Thalia Lake - Choosey Lovers Read online

  “Just a reminder that everything will be fine.

  Please send my well wishes to your dad and mom. I hope

  You like the flowers. You said they were your favorite.”

  Shane

  Satra slowly opened the box and gasped.

  “He remembered,” she whispered to herself.

  They were the most beautiful pink, white and purple lilies she had ever seen, and they smelled heavenly. When she and Shane walked through the garden at the hotel, Satra had pointed out to Shane that calla lilies and orchids were her favorite flowers. Shane made a mental note of that. He made mental notes of everything that Satra liked. Satra’s mom walked to her side to see the flowers and she gasped as well.

  “Oh my goodness, they are beautiful. Do you mind if I read the card?”

  Satra looked at her mom. She knew she was being devilish. She handed her the card, and her mother gasped again.

  “Satra…!”

  “Mommm…don’t,” Satra warned her.

  “Satra, I have to,” her mother said as she ushered her out of the room.

  “Satra, if this doesn’t scream ‘I’m interested, and I care about you’ I don’t know what else does!”

  “I wish things were that cut and dry mom but they aren’t. I can’t sit here and start reading things into something that may or may not be there. If feelings are there on his part, I’m not going to act on them or encourage them because I can’t. WE can’t. It’s just too complicated right now.”

  She had to end her mother’s fairy tale idea about her love life. ‘I don’t even have a love life!’ Satra said to herself.

  “Okay. I’ll leave it alone. I understand where you’re coming from. Can you blame an old woman for getting excited at the thought of her daughter finally dating the right man?” her mother asked with her hands on her hips.

  “No, I can’t. I suppose if I were in your shoes I’d be giddy for my daughter too,” Satra said smiling. “Believe me, ma, if anything develops you will be the first to know. That’s a promise,” Satra said as she held her mother’s hand.

  “I better be,” her mother said with an eyebrow raised. Satra laughed and hugged her mom, and they went back into her father’s room.

  ****

  Later that evening Satra’s mother insisted that she go home and get some sleep. Satra had spent her first night sleeping in a recliner at the hospital, and she was beyond tired and achy. Sam Jr. and Sidney and their wives stayed at the hospital to keep their mom company while Satra went home to her parent’s house to get some much-needed rest. She walked up the stairs to her old bedroom, which was the same as she left it when she left home for college.

  ‘I need to call Shane and thank him for the flowers and gifts,’ she reminded herself sleepily. She knew if she lay down she’d be out for the count and wouldn’t wake up till the next morning. She got her cell phone out of her purse and dialed his number. The butterflies were going crazy in her stomach, and it irritated her. ‘Why does the mere thought of talking to the man make me all nervous? Get it together girl and get a grip!’ Just then, Shane answered his phone. He smiled when he saw Satra’s name in the caller id. He was getting ready to take a shower when he heard his cell phone ring.

  “Hey, how are you?” he asked. He sounded more anxious than he intended to. He missed her, and he was worried sick about her and her family.

  “I’m good. How are you?” Satra asked in a low voice.

  For some odd reason, she felt like she was sneaking talking to a boy in her room like she did when she was a teenager. She laughed to herself at the silliness of it all.

  “I’m well; ready to get back to New York to my own bed.” Shane sighed.

  “I bet you are. How are things going for you at work?”

  “We wrapped up everything today so I’m going home tomorrow morning.”

  “Well that’s good news. You’ll be home in your bed in no time,” Satra said happily.

  Shane smiled as he imagined her beautiful face smiling up at him. Satra tried to stifle a yawn but couldn’t.

  “Excuse me. I’m sorry for yawning in your ear,” Satra said immediately.

  “You’re tired, no need to apologize. I can hear it in your voice that you’re tired. You haven’t been able to get any rest yet?” Shane asked concerned.

  “No not yet, but I’m about to do that when I get off the phone with you. I’m at my parent’s house in my old room ready to crash, but I wanted to thank you for the beautiful flowers and gifts that you sent to my dad. He absolutely loved it.”

  Shane smiled, pleased for picking out all the right things, with the help of Grayson of course.

  “That was very sweet of you. And the lilies were beyond beautiful. My mom and I couldn’t stop sniffing them and staring at them. You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to,” Shane said matter-of-factly.

  “I’m surprised that you remembered.”

  “I remember a lot of things.”

  There was a short pause before either of them said anything. Satra didn’t have the mental energy to think about the meaning behind his words and chose not to dissect them…for now.

  Changing the subject, Satra said, “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that they might let my dad come home in another day or two depending on the results of the last tests they’ve run on him.”

  “That’s great. I know your mom has to be excited and relieved.”

  “She is. This whole ordeal has really shaken her up. The thought of losing the man she’s loved her entire adult life has her appreciating the little things a lot more. She refused to leave his side, which is why I ended up spending the first day and a half at the hospital in a reclining chair to be with them both. Soon we’ll all be home in comfortable beds.”

  Shane knew Satra’s shoulders and back had to be horribly knotted up again.

  “Unfortunately sometimes it takes a tragedy to make you appreciate what you have more, but it sounds like your parents already know what they have. Your dad’s stroke just deepened their love and appreciation for one another.”

  That was exactly what happened between her parents.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Satra said in a low voice.

  There was another short silence between them before Satra finally said, “Well, before I yawn in your ear again I better get off this phone and go to bed. Thank you again for everything, my parents were touched by everyone’s kindness.”

  “Any time. And if you need anything, and I mean anything Satra, you call me okay?”

  It was more of a command than a request, but she knew he meant well. She couldn’t possibly ask him to do more than what he already has and felt guilty for what he has already done. Somehow saying “thank you” over and over just didn’t seem like enough.

  “Shane you’ve already done more than enough for me and my family. I couldn’t ask you to do anything else.”

  “A simple ‘Okay, Shane’ would’ve sufficed,” Shane said chuckling.

  ‘Spoken like a man who is used to getting his way’, Satra thought to herself. ‘I’ll humor him.’

  “Okay Shane,” Satra said in the sweetest, most submissive voice she could muster.

  All kinds of inappropriate, sexy thoughts ran through Shane’s mind at that moment, thoughts of what he would like to do to her if she were in front of him instead of hundreds of miles away.

  “Good night Satra,” Shane told her in a warm tone. He knew the safe thing to do was to end their conversation now before things got out of control.

  “Good night Shane,” Satra replied softly.

  Satra had no clue how much Shane missed her company. He was becoming a grump and his patience was at negative zero. He hated looking at Mr. Gordon because he always gave him the “I told you so” look. Mr. Gordon knew Shane was miserable without Satra. He couldn’t wait to get home, but even then Satra still wouldn’t be there. No one was there. It took all he had not to ask her when she would be comin
g home. He didn’t want her to think that he was rushing her or that there were things going on at work that she needed to rush back to. He also didn’t want her to know how much he missed her. He knew she needed to be with her family and he wanted her to be there, but the selfish side of him wanted her with him too. That fact alone made Shane realize that he never felt this way about Kate. She could be gone for days or weeks and not once did he feel an empty ache inside the way he did with Satra being gone for only two days.

  After Satra hung up her phone she began to undress. She found her favorite Milwaukee Brewers tee shirt and put it on and climbed in the bed. Her mother’s words kept replaying in her mind over and over about Shane.

  “I don’t care how sweet he is, I can’t go there with him.”

  Satra recognized his subtle and not so subtle hints with some of the things he said to her, and there were many things that he said to her that she could take in many ways. “The minute I lose my mind and decide to go down that road with him I know there will be no turning back,” she said sleepily to herself. Satra knew that if Shane affected her so strongly now, there was no way in the world she could resist him after giving in to him, nor would Shane let her go.

  Chapter Eight

  Three days later Sam Sinclair was released from the hospital. The entire family was excited, and they made arrangements to celebrate his release when he got home. Satra’s brothers bought their parents a new bed that could recline and go into many different positions. They all chipped in to buy their father a 50-inch flat screen plasma television and had it mounted on the wall in his den, along with a brand new leather lazy boy chair. Their father was always too cheap to pay for the NBA League Pass or the NFL League pass so they also paid to have all his favorite sports channels added to his satellite cable. All the flowers, cards and get-well baskets were all taken home the night before. The flowers decorated the kitchen table and dining room table and coffee tables, and it made the house smell so nice. They cleaned the house from top to bottom and made sure everything was as comfortable as possible for their dad. When they walked into the house, they smelled all the flowers.

  “Oh that smells so nice,” Sharon said.

  “It’s good to be home and out of that damn hospital,” her husband grumbled. Sam Sr. had to walk with the assistance of a cane because his left side was weakened from the stroke.

  “Dad, why don’t you have a seat in the den? There are a few games on if you feel up to watching them with us,” Sam Jr. said smiling.

  “Sure, I can watch for a little bit before I go lie down and rest.”

  Satra and her brothers were all smiling at each other as they walked slowly with their parents through the dining room to get to his den. Their father stopped in his tracks when he saw the huge flat screen TV mounted to his wall and the brand new leather lazy boy chair sitting in front of it.

  “Who did this? Where did this stuff come from?” their father asked surprised.

  Sidney beamed. “We did it.”

  Satra chimed in. “We wanted you to be as comfortable as possible daddy.”

  “Oh my goodness…this is so nice!” their mother exclaimed.

  “And we didn’t forget about you mom. You have your own comfortable recliner in your reading room,” Satra added.

  Their parents were so touched they were speechless. Satra and her brothers were so happy to see their joy. They made sure they didn’t keep their father up too long even though he enjoyed laughing and talking with his sons while they watched the Brewers battle it out with the Cubs. They helped him to the guest room to take a nap, not wanting him to strain himself climbing the stairs to his bedroom. Sam decided to have his procedure to have a stent put in his blocked artery next week. Satra told her mom that she’d come back, but her mother tried to talk her out of it. They were sitting in the kitchen having coffee and freshly made blueberry banana muffins that her mother baked.

  “Satra, I know you want to be here for your dad, and I’m not going to tell you not to come, but I don’t want you causing problems for yourself at work either. Your brothers are here…”

  “Ma, family comes first. Always have and always will. I want to be here. What if something happens or something goes wrong with the surgery and I’m not here? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I wasn’t here,” Satra said firmly.

  “Ok, okay. I’ll leave it alone,” her mother said, putting her hands up.

  “Besides, you need someone to look after you too. Those brothers of mine do their best, but they don’t stand up to your stubbornness like I do,” Satra said smiling behind her coffee mug.

  “They’re mama’s boys; they’re supposed to do whatever it is their mama wants,” her mother replied, winking at her.

  Sasha came into the kitchen looking for something to snack on. He grabbed two muffins and bit into one of them.

  “Y’all have been doing a lot of girl talk since you’ve been in town. Are you sure you don’t have a man that you’re not telling us about?” Sasha asked smiling.

  “Shut up Sasha,” Satra said rolling her eyes “And none of your business!” Satra said sticking her tongue out at her brother like she did a million times during their childhood.

  “For real though, I got a friend. He’s a good dude, successful, works for a finance company and is about to start his own company, no kids, never been married…”

  “I know you’re not trying to hook me up, Sash?” Satra asked frowning at her brother.

  “I’m just sayin’, Satra, he’s a good dude. He saw a picture of you and the boys and he went crazy talking about how beautiful you are and how he’d love to meet you. You know I wouldn’t even be telling you this if I didn’t feel he wasn’t a good person, Satra.”

  Satra knew that much was true. Her brothers were extremely protective of her and never allowed any of their friends to even look at her let alone try to date her.

  “What’s his name?” Satra asked as nonchalantly as she could. She had to admit that she was intrigued.

  “Cole. Cole DaCosta.”

  “What is he? Puerto Rican, Italian?” Satra asked. It didn’t matter to her, but she was curious nonetheless.

  “He’s mixed. His mom is black, and his dad is Cuban. He’s originally from New York too; the Bronx to be exact.”

  “Small world,” Satra said smiling. “Is he cute?”

  Sasha rolled his eyes, and Satra giggled.

  “Let’s just say he’ll meet your standard of tall, dark and handsome. I’m not gonna say some other dude is cute. What do I look like?”

  “Well, I had to ask!” Satra said laughing.

  Sasha and his mom were studying Satra trying to gauge her interest. Satra’s mom knew that as much as her daughter liked Shane she was fighting her feelings for him tooth and nail. Having another person in the picture could take her mind off of Shane. Satra was thinking the exact same thing.

  “So what do you think?” her brother asked, interrupting her thoughts. “I could have y’all meet before you leave; maybe we could go bowling or something and just hang out.”

  “That sounds like fun actually. I haven’t been bowling in…goodness…. years,” Satra said.

  “Cool! We can go tonight. I’ll go call him and see if he’s free.” Sasha said smiling. He dug his cell phone out of his pants pocket and left the kitchen to call his friend. Satra’s mom shook her head and stood up to wash her coffee cup at the sink.

  “What, ma?” Satra asked.

  She knew her mother had something to say, and she knew it had to do with Shane.

  “I didn’t say anything,” her mother answered flatly.

  “You didn’t have to; I saw your face so just go ahead and say what’s on your mind.”

  Turning around and leaning against the kitchen sink her mother folded her arms across her chest and said, “Okay. This Cole person is nothing more than a distraction from Shane, and when you play games like this, it always backfires.”

  “Who is playing games? You’re talking
like Shane and I are already in a relationship when we’re not. There is definitely a mutual attraction there, but that’s as far as it’s going to go. What’s wrong with me meeting someone else?”

  She was struggling to keep from raising her voice from the irritation she was feeling towards her mother. The last thing she needed was for her brothers to know anything about her and Shane.

  “What’s wrong is that your heart already belongs to someone else, whether you want to admit it or not. You can give me whatever excuse you want, but don’t forget that I’ve been there and done that. I also hear what you’re not saying. Just be prepared to live with whatever consequences that comes from your decisions.”

  She walked past Satra and patted her on her shoulder as she left the kitchen. Satra wanted to be angry, but she couldn’t because she knew her mother was right. Her heart and her mind were battling it out and for now her mind was winning. She’s determined to get Shane out of her system, and if that means putting herself out there to meet other single men so be it.

  Sasha came back into the kitchen smiling and said, “It’s on. Tonight, 7 o’clock at Red Carpet Lanes.”

  “That used to be the spot!” Satra said smiling as she remembered the good times she and her brothers and their friends had at the old bowling alley. “Man, I haven’t been there in years. This should be fun.”

  When they were teenagers, Red Carpet Lanes was the hangout spot Friday through Sunday. They played music, had a small dance floor and even had guest DJ’s from local radio stations to spin the latest tunes. It was like a small club for teens and young adults. Besides all of that, Satra actually enjoyed bowling and was pretty good at it. Her parents belonged to a league for years, and it was a family activity that they often did together. Sasha wondered what she was more excited about; going bowling or meeting Cole? Sasha really hoped they would hit it off. He wanted his sister to be happy more than anything else. He knew she wanted to be married and have kids. She just had the worst luck when it came to finding the right man to do that with. And Cole really is a good guy. He too has been unlucky in love, and Sasha thinks they have a lot in common and could really hit it off.