Vulnerable Read Online Free PDF Page B

Henderson’s hand, and a string of hellos and how-are-yous and shoulder bumps traveled with them while they made their way to the crowded bar.
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    Rawn often spent a good amount of time deciding what he was in the mood for. He was a picky eater. Sicily had already decided and asked their waitress to bring an order of catfish cakes to get her started. She twirled a lock of hair with her finger and nursed her wine, checking out the clientele. She thought, the pseudo-sophisticated crowd, and her line of thinking helped to amuse herself. Rawn was still mulling over the menu when she looked over at him. Sicily looked away and her eyes—accentuated by hazel-colored contacts—wandered to the bar. They fell straight on Henderson Payne dressed in his traditional urban black. He is one fine man. Who is he with? Sicily’s back went ironing board-straight. Henderson towered over a woman sitting on a stool striking a pose, basking in the attention they were receiving. Henderson was definitely with her—they were too familiar, too cozy. That man is so brazen! His date was naturally striking; clearly ersatz.Henderson liked them tall and unanimously attractive. Sicily checked out the outfit the companion was wearing. Smirking, she took notice of others dining nearby to see if anyone else had recognized Henderson. Nearly everyone was looking his way, but were they looking more at Henderson or the woman who accompanied him? Even if she was not in a well-known Seattle restaurant and openly flirting with one of the highest-paid players in the NBA, her presence would command one to do a double-take. She can’t possibly live in Seattle. Our paths would have crossed long before now.
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    Tamara needed to get out of the townhouse, and when Henderson rang her up and asked if she wanted to “hook up” because he was in town “for a minute,” she was dressed and waiting for him in twenty. The type of girl that did not require too much makeup to camouflage small imperfections, all Tamara needed to do was to decide on what she would look good in. Since she was bloated—that time of the month, and unfortunately for Henderson—she needed to wear black! Before he called, she was starting to feel sorry for herself. Calling friends in Amsterdam and Istanbul and back home in D.C., and family in the Caribbean; not one unreliable soul was answering their phones! Now, feeling more herself, she looked around the room with its Pacific Northwest energy while combing her long fingers through her cropped hairdo that emphasized her exotic features. She placed her hand on Henderson’s chest like it was the most natural thing she ever did, and she could hear the chatter, but like years ago, Tamara was unfazed.
    While Henderson made polite small talk with a “fan,” she searched the dining room for any familiar faces—clients, for one—and detected this woman sitting at a table with a man across the romantically lit room, staring at her. What is she gawking at? Hendersonleaned toward her and said into her ear he needed to take a call. Tamara nodded with understanding. She smiled broadly to the woman who was very interested in what was going on between her and the married ballplayer. When the woman across the room clumsily reached for her menu putting on like she was not remotely intrigued, Tamara laughed. But curiosity could leave one spellbound: the woman who sat across the room could not keep her eyes away from the bar. For a split-second, Tamara wondered if she had some Henderson Payne history. But then she thought better of it because the woman, while attractive, was not his type. Tamara bent forward—her naturally full breasts nearly exposed from the skimpy halter top—and blew the nosy woman a deliberately seductive kiss.
    â€œOh, my Goddess,” Sicily reacted.
    Nonchalant, Rawn glanced Sicily’s way.