Chapter Fourteen

Jordan carried Naomi in his arms over the threshold of her bedroom. Her body was too tired and her feet ached too much to get out of the car. Jordan had teased her about leaving her there, but one kiss from her and he'd turned into silly putty in her hands. He placed her carefully on the ground and wrapped his arms tightly around her, continuing to hold her.

"Thank you" Naomi whispered as she rested her head on his chest.

"Thank you" Jordan reciprocated.

"For what" she asked.

"For being by my side, supporting me, for convincing your colleagues to come to the benefit tonight; we raised twice the money we projected". Jordan traced Naomi's spine up and down with his finger as he talked.

"You don't have to thank me for that. Like Cooper said earlier, we support any cause that will help us treat our patients. He sees one kid who has had HIV since he was three because of a blood transfusion. I didn't have to convince them at all; they wanted to come".

"Even that ex-husband of yours" Jordan asked skeptically.

Naomi rolled her eyes. "I hardly know what's on his mind these days; but I do know he cares about his patients' well-being as much as the rest of us".

"Oh, I can tell you what's on his mind these days". Jordan stepped away from Naomi so he could look her in the eye and read her reaction. "You" he said.

"Jordan please, that's ridiculous" Naomi said exasperated.

"I told you when we were in Africa that he would realize his mistake. The only thing left for him to do is confess his undying love and come crawling back" Jordan continued.

"And I told you, Sam and I have already been down that road. It didn't work out. I was too scared of being hurt again and he was scared of making a commitment. So we decided to leave the past in the past; I've moved on and he's moved on with my former best friend, in case you've forgotten. We're over...indefinitely" Naomi added to stress her point. She was tired of all the gossip and drama surrounding Sam. Her friends were fighting over whether he should be with Addison, Pete was accusing her of trying to get his attention, and now Jordan was accusing Sam of being in love with her. The madness had to stop.

"Believe that lie if you want to, but trust me, Sam is going to make a play for you. Can't say that I blame him though" Jordan said, pulling Naomi close again, softly kissing her neck.

Naomi pushed him back. "What has gotten into you? What's with the sudden obsession over my ex-husband? And now that I'm thinking about it, what kind of stunt were you pulling earlier tonight" Naomi asked question after question in rapid succession.

"I was confirming my suspicions. If he was over you, he would have told Addison about your conversation; instead he found the need to keep it a secret. I'm not obsessed, I'm just looking out for you" Jordan explained, trying to wrap his hands back around her.

Pushing her hand against his chest to keep him at bay, Naomi said "There's nothing to protect me from. You sound jealous".

"What if I was" Jordan asked point blank. He didn't want to admit it, but Sam's words had gotten to him. And his own behavior was beginning to annoy him; looking from the outside in, he could understand why he might be mistaken for an insecure boyfriend instead of the supportive friend he was supposed to be.

Naomi hesitated; she couldn't tell if Jordan was being serious or hypothetical. She dropped her hand and stared at him, her heart causing her chest to heave up and down. "I would say that's a complication in what's supposed to be an uncomplicated friendship" she said carefully.

"I see" Jordan said backing further away. Taking off his tuxedo jacket, he draped it over the chair next to the door. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his legs, stuffed his hand in his pockets, and stared back at Naomi. "Let's just pretend that I'm right and Sam was downstairs, at this very moment, on your front doorstep waiting to win you back. What would your response be"?

"I don't see what that has to do..."

"Please just answer the question".

Naomi opened her mouth but nothing came out; her mind went completely blank. She honestly had no answer, had no idea what to say. A reunion with Sam never seemed to be in the realms of a possibility for her to even consider.

"I suspected you might still be in love with him when we were in Africa; there were, still are, too many unresolved issues between you two. I guess I was right" Jordan said quietly, when she failed to speak.

"That's not true. The thought of getting back with Sam hasn't occurred to me for a very long time" she said, finding her voice again. "How could you expect me to answer a question like that right on the spot" Naomi asked defensively.

"I would think if you had no desire to be with him, it would be an easy answer. You would say no before I could finish the question".

Naomi walked towards him, closing the gap between them, physically and emotionally. "It's not that simple Jordan. When you spend nearly half your life living with a person, they become a part of you. Sam and I might be over, but there will always be a soft spot in my heart for him. We share a child, there's a bond there that can't be broken no matter how hard we try. You know this; after everything Michelle put you through, you can't honestly deny a small part of you will always belong to her".

"I understand that and it's true. But having a soft spot and still wanting to be with someone are two different things. So I'm asking you straight out, are you still in love with Sam". Jordan studied her closely, waiting for her answer.

Since her relationship with Jordan was based on honesty, Naomi reluctantly took his question to heart and deeply pondered her feelings. She had to admit there were a few troubling moments between her and Sam; her body had reacted in ways she hadn't expected. Tingling hands, rapid heartbeats; apparently her ex-husband could still get to her. But those feelings and reactions were nostalgia, she didn't want him back. Right? She met Jordan's gaze. "I would be lying if I said that Sam doesn't still affect me. Old habits can be hard to break. But no, I'm not in love with him and if he came crawling back this second, I wouldn't take him back". Naomi placed her hand back on Jordan's chest and felt his heart speed up.

"So what does that mean for you and me" Jordan asked, standing up straight.

"Jordan" Naomi whispered. "This whole conversation is scaring me. What exactly are you trying to get at"? She felt her own heart beat speed up and match his.

Jordan grasped the hand lying on his chest. "I wanted to know if you were still in love with Sam because he was the only real obstacle standing in our way. As much as I try to fight and deny it, I can't help but wonder why we can't be more than friends" he answered. While he was waiting for Naomi to answer him, he realized just how much her answer mattered to him. That asshole Sam was right; somewhere along the way, Jordan had fallen in love with her.

"You know why" Naomi said.

"Refresh my memory" Jordan whispered as he leaned down and kissed her neck. His hands dropped down to her hips.

A small moan slipped between Naomi's lips; she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. "You said sex wouldn't affect our friendship, that it would be a condition of our friendship. We both agreed that it couldn't, wouldn't, and shouldn't go any further. We're both damaged goods Jordan; how could we possibly be good for each other as a couple? What if things don't work out; I don't want to lose you as a friend".

"I promise that no matter what happens we'll always be friends. But we can't not try to make it work; we owe it to ourselves" Jordan said. His hand slid upwards from her hips to the bare skin exposed between the deep plunges of her dress. His finger stroked up and down between her breasts.

"Jordan..."

"Can you honestly say you don't feel more for me than friendship? Be honest with yourself. Something has changed; we're not the same people who made that pact in Africa; there's something more than friendship going on between us. What I'm feeling can't be one-sided". Jordan's hands reached underneath the fabric on both sides of her plunging neckline and began to roughly massage her breasts. He pinched and teased her nipples until they became hard as diamonds.

He was right; she wanted to blame her changing feelings on her friends teasing her but that simply wasn't the case. Jordan was her rock; the person she could confide in about anything. He listened when she needed an ear, he soothed when she needed comfort, and he pleased her night in and night out with his bedroom prowess. When Naomi wasn't with him, she missed him. When she was with him, the thought of leaving him pained her. "No, your feelings are not one-sided" she moaned. "But how could we make this work; we don't even live in the same country". She tried to back away but Jordan pulled her closer.

Pulling the top half of her dress down and completely off, so that it dangled around her waistline, Jordan pressed his chest up against hers and kissed her slow and deep. Each kiss grew more intense, their chests heaved up and down in synchronization. Naomi's kisses made him feel intoxicated; he kissed her until he physically could breathe no longer. Their lips breaking apart, he rested his cheek against hers. "We can overcome any obstacle as long as we're willing to try. We owe ourselves the chance to make each other happy".

"You already make me happy" Naomi confessed. Tugging at her dress, she pulled it down until it pooled around her feet. Now only clad in sheer black see-through panties, she kicked her dress away from her and began to unbutton Jordan's dress shirt.

"We can make each other even happier. I know you're scared, I'm scared too. All I'm asking is that you think about it. Whatever decision you make, we'll still be friends; even if we try and fail, we'll still be friends. I just don't want to let this opportunity slip by; I don't want us to have any regrets" Jordan said as Naomi slipped his shirt off his shoulders and it fell to the ground.

She couldn't think clearly; Jordan had once again awoken the sexual beast that was always lurking beneath the surface; it needed to be released. Life changing decisions would have to be made later. Naomi reached for his belt buckle, began undoing it. She leaned into him and whispered "I'll think about it…later" before she raised up on her tip-toes and kissed him. Her hands were moving faster now, unzipping his pants and pulling them and his boxers down.

As soon as Jordan's legs were free, he picked her up and slammed her against the wall. He ripped her panties off and felt her moist heat; she was hotter than the sun on a hot summer day. Her vaginal lips had spread apart like delicate flower pedals. He stroked her clitoris, his fingers immediately becoming wet and sticky with her juices. Teasing her, he slowly inserted one then two fingers into her blazing inferno.

Naomi held on dear for life. She clung to his neck, kissing him all over his face and neck. "Jordan" she whimpered, practically begged as he continued to slowly torture her.

Silent as a thief in the night, Jordan carried her to the bed and laid Naomi down, his body following and covering hers. He slipped into with the ease of two lovers familiar with each other. He felt Naomi wrap her legs around him, pull him closer to her, as if inviting him inside her womb. He held her tighter, his thrusts slow, long, strong, and intense. With each thrust, he tried to find the bottom of her moist tunnel, tried to find the end. With each thrust, he fell further down the rabbit hole; this woman consumed him mentally physically, and emotionally. With each thrust, he hoped against hope that she would agree to be his because he was already hopelessly hers.

Naomi's back arched high off the bed every time Jordan slammed his well-endowed penis into her. Her fingers clung to the sheets so hard, they were beginning to cramp. Her head writhed back and forth in the throes of passion. The only thing that kept her from floating off the bed was her legs clinging to Jordan for dear life. She screamed when she felt Jordan's hot wet mouth cover her nipple; he sucked, teased, kissed, blew on it until it ached with the sweetest pain. Naomi uncurled her fingers from the sheets and grabbed Jordan's face. She kissed him with every ounce of passion she had in her body; and as he thrust into her one last time, their bodies simultaneously exploded, fireworks clouded their vision, and they sank into a silent sleep inducing euphoria.