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“What did I tell you before?” he asked. “Your eyes tell all.”
“And what, pray tell, are they telling you, Mr. Eye Reader?”
Cassie could see Jamal about to reply, probably with a snarky, flirtatious comment that would leave Cassie both fuming and hot and bothered at the same time. The man was a walking frustration. She wished she wanted him to leave her alone, but that was totally not the case. In fact, quite the opposite. She wanted him, in all the good ways a woman wanted a man.
“Well, now, Bambi –”
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Mr. Jamal Jenkins in the flesh. And what a handsome piece of flesh you are.”
Cassie heard the feminine voice dripping with fake Southern drawl behind her and saw Jamal’s eyes go wide as his chest expanded in a deep breath.
“Hello, Crystal,” Jamal said. Cassie turned toward the voice to see a woman dressed in skin-tight black leather halter top and leggings, complete with a tail, cat ears and whiskers drawn on her face in what looked like black eyeliner. Cassie also noticed the woman’s substantial breasts and fake blonde hair teased to an inch of its life. Cassie could also tell Jamal was holding back a sigh and possibly an eye roll. “Imagine seeing you here.”
“I was so happy when I saw your name on the list as a volunteer again this year, sugar,” she replied, going up to Jamal and weaving her arm through his. “But then I saw that you hadanothervolunteer beside your name. I can tell you I sure was disappointed,” she added, batting her fake eyelashes at him as she looked up in his eyes. “I thought we had such a good time last year. Now, honey, tell me who you’re with.”
Jamal nodded her head Cassie’s way. “I was lucky enough to bring Cleopatra with me this year,” he said, unwrapping cat woman’s arm out of his and walking over to where Cassie stood and wrapping his arm around her waist. Cat woman gave Cassie a glare that would freeze the entire Sahara desert. Cassie just smiled sweetly. As her momma always told her, kill ‘em with kindness.
“It’s nice to meet you, Crystal, was it?” Cassie said, holding her hand out to the woman. “I hear you’re the one responsible for all of this. That’s ridiculously impressive.”
Crystal paused, not knowing how to reply to Cassie’s comment.Ignore it or be catty, Cassie thought, laughing at her own joke,or take the compliment with reluctance.
“Why thank you, dear,” cat woman replied, taking Cassie’s hand limply as if Cassie had some sort of disease. “I would say I did it all, but I had so much help,” she continued, looking like she believed anything but.
“Well, I’m sure I couldn’t do something this amazing,” Cassie continued. “I’m sure it was a lot of work.”
“Oh, pish,” Crystal replied.
Pish? Cassie thought. It took all she had not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. This woman was a piece of work.
“Like I said before,” she continued, dripping sarcasm, “I hadlotsof help. But yes, I did do a lot of it myself. I’m kind of a micromanager.”
Jamal leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of Cassie’s head. “We are having a really good time. This might be the best one I’ve seen. I know all the kids appreciate it.”
Cat woman continue to shoot daggers Cassie’s way. “Yes, well, it was nice talkin’ to you two. But I best be on my way.”
Cassie couldn’t help it. She giggled as Crystal walked off, swishing her tail in response to Jamal’s rejection. “I didn’t know fake cat tails could swish like that,” she said, looking up at Jamal and grinning. “You think it’s mechanical?”
Jamal grinned down at her. “Don’t know, don’t care. There’s only one woman I see tonight. I just wish I had dressed up like Marc Antony.”
Cassie gave him a shove. “We would look goofy dressing as a couple,” she said softly.
“Well, you make me goofy, Bambi,” he said in reply, his eyes filled with honesty and vulnerability. “Goofy for you. Cheesy or not, that’s how you make me feel. I can’t seem get you out of my head.”
Cassie felt her heart start to pound. Her heart was full. Of what, she didn’t know yet. It was a combination of heat, warm fuzzies and total peace and contentment. And it scared her to death.
“Cassie, look what I won!” JJ chose that moment to interrupt the unspoken language the two were speaking.
“What’d you get, kiddo?”
“The cake!” JJ said, holding it up triumphantly for them to see. “Told ya I was gonna win it.”
Jamal laughed. “There’s no way you’re eating that entire cake by yourself, kiddo. You know what that means?”
JJ shrugged her shoulders. “What?”
“You gotta share,” Jamal replied, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Fine,” JJ said with a sigh. “But I have a request.”
