by D. Camille
She looked at him. “It will probably forever be my favorite now.”
Derek smiled over at her. “How long can I keep you here?”
Lana checked her watch. “Not too much longer, but I can see you later…”
“You want me to meet you at the pool?”
She bit her lip. “I’ll bring the wine.”
He shook his head. “Nah, I told you, I don’t want you tipsy.”
Lana laughed softly. “Okay,”
“Before we go, tell me what Lana Sable dreams of, beside a strong brother who can show emotion if necessary,” Derek prompted, touching her cheek.
“You aren’t going to let me forget that conversation, are you?” she groaned.
“I could’ve stood there all day listening to you,” he confessed.
Lana held his gaze. “I meant every word.”
“I know you did,” he agreed. “And that’s why I had to meet you.”
“Then after I met you,” Derek continued. “I knew I wanted to get to know you.”
Lana smiled. “We’ll see if you like what you find out.”
“So far, so good…”
“It’s the first day,” she reminded him.
Derek kissed her cheek. “Of many more, Lana Sable.”
“At least thirty, right?” she whispered.
He moved to her lips. “As many as you want.”
Derek kissed her, savoring her full lips for a few moments before she stirred. “I have to get back,” Lana whispered, licking her lips.
Staring at her mouth for a minute, Derek began to slowly move away and Lana watched how his body moved, admiring the confidence and purpose in his motions. Standing to her feet, she stood while he gathered the blanket and folded it neatly before placing it back in the basket then lifting it into his hand.
Derek looked up and caught her staring. “Did I miss something?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I just like to watch you. You move very methodically.”
He came and took her hand with his free one. “I like the way you move too, especially underwater. You’re an excellent swimmer.”
“Daddy taught us all when we were little. It’s something we all love to do,” she told him as they began walking back to the Inn. “For me, it’s relaxing.”
Lana glanced at him. “I noticed that you’re a good swimmer as well.”
“Momma would take us to the ‘Y’ every week. I’d only want to play basketball, but she made me do a little bit of everything,” he explained.
“Are you a good basketball player?”
Derek shook his head. “Not at all. That’s why she made me do other things.”
She laughed. “Maybe you needed more practice?”
“Nah, just not my calling. All brothers can’t hoop.”
“That’s black man blasphemy,” she teased.
Derek shook his head. “No, that’s breaking stereotypes.”
Lana smiled. “At least you’re smart.”
“Smart enough to recognize something very special,” he said moving closer.
She studied the scenery. “Does that line work often?”
“I’ve never used it before today, so you’ll have to let me know,” he whispered.
Lana turned to him and said softly. “I’ll do that.”
Derek slid his free arm around her waist and pulled her against him. “You can also let me know how this works, too,” he said lowering his mouth to hers.
After a few moments of tangled tongues and pressed bodies, Derek lifted his head to stare down at her. Lana lifted her lids slowly as she felt the firm body against hers and the strong arm around her back.
“I can tell you now, that definitely works…” she whispered.
Chapter 5
Lorna Sable looked up as Jamal entered the lobby with several bouquets of flowers. He smiled and stopped across from her.
“Good afternoon to the beautiful Lorna Sable,” he greeted.
Lorna blushed. “Hi Jamal. Who are all those flowers for?”
Jamal glanced down at the bundles of fragrant petals. “Well these were ordered by Lana’s Casanova. He instructed me to put them in his room.”
“Derek ordered those for Lana?” she questioned.
He nodded. “But I have something for you out in my truck.”
She gave him a suspicious look. “And exactly what is that?”
Jamal leaned forward. “You have to come and find out.”
Lorna smiled. “You aren’t fooling me with that one. I’m not sixteen anymore.”
“But you’re still just as sweet and fine,” Jamal said softly.
“You can put the flowers in the Blue Room,” Lorna told him. “And get back to your job so that I can get back to mine.”
Jamal smiled. “Pretty soon, I’m going to catch you for good, Lorna.”
She winked at him. “You keep chasing, Jamal.”
“Oh, I will beautiful…trust.”
Lorna watched as he turned and headed up the stairs then returned a minute later empty handed. “I put them on his table. That dude’s room is spotless, not a thing out of place.”
She lifted a brow. “Easier to tell if anyone’s been touching things that they have no business,” she said pointedly.
Jamal smiled. “Nah, I’m not sixteen anymore either.”
Lorna sighed. “I’m really proud of you Jamal. You’ve turned your entire life around.”
“Lorna Sable did that, all by herself.”
She laughed softly. “Get out of here boy.”
Jamal nodded slowly before leaving and closing the door behind him. A minute later, he returned with another colorful bouquet and Lorna’s eyes widened as he sat them on the counter.
“I arranged these for you, because they are just as bright and beautiful as my Lorna.” He winked at her, then left for good.
Lorna studied the arrangement, then smiled. “I’m waiting for you to catch me, Jamal,” she whispered to herself.
She glanced up again as Lana and Derek entered the door hand in hand before Derek released Lana’s hand immediately and she looked up at him.
“I’ll see you later,” Derek said quietly and Lana smiled softly.
“Yes,”
She reached for the basket and he transferred it to her grasp. “Thank you for lunch, Lana.”
“It was very much my pleasure, Derek.”
He smiled then headed to the stairs, passing Lorna in the lobby. “Hi Lorna.”
“Hey Derek, did you have a good lunch?”
Derek glanced back at where Lana still stood with the basket in her hand. “It was incredible,” he answered and disappeared up the stairs.
When he was gone, Lana approached the counter and sat the basket on top. She glanced back to the empty stairway and sighed.
“So, I guess things went well?” Lorna questioned.
Lana ran her tongue along her bottom lip, still tasting Derek’s kisses on her tongue. “Yes, I think so.”
“Are you spending more time with him?”
She nodded. “Not around guests, though. We agreed on that.”
“He’s a very important guy. We found out all kinds of information about him when Lena and I googled him…”
Lana’s eyes widened. “You and Lena googled Derek?”
“And ran a background check.” Lorna confirmed.
“Are you serious?”
Lorna lifted a brow. “You think we’d just let you go off with some guy that we didn’t know anything about? You’re our big sister and we look out for you, just like you look out for us.”
Lana smiled. “You two are something else, and don’t worry…I did my own checking out of Mr. Derek Wells.”
“Were you impressed?” Lorna questioned.
“Very much so, and I’m being impressed even more each time I’m with him,” Lana confessed.
Lorna smiled. “Lena says that she hopes you can hold on to him.”
Lana frowned. “First, you don’t ‘ho
ld’ on to a man. He either wants to be with you or not. Secondly, Lena should focus on marketing the Inn and lastly, you two need to get some business of your own.”
Lorna laughed. “Yes, boss.”
“I’m not your boss,” Lana corrected. “We all run this place together.”
“Right boss…”
Lana grabbed the basket. “I’m taking this back to Mrs. Langston and then I’ll be back to cover the front.”
Lorna saluted her with a smile and Lana shook her head as she walked away.
“I hope he likes bosses,” Lorna mumbled to her herself.
******
Upstairs in his room, Derek looked around at the delivered flowers. Jamal handled his business very well. He kicked off his boots and headed to the bed, where he sat and glanced at his phone on the nightstand.
He picked it up and touched the screen to reveal a long list of missed calls and messages. One in particular caught his eye and he dialed the number quickly.
“Where the hell are you?” the female voice demanded. “I’ve left a hundred messages.”
Derek sat back against the pillows. “First, you haven’t called a hundred times because I’ve only been on DND for the last two days. Second, I told you that I was taking a break and lastly, what is so important?”
“Well it seems, you’re in demand. People are even calling me asking where you are.”
Derek frowned. “Who’s calling you?”
“Derek, Washington is in turmoil and everybody is looking for you,” she told him.
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
She sighed. “Listen, little brother, you created this reputation and you’ve earned it with your hard work. As a law professor, I can tell you that our so called democracy is being destroyed before our very eyes and people are looking for solutions.”
“You’re one of the solutions,” she finished.
“I’m working on something else right now,” he told her.
“A new candidate?”
Derek glanced out the window. “It’s personal.”
“Personal?”
“That’s what I said,” he confirmed.
Sighing again, she said, “Look Derek, this isn’t the time for you to go playing Romeo. There is important work that needs to be done.”
“Listen, Dina…I’ve busted my ass getting qualified candidates in office, in this one-sided system we have in this country. It’s not my job to fix what’s broken in politics. The people elected who they wanted,” Derek rebutted.
“Are you sure of that?”
Derek lifted a brow. “What are you talking about?”
“The news over the last few days, Derek. You need to plug back in…now.”
He reached for his bag that held his computer. “Let me see what’s up,” he told her. “I’ll call you back.”
“Call me,” she said pointedly.
“I will.” Derek disconnected the call and turned on his computer. After searching the political news, what he saw, rocked him to the core. While in Washington, he’d heard rumors of election fraud and conspiracies of treason, but he’d chalked them up to just that…rumors and conspiracies. However, over the last day it seemed that actual evidence was now coming into play.
“What the hell?” he said aloud.
Continuing to read through the articles, he picked up his phone again.
Derek began as soon as they answered. “Brian, I just plugged in. Is this true?”
“Derek, man I’ve been trying to reach you since the news broke the other day. This is some real deep shit. We’ve never seen anything like this before,” Brian replied.
Derek shook his head. “I can’t even understand this.”
“Nobody can right now, new information and evidence is being leaked every day to the press,” he explained.
“What is the other party doing?” Derek questioned.
“With one party running the White House, and controlling the Congress, they have basically no power. And the controlling party is rolling right along with this underhanded agenda,” Brian told him.
“The Congressional Black Caucus?” Derek asked.
“They’re trying but basically being ignored by this administration.”
Derek scratched his head. “Damn, this is crazy. They actually have some real evidence?”
“It appears that way and there’s probably so much more out there that this is going to be a real scandal when it’s all said and done.”
“Democracy is dying a slow death,” Derek commented. “Although, we’re still working to reap the benefits that are already afforded to those currently in power.”
“We need to get organized because this is going to affect the next congressional elections like never before,” Brian advised.
“I agree,” Derek told him. “This is changing the entire political landscape.”
“That’s why you’re in demand. Every possible candidate is looking for you because seats are going to be up for grabs.”
Derek closed his computer. “I was supposed to be taking a break while this new administration settled in.”
“They may not be there for the duration.”
“I see,” Derek paused. “But, I have another situation.”
“You’ve already committed to a candidate?” Brian questioned.
“No, I’ve committed to a woman.” Derek answered.
“How long have you known this woman?” Brian asked. “You’ve never mentioned anyone.”
“I just met her yesterday.”
“Yesterday?”
He sighed. “I stopped at an Inn in the country, here in Michigan and I met one of the owners,” Derek explained.
“Okay, so what’s the problem?”
“I promised her I’d be here for thirty days, at least. I had no idea things would change so quickly.”
Brian replied, “Derek this is our business.”
Derek stood to his feet and walked to the window. “I’ll stay plugged in and monitor things from here.”
“The way things are moving, in a month, we can have lost a year’s worth of ground,” Brian advised.
Looking down, Derek saw Lana giving another tour of the grounds. As the couple marveled at the scenery, she peeked up at his window. Their eyes met and unbeknownst to her guests, she gave a small wave.
Derek waved back and she returned to her job. Into the phone, he said, “Yeah, like I said…I’ll monitor things from here and if I need to move, I’ll do it when necessary.”
Brian paused. “So it’s like that?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I hope she’s worth it.”
Derek got another glimpse of Lana as she walked. “She’s definitely worth finding out.”
“Okay, I’ll be in touch.”
“Talk to you later. I’ll work on some strategizing.”
They ended the call and Derek returned to the bed. Sitting his phone aside, he reopened his computer and began getting up to speed, since it seemed like his vacation had been interrupted. He put on his glasses and threw himself into his work.
A few hours later, the phone rang beside his bed and he answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, it’s Lana. I don’t want to disturb you, but you didn’t order dinner and the kitchen will be closing soon,” she told him.
Derek looked at his watch. “Damn, I didn’t know it was this late.”
“Were you sleeping?” she asked.
“Nah, I was working.”
“I thought you were on break?”
Derek glanced at his computer screen. “Yeah, I thought so too.”
“Would you like me to bring something up to you?” Lana offered.
He smiled. “Yes, I’d like that.”
“What would you like?”
“Whatever you bring.”
Lana laughed softly. “That could mean a lot of different things.”
“I know.”
“I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.”
“I
’ll be right here,” Derek told her. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. We take care of our guests here at the Sable Inn.”
Lana hung up and Derek went to take a quick shower before she arrived with his meal. Derek wasn’t accustomed to a woman he was interested in, bringing him food on a tray. He’d certainly not been raised with traditional gender roles. He had learned to cook and clean, while his sisters could mow the lawn and take out the trash. They’d been raised as a family where everyone could do everything, when necessary.
Underneath the hot spray of the shower, he thought about his job. He and Brian, were both campaign managers at Derek’s firm. Brian worked more behind the scenes, while Derek was hands on with the candidates. These new developments meant that all upcoming elections were more relevant than ever before, meaning that Derek had to be on top of his game.
He dried off and slipped into some sweatpants and a T-shirt just as there was a knock on the door. Quickly, he answered and opened it to find the beauty on the other side.
“Your dinner, sir…” Lana said with a smile.
Derek reached for the tray and carried it inside while she followed, closing the door behind her. “You smell…good,” she whispered.
After settling the tray, he turned to her. “I just showered.”
“That’s not our soap,” she inhaled again.
Derek walked closer. “No, it’s my own.”
“It’s very nice,” Lana said looking up at him.
He touched her hair. “Are you still working?”
Lana shook her head. “No, I’m done for the night.”
“Then come and let me seat you,” Derek said taking her hand and walking her over to where the tray sat. He held out the chair and she sat then waited for him to sit on the other side.
“I wasn’t expecting to dine with you,” he said quietly. “But it’s a wonderful surprise.”
Lana smiled. “I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
“That’s not possible,”
She looked away and lifted the covers from the plates. “I hadn’t expected to eat with you either, but since it’s so late, I closed down the dining with my sisters and the Night Manager came in early…so here I am.” Lana uncovered the two glasses of lemonade.
“In that case, I’m thankful for the late hour, your sisters and the Night Manager.” Derek picked up his glass. “To my good fortune.”