Renaissance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 5) (15 page)

DREW:
She’ll be there.

TIFF: 
Okie dokie. 

DREW: 
Go to sleep.  I’ll see u Sat.

TIFF: 
Yes u will.

DREW:
  Good night.

TIFF:
Night, Doc.

She couldn’t wait.

……

“I’ll definitely be there by eight,” Todd said late Saturday afternoon.

“No problem,” Tiffany said into her phone.  “I knew it might be tricky for you to get there.  Are things too crazy?  Do you want to just ditch it tonight?”

“No, no.  I want to be there.  Text me the address, okay?”

“Okay.  I’ll see you in a bit.”

“You bet.”

They disconnected and Tiffany sent him Jeremy and Ryann’s address, then finished getting ready.  She chose her outfit carefully, pointedly not choosing red this time, but a brilliant blue multi layered top that highlighted her eyes.  For herself though, she did wear red lingerie underneath it.  Her skinny jeans and boots finished her look for the evening.

Eventually, she headed out and took a cab over to the West Village, looking forward to the evening ahead.  By the time she arrived, her body was humming with anticipation at seeing Drew.  Jeremy let her in.

“Hey, there she is,” he beamed and pulled her into a huge hug.  The man was definitely a handsome man.  And with Jeremy, Luke, and Mike all standing at six foot three, they were a sight to behold when they were all together.  The three of them were striking in appearance, each in their own way, and taller than the average man.  Jem’s green eyes twinkled at hers, his dark hair catching a glint of sunlight while in the doorway.

“How are you doing, honey?” he asked.

“It’s good to see you,” she smiled, hugging him.  He had been her brother’s best friend for twenty years, and in turn, one of hers as well.  “I’m good.  How ‘bout you?”

“Awesome.  Come on in.  Where’s Todd?  We’ve all been wanting to check him out.”

“He’ll be here soon.  He’s working on a brownstone in Brooklyn so he’ll be late.”

“Good,” he said, sounding relieved.  “Be forewarned.  They’re all in a matchmaking frenzy.  Especially Mikey.  I swear, ever since Emily tossed him on a mat, he’s turned into the love guru.”  Jem pulled her through the hallway where all of her friends were talking, eating, and drinking. 

“It’s about time you got here,” exclaimed Sergeant Michael Callahan.  He unfolded his large frame from the sofa and walked over to give her a bear hug.  Mischievous, demonstrative, and an outrageous flirt, Mike wasted no time in getting down and dirty.

And currently, he wanted to get down and dirty about Tiffany’s dating life.

“So, before Drew gets here,” he began.

“Stop right there.  I do not want love advice from you, Michael Callahan.”

The girls began laughing.  “I told you she’d tell you to shut up,” Emily yelled.

“What?  I happen to give great love advice,” Mike pouted adorably, especially coming from a man his size.  “I don’t know what you’re smirking at, pretty boy,” Mike said, looking at Luke.  “If it wasn’t for me, you’d still be dancing around my sister like a pussy.”

“Do you want to keep your balls, Mikey?” Luke asked, then turned to Emily.  “Em, you didn’t want kids, did you?”

Emily was still laughing, enjoying the banter that only good friends could get away with.  “I would like at least one child, so maybe leave me one ball?”

“When Drew gets here, you need to completely ignore him.  Trust me.  Em never showed me a smidge of interest and it made me nuts.  Now,” he clarified, “we all know she wanted to jump my bones, but at least she made me work for it.  For a little while, at least.” 

“Mike.  Stop.  Drew is bringing Katrina.  He’s dating her.  He’s
happy
with her.  And since when did we all start talking about my love life?  You girls can’t keep your mouths shut?” she groused and glared at all of her girlfriends.

They shrugged unabashedly.

“He’s totally still interested in you.  This thing with Katrina won’t last, Tiff,” Ayanna said.

“I’m not sure about that.  They’ve been friends for a long time,” Tiffany responded.

“Yes, the key word is
friends
.  So, here’s the plan,” Mike continued.

“Whoa, whoa,
whoa
.  You are not giving me a plan, Mike.  There
is
no plan.  Don’t you dare do anything when he gets here.”

“You forget that we see him every Friday with the mentoring program, Tiff.  We boys talk about manly things all the time.  And I have never once heard him talk about this girl, yet he’s forever dropping
your
name into conversations.  Doesn’t he, bro?” Mike asked, looking over at Luke.

“Don’t bring me into this,” Luke said, giving Mike a look.  “If my sister isn’t interested in him anymore, then I’m not going to push him on her.”

“I didn’t say,” Tiffany started, then stopped.  Luke kept going.

“I love the guy, don’t get me wrong.  Besides, Tiff’s got this Todd guy now, whom we’ll be vetting shortly,” he said pointedly.  “And Em, I’m holding you personally responsible for turning this idiot into an even bigger pussy than he was before you came onto the scene,” he said, waving his thumb toward Mike.

“He can’t help himself,” Emily said.

“Leave him alone,” Ryann chuckled.  “He’s in love and he just wants to spread it around.”

“Luke, you won’t need to take his balls.  He’s already lost them,” Jem snickered.  “Hey Mikey, Ry keeps her tampons in the cabinet under the sink if you ever need any.”

Mike shot him the bird, and with a wide smile on his face, said, “You mean if I need to shove one up your ass?”

“Please.  I’d like to see you try.  You get your ass kicked regularly by your
girl
friend,” Jem said, then just as quickly turned to Emily.  “That was a joke, Em.  A horrible, sexist joke.  Don’t hurt me.”

Jonathan, the eternal introvert who loved to sit back and enjoy the entertainment at these gatherings, finally spoke up.  “You guys just never know when to shut your fahckin’ pie holes,” his Boston accent coming out.  “Emmie, be gentle with Jem,” he said to his cousin.  “He’s getting married in a few months.”

“I’ll protect you, baby,” Ryann said, curling her arm around Jem’s waist and pulling him close.  Jeremy wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her, but continued looking at Emily warily. 

“Alright, boys.  I think you’ve said enough and if any of you want to have sex tonight, then I think it’s time to move off this topic,” Em said dryly.

“Hey.  I haven’t said a word,” Jon said.

“I know.  That’s because you’re the only smart man here,” Ayanna said, sitting on his lap, while Mike walked over to Emily.

“I wanna tear your clothes off right now.  You’re so fuckin’ hot when you get all authoritative,” Mike murmured as he dipped Emily and kissed her dramatically.  “You won’t deny me later,” he stated. 

Tiffany sighed out a chuckle.

“So,” Mike continued, unruffled by anything as usual, while he held a slightly flustered Emily.  The man was seriously the most positive and fun loving guy one could ever meet.  He’d been like that for as long as she’d known him.  “Like I said, you need to play it cool, Tiff.  In fact, it’s good that Todd isn’t here yet.  You want Drew to see you alone, as a single woman.  That way, he can envision –”

The doorbell rang and everyone stopped talking at once.  Mike’s eyes lit up, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.  He rubbed his hands together as Tiffany’s stomach flip flopped.

“Let the games begin,” Mike beamed.

Jeremy just shook his head and walked into the foyer to answer the door.

Tiffany took a deep breath.

“Alright,” Ryann muttered.  “Everyone look natural.”  They were all bustling around and acting as if something momentous was about to happen. 

“I need a drink,” Tiffany muttered, heading for the kitchen.  Janie followed her.

“I’ll get it for you,” Janie chuckled, reaching for a glass and the nearest bottle of wine.  “You, just breathe.”

“I’m fine,” she said, lowering her voice. “I am.  I’m working through my disappointment over the whole thing, I’m trying this thing with Todd, the Foundation is keeping me busy,” she rattled off one thing at a time, then breathed deeply, calming herself.  She peered around the kitchen island toward the living room just as Drew and Katrina walked in.

He was dressed perfectly in dark jeans, leather shoes and a crisp white button down shirt covered by his leather jacket, laughing at something Mike was saying, and being back slapped by the guys. Katrina looked great too, in a maxi dress with a sweater over it.  She was smiling but looked like she was forcing it a bit.  Tiffany wondered how her mom was doing.  She turned back to Janie.

“Okay.  I’m good.”  She let out a breath as if she was about to walk into the ring.  She took two gulps of her wine, smacked her lips and threw her shoulders back, then went out into the fray.

As conversations continued around the room, Drew noticed Tiffany first as she walked toward them, and he gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher.  Katrina turned her head, making eye contact with her, and seemed to steel herself with a plastered on look of happiness.

“Hi Tiffany.  It’s good to see you again,” Katrina said graciously and put her hand out to shake Tiffany’s.  Tiffany shook it and smiled genuinely at her. 

“Thanks, Katrina.  You too.”  Tiffany glanced up at Drew then back at Katrina. “I’m sorry to hear about your mom.  How was your trip?”

“Oh.  Thank you for asking.”  Katrina relaxed a bit.  “She’s the same, actually.  The chemo isn’t doing much as of yet, so my sister and I are helping her try to find other options.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it must be.”

Katrina smiled softly.  “It’s not easy.  Especially being so far away.  But,” she began then stopped herself.  “Anyway, we’re going to enjoy as much of this time with her that we can,” she sighed.  “And keep hoping.”

Tiffany touched her arm.  “And keep hoping.”

“But enough about that,” Katrina said, obviously wanting to change the subject.  “Congratulations to you on the foundation.  Are you getting excited?”

“I am.  It’s been in the works for a while, so knowing it’s just around the corner is making it more and more real.  I’m terrified and thrilled at the same time.”

“I bet.”

Drew had sidled up next to Katrina.  “Hey,” he said to Tiffany, giving her an affectionate look.

“Hey,” Tiffany said back, trying to guard herself from the emotions that bombarded her.  He leaned over and pulled her in for a hug.  Tiffany returned it with her wineglass still in hand, and stepped back as quickly as she could without appearing awkward.  “What can we get you two to drink?  You want some wine?” she directed to them.

“I’ll take whatever you have there,” Drew said, pointing to her glass.  “Kat, you want a beer?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

“Katrina, tell me what you do again.  You work at the Medical Center?” Ryann interrupted smoothly.  “That’s how you and Drew know each other, right?”  Ryann included Drew in the conversation, keeping him there as Tiffany turned to leave.

“I’ll be right back,” Tiffany interjected, and walked away to get their drinks.

Ayanna was plating some more appetizers when Tiffany arrived in the kitchen.  Ayanna looked up.  “Hey, girl.  You were right.  She’s cute.”

“Yup.  And nice.”

“That’s okay.  She can be cute and nice and still not make his heart flutter.”

Tiffany sent her a droll look.  “You guys are all so confident you know what makes his heart flutter.”

Ayanna shrugged.  “I know men.”

Tiffany sighed and poured the drinks.  “It’ll be easier when Todd gets here.”

“Oh, yeah.  That’s when the real show will start,” Ayanna said as she popped a grape in her mouth, hip checked her, and walked backwards out of the kitchen with the plate, mouthing ‘Just breathe’ to her.  That seemed to be the mantra the girls had developed with her.

Pathetic. 

She was determined to be happy for the man and with that thought, joined the rest of the party.  After dropping off their drinks to them, she fluttered around the room like the social butterfly she knew how to be.  She refused to believe it was because of Mike’s earlier words, but she found she was steering clear of Drew and Katrina.  She wasn’t exactly ignoring them, but whenever she felt Drew’s eyes on her, she looked at him, gave him an acknowledging smile, and then continued on to the next grouping of friends.

After about a half an hour of making the rounds with the awareness of the couple now starkly on her radar, the doorbell finally rang again and she let out a little sigh of relief.  Jeremy went to go answer the door, and she made her way over as well, assuming it would be Todd.

She was right.  He came in with his comfortably casual look, looking like some dashing correspondent from a foreign land.  He shook hands with Jem, where they exchanged some greetings, then he dropped his messenger bag in the foyer.  When he caught her eye, he walked toward her where she stood waiting for him just inside the living room.  He smiled and hugged her, then leaned back and kissed her softly but unexpectedly on the lips.