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hands still
gripping her head, he said, “This is why I have to leave, and this
is why I can never see you again. Goodbye Sherita.”
    Too stunned to say a word,
she watched him return to his motorcycle, put on his helmet then
drive away, listening as the motorcycle roared off into the
night.
     

CHAPTER 7
     
     
    Desmond woke up Saturday
morning rubbing his eyes, still confused. What was happening to
him? After he’d left in a hurry last night, he came home, took a
shower and continued thinking about her. About the kiss. Thoughts
of her invaded his dreams, forcing him to wake up twice, panting.
Becoming reacquainted with her had been a mistake. Kissing her had
been an even bigger one. He needed a distraction to take his mind
off of her, and it needed to be something drastic.
    He told his brothers he
wanted to postpone his travels for a while, but a getaway is just
what he needed. He was supposed to leave for New York on Monday,
but had made arrangements for Kurt to go instead. Now, he would go.
He would just let Dante know he had changed his mind.
     
    * * *
     
    “ So how did it go last
night?” Emily asked Sherita.
    “ Yeah, how did it go?”
Melanie asked with bright, inquisitive eyes.
    The women were having lunch
at a restaurant a few miles away from Sherita’s
apartment.
    Sherita glanced up at
them. They were both staring at her, anxious for an answer. How did it go? All she
could think about was that kiss. After Desmond kissed her, she had
to touch her lips to make sure they were still attached to her
face. And then there was the fact that he told her he could never
see her again. Emily and Melanie certainly didn’t need to know any
of that. “What were you guys expecting to happen?” Sherita asked
them.
    “ I don’t know,” Emily
said. “One might say they were hoping you and Desmond hit it
off.”
    “ Well, one might be
wrong,” Sherita said. “And I’ve already had the Desmond conversation with you,
Emily.”
    “ Yes, but I still want to
know what happened,” Emily replied.
    Sherita sighed heavily.
“The evening started off rocky. As soon as you guys left, he was
asking me what our baby plans were for the evening.”
    “ Baby plans or baby-making
plans?” Melanie quipped. She, like everyone else, knew Desmond had
a thing for Sherita.
    “ Ba-by plans,” Sherita
clarified. “Later, we got into an argument…well, he said we were
having a conversation…about the fact that he had been avoiding me
for an entire year. We got some takeout, ate dinner together, and
then he told me why he was avoiding me.”
    Melanie leaned
forward.
    Emily’s eyes
widened.
    The women were listening
acutely, waiting for Sherita to tell them what everyone had been
puzzled about.
    “ Before I say a word
more,” Sherita said, “Nothing leaves this table, not even to Dante
and Dimitrius. Got it?”
    “ Yes, now spill it…what
did he say?” Emily said.
    “ He said he’d been
avoiding me because he liked me and—”
    “ And what?” Melanie
asked.
    Almost too ashamed to say
it, Sherita said in a low tone, “He wanted me.”
    “ I knew it!” Emily
shouted. “I knew he was infatuated with you.”
    Melanie giggled. “I knew
it, too. It was so obvious. I’m just surprised he admitted it.
Dimitrius makes it seem like Desmond is some anti-relationship
bachelor who’s incapable of loving a woman.”
    “ And Dimitrius would be
right,” Sherita said. “Desmond proceeded to tell me that he was
ignoring me because he couldn’t give me what I wanted. Said he
didn’t want marriage, children or none of that. Said I wasn’t ready
to be pursued by a man like him, so he stayed away from me more
for my sake
rather than for his own.”
    Emily’s mouth fell open
more than Melanie’s had.
    “ He actually said that?”
Emily asked.
    “ Yes.”
    “ I mean, out loud,” Emily
clarified. “He said that out loud?”
    “ Sure did. Some nerve
right?”
    “ Wow. And I thought Dante
was bold when he wanted to date me.