Due for Love Read online

  But she wanted him to say more.

  She wanted to hear that voice again.

  That deep, low rumble that made the hairs on her neck stand up.

  “What’s your name, beautiful?” He continued finally, nodding his thanks as the bartender placed his drink in front of him.

  “Serenity. Serenity Pearson. You are?”

  “Keith Stone.” Keith extended his hand in her direction, and the moment she placed hers inside he pulled her closer, kissing both of her cheeks. “Pleasure to meet you, Serenity.”

  “You as well, but I… I shouldn’t be here.”

  Serenity jumped down from her seat, but before she could walk away Keith’s arm was wrapping around her stomach and keeping her in place.

  “I just got here. Why are you leaving so soon?”

  Even with him sitting down, he still had to lower his eyes to look at her. Was he that tall, or was she that short? Probably a mixture of both since she was only five-foot-one.

  “Because I shouldn’t even be here.”

  “Why not? Sit down and tell me about it.” Serenity looked from Keith to the bartender. “I’m a total stranger in a bar that you’ll probably never see again. What harm could it do?”

  Keith smirked before taking a sip of his drink. Returning to her seat, Serenity worked up the nerve to spill her guts to Keith. She started from the beginning, telling him about how her and Jamere met close to two years ago. For about two months they dated as friends before making things official. When they did make things official, the pair became inseparable.

  In the beginning… it was perfect.

  As it usually always is.

  On their one-year anniversary, Jamere proposed, and the title of fiancée brought on more drama than Serenity was prepared for.

  Still, she stuck it out, because there was always something with every relationship, right?

  For the past six months she’d prepared for what was supposed to be the wedding of her dreams. But the closer it got to I Do Day, the less peace she felt. It didn’t matter how much Serenity tried to drown her doubts out as cold feet they screamed louder. And louder. And louder.

  “So I called things off,” Serenity continued, massaging her empty ring finger. “I’m single for the next 24 hours, then I have to decide if this is what I want or not.” She smiled as she looked over at Keith who was listening intently. “It’s stupid. He had the idea to meet as strangers and act like we don’t know each other. For some reason he thinks that will help me see that love is all we need.”

  “I think that’s a good idea.”

  Serenity rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Of course you do.”

  “You don’t?”

  She shrugged and tapped the shot glass as she thought it through. “I do. I just don’t know if it’s too late. Like, I feel like I’m due for love at this point in my life, and I don’t want to be with a man that can’t give it to me because he has so many other obligations and responsibilities.”

  Keith nodded but remained quiet longer than she expected him to. It wasn’t until he’d finished his drink and she’d taken another shot that Keith decided to speak.

  “Let’s make this interesting. How about you spend an entire 24 hours with a man that’s capable of giving you his undivided attention and whatever else you want and need, then you’ll be able to see if what you have with him is worth it or if you need to let it go.”

  Men and their propositions.

  There was no need for Serenity to even consider his request.

  Just showing up at the bar was more than what she felt she should have been doing.

  There was no way she could go along with any of this any longer.

  “Tonight, we can go over the facts about each other. I don’t think things will get physical, but we can cover sexual health as well. I’ll send you a copy of my license and you can take a picture of my tags before we leave out.”

  “Why? What do you get out of this?”

  The confident expression that Keith had been wearing faded away.

  “Because I’ve been that man that let other things come in the way of love, and maybe I need to experience this myself to learn to value it if I ever have the chance to love again.”

  He seemed sincere enough, and for some reason, her heart urged her to agree. So she did. And they exchanged facts as he said they would. They also made plans for Keith to pick her up at sunrise, and although Serenity had no idea how their 24 hours would end, she most definitely couldn’t wait for it to begin.

  3

  Because sometimes, love is all you want.

  Keith was at Serenity’s hotel room a few minutes before the sun rose. Going to sleep and waking up there was another bitter reminder of the reality of her situation. She’d not only quit her well paying job at FedEx, but she’d also gotten out of the lease for her condo on the river. Because after tomorrow, she was supposed to be starting the rest of her life with Jamere in Virginia, now she had no idea where she’d live, work, or do anything else for that matter.

  Before heading out, Serenity looked herself over in the mirror once more. She was dressed down as Keith told her to in a pair of camouflage leggings and a matching crop top. Her jet black lemonade braids were freshly done, baby hair lying flat. Opting out of wearing earrings, Serenity grabbed her gold chain from the bathroom counter and put it on.

  She’d put just a touch of makeup onto her honey brown skin. No cream foundation, just concealer on two stubborn acne scars that didn’t want to leave topped with powder and setting spray. She did give herself a glow with a touch of highlighter on her brows, nose, and cupids bow. A touch of blush and pink lip gloss completed her simple look.

  Staring into her almond shaped eyes briefly, Serenity considered calling this whole thing off, but when Keith knocked again she inhaled a deep breath and left the bathroom.

  As soon as she opened the door, Keith was taking her into his arms for a much needed hug. “Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted before kissing her ear.

  Her grip around him tightened as she purred, “Good morning, handsome.”

  Keith released her and looked down at the bag by her foot. “Did you pack everything I told you to?” He picked it up with one hand and took her hand into the other.

  “I did. Are you still not telling me what all you have planned for today?”

  “Well, I can’t really say. I’m more so going to go with the flow. I wanted you to bring a few different types of outfits just to be sure you’d be comfortable no matter what we decided to do.”

  That made sense, so Serenity rocked with it.

  They walked outside to Keith’s BMW. He opened the door for her then put her bag in the trunk. Their first stop was breakfast, and per Serenity’s request they went to Waffle House. Keith ordered the All-Star Special while Serenity chose cinnamon raisin toast, cheesy grits, and sausage. While she never finished a whole one, Serenity got a waffle as well.

  “Let’s unravel you,” Keith suggested after they’d placed their orders.

  “What would you like to know?”

  “The things that really matter. What you want and need out of life and your partner. How you want to spend the rest of your days. What your hobbies, dreams, and goals are. What you like and can’t stand.”

  Serenity went down the list, answering his questions one by one. She wanted what she assumed everyone wanted out of life - happiness, success, genuine people in her life. She needed peace, and love, and a legacy to leave behind for her future children and grandchildren. As far as her relationships were concerned, Serenity wanted love, honesty, communication, romance, loyalty, fidelity. A true partner in life. One who was her counterpart.

  “Do you think…” Keith paused and looked toward the sky. “What’s his name?”

  Serenity smiled as she lifted her glass of orange juice to her lips. “Jamere,” she replied before taking a sip.

  “Right Jamere. Do you think he’s your counterpart?”

  Her smile fell slight
ly. This was about truth, and vulnerability, and transparency, right?

  “I did. Sometimes I don’t know anymore. I thought if he was and I was his rib that I would fit him, but it doesn’t seem like I do. I’m nothing like his exes, and I’ve never been the insecure type, but sometimes I wonder if he even really loves me for me and is attracted to me.”

  Keith sat back in his seat and scratched the side of his nose. “For me personally, if I had a type, and all of those relationships failed, I would go after what the opposite of that type was in hopes that it would work. Maybe his type has been wrong for him, and he finally got it right with you.”

  Serenity nodded but didn’t say anything. Silence found them until the food came, then Keith answered the questions and reminded her of the others. She shared with him what her hobbies, dreams, and goals were. How she loved planning parties of any kind and always dreamed of owning her own event planning business. If she could spend the rest of her days making the dream parties of others come to fruition she would have been satisfied.

  “Then your goal should be to open that business up now that you have some free time, right?”

  Keith said it… as if it was that simple. Truth of the matter was…

  “That thought never really crossed my mind. I had my mind set on being a housewife and bonus mom. Now that I’m not sure…” Serenity licked her lips and sighed. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do at this point.”

  “I’ll share with you something that my grandmother shared with me and it changed my life.” Keith placed his arm on top of the table and extended his hand towards her. After she placed her hand inside he continued. “Sometimes, discomfort and pain are the only ways God can get our attention. The only way he can get us to move. While this may not have been the plan you saw for your life, there’s no doubt in my mind that God has you positioned exactly where you need to be. Just trust him and go down the path that gives you peace.”

  After breakfast, they stayed at Waffle House for a couple of hours just to talk. Then, they went to the movies, because Jamere hated going to the movies, and that was something Serenity hadn’t been able to do for a while. So for the next six hours, they bounced from one theater to the next, and Serenity’s heart was overjoyed.

  Not once had Keith been pulled away for a more pressing matter. He wasn’t in his phone every five minutes. And he didn’t wear his boredom on his face the entire time they did something she loved.

  And as happy and content as Serenity wanted to be, she couldn’t help but remember that this was a one-time 24 hour thing. Tomorrow, things would be back to normal. And whether she was with Jamere, Keith, or any other man… real or an extension of Jamere’s imagination… their worlds wouldn’t revolve around her. She realized she needed to be content with what her man gave… just as long as that giving came from a place of sincerity and priority. Because that’s when it would matter most. When it was a choice. When he said no matter what… he was going to make her a priority and give her the love and attention she needed.

  After they left the movie theater, they headed to Shelby Farms. That was yet another thing she’d wanted to do but hadn’t been able to with Jamere. He wasn’t big on being outdoors, so the thought of spending hours riding a boat, horses, or bikes did not appeal to him at all. Keith, however, was down for doing every bit of it.

  “That doesn’t even make sense,” Serenity yelled through her laugh. “You can’t sit there and tell me that Martin and Living Single are even in the same lane. You can’t compare them because they’re totally different.”

  Their conversation stemmed from a post Serenity saw on social media asking which feud was crazier - Max and Kyle’s or Martin and Pam’s. While they agreed it was Martin and Pam because it was mostly sexual tension and physical attraction between Kyle and Max, they didn’t agree on which one was the better show.

  “Man, say.” Keith shook his head as he grinned. “Ain’t no sitcom better than Martin. Period.” Before Serenity could reply, the sound of Keith saying, “Oh shit. They about to get me,” cut her off.

  “What? Who?”

  Keith swerved into the other lane and dipped off onto a side street as police sirens blared.

  “Shit,” he grumbled, increasing his speed.

  “Are we seriously running from the police right now?”

  Serenity looked back as the police car turned onto the same street. Keith made a quick sharp turn before speeding through a neighborhood and coming out on the opposite side of the park. When the coast was clear, he sat back in his seat as if nothing happened.

  “What was you saying?”

  Serenity stared at him before bursting into laughter.

  “Yo. You legit just ran from the police!”

  “I apologize.” Keith chuckled with a shake of his head. “Back in the day I was a little troublemaker. My record wasn’t clean, so I used to run every time they tried to stop me. It’s a habit now.”

  “At least you know the city like the back of your hand now.”

  Keith took her hand into his and kissed it. “That didn’t scare you off?”

  “No. It was actually a little fun. Don’t do it again though.”

  Keith agreed through his chuckle. They made small talk as they drove through the park, parking by a section that appeared to be blocked off for a party.

  “This is our lucky day,” Keith told her as he cut the car off. “We get to crash this family reunion and eat some free food.”

  Serenity’s eyes lit up as she took in the gold cursive written James Family Reunion that was plastered on the white shirts.

  “OMG. I’ve always wanted to crash a family reunion like they did in Poetic Justice! Could this day get any more perfect?”

  She quickly unbuckled her seatbelt as they came up with an excuse as to why they were included in the small handful of people that didn’t have on their customized shirts. Keith played it cool and blended in effortlessly, shaking hands with a few men until he found one willing to strike up a conversation. Pulling Serenity into his side, he introduced her as his woman before placing a kiss to her forehead. She felt herself relaxing into him more, deeply inhaling his scent.

  “It’s family time, baby. Don’t hang under that man for too long,” was said behind Serenity.

  When she turned and saw a group of three older women cheesing at her she smiled. The one she assumed the voice belonged to took her hand as she asked, “Now who you?” And that was confirmed by the sound of her voice.

  “Oh. Um. I’m Serenity. Keith’s date.”

  “Keith?” Her face scrunched up. “We got a few Keith’s but they don’t look like him. Who he belong to?”

  “Uhhh…” Serenity looked back, hoping Keith would save her, but he was too busy laughing and accepting the beer that was being handed to him. “I’m not sure. He told me his parents’ names last night when we met but I was a little… um…”

  “Drunk?” The oldest looking woman out of the trio asked with a smile as she held up her red cup.

  “Just a little tipsy.”

  “That ain’t nothing to be ashamed of, baby. We James’s drink!”

  Serenity laughed, accepting the red cup that was handed to her. She sniffed it but stopped trying to figure out what it was when the woman that had grabbed her told her, “Don’t try to figure it out. That’s got every liquor you can think of inside.”

  She followed them over to their table, where they talked and got to know each other. In no time at all, she began to feel as if she was truly a part of their family.

  Games were played, the music was blasting, and they were cooking up some of the best barbecue she’d ever had before. Eventually Keith stole her away and they danced to a few songs, quietly leaving before anyone could notice. Not that either of them wanted to. But if they intended to ride a couple of horses or do anything else at the park for that matter they needed to get to it before the sun went down.

  The two cups of everything but the kitchen sink liquor that Serenity consumed
had her feeling good. And light. And free. And…

  “I have to pee,” she blurted, using Keith’s hand to lead him over to the restrooms.

  “You want me to come in and help you out your clothes?”

  Serenity blushed as she handed him her purse. “No, but if things keep going as well as they are, you can tuck me into bed later.”

  “Bet.”

  She giggled the entire walk into the restroom. Balancing herself against the walls of the stall, Serenity sang to herself before bursting into a fit of giggles.

  “I’m so happy,” she realized, snatching tissue off the role. “This is all I’ve ever needed. Just… for him… to focus on me. Why is that so much to ask for?”

  But it shouldn’t have been.

  She shouldn’t have had to call off their wedding for Jamere to see that he wasn’t fully taking care of her needs.

  Not wanting her thoughts to ruin her mood, she returned to her singing hoping that would drown every one of them out.

  “Would you like to come in?” Serenity asked, sticking her key card into the lock. “If you have something else to do…”

  “I devoted my entire day to you. I’d love to come in.”

  “I know why you said you wanted to do this, but why are you really doing this? How does this make you want to value love more? It’s been one day. This doesn’t change anything.”

  “It doesn’t?”

  Keith closed the door and leaned against it, as if her answer would determine if he came all the way in or not. Did it? “It definitely changed somethings for me. Maybe you just don’t want to accept that yet.”

  Maybe.

  With a curt nod, Serenity walked down the short entryway hall, telling him to make himself comfortable while she showered. Before getting inside, she checked her phone for the first time in hours, and the numerous calls and text messages about the wedding caused her to power it off. Stepping into the shower, Serenity allowed the steam and heat of the water to relax her. She submerged herself underneath it, as if it would wash away all of her doubts and fears.