A McClendon Thanksgiving Read online

Michael broke the kiss before sliding his hands down her legs. Picking up her right foot, he pulled Faith’s wedge-heeled boot off and put it to the side of the sofa. He duplicated the action with the other before helping her rest back on the sofa.

  Faith’s breath caught in her throat when Michael stood on his feet and put his hand on the robe’s belt. Her heartbeat accelerated and the throb between her legs that had become so familiar returned. Anxious to give herself to him, to feel his hands on her naked skin, Faith pulled at the top button of her blouse, but Michael stopped her.

  “Let me do it,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I just want you to relax and let me do all the work.” And work he did.

  Faith arrived for her second meeting with Renee, ready to make her final choices from the images and documents Renee had sent for the grand-opening campaign. Renee had presented her extraordinary mock-ups of the logo, print collateral and flyer. Faith had been waiting only minutes when Renee walked in.

  “Good morning,” Renee said before taking a seat next to Faith at the round conference table.

  “Morning,” Faith replied.

  The Made to Order by Faith logo appeared on the screen immediately after Renee connected her laptop to the wall television.

  “Wow, that’s beautiful. Did you send that to me?”

  “Yes, and that’s why I wanted you to come in—so that you could see it in a larger format. It helps making the decision a bit easier.”

  “Do you have the other one as well?” Seeing the image onscreen made things real to Faith. Her vision was becoming a reality.

  “Of course.” Renee pressed a button and option two appeared.

  “I love this one too. Oh, Renee, this is hard.”

  “We’ve got to make a decision because we’ve mocked up the flyers but we need the logo to make it complete.”

  Faith appreciated that her sister had expertise in this area. She felt blessed to have a sister who cared so much about her success.

  Renee turned to Faith. “Look, Faith, in the retail clothing business there is a lot of competition. In order to stand out, we’ve got to use every promotional idea that fits you. We don’t want to market to the wrong demographic because the grand opening would be a complete flop,” Renee said.

  “I understand that you want to get people in the store because I have something to offer them.”

  “Exactly, so I thought about doing some in-store promotions. I know you talked about giving something away at the grand opening to draw people. We would put that on the flyer as an incentive.”

  “I actually wanted to do a black T-shirt with pink rhinestones that said Made to Order by Faith.”

  “That’s a great idea, but isn’t it a little costly?”

  “Kinda, but I think it will be worth it. I got the idea from the Black Girls Rock shirts. If you place a custom order on Black Friday, you get the T-shirt.”

  Renee nodded. “Well, see, you’ve got the idea. Okay, let’s wrap this up.”

  “Can you put the logos up on the screen side by side?”

  Renee complied.

  She and Faith came up with a Facebook page for the store, also an email sign-up on the website.

  And Faith finally decided on a logo.

  Mission accomplished.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Michael really liked mentoring young people who had a passion for photography. He’d been fascinated with it since he was a young boy, and the love for it still resided within him. His eye for the beautiful was always there. When his clients commented about how great his work was, his only reply was “the camera can only take what it sees”.

  He started the twelve-week mentoring program three years ago to help the young adults in the program become better photographers. He offered instructional group sessions, field trips and projects of nature in parks and forests to capture the natural habitat. At the end of the session, each student would have a portfolio of their work which would be featured in a gallery showing.

  His one-on-one work sessions were tailored to the specific needs of the student. It allowed him to focus on those things that the student was most interested in and gave him a glimpse of the person behind the camera. Those sessions would spark creative ideas, as well as improve their techniques and instill greater confidence in becoming a strong photographer. It also helped a student to decide what type of photographer they wanted to become. Whether it was a studio or high-fashion photography, wedding or portrait photography, the curriculum was created for the student to get a feel for them all.

  In the years that he’d been mentoring, Michael had found that some students were naturally gifted and others had to work their tails off, but could be just as good. In the end they both could be successful and that’s why he encouraged all his students to think outside the box and allow their imaginations to guide them in their photography projects.

  Today, there were two students who needed to work on improving their process after completing a photo shoot. Michael shared with them his successful techniques for choosing the right photos to send to a client, and they each identified twenty-five photos from a test session. Michael was impressed with the students’ work.

  Michael reached into his back blue-jeans pocket and retrieved his phone. Checking the time, he wanted to call Faith to let her know that they were wrapping things up early. He wanted to go by and spend some time with her. They hadn’t seen each other in days and it had been just as long since he’d made love to her, which was totally unacceptable.

  When he didn’t get an answer, he left her a voice mail, hoping she’d return his call before he left the studio.

  When he didn’t hear from her thirty minutes before they finished their shoot, he just decided to head over to her place and catch her there.

  Faith noticed the rain had started coming down as soon as she got into her car to head home. The wind was gradually getting cooler, blowing leaves up against the building. The rain made it worse, being carried by the swift wind, bringing a chill to her body, right down to the bone.

  Chicago had a tendency to go straight from summer to winter and that was proving to be the case, so she wanted to be prepared. She’d have to remember to put out a heavier coat now that it was November.

  Driving home, she went over her mental to-do list, with the first task being to work on completing her dress sample. The way things had been going lately, it was probably going to be the only thing she’d work on tonight.

  Faith’s to-do list increased every day and she didn’t mind, but what did bother her was the fact that she wasn’t crossing many things off the list. She had been so busy with everything else that she had only gotten to cut out her patterns.

  The time was winding down before her grand opening, so to take a bit of the stress off, she decided to cut down the customers’ number of dress options. Combining her designs with Margaret’s still would give their customers several good choices to customize to their specifications.

  With no desire to cook when she got home, Faith stopped by Chipotle to pick up a burrito bowl with chips and salsa. She would save the chips and salsa for her late night snack to give her energy to keep going and finish the garment.

  Turning the corner, her headlights quickly flashed on the cars parked alongside the curb on her street. As she moved closer to her home, she saw Michael’s car sitting in front of her building. They had spoken earlier and he had told her that he would be working with his kids from the mentor program so he wouldn’t be available this evening. That was the main reason she thought tonight would be a good time to work on her projects since she didn’t have to worry about being interrupted. She glanced at the time on the dash, parked the car and got out at the same time he did.

  “Hi, babe,” he said, approaching her on the sidewalk.

  She kissed him softly. “What are you doing here? I thought you had a session with
your students tonight?” she asked, pulling her keys out of her purse.

  “We finished early.” He checked his watch.

  “Why didn’t you call me?”—Faith wanted to know as they walked up the stairs to her apartment.

  If he had called her, then she could have told him not to come over tonight so she could get some of her work done.

  “When I spoke to you earlier, you said that you would be home this evening and at the last minute I decided to stop by.”

  Faith always loved spending time with Michael, but she needed to complete her projects. She thought he knew how important this was for her.

  “I have a lot of sewing to do to try to catch up with Margaret.”

  Faith unlocked the door to her apartment and they went inside.

  “Okay, babe. I won’t stay long then.”

  Making eye contact with him, Faith saw Michael raise his eyebrows and shook her head. “Michael, you are a mess. We are not going to be fooling around, do you hear me?” she said, trying to get the words out without laughing.

  Michael took her bag into the kitchen. “You get comfortable and I’ll put your food on a tray and bring it to you.”

  “Are you hungry? We could share,” Faith said

  “I’d love to share with you,” he replied.

  Faith saw the look of desire again in his eyes. She had no idea what she was going to do with Michael Montgomery.

  Michael knew he’d told Faith that he wouldn’t come by and he knew she had a lot to do, but he just wanted to be around her. Honestly, he didn’t like going back to his apartment alone, so when he had the opportunity to stay with her, he did.

  Michael brought Faith’s meal on a serving tray, along with a glass of sweet tea. She offered again to share her food with him, but he declined.

  He could tell that she was anxious to get to work because she only ate half the bowl. He realized that he couldn’t in good conscious stick around when he knew that he was going to be a distraction. Pushing his hands down into his pants pockets, he said to her, “Babe, I’m just going to go.”

  “Aw, don’t leave now,” Faith said in response.

  “No, I knew when I came over that you had work to do.”

  Faith got up from her chair, walked over to where Michael stood and kissed him. “You might as well stay with me now. You’re already here.”

  Michael hugged her to him then took a step back. “Are you sure? I really don’t want to be in the way.”

  “I’m heading into the sewing room now,” Faith said.

  Michael realized that she had ignored his comment.

  “You can watch your sports channel, but usually I like to listen to the music on my iPod, Pandora or iHeartRadio while I’m working.”

  “Babe, don’t change your process for me. I don’t want the TV to disturb you, so work the way you always do,” Michael said, giving her a peck on the lips once more.

  Faith put her hand in the middle of his chest to stop him when he tried to deepen the kiss. “Hold up, lover boy.”

  Michael stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. “You’re right, I promised.”

  Faith waved her finger in front of him. “That’s right, Michael Edward Montgomery. You are not going to seduce me tonight. I’m doing my work.”

  Michael hunched his shoulders. “Babe, you’re the one standing here talking to me.” He grinned, taking a couple of small steps forward until he was two breaths away from her lips. “You like being seduced.” He ran his thumb gently over her quivering bottom lip.

  He could see Faith’s eyes flutter, and if they kept touching each other, they would end up on the floor, couch or bed. That thought conjured up several erotic images that made his manhood rise. He had to take a couple of steps away from her so that she wouldn’t feel his hardness.

  Faith moved toward Michael again. “Okay, one last kiss,” she said leaning forward.

  Michael captured her lips, and instead of a gentle kiss, he devoured her mouth until she was breathless. Once he released her, he said, “Now, go and work. I’ll be right here, don’t worry.”

  He cupped her elbow and led her to the sewing room and left her.

  Pretty soon Michael could hear Aretha Franklin’s passionate and powerful mezzo-soprano voice, with the heavy bass rocking steady, coming from the room. He rushed down the hall to take a peek and saw Faith moving to the beat of the old ’70s jam.

  He stood and watched Faith, wanting, aching, to go inside, caress her shoulders, kiss her neck, but he’d promised to allow Faith to work.

  Michael glanced at his watch and it was getting late, so for the last time, he stuck his head in the door.

  “Babe, how are you coming along?”

  Faith threw her head back and puckered her lips, encouraging Michael to kiss her.

  He obliged and held her in his arms as they swayed to the beat.

  “Now, I didn’t come in here to distract you.”

  Faith gave him an under-eyed look as they broke apart.

  Michael held up his hands in surrender. “For real. I didn’t. I noticed that it was getting late and I wanted to let you know that I’m going to leave.”

  Faith pouted. “Aw, don’t leave. Why don’t you go and lay down in my bed? I’ll be there in a few minutes. Promise.”

  Michael kissed her lips again. “I’ll stay as long as you like, but I don’t want to interfere in your work, especially if you’re getting things done.” He was rather pleased that she wanted him to stay.

  “Well, go on and get comfortable then. I’m going to wrap up. I’m getting tired anyway.”

  Michael turned, walked out the room and down the hall to Faith’s bedroom.

  The room was beautifully decorated with splashes of modern art on the walls. She had an extra-tall, custom-made king-sized headboard and window coverings that matched. Her bed was elegantly decorated with royal-blue and cream bedding.

  He stepped over to the bed, throwing back the duvet so that he wouldn’t damage the bedcovers. Michael lay down, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

  Knowing that Michael had been there all evening not only made Faith feel safe, it made her horny. All that fine chocolate brother now lying in her bed, just waiting to be devoured… Suddenly, she felt very warm and tingly.

  Several hours later, Faith glanced at the clock, rubbed her eyes and decided to call it quits for the evening. She gathered all of her supplies, put them away and cleaned up her work area.

  She pressed the Power button on her iPod docking station, then the light switch on her way out of the room.

  She walked the short distance to her bedroom and could hear Michael snoring before she got to the door.

  She watched him sleep for several seconds before bending over, rubbing his forehead, startling Michael from his sleep.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Faith said, caressing his right ear.

  “I didn’t hear you come in,” he said, trying to lift himself up from the bed.

  “I just came into the room.” She continued to finger his hairline.

  Michael yawned. “How much work did you get done?”

  “I have one of the dresses completed and one-third of the second one done.” Faith extended her hand to him. “Let’s go take a shower.”

  Michael turned his wrist. “At two in the morning?”

  Faith smiled, showing bright-white teeth. “Yes, unless you’d rather not.”

  Michael swung his legs to the floor and grabbed her hand, pleased that she’d offered.

  When he stood, Faith got on the tips of her toes and kissed him tenderly on the lips. “Thanks for being here.”

  Biting her lower lip, Faith let go of his hand, placed hers on the top button of her blouse and undid it, then the rest. Pulling off the blouse, she now only had on her bra and skirt, she t
ook two steps forward, softly brushing her lips against his. The familiar ache between her thighs had returned, awakening her desire for Michael.

  Michael kissed Faith passionately. He didn’t want Faith to feel like she owed him something for staying with her. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.

  Faith batted her eyes at him. “Do what?”

  Just before Michael reached to pull her close, she stepped back, unzipped her skirt and stepped out of it. Giving him a sparkling smile in her lacy red panties, she turned around and walked seductively into the adjoining bath. After a couple of steps, she looked over her right shoulder, sure he would be there—and he was.

  “You are such a beautiful woman,” Michael said, fingering the right strap of her bra.

  The light touch of his fingers caressing her skin made Faith want to grab him, put his large hands over her breasts and force him to take her right there on the bathroom floor. She had never acted so seductively, but with Michael she felt free. Wanting to know her body and the things that made it sing, she wished to explore every sexual possibility with him.

  “I want to make love to you, Michael,” she said, pressing her body against his as she met his gaze. The twinkle in his eye was mesmerizing and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  Faith shivered when Michael hooked the left strap and with one motion dragged them both down her arms at the same time. Her bare breasts revealed, nipples achy and puckered, she closed her eyes just as he bent over to kiss them. Her delicate hands gripped his shoulders in an attempt to keep her balance.

  While Michael moved away and lifted the blue sweater over his head, Faith turned on the water in the shower. When she turned back around to face him, he was completely naked and ready for her.

  “Are you ready, big daddy,” Faith said before she chuckled.

  Passing the building, fire and electrical inspections had Faith so geeked she didn’t mind that the day had flown by. She was so relieved that she didn’t have another crisis or delay of her plans to move forward with planning the grand opening.

  The renovation had been a long process and there were still things left to do, but she was making progress. Faith had spoken to several of the girls from Margaret’s church and had narrowed it down to two candidates. They were coming in for dress fittings—thankfully, Margaret had just completed the dresses the day before. Faith had asked everyone to come to the shop so she could go over her tentative plans for the grand opening. Her family arrived at the same time as Margaret and the three young ladies from the church. Once Michael arrived, she started her meeting.