Chapter 6

Makynzee

            It’d been two weeks since Kalil saw me dancing and he hadn’t faltered at all. I’d been getting dirty looks from most of the dancers though. Cari said they thought I was out to take their spots. One of them purposely bumped into me as I made my way back to the bar. They called her Dynasty. The looks and attitudes reminded me that my hair was getting too long and I made a mental note to get a haircut as soon as possible. I was tempted to said something, but Cari’s voice caught my attention first.

“I asked Kalil if you could get Friday off, told him I would cover for you. He asked why, I didn’t know, so he said to tell you if you want a day off come ask him yourself.”

He hadn’t spoken to me in weeks, now he demanded that I spoke to him. My head throbbed in response.

“He was in his office right now, you better hurry though, I think he was about to leave.”

Rubbing my temples, I made my way through the crowd. When I got to his office I contemplated knocking or just forgetting it all. I couldn’t forget it though. This Friday was my birthday and Jay was coming to spend the weekend with me. I couldn’t wait to see her, but she wanted to meet me at the club. Not a great idea because she still had her anger issues and with all the negativity from the dancers, we were bound to fight. She claimed she just wanted to meet Kalil and Cari. Nothing is ever that simple with her and Kalil wasn’t even speaking to me. Hence my hesitation at his office door. Just when I decided to walk away the door opened and there he stood. Green eyes gleamed with intensity and luscious lips quirked up on one side. He stepped aside and gestured for me to come in.

“I know you’re about to leave, I just wanted to ask if I could have Friday off?”

“Why?”

I didn’t want to tell him it was my birthday. He’d use that as an excuse to ask about my age. “I have a friend coming from out of town to spend the weekend with me.”

He brows drew down, his signature look.

“What kind of friend?”

“My friend,” I said slowly. What other kind of friend would it have been?

“Why am I just hearing about him?”

He folded his arms across his chest and the movement drew my attention to his biceps. Geez, this guy should come with a warning label: spontaneous ovary overload imminent, instant pregnancy highly likely. But then his words penetrated. Him? I caught the gleam in his eyes, but surely I was reading him wrong. I was pretty sure there was jealousy somewhere in those hypnotic depths. I blinked.

“Didn’t know you needed to?” He smelled different. I preferred the other scent. “You shouldn’t have changed your cologne.”

His face cleared, replaced by a look of…amusement. Why did I said that out loud?

“Why not?” he asked, his lips twitching. My face flamed and I looked away.

“Never mind.”

“No, tell me why you said that.”

The grin he sported told me he already knew why and the thought of him toying with me pissed me off. My head throbbed even more. “Kalil, can I have Friday off or not?” I snapped.

“Are you mad with me?”

I covered my face with my hands and rubbed my eyes as I blew out a deep breath. “No, I’m—,” The rest got lost. He stood directly in front of me, head bent to peer into my face and with him this close, once again my sense of functional human being was obliterated.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I mumbled while taking a few steps back. With one step he closed the gap I’d created. My head spun and I honestly couldn’t said if it was because of him or the headache. Him. I looked up at him trying to figure out what about him caused instant dizziness, complete and utter loss of control. I took another step back, but he kept coming closer and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Stupid wall.

“What friend, Makynzee?”

I turned my head. If I kept looking at him, I would do something stupid like lick him and proclaim him as mine. “My friend, Kalil.” Hadn’t I just said that? He placed his hands against the wall, one next to each of my shoulders and I discovered just how much I liked being caged by him. He leaned closer, his breath tickling the spot where my neck and shoulder met.

“Tell me who he is,” he whispered.

His lips ghosted across my skin and I clenched my fist against the urge to shiver. Or touch him.

“It’s none of your business.” I took a deep breath and put my hands on his chest to push him back. Except that wasn’t what happened. My breath caught with that one touch and my fingertips dug into the had planes of his pecs. He came closer and the dips of my nipples grazed against him. My heart raced as I dropped my hands from his chest to his hips. Another step and I could feel his erection against me. My core clenched and I bit back a whimper. I wanted him to kiss me, to move his hands from the wall and run them all over my body. I slowly looked up and said his name. His lips were so close, all I’d have to do was pucker. His eyes bored into mine, willed me to make a move, give him permission.“You have to back up.” Speaking was a struggle and I couldn’t believe the husky feminine sounds came from me.

“Why?”

That seemed to be his favorite question. “We’re in your office, in a club that’s probably packed beyond capacity.”

He brought his lips closer, and they brushed against mine as he spoke. “And if we were somewhere else?”

I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t. Because truth be told, if he pushed even a little more, location wouldn’t be an issue. He took two steps back and I sucked in a deep breath.

“Why can’t this friend be happy with Saturday and Sunday?”

“Because Friday is my birthday,” I blurt. Damn him. I didn’t think straight when he was this close. That gorgeous grin spread across his face.

“I’m pretty sure your ID said your birthday was in December.”

I hadn’t realized it had gone away, but my headache came pounding back. Riley’s birthday was in December. I folded my arms across my chest. “Kalil, can I have Friday off or not?”

“Not.”

I seethed and he still grinned.

“Why not?”

“How old will you be?”

I didn’t answer him. He chuckled and took a few more steps away from me. I was tempted to hit him. Why did my anger amuse him?

“Tell your friend he can pick you up early.”

“That defeats the whole purpose.” I was seriously contemplating hitting him now and it must have shown on my face because he stepped further away.

“I want to meet him. Tell him you can’t get out of work. Tell him I need you.”

And my traitorous mind zeroed in on those final words, twisting them to him needing me for more than just work.

“Fine, Kalil.” I headed for the door, but he stopped me.

“How old will you be?”

“22.” I left before he could respond.