“I’m kind of in the middle of something with Emily,” he replied, still appearing to be shocked.
I took a deep breath as my heart cracked. “This is exactly what I was talking about. I can’t do this. Not again. Don’t come after me. Don’t call me. There’s nothing here anymore.”
His eyes flitted over to me. “Em, it’s not—”
“CJ, I need to talk to you! Please! You owe me that much,” Cameron insisted.
“I was just leaving,” I told them as I practically ran back into the building.
When I got back to my table, the only person still sitting there was one of Tyree’s fraternity brothers. He was cute and when he asked me to dance, I accepted.
The song was a slow one so as we rocked to the music, I looked around to find Monique. She looked pissed as she spoke with Bennett on the side of the dance floor. By the time the song was over, it appeared that Bennett was cursed out by Monique and Natasha.
I thanked my dance partner and made my way over to the bride.
“You are the most beautiful bride. The most beautiful bride in all the land,” I sang as I approached Addison with a hug.
“I knew I asked that mirror a question!” She giggled and squeezed me back. “Are you having fun? I’m sorry I only got a chance to talk to you once. I came by your table and Monique said you went to the bar and never came back. What happened?”
I shook my head. “It’s a long story and today is about you.”
She beamed. “Today is about me isn’t it? Today is the day I’ve been waiting for and Tyree is the man I’ve been waiting for. I swear, he is the most perfect man.”
I nodded. “Like I told you before, your vows, his vows…” I put my hands to my chest and let my head fall back dramatically. “Killed me. Literally killed me. I’m currently talking to you now as a ghost because I died from all of the tears and the abundance of love.” I laughed with her for a second before I continued. “But seriously, I didn’t stop crying until cocktail hour. The expression on his face when he saw you for the first time in this dress. The little giggle you let out when he said that he’d love you despite your love of the Falcons.”
“Did you know he’s a Patriots fan? I mean…” She interrupted, making a face. “Seriously. That’s love to look over that flaw.”
“You two are perfect together and I will always be rooting for you two.”
She grabbed me and pulled me into her. “Thank you. I’m so happy we met. I’m so happy you came to Atlanta and stumbled into December. You’ve seriously become one of my best friends and one of my favorite people.”
“Everything happens for a reason.” I hugged her tighter, forcing thoughts of CJ out of my head. “Everything.”
“Oh shit.”
I pulled out of the hug and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”
CJ and Tyree and a groomsman were dragging Bennett out of the building. I was torn between staying with Addison to make sure she was okay or going to where Monique and Natasha were to see what happened.
They have each other. It’s Addy’s day.
I looked over at the worried expression on her face. “What do you think that’s about?”
“Bennett probably had sex with someone’s girlfriend or wife or something.” She rubbed her temples. “I know sometimes you have to accept your significant other’s friends, but Bennett is a loose cannon, especially when it comes to women.”
I nodded. “I really don’t see how Ty and Bennett are friends. I don’t get it. I’ve never gotten it. Between the time I met him and the stories Sahara told me about her encounters with him, he’s just not a good dude. At all.”
She looked over at me and smiled. “Thanks for saying her name.”
“Sahara’s?”
She nodded. “I’ve been giving you your time and space because I know it was a bombshell to drop on you. I know you and Ty know each other through Sahara. I know that she’s your best friend and I know that, for a while, Ty thought she was his happily ever after. And for all of those reasons, I know that you make a point to not bring her up when you’re around us. But if you’re making a special effort to sensor yourself for my benefit, you don’t have to. It makes me feel like you don’t feel like you can be your whole self when we’re all together. But the fact that you just casually dropped the name of my husband’s ex-girlfriend on my wedding day in the middle of my reception means you are one hundred percent comfortable again and that makes me happy. So thank you.”
I threw my arms around her and felt like crying. “You are truly one of the best people I’ve ever known. I love you.”
“Hey, where’s my hug?” Tyree’s voice boomed jokingly as he cut in.
“What was all of that with Bennett?” Addison asked.
“He got into it with Monique and Natasha. Turns out he was trying to fuck them both and…” He shook his head. “He’s had too much to drink. CJ said he was going home so he offered to get Bennett to the hotel since it’s just next door.”
Unable to help myself, I awkwardly asked, “Did Cameron go with him?”
Addison gave me a funny look. “Cameron isn’t here.”
Draping his arm around his wife, Tyree responded before I could. “Yeah she is. She was by the bar when we dragged Bennett to the elevator.”
She looked up at him. “But why would she be here? Especially since…” She widened her eyes.
Tyree shrugged and avoided eye contact with me.
“Especially since what?” I asked, knowing something was up.
Addison looked at Tyree for reassurance and he refused to look at either of us. She poked him in his side before she sighed and looked at me. “I’m not supposed to say anything because of our separation of church and state.” She looked back up at her husband and playfully glared until he spoke.
“CJ broke up with Cameron.”
My stomach plummeted. “What?”
Addison looked at me with a huge smile. “Isn’t that great? Because let’s face it, you two belong together.”
“When did…” I swallowed hard. “When did they break up?”
“I honestly thought they’d broken up weeks ago, but we invited them out to dinner and—do you remember the day I called you and asked you if you wanted to go to that Alvin Ailey thing? It was around the end of October? But that guy you were seeing—John, I think his name was—had taken you for your second date the week before.”
I nodded because I was used to Addison’s long stories, but all I wanted to know was if I made the biggest mistake of my life on the terrace.
“Well, I mentioned that it was an awesome show and that you were there on a date opening night and Addo, who had been rather quiet all night, suddenly asked a million questions. When Cameron pointed it out, he said that he was protective of you. She asked him if he had feelings for you and he said, and I quote, ‘do you want to do this right now, in front of other people?’” Her mouth dropped open.
My heart pounded in my chest as I listened intently.
“So we didn’t see her for a few weeks and when I asked Addo about it, he said that he was honest with her and she was giving him the silent treatment so he was giving her space. They didn’t talk for like two weeks or something and then she popped up at the bridal shower party. He seemed cool with it, so we were cool with it. But then she told him he had to choose. I was standing right there and she was loud and did not give one single fuck.” Addison’s voice was almost bubbling with excitement as she told the story. “She said, ‘it’s her or me.’ And he looked at her and in his sweet protective Addo way, he put his hands on her shoulder and said ‘her.’” Addison’s jaw dropped and she waved her hands around frantically. “You’re her!” She jumped up and down. “You’re her!”
“I’m her,” I repeated, looking between Addison and Tyree. “He’s not in a relationship. He broke up with Cameron before he told me how he felt about me,” I realized aloud as they grinned at the new news.
Addison squealed.
“H
e said he was heading home,” Ty offered with a smirk and a shrug.
“You know how to get there right?” Addison asked.
“It’s in my GPS.” My heart was in my throat and my stomach had bottomed out. I was starting to go into full-fledged panic mode. “Oh my God.”
“Go, go, go!” She shooed me away.
After giving them both hugs and well wishes, I made a beeline for Monique who was dancing with one of the groomsmen. Interestingly, Natasha was dancing with the other.
“Hey, you have your room key right?” I whispered in her ear as she did a slow grind against the handsome man in the tuxedo.
She nodded as she moved her hips like he was going to put a bunch of twenty dollar bills in her thong.
The official wedding room block was at the hotel next door to the building. I didn’t worry about Monique walking to the hotel since it was steps away. I worried about her bringing that guy back to our room.
“I’m going to find CJ,” I told her.
“I won’t wait up,” she replied with a knowing smirk.
I gave her and Natasha a quick hug before leaving the reception.
It didn’t take long to get a taxi or to get to CJ’s place. I paid the driver and stepped out. The cold night called for something heavier than the blazer I wore, but since the hotel was next to the wedding and reception venue, I left my coat in my room.
“Well, now this seems ridiculous,” I muttered as I walked around the gate toward the correct townhouse.
I should’ve called. I should’ve told him I was coming. I should’ve made sure he wasn’t with someone. How do I know he didn’t leave the reception with Cameron because unlike what I did, she tried? He told her that he chose me and I basically told him to fuck off.
I groaned louder as I climbed the steps to his front door.
Taking a deep breath, I knocked.
Chapter 22
Saturday, December 2nd –8:36pm
There was no answer, but I heard movement on the other side of the door so I knocked again. On the fourth series of knocks, CJ opened the door with a bang. Wearing everything, but his tuxedo jacket, he looked like the leading man in every romantic movie ever created. The house was dark behind him with an orange glow that illuminated him in the process. He was arrestingly handsome, even though his face was one frown line away from a scowl. He didn’t look surprised to see me.
“Hi,” I greeted him, my stomach in knots.
Silence.
The longer the silence stretched, the louder my heartbeat became.
“I believe the last thing you said to me was to not follow you, not call you, and there was nothing between us,” he returned, leaning against the doorjamb, blocking any attempt for me to run in and force him to talk to me.
“I apologize for what I said.” I stared up into his dark eyes and saw that they were guarded and hurt. Seeing the hurt in his eyes hurt me. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. I exhaled loudly, bracing myself for rejection. I knew I needed to get inside to explain so I exploited one thing I knew would work. “Can I please come in? I’m freezing.”
CJ’s protectiveness won out and he stepped back, allowing me entry. “The fireplace is on. You can sit in that chair and warm up.” He stepped out onto the porch for a second and then returned, closing and locking the door behind him. “Where’s your car? How did you get here?”
Rubbing my hands together in front of the fireplace, I looked over my shoulder. “I took a taxi.”
He walked into the room with me and sat on the couch where it appeared he was prior to my arrival. “Why?”
The dimly lit room seemed perfect for someone who was brooding, but with the two of us in the room together, it seemed perfectly romantic.
Turning to face him, I approached the couch. “Because parking is forty dollars with limited in and out privileges and I didn’t know how long this was going to take.”
Smirking, he leaned forward and grabbed his glass. The amber-colored liquid almost glowed due to the fire. He took a gulp. “Why are you here?” He took a smaller sip and then put his glass down on the coffee table. “If it’s to tell me that I’m like that sorry excuse for a husband that you had, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
I shook my head. “No. And I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have compared you to him. You’re not anything like my ex-husband. I just got confused and I didn’t understand what you were saying.”
I took my time removing my blazer. I watched his eyes drink me in as he reached for his glass again, taking another tiny sip. He sat the glass down and when our eyes connected, he said, “I told you how I feel about you. How is that confusing?”
“When we talked last week, you never said that you broke up with Cameron,” I explained. “I thought you were saying all of that stuff while you had a girlfriend.”
He stood. “I don’t remember everything that I said, but I know I told you that I chose you. I remember saying that.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “What about me has ever made you think I would disrespect someone like that?”
I looked down and then back up at him again. “Nothing. I let my past project suspicion onto you.” I lifted one of my shoulders. “I shouldn’t have done that because you have never been anything but good. I should’ve just asked instead of assuming. I’m sorry.”
He paused, shifting his gaze to the fireplace. His face didn’t give me any indication of how he was feeling and without those dark expressive eyes, I had no idea if I’d pushed him away one too many times and if he was done with me.
After about a minute, our eyes locked and my pulse quickened.
“You’re right.” He took a step toward me and even though there was still a lot of space between us, I felt myself getting dizzy. “You should’ve asked me and I would’ve told you.” He sighed, swallowing hard. “But I get it.”
“You do?” The pull I felt for him deep in my gut twisted and tightened.
He nodded. “And I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have said all of that stuff to you last week after I had so much to drink. If I was going to tell you how I felt about you, if I was going to make a move, I should’ve had a clear head. That’s why I called you this week to see what exactly I said and to clarify. I couldn’t remember all of the details. I just knew that I told you how I felt and it wasn’t as eloquent as I would’ve liked.”
“You don’t have to apologize for saying your truth. Alcohol is like liquid courage.”
Giving me a look, he shook his head. “No.”
He took another step, closing the gap between us. Each step he took toward me caused my pulse to quicken. His eyes didn’t stray from mine and when he reached me, he stopped.
“No what?” I replied breathily.
He didn’t touch me, but my body reacted as if he did. My skin heated, my nipples hardened, and my chest tightened. If I wanted to reach out and touch him, I could’ve and that closeness was causing a chain reaction within me. My senses were heightened and I moved in a little closer. Only millimeters separated us.
He searched my face and his eyes lingered on my lips twice before he spoke. “I didn’t need the alcohol to tell you how I feel about you. I could’ve told you how I felt months ago. But you weren’t answering the phone and you weren’t ready.” His voice lowered and I could feel his words as much as I could hear them. “So I wasn’t drinking to get up the nerve to tell you. I was drinking to deal with the fact that you were on a date with someone who wasn’t me.”
I was absolutely sure he could hear my heart rattling around in my chest cavity. I parted my lips and exhaled slowly.
He brought his hands up to my face, holding my head steady with his thumbs as he inched his lips toward mine.
“Emily, I’m single and I have feelings for you. They have not gone away.” He hesitated as his eyes dropped to my lips. “I don’t think they’re ever going away.”
Staring into his eyes, feeling his hands cradle my face, smelling his unique mixture of cologne and the whiskey on hi
s breath, I was high off him. I brought my hands to his sides lightly as I confessed in a soft voice. “I have thought about you every single day since we met. I thought about what it would be like to kiss you, to touch you, to fuck you.” A chill rolled down my body just saying the words aloud. “But the thing that I thought about most was being with you.” I lifted my shoulders slightly. “That’s it. Just being with you, spending time with you, laughing with you.” I hesitated, taking a shuddering breath, as I got lost in his dark eyes. “I wasn’t ready to feel this strongly for anyone. I wasn’t ready for you.”
His eyes were hypnotic. “Are you ready for me now?”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”
I had more to say, but the way he looked at me temporarily rendered me speechless. His eyes dropped to my lips and then my breasts and when I saw the hungry look in them, I was heated to my core.
My body called out to him in a way that I’d never experienced before. I had a need so deep inside of me that I could barely compose myself.
His chest rose and fell faster as we watched each other. He was the first to break our trance, slowly moving the half a step until his body was flush with mine. My breathing was ragged as I gazed up at him, wishing, waiting, wanting.
With no more words exchanged, he crashed his lips against mine, kissing me with enough passion to take my breath away. Butterflies spread across my belly as his full lips overpowered my own, devouring me. I knew that I craved him, but with that kiss, I realized it was something deep, dark, and ravenous about the way I wanted him. My body buckled as I gave in to every emotion I felt. I melted into the soft strength of his kiss and into the hard muscles of his body.
The kiss was passionate and all consuming. Every moment of built up sexual tension that lived in the space between us exploded when his mouth covered mine. My hands fisted his shirt in hopes of bringing our mouths and bodies closer together. He held my face tightly as if he were scared that letting me go would end the kiss. It was hot, but when our tongues collided and we moaned in unison, I felt more than just sparks. I felt a flame.
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