CHAPTER TWO

 

 

Once at the school, Ja’mya gave me a hug and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before she rushed down the hall to meet up with her friends in the cafeteria. A train case filled with cards and candy bounced off her thigh as she scurried away from me. All I could do was shake my head. No matter what I told that girl about commercialism, she insisted on participating in the school sponsored activities every year.

In no time I was across the building in my own classroom, monitoring a mandatory holiday party for my own class of fifth-graders. One of the teachers in my hall had suggested that we order pizzas for all of our students and the rest of us agreed without hesitation. That same teacher then slyly added in that she thought we should forego any regular instruction after the party and that’s where I lifted an eyebrow. My objection was vetoed five to one.

A knock sounded on the door and one of my students rushed to open it. I rounded my desk and stood by the table that had been dedicated to all manner of themed party snacks. When my assistant principal entered with three boxes of pizza in one hand and a glass vase filled with cellophane wrapped fruit on sticks, the class erupted in cheers.

I took the boxes from Albert and murmured my thanks, setting them on the table. When I turned back, he handed me the vase.

“This is for you, Ms. Sutton.”

I smiled even as my brows furrowed in confusion. Was this another gift from Jeremiah? I took the vase and deposited it on my desk. After my students were all settled in their seats with slices of pizza I sat down and pulled the card from the vase. I set it on my desk and examined the contents of the arrangement. It looked like slices of pineapple that had been cut to resemble different flowers. Among the bouquet, I noticed a small, white, note card was taped to one of the sticks. I gently peeled it off, being careful not to knock any fruit loose, and read the note written in that familiar handwriting.

 

Lee—

Down below and especially up top,

The sweetness of pineapples just won’t stop.

—J

 

It took me a moment but when I realized what this note alluded to I brought my hand up to my mouth to cover up my grin.

 

Until the day Jeremiah had approached me outside of the art building, I had only saw him around campus a few times in the entire two years I’d been attending UAPB. After that day I saw him several times a week; almost every day. I began to see him off campus just as much as on, but I couldn’t figure out why. With his beautiful face covered in smooth dark chocolate skin and enticing smile, he was fun to look at—so I wasn’t complaining—I was merely curious how he seemed to be everywhere I went all of a sudden.

One particular day, I was traipsing through Brookshire’s, munching on cut pineapple slices from the produce section while my roommate, Trisha, and I grocery shopped for our on-campus apartment. I had just put a carton of eggs in the basket when Trisha smirked.

“Ooh, there go your man, Lee!”

I choked on a bit of fruit at her whispered exclamation. I had not boy nor man and she knew that better than anyone.

“Don’t play with me, Tris—”

My words melted on my tongue as I smelled him before I saw him. The way my body warmed at his scent made me roll my eyes. It was Jeremiah, and I wanted to be mad that Trisha had insinuated that he was my man but I couldn’t find any emotion but giddiness inside of me at the way he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me back against his chest.

“I bet you taste sweet, just like that pineapple, girl.”

His lips hovered near my ear and his breath tickled, causing me to shiver. I stayed in his embrace but moved my head away from him. I was unwilling to admit, even to myself, how much I liked the bold way he inserted himself into my personal space.

“You know that my name isn’t ‘Girl’, right?”

“Why don’t you kiss her and see?”

My mouth hung open as my eyes flew to Trisha who stood with one hand on her hip and the other on the handle of the basket. She smirked at me and dropped her gaze to my waist where Jeremiah’s purple and gold clad arm seemed entirely too comfortable resting possessively. I swallowed my retort and pushed at the muscled limb, putting two feet of space between us, and stepping closer to my roommate.

Jeremiah grabbed my hand and pulled me back toward him. “I know what your name is.” To Trisha he said, “You think she’ll slap me if I tried?”

Raising a hand in the air, I shook my head. “Hold up, what?”

Trisha laughed and shook her head. “Not a chance. She’s been waiting on you to make a move.”

I gasped. “Trisha!” She was breaking girl code with her loose lips. If she didn’t shut up, I was going to put an ad in the paper for a new roommate and possibly pop her in the mouth.

Jeremiah grinned and aimed a wink in Trisha’s direction before squeezing my hand. “Lisa.”

My eyes widened as my neck jerked to the side. I was genuinely surprised that he knew my name. We didn’t run in the same circles or have mutual friends. I was a sophomore and he was a senior. Not to mention, he was frat and I was decidedly not a sorority girl. As soon as my head swung back in his direction, he slipped his arm back around my waist and pulled me to him, pressing his soft lips against mine. He took advantage of my gasp and smoothly slid his tongue into my mouth, in search of my own. I tentatively brushed mine against his and he sucked in a breath before ending the brief kiss with a light smack.

“I wonder,” he whispered, his voice full of curiosity.

I’d unknowingly leaned into him during the kiss, but the sound of Trisha chuckling behind me made me stand up straight. I cleared my throat.

“Wonder what?”

The grin he gave me was filled with mischief and lust. “If you taste as good down there as you do up here.” He brushed my moist lips with his fingertips before kissing me once more and stepping back. “I can’t wait to find out.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that was privileged information that he’d never be privy to but I couldn’t make myself say the words. He smirked, as if he could hear them in my thoughts, and backed away slowly before turning around and disappearing down the aisle.

 

“Ooh, who sent you that, Ms. Sutton?” One of my students stood in front of my desk with greedy eyes trained on my bouquet of fruit.

I gave him a pointed look. “That isn’t any of your business, Andre. More importantly, you have an entire table filled with snacks right over there. Go and eat until your little belly is filled.” I waited for him to catch an understanding and walk off. Once he was seated at his desk with a second plate full of treats, I plucked a piece of fruit from the vase and bit into it. It was unbelievably juicy and fresh. Just like the pineapple I was eating on the day of mine and Jeremiah’s first kiss all those years ago. I couldn’t wait until I saw him so I could find out what this was all about.