Flirt (4 page)

In her bedroom, Chloe opened the shoe box as if there were a treasure inside and displayed the contents to her sister.

“He bought those for you?” Willow asked, wondering how much money transit workers made.

Chloe flaunted the Coach sneakers Trey had given her, then checked her reflection in the mirror. It was amazing what a new hairstyle could do. Trey had also paid for her trip to the hair salon, which had done wonders for Chloe’s already lovely appearance. She felt better than ever.

She smiled at her younger sister. “It’s for my birthday. Twenty-one and legal, baby! Don’t hate!” she teased Willow. “I didn’t think he’d really get them for me, but I’m not complaining. He’s like that all the time. If we go out, I never have to reach for my wallet. He takes care of everything. I love that about him.”

Willow was jealous. “Tell him I’m a size eight and a half.”

Chloe laughed and plopped down on her bed in the room they shared. “I can’t wait for you to meet him. He said he’d be here at four o’clock. And he’s never late.”

Willow looked at the clock and saw that it was close to one thirty. She was eager to meet the guy her sister spoke of so often. It had been close to two months, and Trey was all Chloe talked about. Willow knew that Chloe still talked to and flirted with other guys. But Trey was definitely high on her list of priorities. Chloe always took his calls and took extra time whenever she got ready for one of their dates. Willow hadn’t met a
guy who was worth her time yet. At fifteen, she was going through an awkward phase. She was slightly chubby and had occasional outbreaks of acne. But still, she was a cute girl with a brilliant mind. There were guys in her school who she thought were cute, but none of them seemed to notice her. Willow was enchanted by the whirlwind romance her sister seemed to be involved in with Trey.

“You said that when you met him, he just struck up a conversation with you. What did you have on? How were you wearing your hair? ’Cause guys like that never strike up random conversations with me.”

Chloe smiled at her sister. “It’s important to pay attention to how you wear your hair or how you dress. But guys don’t get as caught up in all of that as women do. It’s all about the vibe between you and him. It’s all about being sexy. Not slutty and easy. Just flirt a little. Flutter your eyelashes, smile, soften your tone. It goes a long way. If you like a guy, you can let him know it without telling him in words.”

Willow was taking mental notes. “So when I meet a guy and I like his style, I should smile at him and hope he gets the message?” Willow frowned. “I don’t think I know how to flirt. I come across like Ugly Betty, and it’s real awkward.”

Chloe smiled. She was definitely the more social one. Willow, on the other hand, was somewhat shy and didn’t really know how to approach the boys she liked. Chloe was the queen of flirtation, and she liked to impart some of her knowledge to her younger sister.

“So, let me guess. There’s a guy you like at school, right?”

Willow smiled shyly and nodded. “This guy named Eric Hall. He is so cute, Chloe! All the girls like him, though, and I don’t know how to get him to notice me when everyone else is trying to get his attention.”

“Okay,” Chloe said. “You have to act like you’re not that into him. Sounds crazy, but it will work. I promise. He’s probably used to having chicks lavish him with attention. They’re probably throwing themselves at him every day.”

Willow nodded quickly. “Yeah! They are! You should see these girls at school. They act like groupies! And he just smiles and loves every minute of it. He sits next to me in my art class, but I don’t know what to say to get his attention.”

“Well, here’s what you do. You’re already halfway there because you’re pretty and you dress nice and you’re a genius! He’d be a fool not to like you. Just step it up a notch. Make sure your lip gloss is popping every time you step into art class. Check your hair in the mirror every time you know you’re going to see him. Make sure you smell good when you’re around him. And flirt with him, Willow.”

“How?”

“Just soften your tone when you speak to him. Ask him for help with things you don’t really need help with. Guys love to feel like they’re teaching us something. Let him think he’s doing that. I’m not saying act dumb. Just let him take the lead sometimes. Become his friend, and as a ‘friend’ ask him if he saw a certain movie or if he read a certain book. Ask him to help you with your art project. Eventually, if he has any sense, he’ll
notice that you’re different from the other girls because you’re not putting yourself right on out there. He’ll respect that, and soon you’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand.”

A knock at the front door interrupted Chloe’s speech. She sprang up from her bed and checked her hair in the mirror. She glanced at the digital clock as she made for the front door. Trey was almost ten minutes early. She got to the front door at the same time her mother did. Rachel smiled at her daughter, who was visibly excited that her new boo was finally about to meet her family.

When Chloe opened the door and ushered Trey inside, Rachel’s smile broadened. He was such a handsome man. He wasn’t a baggy-pants-and-a-do-rag kinda guy like she saw walking around the city each day. Instead, Trey seemed much older than Chloe, not just in years but in life experience as well. His appearance was neat and pressed. He smelled good; his hair was groomed. And when he smiled at Rachel, she felt herself blush.

Chloe introduced him, shyly. “Ma, this is Trey.”

“Hi,” Trey said. “It’s nice to meet you.” He shook her hand, and she noticed that his grip was firm and strong. His hands were hard, presumably from his job in the subway. He looked around the apartment and smiled again. “Your house is so nice. And neat!”

Rachel’s cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. “Thanks, Trey. It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said. Willow cleared her throat, and Rachel snapped out of it. “This is Willow.”

Willow smiled and waved her fingers at Trey. He smiled back and nodded in her direction. “Hello,” he said. “I heard a lot about you.”

Willow forced another smile. For some reason, Willow already didn’t like him. She couldn’t put her finger on why. But something about him made her feel hesitant to welcome him with open arms. Willow figured that maybe it was pure envy, since Chloe was having her socks knocked off while Willow had yet to even be kissed. She brushed off the jealousy as Rachel ushered them into her living room and offered Trey something to drink. He politely declined, and they all sat down.

Rachel wasted no time. “So, Trey,” she began, crossing her legs. “You’re new to Staten Island?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I like it, though. It’s quiet.”

“Where did you live before that?” Willow asked. She was curious as hell about this man Chloe had brought home.

“The Bronx.” He brushed imaginary lint off his shirt and shifted nervously.

“Your family still live there?” Rachel asked.

Trey looked at the floor. “My father does.” He looked up at Chloe and then smiled at Rachel. “I see where Chloe gets her good looks from. No disrespect, but you’re very pretty.”

Rachel felt herself starting to blush again. She thanked Trey for his compliment and cleared her throat.

He looked at Willow now. “You, too. Chloe talks about you all the time.”

“So you work in the subway, huh?” Willow asked.

Again, he nodded. “Yeah. I help maintain the subway tracks
at night. It’s cool. A lot of rats and homeless people. But I’m used to it.”

Willow frowned. Rats made her skin crawl. She looked at Trey and wondered how a guy this cute could have such an ugly job. “You must make a lot of money doing that, since you keep buying Chloe so much nice stuff!”

“What kind of stuff?” Rachel asked, frowning slightly herself.

Chloe shot a glare at her sister. She didn’t want Rachel to know the amount of money Trey spent on her, because she knew her mother wouldn’t approve. Rachel had always lectured her daughters about not letting guys trick their dough on them.
It makes a man feel powerful over you, like he owns you,
she’d always say. Personally, Chloe felt her mother was being hypocritical, since she knew that Rachel accepted gifts from the man she was dating. But out of respect, Chloe had never said that to her mother.

Rachel looked at Chloe, then at Trey, then back again. She looked Chloe up and down and noticed the Coach sneakers she was wearing and the big diamond hoop earrings hanging from her ears. “Did Trey buy you those earrings?” she asked.

Chloe nodded uneasily. “Yes, he did,” she said, sensing her mother’s disapproval.

“And those sneakers, too?”

“They’re birthday presents, Ma.”

“Expensive ones,” Rachel observed.

“She deserves it,” Trey replied, smiling at Chloe and then looking back at Ms. Webster.

“Why does she deserve them?” Rachel asked. “Don’t get me wrong—she
does
deserve nice things—but I wanna know why
you
think she deserves them.” Rachel was really wondering if Chloe was already screwing this boy. And if she was, Rachel didn’t even want to imagine what her daughter was doing to get such expensive tokens of affection.

Trey cleared his throat. “Because she’s a true lady. She was raised well, carries herself like a princess, and so I treat her as such.”

Rachel noticed that Trey was saying all the right things. Still, her intuition tugged at her. “How old are you, Trey?”

“Twenty-seven.”

“I see,” Rachel said simply. The six-year age difference between Trey and her daughter bothered her, but Rachel decided she’d speak with Chloe about that later.

“Trey goes to school part-time at BMCC. He’s studying psychology.” Chloe smiled proudly as she said it.

Trey simply nodded in agreement.

Rachel raised an eyebrow, impressed. “Psychology is a very interesting field of study.”

He nodded again. “It is. I like it. It’s interesting to find out what makes people tick. What sets them off and things like that.”

“What sets
you
off?” Willow asked, curious.

“Willow!” Rachel chastised her youngest daughter. “That’s not a polite question.”

Willow couldn’t believe her mother was offended by a simple
question. “What?” Willow asked, genuinely confused. “I just want to know what kind of guy he is.”

Trey smirked. “It’s okay,” he said. He looked at the teenager. “I’m no different from anybody else, really. We all have things we dislike about people. But I’m pretty normal. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Chloe shot her sister another evil look, and Willow shrugged. She was just being protective of Chloe. She loved her sister and wanted to make sure this guy was worth her time. He answered all the questions right, he wore the right clothes, bought her sister the right gifts. But she wanted to make sure he wasn’t too good to be true.

Willow decided on a softer approach. “So, what do you do for fun?” she asked.

Trey smiled and looked at Chloe. “Well, lately Chloe takes up most of my free time. Between my job and my classes, there’s not much time to do too much else.”

Rachel nodded. “Well, it seems like the two of you really enjoy each other’s company. I think that’s great. But just try not to move too fast. Things can get complicated if you do.”

An awkward silence followed.

Chloe cleared her throat. “Okay, well, we have reservations for dinner. We need to leave so we’re not late.” She stood up, and Trey happily followed suit.

Rachel stood as well. She walked over to Trey and shook his hand. “It was very nice to meet you,” she said. “You’ll have to come over and have dinner with us soon.”

Trey smiled, relieved that his meeting with Chloe’s family was finally over. “Thank you,” he said. “I’d like that.”

Willow watched in silence as Chloe and Trey left. She couldn’t wait till she could meet a guy who would lavish her with designer clothes and sneakers, days at the hair salon, and expensive dinners. Some girls had all the luck.

“So,” Trey said as he sat beside Chloe in the taxi zipping through the streets of Manhattan. “What did you do today?”

Chloe shrugged. “Nothing, really. Just hung out with my friends for a little while—that’s about it.” She left out the fact that she’d spent part of her afternoon getting her back dug out at Jason’s place.

Trey stared at her for a long time, but said nothing.

Chloe looked at him and tried to think of some way to change the subject. “Well, now that you’ve met my family, tell me about yours.” She was eager to meet Trey’s folks, curious to see his old neighborhood.

Trey shifted in his seat. “What do you wanna know?”

“I don’t know. Do you have any sisters or brothers?”

He shook his head. “Nah. I’m an only child. I always wanted a brother or sister. I used to be jealous of kids who had siblings to chill with. Like you and Willow, for instance. You two seem real close. Y’all look out for each other.”

Chloe nodded. “I love my sister. She’s a pain in the ass sometimes, but we’re very close. She listens to me and she looks up to me.”

“That’s wassup,” Trey said. “It’s good that she has somebody she can talk to when she has to deal with the shit teenage girls go through. Having you around should help her avoid some of the bullshit.”

Chloe nodded. “I can’t believe how many of the kids she went to junior high with are pregnant or have kids already. It’s fuckin’ sad. I’m just happy that shit hasn’t happened to her.”

Trey smiled at her. “That’s ’cause she has you to keep her on track. You’re in school, focused on your future. That’s a good look. You’re a good example for her.”

The driver pulled up in front of the pricey restaurant, and Trey paid the man. She looked at him and smiled, proud to have a guy like Trey in her life. This was how it was supposed to be—the way women were supposed to be courted. He was so mature, and being with him made her feel more grown up. They ate dinner, made small talk, and laughed together. They had a beautiful night. When it was over, Trey once again footed the bill, and they headed back to Staten Island. On their way back to the ferry terminal, Chloe let Trey’s hands roam up her skirt and underneath her blouse in the backseat of the taxi. She wondered for a moment if the driver knew what they were doing in his cab. But as Trey fingered her and stroked her breasts, she forgot all about the driver. She rubbed him through his pants and then unzipped his pants and pulled it out. He had a big, beautiful dick, and she was impressed.