Only One for Me

by Candace Shaw

  She’d tossed and turned the night before after getting off of the phone with him. His voice in her ear had turned her on. She found herself as she had many nights before pretending her hands were his, running them over her body as he would, caressing her breasts tenderly and then moving down to her moist center, massaging herself with an urgency of needing to feel him inside of her again, driving her crazy as always. She screamed his name when her orgasm erupted through her body sending her into convulsions. His scent, which still lingered on her from earlier, seeped through her pores and mingled with her sweat that had drenched her body and sheets. She smiled briefly before the tears began to flow. She missed the way their bodies would be meshed together, wet and uninhibited. The few men she’d been with after him could never carry her to a place of serenity and complete freedom as he had. With him she could be herself sexually and sensually, holding nothing back. After one more round of pleasure, she’d finally managed to drift off to sleep, not completely satisfied because he was the only one that could accomplish that.

  Now she had to face him once again and hoped that last night’s guilty pleasure wasn’t written all over her face. A black BMW sedan backed into the parking space beside her, and the driver’s window rolled down. She pushed the button to do the same on her car.

  “Been waiting long?” Cannon asked.

  “Nope. Just pulled up a few minutes ago.”

  Moments later they walked to the front of the restaurant. Cannon was on his cell phone with Zaria asking her to unlock the door because the restaurant didn’t open until five. Yasmine walked slightly behind him taking in the view. He was dressed in a pair of khakis that hugged his butt perfectly, a gold golf shirt with an argyle black and gold sweater vest over it. His invigorating scent turned her on even more, and she hoped she wouldn’t jump him as last night’s escapade still invaded her thoughts.

  When they approached the door, a handsome man in a chef’s jacket and untamed, curly sexy hair leaned against the door.

  “What’s up, Justin?” Cannon asked. “I was expecting to see Zaria.”

  “I’m waiting for Shelbi.”

  Cannon turned to Yasmine and made introductions.

  They shook hands, and she could definitely see Shelbi with Justin. He was the cool, artsy type that Shelbi used to hang with when she was a teenager.

  “Nice to meet you, Yasmine,” Justin said and glanced at Cannon. “Are you two staying for dinner? We have a band playing tonight that mixes R&B with jazz and blues. You have to check it out.”

  “I don’t know.” Cannon turned to Yasmine with a raised eyebrow and a sly smile. “Are we staying for dinner?”

  Yasmine hated being put on the spot, especially considering Justin seemed sincere and excited about them eating at his establishment. However, she refused to let Cannon get his way. She agreed to be cordial but not accommodating.

  “That sounds really nice, Justin, but I can’t tonight. However, I’ll come back with my mother before I move back to Atlanta.”

  “Cool. Let me know in advance so you can sit in the VIP section.”

  They bid Justin good-bye as he stayed outside to wait for his wife.

  “What was that about?” Yasmine asked as they stood alone in the dining room. “You didn’t have to put me on the spot just to get me to have dinner with you.”

  “I wasn’t trying to. He asked, not me … but I think you’d like Lillian’s. It reminds me of the place I took you for our first date.”

  Yasmine had been so angry with him that she hadn’t noticed the restaurant. It wasn’t some hole in the wall juke joint; it was a very classy establishment. Red brocade toppers adorned black tablecloths under glass overlays and silverware rolled in black napkins. Wineglasses and a candle in the middle elegantly finished the inviting table scene. The walnut hardwood floors shone brilliantly, and brick walls rose two stories, ornamented with abstract pieces. There was another dining area on the second floor and sparkling chandeliers were strategically placed throughout the entire restaurant adding to its stylish ambiance. She’d read the reviews online before coming and learned that it was a southern soul food restaurant that focused on healthy ways to prepare meals. She thought perhaps she could order something to go, because she didn’t want to sit across a table from Cannon.

  “It’s quite beautiful and the aromas floating from the kitchen are making me hungry, but I’m not promising you a dinner date tonight,” she said, following him through the dining area to a hallway of offices. They stopped in front of a slightly ajar door, and Cannon lightly knocked on it.

  “Who said anything about a date?” He winked and pushed the door open. “Hey, Zaria.”

  “You’re late,” Zaria Richardson said in a serious tone as she stood from her desk. She was a tall, strikingly beautiful woman with smooth, toffee skin and flowing brown hair down to her waist that wasn’t a weave or a wig. Her red suit fit like a glove and stopped right before her knees, showcasing long legs. She should’ve been on a run way in Paris not an event planner for a restaurant.

  “Blame your cousin.” Cannon laughed as he gave Zaria a hug. “We were here on time.”

  After he made the introductions, they looked over the portfolios. Yasmine was quite impressed with the bouquets and flower arrangements that Zaria had created for various functions at the restaurant, as well as weddings and receptions.

  “These are exquisite,” Yasmine said as she continued to flip the pages, taking note of the prices of the arrangements. Sherika would definitely be pleased.

  “Have you thought about doing this full-time?” Cannon inquired.

  “Well, it’s funny you mentioned it. My cousin Reagan is a wedding planner in Atlanta and has asked me several times to go into business with her, so I have thought about it. We always said along with Brooklyn’s expertise in photography that we should, but it’s just a dream.”

  “You should make that dream a reality. You’re also a great event planner, and Rasheed is always bragging how his baby sister is an excellent photographer. I don’t see why the three of you wouldn’t have a successful company.”

  She laughed. “Maybe one day. So, Yasmine, let’s go through the pictures on my iPad and tag the ones you think Sherika would like, and I’ll email them to her.”

  After thirty minutes, Cannon excused himself and left the office to which Yasmine was grateful that he did. She could concentrate better with him gone. He wasn’t even looking at the flowers. Instead, he sat on the couch playing on his smart phone and glancing at her with a smile. If he wasn’t going to help, he didn’t need to come. She could select floral arrangements without him. Then it dawned on her that he’d arranged it on purpose. After yesterday, there really wouldn’t be a need to stay in contact because the rest of the tasks didn’t require for them to see each other until the wedding weekend.

  “So Cannon tells me you two used to be engaged when he was in medical school and now you’re planning a wedding for your best friends. You must be one tough cookie. I don’t think I could plan a wedding with my ex fiancé and not feel some type of animosity toward him.”

  Yasmine laughed. She was trying to be a tough cookie on the outside, but on the inside, she was cookie dough in a mixing bowl. She honestly didn’t know how she was going to make it through the next few months. Cannon definitely wasn’t going anywhere, or so it seemed, and was trying to find every reason in the book to see her. If he showed up to her dress fitting with the bridesmaids next week, she would scream.

  “Well, it hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, but I’m doing this for my best friend. I want her to have a beautiful day.”

  “That’s the spirit. And who knows. Maybe this is fate. Perhaps you two were meant to be.”

  A light rap at the door interrupted their conversation, and she hoped it wasn’t Cannon.

  “Yaz!” a lady squealed as she entered the room. Yasmine turned and saw Shelbi in pink scrubs charging toward her for a hug. She looked the same overall with her shoulder length hair pulled
into a bouncy pony tail and a beautiful smile that was just like Cannon’s, but she was hippier than Yasmine remembered and had grown an inch or two.

  “Oh my goodness, look at you,” Yasmine said, hugging Shelbi tightly. She had been her favorite out of all the Arrington siblings because of her sweet personality and laid back nature. “You’re all grown up.”

  “And you look like you’re in your twenties. Are you drinking from the fountain of youth?”

  “Thank you. You were always such a sweetheart. Congrats on your marriage. I met your hubby earlier. He’s a cutie.”

  Shelbi sat down in the other chair in front of the desk next to Yasmine while Zaria started to email the pictures to Sherika.

  “Thank you. Now let’s change the subject,” Shelbi said with wide grin. “My brother is still crazy about you.”

  “Whatever.”

  “No, seriously. I promise after y’all broke up, he wasn’t the same for a while. He was moody and snappy. He’s always been easy going. He sunk himself further into staying busy, and he just seemed withdrawn sometimes. When he started to date again, they weren’t serious … well, except one, but he broke up with her a few summers ago because she kept pressuring him into marrying her. I think she was trying to get pregnant on the sly.”

  Yasmine shrugged. “Maybe Cannon isn’t the marrying kind.”

  “No, Sean isn’t the marrying kind, but Cannon is. He just hasn’t the found the one yet because he’s still in love with you. Heck, I tried to hook him up with Zaria but—”

  “He is not my type,” Zaria said with a slight attitude looking up from her iPad.

  Shelbi laughed. “I know. Besides, you have your eyes set on someone else. Yasmine, she has this love/hate relationship with Dr. Braxton, a friend of the family. He is completely smitten with Zaria, but she won’t go out with him.”

  “Ignore Shelbi about Dr. Braxton, but seriously, listen to her about Cannon. When he called yesterday about the floral arrangements, I knew something was up. One, he never calls me and two, men don’t care about floral arrangements. I’ve helped many a bride, and I’ve never met a groom until the wedding day. Besides, as soon as we started looking at the arrangements, he up and left. I glanced at my monitor, and he’s in the sports bar area watching a game and drinking a beer. He just came to see you.”

  “Ladies, I … don’t think he’s still in love with me. I just think he feels bad about how our relationship ended.”

  Shelbi stood. “I’m sure he does, but I know my big brother very well.” She glanced at the clock on the wall. “He’s ecstatic you’re in town. I was only a teenager when you were together, but I admired your relationship and hoped to find true love one day, and I did.”

  “Well, I’m glad you found your true love. Justin seems like a sweetheart.”

  “He is. I gotta run back to the hospital. But since you’re here, you might as well as stay for dinner. My hubby can throw down in the kitchen.”

  The ladies hugged one more time before Shelbi skipped out of the office.

  “I’m done emailing the pictures to Sherika,” Zaria said, closing her iPad case and standing with a set of keys in her hand. “Do you want me to take you to where Cannon is or are you hightailing it out the back door?”

  Yasmine sighed as she stood and grabbed her purse. “I guess having dinner with Cannon isn’t the end of the world.”

  Chapter Five

  Cannon studied Yasmine over the top of his menu while she read over hers. She’d been staring at it for over five minutes. He wasn’t sure if she was trying to avoid him or if she really didn’t know what to order. He remembered her being somewhat of a picky eater. There were certain foods she didn’t like, which included tomatoes, squash, and mushrooms.

  He thought back to their first date over fourteen years ago. He’d taken her to a place similar to Lillian’s. Yasmine wore a multi-colored sundress that stopped right above her knees, showcasing her sexy legs that he couldn’t keep his eyes off of. All the men in the place had been staring at her, and he was proud that she was with him.

  When the hostess at Lillian’s had shown them to the VIP section earlier, he’d noticed a repeat. Heads turned and smiles formed in her direction from the majority of the men, but he couldn’t blame them. She was fine in the winter white dress slacks that fit nice and snug over her butt. He enjoyed the view from behind as her hips swished back and forth, causing an awakening in his manhood. He was relieved when they finally reached the booth before she noticed from his khakis how much he enjoyed watching her walk. The pink, backless halter showcased her smooth back that he wanted to run his lips over, making sure to kiss the spot on her neck that drove her insane.

  He continued his perusal of her as she stared at the menu. Her sexy haircut brought out her high cheek bones, and her doe-shaped eyes showed off her simply amazing smile that he’d fallen in love with at first glance. The halter blouse she wore displayed toned arms and silky, caramel skin that taunted him to run a finger over to hear her cute giggle.

  Her personality hadn’t changed much. She still had a pleasant, warm-hearted demeanor and very little ruffled her feathers, except maybe having to plan the wedding with him. Yasmine wasn’t as bubbly as she used to be, but she had matured over the years into a very independent and intelligent woman.

  Unfortunately, her brick wall guarded her, but he was determined to bulldoze it down.

  Cannon closed his menu and took a sip of his white wine. “The shrimp and grits are really good, and you can ask for them without the stewed tomatoes,” he suggested. “I know you love anything with shrimp.”

  She glanced at him for a second before placing her eyes back on the menu. “I was looking at that along with a salad.” Closing her menu, she placed it on top of his. “What are you ordering?”

  “The oven-fried chicken with the organic collards.”

  “I read a lot of great reviews about this place, and I can’t believe he really doesn’t serve pork in Memphis of all places.”

  “Nope. I get my ribs from Rendezvous.”

  “Love Rendezvous. Growing up, my dad would take us there once a month. They have the best barbeque. I’ll have to make sure to go by there before I go back to Atlanta.”

  Their conversation was interrupted briefly by the waitress who took their order and mentioned the band would be playing shortly.

  Noticing Yasmine had finished her wine, Cannon reached for the bottle on the table to pour her another glass.

  “Hey, that’s enough for now.” She held her hand over the glass. “You know what wine does to me.” She smiled and sipped her water instead.

  He leaned across the candle lit table and answered in a low, seductive tone, “I know exactly what wine does to you.”

  She bit her bottom lip and cleared her throat. “I think I’ll stick to the water.”

  “Doesn’t really matter. We never needed wine to have a good time. So, I hear you’re Dr. Dubose now and a professor. How did you go from teaching first grade to college students?”

  “It just sort of happened. After I left Nashville, I got my master’s at NYU and then my Doctorate in Education. I applied for the adjunct professor position just on a whim. I wanted a change from teaching elementary students, but I didn’t want to leave the classroom. So now I teach Language Arts and Literature for Elementary School Teachers.”

  “Well, I’m not surprised. You’ve always been determined and goal-oriented. What made you move to Atlanta?”

  “I missed the south. It was way too cold in New York, plus I wanted to be closer to my mother. Atlanta is only a six to seven hour drive to Memphis.”

  “And you’ve written some books.”

  “Yes, test prep workbooks geared toward standardized testing, and I also do education consulting for some of the school systems in Metro Atlanta.”

  “Wow. You seem very busy. Looks like you’ve turned into a workaholic like me. When do you stop and smell the roses?”

  She laughed, and it was great to hear
the genuine sound from her. He missed their fun times together. She had always been the spontaneous one in their relationship, making sure no matter how busy he was, he would make time to relax and enjoy life.

  “I go out when I can. However, my career does keep me rather busy at times. Being away from Atlanta these past few months has been somewhat of a vacation even though I do part-time consulting for Memphis City Schools. I have a mortgage and bills to pay back home.”

  He took a sip of his water and leaned back in his chair to stare at her. She was absolutely beautiful, inside and out. He needed to pinch himself to make sure she was truly in front of him. He missed being in her presence.

  “What?” she asked with a forehead wrinkle and questionable eyes.

  He smiled. “It’s really good to see you again. I can’t believe you’re sitting in front of me.”

  She gave him a smile that melted his heart. He couldn’t fathom he’d spent so many years without it. What was I thinking letting her go?

  “You are so damn beautiful. I could just sit here for the rest of the night and stare at you.”

  “Okay, now you’re really embarrassing me, but thank you.”

  “I’ll stop … for now.” He winked. “I heard your mother was the principal over at our old high school.”

  “She was, but retired a year ago to concentrate on her health. Luckily, she’s better and having fun traveling with her boyfriend. They’re out of town for the weekend now.”

  “Wait. Your mother has a boyfriend?”

  “I know. Weird, right? He’s a retired principal as well. Very nice man. They’ve been together for about three years.”

  “So, does her daughter have a boyfriend?”

  It was a question he dreaded knowing the answer to, but he knew she must’ve had a boyfriend over the past twelve years. The thought of someone else making love to her was impossible in his mind though. Did she moan sweet pleasure sounds in some other guy’s ear while digging her fingernails intensely in his shoulders? Did he know about the area on the back of her neck that sent orgasms through her just by a simple touch? Were her climaxes still earth shattering to the point where the only word she could utter was his name? No, wait. Couldn’t be, because whomever she’d been with couldn’t possibly make her entire body quiver as he had. Didn’t love her as he had.