Page 6 of Without You
“And the shorty from the Grammys? You been seeing her for a couple of weeks now.”
He didn’t normally take the number of one-night stands, but he’d liked Kim and flew her out to see him a few times. He didn’t know where this relationship was going, but for now she filled a void.
“Like I said, she’ll have to deal. If she has a problem with Charisse, that’s her problem. She can simply move on. We ain’t in love.”
“Cool, cool.” Bo nodded his head. “I just wanted to check, man. I’d hate to see anyone get hurt.”
“Ain’t nobody getting hurt. Kim’s grown. I’m grown. We’re having fun, that’s all.” Terrence tucked the phone into his pocket. “I’m going to take a leak. Finish your food and when I get back, let’s bounce. We have a meeting at eleven and I don’t want to be late.”
“A’ight man.”
Terrence slid from the booth and walked toward the restrooms in the back of the restaurant.
Bo and Grandma Esther were the only two people to warn him that he should change his ways or risk losing his wife. He didn’t listen to either of them. He listened to his own lust and the people who encouraged the bad behavior. And quite frankly, he enjoyed himself.
His penis hadn’t been the only thing getting stroked during that period. His oversized ego had been, too. Being a celebrity was a drug all its own, and so was having women fawn all over you—screaming your name, slipping you their number, and willing to do anything for a night in your arms.
Those days used to be fun, but he didn’t go out as much as he used to anymore. Most nights he stayed his ass at home. He figured out too late there was nothing out there for him.
4
Charisse examined her reflection in the gold standing mirror in a corner of her bedroom. Her daughter, Chelsea, sat cross-legged on the high four-poster bed watching her primp and prepare for her date with Austin, a marketing consultant she met at the grocery store, of all places.
They’d been seeing each other for over a month, and she liked him a lot. He was polite and funny, and they definitely had some chemistry. Sure, it wasn’t the explosive chemistry she used to have with Terrence, but none of the men she dated since they split managed to curl her toes and make her heart race the way her ex-husband did. She learned to accept that and enjoy their company nonetheless.
She turned and faced her daughter and placed her hands on her hips. “How do I look?”
“Pretty.”
“You’re not saying that because I’m your mother?”
Chelsea shook her head vigorously, her braids swinging around her head. “You look very pretty, Mommy. You always look pretty.”
“And you are my little angel.”
“Princess,” Chelsea corrected.
“Oh yes, how could I forget. My princess.”
Charisse took one more look at her reflection. She liked dressing up, and tonight she looked sexy in an electric blue dress, gold pumps, and heavy makeup that contoured her cheeks and elongated her lashes.
“All right, let’s go. Grandma will be here any minute, and then I need to leave.”
Because she planned to stay out the entire night, she asked her mother to sleep over. She hadn’t shared her decision to spend the night with Austin, in case she changed her mind over the course of the evening. They’d made love before, but she never spent the night, though he made it clear she was welcomed to do so.
Normally, Ennis watched his younger siblings when she went out, but since she would be gone overnight, she wanted an adult in the house.
She grabbed her purse and she and Chelsea exited the bedroom. Down the hall, she rapped twice on her eldest son’s door and poked her head in. He and Junior sat on the floor, staring up at the TV screen, playing a video game.
“I’m on my way out. You guys be good.”
“Bye, Mom,” Junior said over his shoulder without taking his gaze from the screen.
Ennis glanced back and did a double take. “Wow, you look pretty, Mom.”
“Thank you, honey.”
As she and Chelsea walked down the hallway, she heard the front door open. “Mom, is that you?”
