Authors: Thayer King
“Oh, I’ve seen all of those.”
He grinned. “Then we’ll get along just fine.”
***
“What are we doing here?” Greg asked
later that week as they parked in front of the ice skating rink, but he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that he knew exactly why. And it did not bode well.
“Why do you think?” Mykal asked in return, cutting the engine to her car.
He groaned. “You want me to break a limb?”
“You know exactly why I’m doing this. It’s so you don’t get bored with the same exercise routine.”
“I’m fine with being bored,” he said, but she was already opening her door and he had little choice but to follow.
Sighing, he climbed out of the car. Last weekend she had taken him rock wall climbing. Grudgingly, he admitted that had been fun and he hadn’t managed to break anything.
He was dragging his feet so much that Mykal was already getting laced up by the time he caught up with her. “I’ve never done this before,” he warned her. “I’m
liable to take you and myself down.”
She flashed him a confident grin. “That’s okay. I’ve taken a few falls before.” Her fingers flew through the motions of lacing her
ice skates. He noted her perfect manicure. Today her nails were painted a soft, feminine peach. What a strange mix she was. She was always so perfectly dressed. Her clothes and shoes must cost a fortune. Yet she wasn’t afraid to sweat or get dirty. And she looked damned sexy when she did. Her skin took on a caramel glow that he found difficult to look away from. He’d never dated a woman of color before. Hell, he hadn’t dated much at all. He’d had a couple of fledgling relationships in college. He’d even had a one-night stand. Though he hadn’t realized at the time that that was what it was. The girl had lost some sort of bet with her friends. He’d thought he was at the beginning of a new and exciting relationship. He was sure she had liked him but she was too embarrassed to admit it or be seen with him in front of her friends. And then there had been Daria.
Greg felt like he was doing an admirable impersonation of a baby learning to walk as he toddled behind Mykal while she skated backwards in front of him. Her sexy grin was like a carrot dangled before a horse.
He wondered if she knew just how enticing she was. She did a quick spin and he shook his head. “Is there anything you can’t do?”
Wiggling her hips to the music blaring throughout the rink, she seemed to consider. “Well, I suck at video games. I’m not quite technologically inclined. Oh, I can check my e-mail and handle all the social media stuff, but if anything doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to, I’m stumped.”
The very areas she was deficient in, he excelled. “How ironic,” he said, struggling to maintain his balance.
“Sto
p flailing your arms.” She skated over to his side and took one of his hands. Her smaller one was engulfed in his. “Anyway, I haven’t used my laptop for two weeks because it’s infected with some virus that won’t let me open a browser window.”
“Why didn’t you say so? I’ll fix it for you.”
He couldn’t imagine going that long without his computer.
“You will?” She hugged his arm to her chest. “I’d really appreciate it.”
Greg just about went down at the feel of her soft, full breasts pressed up against his arm.
His feet tangled and they both would have landed in a heap on the floor if it weren’t for some swift thinking on Mykal’s part. They were close enough to the railing that Mykal grabbed on and didn’t let him go. She started laughing and he joined in. Their arms were wrapped around each other as they made their way to steady feet. He was afraid to let her go, but he was careful to keep his hips away from hers. The woman was a natural aphrodisiac.
Forty minutes later, Mykal led him off the floor. He was a bit exhausted from struggling to keep his balance, but once again, he’d had a good time. “Let’s go to dinner.”
His eyes widened. “We can eat out? Can we have pizza?”
She slapped him in the stomach. “Very funny. Maybe next month.
We’re going to a restaurant where we will order something tasty and probably grilled.”
Well, at least he didn’t have to cook it.
***
Mykal typed in her password then turned to hand her laptop over to Greg. He hovered in the archway to her bedroom. She hid a smile at his nervous expression and waved him over. Surely he’d been in a woman’s bedroom before? Daria couldn’t have been his only relationship. “Come on in.” When he stood uncertainly in front of her, she patted the bed. She passed her laptop to him.
She got up so that he wouldn’t feel like she was supervising him. Besides, this could take a while. Her computer had been seriously slow lately.
She took off her shoes and put them away. She contemplated changing into her pajamas but decided it would probably freak Greg out.
“Your virus protection is out of date,”
Greg muttered after several minutes. He sighed. “I’m going to have to go to my house to get some software. You don’t have anything to remove the malware.” He closed her laptop and put it aside. Standing, he glanced at his watch. “This might take a while. If you want, I can take it with me and bring it back tomorrow.”
She winced. “Is this going to be a lot of trouble? I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Are you kidding me? After all you’re doing for me. It’s not a problem, Mykal.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
He tucked her laptop under his arm. “I’ll do what I can to increase the speed also. In future, you’re going to want to keep your software up to date.”
“I try but it always wants to update when I have something to do.”
“You can delay it as long as you eventually get around to doing it.” He cleared his throat. “And, um, there are certain sites you’ll naturally want to avoid.”
“What types of sites?” she asked with a frown.
As she watched, his complexion reddened and she caught his meaning. “Ew, no. I don’t watch porn on my computer. They make that stuff for men. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen it, but I can’t get over the look in the women’s eyes. I just know they’re faking it. They seem to be more interested in making faces than what’s going on with their costars. Plus, the camera is focused on them and their phony moans too often. Not really what I’m interested in seeing, if you understand my meaning.”
He frowned. “I hadn’t really thought of it that way.”
“You’
re a man.” She led him downstairs and to the front door. “Thanks again, Greg. You don’t know how much this means to me. I’ve been using my phone for everything. Though those screens are bigger than ever, it’s still a pain to try surfing the net with them.” She gave him a quick hug.
“Um, you’re welcome.” He gave her a small smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Five
Mykal sipped her strawberry Frappuccino and hummed appreciatively. Over the course of the last three months, she had lost almost fifteen pounds unintentionally while she worked out and dieted with Greg. Because they shared dinner most evenings, she’d ended up giving up more decadent desserts. They ate homemade fruit and yogurt parfaits and other light sweet treats.
Across the small café table, Tania chuckled. “You’d think you were dying of thirst the way you’re inhaling that thing.”
She swirled her straw in the whipped cream and then licked it off. “Laugh all you want. I’ve been dying to be bad.”
“So how is this diet working for Greg?”
“Great. He’s lost twice as much as me. I’m taking him shopping soon.” Greg’s
wardrobe seemed to be a combination of oversized t-shirts, baggy shirts, and bowling shirts. She couldn’t wait to see him in something more fitted. “After we get him some new duds and a haircut, you won’t recognize him. The makeover is almost complete.”
Tania sipped her latte, her expression speculative. “That’s nice.”
“What’s that look about?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t give me that. You were thinking something.”
She pressed her lips together. “How are you going to take it when he goes back to his girlfriend?”
Mykal frowned. “I don’t know what you mean. And there’s no guarantee that they’ll ever get back together.”
“Do you even want her to take him back? If she does, she’s never going to let him spend time with you.”
She
shrugged casually, belying the sudden tightness in her chest at the thought of losing his friendship. But it was because he was funny and sweet. He deserved so much more than a woman who would leave him for another man. “This is what he wants,” she said simply. “I’d like to think that we’ll remain friends. I’ve told him that he can’t let her run roughshod over him or she won’t respect him.”
“Patterns are hard to break. Even if she does take him back
, who says she won’t leave again when someone better comes along?”
“There’s no one better. Greg is a great guy.”
Tania pointed at her. “
That
.
That
is what I’m talking about. You’re falling for this guy.”
“I am not. There’s nothing but platonic love between us.”
“Mm
hmm.”
Mykal turned her attention back to her drink. Her new manicure matched the pale pink concoction.
She and Tania had gotten their hair and nails done as part of their girl’s day out. “I liked the new girl at the nail salon. Look at these flowers. They’re flawless.”
“Don’t try to change the subject. But my nails are fierce, too.” She held out her hand
so that Mykal could examine her classic French manicure. “I’ve been thinking about their break up. It had to be something more.”
Mykal’s eyebrows rose. “You’ve been… Shouldn’t school keep you too busy to worry about stuff like that?”
“I’m never too busy to think about my friend. Since you’ve been spending so much time with him, and it’s become obvious that the two of you were growing close, I couldn’t help but worry. In my spare time.”
Shaking her head, she laughed. “I’m so sorry to be taking up your rare spare moments. So what conclusion did you come to that Greg didn’t tell me?”
“I’m thinking he didn’t tell you because he didn’t know.”
“What do you think you know that he didn’t?”
“Sex.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“Think about it, how much fumbling around is a woman expected to put up with? I mean, come on, he’s admitted to being a nerd. He’s probably clueless in that area.”
She didn’t want to think about Greg and Daria having sex.
And if he was bad in bed what could she do about it? Hand him a book? “How am I supposed to find out?” Why was she even listening to Tania? She shook her head to dispel the idea. “Tania, I don’t even know why you’d go there. That’s just so far out into left field.”
“Would you leave a man
who had his own house and car
and
was dynamite in bed?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never met such a man,” she said dryly.
Tania laughed. “Join the club.”
***
Greg cast a surreptitious glance at his watch. Jeff and Ben were playing his Xbox One. The guys had been at his house since before lunch and it was almost time for dinner. He shoved his hands into his hair. Mykal should be home soon and he wanted to be with her.
It was ironic. When he was with Daria, many nights they’d cuddle and watch the movies she wanted to see. Usually romances or films designed to make a person cry. While he enjoyed some of the films, he couldn’t really understand the logic in crying over fictional characters. Those quiet moments with Daria were good, but she wanted him to be with her all the time, excluding his friends. Even once a month with his friends was more than she was willing to give. Whenever he’d risked her wrath and went out with them, he’d come home to find her pouting. And then she’d give him the silent treatment for days.
Mykal
was different. She liked comic book superhero movies and she didn’t like sappy, emotional films. She let him talk about any topic, be it his games or cartoons without rolling her eyes or yawning. She was the best friend who also happened to have a pair of amazing boobs that a guy like him could ask for.
“Uh, oh, guys, it’s time to go,” Max said with a grin.
Greg wasn’t going to object. But he was curious. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re about to pull out your mane.”
He dropped his hands. He did tend to pull his hair when he was stressed. It did resemble a man
e at the moment, thick and growing well past his collar. He hadn’t cut it since Daria left him. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Max glanced at the clock on the wall where Daria’s picture used to hang. “Is Mykal coming over for dinner tonight?”
He shared dinner with Mykal every night
except for Sundays when she ate at her parents’. Sharing meals made sticking to his diet easier. Besides, Mykal wasn’t dating and was usually available. And so was he. Or at least he would be as soon as he could get his friends out of his house. He understood the gaming addiction. Hell, he’d watched the sun rise the first two weeks after buying the Xbox One. Well, he would have seen it if he could have taken his eyes off his television screen. But he’d gotten his addiction under control. And managed to create a small gaming app while working on a more detailed game for gaming systems.
“Yeah. She’s out with a friend, but she promised to be home for dinner.”
“Home?” Max lifted a brow. “Did she move in already?”