Teach Me Tonight. Jacquelin Thomas

near the exit doors as she waited for her driver to bring her luggage.

      He navigated to Tamara and led her outside to the car.

      According to her itinerary, she was booked at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles. While en route, Tamara checked her voice mail and returned two missed phone calls. She had hoped to find a message from Micah but it was to no avail.

      He was a busy man—she knew that, but Tamara really thought that since he had given the interview his blessing he was ready to reconnect with her.

      Now she wasn’t so sure.

      Micah positioned himself in the lobby area of the hotel where a suite had been reserved for Tamara. He wanted to catch a glimpse of the woman who had broken his heart.

      He checked his watch.

      She should be arriving at any moment.

      He sensed her presence before she actually walked through the doors and up to the lobby.

      Tamara was still slender with curves in all the right places, Micah noted as he watched her check into the hotel.

      He raised his newspaper to shield his face when she turned to glance around the lobby.

      The way she kept looking around, Micah wondered if she was looking for him.

      Probably, but it didn’t matter.

      Micah determined that Tamara would not see him until he was ready for a face-to-face with her. The way his heart was racing and his eyes caressing her body—it was still too soon. He needed more time to rein in his emotions.

      From outward appearances, Tamara looked fragile but Micah knew that she possessed a quiet strength—a quality that had drawn him to her all those years ago.

      He watched as Tamara strolled over to the elevators and waited. Her eyes traveled the luxury surroundings once more before stepping inside.

      Micah waited until the doors closed before rising to his feet and taking his leave.

      His cell phone rang.

      It was his secretary, Bette, informing him that his guest had arrived safely and was at the hotel. She also reminded him of his meeting with the art director that was scheduled in an hour.

      “Thank you, Bette. I’m on my way back to the office now.” Micah got up, strode through the glass revolving doors and handed the valet his ticket.

      The love of his life was here in Los Angeles, and he was still avoiding her. He had a wall erected around his heart, but Tamara—was a trigger for him, which is why Micah purposed not to see her until he was in control of his emotions.

      Micah stood outside, waiting for his car to arrive. The valet attendant pulled the car in front of him and got out. Micah tipped him and strode around to the driver side.

      He experienced a strange sensation, which caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand up.

      Micah turned around.

      Tamara was standing inside the lobby, looking at him through the glass wall, her expression one of complete shock.

      His emotions unsettled, Micah pretended he did not recognize her, stepped into his car and quickly drove away. It had been a mistake coming here, he decided.

      Micah knew that he and Tamara would come face-to-face, and when they did it would be on his terms. Micah vowed to make her pay for the pain she caused him all those years ago.

      He had done nothing but try to be a good friend to Tamara, but the way she turned on him graduation night proved that their relationship had been one-sided in reality. Micah tried to forget about her over the years, but his heart would not let him.

      As much as I want to hate Tamara, I can’t. I am still in love with a woman who believes I’ll never be good enough for her.

      In his college days, Micah had been more of a geek and was not the kind of boy most girls usually went for, but his job as a tutor placed him in a circle of people he wouldn’t otherwise hang with. Out of those relationships, friendships formed.

      He thought Tamara was different from any other girl he had ever known. She was on the quiet side, kept to herself most of the time when she wasn’t with her sorority sisters. On the weekends, she liked visiting her grandmother—he would go with her from time to time.

      Micah had been there to comfort Tamara when the woman died. He didn’t remember exactly the moment he fell in love with her, but when he landed the job with a software company in Chicago and was due to leave the week following graduation, Micah didn’t want to leave Tamara without letting her know how he felt.

      That was indubitably the biggest mistake of his life because she crushed him with her rejection. Tamara had tried to contact him a few days later, but Micah was hurt and preparing to relocate to Chicago.