Dirty: Loving Him Against All Odds

by Christine Gray

  “Nobody said that. It’s just the kids—” she tried to explain, but he cut her off.

  “Our kids already know about us, Trish. They're just waiting for you to admit it,” he stated matter-of-factly.

  For the first time, she realized that he wasn't just selling wolf tickets. He was serious. She cursed the butterflies that had started up in her stomach.

  “Although I’ve never gotten this far with another man, this isn't the first time that I was digging on someone only for it to fall apart,” she confessed.

  “And why do you think it did?” he asked, although he already had a good guess why.

  “Shit, I don't know,” she cried.

  “I can tell you why. It's because you’re a strong woman that doesn't take shit from a man. You make your own money and you make your own way. They don't understand that it’s a blessing to be with you. What you fail to see is that I don't want to dominate you in your life, just in the bedroom. I don't need you eating out of my hand to feel worth something. Actually, I want you to succeed because that's a help to me. That's what that weak, punk ass of an ex-husband of yours could never see,” he paused as he touched her bottom lip with his thumb. “I want you to upgrade me, Trish,” he whispered while he gazed into her eyes.

  Who is this man? She was in pure awe. It was as if he had read her deepest desires. Could he really be a demon? However, the heat she was feeling from his body let her knew that he was all man.

  Well, he did say no games, she reminded herself.

  She opened her mouth and then closed it a few times as she thought of the right words to say.

  “The kids and I are going to my parents for a visit. Would you—”

  “Yes,” he said happily, not giving her the chance to finish her statement.

  The smile she gave him made his heart skip a beat, causing the muscles in his stomach to contract, and his sleeping cock to fill again with life. This time when he kissed her, it wasn't playful. His hands came up to keep her head in place as he rolled her over onto her back. He kissed and licked her until she couldn't contain her desire. It didn't matter what he did—from sucking her breasts, kissing her lips, touching her body, licking or fingering her pussy, to the words he whispered—he was a master at it. She gladly welcomed him into her body as their lazy morning was finally on its way.

  Chapter Eight

  A few hours later, he pulled out of the drive-thru and handed her the bag of food he bought for the children. They both had been on their phones since getting in the SUV as they tried to figure out what happened on their different jobs sites. They both stole glimpses of each other and marveled at how professional or knowledgeable the other was in their own area. He came to admit that besides the recent mistake she made with her latest purchase, she knew what she was doing. She asked all of the right questions. She was firm in her decision-making, yet respectful. She seemed to have a good relationship with the people she dealt with. A few times, he heard her pause to scribble figures down on her pad in her attempt to decide the right course of action, only to tap him on the leg and ask for his advice.

  She had no way of knowing just how good that made him feel. He would put his person on hold, listen to her, ask a few questions, and then give her his advice on the matter. Most of the times she was happy with what he said, but if not, she would press him for more information as to why until she understood. She was like a sponge that wanted to learn more so that she could be better at what she did. She had a vision in mind, and she was willing to work hard to obtain it. It only confirmed once again that she would be an enhancement to him.

  Being together to pick up their children from their different schools was a clear statement that they were a couple. Brayden made it very clear that he wasn't worried about his two, but if he was there to retrieve her three, it was saying something for them. The possibility of becoming a blended family was the main draw where they were concerned. He still wanted her two sons and her little girl to see him treating their mother as a respectful woman.

  When they went to the park to eat, he held her hand. When he looked at her, he did so in a way that communicated to the children that he had feelings for Trish. He teased her, and told them stories about their days in high school to let them know that he had a history with her that went beyond the short time that he had been in their life. Everything he did that day was in a way to set the tone of what was to come for their children, and he knew that they caught each and everything he did and said.

  With that checked off the list, all he had to do was meet her family. He smiled when what he wanted to do was laugh. The weekend just couldn't come fast enough.

  **

  The morning was shaping up to be a good one. Trish and her kids arrived at Brayden's house right on time. He had been standing in the driveway, shirtless, as he wiped down another white vehicle of his.

  “I thought we were taking my car,” she teased as she hopped out of her SUV. She had known that he was going to be pulling out all his tricks to make his first impression a good one, but she had no idea that they were going to be traveling in a Mercedes G-Class SUV.

  “Did you think I was going to be pulling up to visit your family in your ride?” he huffed as he high-fived her sons and picked her daughter up, giving her a sloppy kiss.

  “By the way, you should put clairvoyant on your list of trades,” he teased.

  He opened the vehicle, pulled out his shirt, and put it on. He walked over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

  “Calico was in labor. She woke Andreas up screaming in pain. If you let him tell it, the baby’s head was hanging out,” he chuckled. He paused, took out his phone, and swiped through it until he found what he was looking for. “Their baby girl, Neoline, was born late last night. Her name means born before Christmas in Italian.”

  Trish took his phone and began to oh and ah over the chubby, olive-toned baby with a head full of light brown curls. Andreas held her in his muscular arms in the photo with a goofy, toothy grin on his face. She began to laugh when she took note of the sleeping Calico in the background.

  **

  They were on the road soon after toward Decatur. He had already taken his children to his parents' home the night before. She glanced down and laughed at the silly comment that her sister Kandace texted back. Trish had given her family the heads up about Brayden, and now they were all on high alert awaiting their arrival. She was still nervous about how they would feel meeting him, and him being white. It was a standing comment in her family about why the good black guys seemed to go white while the women were left out in the cold. Now here she was, bringing a white guy of her own home; not to mention that her two older brothers were just assholes to begin with that took pleasure in teasing her.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Brayden asked as he stole a glimpse of her while she checked her face in the mirror and reapplied her make-up for what seemed to him to be the tenth time.

  He was nowhere near as nervous as she obviously was. Sure, he knew the importance of getting along with her family, but in his opinion, he couldn’t really care less if they took to him or not. It was not them that he would be living with and fucking. Just as long as Trish, him, and their kids were fine, he could tolerate the few times she would go back home to visit. He felt the same way when it came to her concerning his family.

  He followed her directions and turned onto Ridgeland Avenue, and pulled into the driveway of her childhood home. He remembered the home, but over the years they had repainted the house, making it more modern and up-to-date. Trish waited until the kids ran up into the house before she looked over at him.

  “I just wanted you to know that I'm my own woman.”

  His gaze fell upon her lips. He leaned over to give her a kiss. She watched as he got out of the SUV, walked over to her door, and opened it. She took his hand, and felt his warmth and confidence flow from him into her own body. This would be the first time she had brought a man into her parents' home since George, her ex. Like always, th
e house was filled with loud voices. No one in her family ever spoke normal, but chose to shout instead of using inside voices.

  They were all assembled and after a quick greeting to her, they all went in on Brayden. She tried her best to run interference, but they just pushed her to the side to have a look at him. It only took them a few question before they realized just who he was. They laughed and teased about the person he was in school compared to how he had turned out. Unfortunately for them, he wasn't going to let them have the upper hand. He had no problem turning the tables back on each one of them as he retold a few stories of his own that had everyone cracking up.

  “So, you own construction companies?” Trish's father asked while he sized him with his gaze. He had been watching the young man closely from the second he had entered the house. He had to be honest that he had mixed feeling about meeting the boy, but after seeing him, his fears were starting to fade away. He was happy to see that the man still had his own identity and wasn't one of those wannabe gangsta white boys that thought they were blacker than black.

  “Yes, sir. I know my way around a job site,” chuckled Brayden, putting it lightly.

  “Good, then come on out here and have a look at this porch. I tell you, my sons don't know what the hell they're doing. The damn thing looks worse now than before they started messing with it. Come on…you too, boys. You might learn a thing or two from watching him,” her father grumbled as he waved his hands and started walking through the house toward the French doors that led to the back porch. Everyone laughed at the way the old man called out his sons.

  “Where's Phylis and Kendra?” asked Trish after she heard the door close.

  “You know how those two like to create drama, so I told the boys to make them keep their trifling selves home. This is family business,” answered her mom quickly as she glanced over her shoulder. “Honey, that's one fine ass man. I'm sorry, baby. But I gotta say it. I hope he didn't notice how hard I was staring,” she said as she threw up her hands.

  “You, shoot…I didn't even care if he did notice...and he has three businesses, and you know I saw what you drove up in. I hope you mess this up because I'll fight you for him,” her sister joked.

  “Do you think Daddy likes him?” asked Trish.

  “Oh, he likes him; if he didn't he wouldn't have taken him outside. He's probably out there trying to get him to do some cheap labor while he's feeling him out to see what the boy wants out of you. You know how your dad is,” replied her mom.

  “Well, he says he wants to get married,” admitted Trish, and she watched as both her mom and sister freeze in amazement.

  “How the hell did you manage that?” questioned Kandace, seriously.

  Trish started from the beginning and told them about their first meeting, the trip out to her money pit of a house, and his offer to help her in exchange for an honest try at winning her over. She retold their dates, how he treated her kids, how he came to be a father and spared no detail of why, and how well their first sexual experience had turned out. By the time she was done, her mother and sister were laughing and had fallen in love with Brayden.

  “Now that's a man, baby. He probably has been with so many females that when he saw you, he was hooked and was ready for a lasting relationship. It's just like I've always said, it doesn't take that long for a man to know if he wants you or not,” her mom remarked as she got up from the table to answer the knock at the front door.

  Trish and Kandace both sensed there was something wrong when they couldn't hear their mom talking anymore. They had just gotten to their feet when the tall, slightly overweight man entered the room followed by their mother. It was obvious that she had tried to get rid of him with no luck.

  “What the hell you doing here?” asked Kandace before Trish could ask the question.

  “I'm here to see the kids.”

  “That's a fucking shock when you never cared to be home to see them before,” her sister spat.

  “How did you know I was even here?” was what Trish wanted to know.

  “Kendra called me,” he answered with a smirk.

  “Like I said, trifling,” her mom mumbled as she walked around her ex-son-in-law and sat back down at the table.

  “Yeah, she also told me about your white boy, too. Was it that bad that you had to go there? I never did that to you.”

  “No, you didn't. I can say that all the hoes you cheated with were all black. Thank you,” she replied dryly. “They're out back with the others,” she added.

  They all pretended to go back to talking. After he went outside, they rushed over to the window to crack it open to listen as they peeked through the blinds.

  Her father and brothers had already finished playing fierce protectors as they asked Brayden their questions, which he knew they would. The messed up woodwork on the back porch was just their excuse to get him outside. Brayden had listened respectfully to her family as they told him what they expected; then they had switched to asking him their own questions. He didn't back down as he told them his true intentions of convincing her to make things more permanent. He let her father know that he didn't want to date her for a long time; getting the children attached to each other only to break up later was not his desire.

  “So how quick are you talking?” her brother, Derrick, asked.

  “As soon as I can get her to say yes, which I'm working on. I've been very clear with Trish from day one that I want her.”

  After everyone had completed their line of questioning, they turned their sights on the project. The laughter began up again, only to stop at the sight of her ex, George, walking outside. Brayden could tell instantly that there was no love left for the man.

  “Why you here?” snapped her father.

  “I'm here to see my kids,” he answered, even though his eyes were on Brayden.

  “They're over there in the play house,” her father gestured to the tall building that sat in the middle of the large backyard.

  George didn't move, but continued to stare Brayden down.

  “So, you're the new one, huh.”

  “New one? Shit, you make it seem as if she's been sleeping around. Hell, you were the one that was sticking your pecker in every hole out there,” the old man hissed hotly.

  Brayden couldn't help but smile at the old man's frankness. He was hoping that the no good asshole would just do what he said he came to do and leave. However, everyone knew that this was why he was here. It wasn’t for his kids that were watching in the distance. Brayden had to remind himself that this man was and would always be Trish's kids’ father. It was their decision to cut the fucker out of their lives, not his.

  “I'm sure you remember me, we went to school together,” stated Brayden calmly.

  “Oh, I remember you. And you had a sister, too, an underclassman. Yeah, I remember her alright,” moaned George slowly as he licked his fat lips. “How is she now?”

  “She's on dope. She just could never seem to get over what happened to her at the senior skip party, no matter how hard we all tried to help her.”

  “Shit, yeah, I remember that. Damn, something like that fucked her up that bad?” he teased with a toothy grin on his face, flashing the gold teeth in his mouth.

  “Hell, I guess so. But we can call it even now. You and your friends gangbanged my sister, and now I'm fucking your ex-wife. You're a fat ass, deadbeat that couldn't go pro, while I'm the rich white man that’s going to take your family.”

  Everyone within earshot of Brayden's comment froze.

  "Oh, sweet Jesus," Trish's mother's voice could be heard through the door.

  Her eyes darted to look at Trish. A sickened expression came over her daughter’s face.

  It all makes sense, the voice in her mind cried.

  Her mind kicked into overdrive as she began to rewind every conversation, every touch, every meeting. She felt her feeling of shame return a thousand fold, but this time it brought another feeling it. She felt like a damn fool. He didn’t really wan
t her. It wasn’t his desire to get with her, to be with her, to love her as he said since day one. It was just a set-up to turn her head over heels in love with him and fuck her, just so he could get back at her ex for what his nasty, broke down ass did to his sister.

  “Did he just say that? Damn, he ain't scared," Kandace whispered.

  For the first time, George had second thoughts about coming over to start trouble. The man wasn't reacting like he thought he would upon seeing him. He didn't even seem to care that he was there at all. He took note of Brayden's state of fitness while he had let himself go, not to mention her two brothers and her crazy ass sister that was still in the house.

  “Well, you can have her dried up cunt. Shit, she's the reason why I didn't go pro. Now she thinks she's the shit cuz she's gone and got herself a white boy. Fuck it, you can have all of them...her and the kids. She already got them walking around here thinking they're better than everybody and shit,” spat George.

  Brayden bit the bottom of his lip to keep from saying something. He didn't want to make the scene even worse for the children as they looked on while their father cursed their mom and said he didn't want them.

  “Get the fuck out of my house before I get my gun!” Trish's father shouted as he pushed George toward the door leading back into the house.

  Brayden glanced over his shoulder and demanded the kids to stay outside as he followed close behind the old man with her brothers following behind him.

  Brayden knew that it was only words that George was saying. He knew that he couldn't change what happened to his sister, or all things that caused her to lose her actual mind, but the look on Trish's face did something to him. While George was in mid-sentence, he walked up to him. He landed three hard punches to his mouth and face. Blood flowed like a stream onto tile flooring as it ran from his nose and mouth.