Loves Redemption (11 page)

more than the chicken he held in his big hands.

The impromptu picnic kept a smile on Maya’s face for the rest of the day. By the end of

the week she was looking forword to their upcoming date on Saturday with nervous excitement.

* * * *

Saturday morning arrived as a clear and cloudless day, perfect for gardening. Maya had

gone into work early on Friday and worked through both lunch and dinner, wanting to get work out of the way. She knew she surprised her staff, including Dalia, when she’d informed them she planned to take the weekend off. With her day off she had plans to work around her yard and go out with Mark later in the evening.

She hadn’t been out on a date for, well, it had been a long time since she’d been out on a

date. Being honest with herself, she knew she wanted the day all to herself. Maybe it would help her rid herself of the jitters.

Even in late spring, San Antonio weather was warm, the temperature comfortable enough

for her to put on old cutoff gray sweatpants and an old tee shirt. She laced up the short yellow work boots and grabbed a baseball cap to protect her eyes from the sun.

Before she headed to her garden, she grabbed her MP3 player and wrapped the elastic

belt around her arm, looking forward to the day of physical labor, sunshine, and music.

Mark had risen early to get a good workout in before he and Jordan worked on his house.

He’d briefly spoken with Maya on Friday, and she’d confirmed the date for today. He’d decided that a safe bet would be the River Walk. The atmosphere was nice to walk around, and it had a variety of restaurants to choose from.

After throwing on sweats and running shoes he waited for Jordan to arrive. Just as he was

attaching the house key to his laces, Jordan pulled up in his driveway.

They exchanged early morning grunts and stretched before setting off at a casual clip,

warming their muscles before they picked up the pace. By the end of the fast-paced four-mile run, both men were exhausted and panting, and collapsed as soon as they made it into the house.

Mark went into the kitchen to grab two bottled waters, as soon as he caught his breath.

He tossed one to Jordan and twisted off the cap of his before taking a deep swallow.

Jordan finished his in record time and placed the empty bottle on the table in front of him.

“Man, what was that all about?”

“What was what all about?” Mark asked, as his breathing returned to normal.

“I don’t know the last time I ran that fast for that long. The last time was with you, and

you’d gotten into an argument with your dad about practicing law. Everything okay with the

family?” Jordan asked, leaning back on the sofa and closing his eyes in exhaustion.

Mark answered, “Yeah everything’s fine. I felt like having a good run, that’s all. Why?

Was it too much for you?” He returned from the kitchen and tossed Jordan a second bottle of water. Mark flopped down on the opposite sofa, and once again guzzled his water in record-breaking time.

“No, I can hang, buddy, any time any
pace--
don’t worry about me. I was wondering

where
your
extra energy was coming from. You think maybe it’s from this date you have with Maya tonight?” Jordan asked straight-faced.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark asked as he rose from the sofa and took the four

plastic bottles into the kitchen and tossed them into the recycle bin.

He knew Jordan was screwing with him, but he also recognized the truth behind his

words.

Maya had been the last thing on his mind when he’d gone to bed last night and the first

thing on his mind when he’d woken up this morning. It had been that way throughout the week.

He’d found himself wondering how her day was going, and had to stop his hand more than once from reaching for the phone to give her a call.

They’d spoken on the phone almost every day that week, learning more about the other.

Although most of their conversations had been short, a couple had lasted long into the night.

Mark had never been able to talk on the phone to a woman for that long. With Maya, he’d

not even noticed the time, a definite first for him. In fact, she was the reason he ended the conversation. After yawning for more times than he could count, he reluctantly allowed the

conversation to come to a close.

“I don’t know, maybe you have some sexual energy to work off and running is your only

option. Now me, I’m not having that problem right now. Sheila has been very
very

accommodating,” Jordan gloated, referring to his latest girlfriend, and laughed at Mark’s

mumbled curse. “Speaking of Sheila, I need to pry my ass off this couch. You’re not the only one with plans for the night.”

When Jordan left, Mark looked at the clock and decided he had more than enough time

for a soak in the hot tub he’d installed, knowing the hot water would relax his bunched muscles.

With that in mind, he headed toward the tub with a smile of anticipation creasing his face, as he thought of the night ahead.

* * * *

Maya had been in her garden for most of the day, and before she realized it, the morning

had given way to late afternoon. Calling it quits, she placed her gardening tools away and came face-to-face with Dalia when she closed the shed door.

“Hello, Maya. So this is what you have been doing with your day.” Dalia wiped a

smudge of dirt from the end of Maya’s nose.

“Hi, Dal. Yeah, and it’s been a wonderful reprieve from everything. It’s been too long

since I was in the garden; the weeds were taking over my rose bushes. And it helped eased the jitters about this date with Mark,” she admitted, as they walked to the back entrance of the house.

“What is there to feel nervousness for,
Sesute
? He is only a man, and the two of you will have a wonderful time.”

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been out on a date, Dal. I know I know, you think it’s

my fault,” she said when Dalia’s expressive eyebrows rose. “I haven’t met anyone I’ve been

interested in. And
definitely
not enough to take my time or mind away from Imani House--you know that.”

“Yes, and I also know this detective has caught your interest. Where are the two of you

going tonight?” Dalia asked with a sly smile.

“To the River Walk. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there.”

“Have you decided what you are going to wear?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t given much thought about it.” She glanced down at her watch

and was surprised to note the time. “Do you want to help me out?” she asked with a smile,

knowing Dalia’s secret desire to dress her.

Although Dalia abhorred everything to do with prostitution, her quirky sense of humor

would assert itself when she’d say the only thing she missed was the dress up part.

She loved the extra high heels, the big hair and over the top makeup. Dalia said she

couldn’t wear her favorite type of apparel at Imani House because she didn’t want to give the wrong impression to the residents or their sponsors. She didn’t want them thinking it was a place for
current
prostitutes instead of
former
prostitute, she’d say with a husky laugh.

Maya knew Dalia didn’t care for her standard uniform of jeans and shirt or the

comfortable dresses she wore to work. Dalia once suggested she needed to show off her figure and wear something that fit for a change.

Maya laughed when Dalia took her by the hand and said, “Let us go and see what is in

this closet of yours.” And the two women went to Maya’s closet.

After several minutes of searching Maya’s closet, Dalia threw her hands up in defeat.

“Really
mazyte Sesute
, you are in dire need of a shopping trip as soon as possible. This is ridiculous. There is
nothing
, and I mean nothing in here that would be decent for your date with your detective, nothing at all,” Dalia said in a disgusted voice.

“Oh Dalia, it’s not that bad. Is it? I know I have a few dresses in there. I bought them this spring; let me take a look.”

“Please do not tell me you are referring to these?” she said as she took out two

lightweight dresses that hung side-by-side. “These are definitely not suitable for a first date Maya,” she groaned.

“I guess you’re right. I haven’t had the chance to bring out my spring and summer clothes

from storage. I’ve been so busy around Imani House I haven’t found the time.”

Dalia was in the middle of mumbling about how one should always make time for beauty

when she paused in mid-mumble. “Umm, what do we have here, nestled in the back?”

Dalia took the plastic off the dress and a deep smile spread across her face. “Now this,

Sesute,
is more of what I am talking about.”

“No way, Dal, I don’t think so!” Maya tried wrestling the dress away from Dalia’s

clutching hands.

Looking down at Maya from her superior height with one raised eyebrow, Dalia deftly

kept the dress away from Maya’s grasp. “Allow me to see this dress, Maya. It is beautiful. Why do you not like it?”

“Dalia, I’ve never worn that dress! Arlinda gave it to me when she donated those other

dresses for the auction we had last year for the House.” Maya mentioned a friend from college with whom she’d kept in contact with who owned a small and very exclusive boutique.

When she’d opened Imani House, it was her friend who’d come up with the idea of an

auction/fashion show fundraiser, and every year had helped her round up the necessary donations to help the auction be a success.

Maya wasn’t sure if she had the nerve to wear it. She had never tried it on, had pushed it, along with the matching red shoes, to the back of her closet and forgot about them. Now as she looked at the dress and at the rest of her wardrobe, she knew she didn’t have much choice.

“
Mazyte Sesute,
you will be beautiful in this, and I will help you with your makeup and hair if you would like,” Dalia volunteered.

“Dalia, thank you. I would like that very much. But first I need to take a bath after being in my garden all day. I stink.” She wrinkled her nose and laughed, heading to the bathroom.

After she’d finished taking a shower, she sat in front of the small padded stool of her

vanity and willingly placed herself in Dalia’s hands. After semi-drying her hair, Dalia used a few of Maya’s own styling aids to moisturize it, and had allowed the strands to dry on their own and form into their natural curl pattern. She’d then pulled a few tendrils out, and laughed as they sprang back into small bouncy curls framing her face.

Maya didn’t appear to be wearing any makeup at all. Dalia had only applied a light cream

to powder foundation to enhance her natural glow. She’d gone on to outline Maya’s full lips and fill them in with a shimmering bronze gloss.

Dalia had gone all out when it came to her eyes. Maya’s lashes were already thick and

dark, so when she outlined them with a soft brown pencil with layering shades of brown, it gave her slanted eyes an even more exotic look.

Maya was surprised and pleased with the overall job Dalia had done as she looked in the

mirror of her vanity.

After her hair and makeup had been completed, Maya put on silky underwear and slipped

the dress over her head. It fit as though it had been made just for her. The material of the dress clung to her rounded curves, the hem flirting at the top of her knees.

On the hanger the color was the most daring thing about the dress. But once Maya

smoothed it over her body that notion was quickly dispelled.

Turning around, she looked at herself from all angles and felt a rare thrill at the image

that looked back at her.

“Thank you, Dalia,” she said as she turned away from the mirror and back toward her

friend.

“Do not thank me. I polished the gem, I didn’t create it.” Dalia complimented her friend

with a wink. “Those are one sexy pair of shoes, little sister. I feel for your detective; he will not know what hit him.” Dalia whistled when Maya laced the ribbons on the small red shoes she

placed on her feet.

“Do you think it’s too much? I’m not even sure if I can walk in these things, although I

do like the added inches.” The spike-heeled sandals were a matching deep red color with satin ribbons that laced up the front, ending with a sexy bow near her shin.

Taking a few experimental steps around her bedroom, Maya was surprised at her ability

to walk in the high heels with relative ease.

“No it is
not
too much,
Sesute
. You can never be too sexy! What is wrong with you?”

Dalia laughed. “Listen Maya, you have a wonderful time. I will be waiting to hear a full report when you come home. I am going to leave, so that you may do any final preparations in private, before your detective arrives.” With a hug Dalia left Maya to complete her final touches. She sprayed a natural light floral perfume to her pulse points as she waited for Mark to arrive.

Soon after Dalia left her doorbell rang, and as she turned to leave, her glance stole to the floral arrangement on her vanity. She made a mental note to thank Mark for the beautiful

flowers, and with an excited tingle in her belly left her bedroom.

* * * *

Mark held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a grin on his face when Maya answered

the door.

“Please come in, Mark. I have to grab my purse,” she invited after he gave her a lingering

kiss hello.

It was then she noticed the bouquet of flowers he held. “Oh Mark, they’re beautiful,

thank you. You sure are spoiling me! Let me go and place them in a vase. I have one in the

kitchen. I’ll be right back,” she promised as she accepted the flowers and went in search of the vase.