by Ginny Aiken
“My mom tells me yellow is the sign of friendship.” He shuffled his feet. “In roses, that is.”
“Your mother is right. Not that I’m an expert, but I’ve learned a little from all the bouquets that come into the hospital. Personally, I love orange lilies. But I’ve been told they are a sign of extreme hatred.”
“If I ever buy orange lilies for you, please note it’s because you like the flower and there’s no hidden message.”
“Noted.” She took a step back into the apartment. “Would you like to come in?”
“I’d love to, but I stayed up most of the night. I need some rest before our concert this afternoon.”
“Another wedding?”
“’Tis the season.” Tyrone stepped back. “I’ll let you go. Thanks, and thanks again for the input last night. I think we might be on to something. By the way, you should practice your flute more often.”
Cassy stiffened.
“No, no, I’m sorry. I was going to say because you’ve got the touch.”
“Oh.” Cassy relaxed her shoulders. Why should I be so concerned about what he thinks of my playing? She waved him off and leaned back against the counter as he shut the door. “Father, slow this thing down, and fast. I’m not good with sudden and quick decisions.”
She looked down at the yellow rose and inhaled. “Hmm, yellow, friendship. Who’s really speeding up this relationship?” she asked herself, looking straight into the reflection on the toaster oven. She didn’t like the answer.
For the next couple of days, she hardly saw Tyrone. He seemed to be locked day and night in his condo working on his project. “Definitely obsessive,” she mused. She wanted to spend time with him. She wanted to get to know him. But wasn’t it her own fault that he wasn’t coming around? Wasn’t it her own prayer? “Girlfriend, you don’t know what you want.”
Cassy poured herself a tall glass of iced tea and sat outside on the back deck that overlooked the bay. She loved this view and, admittedly, loved this apartment complex. It was quieter than any other place she’d lived. Taking in a long, cool sip, she leaned back on the chaise lounge and closed her eyes.
“Woman, you’re too beautiful.”
“Ty?”
Chapter 5
Hang on, Mom, my neighbor just called me.” Tyrone cupped the phone with his hand. “What do you need, Cassy?” He leaned out over the side wall so he could peak into her patio. She reclined there, intoxicating to the eyes.
“I’m sorry, I thought you said something to me. I didn’t realize you were on the phone.” She lowered her glance and avoided his eyes.
Ty held up a finger. “Hi, Mom, sorry about that.”
“Was that the new neighbor?”
Ty slipped behind the wall and back into his apartment. “Yes, and I’ve been praying about her. It’s too soon to tell if anything will develop.”
“I’m glad to hear it. You know how much I’m looking forward to being a grandmother again.”
Ty chuckled. “Not this week. Unless Denise is having another.”
“Don’t you be fussing with me. Back to what you were asking—I’ll ship the box labeled ‘high school scores.’”
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it. I’ll let you know when I’m finished.”
They said their good-byes and Ty went back out to the patio. “Cassy?” he called.
“I’m still here.”
“May I come over?” Ty asked. He’d been fighting the urge to pester her. He liked Cassandra and wanted to spend more time with her, but he also picked up on the vibes from their one evening together that she wanted to keep men at a distance.
“Sure. I’ll unlock the door.”
Ty watched as she placed her glass of iced tea on the small table beside the chaise lounge. She had lots of plants on her patio. He glanced back at his own. A couple chairs and a table. Functional, not homey.
“Are you going to stand there all day, or are you coming over?”
“Sorry.” How was it possible to have so many feelings for a woman he barely knew? And how will she react when she knows? If she reacts, then she’s not the right person for me, he resolved. During high school and college it never seemed to matter until he brought Shawna home to meet the folks. Tyrone shook off the old memory and went to his neighbor’s door.
Cassy opened the door for him. A sweet smile brightened her face.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” Ty asked.
“Were you saying that to me or to your mother, earlier?”
Ty chuckled. “My mom. But you’re beautiful, too.”
“Come in, before the entire complex hears our business.” Cassy stepped back and opened the door for him.
“Go out with me again, please.”
She glanced into his eyes.
“You’re as addictive as semisweet chocolate.” He opened his arms, and she took a tentative step closer. “Please, tell me you’re feeling some of the same chemistry between us. You are, aren’t you?”
She nodded.
He wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her into his embrace. She felt wonderful. They felt wonderful together. Lord, help me say the right things, he silently prayed. “Cassy, I’m a Christian, and I take my Christianity seriously.”
She gently made some distance between them. “Ty, what’s happening here? I’m thinking of you night and day, and I barely know you. You’ve hardly spoken a word to me since we went out. I’m not sure where this is going or if I can deal with this intensity so fast.”
Ty took in a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m impulsive, and then shy away when I think I’ve been too forward. And I haven’t managed to get you out of my thoughts, either. So where does this leave us?”
“How about we start as friends and see if we can get a handle on our intense attraction.”
Ty stepped away and leaned against the kitchen counter. Cassy’s apartment didn’t have the open wall like his. The kitchen was a glorified hallway at best. “Okay, no touching.”
Cassy wagged her head. “I didn’t say that. After all, I rather liked being in your embrace.”
Ty chuckled. “You’re a breath of fresh air. I’ve never known a woman to be so honest. Please, don’t stop. I like it. It lets a fella know right from the start where he is and where he shouldn’t go.”
“That quality has cost me more relationships and friendships over the years. ‘I tell it like it is, child,’ my mama would always say. I guess I picked the trait up from her.” Cassy opened the refrigerator. “Would you like some iced tea?”
“Thanks, I would. We’ll need to figure out some times we can set aside for each other. Our schedules are so different.”
“True, but I think we can work that out.” Cassy poured and handed him a tall glass of iced tea. “So, do you always tell your mother she’s beautiful?”
“Only when I’m flattering her. She’s sending me some of my old scores. I’ve kept them in storage in my parents’ attic. As you’ve learned, storage in Miami is the pits.”
Cassy led them back out to her deck. Ty sat down in a chair across from her.
“So, you use flattery to get what you want,” she teased. “I’ll make a note of that.”
“Only if it works.” He took a sip. “Nice tea.”
“Thanks. I added mango juice to it.”
They talked about each other’s families, where they were located, and how close they were with them.
“Mom’s really pushing me to settle down,” Ty said. “She doesn’t realize how difficult it is to meet someone who’s not … how do I say this? A groupie, I guess. It’s not like rock and roll groupies, but there’s a definite pattern. And, of course, many of the places we play we’re surrounded by the older folks. They have the money and they have the time to appreciate the music.”
“My mother drummed it into my head, ‘Get your education, girl. Don’t get serious with a man. Be a self-sufficient woman before you settle down.’”
“My folks were big on education,
too, but being a musician—well, we just don’t make money the same way other folks do. Classical Strings Quartet has been fortunate. We were able to get a couple of European tours in during our summer vacations before settling down in Miami after college. Thankfully, South Florida has quite a few regular European visitors throughout the year. With Marissa wanting to get married, I’m thinking we’ll be doing fewer concerts during the week, and I’ll probably start private lessons again.”
“Speaking of lessons, I’m supposed to be practicing that number for my church.”
“How’s that coming?”
“Lousy,” she mumbled. “I never should have agreed to it.”
“Show me, if you don’t mind.”
“Do you know how hard it was to play in front of you the other night?”
“A little. Come on, you can trust me. I didn’t say anything critical the other night, did I?”
Cassy consented and got out her flute. She sat down, went through the number, and waited. “Well?”
Ty chuckled. You’re as impatient as I am. “Okay, you’ve got the technical part down. What you’re missing is the feel of the music. And that’s normal, because you’re so nervous playing in front of me. Can I touch you?”
“Uh, sure, I guess.”
Ty came up behind her and massaged her shoulders. At first she tightened, then slowly began to relax.
She closed her eyes and sighed. “You ought to work in a hospital. The patients would love you.”
“My mother taught me. Dad loved good back rubs. Desiree and I were just toddlers when we began to learn how to give a good massage.”
“Remind me to thank your mother,” she moaned.
He whispered into her ear, “Now think about the song, the words, and its message. Now, play it again.”
Cassy picked up the flute and played. The music wafted into the open air, fluid and light as the breeze. “That’s wonderful. How’d you do that?”
“I didn’t. You did. I simply helped you relax enough to let it come out of you.”
She glanced up at him, then closed her eyes. “We have a problem.”
“What?”
She opened her eyes and he saw the fires of desire. It ignited his own. He closed his eyes and stepped back. “I see what you mean.”
“This is ridiculous. We’re two grown adults, strong in our Christian faith and convictions. We shouldn’t be having a problem with this. I mean if we had been together for awhile I could understand it. But this is so sudden and …”
Tyrone placed his hands back on her shoulders. “With God’s grace, we’ll work this out, Cassy.” He massaged her shoulders again. “My folks always told me that when I met the right woman, my passionate personality would be hard to control. I thought I’d met the right woman once before. Our passions were high for each other. I believed so strongly in what I thought was our love for one another that I even brought her home. That brief visit was the end of our relationship.”
Cassandra turned around in her chair and faced him. “What happened?”
Chapter 6
Cassandra had no trouble staying awake last night at work. Ty’s pained confession about his old girlfriend, Shawna, and how horribly she reacted to his mother being white, was ridiculous. How many African-Americans have no white blood in them? By the same token, she’d seen prejudice on both sides, and the sin was just as evil whether it came from a white man or a black man. It was sin and destructive to God’s plan of all men being created in His image. Few things got her dander up more than hearing something like this.
Tyrone’s fairer black skin color made it obvious he had some parent or grandparent who was white. She remembered a friend whose mother used to put her on the fire escape when she was a baby in order to help her darken. Both parents were black, but their daughter was fairer than either of them. People often do foolish things, she knew, but to just dump Tyrone like that … Unfortunately, she’d had to dress for work after learning about Shawna. All night she had wanted to call Ty and reassure him that it wasn’t a problem for her. But he also had an evening engagement, and she didn’t know when he’d return.
She parked her car in the assigned slot and headed up to her condo.
“Morning.”
Cassy jumped.
Ty handed her a cup of hot chocolate.
“You startled me.”
“Sorry. I’ve been waiting for you. I wanted to apologize for telling you everything about Shawna and my folks.”
“Not a problem. I can’t believe she refused to walk into a white woman’s home. What was she afraid of?”
Ty chuckled. “I don’t know. I never thought to tell her because I always thought in terms of everyone knowing. I forgot that my parents weren’t able to come to the campus very often, and even if they had, it was a large enough school that most wouldn’t have met them. I grew up in a small town, and all my life people always knew about my heritage. It never occurred to me it might be a real problem. I’d been called names—but my real friends never seemed to be phased. So, it didn’t phase me.
“Would you like some breakfast?” Ty asked.
“What are you cooking?”
“Simple feast of poached eggs on toast and a couple of microwaved strips of turkey bacon.”
“Sounds wonderful. Let me change out of my uniform and I’ll join you.” Cassy handed him back the mug of cocoa and went to her apartment. Lord, he’s so incredible. How can we continue to spend time with each other and not let our carnal desires run amok?
She slipped into a casual top and pair of shorts, removed her knee highs, and slipped on a pair of sandals. A finishing touch of a breath mint, and she was out the door and knocking on his in minutes.
“Come in, it’s open,” Ty called out.
“Hi.” Tristan stood on the other side of the half wall that doubled as a breakfast nook.
“Hi.” She blinked. His presence would certainly help with desires running wild, she figured.
“Tristan generally joins me for breakfast on Saturdays so we can go over the business’s schedule and finances.”
“I’m sorry, I can take a rain check.”
“Nonsense. I invited you, and we’re more than happy to have a pretty face to look at.” Ty winked.
“Hmm, I’m not sure how I should respond to that.”
“Trust me, it was a compliment,” Tristan offered.
Cassy found she liked Tristan, and she enjoyed the friendship of the two men. Before long, the weariness of the hour was getting to her and she began to yawn. “I need to go, guys. I’ve got a shift tonight and church in the morning.”
“I understand, and thanks for joining us.” Ty walked her to the door.
Cassy went home and dressed for bed. She closed the drapes and darkened the room. She had probably eaten too much to go to sleep on, but if she stayed up to do some situps, she’d wake herself up for another couple hours. No, she’d deal with the extra pounds another day. Sleep … she needed to sleep.
Tristan whistled. “You’ve got it bad.”
“Tell me about it. I barely know the woman, and yet I can’t spend enough time with her. It’s scary. I’ve never fallen this hard for anyone, not even Shawna.”
“Talk about a disastrous relationship. I still can’t believe she went ballistic on you and your mother.”
Ty shook his head. “I still can’t believe I didn’t see it in her. I mean, she hung out with the quartet, and there was never a sign of a problem.”
“She was a peculiar one, for sure. But let’s get back to the present. We’ve done all right meeting expenses and salaries this quarter, but the cost of the album production cut into the profits. I don’t see a problem making up the revenues within the year.”
Tyrone lifted the dirty dishes from the table and brought them to the sink. “By the end of the year we should have more than covered the expenses. Look how well the first wedding album continues to sell.”
“I agree. Marissa asked me to mention the staging unde
r her. She thinks a few boards might need replacing.”
Tyrone filled the sink with warm soapy water. “I’ll check it out. With Marissa getting married, I’ve been thinking about taking on students. I can’t imagine us keeping this schedule and her having time for her husband.”
“Agreed. I was thinking along the same lines. Perhaps we should consider a different shop. Perhaps a storefront. Something where we could give lessons.”
“It should have good lighting and security for parents transporting kids to and from.”
“Agreed. Should we ask the girls to start praying about this?”
“Yeah, I think it’s something all of us should be praying about. I know we’ve talked about the quartet staying together even after Marissa marries, but what happens when she starts having kids?”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it. I can’t imagine it not being the four of us. We’ve been together so long.” Tristan finished off his coffee, then glanced at his watch. “I need to be going. I promised my brothers I’d hang out with them today.”
“No problem. Oh, by the way, my mom’s hinting about how long it’s been since she’s seen me.”
Tristan raised his hand. “Say no more. A few days off would be wonderful. Mention it to Marissa and let her know I think a few days off would be good, too.”
“Will do. Take it easy.”
Tristan headed out the door, and Tyrone finished picking up from their breakfast meeting. His apartment cleaned up, he headed to the pool to put in some laps. He hadn’t replaced his sailboard and still wasn’t sure he would. A larger vessel might be in order, but who has the time for the maintenance? On the other hand, windsurfing had a definite downside.
Later that evening he heard Cassandra playing her flute and could hear the nervousness in her playing. Ty left his deck and went through his apartment to knock on Cassy’s front door. “Hi.”
“Hi. Am I disturbing you?”
“No. But if you don’t mind me saying so, I could hear your fear.”
Cassy closed her eyes. “I’m about ready to call Pastor Paul and let him know I just can’t do it.”