A Trillion to One

by Chenell Parker

  “Don’t take this the wrong way Trillion but I have to ask. Do you think that the baby could have been for someone else?” Amore questioned.

  “Nah. Jade wasn’t that type of chick. We had a bond that was stronger than the one I had with Leah. Running away like she did just wasn’t something that I thought she would do. I’m sure that Leah played a big part in it though.”

  Trillion had to keep telling himself that but he honestly didn’t know. Jade obviously had some kind of feelings for the other man if she just up and left with him. Trillion thought they were better than that but he was obviously wrong.

  “I couldn’t do it,” Amore said while shaking her head.

  “You couldn’t do what?” Trillion asked.

  “I couldn’t be a sister wife,” Amore said, making him laugh.

  “It wasn’t really like that. I mean, I was sleeping with both of them at the same time but they never slept with each other. Leah would have done anything to keep me there and that was the only reason why she suggested it,” Trillion pointed out.

  “That’s still too much if you ask me. How long did you really expect that to last?” Amore questioned.

  “I really wasn’t trying to make it last forever. Me and Jade were about to do our own thing. I guess she just couldn’t take it anymore.” Trillion shrugged.

  “Have you ever tried to post anything on your social media page? You have a lot of followers,” Amore noted.

  “Yeah, I did, but nothing ever came of it. How do you know that I have a lot of followers? I thought you didn’t do social media,” he reminded her.

  “I don’t but my cousin loves it. She follows you and she’s a fan,” Amore replied.

  “What’s her name?” Trillion asked as he picked his phone up from the side of the pool.

  “Chanell Walters,” Amore replied.

  “Smile, I’m about to send her a message,” Trillion said as he positioned his phone to take a picture of him and Amore.

  “She’s gonna go crazy,” Amore laughed once he was done. Not even five minutes later, her phone rang and Chanell’s picture popped up. They both laughed, but Amore didn’t answer it.

  “Damn man. You lost three whole years of your life behind somebody else’s bullshit,” Trillion said while shaking his head. “What did you do while you were locked up?”

  “Nothing much I could do. I got my GED but I spent most of my time reading and writing,” Amore replied.

  “Writing? What do you write? Poetry?” Trillion asked.

  “No, books,” Amore replied.

  “Seriously?” Trillion asked while looking at her in shock.

  “Yes. Why are you so surprised?” Amore laughed.

  “I don’t know. I just would have never thought that you wrote a book,” Trillion replied.

  “Not just one book, I wrote fifteen,” Amore noted.

  “What!” Trillion asked in shock. “What kind of imagination do you have to write fifteen books?”

  “It’s actually five but it’s in three part series. I was locked up for three years Trillion. Reading and writing were the only things that kept me sane,” Amore replied.

  “Can I read them?” he asked her.

  “If you want to. Besides my cousin, no one has ever read them before,” Amore said.

  “Why not? You might be sitting on a few bestsellers,” he pointed out.

  He and Amore talked for hours as the girls enjoyed their time in the pool. Once they got out, they all got dressed and went to get something to eat. Amore went with Trillion to drop Jazz off and she met his cousin Jordon and his girlfriend Erica. When they left, Tristyn begged to go by her grandparents, so Trillion headed to his father’s house right after. Amore was nervous about meeting his parents because she had never had to meet a man’s family before. Besides Ms. Ruby, Viper didn’t have anyone for her to meet. Aside from her cousins, she didn’t either. She wouldn’t even waste her time bringing anyone around Gianna.

  “I’ll wait while you bring her inside,” Amore said when they pulled up to the beautifully landscaped two-story home.

  “Girl, get your scary ass out of the car. My people are cool,” Trillion assured her.

  Amore reluctantly got out of the car and followed him up the stairs. She smiled when Tristyn grabbed her hand and it surprisingly made her feel better. Trillion didn’t bother knocking on the door. He used one of the keys on his key ring and walked right in.

  “Pops! Ma!” he yelled as soon as they walked inside.

  “I’m in the kitchen baby!” a woman yelled back.

  “Hey Mimi,” Tristyn squealed when she ran into the kitchen and up to an older black lady. She looked like a slightly older version of Stacy and she was just as pretty.

  “Hey my love. I was wondering if you were coming over,” the woman said as she picked her up and kissed her cheeks.

  “Ma, this is my friend, Amore,” Trillion said as he introduced the two women.

  “It’s nice to meet you ma’am,” Amore said as she smiled politely.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, honey. And call me Jackie.” She smiled as she shook Amore’s hand.

  “And you can call me Gary,” Trillion’s father, Garret, said when he entered the room and greeted Amore.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Gary,” Amore said as she shook his hand.

  “So, this is Amore, huh?” Garret asked as he looked at his son and smiled. Amore was beautiful and he could see why Trillion was chasing after her.

  “Yeah, that’s the disappearing woman,” Trillion smirked as he looked over at her.

  “Really Trillion.” Amore frowned.

  “Yes, really. I tell my pops everything. He knows all about how you played me,” Trillion replied.

  “Let’s go sit down in the front room,” Jackie suggested as she carried Tristyn on her hip.

  They all followed her and sat down in the living room to talk. Trillion was right and his people were cool. Amore’s nervousness melted away and they ended up staying over there for hours playing cards and drinking. Tristyn fell asleep and his father told him to leave her there. Amore wasn’t ready to leave but she didn’t want to wear out her welcome. Being in a normal family setting like that was new to her and she enjoyed it. They assured her that she was welcome any time and that was music to her ears.

  “My people like you,” Trillion said as he drove her to her house.

  “I like them too. I had fun.” Amore smiled.

  “See, it could have been like this a long time ago but you were too busy running away,” Trillion replied.

  “I know but I told you why. I’ve only been in one relationship and jail is the only thing that got me out of it. My fucked up life is actually what I wrote my first series on,” Amore said.

  “Damn. I understand Love and it’s no rush. I’ll be your friend for as long as you want me to. I don’t mind taking it to the next level but that’s all up to you,” Trillion said when he pulled up to her house. Amore smiled when he got out of the car and opened the door for her. That was a first and she loved the gesture.

  “I had fun. Thank you.” Amore smiled while giving him a peck on the lips.

  “Don’t try to brush me off. I want to read the book and you promised that I could,” Trillion replied.

  “Okay but don’t be too critical. And you better guard these books with your life,” Amore said as she pulled her keys from her purse and opened her door to let him in.

  Amore’s house was small but it was clean and smelled amazing. She had it decorated nicely and everything was in its place. Trillion followed her to her bedroom and watched as she disappeared into her closet. Amore came out carrying a milk crate that she sat on the bed. The books were neatly handwritten on paper and tied together like an actual book with some kind of thick vinyl string.

  “Damn girl. This shit is thick as fuck,” Trillion said when she handed him one of the books.

  “That’s only because they’re handwritten. It’ll be much shorter once they get typ
ed,” Amore replied as she handed him two more.

  “Do you have a title?” Trillion asked her since he didn’t see one on the front page.

  “From prisoner to prison,” Amore replied.

  “I like that. It’s deep.” Trillion nodded in approval.

  “The story of my life.” Amore shrugged.

  “Come stay the night with me,” Trillion requested as he looked over at her.

  “Okay,” Amore replied quicker than he thought she would.

  “Damn. That was easy,” he laughed.

  “Let me pack a bag right quick,” she replied as she walked back into her closet.

  She was taking her cousin’s advice and just going with the flow. Chanell was right and she never knew what would come out of it. She liked getting to know Trillion and she loved that he was just as interested in her. He didn’t judge her and that earned him a few points too.

  Trillion waited a few minutes until she got her things together. Once she was done, she locked up her house and prepared to go spend the night at his.

  T rillion smiled when he looked at his phone and saw Amore’s number pop up. Two weeks had passed since she first came to his house and they had been inseparable ever since. He loved that Amore seemed to want to spend time with him now and she called him just as much as he called her. Trillion had finally convinced her to get a new Instagram page, but she was never even on it.

  Things with Amore were going great but he couldn’t say that about every aspect of his life. Leah had been on some bullshit and he didn’t have time for it. Tristyn fell in love with Amore and she’d obviously mentioned it to her mother. Leah was swearing that he would never see his daughter again, but that was nothing new. Every time she heard that Trillion was dealing with somebody else, she used their daughter as a weapon to hurt him. He was hoping that Amore would eventually become a permanent part of his life and that was something that Leah would just have to deal with. His family loved her and he was falling for her just the same.

  “What’s up beautiful?” he asked when he answered for her.

  “Really Trillion? You said that you were gonna call me right back and that was almost three hours ago,” Amore fussed.

  “Calm down and come open the door. I just pulled up to your apartment,” Trillion replied.

  As soon as he walked up to the door, Amore opened it and walked away. Trillion licked his lips when he saw her in her black lace underwear and matching bra. He and Amore had a very active sex life but it was even better now. They were connecting in and out of the bedroom and that’s what he wanted.

  “Don’t even think about it,” she said when he walked up and hugged her from behind.

  “Come on Amore. Stop acting bad with it,” Trillion replied as his hands roamed her body.

  “Stop it Trillion. You already got my nerves bad. Who takes two whole weeks to read a book?” Amore questioned as she flopped down on the sofa.

  “Three books,” he corrected.

  “Okay, so, what did you think?” Amore asked him nervously.

  “Stop biting your nails,” Trillion said as he slapped her hand away from her mouth. Amore always did that when she was nervous but she had no reason to be.

  “Why do I feel like you’re stalling? I’m not fragile Trillion. You can keep it real with me. You didn’t like it?” Amore asked.

  “Nah, I loved it,” he replied with a smile.

  “Really?” Amore beamed.

  “Man, listen, you gotta get that shit published ASAP. I been finished but I let Erica read it too,” Trillion said, speaking of Jordon’s girlfriend.

  “Did she like it?” Amore asked.

  “She loved it. She said she couldn’t even put it down. You really should get it published Amore. You could be making some serious money,” Trillion said.

  “I know but I’m skeptical about dealing with a publisher. I’ve done my research and I’ve heard some horror stories. I don’t want nobody else to have more access to my money than I do,” Amore replied.

  “You can publish yourself. I already got some editors for you to check out. I made a post on my page and people are begging to type it up and edit for free,” Trillion noted.

  “Free?” Amore asked skeptically.

  “It’s free promotion Love. If they do a good job, they know I’ll tag them and all of my followers will see it. I got cover designers lined up too,” Trillion said.

  “I’m nervous,” Amore admitted.

  “I knew you would be. That’s why I got the ball rolling without you. You got this Love. All I need you to do is start interacting on your page a little more. All I have to do is tell people to follow you and it’s done,” Trillion noted.

  “So, they just do whatever you tell them to?” Amore questioned.

  “Basically. I promise you baby, one post from me is all it’ll take to send your books to the top of the charts,” Trillion assured her.

  “I need to get a good picture to put on my page first. I just don’t know about this Trillion,” Amore said skeptically.

  “Do you trust me Amore?” Trillion asked her.

  “I’m really trying to,” Amore replied truthfully.

  “Okay, well, I need you to try harder. I got you, Love, and I mean that. This is happening, so you better get ready,” he said.

  “I’m ready,” Amore said as she got up and headed to her bedroom.

  “Damn,” Trillion said as he pulled his t-shirt over his head and followed behind her.

  Amore went into her closet as he got naked and laid down in her bed. When she walked out, Trillion was stroking himself as he bit his bottom lip. There was no need for Amore to play coy. She already knew what was up, so she undressed and joined him in her bed. Amore found out that Trillion loved to give oral sex just as much as she did. She wasn’t surprised when he picked her up and made her straddle his face. She held on to the headboard and let him take the lead just like he loved to do. His take charge attitude turned her on and she had no problem following his commands.

  “I like this one,” Amore said as she and Trillion looked through some of the pictures that they’d just taken.

  Amore didn’t have any decent pictures, but Trillion fixed that in no time. He hired a photographer the following week and they did a photo shoot right in his penthouse. He even had a makeup artist and stylist there to get Amore right. She changed into three different outfits and took a variety of pictures. Trillion took a few with her and he wanted a copy of them all.

  “Yeah, that one is nice. Aye, can you make us a book with the pictures that we want?” Trillion asked the photographer who was busy putting away his equipment.

  “Absolutely. I can do whatever you need me to do,” the photographer nodded excitedly.

  He was beyond happy to give Trillion and Amore whatever they asked for. When Trillion posted that he was looking for a local photographer, he took a chance and sent him some of his work. He was shocked but excited when he was asked to do a private photo shoot for them. He was really about to show out because he knew that Trillion was going to tag him and get him some much needed business. He wasn’t even charging him, but Trillion promised to give him some free promo and that was all that he wanted.

  “You should use this for the back of your book covers. I need a copy of this one for myself,” Trillion said as he picked up one of the pictures.

  “I got my printer, so I can print a few extra copies out right now. I can email or text them to you too,” the photographer offered.

  Once they told him what they wanted, he got started on it right away. When he left, Amore put one of her pictures up on Instagram. She didn’t see the point because she only had about fifty followers. Trillion was waiting for her book cover to come back before he started promoting. He swore that people were going to start following her once he did, but Amore wasn’t so sure.

  “Are you hungry Love?” Trillion asked as he looked over at her. Everyone was gone and they were finally alone.

  “Why do you call me that?
” Amore inquired.

  “It’s your name. Amore means love.” Trillion winked as he pulled out a blunt.

  “Oh,” Amore said, embarrassed that she didn’t even know the meaning of her own name.

  “Stop biting your nails. You worry too much,” Trillion said as he slapped her hand out of her mouth.

  “And you smoke too much,” she replied.

  “My bad Love. I didn’t know that it bothered you,” Trillion said as he attempted to put it back in his pocket.

  “I’m just joking. It doesn’t bother me,” Amore assured him.

  “What’s on your mind Love? You look worried about something,” Trillion noted.

  “I’m good but I think I’m gonna just go home,” Amore said as she grabbed her purse.

  “Why? You look too good to just be sitting inside. It’s still early,” Trillion said as he pulled her close and kissed her.

  “I don’t know Trillion. I just feel weird. Every time I feel like this, something bad happens,” Amore replied.

  “You have to stop thinking like that Amore. We’re good Love. Nothing bad is going to happen. Let’s go get something to eat,” Trillion said as he grabbed her hand and led her out of the house.

  “When is Tristyn coming over again? I miss her,” Amore said, making him smile. Amore was definitely a keeper. Any woman who loved his daughter was a winner in his eyes.

  “Her stupid ass mama be on that bullshit. Let me call and see if she’s home. Maybe she can come out to eat with us,” Trillion said as he dialed Leah’s number.

  “Yes,” Leah snapped with an attitude when she answered the phone.

  “Where is my daughter?” Trillion asked.

  “Our daughter is in her room watching tv,” Leah replied, putting emphasis on the word “our”.

  “Is she dressed? I wanna pick her up and take her out to dinner,” Trillion said.

  “No but I can get her dressed,” Leah replied, surprising him with her shift in attitude.

  “Cool. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” Trillion said before hanging up. As soon as he did, his phone chimed, alerting him of an email.

  “Always busy,” Amore joked as he checked his phone while driving.