Indiscriminate Attraction

Grinning broadly, Chancellor summoned the waitress.

Tracee, a waitress Laylah knew well, crossed the room to take their order.

“Two white wines, please,” he said to Tracee. “One with a twist of lime.”

“How did you know I like to drink my wine with a slice of citrus?” she asked.

Chancellor shrugged. “I didn’t. I just happen to take mine the same way.”

Laylah threw her head back and laughed. “I’m sure we’ll probably discover we have a lot more in common than taking our wine with lime.”

Chancellor winked at her, smiling suggestively. “I think you might be right.”

Tracee came back with their drink order and quickly took off again.

Laylah was hungry, but she hadn’t ordered any food because she didn’t want Chancellor to feel he had to pay for it. It would do her no good to wish she had eaten dinner before coming to the café. She hardly ever ate before performing. A host of butterflies normally resided in her stomach to keep her somewhat nauseated. Once she got offstage, though, she always immediately ordered a personal-pan pizza.

As though someone had read Laylah’s mind, Tracee showed back up at the table with two personal-pan pizzas and a basket of hot wings. Before Laylah could ask about the food, the waitress pointed out a man seated at the bar. His back was turned to them. “Compliments of that gentleman, Laylah. He said to tell you he thoroughly enjoyed your hot poem. He thinks you’re a great poet. He also said you’re hot, too,” she whispered.

“I guess I’ll have to thank him myself. Thank you for the food delivery, Tracee.”

“You’re welcome, girlfriend. Talk to you later. By the way, the poem was the bomb! Everyone in the house seemed to enjoy it. All the lovers in the house surely did.”

Laylah glowed all over. “Thanks again. Your nice comments are appreciated.”

“You are so welcome.” Without further comment, Tracee rushed off.

Laylah found it interesting that Chancellor hadn’t bothered to turn around to take a look at the man Tracee had pointed out to her. She believed a lot of men would’ve done so in an instant. They may have also felt threatened by a man sending a gift of food to their date, but she didn’t see this as such. It hadn’t seemed to bother Chancellor in the least.

Laylah was intrigued. His attitude was that of a very confident man.

Her attention was drawn to her generous benefactor as he slipped off the bar stool. When he turned around, her jaw dropped. Seeing March wasn’t a very pleasant experience. She had to wonder what he was doing there, since she’d never seen him in the café before tonight. No doubt it would be very interesting around the workplace on Monday. He would see to it. Laylah was certain of that.

March probably would try to keep Laylah from living this down, but he had no idea what she could or couldn’t live with. She wasn’t ashamed of her poetry or any of her other creative writings. She wouldn’t let him make her feel shame. If he thought he could break her down or embarrass her, the brother was in for one rude awakening.

Laylah pushed the basket of wings to the center of the table. “Would you like to help me eat some of the food? I’m sure one of these pizzas was ordered for you.”

“I doubt that. But since I’m a little hungry, I don’t mind helping you out. How often do you come here?” He took a slice of pizza and put it on one of the small plates the waitress had delivered along with the food.

“Practically every Friday night. The only time I don’t come to the poetry session is when I have to put in overtime at the office. This is a great place to hang out.”

“I like it here. It’s not loud and noisy like most clubs. The atmosphere is pretty laid-back. How long have you been writing poetry?”

Laylah rolled her eyes back. “Since I was a teenager, maybe even earlier than that. I love to write. I’m also a journalist. I work as a reporter for the L.A. Press.”

Chancellor hid his displeasure in her profession. He didn’t like reporters. His experiences with them hadn’t been very good ones. Arrogant, pushy, beyond nosy and downright rude was how he saw the majority of them. He had dealt mostly with the dreaded paparazzi, whom he felt were largely responsible for some of his more serious woes. The band of renegades had given his family a lot of grief over the years.

No matter what he personally thought of the unethical journalists he’d once encountered on a regular basis, he vowed not to let his bad feelings about them spill over onto Laylah, not without just cause. Why she was so interested in him had suddenly taken on new meaning. He quickly decided he needed to be wary of her just in case she had ulterior motives. Chancellor wished this kind of damper hadn’t been put on their evening. Perhaps he should make his exit right now, as opposed to much later.

Laylah restlessly flipped through the television cable channels until she came upon Sarafina, starring Whoopi Goldberg. The movie was set against antiapartheid riots. She had seen parts of the film before, but never in its entirety, and decided to watch it.

As much as Laylah wanted to watch the movie to hopefully take her mind off Chancellor, she couldn’t seem to concentrate. She didn’t know why things had suddenly gone wrong for them down at the café, but they had gotten terribly out of whack. He had begun to withdraw into himself right after she’d mentioned what she did for a living.

The communication between her and Chancellor had quickly become stifled and he had suddenly seemed overly guarded. Although he had said he’d help her out with eating the food, he hadn’t touched a bite more of anything once he had consumed the first slice of pizza. Minutes later he had said that he really had to go, adamantly refusing her offer of a ride back to the shelter.

What had transpired at the café had Laylah terribly worried, not to mention downright puzzled. Chancellor’s behavior had been odd and unexplainable. At this point, she didn’t know if she’d ever see him again. Just the thought of that happening had her feeling fearful and disheartened. She could get over her attraction to him if she had to, but that’s not at all what she wanted. If nothing else, she wanted his friendship.

She wanted him in her life—and she wanted him to stay there for a very long time. She hoped what had happened was just a freaky instance and that he’d come back around. They’d been so frank when admitting their attraction to each other. Now she just didn’t know what the future held for them.

Just in case he did decide to stick around, Laylah thought it might be in the best interest of their friendship to come up with a list of fun but inexpensive things for her and Chancellor to do together. She loved touring museums and visiting different parks all around the city. She also loved outdoor picnics and long drives outside the metropolis.

Although some entertainment venues had small entry fees, Laylah had loads of free passes she’d been given as gifts to thank her for her various community services. In fact, she had all sorts of freebie tickets to one venue or another. Tickets to sporting events were sent to her frequently. She also had quite a few free-meal coupons she’d acquired in pretty much the same way.

At any rate, Laylah knew she and Chancellor had to take their relationship extremely slow. He was reluctant to get involved with her even though he hadn’t said any such thing. It was just something she had sensed in him early on, more so this evening.

Because he couldn’t afford to pay for elaborate dates, she felt she had to be careful not to make him feel she required that of him in order to be happy. Spending money on her wasn’t something she had ever required of any man. She was very easy to please. Spending quality time and indulging in effective communication with her romantic interest was what she desired most out of her relationships.

Chancellor had been tossing and turning on the cramped cot ever since he’d first lain down. Thinking about what had happened at the café with Laylah still had him on edge. He not only felt sad about running out on her like that, he also felt horribly guilty. Reporters of any kind just made him downright nervous. Their intrusive presence in his life had left a lot to be desired. He couldn’t help wishing she hadn’t mentioned her profession. At any rate, it more than likely would have been mentioned sooner or later.

Chancellor sensed that Laylah desperately wanted to know all about his life, and how he’d gotten where he was, but he had figured out she was probably too polite to ask. Her not asking what she wanted to know about him was what worried him the most.

If Laylah didn’t feel comfortable asking him about his personal and professional life, she just might take it upon herself to snoop around in his private business to find out on her own. That’s what reporters often resorted to in getting their information. He recalled her point-blank inquiry of his surname.

The Kingston name was very well-known in the business world and was also well connected with elite social circles. Chancellor’s grandparents had worn their prestigious name with pride and honor.

To up and disappear on Laylah or continue to stick around was a difficult decision for Chancellor to make. The fact that he was so personally interested in her made it doubly hard on him. He already knew she was different from any other woman he’d ever dated. This woman knew exactly who she was, with her “take me as I am or just leave me alone” attitude. Laylah wasn’t about to change herself to fit into anyone’s mold.

Money and prestige obviously didn’t mean a darn thing to Laylah, not when she could consider getting romantically involved with a homeless man. She had made no bones whatsoever about her wild attraction to him. Her confession had been rather refreshing. Her down-to-earth and unassuming demeanor was a real turn-on for him.

A part of Chancellor wanted to stick around to enjoy the excitement Laylah brought to his life. Another part of him was telling him to hightail it out of Dodge before all hell broke loose. Judging by her actions, he wouldn’t be surprised if she already knew who he was. If she didn’t already know, once Laylah found out about the Kingston family background, it would more than likely be over for them anyway.

Chapter 4

No longer interested in eating her breakfast, Laylah absently stirred her soggy cereal over and over again. Wondering if Chancellor was going to show up to take her to the lighting-fixture place had her wishing once again that things hadn’t turned out so badly last night. He had left in such a hurry that she had lost the opportunity to confirm with him their shopping outing. She knew he had her address, but she couldn’t recall if she’d also written down her phone number.

If Chancellor couldn’t call Laylah, he’d just have to show up if it was his intent.

Laylah twirled around and around in front of the full-length cheval mirror, checking out how well the cute white shorts defined her firm, perfectly round derriere. A stretchy, sleeveless top in mint green, boasting a scooped neck, was a great fit, fully outlining her perky twin mounds. Pleased with her breezy-summer-day appearance, she smiled, her eyes filled with love and satisfaction over her mirrored reflection.

Just as Laylah sat down to tackle an easy style for her long hair, the doorbell rang. The first person who had popped into her mind was Chancellor. Perhaps he’d had a change of heart. She sure hoped so. As much as she wished she didn’t, she missed having him around something awful. Maybe her day would turn out to be okay after all, she thought, dashing out of the room and rushing up the hallway.

It was obvious to her that Chancellor had received nice, neatly pressed, clean clothing from Benjamin. He had on light-colored lightweight slacks, perhaps Dockers, and a gently used, royal-blue Izod polo. The designer shirt was a surprise, but wealthy people donated all the time. The white tennis shoes on his feet looked fairly new.

Laylah couldn’t be sure, but it looked as if Chancellor had gotten a haircut. He had beautiful wavy hair, a rich sable brown. He was also clean shaven, but she had liked the slightly shaven look. After getting an eyeful of his clean-cut appearance, she finally opened the door wide. “Come on in. I wasn’t sure if you’d make it or not.”

“I always keep my word, kiddo. Ready to hit the place I told you about?” If only she knew how close he’d come to not making it there, he thought. His deep desire to see her had won out over his numerous arguments for not getting himself involved with her.

Beyond excited over the shopping trip with Chancellor, Laylah nodded. “Light Up Your World awaits us.”