Bedding the Best Man (2 page)

The maid of honor handed Travis the
microphone. He stood center stage looking comfortable before the
large audience. I always pictured him in a dark room only
illuminated by the glow of several computer monitors. A social
phobic like the movies always portrayed. However, that’s not what
Travis exuded. I shoved aside the image of the teenager I knew and
looked at him with the eyes of the other women in the room who
didn’t know anything but the man that stood before them.

His voice was deep and smooth. I could
imagine a voice like his whispering naughty things to a woman at
night. It would be as inciting and intoxicating as aged scotch. The
thought caused my body to heat up as if I’d actually drank some of
the potent alcohol. I crossed my legs and sipped more
champagne.

“
Ronnie and I have been
friends for years. We met in the seventh grade. I’ll say we were a
pretty odd pair. He’s black, I’m white. He was a star community
basketball player and eventually at our high school too. Me, I was
a little nerdy.”

A sharp laugh broke from my lips. Everyone
turned to me. Shocked at my outburst, I slunk low in my seat.

Damn it.
I could see my mother at the parent table shaking
her head at me. I could almost hear her thoughts ‘Don’t embarrass
us, Kamari.’

Looking away from her disapproving gaze, I
focused my attention back to Travis, hoping the rest of the guests
would do the same.

Travis had a small smile on his face as he
looked at me. I was glad he didn’t look offended; I wasn’t trying
to hurt his feelings.

“
No worries everyone.
Kamari knew me then and is just verifying that my words are true.
Ronnie and I are different. However, Ronnie looked beyond all of
that difference and accepted and supported me. I’m not a woman, but
if he isn’t the kind of guy that will make a perfect husband for
Faith, I don’t know what is? I hope when I finally have the woman I
love, I’m half the man he is.” Travis shifted his gaze from the
crowd to my brother and his bride. “So, Faith, you have a stand-up
guy who is dependable and kind hearted to a fault. Blessings and
best wishes on your future.”

“
To the Bride and Groom!”
The room cheered as they held their glasses high.

I found myself gulping down my drink.
Travis’ speech had caused my body to start tingling all over and my
heart was racing. Something about his sincere honesty about who he
was and his relationship with my brother had me close to tears.

In my angst against the nerd he was, I
forgot he was a really great friend to Ronnie. When Ronnie had
broken his leg in high school and was out of school for weeks,
Travis was the only friend who came by the house. He not only
brought my brother’s school work every day, but Travis hung out
with Ronnie. None of my brother’s team mates ever once darkened our
doorstep.

I saw Travis take the stairs off the stage
and head toward his seat at the head table as the music started up
again. Maybe I’d been a little small minded about him.

When he passed his seat
and continued toward my end of the long table, I sat up a little
straighter.
Oh, Lord, he’s going to call
me to task for laughing at him.

“
Look, Travis—”

“
Kamari, how about another
dance.” Patrick stepped into my line of sight, practically cutting
Travis off in the process.

However, Travis was still two bridesmaid’s
seats away from me. Hell, I didn’t even know if he was coming to
me.

“
Um, sure.” I rose and
gave the man before me my full attention. “Yes, I mean. Sorry, I
was lost in my own head for a moment.” I pasted a big smile on my
face so I wouldn’t scare off the man whose attention I was
attempting to have solely on me all day.

“
Alright, let’s do this.”
Patrick waited on the other side of the table until I came
around.

I purposely didn’t look at Travis. Not
understanding the odd feelings I was having about him, I wanted to
keep my distance.

Back on the dance floor I wasn’t happy that
it was another fast song, but at least it wasn’t rap. It was a Top
20s hit I frequently sang and rocked to in my car.

The first song flowed into another chart
topper and I found myself enjoying my time on the floor with
Patrick and had almost completely dismissed Travis from my mind. As
the song began to fade, I could hear the notes of a slower tempo
song coming up.

Yes, finally.

“
Excuse me, Patrick, I’ll
take the next song with Kamari.” Travis stepped between us and
pulled me into his arms.

Before I could even say anything or Patrick
could object Travis had me whisked to the other side of the smooth
wooden floor. Patrick’s form blurred as I was turned and pressed
tightly to Travis’s hard body.

A little breathless from the fast movement
and excitement of Travis’s bold manner, even though I didn’t want
to admit the last part, I said, “I pegged you as a lot of things,
but rude wasn’t one of them.”

“
Sorry. I can be a little
impatient at times.”

I leaned back and glanced at his face. “A
little? Patrick was trying to dance this song with me.”

He gazed a few inches down at me. The heels
I wore gave me more height, I was six one now to his six four.

This close to him, I took in the color of
his eyes. They were so clear blue; they reminded me of a cloudless
sky on a perfect spring, amazing.

“
He had two. He’s good.
Unless there’s something more between you all than I or your
brother knows about,” he challenged.

Damn it
. There wasn’t a secret that could be kept in my family and I
was pretty sure that Ronnie shared everything with
Travis.

“
That’s not any of your
business.” I glanced away, but continued to sway to the song. The
music relaxed me. I loved classic love songs and
All the Man That I Need
by Whitney Houston topped it for me.

I couldn’t help being caught up in the song
and enjoying the strength of the man who held me. His hands were
low on my waist, but a respectable distance from my ass.

His scent enveloped me. It was a combination
of mellow/masculine suede with the metallic honey scent of saffron;
an herb I loved. I couldn’t imagine another man being able to carry
the blend as well as Travis. It was his uniqueness.

I didn’t want to lean in or feel secure in
his embrace but that was exactly the emotion cloaking me. Resting
my head on the back of my hand, resting on his shoulder, I closed
my eyes and let myself take in the moment.

“
When we were teenagers, I
remember hearing this song blaring from your room when I was
hanging out with your brother.”

I’d forgotten how often I
used to repeat this song on my classic love song compilation CD I
had.
He remembered?
“Oh, goodness. That seems like a lifetime ago.”

“
Time has flown by. I
think we have both evolved and matured into effectual
adults.”

His words grabbed something inside me and
tugged. Leaning back, I gazed up at him again. “Thank you for
saying that. With my family I always feel like I’m performing
against my old record.”

“
You were quite the
tempestuous girl. Ronnie and I would place bets on what you would
get into next.”

“
Ah.” I playfully swatted
his arm and tried to look insulted.

“
However, you’ve become a
grade A consumer product analyst.” One of his hands moved to the
side and lightly squeezed. “Speaking of that, congratulations on
your promotion to division manager.”

“
Thank you.” My heart
swelled and I found myself flattered. With all the wedding planning
and events with Ronnie, my promotion announcement had fallen flat.
“You keep tabs on me?”

“
It’s hard not to. Ronnie
is very proud of you and he talks about your accomplishments
often.” One hand glided up along my spine. I could feel the warmth
of his hand between my bare shoulder blades in the diamond cut out
at the back of the dress.

A frisson on heat raced down my spine and
curled low in my stomach. “He does?”

“
Yes.”

My chest was starting to feel tight and the
urge to cry was welling up in me. I’d already been close to having
tears fall once tonight, so I made light of the conversation to
keep my bearing. “It’s because he and I are only two years apart
and our other siblings were already stacking their 401Ks when we
were growing up.”

He laughed. “Probably. With the five-year
gap between Ronnie and your sister before him, you could say you
and Ronnie are oops-baby one and two.”

“
Exactly. My parents claim
God knew they just needed a rest before the last two. I think they
had forgotten what act got them the first four when Ronnie came
along.”

“
How did they end up with
you?”

“
Valentine’s Day and too
much wine, my mother says.” I smiled.

His gaze lowered to my mouth, and began to
darken.

My lips started to tingle and I refrained
myself from licking them. For a moment, I was so caught up in the
transitioning color in his eyes I forgot where we were and started
leaning in toward him.

“
Let’s cut some cake
everyone!” The coordinator called out as the song came to a
close.

Shocked that everything around me had faded
to oblivion, I stepped back. I didn’t get far because of Travis’s
hold on me.

His arms were slower to move and release me.
When he did, he said, “Thanks for the dance.”

Agitated I smoothed my hands along the front
of my dress. “Sure. Um, no problem. Anything for an old friend of
my brother’s.”

He raised a single brow just a notch, barely
noticeable, but I knew something I had said offended him. However,
I didn’t want to analyze it, I needed to put some distance between
us. Get back on my plan of snagging Patrick.

“
Excuse me.” I rushed
away. I passed another attendant with champagne. I grabbed a glass
and drank liberally as I headed in the direction of the
restroom.

I knew I was supposed to be with the wedding
party and guests while Ronnie and Faith cut their cake, but I
needed a moment by myself just now.

The restroom was empty when I got inside.
Thankful, I walked to the sink and set my empty glass on the
counter. Assessing myself in the mirror, I couldn’t believe the
view staring back at me. My eyes looked luminous, filled with
excitement that was accompanied by the flush of my face. My
medium-brown skin had a cheery undertone to it. Evidence of the
heat I felt pulsing in my face.

Pulling down a paper towel, I moistened it
under the cool faucet water then patted my neck with it. I wanted
to splash water on my face, but I didn’t’ want to ruin my make-up.
That would bring questions from my family.

Looking down at the empty champagne glass, I
knew the alcohol was the culprit for my unruly emotions and body
reaction. I should never drink. When I was in high school and
college, alcohol was responsible for most of my antics. I was a
lightweight. One drink and I was game for anything crazy. Two beers
and I was the ringleader.

Having budding feelings for Travis at my
brother’s wedding was extremely crazy.

Staring at my own reflection, I demanded,
“He’s just a friend. Hell, he’s like a brother to me.”

My body reminded me that
the sensations streaming through me were
not
brotherly in nature.

“
Damn it.” Squeezing my
eyes shut, I forced myself to see Patrick Rockell’s face. Finally,
once the man with the charming smile and carefree presence was in
my mind, I felt more at ease. Patrick posed no threat to me. He
didn’t really know me, rather the
me
I used to be. So, there was no
risk. He would accept me at face value and never look any
deeper.

Is that really what you want? My heart
asked.

Giving myself a sharp nod,
I knew Patrick was what I needed. What woman wanted to look into
eyes, clear blue aquatic eyes, that knew all her sins?
Not me.

Travis knew too much. He’d seen me at my
worst, drunk and under the disapproving glare of my parents, too
many times. Or worse, he’d seen me when I felt stupid and insecure
as my dyslexia kept me from comprehending math formulas or
geography facts. I’d easily fooled others outside of my family with
my flamboyance and wild ways.

But Travis was too close.

Taking a deep breath that almost hurt, I
exhaled hard and centered myself. I was letting my mind run out of
control. Travis didn’t want anything from me. And, I certainly
didn’t want anything more with him.

My resolve firm, I headed back out to the
main ballroom of the hotel motivated anew to be in the arms of
Patrick before the night was over. Once I was in his bed, things
would naturally progress to something more—man and wife.

When I got back to the
ballroom, my resolve to get Patrick was reaffirmed by the sight of
my cousin shaking her backside practically in his face. A popular
line dance was playing and Serita, I was sure, placed herself
directly before Patrick. Boy was Serita working the moves. My
cousin wasn’t even trying to be coy about it, she kept smiling and
glancing over her shoulder to make sure she had Patrick’s
attention. He sure
was
looking at the swaying ass.

Hell, almost every single man in the room
had their gaze glued to Serita as she hopped and wobbled with the
crowd to the music. I couldn’t fault my cousin for the attention
she was getting, always got; she was stacked. Where God had given
me legs, he’d given her curves in the hips and breasts area.