Tasha bit her lip trying to keep it together, “Please don’t do this.”
Tim knew without a shadow of a doubt that at some point he’d fallen in love with her. “Tasha, I want to be with you. All you have to do is say you want it too.”
The tears started to stream down her face, “She’s my best friend. I couldn’t be responsible for that…I would never be able to forgive myself.”
“Tasha, I’m in love with you. I’ve known it for a while and I think deep down you’ve known it too. We can’t keep hiding from that.”
Her voice cracked with anguish and pain, “What type of woman do you think you’d get if I betrayed Sabrina?” Tasha adamantly shook her head, “No. I…we can’t do this. Please, promise me you’ll fight for your marriage. I can’t be responsible for it not working.”
There was dead silence for a few moments. Tasha felt as if she were teetering on the edge of a cliff waiting for him to respond. She whispered into the phone, “Tim?”
He had no idea what he was supposed to do? How was he going to fight for a marriage that was essentially over? He knew without a shadow of a doubt what he felt for Tasha was deeper than sex. He was in love with her.
“Tim…please.”
After a few more moments of silence, he spoke. “I don’t love her.”
Tasha went on as if he hadn’t spoken, “You just have to try harder. You guys haven’t even really tried. You never even went to counseling.”
“Counseling isn’t going to help us.”
“I can’t be the reason you guys don’t make it.”
“Sabrina and I have had problems for a while. You’re not the reason. I just happen to be in love with you.”
“That’s impossible. Remember, you said you knew Sabrina was the one after the first date. If that was a mistake, then how can you trust these feelings?” Tasha was panicked, “You have to try to remember how you felt then. Promise me you’ll at least try!”
“I’ll do anything for you but I don’t know if I can….”
“Then, promise me. Sabrina doesn’t deserve this type of betrayal from us.”
Tim put his head in his hands. The anguish in Tasha’s voice was tearing him apart. He would do anything for her. The moments seem to tick on forever.
Tasha pleaded, “Tim, promise me please.”
More moments passed before he finally gave in to her pleas. “I promise.”
Chapter 18
One year later
Tasha spent most of the day getting ready for the surprise birthday party Sabrina was throwing for Tim. If she were honest, she’d spent most of the week getting ready, shopping for the perfect dress and shoes.
Somehow, a year had passed since they last spoke…alone. Since the incident, she and Tim were only able to get back to being friendly but nowhere near the closeness they’d once shared. He seemed to have thrown himself into his relationship with Sabrina and Tasha tried to do the same with Eric. They were now living together.
Lately, he’d been complaining about things being boring between them. So, Tasha wanted to spice it up. Tonight, she didn’t want to look like an accountant. She’d put a lot of energy into trying to look nice for him.
They’d been dating for three years and instead of moving towards building a life together, it felt as if they were going backwards. If she were honest, their whole relationship had felt like a rough patch.
It would have been so easy to just break up with him, but Tasha needed to prove to herself that she could be in a loving, committed, long-term relationship. And, that Tim wasn’t the reason behind it not working.
Anyway…this was normal right? She’d heard other couples talk about how a relationship could become stale after dating someone a long time. Tasha felt as if she’d made many attempts to spice things up but tonight she’d made even more of an effort. Hoping to press the reset button on their relationship, Tasha wanted to look HOT.
Jackie from DivaTresses Salon really hooked her hair up. Tasha was never any good at styling it herself. Because it was so long and thick, she usually just wore it up in a ponytail. It was the easiest and most convenient way to wear it. Her dad had always loved her hair, so she never had the heart to cut it. But, today she’d told Jackie to transform it into something special. She sat back and let her work her magic.
When Jackie was all finished she wiped the sweat off of her brow and turned Tasha’s chair around so she could look in the mirror.
Jackie laughed, “I put in a full day’s work on that hair. Four hours to hook it up and Eric’s going to mess it up the moment he lays eyes on you!”
Tasha saw her reflection in the mirror but almost didn’t recognize herself. Jackie had added some layers to her hair and had given her some big bodied curls. She’d lightened it to a beautiful dark caramel and threw some blonde highlights into it. Tasha continued to gaze at herself but still had to touch her hair just to make sure it was her.
“Wow. This is incredible Jackie. I love it!”
“Yeah, I had to cancel a couple of appointments once you told me I could do whatever I wanted. I’ve been dying to get my hands into that hair for a while. I kept your length and added the layers just to give it some extra volume.”
Tasha continued to stare at her reflection, “Between Shirl hooking up my eyebrows and nails and you with my hair…Eric might not even recognize me.”
“No honey…that crazy mix of brown and green eyes will always give you away. All I can say is don’t hurt him!”
Tasha laughed out loud, “I can’t take your advice on that one because that’s exactly what I plan to do!”
“Well, try to enjoy some of the party first because everybody knows Sabrina Links-Horne knows how to throw a party. That crazy girl was in yesterday getting her hair and nails done.”
“I know I talked to her this morning before she went radio silent. She’s at the spa getting relaxed for the party tonight.”
“Well, make sure you get a lot of pictures of you all dressed up. We don’t see that nearly enough.”
“I’ll make sure to do that and thanks again.”
*****
A few hours later, Tasha was finishing up her makeup when she heard Eric put his key into the door. She rushed to spray on the perfume he’d bought her for her birthday and to put on her candy apple red Jimmy Choos.
She took a deep breath, stole one last look in the mirror, and reminded herself that she wasn’t that boring old accountant tonight. Tonight, she was sultry, sexy, adventurous and fun. All the things he’d accused her of not being.
Tasha walked out of the bedroom feeling confident. She wore a daring mid-thigh length, form fitted, red dress that hugged all of her curves. The front of the dress from the waist up was sheer but covered in patterns that strategically covered up the parts of her that were meant for Eric’s eyes only. She put her hands on her hips and struck a Beyoncé pose.
In her sexiest voice, “Hey Mr. Thomas. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Eric was exhausted. But when he looked up he couldn’t believe what he saw in front of him. Was that Tasha? He blinked a couple more times before a smile slowly took over his face.
“You look…stunning.”
Tasha walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I hoped you would like it.” She pressed her lips to his for a kiss. When she pulled back she gave him her most sensuous smile.
Eric pulled back even further and kissed her on the side of the head, “I really need a shower before we go and I don’t want to get into it with Sabrina tonight for being late.”
Feeling a little disappointed that Eric wasn’t overly wowed by her transformation, Tasha’s confidence slipped just a little. “Well…okay.” She released him and let him walk away. Jackie was wrong. He didn’t want to mess her hair up.
Eric threw over his shoulder as he walked off, “I won’t be long. Did you get my suit out of the cleaners?”
Trying to sound like she wasn’t bothered by his lack of interest, Tasha responded, “
It’s on the bed.”
Chapter 19
The party was in full swing by the time Tasha and Eric arrived. The music was playing; people were dancing, drinking and having a good time.
Eric held on to Tasha’s lower back making sure everybody knew she was his woman. However, moments after they entered someone called out to her.
“Tasha Stevens. Is that you?”
Tasha turned around to see who it was. It was one of Sabrina’s co-workers who Tasha had done some personal tax work for.
She spoke innocently, “Hi Michael.”
He stuttered, “Wow, you look…different…incredible…beautiful…not that you weren’t before.”
She smiled shyly, “Thank you.” Knowing Eric, Tasha knew she’d better introduce Michael to him before he got the wrong idea.
“Have I introduced you to my boyfriend, Eric?”
He was pissed. Was she flirting with this dude right in front of him? Just because she got her hair done and was wearing that dress didn’t mean she could disrespect him! Eric gave Michael a dirty look and walked away from both of them without saying a word.
Tasha stood there ready to die from embarrassment, “I’m sorry Michael…”
“Don’t worry about it. Looking the way you do, I understand. However, if you were my woman, I’d watch you like a hawk. I most certainly wouldn’t leave your side. And, if he doesn’t get it together…let me know.”
She gave him a friendly smile before walking away to go find him. However, even with all the people and loud music, Tasha was still able to hear Sabrina’s voice above it all.
“There you are! It’s about time you got here.”
Sabrina looked like a million dollars. She wore an all-white backless mini-dress with three strings of pearls, each longer than the other, holding the back of the dress together. It dipped so low you could almost see her ass. However, the contrast of the white with her creamy chocolate skin was striking. Sabrina was tall so her white and diamond stilettoes made her legs look even longer.
“You look sensational Sabrina!”
Sabrina responded jokingly, “Thank you…I do don’t I? Well, you don’t look half bad yourself. Who picked that dress? Eric? I know you didn’t. But, that red contrasting with my white is perfect! It almost looks like something I would wear. And, I love your hair! You should have cut it years ago.”
Tasha scrunched up her eyebrows, “That was a really ass backwards compliment. Couldn’t you have just said I looked nice?”
Sabrina was no longer focused on Tasha but looking around her. “Don’t be so sensitive. You know you’re gorgeous. Anyway…Tim should be here any minute. His flight landed about an hour ago. I had the driver take him the long way home to make sure everybody was here; not a moment too soon either. His crazy ass family is here and they are driving me insane. ”
“You didn’t tell me they were in town for the party? Are they staying here?”
Sabrina couldn’t look Tasha in her eye, “Well…it’s actually just his sister and her family. Craig couldn’t make it. I didn’t know for sure who or even if they were coming. Since they decided at the last minute, yes, they are staying here.” Sabrina laughed animatedly, “I’m not used to having little kids running around destroying everything in their path either.”
Tasha gave her a serious look, “Given your relationship with his family, staying here probably wasn’t the best idea.”
“Stop worrying. Everything is fine. We’re all having a good time and it’s probably like Jenny’s on vacation not having to pick up after all of them. There were no incidents that you or Tim need to be concerned about.”
Tasha shook her head, “If you say so, it’s your funeral. I can’t be worried about that.”
“My god…Tasha is minding her own business? We should definitely celebrate that!”
“You’re really funny tonight Sabrina. Believe me, I don’t want to be in your business but you seem to always want to drag me into it kicking and screaming. Anyway, I need to go find Eric. Did you happen to see which way he went?”
“Yes, I saw him heading over towards the bar. He had a pissy look on his face. Is that the only look he has?”
“Don’t start okay? Please. Not tonight.”
“There are entirely too many sexy and rich men here for you to give a damn about upsetting Eric.”
Tasha could tell that Sabrina had already had a few drinks. That was never a good thing. “I’m not interested in anyone but him. And…can you try to be on your best behavior? It is Tim’s birthday party after all.”
Sabrina gave her a devilish grin, “There you go, in my business again. But, I’ll be on my best behavior…tonight anyway.”
Tasha rolled her eyes, “I’ve got to go.”
“Well…don’t stray too far because I’ll need you, Jenny, and Daniel up front when he gets here.”
“Tim hates Daniel you know.”
“I know but since Craig couldn’t be here and Jenny can’t stand me, Daniel will have to do.”
Tasha nodded as she left to make her way over to the bar.
*****
Tim was in the limo about a half a mile from his house on the phone talking to Craig.
“I have a half a mind not to even show up. I told her in no uncertain terms I didn’t want her to throw this party. Now, I have to go inside and pretend like A. I’m surprised and B. We’re this happy couple.”
“Well, she did throw it and you can’t pull a no show. All of your business associates are going to be there. I would be there too but with Karen being this late in her pregnancy, I just don’t want to risk anything happening.”
“It’ still hard for me to believe you’re going to be a dad. Does it feel real to you?”
“It’s definitely surreal. But, Karen’s been great. I haven’t had to deal with any of the horror stories some of my buddies have told me about. She’s an incredible wife but she’s going to be an even better mother.”
Tim felt a stab of jealously. He’d hoped to be a father by now. But, when he saw the face of the mother of his child it wasn’t Sabrina’s that came into view.
It was impossible to keep the sadness from creeping into his voice, “Well, now Jenny’s kids will finally have a cousin to play with. I doubt Uncle Tim will be able to help out with that anytime soon.”
“Mom used to always say, everything always happens the way it’s supposed to happen. When was the last time you talked to Tasha? Is she going to be at the party tonight?”
“What? What made you bring her up? I’m guessing she’ll probably be there.”
“You used to talk about her a lot. I mean a lot and suddenly you stopped. I always wondered what happened. Is she still dating Eric? He was a piece of work.”
Tim was uncomfortable talking about Tasha to Craig. Especially, since he had had a major crush on her. “Yeah, I believe they are still dating.”
“I’m just going to say it…I always thought you and Tasha were going to hook up.”
Tim starting coughing uncontrollably, “What…what would make you say something like that?”
“I mean I had a thing for her but she wasn’t really into me.”
Tim laughed uncomfortably “That’s a crazy idea but how would you have felt if we had?”
“Like you stole my opportunity.” Craig laughed, “I’m just kidding. But, seriously it really was a good thing we didn’t. If we’d have hooked up, I may have missed my opportunity with Karen and she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. Why is that a crazy? I noticed how you would light up when you talked about her. I wasn’t sure if you’d figured it out yet or not. But, then when you just stopped talking about her, I figure you’d probably realized you felt something or she’d fallen in love with Eric and kicked you to the curb.”
“I don’t know why you think you’re so smart.”
“I’m just good at reading people’s body language especially yours. So, which one was it?”
Tim was really quiet.
“Hmm…got it. Does she feel the same way?”
“I’m a married man who happens to be married to her best friend. She’s in a relationship. End of story.”
“I can tell you that there is nothing better than being married to the right person. Life is too short to settle. Tasha will make someone an incredible wife.”
He didn’t have the right but Tim didn’t want to think about Tasha getting married. He was glad he’d pulled up in front of the house before Craig made him think about things that were better left buried.
“I just pulled up in front of the house. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
*****
It took Tasha longer than she would have liked to get to Eric because of all the people crowded around the dance floor and the bar. She was literally standing just a few feet away as she watched some woman flirting with him. He didn’t seem to mind either as they were chatting it up.
She walked over to them and put her hands on his shoulder. Then, she turned to the woman to let her know that he was off limits. The woman seemingly took the hint, and walked away. This evening wasn’t going nearly the way she had hoped. However, it could continue in one or two ways. They could end up fighting for the rest of the night and have a miserable time or she could try to smooth things over in the hopes that they could still salvage the evening. Tasha decided to take option number two.
“Hey handsome, sorry it took me so long.”
Eric had a glass in his hand and took a drink, “I thought you were still flirting with Michael. Tim better watch out. Someone else is going to take his place.”
“What’s that supposed to mean Eric?” Moments passed without him responding.
Tasha sighed, “I’m trying really hard here. Can we not fight tonight? I was hoping we’d enjoy ourselves.”
Before Eric could respond, the music stopped playing and Sabrina’s voice came over the speakers, “Okay everyone Tim’s car is pulling up into the driveway. Please get into your places. And, Tasha Stevens, Jenny and Daniel Clarkson can you all come up to the front entrance.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse; Tasha reached over to kiss Eric on the lips. He didn’t return it. “I’m sorry. I’ll get back here as soon as I can.”
The Stranger Next To Me Page 9
