Yearning For Her Curves: (A BWWM Interracial Romance) by Nora Stone

snickering.
     
    “Joey is a smart man,” Char said, laughing.
     
    “Very.  I see why you married him.
     
    “I can’t believe he called me out there to tell me that I was being childish for not allowing this woman and her cameraman to stalk me to my car and harass me for answers to questions I’m probably not supposed to answer.  Hell, if I had answered, I’d probably have gotten in trouble for that too!”
     
    “Just don’t be too mad at Patrick, Jacinta.  He’s between a rock and a hard place with this one.  Does he side with the woman that he loves or the sport that pays his bills and that allows him to do what he loves?”  Char said.  I sighed and rolled my eyes at the ceiling.
     
    “Damn it all,” I said.  Char laughed.
     
    “See?  I’m not saying that maybe you both couldn’t have handled all of this better, but this situation doesn’t make his life any simpler.”
     
    “Yeah, I know,” I breathed.
     
    “Do you want to come out here for a bit?” she asked.  I thought about it for a moment.
     
    “Maybe later tonight. I think I just need some time to think for now.” 
     
    “Alright, well you know the offer stands.  Al and I aren’t going anywhere.” 
     
    ~~~
     
    Patrick called an hour later, under the premise of making sure that I hadn’t actually gone home and drank myself into a stupor.  Once he was sure that I was alright, he asked me to come out to the house for dinner.  I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I wanted to do that, considering that I was still pretty irritated, but I did.  Patrick waited for me at the door, coming out to meet me as I closed and locked the doors to my car.
     
    “Is everything alright?” he asked.  I nodded, not really looking at him yet.
     
    “Everything is fine.”  To his benefit, he didn’t push the issue.
     
    He had two T-Bone steaks on the grill outside, and was steaming shrimp and veggies, and cooking rice to go along with it.  The whole house smelled yummy, and I settled at the counter with a soda and a sigh.
     
    “You know, Coach really meant well.  He may not have chosen the right way to say it to you, but what he said was true,” Patrick said.  I looked up at him.
     
    “What are you talking about?”  I mean, I knew what he was talking about, but I needed to know which parts he was considering ‘true’ from that conversation.
     
    “Just the bits about how being a part of my life means that sometimes we have to be the grown-ups in the situation and not overreact,” he said.  I watched him for a moment, wondering if he had any idea what the hell he’d just said to me.
     
    “I’m sorry, was flipping her off an overreaction to her finding out where I work, invading my life and following me, shouting questions and shoving her microphone and camera in my face?” I asked.  I saw the moment when Patrick realized that I was getting mad again, and he sat back and frowned.
     
    “I’m not saying that I don’t understand your reaction, I’m just saying that maybe another response would have been a better option.” 
     
    “Is that you speaking your opinion?  Or you speaking Coach’s opinion?” I asked, my voice a lot calmer than I was actually feeling inside.
     
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he spit back.
     
    “I mean he’s your coach, not your father or something.  Maybe when it’s just you and me, you tell me what’s happening in your head instead of in his?” I said, standing.
     
    “What makes you say that wasn’t what I think?” he said, standing to meet me.
     
    “The fact that I just asked you and you didn’t even bother answering the damn question!” I said, yelling now.
     
    “I can’t believe…”  I stopped, turned and walked outside to the back patio.  Sometimes Patrick made me wish that I smoked.
     
    “Jacinta, don’t walk away from me,” he said, coming outside after me.
     
    “Funny, here I thought I was a grown-ass woman with full control of