by Linda Verji
Resolved to have the talk with Tay as soon as she next saw him, she turned back to the party. However, she couldn’t enjoy it because her mind kept circling back to Tay. Why hadn’t he called? Or even sent a message.
The only messages on her phone were the four Marcel had sent:
Where’s Pig
I know you took him
Bring back my dog.
Keep playing with me
He sounded pissed off. Olivia chuckled. At this rate, she’d end up keeping Pig for the whole weekend.
CHAPTER 4
Olivia left the party at around midnight. On arrival at her house, she switched on the TV and set it on Pig’s favorite nature channel. He hopped onto the poof, set his head on his paws and turned his full attention to the screen. She set a bowl of food for him on the floor before heading to the shower.
Her phone rang while she was in the shower. Her pulse jumped at the certainty that it was Tay. Excited, she rushed out of the bathroom, almost slipping on the linoleum floor in her haste to get to him. But she was up for disappointment.
Her heart fell when she saw her caller. “Hi, Dad.”
“You don’t sound happy to hear from me.” Elias Campbell’s gruff voice vibrated over the line.
Olivia sighed. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Someone else who?” His tone hardened. “Some nigga?”
“Dad, stop.” She rolled her eyes.
Her father got antsy at the mention of her dating and probably still thought she was a virgin. She’d never introduced him to any man she was dating because she was scared that Elias would end up in jail for murdering someone’s son. But Tay was different from her exes and the stuff son-in-laws were made of. Maybe he was the one she’d finally introduce to her father.
After her reassuring her father that she wasn’t waiting for ‘some nigga’ to call her, she ended the call. Dragging Pig away from the TV was a hard task but eventually they ended up in her bed. Before sleeping Olivia checked her phone. Tay still hadn’t called but there was a message from Marcel.
Okay. If that’s how you want it then it’s on.
She scoffed. Bring it.
She drifted into sleep easily, but woke up a few minutes later to Pig’s barking. “Woof. Woof.”
“Shut up, Pig,” she mumbled without opening her eyes.
“Woof. Woof,” he barked.
“Shut up.” Burying her face in the pillow, she gathered its sides to her ears to block out Pig’s howls.
“Woof. Woof.” This time he accompanied his barking by jumping on her back.
What was Marcel feeding this dog? He was heavier than a truck. Olivia groaned as Pig’s barking increased in volume. This was her punishment for stealing him, wasn’t it? Finally surrendering, she released the pillow, switched the bedside lamp on and turned bleary eyes toward Pig. “What?”
“Woof,” he said. On cue the buzzer to the front door rang.
“Why didn’t you just say someone was at the door?” she complained to the dog. “Use your words, Pig. Use your words.”
“Woof.” Pig hopped off the bed and raced out of the bedroom. After shrugging a robe over her ratty t-shirt, Olivia staggered after him into the living room. The moment she peered through the peephole and saw Tay standing there with a bunch of roses, she came alive.
“Damn!” Olivia ripped her t-shirt over head as she raced back to the bedroom. She rummaged through her wardrobe to Tay’s incessant buzzing.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. On cue Pig rushed back into the room barking along to the buzzing.
“There you are.” She pulled out Tay’s favorite blue baby doll, quickly drew it over her head then raced to the mirror.
Jesus. She took a shocked step back when she saw her hair. It looked like a badly constructed bird’s nest that had been invaded by bramble. Hadn’t she slept with a headscarf?
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Tay reminded her that there was no time to dawdle. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
“Hold your horses!” She considered slipping on one of her wigs to avoid the comb, but remembered that Tay didn’t like her in wigs. Swallowing her fear, she picked up a comb.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Olivia untangled her unruly curls. Several pulls and tugs later, she finally looked like a sane human being. She glossed her lips, splashed on some perfume, then putting on some kid heels, exited the bedroom. Before opening the door, she cleared her throat and lowered her eyelids so that it looked like she’d just woken up. Then she turned the doorknob.
Tay was standing on the threshold, looking delicious as ever. A stripped powder blue shirt covered his broad shoulders and opened at the collar to reveal a strong throat. His dotted tie hang loosely down his muscular chest while his navy flat front pants that hugged his muscular thighs.
It was hard to resist the smile he offered her when he said, “Hi, babe.” Or the scalding look he gave her barely clothed body before drawling, “You look sexy.”
But Olivia was determined to stand firm against his lure. She pursed her lips and pressed a fist to her hip. “What do you want, Tay?”
Tay smiled. “Have I told you lately how fine you are?”
She rolled her eyes and repeated, “What do you want?”
“These are for you.” He held out the flowers. “I know you love roses.”
Actually she liked lilies. But she took them anyway. “These don’t make up for how long you made me wait. I had to talk to Marcel.”
“I heard about your visit.” Tay’s eyebrows lifted as he sent a meaningful look toward Pig who was circling behind Olivia. Tay took a step closer to her. “Let me in.”
“No.” Olivia planted her body in the small space between the jamb and the door. “You’re not coming in after how you left me hanging tonight.”
“Babe, I had to work,” he said. “We’re deep in the middle of that case I told you about.”
“And you couldn’t even call?”
“My phone died.”
Olivia narrowed her eyes. “You can’t even lie right. You charged your phone last night so I know it didn’t die.”
“Please, can I come in so we can talk?” Tay sidled closer to her and placed a warm hand on her hip. His gaze as earnest as his tone, he pleaded, “Honey, please.”
Olivia wanted to resist. She tried to resist. But he looked so solemn and he was wearing that tie she’d given him for his birthday. How could she resist that? She stepped aside and let him in.
It was mistake.
The moment he was in, Tay slammed the door shut and crowded her against the wall.
“Don’t even think about it?” She pushed at his chest hard. But he was steady as a rock and didn’t budge. She protested, “Tay, get off me.”
“I can’t help myself.” Tay tucked his head into the crook of her neck. His hand lowered from her waist to her ass. “You look so damn sexy.”
“No… we’re supposed to talk… oh… okay… aah!” She stumbled over her words and thoughts as Tay seduced her with his touch. Soon, he had her gripping his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his flanks and moaning his name. “Tay. Tay… oh, right there.”
Within minutes she forgot her name, her willpower and her promise to talk to him about committing. The moment he carried her in his arms and to the bedroom, it was over. No more thinking. No more talking. Only moaning, groaning and whimpering. By the time she caught her breath again, he was snoring beside her. Resolving to talk to him before he left tomorrow, she coerced herself to sleep.
When she woke up the next morning, Tay was gone as was Pig.
The next time she heard from Tay was Monday morning.
Can we meet tonight? He texted.
Can’t. Watching Hooks with Lex, she returned. Turning back to Cindy, one of the gym’s regulars, who was walking on the treadmill, Olivia said, “Cindy, no slowing down. We’re doing seven point five today.”
“But I’m so tired,” Cindy whined.
“You’re doing great. Just keep moving,” Olivia encourag
ed as she neared the treadmill to stare at the stats on its screen. “Look you only have ten minutes to go. You can do this, Cindy.”
“Okay, let me try.” The plump woman sped up the machine. Soon she was jogging rather than walking.
“Nice,” Olivia encouraged.
A quick peep on her phone revealed another text from Tay. Ditch Lex.
No, she texted back.
I’ll make it worth your while.
No.
I’ll do that thing you like me to do with my mouth.
She paused at that. Talk about temptation. Tay was the king of head. It was a rare even, but when Tay went down on her it was like a naked trip to space. A few flicks of his talented tongue could revive a dead nun. She typed, Hmm… tell me more.
Ditch your beard and we can talk.
She and Lex could watch their soap another night, couldn’t they? Hooks showed every weeknight but good head was a once in a blue moon event. Lex would understand.
Yes, she sent Tay the text just as Cindy’s treadmill slowed.
“Wow. That was awesome,” Cindy beamed as Olivia handed her water-bottle. She looked at her stats and gasped. “Did I really run five miles?”
“The numbers don’t lie.” Olivia encouraged, “Keep putting in work and before you know it, you’ll be running half marathons.”
Olivia walked around the gym dolling out help and advice to the people sculpting their bodies. As usual a few of the men, and some of the women, flirted with her. Though she was nice, her rebuff was firm. She was in a relationship now. Just thinking of Tay sent a warm rush through her.
Though it was mid-morning, Body & Spirit Health Club was surprisingly full of people. It was combination of factors. One, the gym was reasonably priced and treated its clients like gold. Two, August, the gym’s owner, was a marketing hound. No one was safe from his marketing pitches. In fact he’d tried to sell Olivia a membership after he’d hired her. And three, the big fitness chains hadn’t discovered their neighborhood yet. All these factors made for a thriving business that paid its employees well.
Just before Olivia’s one p.m. aerobics class, August sent for her. The first thing Olivia noticed when she stepped into his office was the woman seated opposite him. She was a beautiful woman; hair a copper red hair that glinted in the sunlight, dainty fingers to match her petite compact frame, and skin so pale the veins in her wrist were visible.
She was also pregnant.
The woman’s bump was quite visible beneath her jungle, green wrap dress. She turned on Olivia’s entry and gave her a slow unsmiling once-over.
“Ah, Olivia, you’re here,” August greeted. Tall, slender and bespectacled, he wasn’t the kind of guy one expected to own a gym. Gesturing between the two ladies, he introduced, “Nikki, this is Olivia, our best trainer. Olivia, this is Nikki. She’s scouting for a gym to join once she’s had her baby.”
“Hello.” Olivia offered Nikki a smile and her hand.
“Hi.”The redhead’s handshake was a quick brush of hands and fell almost as fast as the not-quite-smile she flashed Olivia.
“Nikki wants to see what our gym has to offer,” August said. “She asked for you specifically to give her the grand tour.”
Olivia turned surprised eyes to Nikki. “You know me?”
“No.” Nikki offered her another not-quite smile. “A friend of mine recommended you.”
Olivia wanted to ask which friend, but August launched into a pitch about how great the gym was. When he finally released them, Olivia led Nikki down the hallway, “Okay, let’s start with the aerobics studio? Usually we advise that our clients-”
Nikki cut her off with a wintery, “Do you know that you’re sleeping with my husband?”
CHAPTER 5
Olivia thought that she’d misheard Nikki but then the pregnant redhead repeated, “Do. You. Know?” she enunciated each word clearly. “That you’re sleeping with my husband?”
Even then, the words didn’t quite register in Olivia’s ‘what the hell?’ meter. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
“No, I have the right person, Olivia Jayne Armstead.” For a woman who was flinging around lethal accusations, Nikki’s tone was surprisingly even as she said, “You’re sleeping with Tay Harrison, my husband.” She offered Olive a doe-eyed questioning look. “Didn’t he tell you about me?”
No, he hadn’t because he wasn’t married. He wasn’t married. Shock merged with denial to lance through Olivia like a spear headed straight for her heart. No, no, no. Tay isn’t married.
Seeing Olivia’s stunned expression, Nikki clucked and offered her a pitying look. “I guess he didn’t tell you. He does that sometimes.” Then as if they’d been discussing the weather, she sauntered away down the hallway.
Olivia stayed rooted to her spot, staring after Tay’s wife. Tay’s wife? No. No. No. Everything in her slowed; her heart rate, the speed of her blood, her thoughts as that one word circled around in her brain. No.
“Olivia,” Nikki dragged Olivia out of her daze. The redhead was standing in front of an open door at the far end of the hallway. “Is this the aerobics studio?”
Olivia nodded mutely.
“Could you come over? I have some questions,” Nikki trilled. As if pushed by an invisible hand that was deaf to her heart’s screaming protests, Olivia walked toward the other woman. The two women entered aerobics studio.
A glass mirror covered the whole north wall. Plastered above the mirror were the colorful, inspirational messages while large speakers hang at the four corners of the large space. Except for the dumbbells and mats lining the east wall, the studio was empty of all training equipment.
Nikki nodded. “Nice. Real nice.” She turned to Olivia. “How many people does a typical class hold?”
Really? This is what they were doing? Discussing class size instead of the Tay-sized elephant in the room? Nikki’s blasé behavior was as confusing as the conflicted emotions racing through Olivia.
Crippling shock, bewilderment and disbelief battled within her creating a combustible cocktail that was liable to explode any time soon. Yet she managed to answer, “We usually have about thirty to forty people per class.”
“What’s the intensity?” Nikki asked.
“It depends on the time and the day.” Olivia was like an automated machine, capable of producing answer but completely numb to feelings. “Our pre-noon classes are lighter while classes later in the day are more high impact…”
So this is Tay’s wife? Nikki was everything Olivia was not; white, petite and so put together. Her hair was coiffed to perfection, and she looked like she could go to Sunday school and start teaching in that dress.
Next to her, Olivia felt inadequate. She was too muscular. Her vivid purple sports-bra and the black leggings with the purple strips along the sides were too skimpy and loud. Her hair was too nappy. Her tattoos were too ghetto. All the insecurities she thought had disappeared when she’d lost weight came rushing back in like a flood.
If Nikki is the kind of girl Tay thinks is wife material, what am I? The answer was obvious; just a side-dish. Never a real meal.
Olivia’s shock faded into sadness. Her voice a hollow shell, she recited. “ … Wednesdays is yoga and Friday is weight training. On Saturdays, we alternate between basketball, soccer or handball at the local high school.”
“What about those who can’t do any of that?” Nikki’s voice was calm unlike the sadness wracking through Olivia.
How could Tay do this to her? Five months! He’d taken five months of her life, told her he loved her, coerced her into loving him, then he’d done this? How could he?
A lump in a throat, Olivia said, “You can use the treadmill, elliptical machine or the bikes, whichever works best for you.” She offered automatically, “If you like I can show them to you.”
Nikki smiled. “Please do.”
Even with sadness taking over her body, Olivia had to wonder. What is wrong with this w
oman? If she was Nikki, knees would be getting smashed and teeth knocked out right now; Tay’s and Olivia’s. But the redhead was ice calm. Maybe she was one of those serial-killer types. Pretending to be calm, then when you weren’t looking… Bam! She could go she-hulk any moment.
If she did, Olivia wasn’t sure she could take her. Not just because a woman scorned was crazy, but also because she was pregnant. How do you fight with a pregnant woman who’s been cheated on? There had to be a law against that somewhere.
“This is nice,” Nikki commented as they entered the circular space that held the treadmills, elliptical trainers and bikes. “Can someone pregnant use these?”
“Of course,” Olivia responded dully. Every moment with Nikki was like walking on hot stones and speaking was like trying to push a boulder through her throat. Yet for some reason Olivia couldn’t stop. “All we have to do set it to a comfortable pace for you. If you get tired there’s always the bike to rest on while you work your legs.”
Olivia was demonstrating how to work the elliptical trainer when August entered the room.
“How is my favorite new client doing?” He smiled at Nikki. “Do you like what you see?”
“I do.” Nikki nodded. “You’ve got an amazing place and Olivia is wonderful.” She offered Olivia an indulgent smile.
“Yes, she is,” August agreed while patting Olivia’s back. “So you’ll consider registering with us after your baby comes?”
Nikki’s gaze turned contemplative as she pushed her hair behind her ear. Her eyes switched between Olivia and August. Then she grinned. “You know what? You’ve convinced me. We don’t even have to wait until the baby comes.” She rubbed her baby bump. “If you’re willing to indulge a pregnant lady, I’d like to register today.”
August beamed. “Of course we’ll take you. Welcome to the Body and Spirit family.”
What. The. Hell.
The rest of Olivia’s day was a dazed mess.
Train this one, spot another one, put a group through some vigorous exercise… She went through the motions like remote controlled mannequin. Somehow she worked through the soul-crushing sadness. Somehow she kept the tears at bay. Somehow she didn’t call Tay and explode.
