Forget Me Not. Crystal B. Bright
see the duo together gave Janelle a front-row seat to her possible future. She would love to marry a man, have children, and be with him for years.
’Til death do us part.
“Thanks for the invite, but I’m beat.” Janelle took a step back. “Maybe another time.”
“Don’t be a stranger. You come down and visit whenever you’d like.” Buddy winked at her, but it came off as a fatherly wink than anything else.
“Leave the girl alone. She has a business to run.” Althea tugged on Buddy’s tattered blue robe.
“I’m not telling her to close up shop and move in. I said if she needs anything to come see us.” Buddy shook his head. “You have a good night, dear.”
“You do the same. Good night, Mrs. Harrison.” Janelle waved as she started to climb the stairs.
“Good night. See you tomorrow.”
Buddy closed and locked his door. As soon as Janelle hit the second-floor landing, she wasted no time unlocking her door and getting into her apartment. The warmth inside enveloped her.
Home sweet home.
She hung her coat in the closet and headed to her bedroom. When she flicked on the light to her bedroom, Janelle hesitated in the doorway. Her bed that she’d made that morning remained untouched. As she stared at it, she realized once again that she lived alone. She had no one. She had great neighbors and a super best friend who also worked for her, yet she lived her life alone. If something happened to her, who would help her? No, what she really wanted to know is who would love her?
Janelle padded to her bed and sat on the edge. Devoting her time to her studies, working, and her shop left her little time to date. She had dated some in college. She’d even had a boyfriend during her senior year, one she’d thought would have been her future Buddy to her Althea.
A day after graduation, and after a night of passion at the Cavalier Hotel down at the Oceanfront, he told her in no uncertain terms that he had bigger plans in life outside of Virginia, and the plans didn’t include her.
Although Janelle didn’t want to cry over a jerk like that, the tears came anyway. Having Penny by her side and hearing her detail the horrible things she wanted to do to him had allowed Janelle to get over him.
Having him dump her the way he did gave Janelle some perspective. She had to keep her eyes on the prize. Once she established her business into a successful venture, she could go out and date again.
Janelle stepped into the bathroom next door to her bedroom and started running hot water into the tub. Soaking for a bit before going to bed would help her relax. As the water ran, she took her time undressing.
Her mind wandered to thoughts about her younger, more awkward self, the gangly teenager who’d found solace in books and botany rather than boys. With Ida for a mother, Janelle had had no chance of becoming the wallflower she’d wanted to be.
“Go out. Meet boys. Hell, pretend like you’re going to do something wrong,” Ida would tell Janelle during her impressionable teen years.
Not great advice coming from a mother. Ida couldn’t be classified as a typical parent. Janelle would never admit her mother had nailed that one bit of instruction. Attending a dance had her doing a lot of firsts. First time going to a dance, first time she didn’t get teased for being a loner and hugging the wall, and her first real, sensual kiss.
As though feeling that soul-stirring sensual expression again, Janelle touched her lips. The tips of her fingers danced over them lightly before she nipped the tip of her middle finger with her teeth. He’d done that to her, teased her by grazing his teeth over her bottom lip and then taking a taste.
Even now, Janelle’s knees quivered as they had done so many years ago. At the time, it had felt as though the kiss had lasted for twenty years. She remembered everything about the surprising lip-lock…except for the identity of the mystery boy who looked more like a man. She remembered how he’d towered over her and the way he’d placed his large hand next to her face.
Afterward, he pulled away from her. In the darkened corner, she only remembered his eyes, those piercing blue eyes that had mesmerized. Could that boy have been Gideon Wells?
Janelle shook her head. No way in the world could the mystery kisser from her youth be the same Super Bowl winning quarterback. Besides, what young man would kiss a young woman like that without introduction or permission or even a follow-up question or statement? A commotion had happened on the dance floor, and as fast as he had grabbed her and let his intentions known, he’d disappeared into the crowd. Janelle had taken that moment to make her exit. Until today, she hadn’t known who had rocked her world so many years ago.
Who was she kidding? She still couldn’t be sure. She couldn’t rely on her memories about his eyes.
Curiosity killed her. Janelle opened her laptop next to her bed and did a search for Gideon Wells. She didn’t want to read the stories, especially the ones about his dating life. She wanted to see his picture.
A catalogue of pictures appeared. She scrolled through each of them until she stopped at one of his advertisements promoting eating spinach. Like the cartoon character, Popeye, Gideon held up a can of spinach and carried a menacing expression. The company’s tag line appeared underneath a shirtless Gideon. Spinach is good for everybody.
Janelle scanned his broad shoulders down to his lean, long arms to his incredible chest. When she got to his abdomen, her search ended. She now understood the term six-pack abs. She licked her lips. Like Penny had early, Janelle stroked the screen as though she could feel every bulge in his biceps.
“What the hell am I doing?” She snatched her hand back.
Gideon Wells was now a hometown hero. He looked good enough to lick from his head to his toes. He would be coming home soon. That didn’t mean she would see him in person. Even if she did, so what?
No use dwelling on the past. Janelle had bigger fish to fry. Her personal life could wait. She had a business to save.
Chapter 3
Gideon took a red-eye flight from California to Virginia. Passengers, shocked to see the Super Bowl-winning quarterback on their flight, congratulated him on the plane and as he went through the airport. Manners his mama had taught him kept him from snapping at these people and demanding they give him his space.
After such a big high of winning the game of his life, his dream, it had all come crashing down as soon as Victor had told him about Gunnar. Gideon’s good knee bounced as he sat in first class on the last leg of his flight from Colorado to Virginia.
He couldn’t wait to land, not so that he could get to his family, but so he could at least call them. Not being able to use his cell phone right now killed him.
“Would you like something to drink, Mr. Wells?” The cordial flight attendant with sandy-blond hair smiled at him as she kept her stare directly into his eyes.
“No, thank you.” Gideon couldn’t think about food or anything else until he could see Gunnar and know he would be fine.
First, his mother, and now this. Queen Elizabeth always told him and his brothers, “God never gives you more than you can handle.” Right now, Gideon felt tested.
A passenger walked by him to get to the lavatory. Since he sat in the aisle seat and took up a lot of space in his area, Gideon shifted his legs to allow the woman to get by him.
A light dinging sound rang before the captain spoke. “We’re about twenty minutes from landing in Norfolk. We ask that all passengers return to their seats and fasten their seat belts.”
Gideon hadn’t taken off his seat belt the entire flight. His mind raced with thoughts about his brother. Would Gunnar be able to walk after this? Did the shooter shoot his brother in the head? Had his mother been there when all of this went down?
Gideon