. He outweighed her by a solid eighty pounds. “Peter Roland Delancy, put me down! Now! Right now! Or you’ll be sorry.”

“What are you going to do, big bad Melissa?”

When she wavered, he set off towards the pool.

Melissa screamed loud enough to wake the dead, “Put me down, dammit! Now! Peter, if you don’t put me down this instant I’m going to—”