Seducing His Ex - Chapter 6
John stood at his counter with his hands spread flat. Two days had passed since the incident. Yeah, that’s what he was calling it. Because for damn sure he couldn’t call it what it was—the hottest, most tempting kiss he’d had in a very, very long time.
Nope, there was no way in hell he was calling it that.
If he admitted that, he’d be tempted to do it again—and that was a temptation he certainly couldn’t give into.
But he wanted to. God did he want to.
He laughed at himself, as if being in Zion’s presence was a hardship. He was still funny, still smart and still so damn sexy John had fought himself all night, trying his damnedest to get that kiss out of his mind.
A tap at the door pulled him from his traitorous thoughts. He swung the door open and nearly lost his balance when he found Zion, in all his six-feet-one-inch glory, standing on his porch in a polo shirt and cargo shorts.
Normal New York November weather wouldn't have permitted shorts. On election night, it was chilly enough to need a trench coat. But thanks to climate change, a few days later and the sun was beaming, providing a comfortable seventy degrees, perfect for displaying well-shaped calves and beautiful brown skin.
Add to that Zion with his hands clasped behind his back, the shirt stretched across his skin, putting his hard pecs and wide shoulders on display, and John was taken back to the many times he’d held onto those powerful shoulders in the throes of pleasure.
He shook his head, refusing to take the trip down memory lane his brain wanted him to.
“Zion,” John huffed out. “What are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to pick you up in an hour.”
“You were, but I wanted breakfast, and since the food was closer to you than me, it didn’t make a lot of sense to have you come all the way on my side of town.”
John touched his pockets to see if he had everything he needed. “Alright, well let me get my keys and I’ll take you wherever you want to eat.”
Zion pulled a bag from behind his back and held it up. “No need.” He smiled. “I had a taste for spanakopita. I picked up a pie for us.”
As if on cue, John’s stomach chose that moment to grumble, diffusing a bit of the tension between them.
“Bring it inside and I’ll get the plates and the coffee.”
They made it into the kitchen and John set everything up on the very counter he’d been leaning against, stressing out about Zion. It was almost as if he’d conjured the man up.
John opened the pastry box and the smell of butter-infused crust mixed with herbs and spices tickled his nose.
“God, it’s been too long since I’ve had this.”
Zion chuckled, bringing John out of his pastry daydream.
“Dude, you’re Greek. All those care packages your mom used to send you in college, I’d expect you’d have this and other Greek delights every other day and twice on Sundays.”
John shrugged. “I’d have to actually make it home for more than a few hours at a time or over to my mother’s house every Sunday in order to get authentic Greek food.”
“This workaholic nonsense is for the birds. I promised myself that when I made it back to the East Coast, I’d make more time for my mother and my brother. I’m not missing out on another one of my mama’s pies or cookouts again.”
John stopped plating the food long enough to see excitement beaming in Zion’s eyes.
“I bet your mom and brother are glad you’re back for good. Are you gonna start job hunting soon or take some time off and enjoy all those things you missed?” John asked.
“Israel doesn’t know, but my mom does. She’s thrilled to have her baby back. I’ve taken a position at Brooklyn College. I’ve got about two weeks before my first class. Until then, I’m soaking up all the feel-good I can in between. That leads to the next thing on my agenda today.”
John shoved a forkful of the breakfast pie in his mouth. The savory taste of spinach, eggs and feta melting on his tongue was great, but Zion’s bright eyes and smiling face were too distracting for him not to hang on the man’s every word.
“Is this your way of telling me you don’t want to go any of the exciting campaign events I planned to drag you along to this weekend?”
Zion’s smile didn’t falter as he planted his elbows on the counter and leaned in. “Political events sound like the jam and all, but I think what I have planned will be much more to both our likings. What do you say about heading over to my mom’s for an impromptu cookout to celebrate all this sun we're getting today? There will be good food, at least three required line dances, and if you smile just right at my mama, she’ll give you a slice of her famous lemon cake.”
“Is this the famous lemon cake you used to talk about every time we were nearing a semester break? You used to make it sound like there was some sort of magic in it.”
Zion placed a forkful of his pie into his mouth and chewed contentedly before answering.
“Haven’t you heard of Black girl magic? My mom sprinkles that shit on everything she touches, especially her food.”
John found himself falling comfortably into laughter. In the back of his mind, he tried to remind himself that this reunion was strictly business. But sitting at his kitchen counter smiling and laughing so easily with the man he’d spent a year joined at the hip, …he couldn’t find the professional in any of this. And the most noticeable thing about it all was that he didn’t want to make this about work.
For the first time in forever, he only wanted to focus on Zion’s infectious laughter and how it made him feel like the dark parts of his soul were being exposed to Zion’s brilliant light.
“Alright,” John continued once he was able to quiet his own laughter. “Let’s go taste this magic cake.”
***
“Is that my baby?”
Zion couldn’t help the wide grin that automatically spread across his lips whenever he heard his mother call him her baby.
His mother, Arlene Landry, walked into his embrace, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck as they swayed back and forth.
Arlene had weathered a lot of storms, including burying two husbands. In all her pain, however, she never lost her love of her sons and of life in general. Being able to hold on to that kind of joy in the midst of so much pain had always made Zion acknowledge how wonderful his mother was and how blessed he was to have her in his life.
Being home, being able to have her wrap her tiny body around his and be loved on so hard made everything about this moment special. And when he turned his head to the side and saw John standing there with a sweet grin on his face, Zion’s heart felt so full he thought it might actually burst.
“Mama, I’d like you to meet someone.” Zion gestured to John, inviting him into the tight circle he and his mother had created. “This is my friend, John Christos. John, this beautiful lady is my mother, Arlene Landry.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, John.” Arlene extended her hand to John, her head tilted as her gaze slid up and down his face. “Is this the same John you were so crazy about in college?”
Zion chuckled at his mother’s recollection. He should’ve known that woman didn’t miss a thing.
“The one and the same.” Zion looked over at John to see a slight rosy tint under his cheeks, and Zion’s heart stretched just a little bit wider.
His mother stepped out of his embrace and threw her arms around John as if she’d known him all his life.
“Welcome, John. I’m so glad to finally meet you. My boy used to call me to talk about you all the time. I just knew you were gonna bring my baby home to me.”
Zion watched John carefully to see how he reacted to Arlene’s shenanigans. Would he be put off? Would he be offended? Zion had come home because he wanted to be close to both his mother and brother. But he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he’d planned to look John up once he came home. And now that fate had dropped John in his life again, he needed to know John could blend easily into his family before he pushed for more.
More.
Yes, he wanted more. There was no denying that. He wanted John Christos back in his life and back in his bed. But none of that could happen if John didn’t pass the mommy test.
Call him a mama’s boy if you want, but Zion had never met a better judge of character than Arlene Landry. And since being in John’s presence shorted out any ability to be objective, he needed his mother’s decerning eye to figure out if he should lay it all out there to try to get John to come back to him.
“Hello, Mrs. Landry,” John held Arlene tightly and smiled at Zion over her shoulder. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
“Listen, you are practically family. Don’t come here with that formal stuff. Call me Arlene, everyone else in the family does.”
“Arlene it is, then,” John agreed. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home, especially at a holiday celebration.”
“You are more than welcome, John. Please—” Arlene gestured, pointing toward the house “—go on in the house and use the washroom, the first door on the right. Then go’n back in the yard and fix yourself a plate. Food’s already set up buffet-style.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” John replied and did as Arlene instructed, leaving Zion alone with his mother.
“That—” she pointed toward John’s disappearing back “—is a polite and fine young man. I cannot believe you let that man walk out of your life.”
“Mama—”
“Don’t mama me. That boy could hardly keep his eyes off you, Zion. He’s definitely still into you.”
Zion chuckled. “I think so too, but my plan to reconnect with him has some unexpected complications attached.”
“Like?” His mother had always been his best friend, one of his closest confidants alongside his brother. He couldn’t imagine undertaking any of this without her counsel.
“Apparently, he’s an equity partner at Israel’s firm. He’s been working there since we graduated college.”
“For real?”
“Yeah,” Zion replied. “All these years and he was literally in my backyard.” He ran his hand down his face and huffed. “He’s wrapped up in trying to get a named partner position at the company. Israel, without knowing our connection, told him to keep me company and out of trouble this weekend. To John, that translates to a ‘hands off’ command from on high.”
Arlene patted his shoulder. She knew how deep Israel’s protective streak went, and she also knew why.
“Your brother loves you, Zion. He just wants you to be safe.”
“I know, Mama. But I can’t let Israel’s overprotective nature smother me. It overtook my life so much that I stayed away from home for so long, just to be able to breathe without him looking over my shoulder. Now that I’m home, I’m just afraid he’s going to slip back into familiar patterns and do his damnedest to keep me in a bubble.”
“Baby, your brother has lost a lot. When we lost your dad, it made him so afraid to lose anyone else. He just wants to protect you. Keep you safe. But even still, this is your life. You can’t live it for anyone else but you. If you’re interested in reconnecting with John, don’t let your brother stop you.”
“I won’t, Mama,” he replied softly, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek before sharing a sad smile with her. “I just don’t know if I can say the same for John.”