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Chapter 3
Janae looked over her long satin, form fitting, strapless, pale yellow prom dress and sighed. Her hair was up in curls and she looked beautiful, she thought. She had the perfect dress, the perfect hair, shoes and the perfect date. Janae looked herself over in the ladies room mirror at the prom for a while, wondering why everything still didn't feel right . Luke was doing all the right things, as always. But the look in his eyes was different. Damn it, Cameron and Taylor were right. He wanted sex, but she was not ready for that, at least not with him.
As she exited the ladies room, she walked back to the table where Luke was sitting. He stood and pulled her back on the dance floor.
“So, everybody is leaving to go to that big after party at Sloan’s house. You ready to go?” he asked, his prom king crown still on his head. Luke Dennison was 6’0, light caramel skinned, whiskey brown eyes, and absolutely gorgeous. Ever since she moved here, he always had a pretty girl on his arm. She knew she was cute, but when he stepped to her 6 months ago, she realized she must have something that caught his eye.
“Yeah, let’s go,” she replied as he took her hand and led her out of the prom as others walked out as well.
Luke let her climb into the backseat of the limo first and as soon as the door closed, he scooted closer to her. Janae fell back into his embrace. They rode in silence for a few minutes, then Luke began to drop kisses all over her right shoulder.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look in that dress?” he asked.
“Yeah, you did,” Janae replied, as the kisses increased, as well as his hands, which were journeying up her dress.
“You are so sexy, Janae. I can’t wait to get you alone, baby,” he whispered as Janae began to feel uncomfortable. She moved his hands away and looked at him.
“What?” he asked as he grabbed for her again. Janae moved to the other side of the limo.
“I don’t know what you think is going to happen when we get alone, but I am not having sex with you. Best believe that,” Janae replied as Luke’s head went back against the seat.
He groaned.
“Why not, girl? That’s what everybody else that I know is going to be doing tonight. I mean, 5 months is a long time. I figured this was the night,” Luke replied.
“Well, you figured wrong,” Janae replied.
“I mean, I’m good to you. I spend time with you and money on you,” Luke stated.
“Oow, let me give you a gold star for being so different. Whoop de doo,” Janae said.
“I am good to you, Janae. Why can’t you be good to me, baby?” he asked as he pulled her hand in his. Janae pulled it away.
“I am good to you. I mean, what do you want, a cookie?” Janae asked as Luke moved closer with a sneaky grin.
“Yeah, some pink cookies,” he replied as Janae sighed.
“I told you that I wasn’t ready for that. When I fall in love…that’s when I’ll be ready. Maybe when I’m married. Who knows? I like you a lot, but I don’t love you and I’m not with it,” Janae replied.
Luke looked at her with a strange look on his face, one she had never seen before. “I took you to nice places, spent money on you and you can’t give me any act right? So I basically wasted 5 months trying to get in those panties for nothing and you say you are not taking them off? Damn, I’m glad I have a few spare bitches.”
Janae’s mouth opened wide as she looked at him. “A spare what?”
“You heard me. Look, baby, I’m a man. I have needs. You didn’t want to take care of them, so I had to get it some kind of way. Look, you're fine and all, but you ain’t worth all this work. Damn, my boys told me this shit was gonna happen. Denny, could you pull over?” Luke asked the driver angrily. Janae didn’t know what was going on, but when the limo stopped in front of a Starbucks, she had an idea.
“Since you ain’t with it, you need to step. I ain’t got time for this and I got things to get into, if you know what I mean,” Luke replied as he opened the door. Janae gathered her dress and stepped out of the car. She didn’t want to be anywhere near his trifling ass anyway.
“You ain’t shit, you trifling bastard,” Janae yelled, giving him the finger as the limo pulled away. She looked at her watch. Only 10:00pm. If she went home now, Cameron would know something was wrong. She couldn’t call him to get her, so she called another number.
Taylor was smiling with his friends Brandon and Tanner at dinner when he heard his phone ring. He looked at the name and number and smiled, then he remembered what night this was for her. Why was she calling him on her prom night?
“Hey, baby girl, what’s shakin’? You havin’ fun?” Taylor asked as he heard faint sniffles, which sounded like crying. He walked away from his friends to hear and sure enough, she was crying.
“’Nay, what’s wrong?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t what he thought it was. If it was, Mr. Wonderful, he was a dead man.
“Luke put me out of the limo because I wouldn’t sleep with him. Can you come and get me? I can’t go home yet and I just don’t want to hear it,” Janae replied through her tears.
“Sure. Where are you?” Taylor asked.
“At the Starbucks on 59th Street, next to Petrali’s Deli,” she replied.
Taylor was only 10 minutes away from her. “I know where that is. Stay right there. I’m coming.”
“Thank you so much, T,” Janae replied as she sat at the booth.
“No problem. Stay put,” he replied as he closed his phone. Taylor sighed.
“I gotta bounce fellas,” Taylor replied as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
“Booty call?” Tanner asked.
Taylor grinned as he threw a few bills on the table. “Naw, nothing like that. Janae’s punk ass prom date stranded her and she asked me to pick her up.”
Tanner and Brandon grinned at him. Then Brandon said, “I guess she didn’t give him any.”
“I guess not,” Taylor replied.
“Yo, T, that kid is mad fine. You sure it ain’t a booty call? You know she’s been crushin’ on you for years. She’s legal, now. Why don’t you try and tap that, because I know I would,” Tanner stated.
“Me too. Janae’s a dime,” Brandon said.
“Naw, it ain’t that kind of party and the two of you? Don’t even think about Janae like that, alright? I’m out,” Taylor responded as he walked out of the restaurant.
*********************************************************
Janae slowly sipped her iced caramel mocha latte as she watched Taylor walk into the door. Janae watched as female heads from every corner of the room watched him walk in. The boy was fine, she thought, taking in his grey vintage shirt, blue jeans, with a white oxford over it. He smiled at her.
“You ready to go?” Taylor asked as she stood up. He hadn’t seen her that night when she left, but she looked beautiful. The way the pale yellow looked against her dark skin was incredible. The yellow dress hugged her body perfectly. Why was he staring at Janae’s body, he thought? Oh yeah, because it looked good, especially her ass, he thought. I can’t be thinking about this kid’s body. She’s family, he thought as he thought about Barbara Bush naked. Immediately, he focused. He opened the door of his 2 seater silver Benz for her as she climbed in. He closed the door and walked over to the driver’s side.
There was silence for a minute and he smiled over at her. “Hey, you hungry?” Janae brought a tear stained gaze to his. He hated to see, as he called her, his little bubbling brown sugar looking like that. She was always cheerful and happy. This wasn’t the happy go lucky kid that he knew.
“Yeah. Luke brought me to this five star frou frou restaurant with all this exotic food and there was no way in hell I was eating an octopus. So, yeah, I could definitely eat,” Janae replied as he laughed.
“So, where do you want to go?” Taylor asked as he started his car.
“Can I just go to your house for a minute? I’m in the mood to kick your ass at Tekken and maybe you could make me one of those omelets with the Italian sausage, peppers, and cheese, if you don’t mind,” she replied as he laughed and pulled away from the curb.
“I guess I could do that. But you are not going to kick my ass,” Taylor replied as he drove to his apartment.
Two hours later, stuffed and satisfied, Janae was out of her shoes, with her dress around her knees, kicking his ass at Tekken . They were sitting on the floor talking smack to each other as they played. Janae always liked hanging out with Taylor. He always made her feel better. He didn’t ask her about what happened. She always told him eventually, so he just waited.
“You and Cam were right, you know,” Janae replied as they played. Taylor looked over at Janae.
“About loverboy?” Taylor asked.
“Yeah,” Janae replied as she told him what happened. Taylor shook his head. He had been turned down for sex before, but he never put a girl out of his car. That was just tasteless, he thought.
“Well, the good news is now you know. So, you just move on and be glad that kid is out of your life,” Taylor replied as Janae looked over at him. Taylor was just one of those guys that women loved to look at and men wanted to look like. He was gorgeous, but he wasn’t conceited. She scooted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder. He always smelled so good, she thought as she inhaled his scent.
“If you want, I can kick his ass…and if I tell Cam, he’ll be toe tagged and waiting to go in a freezer. Just say the word,” Taylor said as she laughed.
“No, it’s cool. I like to look at the positives in everything. He will never call me again and I won’t have to deal with him looking at himself every five minutes, licking his fingers and rubbing his spitty fingertips over his eyebrows. No, he’s not worth the time. Can we just keep this between us? Please,” Janae said with a small pout. Taylor grinned. He couldn’t deny her anything and the way she was handling what that little piss ant did to her was total maturity. He was really proud of her.
“I’ll keep it on the DL. Don’t worry,” he said.
“Thanks. Taylor you’re a guy,” Janae began.
Taylor smiled at her once more. “The last time I checked.”
“Why do guys have to be such assholes? Why is physical stuff so important? I mean, girls know how to hold back. Why can’t guys?” Janae asked as Taylor laughed.
“Not all girls hold back, trust me. Girls can be very aggressive when they want to be. Then there are the girls who just want sex…all the time. They are very special creatures. I’m very found of those ladies,” Taylor grinned.
“I’m sure you are,” Janae replied.
“To answer why guys can’t hold back sometimes, is well, because, we just can’t, Doodles. Women are just too damn irresistible. Yall got the best goodies,” Taylor replied as Janae shook her head.
“Hmm. I’m just glad that I wasn’t in love with him. That would have been worse. I’m just a little pissed that he was so crappy. I’ll get over it. So Taylor, have you ever pushed a girl for sex?” Janae asked.
Taylor looked at her and shook his head. “No. I’ve never had to do that. I wouldn’t want to do anything with someone who wasn’t totally into it anyway. What would be the point?”
“Interesting. What kind of girls are you attracted to Taylor?” Janae asked as Taylor looked at her and smiled.
“Cute ones,” he replied.
“No, I mean do they have to be a certain height, hair color, age, etc.,” Janae explained as Taylor continued to grin at her as he ran his hand over his hair.
“I can’t tell you that, Doodles. I got to keep my pimp hand strong,” Taylor said, still grinning as Janae rolled her eyes to the ceiling, sucking her teeth in the process.
“That’s what I think of your pimp hand. No, real talk…what kind of girls are you into?” Janae asked.
“No, um, I like smart girls, you know, ones that I can talk to. I like girls who like to have fun. I like girls who know what’s going on in the world. I love girls who have compassion for others and who are not selfish. Selfish chicks are a big turn off for me. I don’t like a pushover, either. I like girls who are strong and confident. I don’t want to be able to tell you to do something. I like girls that follow the beat of their own drum. And, last but not least, I love girls with beautiful eyes and beautiful skin,” he replied as he grinned at her, trying not to get lost in what he just realized were the most beautiful brown eyes he had ever seen.
“Oh. So, do you only date certain races or what? I mean, you’ve never brought any girls around, and I’ve heard you and your friends talk, so I just want to know,” Janae inquired.
“Would you bring anybody around Josslyn or the rest of those crazy ass people that I’m related to? Cameron and Logan are braver cats than me. I would never subject anyone to my crazy ass sister, my CSI examining moms and my flirty pops. I think I may have brought one girl home, and that’s Alicia Donaldson, and that experience taught me to never do that again,” he said with a small grin.
“Who’s Alicia Donaldson?” Janae asked as she crossed her arms and put her chin on them. Taylor grinned at her.
“Alicia Donaldson was my first crush, first girlfriend, my freshman year of high school. I had been crushing on that girl since we were in 7th grade and we started going together in 9th grade. I really liked her. I brought the girl home and pops kept going on how cute she was, mom wanted to know what her college plans were and Joss asked the girl if she was still a virgin. After that, I’ve never brought anyone home,” Taylor said fondly.
“What happened to her? I mean, you said that you liked her, so what happened?” Janae asked, scooting closer to him.
“I was a player, girl. Once I landed Alicia, all the girls wanted me, so that added some stress and we broke up. We stayed friends and we’re still cool. She’s now engaged to that quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals or something,” Taylor replied as Janae smiled.
“Is Alicia black?” Janae asked.
“Yes, she is. Why?” Taylor asked with a grin.
“Just wanted to know. It’s nice that you stayed friends with her. Are you friends with all of your ex-girlfriends?” Janae asked as they stared at each other. Something weird was happening the longer he looked at Janae, he thought. But he couldn’t stop staring at her. The girl was gorgeous, he thought.
“No. So, um, do you need anything?” He asked as his face moved closer to hers. His eyes began to lock on her full, gorgeous lips. Janae ran the tip of her tongue over the top and bottom wetting them, and he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Wait, this is Janae, he thought, but his body said something else.
“No, I’m good,” she whispered as they stared at one another.
“Oh. Okay. That guy is crazy. You look absolutely gorgeous tonight,” he whispered.
“Thank you,” Janae whispered still staring into his eyes.
“A girl like you is definitely worth the wait. He’s an idiot, lil bit. Any man would wait for you,” he whispered, unable to tear his gaze away from her beautiful face. Janae wanted to kiss him, she thought. His eyes were fixed on her lips, turning a deep greenish gray. He was absolutely beautiful, she thought as she stared at those sexy lips of his. She ran her tongue across her lips again and watched him slowly do the same. He had never looked at her that way before and it was completely turning her on. Janae had enough. She gathered her dress in her hands and crossed her legs over him. She straddled his lap and put her hands on each side of his face.
“Nay, wait, what are you…” but his question was halted by a soft, slow, aggressive kiss from Janae’s lips. She pulled away and looked into his eyes. They stared at each other, because they never did that before, but damn it if she didn’t want to do it again, she thought. It was a complete turn on that Janae grabbed him and kissed him, he thought and where in the hell did she learn to kiss like that? Taylor couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get another taste of those lips. Taylor pulled her face in his hands and stared at her before his lips went back to hers. The kissing started out slow and sweet and as soon as Janae ran her tongue along the seam of his lips, he growled and devoured her lips, taking her tongue into his mouth, slowly sucking on it. Janae’s fingers went into his hair as his hands slowly went down her bare shoulders, to her back, and ended on her waist. Tongues intertwined with tongues and lips sucked lips. They pulled away from each other to catch their breath. They couldn’t keep their eyes off of each other or their hands for that matter. Taylor held her face in his hands, his right thumb gently caressing her left cheek.
“You’re so sweet, Janae,” he whispered as his lips attacked hers once again. He couldn’t help himself. She tasted so good and those full, beautiful lips were so soft and plump. They were addictive he thought as he just stared at her lips. Then, he traced his finger lightly along her lips as she smiled.
“I never really noticed before, but you have sexy lips,” he whispered as Janae blushed, making herself more adorable to him, if that was possible.
“I’m rather fond of yours as well,” Janae answered as he leaned forward slowly to reconnect their lips. The instant their lips met again, Janae moaned and let her tongue slide back against his as his tongue massaged hers.
Janae and her kisses were driving him crazy, he thought as his lips danced with hers. A minute later, Taylor’s lips left hers and drifted slowly to her neck, kissing her there. His hands gripped her ass, and he groaned. It felt better than it looked, he thought as his lips drifted over her beautiful brown skin.
“You have the softest skin, Nay. You smell so good,” he whispered as his lips trailed soft kisses all over her neck. Then, he heard a little, soft, gaspy moan escape her lips along with his name and all he wanted to do at this point was take her and strip her out of that dress and thrust his raging hard on inside of her and love her until they both couldn’t see straight.
“Taylor, umm, Taylor,” she softly whispered. He pulled her closer and continued with his kisses. He never felt like this from kissing a woman and Janae was definitely all woman….desirable, sweet, sexy, beautiful. He wanted her…badly. When did she become sexy, he asked himself as they kissed.
Janae was in heaven. She always wished that he would kiss her like this, touch her like this. His hands were on her zipper and she heard it go all the way down. He pushed the dress down her body and she was staring at him with just a pale yellow strapless bra. Taylor couldn’t take his eyes off of her. It was like he was seeing her for the first time. She was young and gorgeous and that skin. It was so smooth and soft and she was just amazing…she took his breath away. He slowly gazed at her exposed chest and stared, then he looked into those eyes that were going to be the death of him.
“How did you go from cute to sexy in three years?” he asked as he looked into her eyes.
“You think I’m sexy?” Janae asked, totally surprised.
“Yes, very sexy. Janae, I…you’re so beautiful. Just beautiful, baby girl,” he whispered as his fingers outlined her cleavage. His lips traveled to her cleavage and his tongue lightly licked her there. Janae moaned, hoping she would never wake up from this dream. His tan hands cupped her breasts and his lips went back to her neck. Seeing his tan skin against that gorgeous, brown skin of hers was turning him on in a major way. He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t keep his lips or his hands off of her.
He pulled her by the back of the head and stared into her eyes once more before laying another series of passionate kisses on her. Janae pulled him closer and never wanted this feeling to end. Taylor nibbled lightly on her bottom lip, then ran his tongue over it, savoring the flavor of them. He hadn’t really thought about her lips until now. They were so full and he just wanted to keep kissing them.
“I love your lips,” he whispered as he smiled at her, still taking tiny nibbles and licks of her lips. Janae thought she was going to turn into a puddle of goo. She had never been kissed so thoroughly and with such passion, not by any boy. But then again, Taylor was no boy. The evidence was in his kiss and the arousal that she felt as she grinded into him and he into her.
“I’ve been a fan of yours for quite some time, wondering how they would feel against mine,” Janae whispered as she looked at him, then her head went back with another soft gaspy moan as his lips reluctantly left her full lips and traveled back to her jawline then her neck. His lips felt so good against her skin and she began to feel so moist between her legs that she pushed her thighs together to stop the moisture from leaking out.
“So, how do I rate?” he asked in a sexy voice, somewhere from her neck. Her hand gripped his head tighter and her head fell back.
“On a scale of 1 to 10…a 12,” she said breathlessly as he laughed. They continued to make out and then Janae, who was not one to hold her tongue, said something that made him come to his senses.
“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for you to do this, daydreaming, thinking about you kissing me, touching me. I want you, Taylor. Make love to me, please. I want you to make love to me,” Janae whispered as his lips danced along her collarbone. Her hands continued their journey through his beautiful, dark brown, thick hair. Taylor’s lips stopped moving and his hands sat still. He couldn’t do this, not to Janae. He sat up and licked his lips. Janae kissed him and he pulled away. How could he be thinking about Janae like that, he thought. She licked her lips and looked at him with such trust and…love. Oh shit, he thought. This ain’t right, he thought, it just ain’t.
Cameron's going to kick my ass. Tavin's going to kick my ass. Oh shit, he thought.
“Janae, I’m sorry. We went too far. I shouldn’t have done that,” he whispered, thinking that he couldn’t help himself.
“I wanted you to. I want to do more and I feel that you want to, too. Be my first, Taylor, please. I trust you and I love you,” Janae confessed as she leaned over and kissed his lips. Taylor’s head went back and he pulled Janae gently off of his lap. They both sat apart from one another, breathing heavily, staring at each other.
“I can’t do this, Janae. I mean, you had a shitty night and now I’m all over you. I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Taylor said.
“But I’m not. I’ve always had feelings for you and I know deep down you feel something for me. I want to. Don’t you want me?” Janae asked as Taylor stood up and walked to the kitchen. Janae followed him.
Taylor looked at her like she was crazy. “Do people in hell want ice water? Hell yeah, I want you, but it’s not right, baby girl. I’m 6 years older than you, Janae and I’ve done some things that would turn you purple if I told you,” he replied.
“I’m glad you have more experience than me. Besides, age ain’t nothin’ but a number, Taylor and I want to…with you,” Janae replied so sweetly that it was nothing short of a miracle that was holding him back.
“Yes, I know, I want to, too…believe me, you can see that, but, you’re amazing, Janae. I can’t do this. Your first time should be with someone who you really are into, someone who’s closer to your age, not just a crush,” he replied.
“It’s not just a crush and I’m not a baby. I’m 18 years old. I’m legal, and I’m perfectly aware of what I want. You’re the one that’s in denial. Huh, and I’m supposedly the youngster around here,” Janay replied, pulling her dress up. She was having a hard time zipping up her dress and Taylor walked over and assisted her. He sighed when he saw all that beautiful brown skin covered back up as it was before. He stepped away from her and grabbed his keys.
“Don’t do that, Nay. You have to understand how special you are…you always have been. You’re incredible, Janae and wonderful. You should have a special first time, baby. You’re too sweet to be taken on the living room floor the first time that you’re intimate with someone,” Taylor replied as he watched her stuff her feet into her shoes.
“I don’t care. Don’t you have a bed? We could go to your bed. I just want to be with you,” Janae whispered as she looked at him with those eyes that had him wanting to say to hell with being good. The big head took over and he sighed.
.
“Yes, I have a bed, but I can’t do that to you. You’re confused, Janae. I mean, you just walked away from a guy because he wanted to sleep with you and now you’re telling me you want the same thing from me?” Taylor asked as Janae walked over to him and looked him square in the eye.
“Yes, and I didn’t want that from him because I didn’t have feelings for him. He wasn’t you, Taylor. He just wasn’t you,” Janae said as Taylor ran his hand over his face and sighed.
“Nay, listen to me. You should be with someone who’s really worthy, baby girl, someone who loves you as much as you love them. I love you, but not like that and I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow with regrets,” he said.
“But I won’t Taylor…,” she began but he interrupted her.
“Come on, let me get you home,” Taylor replied, hating the look in her eyes now. He did have feelings for her, but love? He didn’t think so and this was Janae. He wouldn’t hurt her, couldn’t hurt her like that.
“Fine. Look, I won’t tell anyone I humiliated myself, if that’s what you’re worried about. I still think you’re wrong and one day, you’re going to think about this and slap yourself silly,” Janae stated as Taylor opened the door. Janae walked through and gave him a look that could melt ice. Damn, I screwed up, he thought as he followed behind her as they walked silently to the elevator.