Kalilah smiled into the phone. “Yes, I just made it, but it appears my AC isn’t working. It’s fucking hot.”
Nick sighed. “Aw, baby.”
Another endearment. She hated how it made her feel special – like he was her boyfriend. She’d missed him like he was her boyfriend. The girls were right; she needed to take them to the next level before she died from yearning.
“Let me call my guy, and I’ll get him to meet me at your house. I just got out of the shower. I’ll be there in fifteen.” He hung up before she could respond. It didn’t matter. She was too busy trying to picture him naked.
Nick’s plans with Dex that night didn’t allow her to get her hopes up. He wouldn’t be staying longer than necessary. They had brunch plans on his birthday, but that was still too many hours away. Kalilah looked at the time on the phone. 4:30. The doors opened at seven for the concert, and Nick couldn’t stay longer than an hour and a half. Sweat started to trickle down her back. Kalilah packed a bag and took a quick, cool shower.
Nick arrived twenty minutes later to find Kalilah sitting in her SUV with the AC on high. He knew being without AC in Houston’s summer heat – he felt September was still summer – was highly inconvenient, but he couldn’t help but smile. She was ever resourceful and refused to be overheated for long.
He walked up to the car and knocked on the window. She jumped like she did the last time he’d surprised her at her car. This time, a smile greeted him instead of a scowl. Kalilah turned down the radio and rolled down the window.
“Well, hello, Mr. Sinclair,” she said and gave him a finger wave.
Her brown eyes shone in the sun. Her well-oiled arms and legs her pink tank top and short blue jean shorts left exposed glistened in the light. He knew from experience that she was smooth and soft all over; he longed to uncover the treasures that her clothes hid. He adjusted the shades on his face and smiled.
“Come in. Enjoy some AC.” She crooked her finger at him.
Nick chuckled. “You smell very good for someone without AC.”
She smirked. “I took a cold shower,” she bragged. “I’ve become somewhat of a cold shower expert. I have them down to a science.”
Nick’s pang of guilt quickly faded into amusement when her already big eyes grew bigger when she’d realized what she said.
Wes pulled up before he could respond. He honked at him from his big red pickup truck before he jumped out.
Wes grabbed his equipment and headed toward Nick with a big smile that crinkled his light brown eyes. Nick was a good customer, but he knew a smile that lofty came from the “speed bonus” he’d offered. Nick rarely used his money or family name to his advantage, but for Kalilah he would do whatever it took.
Nick looked at his watch and nodded. As agreed, he would give Wes $5,000 plus the cost to fix the AC for arriving within thirty minutes.
“Nick! My man.” He drawled in a west Texas accent. His clothes practically hung off his lanky form and his skin was wrinkled from too much sun exposure. “Let’s get a look at the AC.”
“Go ahead. I’ll be there in a few.” Wes nodded and tipped the brim of his baseball cap at Kalilah.
“Ma’am,” he said by way of greeting before going into her house.
Nick turned back to Kalilah and noticed for the first time that she had an overnight bag in the passenger seat.
“Do you want me to carry that in for you?” Nick asked as he tilted his head in the direction of the bag.
Kalilah looked at the bag as if seeing it for the first time. “Uh…no. Not yet. I didn’t expect anyone to come that fast. I packed a bag to go to a hotel. That bag is staying right there until I get cold air in my house.”
Hotel? Nick didn’t like the idea of her being in a hotel by herself. He didn’t see the point in her wasting money when he had a practically empty five-bedroom house.
“Kalilah, you and I both know that you’re staying with me if he can’t fix it today.”
Kalilah raised her eyebrow. “I assumed no such thing.” She showed him the browser of her phone to prove her point. She was searching hotel rates. “See?”
Nick opened the car door and pulled her into his arms. He moved his shades to the top of his head. He wanted her to see the sincerity in his eyes.
“Baby, if he tells us the AC cannot be fixed today, I have a pillow with your name on it. Besides, you still haven’t fully seen my house yet.”
Kalilah’s eyes roamed his lips, and she subconsciously licked hers. His pulse quickened. Her glossy lips had been beckoning him since he’d arrived. He hadn’t kissed her since Lazy Friday. Nick was dying to taste her.
“Where might this pillow be located?” she asked, her voice was breathless and raspy.
They were closer now. Their bodies were flush against each other – their breaths mingling, and the sun bathing them in heat. Nick’s hands were splayed on her sides; he hooked his thumbs in her belt loops of her shorts and leaned in closer until their lips almost touched.