they’d look even better wrapped around his waist. In that moment, she’d seemed so approachable, unlike the woman who always got on him about the food he chose to place on the menu of his venues.
Lurking behind the tree without saying anything would have been creepy, so he’d decided the best thing to do was to make his presence known, even though he would have rather admired her in the darkness.
“Hey, man, did you hear anything I just said?”
He forced himself to stop looking at Autumn. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked if I can meet with you over at Autumn’s to discuss that bachelor-and-bachelorette-party combo event you all are planning. I was talking to Danni about it and she mentioned that she was meeting up to discuss it with Autumn, and I remember you had spoken about it, as well.”
Hmm, I didn’t know Autumn had told Danni. It was probably for the best because he didn’t want to be left alone with her anyway. Whenever he was around Autumn lately, he seemed to want to do things so out of character, such as ask questions to learn more about her. He guessed they wouldn’t agree on much anyway, so if Danni and Jaleen joined, more would get accomplished.
“Yeah, that’s fine. We could use the help.”
“Good,” Jaleen said, taking a swig of his beer. “From the way you were just staring at Autumn, I thought you may tell me no to eliminate the competition.”
“You aren’t competition.”
“Yeah, okay.”
He took a sip of his bourbon on the rocks and resumed his original task of observing Autumn. “If you’re thinking about hitting on Autumn, don’t bother.”
He could feel Jaleen smiling, but he kept his eyes focused on her. He knew even if they were attracted to one another, they would never cross that line. But Jaleen liked to screw anything in a skirt, so Ajay had no problem staking a claim on Autumn if that meant Jaleen wouldn’t flirt with her.
Ajay glanced at his watch, wondering if maybe he’d gotten his days mixed up. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his iPhone to call Taheim. When he didn’t answer, he decided to call Jaleen.
“Hey, man, are we still meeting at Taheim’s tonight?” he asked when Jaleen answered.
“Yeah, as far as I know.”
“The doorman let me up because I assume Taheim told him he was expecting me. But I rang the doorbell and knocked. He’s not answering.”
“Probably because Winter hasn’t left for her sister’s place yet. You know they’ve been inseparable lately. I’m surprised Taheim even offered to have poker night at his place now that Winter has moved in.”
Ever since Ajay had walked in on Taheim and Winter in a compromising position, he’d locked the spare key he had for his brother’s place in his safe so he would need to use it only for emergencies.
“Come down to my place and I’ll text Taheim so he can let us know when he’s ready for poker night. I’ll text the other guys, too, so they can just come to my place and chill out.”
Jaleen lived in the same building as Taheim in a penthouse suite located in the separate wing of the luxury complex.
“Sounds good,” he replied, already making his way to Jaleen’s penthouse. When Jaleen and Taheim had both decided to stay in the same 244-unit building a few years ago, they’d tried to convince Ajay that he should stay there, as well. However, Ajay was more of a house man, not a condo person. His five-bedroom, three-bathroom home might be too much space for a bachelor, but he enjoyed having room to breathe and do whatever he wanted in the comfort of his home.
“Hey, man,” Jaleen said as he opened the door and stepped aside for Ajay to walk in. “I already texted the other guys. We may just move poker night here instead.”
“Works for me.”
“Cool. Have you talked to Autumn today?”
He looked at Jaleen questioningly, not understanding why he randomly brought up Autumn.
“No. Why?”
“No reason,” Jaleen replied with a smirk on his face. “I just need to make sure you don’t try to hit on my future woman.”
He’d known Jaleen long enough to know when he was up to something. Jaleen was always scheming and getting into other people’s business. “Yo’ woman? I thought I made myself clear the other day at the party.”
“But I thought you weren’t attracted to her?”
“I never said I wasn’t attracted to her. I just told you not to hit on her.”
“So you are attracted to her?”
“Why does it matter if I am or not?”
“Is that a yes?”
He laughed, trying to change the subject. “When did the other guys say they would get here?”
“I’ll tell you right after you answer my question. I know you’ve been out of the game for a while...”
It was true that Ajay hadn’t seriously dated anyone in a while, but in his line of work, women were constantly throwing themselves at him. Years ago, he was known for bedding one woman after the next, but he had always made it clear to them that he wasn’t a relationship type of guy. It had only taken him getting burned a couple times to change his perspective on the opposite sex. He still enjoyed a woman’s company every now and then, but at thirty-five, he needed more than a pretty face to make him stay around.
“It hasn’t been that long.” As the words left his mouth, he thought about the fact that he hadn’t had sex in over four months. For an insatiable man like him, that was forever ago. When Jaleen continued to ride him about his lack of dating women lately, he decided to give in and answer the question Jaleen really wanted to know.
“Well, yeah, Autumn is an attractive woman, so naturally I’m drawn to her. But the reason I told you to back off is for her own good, not mine. If I wanted to pursue Autumn, she’d know it and so would you and any other guy interested in her.”
Jaleen was smiling from ear to ear by the time they entered the entertainment room. Ajay stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Autumn sitting on a bar stool sipping a cocktail. One look at her face and he’d known that she had overheard part of the conversation. He cut his eyes at Jaleen, who simply turned his shoulders in a shrug.
“Hello, Autumn,” he said as he approached her. “Surprised to see you here.”
She gave him a soft smile. “Winter asked me to pick her up so that she wouldn’t have to find a place to park her car when she came over. When I got here, she texted me that she needed another hour.”
He nodded his head in understanding, but wished he could wipe that smirk off Jaleen’s face. Jaleen was trying to work in casual conversation by asking Ajay about
