If Only We Knew (2 page)

Oh God, what have I done
?

Matt opened his eyes fully, taking her in. Her chocolate leg lay over his, and her arms hugged his chest. He closed and reopened his eyes, looking into the sleeping face of his friend.
Shannon
. Her brown hair was a mess, and her short
petite frame
was hardly covered with the sheets, so he studied her
from her round, tight ass to her big breasts.
Damn, she’s beautiful.
He g
ot
aroused.
How did this happen?
The memories came back to him, and he smiled for a second until he remembered.
Fuck, we didn’t use protection. Twice.

“
Oh shit, what have I done?”
Shannon lay there, acting as though she were asleep. She’d woken up before him and taken in his lean, muscular body, his slightly aroused long, thick cock. His black hair was cut short in the back and a bit longer in the front, but right now, it was a complete mess. She remembered staring into his green eyes when they’d
commenced
having sex and seeing the desire and fire in them.
Damn, he’s good.

Matt was a dear friend and colleague. Their friendship had started five years before, the day of their employee orientation at their place of business, a major credit union. Shannon had recently been promoted to the VP of Human Resources, and Matt was the VP at the downtown branch. Since then they’d been friends, watching out for one another. He was her run-to person when she needed anything, but now she wondered if it would ever be the same. A tear escaped the corner of her eye.

Matt leaned up, wiping her tear with his index finger. “Shannon.”

“Yes, Matt?” she whispered, opening her eyes.

He gazed
at
her. She could see his guilt.

She grabbed the sheets, trying to cover her body
, and her guilt
. “Matt, you’re getting married in two weeks, and you have scratches on your back,” she said, trying to get up.

“What scratches?”

“The ones on your back.”

“Fuck.” He tried to look over his shoulder. “Well, you have hickeys on your neck.”

“No, I don’t.” She jumped out of the bed and
rushed
to the bathroom to look at her neck in the mirror. “I’m going to kill you, Matt!” she yelled, and walked out of the bathroom in a robe.

He
chuckled
, putting on his boxers. “You marked me.”

“Matt, nothing that happened between us last night is funny.” She
walked over to the chair by the window, and
sat as another tear ran down her cheek. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was there to keep you from doing something stupid. I wasn’t supposed to be the one you did something stupid with.”

“We didn’t set out for this to happen, Shannon. We were fucking hammered last night. I
was
drinking before you even showed up.”

“Being drunk isn’t an excuse.”  She wrapped her arms around her legs.

“I know.” He
whispered

“It never happened,” she said, looking out the window. “No one has to know.”

“I feel like shit right now.” He paused, putting his hands on his face. “I can’t believe I cheated on Karen. She’s fucking pregnant.”

“Thank you for making me feel worse,” she whispered.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel worse, Shannon, but I fucked up. I’ve never cheated on anyone.”

“We both fucked up. You weren’t alone last night. Promise me this won’t change things in your relationship or between us. It was only sex, Matt.”
Best sex I’ve ever had. No. No, don’t. Don’t even think about it.

“It wont change anything between you and me, but I have to tell her.”

“Don’t tell her. It didn’t mean anything,” she pleaded, looking over at him. “Why are you going to break her heart over nothing? She makes you happy. I feel like a whore right now.”

He got off the bed and stepped closer to her, leaning down to cup her face with his large hands.

“Don’t ever say that about yourself. I don’t think of you like that. We made a mistake.”

She looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. “Please don’t tell her. Nothing happened between us. In two weeks, you’re going to get married and be happy.” She looked away. “We will never mention this night again.”

“Okay, Shannon, if that makes you feel better. Nothing ever happened between
us
in this room.” He moved away, and she got out of the chair.

“Thank you.” She
walked
to the bathroom.

Shannon stood outside, on the balcony of the reception hall,
watching
all of the guests. She scanned the room. Looking over to the right by the wedding cake, she saw Matt, his father Javier Johnston, his brother Andrew, and his uncle Victor. They all wore black designer tuxes and had two things in common—they were over six feet tall and they all had piercing green eyes, but the one man she couldn’t keep her eyes off of was Matt.

Memories from their night together c
ame
back to her, giving her goose bumps. He looked stunning in his tux. His black hair brought out his green eyes, and his olive skin color reminded her of his heritage. She smiled, remembering how she loved it when he spoke Spanish to her. He caught her staring and smiled.
She waved
and looked away. A few minutes later, she glanced back. He was talking to his new bride.
She looks stunning
.
She always does
. Karen’s brunette hair was up with a twist in the back. She wore a long, white dress and white heels, standing almost as tall as him.
They make a beautiful couple. I hope she makes him happy.

Shannon’s
sister Sherry sashayed toward her with a drink in her hand, attracting the stares of single men from around the room. The jacket
of her
blue silk pantsuit showed off her cleavage. Blue always made her chocolate skin look radiant. Noticing the attention she drew, she shook out her hair so it settled back into its just-so short bob.

“The ceremony was nice,”
Sherry
said
. “Why weren’t you there?
” She asked, looking in the direction she was looking at.  “
Yes, those brothers ar
e handsome, aren’t they?”

Sh
annon
turned. “I was running late, so we decided just to come here and wait.” She began to admire the garden, ignoring her sister.

“Are you sure you guys were running late? Or maybe Melvin was giving you some of that good loving?” Her sister laughed, taking a sip of her drink.

“I heard my name.” Melvin
Williams
walked toward the balcony with two champagne flutes in his hands. Melvin, an attractive African American, standing at five feet ten inches, was Shannon’s date.

“I was asking my sister why did you guys miss the ceremony? But she gave me some lame excuse.” She winked at Shannon. “Well, see you two love-birds later. I’m going to find my date and get my groove on,” she said, leaving the balcony.

“Melvin, my sister
is just being nosy.” She took
the champagne from his hand and started drinking. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He put his arm around her waist. “When you’re done drinking, can I have a dance?” He kissed her cheek.

“Yes, you may.” She set her glass down on the table and took his
, setting it down too. She grasp
ed his hand and walked into the hall toward the dance floor.

Matt couldn’t stop staring as Shannon walked out to the dance floor. She reminded him of
an
African
princess. Her milk-chocolate skin glowed. Her dress was long, sexy, and backless, hugging her body in all the right places, showing off her petite frame. Her relaxed hair was down to her shoulders in waves.
Stop staring
. He still couldn’t believe the way her body had responded to his that night.

He turned
feeling guilty
when Karen tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the door. “Your mother is here.”

Eileen Phillips was an elegant woman in her late fifties with salt-and-pepper gray hair. She
paraded
into the hall like she owned it, with her date by her side. She wore a purple knee-length dress. Her date was in his forties, with blond and gray hair, wearing a black suit.
Matt disliked his mother’s accountant
.
There was just something off about him,
but it was her life and he wouldn’t
interfere
.

She
stalked
over to Matt and kissed his cheek. “My darling, congratulations.” Then she turned and hugged Karen.

“You finally made it, and I see you brought a date.” He looked at her accountant. “Karen, this is Tom Hunter, my mother’s accountant.”

Tom shook Karen’s hand, staring into her eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Karen. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she said when he released her hand.

Matt
watched
Tom, noticing the odd way the man interacted with Karen. There was something about the way they were looking at each other. He cleared his throat. “She’s already taken.”

Tom laughed. “Matt, calm down. I was admiring your beautiful wife. You’re very lucky.”

“I know,” he said, kissing her.

Matt walked out to the dance floor. “May I cut in to dance with my best woman?” he asked Melvin, smiling.

“Sure, man. Congratulations.” Melvin shook Matt’s hand, kissed Shannon on the cheek, and walked away toward Sherry and her date.

Matt
wrapp
ed
his hands around her waist and thrilled to touch bare skin. “You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered in her ear.

She pulled back, staring at him and smiling. “You don’t look too bad, yourself.”

They danc
ed
, swaying from side to side. Even with her heels on, she only barely reached his chin.

“I had to get away from my mother. Did you see who she brought as her date?” He spun her around so she could see. Matt and his mother didn’t have a relationship. She’d abandoned him and his brother Andrew when they were kids, after she’d divorced his father, and now she wanted a relationship, one he couldn’t or wouldn’t give her.

“Who is he?” she asked, looking over at his mom, Karen, and the gentleman.

“My mother’s younger-than-her accountant.” He spun her back around, trying to forget about his mother. “Why didn’t you come to the ceremony?” he asked her.

“Sorry, Matt. I was running late and didn’t want to interrupt the ceremony, so I decided to wait here,” she answered, looking up at him.

“You’re never late to anything.”

“But Melvin is.”

“So you and Melvin, are things getting serious? Do I hear wedding bells?” He smiled at her, spinning her around again.

She didn’t smile back. “No wedding bells here. Just because you went and got yourself married so fast doesn’t mean I will.”

He slowed down his temp, staring at her. “I got married so fast because
she’s pregnant
and I care about her.” He took a deep breath. “She makes me happy.”
Am I trying to convenience Shannon, or myself?

“I’m happy for you. You deserve the family you’ve always wanted.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Your baby is so lucky to have you as his or her daddy.”

“What about you? Don’t you want a family of your own?”

“Matt, you know I don’t want kids. I’m happy and content with my life. I enjoy my freedom to do whatever I want, when I want, without worrying about someone else.”

“What if the man you’re with wants kids?”

“When I start dating someone, I let them know what I want from the beginning, so there are no false expectations.”

“I guess that’s why we never dated.” She arched a brow, surprised. “Because we’re so different and want different things in life. But I do think you’ll make a wonderful mom, if you ever change your mind,” he said, staring at her.

“If I haven’t changed my mind by now, I won’t, and we never dated because we are friends, and you’re not my type.” She
smiled, putting her hands on his chest
. “I wish you all the happiness, my friend.” She stopped dancing and pulled away. “I have to go.”

He grabbed her hand. “Why? The reception isn’t over yet, and the groom and the bride haven’t left yet.” He smiled.