Chapter 7

The Next Saturday

Chandler

As much asI wanted to see Cheyanne, I had to remind myself I wouldn't die if I didn't. The weekends were bittersweet. I enjoyed the break but hated being away from my girl. I was supposed to be meeting my best friend, Dru, for drinks, and I hoped that would get my mind off Cheyanne. I thought our time together in California would have left me satiated, but it only made me crave her more.

I dressed casually in slacks and a fitted T-shirt with loafers, using my jewelry to elevate the look, then headed out. He wanted to meet at The Tipsy Grill, which was more than cool with me. Jax's bar down by the beach was one of my favorites. He'd created his own whiskey line and his wife, Mia, had created her own wine. She had a wine bar that I'd taken Cheyanne to a while back, and the combination of her strawberry wine with her husband's whiskey was out of this world.

It only took me about fifteen minutes to get to The Tipsy Grill, and when I arrived, Dru was already there. Because there was no smoking inside, he'd snagged a table on the patio. At the sight of me, he set the cigar that was between his lips in the ashtray and stood to shake my hand.

"Wassup, C?"

"Can't call it. What's good?"

"Man, life." His lips spread into a grin, and my curiosity immediately piqued.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

"You'll see in a moment. I met this fine ass shorty in Memphis last weekend, and her and her best friend came here for the weekend. I told her they could meet us here."

Before I could stop myself, I was releasing an irritated sigh. Normally, I wouldn't mind being Dru's wingman, but I needed time to mentally prepare. The women I usually ended up entertaining for him were boring or not interested in the same things as me, and it was mentally taxing, holding conversations with them for an hour or two while he did his thing.

"Man, why did you have them meet us here of all places? You should have told them somewhere adventurous that wouldn't require talking."

Sucking his teeth, Dru gave me a dismissive wave of his hand. "Forget all'at. I'm tryna get shorty full of this whiskey so we can walk that short walk to the Rose Valley Hotel. That's where they're staying, and she's already told me what type of time she wants to be on."

"If that's the case, why didn't you just meet her there now and leave me and her girl out of it?"

"Because she doesn't want to send her out alone. All I need is like an hour or two, C. That's it."

"Aight, man. Let me go in here and get me something to drink."

"Hol' up." His hand went to my chest as he looked behind him and into the bar. "What you want? I'll get it for you."

"Okay, now you're just being weird. Since when can't I go get my own drink?" I had a hard time figuring out whether I was more amused or irritated by his erratic behavior.

"If you go in there and see who's inside, you're not going to help me out with this."

"I told you I got you. Who is it?"

With a sigh, Dru stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Cheyanne."

Damn.

I could see why he thought that would change things. From the moment Cheyanne started working for me, I'd made my desire for her clear to Dru and my parents. While Dru was all for me going after her, my parents wanted me to keep things professional, to avoid a scandal. I assured them I'd never do anything to make Cheyanne uncomfortable or risk my reputation. That had been the case until two weekends ago when I grabbed her ass. I still couldn't believe I'd done that shit.

While I didn't regret it, it was risky as hell, and that wasn't me. Regardless of how much I liked her, I truly valued Cheyanne's place in my business. I wouldn't say any one person was irreplaceable, but if I lost Cheyanne, it would take a miracle for me to find someone with at least a third of her experience, capabilities, and dedication. And that made her irreplaceable to me, because I refused to have to go through all that if she left.

"I'm sure Chy is in there doing her own thing. I got you, bruh."

He eyed me skeptically, making me laugh before nodding his agreement. "Aight but hurry up. They should be here soon."

I couldn't deny how excited I was to see Cheyanne, even if it was just in passing. She'd been on my mind all day, but seeing her in person felt like a piece of me that had been missing was returned. Her long, curly hair was in its usual middle part style. It looked like she had on a cream-colored linen short set that looked good as hell against her skin. The makeup she wore was natural, accentuating her beauty. And when she smiled… it literally took my breath away.

As hard as it was, I decided I wouldn't go over to her immediately. I recognized the woman she was with from a few pictures she'd shown me. If I wasn't mistaken, it was a cousin on her father's side. When I heard her gasp as I headed for the bar, I looked in her direction, and her eyes lit up at the sight of me.

Seeing her happiness because of me made my heart warm and my dick hard. Unable to resist, I made a beeline for their table. She stood, meeting me halfway.

"I can't believe you're out and about, Mr. My Saturdays Are for Golf and Sleep."

Chuckling, I pulled her in for a brief hug. She smelled good, as always. Today, she smelled like raspberries and vanilla.

"Dru is forcing me to be his wingman, so I didn't have much of a choice."

"Oh, well that should be interesting." With my hand in hers, Cheyanne led me over to her table. "Selena, this is my boss, Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones, this is my cousin Selena."

"Please, call me Chandler," I insisted, extending my hand for Selena to shake.

"Hi, Chandler. Are you single? You should join us."

Cheyanne's hand covered ours, and she pushed mine down. "Yes, he's single, but he is not an option for you." She shoved me toward the bar with a roll of her eyes, and I couldn't help but laugh as Selena scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Why you pushing me like I did something wrong?" I teased as I leaned against the bar.

"I'm sorry. She just irritates me. Always trying to talk to every fine man she sees."

For a while, I just stared at her. Licking my lips, I stepped closer to her as she looked up at me.

"You saying I'm fine?"

Cheyanne chuckled. "I don't think I need to say it. You know it's the truth."

"I do, but it would make my day to hear that from you."

Turning to the side so she could face me, Cheyanne inhaled a shaky breath. "Yes, Chandler, you're fine. You're probably the finest man in Rose Valley Hills. I'm not surprised Selena tried to immediately see what was up with you."

Tilting my head slightly, I gripped her waist. "Did it upset you that she did because you want me to yourself?"

"Hi! What can I get you?" the bartender asked, seemingly giving Cheyanne the perfect excuse to excuse herself and walk away from me.

That was cool. She didn't have to answer me. Just Cheyanne saying that to her I was the finest man in our city was more than enough to satisfy me. I ordered a French Connection and had the bartender to put Cheyanne's and Selena's drinks on my tab, then headed back outside. There were two women at the table with Dru, and I had to admit they were beautiful. I would never deny Dru's ability to secure a beautiful woman for the weekend, but they rarely had much more going for themselves. Beyond the beauty, they often lacked substance.

I think that was why I was drawn to Cheyanne as well. She wasn't just a beautiful face. She was intelligent, well-traveled, sweet, kind, fun, and able to hold a conversation with just about anyone about anything. Her ability to move as a chameleon in any room was sexy as hell. Whether my client was a street nigga, athlete, politician, or pastor—Cheyanne was able to make everyone feel comfortable.

Like I said I would, I entertained his date's homegirl. Jasmine was nice and friendly, but like always, there wasn't much that we had in common. I ended up leading the conversation. Knowing Cheyanne was nearby made it more difficult for me to focus. It also didn't help that Jasmine was on the same type of time as her girl. Three times, she casually rested her hand in my lap; three times, I casually removed it. I'd passed the stage of life where easy pussy swayed me. I loved women that required effort and to be chased. Winning them was what turned me on.

"We'll uh… be back," Dru announced, lifting Andrea from the table by her hand.

She shot her girl a wink as she smiled. Slumping down further in my seat, I finished the last of my drink.

"It looks like they're about to go have some fun," Jasmine said.

"Yeah," was all I offered in return as I pulled my vibrating phone out of my pocket.

Seeing that I had a text from Cheyanne, I sat up a little straighter as my heart palpitated. All she'd sent was the eyes, but that was enough to make me smile.

"Did you… want to get a room too?" Jasmine asked.

Send help, I texted Cheyanne with three laughing emojis before sliding my phone back in my pocket.

"Nah, I'm good on that, Jasmine." She sucked her teeth and looked around the outdoor space. "I mean… if you tryna fuck… I'm sure it's plenty of men inside that would love to have you."

Her head jerked back, as if she was offended by my words. That didn't make sense, seeing as she was sitting over there pouting because I didn't want to get a room. Though at this point, I was tempted to get her one just so she could wait in there while her girl did her thing.

The moment I felt hands sliding down my chest, I knew exactly who they belonged to. Not because Cheyanne was the only woman I knew in the bar personally, but because I knew her touch… and her scent.

"Hey, baby," she cooed before kissing my neck. The gesture caused my dick to harden instantly. "What're you doing out here? We're inside."

When I told her to send help, I wasn't expecting her to actually come and help me out. As much as I appreciated the gesture, I knew if I left, Dru would never let me hear the end of it.

"Oh, so this is why you're turning me down?" Jasmine said as she stood. Chuckling, she shook her head as she looked from me to Cheyanne. "I should have known you were taken. That's the only reason a man would deny my pussy."

She headed inside, and as soon as the door closed behind her, Cheyanne and I laughed. As she sat next to me, she said, "What's going on with your girl?"

"That is not my girl. I don't even know her."

"Oh yeah, you did say Dru wanted you to be his wingman."

"Yeah, I was trying, but she was getting a little too handsy for me."

The comfortable smile that was on her face was replaced with a frown as she looked toward the direction Jasmine had gone in. If I was crazy, I'd say she was feeling a little possessive of me. As quickly as the frown had covered her face, Cheyanne pulled in a deep breath and wiped it away.

"Well, I'm glad I was still here to help. I know you're too much of a gentleman to send her on her way, but I will, with no hesitation."

Her comment seemed like the perfect opening for me to say, "That's the second woman that has gotten a rise out of you today because of me. Don't let me find out you're starting to like me as much as I like you."

Cheyanne gave me a playful roll of her eyes as she smirked. "Unfortunately, I can't give you the satisfaction of a response to that."

That caused me to release a bark of laughter. "You didn't say you didn't like me, so that's all I need to know."

"This is so juvenile," she muttered, lowering her head as she blushed.

"I can agree, but that's what you do to me." I lifted her chin, forcing her to look in my eyes. "You make me all heart and emotions that I can barely contain. You make me feel like I'm not in control of myself or the way you make me feel. I haven't felt like this since I was a kid, and I'm okay with that."

My hand went from her chin to her cheek, and she kissed it. Tugging my bottom lip between my teeth, I bit back a moan. Her body shifted slightly as she looked inside of the bar.

"It looks like your girl is onto someone new already."

I turned to look and saw Jasmine in a booth, cuddled up with a man I didn't recognize, and that gave me relief. At least she was being entertained by someone.

"Well, thank you for the assist. If you need to get back to Selena, I'm cool out here by myself."

"She's all right." Cheyanne replied quietly as she relaxed further in her seat.

We got a new round of drinks and ended up staying out there, talking for hours. Dru had come back, leaving Andrea at the hotel. Jasmine had left with the man she'd met and gone back to the hotel. Somehow, Dru and Selena sparked a conversation that led to them walking the boardwalk… and I got to spend a Saturday with my favorite girl.