“Hell to the no! I can’t believe what my ears are hearing.” I started laughing even thought I could tell she was dead serious. Reyna was finally trying to take relationships to a new level.
“I guess you having a good man in your life is what made me finally realize I want what you have. Now I just need to allow everything to fall into place for me.”
All I could do was sit there and shake my head. Maybe there was hope for her after all.
26
Robin
I moved over to the full-length mirror and looked myself up and down. I had on a pair of Lisa Pliner pink snakeskin mules that I had bought in Las Vegas last year. I paired it with a pair of black skinny jeans and a pink corset that I had cinched so tight my titties were standing to attention. I slipped on a black bolero jacket just in case Trey was taking me somewhere fancy. The last thing I wanted to do was look like I was trying to solicit, although as beautiful as I was, there was really no getting around it. After dinner, I hoped Trey was planning to take me back to my place and fuck me senseless.
Trey was the bomb in the bed, and I’m not saying that because he was packing a powerhouse. Because he was in fact so good with that magic stick that I don’t know how I was ever a slave to Halo’s dick. Trey was everything I could possibly ever have wanted in a man, not to mention he treated me like a queen. From the first time I let him spend the night, that man took his time getting to know every corner of my body with so much skill that by morning, he had a sistah practically turned out.
Trey made me feel like a woman, while all my sponsors were starting to wear me out. I was tryna juggle my time between them and Trey. Even Halo was starting to drive me crazy with his constant calling and showing up at the club. However, now that I had a man in my life I was trying to keep the two worlds separate. At Scandalous I was Treasure, but the second the night ended, I rushed over to Trey’s crib to his bed, where he drove every inch deep inside my body, stroking my coochie just right, until I was crying out his name. I had even given up fighting it and started staying the night lying in his arms. I had sex with my fair share of men, but what I felt with Trey went beyond fucking. From his mouth to mine, we were making love.
“Aunt Robin, you look pretty.”
I glanced through the mirror at my nephew standing beside my bed with melted chocolate all over his face. “What have you been eating?”
“Nothing,” he mumbled and stared down at his feet.
I walked over to him and cupped his chin with my hand so he had no choice but to look up at me. “Nothing? It looks like you’ve been in my chocolate.”
“Uh-uh.”
“Yes, you have.” I reached out and started tickling him. He tried to get away, but not before I scooped him up into my arms and carried him into the bathroom so I could wash his face and hands.
He was such an adorable kid, and my heart melted every time he called me Aunt Robin. I could see why Deena was so concerned about him. Through this fucked-up ordeal, the last thing I wanted was for the situation to break his spirit, like life had done to my sister and me.
I had him cleaned up by the time I heard the doorbell. Kyle rushed down the stairs and made it to the door before I did. I swung the door open and there he was. Mr. Fine, and I do mean fine. Trey was what every woman wanted in her Christmas stocking. I allowed my eyes to peruse a button-down Sean John shirt, dark jeans, and a fresh pair of sneakers. I don’t think clothes ever looked so good on a man.
“Hey, little dude.” He gave Kyle a high five, or should I say a low five, then his eyes traveled to me. “Whassup, sexy?”
I stared up into his pretty hazel eyes and had to keep from licking my lips. He was definitely tasty. Before the night was over I planned to be straddling his lap.
An hour later, we had Kyle dropped off at his sister’s and had just been escorted to our seats. To my delight, Trey had taken me to the Tobacco Company, an upscale restaurant in downtown Richmond.
Within minutes we both ordered a glass of wine and were sipping and grinning at each other like some damn fools.
“I’m glad we had a chance to chill by ourselves,” he said.
“So am I.” We hang out, but it’s always with Kyle. And when we weren’t together, I was working at the club or he was at the restaurant. I had even started hanging out at Mama Lee’s and had met his whole damn family, and I loved all of them. They even had me behind the counter working in the kitchen.
We had just ordered dessert when I noticed someone getting off the elevator.
Halo.
The last thing in the world I wanted was for him to see me, because the way he’d been acting lately there was no telling how he would react. I’m not trying to say I’m all that or anything, but Halo refused to believe I was no longer interested in him. It didn’t matter that he had some hoochie with him, and I wasn’t just saying that because she was cute. Her dress was short enough to show the hairs on her coochie if she made a mistake and sneezed. I had never seen her before, so she was obviously someone new as far as the chicks in Halo’s life. Don’t get me wrong, when he and I were together there was no doubt in my mind he had been true to me. A chick like me had been on her job twenty-four seven and gave him no reason to stray. But I’ve been in the game long enough to know all the tricks, and this one, I didn’t know.
For a brief second, I thought Halo would just follow the hostess to their seat, but instead he detoured and headed over to my table.
“Looka here,” he sneered.
I rolled my eyes and gave Trey a look of apology. “What’s good, Halo?” I said like he wasn’t just down at the club sweating a sistah two nights ago.
He fixed his eyes on me with this incredulous stare. “I don’t know ... you tell me.”
Brow raised, Trey glanced from him to me.
“Trey, this is Halo ... Halo, Trey.”
“Whassup?” Trey looked him over, nodded, then went back to studying the menu, and so did I. I had hoped Halo would have gotten the hint and moved on, but I looked up to see him still standing there. I know it was wrong, but I loved knowing the sight of me with another man was killing him.
“You need something?” I asked while trying to suppress a smile.
Halo stuck his chest out. “Yeah, I need to holla at you a moment.”
I guess his date got tired of being ignored because she slinked her long legs in our direction and placed a possessive hand on his arm. “Baby, she’s waiting to seat us,” she huffed.
“Then go sit the fuck down,” he said with enough bass that she retraced her steps and got the hell away from us. Trey’s head whipped around.
“Halo, we don’t have nothing to talk about,” I said and sucked my teeth in disgust. He could play them games with those other chicks, but the days of him controlling me were long gone. Halo looked like he couldn’t believe his ears.
Trey look from me to Halo, and I didn’t miss the exact moment the light came on in his eyes. “Yo, Robin ... is this that dude from the club?” I was wondering how long it was going to take him to remember. I nodded.
Trey rose from his seat and towered over Halo by about three inches, looking like a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles. “You heard the lady. She said there’s nothing for the two of you to talk about.” He stared at Halo, daring him to start something.
The couple at the next table started whispering and the hostess gave us a weird look as she headed back toward the elevators. Halo figured out someone was getting ready to call the police because he finally moved to his table. But not before he got in the last word.
“We ain’t done with this conversation,” he said, and it was clear by the look in his eyes it was a promise.
I watched him walked across the room and over to his seat before I looked over at Trey. “Sorry ’bout that,” I apologized.
“No problem. Who’s that muthafucka?” Trey asked.
“My ex,” I answered with a disgusted sigh.
He nodded and clearly understood. “Who broke it
off with who?”
“I moved outta his house and got on with my life.”
Leaning back in his chair, he chuckled. “No wonder he’s salty. The brotha’s not ready yet to see you with someone else.”
I rolled my eyes. “Too bad ... it’s over. We haven’t been together in almost a year.”
“Hey, it takes some of us longer than others to get over a female.”
“So you’re telling me you’re a stalker too?” Goodness, I couldn’t bear it if he was.
“Nah, never that, but I have no problems fighting for what’s mine.”
“Is that so?”
“Serious. If I’m feelin’ a woman, I’ma let it do what it do, and if she’s not happy I want her to come and talk to me and tell me why, not just pack her shit and leave.”
I had to laugh at that one because I knew exactly what he was talking about. “Have you ever had to beg a woman not to leave you?”
“Hell nah. One thing I don’t do is beg,” he said with confidence. “I believe in communication. I’m willing to put my heart and everything else out on the line to let a female know how I feel about her, but if she still wants to bounce then I’ma help her ass pack.”
I was laughing. I liked Trey the more I talked to him. He was funny and he kept it real, and that’s all I asked in a man other than to wine and dine, and make love to me on a regular.
As soon as we finished dessert, he paid the check and we rose from our seats. Trey took my hand and I couldn’t help but sneak another peek at Halo, who wasn’t even trying to hide the fact he was staring at me. He just didn’t get it. I wanted no part of him.
Trey stayed in a fourplex in Henrico, which was about ten minutes from my driveway. He parked in the lot on the side of the building, climbed out, and opened the door for me.
His apartment was small, with two bedrooms. One had a desk, weightlifting equipment, and a futon. He signaled me back to his room and I took a seat on a queen-sized bed that took up most of the room.
“You wanna listen to some music?” I nodded. Music always set the mood. He reached for the remote control, turned on his television, and switched to Sirius radio. Monica was singing my jam. “Kick your shoes off and get comfortable.”
I smiled and didn’t object when he reached down and slipped my mules off my feet. We sat there lying across the bed staring at each other.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“How long it’s gonna take you before you kiss me.”
He chuckled, then pulled me against him and pressed his lips to mine. His mouth was soft, just the way I believed a man’s should be. He rolled me onto my back and moved on top of me and the kiss got deep and nice. I don’t know who started pulling their clothes off first, but before I knew it, we were naked and under the covers wrapped in each other’s arms kissing and touching.
“Hold up. Let me get a condom.” He slipped out of the bed and headed into the bathroom, and I watched as he walked in. Damn, he had a body. And brotha was working with plenty. Trust and believe. When he climbed back into the bed, I was more than ready for him. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he entered me with one push. He stroked me deep, and it wasn’t long before I was moaning.
“You like that?”
Was he serious? That sexy muthafucka could fuck. “Oooh, yeah, I like that.”
Trey brought his lips down over mine and we kissed the entire time we rocked our hips together. He was taking his time, not rushing anything, and moved like he had all the time in the world, and I liked that about him.
“Ooh, I’m about to come!” I screamed his name at the top of my lungs, then shortly after he gave two hard pumps and came.
He lay on top of me until our heartbeats returned to normal, then he rolled over to the side. “C’mere, Robin.”
I snuggled close to him and he held me the rest of the night.
27
Monica
One thing about being a nursing student ... I always got the shitty jobs. No pun intended.
“I’m all done,” Ms. Carter said with a grunt and a loud fart.
It took everything I had to try to hold my breath as I slid the bedpan from beneath her wide ass.
“Aaaah, I feel so much better.” She sighed, then had the nerve to pass gas again.
This shit was ridiculous. Seriously. I was getting ready to leave for lunch when Ms. Carter, a patient in 4W12, rang the nurse’s station insisting that she needed to have a bowel movement ASAP. The moment the charge nurse turned and looked at me over the top of her bifocals, I knew I had to handle it.
“Thank you Monica. You are such a good worker,” she replied with a sly smirk.
Skinny heifer.
I’ve been putting up with her shit ever since I started my clinical training. Before I’d started, I was well aware that everyone had to pay their dues, but this shit had gotten beyond ridiculous. Ms. Carter had just used her fourth bedpan today.
“Thank you so much,” she said.
I nodded, then carried the pan over to the bathroom and dumped it in the toilet. She smelled like something had crawled up into her wide ass and died. “Ms. Carter, can I help you with anything else?”
She shook her head and gave me a sincere smile. She really was a nice old woman. I just wished she had waited until I had left for lunch before she called for someone to come to the room and wipe her behind.
“No. I’m just gonna sit here and eat my lunch.”
I smiled, then removed the rubber gloves and tossed them in the trash. “Okay. I’ll be back later to check on you.”
I reached over to the dispenser on the wall and squirted hand sanitizer in my palm and rubbed my hands together. The second I stepped out her room I took a deep breath, thankful for the fresh air.
Karen, another nursing student, was coming down the hall pushing a wheelchair. “Monica ... there’s someone at the front desk asking for you.”
“Okay, thanks,” I mumbled as I headed to the nurse’s station. As soon as I turned the corner, my face lit up when I spotted Tremayne standing there. He looked so good it took everything I had not to run into his arms and lick him up and down. He was wearing a chocolate double-breasted suit that had to be Brooks Brothers because Anthony had something similar. With a tan shirt and matching handkerchief in his pocket, and dark brown leather shoes, he was definitely a sight for sore eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“I got out of court early and I remember you said you had lunch at twelve. Thought I’d drop by and see if I could steal you away for a few minutes.”
“Just give me a minute.” I went to reach for my purse under the desk and noticed how the other nurses were checking him out and not even trying to hide it. “I’m going to lunch,” I announced.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” the charge nurse mumbled under her breath. “Then again, if you do, chile, I can’t blame you, ’cause he’s fine.”
I chuckled, then swung my purse strap over my shoulder and signaled for Tremayne to follow me down the hall to a bank of elevators that would take us to the cafeteria.
“Have I mentioned how sexy you look in scrubs?” he whispered and leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I felt like the luckiest woman in the entire building as I stepped into the elevator.
“Thank you, baby, but I better warn you ... the food here isn’t that great.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’m here for the company ... not the food.”
This man always seemed to know how to say the right things. I don’t know what it was, but it was like I was waiting for the other shoe to fall. There was no way in hell he could be this perfect. We got off on the ground floor and headed down the long, narrow hall. Tremayne placed a hand to my back and my skin tingled.
“Is the emergency room that way?” he asked, pointing down the other end of the hall.
I nodded. “Yes, the ER’s that way, but the cafeteria is down this way.”
He stopped walking and grabbed my hand. “Before we eat, ho
w about you showing me where you work?”
“Where I ... ?” Damn. I forgot I had told him I worked in the emergency room on the weekends. I coughed to hide my mistake, then tried to think fast. “I don’t work at this hospital.”
Tremayne frowned. “You don’t? I thought you said you did.”
“Nooo ... I-I’m doing my clinical training here. I work part-time at the Chippenham Medical Center.”
He looked confused, and for a second I thought maybe he knew I was lying before he nodded. “Okay, I must have gotten it mixed up.”
“No problem.” When he started walking and let the subject drop, I released a sigh of relief. I was going to have to learn how to lie better.
We stepped into the cafeteria, got hamburgers and fries, and found a table in the corner away from all the watchful eyes. It’s a damn shame how bold women can be when they see something they want.
While we ate, Tremayne talked about his brother, who was flying in from Phoenix in a few weeks for a wedding. A good friend of the family was getting married. I could tell they were pretty close.
While we finished eating, the conversation shifted and Tremayne told me he’d won in court this morning. I was so proud of him. “We’ll have to celebrate.”
“Sounds like a plan. Will I see you tonight?”
Liese had swimming lessons tonight, but I was sure I could have the girls in bed by nine so there was plenty of time for some good loving. But I never let him stay the night. Call me old-fashioned, but I wasn’t ready to take our relationship to that level. The girls had met Tremayne and adored him, but I was uncomfortable about them seeing another man sleeping in their mother’s bed. Arissa mentioned Anthony’s girlfriend lived with him, and that was all fine and dandy. What Anthony did at his house was one thing. I had girls that I wanted to raise as ladies, and I didn’t want them seeing their mama with different men in and out of her bed—not that I didn’t think Tremayne and I had a future, because I did. He was good to me and the girls, but I wasn’t just trying to jump into another relationship feet first. I needed to use my head and not rush our relationship. Besides, I had a lot on my schedule between clinicals, working at the club, and the girls. Having a man was hard. “I can’t. Liese has swimming this evening.”
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