Only One for Me (21 page)

Yasmine ran her finger along his chest
and kissed his scar before settling her head over his heart. Their
legs were looped together like a pretzel as they lay side by side.
He was definitely fast asleep. She wanted to wake him so they could
go back to the bedroom, but he seemed at peace with his head
nuzzled on hers, and his soft snores filled the room. Normally,
snoring would disturb her, but from him it was a tranquil sound
that she didn’t mind. There was a cool breeze emerging from the
vents of the air conditioner, blowing over them and adding to the
at peace feeling that loomed around her.

She wasn’t sure what was going to
happen with their relationship when she returned to Atlanta, but
for now she was happy to be in his embrace again.

Chapter Ten

Yasmine placed the last of her beach
necessities in her tote bag and tossed it on the bed. It was the
second day of their getaway at the Arrington family beach home on
Hamilton Island. They’d flown in late last night from Atlanta,
after spending a day at Yasmine’s home because she hadn’t seen it
since January.

They spent the morning touring the
island. When they’d returned, they made love and afterwards Cannon
left her to nap and do some paperwork for an upcoming project he
was working on for Doctors Unlimited.

Walking out onto the balcony of the
master suite, she stared out at the sparkling blue water of the
ocean. There were families and couples out on the beach either
under their umbrellas, or some ladies stretched out on their
stomach with their bikini tops off to obtain a tan. She couldn’t
wait to walk along the beach, to feel the snow white sand between
her toes and take in the beautiful blue water of the Gulf of
Mexico. She remembered visiting Pensacola Beach often as a child
with her parents. She would build sandcastles with her dad, and he
would take her out into the water to ride the waves while her
mother sat on the beach screaming out to her husband, “Don’t take
my baby out so far.” Of course, her dad would ignore her, and
they’d have a play argument when he returned.

Yasmine missed those fun times with
her father. Life with him had been too short. She wished he was
still alive so she could listen to his jokes that only she found
funny, or give her piggy back rides every time she asked for a
pony. He never got to see her win her first chess tournament, he
wasn’t there on her first date to threaten the boy taking her out,
he wasn’t there to see her graduate from college, and if she ever
got married, he wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle. She
smiled and wiped away a tear. He would’ve loved Cannon—well, maybe
not after their break up—but the two men had a lot in common such
as love of their careers, love of family, and helping those less
fortunate. Whenever she complained about something frivolous, her
father would drive her to some of the most poverty stricken
neighborhoods in Memphis and show her children who didn’t have as
much as she did. He would tell her they didn’t know where their
next meal was coming from and didn’t have the same educational
opportunities as she did. She contributes those moments to why she
was an educator. There were times when teaching her college classes
that she sometimes missed teaching young children who needed her
more than her young adult students.

Yasmine noticed Cannon walk out onto
the patio. He slipped his T-shirt over his head, exposing his
smooth chest and six-pack of abs. His butterscotch skin was
gorgeous as the sun glistened on his hard muscles. He jumped off of
the diving board into the deep end of the pool and swam
effortlessly to the other side. Lifting his head up to take a
breath, he up-righted himself and waded in the water when he saw
her. Their eyes locked. His gaze perused over her body and that’s
when she remembered she was wearing a black string bikini. A wicked
smile crossed his face.

“
Did you have a nice nap,
Yaz?” he asked with a glimmer in his eyes.

“
Yes. I needed my rest.
Someone keeps putting me to sleep.”

“
Just doing my job.” He
pretended to brush fake dust off of his shoulder.

She laughed. “Well, you should receive
the Employee of the Year award.”

“
You’re coming to join me
in the pool?” He lifted himself out of the water and stood on the
cement. Water glided down his body, and his blue swim trunks clung
to his thighs, exposing a slight erection. “It’s nice and
warm.”

“
No …” she stammered at
his fine physique. “I’m going down to the beach to finish reading
my book. You know the one I was going to read earlier before
someone scooped me up and tossed me on the bed?”

“
Well … if you change your
mind, I’ll be here.” He winked and jumped back into the
water.

Five minutes later, she placed her
tote bag on the lounge chair, threw off her sarong, and sat on the
edge of the pool while Cannon swam a few laps not noticing she was
there. She loved the water, but because she didn’t know how to
swim, she preferred lounging by the pool.

When Cannon realized she was sitting
there, he smiled and waved from the other side.

“
I see you changed your
mind?”

“
Yep. I’ll go out to the
beach in a little bit. I wanted to watch you swim.” She didn’t even
know why she was going to go the beach when she wanted to spend
every single possible moment with him. The thought of going back to
Atlanta soon made her sad. She wished she didn’t have the two
classes to teach during the summer session, but she’d already
signed her contract.

He went under the water in a straight
target to her. When he surfaced, he lifted up between her legs,
placing them on his shoulders.

“
Hey you.” He leaned in
for a kiss.

“
Don’t pull me into this
water,” she said, laughing and trying to move her legs back, but he
wrapped his arms around them, holding them firmly on his
shoulders

A sexy grin crossed his face. “I
thought you liked your legs on my shoulders.”

“
I do on land, not in the
water. You know I can’t swim.”

“
Still can’t swim, huh?
None of your ex boyfriends taught you how?”

“
Very funny.” She scooted
back on the cement, and he let go.

“
Slide into the water with
me.”

“
I’m good.”

“
Don’t you trust
me?”

“
Yes,” she said with a
wide smile. She knew where this conversation was going to end up
just by the lazy, seductive tone of his words.

“
Leave your shades on the
side and come in. I know you’re not wearing that sexy bikini just
to walk around in, even though I do appreciate it.”

She laid her shades on the concrete
and slid into the warm water with her back against the wall of the
pool. They were in five feet so her feet did touch the bottom, but
at five foot six, she was reluctant to leave her spot. She loved
the water, but she’d never been thrilled with being under it after
her swim coach tossed her into the deep end when she was only
seven. It terrified her because she wasn’t expecting to be thrown
in, and she refused to go back to the lessons.

“
Go out with me to the
middle.” His arms came around her waist, and he moved her body a
few inches away from the wall. “I got you.”

She could feel his penis
floating around her stomach through his trunks.
How can this man possibly be hard in the water? Oh wait. I’m
wearing a string bikini.

“
Just hold onto me.” He
kissed her forehead. “I’m not going to let you go.” He lifted her
legs around his torso, and she held onto his neck, probably tighter
than necessary.

“
Are you okay, Angel
face?”

“
Yes.” And she was because
he was holding her, and she trusted him with all of her
heart.

“
I’m not going to take you
to the deep end … well at least not in the water.” He winked and
kissed her softly on the lips. “Just going to carry you out to the
middle, and when you feel comfortable, lift your legs back behind
you.”

“
I’d rather they stay
wrapped around you.” She laughed nervously as she tightened her
grip on him.

He chuckled as he walked backwards
with her slowly out to the middle, keeping his gaze on her. “You
trust me, baby?”

“
I’m not too
heavy?”

“
Ha. You’re weightless in
the water. But answer my question.”

“
Yes, I trust
you.”

“
Good. Lift your legs. I
got you.”

She loosened her grip around his
torso, but tightened her arms around his neck. Slowly, she lifted
her legs out behind her as straight as possible, and he continued
wading backwards.

“
Move your legs under the
water … you know, as if you’re swimming.” He gave her an
encouraging smile, and she began to move her legs as
instructed.

“
You’re a very good swim
teacher. You’ve done this before?” she asked, thinking how many
other women had he done this with. Besides golf, swimming was his
other favorite sport, which was why his house was located in a golf
community, and he had an indoor pool so he could swim anytime he
wanted to.

“
Nope. Only you, my dear.”
He turned his back toward the deep end.

“
Just
checking.”

“
You want to go further?”
he asked, releasing her hands from around his neck and holding her
arms stretched out from him.

She sighed. So far she was
comfortable, but now she wasn’t so sure. She needed baby steps.
“How many feet is further?” she asked with a croak in her
throat.

“
Its six feet
deep.”

“
Um … hello. I’m only five
foot six.” She refused to panic, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled
either.

“
I’m six foot
one.”

“
Barely. How about we go
toward the three feet part instead?” She started to pull his
arms.

“
How about you trust me,”
he answered sincerely.

“
Cannon …”

“
Trust me, Angel face.
I’m
not
going to
let you go.”

She took a deep breath. “All right. I
trust you.”

He began to wade backwards with her
paddling her legs for dear life. When they made it to the other
side, he turned her so that her body was against the wall of the
pool. Wrapping her legs around him again, she held onto his neck.
He placed his arms over her shoulders as he held onto the side of
the pool.

“
Are you okay?” he
asked.

“
Yes. It wasn’t as bad as
I thought it would be, but can we get out now?”

“
Sure, but you do realize
that I wasn’t going to let you go?” he asked in a serious
tone.

“
Of course,
baby.”

“
Good, because I love you,
Yasmine, and I’m never letting you go again.”

Happy tears welled in her eyes. “I
love you, too, Cannon. Always have.”

An hour later, she rested her head on
his bare chest, drawing circles around his scar and breathing in
his fresh scent. They’d made love and then took a shower together
to wash off the chlorine.

“
Yasmine?”

“
Yes?”

“
What are we going to do
about the long distance? I know you have to go back to Atlanta but
…”

“
I guess we’ll be putting
more miles on our cars and earning frequent flier
miles.”

“
Humph. You just came back
into my life, and now I can’t even see you like I need
to.”

“
Not true. My schedule is
a lot more flexible than yours. I’m an adjunct professor. I don’t
have classes every day. Heck, I don’t even have my own office. I
have to share with another adjunct.”

“
What’s your class
schedule like during the fall?” He sat up, placing his back on the
headboard, taking her with him.

“
I don’t know at the
moment. The two classes I teach for the summer session are both on
Mondays and Wednesdays for eight weeks.”

He sighed. “So you can fly out to
Memphis every Wednesday night and fly back on Sundays?”

“
Most of the time. I have
other responsibilities, but they fall more so during the school
year. I teach a lot of workshops for the different school systems.
That’s how I make my bread and butter.”

He kissed the top of her forehead.
“I’ll pay for your plane tickets, and I’ll come to Atlanta as well.
We’ll make it work. I’m not losing you again.”

She looked up at him. “And I’m not
going anywhere.”

“
Even if I grow another
head and a third eye on my chest?” he joked.

“
Especially then. That
means two handsome faces to look at and kiss on.”

“
What about the third eye
on my chest?”

“
Okay … that may be a deal
breaker.” She laughed as he flipped her over and his lips came
crushing down on hers. He parted her legs and in one stroke was
buried completely inside of her.
Okay, so
maybe I’ll think about the third eye …