Shocked eyes met my gaze, heat darkening their depths. Feeling emboldened, I slowly reached up, giving her plenty of time to turn away. She didn’t. So, I kissed her again, satisfied, as she melted into it once again.
God, it felt even better than I’d hoped. So many times, I’d had to hold myself back when this was all I could think about doing.
I went to pull her closer, but she pulled back.
Quinn ducked her head in embarrassment and lifted herself off me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—we shouldn’t be doing this.” Flustered, she backed away from me, jumping a little as the water sloshed over the rim of the tub.
I caught her hand as she attempted to stand up, my heart still racing. “Why not?” I asked. “Why shouldn’t we do this?” She tried to pull her hand away, but I held on, holding her gaze. “I won’t apologize for it. I’ve been wanting to kiss you since you brought me breakfast that very first day.”
Watching the heat in her eyes increase, I felt something inside me stir. One kiss wasn’t enough. I wanted to taste her again, every inch of her supple skin. It had been agony holding myself back for so long. How could I not be attracted to her? She was gorgeous, smart, strong, and she had a big heart.
Even as she finally tugged her hand away from me and climbed out of the tub, her eyes refusing to meet mine as she failed to hide the smile forming on her face, I had a feeling that I wasn’t the only one who felt whatever was going on between us.
“I’m not asking you to apologize,” came her whispered response. Heronlyresponse before she attempted to help me out of the tub again.
∞∞∞
“I think it would be better for you if you moved upstairs. The basement’s air circulation isn’t the best and you are paying higher than normal rates for hospitality.” Quinn had said with small smile almost three weeks before.
“Are you sure about that?” I’d asked her, unsure as to her sudden change of attitude towards my presence in her family’s life. That conversation had taken place after a week of me being in her basement. Three weeks later and I was almost like an old sofa in their lives. I slept in Cameron and Melissa’s old bedroom, which was located in the back of the apartment.
Now, instead of spending my days sleeping and watching tv in a bedroom which was probably the size of this entire apartment, I spent my days playing monopoly with Quinn’s grandmother whenever she came to visit me for a few hours, or watching the kids play when they came to visit after school. I spent most of my time sitting on the love seat in the bedroom admiring the kids’ boundless energy as they ran around, put on plays for me or simply settled themselves on the floor to watch cartoons on the television Quinn had purchased for the bedroom I occupied.
One evening, while watching one of the cartoons with the kids, I got so immersed in solving the quiz that I barely registered Quinn’s presence until she asked, “You speak Spanish?”
I took my eyes away from the television and stared at her. Her locs—not plaits (she’d corrected me a few days ago and explained the difference between the two)—were piled atop her head, making her seem every bit the goddess that she was. Her work shirt and pants clung to her body and her ever present scent of vanilla filled my senses, causing my own body to comealive. Something it hadn’t done in a while.
As excited as I am at the prospect of my manhood’s sudden resurrection, I ignored it and focused on answering her.
“Just barely,” I responded modestly. I was fluent in the language, actually. Though I rarely used it these days.
“Jasper speaks four words,” added Janiyah, and Quinn’s eyebrows raised quizzically.
“Notwords,Jani. Jasper speaks four languages.”
“I know that,” his sister responded, looking frustratingly at her brother.
“Tia Quinn. Jasper knows Spanish, Gre—Greek, French and… I forget the last one,” said Jamal.
His gaze met Quinn’s, and they smiled at each other. After that night, it was decided that I would help Jamal with his Spanish homework and I agreed heartedly. Helping Jamal with homework and assisting Janiyah with reading became the highlights of my day. I missed them while they were at school.
But I liked the fact that their absence made it possible for me to see more of Quinn. When the kids weren’t home, Quinn would be the one to bring me my meals during her breaks. I learned so much about her. She had moved out of her studio apartment and into this place after Cameron passed. She put her catering business on hold to take over running Cameron’s restaurant, to preserve it for her niece and nephew. Her ex-boyfriend, Marlon, hadn’t been happy with all the newfound responsibility that came with her new mom role, so she’d cut him loose.
“You did the right thing, Quinn,” I reassured her. “My parents died when I was sixteen. I had no family to speak of. I remained in boarding school until it was time to move on to university. My holidays were with my best friend Eddie’s family. They were kind to me, but it never felt the same.”
“I’m sorry Jasper,” she’d replied, her eyes filled with sympathy.
It wasn’t her fault that I had no family left, so I waved off her apology.
I wish I’d had someone like Quinn around when I lost my own parents, and words couldn’t describe how much admiration and respect I had for her, taking on that responsibility when she could have just looked the other way. Especially while juggling two businesses! I always wished I’d taken a more active role in my family’s business affairs, and maybe if I had, I wouldn’t feel so lost now. But I was too childish and self-centered to care about any of that. All I wanted to do was have fun and party, not take on the responsibility that came along with dealing with the family’s business interests. I told Quinn as much, grinning as she squirmed uncomfortably as I continued praising her until I thought she might combust on the spot.
“And you’ve done such a good job with those kids.” I smirked as she rested her hands against her burning cheeks in an attempt to cool them down. “I’ve never been around kids much, but yours are very cool. You’re a great maternal figure to them. You’re perfect. You—”
Tired of my insistent praise, she’d suddenly leaned in to kiss me. The first time she’d initiated a kiss with me, and it was merely to shut me up, but it was wonderful. Desire like nothing I’d ever felt before sizzled through me as the kiss went on far longer than it should have.
“Japer—” Her voice was hoarse when she pulled away.
“You better not apologize. I won’t accept it,” I said, staring directly at her.
