The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (7 page)

“
Why?”

“
Because I think we
should.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “There’s no reason for
us to be enemies.”

“
And there’s no reason for
us to be friends, either.”

He stared at her for a
moment. “Okay,” he nodded. “Let’s say there’s no reason for us to
be friends…does that mean you have to avoid me? Think less of me
than you do of my brothers?”

“
Since when do you care
what people think about you?”

“
Who said anything
about
people
? I’m
talking about you, Sherita.”

Sherita took a sip of water
to quell the intense heat of his eyes. He made it a practice to
stare at her, and he knew there wasn’t anything she could do about
it but get up and walk away. But that would be admitting he was
able to get to her. She wouldn’t let him have the upper hand. So,
after setting her glass back on the table, she said, “Okay. Let’s
talk.”

He seemed pleased with her
response. Finally, he was getting his way. “Why do you think I’ve
been avoiding you?” he asked.

“
I don’t think it…I know
it for a fact. You
have
been avoiding me. Dante, Dimitrius, Melanie,
Emily…everybody knows it.”

“
Okay, you’re not
understanding my question so let me be clearer. Yes, I have been
avoiding you. My question is, why do you think I’ve been doing
so?”

She shrugged. “Beats me.
Unlike you, I don’t have the capability to read minds, and if I
did, your mind wouldn’t be one I would read.”

He forced himself to grin.
She wasn’t ready for intense Desmond, but it looked like he had to
give it to her anyway. He took a napkin, wiped his mouth and
cleared his throat. “The reason I’ve been avoiding you is because I
like you. I’m attracted to you. I like the way you talk, the sound
of your voice and the way you laugh when I hear you interacting
with Emily and Melanie. I like the way you dress, the way your lips
poke out when you’re upset and the way you blush when you’re
embarrassed, sort of like you’re doing right now. You’re a good
woman, Sherita. You have a strong work ethic that I really admire,
but it’s those things that kept me away from you.”

Confusion washed over
Sherita’s face. He’d been avoiding her because he liked her? What
kind of game was he playing?

“
You look confused,” he
observed.

“
I am.”

“
I was hoping you could
read between the lines so I didn’t have to be so
thorough.”

“
There are no lines to
read between, Desmond. You said you were avoiding me because
you
like
me?
That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

A frown flashed in his
forehead, then it quickly went away. With a serious, stoic face, he
said, “So I have to spell it out for you.” He took a sip of water.
“Okay, it’s like this…I like you…more like I want you. More like
I’ve had dreams about you, about us…more times than I would like to
admit to. There’s something different about you, Sherita. Something
special. You’re unlike any woman I’ve ever encountered. So I stayed
away, yes, not for my sake, but for yours, because you’re not ready
to be pursued by a man like me, darling.”

Sherita had met some cocky,
conceited men in her life, but never one like the man sitting
across the table from her. “You stayed away for my
sake…”

“
Yes. I’m not like Dante
and Dimitrius, Sherita. They found their soul mates and married
them. You know Dante’s story. He was married before he met Emily,
but his wife had died. Emily came along, and he fell in love again.
Then there’s Dimitrius…he fell in love with Melanie. Now, my
brothers have adorable children. I don’t want that.”

“
You don’t want
what?”

“
Marriage. Children.
That’s not for me. Never has been. Never will be.”

Still confused, Sherita
asked, “And…why are you telling me this?” She took a sip of
water.

“
Because you’re my soul
mate, Sherita.”

Sherita coughed hard. The
water must’ve gone down wrong, especially after Desmond’s comment.
When she was able to clear her throat, she burst out in a cloud of
laughter, laughing so hard it nearly brought her to tears. When she
was finally able to get her laughter under control, she asked,
“What’s that in your glass, because it
can’t
be water?” She laughed more
and when her laughter subsided, she glanced at Desmond. He was
sitting still, his fingers interlocked, arms resting on the
table.

Brows raised, he asked,
“Are you done?”

“
That depends. Are you
done cracking jokes?”

“
It’s not a joke, and you
can laugh if it makes you temporarily divert from the reality of
this situation, but you
are
my soul mate and you know it. Why do you think
your breathing is much heavier when I’m around you? Why your palms
are sweaty? Why do I make you so nervous, Sherita? You need to
listen to your body. It’s trying to tell you something.”

Sherita narrowed her eyes
at him. “Is this how you do it? How you get women to go home with
you?”

“
I’ve never taken a woman
to my home.”

“
Well, wherever you take
them…how many women have you told this
soul mate
story to?”

“
None. Only
you.”

“
And you expect me to
believe that?”

“
You should. It’s the
truth.”

The
truth
…the man didn’t know the meaning of
the word. And how could a person who didn’t have a soul be
somebody’s soul mate?

“
Well, let me tell you a
few things about myself, Desmond. I don’t date players.”

“
I never said I wanted to
date you.”

“
Oh, yeah…that’s right.
You don’t date. You just sleep around. Whatever be the case, rest
assured the words
soul
and
mate
will never go together where we’re concerned. I’ve been down
this windy road before with a man like you, only then I didn’t know
I was being played. Now, I know better, and when you know better,
you do better, right?”

“
So I’ve been told,” he
responded.

“
Good. Then you can stop
all this soul mate crap and talk to me like a woman. I’m not an
object…a toy for you to play with.”

“
You don’t have to be a
toy for me to play with you, Sherita,” he said with challenging
eyes.

“
Okay, I’m done,” she
said, standing. “Thanks for dinner.” She was starting to think
Desmond had some serious mental flaws. Maybe that’s why he was
still single.

“
And there you go running
again.”

“
I’m not running anywhere.
I’m just removing myself from this senseless
conversation.”

“
There’s nothing senseless
about it. Come sit down so we can finish our discussion,
Sherita.”

“
No thanks. I’m good.”
Sherita dumped the contents of her plate in the garbage then walked
over to the sink where she rinsed her plate and left it there.
Afterwards, she took the bottle of water she had been sipping on
and left out of the back door. She needed air. A lot of air. Some
things Desmond said had been right. Her body did react to him in
ways it had never reacted before. She couldn’t explain it, but she
knew it had nothing to do with being soul mates. Why would he
suggest such a ridiculous thing? And why was he so arrogant? Was it
because he was fully aware of how attractive he was? Of how women
reacted around him?

Then he said he didn’t want
marriage and children. Odd. He was so good with handling Grace.
From what she’d witnessed firsthand today, he loved Grace and Ezra
equally. He knew how to change diapers, warm milk, calm a baby and
rock one to sleep. He would make an excellent father.

The sound of the back door
opening snatched her attention away from her thoughts. She watched
Desmond glance over at her. He sauntered towards the table with
stalking eyes that looked like he was ready to pounce upon easy
prey. It made her think about what he’d said – that he liked her.
Wanted her.

Desmond pulled out a chair,
sat beside her then looked at her again.

Sherita glanced up at him,
then quickly turned away before finding the courage to look at him
again. “Listen, Desmond. I’m not sure what your goal is tonight,
but—”

“
My goal is to get to know
you.”

“
Then why are you talking
about
wanting
me?”

“
Because I do want you,”
he said honestly, “But I won’t pursue you, Sherita, because you
need someone who can give you all the things I can’t. Things I
won’t.”

Okay, so he wouldn’t pursue
her. She felt relieved at his omission, but made a mental note to
remain cautious, because Desmond had a way with words. And, like
laser beams, his eyes remain locked on her.

Hoping to divert his
pensive stare, she asked, “So, do you live in this
area?”

“
No. I live in South
Asheville. It’s about twenty-five minutes away from here. I live
closer to Dimitrius and Melanie.”

“
That’s nice.”

“
It is. From what I
understand, you don’t have siblings, correct.”

“
Correct. I’m an only
child. I think that’s the way my parents wanted it from the
start.”

“
They live here in
Asheville?”

“
Yes, about ten minutes
away from me.”

“
And where do you live?”
he inquired.

“
In the Shiloh
Neighborhood. I have a one-bedroom apartment there.”

“
You like it?”

She shrugged. “It’s okay.
It’s a means to an end.”

“
What end is
that?”

“
Owning a home one day and
my own portrait studio. I’m a big dreamer. I make sacrifices now in
hopes they’ll pay off later.”

“
That’s good,” he said
stretching his arms up, showing off his lean chest.

“
Yeah…that…that is good,”
Sherita stammered, temporarily sidetracked by muscles. She took a
sip of water. She could hardly believe she was having an actual
conversation with Desmond. There was no more soul mate silliness,
or I-want-you psycho talk – just a normal conversation.

“
So tell me about the man
who broke your heart,” he said.

“
What?”

“
Tell me about him. You
said you’d been played before.”

Sherita sighed, leaned back
in her chair and stared up into the night sky. Just when the
conversation was going well, he had to bring up something about
relationships. But, instead of cowering, she said, “His name was
Thane. I met him in college, dated for two years and while I’m
thinking we’re going to get married after graduation, he was dating
another girl while he was with me. I broke it off and he was
unfazed, but I was hurt.”

“
And after
him?”

Sherita looked at Desmond.
“There was no one after him.”

“
No one?”

She shook her head.
“No.”

“
And how long ago did you
end things with Thane?”

“
Four years.”

“
Wow. Four
years.”

She nodded.

Desmond stared at her. He
could see the hurt in the depths of her eyes. He could detect the
moment she tried to muster up a smile, but failed miserably. This
Thane person had broken her heart, and she apparently hadn’t
recovered from it.

“
I heard he was back in
town.”

“
Who? Your ex?”

“
Yep. You know what really
sucks?” she asked.

“
What’s that?”

“
He’s still friends with
my parents.”

Desmond shook his head.
“That doesn’t make much sense.”

“
No, it doesn’t. It’s like
he’s trying to keep a part of me in his life so he can come back
whenever he wants.” Sherita exhaled sharply. “But enough about me.
Let’s talk about you.”

He smiled. “I’m an open
book, baby.”

She grinned. “No, you’re
not.”

Desmond’s smile widened,
revealing his perfect teeth. “Then tell me who I am, Sherita. Who
is Desmond Champion?”

“
Umm…you’re definitely not
an open book, although you can be forthcoming and straightforward
with certain things,” she said, thinking about how he confessed to
her that he liked her. “You know what I find strange about you, and
this is just from my interaction with you today.”

“
What’s that?”

“
You say you don’t want
children, but you are so good with Grace and Ezra.”

He smirked. “That’s family.
I love my family. I would fight to the death for them. All of
them.”

Sherita smiled.

“
See, I’m not the complete
jerk you thought I was, right?”