Baby Momma

by Tosha Damaya

  "Wait, wait! Let’s meet for dinner at seven.”

  At the mention of food, his stomach started to rumble. “The usual spot?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Dinner sounded like a good idea. He didn't feel like doing anything extravagant. "Alright."

  "Bye, Mr. Coleman,” Sydney whispered seductively into the phone.

  He ended the call with a chuckle before focusing back on the paperwork. He felt Brian's eyes on him.

  "What?" he asked, looking up at him.

  Brian pointed to the phone. "Girlfriend?"

  Zeke shook his head. "Best friend.”

  "Really?" Brian asked puzzled. He was sitting in front of Zeke's desk and observed the pictures positioned at the edges. There were three photos. One with an older couple, another picture of Zeke with three guys that had his same features, and then one of him and a young woman. He picked it up. "Is this her?"

  Zeke nodded his head. "Yeah, that's Sydney."

  "She's good looking,” he commented, still holding the picture.

  "She is."

  "She got a man?"

  "She does," Zeke easily lied. "Big mofo that just got out of prison for attempted murder. He considers me family, but he'll rough up any other man that gets close to her. The last one is still in the hospital suffering from a concussion.”

  Brian put the picture down rapidly. "Never mind."

  Zeke smiled. "Yeah, it's better if you stay away."

  ≈

  Zeke arrived at his and Sydney’s favorite restaurant thirty minutes late. He loosened his tie and rushed inside of the building, cursing at the sight of two couples standing in front of the hostess podium. Sydney was going to kill him. She was a stickler for punctuality, and would give him a speech about being tardy.

  After the hostess had returned from escorting the other patrons, Zeke approached with quick steps.

  “I have a reservation under Zeke Coleman or Sydney Adams.”

  The hostess smiled. “The other half of your party is already here.”

  Zeke followed the teen girl. He scanned the inside of the restaurant and didn’t see Sydney’s familiar face.

  “Here we are.”

  Zeke stopped at the table. There was a woman present, but it wasn’t his best friend. “I think we have the wrong table.”

  “No sir,” the hostess corrected. “This is the right table.” She gave him a menu and walked away. He was about to halt her movement, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

  “Don’t, Sydney told me to come.”

  Sydney? My Sydney? Maybe this woman works with her, he initially thought and then corrected himself. He knew most of the employees and was at the store at least once a week. He’d never seen this woman. “Is she not coming?” he asked. But if that were the issue, she would’ve just called.

  “No.”

  His confusion amplified another notch.

  The woman smiled. “She thought we would make a good match.”

  For the second time that evening, Zeke cursed. He was going to kill Sydney.

  ≈

  Taking the popcorn out of the microwave, Sydney added some butter before walking over and placing it on the coffee table. She was headed back to the kitchen for drinks when her front door opened.

  “Hey, hoe.”

  Sydney mentally prepared herself to deal with Sierra. She grabbed a drink from the fridge and walked back to the living area. “What are you doing here?”

  "Well don’t sound so excited to see me.”

  Sydney plopped down on her couch. “I wasn’t expecting you. Just because you moved into my building doesn't mean you can come over whenever you please."

  “Why did you give me a key?”

  “For emergencies.”

  Sierra sat beside her and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “This is an emergency. Come out with me.”

  "No.”

  “Please,” Sierra begged with a mouth full of popcorn. Sydney watched a few fall onto the couch.

  “No.” She brushed the crumbs onto her hand and went to throw them away in the trash.

  "If you come, I'll clean your apartment."

  Sydney chuckled as she came back into the living area. "You must have me confused with someone else. My apartment is in excellent condition. Now that heifer that lives down the hall from me is messy,” she replied, referring to Sierra's apartment. Her sister lacked housekeeping skills.

  "I'll work your shift this Saturday."

  Sydney snorted. "I'm the boss, and I love my job. I don't mind working. Try again."

  Sierra thought it over and attempted to come up with something better. "I'll let you borrow anything from my closet for a month."

  Sydney was intrigued with the idea. Sierra had an impressive wardrobe.

  "Bar or Club?" Sydney asked before deciding on saying yes or no.

  "House party."

  "House party? This better not be some college party, Sierra. We're getting too old for that." Sierra was working on her last degree and most of her friends still attended the University. Some were too immature for Sydney.

  “You’re lame. It's a grown and sexy party. Come on and play a little.” Sierra started dancing in her seat and snapping her fingers. “I promise you won't regret it," she encouraged.

  Sydney thought it over and decided that a house party didn't sound so bad, and she got to wear Sierra's clothing and shoes, which was a bonus. She could play dress up for the night.

  “Okay.”

  ≈

  An hour later, Sydney’s hair and makeup were completed. She was just about to slip into the outfit that she’d taken from Sierra’s closet, when she heard a knock on the front door. She tightened her robe and walked over to the entrance.

  “Who is it?” She wasn’t expecting anyone tonight. Sierra would’ve just barged into the apartment.

  “Open the door, Sydney.”

  She recognized Zeke’s voice. He wasn’t in a great mood, she realized it by his tone and by the fact that he called her Sydney and not Syd. She unlocked and opened the door for him.

  “Are you mad?” There could be only one logical reason for his demeanor. He wasn’t with Leona, so she assumed that the date didn’t go well.

  Zeke walked in and threw his suit jacket onto the couch. “What were you thinking?”

  “I was trying to help. I met Leona at the store, and she was perfect for you. Smart, educated, and sexy,” she exclaimed after she shut the door and followed him into the living area. “Tell me she’s not attractive?” Sydney challenged.

  “She’s very attractive.”

  “See! She’s also an attorney, so you have work in common.”

  “It’s not going to happen,” Zeke responded, stopping her joy.

  “Why not?”

  “She’s too focused on work. During the majority of the dinner, the conversation was surrounded by her law firm and the cases she’s handling.”

  “She works hard, what’s wrong with that?”

  “I want a wife and a mother to my kids. She wouldn’t fit the bill,” Zeke replied in a no-nonsense tone.

  Sydney couldn’t believe him. “Are you serious? Are you telling me that you want your wife to stay home? You want her barefoot and pregnant at all times?”

  He felt insulted. “That’s not fair. I just want my kids to have the best life and future. I don’t mind if my wife works, but I want our family to be her priority. A woman like Leona focuses only on work. She was nice, and I had a decent time with her, but she isn’t the one. Okay.”

  Sydney was sulking. “Okay.”

  “You’re acting like you just met me. You know my mom stayed home with us, and I want something similar. I’m willing to compromise, but I need a woman that is ready to do the same.”

  Now that Sydney thought it over, she realized that he was right. “I wasn’t thinking. I just thought she was your type.”

  “What’s my type?”

  Sydney grinned. “Women with fat asses.”

  Zeke pick
ed Sydney up and spun her around, laughter filled the apartment. He ended up tossing her onto the couch and started tickling her sides.

  “Stop it. Stop it!”

  He continued the playful assault.

  “I’m going to pee if you don’t stop.”

  He stopped and leaned back. “I don’t want you to piss yourself. It’s unattractive.”

  Sydney sat up and slapped him on the shoulder. “Jerk. You messed up my make-up.” She ran out of the room quickly.

  Zeke followed behind her and leaned against the doorway of the bathroom. He watched as she reapplied her makeup. “Why the pretty face?”

  “Sierra bribed me into going to a party. You should come, too.”

  "No one invited Zeke the cock blocker," Sierra interrupted. She walked past Zeke, sat on the side of the tub, and watched Sydney.

  Suddenly the small bathroom felt crowded.

  "Be nice,” Sydney encouraged.

  "I am. I could've called him so many worse things."

  Zeke ignored Sierra. "I was hoping to relax the rest of the night," Zeke commented. He wanted Sydney to agree with him.

  "Why do you act so old? We're young and single. Let's go have some fun while we're still able to," Sierra exclaimed.

  “Why do you act so immature?” Zeke replied.

  Sydney rolled her eyes as they started to argue. Zeke and Sierra were like oil and water. They didn’t mix well and could never get along. She always had to be the peacemaker.

  "How about we just go for an hour or two and take separate cars. Zeke, we can leave when you’re ready, and that way we won’t ruin Sierra’s night.”

  They didn’t like it, but it was a good compromise.

  "Fine."

  Sydney smiled. “Great. Let’s go have a little fun.”

  Chapter Five

  The party was outside on the terrace of an apartment complex in downtown Austin. Zeke acknowledged that the environment was spectacular, and he enjoyed the company of other young professionals like himself. Despite all of that, he wasn't having a good time. He, Sydney, and Sierra had arrived an hour ago, and he was ready to leave ten minutes after they got there.

  He took a sip of his drink and glanced around until he found Sierra flirting her life away with a group of men. He was sure that they loved the great view she provided them of her cleavage. Taking his eyes away from her, he found Sydney talking with another woman.

  Sydney looked incredible tonight, dressed in a white blouse that reminded him of a man's dress shirt. She had it tucked into a leather skirt with black heels that lengthened her short frame. When he saw her, he immediately groaned because he thought he was going to have to fight men off of her. Sydney surprised him tonight and was backing the men away from herself. Zeke chuckled each time a man approached her and she ignored them. He stopped thinking everything was funny when she started directing women his way. They were all beautiful, but he wasn't interested. After dealing with Danielle, he didn't want to be in another relationship.

  He continued to watch Sydney, and when the woman walked away, he approached her. "Hey sexy, I've been watching you all night, and I like the way you look,” he whispered in her ear, standing behind her.

  Sydney backed up into him and rubbed her backside against his groin. "Are you sure you can handle a country girl like me? Don't let the skirt and heels fool you."

  Zeke was astonished at how bold Sydney was acting. Does she know it’s me? He turned her around to face him, and he saw the mischief in her eyes. Okay, so she knows. "You're such a bad girl," he scolded her, tapping her on the nose.

  Sydney laughed, grabbed the drink out of Zeke's hand, and took a sip. “That’s disgusting.”

  “It’s a big boy drink.” He emptied the glass of Scotch and placed it on a nearby table. "Are you ready to go?"

  "You aren't having fun?"

  "No."

  "Zeke, look at all of the beautiful women here. I think you may be able to meet someone.”

  He groaned. "No, Syd."

  "Zeke."

  "I'm not looking for anyone right now. Maybe being married and in love isn't for me,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. He’d been in so many relationships and wasn’t interested in starting a new one.

  "What about having a family?"

  "I'm giving up on it for now."

  Something was seriously wrong with Zeke and Sydney needed to figure it out. She didn't want him to give up on something that he wanted so badly. Having a family had always been a priority for him.

  "Let's go home and talk." The conversation was too heavy to have at a party.

  Zeke nodded his head then grabbed Sydney's hand and walked towards the exit. They passed Sierra on the way out.

  "We're leaving," Sydney told her sister.

  "Wait! There's someone here that I think you'll be happy to see," Sierra stated before running off to the crowd. She came back a minute later pulling a woman behind her. Sydney briefly recognized her before the girl attacked her with a hug.

  "Oh my God! Alana!" she exclaimed, returning the embrace. “How are you?”

  "I'm great! I just moved back to Texas. I came to the store and Sierra said you would be here tonight."

  Now she understood why Sierra was trying to get her to come out. She was genuinely happy to see Alana. She looked like the same curly-haired girl Sydney had met as a teenager. They were pretty close until Alana moved a couple of years ago. She then, unconsciously, replaced her with Zeke as her new best friend.

  Sydney realized that her two friends had never met. She searched for Zeke and saw him off to the side away from them. When did he move?

  "Zeke!" she shouted to get his attention. Her yelling his name got Alana's attention as well, and she looked in that direction. When he walked over, she expected her two friends to greet properly, but before she could say anything, Alana slapped Zeke in the face.

  "You are such an asshole,” she shouted at him.

  "Whoa, what the fuck is going on?" Sierra started pulling Alana from Zeke when she tried to hit him again.

  "He slept with me on Valentine's Day and never called me after," Alana shouted.

  Sydney remembered Alana telling her about a man she had met at the bar and how he swept her off her feet. She also remembered consoling Alana when the jerk gave her a wrong number and address. Was Zeke that man? She wanted to know.

  "Is that right?" Sydney questioned.

  It was the first time Sydney witnessed Zeke in an uncomfortable situation. He obviously didn’t want to answer. Everyone stood in a crowd staring at him waiting.

  “Zeke?”

  Zeke dragged his hands down his face. "It's true."

  ≈

  "I'm not mad."

  It felt like Sydney had expressed the statement for the hundredth time. During the drive back to her apartment, Zeke continued to pester her, and no matter how many times she told him everything was okay, he wasn’t satisfied with her answers.

  She opened the door and threw the keys on the console table before kicking Sierra’s stilettos off and leaving them in the entranceway.

  "You’re acting mad.” He picked the shoes up and placed them in the hall closet.

  "If I were mad, you wouldn't be staying with me Zeke," she said, sitting on the couch. He came and sat beside her.

  "You barely spoke on the ride home. Whatever I need to do to fix it, I will,” he promised, lifting her legs to place on his lap so that he could rub her feet.

  "What if I had sex with one of your friends before we met and you’d just found out? You wouldn't be very talkative right now either, Zeke."

  He didn't say anything, but she saw the anger in his eyes at just the mention of it. Zeke would be trying to track down whoever she’d slept with and would try to kick his ass. Sydney kept any man she dated away from Zeke, because he would run them away. It was okay for him to engage in casual relationships, but he didn't see it appropriate for her. Truthfully, Sydney wasn't mad, she didn't have a right to be. She and Zeke had jus
t met when he slept with Alana, and she wasn't his girlfriend then or now. The situation just annoyed her a little.

  "How did it happen?"

  "I stuck my penis into her vagina,” he replied, being a smart ass.

  Sydney rolled her eyes and rephrased the question. “How did you two meet?”

  Still massaging her feet, he told her everything. "My date that night was a train-wreck, so I ended up at a bar and met your friend there. It was late, probably around eleven when I arrived. We both had too much to drink, and I ended up going home with her. I did promise to call her, but I didn't have any intention to. I was a different person back then, Syd,” Zeke admitted.

  Sydney soaked in all of the information and her mind traveled back to those few days that Alana was heartbroken. "She cried over you. I went to that bar looking for you so that I could curse you out. It’s weird that I hated you so much. I could never see myself hating you.” It wasn’t possible. “You told her your name was Christopher."

  "For one-night stands, I gave women my middle name."

  Zeke Christopher Coleman. She would’ve never made the connection. "I still can’t believe it." Sydney rested her head against the sofa. Everything happened over two years ago, but it still felt so fresh. “It just doesn’t sound like you.”

  “I’m not that guy anymore, Sydney. I tried to apologize to Alana, but she's not attempting to hear it.”

  "Don't expect her to.”

  Sydney disliked being caught in the middle. She wasn’t going to give up her friendship with Zeke because Alana decided to be promiscuous and open her legs to him. She hoped to have them both in her life.

  “I’m sorry, Sydney.”

  “Why are you sorry? It’s unfortunate that it happened, but we can’t go back and change the past,” she replied honestly.

  “I know. I just don’t like the look of disappointment you have towards me.”

  Disappointed was a strong word for her feelings. She didn’t know how she felt regarding the situation. She knew she didn’t like it. A mutual rule they had was that they couldn’t date each other’s good friends. It was pretty shocking that all along, it’d happened, and she didn’t know it.

  Sydney took a deep breath, pushing away the situation momentarily. She was tired of thinking about it. "Do you still feel like watching a movie?" she asked, already getting up and heading to her DVD collection.