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  “I love diners.”

  “Still, it doesn’t fit.”

  “It suits me fine.”

  They ordered and talked about her business proposal and loan application while they were waiting for their dinners to arrive. He updated her on the feedback he was supposed to be collecting, repeating what he’d said on the phone in more detail.

  Then they talked about how her search for a location was going. It hadn’t gotten anywhere yet, but she hadn’t given up hope. He found out that her father was recovering a little more each day and that she had taught an art class last week for a friend working at a private high school.

  They talked about everything except what they most needed to talk about. He thought about broaching the subject of their relationship a dozen times. But each time, he put it aside, not wanting to disturb the warmth between them.

  When they were finished, he wrapped his arm around her again, squeezed her thigh and said, “Come home with me.”

  “Okay.”

  He hadn’t expected her to say yes but was elated when she did.

  “But I have to be home early in the morning,” she said. “I have to be at work by eight.”

  “Me, too.”

  They drove back to his apartment and settled into the living room together. He’d never spent time with her at his place before, and despite the unanswered questions that hung between them, he was thrilled to see her curled up on his sectional, her shoes discarded on the floor, her white dress standing out against the black leather, her bare shoulders calling to his lips.

  He took off his jacket and slid over on the couch, positioning himself so that he could kiss her, and then he stopped.

  “Can I get you something more comfortable to sleep in?”

  He would love to see her lounging about his place covered only in one of his big white dress shirts, giving him access to all the curves of her body. The image excited him almost as much as the reality of her before him.

  “Maybe later. Do I have to sleep in anything?” She said it with a saucy gleam in her eye.

  He still needed to know how they were really going to proceed. Yet, with the beauty of her beckoning him, he put the question from his mind and brought his lips to her shoulder.

  In response, she giggled and kicked out her feet in front of her.

  He did it again. She giggled again. Another sensitive spot.

  When they had been together in college, he had never really taken the time to explore her body like he was doing now. He was learning her secret places for the first time, and he liked being the one who really knew her that way.

  He brought his lips back to her shoulder and felt her body tense for another tickle, but instead of kissing it with his lips, he drew his tongue lightly over the spot that made her giggle. Her chest arched forward, and a shiver ran through her body.

  He did it again. She brought her arms around him and pressed her lips to his ear and murmured, sending goose bumps down his back and heat into his groin.

  He lifted her from the couch, careful not to tear the organza mesh over the skirt of her dress. She wrapped her arms about him and let him carry her into the bedroom. This time, there were no errands to run, no locations to see, no places they had to rush off to.

  He pulled down the spread and top sheet and laid her in the middle of his bed. Then he kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to her where he could continue to play with her shoulders.

  As he ran his tongue along her shoulder, he smoothed his fingers over the crinkled fabric covering her chest, making her arch toward him. In response, she moved her hand over the front of his pants, teasing him mercilessly.

  But he was going to get back at her. He slipped his hand under the wide skirt of her dress and ran it up along her thighs until her body convulsed under his touch. His tongue still played over her shoulder. He wanted to taste every inch of her body, and tonight he would take his time.

  * * *

  Nigel was up before the alarm went off at six. He extricated his limbs from around Regina’s sleeping body, shut off the alarm, slipped on his briefs and headed into the kitchen to make them breakfast. He woke her up with a tray of eggs, toast, cereal, milk, juice and coffee.

  Regina rubbed her eyes and pulled the covers up over her naked body, but he handed her his shirt from the previous night.

  She smiled and slipped into it as he settled into bed beside her with the tray.

  “What time is it?”

  “It’s just after six. That gives us time for breakfast before I get you home.”

  “Okay.” She smiled and dug into the eggs.

  “So when can I call you?”

  He could no longer avoid the questions of the previous day. He had to know how to proceed from there.

  She looked at him. “What?”

  “You said I call too much, and I don’t want to cramp you. When can I call?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, pouring milk into both of their cereal bowls. “Play it by ear.”

  “Reggie, our ears are different on this. I was happy with how we were going. You were the one who thought it was getting to be too much.”

  “It was just starting to seem to get too heavy.”

  Too much like dating, he thought. The irony wasn’t lost on him, them having just been on a real date and all the night before.

  “I don’t mean to push too hard.”

  He wasn’t saying what he really wanted to say, but he didn’t want to chase her away.

  “I know,” she said. “Eat your cereal before it gets soft.”

  They ate quietly for a little while.

  “I just enjoy spending time with you,” he said. “I don’t—”

  “I do, too. Let’s just leave it at that.”

  He nodded his head. She had shut him down again. There was no way around the blockade. He settled back on the bed, and they turned to their breakfast again. But he had questions that needed to be answered.

  When they finished, he put the tray on his nightstand and drew her under his arm.

  “I just need to know how to go on from here. I don’t want you avoiding my calls because you think it’s getting too heavy.”

  “Look, Nigel. We’re not going to agree on this. Let’s let it go and just...”

  “Just what? I can’t even play it by ear if I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m thinking that I just want to be friends, enjoy time with you, without it getting too serious.”

  “Define too serious.”

  “Look,” she said. She was agitated and rustled under his arm. “I just can’t go back there.”

  “What about us now? What about me now?”

  “I like now, just as it is.”

  He lifted the arm he had around her to play with the strands of hair that had fallen to her temples.

  “Okay, but tell me this. What’s so wrong with getting a little serious? The times we’ve been intimate, didn’t you feel anything?”

  She backed away from him, clearly flustered. “I just enjoyed it, that’s all.”

  “You seemed to feel something for me last night.”

  “Nigel, stop pushing for something that’s not there.”

  He was pushing, and he knew he should stop, but something in him wanted her to admit that she had feelings for him, that it was more than physical. They had both gotten to their feet. She had snatched up her things and was pulling her dress up under the shirt he’d given her to wear.

  “Wasn’t last night real? Didn’t you want me? Not sex in general, but me.”

  “It was what it was. Remember? Nothing more.”

  He could tell that she was getting more agitated and was ready to go, and he was just as upset. He pulled on his socks and pants and took his shi
rt from the bed where she’d tossed it. He put it on so that he would be ready to drive her home. No use suggesting a shower together now.

  “Are you ready to go?” he asked.

  “Yes, but wait.” She seemed to have calmed down slightly. She came and sat on the bed next to him and looked at him. “If you’re going to get serious, then maybe we should call this off.”

  He looked at her; she was serious. It made him angry that she could suggest tossing everything aside so easily, as if it didn’t really mean anything to her, especially after the night they’d spent together.

  “If that’s how you see it.”

  As he said it, matching her nonchalance, he wondered what he was doing. But it was out. And if she could dismiss him so easily, maybe it was for the best.

  “Okay,” she said and walked into the living room.

  Okay, if that’s the way she wanted it.

  He drove her home in silence and watched her trek up to the third-story landing and go inside. Then he headed back to his place to shower and get to work.

  His world had been turned upside down overnight by Regina Gibson. Once she had ended their relationship because he wasn’t serious enough. Now she was ending their relationship because he was too serious.

  “If you’re going to get serious, then maybe we should call this off.”

  So be it. She wanted a break. She would have a break.

  Chapter 17

  Regina pulled up the bottom of her overalls and squatted in front of one of her pieces in the spare bedroom that she used as a studio. She’d already carried the bulk of them over to the gallery, leaving anything that had a flaw or that hadn’t come out quite right. These she was double-checking. It was her last chance to get things there before the showing, and she wanted as much of her work on display as possible.

  She hadn’t seen or heard from Nigel in several weeks, and her mind went to him now because he’d been in this room with her. It was here that he’d touched her that time, driving her crazy. She missed having his arms around her, his fingers touching her. She missed knowing that they would be together again.

  She’d gotten used to him. That was the problem. Maybe she shouldn’t have said they should call it off, but it was the wise thing to do. Between her getting used to him and him turning serious on her, things had gotten muddled beyond clarification.

  She turned a tiled sculpture around on the table. Why hadn’t she taken this one? The grout color hadn’t turned out as she’d wanted it, but she couldn’t find anything else wrong, so it went on the table near the door. She’d get one more load of pieces to carry to the gallery tonight, and that would be it. She’d be there late setting up for tomorrow evening.

  She’d thought about inviting him to her gallery showing, but that wouldn’t make sense. She didn’t know if he would even agree to come after she’d called it quits. If he did, that would just start things up again. It would open the door to the same unanswerable questions. Can’t we just be friends? Isn’t there more going on here?

  She lifted a large board to the table and turned the light toward it. What was wrong with this piece? Ah, the grout had pulled away from the tile in one area. It would have to stay.

  It didn’t make sense thinking about him. She had been the one to call it off. She should just stick to what she’d said and remember why she’d said it: she wasn’t going back there.

  She got the car loaded, grabbed a sandwich and headed to the Spring View Art Gallery in Silver Spring. Her work would be there for a month, and she hoped that there would be enough sales to boost her depleted savings account. She was putting several ads in the Washington Post and had fliers made up to hand out. It was an extra effort, but she needed it to pay off.

  She got finished setting up in time to get home, sleep for a few hours and get to work. After that, she came back to change into something suitable for that night. She decided on the gown she’d worn two summers before to a girlfriend’s wedding—the turquoise satin one with spaghetti straps that was cut close to her body and that had a matching bolero jacket made out of lace. She finished the outfit with black pumps and a black pocketbook. It was an important night, and she wanted to dress for the occasion.

  Once she arrived at the gallery, she saw that most of the people there were people she knew, with a few gallery-goers mixed into the gathering. Then she saw Nigel. He was with Lillith, the manager of the gallery, who was putting a sold sticker on a piece that he was pointing to.

  Lillith saw her looking and beckoned her over. “Regina, we’ve sold our first three pieces—three of the larger ones. This is—”

  “Nigel Johns. I know him.”

  Lillith must have caught the look that passed between them because she excused herself. “Let me go see if I can help some of our other patrons while you catch up. Thank you, Mr. Johns. You can pick these up after the showing. Here’s my card.”

  As she passed by Regina, she pointed discreetly at Nigel, mouthed “hottie” and gave Regina a wink. Lillith was such a prim matron that the gestures made Regina laugh.

  Once Lillith was gone, Regina found herself smiling up at Nigel. She couldn’t help feeling glad to see him.

  “Hello, Nigel. I’m surprised to see you here. I thought about giving you a call to let you know about the show, but then, we weren’t really...in touch.”

  “I found out from Amelie and saw one of your announcements in the Post.”

  “Did Amelie get you her info for the application?”

  “Not yet, but she’s been in contact to let me know that she’s pulling it together.”

  “Oh, good,” Regina said. “We’re going out this week together to look at more locations.”

  “Let me know how it goes. I think that’s all you need now.”

  “I know.”

  He backed up to point at one of the mosaics he’d purchased.

  “I came early to get the pick of the litter. I’m sending a few of my clients along to take a look as well, and one’s a new restaurant owner. I had to get mine before they came in and took the best ones. This is one of the ones I’m getting.”

  “Nigel, you don’t have to buy anything. Just coming out to show your support is more than enough.”

  “No, I actually needed at least three pieces—one to add color to the living room, one for the bedroom and one to show off in my office.”

  “You didn’t have to get them here. You got large ones, and these are gallery prices. I could have—”

  “It’s worth paying them, especially when one day I’ll own the work of a famous artist.”

  Regina couldn’t help smiling.

  “Thank you. Now let me tell you how to take care of them.”

  “How about over a late supper? What time do you get through here?”

  “We close at eight tonight, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea for us to...get together.”

  “I’ve missed you terribly, Reggie. Come to dinner with me.”

  Before she could answer, he stepped toward her, pulled her into his arms and bent down to claim her lips. His kiss was so sudden, so passionate, that it knocked the breath out of her and started a throbbing in her center. He pulled away just as quickly.

  “I won’t take no as an answer.”

  When they stepped apart, she glanced around in time to see Jason giving her a naughty look. She laughed out loud. Being with this man made her act silly.

  Nigel looked over and saw Jason and nodded to him and Ellison before waving to Kyle, who waved back from his place on Ellison’s hip. He struggled to get down, and when Ellison relented, he ran over to Nigel.

  Nigel picked him up and gave him a hug.

  “Here, give Auntie Regina a kiss.”

  Nigel held Kyle like an airplane and the little one giggled as he landed on Regina and gave her a k
iss.

  “Okay,” said Nigel. “That’s enough. Those lips are spoken for.”

  Regina raised her finger to protest but thought the better of it. There was such a simple pleasure in the moment that she didn’t want to spoil it.

  “Were you going out with friends after to celebrate the opening?”

  “A few of us were going to go to dinner. You can join us if you’d like.”

  “That would be nice.

  “And can I see you after dinner, as well?”

  “I’m not sure we should...hang out.”

  “There’s no getting out of it, Reggie. I’ve missed you too much.”

  Kyle started struggling to get down. Nigel put him on his feet, and they watched him until he’d returned to his parents, who were talking with Amelie now.

  Nigel pulled Regina into his arms again.

  “Haven’t you missed me, too?”

  “Well...I guess.” She was trying to deny it but couldn’t. They both broke out laughing.

  “If you don’t admit it, I’ll have to use unorthodox means to get you to confess.”

  He turned his fingers into spiders and ran them up her stomach. She giggled and tried to shoo him away.

  “Okay, yes.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just in a funny mood tonight. It’s seeing you and seeing that you’re glad to see me.”

  Lillith came up to them.

  “We have another purchase. Come meet the buyers.”

  “Clients of yours?” she asked Nigel.

  “No, they’re not.” He kissed her temple. “I’ll go say hello to your friends while you go do your thing.”

  He walked over to her group of friends standing next to the wine and cheese table, and she gave her attention to Lillith and the customers. After that, Lillith drew her around the exhibit to talk to visitors. It was delightful to hear their comments on her work and to answer questions. Not many were buying, but she hoped that at least a few would come back another time.

  Whenever she glanced over, she found Nigel talking to Jason, Ellison and Amelie. From the looks of it, they were having a good time together; they all seemed jovial.