Close Quarters: A Novel (Zane Presents) Read Free

was thinking the same thing as I bolted out of there today,” she said.
    Now I genuinely wondered what had happened because Melina didn’t bite my head off like she usually did when I insulted her stuffed shirt of a man. “Mel, wassup? Talk to me.”
    “I love him, Malik. That’s why I’m with him. It’s simple. He’s everything I want in a man and more.”
    I yawned and peeked at my watch. Just that fast, my interest had waned. I should have met the fellas at the bar for the gameinstead of sitting there listening to The Young and the Restless . “Then don’t read into anything. If the man said he thought he told you, take his word for it.”
    I learned a long time ago, sometimes it’s easier to tell a woman what she wants to hear. She won’t listen to a word you say if it ain’t what she wants to hear.
    Melina smiled. “You’re probably right.”
    I knew it.
    Her whole aura changed in less than a millisecond. The scowl dropped from her face and her body relaxed. “You want to have dinner?”
    “All right. Let’s get a table.”
    • • •
    We were seated and the waitress left us with our menus. I opened mine and Melina placed hers on the table.
    “So, who was the tart last night?”
    “Why do you have to insult my company, Mel?”
    “It’s not an insult, merely an observation.”
    I wondered how she considered that an observation when she hadn’t seen my guest.
    She must have read my mind. “Any woman who carries on as boisterously as she did, when she knows others can hear, doesn’t have much respect for herself.”
    “It has nothing to do with respect. She was enjoying herself. I have that effect on women.”
    “Malik, please.”
    “You know, Mel, some of us actually like living on the wild side. Hot, freaky, uninhibited sex is something to be embraced. You’re so used to stuffy, mechanical, blue-blood sex that you can’t imagine how the other side lives.”
    Melina rolled her eyes in disgust. “You know nothing about what goes on between Ellis and me . . .and I’m not about to tell you.”
    “You don’t have to. I can tell it’s real neat and quiet and tasteful . You probably don’t break a sweat and I bet your hair never falls out of place.”
    I laughed when she glared at me. I had struck a nerve. That would teach her about making assumptions.
    She shook her head. “Do you have to be such a pig?”
    “Oink oink, baby.”
    “Grow up, Malik.”
    “Loosen up, Mel.”
    “There’s more to life than sex.”
    “You’re right, there’s great sex. You should try it someday.”
    “Let’s just order,” she said wearily.
    I laughed again, knowing I’d won the day’s round. That’s how it was with Melina; daily debates and you had better be prepared for the challenge.

CHAPTER FOUR
MELINA
    I climbed into bed, wondering why I had let Malik get under my skin. He baited me and I fell for it time and again. Ellis and I had a wonderful relationship and my sex life was just fine.
    I rolled over and reached for my cordless phone on the night-stand. I dialed Ellis’s number. He picked up on the first ring, sounding groggy.
    “What are you wearing?” I whispered into the phone.
    “What? Who is this?”
    I repeated my question, the words dripping from my lips like warm honey. “What are you wearing, Ellis?”
    “Lina, I was asleep. I have to get up early and I am wearing my blue pinstripe pajamas, if you must know.”
    “Oh forget it, Ellis. Go back to sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I slammed the phone down in the cradle—so much for kinky phone sex.
    Ellis and I had been together for two years and Malik was right. Ellis wasn’t a free spirit, but that’s what I loved about him. He was driven, sophisticated, well- traveled and a highly respected businessman.
    The day his assistant called my office to arrange a meeting between Ellis and me, I was ecstatic. Black Enterprise magazine had recently included my accounting firm on their list of “RisingStars” in the