by nikki blaire
“No, Ayda. It was you and I’m forever indebted. You’ve made me the best version of myself. I appreciated that. I, uh, I wanted to give you something. You had asked for it before...”
She finally faced him, as he dug in his pocket. Ayda gasped when he pulled out a ring box.
“Tremaine! No, you don’t have to go this far. I accept your apology, but this is too much. I don’t even know your mother’s name, we just,”
“Ayda, calm down. I’m not proposing.” He placed the box in her hand with a chuckle. “Just open it.”
“Oh. Well, don’t bring a girl a damn ring box without a ring in it.” She deflated, and then snatched the box to open it, finding a key inside. Her expression balled up in confusion.
“Remember, I’ll give you a key to my place when you give me a key to yours.” He mimicked her. “Well, here’s a key.” He grinned. “I just wanted you to know that I wanna try this shit again, and this time I want to be sure that you know that I have nothing to hide. You can trust me. Come in and snoop through my shit anytime.”
“I would never,” Ayda started to say, but stopped once Tremaine arched an eyebrow at her.
“Only if you gave me reason to.” She giggled, still staring at the key. “This is really sweet, Tremaine, but it doesn’t make everything go away. We still need to talk, and honestly, I owe you an apology too.”
“We can do that later, but right now, I just wanted to make the first step. You have a key to my apartment...and my heart.”
They stared at each other for a moment until Ayda broke the silence by laughing.
“That’s corny as hell, Tremaine.” Her giggling made him join in. “But I appreciate it. This means a lot.” She leaned in to kiss him, but he paused her.
“One more thing.” He smirked, intentionally showing off his dimples. “You won’t have to go as far to come over either. We’re gonna be neighbors. The promotion came with a new apartment.” He shrugged.
“Are you serious?” She shrieked. “What if I had said no to this corny little gesture?” She playfully nudged him.
“You’d be forced to look at what you gave up everyday.” He bit his bottom lip, which made her yearn for him to bite her.
“You make me sick…” She pushed him away when realization hit. “You’re the person moving in on the floor below me? I saw the maintenance crew the other day. Tremaine, did you intentionally choose an apartment close to me?”
“Naw, trust me. I wouldn’t intentionally set myself up for that.” He shook his head. “That’s the one they gave me, but I can’t say I was upset about it though.”
“Whatever.” She didn’t completely believe him.
“So, now that we’re gonna be neighbors, can I come over for a cup of sugar?” He pulled her close and nipped her ear. He slid his hands around her waist, but they quickly pulled apart once Marc pushed the door open.
“Ayda, sorry to have to do this, but I need to get back to the office. Small fire that I’ve got to put out. Can you two take this on without me? Loop me in when you’ve got something?”
“Sure.” Ayda stood up to hug him. “It’s no problem.”
“Thanks, and Tremaine, good to see you again. I look forward to what you come up with.”
They nodded at each other before Marc quickly left the room.
“Um, well, I guess we can do this in my office now since it’s just the two of us.” She glanced at Tremaine.
“Cool with me.”
Chapter Nineteen
Chinese food containers were strewn all over Ayda’s desk, while she and Tremaine brainstormed. They had thrown ideas back and forth for hours until one finally pleased both of them. Now, they just need to work out the details. The office building was empty now, and even Renee had gone home.
“Okay, how about this? I think I got it.” Tremaine shot a balled up sheet of paper into Ayda’s wastebasket. His suit jacket was laid across the chaise in her office and his tie was completely undone. Music played softly in the background because Ayda said she needed it to think, occasionally humming every now and again. Tremaine hadn’t realized how much he missed her little quirks until now
“If you make another shot, I may actually believe you were on scholarship.” She laughed at him from across the room.
“Girl, please, you can Google me. In my uniform and all…” Tremaine crumbled another sheet of discarded paper then tossed it into the can. “But you already did that, didn’t you?” He winked knowingly.
Ayda just smacked her teeth, but that was all of the answer that he needed. He was right that she had.
“But listen, before I lose my thought. We can do a building restoration kind of thing. We have affordable housing units in my building, but they’re kinda crappy compared to the other apartments. Forde Financials can pay to have them renovated, get other companies to donate materials, do a big reveal, maybe even do an HGTV special.”
“That’s good. Really good, actually.” Ayda sat on her desk, crossing her legs. Tremaine’s eyes immediately went to her exposed thigh. He had been fighting the urge to dive between them all afternoon. The orange dress that she wore only enticed him more by reminding him of how she tasted. It was torture, but he was determined to be professional until they got through this assignment.
“But it needs more. Something immediate. People have short attention spans. A long-term project like that won’t keep the average person’s attention. Let me think.” She pulled the band holding her bun in place from her hair, sending her curls everywhere. It sent Tremaine over the edge, his fingers flexing from wanting to touch them.
“How about we do this in two parts. An initial launch that includes a cosmetic makeover of the buildings on the outside and then we do the inside. We can have community organizations help with the landscaping and...” Ayda’s eyes grew wide, as another idea came to her.
“We can have local artists paint murals on the sides of some of the buildings, including your building...well, old building. It’ll be inclusive and get people excited. Then we can reveal that first. Reveal the inside later. That will give us two PR bangs for our buck.”
Tremaine was openly staring at her. Watching her be creative was the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
“What do you think?” She asked excitedly.
“You’re amazing.” He exhaled, still just watching her.
“Thank you.” Her tone was hushed, but he could hear her heartbeat quicken. The sense of comfort that always hung between them was now charged and electrifying. He stood to come closer to her, stopping just short of reaching her.
“I’ll get this written up and to Marc for his suggestions. I’m sure he’ll have some.” She laughed nervously, affected by Tremaine’s closeness.
“We make a good team, Ayda.”
“We do, don’t we?” She looked away, but he reached out to turn her face upwards to look at him.
“I wanna stay a team.” He let his hand trail from her chin to her neck. He caressed it gently then moved lower. “I can’t say sorry enough. I’ve been going crazy without you. I should’ve never suggested the things that I did. I know you better than that and it was definitely my insecurity kickin’ in. And you’re Ayda Forde, of course you can’t have me out here beatin’ dudes faces in. I get that now. And Trinity was also my bad. I wanted to tell you, but it just never seemed like the right time. I should’ve told you that she was moving back to D.C., but I swear that she just showed up that day.”
“She’s moving back? Permanently?”
Tremaine shrugged.
“I really don’t know for how long. She’s filming some show, but I promise that she and I were done a long time ago. I need you to trust me.”
“We both said and did things that weren’t the best.” She sighed into him. “I can’t accept your apology without offering one of my own. You were right, I know how you feel about me, and I should’ve ended the whole Michael thing before then. And I should’ve talked to you instead of yelling. I do trust you, maybe too
much. I just don’t want to end up in another messed up situation.”
“We won’t.” He lowered his head until his lips brushed against her. “How about we start over and do this the right way?”
She nodded her head meekly, but Tremaine was already angling for her mouth. He connected their lips then kissed her with everything that he had pent up over the past week. His hands immediately went to her thighs. He squeezed tightly then pulled her closer to the edge of the desk. She let out a small squeal that he hushed by deepening their kiss while his hands moved to the edge of her panties. Just as he was about to slip a finger inside, Ayda grabbed his arm and pulled them apart.
“Tremaine, what are we doing?” She glanced up at him with questioning eyes, but he had just the answer.
“We’re getting back together.” He responded matter-of-factly then slipped his finger into his favorite place. The silky warmth made him so weak that he dropped to his knees.
“But what about the door? It’s not locked.” She tried to interject, but Tremaine was already pulling her panties down.
“I don’t give a fuck.” He was focused on her.
He hiked her dress up around her waist then moved further between her legs until he was face-to-face with what he was craving.
“But,” She started to say something else, but her words turned to incoherent mumblings once he swiped his tongue over her bud of nerves.
“Hell yeah, we’re back together.” He said more to himself, the familiar scent of citrus seeping into his nostrils. “And this is mine. You’re mine. All of you belongs to me.” He punctuated each word with a lick or a suck that made Ayda shake. She anxiously pried at him, trying to get him to let up, but he easily pinned her hands to the desk.
“You don’t wanna be mine, Ayda?” He asked, his tongue diving inside of her, sending a piercing scream into the air.
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.” She was rambling at a mile a minute, while her back arched off of the desk.
“Good, because I can’t lose this anymore.” He placed another finger into her treasure trove, while another scream sounded off. “I missed your smile, your chocolate skin.” He nipped her thigh. “Your hair, your smell, you’re so talented and creative, and you appreciate me. You encourage me, so I just wanna show you that same appreciation. Can I do that?”
“Tremaine, I can’t take this!” She squeezed her thighs around him, locking him in place. He feasted until she was yelling his name so loudly that he was sure that the people across the street could hear her. Her muscles locked and then she released, her chest heaving while she panted. He didn’t give her time to regain her composure, pulling himself out then he nestled himself inside of her, both of them moaning at the connection.
“Got dammit, I missed you.” She growled out, which only fueled Tremaine’s need to possess her.
“Say that shit again.” He smacked her bottom, then stroked deeper. “Tell me what you missed about a nigga.”
“I missed...you…” She tried to form some type of a sentence, but was clearly having trouble.
“C’mon Ayda, tell me how you feel about me.” He leaned in further, thrusting himself as deep as he could go. She was reeling, but he refused to let up. He needed her to be as open with him as he had just been with her.
“Y-you-you’re the finest man I’ve ever seen.” Her voice was three octaves higher than usual.
“That’s it?” He chuckled. “Open up for me, Ayda.” He meant it in more ways than one.
“You’re...so...considerate...and charming...and sweet.” She knocked the empty food containers off of her desk. “You’re everything. I love everything...about you…”
Then she convulsed, which caused her inner walls to grip him tighter than he was prepared for. Moments later, they were both teetering over the edge in a fit of pleasure. Tremaine’s head spun and he almost slumped over from the intensity of it all. He balanced himself then maneuvered from in between Ayda’s legs.
“Damn, now we’ve gotta clean that up.” He looked at the floor then pulled her upright. She rested her spent body on his chest with her eyes closed.
“I can’t do anything.” She groaned, which made him laugh. “I hate you so much, Tremaine.”
“I know that’s Ayda speak for you’re the best, Tremaine.” He teased her. They both laughed, neither being able to do much more moving than that.
Eventually, they got dressed, straightened up Ayda’s office, and then they walked hand in hand to the curb to share a cab. They rode silently, basking in each other’s presence when Ayda gently nuzzled into his neck.
“When are you moving in, neighbor? I want to make sure the welcome wagon is especially nice to you.”
He chuckled, while she left tiny kisses on his throat. The cab was taking him home, so that he could get his car to pick up Sasha. However, Ayda was going to make him change his plan if she kept kissing him like that.
“Uh,” He tried to pull his thoughts together. “I gave my apartment to my frat brother, so I’ve got a couple of weeks before I move in. And, my parents are coming up for Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the promotion and help me pack. They wanna do some kind of cook out thing.”
He looked down to gauge Ayda’s reaction at the mention of his parents. She was still kissing him, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said. Tremaine didn’t want to dump too much on her since they had just reconciled, but he wanted her to be there. His mother had already asked about her anyways, so there was no need to pretend like she wasn’t invited.
“What are you thinking of bringing? My mom’s real particular about who makes certain dishes.”
He tried to casually throw the topic back into the conversation since she hadn’t picked up on it before.
“Oh, I’m invited? I thought it was a family thing.”
“I mean, the Spring Gala was a family thing.” He felt a ping of disappointment in his chest at her response. “I met your folks, I figure, especially since we’re cool now, that you could meet mine.”
Ayda fell silent and he could tell that her mind was already spinning scenarios of how things would go if she came.
“Don’t feel like you have to,” He tried to salvage it, but Ayda cut him off with a kiss on the lips.
“I’ll be there, and I’m bringing potato salad. How do you like that? If I make that well enough, I’m sure your mom will be as enthralled with me as mine is with you.” She laughed, which eased all of the tension in Tremaine’s chest. He squeezed her then kissed her forehead.
“Naw, potato salad is for the professionals. Let’s start you off with a garden salad. No one can get sick from that.” He joked, making Ayda nudge him in the side, just as the cab slowed to a stop. “Hey, I’ll text you the details. I know you already know how to get to my house, but this time you can actually come up to the apartment.” He couldn’t resist teasing her some more, as they separated. He quickly closed the door behind him to lock her inside, which prompted her to roll down the window.
“You’re an asshole, Tremaine.” She stuck her tongue out at him. He quickly swooped in and pulled it into his mouth, massaging it with his own.
“Asshole, love of your life. Same thing.” He winked once he ended the kiss. They shared another longing glance before Tremaine said goodbye then rushed to his car to go pick up Sasha.
Julissa had already made dinner when he arrived, so Tremaine decided to eat as a family instead of grabbing something on the way home for he and Sasha to share.
“Mmmmmmmm, I love spatetti.” Sasha swirled the noodles in the pasta sauce.
“Spaghetti.” Tremaine corrected, while she shoved her fork into her mouth. “And thanks for dinner, JuJu. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” She grinned at him. “And, big bro, I could cook for you all the time if I moved into the third room in your new apartment when I start law school.”
“I knew there was something coming.” He shook his head, laughing. “I told you that you’re welcome to stay over anytime, but I want th
e extra room for anyone who comes. Plus, law school is hard. Sasha will be a distraction, and even more importantly, I’m not sure I want to live with my little sister.”
“C’mon, Tremaine. It’ll help me save money while I’m in law school.”
“And we can talk about it then.” His tone was final. Tremaine was already navigating his way through fatherhood and a new relationship. Adding his sister to the mix would be too much for him right now.
“Fine, but just don’t forget about me.”
“How could I forget my precious little sister who snitches about everything I do? Of course, you’d be first on the list to move in with me.”
“I take it that you talked to Ma?” Julissa tried to fight the grin forming on her face. She truly found her antics amusing.
“More like she talked to me, but yea, she called. Somehow she knew I was dating someone…”
“And how do you know that Que didn’t tell her? He knows too, and even if I did tell her, it was because we need to know who’s around our little Sasha.”
Tremaine held in a snort of a laugh.
“Que’s been keeping my secrets since before you were born. He wouldn’t start tellin’ them now.” He gave her a pointed glance. “But it’s fine. Mom, Dad, and Que are coming up for Memorial Day. She wants to do a cookout to celebrate my promotion. She invited Ayda, and despite you snitchin’, it’s cool. I wanted her to come.”
“Ms. Ayda’s coming?” Sasha perked up. “I like Ms. Ayda. That’s Daddy’s friend, Auntie Ju. She’s pretty and wears pretty dresses too.”
Tremaine sighed, even his own daughter couldn’t be trusted to keep his secrets.
“Ayda. Well, it’s nice to finally have a name to go with this mystery woman.” Julissa arched an eyebrow at her brother. “And I look forward to meeting her. This gives me time to think of some good questions too.”
“C’mon Ju, don’t start with all of that.” He sighed, pushing his food around his plate. He had suddenly lost his appetite. “Just treat her normally. Don’t act like I haven’t brought anyone home since…”