8. Avani
I was curled up on the couch with a good book in my hand, listening to the rain beat against my windows.
It was good to have a day off since I didn't have any clients.
I enjoyed my job because it was so easy, and whenever I needed to talk to kids, I would show up.
Other than that, I could pretty much come and go as I pleased.
As soon as I got up to take a break from reading, my cell phone rang. I retrieved it from the coffee table and eyed the name, seeing that it was Akari calling me. A smile spread across my lips before I answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Wassup? You busy?"
I arched a brow, wondering why he was asking. "Uhhh, no. Why?"
"Get dressed," he demanded.
My eyes widened. "What? Why?"
"Just do it."
I smacked my lips together, not at all liking the way Akari was trying to boss me around. I was not on the court with him as one of his teammates. He had the wrong one. "Excuse you?"
"Yeah, I'm almost down the road, so start getting dressed. Just throw on something. You can change later."
Now, I was confused and wondering what the hell was going on. This man wasn't right at all with some of the things he did or said. He liked to surprise me at random times, and this was random as hell.
"May I ask where we are going?" I refused to get dressed until I knew what the hell was going on.
Akari sighed deeply. "Has anyone ever told you that you're nosy as hell? Damn, man."
I laughed, heading up the stairs to my bedroom. "Well, I can't help that."
I wasn't going to front like I wasn't excited to see where Akari was taking me.
He was always full of surprises. Just last weekend, he surprised me with basketball tickets to a game he wasn't playing in.
Since he didn't have a game, we flew to see another team play.
It was enjoyable, and he made sure I didn't have to pay for anything, even when I volunteered to do so.
I thought I had offended him, too, but he told me later that night that whenever I was with him, I didn't have to worry about a thing.
He had everything, and I was going to make sure I never asked to pay for anything again.
"I'm about to pull into your driveway. If you're not ready when I get out of the car, I will be helping you get dressed. I don't care what the hell you have to say about it," Akari warned.
I screeched and hung up the phone in his face. Before I continued up the stairs, I checked my cameras to see if he was in my yard, and he wasn't, so I rushed up the stairs to get ready.
"Why would you do this?" I exclaimed as I exited the private jet. I couldn't believe this man right now.
Akari only smiled and grasped my hand in his.
He leaned down to kiss it. He was so damn tall it made no sense.
We made our way to the waiting car that was parked with a man in uniform waiting for us.
This wasn't the first time I rode in one of his cars when he had a driver.
I felt on top of the world like I meant something. It was a different feeling.
"I told you whenever you are with me, be prepared to see things you've never seen before. I wasn't kidding when I said that," Akari voiced, opening the car door for me.
I was in awe of this man. "No, for real. You really weren't, but wow! Cali? What's here?" I turned to face him when we were in the car.
He smirked. "Another part of me. I have a condo here and wanted to share it with my friend ."
I wanted to roll my eyes so badly. Since I put that wall up between us, Akari was determined to use that word every chance he got. I was starting to despise it.
Still, it caught me off guard when he said he had a condo. "Wait, you have two homes?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I do. My home away from home when I need some peace is my condo, but you know my mini-mansion is my permanent home. Since I want to get away before my next big game, why not get away with you?"
I beamed. "That's so sweet of you, but remember what I said..." I pointed my finger at him. "No sex."
He threw his hands up. "Yeah, yeah. I already know. No need to remind me."
Sometimes, I felt like I needed to. The sexual tension between us was thick as hell. It continued to brew, and I felt like it was going to spout out of control. There was no telling how it would end for us, so I didn't want to test anything, and it ended up failing.
I dropped my head to my chest, trying to hide the smile that spread across my face. "You are spoiling me," I admitted.
And he was. We were on Akari's balcony, enjoying a glass of wine while we waited for the chef to finish the dinner.
Overlooking the city from the top floor, it was magnificent.
Not only that, but the weather was also nice.
It was a good thing I wore a dress when I did, even though it was a long one.
He smiled at me. "That's the plan. You deserve it. If a man never gave you the world in your past, I'll give it to you plus more." He reached for his glass and took a sip of the white wine.
I sighed deeply, unable to say anything to Akari after that.
What was he trying to do to me? It was getting hard to resist him.
I said I wanted us in the friend zone, and that was where we were at.
We were friends who shared kisses that blew my socks off my feet.
Plus, whenever I was home, in the mornings, he'd come and lie with me, and then we'd share more kisses.
The kisses were getting too hot. I could admit I was feeling something for him.
It was scaring me since I knew getting involved with Akari was a bad thing.
I picked up my glass and took a sip of it before returning it to the table.
"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, causing me to laugh.
"Well, you can say that. Do you know how long we have to wait for the food?"
He shrugged. "Nah, I don't know. I have a gaming room that we can chill in. I can cut your ass in some pool."
I twisted my lips. "Yeah, that's what you think. I've played pool when I was in college."
He laughed, causing me to frown. "College? You mean the old days? I'm talking about now. You can't beat my ass in pool now."
Akari got up from his chair with his wineglass and held his hand out for me to take it.
I grabbed my wine glass in the process, too.
We returned inside the house, and before we went into his game room, he went to talk to the chef.
He grabbed another bottle of wine, too. It had me wondering what this man was up to.
I glanced up at Akari, causing him to look down at me with a wicked smile.
Yeah, this was bad. I had a feeling I was about to be set up.
"Are you ready to go inside?" he asked when we reached the door.
I wanted to say no and to take me back to the airport. I had a feeling this was dangerous. What was I about to walk into? With a gulp, I nodded.
Akari opened the door and stepped aside so I could enter.
The lights automatically turned on when I walked in.
I gasped as I took in what I saw. There were many games inside this room, from slot machines to arcade games.
He even had a small poker table sitting in the middle of the room next to the pool table.
"Wow! This looks so amazing. Whoever decorated this did an awesome job." I couldn't help but be in awe of this place. It was an arcade inside a home.
"Thanks. I'll tell my sister you love it. It was her idea, and she made sure it was to her liking."
I smirked. "Your oldest sister is still bossy?"
He grunted. "Always."
I chuckled, eyeing the pool table. "It's a big table."
The vision of him having me laid out on it caused me to shiver. Why in the hell was I having thoughts about this man like this?
"Yeah, it is a big table," he responded, cutting into my thoughts. "Okay, that's enough chitchat. Are you ready to play the game? I want to make the game interesting, too." He smirked, drinking from his glass.
I arched a brow, wondering where he was going with this. "Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"
Akari licked his lips, his eyes still on me. The stare was getting a little too intense for me. He lifted the bottle of wine in his hand and began talking. "This bottle of wine I am holding. We will be taking shots of it if the other person shoots the ball in the hole."
I'm not even going to lie. It had been a while since I did something this interesting.
"Oh! This seems like a good idea. I'm down to do it like that.
" He didn't know what he was up against. I was a good aim when it came to shooting.
We always used to play basketball growing up.
I just never took it seriously, but I was good at it and could shoot very well.
He chuckled. "Oh, you better be.
While he set up the game, I took a moment to look around his gaming room. It was so neat. This was a gaming room made in heaven.
"All right, I'm ready now," he stated.
I made my way back over to him, eager to see how this game was about to turn out.
"Since you are a lady and probably will lose, you can go first." Akari chuckled.
I laughed. "You are going to eat those words."
We shared a laugh.
We played the game, and I could see how competitive Akari was.
He had me wanting to hit him over the head with the pool stick.
We were neck and neck and this man had me wanting to give up.
How in the hell was this going to end? It was my turn to go, and I had to lean over the table.
As soon as I did so, I felt him behind me, and he had an erection, too.
I sucked in a deep breath, wondering what the hell was he doing.
"Uhhh..." I looked back at him over my shoulder, realizing that it was a big mistake. His eyes had darkened and narrowed. I pressed back against him. "I need room."
He groaned and bit down on his bottom lip. Gosh, that was so sexy. "And I need you."
I stood up straight to face him. Gulping, I replied. "We said?—"