Page 4 of After Him, There Was You
Call me paranoid, but I didn’t want to be a casualty of carbon monoxide poisoning. I always made sure to shut off my car before the garage was fully down, and I waited until the garage was down to get out of the car.
Strutting into the house, the first thing I did was step out of my red bottoms. As a paralegal at Gray’s Law Firm, Shamar Gray, the head honcho in charge, expected us to look the part every time we stepped into the office even if it was a Saturday.
I was used to my feet being confined, but the long day I had encountered warranted several foot massages, and sadly I wasn’t walking into my house to a man awaiting me with a bottle of warm coconut oil, anticipating the moment he got to rub me down from head to toe. I did my best to be content in my singleness, but I would be lying if I said the softer side of me didn’t long to be in a relationship with a man who catered to me, who I could cater to in return.
Even with my desire for a man’s touch, I wasn’t going to let just any Tom, Dick, or Harry have access to me. When I made choices regarding my dating life, I kept my sons in mind. If I didn’t want my son to mimic a man’s behavior, he wasn’t worth my time. In my opinion, it didn’t get any simpler than that.
When I initially called Tara, I was picking up my food order from Noni’s Soul Food Restaurant, and though the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens were bound to have me in a food coma, I wasn’t going to allow myself to go there. Instead of sitting at my kitchen bar with a bottle of Stella Rosa and savoring my food, I opened the container, grabbed a chicken leg, pulled a paper towel from the kitchen roll, and headed in the direction of my bedroom.
I needed to shower and then get dressed. Knowing how I was when I prepared to step out, I knew I would more than likely change three to four times before leaving my house to pick up Tara.
By the time I finished getting ready, I had thirty minutes to spare, and since I lived close to twenty minutes from my best friend, I knew I could benefit by leaving sooner rather than later. I felt as if I made the perfect decision for the night’s attire, opting for a black and sheer bodysuit and a pair of black thigh high boots to stay on my simple yet grown and sexy frequency.
Although fall was just barely on the horizon, it was a little frigid in North Brooke Port, and I refused to allow the wind and its chill to knock me off my game. I wasn’t going out with the intention of catching a man, but if I so happened to catch his attention and he happened to be bold enough to speak, I would entertain him if he seemed to be worth my time.
Walking out of my house in the same manner I walked in, I smiled as I pulled out of my driveway. I may not have had the relationship I wanted, but I was doing damn good with my life by providing a life to Egypt and Tyger my parents only dreamed of providing for me and my sisters. If nothing else, I was proud of me.
We moved into our five-bedroom, four-bathroom house almost three years ago, and the spacious floor plan and large backyard with a decent view of the port were just a few things my little family loved about our home. I had my mini sanctuary, and the boys each had a bedroom, although most nights Tyger ended up on the bottom bunk in Egypt’s room. We had a guest bedroom, and I had a home office.
Twenty minutes and an energetic yet ratchet playlist later, I was pulling onto Tara’s driveway, preparing to exit my vehicle and use my emergency key to gain access. In true best friend fashion, we both had a key to each other’s house in case of an emergency and as well for the sake of convenience.
Strutting in her house, my heels melodically tapped against the white and black marble tiles which decorated the foyer and extended walkway of her home.
I was disappointed in how modest Tara was with her request during her divorce from her asshole of an ex-husband, but I was proud for her at least requesting to keep their lavish port front house. Her house was the perfect vacation house, and she was blessed to call it her home.
The custom luxury of her home definitely highlighted the fact she was previously linked to one of the best architects out of North Brooke Port.
Tara should have and could have taken him for everything he had because of his infidelity and their lack of prenuptial agreement. Why she chose to take the high road, I would never know. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if I would have been in her shoes, I would have dragged him all around the courtroom and wouldn’t have left until I had everything, including the shirt he walked in the courthouse wearing.
“T, where are you at?” I yelled, making a beeline to her kitchen to grab a bottle of water from her refrigerator.
“I’m in my room!” Tara hollered back in return.
When I arrived in her room, I found her in the exact predicament that I expected to find her in, where she was pacing her closet in nothing more than her bra and panties.
“Is this what we’re doing tonight?” I teased, pointing to her exposed body.
“We both know that I’m not leaving my house likethis. I don’t have anything to wear, so go without me, and I’ll raincheck on a girls’ night out.”
I watched her intently as she scrunched up her lightly made-up face in the shape of a pout, and I still wasn’t swayed enough to let her stay in the house like she wanted to.
“Like hell you will take a raincheck. You have a closet full of clothes,” I disputed, pointing around the space which was easily the size of the average bedroom.
Motioning for her to take a seat on the chaise lounge in the corner of her closet, I began to rummage through the various racks to find something befitting for the birthday celebration we were going to.
“What about this?” I questioned more to myself than to Tara, who I had already made a ‘yes’ decision for.
“No, that’s too much,” she objected, viciously shaking her head from side to side.
“Then it’s perfect. Now, go put it on so we can leave.”
Her face twisted up as I proudly held up my choice for her, showcasing the internal battle she was engaged in regarding agreeing with me. Taking the initiative, I lightly pushed the dress into her possession and turned to go find her a pair of shoes to match from her shoe closet which was previously Jason’s walk-in closet.
Keeping in mind that I was already walking a very thin line with Tara regarding my outfit selection for her, I chose to keep her shoe selection casual instead of going for the six-inch heels calling my name as if they were begging me to make her wear them out of the house.
“Oh, hot mama!” I called out as soon as I walked back into her closet.
The gray bandage dress had her cleavage calling out for attention and solicitation like a companion-wanted advertisement in the classified section in North Brooke Port Times Newspaper.
