Free Love Me Now by Celeste O. Norfleet Page A

make a few stops first. Do you want to grab breakfast?” she asked. Sidney looked down at herself then at Kenya. “Never mind,” Kenya said, knowing it would take her sister at least two hours to get dressed. “I’ll see you later.”
    Kenya left, then climbed back in the car and drove off. What was wrong with her? She’d nearly burned her hand on a carafe she knew was hot, put cold water in a hot glass container and hadn’t even thought to move the trash can to the sink. Was her brain on permanent lockdown?
    No, she’d gotten distracted, something she seldom did. She prided herself on always being focused on a goal. Kenya chastised herself for her behavior. What was she doing, flirting, kissing? Getting sidetracked by some Wall Street Romeo? Not again. Frustrated, she slammed her palm on the steering wheel. The sting made her flinch. She looked at her slightly inflamed palm. It was red but not burned. She sighed heavily.
    Come on, girl, get it together. Snap out of it, he was just a man, an ordinary man. No big deal.
    Wrong, he was a big deal, and she knew it.
    Wealthy or attractive men never affected her like this. They’d come and gone in and out of her life before. She’d been in like, in love and in downright lust. Wait. Maybe that was it—lust. She realized that explained everything. She had researched Trey and his string of women. They chased and he led them on. All that testosterone had obviously subconsciously intrigued her. That’s why she kissed him back. After all, she was only human. Then, of course, seeing him half-naked didn’t hurt. His body was damn near perfect.
    His body. “Mmph,” she hummed, expelling a slow, satisfying moan then licking her lips. The thought made her smile. Being with him must be… “Mmph, mmph, mmph,” she moaned again as she shook her head. She wouldn’t even know what to do with a body like that. No, she took it back. She knew exactly what she’d do, over and over and over again. Now that naughty thought made her really smile.
    The next few miles found serious focus eluding her as Trey Evans strolled in and out of her thoughts repeatedly. No matter how hard she tried to reshift her focus, her thoughts always came back to him. She was totally and completely preoccupied. “Stop it, stop it, stop it,” she scolded and commanded herself. “Why do you keep thinking about that man?” she muttered.
    Then it hit her. Of course, she realized. It all made sense. He was the main reason for her aggravation, she reasoned. He was the cause of her father’s pain and she wanted to get back at him. That’s why she kept thinking about him. Yes, of course.
    No, that wasn’t it. And lying to herself wouldn’t change anything, and she knew it. It was his smile, his chest, his incredible eyes—they all stayed with her. She still couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. Worse yet, she’d kissed him back.
    She parked, got out and then spent the next hour in the fabric store picking out swatches and material, and trying desperately to distract herself. She shopped, bargained, plotted and planned, but he was there the whole time, never very far away.
    The problem was that everything she thought she knew about him was completely wrong. He was an immovable force with a very definite way of getting a point across. Kenya touched her lips as she stood in the checkout line. She didn’t still feel his mouth on her, but the memory was certainly clear enough to make her shudder.
    She looked around to the other customers in line and those who still mingled about. Thankfully they were too busy dealing with their own dramas to even notice her. She quickly checked out and hurried back to her car.
    What was it about him? Maybe it was the first sight of him standing in the doorway, or maybe it was because she hadn’t been with anyone in a while. But whatever it was, he was definitely getting to