Heard It All Before Read online

  “Ah, shit,” a deep voice said by my ear.

  “Uh,” I grunted again. I hurt a lot. Whoever was on top of me was big. Big and heavy. Big and heavy and sweaty. Big and heavy and sweaty and smelly. And muscled, not an ounce of flab anywhere on him by what I could feel—and that was plenty. We were sandwiched together from chest to toe. I opened my tightly shut eyes to see what hit me. From the patch of skin I could see, he was cocoa-colored. I always loved cocoa.

  I felt him moving. It was weird because it all felt like slow motion. He put his hands on either side of my head and raised himself up, like a pushup. Add good-looking and strong to the list. Okay, very good-looking. His face was a sculptor’s dream, chiseled, manly, and strong. One of those rare faces where everything was in perfect proportion, except the lips. His lips were ... I guess juicy was the word to use. Not huge, just full and juicy. His hair was curly, naturally not processed, and his eyes weren’t exactly brown. Maybe gold? He had a real Cajun look to him.

  “Hey, miss, you okay?” Definite Cajun ancestry—that light sprinkling of patois was right there in the voice. He looked down at me with a slight smile. Hmm, a polite and educated brother whose eyes were hypnotizing me. Who wasn’t a sucker for pretty eyes? Okay, okay, they were regular eyes, for Christ’s sake; I just couldn’t figure out what color they were. It was for some reason monumentally important to figure it out, since they were staring right into mine. Most unnerving. Quite unsettling. But oddly exciting.

  “Yeah, I’m all right.” Damn, I sounded breathless. Well, shit. I was breathless! The impact from my body hitting the floor and his body hitting mine pretty much took all my wind. We hadn’t moved yet. He needed to move first. He didn’t appear to be in a hurry. I can’t say I was rushing him much.

  “Y’all okay?”

  “You all right?”

  “Is anyone hurt?”

  The questions came one after the other, and still we lay there looking at each other. It seemed like forever. It was one of those moments when you’re glad to be a woman, and you can tell he’s glad too. That man-woman thing. It made you uncomfortable, but you liked it anyway.

  “If you’re okay, Ro, let’s finish whippin’ some ass up in here.” Ro? Roland? Roderrick? Rowen? Ro-what?

  “Jew-Ro, you gonna make it, girl?” I shut my eyes for a second. Did Roni have to call me that? It was like a dash of cold water. Maybe I would thank her before I kicked my shoe into that ample rear. I looked away from him and shifted a little to let him know I was ready to get up. It was time, unfortunately.

  “Ro, you can hit on them hoochies later!” Some ignant ass called out from the floor.

  He frowned. I frowned. He vaulted to his feet gracefully, with a fluidity of motion. He put a hand out. I took it and let him pull me up. He didn’t let my hand go. “Sorry ’bout that, miss.” I had a feeling he was apologizing for his friend’s “hoochie” comment rather than the careening-to-the-floor thing.

  “Jewel,” I corrected. “It’s all right ... Ro?” Color me smooth, sister was trying to get some 411.

  He smiled, beautifully I might add. “It’s Rome. You sure you okay?”

  I nodded, ignoring the little twangs and twitches from all my jarred nerves and muscles. He dropped my hand. “Cool.” He turned back toward the court and strode away. Um, poetry in motion. He had to be about 6’3”, 210. Broad shoulders, lean hips, ripped abs, buns of steel. This was a man who knew his way around a gym. Moved like an athlete. Smooth skin the color of milk chocolate stretched across his large-boned frame. He was a man’s man. The kind other men admired and women hungered for. I had to keep myself from licking my lips, and I was sure my stomach growled.

  Halfway back to his position, he looked back and pointed a finger at me. “See ya round, Miss Jewel.”

  I pointed back and nodded before turning away coolly and easing my bruised bones back onto the bleachers.

  “Well who and what was that?” Roni Mae asked.

  Renee giggled. “One of her wildest wet dreams!”

  I just smiled and said nothing. Shit, it was true. If the brother had any kind of résumé to speak of, we were gonna have to spend a little time together. It was not every day you came across something like that. All of a sudden, I had a much clearer picture of what my “type” was, or at least what he looked like. I made a mental note to get Renee and Roni to check the brother’s references at first opportunity.

  Oh, Renee could have her games. I liked to break down the important shit. Résumé and references. What do you do, who do you know, who knows YOU, and is the blood test in order? Blame it on my profession—I liked to get a background check. Facts, the faster the better and keep ’em coming.

  Rome—Saturday, May 19, 12:20 p.m.

  I was playing hoops, but my mind wasn’t really in the shit. Me and the fellas played here every Saturday unless that’s the Saturday when I was over at Graham’s getting a clip—’cause you can’t let the head get too shaggy. Anyway, I knew I had never seen that girl here before. I’da remembered.

  I saw her come in earlier. I was doing one of my Air J moves with the pivot and the hook when in she came ... she and her girl. Her friend looked good, too, but it seemed to me like there was something phony about her. I’d seen her round here before. She must be hooked up with one of the boys on the other team; if one of my posse was on her, we’d’ve heard about it before today. But back to Miss Jewel, back to Miss Jewel ... um, um, um. Sure was something about that girl.

  When she rolled in and I got an eyeful, I thought, Baby fine. She walked with her head up, shoulders back, and that chest out. Good God Almighty was that chest out and saying, “Pow! Bam!” You had to sit up and pay attention to a chest like that. ’Course, where the Lord giveth, he also taketh away—barely any ass on that girl at all. But you didn’t really need ass on a girl like that—kept a man too busy.

  What ass she had was packed into that little skinny jean skirt proper. She had on one of those clingy knit shirt things that comes down into a V in front in a dark red kinda color. Was a V to make a man’s mouth water.

  She was a healthy girl, not big but not tiny, either and soft where she should be, ya know? Came to a little below my shoulder—guess that’d make her about 5’7 or 8”. She was easy to pull up, so I could lift her if I wanted. Beautiful girl, got a face to stop traffic. Round, with a little nose and pouty-looking lips. Big brown eyes. Either real good perm or good hair, didn’t matter which as long as it looked good and felt soft. She wore it normal, too, not all kinked or crimped up—just sorta straight, then tucked under at the bottom, ya know? It hung down to her shoulders, light brownish. She spoke real soft and uptownlike. Didn’t seem stuck-up or fake. I can’t stand phoniness!

  See, that was all I asked for, a sister who at least came to my shoulder, someone you could pick up without too much strain, a face I wouldn’t wince at first thing in the morning, a sweet voice, good sense in her head, and a job of her own. I didn’t know if she had the last two, but I would bet my Duke Ellington original vinyl collection on it—and that’s serious!

  “Ro, look alive, boy!” Darren yelled at me as he ran past.

  “Sorry, dude.” I looked over at Miss Jewel one last time before the ball shot at me from nowhere.

  I yanked it out of the air, bounced it behind my back before dribbling forward. I bumped Aaron out of the way, turned, jumped, and shot. Swish! “Two!” I gave Darren a high five and looked over at Miss Jewel. She smiled and clapped for me. I took a little bow and went back to guarding Aaron. I’d catch up with Miss Jewel later.

  4

  Return of the Mack

  Renee—Saturday, May 19, 12:30 p.m.

  I got so wrapped up watching Rome watching Jewel and watching Jewel watching Rome that I almost forgot to watch Gregory. I had seen Rome around; he was a Southside brother. But I couldn’t remember hearing anything about him. I would have to pull Aaron aside and ask about him. He might have looked tasty, but if he was about them streets, Jewel wouldn’t be f
alling for his play. That girl had always been scared to death of the hood. Don’t get me wrong—she had dated the ruffnecks before, but as you can see, they didn’t make it. She had this fear that she’ll end up living in the projects on welfare with six kids and an abusive husband someday. Which killed me, as she had never so much as stepped inside a project home in her life. Even if she lost her car, her business, and her house today, she’d still just move in with her folks or me or somebody. What did she think, some man was going to sweep her off her feet and force her to live in the hood? Hell, half my family came from the projects; a few of ’em still up in there. Besides, projects didn’t make up all of the black neighborhoods.

  I kept telling her, “Your life is what you make of it, and no man can take you where you don’t want to go.” Well, if this Rome even got the digits out of her, it should be interesting to watch.

  Rome was wearing an old Cowboys sweatshirt with the sleeves ripped out; he had great arms on him. Gray shorts, great legs. The boy had great everything on him. But looking around the courts, there was a lot of greatness out there. Gregory looked predictably good. I was still trying to keep it all together about him. I knew Jewel thought I needed to quit planning, maneuvering, and game playing, but the girl had no comprehension. I was trying to get somewhere with somebody. And I needed to be in control to do it.

  See, I was not content to just sit back and say, “The Lord will provide.” Fine, he had provided me the opportunity to land Gregory, and I planned to do it. Amen.

  “You go, boy!” Roni Mae was screaming at Rome, who had just stolen the ball from Aaron, Gregory’s friend. Lord! Roni Mae looked ridiculous in that getup. She was jumping up and down, and she looked like a big kaleidoscopic marble bouncing through the air.

  “Go for the dunk! Go for the dunk!” she screamed, and I looked back at the court. Rome had indeed sprinted down the length of the court and was going for the dunk. He went up over everyone’s head, came down for the two-handed slam, and hung on the rim in a fairly decent Kobe imitation before landing with his arms out in a “Don’t you just love me?” gesture. The bleachers went wild. He looked right at Jewel and raised a brow as if to say, “How ya like me now?”

  She smiled, raised two fingers, kissed them, made a dunking action in the air with them, and placed them over her chest in a be-still-my-beating-heart motion. He smiled and turned to jog back up the court.

  I looked over at my girl with my mouth hanging down. Jewel was flirting. No, Jewel was getting her mack on! Had the mack kicked up to full throttle! Jewel never macked a day in her life. She was one of those women who never looked for a relationship; they just sort of fell in her lap. Granted, her lap had been empty for a little while now, but check this! My girl was the mack!

  “What?” She smiled at me when she caught me staring.

  I reached over and knocked on her head. “Hello, is Jewellen Rose in? Some fly girl mackin’ mama has taken over this body!”

  She swatted my hand away. “Let Mama handle her business, baby.”

  A cheer from the court preempted my answer ... the game was over. Rome’s team was victorious; Gregory’s team had lost. Gregory gathered up his navy gym bag and came straight over, even though he hadn’t looked over or acknowledged my presence for the past half hour. I sat up and decided to smile casually. Like a friend greeting a friend.

  He stopped right in front of me. “Hey.”

  “Hey, yourself.” My, what repartee. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I was not exactly sure what to say or do next. It was totally against my nature to sit and wait for someone else to make the next move. But wait I did.

  He looked straight at me for a minute, no glasses on today. Then he did that man thing I’ve never decided if I liked or not. That thing where they drop their eyes all the way down your body before pulling them all the way back up. Then they smiled and looked you right in your eyes. When I was younger, this used to fluster the hell out of me or really piss me off. As I got older, I took it in stride and more often than not, I returned the look. Today, it kinda left me dazed and tingling. I was losing it.

  “You look nice today. Do you mind?” Gregory asked me.

  “Mind wha—”

  His lips cut off my question. Hot damn, there he went again with a sneak attack. His hand was on the nape of my neck, moving slowly up and down in rhythm with his tongue in my mouth. My arms reached for him, and I sighed the little air I had left. How did he do that? How did he take a seemingly simple gesture and shatter me into pieces?

  “This must be Gregory.” Roni Mae’s smooth voice cut all into my moment.

  I felt his lips curve into a smile before he pressed one last oh-so-sweet kiss on my mouth and lifted his head. I dropped my arms to my side, still unable to figure out what to say. He turned to look at Roni Mae, and I took the opportunity to collect myself. To Gregory’s credit, he didn’t wince or blink when he saw Roni Mae in all her glory (or whatever).

  “With that voice, you must be Veronique from K-Soul. I fall asleep to your ‘Midnight by Candlelight’ segment every night.” He put his hand out. “Gregory Samson, pleased to meet you.”

  Roni Mae actually blushed before composing herself and shaking his hand. “Why, thank you, Gregory. I do love to meet fans.” She gave him the eyelash flutter and hair toss before launching into her practiced getting-to-know-you routine.

  Jewel and I rolled our eyes behind Roni Mae’s back. She was in her Veronique mode, and there was no stopping her. She and Gregory talked some more, but with Gregory’s hand still slip-sliding up and down my neck, I couldn’t say as I was paying them much attention. Eventually, Roni Mae excused herself and went off to talk to someone she knew across the gym. She was off to get her network on. Every occasion was an opportunity to network as far as she was concerned. Usually, Jewellen was right behind her with the business cards and recruiting spiel going. Personally, I only networked with people I KNEW could do something for me. I tuned back in at the sound of Gregory’s voice.

  “And you must be Jewel.” He turned his suave smile on Jewel.

  I snapped out of my lethargy in time to watch Jewel’s reaction to “the Gregory Look.” God bless my homegirl, she was no pushover. She raised a brow and looked at him assessingly. Taking his hand, she gave it a brisk shake. “Must I be?” She pulled her hand away and waited.

  “Aren’t you?” The boy had a comeback for everything.

  She shrugged. “So it seems.” Ah, one of the things I alternately loved and hated about Jewel—she always wanted the last word. She looked at him square in the eye before dropping her eyes to where his hand still rested against my neck.

  Gregory wasn’t fazed. “Listen, I’ve got to tell you—we used some of your people during our changeover from Dallas Republic Savings to Nationwide United Bank earlier this year, and I was impressed by how quickly and easily they were able to pick up our operation and help out.” There he went with the business schmooze. He leaned into me a little closer, and now just his thumb stroked lazily along the column of my neck. It was hell on my jumpy little nerves.

  “Thanks. At the Capwell Temporary Agency, we aim to please,” Jewel quoted from her latest brochure. “I understand that you hired away a couple of my best.” She raised her eyes to his again.

  He nodded, at ease and never dropping his gaze. “I think we did. I know we tried to.” She held his stare and nodded back; then they grinned at each other. They looked as though they’d reached some sort of nonverbal understanding.

  “He’s all right, Renee,” Jewel said in an offhand voice.

  “He is?” I asked her, dazed at her easy capitulation. It usually took weeks and weeks before Jewel even remembered the name of my latest, let alone give him a stamp of approval.

  His thumb stilled. “Aren’t I?” The look he give me was pure challenge.

  I let my smile spread slowly and gave him back that up-and-down-every-inch-of-your-body look. “I guess you’ll do.” Didn’t pay to let ’em get too cocky.r />
  “Better believe it, baby.” Too late on that cocky thing. Ah, the inbred arrogance of the secure black man. Who said real men were nowhere to be found?

  “G!” Gregory’s friend Aaron came over with another fella behind him. “D and I fittin’ to grab some grub. You down?” Aaron wasn’t the cutest brother in the world, but he was cut with a six-pack. He had a law degree that he didn’t use, but he worked with the city manager’s office. He was that brother all into politics and contacts. I’d never seen the brother standing behind him. He was dark, baby-faced, not terribly tall, but all in all okay-looking.

  Gregory looked at me. “Wanna eat?”

  I looked at Jewel. She was looking at Rome, who was standing across the way, drinking water. Jewel looked real thirsty too. “Jewel, wanna eat?” She jumped a little and turned back toward me. I smirked and she grinned. Roni Mae walked back over and sat down.

  “Yeah, I’m really hungry.” Jewel laughed.

  “For food? Honey, I’m not sure we’re gonna find what you want on any menu,” Roni Mae drawled in her best K-Soul voice, and winked at Jewel. It was one of those girls’ moments where we laughed and the brothers stood there looking at us like we really did come from Venus.

  Aaron’s head whipped around to look at Roni Mae. “You’re Veronique, aren’t you?”

  Roni Mae went into the blush-and-simper routine. “Yes, I am. Pleased to meet you.” She stuck her hand out, and I caught a glimpse of those acrylic claws she’s calling nails painted in that same horrid tropical sunset.

  Aaron shook her hand like it was the greatest moment of his life. “Aaron Paris, I’m honored.” He turned her hand over, raised it to his lips, and kissed the back. I thought she’d faint. “Really honored. Would you like to join us for lunch?”

  What happened to the homey rolling up with “wanna grab some grub?” Brother went real smooth all of a sudden.