the man, that Colin was a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy. That made him perfect for Mel, who never lasted more than a few weeks in any romantic relationship. She talked a good talk, wanting me to take the marriage plunge, but when it came to herself she was just as anti-marriage as I was.
"Hey." Kera turned away from us to scrutinize a bubble-knit shirt. "I've met Colin. He was at the wedding I catered for that girl, Denise... Danny? What was her name?"
"Daisy." I nodded. "That's the one. His sister."
"You'll like him, Mel," Kera said. "He's more than cute. He's scrumptiously sexy."
Mel crossed her arms over her chest, her red manicured fingernails tapping on her slender biceps. "If he's so sexy, why didn't either of you go out with him?"
"He didn't ask us," I said.
"That's not a point in his favor. In fact, that proves he's a very foolish man."
"You happen to like foolish men," Kera reminded her.
Mel smiled. "You're right. When do I get to meet him?"
"Don't know," I said. "I'll have to work it out somehow."
We resumed our shopping and I soon found a pair of pants I knew both my cousins would approve of. Extra-tight and black, with ribbons of red, pink and yellow orchids sewn up the bottom left seam. I wanted them. Badly. And not because Royce thought I smelled like orchids. They were pretty, that's all. And easily removable.
"This is so cool." Kera clapped her hands, jumping up and down in a little dance. "Oh, I'm so excited for both of you. All right, girls," she said when she settled down. "We came here to shop and that's exactly what we're going to do. Now that Naomi's hormones have decided to come out and play, we need a few more items for her seduction arsenal. Let's get to work."
Later that night, I lay in bed and considered the outfits I'd purchased-one green sundress (Kera insisted), an ice-blue miniskirt with matching tank top, and a blood-red pantsuit- as well as a red lace nightie. And the black pants, of course. What would Royce do when he saw me wearing them?
Would his eyes heat like they did when he wanted to kiss me? Would he become desperate to tear the clothes off me?
The image had me aching again, hungry. I rolled to my side and stared out my bedroom window, drawing in cleansing breaths. The night sky was as black and silky as velvet, the stars tiny pinpricks of diamond light. So beautiful and peaceful. But sometimes I hated these nights alone with nothing to do but think.
I wanted to talk to Royce, to hear his sexy, seductive voice, but that was tantamount to relationship behavior so I nixed that idea immediately. I'd sleep with him, yes. Entrench him in my life and rely on him, no. I wanted to hear his voice so badly, though, that I started trembling. My blood heated, growing hotter and hotter. I moaned.
I decided to call my mom. Yes, my mom. If anything could get my mind off naked bodies and phone sex, she could. Leaning over to my nightstand, I palmed my cordless phone and quickly dialed her number. As I settled back into the covers, she answered.
"Hello?" My mom sounded grumpy and sleepy and wonderful all at once.
I smiled, feeling calmer already. "Hello to you, too."
"Naomi?" There was a pause and I pictured her jolting up.
"Is something wrong? What's wrong? I know something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, I swear. I just wanted to hear your voice."
"Gloria, what's going on? What's wrong?" my stepdad said in the background.
"It's Naomi. She says she's just calling to chat."
"To chat? At this hour? Something's wrong. What's wrong?"
My mom sighed. "I don't know. Give me a minute to find out."
"Fine, but I want to talk to her when you're done."
I rolled my eyes. Ah, this crazy couple could always usher me back to a sense of normalcy.
"Now, why don't you tell me what's bothering you, darling," my mom said to me. "You never call this late."
"I need your advice." The words tumbled out of me before I could stop them. "How can a girl know if a man will treat her right? If he'll be faithful to her?"
She gasped with excitement. "Are you thinking about getting married again?"
"No, nothing like that," I rushed out. "I'm just curious about how you knew Jonathan wouldn't turn out like Dad." Slap her around. Cheat on her. Verbally abuse her. How did she ever place