Only One for Me (20 page)

Shelbi turned around in her chair to
investigate, and then back to face her mother with a look of terror
on her face. “Mother, I promise I told her to bring the paper
goods, no food.”

“
Bria,” Dr. Darla called
out with a wave. “What did you bring, sweetheart?”

Everyone stopped what they were doing
and looked in Bria’s direction. Justin had tongs midair with a rib
in it, Cannon stopped the blender, and Dr. Darla’s hand was over
her heart.

“
Paper goods and a salad,”
Bria answered, setting everything on the food table under the
veranda.

“
A … salad?” Shelbi asked
nervously. “What kind of salad?”

“
Relax people,” Rasheed
stated. “She didn’t cook anything. It’s just spinach leaves, feta
cheese, pecans, and strawberries with a raspberry vinaigrette
dressing. The chef helped.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and
went back to what they were doing.

“
She can’t cook that
well,” Shelbi whispered to Yasmine as Bria walked over to the
table. Bria was just as Yasmine remembered. Long, dark brown hair,
a clear cocoa complexion and besides the baby bump protruding from
her like a basketball, she was still a bean pole.

Bria pulled Shelbi’s ponytail. “I
heard you,” she said laughing, and gave Yasmine a hug. “Good to see
you again. It’s about time you and my brother
reconnected.”

“
Good to see you, too.
Congrats on the marriage and the baby.” Yasmine wanted to rub
Bria’s cute baby bump, but she knew some women didn’t care for
that. “Your salad sounds delish. I make a similar one with
blueberries and almonds.”

Bria kissed her mother’s forehead and
sat across from her. “It’s one of things I’ve been craving lately,
so that’s why I brought it. Next week, it will be something else.
Where’s Raven and Sean?”

Cannon came over with a pitcher of the
daiquiri and three red plastic cups. “I’ll be back with a virgin
one for you, sis.” He kissed Bria’s forehead before walking
away.

Dr. Darla poured the frozen mixture as
she answered Bria’s question. “Raven is at the hospital. One of her
patients is having an emergency C-section but will come later, and
Sean is running late.”

Moments later, Sherika and Doug
arrived. Yasmine was glad to see her best friend. Even though they
talked, texted, Skyped, and emailed almost every day, she hadn’t
seen her in person since Thanksgiving. After they ate, the two
friends decided to take a walk in the gardens in the backyard. The
tulips were in bloom and the Knock Out roses were beginning to
bloom beautifully. Dr. Darla’s garden reminded Yasmine of the
botanicals gardens with the walking trails, flower beds that
actually had miniature signs with the names of the plants, and
different colored solar lights along the border.

“
So how was the meeting
with the coordinator?” Yasmine asked.

“
It went well,” Sherika
said, sitting on the bench and taking a sip of the strawberry
margarita Cannon made for her. “You know, I think Cannon was a
bartender in his other life. This is good,” she said as a deep
smile crossed her toffee face, showcasing her cute
dimples.

“
I know.” Yasmine laughed.
“He’s a keeper. So is there anything else you need us to
do?”

“
Everything is pretty much
done thanks to you and Cannon. Now I have to wait six more weeks,
and I’ll be Mrs. Douglas Winters.” She smiled and let out a
sigh.

“
I’m so excited for you
and Doug. But wait … you’re moving to Spain. I’ll miss you,”
Yasmine said with a slight pout. In all of the excitement of
planning the wedding and being back with Cannon, it just hit her
that her best friend was moving out of the country.

“
I’ll miss you, too. But
we’ll come to the states to visit, and you and Cannon can come to
Spain.”

“
Ha. I don’t know about me
and Cannon coming at the same time, but I’ll definitely be
there.”

“
What do you mean by that?
You’re back together or at least working on it.”

“
I’m moving back to
Atlanta after your wedding. I’m teaching two classes in the summer
session that starts in July. I’m enjoying my time with Cannon right
now, but I don’t know what’s going to happen down the road, so
that’s why we’re just taking it day by day and getting to know each
other again.”

“
And how’s that
going?”

“
Perfect. I don’t want to
go back to Atlanta, but I don’t want to rush anything
either.”

“
Has he said anything
about you leaving?”

“
No, not really. He got
kind of quiet when I told him I had classes this summer and then
asked me how I liked teaching college students.”

“
Well, would you move back
to Memphis if he asked?

“
In a
heartbeat.”

“
Good. And who knows, Doug
and I may be flying back to the states for your wedding sooner than
you coming to see us.”

“
After planning your
wedding, I think I’d rather elope.” Yasmine laughed as she got off
of the bench, and they made their way back to the pool and veranda
area.

When they walked up, Yasmine spotted
Cannon leaning on one of the brick columns on the veranda drinking
a beer and talking to Sean and Doug.

Cannon flashed his charming smile as
she approached and Yasmine’s heart melted. The thought of moving
back to Atlanta weighed heavy on her mind. The idea of being away
from him again was too much to bear. Since they’d made love a few
weeks ago, she’d spent every night with him, wrapped liked a cocoon
in his arms. She loved his breathing on her neck as he slept, or
wearing his dress shirts after him just to feel his warmth and
smell his scent on her. She remembered after they broke up, she
found one of his shirts hanging in her closet that she didn’t
notice during her closet clean out when she threw all of his
clothes at him. At first she was going to throw the shirt away, but
instead decided to keep it. Occasionally during the years when she
was in a melancholy state of missing him, she’d pull it out and
sleep in it.

After the family cookout, they headed
back to Cannon’s home. It was wonderful seeing his family again
except for his father. He was at a fundraiser with one of the
organizations he belonged to.

“
Why are you so quiet,
Yaz?”

“
No reason. Just enjoying
the night air.”

Cannon had driven Yasmine’s car and
had the convertible top down. Of course she was lying. Something
Sherika said was nagging her. In six weeks was the wedding. Soon
after that Yasmine was moving back to Atlanta. Memphis was only a
seven hour drive, but they both had busy schedules. Would they only
see each other on the holidays? Maybe once a month on the weekends?
Yasmine had never been in a long distance relationship before, and
she didn’t want to experiment with Cannon. He was the type of man
she needed to be with and see if not every day but at least have
the convenience of it if necessary. She loved sleeping next to him.
She loved cooking for him. She loved just being with
him.

“
This reminds me of the
beach air. I haven’t been to a beach in ages.” Yasmine pushed the
button on the side of the seat to let it go all the way down so she
could look up at the stars. Cannon’s parents lived in Germantown,
which was almost a forty-five minute drive from his home in midtown
Memphis.

“
Really? You want to
go?”

“
Sure. When?”

“
I can move some patients
around on my schedule during the next week or so. My family owns a
beach house on Hamilton Beach Island.”

“
In Florida?”

“
Yep. My father went to
Morehouse with Caesar Hamilton the third. He owns the island and
pretty much everything on it. His three sons run everything. I’m
cool with Caesar the fourth. He owns a night club and one of the
golf resorts. My parents have a condo at the resort, but I’d prefer
to stay at the beach house. It’s more secluded.”

Yasmine sat up and scooted toward
Cannon, resting her head on his shoulder. He took his hand off of
the gear shift and placed it on her thigh.

“
I would love to
go.”

“
Cool. I’ll have the
receptionist rearrange my schedule, so maybe we can leave next
Saturday and stay for about five days. I’ll call my mom and make
sure no one is using the house. Plus, she arranges a cleaning crew
to come before anyone goes to stay. Also, I’ll hire a private chef
and a housekeeper while we’re there so we don’t have to do anything
except relax.”

“
Cannon, you don’t have to
do all of that.”

He patted her thigh before moving his
hand to shift a gear. “I want to. You deserve it.”

“
Thank you.”

“
I meant to ask you. How
did you learn how to drive a stick shift? I remember trying to
teach you how to drive my Mustang, and you almost ruined the
clutch.”

“
A friend of mine taught
me a few years ago. I really wanted this car, and it was cheaper to
get a manual as opposed to an automatic.”

“
What’s her
name?”

“
What makes you think it
was a female?” She looked up at him and noticed his jawline was
tight. “His name is Demond. He lives in Atlanta. He moved with me
when I left New York.”

“
Is he an ex boyfriend or
something?”

“
Or something.” She
shrugged, laughing in her head.
Was he
really acting jealous?

“
What the hell does that
mean?” he demanded rather harshly.

“
Don’t worry about it.
Let’s just say I mastered a stick shift even more now that I’m an
older and more experienced driver.”

Cannon put both hands
tightly on the steering wheel. His jaw was clenched and his right
eye was twitching. She knew all of his facial expressions,
mannerisms, and body language and inside he was boiling.
Now, I could either tell him the truth that
Demond is my gay best friend or I could continue to lie and see his
face crack. I think I want him to crack. Definitely
crack.

“
You know, Demond is a
very nice guy.” She stifled a giggle. “He may be coming down in a
few weeks to visit. He says he misses me so much. We were together
all the time. You should meet him.”

“
Now why would I want to
meet a man that you’ve been with?”

“
Who said I’ve been with
him?”

“
He moved down with you
from New York. Men just don’t pack up and move to another city
unless they’re serious.”

Yasmine could no longer contain her
laughter and laughed out loud.

“
What’s so damn
funny?”

“
You, Dr. Nosey. You know
doggone well you don’t want to know about my dating past. However,
Demond and I have never dated. We’re just great friends. Sherika
and I met him in New York, and it was love at first
sight.”

“
So he’s Sherika’s
ex?”

“
No. Trust me. He does not
want me or Sherika.”

“
I wouldn’t say that. You
two are beautiful women. I’m sure if given the chance he would’ve
jumped at it.”

“
And his life partner
would’ve had a fit.”

“
Life partner?” Cannon
turned his head toward her with a confused expression.

“
Yes, his life partner,
Charles. That’s why Demond moved to Atlanta.”

He chuckled. “Woman, never do that
again. About to give me a heart attack. I know you had a dating
life after me and you’re right, I really don’t want to know. Not
jealous or anything. It’s just a man thing, babe.”

Leaning over, she kissed him on his
cheek. “You’re the only one that has truly ever made me happy, and
I’m going to show you as soon as we get home.” She trailed her
tongue down his neck and sucked gently on the spot that always sent
him over the edge before sitting back in her seat.

“
Why did you stop?” He
tugged the hem on her sundress up, exposing her thighs, and settled
his hand in between them.

“
That was just a taste.
Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty more when we get home.”

Home?
She really needed to stop saying that. Soon she’d be home in
Atlanta, but now she didn’t want to go back.

Cannon turned into his driveway
moments later. Pushing the garage door opener, he pulled into the
garage. “You know you were wrong for lying to me.” His sexy,
dangerous tone created a heat between her legs that sped through
her veins.

“
I didn’t lie. You
insinuated. What are you going to do? Take me over your knee and
spank me?” she asked, running her hand up his thigh and settling on
the hard bulge in his pants.

“
Get in the house,” he
demanded, unclicking his seatbelt and then hers. “You’ve been a
naughty girl.”

Hours later, they lay intertwined
together on the damp comforter on the kitchen floor. She’d gone to
the kitchen earlier wrapped in the comforter after two rounds of
lovemaking to grab two bottled waters when Cannon came up behind
her, yanked the comforter off, and bent her over one of the
barstools. Driving her completely insane, he kissed the back of her
neck and gave her long yet gentle strokes that caused amorous
sounds to escape from her. How they ended up on the floor she had
no recollection. After the orgasm slammed through her body, she
blacked out for a moment from the impact before flipping him on his
back and riding him until he shook so hard underneath her she
thought surely the neighbors would think there was an actual
earthquake in Memphis.