Finally, You And Me. Lisa Harrison Jackson

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.