Lilah's List (13 page)

L
ater that night Lilah sat with her thigh glued to Tyler's in the Diamond Diner. They'd called Sanjay to pick them up, but Angie had refused to be dropped off until she got a short stack of buttermilk pancakes.

With her nerves rattling inside her like a tambourine, Lilah didn't mind stopping for food, but she could feel the tension rolling off Tyler's body like giant ocean waves.

Sanjay had only been too happy to join them at the table. Now, he was busy scarfing down the biggest plate of food Lilah had ever seen such a skinny man eat.

Halfway through their meal, Remy showed up to wait for his mother and had invited himself to join them. He'd wedged his large body into the booth on the end next to Angie. Now Belle was sliding in next to Sanjay, who was next to Tyler. That pushed Lilah around the big curve in the center of the booth, packing them in tighter than sardines.

“Mechanical bulls sound scary, but I wouldn't have minded the karaoke,” Belle was saying. “I love to sing in church every Sunday morning. If only I could get Remy to join me. The good Lord probably wouldn't even recognize him after all this time,” she said, shooting her son a reproachful look.

Remy just rolled his eyes. “Speaking of singing, Mama. Do you know who Tyler's brother is?”

“I'm hoping you're going to tell me he's that fine Ludacris.”

Angie laughed. “Do you like rap music, Belle?”

Belle nodded. “I like gospel. I'm a little bit country, and I'm a little bit rock and roll. But I like shaking my booty the best.”

“My brother Reggie is a far cry from a booty-shaker.”

“You know Reggie Martin, Mama. He sings that song ‘Love Triangle' that you like.”

Belle clapped her hands and launched into the chorus of the song. Then she turned to Tyler. “When you gon' bring that boy 'round here? I want to meet him.”

Lilah poked him in the ribs. “Yeah, when?”

Angie chimed in, “Maybe we can all see him at Lilah's birthday party a week from tomorrow.”

“It's your birthday, child?”

“How old will you be?”

“Hush, Remy, you don't ask a woman her age.”

“I don't mind. I'm going to be thirty. That's why I'm rushing around the city trying to get my list completed. The party's not a big deal. The people at this table are pretty much the only people I know in the city, anyway.”

“Oh, don't let her fool you. It's going to be a big deal, and she knows it. The List stipulates that we throw a
wild
party,” Angie said.

“Anyway,” Lilah said, “whatever it turns out to be, you all are welcome to join us.”

“Even me?” Sanjay asked, looking up from his plate with a mouthful of strawberry-covered waffles.

“Especially you, Sanjay,” Lilah answered.

“Partying, that's Remy's specialty, but I'm sure you don't want an old woman ruining your good time.”

“Nonsense, Belle, you'd be the life of the party.” To Remy, Lilah said, “You won't get past the door without Belle. Is that clear?”

“Yes.”

Tyler made a big show of yawning and stretching. “It's about that time, guys, don't you think?”

His plate cleaned, Sanjay wiped his mouth and stood. “I'll go pull the car around.”

Remy gave Tyler a knowing smile. “Brother, you've been late for the door all night. A little anxious to get to bed?”

Angie snorted. “That's an understatement. These two have been undressing each other with their eyes for hours. I can't wait for them to finally do the deed, so we can all move on.”

Belle pretended to cover her ears. “I've got to get these old bones back to work.” Then she turned back to Lilah. “But, honey, get a little for me. I'm so old I don't remember what it's like. Enjoy him. That's what they're for.”

Lilah covered her burning cheeks with her hands. “I don't know what any of you are talking about.”

Angie pushed Remy out of the booth so she could get out. “I'm going to put you two out of your misery and catch a cab back to my apartment. You two can ride in the back of Sanjay's car all by yourselves.” She turned to Lilah. “Now, you be a good girl and don't come home until you've gotten l—”

“Don't you dare say it.”

Remy shrugged. “I need to smoke a cigarette, anyway. Good night, y'all.”

Lilah found herself alone with Tyler for the first time since they'd left the country-western bar.

She turned to look at him. “Can you believe them?”

Tyler stared back at her, his eyes intense. “No, I can't. What the hell took them so long to leave?”

Lilah burst into a bout of nervous laughter. Were they really going to do this? It had been hanging in the air between them all night. But now that they'd finally been left alone, it all seemed surreal.

Tyler reached out and picked up her hand. “Are you ready to leave?”

Lilah took a deep breath. “Yes. I guess so.”

“Your place or mine?”

Lilah smiled shyly. “Yours.”

Lilah and Tyler barely spoke on the ride to his apartment. When they arrived, she was a bit surprised that he lived in such a fancy place. The opulence and high security of Park View Apartments served as a reminder to what different lifestyles they were living.

When he opened the door, Lilah saw that he lived with all the modern comforts. It wasn't especially warm or inviting. Instead it screamed interior designer. The room was an austere white accented with blues and greens. There were abstract paintings and funky sculptures. Absolutely nothing that reminded her of Tyler.

What did she really know about him anyway? Lilah was starting to have all kinds of second thoughts, and it must have shown on her face because Tyler steered her toward the sofa. “Relax, you look like you're about to face a firing squad.”

“No, of course not,” she answered, not wanting to offend him. “But I'm not sure this was a good idea. I don't normally have one-night stands.”

Tyler eased her back against the suede cushions. “What makes you think this is going to be a one-night stand?”

She popped upright. “You live here. I live in D.C. What else could it be?”

He laid her back again. “We've got more than one night to find out.”

Before she could resist, Tyler leaned over her and covered her lips with his. Lilah thought she knew what it was to kiss Tyler. But this kiss was nothing like the foggy kisses they shared at Duvet or the impulsive peck in front of her hotel.

This kiss was deliberate. Both ardent and relaxed. Tyler kissed her as though he had all the time in the world and he intended to savor every moment. While his soft lips parted to allow his tongue to find hers, one hand went to her waist and the other cupped her neck.

Lilah knew there was an army of protests lining up in her head, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to think of them.

Sensation took over. The familiar scent of his cologne that she'd come to find arousing. The texture of his fingertips sliding underneath her T-shirt. A tingling heat had started growing at her core, dominating all the other sensations.

Sinking back into the cushions, she locked her arms around his neck, wishing she could feel the rest of his hard-muscled body against hers.

Letting a small whimper escape her lips, she slid to one side, tugging at his shoulders. Tyler instantly knew what she wanted. He levered his weight off her body, positioning her lengthwise on the sofa, then he lowered himself over her.

Lilah inched her legs around his waist, bringing him up hard against her. That was better, but it still wasn't enough. The ache was growing stronger.

Tyler continued to kiss her, letting his mouth trail from her lips to her neck. She arched against him.

Lilah tugged at his sweater, feeling like a two-year-old without the words to communicate her need. “Off.”

Tyler pulled away long enough to strip the sweater and the T-shirt beneath it over his head, revealing a hard, well-muscled chest.

Lilah felt a smile of pure delight curve her cheeks. She ran her hands over the masculine ridges, unable to believe her good fortune.

Tyler's eyes slid halfway closed as he reveled in her touch. “My turn.”

He reached down and gathered her up, helping her off with her T-shirt. Her bra was not far behind.

“Yes,” he whispered once he'd freed her breasts.

Suddenly, Lilah wondered how she'd gone so long without being touched this way. In that moment she felt as if she'd never been touched like this before.

Her skin burned with every light, feathery caress he trailed along her skin.

In a rush of movement, Tyler scooped her off the sofa and lifted her into his arms.

“Where?”

“We need more room for this,” he said, stalking toward his bedroom.

He gently placed her on the bed and then he disappeared. The lights in the room came on, and Lilah was so glad.

She lifted her head just in time to see Tyler unbuckling his belt and stripping off his jeans. He wore red boxer briefs, and those followed the rest of his clothing to the floor.

When he was nude, Lilah reached out for him, and he lowered himself into her arms. But he didn't stay there long as he began removing her clothes.

He pulled off her boots and socks, then her jeans and underwear.

This was normally the point where Lilah began to feel self-conscious, but the look in Tyler's eyes surprised her. He stared, openly soaking her up from head to toe.

His heavy-lidded hot gaze made her feel beautiful and sexy in a way that words never could.

Feeling uncharacteristically bold, Lilah pushed Tyler back on the bed and climbed atop him. He squirmed, trying to touch her, but she commanded, “Be still.”

And he did. He lay back while she ran her fingers over his beautiful brown skin. She marveled at the contrast between her lightness and his darkness.

She nipped at his nipples with her teeth, causing him to inhale deeply. She let her tongue flick at his belly button and then she let her mouth go lower.

Tyler immediately groaned with pleasure as her lips found him. His reaction emboldened her and she continued until he grabbed her arms and pulled her up.

In one swift motion he flipped her onto her back. He buried his face in her neck as his fingers readied her for his entry.

Lilah felt so ready for him she almost went over the edge before he could enter her. “Now,” she pleaded.

Raising himself on one arm, Tyler entered her slowly, inch by inch. Lilah was filled, feeling a moment of discomfort before he began to move.

She forgot about everything else and she clung to him as he rode her to their mutual completion.

T
yler awoke to the sensation of being watched. His eyes popped open and he found Lilah's face mere inches from his own.

“Good morning,” she said, dropping her lips down on his.

“Good morning,” Tyler mumbled against her mouth. This was not a bad way to start the morning. Lately he'd been dating career women, who were always on the go. The type that had to schedule him on their PDAs if they stayed for breakfast.

He propped himself up on one elbow, reaching over to brush her hair out of her face. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yes,” she murmured absently. Her hands immediately went to her head. “I must look like a mess.”

The curls were gone and her hair hung around her face in a frizzy tangle. “You look adorable.”

She continued to feel around, blindly smoothing the tangled mess. “I can tell that's not true. You've just identified yourself as a liar,” she laughed, slipping out of bed.

She grabbed his robe that was thrown across an armchair beside his bed and put it on. She was immediately swallowed up in the terry-cloth folds. “I'll be right back.”

She disappeared into the living room and returned with her purse, which she took into the bathroom.

As he watched the bathroom door close behind her, Tyler once again wrestled with his emotions. It was wonderful waking up with Lilah in his bed. He'd love to make a habit of it. But part of him felt as though he'd gotten her there under false pretenses.

She'd just called him a liar. She'd been joking, of course, but only because she didn't know any different.

The only way to spare himself the full weight of her disappointment was to confess. When she came out of the bathroom he'd tell her that he hadn't done all that he could to fix her up with Reggie because he wanted her to himself. Would she find that charming or manipulative?

Tyler shook his head. It had to be love. Why else would he have done something so inexplicably foolish?

He'd tell her the truth, but it would take all his skills as a lawyer to make it sound charming. That was the plan. A confession. As soon as she came from the bathroom.

A few minutes later Lilah came into the bedroom with her hair neatly smoothed to her head. She slipped out of his robe and placed it back on the chair.

“There,” she said, pulling back the covers. “We'll just pretend that I woke up this way. Smooth hair and minty-fresh breath.”

She covered his naked body with hers and planted a long slow kiss on him. It was a long time before Tyler remembered that he was supposed to be confessing.

Much later that morning, Lilah had gotten out of bed to take a shower and Tyler heard the doorbell ring. Jumping into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, he ran to the door.

There were only two people who could get up to his apartment without out having to be buzzed in. He made a mental note to tell Nick, the doorman, to take Monique off the list. She wouldn't be making any more late-night visits.

The other person was his brother. Nick was a huge fan and was more than willing to lay down the red carpet for Reggie.

In this moment Tyler wouldn't be too happy to see either visitor. He was still contemplating which scenario would be worse when he peeked through the peephole and saw Reggie.

If he ignored the doorbell, his brother would only become more persistent. Tyler tried to open the door a crack. “Hey, man, what's up?”

Reggie pushed the door and burst into the apartment. “We've got to get some money together for a tour or something. I need to build more name recognition.”

“Uh, okay…let's sit down with the team and go over our options next week.”

“Uh, okay? Okay? Is that all you have to say? Last night was a disaster, man. Since the radio promos ran long, I didn't get a chance to meet up with Manny, so the bouncers at Clue wouldn't even let me in. They didn't care that I had a scheduled appearance.”

Tyler barely heard what Reggie was saying over the rapid pounding of his heart. If Lilah came into the living room right then, he'd be completely busted. It wouldn't take long for Lilah to realize Tyler had been keeping them apart. He'd already planned to confess. If he hadn't let himself get distracted, he wouldn't be at risk of looking like a complete jerk at the moment.

“No, not okay just like that. I just don't think this is the right time or place to discuss this.”

“What? You've got something better to do?”

Tyler couldn't stop himself from looking over his shoulder toward the bedroom.

“Ah, I get it. You've got someone better to do.”

“Um…yeah, so as you can see it would be best if you leave.”

Reggie started toward the bedroom. “No way, I've got to see the girl who has you running around in circles.”

“She's in the shower, and if you take one more step, I'm going to take you down.”

“What's the big deal? Yesterday you wanted me to meet her.”

“Well, today she's naked, so the offer is off the table. Please leave.”

“Fine, but first I have to pee.” Reggie ducked into the guest bathroom before Tyler could stop him.

Tyler turned toward the bedroom, noting with some trepidation that the shower was no longer running. Just then Lilah walked out with nothing but a large bath towel wrapped around her.

“I was wondering if you have something I can throw on,” she asked.

“You don't need any clothes. Just go climb back into bed.”

“But I thought we were going to eat.”

“Yes, in bed. It's on your list. Spend an entire day in bed. Go on, I'll bring you the food once it's ready.”

Tyler had just closed the bedroom door behind Lilah when Reggie came out of the bathroom in the hallway.

Tyler grabbed him and started ushering him to the front door. “My lady friend was just out here in nothing but a towel. You've got to get gone. Now!”

“Jeez, you're rude. This better be some hot chick because—”

Tyler closed the door in Reggie's face. He'd have to make it up to his brother later. Once he'd set things right with Lilah.

He sucked oxygen into his lungs, hoping now his heartbeat would finally go back to normal. He just wasn't cut out for deception.

As the door closed in Reggie's face, he couldn't help noticing the metaphorical parallel with his music career. He'd come over here today, expecting his brother to help him like he always did.

Instead he'd gotten the bum's rush. Just the way he'd gotten it in the club last night.

At first he'd thought he was on top of the world. That it would be easy street from here on out. Nothing but fancy cars, designer clothes and Cristal champagne dripping from the faucets. His first single had been well received.

He'd started getting recognized on the street and VIP treatment around town. Now that his album had dropped, the critics had changed their tune. They still liked his voice, but now they claimed he had too many ballads to hold the attention of his younger target audience.

He still received some celebrity perks, but now, more than ever, it was becoming clear that they were B-list perks. He wanted to be on the A-list.

Reggie was starting to see that it was going to take a lot more than one hit single to get him where he wanted to be. He'd thought Tyler would always have his back, but it was starting to look like he was on his own.

If he wanted to get his career to the next level, he was going to have to take some chances.

Lilah lay back against the pillows in Tyler's bed as he cleared away their dishes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so pampered.

When she'd added
spend the entire day in bed
to her list, she'd been in high school. She'd been resentful of the days she had to get up early to go to school and the weekends that she had to do chores and family bonding activities.

At the time, she'd looked ahead to being an adult who could spend her time as she chose. And in her sixteen-year-old mind that had meant never changing out of her pajamas, watching old movies and eating cereal all day.

When Tyler had told her that this was to be her day in bed, it instantly took on a much more decadent connotation.

She was presently wearing only his T-shirt, and he wore a pair of boxer briefs. The thought of spending the afternoon in his fluffy, downy sheets made her happy. Inside the cocoon of his apartment, time seemed to stand still.

Tyler came back from the kitchen and climbed into bed next to her. “I figure for this to qualify as spending the entire day in bed, we have to camp out here, eat all our meals and entertain ourselves here, right?”

“I guess so, but I don't want you to feel roped into this. You must have had other plans for today.”

“I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday. I'm looking forward to it, in fact.”

Lilah laughed. “I'll just bet you are.”

Tyler laughed, too. “Let me see that list of yours. I want to see how much progress you've made.”

Lilah found her purse and pulled out her hard copy, which was sometimes handier than her PDA version.

Tyler studied The List carefully. Finally he looked up at her. “All of the stuff you have crossed out are things you've already done?”

Lilah nodded.

“You've read all the works of Shakespeare?”

“Yeah, that was one of those things that sounded good on paper, but ended up being a real drag. I started off really excited about it, but some of his stuff just wasn't my cup of tea.”

“Yeah? What was your favorite?”

“A
Midsummer Night's Dream
.”

“And what was your least favorite?”

“Um…probably
The Rape of Lucrece
.”

“What on earth is that?”

“It's one of Shakespeare's sonnets. I have to say, his famous plays are great. His lesser-known works—not so much. But I can now offer that I've read all the works of Shakespeare as party conversation.”

Tyler looked back down at the sheet of paper. “And you know how to speak French?”

“Oui, monsieur. Je parle Français très bien.”

“You said you speak French very well, right?”

“That's right. Do you speak French, too?”

Tyler winced. “No, but I knew someone that spoke it frequently. Although, I'm convinced not fluently.”

He lowered his head to study the page again, and Lilah put a hand on his arm. “Are you planning to quiz me?”

“Yup, because I've got to know about the hot-air balloon ride.”

“Well, that was just a state fair event. They had this big open field, and you could pay to go up in the balloon for a few minutes. Now if I'd been in the wilds of Africa or over the Swiss Alps then maybe that would have been something. But, as it was, all I got was a really good view of more cornfields. Plus, I discovered right then and there that I'm afraid of heights. What about you? Are you afraid of heights?”

Tyler shook his head. “No, I don't think so. Reggie and I spent a lot of time climbing trees as kids.” He looked back at The List. “You can play the guitar? I wish I had one so you could serenade me.”

“It's just as well that you don't. I can't play very well.”

“But you have it crossed off The List.”

“That's because it's written as ‘learn to play the guitar.' I had three guitar lessons and came to the realization that I would never be a skillful guitar player. But I did learn. And before you ask, the same rule applies to karate. I don't know karate, but I did take some lessons. So if we're mugged in an alley, you're on your own.”

“I actually do know karate,” Tyler said.

“Get out of here? Really?”

“Tae Kwon Do actually. But, yeah. I didn't get all the way up to black belt status, but it's safe to say that if we get mugged in an alley, I've got your back.”

“See, now that's good to know.”

Tyler shook his head. “I guess the previous rules apply to ‘Learn to rap'?”

“That's right,” Lilah joked. “It was a six-week course at Devry University, and I got my bachelor's degree in Rap.”

“What?”

“I'm just kidding. It was a talent show in college. A bunch of us girls did a stupid rap about college life to the tune of LL Cool J's ‘Around the Way Girl.'”

Tyler laughed. “This list is like a map of your life. I'm getting to know things about you that might not have ever come up in conversation.”

“Yeah,” Lilah answered, feeling nostalgic. “It's funny because you walk around in life feeling like you've never done anything, but when you write it all down and look at it this way, you realize you've done more than you think.”