The Ex Project by Nia Arthurs

Chapter Fourteen

Duane did not expect fallingin love to be painful.

He’d grown up seeing his parents live a fairytale romance. His father catered to his mother with an everlasting patience that solved arguments quickly and left her laughing when she should have been mad. He genuinely enjoyed her company more than anyone else in the world and came home after a long day at work eager to spend time with her.

His mother doted on his father in return, filling his life with joy and happiness. She inhabited the spaces that needed warmth and softened the rough edges, making him a better man simply from knowing her.

There were times his parents would look at each other and have a silent conversation. After years of being together, of being in love, they shared the same brain. The same soul. It was an intimacy that seemed almost unreal.

He wanted that.

Exactly that.

He’d grown up expecting—no, pretty much anticipating the day he would find a love like theirs. He wanted to find the girl who would make him stop in his tracks. Make him do crazy things just to make her smile. Just to spend a few more minutes in her company.

He’d been in relationships that came close. At one point, he even thought he’d found the one, only to lose her to another teammate after his injury.

Since then, he told himself that the love his parents shared wasn’t for him. Maybe he was too rational. Maybe Cupid skipped over his generation. Or maybe it just skipped over him alone.

Back then, he told himself not to be too greedy. The odds of a boy from Belize playing pro were a million to one. Maybe he’d already used up all of Fate’s goodwill.

Tonight showed him he’d been wrong.

Love didn’t skip him.

It just chose to torture him.

After seeing Yolanda dragging away her ex, Duane knew two things for sure.

First—he was definitely falling in love with her.

And second—this love would not be easy.

Yolanda stared at her lap. The flowy gown shimmered in the darkness, looking like it had been spun from moonlight. Her manicured nails picked at invisible lint.

Silence flowed around them as Duane wrestled with his next steps. He needed to tread carefully here. Yolanda had a son and that meant his responsibility would not only be to her but to Tay-Tay too. He couldn’t bulldoze over her because he was falling in love with her.

“When do you have to pick up Tay-Tay?” he asked.

“Cole and Latoya are bringing him over in,” she checked her watch, “maybe ten minutes. I texted them that I was coming home.”

“Do you mind if we take a walk?”

“A walk?”

He nodded. His thoughts were jumbled in his head and he needed the space and time to untangle them.

“Sure.”

He climbed out and hurried to her side of the truck. She already had her door open, but she was struggling to set her pretty heels on the runner without tangling her train.

Duane saw her eyes narrowed in concentration and his heart ached a little harder. She was so incredibly beautiful. Her hair fell over one shoulder and dangled like silk as she leaned forward to tug on the fabric. The profile of her face was angelic and her dark skin looked soft and inviting.

“Here,” he stepped forward. “Let me help you.” He pushed his head into the car, slipped his arms around her and plucked her out of her seat. She was light in his arms and smelled like honey. He closed his eyes and took a deep whiff.

“Thanks,” Yolanda said quietly, her hands tightening around his neck.

Duane wanted to hold her for longer, but he forced himself to put her down.

She cleared her throat, glancing awkwardly away.

“Do you want to go in and change first?” he asked.

“I can walk in heels.” There. She gave him a bit of a smile.

His heart loosened. “If not, just say the word and I’ll carry you.”

“Are you trying to show off how big and strong you are?”

“If it works.” He winked.

She laughed softly.

Duane gestured to the quiet street. “This way?”

She nodded and strode beside him. The neighborhood was opulent with only a few houses along the stretch. There were several empty plots with an abundance of wild brush growing beneath coconut trees. Stars twinkled in the sky and the moon peeked out from behind a cloud to drown them in silver.

“I’m glad,” Duane said finally.

“Glad?” Her eyebrows hiked.

“That you and Devon have nothing going on.”

She went stiff.

He tapped her knuckles with his own. “Does that upset you?”

“No.” Her voice was a squeak. “I’m just… are you glad because he’s a jerk and I’m better off without him?”

“No.” He stopped walking and faced her. “At least not entirely.” Duane struggled with his words. The Yolanda Effect was taking place again. No matter how suave he was in front of other ladies, this woman always made him tongue-tied. “Honestly, Yolanda, when I saw you walking away with him, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

Her head lifted and she gave him a stunned look.

He kept his tone calm. “I never want to feel that way again.”

“Duane,” she whispered.

“I know he’s Tay-Tay’s father.” He rubbed the back of his neck because, there-in, lay the crux of his frustration. “And I know that, rationally, you’re going to have to keep seeing him for the rest of your life. But it made me uncomfortable to watch you handle him on your own. Without me. Something about seeing your back while you left… it didn’t feel right.”

Her eyes glistened. He wanted to reach out and hug her, but he kept his arms at his sides. She’d given him the answer he wanted to hear when it came to her ex, but that didn’t mean she was ready to move things forward with him.

“I think you’re incredibly beautiful.”

She smiled softly.

“Before this, I knew that I cared for you and Tay-Tay. But tonight’s incident showed me that I can’t continue a fake relationship with you.”

Her eyelashes bounced and her mouth fell open slightly.

“I feel something stronger for you and it’s taking me beyond playing pretend.” He put his hands in his pockets because Yolanda was beginning to tremble and he wanted to hold her with every molecule of his being. “I want to start something serious, but I’m also willing to stop here if you don’t feel the same way.”

Her head whipped up.

“I don’t want to pressure you. I understand that you have Tay-Tay to think about, but I also have to consider that I’ll only fall deeper for you from here on out. And if you don’t want a relationship with me, I’ll need to know that so I can start pulling back.”

“Would you be able to?” she whispered. “Would you be able to stop if I asked?”

Duane swallowed hard. Was this a test? “I’m already at a point where it feels like turning back will be the death of me, but I want to honor your wishes more than I want to have you.”

She sucked in a little breath

His heart was pounding. “I’m putting all my cards on the table. If you don’t want me and if you don’t see a future with us, then…” He stumbled over the words because it was painful to offer an out when he just wanted to lock her in his arms and never let go, “then as hard as it is for me, I’ll keep my distance and—”

Yolanda moved forward, catching him by surprise. She pushed to the tips of her toes and brushed her lips against his.

Duane’s heart flopped like it had been shot.

Oh, he was done for.

Her mouth lingered on his without moving and then she pulled back.

He blinked at her.

But the shock only lasted for a second and gave way to white-hot desire.

Determinedly, Duane grabbed her arm, preventing her from running away, and moved into her. Pressing his open mouth against hers, he knocked her head back in a deep kiss. He wanted to, needed to, consume her.

To his surprise, she moaned softly and threw her arms around his neck, surrendering completely to the rough embrace.

Heat swept through his body and made him shudder when her tongue swept against his. He growled, taking control of the kiss just in case she thought she could wrestle that power from him.

Yolanda tilted her head, giving him more access. He groaned, delighting in the taste of her soft lips. He’d been thinking about her sweet curves, her silky dark skin, and her perfect body ever since that night at the bar.

He’d restrained himself with sheer will-power and guilt. Lots of guilt. His personal rule prevented him from thinking of the parents unprofessionally. He’d built himself a wall so he didn’t make any mistakes. But Yolanda tore that wall down with ease.

Her hands moved from his neck down to his chest. The way she squeezed his pecs made him want to throw her over his shoulder, drag her to the nearest tree, and take her again and again until all the leaves fell.

How sweet would it be to strip her naked and have her groan, cry and yell for mercy? How sexy would her voice be when it throatily called his name?

His hands roamed as indecently as his thoughts did, sliding over the curve of her waist to her bum and cupping her until she was practically sitting on his palm.

You feel so good.

He must have said it out loud because she giggled and did a roll of her hips that had him biting down on her shoulder and begging the heavens for sweet, sweet mercy.

Just as he was about to suggest they take this inside, car headlights flashed in the distance and then grew stronger as the vehicle turned the lane.

Yolanda released him first. A string of saliva followed her mouth’s retreat and he chuckled, swiping it away with his finger. Dazed, she looked at the approaching car and then froze.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, picking up on her panic.

“That’s Cole’s convertible.”

He didn’t recognize the name, but he recognized the panic. Working on instinct, he whirled her around and used his broad back to shield her from the vehicle. It sped past them and stopped at her house.

Duane remembered that her friends were supposed to bring Tay-Tay home. He relinquished Yolanda and looked down. His pulse picked up speed. Even with her hair mussed and her lipstick smudged, she still took his breath away.

Yolanda winced. “I…”

“Sh.” He placed a finger on her lips. “Before you say anything, you should know that I’m not going anywhere.”

Relief eased the tightness around her lips. “I should go. Tay-Tay’s probably sleeping.”

Yolanda’s phone rang.

Duane sucked in a breath and nodded. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Her tone was distracted.

He held her hand. “I have three dates and I want to use one of them. Let me take you and Tay-Tay out.”

“Both of us?”

“Yes.”

She scrunched her nose and, for a second, he wondered if she’d reject him.

Finally, she dipped her chin as a slow smile spread on her face. “Okay.” She slipped her hand out of his and scurried down the sidewalk yelling, “Tomorrow.”

Duane pumped his fist and whistled a tune all the way back to his car.