by Zuri Day
“Excuse me, ladies.” She took a few short steps to meet him. “Luther, thanks again for your all you help in putting this together, and coming in on a Saturday to oversee it all. I really appreciate it.”
“It was no problem, Aliyah. Glad I could help.”
“I means a lot. I’ve never seen Kyle so happy, and I enjoyed myself as well. This is a wonderful program.”
“I agree, and that’s due in large part to Terrell and the vision the Drakes had when this center was built. They put a lot of their own money into making sure that the building and everything in it were first-rate. He was supposed to be here, matter of fact.” Luther’s expression was one she couldn’t quite read, but one that suggested there was more to this simple statement than met the ear. “Wonder where he’s at?”
She wondered, too, had been looking forward to seeing him. Probably more than she should have. This week, the tables had turned. It had been Terrell working long hours and cutting short their phone conversations. It was she who’d asked him for a late-night rendezvous and him passing with the excuse of too much work. Her disappointment and melancholy feelings at their not being together forced her to admit to herself what she’d probably deny to others. She was falling in love with Terrell, and had been since the first day they met. Not that she knew what could come of this emotion. When it came to her schedule, she was looking at another couple of years of crazy. Now, with Terrell’s likely promotion, he’d be working around the clock. Would the blaze of desire burning inside them be able to withstand long absences and time apart? Would he lose interest in her, or worse, meet someone else? Not long ago, she’d dismissed the possibility of anything serious happening between them. Now, at least privately, she could admit that if he wanted to take this friendship to another level, she wouldn’t refuse.
But of course, no one could know this, least of all Luther, who Aliyah knew was not just a coworker but a friend. To the outside world, Aliyah hoped her face conveyed a message that she couldn’t care less.
With the room almost empty, Lauren walked over and joined them. “Excuse me, guys.” Then to Aliyah she said, “I’m heading out, kiddo.”
“Me, too. Luther, thanks again. Kyle will see you Monday.” She turned to Lauren. “Where are the boys?”
“On the playground. They just ran out and I told them they could stay there until I came and got them.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
They walked to the playground where a few children, including their two boys, played. “Wait.” Lauren placed a hand on Aliyah’s arm to stop her. “I wanted a minute before we got the boys to talk with you and make sure you’re all right.”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Aliyah.” Lauren fixed her with a look. “I know you were expecting Terrell and looking forward to him being here. He said he was coming. I don’t know what happened. Had Luther talked to him?”
“I didn’t ask. It’s okay, Lauren. Really.”
“Hey. How long have I known you? Since you were what, fifteen or sixteen? I’ve been with you through every jerk who came your way. I know when you’re feeling a guy, and you’re in way deep with Terrell Drake. And personally, I think that’s great. I like him, Aliyah. I think he’s a catch. So a little advice that you didn’t ask for? Don’t be afraid to love him. Hey, why don’t I take Kyle with me? You can call him and maybe get together?”
“Thanks, but no. This will give me time to spend with my son. He’s the male who needs my attention.”
Aliyah’s phone rang. She checked it. Terrell. “Hello?”
Lauren walked over to get the boys.
“Hey there, sweetheart. I meant to call you earlier but I ended up in an impromptu meeting and didn’t get the chance. Are you still at the center?”
“Yes, but we’re getting ready to leave.”
“Who’s we?”
“Kyle and I, and Lauren and Conner are also here.”
“Any chance she can watch Kyle so that you can come over to my place? I’m still at work, and will be here for another hour at least. But I’d sure love to know that when I get home, you’ll be there waiting.”
Lauren followed the boys out, a questioning look on her face. Kyle and Conner ran ahead.
“Can you hold on a minute?” Aliyah muted the call.
“Is that who I think it is?”
Aliyah thought to be deceptive, but knew there was no use. Lauren knew her as well as anyone. “Yes.”
“So...want to rethink my offer and let Kyle come with us?” Her face was one big smirk.
“I hate you when you’re right.”
They both laughed. Lauren slowly walked away but said over her shoulder, “If you want keep your happiness a secret, you might want to turn down that glow.”
“Hey, Terrell. That was Lauren. She’s taking the boys.”
“Yes! I’m going to get some tonight!”
“You are silly.”
“Girl, my balls are about to turn blue.” She laughed. “And I think I’m going blind in one eye.”
Aliyah continued chuckling as she walked to her car. His jokester side was cute, but that he’d obviously not been with anyone else was what really had her giddy. “What time should I meet you?”
“Let’s have dinner first. I’ll pick the place and text you.”
“Sounds good.”
Later that evening, Aliyah pulled into the Paradise Cove Country Club parking lot and texted Terrell her arrival, as he’d requested. Within minutes, he was opening her car door and warming her with his embrace.
“Um, you smell good.”
“Thanks.” A car door slammed. She abruptly pulled away and watched as shortly afterward a well-dressed couple walked by them. They greeted Terrell warmly. Behind them was another woman—young, beautiful—whose look was blatantly seductive as she also spoke. He responded, but his focus was on Aliyah. “You okay?”
“I’m not very comfortable in the country club setting, and definitely not up to watching women flirt with you all night.”
“Ashley flirts with everybody. But you don’t have to worry about any of that.” He offered his arm. “Right this way.”
They bypassed the sidewalk to the main entrance and went around the building to a side door, which Terrell unlocked with a key on his keychain. He motioned Aliyah inside and placed his hand at the small of her back as he led her down a hallway to a set of double doors, and opened it. “After you.”
She stepped inside and stopped short, shocked at what appeared as a wonderland before her. The room was small, intimate, with a table set for two. The ivory-colored walls and deep burgundy-and-gold decor enveloped her in luxury. Dozens of white candles shimmered beneath large crystal chandeliers. Breathtaking.
She turned, her look questioning. “What’s all this?”
“To apologize for missing your party, made private because I also remember how you don’t like uppity crowds.”
He reached for her hand and led them over to the table. They sat. Aliyah continued to look around, conflicting emotions blocking her words. This man was everything she’d ever dreamed of and more, yet a part of her was still guarded against becoming too close. The part that bore the scars of past pain was waiting for the real rich, successful guy to show his true, arrogant, condescending colors. The ones that Ernest and all of his friends had eventually shown her.
“Terrell, this is so thoughtful. I don’t know what to say.”
The door opened. A waiter carrying a champagne bottle approached.
“You can take time to think about it after the toast.”
“Good evening, Mr. Drake. And you, miss.”
“Cliff, this is my lady friend, Aliyah.”
“It is a pleasure, ma’am.”
“I’ve known Cliff all my life.”
Aliyah smil
ed. “The pleasure is mine.”
Cliff popped the top, poured each a frothing flute of bubbly and quietly left the room.
“Do you know every single person who lives in this town?”
“No, but I probably know over half of them.” He held up his glass. She did, too. “To you, Aliyah Robinson, for being an amazing woman, an up-and-coming doctor and an outstanding mother who’s raised a genius for a son.”
“Aww, that was sweet.” She leaned over for a kiss. “Thank you.”
As they toasted, Cliff returned with a tray of fresh-baked rolls, spiced butter and paper-thin strips of veal. Each helped themselves to the appetizer.
“This is so good,” Aliyah said after her first taste.
“The chef was lured away from a top-rated restaurant on the east coast and has been here about ten years. Everything he cooks is first-rate.”
“Just so it doesn’t bug me all night, who is Ashley?”
“The girl we saw coming in?”
“Is there more than one?” She smiled to cover the jab. Or investigation, depending on how one viewed it.
“Not in this town, that I know of. Your question came out of nowhere so I was just making sure.”
“If you don’t want to answer—”
“No, not at all. You can ask me about anybody we meet because more than likely I’ll be able to fill in the background. Ashley pretty much grew up here. I’ve known her since I was around twelve, or so. She dated Niko off and on for years, until he met Monique. Shortly after that she hooked up with a guy in Los Angeles. Until tonight, I thought that’s where she was.”
“So she liked your brother, not you?”
“She liked all of us and to answer the question that’s really on your mind, yes, I’ve been with her before, along with half the guys who live here. I’m not ever going to lie to you, Aliyah. I’m a grown man and I’ve been doing grown-man things since I was thirteen. I’ve been with a lot of women, most of them casually. The one time I was in a serious relationship, I didn’t sleep around. And even though you refuse to use the R word, I’m not sleeping around, looking around or interested in any other woman right now. You’ve got my attention, baby. That’s all I’m saying.”
Aliyah exhaled and took a sip of champagne. “I’ve got a confession to make.”
“Okay.”
“I can’t believe I’m making it but...” Another drink of courage. “Even though it was meant to be casual, the feelings I’m beginning to have for you aren’t casual at all. They’re deep and hopeful and quite frankly scare me to death.”
“Because...”
“Because I’ve only felt this way one other time, and it ended badly. People assume otherwise but when it comes to men and dating, I don’t have a lot of experience. At first it was because of college, I needed a scholarship and put all of my attention toward getting good grades. Then one of my then best friends got pregnant at sixteen and it totally changed her life, but not in a good way. That experience was my birth control throughout the rest of high school because I had no interest in going down that road and tempting fate. Which is probably why I fell so hard for Ernest and placed such value in him and his opinion. I tried so hard to make everything perfect. That’s the type of person I am, I guess. When I’m involved in something, it’s all the way, a hundred percent, you know? And I’m trying to hold back on how I feel, because...”
“Because, why?”
“Because now is not the time for me to attempt a relationship and even if it was, you’re not interested in having one.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because that’s what we both said when we met.”
He reached over, took her hand and rubbed a comforting thumb across her palm. “What if I told you I’d changed my mind? What if told you that I’m feeling you just as much as you’re feeling me? Would you take a chance on this being a relationship?”
“Terrell, I don’t know. There’s already so much going on and I don’t want this to be complicated.”
“It doesn’t have to be hard. It can be as easy as you finally admitting what I’ve known for a while.”
“What do you mean, that you’ve known?”
“Girl, I know you’re in love with me. I put that Drake on you, baby. You couldn’t help it.”
Aliyah huffed. “Wow, really? What an arrogant thing to say!”
Terrell smiled and kissed her hand. “I thought that’s what you loved about me.”
Chapter 21
Amazing what honesty could do. Terrell’s pride soared at being one she could trust. She’d not only faced her fears, but also allowed herself to be vulnerable by voicing them. In that moment, the dynamics shifted. The walls came down. And feelings deepened. It took some convincing, but he talked her into returning to the Drake estate, and spending the night. Now however, in the clear light of morning, Aliyah’s initial reservations of spending the night in his parents’ home came back full-force. Terrell’s inviting her to stay for Sunday brunch brought on a full debate.
“It’s not like you haven’t been here before.”
“That was different!”
“How so?”
“Because first of all, I didn’t know before I came over that it was your parents’ house. And secondly, I left in the middle of the night. They never knew I was here.”
“Are you sure?”
Aliyah looked grief-stricken. “You told them?”
Her reaction made Terrell laugh loud, and earned him a punch on the arm.
“That’s not funny!” It actually was, kind of. As long as it was a joke. Otherwise, she would have been mortified. Her mother was no prude, but she would have been had Aliyah brought over someone to spend the night—it would not have been okay and it definitely would have not been in her room. Ernest’s family, the Westcotts, were even worse. During their three-year courtship, she’d stayed twice at their family manse. His mother, Cordelia, put her in a guestroom so far from where Ernest slept that they might have been in different zip codes. Even so, she’d had the nerve to knock on her door at midnight under the pretense of having heard a noise. That lie was as see-through as freshly cleaned glass. No doubt she was sure Aliyah had snuck into her pious son’s room with a potion to taint him and take his virginity. He was nowhere near virginal, but you couldn’t tell Cordelia that about her son. In fact, she spoke so harshly against being intimate one would think Immaculate Conception was how Ernest arrived.
“You didn’t tell them, right?”
“No, but had I done so it wouldn’t have been a problem. Just like it’s not going to be a problem today.”
“I can’t do it. I cannot waltz down those stairs after being intimate with their son under the same roof, and meet your parents for the first time! That’s just too embarrassing.”
“My parents won’t judge you. They’re not like that. Last night, you did acknowledge this was a relationship, right?”
“That is correct.”
“Then it’s time to meet my folks.” Aliyah scrunched down and covered her head with the sheet. “Okay, I’ve got an idea. Instead of taking the stairs we can exit through the side door and enter through their front door. It will be as though you just arrived.”
She slowly pulled the sheet away. “I appreciate the invitation, Terrell. Really, I do. Being with you and what I’ve experienced when meeting those in your family that I have so far is as different as night is from day to my time with the Westcotts. It’s helped to further heal that part of me that was so destroyed by their callous behavior. It means a lot and I want you to know I’m grateful.”
“Why do I feel a but coming? And not the one I always enjoy when it comes my way?” He reached for her backside.
She scooted away from him and sat up. “I want to meet your family. But not today. And not like thi
s, sneaking around and being deceptive. Acting as though I’ve just arrived when I’m probably wearing a JHS face.”
He frowned. “What’s that?”
“A just-had-sex face.”
“Girl!” He reached for her again. She dodged him, laughing, and jumped out of bed.
“Come back here!”
She tried to shut the bathroom door but he was quicker. “Out! I’ve got to use it.”
“Not until you promise me something.”
“I mean it, Terrell. Give me some privacy. I’ve got to use the bathroom!”
“Not without your word.”
“Okay, what?” Aliyah squirmed as she tried without success to push him out the door. Like trying to move a stone statue bolted in concrete. “What?!”
“That you’ll join us for Thanksgiving.”
“Okay. Now get out.”
“Both you and Kyle.”
“Okay, fine.” The squirming had turned to hopping. Not cute.
“No. Promise me.”
“Terrell!”
“Do it.”
“Okay, Silky, I promise. Thanksgiving. Now move before I pee on your floor!”
* * *
She tried to get out of it. In the week and a half since Aliyah promised to spend Thanksgiving with Terrell’s family she’d come up with every reason possible to renege on her vow. He was having none of it. He’d even called her later that night and confirmed, made sure that she was not scheduled for work that day, both jobs, and school, so that later she couldn’t use those excuses. Like now. When she seriously wanted to act like a woman and change her mind. Silly, she knew, to feel trepidation about spending the holiday with the Drakes. Especially after Terrell had explained that the day would be less formal than at other times and held outside, at Warren’s ranch, and called for casual attire. They’d even invited another family with kids Kyle’s age, just to make sure her son was comfortable. Terrell really had thought of everything. If she wasn’t so sure about this not being the time for a relationship, and him not being the type of man to have a relationship with, she could see herself up and falling in love with him. Yep, hook, line and sinker. If she weren’t so sure that she wouldn’t.