All I Want... Is You (7 page)

Knowing Brian, Tracie was probably in his car, halfway to Buckhead by now.

“I’ll tell you what, I’ll search the grounds and see if they’re anywhere close, you try her on her cell and I’ll try Brian and we’ll go from there.” I suggested before I got up from my seat to head toward the house.

I slid my cell open and called Brian. I already knew the answer I was going to get, but I needed confirmation.

“Yo, D, sorry I split on you back there, but Tracie wanted to see the studio and all.” Brian didn’t miss a beat the minute he picked up the phone, as if he was expecting me to call.

“You could have given me the head’s up, bruh,” I snapped back. “Are you rolling back here so Tracie can take Cori home?”

The answer to my question came in the form of inaudible moans and screams coming from Tracie.

He was still in his car, I could tell from the background noise, so I already knew the answer to my other question.

“Alright, bruh, this shit ain’t fly. You better hope that I can calm her group mates down.” I scolded.

“I got faith in you, playa. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to blow this bitch’s back out and get it all on tape at the studio. Peace.” Brian said as he cut the call before I could say another word.

I just shook my head and started back toward where I left the girls, trying to figure out what type of spin to put on this bullshit.

Toni found me before she went off with the dude that she was spending time with, I forgot his name, but it didn’t matter, though. If dude lasted until morning, he might last another week before he gets tossed to the side. Toni’s only 23, and she really didn’t need to settle down, and she knew that already. We kicked it back in high school, even were in a relationship for a minute when she graduated, but she’s my best friend now. Sometimes, things work out for the better in ways that you never really think about at the time.

“Are you covering for me tonight?” Toni asked me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ve gotta fly down to Miami for a shoot this week, and I need to get some sleep.”

I figured I was good to go to do that. I assumed that Kyra or Candace took a separate car, so Cori could leave with them and they could make sure she got home safely. Mr. Richton was always cool with me spending the night on occasion, especially after the parties were over and he didn’t want to have me drive home after putting in work. I love that old man like my father sometimes.

“Go get some rest, baby girl. I’ll get rid of the crowd in a little while.” I replied, getting my hug in before she headed into the house.

I turned my attention to figuring out what to do about Tracie and smoothing things over with the girls. I figured that playing dumb might be the best move, so I walked over to where they were sitting and asked, “Any luck getting in touch with Tracie?”

Kyra shook her head and replied, “She and Brian left almost thirty minutes ago, Derrick.”

“Yeah, and the trick took my keys, so I can’t even drive home tonight.” Cori stated. I saw the irritation evident on her face, and her eyes gave me the impression that she’d been drinking more than she should have been.

This was going to put a crimp in my plans.

I cursed Brian for putting me in this position, and all for some easy pussy. Damn.

I knew Cori wasn’t going to leave her car in a strange place. Hell, I wouldn’t leave my baby, either.

Kyra and Candace taking Cori home complicated things because Kyra drove a convertible to the house, which was only big enough for her and Candace, so I had to make a judgment call that would at least temporarily solve things until morning.

“Kyra, you and Candace can go home. I’ll make sure that Cori is taken care of, okay?” I offered to them. I knew it was a long shot, but it was the only way that I could cover all my bases. “She can take the spare bedroom that I usually crash in.”

Kyra gave me a look as if she thought I was a serial killer for a minute. She looked over at Cori, who nodded that she would be okay with me.

“Alright, D, I’m gonna trust you with my girl. But you better not try no funny shit, understood?” Kyra locked eyes with me, trying to sound like the mother-figure of the group.

“No worries, Kyra. I don’t think I ever want to be on your bad side.” I joked, which got a smile from Kyra before they left.

“I hope I haven’t put you out too much, Derrick.” Cori said to me as she closed the distance between us.

The truth was, I didn’t want the night to end, at least not yet. It was crazy to sound like that, but the vibe was beginning to intensify between us, I could feel it.

She could feel it, too. Her body language showed.

“It’s okay, Cori, I have a run of the house, so what I can do is let you have the room that I normally crash in and I’ll sleep in one of the spare bedrooms downstairs.” I responded, trying to keep myself honest.

“But, what if I don’t want you to leave?” Cori suggested, getting even closer, enough to feel the heat on her skin.

That made my manhood twitch.

My mind’s eye flashed forward to an image of her, completely naked, motioning her finger for me to come inside and feel the softness of her thighs, among other things. It was an image that was hard as hell to shake, and the fact that Cori suggested that I stay in the room with her seemed almost too good to believe.

Then I remembered that she had been drinking a lot tonight.

There was no way in hell I was going to take advantage, only to have her not remember a thing in the morning.

That’s not how a real man behaves.

I was about to answer her question when she stumbled into me, which sealed the deal. She needed to hit the sheets and sleep the buzz off.

“Okay, Cori, we’re going to the bedroom now, you’re definitely not yourself right now.” I ordered, wrapping my arm around her waist to walk her to the bedroom in the house. Her legs seemed to betray her the more we walked, so I lifted her into my arms and carried her to the bedroom before she passed out.

Her moans and coos in my ear were going to be the death of me, and my body betrayed me with each sensual gasp that escaped from her lips. If I was being tested or this was supposed to

prove my virtue, I didn’t know if I would fail miserably or not.

I finally got her in the bedroom that I normally sleep in, laying her down before pulling the covers back on the other side of the king size bed so that I could get her under the covers.

“Mmmm… stay with me, Derrick. I don’t want to sleep by myself tonight.” Cori slurred. Her eyes weren’t anywhere near clear, and she stared through me, not at me.

“Cori, I’m going to sleep in one of the other bedrooms.”

“Why, don’t you want me? You know I want you. Please, D, stay with me.” Cori was pouring it on thick, and I really, really wanted to break my promise that I wouldn’t touch her.

I shook off my haze and repeated, “Cori, just go to sleep, I’ll be here in the morning.”

I leaned down to give her a hug. I don’t know why I did it; she was in my arms the whole way to the room. The way she felt in my arms was nothing short of bliss. It was the kind of feeling that you never wanted to break free of, and you would fight tooth and nail to keep around you no matter what.

No matter how much I desperately wanted to let go, my body had stronger intentions to keep it held and locked away for its own selfish intentions.

Cori mercifully fell asleep while I was at war with myself, and I simply slipped the covers over her and walked out of the room.

I made my way back to the spare bedroom after clearing out the last of the partygoers. I was in desperate need to calm down, and I willed my body to not betray me, but the storm was coming, and there was no stopping it once the thunder began to roll.

By the time I made it to the bedroom on the main level of the house, I wanted to hit the shower, anything to calm down. Once I got into the room, I saw the bed and felt it was best to crash. I had a shoot to do in the morning anyway, so whatever my body wanted, it was going to have to wait until tomorrow, I guess.

I cursed out loud because under normal circumstances, I would be in Toni’s room right now, waking her up to wear her out so that I could get some sleep. Instead, I figured it would be a bad idea, considering the one I really wanted was sleeping off her buzz.

I stripped before I knew it, and I kept moving before I changed my mind. The pillow met me before I knew it, and I prayed for a dreamless sleep.

~Cori~

I think it took me a couple
of minutes to realize that I was not at home in my own bed.

I don’t keep satin sheets on my bed.

Damn, a sistah could get used to sheets when they feel like this, though.

I started to sit up in the bed, and that’s when a slight headache reminded me that I’d drunk a little too much wine last night.

God, what did I do last night?
I asked myself as I took quick notice of my strange surroundings. I didn’t even remember walking into this room, much less how I got in this bed.

I slowly slid the covers off me, noticing that my dress was still on my body.

I tried to backtrack as best as I could, and the last thing I remembered was being pissed at Tracie for taking my keys and splitting to get broke off with a dude that she barely knew.

Once I got that out of the way, I still had yet to solve the question of how I got up here last night.

After finally seeing the RP Records plaques on the wall, the answer became obvious.

Derrick.

He must have managed to get me up here last night.

All that did now was cause other questions to pop up in my head.

Did I fuck him last night?

And if I did, why didn’t he at least have the decency to stay until morning, or wake me out of the haze I was in to let me know he had a good time, or something?

The answer to my question, if I had bothered to take the sheets and comforter off of me, came in the form of the outfit that still clung to my body, except for the heels I wore.

Okay, Cori, think.

What the hell happened, or didn’t happen last night?

If I didn’t fuck him, did he leave me here because he didn’t want to be around a dick-tease?

Where in the world was Derrick Morrow?

I went to reach for my cell phone to call Kyra when I noticed a note on the nightstand addressed to me. I picked up the note, almost too scared to read what was inside.

Hi Cori,

I looked up from the note with some relief. At least I hadn’t screwed everything up completely. I looked back down at the note to finish what Derrick had left me.

We never got a chance to sit and talk to get to know each

Derrick

I was speechless.

If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have sworn that Derrick was trying to impress me.

He succeeded.

But I’m not telling
him
that.

I managed to pick up my cell phone to get an idea of what time it was so I could figure out how to hastily plan my day and then try to call Derrick back to get together.

“
Did you have fun at the party?”

Toni found me trying to get my bearings in this house. I almost wanted to ask for directions the way I felt.

“Yes, I had a lot of fun, thank you for having me and the rest of the group.” I replied, returning the smile that she greeted me with. “I was trying to figure out where the kitchen was. Derrick left me a text message saying he left breakfast for me.”

“Yeah, that sounds like D, alright,” Toni grinned. “There must be something about you for him to go through all this.”

What’s that supposed to mean?
, I thought to myself as she led me to the kitchen and took out the breakfast platter that Derrick had left for me.

I began to quickly understand why she said what she said.

Fresh fruit and crepes…

Bacon and eggs…

Pancakes and coffee…

For a minute there, I thought he was trying to give me a hint. It’s not like I’m skinny or anything, I got enough thickness in these hips of mine to give him a run for his money.

Toni just leaned against the island in the middle of the kitchen, studying my reaction to everything.

“Let me guess, he does this with every woman that he brings to the house?” I assumed based on her expression that she’d done this before.

The look on her face told me different.

“Actually, I haven’t seen him go all out for a woman like this in quite a long time,” Toni answered, taking a bite from the croissant that she’d warmed up. “Not since his last girlfriend, and that was over three years ago when he did that.”

So, that’s why she’s wondering what’s going on
, I thought again. I figured at that point it might have been to my advantage to get a little closer to Ms. Toni Richton.

“I hope you don’t mind me being such an imposition in your home,” I didn’t want to forget my manners as we sat down at the breakfast nook to get a view of the backyard. “I am a guest in your home after all, even though my date had to leave me in your hands.”

Toni gestured me off. “Derrick is like a big brother to me, and he’s had run of the house since high school, so, it’s fine. Besides, it gives us girls a bit of time to get to know each other, considering your group may be finalizing things in a little over a week.”

God, I hadn’t thought about it in at least a few hours, so for Toni to bring it up again just had my mind floating again.