Текст книги "Busted"

Автор книги: Shiloh Walker

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

Chapter Seventeen

It had been so long since he’d been out on a date, Trey wasn’t entirely certain he remembered how they worked.

Okay, in theory, yeah.

He could remember in theory.

Unlike Zane, Travis, and Sebastian, Trey hadn’t ever had the revolving door thing with females. He hadn’t pined for one woman for most of his life like Zach—Zach had only ever loved one woman and all the relationships he’d been in had been casual. Trey had had two serious girlfriends in high school—and then on a trip to Canada with Travis the summer after graduation, there had been this ballet dancer . . . Giselle had pretty much destroyed his mind. He couldn’t recall much about their time outside the bedroom, because he doubted they’d spent much time together outside of it.

But his experience with the opposite sex started and stopped there—those three not-really-serious relationships, and then Aliesha. In all, four first dates.

He wasn’t sure the first date with Giselle really counted as a date since they’d bumped into each other at a club—literally—and she’d wrapped her arms around him and pulled him onto a dance floor. From there, they’d ended up in her flat, a place that wasn’t much bigger than the bathroom he had now. In that flat, he’d learned more about the female body than he had ever dreamed it was possible to learn.

Because they had totally sucked, Trey decided not to count the first disastrous dates he’d had since Aliesha’s death.

It wasn’t a lot of experience. Trey realized that. Maybe that was why he was almost as nervous now as he had been the day he’d shown up to take Marisol Hammonds to the junior prom—she’d been girlfriend number one and they’d been together from sophomore up until right before their senior year. That was when she realized she was more into jocks and she’d broken up with him by way of leaving a message on the answering machine. His brothers had ragged him something awful about that.

Actually, he thought he was more nervous now. Back then, he hadn’t stood and stared stupidly at his clothes for ten minutes before finally deciding that absolutely, it was just fine to wear a button-down shirt and a nice pair of trousers.

When he realized he was second-guessing the choices again, he scowled at his reflection. Enough already, man. Keep this up and you’ll never make it out the door.

Clayton had poked his head into the bedroom, eying him with wide, puzzled eyes. “Why are you wearing your dress-up stuff? We can’t go to church. It’s Friday. Did somebody die? Nobody died, did they?”

“Nobody died.” The rush of questions had Trey smiling. “And no, we’re not going to church, although Grandma Mona wants us to come with her to church soon. She’s been asking—I just keep forgetting.”

“Okay.” Clayton slid inside the room and took a running leap to land on Trey’s bed. “Why you wearing nice clothes?”

“Remember what I told you earlier?”

Clayton’s forehead wrinkled. “The date thing. Oh, yeah. You and Miss Ressa are going out on a date.” For a minute, just a minute, he forgot his concern over the dress clothes. “I knew you thought she was pretty.”

“You never miss a thing, do you, pal?”

“Why you gotta wear nice clothes if you’re just going to take a girl to a restaurant? Is she going to be your girlfriend? Like Keelie is Uncle Zane’s girlfriend? Are you going to—”

“Let’s try one question at a time,” Trey suggested. Tucking his shirt in, he moved back to the closet and studied his belts. Before he could start the deliberation thing, he just grabbed one at random. It was black. His shirt was some kind of grayish blue, pants were black. The belt would work. No deliberation needed.

Turning away before he could think about it another second, he eyed Clayton. “I’m wearing nice clothes because I bet Miss Ressa will wear them and I want to do the same thing.”

“Why?” Clayton crossed his legs and focused his attention on Trey. These questions—and the answers—were serious stuff, in Clayton’s mind. Of course, all questions were serious in Clayton’s mind. Even the very silly, and very strange ones.

“If she goes to the trouble of looking nice, I should do the same.”

Clayton shrugged. “You should just tell her to wear jeans, then you could, too.”

“Well. . . .” Trey pretended to think that over. “I guess I could, but I think Ressa would rather wear what she wants to wear.”

“But then you have to wear stupid dress clothes.”

“I bet Ressa won’t think they are stupid.” He moved to the bed and caught Clayton’s nose, tugged it. “Your aunt Abby loves seeing Zach dressed up. And think about how all those magazines and TV shows go on and on about Uncle Sebastian when he gets all dressed up.”

“Those are goofy.” Clayton rolled his eyes. Then he looked down, plucked at a loose thread on his shirt. “A boy at school called me a dumb liar. I saw a poster with Uncle Sebastian on it and I said who he was and the boy said I was lying.”

Trey sighed and crouched down in front of him. “You might hear that some. You know you’re not lying.”

“Everybody was going on and on about how awesome he was. I really know him. He’s my uncle. And they laughed at me.” Clayton’s lip poked out.

“I’m sorry.” He hugged Clayton closer, brooding. “You need to remember, though. Sebastian is your uncle—he’s not a prize to brag about or anything.”

“I wasn’t bragging.” Clayton’s thin shoulders rose and fell. “There was one girl who said her sister likes to kiss his poster—that’s weird. Isn’t that weird?”

“Very.” Easing back, Trey ruffled his hair. “You should have seen some of the girls I went to school with and how they acted about Uncle Zach. I bet they were just as weird.”

“Girls are weird.” Clayton sniffled. Then he said, “Neeci isn’t, though. Neeci is just Neeci. She believes me. She said she’s never seen any of his movies, but she believes me.” At that, Clayton slid Trey a sly look. “I told her I hadn’t seen too many of them, either. It’s not fair. He’s my uncle. I should be able to see more.”

“Nice try.” Trey grinned. “When you’re older. Besides, there’s that one coming out on Blu-ray soon—you were too little to see it in the theater last summer, but we can watch it together now.”

“But—”

Clayton’s would-be argument was interrupted by the sound of a chime—the alarm system Travis had nagged him into installing years ago—its computerized little voice announcing. Front door—

“Anybody here?”

Clayton’s eyes rounded and he bounced up off the bed and ran down the hall. “Uncle Travis!”

“Sounds like,” Trey said. As Clayton pounded down the stairs, Trey grabbed his shoes, a pair of black leather ones—again, not giving himself any chance to deliberate.

He was halfway down the steps when he caught sight of his brother, and the worry punched a hole in him. Too thin. Too pale. Travis was even skinner than Trey was.

And if he asked what was wrong, Travis would lie through his teeth.

As though he’d heard his thoughts, Travis turned his head, met his gaze.

“Well. Look at you,” Travis mused.

“Look at you.” Trey told himself to ignore it. That was what he should do. Travis knew how to take care of himself. He’d been doing it for a long time, and Trey knew that. But right now, he looked like death warmed over. “Travis, hope you don’t mind me saying, but you look like . . .”

Travis lifted a brow and glanced at Clayton who was tearing into a bag.

“Yeah.” Travis shrugged. “Rough few days at work.”

What in the hell are they doing? Feeding you to the lions when you don’t crunch numbers fast enough?

A taut silence passed between them, as things Travis wouldn’t tell, and Trey wouldn’t ask, hummed in the air.

That silence was shattered by a shriek from Clayton.

“Cool!” Clayton yanked something out of the bag—it looked like a new video game. He flashed it at Trey and then tossed it down and ripped into the bag again.

Still staring at his brother, Trey moved the rest of the way down the stairs. If he let himself focus, he could catch the faintest edge, no matter how hard Travis tried to keep him out. Yeah, there it was . . . exhaustion, irritation . . . and a lingering pain. With a caustic smile, Trey asked, “So what are they making you do at work these days? Lay down on the road and let your clients drive trucks over you or what? That’s about the only thing I can think of that might make you look that run-down.”

“I’m fine.” Travis’s voice was short, almost brusque.

The hell you are. He glared at his twin and watched as Travis narrowed his eyes, glaring back. Then, because they didn’t have time for it now, he shrugged. “We can talk about it later, though. You in town long?”

“Yeah. I . . .” Travis cocked his head like he was searching for the words. “I’m on leave right now—I’m between jobs at the moment. Looks like I might be moving into a consulting capacity once I go back, or at least sometime in the very near future. But for now, I’m on leave. I’ve been . . . sick, had to take time off.”

Sick—instinctively, he went to step between Travis and Clayton even though a body wouldn’t stop germs.

Travis rolled his eyes. “Relax. I’m not contagious. Not like I’d come here if I was. I’m here more for the downtime anyway.”

“You didn’t get fired, did you?” Trey had to admit, considering how rough Travis had looked the past few months—hell, the past few years—it wouldn’t bother him at all if Travis ended up needing to look for another job. And bullshit that Travis had been sick—that wasn’t what had him looking like hell.

“No. I’ve got a job. I’m just taking some time off—we’ll re-evaluate in a few months.” Travis shrugged.

Was it him or did it seem that his twin’s mouth went tight at the movement? Like it hurt? Trey wasn’t sure.

“You’re staying here, then.” Trey didn’t ask.

Travis just grunted. “I was kinda looking forward to pizza and movies, but looks like you have plans.”

“Daddy has a date,” Clayton announced as he finished ripping the paper off a Nerf gun.

For the next breath, the only sound was the boy’s desperate, determined efforts to tear the packaging open. And then, Travis lifted his head, a wide, wicked grin on his face, one that chased away the exhaustion and the irritation. “A date . . . do tell, Daddy.”

“A date. In my case—and yours, it would involve social interaction with a female,” Trey said. “You’re familiar with the general idea, I think.”

“More familiar than you are, I’d say.” Travis bit his lower lip, held it there a moment as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Now why haven’t I heard anything about this? Last I heard, the only woman you were interested in, things didn’t exactly work out.”

Feeling the creep of red as it spread up his neck, Trey shrugged. “Not much to say, just yet. I asked her out a couple days ago, she said yes. We haven’t even gone out yet.”

“So this is a first date.”

Before Trey could respond, there was a knock at the door. Travis moved aside as Trey headed to the door. “It’s the babysitter.”

Travis grinned at his nephew. “A babysitter, kid? Is she pretty?”

Clayton went red. “She’s a girl!”

“Well, yeah. The best ones usually are. Is she pretty?”

Clayton darted a look at the door.

Trey hesitated a minute. “She’s saving for college.”

“Hey, I’m not babysitting. I’m on vacation, man.” Travis ruffled Clayton’s hair. “I want pizza, though. I’ll buy. Then I’m probably going to crash early.”

“But . . .” Clayton poked out his lip. “Movie? I thought you said a movie.”

“We’ll do that tomorrow when Dad can join us.” Travis bent down and whispered something to him.

Trey heard the word date and girl involved. It made Clayton giggle.

Shaking his head, Trey opened the door to let Annabeth Hawkins in.

One thing about having his brother crash like this . . . it had taken his mind off the panic. For a few minutes at least.

*   *   *

Ressa whipped off the dress and tossed it on the bed with its three predecessors. The black wiggle dress was a little too sexy. The red polka dot one was cute. That was the problem. It was too cute. The pink square neck one was just fine . . . if he was taking her home to meet his mother.

Snarling under her breath, she stood in front of her closet, a closet full of clothes, too, thanks to her somewhat problematic love for shopping. She wore a black bra shot through with a red lace ribbon and a retro piece that was both girdle, garter, and panties. It was moderately comfortable, sexy as hell and it managed to smooth things down so that if she had gone with the black wiggle, she would have filled it out just fine.

But it was a first date and the message she was going for wasn’t Fuck me now.

Even if that was the message she had on her mind.

Even if that was the message she’d had on her mind pretty much from the first minute she’d seen him again—well, it wasn’t the only thought on her mind.

She had other thoughts, too. Like how much she loved his smile. And how much she missed seeing him and Clayton. And of course, the occasional worry wiggled its way in—mostly about Neeci. She was spending the night with Ressa’s aunt, Neeci’s “Granny Ang” and although Neeci loved Granny Ang, sometimes things didn’t always go well when she didn’t sleep at home.

Which meant she needed to warn Trey about a potential problem. She suspected Trey, more than most, would understand, but just the thought of it made her gut clench, and yet again she thought that maybe she should just cancel the date.

Cut and run, because she could see herself falling for Mr. Trey Barnes, in the worst sort of way.

Fall for him, then end up walking away, or crawling away, when things ended badly or she ended up battered and bruised, brokenhearted.

Coward.

But really, did it hurt to have a real date with him?

Maybe once they had that one real date, she’d realize they didn’t really have that much to talk about. Sure they were combustible, but she’d had heat before.

Doubt started to niggle inside her and she went to sit down, but her gaze landed on the clock. Twenty minutes. She only had—

The phone rang. Panic grabbed her belly. He wasn’t calling to cancel, was he?

If he does, I’ll hurt him.

And then that bubble of panic popped as she recognized the number. With a jaded eye, she studied it, then without a blink, ignored the call.

Talking to Kiara always put her in a bad place. Always. She had to coach herself into going to visit her, into calling her. Sending her quick little notes wasn’t possible, although she did write—there was just nothing quick about it. It took three or four days to get the right words down, the words that said . . . I love you, but I don’t want to talk about the past anymore.

“You ought to be the one in here!” The sound of Kiara’s voice, even now, still echoed in her ears. That wound was mostly scarred and it helped that Kiara had mostly come to accept the truth, but still, the rawness was still there.

The phone went silent as she moved to stand in front of the mirror.

Catching sight of the little clock she kept near her bed, she swore. Down to eighteen minutes. Her hair was done, her makeup was done, but she really should have something on when he knocked on the door.

Swearing, she grabbed a red dress off the hanger. She’d just ordered it and other than trying it on, she hadn’t worn it yet. Pulling it on, she smoothed it down over her hips and went to the mirror. The embellished design of the bodice accentuated her curves there and also left her tattoos bared. She fingered it absently, half thought about wearing something with a higher neckline, even as she gave the rest of her reflection a critical look.

The nipped-in waist definitely met with her approval and the skirt flared out in a way that flattered her full hips. She looked curvy rather than frumpy—that was good. She’d been hoping that would be the effect with the dress. She’d gotten pretty good at picking out the right styles, but shopping online could still be hit or miss. The fabric worked, too.

Frowning, she turned a little, eying the embroidery on the shoulders—each shoulder featured a cheekily grinning pin-up girl.

The cut of the dress was almost conservative.

A few months ago, if somebody had told her she’d be going out to dinner with Trey Barnes, conservative was exactly what she would have suspected would suit him. Of course, she’d have laughed her ass off, and then gone out of her way to find something completely not conservative.

But with the way the dress fit her, the dip of the bodice over her breasts, the sassy little pin-up girls and how it exposed her tattoos . . .

“Well, it’s sure as hell me,” she mused.

She turned away from the mirror.

Nothing in the closet was going to work any better.

Except maybe that wiggle dress, but if she put that on, she might as well issue an invitation for him to come on in and stay awhile. She’d bought it in a mood, not too long after that weekend she’d never been able to forget. She’d been thinking about him when she’d bought it.

Thinking. Missing. Wanting.

If she put it on, she’d do nothing but think about him peeling it off.

The phone started to ring again while she was pulling on a pair of heels, but she lunged for it this time. Farrah—it was the ringtone she used for Farrah and she needed her nerves soothed. Balancing on one foot as she fought one-handedly with the strap, she answered. “Make me feel better,” she ordered.

“Why?”

“Because my cousin just called and I didn’t talk to her and now I feel guilty and he’s going to be here soon,” she said in a rush.

There was a faint pause, and then Farrah said, “Fuck her. Half the time I don’t know why you even bother.”

“Because it’s my fault.”

“No,” Farrah said, her voice cold and hard. “No, it’s not.”

Ressa sighed. “Logically? I get that. Emotionally? Different story. Look, she’s my cousin. I love her. Now, tell me something to make me stop thinking about her,” she said, moving to deal with the other shoe.

“Are you ready?”

“No. I’m still buck-nekkid, with my hair in rollers and I’m shoving my face full of ice cream,” she said tartly. Her belly gave a demanding grumble. Maybe ice cream wouldn’t be a bad idea. Take the edge off. Ice cream made everything better, right? If she ate something now . . .

“Yeah, right. What are you wearing?”

“That red baby-doll dress I showed you a few weeks ago.”

“That?” Farrah’s disappointed tone did not go unmissed. “Why not that sexy black number?”

“Because that sexy black number says one thing—Do me. We’re going out for dinner.”

“Any reason you can’t have both . . . him and dinner?” Farrah sounded sly now.

“Whatever happened to the girl who was teaching me caution a few days ago?” Ressa asked wryly.

“Well, I want you to be cautious. Don’t get your heart broken. But if you can manage to have fun with him while it lasts and not get your heart broken? Go for it.”

Fun . . . while it lasts. Odd that even thinking that way made her feel kind of funny inside. Like she was already setting herself up for a heartbreak.

“I plan on having fun. Without jumping back into bed with him the very first time we actually have a date.” Rolling her eyes, she stretched out her feet, studied the shoes. They worked.

Then she glanced toward the hall, thought about that pint of ice cream she kept on hand for emergencies.

This wasn’t really an emergency, though.

Sighing, she turned her back on the thought of ice cream and made herself focus.

“Talk yourself out of a bite or two of ice cream?” Farrah asked.

“Yes. Damn it.” Ressa pressed a hand to her belly.

“Good. The dress fits perfectly now. Don’t go getting the nervous eats, okay? We don’t want to do another fitting. Now . . . how do you feel?”

“I’m nervous. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous about a date.” Ressa grimaced.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous about a guy.”

“Oh, I’ve been this nervous,” she said quietly.

There had been a guy. Ressa had cared about him. Enough to come clean with him about her past. He’d said he loved her. But when he learned about her past, he’d walked.

“He never really loved you. He just loved what he thought he knew,” Farrah said quietly. “You ready to go that route again with Trey? What if he’s the same way?”

The question had Ressa tensing. She had to focus, had to concentrate to make her muscles relax. Leaning forward, she scowled at the faint smudge in her eyeliner. She used one of the sponges to fix it before she answered. “It’s not the same thing; he’s not the same.”

“If that’s the case, then you see all the problems ahead of you, too, right? I mean, assuming this thing turns out to be anything . . . you know what kind of mess you could be asking for?”

“What problems?” She forced a light note into her voice. “Let me think . . . well, other than the fact that he’s this hugely successful author who is still dealing with some baggage—” That was a safe way to explain it, she figured. “He’s a widower with an adorable kid. Or maybe you’re talking about my mess.”

“There’s that,” Farrah said, her voice flat. “And other things. He’s white, you’re black.”

“Really.” Ressa eased away from the mirror, studying her reflection once more. “I never noticed.”

“That could be a problem . . . if it got serious. That, and a couple of things. Have you thought about that?”

“Yes.” Sighing, she turned away from the mirror. She didn’t want to think about serious. Not yet. Not right now. “You and I both know I’d just be hiding from the truth if I said otherwise. If . . . look, if we think we’ve got something, his skin color isn’t going to matter to me. I won’t care. I don’t think he will, either.”

“It affects more than just the two of you, though. It’s Neeci, it’s his little boy,” Farrah said quietly. Her sister had married a white guy. Her parents supported her . . . but the guy’s family? They’d cut him off. It had caused some rough spots.

Rubbing her thumb along the lines of the tattoo on her chest, Ressa said, “Mama Ang won’t care who I fall for, Farrah. All she ever wanted was for us to be happy.”

“Yeah . . . it looks like your cousin really got that memo.” Farrah’s voice was thick with sarcasm.

“Please.” Ressa closed her eyes. “Don’t. Okay? Just . . .”

“I won’t, honey. Although Kiara makes me crazy. Mama Ang, she tried so hard—Bruce, God bless him, he tried. You tried. Anyways . . . it’s not just about you all, you know that. Kids change everything.”

“We’re talking about things that might not even be an issue. For all I know, we’ll go out and we’ll bore each other senseless.” Plus . . . her gut started to twist, and as much as she didn’t want to think about Kiara, her cousin started to creep back into her mind.

Kiara.

The things that Ressa had done her best to overcome, to move past.

But they were still a part of her.

Shit.

The doorbell rang. “I’ve got to go. I think he’s here.”

“Honey, you already know you’re not going to bore each other senseless. That’s why you need to be careful . . . and maybe why you should put on that black dress and get him out of your system, now. While you can still can.”