Beyond the Cage Page 5

  “I’m volunteering today, remember? Won’t be back ‘til around seven.” A bell goes off in my head and I smile up at him. “Come with me.”

  The raised eyebrow. I’ve seen it so many times, but it has many different meanings. This one means ‘what are you up to?’ I give him an innocent smile, and he shrugs and places his helmet on my head. I climb down then up behind him and give him the address.

  When we arrive, he looks up at the Little Sisters building in curiosity.

  “Come on. You’ll like it. Trust me.”

  Five hours a week, I visit with the elderly here at Little Sisters. All I have to do is hang out with them, which I love doing. I’ve learned a lot from each and every one. Plus, I’ve heard quite a few interesting stories.

  Cameron sighs and follows me inside, hanging back while I talk to a staff member.

  “Hey, Sadie.”

  “Hey, Jazzie,” she greets me with a bright smile. “How’s school, baby girl?”

  “Good. I brought some backup today. Hope you don’t mind.”

  She peers up at Cameron, then her eyes slide down his body in appreciation.

  “Child, not when your backup looks like that. Lawd Jesus.”

  I let out a giggle. Sadie is more than twice my age, but she’s sweet…and apparently frisky.

  “You’d probably need a hip replacement after that one,” I tell her.

  “It would be worth it!”

  “Tell you what…I’ll hand him over to you when I’m done with him.”

  “The Lord will surely bless you, sweetheart.”

  We both laugh and I glance over at him. I know he heard every word, but he doesn’t seem bothered at all. Then again, he must be used to women throwing themselves at him. I motion to him to follow me. Today is games day, so everyone will be in the common room. I stand in the doorway observing the scene before I place my hands on my hips.

  “So, y’all were just gonna keep the Scrabble all to yourselves, huh?”

  I’m greeted with a chorus of “Jazzie!” and smiles on every face.

  “Everyone, this is Cameron. Cameron, this is everyone,” I throw out the general introduction.

  That gets me some knowing looks from the women.

  “Well, I’ll be damned!” Bernie exclaims.

  I turn to him curiously as he slams his palm on the table.

  “What’s wrong, Bernie?” I ask.

  “That’s K.O. Jackson!”

  He leaves the cards table and makes his way over to us, extending his hand with a big grin on his face.

  “Bernie Shaw. It’s an honor to meet you, son.”

  Cameron takes his hand and smiles.

  “Your fight with Tiger Thompson…that knockout was a thing of beauty! You, son, truly have a gift.”

  “Bernie –”

  “It’s okay,” Bernie assures me. “I know all about the talking thing. Come on, we need a fourth at the cards table. I can’t wait to tell everyone I played cards with K.O. Jackson!”

  I smile as I watch them walk off. I never would have guessed anyone here would know him. Bernie is talking his ear off and he doesn’t seem to mind that either. He’s actually smiling, interacting with them in his own way. I wondered before how he functioned in society, but it seems he’s managing pretty well. I move over to where the Scrabble board is set up and pull up a chair.

  “Who’s winning?” I ask.

  Stella throws me a mischievous grin. “Seems like you are, my dear. Who’s the handsome fella?”

  “He is handsome, isn’t he?”

  “Makes me wish I was fifty years younger,” Grace chimes in.

  “Mm hmm…quite the stud,” Delilah agrees.

  If only he knew that three pairs of elderly eyes were undressing him right now. This is too funny. Cameron turns to me with a curious stare when I lose the battle to contain my laughter. I wave him off and turn back to the game.

  By the time we’re supposed to leave, he has everyone eating out of the palm of his hand. He’s flexing his huge arms for the women, putting on quite a show as they squeeze his biceps. There are “oohs”, “aahs”, and girlish giggles. Wow. You’d think they were a bunch of teenagers.

  “Okay, guys, see you on Friday,” I say as I head for the door. “Come on, stud.”

  He waves to everyone as they bid us goodbye, a bright smile firmly in place. Once we’re outside, he grabs my hand and pulls me against him.

  “You liked it, didn’t you?”

  He nods without hesitation.

  “I told you.”

  He kisses my forehead before we climb on his bike and head for home.

  “Are you coming up?” I ask when we pull into the parking lot. He answers with a dip of his head.

  “Did you see the way the women were looking at you?”

  Spreading his arms wide, he looks down at me with a smirk.

  “Yeah, yeah…I know. You’re hot.” I roll my eyes.

  Moving behind me, he wraps his arms around my shoulders, nuzzling my neck. It tickles, and I start giggling as we waddle toward my apartment. I stop short when I notice someone sitting on the floor by the door. Cameron releases me and steps forward protectively, but I place my hand on his arm to stop him.

  “Jamal?” What the hell is he doing here?

  “Hey, Jas,” he says as he hops to his feet.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I was hoping I could talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  He glances nervously at Cameron. I don’t know what he wants, but I don’t want to put Cameron in an awkward position. I open the door and turn to him. “Why don’t you wait for me inside? Just give me a minute.”

  He narrows his eyes and clenches his jaw, but doesn’t make a scene. After he steps inside, I close the door behind him.

  “Well?” I turn back to Jamal, tapping my foot in impatience.

  “How you been?”

  “Cut the crap. What do you want, Jamal?”

  “Jas, I’m sorry about how things ended between us. I made a mistake.”

  “And?”

  “And…Simone and I broke up.”

  Oh. Now I get it. “That’s too bad.”

  “I was hoping”—he raises his shoulders—“we could give us another try.”

  “Us? There is no ‘us’.”

  “Come on. I know you remember how good it was between us.”

  He gently trails his fingers down my arm and…I feel nothing. Studying him closely, I remember a time when I thought he was the world – cute, smart, kind, caring. Now, I feel nothing but contempt. He’s still cute – peanut butter skin, dark brown eyes, nice body. But he’s a jerk, and that’s why I broke up with him.

  “It was. But that ship has sailed and sunk to the deepest, darkest, most unreachable depths of the ocean.”

  “Don’t tell me this is about that beast in there.” He chuckles and jerks his head toward the door.

  “Beast? You will never be a fraction of the man he is.”

  He gives me an arrogant smile. “Man? More like The Hulk.”

  His conceit irks me. I don’t condone fighting, but I think I’d love to see Cameron kick his ass. I fold my arms under my breasts and stare at him with disdain.

  “Wanna see Hulk smash?”

  His smile fades and he squares his shoulders. “Fine. Just don’t come running to me when he gets tired of you.”

  “Don’t worry. I will never come running to you for anything.”

  He walks off sulking and I make my way inside, knowing I’ll have to give Cameron an explanation. As soon as I look at him, I see the question in his eyes, so I take a deep breath and join him on the couch.

  “That was Jamal. My ex.”

  The raised brow. He probably wants to know what the douchebag wanted.

  “He wanted to get back together.”

  His gaze drops and he stares at the floor, a grim expression on his face.

  “I told him there was no way that’s happening,” I contin
ue. “We dated for six months before I found out he had a girlfriend at NYU and that I was the other woman. Can you believe that? Me!”

  His gaze remains fixed on the floor.

  “Besides, I have my eye on this handsome, sexy MMA fighter.” There’s finally a hint of a smile on his lips so I climb up and sit astride him, snaking my arms around his neck. “He’s tall, built like a brick wall, and I hear he’s quite the sweet talker. Know him?”

  His hands move over my thighs and rest on my hips before he finally gives me a smile and a nod.

  “Great! Think you could introduce me to him?”

  He bites into his bottom lip, and his palm connects with my ass in a playful smack.

  “Ow!”

  I’m wearing leggings, so it felt almost as if he hit my naked flesh. I love it but decide to keep that information to myself…for now. There’s relief in his eyes. Did he really think I was going back to that scum bucket? Even if Cameron wasn’t in the picture, Jamal couldn’t even get anywhere near the frame. With my hand on his cheek, I place a gentle kiss on his lips. Instantly, he takes over, deepening the kiss. This one is different. While being just as intense, it’s not demanding like the others; it’s passionate, but not urgent. His fingers creep under my top and up my back, caressing along my spine. My resulting shiver makes him moan.

  “Ooh! Can I watch?” Chelsea’s excited voice comes from the doorway.

  I turn to her, surprised I didn’t hear the door open.

  “No, you cannot watch, you pervert.”

  “Hey, you won’t let me join, so why not?”

  I return my gaze to Cameron, checking for his reaction. Being such a man, he’s intrigued.

  “She’s not serious,” I tell him. “And don’t go getting any ideas, mister. We might share everything else, but men…no.”

  “You’re just no fun, Jas.” She pouts.

  “Go away, Chels,” I say in a saccharine tone.

  With a devious smile, she retorts, “This is a common area, missy.”

  “Fine. Let’s go to my room,” I tell Cameron. “Nothing common about that area.”

  Before I can move, Cameron slides to the edge of the couch, places his hands below my ass, and stands.

  “Please. Pretty please with whipped cream and cherries on top, can I watch?”

  I smile at Chels over his shoulder and wiggle my fingers, telling her goodbye.

  “Bye, Cameron…” she says, almost dejectedly. If I didn’t know her so well, I’d think she was serious.

  Cameron raises his hand, acknowledging her, then he kicks the door shut and moves toward the bed.

  “You can put me down now.”

  Ignoring me, he keeps moving. He sits on the bed, with me still on his lap and stares at me. There’s a question in his eyes – ‘when?’

  “Soon.”

  With a sigh, he falls back on the bed and clasps his hands behind his head. Kicking off my Chucks, I lay my head on his chest, wishing I could stay here forever. It’s strange because I still don’t know much about him.

  “Cameron?” Of course, I get no reply. “What’s your middle name?”

  He scoffs.

  “There’s no way I can guess it. You have to help me out here. Do I have to search the net to get some info?”

  I hop off the bed and retrieve my laptop, then return to the bed. He shifts positions and sits next to me as I type his name into the search bar and scrutinize the results.

  “Interesting piece of information…your name means ‘crooked nose’.”

  I turn my back to him, laughing as he smiles and tries to take the laptop from me.

  “Stop, crooked nose!”

  He reaches around me with both hands, grabbing at my computer.

  “You’re gonna make me drop it!”

  Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me against him. When my giggles die down, I lie back and sift through the results once more. I click a few links, but they don’t tell me anything I don’t already know. Most of them are just videos of his matches.

  “I have an idea.” I hand him my laptop. “Why don’t I ask some questions and you just type your answers for me?”

  He rolls his eyes.

  “Come on. Tell you what, for each question you answer, I’ll…” Hmm…what do I offer as incentive? “I’ll…remove one item of clothing.”

  With a grin, he taps on the keyboard – ‘OK.’

  Great! “You already know the first question.” I curl up next to him and watch the screen.

  He types ‘Joshua.’

  “Where do you live?”

  Wagging his finger, he gives me a ‘naughty girl’ stare.

  “Ugh!” I reach down, remove a sock, and throw it on the floor. “What?” I shrug. “I didn’t say what I would remove.”

  He taps on the keys – ‘Here in Evanston.’

  Keeping up my end of the bargain, I remove my other sock. “What’s your family like?”

  ‘2 brothers, 1 sister.’

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  He points to my top. I sigh and move to my knees. Facing him, I pull my top over my head and toss it aside.

  “Happy?” I ask.

  ‘Very,’ he types out.

  Okay…just one more question. I am not getting naked. What do I ask? Licking his lips, he stares at me expectantly and snaps the waistband of my leggings.

  “Wait a minute. I’m thinking.”

  He points to the last thing he typed, and then to my leggings.

  “You cheater!” I exclaim, realizing he’s referring to when I asked if he’s happy. “That doesn’t count.”

  He shrugs as if to say it’s not his fault, and motions for me to get on with removing my clothes.

  “No way. My game, my rules, and I say it doesn’t count.”

  He raises his arms in surrender and waits for my next question. Talking about games gives me an idea.

  “What was your childhood like?”

  Uh-oh…obviously a sore subject. The veins in his neck are starting to bulge out. With a vehement shake of his head, he hands me the laptop. I guess our game is over.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  He springs out of bed and heads for the door.

  “Wait!” He stops but doesn’t turn around. “Come back. Please.”

  Taking a deep breath, he faces me and I stretch my arms out to him. When he returns to the bed, I straddle him once more.

  “I’m sorry. No more questions today.”

  I resume my earlier position, my head on his chest. His arms curl around me and he sighs. Me and my big mouth. What could have happened to him? Is it why he doesn’t talk?

  Leave it alone, Jas. Just leave it alone.

  CHAPTER 6

  Temptation is an irresistible force at work on a movable body. – H.L. Mencken

  I slap Chelsea’s hand away, but she shakes me again. What the fuck? It’s not time to wake up yet.

  “Quit it, Chels,” I mumble in irritation.

  A huge hand slides to my stomach, and soft lips place light kisses on my shoulder. Definitely not Chels. I lean into the warmth snuggled against my back then turn over, wanting more. Throwing my arm around him, I burrow closer. I could get used to this. The moment I get comfortable, he taps my shoulder.

  “What?” I whine, dragging out the word.

  Forcing my eyes open, I switch on the lamp on the nightstand. By the time I turn back to him, he’s standing by the bed.

  “Come back to bed.”

  He doesn’t move, only glancing at the door.

  “Why are you leaving?”

  He gestures toward me.

  “Me? What did I do?”

  Making the same gesture, he urges me to look down. I do, and realize I’m in my bra and leggings. I forgot all about my half-naked state.

  “I’ll put something on. Don’t leave…please,” I beg. I just want to curl up in his arms and go back to sleep, but there’s a tortured expression on his face.

  He’s obvio
usly trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation and I’m forcing him to choose between that and pleasing me. It’s not fair.

  “Okay,” I acquiesce. “I’ll walk you out.”

  We go through what has become our routine – he kisses my forehead and disappears. With a sigh, I return to my room. There’s no way I’m falling asleep now, so I might as well get some studying done. I know I’m smart, but if I’m going to get into the med school of my choice, I need near perfect scores.

  At seven, I decide to make breakfast. Chels walks in as I’m pouring the coffee.

  “Where is he?” She glances around, then leans forward and whispers, “How was it? You obviously worked up an appetite.”

  We sit around the island like we usually do, and talk while we eat.

  “Nothing happened,” I state.

  “I was wondering why it was so quiet.”

  “He left earlier. Last night, I asked him about his childhood and he got kinda upset.”

  “Mommy issues?”

  “I have no idea, but I’m not gonna push it. If he wants me to know, then I will.”

  After breakfast, we go our separate ways. Throughout the day, I keep thinking back to Cameron’s reaction. I can’t shake the feeling that something horrible happened to him as a child, and it stays with me, even during dinner with Chels. She doesn’t push the issue, and tries to direct our conversation away from him as much as possible. After our meal, we head back to our apartment.

  “When did we get a security guard?” Chels asks as we approach the door.

  I glance up from searching for my keys and find Cameron’s henchman waiting patiently.

  “Jared, right?” I address my question to him.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am? Jasmine, please.” He nods, reminding me of his boss. “What can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to pick you up. Don’t tell me –”

  “No, he didn’t. But don’t worry.” I put him at ease. “You mind if I shower first?”

  He breathes a sigh of relief.

  “Come on in. Chels can keep you company.”

  I leave the two of them in the living room and hop into the shower, wondering where I’m going. It occurs to me he’s never actually taken me out. What a cheap date I’ve been. Well, that’s going to change. As I’m blow-drying my hair, I think about what to wear. My mom always told me, ‘When in doubt, black jeans and a nice top’. Guess that’s what it’ll be. After applying makeup, I grab a pair of jeans and a white button-down, top. Shoes…hmmm…I think I’ll go with my black, wedge sandals. I change purses then check my reflection in the mirror. Perfect. Just a little perfume and I’m good to go.