The Makeover Read online

“Okay,” she said, but she sounded so forlorn that he wished he were there to hold her.

  A knock sounded on the door and Nigel stuck his head inside the room. “Are you finished? Mr. Rodgers is asking for you.”

  Greg held up a finger. “I’ve got to go,” he said softly to Mykal. “I love you and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. See you then. Goodbye.”

  “Bye.” He stared at straight ahead, barely aware of his surroundings. His gut twisted with guilt that he wasn’t there when she needed him and that he’d missed their first date. He wished that he’d mustered the courage to ask her to come with him. He’d wanted to, but he wasn’t sure she’d be willing. After all, she had yet to tell him that she loved him. He was almost certain that she did, but he’d like to hear the words.

  “Ready to go?” Nigel asked, practically bouncing with impatience.

  “Yeah,” Greg said with a nod, forcibly pushing aside thoughts of Mykal for the moment.

  ***

  Mykal fluffed her pillows and piled them against the headboard before settling in with a cup of salted caramel cheesecake ice cream. She was well aware of her clichéd behavior, but after the day she’d had, she felt she’d earned the treat. The spoon was half way to her mouth when her cell rang.

  She stuffed the spoon in her mouth and grabbed her cell off the nightstand. “Hello?”

  “Tell me all about your crappy day. Starting with the employee you fired.”

  “Greg?” she mumbled around a mouthful of ice cream.

  “Yes. Now, you tell me about your day.”

  “I’d prefer not rehash it. The sooner I forget today, the better.” She swirled her spoon around the edge of her cup. “I’d rather hear about your day. It sounds like it was exciting.”

  “They want to buy my game. Mr. Rodgers was really impressed. They want to make a few tweaks, but the hope is to get it into production in time to get it into gaming conventions and have it up for sale before next Christmas. Mr. Rodgers liked the game so much that they offered me a development deal to buy my next three games.”

  “Wow. Does that mean that they want you to work there?”

  “Ideally, yes.” Mykal’s stomach took a nosedive. “But there’s no reason I can’t work from home. I do my best gaming in pajamas and I have this sexy neighbor that I can’t live without.”

  “Oh, Greg….”

  “There are nights when Mrs. Johnson forgets to close her curtains and it just makes my week-”

  “Greg!”

  He laughed. “You know I’m talking about you. I’d never take a job clear across the country from you. I love you, Mykal.”

  Mykal closed her eyes. For a moment, she was so choked up, she couldn’t speak.

  “Are you still there?”

  “Mm.” She sniffed and cleared her throat. “I miss you so much, baby.”

  “I miss you, too. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “I can’t wait.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Greg’s mouth slanted over hers and his tongue plunged deep to tangle with hers. Mykal moaned as pleasure bloomed low in her belly. She clenched her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. He cupped her bottom and thrust his hips into the cradle of hers, showing her without words how much he desired her.

  Reluctantly, Mykal broke away from Greg, ending the kiss she’d initiated upon finding him on her doorstep. She lowered her legs from around his waist. Greg buried his face in her neck as she slid down his hard frame. “God, I missed you,” he groaned.

  She hugged him tighter, savoring the warmth of his embrace and the feeling of joy of being in his arms. “I missed you, too.” She inhaled his unique scent and then kissed his earlobe. “Unfortunately, I need to get ready now if we’re going to make it to Ben’s party.”

  “Fuck him,” he said, his arms tightening around him.

  Mykal laughed. “He’s your friend. Plus, I convinced Tania to go. She’ll have a conniption if we don’t show.”

  He groaned. “All right. But hurry before I change my mind. I came straight over without taking my bags out of my car. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes.”

  At the realization that seeing her had been his first priority when arriving home, Mykal cupped his face and kissed him exuberantly. Though he’d only been gone for a few days, she could have sworn that he was more handsome. His eyes were a more striking blue. His shoulders were broader. Even his five o’clock shadow was seriously sexy.

  Smiling, he swatted lightly her on the ass. “Twenty minutes.”

  “I’ll try my best,” she promised, but they both knew that her personal best was forty-five minutes.

  He backed out of the house and walked halfway to his car backward, not breaking eye contact with her. “Much as I love the sight of you, you’d better hurry or I can’t promise that we’ll make it to the party.” And then he turned. It was only then that she noticed that his clothing was rumpled. Though she was usually a stickler for neatness, she found the disheveled look adorable on Greg.

  How she loved him! Her chest was near full to bursting with the emotion. She barely restrained herself from yelling it out across the yard. Greg deserved to hear the words before anyone else and not with an audience of who knows who standing around on their lawn. Still it was difficult to contain her emotions. Before she could lose control, she retreated and closed the door. She raced upstairs to get ready for the party, humming with happiness. She would tell him tonight after the party.

  Greg was kind, intelligent, sensitive, and sweet—essentially everything she wanted in a man. He respected her. And even though he acknowledged her flaws, he still seemed to view her as some sort of goddess. She suddenly couldn’t wait to tell him that she loved him. Their time apart, though brief, had made her realize how much he meant to her and what an integral part of her day he had become. What she had with him was nothing like what she had had with Mario. On the surface, it may have had some similar traits. She’d transformed both of the men. But whereas Mario had been starved for any sort of feminine attention, Greg was focused only on her. She recalled the first time that a waitress had paid extra attention to Mario. He’d been surprised and then flustered. But he quickly became accustomed to it. When he started flirting back, she’d been amused. It’d seemed harmless. And it was nice to see his self-confidence grow. She’d never imagined that he was a cheater. She’d liked and trusted him. He would probably make a good friend even if he wasn’t a trustworthy lover. Not that she saw the two of them becoming friends now considering his betrayal.

  When Greg let himself in with his key twenty minutes later, she was running a flat iron over her hair. Greg tilted his head to watch in fascination from the safety of the bathroom door. Mykal grinned at him over her shoulder. “I’ll be done in just a second.” She turned off the flat iron and sprayed her hair with oil sheen before giving it one last brush. She swiped her lashes with mascara and slicked on some lip gloss. In the mirror, she saw Greg reach down and adjust himself through his jeans. She arched a brow. “Really? What was it? The gloss or dress?” The dress, a curve-hugging black jersey design, cost too much, but she’d been unable to resist it after trying it on. It had a conservative bodice but the back dipped almost to her waist.

  “The full effect,” he said with a lazy, sexy smile. “Ready to go?”

  Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. That he could think that she was ready was such a man thing. She wasn’t even wearing shoes! She grabbed up her blush and did her cheeks. “I won’t be much longer, I promise.”

  “The earlier we arrive, the sooner we can leave.”

  “I’m really close.” She gave her makeup one final scrutiny before rushing past him to her closet. She picked out a pair of black boots with a stiletto heel. She sat on the bed to put them on and immediately paused when Greg dropped before her, taking her foot in his large, warm palm. The sensual way he touched her legs and feet had her biting the i
nside of her lip to keep in a moan. Several moments had passed before she realized that he was simply helping her put on her boot.

  He stood before her and assisted her to her feet. He kissed her neck, making her shiver. “Mm, you smell good enough to eat.”

  Mykal gripped his shoulders. “Tania, will kill me,” she reminded him and herself.

  Greg chuckled. “Okay. We’ll save our proper reunion for later.” He nipped her earlobe. “I love you.”

  She inhaled swiftly, an “I love you,” poised on the tip of her tongue, but then he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the door.

  “Let’s get going before I tear that strip of a dress off of you. Good thing it’s a warm night.”

  She locked the door behind them. Greg was right. It was warm with an occasional cool breeze. Street lights were on. Many houses had their porch lights on and their doors flung open for trick-or-treaters. Pumpkins dotted lawns. Across the street, the Johnson family had a boiling cauldron in their yard. Mykal made sure to turn off her porch light so that she wouldn’t get visitors while she wasn’t home. She hadn’t decorated either. The only holiday she decorated for was Christmas. For that, she went all out.

  When they arrived at Ben’s, all the lights were on. The front door was open. Cars filled the driveway and were parked along the street and on his lawn. “How many people did he invite?”

  Greg shrugged.

  Ben had made a token attempt at decorating for Halloween. There was a large pumpkin on the porch and a scarecrow sitting on the bench by the door. Inside, an orange and black banner decorated with skeletons hung from the ceiling over the den and demanded that everyone have a Happy Halloween. The house was packed from wall to wall with bodies. Mostly women. Only a few of them wore costumes. Mykal saw only one man dressed as a football player. The rest wore jeans and t-shirts. Music played from speakers placed in the corner but was barely audible over so many voices. “Do you know any of these people?” Mykal asked Greg in a stage whisper, trying to be heard over the din.

  He squinted. “I think I see Jeff and Max in the kitchen.” He took her hand and began weaving through the crowd. As they neared his friends, Mykal could see that the guys were talking to a woman in a skin-tight pink halter dress and a large blonde wig. Jeff and Max watched her sling her false hair over her slim brown shoulder with matching expressions of awe. Mykal wondered who she was until the woman turned enough that she could see her profile.

  Laughing she rushed over to hug Tania. “You look fabulous, but who are you supposed to be?”

  Tania batted long faux lashes and pursed pink lips. “Guess. Think iconic doll who wears lots of pink.” Even in the tiny pink dress and exaggerated makeup, Tania emanated too much class to be mistaken for the slutty version of anyone.

  She nodded. “Gotcha.”

  “And who are you supposed to be?”

  “Just me. It takes me long enough to get ready as myself. I didn’t think I could pull off Cleopatra in twenty minutes. Besides, someone was in a hurry.” She nudged Greg in the side. He gave her a kiss to the temple and went back to talking to his buddies.

  Tania tugged on her elbow. “Come with me to refresh my makeup.”

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” she told Greg and followed Tania for what was sure to be a gab session. There was nothing wrong with Tania’s makeup except for an overabundant supply. Her lips looked like she’d used an entire tube of lipstick to attain that plastic-like sheen. “Do you even know where the bathroom is?” she asked Tania’s back.

  “Yeah, the behemoth who owns this place showed it to me earlier.”

  “You’ve met Ben?”

  “Yeah. He tried to hit on me. I told him that he couldn’t handle this.” There was a line of women outside the guest bathroom. Not one of them was dressed for the holiday. “Am I the only one who wore a costume?” Tania groused.

  “Depends,” Mykal responded, “on whether or not the Goth out in the den is the genuine article.”

  Tania leaned against the wall. “So have you told him that you love him yet?”

  “Not yet.”

  A grin curled her unnaturally pink lips. “So you’re not denying it anymore. Good.”

  Mykal rolled her eyes. “I plan to tell him tonight.” And she had a surprise for Greg that she knew he was going to love. “Now that we’ve got that cleared up, can we get out of this line?”

  “No,” she said with a grimace, “because now I have to pee.”

  ***

  Greg popped a piece of candy in his mouth and almost spit it back out. Wincing, he turned to Ben. “What the hell is this? A cough drop?”

  “Hell, no. Do you know how much cough drops cost? I got that from the dollar store.”

  Spotting the trash can in the corner of the kitchen, he spit out the offensive candy. “I think you got last year’s stock.”

  Ben shrugged.

  “No wonder this place is clearing out.” Only a half hour in and many of the guest that were overflowing Ben’s three-bedroom house had left. “You need better snacks.”

  “I got beer,” he said defensively.

  “Really good beer, too,” one of Ben’s old football buddies, Allen chimed in with a laugh. He leaned back against the sink with a beer bottle in one hand, his arms crossed over his massive chest. He wore a football jersey much like the one Ben wore. Greg didn’t watch enough football to know if the jerseys were fake or representative of a genuine team.

  Greg couldn’t argue about the beer. He grabbed one out of the ice bucket sitting in the middle of the table. That candy had a wicked aftertaste.

  “I’ll order pizza once some of the freeloaders leave.”

  “Didn’t you invite all these people?” Greg glanced around. Ben might not mind insulting his guests, but Greg didn’t want to be near him when he did it. Fortunately, the kitchen was small. Jeff and Max sat at the table and another couple of Ben’s football friends were deep in conversation by the refrigerator.

  “More or less. I was looking to get a good crop of babes to pick from. That redhead from the gym showed up,” he added with a grin.

  “And I spotted this cute little thing in a black dress with an ass that’ll drop you to your knees.” Allen closed his eyes and sighed as though reminiscing. “You can bet she’ll be going home with me tonight.”

  Ben laughed and punched Allen in the arm. “What’s the lucky lady’s name?”

  “I didn’t catch her name, but I thought I heard her friend in the blonde wig call her something like Maya.”

  Greg stiffened. “Mykal,” he corrected gruffly. “And she’s mine.”

  Allen laughed. “Naw, man, this girl is more my type,” he said stroking brown cheek as if to indicate his skin color. In case he didn’t understand his not so subtle gesture, Allen further clarified, “She’s a brown sugar cutie. And no offense, but she’s also smokin’ hot, and I don’t think you got it like that.”

  Since he never thought of Mykal in terms of race, the reminder was something of a shock. Yes, he noticed her skin, but only to observe its beauty. He took a sip of his beer, trying to give himself the opportunity to calm down. It didn’t work. “Actually, I do have it like that. That’s Mykal you’re talking about. And, I repeat, she’s mine.”

  Allen’s eyes opened so wide, Greg would have laughed if he wasn’t still bristling with irritation. The room had gone quiet and the atmosphere was tense. After a while, Allen cleared his throat. “Okay, then. I don’t suppose you could introduce me to her friend?”

  Greg buried his face in the curve of Mykal’s neck. The fall of her hair tickled his ear. She smelled really good. He trailed his lips up to her jawline. Since many of Ben’s guests had evacuated, there was enough room for dancing in the den. And, of course, Mykal had dragged him from the kitchen to the makeshift dance floor. He couldn’t believe he’d let her talk him into dancing in front of an audience of his friends. But he was glad. The s
econd he took her into his arms, everything and everyone else faded into the background. Holding her close when he couldn’t do anything about how much she turned him on was a form of exquisite torture. He ran his hand down her spine and felt her shiver and he knew that she was aroused as well. “I don’t think I told you how much I like this dress,” he said, spreading his fingers out until the spanned her waist and his pinky dipped below the waistband of her skirt.

  “You didn’t have to,” she replied with a shaky laugh. “I can tell.” She shifted closer until she pressed against his erection.

  Greg grunted. “Sorry. I can’t help but respond to you.”

  She slid her fingers into his hair and then nipped his earlobe. “Same here. Let’s go home,” she breathed into his ear.

  Groaning, his arms tightened around her. “Give me a minute.”

  Mykal laughed. Incredibly, even that aroused him. She stepped back to place some much needed distance between them, her hands drifting to a safe position on his shoulders. “I’ll have to find Tania to let her know we’re leaving.”

  “Last I saw, she was holding court in the kitchen.” Allen, Jeff, and Max were all captivated by her and hung on her every word. Tania did not seem similarly affected. “While you give her a head’s up, I’ll say goodbye to Ben. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in about ten minutes.”

  “Sounds good.” She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss that had him aching for more.

  They parted ways. He thought he’d seen Ben heading towards the bedrooms. He found him in the master bedroom. A few guys were playing an older gaming system Ben had hooked up to his bedroom television when he’d bought a PlayStation 4 for his den. A couple leaned against the wall, having what appeared to be an intimate conversation, ignoring the other occupants of the room. Ben leaned against his dresser talking to two women. One was the redhead whose name escaped him again. He supposed it was an emotional defense mechanism. He associated her with memories that he’d just as soon forget.