by nikki blaire
“Very quickly.” Renee huffed before Claudette walked away. “And exactly what address will I be giving her?”
“Just send it to his office at my building.”
“Shall do. And congrats on your new relationship. What was that you were saying earlier about him never meeting your family?” Renee couldn’t help but take a jibe before following everyone to the table setting for brunch.
“Thanks.” She exhaled. Now, all she had to do was tell Tremaine and hope he was okay with being her date.
****
Tremaine’s apartment was quiet and dark when he walked in. He let out a breath of triumph, having wanted to get back before his sister or Sasha woke up. He went straight to the coffee machine and pulled out ingredients to make breakfast. Despite his early morning, he felt well rested and ready to start his day. Ayda’s bed had been warm and comfortable, but lying next to her had been what really soothed him. While the coffee pot gurgled, he took a short shower, and then changed into more comfortable clothes. He turned on the television to enjoy a quiet morning alone when he heard shuffling coming from his bedroom. He turned around to see his sister yawning in the doorway.
“You slept in my bed?” He arched an eyebrow.
“I was going to sleep with Sasha, but when I realized you weren’t coming home, I moved. Besides, it’s not like anything happens in there anyways.”
He wanted to counter, but he had nothing to say. She was right. Nothing had happened in there in months.
“Are you making breakfast?”
“Yea. French toast.” He slouched on the sofa.
“Great, then I’ll stay.” Julissa kissed his cheek then sat next to him. “Side note, I was scrolling the timeline last night and came across something.” She pushed her phone into his hand. “Everyone was talking about some audition for extras for this new show that’s supposed to be filming in D.C. I didn’t care at first, but then I looked at the audition flyer and read the cast.”
Tremaine’s stomach clenched. He knew what was coming.
“I thought it was a bunch of random actors until I saw that Trinity Cosgrove was the lead.” She eyed him. “She’s coming back to D.C. and didn’t even tell you? That triflinheffa never ceases to amaze me with how triflin she can be.”
“She did tell me.” He mumbled. “I just hadn’t told anyone. I was trying to figure out how to deal with it myself.”
“What is there to deal with? She’s coming back. I’ll just try not to slap her if I see her.”
“She asked to stay with me for a couple weeks.”
“And you said hell no. Whew, problem solved.” She stood up then traipsed to the kitchen.
“I didn’t exactly give her an answer, JuJu. I’m thinking about it.”
“What the hell for? She’s a waste of good melanin.”
“She’s Sasha’s mother and she says she has nowhere else to go.”
“And we can’t help that she’s Sasha’s mother now, but we’re not going to dwell on what we can’t fix.” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “The answer is no, Tremaine, and I’ll tell her if you can’t. I also don’t believe that nowhere else to go bullshit. She can stay with family, friends, damn, she can stay with the other actors. The woman is a soul-sucking user. That’s all she’s ever done and you need to stop giving her so many chances. Cut her the hell off!”
Before Tremaine could respond, Sasha appeared in her bedroom doorway rubbing her eyes.
“Daddy, can we have fench toss for breffis?”
“I was thinking the same thing, ladybug.” He eyed Julissa, letting her know the conversation was over. They ate breakfast in silence, while Sasha shared all of the details of her dream from the night before. After breakfast, he drove Julissa home.
“Thanks again, Julissa.” He hugged her after walking her to her door.
“No problem. I’ve always got you. You know that right?”
“Right.”
“So, you know I’m only looking out for you when I say that you have to tell Trinity that she cannot stay with you.” She brushed invisible lint off of his T-shirt.
“You’re right.” He sighed. “Now, get inside.” He quickly checked her apartment before letting her walk in, then hustled back to his car where Sasha was waiting for him. He knew his sister was right, and he would have to tell Trinity that she could not stay with him.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Sasha’s little voice sounded from the backseat. “You have on your angry face.”
“Nothing, sweetie. Just thinking.” He took out his phone and quickly text Trinity that they needed to talk before putting his car in reverse to pull out of Julissa’s parking lot. He had very little practice in telling Trinity “no,” so this would be easier said than done. But, he would get it done.
Chapter Ten
The next morning, the sound of Trinity’s voicemail resounded off of the walls of Tremaine’s office. He had called her after coming in early to catch up on work. Subconsciously, he knew that she would not answer the phone because she probably was not even up yet. Maybe that was exactly what he was hoping for because he had really been dreading this call.
Once she didn’t answer, he put on his headphones and threw himself into his work. The next few hours flew by and Tremaine only looked up once Mr. Bass knocked on his office door.
“Mr. Bass, you need anything?” He took his earplugs out of his ears.
“I just wanted to let you know that I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about you from the other office. They said they love you.”
Tremaine tried not to take offense to Mr. Bass’ compliment, but yet again, he was being admired for his personality and not his work ethic.
“Thanks. Glad to hear it’s working out.”
“I also wanted to let you know that corporate is looking at you for the permanent position.”
“Oh wow.” This made Tremaine’s ears perk up. “I had no idea.”
“Yea, I got word during one of our meetings. They’re considering some outside candidates too, but you’re in the running. I’m rooting for ya.” He gave Tremaine a nod before dismissing himself.
Alone again, a grin played at the corners of his mouth. His initial reluctance to take this position had proved to be unwarranted. He was making more money, was able to balance his work life, and raising Sasha, and most unexpectedly, it had brought Ayda into his life.
His real life.
His grin grew, while the thought of having this position permanently conjured up visions of him finally progressing towards the future of his dreams. He started to imagine himself in this job permanently, which would give him the chance to finally share some of his ideas to boost profits. Mr. Bass, and maybe others, may have only valued his personable demeanor, but Tremaine would show them that he was intelligent too. The slight vibration on his desk dragged him from his thoughts. He looked down at his phone and groaned. His past was calling him back.
“What’s up?” He swiped to answer Trinity’s call.
“What’s up with you? You said we needed to talk and then you call me at the crack of dawn. Is Sasha okay?”
Tremaine rolled his eyes. Although Sasha was Trinity’s daughter too, Tremaine was always annoyed at her tendency to only be concerned when convenient.
“She’s fine, but I wanted to get back to you about staying with me.”
“Oh, yea. If you could pick me up from the airport too that would be great.”
He clenched his jaw to bite back a rude response. She really thought he was still at her beckon call. The real Trinity always reared her ugly head once she believed that she had gotten her way.
“I can get you from the airport, if it works with my work schedule. But, you can’t stay with me, Trinity.”
Once the words left his mouth, he felt like a weight had been lifted.
“What?” She asked him, but didn’t give him the opportunity to respond. Her voice raised several octaves while she called him every foul name known to man. “Are you fucking serious, Trey?�
�
“Tremaine.” He calmly corrected her.
“What the hell ever! What am I supposed to do now?”
“You can stay with your family, some friends, maybe even one of the other actors,” He silently thanked his sister for giving him the script for how to stand his ground.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. And what about Sasha? Does she even know I’m coming back, or are you working on a way to screw me out of seeing her too?”
Tremaine took deep breaths to reel in his anger. He didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of getting under his skin. He was also at work and refused to act out of his character here.
“That’s not my M.O., Trinity. I’ve never kept you from seeing Sasha and I won’t start now. Your decision to be sporadic about visiting her has been your own doing.”
She screamed so loud that he had to take the phone from his ear.
“You not letting me stay is the same as saying that I can’t see her!”
“How?” He retorted, not seeing the connection.
“Fuck you, Trey.” She hung up without further explanation, which he should have expected. To her audiences, Trinity Cosgrove was a sweet-faced beauty who was on her way to the big time. But to Tremaine, she was still the spoiled attention-seeker who he had met at a club and let himself get too comfortable with. Even all of his best efforts had not been able to please her, often resulting in the same kinds of tantrums when she didn’t get her way. First, he had blamed her attitude on the pregnancy, then on himself, for not being able to satisfy her. But now, it was clear that he was never the problem, and she was the only one to blame.
“That went well.” He chuckled then sighed, but he was too riled up to get right back to work. In fact, he felt compelled to call Ayda. Hearing her voice would soothe his frazzled nerves. They also hadn’t been able to coordinate a good time to see each other since he had stayed over. He was feeling overdue. So, he dialed her number then leaned back in his office chair waiting for her to pick up.
“Good morning, Mr. Henley.” Her voice flooded over his body and warmed him to the core like hot soup on a cold day.
“Ms. Forde, how are you this morning?” He could hear the hustle and bustle of the city in the background. She had taken to calling him Mr. Henley, which he loved. He felt like it gave him a certain air of importance, although contrived.
“Headed to a breakfast meeting. I refuse to do any major thinking before my coffee though. I had to move my schedule up since I have a couple of doctor’s appointments today. I’ll be out all afternoon.”
“Doctor’s appointments? You feeling okay? Everything okay?’
“Yea, yea. I’ve just been putting off all my regular check ups because of the ad campaign launch. Now that it’s over, I can get my life back.”
“Good to hear. So, does that mean you’re free tonight?”
“I think I can make some room in my schedule. What did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking dinner, at a place you actually want to eat. And maybe drinks after?”
“That sounds perfect.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “So, I’ll see you tonight?”
“You damn right.” He hung up then exhaled. Trinity had drained from his mind and body and Ayda had replenished him.
****
“So, have you asked him yet?” Renee plopped down on Ayda’s desk. She had developed a habit of just barging into Ayda’s office with her daily dose of sass.
“No, not exactly, but we’re having dinner tonight, so I’m planning to ask him then. We’ve been so hit and miss this week because of our schedules.” Ayda rubbed her temples. She had compressed her entire day into the morning and early afternoon, so that she could get everything done before she left for the day. She had barely had a moment to breathe, let alone think about how she would ask Tremaine to be her date for the gala. She had just tossed him out of her house for the second time and said that she didn’t want to be seen together. Now, she was going to have to pitch the idea of them attending a very public event together as a couple.
She sighed then rubbed her temples some more. Tremaine calling had made the first step of actually asking him to the Spring Affair easy. Now, all she had to do was follow through.
“Well, get to it, girl.” She snapped her fingers. “But seriously, I never thought I’d see you like this. Number one, that you’re actually consistently dating someone, and number two, that you’ve held out this long without sex.”
“Girl,” Ayda let out an exasperated sigh before flinging herself on the desk. “You have no idea how rough this is.”
Renee laughed hysterically, while patting Ayda on the back. Her and Tremaine’s abstinence had not been intentional, but there was always something happening to get in the way. First, it was him, then it was her. Tonight, she would make sure that the only thing that came between them was a condom.
“Well, hopefully tonight’s the night. I’m gonna wish on a star for you, boss.”
“Please! Wish on all of the stars. The man is a walking orgasm and I just don’t have the strength. One more close encounter and I’m going for broke no matter what obstacles present themselves.”
Renee was doubled over in laughter now.
“I have been meaning to ask you one thing though,” Her breath was ragged. “What’s up with his baby mama? You said he has a daughter right?”
“Right.” Ayda sat upright again. Tremaine’s “baby’s mama” was someone that Ayda liked to keep buried in the back of her mind. The less that Ayda thought about her, the easier it was to pretend that the woman didn’t exist. “He and I haven’t really talked about her. He raises his daughter alone and she’s not really in the picture, from what he said.”
“Girl, please. There’s no way a woman would leave someone like that behind. And he can’t be a deadbeat because he has custody of the kid.”
“I know, I know. I’ve thought about all of these things, but all I have to go off of is what he says. He never talks about her, so I don’t know.”
“Well, find out. If you get serious with him then that kind of thing will matter.”
Ayda groaned before laying back out on her desk again.
“This is why I don’t date, Renee. There are so many questions, so much anticipation. Sex is just sex. It’s way less complicated.”
“Stop the lies.” Renee finally stood up to go back to her own desk. “We tell ourselves that bull to justify our decisions, but sex is just as messy as relationships. I told you that I was proud of you and I have a gut feeling that Tremaine’s a good guy. Don’t go over thinking yourself out of something good. Be upfront with him and I’m sure he’ll do the same.” She reached over to give Ayda a slight hug. “Also, your doctor’s appointment is in forty-five minutes. You better head out soon or the traffic will make you late.”
“Thanks, Renee. You’re the best.”
“Per usual.” She smiled before walking out and closing the door behind her.
Her day of appointments ended with just enough time for her to get ready for her date with Tremaine. She pulled out a sexy dress to wear then rushed to the shower, making sure to cover inch of her body in her favorite citrus scented body oil. She was definitely asking Tremaine to accompany her to the Spring Affair tonight, but she also hoped he would accompany her to bed as well. Her body was aching with need now that Mother Nature was no longer assaulting her. She washed and conditioned her hair to make sure that her curls were defined and bouncy since Tremaine had mentioned how much he liked her hair that way. She was serving herself up to him on a platter tonight.
Ayda stepped out of the shower to find her phone ringing on the sink counter. Tremaine’s name flashed across the screen, sending butterflies from her stomach to her chest.
“Hi, Tremaine.” She quickly picked up, excited to hear from him even though they were having dinner in a hour.
“Hey pretty lady. I’ve gotta ask you something.” Contrary to hers, Tremaine’s tone was deep and stoic. He was clearly conc
erned about something.
“What’s wrong? Do you need to cancel?” She hadn’t meant to put so much emphasis on “cancel,” but her disappointment shined right through it.
“Naw, it’s not like that. Well, I wanna still have dinner, but I hit a snag, and I’m hoping it’s not too much of an issue,” He sounded as if he were contemplating one of his life’s greatest decisions on the other end of the phone.
“Sasha’s dance class was cancelled and the change in time kind of makes it hard for Julissa to come get her.”
“It’s okay to reschedule, Tremaine.” Ayda had walked into her bedroom and her eyes fell on the freakum dress that she planned to wear for their date tonight. But now, they had hit yet another snag.
“Naw, I don’t wanna do that. I wanna see you, so…” He paused. “Is it okay if we all have dinner. Me, you, and Sasha?”
Ayda took a sharp inhale of breath. This was unexpected. Although she and Sasha had met before, having dinner with both of them was completely different.
“Sure, of course.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could really think about what she was agreeing to. Tremaine had been having that effect on her since they met.
“Really?” He sounded skeptical. “You can say no, Ayda, and we can just hang out another time.”
She sucked her teeth at his response. She was definitely not the type of woman that his comment was suggesting. She may not have been sure about where she and Tremaine were going, but she fully understood that he and Sasha were a packaged deal.
“Tremaine, it’s perfectly fine. I’m excited. Do you still want to go to the same restaurant?”
“Well, actually, she’s a little picky about restaurants. I was thinking we could come over and order in, or make dinner. If that’s okay with you? I don’t wanna invade your space.”
Ayda glanced at her dress again then dug into her dresser drawer for a pair of leggings.
“You have no idea how good that sounds to me. And it’s up to you. Whatever you wanna do is fine with me.”
“Ayda, you have one more time to be perfect…” His words trailed off, but Ayda knew exactly what he wanted to say. She was starting to feel the same way about him. His attentiveness as a father was impeccable, but he still found a way to consider her as well. It made her like him even more, but she still wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.