“I didn’t do it maliciously, it just slipped out,” she said. “Anyway, I think everything is fine between them but I don’t know if things are cool between Shari and me.”
“Maybe she didn’t want to tell him,” Darren said, thinking back to the events surrounding Rita’s abortion.
“She was going to tell him, and the point is, she should have been the one to do it, not me.”
“I hope you two work things out when you get back to Atlanta, but right now, you have to get dressed because I have plans for you.”
She eyed him excitedly. “What plans?”
“You’ll have to get showered and dressed to find out,” he said as he ushered her into the bathroom.
While Jill showered, Darren ordered breakfast and tried to come up with those plans he’d mentioned. When he called room service to order breakfast, he asked the clerk for suggestions on how to spend half the day alone with Jill.
“Well,” the man said, “there is the sunset trip which is a tour of the intercoastal waterways and the beautiful downtown Charleston skyline. Dining can be arranged at any number of restaurants accessible by boat.”
“We won’t need dinner. I have tickets to a show tonight.”
“The tours have different hours. Would you like me to set one up for you?”
“Yes. I think we should be ready to leave in about an hour and a half,” Darren said. He turned his head and saw Jill walking out of the bathroom, water glistening on her shoulders and the towel barely covering her ample breasts.
“Make that two hours,” he said, and then hung up the phone. Darren crossed over to Jill and pulled her into his arms. “There ought to be a law.”
“A law against what?” she asked.
Darren pulled her towel down. “Against you looking this damned good.”
She smiled brightly. “What were you whispering about on the phone?”
“How would you like to take a little beach cruise?”
“Isn’t it a little cool for that?”
“A good excuse for me to sit close to you and hold you.”
“All right,” she said. “When do we leave?”
Darren kissed her hand. “As soon as you get dressed and we have breakfast.”
She stepped back from him. “Then I’d better go get dressed.”
He reached for her arm but she moved out of his reach. “If I don’t get dressed now, we’re never going to leave.”
As Jill walked into the bathroom, he almost wanted to cancel the cruise and stay locked up in the room with her until a search party came looking for them. But he couldn’t do that. This weekend was about showing Jill a good time, though personally he always had a great time making love to her.
A few minutes later, Jill emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and their breakfast arrived. After eating, Darren and Jill headed downstairs for their waterway getaway. They climbed into the tour van and much to Darren’s joy, discovered they were the only couple going on the Folley Beach tour.
When they made it to the boat launch area, Jill squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. I love Folley Beach,” she said excitedly. “How did you get into my head to know all of this?”
Darren shrugged his shoulders, glad he had stumbled on this fact.
“Good morning, I’m Captain Rocko. Looks like it’s going to be just the three of us on the tour this morning,” the boat captain said as he led them to the boat. Darren got in first, and then held his hand out for Jill. When they settled into the boat, Darren put his arms around Jill’s shoulders. Although the mist from the river sprayed them in the face and chilled them, he saw that it didn’t matter to Jill because they were together. He leaned in and kissed her lips.
She stroked the side of his face. “This is wonderful,” she whispered. “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”
“Then let’s start a new tradition. Every Valentine’s Day, we’ll come up here and do all of this and more.”
Her lips curved into a smile. “All right,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to the ‘more’ that we’re going to do.”
He lifted his eyebrows and gave her a Cheshire cat grin.
Jill rested her head against his shoulder and they listened to the captain describe the sights they passed.
Around noon, the captain stopped at a small soul food restaurant in the shadow of downtown Charleston. The restaurant didn’t look as if it could hold more than fifteen people at a time and the takeout counter looked like a football team’s huddle. Jill and Darren took the last open table, which was next to the large bay window overlooking the Cooper River.
Darren reached across the table and held Jill’s hand. “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, but I’m even more proud that you haven’t once gotten on the phone and made a business call or even read the business section of the paper.”
She twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger. “Who can think of business being with you? The only business I’m thinking about is the business we have together,” she said seductively.
“I like the sound of that.” He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently.
The captain must have sensed their impatience because he skipped some of the sights on the way back.
Darren was happy, happier than he’d ever been. Could he and Jill be this happy for the rest of their lives? Wait a minute; was he considering a marriage proposal?
Jill knew she was on borrowed time and wanted to savor every second that they were spending together. She made up her mind that she was going to tell Darren the truth as soon as they got into the hotel room. That way there would be nothing hanging over their heads, nothing that would ruin what they were building.
But the moment Darren opened the door to the hotel room, Jill knew the last thing he wanted to do was talk.
He pulled her into his arms, kissing her with an ardent fervor that made her knees shake. He unzipped her jeans, and then slipped his hand inside. Jill’s body quivered as he slid his finger between her moist folds of skin. He backed her onto the bed and slowly removed her shoes, kissing her toes, using his tongue to inch up her calves and thighs as he removed her panties and hungrily dove in between her legs, tasting the sexual juices seeping from her body. Jill yearned to feel him inside her, but she decided to go with the flow and let Darren explore her body. He was in control and she was going to lie back and let him work. She had never been able to let herself go like this with any other lover.
She felt safe in his arms, felt as if she could trust him with her heart. But would he forgive her when he learned the truth? Her body froze. If Darren didn’t forgive her, she’d be devastated, heartbroken and alone again.
“Are you all right?” Darren asked, staring down at her.
“Yes, yes,” she said, hoping that she was convincing him. “I just…I want you so much.”
“You got me, baby.” He kissed her forehead as he parted her thighs. “You don’t have to worry about me not being here.” He kissed her cheek, then her lips. “I’ve got to be here to kiss these lips.”
She lifted her hands and brought his face closer to hers. Their lips touched and she outlined his lips with her tongue. “Love me, Darren.”
He dove into her awaiting body and she moaned with pleasure, clutched his back, pulling him deeper and closer. She wanted to lose herself in him, meld her soul with his. They rolled over so that Jill was on top. He reached up and pushed her hair from her face, then captured her lips as she rocked back and forth, tightening herself around his throbbing manhood. Would he stay with her when he found out the truth? Would he still want to make love to her when he knew that she didn’t trust him enough to share everything about herself with him?
Jill threw her head back as she climaxed. Tears and sweat streaked her face and she collapsed against his chest. Darren stroked her back as he held her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” she said, refusing to look him in the eye.
“Why the tears? Jill, what’s wrong, h
oney?”
“Darren, tell me that this will never change, that nothing is going to change what we have right now.”
“I don’t know how many ways you want me to say, it Jill. I love you and nothing is going to come between us.”
“I just like to be reassured,” she whispered.
“Is there something you want to tell me? Something lurking in the background that you think will change the way I feel about you?”
She turned away from him. “I hope not,” she replied in a voice barely audible.
“Let’s get up and get something to eat or do we want to eat in bed?”
Jill forced a smile. “Now if we stay in this bed, only one of us will be eating something.”
After they showered and dressed, Jill and Darren headed to the gift shop in the lobby of the hotel searching for chocolate. She noticed that he kept eyeing his watch.
“You need to be somewhere?” she asked as she picked up a bag of chocolate covered pecans.
“No, we have to be somewhere. You did bring that black dress, didn’t you?”
She nodded and her eyes asked why.
Darren opened her bag of candy and popped one in his mouth. “We’re going to a concert tonight. I need you to take your chocolate, go back to the room and relax. I’ve got to take care of one small detail.”
“And just what might that be?”
Darren winked at her before backing out the door. “You’re just going to have to wait and find out.”
She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything. Jill was getting used to Darren’s little surprises and looking forward to them. Still, she couldn’t help wondering what Darren had planned for tonight.
* * *
Darren knew he was asking a lot of Cleveland and his friend, Lynette, the Brian McKnight concert promoter. But Cleveland had called her and she’d agreed to meet with Darren. Now, he just had to find his way to the Charleston Civic Center. He hopped in the first cab that he saw outside the hotel.
“Can you get me to the civic center?” Darren asked.
“Sure,” the man said. “Going to the concert alone and this early?”
“I’m just laying the groundwork for a surprise.” Darren leaned back in the leather seat. “I fell in love with a woman who means the world to me and if I could scream it from the roof tops, I would.”
The driver chuckled. “I remember when I was in love like that. You have to hold on to that kind of love, young man.”
“Trust me, I’m going to.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Jill studied her reflection in the mirror. With her hair pulled up in a loose bun and just a touch of makeup on her face, she felt like the sexiest woman in the world. She planned to surprise Darren by wearing a black lace teddy underneath her dress so that she could strip for him after they returned from wherever they were going. When they returned to Atlanta, she was going to have to get him a gift. She bit her bottom lip as she thought of Atlanta. Would Darren even want anything to do with her?
Shaking her head, Jill decided not to worry about Atlanta and focus on what was in front of her: another night of pleasant surprises. As she stepped into her dress, she wondered where Darren was.
Just as she fastened the clasp of her bracelet, Darren burst through the door. “Sorry I’m late…Damn, you look good.” He ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
“Where have you been?” she asked. “And where are we going?”
She was answered by the whoosh of the shower. Jill sat on the edge of the bed and slipped on her four-inch pumps. “He’d better not have me walking a long distance,” she mumbled.
Darren walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel from the waist down. She smiled at him and fought the urge to rip the towel from his body and ravage his body. Instead, she stood up and walked over to the mirror and began restyling her hair.
“Where did you say we were going again?” she asked.
“Slick,” he said as he pulled on his slacks. “I never said where we were going.”
Looking at him over her shoulder, she smiled. “Doesn’t hurt to try. Just tell me this. I’m not going to have to do a lot of walking, am I?”
Darren buttoned his black silk shirt and crossed over to Jill. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he brushed his lips against her neck. “You look wonderful and smell so good. I might want to keep you in the house for the rest of your life.”
“One slight problem, we’re not in a house and I didn’t put these shoes on to sit in this hotel room tonight,” she ribbed.
Darren spun her around and dipped her as if they were in a ballroom. “You’re right. I guess I can share your beauty for one night.” He let her go. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
Darren walked over to the door and opened it as if he were one of Cinderella’s footmen. “Madame, your chariot awaits you.”
She nodded to him and headed out the door.
Downstairs, a black limo waited for them. Jill smiled at Darren as the driver opened the door. “This is too much,” she said as they slid inside.
“Nothing is too much when it comes to you,” he said, then kissed her cheek.
She held his face in her hands. “Sometimes I really think I don’t deserve you.”
“Why would you think something foolish like that? You were made for me.” He brought his lips to her ear. “I know that because your body is a perfect fit for me.”
Heat rose to her cheeks just thinking about the way his body fit with hers. “Darren,” she whispered. “You’re so bad.”
“And you know you love it.”
As the limo pulled up to the civic center, Jill squealed like a school girl. “One Night with Brian McKnight! How did you? Can you read my mind or something?”
Darren smiled. “I’m beginning to think I can. You’re not just saying you’re having a good time to make me feel better, are you?”
“No, not at all. This has got to be the best Valentine’s Day of my life.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he said as the driver opened the door.
They walked into the center and took their seats in the third row from the stage.
Gerald Albright walked on to the stage and began blowing his saxophone. Jill felt like a kid in a candy store. When she stood up and began swaying to the beat, Darren followed her lead, stood and wrapped his arms around her.
“Having fun?” he asked as he dipped her.
“That’s an understatement. Thank you so much for this.”
“The night is still young,” he said.
When Gerald moved into another song with a Latin rhythm, Jill and Darren sat down, still moving to the beat.
After about thirty minutes, Gerald took a bow and told everyone the man of the hour, Brian McKnight, would take the stage soon.
When Brian McKnight took the stage, Jill and the other women in the audience screamed like teenagers.
“Good evening, Charleston!” Brian yelled from the stage. “How you feeling tonight?”
“Good!” the audience yelled back.
“Before I took the stage tonight, this guy came up to me and said, ‘Brian, I want to do something special for my woman.’ I was like, bro, just bring her to my show.”
Everyone laughed.
“But seriously, this man said, ‘Brian, my lady is special and I want to let everybody know how much I love her, how wonderful she is and how I can’t live without her.’ ”
A few women in the crowd slapped each other fives. Then a spotlight lit on Jill and Darren.
Brian McKnight scooted to the edge of the stage. “Jill, do you know how much this man loves you? Do you know that he dreams about you every night? Because the first time he saw you, he knew you would be the irreplaceable love of his life.”
Brian began to sing his hit song, “Love of My Life,” and Jill cried silently. Darren squeezed her hand as Brian sang to her.
Jill couldn’t help wondering if Darren would feel all of those good feelings whe
n her secret was exposed. She tried not to think about it and leaned her head on Darren’s shoulder.
“I don’t want this night to end,” she whispered as Brian sang another of his hits.
Darren stroked her arm and held her hand. “Should I be jealous?”
“Not at all. I’d take you over him,” she motioned to the stage, “any day. That was so sweet of you to get him to dedicate that song to me.”
He kissed her hand and swayed to Brian’s rendition of “Kiss” by Prince.
Before the concert was over, Brian tossed a single red rose to Jill. “You got a good man over there,” he said before launching into his hit, “What We Do Here.”
As Jill and Darren walked out of the concert hall, she could feel the envious stares of many of the other women. They should be so lucky to have a man like Darren in their lives. But in the back of her mind, Jill wondered how much longer she was going to have him in her life.
The weekend seemed to speed by after the concert. When they were standing at the front desk counter checking out, Jill reached for Darren’s arm.
“Do we have to leave?” she asked, sounding like a child not wanting to leave Disneyland.
He kissed her on the cheek. “Yes, the real world is calling us.” He reached into his pocket. “You can even have this back.”
Jill took her cell phone from his hand but didn’t turn it on. She had gotten used to not hearing the chirp of her phone and not being available to people twenty-four hours a day. Turning that phone on would be like reality slapping her in the face. Already she knew that her voicemail box was going to be full.
“Why don’t do a little more sightseeing before we leave,” she suggested as Darren settled the bill.
“All right,” he replied, obviously not in a big hurry to return to Atlanta either. Darren turned to the front desk clerk. “Do you have any suggestions as to where we can spend a couple of hours?”
“Well, there’s the Porgy and Bess tour,” the clerk said, then slipped Darren a brochure. “You can sign up for a one hour or two hour tour.”
With her eyes, Jill pleaded with Darren to take the tour. He nodded.
“Can you get us set up on the two hour tour?” Darren asked as he squeezed Jill’s hand.
Business of Love Page 20