“Nick. I’m surprised to hear from you on a Saturday night... with us remaining platonic and professional and all.”

“I’m outside your house and need to talk to you. May I come in?”

A long pause ensued before Jake responded. “Baby, nothing about me has changed since I last left your house. You can come in here if you want to... but talking will be the last thing on my mind.”

21

21

Dominique hesitated only briefly before opening her car door and stepping outside. She refused to acknowledge the feelings Jake’s last statement had evoked in her heart and elsewhere. This visit wasn’t about her and Jake, Dominique told herself as she rang Jake’s bell. This was about her son.

She tried to remember that as Jake opened the door and filled the space with hard, dark chocolate wrapped in a ripped white tee and gray jogging pants that rode low, exposing the trail of hair with which Dominique was all too familiar. She blinked and forced her eyes back up to Jake’s face. The look that met her made her blink again.

“It’s about Justin.”

Jake stepped back and let her in, barely resisting the urge to wrap her in his arms. He was perturbed that his body reacted to her so strongly, not to mention that today, other than work, she was just about all he’d thought about. He followed her into the living room and when she sat hugging one end of the black leather sectional that dominated his front room, he sat on the other end. The worried expression on the face of one of the strongest women he’d ever met gave him cause for alarm. That she’d said it was about a kid he was fond of and a star on his football team increased his worry.

“Talk to me, Nick. What’s going on?”

Dominique launched right in, relaying the story that Faith had shared. Halfway through the replay, she couldn’t sit any longer. Her heels clicked a staccato side note on the polished hardwood floor. “If he weren’t too big to spank, I’d wear him out,” she concluded. “My son will not grow up being a pervert!”

Jake watched as Dominique retook her position on the sectional sofa, noted how what she’d described had frazzled her nerves. He knew that he’d have to tread carefully as much as he knew it was a road he’d have to go down. “What are you going to do?”

Dominique looked at Jake. “That’s one of the reasons I’m here, to see what you would do. He’s grounded for sure, and I’ll have to remove his computer until I’m satisfied the proper controls are in place. I’m tempted to threaten him with losing the ability to play football if this happens again.”

“Not a good idea.”

“Why not?”