Marlissa and Starla had been right. He had failed terribly in making his intentions known. Reyna was oblivious to his attraction. “Buddies?” he asked through a tight jaw.
“Look, you drive me crazy sometimes . . . okay, most of the time. But you’ve helped me to heal, and I value you as a friend. Actually, right now I need your friendship.”
Tyson was determined to cut ties with Reyna, but her last statement piqued his interest. Reyna needed him. “What exactly do you need?”
Reyna relaxed and laced her fingers. “I’ve decided it’s time for me to move out of my mother’s house. I’ll be thirty-one in a couple of months, and I’ve never lived on my own. Plus, my mother is still attached to Rosalie Jennings. I can’t completely heal if my mother insists on being that demon’s friend.”
Tyson flinched. “That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? Pastor Jennings may be a little misguided, but I wouldn’t label her a demon.”
Reyna’s eyes rolled. “Sugarcoat it any way you want, but she still has horns.”
“I see you’ve taken responsibility for your actions,” he responded with normal sarcasm.
“I am taking responsibility for myself by moving out. It’s time I stood on my own two feet. With a little help, of course,” she added when Tyson raised an eyebrow.
Tyson looked at his watch, then back at Reyna. “I don’t have much time. Tell me exactly what you need me to do.”
Reyna’s eyes grew wide. “Promise you’ll do it?”
“I promise to consider it, buddy,” he said dryly, then tore open the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. He bit into the chocolate-covered peanut butter without looking at it. He savored his one indulgence while watching Reyna’s lips move. She mentioned something about needing credit for a car, or was it an apartment? He wasn’t sure. The movement of Reyna’s pouty lips had distracted him. He’d lost count of the times he’d wanted to taste those lips over the past four months, but he hadn’t tasted them, and now he wouldn’t.
“Well, what do you think?”
Tyson quickly swallowed, then cleared his throat. “Run that by me again. I want to make sure I understand you.” Reyna appeared oblivious to Tyson’s inattentiveness.
“So you want to use my signature to get an apartment?” he asked after she repeated the proposition.
“If you don’t mind, buddy. It will only be for the first year,” Reyna explained. “You and Kevin are the only people I know with good credit and a six-figure salary. Kevin and I are cool now, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to ask the man I once stalked to cosign for me.”
“I’m sure Kevin would help you, but I don’t think Marlissa would appreciate that.” Tyson took another bite, then slowly chewed as he mused over the request. Reyna needed to be on her own, but did he need to be the one to help her? Although she would be responsible for her living expenses, the arrangement would connect her to him in a way he didn’t want, but that was all Reyna was offering. He had an offer of his own. “If I were your landlord, I wouldn’t check your credit report. I’d give you a year lease and trust you to pay your rent on time.”
Reyna’s mouth dropped, then closed. She looked perplexed. “Tyson, what are you saying? Your house is big, but we can’t live under the same roof.”
Tyson balled up the candy wrapper and tossed it into the trash can. “You’re right. We can’t live under the same roof, but I have a vacant town house you can move into. It’s already furnished.”
Reyna’s mocha-colored lips separated and closed three times before she found her voice. “Are y—you serious?” she stuttered. “I didn’t know you owned a town house. You’ll let me live in it?”
Tyson smirked and considered disclosing just how much he owned, then thought better of it. Everything material Reyna desired, he could provide with ease. If she weren’t so obsessed with making up for lost time, she would see that what God had prepared for her was far better than anything she could ask for or think. For now, he would help her . . . might even pray for her, but that was all.
“You can move in anytime,” he said as he scribbled the address and rental fee on a Post-it. “Of course, you’ll need to have the utilities turned on. Since we’re buddies, I won’t require a security deposit,” he added with a hint of sarcasm.
Reyna read the address. The paper slipped from her fingers, and before the yellow square touched the carpet, Reyna ran around the desk and wrapped her arms around Tyson’s neck. “Thank you! Thank you!” She rained kisses over his forehead and bearded cheeks. “That’s an exclusive development, a gated community.” She released him and danced around the office, singing an updated version of McFadden & Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now.”
Beads of sweat lined Tyson’s forehead and his breathing accelerated as he watched the celebration. Finally, he knew how Reyna’s lips felt against his skin. All he had to do to reap the mediocre reward was meet her need.
He cleared his throat. “There is one condition.”
“I’m on the move. Ain’t no stopping . . .” Reyna stopped midway through a left turn of the electric slide. “What’s that?”
“Come to church with me on Sunday.” Both Reyna’s neck and eyes rolled, but he ignored her antics. He stood and reached for his suit jacket. “I have to visit a client now, but I’ll pick you up at ten o’clock Sunday morning.” He fixed his gaze on her as he buttoned the tailored suit and waited for the excuses, but none came. Her face contorted, but Reyna didn’t utter one word of protest.
“Fine,” she finally agreed. “I appreciate this so much, I’m going to fix you up with Paige. You two are perfect for each other. Both of you are anal to the tenth degree.” Then she danced out the door.
Tyson looked at the remaining package of candy on his desk and shook his head as if to clear it. What had just happened? He’d just offered his property to the woman he’d vowed not to pursue, and all it took was chocolate-covered peanut butter cups.
Chapter 7
“Ain’t no stoppin’ me now . . .” Reyna was still singing the seventies classic when she returned to her desk at the real estate office. The crowded workstation appeared more spacious and the dark décor appeared brighter now that her life was finally on the right track. She was moving on up from a drab 350-square-foot bedroom to a deluxe town house on the north side of town. And it was furnished and had a pool, a gym, and reserved parking. She’d shown and leased the development to several corporate clients seeking a place to accommodate out-of-town executives, but never did she think she’d be a tenant.
“Oh, Tyson, God used you to bless me today,” she said audibly, then frowned. “Where did that come from? God had nothing to do with this. I got this on my own.” That was when she remembered Tyson’s little condition. He had a lot of nerve dangling a furnished town house as bait to get her to even think about gracing any worship service with her presence. As much as she detested organized religion, she needed what Tyson had offered. Which meant she had to play by his rules. A couple of hours listening to religious rhetoric couldn’t hurt or change her resolve about God.
She twisted in the chair, and her abdominal muscles quickly reminded her how much it had cost her to be with Chase. She had received nothing in return, unless she counted total humiliation. Her eyes slammed shut when tears threatened to spill. “I will not waste another tear on that loser.” After the lump in her throat dissolved, she threw her head back and replaced the painful memory with thoughts of Tyson.
One day she’d tell him how she regretted not listening to him about her attire. Maybe. To pacify him, she’d attend church service—once—and as a bonus, she’d sit around the sanctified Sunday dinner table and listen to the Jenningses and the Scotts proclaim how good God was. “I guess the Bible is good for something. I asked, and then I received.” She was laughing at her own joke when Paige entered her space.
“You’re in a good mood.”
Paige’s stoic tone failed to place a damper on Reyna’s jubilation. “I’m moving into the Broadway
Terrace complex in North Oakland,” she announced.
“Into Tyson’s place.” Paige voiced the question in the form of a statement.
“Yes,” Reyna answered cautiously. “How did you know?”
Paige rested her hip against the wall with her arms folded. “He called me and canceled his rental listing agreement. He said he’d found a tenant, but I had no idea it was you. Interesting,” she said and shook her head slightly. “At any rate, can you schedule the maintenance work for Cedar Heights for next week?”
“Sure.” Paige turned to leave, but Reyna wanted to plant a seed. “Paige, you and Tyson have a lot in common. Have you considered going out with him? You’d have to unwind him first, but he’s a good guy.”
Paige retreated and offered Reyna some advice. “I know he’s a good guy because I’ve already unwound him. I hope you learn to value his worth and don’t take advantage of him. For the record, I know Tyson a lot better than you think, and I know for a fact he wouldn’t appreciate you, of all people, playing matchmaker for him.”
Reyna watched Paige’s back pass over the threshold, not sure how to interpret her comment and too excited to care.
Three hours later, when she entered her mother’s house and heard voices, the boxes she’d picked up from the storage company on the way home tumbled to the floor. Pastor Rosalie Jennings was there. Reyna hadn’t seen her former pastor since Kevin and Marlissa renewed their vows five months ago. At the time Pastor Jennings had refused to acknowledge her presence.
Reyna gathered the boxes, and instead of heading upstairs, she marched into the living room. “Might as well tell them both to kiss my behind at the same time,” she grumbled.
“I hate to interrupt this hypocritical bonding moment, but I have an announcement to make,” Reyna yelled above their conversation. “I’m moving this weekend.”
Jewel’s head snapped around; then her shoulders slumped.
“I would move tonight, but the electricity and phone won’t be turned on for forty-eight hours. I can’t wait to leave the company of manipulators and thieves.”
Pastor Jennings closed her Bible. “I beg your pardon, young lady.”
“You heard me, lying prophet,” Reyna sneered. “I can’t wait to get out of here and live my own life.”
“Reyna, that’s not necessary,” Jewel said. “If you’re leaving, then leave, but don’t insult my guest.”
“You’re always taking up for her. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you’re lesbians, but you’re too holy for that.”
Jewel gasped, and Pastor Jennings began speaking in tongues.
Reyna feigned innocence. “Did I say something too dirty for your holy ears?”
“Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” Pastor Jennings’s words in an unknown tongue transformed into a chant.
“Be careful,” Jewel warned, “how you disrespect those who have the rule over you.”
Reyna stepped closer and towered over her mother. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mommy dearest. You can be her puppet for the rest of your life, but nobody rules over me.” She shifted the boxes to the opposite arm, then stomped away.
Inside her bedroom, Reyna dropped the boxes on the floor and plopped down on the bed. Her eyes slowly roamed the cluttered room. What was once a place of refuge over time had turned into a dungeon. When she was a child, the plastered walls had shielded Reyna from her parents’ arguments. During her high school years, her bedroom transformed into a place of fantasy as she envisioned falling in love with and marrying her Prince Charming. Later on, the room would become plotting headquarters for her futile pursuit of Kevin Jennings. She hated this room. She hated this house and the two women downstairs, who were probably still praying to some spirit and speaking jibber-jabber.
Reyna grunted. “I don’t need them or their tired prayers. As long as God doesn’t bother me, I won’t bother Him.”
Chapter 8
“Would they hurry up and sit down?” Reyna’s irritation neared the boiling point when she shifted in her seat as the praise and worship ministry began the third song. God might be good to some people and His mercy might endure forever, but her tolerance for listening to praises to an invisible God had run out. She was there only to fulfill the condition of moving into Tyson’s town house. Briefly she had considered reneging on the deal, then had reconsidered after inspecting the place.
The town house was perfect, with vaulted ceilings and granite countertops. Tyson’s decorating budget must have been huge. From the butter-soft cream-colored leather furniture to the plush carpet, everything was top-notch. Both bedrooms were filled with Thomasville furniture, and the gourmet kitchen resembled something from the Food Network channel. The secure off-street parking wasn’t bad, either. When she’d questioned Tyson about why he’d invested so much money in the rental unit, he’d explained that the town house was his primary residence before purchasing a home in the Oakland-Berkeley Hills.
“I promise to take good care of your property,” was what she’d told him after the walk-through inspection two days ago. Now, seated next to him and listening to his monotone voice’s pathetic attempt to keep up with the praise and worship singers, she wanted to rip the lease to shreds.
She’d grown up in the church, yet she’d never seen a group of people so uninhibited with their praise and devotion to God. Both Kevin and Tyson had told her Restoration Ministries had a membership of over one thousand, and Reyna believed them. As far as Reyna could tell, all the floor seats were taken and most of the balcony was full. The majority of the congregants were on their feet and were clapping their hands to the music. Others were seated with hands raised. In one form or another, it seemed everyone participated.
Reyna looked at the couples seated to her left, and a pang of jealousy jolted her stomach. Kevin stood with one hand raised, while his other hand rubbed Marlissa’s back. Leon held Starla’s hand while the pair did a two-step dance. Reyna desired what they had: a loving relationship. Just seven days ago, she thought she’d found that with a stranger going by the name of Chase. The good deacon was probably at church with his wife at that very moment. She hung her head in an effort to hide the lone tear that trickled down her cheek as thoughts of shame rushed to the forefront. Why couldn’t she find someone to love her the way Marlissa and Starla had?
She felt a nudge on her right arm. “Would you like my handkerchief?”
Reyna reached out and accepted Tyson’s offer without looking up and without thanking him. She quickly wiped the tear, then resumed glaring at the praise and worship team. Two songs and a praise dance break later, Reyna stood and clapped as the praise team left the stage.
During Pastor Drake’s sermon, Reyna chose to play Tetris on her cell phone. She didn’t listen to Pastor Drake, but on more than one occasion she looked up to find Tyson shaking his head at her.
“Finally, I can leave this place,” Reyna grunted as soon as the benediction concluded.
“Could you at least pretend you have some respect for the house of God?” Tyson’s face twisted with disgust. “You missed a good Word today, playing that game.”
Reyna slipped the phone inside her purse. “At least I turned the sound off. You know the only reason I’m here is to satisfy the terms for letting me rent your place. I’m sure the Word was good to you, but I don’t believe that crap anymore.”
“Reyna!” Tyson’s raised voice caught the attention of their friends and Mother Scott. “You grew up in the church. How can you be so callous?”
“You Holy Rollers made me this way!” Reyna yelled back.
“I know y’all are not arguing in church?” Mother Scott asked as the Jenningses and the Scotts looked on with stunned facial expressions.
Reyna’s hostile attitude evaporated. She was still adjusting to Mother Scott’s forward personality. “I’m sorry, Mother Scott, but he started it.”
“Did not.” Tyson pointed a finger at Reyna. “You’re the one who played a game during service instead of listening to the Word.”
Mother Scott’s balled fist rested at her petite waist while she pointed her forefinger at the two. “I don’t care who started it. Y’all are too old for this.” Her hand gestured in the direction of Leon and Starla’s kids. “My grandkids act more mature than you.” She glared at Tyson. “She’s unsaved. I expected her to act crazy. But you are saved and call yourself a lawyer. You wouldn’t yell in the courtroom, so don’t yell in God’s house.”
Tyson’s head dropped. “Sorry, Mother.”
Instead of apologizing for her behavior, Reyna rolled her eyes at Tyson, then turned and walked away. “I’ll see you in the car,” she said over her shoulder to Tyson.
Tyson entered Kevin’s home without knocking and walked straight to the kitchen for the ceramic container that stored rice cakes instead of cookies. He’d nearly completed two whole cakes before he realized Kevin and Marlissa were staring at him. During nearly every visit in the past Tyson had voiced his dislike for Marlissa’s healthy snacks and had begged her to bring back the Oreos. Now here he was, eating the rice cakes like sliced bread.
“What?” he asked, reaching for another caramel-flavored rice cake. “So what if I didn’t knock? It’s not like you didn’t expect me.”
Kevin retrieved a serving dish from the top shelf for Marlissa, then turned to his friend. “I see you and Reyna didn’t resolve your issues on the ride over,” Kevin smirked. “What did you do? Drop her off at the nearest bus stop?” Kevin laughed.
Tyson stopped chewing and discarded the remaining rice cake in the trash, but didn’t answer. Kevin’s laughter ceased.
“You wouldn’t,” Marlissa said.
Tyson pounded his fist against the granite countertop. “I didn’t drop her off, but I should have. That stubborn goat is out in the car.” Tyson winced at the sound of the doorbell.
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