Finally, You And Me

“The park?” she asked, stepping from the kitchen. She smoothed her bangs, a habit of hers that he found to be so cute.

Darius nodded emphatically as he stood up, encircling her waist in his arms. “I need to take a break from the studying. C’mon,” he urged.

Alexa relented with a smile. “Okay, let me change.”

“No!” Darius blurted. “Don’t change. You are fine just the way you are.” He meant that in more ways than one and judging by the grin Alexa threw his way, he was sure she caught on to the double meaning.

They drove to their favorite park and walked the bicycle trail until they came upon a bench facing one of Michigan’s many lakes. Several people had their boats out on the lake, some sailing, others fishing. The one which caught Alexa’s eye was bright yellow. The gentle breeze made the colorful matching sails flap lazily.

Alexa sighed and leaned back on the bench up against Darius’s chest. “That’s pretty,” she cooed.

Darius turned to her, his heart fluttering like the winded sail before them. She was so close to him. He could smell the sweet cherry fragrance of her hair oil. She looked so stunning even with her hair pulled back into a silky ponytail. No, she did not possess model-like features like Maya, but she had a more wholesome splendor which attracted him more; an untouched beauty that he had to claim as his own.

He then proceeded to do what his heart had been telling him the moment they met. Without warning, with his hand on her cheek Darius gently turned Alexa’s face to his own and lowered his head meeting her lips with his own. His rapid breathing began to calm when she opened her mouth to receive him as though she had been waiting all along for the moment to happen.

When Darius finally pulled away they sat there for a few seconds smiling at one another. Then with no words exchanged, as none were needed, Darius just entwined his fingers with hers and they continued to watch the wind rippling across the waters.

Darius shook his head as if to erase the vision from his mind onto current matters, and emerged from the shower refreshed.

As he got dressed, Darius ran through his itinerary for the day. He planned to pick up his tuxedo as well as a gift for the “oldly-weds” before heading to the church for rehearsal.

As he passed the front desk, Patricia, the desk receptionist called out goodbye. She had made it known at check-in that her “friendliness” reached beyond the front desk. Although she was attractive, he was not interested. It seemed to be the pattern in his life lately. Some sisters had no shame at all in approaching brothers these days for “no strings attached” sex and he had turned down many.

However, there were a few he considered.

There were certain qualities in the women he liked which allowed them to last longer than others. He could count those few women on one hand. Valerie Fontaine was one of them. Valerie was a beautiful weight trainer and part-time swimsuit model who could cook her butt off. Her culinary skills involved all sorts of exotic vegetarian dishes. She was an upbeat person with a positive outlook on life, happy with herself and mentally and spiritually balanced. However, Darius noticed that her appointment book was filled with more social and business activities than free time. After a while, he grew tired of being penciled in at odd hours in order for them to spend time with one another so they eventually parted.

Then there was Lanai Edwards. Lanai was a successful attorney, gorgeous, very professional and very committed, but because she had placed her personal life second to her career in the past, she was dead set on achieving her goals for making wedding plans a year into the relationship. When Darius couldn’t agree to her terms, the relationship quickly dissolved.

Then there was Tori Stackhouse, a down-to-earth single mom who attracted Darius with her easygoing personality. He liked how she put her son’s needs before everything and how she didn’t expect much out of him. She had a good heart and was attractive as well. However, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Alex in her presence. Once, when they were making love, he whispered Alexa’s name into her ear. That was enough for Tori to not take things any further. She wasn’t about to play second fiddle to any woman, and Darius couldn’t agree more.

The past six months were spent trying to find what made him happy in life. Upon reaching his thirty-third birthday, he had come to the conclusion that he may never experience the love, trust and honor that a good woman could bring to his life. In the meantime, he decided he wasn’t going to sit around and dwell on what he didn’t have. He had a lot to be thankful for. For one, he was in good health as was his family. Secondly, he had a decent job and held a position as an active administrator of a predominantly black, inner-city high school for boys in which he found many rewards. He was lucky to sit on many high-profile boards throughout the city and was involved in several professional and service organizations where he met some good people.

Just when he thought he had reached the level he wanted to, he got the call from Bryant urging him to fly to Detroit to stand as best man in his wedding. Darius was all for it until he learned that standing opposite him was his old love interest Alexa Kirkwood. His stomach practically fell to the floor, but for the sake of his cousin, he agreed to be there with his game face on. However, from the moment they came face-to-face, he turned weak in the knees like a schoolboy and his reservations were tossed out the window.

Although his heart ached for her, he knew he couldn’t sacrifice his soul again. As he parked his truck outside of his hotel room, he knew that he had to do whatever was necessary to get through the weekend, regardless of the circumstances.

Chapter 5

Alexa had sprung for a new outfit for the rehearsal dinner. She wore a black velvet dress with long sleeves and long skirt. The most attractive feature of the dress was the back, which temptingly dipped to the small of her back. She completed the outfit with a pair of black pumps with rhinestone straps. She twisted her hair up in the back, bringing attention to her dramatic eye makeup.

Alexa stepped from her room in time to see Maya sashaying down the hall, looking equally nice in a silver-gray cocktail dress with spaghetti straps and slim-fitting skirt, silver sandals and a matching sheer wrap.

“You go, girl, with your bad self!”

“No,” Maya replied with a shake of her head. “You are the one.”

“Does it look okay?” Alexa asked, smoothing her palms on the sides of her skirt. Her question was for more reasons than one.

“It looks real nice.” Maya replied and spun around to show off her attire. “What about me?”

It was apparent that Maya had an eye for fashion. Everything she owned, including her casual wear, looked great on her size-six figure. She always managed to find really nice articles of clothing in out-of-the-way boutiques and tonight was no exception.

“Bryant better watch out. He may want the honeymoon tonight!”

Maya smiled and draped the wrap over her shoulders in a dramatic fashion. “Remember, you always have to keep them on their toes.” Maya dropped her advice with a mischievous giggle. They stepped into the hall bathroom and headed straight for the mirror. They both fingered their hair into position and simultaneously stopped what they were doing to step back and admire their reflections.

Maya reached out and placed her hand on Alexa’s shoulder. “Hey, I want to apologize for my comments the other day,” she began.

“Oh, forget it,” Alexa replied with a wave of her hand. She was hurt by Maya’s observation, but she had to admit that she had gone somewhat overboard with her tirade.

“No, it is none of my business. I talked to Bryant about it and he gave me a new perspective. I’m sorry for trying to act as if something was there between you two. What you and Darius had is over and it’s time that I stop hoping for some sort of reconciliation because it is apparent that both of you have buried the past and I promise that I will, too.”

Alexa’s eyebrow rose at Maya’s comment, but she avoided responding. That wasn’t what she had gathered from Darius’s conversation the other day. However, he must have told Bryant otherwise since they last saw one another. And, although she wasn’t expecting anything from him, it hurt to hear it.

“I promise not to get into your business like that anymore,” Maya continued as she began applying some mascara to her eyelashes.

“Thanks, girl. I just want to be here for you without any distractions,” she sighed deeply. “And like you said, the past is in the past. I don’t want to stir up old memories. Let’s just focus on the New Year.”

Maya turned to Alexa and stretched out her arms as a peace offering. “Friends?”

Alexa nodded with a smile. “Always.”

The two leaned in and exchanged hugs.

The rehearsal went very well. After running through the entire ceremony a second time, Bryant and Maya were satisfied that things would fly without a hitch. While at the church, Alexa kept her attention focused on serving Maya. She didn’t want to even be left alone in Darius’s presence. It was hard not to engage in the bantering with the men along with the other women. The men were trying their best to agitate the women who received them good-naturedly.

Alexa stayed to the side, playing with the girls. On occasion, she’d glance over at the group to find Darius’s eyes on her. When this happened, she would quickly turn away, not acknowledging him.

So she sighed with relief that Maya had the foresight to not seat her near Darius at the rehearsal dinner. It would have definitely been a task if she had to avoid him in close proximity. As they took their seats, she immediately struck up a conversation with the young man seated beside her named Chris.

Chris was a student at the nearby college majoring in prelaw. He was a fraternity brother to both Bryant and Darius. So, most of his conversation was about the fraternity and Alexa tried to appear interested by asking questions.

Again when she broke eye contact with Chris to take a break from his ramblings, she’d find Darius watching. Instead of looking away like he had all day after being caught staring, he continued to challenge her by keeping his eyes set. After a while, Alexa got tired of being intimidated by his looking and accepted the challenge, but when she looked into those dark eyes, she quivered.

Finally, when she couldn’t stand it any longer, Alexa excused herself. She was glad that there was no one else in the restroom as she entered. Standing before the mirror, she reached into her purse and retrieved a tube of lipstick. When she held her hand before her face to apply the color, she frowned at the sight of her hand trembling. She couldn’t believe Darius was acting up like he was. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? It was bad enough that both of them had to be within each other’s presence. He didn’t have to make it worse with his silly games.

With a sigh, she rolled down the tube and tossed it into her purse. She didn’t feel like going back into the dining room. What she wanted to do was get tomorrow over with and be on the first flight back to Denver.

She wasn’t going to get caught up in Darius’s control games which were sure to continue throughout the course of the evening. Rather than go back and endure his intense stares and smirks, Alexa detoured to the coatroom. The attendant handed over her coat with a gold-toothed smile and had the nerve to ask for her telephone number. She rolled her eyes in response and abruptly turned away.

The night air was chilly and instantly bit her face causing her to shiver despite the warm coverings she wore. Thank goodness there was a cabdriver waiting out front reading a newspaper. Alexa rapped on the passenger window with her knuckle. The East Indian man peered at her over the rim of his glasses and lowered the window a couple of inches.

“Are you on duty?” she asked. She shifted her weight from side to side to keep her blood circulating.

“Depends, where to?” he asked.

Alexa swore that if there had been another cab waiting, she would have told him to kiss her butt and move on. She hated when cabdrivers, especially the foreign ones, acted like all black passengers were potential thieves or prostitutes.