Because we were deep in conversation. Reminiscing.
Tenley leaned forward to let me know she was going to the bathroom. As she walked away, I watched. The three other girls followed close behind, leaving the men to talk.
“So, Tenley?” Isaac said with a raised eyebrow. I knew they would eventually ask questions but were respecting her privacy. Mine, they didn't give a crap about.
“Yep.” I took a swig of my beer.
“When did that happen? I mean, I saw you two at the carnival all lip locked, but I didn’t want to assume since you and Chanel had only recently split,” Keaton asked next.
“A little after your last party.”
“I knew something was going on,” Isaac said.
“You’ve been saying something’s been going on since high school,” I pointed out.
“Well, it’s not normal. Best friends with a chick. A hot chick, I might add.”
I warned him, “Careful. That’s my woman you’re talkin’ about.”
He held up his hands. “No disrespect. Just an observation.”
“Speaking of observation. What’s with the new profession? I thought med school was your top priority.”
“It is,” Keaton said.
“Mommy and Daddy cut him off when he failed two classes last year,” Isaac said.
“Failed?” I questioned.
“It wasn’t my semester. Hence needing money.”
“You couldn’t make money any other way?” I joked.
“This is fast cash.”
“And benefits,” Isaac added.
“Lots and lots of benefits,” Keaton said as they slapped each other’s hands in some secret handshake they’d been doing for years.
When Tenley came back, we dropped the conversation. She grabbed two drinks from the cooler before making her way back to me. After she handed me the drinks, she took her rightful place between my legs. And because I could, I kissed her thoroughly.
“Everything still good?” I asked her.
“Perfect,” she said as she leaned back into me.
“Let me know when you want to leave. I’ll order an Uber.” My Jeep would be staying here for the night.
“Not yet.”
Less than an hour later, a woman showed up with two friends in tow. Keaton jumped up to greet them. He came back with his arm draped around one. I recognized her immediately.
“You remember Brinley?” Keaton asked both me and Tenley.
It wasn’t like I could forget her. In front of me, Tenley tensed. Brinley and Tenley weren’t exactly the best of friends. They weren’t friends at all because Brinley was none other than Chanel’s #bff. And that was exactly what they called each other. I responded by wrapping my arms tighter around Tenley.
“Wow,” Brinley said surprised. She was looking at me and Tenley. “You two… together.”
It was obvious her thoughts took a different turn in the end. Her fake smile said it all. They reeked of accusations. How long had Tenley and I been together? And by the way she excused herself, then took out her phone, I knew she was texting her friends to start the rumor train. You could say Brinley wasn’t my favorite person. It was what she always did.
“Do you want to go?” I asked Tenley again. She didn’t need to feel uncomfortable because of one person we weren’t even friends with.
“No.”
That was my girl. I kissed her temple to let her know I had her back. She kissed me on the lips because she had my back too.
I later asked Keaton why he invited her, but he said he hadn’t. Apparently, one of the guys he worked with did. They had bumped into her at a bar. I told him it was no big deal. And it wasn’t.
We were adults.
It didn’t matter, though. Keaton’s buddy had plans to take her to some club, and Brinley was just picking him up.
Tenley and I took an Uber back to my place. And we agreed, except for the hiccup at the end, our friends seemed good with the idea of the two of us. Not that I would have cared.
I wouldn’t let anyone or anything get in the way of what was happening between us. Ever.
23
Preston
Be each other’s greatest support.
MY LIFE WAS FALLING into place. It was as if someone sprinkled a bag of magic—the manly kind—around me, and everything was falling into perfect place. It was all when Tenley woke me from my twenty-five-and-a-half-year coma and came fully into my life. Every doubt I had about being a real man and an awesome boyfriend vanished.
Though I still had some growing to do. A letter in the mail reminded me my twenty-sixth birthday was fast approaching, and I’d be getting the insurance boot from my parents' policy. I knew there would be a time I would have to become a real adult and get a real job with benefits and a 401K. It was just a matter of finding something that fit me.
Tenley supported my decision to start my job hunt. She always had been my biggest supporter. From the time she helped me fix my hair after deciding to dye it teal but it turned out an obnoxious shade of green instead to the time I told her I was considering getting a certain anatomy pierced—which didn’t happen when I read the possible side effects that Tenley printed for me. Impotence was a hard no for me. I was eighteen, in college, and had a lot left to experience.
When I was beyond frustrated with writing my resume, she told me to meet her for lunch at her new favorite spot, Butter My Bread. Despite her ex working there, I went. The food outweighed my jealousness. Which I wasn’t jealous anymore.
She was reading my experience, telling me what I needed to add when our food was delivered to the table by the owner, Bentley, who introduced himself when he overheard part of our conversation. Soon after, he introduced me to some tatted-up dude, Josh, who was looking to hire someone. Not just anyone. Someone who was into building computer programs, loved numbers, and had a flair for appealing to the masses.
At that, my ears perked up. Though I had been doing my survey thing the past four years, my degree was in computer programming and software design. If anyone knew the masses, it was me. I researched the masses to death.
He gave us time to eat but asked me if I could hang around until the lunch crowd ended. Tenley left me a good luck kiss, and said, “You got this.”
Turned out the guy was a multi-millionaire. A programming genius who was building an app empire. He sold his first one at my age and his second one two years later. Now he was working on a third with a buddy of his, some tattoo artist, but it wasn’t without its hitches. This was where I would step in to look at the program itself and see how to make it, for lack of a better term, look pretty. They needed that special something to make people want to download it and spread the word.
The best part was it came with a salary that doubled my current income, full health care package, and because he hated offices as much as me, I could work remotely. And even though the company wasn’t more than three people and a retirement plan wasn’t offered, I could easily start one myself.
We left the impromptu interview with a handshake and me letting him know I’d think about it. An hour later, because there was no way I could say no, I filled out the new hire paperwork he had emailed me just in case. I would start two weeks later to give me enough time to finish my current obligations.
I couldn’t contain my excitement. I had to share the news with Tenley who had been texting me nonstop until her class started. I didn’t care I barged in five minutes before her class ended. And I sure as hell didn’t care when I pulled her up from the lotus position and spun her in a circle.
Emma followed me into the class and took over so I could fill Tenley in on my news.
“Baby, we’re going out to celebrate,” I informed her.
“We are?”
I had already booked us a table at the best seafood restaurant overlooking the Gulf. The food was caught fresh every morning. They also had a wine pairing for each dish. I pulled her close, not caring her class would hear as they walked by. “I’m going to wine you, dine you, and lat
er tonight, I’m going to make you my dessert.”
Her cheeks flushed.
I kissed her hard, then smacked her yoga pants-covered ass. “Be ready by seven.”
I tipped my nonexistent hat toward the ladies who were filing out of the class and heading to the nearby locker room. They heard because they were blushing and whispering behind their towels. That’s right, ladies, my woman was getting some good lovin’ tonight.
At seven forty-five, we were seated at our white linen-covered table with a glass of the house wine in our hands. The scene in front of us was amazing, but the woman across from me was more amazing than the Gulf and its sounds.
How did I get so lucky?
“Remember the first time we tried wine?” she asked while spinning the stem of her glass in her fingers.
“How could I forget?” We were fresh out of middle school about to become badass high schoolers. Tenley’s parents were away, and her grandparents were watching her. Grandma’s jug of wine sat temptingly on the kitchen counter between the coffeepot and the sugar canister. While watching their favorite show, Wheel of Fortune, Tenley and I snuck a taste. Big mistake.
She laughed. “Our first clue should have been the jug with a twist top. But you know what I remember the most?”
At the same time, we said, “The smell.”
It was an awful combination of rotten fruit and rubbing alcohol. But it was one of those, “it can’t taste that bad if Grandma drinks it.” She was an awesome cook and made the best sweet tea around. Wrong again.
After three tooth brushings and a bottle of Listerine, the taste finally had disappeared. We both swore off wine, at least anything in a jug because in college, Boone’s Farm was a thing. It was dirt cheap and sweet, unlike the jug of ass we sampled way back when.
“This is good,” she said when she took a sip. I agreed it was.
Our family-style hot and cold seafood platter came, filling the entire table. The restaurant wasn’t overly fancy with half the diners wearing a bib as they broke apart their crab legs and dipped them into butter. But fancy wasn’t us.
Tenley toasted before we dug in. “To new awesome jobs for the both of us.”
Just before I clinked her wine glass to mine, I stopped. “Wait? What?”
She shrugged her shoulder. “So it seems we both received an opportunity we couldn’t refuse. You’re looking at the new office manager of FYI Yoga studio.”
“Holy crap.” I was taken by surprise, but I was damn proud of her. So proud, I stood from my seat, then took her in my arms.
People stopped eating and clapped.
And after we sat, I asked rapid-fire questions her way. “How? Why didn’t you tell me? When?”
“Jolene decided she couldn’t do full time anymore with the baby. She only wants to teach one or two classes a week. I didn’t tell you because I honestly didn’t even know until after we had lunch and Marissa called me in her office. She knew I had a degree in accounting and told me the position was mine if I wanted it. It’s nothing big, just more assisting with the bookkeeping. I’ll cut out a class a week and use the time to handle it. Kaitlin will take over my class. I start next week.”
“Baby, you amaze me.”
She didn’t believe me. I could tell. She brushed off my compliment with a shoulder shrug, and I wanted to shake her because how could she not see what I see. One day, I would make her see the potential that was Tenley Ray.
After we ate, along with our check, the waitress brought us a family-size slice of white cake with perfectly swirled vanilla rose buttercream icing on top. Between the layers was a lemon custard. We hadn’t ordered dessert since I already made it clear this afternoon mine was going to be in the form of my girlfriend. Waiting at home, I had a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer and a can of whipped cream. I planned on eating a half pint off her body. The rest, I’d spoon-feed her.
“We didn’t order this,” I said.
“It’s a congratulations from us,” the waitress said
If they congratulated everyone for a new job, I didn’t know how they would make money. I still thanked them for the dessert.
“Any time someone chooses our restaurant to get engaged, we are honored.”
Engaged? Oddly, the word didn’t faze me.
Tenley, however, tried to explain at a rapid pace, but stuttered, “We’re not. I mean we haven’t been…”
The waitress patted Tenley on her shoulder. “It’s okay. We understand you want to tell family first. You two make a beautiful couple. Come see us on your anniversary, you get chocolate cake then. Beautiful ring.”
As the waitress walked away, I looked down at Tenley’s hand. She was wearing some square ring with a million little sparkling diamonds.
“Why would they think…?”
“The hug, when everyone clapped, and your finger.” I pointed at her finger, and she looked down.
“It’s fake,” she claimed.
“From here, it looks pretty real.” Right then, a flash of the future hit me. The day when I’d put my ring on her finger.
Slow down, Griffin. You’ve been dating for, what, six months.
“They would be laughing if they knew it was from the clearance section at Target. Besides, we are nowhere near engagement territory.”
“Why not? We could be.” It was a question I shouldn’t have asked and a statement I shouldn’t have made.
“Shut up,” she said as she cut a piece of the cake with her fork and fed it to me.
We were right back to her not believing my words again, and as I fed her a piece of the best vanilla cake from my fork, I made it my new goal—make Tenley believe every word I say.
Later, when I told her she tasted so fucking good, how good she felt squeezing me, and how every time with her just gets better than the last, she knew I wasn’t lying.
Soon, big words would be said. And she’d better believe all three of them.
24
Preston
Tell her how you really feel.
A NERVOUS WRECK was how I would define myself the next week. Every day, I said today was the day I would tell Tenley what I hadn’t been able to say from the first night we were together. For some reason, I was never able to say the words.
Call me a coward, but the right time never came, and I wanted the words to be more than a passing moment. Between us starting new jobs, which was awesome by the way, the only time we had together was when we fell into bed with each other at night. Telling her after a mind-blowing orgasm would have cheapened my declaration. The morning wasn’t right either. Half of the time, we woke up late—either exhausted from the night before or ready to kick the morning off right—which left us rushing to get ready for work. More her than me since my travel time was across the hall to my spare bedroom slash office. Dressing up was optional.
But I was done with excuses. I wasn’t going wait a minute longer to tell her.
Thanks to my boss, who was thrilled with the progress I was making, I was rewarded with a long weekend. What he really said was, “I got plans this weekend. Shit to do. So you might as well take it off too. Good work this week.” Then he hung up.
I texted Tenley to come by after work because we needed to talk. And since she was working until six, it gave me time to prepare.
I spent the entire morning cleaning. Then I cleaned some more. My apartment had never been so “eat off the floor” spotless all for a girl.
I went as far as setting the table, mimicking the look at the restaurant we went to on our first date. The sand and candle filled jars were ready for lighting. The plates were ready and waiting for food. Dinner was prepped in the fridge, knowing this time I wasn’t going to mess it up because I ordered two ready meals from Tenley’s favorite Italian restaurant. All I had to do was warm them up.
And because I decided to hit the gym to work off some of my adrenaline, I needed to shower again. I had an hour before Tenley would be home. The oven was warming up while I was scrubbing the sw
eat from my body. By the time I was finished, the oven had beeped, letting me know it was ready to start cooking. I wrapped the towel around my waist, then made my way to the kitchen.
I removed the foil from the aluminum dish containing the eggplant rollatini and pasta for two and placed it in the oven. I had fifty minutes before the bread would go in.
I dropped Tenley another message since I hadn’t heard from her at all. It was normal. Her job kept her busy between teaching classes and all the paperwork she was doing, which was more than she thought when she took the job. But it was five thirty. Quitting time was a half hour earlier, and she hadn’t sent me her normal on my way text.
I called her work, just to make sure she was okay and was told she left at five, which meant she was most likely home. I just hadn’t heard her.
Then my doorbell rang.
She was early. My heart thumped hard against my chest, thinking she couldn’t wait the extra thirty minutes to see me. Not even thinking about the fact I was dressed in only a towel, I made my way to the door to get my girl.
And remember that magic. It was playing a trick on me. Instead of being greeted by my curvaceous brunette, an illusion appeared; the woman was five-foot-nothing with blond hair, blue eyes, and pencil thin. Chanel appeared out of the blue.
Not today was the first thought that entered my mind. The second was you’re wearing a towel, your ex is at your door, and someone is going to see. A quick thinker, I was not. My mind planned. It liked calculating everything. So when I pulled Chanel inside without even saying hello, it was probably the wrong thing to do. I looked at the clock and saw I had twenty-five minutes to get some pants on and get her gone. For good.
“Stay here,” were the first words I said to my ex who I hadn’t heard from since the day she texted me about her new life.
I walked to my room, locked myself inside, then went into my bathroom. To be safe, I locked that door too. I turned on the sink tap to cold, dousing my face with the water to try to collect myself.
All the Right Moves Page 15
