No One But You (8 page)

They formed a circle, as had been the tradition from the creation of the sorority. They held hands with the soror next to them. Once they were in a circle, they maintained solemnity.

In unison, they rocked side-to-side before the gentle first notes of their hymn sounded. The melody was simple, even sad, but the lyrics were uplifting and reflected on the glory of sisterhood, the beauty of womanhood and the perpetual love to the sorority. After three verses, the hymn ended with the final two lines being hummed while they stood still until the last note died into silence.

“Sorors, I’ll see you next month,” the president said, marking the end of the meeting.

The hospitality committee served light refreshments for the half-hour social period for sorors to mingle and catch up on news. Sara ignored the iced lemon cake, double chocolate brownie and apple juice that filled the table.

Unfortunately several sorors also passed on the food. They perused Jackson—the object of their curiosity—causing a bottleneck in the doorway. Her line sisters struggled to create a path for her.

Maybe Jackson had taken flight. If she had so many sorors bearing down on her, she’d want to escape. Sara impatiently waited until she could get into the hallway.

One sorority sister boldly asked Jackson, “Who might you be?”

“’Ello, luv,” another soror—known for her acting talent—said.

“My, aren’t you a handsome one.”

“What are your intentions with my soror? After all, I am my sister’s keeper.”

That last statement—spoken so crisply by one of the older sorors—drew laughter. Sara smiled, hoping that Jackson wouldn’t encourage any of these remarks with more information.

“Excuse me, ladies, could you give the man some breathing space.” Sara walked over to Jackson, who leaned against the wall. His shades were in place, as a barrier. “Let’s go,” she said, only to him. She was ready to move forward, at this moment and with him. Though she knew he had to return, she had a few days to enjoy him.

They walked off together, arm-in-arm, out of the building.

“I didn’t think you would see me.” Jackson looked down at her.

“I didn’t think I would see you.”

“Your note hurt to the core.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was aiming to be practical.” She motioned in the direction where she’d parked. “And right now I don’t want to really think about any of it. I’m afraid my brain will make me do something sensible like—tell you to have a safe trip.”

At the car, Jackson kissed her. This time his hands cupped her backside and raised her effortlessly. He devoured her with raw emotion and with a hunger that she found contagious.

Sara held nothing back in return. She was amazed that time didn’t matter when she kissed Jackson. She didn’t know how long their lips connected. He pulled away and kissed her cheek, leaving a trail as he kissed his way to the sensitive skin behind her ear. “I hope your brain won’t stick to being sensible,” he whispered.

“I hope not,” Sara responded in a husky voice. Her heart raced, as if she’d completed a marathon.

The drive to her home should have been an express trip. She wanted him in the worst way. Concentrating on using the turn signals, slowing down for the yellow lights and stopping at four-way stop signs proved to be difficult. Her mind chose to play erotic images of her on top, on the bottom, on her side.

This man was like an addiction. She couldn’t get enough of him to soothe her craving. She sneaked a glance at him. His head was laid back against the headrest. He’d better not think about sleeping. With an evil grin, she rested her hand on his leg, then finger-walked her hand to his inner thigh.

A strong hand closed over hers. He raised his head off the headrest and shot her a mischievous grin. “Don’t start what you may not have the stamina to finish.”

Sara turned into a shopping center and parked in front of a drugstore. “Go on, get what you need. Then, we’ll see who needs a shot of vitamin B-12 when we’re done.”

Jackson stepped out of the car. He’d been so leery of Denise’s advice to go to Sara. There was no way that he wouldn’t have seen her at least once more before he left. But never had he planned to go to her sorority meeting for his showdown.

He wandered down the aisle, back toward the pharmacy counter. He scanned the many items on the shelves, looking for the familiar boxes for sexual protection. Finally he spotted them, but pulled up short.

A mother and her two kids stood at the counter. The boxes of various designs hung from the little hooks next to the children. He may never see this family again in his life, but he couldn’t risk it. What if a sharp child’s voice announced his selection.

Jackson made a detour down another aisle. From his vantage point, he kept an eye on the family. The mother was in deep conversation with the pharmacist. Maybe he could make a running start, scoop up the box and head to the cashier at the front of the store.

“What on earth are you doing?” Sara asked from behind him.

Jackson started. “Stop sneaking up on me.” He turned an irritable gaze on her.

“Why are you in this aisle?” Sara motioned to the aisle markers hanging above that showed feminine hygiene. “And why are you peeking over these?”

“Shh.” Jackson pushed Sara out of the aisle. She was enjoying herself too much at his expense.

“You do know that the condoms are right over there.”

“The stuff is near a child,” he argued.

“So,” Sara said and laughed.

“You’re no help. Why did you come out of the car?”

“Because I didn’t think it would take you fifteen minutes to get a pack of—”

“Shh.”

“Oh, for goodness sake, you’re making me cool down.” Sara marched up to the family, asked them to move aside and pulled out a box.

When the mother followed her action, she looked first at Sara and then at Jackson with horror. Her conversation with the pharmacist wrapped up and she pulled her kids away in a quick trot.

“Here, catch.” Sara tossed him the box. “I’ll be in the car.”

Jackson paid for the item of necessity and headed to Sara’s car. “That was a nightmare.” He closed his eyes and laid back his head on the headrest.

“I’ll make it all worth your while.”

“Promises, promises,” Jackson teased.

Jackson went to the refrigerator, where he knew a bottle of wine was chilling. He pulled two long-stemmed glasses from the cabinet. With hands loaded, he entered the bedroom.

Between the sheets, Sara waited. Then she reached out for him.

“Your pressed grapes.” Jackson handed over the wineglass.

Sara waited until he poured his share. “Toast.”

Jackson held up his glass.

“Here’s celebrating the present.”

Jackson couldn’t argue. The present was kind to them and their relationship. They could stand the scrutiny of the present where they both enjoyed each other’s company. He clinked his glass with hers and drank the wine.

While he set aside their glasses, she turned on the mood music with a romantic CD.

There was so much he wanted to say, to promise her. But they’d promised to stick to the present. He pulled the peach-colored sheet away from her body. At present, he’d enjoy all the gifts she bore.

In between her legs, along her body, he laid his body, resting his head against her breasts. He wanted to feel the thump of her heartbeat. As he stroked the roused peak of her nipple, he enjoyed the quickening beat. Gently he cupped the fullness and brought it to his mouth. Her soft moan tantalized him.

He moved from her breast to the base of her neck to kiss the indentation. Her legs crossed over his buttocks, locking him into place. He felt the moist invitation between her legs.

With condom in place, he coaxed her sensitive folds with his fingers. Gently he stroked the lips, swollen with desire. Her hips bucked under him. He kissed her, loving her moans against his mouth.

When she arched back, body shuddering from desire, he entered the sweet cavern. They moved with the familiar motions. Sara rocked harder against him. He followed suit, holding onto the headboard with one hand.

He tried to open his eyes. He wanted to admire her face. He had so much to say. But logic and reason had no place. Instead intense pleasure flooded his system in waves. The more she gave, the more he took.

His legs contracted. Toes curled. His face tightened into a grimace. An explosion so sweet rocked his body as her body pulsated around his penetration with synchronized climaxes. At this very moment he could swear that the bed spun. He held onto the headboard until his nervous system calmed down. If he stood at this moment, he was bound to fall.

“I think you killed me,” he accused against Sara’s neck.

“I love you.”

Jackson remained still. He hugged Sara tighter. They could start where they’d left off. “You’ve made me a happy man.”

“Are we still in the present?”

Jackson nodded. “I think so. But I want us to consider a future together. Are you ready for that?”

“I was always ready.” Sara held his face between her hands. Her eyes glistened with naked tenderness. Jackson treasured her forgiveness. He didn’t want to imagine her not in his life any longer.

“I
really don’t know about this.” Sara twirled her raspberry iced tea, staring at the ice cubes dancing around in the dark liquid. “Getting back with Jackson was one thing. Meeting his family wasn’t the next chapter, but more like a separate book in another century.”

Her line sisters steadily munched through a large basket of warm nachos with deep bowls of salsa and melted cheese. Every week, they staked their claim in the not-so-new southwest restaurant by the city’s lake. As regulars, they didn’t have to wait long for service.

“Are you all listening to me?” Sara complained.

“We hear you whining like a little girl. Why do you go for so much drama?” Naomi dipped her nacho into the salsa and then into the cheese, much to her sorors’ dismay.

“You know that’s disgusting,” Denise remarked, wrinkling her nose.

“Look, back up off me. Now that I have my braces off, I’m going to enjoy myself.”

“I hear you, girl.” Asia raised her hand for a high five.

“Is anyone listening to me?” Sara shouted over the din.

Asia and Athena took turns patting her back. Sara shrugged and polished off her raspberry tea. Obviously none of her line sisters cared what happened since they had successfully completed their mission. She and Jackson had reunited.

Denise ordered another screwdriver. “Don’t worry about Jackson’s family. You’re not marrying them.”

“Who said anything about marrying?” Sara had forced herself not to think about marriage. Getting back with Jackson didn’t mean that she was out of the quicksand. “He wants me to meet them so they’ll know we’re together again. I don’t think that’s necessary. He could easily tell them and leave it at that.”

“Since when did you run away from a fight?” Naomi scraped the almost empty salsa bowl with a chip.

“You love him,” Asia stated.

Sara motioned for the waitress to refill the glass. “That’s true, but he didn’t say anything when I said that to him.” She kept her head down, feeling quite silly.

“Wow. I didn’t expect you to jump in with both feet. I don’t tell any man that I love him.” Asia nibbled on a barbecued wing.

“You shouldn’t. It’s not words that you throw at every man you sleep with, Miss Frisky,” Athena scolded.

“To me, even if it’s a man you care for, you shouldn’t use those words. They run like the wind when you try to pin them down with sentimentality.” Denise stole a wing from Asia’s plate, signaling the waiter for another drink.

“Slow down, cowpoke,” Naomi warned Denise. “I don’t want to have to drive you home.”

“I’ve had a rough week. Give me a break, will you?” Denise ordered yet another screwdriver. She turned from the retreating waitress to see all the sorors looking at her. “What? Are you all going to play my mother?” Denise took a long drink from her glass, set it down with a snap and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Sara had seen this side of Denise once. She surmised that Denise had had more than a tough week. The others probably didn’t recognize the signs. She’d held Denise’s confidence the first time, but didn’t know whether Denise had shared her troubles with the others. Naomi seemed to be the only one staring at her. Her forehead wrinkled with worry.

“Let’s go for a walk, Denise.” Sara pushed Asia, who had to push Naomi out of the booth.

“Do you think she can give you the answers we can’t?” Athena asked.

“Maybe.” Sara smiled to take the edge out of her reply. Denise protested, but not enough to deter her.

Sara kept her arm linked through Denise’s and propelled her toward the restroom. The facility had a sitting area where they could have a conversation with some semblance of privacy.

“What are you doing? I don’t need to go to the bathroom,” Denise protested. Her feet stumbled, giving evidence her inebriation. Denise was also slurring her words, another clear sign of her condition.

“Let’s sit over here.” Sara helped Denise sit before taking a seat next to her. She kept a light hand over her wrist, as if that would make a difference if Denise chose to run.

Denise groaned. “I wish that I could turn back the clock.”

“No, Denise, not again, please tell me you didn’t do it again.”

Her line sister shrugged. Her dismal expression made her shoulders sag. “Looks like I slipped.”

“How much did this slip cost?” Sara didn’t bother to hide her irritation.

“Five.” Denise echoed her words with her hand in the air.

“And I guess you don’t have the money.” Sara shook her head. “Never mind, I’ll fork over five hundred to your account.”

“Thousand.” Denise sniffed. Her gaze slid off Sara and fastened on the floor.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I don’t have five thousand to help you. I can’t believe you. How irresponsible! Did you think that I would be around to bail you out, so you could throw caution out the window?” Sara shot out of the seat. She wanted to pummel Denise. Her line sister was taking the sister’s keeper mantra to a whole new level.

“Stop being so…so above it all.” Denise pushed away from her and stumbled to the door. She put a hand to her forehead, then shook off whatever she may have been feeling.

“When do you have to pay?” Sara feared that Denise would owe money to the wrong person. The possibilities made her shudder.

“I have until tomorrow. It’s payday.”

“But you don’t get paid five thousand a pop.”

“I know. That’s why I’m drowning my sorrows.”

Sara took Denise’s car keys. “Looks like your sorrows will be with you tomorrow, along with a hangover.”

Out of all her line sisters, Denise was the one Sara was closest to. They had similar backgrounds, with blended families and the difficulty of accepting stepparents and stepsiblings. They had become sisters to each other, like blood relatives.

As the first generation to enter and graduate from university, they both had experienced the added pressure to be successful. Denise had graduated with honors, was very active with various social groups and could attract any man she wanted. Gambling was her one vice. Sara feared that this terrible burden could be big enough to pull her down to an unsavory depth.

“Come home with me. Sleep it off, then we can get your car tomorrow,” Sara offered.

They made it back to the table where the others had consumed more food and drinks. Discussion hadn’t seemed to lag despite their absence. Denise tried to sit, but Sara didn’t allow her.

“We’re leaving now. Denise needs to sleep this off. Then we need to have an emergency meeting in the morning.”

“Hello, we’ve all got to go to work,” Naomi retorted. “Well, for me I guess I’ve got a bench to warm.”

Sara knew that Naomi had to be hurting with the downward slope of her career. But now wasn’t the time to play therapist for her. Denise’s worries required immediate attention. If she didn’t pay, someone was coming after her.

“How about if we call in and have a conference call,” Athena remarked.

Sara looked over at Denise. “It’s an emergency, ladies. We’ve never let any of us down.”

“Fine. Enough with the lecture, before you start babbling more sorority stuff and end with a plea to the ladies of distinction.” Athena pushed aside the empty plates.

Happy hour was over.

“Do you want to talk now? We can follow you back to your apartment?” Asia asked, more showing concern.

“That sounds good, but I think we all should have a good night’s sleep. Plus I want Denise to be coherent.”

They settled their bills. Then they hugged each other at their cars. Sara pulled away first, glad that they assisted with getting Denise in the car. Her line sister groaned as the car began to move. Sara prayed that Denise wouldn’t get sick in her car. She pushed down on the accelerator and hoped that no gung-ho cop lay in wait.

“Denise, do you want some hot tea before you crash?”

“No, the alcohol is wearing off. I’d rather not be fully conscious before I try to sleep.” Denise emerged from the bathroom with one of Sara’s sheets tied around her body like a toga. Like an occasional roommate, she moved around the apartment with familiarity. She walked over to the couch and pulled out the sofa bed.

“I hope these linens are fresh. This bed looks so good.” Denise sank heavily onto the sofa and scooted her body under the sheet.

“Yeah, they’re clean.”

“Good night, my guardian angel.”

“All right.” Sara tucked in her friend and then turned off the lamps on the side tables.

She looked down at the sleeping form. Life just seemed to be throwing one hard pitch after another. All the planning and strategizing couldn’t stand up to the unknown.

She succumbed to a long yawn. Minutes later, she slid under her sheets and snuggled against her pillow. Her heartbreaks had taught her to make lists, put her life down in a planner and stay far away from any potentially emotional entanglements.

Then Jackson entered looking like a dashing hero at her party. Ever since that point in time, her life presented too many blind curves ahead. Her stomach lurched and her nerves were a mess from the effort to predict what would come next.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Denise said. She stood over Sara’s bed with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Thanks.” Sara took the coffee and took a quick sip. “Did I oversleep?”

“You might have, but I got you up early enough to go to work.”

“I’m not working this morning.” Sara took another sip, coming completely awake. “Denise, I called an emergency meeting.”

“Emergency. What emergency?” Denise may have pretended she didn’t know what Sara was talking about, but the realization that she did was plain on her face.

“I’m not handling this on my own. I did the first time, hoping that you’d tell them.” She raised a tired hand. “However, this time, you’ll need all of us to bail you out of this mess.” Sara glanced at the clock. “Everyone will be here in an hour. I suggest you get cleaned up.”

“I don’t have clean clothes.”

“You left a couple things here during your last sleepover. They’re clean and in my bottom drawer. Now quit complaining.” Sara got out of bed and made her way into the bathroom.

No sooner had she turned off the faucet in the shower stall, than she heard her doorbell ring. She grabbed the thick towel hanging near the shower door and wiped her face and body. “Denise, get the door!”

She stepped onto the floor and resumed drying. The small bathroom area was very misty. She reached for the switch to turn on the fan.

“Here, let me,” a deep voice said.

Sara yelped. “Jackson?” She poked out her head to see him smiling back at her.

“Looks like I’m just in time.”

“In time for what?”

He unbuttoned his shirt, fingers nimbly moving over the buttons. In seconds, his shirt was hung on a wall hook.

“What are you doing?” She clutched her towel in front of her, too amazed to say anything more.

“I’m joining you,” he said.

“I’m taking a shower. I mean…I’m done taking a shower.”

“Well, you can help me with mine.” He pulled the towel from her weak grasp and replaced it on the hook. “You may want to step back while I adjust the faucet.” He stepped into the small shower stall, placing his body in front of hers to shield her from the initial water spray.

Behind him, Sara closed her eyes, holding her breath to keep her body from touching his. It didn’t work. Her knees brushed the back of his legs. His behind brushed her stomach. Her nipples aroused and perked, and grazed his back.

“Why do you do this to me?” she groaned, wrapping her arms around him so that they stood as if melded together under the warm beating of the shower.

He turned in her arms, replacing the dryness of his back with the slippery wet front torso. Sara planted kisses on his chest, her fingers playing along the thick, smooth muscles.

“This is the only way I know how to tell you that I care.”

“I’m not complaining, but it might not always be appropriate for public displays of affection, baby.” Her tongue played with his nipple enjoying his high state of arousal.

“I definitely won’t want anyone to see you in that pink, old-lady shower cap you are wearing.”

She gasped.

He pounced on the opportunity to kiss her. His mouth ravaged her, stroking with intensity and purpose. She wrapped a leg around him, moving her hips against him.

As if she weighed nothing, he picked her up, using the wall for support. The cool tiles contrasted with the hot blazing rush she felt when he plunged deep within her. Her neck arched. Thank goodness for the water that cooled her body on the outside. What Jackson did to her internal system was akin to a series of climactic explosions. If she hung on long enough, she imagined that they would explode like a rocket into the stratosphere.

Not until his body stopped rippling, his shoulders came to a still and his groans grew softer did she lower her legs. As if she had just stepped off a rocking ship onto firm land, she needed the support of the tiled wall to keep her steady.

They dried each other in silence. She could barely deal with him drying her legs. He dried her thighs, then the dark patch between her legs. Imagining him, placing his lips on her made her blush.

With her towel wrapped around her for the second time, she left the bathroom. Only then did she think about Denise. What time was it? She didn’t remember hearing the doorbell. Had her line sisters arrived? She dressed quickly, hoping Jackson could be dressed and gone before they came. They’d be on him like a pack of wild dogs, nipping until they got satisfaction. Why couldn’t he have waited until later to treat her to this wonderful little interlude?

She turned when she heard him exit the bathroom. “Why did you come over this morning?”

“I wanted to change your mind about not coming with me when I return home.”

Sara sighed. They’d talked this issue to death. And she’d thought about it all night. Her line sisters had been no help. Though she didn’t know where they were going with this very physical relationship, she was blind with fear when she thought about meeting his family again.

Jackson raised her chin with his finger. “Look at me, Sara. You’ve got to trust me.”