My Kind of Girl (9 page)

Caitlyn stood, rocking to the upbeat
tempo. Pulling down her short blue dress that had risen to her
thighs, she grabbed Garrett by the hands and dragged him to out to
the floor. Sean was relieved when they left. He wanted all of
Traci’s attention on him even though she kept trying to avoid him
by glancing at the band and stirring the melted ice around in her
glass.

“
You could use another
drink.”

“
Caitlyn ordered a pitcher
of sangria.” She stopped stirring and looked at him for the first
time since their friends had left. “I’m sure it will be here
soon.”

“
Did you drive?”

“
I took the
trolley.”

“
Oh, you live in
downtown?”

“
Yep. Lofts at Union
Alley.”

“
Mmm … I’m surprised. I
thought you’d have a house with gardens like the Biltmore Mansion
in your backyard.”

A saddened, faraway look reached her
eyes for a moment and vanished the next. “Nope. One day, though.
I’m saving. Between student loans and a few credit card bills I ran
up in grad school, it will be a while. Plus, when I was growing up
I always wanted to live downtown. So when I moved back to Memphis,
I decided to do so. I love it here and it’s not far from
work.”

“
Yes, downtown has
definitely changed since we were growing up.” He glanced over the
menu that he knew by heart. He usually ordered the same
entrée—Justin’s New Orleans gumbo—and wasn’t even sure why he was
perusing the chef specials. He’d eaten dinner earlier with his dad,
but he still wanted some seafood gumbo. Sean closed it and placed
his focus on the stunning woman sitting across from him. Too bad
she wasn’t on the menu as he suddenly became hungry for her. Her
perfume had wafted in his direction and the light rose scent was
stimulating him once again. The cold shower he took after she left
that afternoon needed to be repeated.

He leaned over the table. “Surprised
to see me here?”

“
Not really,” she said with
a shrug.

He chuckled. “Oh, so you’re used to
men chasing you?”

She swished her lips to the side and
raised an arched eyebrow. “Uh huh … so you’re chasing me?” Tossing
the napkin from her lap unto the table, she sat back in her chair
with a mischievous grin.

He frowned. That’s not what
he was doing.
Was it
? He cleared his throat and sat up straight in his chair as
the warmth of the tequila began to race through him.

“
I don’t chase after women,
sweetheart, but when I see something I want, I go after
it.”

Her cheeks filled with a red hue as
she tried to stifle a smile that was forming. “Um … isn’t that the
same thing?”

He leaned over the table once more and
grabbed her hands that began to tremble in his “Not when what I
want wants me, too.”

“
You sure are full of
yourself.”

“
Some may think so, but I’m
simply going off of that delectable kiss we shared the other day.
Plus, the way you looked at me when I was digging the hole for the
maple earlier. I could feel your eyes burning on my
back.”

“
The sun was out,” Traci
answered matter-of-factly.

Sean laughed at her cute back and
forth banter. He may shake her nerves for he could sense when she
was flustered with him, but she wasn’t one of those women who he
could run over and say anything to.

“
Yeah, it was.” He rubbed
his thumbs on her palms. “Made you all hot and sweaty.”

“
Well, it certainly wasn’t
you.” She grabbed her glass and drank what was left of her melted
ice.

“
Not yet. Then again …
maybe so. I saw you squirm a tad when I asked you to landscape my
yard. That desk didn’t hide much. It was all over your beautiful
face.”

“
Perhaps you’re over
analyzing things.”

“
Perhaps we should
leave.”

“
I came with my
girl.”

“
She looks happy to me on
the dance floor with my boy.”

“
Is that why he’s here? To
keep Caitlyn occupied?”

“
Maybe I just want you all
to myself.”

Her eyes glazed over and her succulent
lips parted. He noticed her squirm in her seat, and he had an
inkling she would leave with him.

“
What’s up, Sean?” a female
voice said. He looked up and laid his eyes on Zaria; he wasn’t
happy at all about the interruption. He was ready to hear Traci’s
answer, not chit chat with Garrett’s crush.

“
Hey. This is Traci Reed.
Traci, this is Zaria Richardson, Justin’s cousin and the event
planner here at the restaurant.”

The ladies shook hands and Zaria
proceeded to sit down. Apparently she’d missed the memo where he
didn’t want her to stay. He was ready to leave with
Traci.

“
So, Sean, will you be at
the meeting tomorrow at Raven’s home to discuss your parents’
wedding anniversary dinner? You missed the last one, and its less
than six weeks away.”

“
Yeah, I’ll be there, but
Cannon updated me on the information. Sorry I missed it, but I had
another appointment.” Which was true. It was the same day as his
first meeting with Traci. “Your man is on the dance floor getting
his groove thang on,” he said, nodding in Garrett’s
direction

Zaria smacked her lips and pushed her
long hair that was in a high ponytail back over her left shoulder.
“Not interested in anything that little man has to
offer.”

“
He’s right at 6 feet.
Aren’t you that tall as well?”

“
When I’m in heels which is
all the time. A man needs to be at least your height to ride this
ride and have a personality. Anyway, everything is on schedule for
your parents’ party. Justin has put together a wonderful menu and
is bringing samples tomorrow.”

“
So I heard this will be
your last big event before you move to St. Simons Island, Georgia
to start an event planning company with Reagan.”

“
Yes. I can’t believe it’s
finally happening,” she said as her face beamed with delight.
“We’ve always teased about doing it, so when she made up her mind
that she was serious, I couldn’t say no. She’s worked for another
event planning company on St. Simons’ for the past year and she’s
familiar with the clientele.”

“
How does Justin feel about
you leaving Lillian’s?”

His eyes diverted to the dance floor
for a moment, and he noticed Garrett looking in their direction.
Sean hoped his friend wouldn’t make it back over, but the way
Caitlyn was dancing on him it was doubtful he’d leave the floor
anytime soon.

“
I can’t work for him
forever. I need to have my own business and Justin understands.
Besides, Reagan is his baby sister and he wants what’s best for
both of us.”

He nodded his head. “I’m happy for
you. That’s a major step, but you’re an accomplished young woman as
is Reagan and Brooklyn so you ladies will be fine.”

“
Thanks, Sean. Still
waiting for Brooklyn to say yes. I know she loves her job at the
accounting firm, but we need her expertise in that field. Plus,
she’s an awesome photographer.” Zaria stood when a hostess stepped
over and whispered something in her ear. “Gotta go.” She turned
toward Traci. “Nice meeting you.”

Once Zaria left, he turned his focus
back on Traci. “So where were we?” He hoped like hell that she was
still aroused by his last comment to her before Zaria had
arrived.

“
Leaving.”

Chapter Six

Leaving? Did I really say
we were leaving?
However, that’s exactly
what Traci was doing after Sean paid for her dinner, and they both
waved at their friends who were cutting a rug on the dance floor.
She didn’t know what had possessed her to even say that. Sure she
was thinking it, but she never meant to speak it into existence.
She considered telling him she was just kidding. However, the way
he licked his lips and stared at her as if he was going to push the
table out of the way and devour her in the middle of his
brother-in-law’s restaurant, made her keep quiet. Besides, she was
still on cloud nine from spending all day with him. Plus, after
seeing him with his shirt off, made her want to witness it again …
but next time up close and personal. Maybe even run her hand down
his chest or glide it along the eagle’s wings.

She followed him silently to the door
of the restaurant, wishing like hell she had her glasses on instead
of her contact lenses that were bugging the heck out of her eyes.
She could see fine without her glasses or contacts, but sometimes
when going out to places with low lighting, she preferred to have
either or in order to read the menu without squinting.
Unfortunately, she’d been in a hurry because Caitlyn—who lived in
the same loft apartment building—had a pet peeve of being late, so
Traci had rushed to put them in just as the doorbell rang. Now they
were irritating her, and she’d neglected to toss her eye drops in
her purse. It had been on her list of things to do before leaving,
but once Caitlyn had arrived and reminded her of the time of their
reservation, Traci shook her hair wrap down, swiped her purse from
the kitchen island, and headed to the last trolley that would get
them there in a timely manner.

However, there she was standing
outside with irritated eyes while praying that her short, flared
leather skirt didn’t do a Marilyn Monroe blow up as she waited with
Sean for the next trolley to arrive. Since he’d parked his car at
the Peabody and walked the few blocks to Beale Street, he decided
to leave his car there for now. Traci still couldn’t believe she
formed her mouth to invite him to her little one room loft. She’d
invited only two other men there, but it was after plenty of dates,
and they didn’t go past first base. She hadn’t even been on a date
with Sean, and she was fantasizing about sprinting past all of the
bases to a home run.

Sean had grabbed her hand earlier as
they’d walked through the crowds of people still waiting to get in
and it was still nestled in his. Her fingers intertwined with his
was warm and comforting like a bowl of homemade chili, and she
almost didn’t want the trolley to arrive anytime soon just so she
could be joined with him for a little while longer. At the same
time, she couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment to be joined
with him in other ways. When the Riverfront Loop trolley arrived,
not once did he let go of her hand. In fact, he squeezed it harder
when they stepped onto the almost full trolley, and he glanced over
his shoulder to grace her with an alluring smile. After he paid for
them both, he led her to an empty seat and pulled her onto his lap.
She was surprised she didn’t protest, but A) there wasn’t anywhere
else to sit and B) that’s where she wanted to be: nestled in his
strong arms that were now wrapped around her waist, and her body
meshed against his hard chest. His enticing scent filled their
small space, and the noise from the other passengers was blocked
from his breathing in her ear.

“
Comfortable?” Sean asked
as his tongue flicked against her earlobe when he spoke.

Traci didn’t know if it was on purpose
or not, but that didn’t stop the tingling sensation to swirl
through her like a tornado.

“
Yes. Are you?”

“
Very.”

The noisy college-aged crowd of about
ten got off at the next stop making the seat next to Sean
available. She tried to slide off his lap, but instead he held her
tighter and kissed her softly on the lips.

“
Where are you going?” he
asked with a cocky smirk followed by a gentle tug of her bottom lip
with his teeth.

“
Nowhere,” she whispered,
returning the kiss but deepening it as their tongues twirled around
slowly together. She couldn’t believe the power this man possessed
over her. She was never one for public displays of affection. Maybe
a peck on the cheek or holding hands, but not sitting on his lap
and kissing him as if no one else was there. However, with Sean she
forgot the world around her, and she was able to let go of her
inhibitions, not caring about what others were witnessing or
thinking.

He ended their kiss when the trolley
stopped, and she opened her eyes to peer out at her surroundings.
People were passing by them to get off, and she realized this was
her stop as well when she noticed one of her neighbors. Reluctantly
sliding off of Sean’s lap, she grabbed his hand.

“
This is our
stop.”

Afterwards, they walked hand-in-hand
until they made it to her second floor loft apartment. She rattled
her brain trying to remember whether or not her clothes were still
scattered on the bed. She’d had an inkling Sean would show up
tonight at the restaurant, and she wanted to wear something sexy
which was why she settled on the black, off-the-shoulder blouse and
the leather skirt with heels. At least the four-inch strappy
sandals gave her a little extra height. At five-two and a half—she
always claimed her half—she felt so tiny next to men his height,
and considering she was barely a size four she felt even smaller.
She remembered overhearing his mom and sisters saying that Sean
preferred the model-type, such as the girl who was at his house the
other day. Or even Zaria, who should’ve been on a catwalk in every
fashion show for Givenchy and other iconic designer
brands.