Trish tried again to call Jay, her best friend, for the sixth time in the past three days. She really wanted to run a few things by her, but like the times before, it had just gone to voicemail. She wanted to fill her friend in on the relationship that she had agreed to let happen, if it was meant to be a little over two weeks now. She was overjoyed over the fact that everything was going so well. Even the kids were happy to be spending more time with his kids. To them, it was just more fun time. There were only a few times while they were out that she heard the voice of doubt spring up, which it did last night at
Red Robin.
He had picked that restaurant for its loud, laid back atmosphere, which allowed for the kids to be noisy. She realized right off the bat that he was using everything to his advantage, and that included their kids. He spent a lot of time talking to the children, getting them involved in the conversation, helping them to connect with one another, and showing her three babies that he was on their level in a lot of ways. Hell, he spent more time with them than he did talking to her one on one. Instead, he brought everyone into the conversation, which made for a loud, silly, animated dinner—which pleased everyone. His plan worked. After their sleepover, it wasn't him, but the kids that insisted that the two families spend time together in the evening, which made them getting together look innocent, and kept the true motive under wraps.
Her hairstylist had actually been focused on the time, so it only took an hour and a half compared to the three hours that it usually did to get her short, asymmetrical bob silken. During her hair appointment, she even had her eyebrows and lashes done. She wondered if he would like her with those enhancements. Of course, she told herself her new love interest had nothing to do with her new desire for her personal maintenance, but she knew it was a lie. Whenever she thought about Brayden, which was often, she experienced the same light-headed feelings every time. The weird thing about it all was that he didn't even seem to be trying that hard, or at least not in the ways that she was used to. There was no flash, no pretending, no expensive dates and gifts, but instead they talked, ate, and worked together as if they had been in a relationship for years. It was so natural, and their conversations were so honest. Trish wanted to test the waters about race. In her book, there was no need to get involved with someone that was insensitive about certain issues.
He suggested that just the two of them sneak away while the kids had their session a few nights ago. She could tell he was doing his best to make her comfortable in the small, intimate Italian restaurant that was just a few blocks away from the gym.
“I don't like sharing your attention with other people when I don't have to. I was hoping for it to be just us tonight,” he stated out of the blue.
“Well, I can't help the fact that that woman keeps looking over here,” she gestured with her head at the other table.
“How do you know that she isn't thinking you look good? She could think we make a nice couple. I don't know why you would care anyway?”
“So you're telling me that it doesn't matter that people look at us?”
“Shit, people look at me even when I'm by myself. There's always somebody looking. That's what eyes are for, Trish,” he chuckled.
“Hmm, but it seems to be a lot more on your side,” she scoffed.
“I find it strange that you didn't notice the black couple giving us dirty looks when we were at
Home Depot
yesterday,” he remarked, a bit annoyed.
The change in his tone didn't go unnoticed.
“They were probably wondering why a fine ass black woman was fucking around with a white man,” she replied with a little attitude.
He ran his fingers through his hair while he tried to calm down. He was getting so tired of her and the race thing. He was starting to doubt that she would ever lay that shit down. Maybe she was just too damn close-minded to make it work. Her fear of what other people were thinking was too much for him to handle.
“I think you fail to understand that there is no master race. Yeah, the powers that be try to make you feel that way, but just because I share the same skin color as them makes no difference. I'm still a piece of shit in their eyes too. Just like people in your race get jealous of one another over silly ass shit, the same thing happens over on my side of the creek. Just like the 'man' does things to hurt and discourage you from fulfilling your dreams, they do the same to me. They bend me over and fuck me in the ass every year, too,” he finished.
Sitting in her car as she thought back to that day, she realized that his answer was truthful. She had worked with and knew whites that struggled just like she had. It was the fact that being with him seemed to be too damn good to be true, and she was looking for something, anything to jump on. He hadn't even tried to pick up from where they had left off that day at her home. After they had talked until the wee-hours of the night, he picked her up, took her to bed, then returned to his bed in the living room. Every time that they were together without the kids, she waited and wondered if he was going to go attempt it, but he never did.
She took out her phone and called her sister. She had to talk to somebody about what was happening, and other than Jay, she knew her little sis could keep her mouth shut.
“What's up?” said Kandace in her husky voice.
“Listen, I've been seeing somebody.”
There was no need to drag it out. Kandace was family, after all.
She could hear her sister get up, walk to a quiet area, and shut the door before she spoke.
“I can't believe it. You like this guy, don't you?” she gushed.
“Yeah, he's different from what I'm used to, you know?”
“Is he good looking?”
“Yes,” she moaned.
“Can he pay his own way?” questioned Kandace, firing off another one.
“Put it like this, he doesn't own just one business, but three large ones.”
“Okay...okay, I'm liking him, so far. What about kids? Does he have those? Then again, fuck that. Shit, you have kids, so that shouldn't matter. So, what's the issue then?”
“Like I said, he's not what I'm used to,” Trish repeated with a sigh.
“So, he’s not a lazy asshole that's jealous of you. He's not like somebody that I will not name. You always had to praise him even though he wasn't about shit? Is that what the problem is?” she asked in a nasty tone.
“I know. I know. I think it's because he's just so perfect, and we haven’t officially had sex yet,” Trish explained, hoping that her sister would switch sides and tell her to run.
“Oh hell, that sex gotta be right or it’s a deal-breaker,” she mumbled. “Then again, he could be letting you set the pace. Have you tried to kiss him?”
“God yes…and it’s amazing. The way he holds me, touches me—shit, and looks at me…the things he says have me about ready to rape his ass,” admitted Trish.
“Well, I say don't walk away yet until you get a taste of the whole buffet,” she laughed. “I got to go, I'm hiding in the bathroom at work talking to you.”
After Trish said she loved her sister, she sat for a few minutes thinking about what her sister said. There was no need for her to continue to fool herself; she was crazy about Brayden, and she wanted to brave the deep waters with him. She smiled when she made up her mind. That night, they had a college board meeting that he asked to take her to. His cousin had agreed to watch their children, so they could both carpool to the meeting. The girl had been an underclassman, but she still remembered her from high school. With it just being the two of them, she was going to see just what his reaction would be. She only had a few weeks until he finished fixing her house. He had already brought up the topic of engagement, which had surprised her. He was serious about not dragging things out between them if they weren’t going to be together for the long haul. The thought of him leaving her to move on with someone else, because she wasn’t open-minded enough to take what he was giving her bothered her beyond belief. She wanted the man. She was hooked.
Happy with her plan, she turned on her white Range Rover
and went about her day. She still had to get the shopping done, pick up her kids, do a homework check, get them and herself cleaned up, and be over to his cousin Samantha’s house by six-thirty. With her mind made up, her day just flew by. She took special care in choosing her outfit that night. She wanted to be tempting, but not too much. She didn't want to make her goal too obvious, but she did want something that made her feel sexy and confident. With a wicked grin, she dug deep and brought out a dress she hadn't worn in a while. It was made of lightweight, coral-colored material that had a sheer overlay on top of the same color; with an added white border that ran along the hemline, it stopped about six inches above her knees. Trish always thought her legs looked nice and she took special care in oiling them up with pure shea butter before she slipped on a pair of coral-colored, open-toed heels that strapped around her ankles.
The Rover pulled up to the corner lot house in the mid-size community right on time. She took note of the fact that there was a white,
S-Class Mercedes
with silver tinted windows parked in the driveway. She figured that this was one of the times that Brayden had spoken of, in which he was ready to flash his status. Like always, the kids were excited about seeing each other, and that took her attention away from seeking him out. She was so focused on talking to Sam, meeting her little girl, checking out the nicely decorated home, followed by laying down the rules to her children, that she hadn't even noticed him. However, he definitely had taken note of her from the second she walked through the door.
His brown eyes looked her up and down lustfully before he realized what he had been doing. She looked too damn good. His hands itched to touch her ass when she bent over to pick up a notebook that had fallen off of the bar stool. The way that the A-line dress hung and swayed with her every movement was alluring, but not slutty, which he liked. He had no idea if she knew that the height of her shoes added a little more of a twist to her already seductive walk, but he picked up on it right away. He always enjoyed watching her walk, but now he was in a trance as he quietly followed her with his gaze. He thought quietly about how he wanted to get under that dress, and inside her so damn badly. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her, but she was so damn hard to read at times, and that fact frustrated him to no end. He heard her call his name. He got his feelings masked before he walked out to greet her.
“I've been here the whole time, but you were too busy running your mouth,” he joked in his deep voice.
Trish jumped at the sound of his voice as she turned to greet him. He was dressed in a pair of dark navy slacks, with a light blue and white long-sleeved shirt. He had rolled the sleeves up and left the first three buttons open at the top of the shirt. She wasn't going to waste any time.
“Hey you, you know, I’ve never understood why men do that,” she declared as she strolled up to him laughing. Without a pause, she reached down, grabbed his hand, and preceded to unroll one of his sleeves. “See, your sleeve is already wrinkled,” she frowned.
For the rest of the ten minutes they were there, she stayed close to his side, laughing, teasing, and touching him whenever she could. It took all he had to play it cool with her being so close, and smelling so damn good to boot.
“Isn't it about time we head out?” Trish asked sweetly.
She wanted to get him alone to really put her plan into action. She wasn't dumb, and had all day to think things through. She was ready. She kept their conversation going as she followed him out of the door. Just like she had predicted, he let her walk out the door first with him following close behind. That way, he could continue to hear what she was saying. He went to the left side of the driveway to go to the passenger side of his car to open the car door for her. At the right moment, she made a quick about-face. Her body collided into a very startled Brayden, just as she planned. His right hand automatically went to her waist.
“Are you alright?” he inquired. His eyes stared at her red glossy lips.
“I'm sorry. I thought I left my phone in the house, but I just remembered putting it in my purse,” she lied.
His hand moved slowly up from her waist to the side of her rib cage. He began to rub his thumb just below her bra with the tip of it catching the underside of her breast.
“I really like this dress. You look and smell so damn good,” he whispered.
She knew that the whole plan was to see what
he
was going to do, and Brayden had done enough. His scent, the sound of his
Barry White
voice, and being this close to him was enough for her. She didn't care that they had been in that embrace for too long now. She didn't care that there were people walking their dogs, watering their lawns, or whatever their reason was for being outside; she wanted to kiss him. She closed the small gap that was between their bodies, reached up, and pulled his face down for her to kiss him.
Brayden didn't need any priming. He was ready. He gladly opened his hungry mouth to let her seeking, greedy, soft tongue in. He stood there and let her set the pace of the kiss, to let her tongue explore and touch the inside of his mouth. It only took a second before Trish felt his cock begin to stiffen against her body. She let out a deep moan at the feel of it pressing against her belly. This was what she was after. This was what she had needed. He was just playing at being a gentleman, but he was really lustful for her, just like she was for him.