“You owe me an explanation, mister,” she said when she twisted toward Daniel.
“What for?”
She made a turn and spoke over her shoulder. “I thought you said you couldn’t dance?”
He caught her wrist and pulled her in close. “I never said Icouldn’tdance. I said I don’t.” He released her, then hauled her back with a reverse cross-body move that set her panties on fire. “Back when I was deployed, we had to find ways to keep ourselves occupied. One of the guys from my squadron was from Miami. He gave free lessons.”
She swayed her hips back, then came forward, bracing her chest against his. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
His gaze dropped to her lips. “More than you know.”
Her heart rate skyrocketed, her shallow breaths causing her breasts to pulse against his solid chest. An ache she’d tried her best to ignore throbbed low in her belly, an indicator of the pleasure that awaited her. All she had to do was ask for it.
Instead she stepped back and pressed her hand to her throat. “If I don’t get something to drink I’m going to die in the middle of this club.”
He took her by the hand and led her off the dance floor. They made their way toward the large semicircular chrome bar that encompassed the far left side of the club, but as they drew closer she felt the muscles of Daniel’s forearm stiffen. His steps faltered.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Samiah asked.
“What?” He looked at her and then just beyond her to a couple sitting at one of the pub tables in the area surrounding the bar. “It’s nothing,” he said. “I just noticed a friend.”
His stride was measured as they approached the table. The guy, whose haircut—shaved on the sides and long on the top—made him look younger than the crow’s feet etched into the corners of his eyes betrayed, stared at Daniel, a curious lift to his brow.
“Uh, hey,” Daniel said. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“What are the chances?” the man returned. He extended a hand to her. “I’m Quentin. And this is my wife, Angelle.”
“Quentin? Your roommate?” It was only after the words left her mouth that Samiah realized how rude they sounded. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m Samiah.”
She shook both their hands with a polite smile, but inside questions were ping-ponging like a rubber ball in her head.
Thiswas his Marine friend’s little brother? Who was sleeping on the couch? And had a wife? Why was his roommate married? None of this made sense.
“I thought you said you’d be working at Trendsetters well into the night,” Quentin said. “Decided to take a break?”
“Yeah, we needed a breather,” Daniel replied.
There was a tense, awkward vibe humming in the air, and she wasn’t sure what to make of the forced smiles between the two men. Now she understood why Daniel had never invited her over while his roommate was there. If these last few minutes were any indication, life in that apartment must be hell.
They left Quentin and Angelle after a few more minutes of unbearably uncomfortable conversation, ordered their drinks from the bar, and brought them to a table that had just been vacated on the opposite side of the club from Daniel’s roommate.
Samiah took a sip of the blood orange margarita the bartender had recommended, then set it on the table. Holding up a hand, she said, “Okay, I have to know.” She hooked her thumb back at the table. “What in the heck was that about?”
“What?”
“Um, your roommate? First, why does it look as if he graduated from high school in the nineties, and why is he married?”
Daniel took a long swallow of his club soda. “He and his wife are separated,” he finally said. “He mentioned they were trying to work things out.” He hunched a shoulder. “I guess that’s what tonight is about.”
Based on the way they were holding hands and staring at each other like a couple of teenagers in love, she would say they had more than worked things out. But why would someone who was temporarily separated from his wife expend the amount of time and effort it must have taken to achieve that computer setup back at their apartment?
“And I guess he did graduate in the nineties,” Daniel continued. “He’s forty.”
“When you said he was the younger brother of a fellow Marine, I just assumed he was, you know, young.”
“I probably should have explained this in the beginning. That fellow Marine was my old gunnery sergeant,” he said. “That’s why Quentin is there. You don’t say no to your old gunnery sergeant, even if you’re no longer active duty.”
“Ah.” Samiah nodded. She guessed that made sense.
