be the absolute worst thing that could happen in the long run, part of her was very interested in finding out just how Chaz Browning would react if he learned that the woman he’d been seeking had been right under his nose the whole time.
* * *
AFTER A WEEK of enforced proximity, Chaz probably shouldn’t have suggested that he and Lulu head up to the Mall together. He’d had fun making her a little crazy this week by always making sure they bumped into each other on the way to work or when walking the neighborhood, but he didn’t want to push her too far. Actually, when she’d mentioned where she was going, he should have kept his mouth shut about being en route to the same place, and found another way to spend the day.
What he should have said, however, and what he had said, were two different things. He wanted to spend the day in the company of the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about...in good ways, and in bad.
Because a funny thing had happened during his campaign to rile her up this week—he’d realized he enjoyed being with her. Lulu had changed a lot. Her demeanor was down-to-earth and approachable. She joked around, but there was no real snark. She was just friendly and funny, never going for a dig when a quip would do, her voice holding no edge, her smile no malice.
And Lulu was certainly not hard to look at—sexy and appealing, even when dressed in sports clothes. Hell, especially when dressed in sports clothes. Spandex did amazing things for that already amazing ass and those legs.
If only she were anyone but the devil-next-door.
As they took the Metro up to the Mall, getting off at the Smithsonian station and walking past the Washington Monument down to the grassy area where the teams usually played, he and Lulu traded stories about kids they’d known and teachers they’d disliked. They had even laughed over some shared memories.
One topic that did not come up was their siblings. Damn, he did not want Sarah to find out Lulu lived right up the street from him. His hotheaded sister might march to her door and demand that Lulu do something about Lawrence, as if she had the right to order her high school boyfriend out of the nation’s capital. But other than avoiding that subject, he and Lulu fell into an easy camaraderie that had been hinted at but never fully realized during their childhood.
Of course, that camaraderie all but disappeared during the game, when they realized they were on opposite teams. Lulu was as competitive as always, while Chaz, who showed up to these games mostly to hang out with friends, barely paid attention to the score.
“Come on, Browning, are you gonna kick it or sit on it?” Lulu called from the pitcher’s mound, her tone pissy.
It was his turn to kick, but he’d taken his sweet time getting to home plate. He’d been talking with a colleague, Tonia, an attractive blonde with whom he’d shared a couple of interesting nights a couple of years ago. No sizzle remained between them, but he still liked her well enough.
“We don’t have all day.”
Lulu’s almost angry tone made him finally give his full attention to the game. “Who made you pitcher?” he asked, watching her lean over to line up her rolling pitch.
“She’s got a mean throw, dude, watch out,” said one of his teammates, who’d apparently gone up against Lulu before.
“Chaz knows all about how mean I am,” said Lulu, her smile appearing forced. She cast a quick, quelling look at Tonia, then got her head back in the game.
Lulu was all business when she pitched, whipping the rubber ball straight at him. It bounced twice before rolling fast and hard, directly toward the plate, where he met it with the broad side of his right foot. The ball flew up and over the entire field, down into a group of kids playing tag. No way would anybody get it back up here before he rounded all the bases.
As he jogged around the field, he caught Lulu’s eye and grinned at her dour expression. “Guess I shoulda warned you,” he called, laughter in his voice. “I’m not so bad at sports anymore.”
“Does that mean I can actually be on your softball team in the spring and not worry we’ll lose one-hundred to nothing?” she asked, her tone sugar-sweet, though her eyes were hard.
Her zinger just amused him even more, and his laughter rang out, simple and joyful. He laughed at her, and at the bright, sunny morning. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of being back in a place where he could appreciate a beautiful day like this without a pervading sense of fear or uncertainty.
Maybe someday he’d stop feeling the need to head off to one hotspot or another. At times like this, he could actually envision it. Hell, if he had the right person to make him want to stay, he might never get the urge to leave again.
The thought killed his laughter. He might already have found—and lost—the woman of his dreams on Halloween night. Well, maybe not of his dreams, but she was definitely the woman of his fantasies.
Most of them.
Yeah. Most of them. He wasn’t about to admit to anyone—including himself—that Lulu had appeared in some pretty vivid mental pictures on a couple of occasions this week. She and the mysterious redhead both haunted him. That was crazy, since one was an old enemy and he didn’t know the name of the other. Nor did he have any idea why she’d run out on him.
Thinking back on their evening, he forced himself to remember the number of times she’d tried to dance away, or put up barriers between them. She’d been on guard, making it clear she was only willing to go so far.
Maybe he’d pushed too hard and scared her off. Maybe she’d been afraid she’d come across too strong. Maybe she had a deathly fear of waffles. Whatever it was, something had made her change her mind. He simply wasn’t going to rest until he knew who she was and why she’d left.
After the game, everyone headed for a nearby bar for midafternoon libations. Chaz walked with Tonia, while Lulu fell into step beside Darrell, a guy on Lulu’s team. Chaz tensed, remembering Darrell was often called a pig by some of the women because he was such a player.
Lulu probably didn’t know that, however, being so new to the area. Whatever the guy was saying to her had to be hilarious because she laughed like she was sitting in the front row of a Def Comedy Jam. Chaz kept his eyes on the back of her head, noting the jaunty bounce of her ponytail, a frown tugging at his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” asked Tonia.
“Nothing,” he insisted, not wanting to admit yet that the sight of Lulu so enjoying another guy’s company bugged him.
His goal had been to drive Lulu crazy, not himself. But now, watching her looking up at Darrell, with a big smile on that beautiful mouth, all he could remember was that moment last weekend when he’d stood outside her door, brushed her hair off her face and wondered what it would be like to kiss her.
“How was your first week back?”
“Not bad,” he replied, finally tearing his attention off his distracting neighbor. “I completed the first draft of part one of a series and sent it to editing. The powers-that-be seem to like it and are expecting a wide distribution.”
He’d written several short articles while overseas, all of them distributed by the Associated Press and picked up by news outlets all over the world. But he’d also been asked to do an in-depth series with a narrower focus. They were to be longer pieces—five-thousand words—that could end up featured in one of the big print outlets. He sure wouldn’t mind a Time magazine spot at this point in his career.
“How about you?”
Tonia frowned. “I’m still working on an exposé of that scam charity organization.”
“What was that about again?” he asked, not remembering the details, which she’d mentioned to him the last time they’d talked, before his trip.
“It’s one of those give-microloans-to-African-mothers things.” Tonia sneered. “Another group of bleeding heart do-gooders trying to change the world,