Only One for Me (4 page)

Chapter Four

In silence, they walked hand in hand
to her door. Yasmine was on cloud nine as she used her other hand
to rumble around in her purse for her keys. However, she stopped in
her tracks as they walked up the sidewalk to her
apartment.

“
Wait.” She put her hand
in front of him but kept her eyes on the door of her
apartment.

“
Yasmine, I promise I’m
not going to try anything. I respect you too much.”

She shook her head. “No. I always
leave on the lamp in the living room if I know I’m returning home
after dark.”

“
Maybe you
forgot.”

“
No, I never forget.” She
took a step backwards and looked around the apartment complex. “It
was on when we left.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my goodness!
My door is slightly ajar.” She felt faint and leaned on
Cannon.

He directed her toward his car in a
fast walk as he took out his keys and popped the trunk and then
unlocked the car. “Get in, lock the door, and call the police.” He
spoke calmly as he opened the passenger door, handed her his cell
phone, and then shut the door. A few seconds later, he slammed the
trunk and rushed up the sidewalk with a crow bar as she nervously
dialed the police.

Her heart raced as she waited for
Cannon to come out of her apartment. Ten minutes later, she saw the
light flick on in her living room and Cannon in the doorway, crow
bar still in his hand, with a grip on the shoulder of a struggling
teenaged-aged boy.

Yasmine stepped out of the car as
Cannon walked down the sidewalk with an intense expression of anger
pasted on his face.

“
Let me go, you son of a
bitch,” the teenager yelled at Cannon.

“
I’ll let you go soon as
the police get here.”

Yasmine looked closer at the teenager
and realized she knew him. He lived in the next building over. A
police car with sirens blaring pulled into the parking lot and two
police officers stepped out and walked briskly toward them. Some of
her neighbors began to assemble outside of their apartments as
well.

“
Ricky, why did you break
into my apartment?” Yasmine’s heart was saddened to know he’d tried
to steal from her. She was always so nice to him and his baby
sister.

“
I didn’t,” he snapped in
anger.

Cannon tightened his grip on the boy’s
shoulder as the boy tried to yank away when the police
arrived.

“
You didn’t? Well explain
to me why you were rummaging through Ms. Dubose’s jewelry box, and
I found this watch in your pocket?” Cannon held up a men’s watch
that belong to her father.

“
I ain’t got to tell you
nothing.” He jerked away, and Cannon let him go. The boy tried to
run, but one of the officers grabbed him while the other placed the
handcuffs on him.

“
No, but you do have to
tell us,” the police officer said as he locked the cuffs on Ricky’s
wrists.

“
And me,” a woman yelled
as she walked between Cannon and Yasmine and stood in front of
Ricky.

“
Mom!”

“
How dare you break into
Ms. Dubose’s home,” she snapped as he hung his head in shame. “Is
this the first time or are you a part of the group of robbers
everyone has been complaining about for the past few months, and
you finally got caught?” She jerked his head up. “Look at me when
I’m talking to you. Why, Ricky? Why?” She placed her hands on
either side of her son’s face with tears rolling down
hers.

Yasmine’s heart broke for her. True,
Yasmine was upset that her apartment was broken into, but she knew
how hard Ricky’s mom worked to provide for him and his
sister.

“
Do you want to go back to
juvy, because that’s where they’re taking you?” She looked at the
police officer that was holding him. “Get him out of my sight.” She
turned away with a look of disgust.

“
Let’s go, kid,” the
officer said, taking Ricky toward the squad car. His mother
apologized to Yasmine before walking toward her apartment with a
group of women trying to comfort her.

The other officer questioned them
about what had happened, as well as a few neighbors who thought
there might be some other boys involved. Thirty minutes later, she
sat in Cannon’s lap on her couch. His warm embrace made her feel
more protected and secure than the new locks that the on-call
maintenance guy had just changed. She rested her head on Cannon’s
chest as he rubbed her back.

“
Thank you for being here
with me,” she whispered, resting her head on his
shoulder.

“
Shhh … just relax. It’s
over now.”

She sat up to look at him. “You took a
risk coming in here to look for the burglar. What if he’d had a
gun?”

“
I wasn’t thinking about
that. I just wanted to beat the crap out of whoever had the
audacity to break into my girl’s place.”

My girl?
She smiled at his words. She’d wanted to
be
his girl
since
her freshman year of high school. They’d only been on one date and
experienced a surreal kiss, so she was sure he didn’t mean it like
that, but at least he wanted to protect her.

“
Now you see why I’m ready
to move?” She slid off of his lap onto the couch.

“
When is your lease
up?”

“
Next summer.”

“
A frat brother of mine is
an attorney. I’ll call him in the morning and see what he can do.
I’ll need to send him a copy of your lease. You shouldn’t have to
stay in an unsafe environment. You’ve got noisy college students
and now a group of teenagers who think it’s okay to break into
people’s home in the same area where they live.”

“
But I still need to find
another apartment to live in if I’m even able to get out of my
lease without having to pay the fee.”

“
You know what? Doug is
moving to New York soon and wants to rent out his townhome instead
of selling it. It’s really nice. Three story, two car garage, three
bedrooms, and two and a half baths. Close to downtown and not far
from where you work. I can see what he’s renting it for if you’re
interested. Maybe we can swing by there tomorrow.”

“
Cannon, that’s very sweet
of you, but so much has happened tonight. I can’t think right now.”
She closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the
couch.

“
I understand. I’ll handle
it. In the meantime, you can’t stay here. Pack a bag. You’re coming
home with me tonight.”

Her eyes shot open and settled on his
serious face. “Cannon, I can’t do that.”

“
Yes, you can … and you
will. I’d be worried sick knowing you’re here alone.”

“
But he was
arrested.”

“
I know, but he lives in
this complex, and he isn’t the only one. He’s just the only one
that got caught.”

“
Cannon … I just want to
get some rest.”

“
And you will. Raven is at
her boyfriend’s place this weekend, so you’ll have some peace and
quiet. She took her yappy Pomeranian with her, and you can sleep in
my room. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“
Cannon … ” her voice
trailed off. She knew he wasn’t budging on his decision.

“
Grab your things and pack
enough for the next few days. I’m not leaving you here. You can
follow me in your car.”

Realizing he was serious, she leaned
over and kissed him on his cheek. “Thank you.”

An hour later, he was showing her his
bedroom in the ranch-styled home. She had to chuckle inside at the
thought she was sleeping in Cannon’s bed on the first date. Of
course, he would be on the couch, but she’d broken another dating
rule: Never go home with the guy on the first date.

After she took a shower in the
adjoining bathroom, she put on the blue pajama shirt Cannon had
laid on the bed. In her haste to pack, she’d forgotten to throw a
nightgown into her suitcase. Wearing his shirt made her feel secure
and protected, even if it was three sizes too big for her. She
climbed into bed and sipped on the tea Cannon had kindly left on
the nightstand. She let its warmth soothe her, even though a glass
of wine would’ve been even better.

A light knock sounded on the
door.

“
Come in.”

When Cannon entered, he was wearing
the pajama bottoms that matched the shirt she was wearing along
with a white Meharry t-shirt.

“
Do you need anything?” he
asked, standing in the doorway.

“
No, I’m fine. You’ve been
the perfect host.”

“
Thank you. I’m going to
let you get some rest.” He turned to go.

“
Cannon?”

“
Yes.”

“
I’m still pretty shaken
up. Is it possible you can sleep in here instead of on the couch?
It’s a king-sized bed, so there’s plenty of room.”

He hesitated for a moment, as if he
was going to say no, and she regretted asking him.

“
Of course. I’m going to
make sure the house is secure and turn off my laptop. I’ll be right
back.”

Yasmine drank the rest of her tea and
then slid underneath the fluffy covers. The last thing she
remembered before drifting off into a deep slumber, was a tender
kiss to her forehead and Cannon whispering, “Good night, Angel
face.” Then he gathered her in his warm embrace.

*****

During the next three weeks, Cannon’s
attorney friend was able to get Yasmine out of her apartment lease
without having to pay the cancellation fee. She was also able to
move into Doug’s townhouse, for not much more than what she was
paying for her apartment. Yasmine was excited about her new home
because she was doing a lease with the possible intention to buy
after a year. She was even more excited about spending time with
Cannon. After work, she would rush home and cook dinner in her new
gourmet kitchen. Then she would wait for Cannon, who would come
over after his last class.

Today, she’d stopped by a furniture
store with Sherika to browse for bedroom sets. Yasmine was going to
move hers into the guestroom and purchase a new one for the master
bedroom. Cannon was supposed to meet her for dinner at their
favorite spot followed by a movie at six. She was quite surprised
at all of the time he was spending with her when she thought he
should be studying with his classmates and not at her kitchen
table. She couldn’t think of the last time he’d mentioned having a
study group unless it was during the day.

“
This is a nice bed,”
Yasmine said as they stopped in front of a walnut, four-poster,
queen-sized bed.

“
Yep. Big enough for you
and Cannon when he spends the night,” Sherika said, running her
hand along a post.

“
He doesn’t really spend
the night. Well … he does sort of, but he doesn’t sleep. I think
he’s a night owl or has insomnia. When I go to bed, he stays up and
studies in the kitchen. When I wake up in the morning, he’s gone—at
least on the weeknights. On the weekends, he’ll crawl into the bed
around one, and in the morning, he makes me breakfast or we make it
together.”

“
Awww … how sweet. But you
still haven’t—”

“
No. That topic hasn’t
come up. We kiss all the time, we cuddle. He’s so affectionate and
thoughtful, but he hasn’t tried to have sex with me. However, I
know he wants to because sometimes when he’s hugging me from
behind, I can feel a slight erection. And girl, don’t get me
started on the spot on the back of my neck I never knew
existed.”

“
Oh really?”

“
Girl, I don’t know what
he does with his tongue and lips back there, but I have a mini
orgasm from whatever he’s doing. It’s so freaking
erotic.”

“
Well, since you’re buying
a new bed, you should test it out,” Sherika teased, sitting on the
edge of the bed and pouncing up and down on it. “The mattress is
quite comfy and has just enough spring action.”

The ladies laughed.

“
Girl, you’re a mess. I do
like this one, but it’s out of my price range. I’m going to get the
sleigh bed with the matching dresser and end table.”

“
Good decision.” Sherika
hopped off the bed. “Let’s go find that cute salesman that spoke to
us when we walked in.”

“
You just want his phone
number.”

“
If I’m lucky.” Sherika
winked.

*****

Cannon sat across from Yasmine at her
kitchen table while she graded papers. They’d been dating for over
a month now, and he’d never felt so relaxed with a woman in such a
short time frame. She’d made him take breaks and just have fun.
He’d lived in Nashville for almost two years and had never ventured
out much as far as site seeing because he was there for medical
school. Thanks to her spontaneous nature, they’d been to the
Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, the Nashville Zoo, and the Opryland
Museum. She’d suggested a country music concert just for the fun of
it, but instead they went to a traveling carnival where he felt
like a kid again eating corn dogs and funnel cakes as well as
riding roller coasters and Ferris wheels.