Do Me Baby (The Beaumont Series) (5 page)

Chapter 5

After the evacuation exercise, Debra traveled up to the promenade deck. She was in no rush to return to the room and face her cabin mate.

The deejay was thumping and the entire area surrounding the center pool was crowded with guests getting their weekend started.

She managed to weave though a line of people waiting eagerly for grilled hamburgers. The aroma of seasoned meat tempted her to jump into the line as well. But during the last visit to her primary care physician, Dr. Smith had threatened to put her on a prescription for exceedingly high cholesterol if she didn’t get it under control. Debra frowned at the idea of popping a pill every morning and begged her physician to give her three months to get it under control. Dr. Smith reluctantly agreed, giving her a list of things to omit from her diet, which included red meat. Now she only indulged on special occasions. And this was not one of them.

Even though the sun was beating down on the top deck, a cool gentle breeze ruffled her shoulder-length hair. It was supposed to be the perfect weekend. Or at least it would have been if her best friend hadn’t tried to set her up. Bianca had a lot of explaining to do. How dare she book her a cabin she would have to share with an arrogant basketball player? Especially when she knew Debra despised the sport and its cocky players.

Every time she thought about basketball Debra found herself reliving those dark days when she was tormented about her weight. A quiet reminiscent frown curved Debra’s mouth as she remembered Dwight Jones, the star player who had been needling her since grade school. By the time they had entered Sheraton Beach High the fat jokes had escalated. Their junior year, Debra had had enough. As she’d walked past him in the cashier’s line she had hauled off and batted her tray at him so hard she’d knocked him right on his ass. She’d received a week’s suspension, but the good thing was that Dwight had never messed with her again. The news traveled around the school about her batting arm and she was recruited by the girls’ softball team. Her power swing had eventually paid for all four years of college at Central Oklahoma… where she had stayed clear of basketball players.

Speaking of basketball…

Just thinking about Rance caused her stomach to do a double roll. It made no doggone sense for any man to be that fine, she thought with a scowl. His golden-brown skin glistened under the sun and those lips… She had to pause and swallow at that thought. His mouth had been made to suck on….

Debra swallowed again with difficulty and pushed the traitorous thought from her head. The last thing she needed was to be thinking about Rance. There was no doubt in her mind he was used to women falling at his feet.

While she stepped into the café and filled her plate with fresh fruit and pastries, she spotted the two women who had been talking to Rance just before they had boarded the ship. Slender, beautiful, and dressed in skimpy bikinis with butt wraps tied at their tiny waists.

Her eyes traveled down to her yellow swimsuit and white cover-up. A lot of thought had gone into what she was wearing, but in comparison it didn’t even come close to measuring up. She tried to shrug it off. After all, the whole purpose of the trip was to relax.

Debra carried her plate back out onto the deck just as the deejay took the mike and encouraged everybody to come down to the floor for a little line dancing. Several people flocked to the main landing, but Debra moved over to a group of unoccupied lounge chairs and claimed one. While she ate, she watched with intrigue. The only line dance she’d ever bothered to learn was the Electric Slide, but this routine was much more complex.

“Would you like something to drink?”

She looked up at the waiter dressed in a floral shirt and black shorts, holding an empty tray, and smiled. His name tag said he was from Barbados. “I would love a Diet Coke.”

He nodded, eager to serve. “Absolutely, pretty lady. I just need your keycard.”

She reached inside the bra of her swimsuit, removed her card and handed it to him, then watched as he walked away to the bar. While she waited for his return, her gaze traveled over to the crowd of partygoers and swept over to the pool in time to watch a man explode out of the water.

Rance Beaumont.

He was like Adonis exploding from the depths of the ocean, even though the water in the swimming pool couldn’t have been more than five feet deep. His golden body sliced the water and droplets continued to cling to his skin and sparkle under the sunlight. Her eyes were drawn to a tattoo of a panther that spread across his rippling left pec before her gaze traveled down to a six-pack that was clearly a work of art.

A quick sweep of the deck revealed that she wasn’t the only woman swooning at his bare chest and skimpy swim trunks.

There was no denying the truth. Rance was the epitome of a professional ball player: solid body without an ounce of fat. As she watched the women migrating toward him, Debra shook her head. The brotha had enough swag to drive the entire female population crazy. He grabbed a towel and collapsed onto a beach chair. And she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
Damn, that man was perfect
.

He smiled and waved and spoke to several guests desperate for his attention. Rance even shook an elderly man’s hand and offered the chair beside him. As she watched the spectacle Debra popped grapes into her mouth like she was eating popcorn at her favorite movie.

“Here you are, ma’am,” the waiter said, startling her.

Debra felt like she’d been caught staring through the curtains at the teenager next door, like when she was twelve.

The waiter handed her the drink and she signed the receipt. She took a sip and tried to calm her racing heart. When her eyes scanned the area again, she found herself disappointed that Rance had disappeared. Goodness. She was too old to be feeling like that over a man she could care less about.

She took a sip of her drink and watched the Soul Train line and laughed at the guests bold enough to participate even though they had little to no rhythm. Her eyes perused the area and eventually found Rance, who was walking away from the grill line with two hamburgers on a plate. He had a beach towel draped over his shoulders that did little to hide his strong chest. He was stopped by a woman who had spent way too much time at the tanning salon. The way she was trying to stick out her itty bitty chest made it obvious she was trying to draw the athlete’s attention. Did she have no shame? Debra wondered with a scowl, then frowned at herself for even caring. And as if Rance knew she was watching, he looked up and their eyes collided.

Debra sucked in a breath and tried to tear her eyes away. It was impossible. It was as if Rance had some kinda magnetic power over her.

The next thing she knew he was heading her way.

Debra forced herself to take a swallow, then she blinked twice and steered her attention to the deejay stand. With her hands shaking, she lowered her drink and went back to eating grapes.

He climbed the stairs and she looked up to see the sexy grin on his face as he lowered onto the lounge chair beside her. “Hey, roomie,” he teased.

Debra cut her eyes in his direction and tried not to admire his bare chest or the powerful thighs that her fingers were itching to reach out and touch.

“Hey,” she mumbled.

“What are you doing all the way over here? Avoiding me?”

Debra clucked her tongue rudely. “Why in the world would I be doing that?’

He gave her a cocky grin and replied before taking another bite. “Because you know you’re stuck with me until Sunday.”

Her traitorous eyes traveled down to his tatted pec and her mind started playing tricks on her. An image of the two of them flashed before her, skin against skin, pressed together in a sensual dance. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, she shifted on the chair and cleared her throat.

“I’ve been in worse situations.”

Rance gave a strangled laugh as he chewed. “Too bad you see this as a
situation
. Actually, I think the weekend could turn out to be quite fun.”

“Fun?” she mocked and swung around on the chair so she was facing him. “I guess so, with your fan club on board. For me, this trip was supposed to be my birthday present.”

“Happy Birthday.”

“Oh, what-ever! That was weeks ago,” she said with a dismissive wave. “It was a gift from my so-called best friend.”

“You’re talking about my cousin Bianca?”

Debra closed her eyes and gave a jerk of her chin as if it was painful to move her head.

“Well, if it’ll make you feel any better, you weren’t the only one who got got. Jaden had me play a game of poker and the loser had to take a weekend cruise
alone
,” he explained.

Her eyelids snapped open. “What’s wrong with that?”

Rance gave her an incredulous look. “Babe, I got other things I could be doing with my time than being stranded on a ship.”

She could just imagine a few of those things.

“But my family thinks I need to learn how to relax and quit worrying about my future so much.”

Debra laughed in spite of everything. “Yeah, Bianca said the same thing to me.” Then the smile turned into a scowl. “I just had no idea this was what she had in mind.”

Rance stretched out his legs in front of him and finished his burger in one final bite. Out the corners of her eyes she stared down at his beautiful golden legs covered in fine hair. Rance was wearing Adidas flip-flops, and for an athlete his feet weren’t half bad.

“How long have you and my cuz been friends?” His voice was softer, deeper, and his eyes were dark and penetrating. Debra was bound and determined not to be sucked in by his charm.

She gazed up at the sky thoughtfully. “Let’s see… Wow! Longer than I can remember. We were in high school and met at a public library fundraiser. I was selling cookies to help the library stay open and Bianca came by and got her parents to write a check big enough to keep the library’s doors from closing.” She paused and laughed at the memory. “We ended up taking my cookies to the youth center and spent the rest of the afternoon talking like old friends.”

“Yeah, I can see that. Bianca has always been one to support any cause. She’s definitely good people,” he added with a smile in his voice.

“Yes, she is.” She always had her back.

“Were you in Bianca’s wedding?” he managed between chews.

She nodded. “Yep, that was me in the chocolate dress.”

Rance nodded his head knowingly. “I had a game that day and couldn’t make it, but I saw the big picture they have hanging in their living room. I thought you looked familiar.”

I was about forty pounds lighter back then.” She remembered being a perfect size twelve. Now she wore an eighteen.

“You still look good to me,” Rance replied, and she watched the way his eyes traveled leisurely over her body like he had all the time in the world. She felt her skin heating under his intense gaze. “I remember asking my cuz, ‘Who’s that
sexy woman in the brown
dress?’”

Rance held her gaze for several moments, before she relented with a small nod and a “Thank you.”

“So, what’s your story?” she said, changing the subject.

Rance licked ketchup from his fingers while he ate his fries. “What do you mean?”

“I mean it’s time for the NBA playoffs, but instead of playing you’re taking a cruise. What’s up with that?”

“I thought you didn’t like basketball.”

She sighed, striving for patience. “I don’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know it’s basketball season. So what’s the deal?”

Rance’s eyes darkened dangerously before he reached for his fries and took a large bite. Debra almost thought that she had struck a nerve. Or maybe he was avoiding the question altogether. But then he finally answered.

“I tore my ACL last season.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. How long before you can play again?”

He popped another fry into his mouth, then shrugged. “Hell if I know. I had hoped to be playing by now, but the doctors still haven’t released me.”

“I’m sure you’ll be back to playing in no time,” Debra’s voice softened.