“Oh!” Brooke moaned, “Deeper, Ace. Go so much deeper.”
Swallowing, I couldn’t turn back to the screen. “You. . .think I have a great body?”
“That’s all you heard?”
“People always tell me that I’m smart and talented, but not many tell me how hot I am. Excuse me, if I enjoy bathing in the compliments.”
“Then, I’ll make sure to compliment you more on your body.” His gaze fell to my chest. “Or maybe I shouldn’t. That’s a pretty devilish game to fall into.”
“Why?”
“Like you said before, a man and woman together for a certain amount of time, learning about each other. . .they’re bound to take things further.”
I cleared my throat. “True. I did say that.”
“And we should keep things how it has always been.”
“Of course.”
“Even though you’re gorgeous, I’m in no place to start anything with anybody, especially not you.”
I frowned. “Why did you say you that way?”
“You’re Jade. The girl next door. My sister’s best friend.”
“These are all romantic tropes.”
“But I’m no romantic hero. Right now, I’m just an angry man with a broken heart.”
“Of course. Not that I was. . .saying that we should. . .I was just saying.”
He smirked. “I understand.”
“So. . .” I took a sip of my beer to give myself something to do. “What did you do, when you found Amber and this guy in the bed?”
“I beat the guy until blood covered my hands.”
“Yikes. Is he still alive?”
“Of course. You think I hid a body before I arrived here?”
“Hey. With the way things are going in the world, anything is possible.”
“No. The idiot is alive.” He set his bowl of popcorn on the table, picked up the remote, and paused the movie.
I turned back to the screen.
The sex scene must’ve been super short. On the screen, Brooke and Ace froze in mid-air. They both held guns and were jumping off a building.
“Now, your turn.” Kamal put the remote down.
“What do you mean?”
“What happened between Jason and you?”
“I can’t believe you remember him.”
“You brought him to my mother’s birthday last year and Christmas dinner. And you stopped by after Thanksgiving to have dessert with us. He was there too. What happened to not get him in New York?”
“After hearing your story, I will sound like I’m complaining.”
“Try me.”
“Jason was a great guy. Thoughtful. Best present giver. Did awesome massages and made the most romantic dinners.”
He frowned. “Let’s get to the bad stuff.”
“But.” I let out a long breath. “In our year of dating, he only would allow us to have sex once a week.”
Shock hit his face. “Once a week?”
“Yes. And it was some sort of ritual.”
Smirking, he leaned back on the sofa. “Do tell.”
I shook my head.
“Come on, Jade. It’s confession time.”
I ran my fingers through my hair. “He only liked having sex on Sunday morning, and it had to be after he made two caramel macchiatos in his favorite robe which was black with a red lining.”
Kamal laughed.
“This isn’t funny.”
“I’m sorry.” He held his hand out. “Okay. I need to better understand this. So, first he put on his robe?”
“Yes. He would get naked in the bedroom, put on the robe, go downstairs, and make the caramel macchiatos.”
“Okay.”
I scratched my head. “Then he brought them up to us and we would drink as he played this song.”
“Was it always the same one?”
“Yes.”
Kamal’s smirk deepened. “You must tell me the name.”
“It’s My Funny Valentine, but the Chet Baker version.”
“Interesting.”
“We would sip our macchiatos and then once we were done—”
He grinned. “The action began?”
“No. He had to go downstairs and clean the cups.”
“Wow.”
“While he was gone, he expected me to unclothe or he would be a little upset.”
“Is that how he would say it?”
“Yes.”
Kamal did an impersonation. “Madam, please be unclothed when I return.”
I rolled my eyes. “And I would put on a robe.”
“Was it black with the red inside?”
“Nope. It was red with a black inside.”
“Oh my. He’s really about color coordination and symbolism.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“That’s the main part.” I reached for my bowl of popcorn.
Kamal moved the bowl out of the way. “Oh no. We’re not done yet. I must hear the rest.”
“And then he would take off his robe and ask me to take off mine. Once I did that, I put myself at the center of the bed. He didn’t want me any other place.”
Kamal widened his eyes. “This is blowing my mind.”
“And then. . .we had sex. . .missionary style to My Funny Valentine playing over and over. I can’t even hear that song anymore without thinking of the bad sex.”
“I can’t even hear that song anymore without thinking of your bad sex.” Kamal chuckled.
“Sex would last two or three minutes. He liked to clean me afterward.” I covered my face with both hands. “God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”
“Oh no. This is perfectly fine for a Friday evening at. . .” He checked his watch. “Well, it’s actually Saturday morning now. But this is fine.”