I was about to start a new life, a new chapter, and surprisingly, I couldn’t wait.
Chapter 32
Skye
“We ask at this time that you turn off all electronic devices. We will be arriving in Atlanta shortly.” The flight attendant’s voice did not soothe my nerves at all. We were actually doing this. I thought I was going to throw up on the way to the airport, but now I thought it actually might happen.
I had really fallen for Trent. He had definitely put in some overtime to woo me. He sent different types of flowers every week to my office, he wined and dined me like no other, exposed me to things like ballets and operas, and he even remembered little things about me, like how I loved chocolate, and made sure I never ran out. Even with all that, nothing could make me want to take this trip.
“Babe, I’m glad you’ve finally agreed to do this.” Trent’s voice had so much sincerity and excitement in it.
“Honestly, I’m scared out of my mind.” I tried to empty out the little bottles of alcohol the flight attendant had brought me over an hour ago, but there wasn’t even a drop left.
“Why would you be scared? I think your parents will love me, just like my folks love you.”
Trent took the bottles, which I was still feverishly shaking up and down on my tongue, and grabbed my hand. His touch always calmed me, and he knew it. I took a deep breath to slow my heart rate down because I could feel my heart jumping out of my chest. Trent stroked my hand and waited for me to say something.
“It’s not you, babe. My parents aren’t the easiest people to please, especially when it comes to me.”
Trent gave me the sweetest smile. It was comforting, and I knew that something profound and genuine was sure to follow. He always gave me that smile to ease my mind of whatever I was stressing about.
“Everything is going to be fine, love. Your parents just want to see you happy. You are happy, right?”
“Of course I am happy with you.” I laid my head on his shoulder and rubbed his arm. He was really an amazing man, but for some reason things never felt perfect.
“Then this weekend will go better than expected.” He gently kissed my forehead before he whispered, “I promise.”
Landing and the baggage claim went by relatively quickly, and it felt so good to be home and breathe Georgia air when I stepped outside. Trent and I had convinced my parents last week on the phone that it would be better for us to rent a car instead of having them pick us up so that we wouldn’t have to bother them for their car all weekend. I really just wanted as much time to prep Trent as I could possibly get. The whole ride from the airport to Sandy Springs, I coached Trent, mainly about my father.
“And make sure you give him straight answers. My father hates it when people dance around a subject.”
“Babe, I think I got it,” he said with a chuckle.
“Trent, I’m serious. My parents aren’t like your parents. It takes a lot to impress them.”
Before Trent could say another word, I turned into our driveway. I had no idea how this would go, but it was no turning back now. I looked into Trent’s eyes, and all I could do was nod my head. I had to get out of the car. At that point I realized I wasn’t afraid of what my parents would think of Trent, but what they would think of me. I was living the life I’d always dreamed about, and I wanted them to be proud of me.
Trent held my hand all the way to the door, and I took a deep breath with every step. I tried to find the key my parents hid in the flowerpot for Simone and me whenever we return home, but the door swung open and my mom came rushing out.
“My baby, my baby, my baby.” She wasted no time wrapping her arms around me and almost squeezing the life out of me.
“Hey, Mom.” I pushed out with as much air as I could muster.
“We are so happy you decided to come home. You look good.” My mother directed her attention to Trent, looking him up and down. My mother and I had always been close, so I knew that look of approval of his appearance.
“You must be Trent. I am so glad we get to meet you. Well, ya’ll don’t stand out there on the porch. Come on in. Skye, I made your favorite meal, so I hope you’re hungry.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. Where’s Dad?”
“Right here.” The strong voice that I knew so well resounded behind us. My father and I had had our differences in the past, but I was very happy to see him, and I found myself leaping into his arms. His hug reassured me that he was happy to see me, too, and that was a good feeling.
“I’m glad you came home, Skye. You’ve been missed.”
I couldn’t even form the words to give him a response. I just smiled and hugged him a little tighter. After we finally let go of each other, he wasted no time turning all his attention on Trent. My father could be intimidating, but Trent looked like he was prepared to hold his own.
“You must be the young man we’ve heard about.” He shook Trent’s hand and tried to size him up.
“Trent Hamilton. It’s nice to finally meet you, sir. You have a lovely home.”
My mother didn’t allow them to chat long before she called all of us into the dining room. My mom went all out for my homecoming. Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, greens, corn bread, and her famous chocolate mousse cake were spread out on the table. Trent was accustomed to catered food and fine cuisine, but he threw down on my mother’s Southern cooking.
The conversation was surprisingly pleasant. We chatted about Trent’s background, his career, his hobbies and interests, and, of course, his religious affiliation. Trent seemed so comfortable around my parents, and it made me see him in a whole different light. Could this man really win my family over?
“Well, son, I must say you seem like a fine individual.” The inflection in my father’s voice told me that the big question was coming up. He was impressed with Trent, but that meant nothing if he didn’t have an honest and genuine answer to why he wanted to be with me.
“What exactly are your intentions with our daughter? That is a very special person you have on your hands, and it takes a strong kind of man to love her the way she deserves to be loved.”
I had never heard those words come out of my father’s mouth about me. It took me by surprise, and when I looked up from my plate, we gave each other such a genuine and loving glance. My father had really changed, and at that moment I didn’t really care what Trent had to say, because the most important man in my life had given me what I needed and wanted all these years.
“Well, Reverend Davenport,” Trent began, breaking my stare with my father. “I care for your daughter more than I have for anyone else before. She is the most amazing woman I have ever met, and my intentions are to be with her as long as she’ll have me.” Trent grabbed my hand and softly kissed the back of it.
That was it. My parents had fallen in love with him. I mean, he was incredible. Handsome, intelligent, wealthy, cherished family and loved me wholeheartedly. What was there not to love? He was the man that women prayed to God for, so why did I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach?
Chapter 33
Skye One Year Later
It looked like my dream was finally going to come true. I had designed enough pieces to do a full show, to have my own line. It had been a few years coming, but nothing good came easy, right?
The sound of the key in the door made me lift my head, but only for a moment.
“Hey, babe,” Trent said as he balanced three brown bags in his hands.
“Hey.” I stayed in place, sitting at my coffee table, with all my sketches stretched out in front of me. I had decisions to make. Which ones should I choose?
With the bags still in his hands, Trent leaned over and kissed my nose, breaking every part of my concentration. I looked up and inhaled his cologne—Issey Miyake, my favorite. Then, when he turned around, I kept my eyes on his butt as he strolled into the kitchen.
Trent was my man—he had been for a year—and it was hard for me to believe that. Not that he
wasn’t wonderful; there was so much to love about Trent. Forget about the fact that he spoiled me rotten with trips and gifts, that he had charmed my parents when we flew to Atlanta to meet them, that he gave me plenty of space to work and pursue my dream. All of that was important, but the best part was that he loved me. I mean, Trent really loved me, and he had from day one.
Which was why I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t love him.
No, that wasn’t quite true. I did love Trent. How could I not? But I wasn’t in love with him. I didn’t have the kind of love where you heard bells ringing or saw fireworks exploding. My love for Trent was calm and constant and lacked the passion that I’d had with Noah.
I sighed and closed my eyes. I got so pissed at myself every time I thought of that man. Why was he still in my head? I mean, a year had gone by and I was so much further along with Trent than I’d ever been with Noah, so why did he still jump into my mind during the most inopportune times?
“Here, babe.” My eyes snapped open, and above me Trent stood, holding a plate packed high with Chinese food. “I bet you haven’t eaten in hours,” he said as if he knew me well.
And he did. “Not since breakfast.”
I took the plate from him, and he returned to the kitchen to retrieve his own. Then he knelt beside me, blessed the food, and we ate for long minutes in silence.
It was so comfortable being with Trent—and this was the thing I had to remember. We fit together. Everyone said so.
“So, how are things going?”
I nodded. “I got a lot done today, but there is still so much to do.”
“Well, I have full confidence that my baby will get it done in a spirit of excellence.”
See what I mean? How could I not be in love with this man? I needed to stop trippin’!
I placed my plate on the coffee table, took Trent’s plate from his hands, and put it on top of mine. Then, right there on the floor, I sat on his lap and kissed him with a passion that I pulled from deep inside of me.
“Wow!” Trent said when we finally pulled apart. “What was that for?”
“For being you.”
He grinned. “I’m a much better me when I’m with you.”
I reached back inside, wanting to say something as loving, as profound as what Trent had just said to me. But when I couldn’t find anything to say, I leaned over and kissed him again.
This was always my answer—if I couldn’t say it, I could show it. I could make love to him all night long.
We pulled away, breathless as usual, and Trent stood, pulling me up with him. We took two steps toward my bedroom, and then a knock on my door stopped us.
I frowned. No one could get inside the building without being buzzed in, so this had to be one of my neighbors. With his arms around my waist, Trent and I walked to the door. I opened it and screamed.
“Oh my God! Simone! What are you doing here?” I yelled at my younger sister as I pulled her into my arms.
“If you let me come up for air,” Simone said, coughing, “I’ll tell you.”
I stepped back, and Simone grinned at me. And that was when I noticed that Jaylen, her husband, was with her. “You better get over here, boy!” I said before I hugged him, too. “Oh, my God!” I said again. “Come in, come in!” I closed the door. “Oh and this is Trent!” I grinned at my sister and brother-in-law. “My boyfriend.”
“I know who he is,” Simone said as she wrapped her arms around him. “Nice to meet you, though I feel like I know you already. You made quite an impression on my parents—especially my mother.” Simone leaned in close, as if she was telling Trent a secret. “You know, she’s already planning your wedding.”
Simone winked, and I rolled my eyes.
Trent said, “Well, she can keep on planning because I plan on making your sister an honest woman as soon as she says yes.”
This was not something that I wanted to talk about, so I introduced Trent and Jaylen so that the men would start talking.
From the corner of my eye, I could see the look on Simone’s face—like she had more questions—but I wasn’t about to let her ask me anything right now.
“So,” I said, leading them both to the couch, “what are you doing here? What are you doing in New York?”
My sister and brother-in-law sat on the couch, while Trent and I returned to the floor.
“Well,” Simone started, “I guess you don’t spend too much time watching those entertainment shows. I’m performing at the Garden tomorrow.”
“What?” Trent and I said together.
“I thought you weren’t coming to New York on this tour?” I asked my sister.
“She wasn’t supposed to,” Jaylen said. “But Ciara got sick, and the promoter asked if we could fill in for her in a couple of cities.”
“So”—Simone held her hands up in the air like she was doing a red-carpet pose—“I’m here.”
I laughed. I was just so proud of my sister and what she’d accomplished. She was an amazing singer, and America thought so, too, since she’d had five number one hits in the two years that she’d been singing professionally. It had been a long road for her—from singing in the church choir to convincing my father that she wasn’t doing the devil’s work by singing R & B, to marrying Jaylen and becoming the first singer on his now rising and successful Tru Harmony record label.
As my sister chatted away, telling Trent and me about her adventures on her latest European tour, I sighed inside. But it was a happy sigh. I was so content and proud that my sister was living her dream. She was singing and was married to a man who adored her. Even now I could see how much Jaylen loved her—it was in his eyes when he looked at her.
He looked at her the same way Trent looked at me.
“So, what’s happening in New York tonight?” Simone said as she glanced at the storyboards piled on the table and stacked on the floor. “Don’t tell me you’re not hanging out.”
“Uh, li’l sis, in case you haven’t noticed, tomorrow is a workday.”
“Bump that!” Simone said, and I laughed at the term that we used to use when we were kids. It was the closest we could get to cursing, and we couldn’t even say that around our reverend father. “I’m in town. We better go out and do something.”
Trent said, “You know what? There is a new club opening tonight. Actually, it’s reopening. Twenty-Twenty.”
“Yeah, I heard about that,” Simone said, as if she was up on everything cosmopolitan. I laughed. This was the same woman who used to be the shy, overweight girl. Well, my sister was holding it up for thick women everywhere. She’d lost a lot of weight, but she wasn’t trying to get down to a size six. She was happy with her size twelve and was flaunting her curves all over the place. I couldn’t count the number of magazines that had her on the cover, and she was even talking to me about doing her own line of clothes one day.
“I can get us into the club,” Trent said and then stopped himself. “I mean, it’s not like they’re not going to let you in.”
Simone laughed. “No, I know what you’re saying, brother-in-law,” she kidded. “Mom said you were connected.” She crossed her arms and looked Trent up and down. “Mmm-hmm, I think my mom was right.” Turning to me, she said, “What are you waiting for? You need to marry this man.”
Okay, I needed to stop this right here. “First of all,” I said as I stood up, “he hasn’t asked me to marry him. And second of all, if you want us to go out, I gotta go get ready. I can’t be letting my little sister steal my shine when I’m the designer.”
“Well, you better hurry up, then,” Simone said. “What about you, Trent? I know you’re going with us, too, right?”
“Definitely. I got some stuff here that I can change into.”
“Oh! It’s like that, huh?” Simone grinned. She lifted her hands in the air and pumped them like she was raising the roof. “Hey, hey, hey!”
“Jaylen, would you control your wife, please?” I asked as I pulled Trent into my bedroom.
“I’ve never been able to control my wife.” Jaylen laughed. “And that’s a good thing.”
Inside my bedroom I rushed to my closet, but Trent wrapped his arms around me from behind, stopping me.
He spun me around and kissed me.
It was my turn to ask, “What was that for?”
He said, “You told your sister that I never asked you to marry me.”
Uh-oh. “You . . . haven’t . . . ,” I stuttered and then prayed inside that he wouldn’t ask me right now.
He said, “It’s not because I haven’t wanted to. It’s because when I do, I want to make sure that you’re going to say yes.”
Again, I reached down inside for something wonderful to say to him. But I found nothing, so I hugged him as tightly as I could and held him there for at least a minute.
When I pulled away, I said, “We’d better hurry, or else they’ll think we’re in here doing something else.”
Trent laughed. “Okay. I just want you to know that I love you, Skye.”
I nodded. This I could do. “I love you, too, Trent.” And those words were the truth.
Chapter 34
Devin
I was walking to the front of my shop and then stopped. I closed my eyes slowly, then opened them again. But the vision was still there. So, I blinked over and over, like, ten times.
But that didn’t help.
It was only when the receptionist started screaming that I knew what I saw before me was the truth.
Simone!
Well, she was Simone Davenport to me, but the rest of the world knew her only as Simone!
“Girl!” I yelled out as I ran to her. “What are you doing here?”
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me while the women in the packed shop started pulling out their cell phones. They were snapping away, but it didn’t seem to faze my girl. I guess she was used to it.
“Uh, Devin, you’re cracking my lungs,” Simone kidded.
Well, maybe she wasn’t kidding. I was holding her kind of tight. It was just that I hadn’t seen much of her since she’d become a big star.
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