Chapter 16 #3
“The next would be a visual art exhibit where the kids are putting their talents with their preferred mediums on display. Attendees could even purchase the artwork if they wanted to. Next would be a fashion show where we get parents and teachers to model the clothing the kids are making. The last event would be a variety show were students, teachers, administrators, and community members could sign up, for a registration fee of course, where people would perform in front of audience members who paid to come see the show. At every event, all proceeds go to funding the program.”
“So, just to make sure I’m hearing you right, we’d charge registration fees for participants, and ticket and concession fees for the attendees.”
Janae stopped to eat and moaned deeply as she enjoyed her mouthful of food. The look of gratification painted into her smooth brown skin made his mind wander to places it probably shouldn’t go.
Who the hell was he kidding? He wanted to go to those forbidden places—forbidden by Janae, he might add. He would never in his right mind push pleasuring her off the table, not when the sight of her made his blood rush.
“Yes.” The garbled response was followed by another long moan that had him pulling his beer to his lips, hoping the cold sensation would cool down the sweltering need running through them.
He sat his beer back on the table and tried to speak. “Your, ah. Your…” His head blanked on what he was attempting to say because his mind just kept playing the glorious sound of her moaning on an irresistible loop.
He closed his eyes and cleared his throat, taking a deep breath before he continued.
“Your fundraising ideas are brilliant, and I’ll officially approve them and assign faculty support on Monday. As far as I’m concerned, that concludes our business.”
“Just like that?” There was slight confusion in her eyes as if she’d been expecting more of a fight.
“Come Monday, my assistant will contact you with all the follow-up details.” He placed his phone on the table, returning his attention to her.
“You’ve come up with a sound plan. Your idea to host these events that will bolster community support could be the thing that gets the district and the PTA what they both want.
If we can find outside resources for the program and offer our kids a competitive chance at following their dreams and changing their futures, I’m all in. ”
Her smile seemed to start from somewhere deep inside of her until it was glowing, lighting up the room. It warmed him. It made his heart beat faster. It made him want more. More of her smiles … just more of her.
She dove back into her food, taking an enthusiastic bite. Her grin couldn’t be camouflaged, though. With every chew, her face was still beaming with joy.
“Please forgive my gluttony.” Her words were slightly warbled as she finished chewing. “Your mom’s stew chicken recipe has always been one of my favorites.”
“By the look of bliss on your face, I take it you haven’t had it in a while.”
“I haven’t,” she replied. “I’m ashamed to admit that I haven’t found much opportunity to sit at your mother’s table since we tutored Michael.”
She pushed her plate away from her, then took a sip of her wine. Her simple movements were filled with such elegance and intention, Adam could watch her eat and drink all day.
“Why’s that? My mom always loved having you over.”
The slight tilt of her head suggested she was contemplating either his question or the answer she planned to give.
“Adam, you and I were pretty much strangers at that time. Why would I think your mom or you would’ve wanted me at her table? Besides, you and I haven’t really kept in contact over the last twenty-five years.”
A fact he regretted more than she knew.
“My mother adored you, Janae. If only you knew the way she always spoke about you while I was in New York. I was under the impression you two saw each other on a regular basis.”
She looked up at the ceiling, avoiding him and his mother’s reported praise.
“This is Monroe Hills; it’s too tiny for us not to have run into each other all this time.
I see her at the hairdresser and the nail salon.
I see her at church and any of the local events the town sponsors.
I haven’t been at her table since the graduation party she hosted for you, Michael, and Derrick. ”
“Why?”
He didn’t know why this mattered so much to him.
They had been the furthest thing from friends when they were kids.
That fact hadn’t stopped his mother from adoring Janae, nonetheless.
Janae was a wonderful woman, so he understood his mother’s appreciation of her.
But what he couldn’t understand was how Janae didn’t know that.
“Adam, having mutual friends wasn’t enough to bring our worlds together when we were coming up. Why would I think you wanted me around your mother?”
He put down his beer, searching her face for any hint of amusement, but he found none. She was serious.
“Janae, you thought I hated you?”
She shook her head, putting her glass down on the table. “It was pretty obvious considering you never paid any attention to me.”
“Because you were this bright focused girl who didn’t care what anyone else thought and didn’t hesitate to put people in their place.
As a basketball superstar in high school, I was surrounded by nothing but fools.
I didn’t really think you would want my attention.
I respected you enough that I didn’t even try. ”
She sat quietly, taking his words in as if she had to turn each one over slowly in her mind before she could understand its meaning.
“You respected me?”
“If you still don’t know that, I’ve obviously done a shit job of showing it. But yeah, I’ve always respected you. But it’s deeper than that, Janae. My real issue when we were young is I always wanted you, and I just couldn’t find the nerve to let you know.”
Something bright flashed in her eyes that he couldn’t really make sense of. It wasn’t anger or hurt. It was something deeper, and everything in him told him he needed to decipher it quickly.
“Adam, you had your literal pick of admirers in our class. You were captain of the basketball team. Everyone wanted you or wanted to be you.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone,” she replied. Her voice was full and rich like an aged brandy. “Everyone including me.”
Of all the things he was expecting to hear, that wasn’t it. He knew she was attracted to him now. The way she’d come undone when they’d kissed was proof of that. But back then, he would’ve bet his very soul he wasn’t so much as a blip on her radar.
“It seems like neither one of us was as smart as we thought we were back then. Doesn’t it, Janae?”
She brought her eyes to his, fixed in place, boldly leaving herself open to him as she did. There was no fear or hesitation in her demeanor. Only need and fire.
“It certainly does. Another prime example of youth being wasted on the young.”
She looked up at him, searching for something in his eyes that would make this connection between them make sense.
“So you really stayed away from me because you didn’t think I was into jocks? That’s it?”
He breathed in deeply as if her question had unlocked a dam within him. A somber cloud dimmed his bright eyes and she instantly regretted asking the question.
“That was a big part of the reason.” He nodded. “The other part was that I knew my father would never let me have you.”
She drew her brows together in confusion. “Let you have me?”
“Anything that would pull my attention away from training was absolutely forbidden.”
She pulled her fingers through her braids, pushing them to one shoulder. It was a simple gesture, done for no other reason than to push her hair out of her face. Her graceful movements, however, kept him captivated through each motion.
“You had girls all over you all the time. Why would I be any different?”
He extended his arm, letting his fingers glide over the back of her hand. “They didn’t mean anything to me. You did.”
Her eyes widened with silent shock. She hadn’t known how open she’d had him when they were kids. Well, she’d better be prepared because she’d opened this door. There was no closing it now.
“I’ve always wanted you, Janae. I just never had the balls to do anything about it, until now.”
She laced her fingers through his, still keeping her eyes fixed to his. “I want you, Adam. Now and then.”
“I sense a ‘but’ coming.”
“James is my focus. I can’t let what I want—no matter how badly I want it—get in the way of my responsibility to him.”
The look in her eyes was a mix of need, apprehension, and determination, and he couldn’t figure out a rational way to address the different emotions he could recognize on her face.
Resolved not to let that stop him, he leaned forward, bringing his mouth so close, all it would take is the twitch of a muscle and his lips would be pressed against hers.
“You’ve got James to worry about and I’ve got my job. But I don’t see how those separate concerns should bar us from exploring this thing that’s burning between us.”
She attempted to speak, and he stopped her with a light peck on her mouth.
“I’m not denying this anymore, Janae. I’ve wanted you too badly to ignore this need in my gut.”
She held up a finger, putting a stop to anything he might say next.
“I need to know, are you agreeing to my idea simply because you want me?”
It was a valid question. Fortunately, for him, the answer wasn’t even a little bit complicated.
“I want you, Janae, make no mistake about that. But I’m just as dedicated to keeping my job as you are to protecting James. I wouldn’t do anything to endanger his well-being or my employment. As I told you, your fundraising proposal is sound.
“Now that that’s settled, as far as I’m concerned, there’s only one order of business we need to concern ourselves with.”
“Oh yeah?” Her smile broadened as she shifted closer into his space. “What exactly is that?”
One of the most alluring things about Janae Sanders was her ability to happily meet any challenge with enthusiasm and a smile.
She thrived off of conquering tasks given to her.
When they were given difficult assignments in high school, everyone else groaned in complaint.
Janae was usually giddy with excitement.
That same eagerness was radiating off her tonight, letting him know she was undoubtedly game.
“From this moment on, we’re not wasting any more time.”
She closed her eyes, inhaling a quiet and soothing breath before speaking again.
“You, Dr. Henderson, have the best ideas. I’m okay with putting them into action if you are.”
She barely got the last word of her sentence out before his lips were plastered against hers.