Read Online Touch Me and Tango by Alicia Street, Roy Street - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alicia Street, Roy Street
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lips so full they begged to be
kissed. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way they used to feel on his mouth.
And other places.
He murmured an obscenity and sank his teeth into a chicken
cheesesteak sandwich smothered in onions and doused generously with some of
Natalie’s Secret Savory Dressing.
“You alright, bro?” Miles Harnett sat across from him in one
of the booths that lined the wall of Natalie’s Coffee Cove where you could get
some of the best low-cost lunches on the East End. And since Parker’s day
usually began at five a.m., by lunchtime his appetite reached the max.
“I’m fine.”
“Bit into that sandwich like you were trying to kill
something. Hate to tell ya, I think the farmer beat you to it.”
Parker laughed for the first time today. Leave it to Miles.
The two compadres always had each other’s back. Even when it came to their
moods.
“Hear about that double waterspout they spotted off Orient
Point yesterday? Couple of monsters.” Miles dug into his spaghetti and
meatballs.
“Bizarre weather we’re getting. That’s for sure.”
“Strange thing was this morning Lakisha went out back to put
the dog in his pen before taking Robby to school, and she saw two stripers fall
from the sky, I kid you not.”
“Whoa. I’ve heard about water spouts raining fish. But a day
later?”
Miles had deep brown skin and a smooth-shaven head. And he
waved his hands in the air when he spoke. “They get stuck in clouds and
carried. Good sized bass, too.”
“Did you cook’em up and serve to the family?”
“Nah, they smelled too much like jet fuel.”
“No doubt.” Parker chuckled, but then the smile melted on
his face as he caught Tanya entering the diner. His eyes followed her as she
made a beeline for the takeout counter. She wore a denim jacket that cinched at
her small waist, her hips a womanly curve beneath it in a short, straight
skirt. After all this time it stunned him how readily his body reacted to her.
Like some drug or spell or something. Damn her.
“There’s that same look again. Man on fire.”
“No way.”
“Then why are you gripping the edge of this table like you’re
gonna tear it from the wall?” Mile’s followed Parker’s gaze. A wide grin lit
his face. “Exhibit A. Hel-looo testosterone.”
Parker shrugged. “Let’s not go there.”
“Never seen her before. Doesn’t strike me as a NoFo girl.”
Parker and Miles had only met three years ago, although
they’d both grown up on Long Island’s North Fork and their shared attachment to
it was one reason they’d become close. Parker was descended from a line of
farmer-fishermen who’d worked the Peconic Bay since the 1800s, and Miles’s
ancestors were ex-slaves who arrived in that same century and worked the oyster
beds at Orient Point. Miles owned a charter fishing boat. Like Parker, he was
one of those men who just had to run his own business.
“Manhattan,” Parker said. “Her mother’s got a house out
here.”
“Then you know her?”
“Sort of.”
Miles tilted his head. “Sort of?”
“I used to work for her parents over in the fancy part of
the Cove. They divorced. Mother moved here permanently, daughter left town. She
was twenty-one. Hasn’t been back since.”
Miles patted his mouth with a napkin and shoved his empty
plate to the side. “Got a feeling you’re telling me the facts, but not the
story.”
Parker hated talking about this kind of stuff. That was
something females did. He’d lived with two sisters and a mother who readily
shared their day-to-day woes. But not Parker. He specialized in incoming only.
Ever since his father died he’d filled the role of the manly caretaker. The
household problem solver who listened but remained quiet about his own
dilemmas.
Luckily Natalie showed up, pouring coffee refills. She was
like a third little sister to Parker, having been Casey’s best friend since
childhood. Her cherubic face and rounded body reflected her love of food.
kissed. He couldn’t stop thinking about the way they used to feel on his mouth.
And other places.
He murmured an obscenity and sank his teeth into a chicken
cheesesteak sandwich smothered in onions and doused generously with some of
Natalie’s Secret Savory Dressing.
“You alright, bro?” Miles Harnett sat across from him in one
of the booths that lined the wall of Natalie’s Coffee Cove where you could get
some of the best low-cost lunches on the East End. And since Parker’s day
usually began at five a.m., by lunchtime his appetite reached the max.
“I’m fine.”
“Bit into that sandwich like you were trying to kill
something. Hate to tell ya, I think the farmer beat you to it.”
Parker laughed for the first time today. Leave it to Miles.
The two compadres always had each other’s back. Even when it came to their
moods.
“Hear about that double waterspout they spotted off Orient
Point yesterday? Couple of monsters.” Miles dug into his spaghetti and
meatballs.
“Bizarre weather we’re getting. That’s for sure.”
“Strange thing was this morning Lakisha went out back to put
the dog in his pen before taking Robby to school, and she saw two stripers fall
from the sky, I kid you not.”
“Whoa. I’ve heard about water spouts raining fish. But a day
later?”
Miles had deep brown skin and a smooth-shaven head. And he
waved his hands in the air when he spoke. “They get stuck in clouds and
carried. Good sized bass, too.”
“Did you cook’em up and serve to the family?”
“Nah, they smelled too much like jet fuel.”
“No doubt.” Parker chuckled, but then the smile melted on
his face as he caught Tanya entering the diner. His eyes followed her as she
made a beeline for the takeout counter. She wore a denim jacket that cinched at
her small waist, her hips a womanly curve beneath it in a short, straight
skirt. After all this time it stunned him how readily his body reacted to her.
Like some drug or spell or something. Damn her.
“There’s that same look again. Man on fire.”
“No way.”
“Then why are you gripping the edge of this table like you’re
gonna tear it from the wall?” Mile’s followed Parker’s gaze. A wide grin lit
his face. “Exhibit A. Hel-looo testosterone.”
Parker shrugged. “Let’s not go there.”
“Never seen her before. Doesn’t strike me as a NoFo girl.”
Parker and Miles had only met three years ago, although
they’d both grown up on Long Island’s North Fork and their shared attachment to
it was one reason they’d become close. Parker was descended from a line of
farmer-fishermen who’d worked the Peconic Bay since the 1800s, and Miles’s
ancestors were ex-slaves who arrived in that same century and worked the oyster
beds at Orient Point. Miles owned a charter fishing boat. Like Parker, he was
one of those men who just had to run his own business.
“Manhattan,” Parker said. “Her mother’s got a house out
here.”
“Then you know her?”
“Sort of.”
Miles tilted his head. “Sort of?”
“I used to work for her parents over in the fancy part of
the Cove. They divorced. Mother moved here permanently, daughter left town. She
was twenty-one. Hasn’t been back since.”
Miles patted his mouth with a napkin and shoved his empty
plate to the side. “Got a feeling you’re telling me the facts, but not the
story.”
Parker hated talking about this kind of stuff. That was
something females did. He’d lived with two sisters and a mother who readily
shared their day-to-day woes. But not Parker. He specialized in incoming only.
Ever since his father died he’d filled the role of the manly caretaker. The
household problem solver who listened but remained quiet about his own
dilemmas.
Luckily Natalie showed up, pouring coffee refills. She was
like a third little sister to Parker, having been Casey’s best friend since
childhood. Her cherubic face and rounded body reflected her love of food.
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