Believe in Me (Strickland Sisters Book 2)

by Alexandria House

  Angie giggled. “Please do.”

  “Where’s Nicky? She’s usually late, but not this late,” I said.

  Angie frowned. “I know. You think she forgot we were meeting here and went to Mama’s?”

  I shrugged. “Let me call her.”

  “Hello?” Nicky answered, sounding awkward.

  “Nicky? Where are you? We’re waiting on you.”

  “Renee? Was that tonight?”

  “You know it’s me, and yes, that’s tonight.”

  “Oh, wow. I’m so sorry. Give Angela my apologies, too. Travis and I are hosting a dinner party tonight. We’re having some of his colleagues over and—oh, Travvie needs me. Gotta go. Talk later? Bye.”

  I held the phone and stared at Angie. “I don’t know what just happened or who the hell that was on the phone, but she did not sound like Nicole Lisette Strickland.”

  Angie frowned. “Huh? Did you dial the wrong number?”

  “No.”

  “That was Nicky you were talking to?”

  “Uh, yeah.”

  “Well, what’d she say?”

  I rehashed our conversation to Angie, to which she replied, “Maybe she’s just trying to grow up. Maybe that’s what her acting like an adult sounds like.”

  I shook my head. “She sounded weird, Ang, like some stilted white girl. It was like she was putting on a show.”

  Angie seemed to think on it for a second, and said, “That might be true, too. She’s been in overdrive trying to get a husband since me and Ryan got married. Maybe she’s putting on a show to reel Travis in.”

  “Maybe…but how is that gonna work? Pretending to be someone else in order to get married? Won’t she have to keep up the act in order to stay married?”

  “Probably. Look, Nay, I’m not gonna sit here and worry about Nicky. If anyone knows how to take care of their self, it’s her.”

  “True.”

  “All right. I’m gonna go get the wine. You shuffle the cards.”

  “Yes, little sister,” I said, as I picked up the red deck of cards and prepared to whoop Angie in a game of spades.

  *****

  I was sitting at my desk a few days after that, wrapping up some charting when a text came through.

  Lorenzo: Your chariot awaits, Doc.

  I smiled. This had been our routine since about my third week of living with him. I’d text him some time in the day and let him know when I’d be ready to go, since the nature of my job sometimes caused my working hours to be irregular, and he would send Rell to pick me up. Sometimes he’d be in the car, too, and sometimes he wouldn’t, depending on how deep he was in his writing cave. This started when I had to leave in the middle of the night for a home birth. The thought of me being out that time of night by myself really upset him, and he insisted that Rell drive me. I felt bad for Rell and told him so, but he gave me a smile that assured me he didn’t mind. I was glad, because there was no convincing Lorenzo that I could drive myself, even though I’d been doing it for years. After that, me getting driven to and from work, no matter the time, became a daily thing.

  I didn’t bother to text him back, just gathered my purse and cell phone and left my office. This was one of the rare occasions when my departure time from Genesis coincided with its regular closing hour and there were no laboring patients in any of the birthing rooms, so several staff members, including Janine and Cass, were out on the parking lot heading to their cars.

  Rell had already opened the door for me and was standing next to the car. I greeted him with a smile, and when I saw that Lorenzo was sitting in the backseat, said, “Hold on,” and called for Janine and Cass. Cass wore a curious look on her face as she crossed the parking lot toward me. Janine, who had been eying Lorenzo’s car while pretending to unlock her own car door, almost fell trying to hurry over to me.

  Once the ladies had made it to the car, I leaned in, and said, “Baby, get out. Got some folks I want you to meet.”

  Lorenzo gave me this questioning look before climbing out of the car in a suit that made him look positively scrumptious. I grabbed his hand and turned to face my friends-slash-coworkers. “Cass, Janine, this is Lorenzo. Lorenzo, Cass has been my friend since nursing school and is co-owner of Genesis with me, and you’ve met Janine. She’s one of my oldest friends, as well as our receptionist.”

  He took and kissed both of their hands, and they gushed all over themselves and him about how nice it was to finally meet my new boyfriend.

  “Wait, you are her boyfriend, right?” Janine asked.

  He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, when she lets me be.”

  I rolled my eyes as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Yes, Lorenzo is my boyfriend, bae, man crush every day, my man. I know y’all have been speculating along with everyone else in the office, so now you know for sure.” Rell was still standing by the car, so I added, “Oh, and this is Rell. I’m sure you’ve seen him before, too.”

  Rell smiled and nodded at the two ladies, and then I watched Janine slide her eyes up and down his massive body. Rell was big and solid like Lorenzo, only younger, bigger, and much more muscular, and he must’ve been about six-seven. At first glance, Rell’s sheer size could scare the crap out of you, and it didn’t help that he usually wore this serious expression on his face, but he was actually pretty nice-looking—dark skin, almond eyes, great smile when he wore one, and Janine’s little short butt looked like she was a second away from sopping him up with a biscuit. Rell’s eyes were glued to her, too.

  “Well, Lorenzo, I’m glad you’re her new man. Lord knows I was thrilled when she got rid of the old one,” Cass said.

  My mouth flew open.

  “I’m glad she did, too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to fall in love with her,” Lorenzo said.

  Cass and Janine virtually melted all over the parking lot.

  Minutes later, as we sat holding hands in the back of his Escalade, I noticed the tiny smile on Lorenzo’s face as he gazed out the window.

  “What are you grinning about?” I asked.

  He shifted his eyes from the window to me. “Just glad you finally pulled me out of the closet. I was beginning to think you were ashamed of me.”

  I frowned. “Ashamed of you? Are you serious?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What could I possibly be ashamed of, Zo? The fact that you’re gorgeous, handsome, sexy, rich, kind, generous, treat me like a queen, and sex me properly every single night?”

  “Damn, that’s what you think of me?”

  “Yes! Now what in the world do you think I’d be ashamed of?”

  He shrugged. “My past? The fact that I used to be a drug dealer who now writes books with a lot of cursing, killing, and screwing in them. The fact that you’re a nurse and a reputable business owner, and I’m just…me.”

  I stared him in the eye. “No, Zo. I’m not ashamed of any of that.”

  “Doc, we haven’t been on a single date since before your divorce. We do everything at my house.”

  “Zo, you haven’t asked me out since I got divorced! I think maybe we just got caught up in being together.”

  “And having sex?”

  I smiled. “Yeah, and having sex. And plus, you’re a hermit and you know it.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I am. But besides that, you weren’t telling folks about us, were you?”

  “My sisters have always known, and my mom. I just didn’t figure it was anybody else’s business.”

  “What changed today?”

  I leaned in and brushed his lips with mine. “Today, I decided I wanted to share just how lucky and blessed I am.”

  “Then let’s get dressed up and go out tonight to celebrate.”

  “Okay.”

  *****

  After I convinced Zo that one, I had plenty of dressy clothes at my mother’s house and there was no need for him to buy me anything, and two, that I was more than capable of driving myself to my mother’s house, I went and retrieved some more of my clothes. I
was in my room gathering everything I thought I’d need for the date, three outfits to choose from, including shoes and accessories to match, when a voice nearly made me jump out of my skin.

  “Whose Maybach is that in the driveway?!” Nicky shouted.

  I replied with, “Where the hell did you come from?! You scared me half to death!”

  “I just got home, and I saw that car in the driveway. Whose is it?”

  “You still call this home?” I asked.

  “Yes.” She rolled her eyes. “Travis is out of town on business for a few days, so I decided to come home and see what y’all were up to. The car, Nay?”

  “It’s Lorenzo’s.”

  “Lorenzo?” She actually sounded like she was searching her brain, trying to figure out who he was.

  “The man I’ve been seeing for months now?”

  Her eyes widened. “Cunnilingus?”

  “Nicky, really?”

  “Seriously, I’m trying to place him. He’s the fine one who ate your—”

  “Yes, that’s him. What other man have I mentioned since Robert?”

  As I zipped up the garment bag, she plopped down on the side of the bed, and said, “Ugh, don’t bring that troll up, and it’s been a while since we talked. I haven’t talked to Angie, either.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  She sighed. “Anyway, you two are together now? I mean, when I talked to Mama for a second the other week or month or whatever, she said your divorce had gone through, but she didn’t mention him.”

  I shrugged. “She knows about him, just hasn’t met him. Maybe she’s preoccupied with her own love life.”

  She frowned. “You’re packing a bag, driving his car…and you’ve got this aura about you like you’re getting good dick on the regular. Wait, are you living with him?”

  “Good dick aura? I’ve heard it all. You are really crazy, Nicky.”

  “You are! You’re shacking up with a man! I can’t believe it, Nay! I’m soooo proud of you! And you must be putting it on him right for him to let you drive his damn Maybach. I know niggas that wouldn’t let me drive their damn Ford Focus. Broke asses.”

  I grinned. “I guess. Wait, you’re not going to talk mess about me being in another relationship so soon after my divorce?”

  “Hell, no! From what you said before, that man is rich. Girrrl, you don’t bullshit around with rich niggas! You snatch them up ASAP!”

  “Um, okay…but I really don’t care about his money. He’s so good to me, and—”

  “Renee! OMG! So you’re living in the mansion with him? I thought I was doing something with Travis. He’s got a great condo, but shit! You got it going on for real, big sis! Oh! You should host our girls’ night at his place this month!”

  “It’s your turn to host. I was hoping me and Angie would get to check out Travis’ place and maybe actually get a real introduction since you barely told us his name at the benefit and then ignored us the entire night.”

  “Look, let me reel him in good before I unleash y’all on him.”

  “What do you mean unleash us? What you think we’re gonna do? Tell him you’re a ho’?”

  “Yes.”

  “You know we wouldn’t do that. He’ll find out eventually anyway, though.”

  “No he won’t, because I’m barely even hoeing anymore. I’ve only slept with one other guy, Maurice, since I’ve been staying with Travis and we’ve only done it like six times and that’s only because Travis can’t really screw well, but I’m working with him, you know?”

  I just stared at her.

  “But for real, you should host our girls’ night! Pleeeeease! I’ve never been in a real mansion before!”

  “Okay, okay! I’ll talk to Zo about it. If it’s okay with him, I’ll do it.”

  “Girl, be sure you put some of your magical, Maybach-driving coochie on him before you ask. I bet his ass will not only say yes, he’ll be up in there serving us hors d’oeuvres and shit.”

  I shook my head. “Nicky, if I plan this, your disappearing ass better show up this time. No me having to call and find out where you are and you sounding like some lost white girl over the phone.”

  “Oh, I’ll be there.”

  “And you better not refer to him as ‘Cunnilingus’ in his presence.”

  “How about just Cunni?”

  “Nicky, if your ass doesn’t behave…”

  “Okay, okay!!”

  23

  We had to flip a coin to decide where to go that night. I wanted to check out Coda, a little jazz club that was pretty popular. I had heard they served good food and wanted to see if all the hype was true. Renee wanted to go to the bar at the Sable Inn for a few drinks and light appetizers, reasoning that we had plenty of food to eat back at home. She won.

  The atmosphere was laid back with some old-school R&B sifting through the sound system. We sat at a table in a corner and chatted mostly about her day at work, and then we both fell silent.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked, as I sat there staring at her.

  “How beautiful you are and how lucky I am to have you.”

  She smiled. “Thank you, Zo.”

  “You’re welcome, Doc. I can’t stop looking at you. I mean, that dress? Damn, you are looking so sexy right now!”

  She giggled. “I’m glad you think I’m sexy, baby.”

  With a wrinkled brow, I said, “Think? I know you’re sexy. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen in my whole damn life! Don’t you know you’re sexy?”

  She shrugged.

  I sat there for a second, tilted my head to the side, and asked, “Didn’t your husband ever tell you that?”

  She averted her gaze and shook her head. “No…or at least not after I gained this weight, not that I was ever a small person. But after our marriage began falling apart some years ago, I started gaining and I really think it turned him off.”

  I sat up straight and frowned. “He said that to you? That he was turned off by you?” Man, I should’ve let Rell beat his entire halfling ass!

  “No, but…I don’t know. He didn’t exactly make me feel desired. I mean, we still had sex up until a few months before I left, but it didn’t feel like…”

  “Like you and me?”

  “Right. It definitely didn’t feel like you and me.”

  “Then it’s good you got rid of his dumb ass, because what you and I have? That’s how love is supposed to be.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Doc, you could gain a thousand pounds, and I’d still want you and find you sexy as hell.”

  She looked at me, her eyes shining with what I was sure were tears.

  “I love you, Doc, and not just because you turn me completely on at all times. I love you because you are the kindest, most intelligent woman I have ever met, and shit, you don’t judge me. You didn’t break and run when you found out about my past. That means a lot to me, because I know a woman like you has every reason to run from my used-to-be-a-thug ass.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think my ex-husband ever even got as much as a traffic ticket, but he was a horrible person and he treated me like shit for most of our marriage. You? Your past might not be squeaky clean, but you have been good to me, have loved me like he never did, and I’m thankful for that.”

  I leaned in and kissed her on the lips, then the neck. “I’m thankful for you, Doc. Always will be.”

  I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she leaned into me. “Zo, can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah, baby. Anything.”

  “Why’d you want me to drive your car to my mom’s house today?”

  “I don’t know. You didn’t like driving it?”

  “No, I mean, I did. It’s nice, Zo, but there’s nothing wrong with my car other than the fact that it’s been sitting in your driveway for weeks.”

  I shrugged. “You’re my lady. Just wanted you to ride in style. Not saying that your car is trash or anything, but…”

 
She sat up and swatted my arm. “No, really. Tell me the truth. You insisted that I drive it. Why? I mean, I get why you want Rell to drive me to work, and sometimes I’m so tired, I know it’s best he does, but other than that, I can drive myself in the car I’m still paying on.”

  “I’ll pay it off for you.”

  “Zo, for real.”

  I sighed and slipped my arm from her shoulder. “Doc, shit. I guess I was subconsciously trying to make sure you would come back.”

  Her brow furrowed as she looked at me. “Huh? Where do you think I’m going?”

  “I don’t know, baby. I guess I’m still feeling kind of insecure, can’t shake the feeling that you’re gonna leave me like you did before.”

  “For what reason, Zo?”

  “There wasn’t a reason before, Doc. You just got scared and left. How do I know you won’t do that again?”

  She rested her hand on my cheek. “Because I’m looking you in the eye and giving you my word that I won’t. I’m not going anywhere. I’m past whatever that was back then. I don’t care how long or not long we’ve known each other. All I care about is that I feel alive when I’m with you. Alive and loved, two things I haven’t felt in a long, long time. I’m staying, I’m yours, and I love you, Lorenzo Odell Higgs.”

  I smirked and shook my head. “You just had to throw that Odell in there, huh?”

  She grinned. “Uh-huh.”

  “I can’t believe my mama said my middle name in front of you. What’s your middle name, so I can torture you back.”

  “Elise.”

  “Bougie-ass middle name…It fits.”

  “So I’m bougie?”

  “Hell, yeah! Ms. Benefit Organizing Business Owner. And you know what I wanna do to your bougie ass right now?”

  “What?”

  “Take you home and get a taste of my pussy.”

  “Your pussy?”

  “Who else’s is it?”

  “It’s yours, I just repeated it because I like the way it sounds. Turns me on.”