Serenity King - Love Me Forever

“Well, alrighty then,” she said to the empty room. But her lips lifted in a slow smile.

* * *

Jarred walked out of the club and met his brothers.

“That meeting on Sunday has been shifted to my place. Call her tomorrow to inform her of the change,” Jarred told Brice as they walked toward their cars.

“Do I look like your secretary? Why can’t you call her?” Brice snorted.

“I don’t remember what my secretary looks like, Brice, since you messed with her head and she took leave. And I can’t call Nevea and change the venue because you and I both know she wouldn’t come.”

“So what makes you think she’d come if I ask her?”

“She seems to like you,” Jarred grunted.

“She’d like you, too, if you weren’t so grumpy.” Langston chuckled.

“You seem to be all giggly tonight, Lang. What in the all-out hell is so funny?” Jarred demanded.

“You are, brother. You’ve pissed Nerd Girl off, and now she won’t come out and play with you,” Langston teased.

“She was steamed at him. I thought she was going to hit him at one point. Never seen Nev that mad before,” Brice taunted.

“For one thing, dogs get mad, people get angry,” Jarred said.

“And if she were a dog, she would have bit you on your arse,” Brice countered. He was doubled over with laughter.

Evidently, his brothers found him funny, since they were both laughing like hyenas. But they weren’t there to witness his and Nevea’s sizzling exchange when they were alone. He’d leave the two knuckleheads with their assumptions. Suddenly, things seemed a whole lot brighter.

But Langston would not be deterred. “I distinctly remember you saying before we left the office that you didn’t want to be around any ‘touchy-feely’ people. Yet there you were, trying to take Nev’s hand with you,” he joked.

Jarred needed to shut these two up quickly. He had a feeling he’d be seeing a lot more of Ms. Nevealise Tempest. A whole lot more. Had he driven himself, he would have stayed longer, and left Langston and Brice to their own devices. Besides, wasn’t that the point of their outing? To relax, have fun and enjoy the company of a beautiful woman? His brothers were still ribbing him. They were having just a little too much fun at his expense. His lips lifted in a slow smile. Let’s see who has the last laugh.

“Be that as it may,” he said, “who’s coming in to work tomorrow? We still have a lot to do before the meeting next month with the board of directors.” Jarred smiled at their collective grunts. Ha! Who’s laughing now? They reached the cars. “Y’all want to grab a bite to eat at one of those all-night diners?” he asked.

“Sure,” Langston said.

“Count me out. I have a few things to take care of. You two know how to get out of here, right?” Brice said.

“Of course we do,” Langston responded.

“You okay, Brice?” Jarred asked.

“Good as gold.” His remote started the car, but before he got in, he turned back to Jarred. “Since you apparently have the hots for Nev, I take it you want this meeting to be private. That being said, I will see you two at the office on Monday. Maybe.” Brice got into his car and drove off.

“Something’s up with him,” Jarred said.

“I believe so, too. He’ll tell us when he’s ready. Let’s go get some grub,” Langston said.

Jarred got in on the passenger side, put his head back and closed his eyes.

“I’ll GPS the closest diner,” he heard Langston say, but his thoughts were still on Nevea. He found himself willing Sunday to come fast.

Chapter 4

Jarred lay in his king-size bed and looked over at the bedside clock. Six in the morning. He’d gotten very little sleep last night, and the night before. Usually, it was the trials of the office that kept him awake at night, but not this time. No, this time it was something sexy and tantalizing. Nevealise Tempest. Ever since he’d laid eyes on her Friday night, Jarred hadn’t been able to get her off his mind.

She didn’t know it, but he’d gone back to the club on Saturday, sat in the back away from the stage and watched her work her magic with the crowd. Jarred was surprised that she hadn’t made it big in the music industry. She was just that good. According to Norman, people came from all over to see her perform, but she wasn’t interested in the fame. She just loved singing and the atmosphere of Heavens. Norman had gone on to say that everyone in the club was surprised that she hadn’t been around for almost a year, and then suddenly, two months ago, she’d appeared out of the blue, better than ever.

“What kept you away from the place you so obviously love, Nevea?” he asked in the semidarkened bedroom.

Jarred pushed the covers off and swung his legs over the bed, his bare feet touching the floor. He walked to the bureau, grabbed a pair of gym shorts and pulled them on over his boxer briefs. Then he put on a pair of socks and his sneakers and went into his en suite bathroom, where he washed his face and brushed his teeth. Jarred quickly grabbed his cell phone and then made his way to his basement, which housed his basketball court and gym.

Jarred went through a few warm-up drills before grabbing his basketball and running up and down the court, shooting baskets. Basketball was his game in high school and in college. He still loved the sport and played as much as he could. Not being able to get out to play with the fellas because of his demanding hours, he’d had his basement renovated into a full court.

He played for about an hour and a half before finally stopping and sitting on the floor, his back against the padded wall, his breathing heavy. He’d needed that workout.

“Oh, man. Jarred, either you’re getting old or you need to get back in shape,” he groaned, his arms on his knees and his head bowed, trying to suck in as much air as he could. Pushing up off the floor, he walked over to the bench where he’d placed his cell phone, and left the gym.

Brice hadn’t phoned yet to say if Nevea was in fact coming, so it was basically a waiting game. An impatient waiting game. Jarred made his way to the master bathroom, showered, then dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt from his alma mater, Howard University.

Next he needed a cup of coffee. Just as he was leaving his room, his cell phone chimed. He rushed to grab it from the bureau and looked at the caller ID. It was Brice.

“Man, you owe me big time and I plan to collect soon,” his brother said.

“She’s coming?”

“Yes. What did you say to her? I had a time convincing her to come to your house. She’ll be there between ten thirty and eleven thirty.” Brice laughed. “Or more likely by one thirty.”

“What kind of timing is that?” Jarred frowned.

“Nev is as smart as a whip, but she gets lost going around the corner. She thinks she’s smarter than the navigation system and gets lost every time.”

It was Jarred’s turn to chuckle. “I guess I won’t make the eggs until she actually shows up at the door. From what you’re saying, I may be making burgers, anyway. Why doesn’t she take the train in and I’ll pick her up from the station?”

“That would be a negative, brother. She would have to take the train into Penn and then the subway to Brooklyn. There is no way I’d trust Nev on the subway by herself.”

“And you trust her to drive here?”

“She’s a good driver. Her problem is unless she’s singing, Nev always thinks in numbers. She tries to calculate everything. She’s not familiar with Brooklyn. Remember, like us, she grew up on Long Island. There are a lot of one-way streets in the five boroughs. Trust me, she’ll calculate herself up in Albany somewhere.”

“Damn.” Jarred was laughing full out now. “How am I supposed to know if she’s lost?”