Page 11 of Through Treacherous Weather
Trinity blinked as she stared at Grey blankly. She wasn’t sure how to respond because he’d sort of called her out. As she collected her thoughts and tried to process whether she should be offended, her eyes narrowed.
“So, you think I’m a shallow person that just wants your dick and that meant that we shouldn’t share details of our lives with one another?”
“I never said you were shallow. I drive a Denali, and you have many cars one of which is a Rolls Royce. You live in a home that had to be more than one million dollars. Your purse collection alone could send my kid to college. Women like you don’t tend to run after men like me with the hopes of marrying them or having anything too serious, and I’m cool with that.”
“Ohhhhkay.” Trinity replied slowly. The fact that she felt some kind of way was absurd to her. But she did. Grey wasn’t wrong, so why was she offended?
“Am I wrong?” his brows hiked.
“Maybe we should just end the conversation. Keep the topics surface level and that way things won’t get weird.” Trinity picked her wine glass up and drained it while Grey stared at her with an amused smirk on his face.
“Things already seem weird. Tell me I’m wrong, and I’ll apologize for assuming. I just told you what my experience has been. I never said I knew for a fact that I was right. I’m just a man that’s secure in me and what I bring to the table. If I’m in a serious relationship, I want to lead and provide. However, if what I’m providing is less than what my woman has, I know that it will be hard for her to look at me as a leader and someone that she wants to submit to. I never want the woman in my life to feel like she’s settling.”
“Maybe it’s about how you treat her versus the money in your bank account.” The reply slipped off her lips too easily, and Trinity had to wonder what the hell was wrong with her. She absolutely agreed with him but saying it out loud make her feel shallow and superficial. Especially since she could tell that Grey was a real man and not one that would leech off her and ask to drive her car to the club so he could stunt.
Grey chuckled. “Yeah. Most women say that until an argument ensues then the man is all kinds of broke fuck niggas. I’ve never experienced that, but I know men that have. I’d never let a woman talk down on me because she has more than me. Disrespect is one thing I absolutely don’t tolerate.”
“You’re not wrong for that. No one wants to be disrespected, and I can see where you’re coming from, but I think each scenario is different.”
“That’s true. I just take things for what they are and don’t read too much into them. When you didn’t ask, I didn’t offer information. I have no problem with you coming to my home when my daughter isn’t there.”
Trinity bobbed her head. “Do you have a lot of help with her? Is her mother in her life?”
“Yes and no. My parents are great with her and so is my sister, Jayda. There’s a lady that goes to my mother’s church that helps me a lot with her one because she loves kids and two because she needs the extra money. I’d rather Shai’Ann stay with her than go to daycare.”
Knowing that Grey was a single father tugged at Trinity’s heart strings. She hadn’t ever dated a full-time dad, and she instantly understood why Grey wasn’t the type to crowd her. He didn’t have the time. His daughter was always going to come first, and she could respect that. But his daughter was super young. Being serious with him would mean her taking on a huge role, and Trinity wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Since not having kids never bothered her, she assumed she didn’t have the maternal instincts that most women were born with. However, she’d never have a child and abandon it the way her nephews’ mother had or the way Shai’Ann’s mother had seemingly abandoned her.
“Do you want more kids?” she smiled at the server as he refilled her wine glass.
“Maybe if I ever get married. If not, I’m cool with just one. Why the sudden interest in getting to know me?” he grinned, and Trinity rolled her eyes.
“You make it seem as if every time I see you, I straight pounce on your dick with no conversation or interest in your wellbeing.”
Grey’s brows hiked. “I meannnnn,”
“Anyway.” Trinity kissed her teeth. “It is your first time asking me out on a date. That’s what most people do when theyhang out. Converse. And we’ve definitely talked when you were renovating my closet. It’s not like I just jumped into bed with a complete stranger. Dating isn’t exactly a cake walk for most women. At this point in my life, as long as I can find a clean, STD free, respectful, handsome man to satisfy my needs every once and a while, I’m good on the fairytales and love stories.”
“I take it you’ve had some not so pleasant experiences.”
“Ha. That’s a nice way to put it. I’ve come across some certified assholes. Men with money that are so used to women needing them and what they can offer that they assume they can treat every woman like dirt, and it’ll be accepted. Men that couldn’t tell the truth if they were paid to do so. Men that were so bad in bed that it’s more pleasurable watching paint dry.” Trinity scoffed at the memories and picked her glass of wine up to take a sip.
“Damn,” Grey chuckled. “I guess we’re all out here trying to get in where we fit in.”
“Pretty much, and I’ve been over it. Love is a beautiful thing, but I’m not stressing myself out or settling to have it. The way some women are obsessed with finding husbands is cringe. And when a lot of them finally get married, they’re miserable because they wanted to be a wife so bad they ignored every red flag that was presented.”
“And dating a man outside of your tax bracket?”
“I’ve been there done that too. I know I’m blessed. And I know that’s not everybody’s case. I didn’t grow up rich. My father was a humble, hardworking man. He gave us the best life that he could, and my childhood was amazing because it was filled with his presence and love. So, I’ve tried to go the whole, ‘you don’t have to be able to take care of me, just be able to take care of yourself,’ route, and it was annoying. Asking me why I have to take so many vacations, or why I spent this much on a purse that much on a pair of shoes. Clocking my money isinsane. And the thing that takes the cake is when they say some shit like, ‘you spent $10,000 on a Chanel bag, you could have invested in me,’ By fuck you,” Trinity’s nose scrunched making Grey laugh.
“I feel you on that. I’m going to do what I have to do to take care of home and as long as home is taken care of, I couldn’t care less what my woman does with her money. That’s why we’re all different, I guess.”
“That’s true.”
Trinity enjoyed the rest of dinner with Grey and at her home afterward, they had mind blowing sex as they always did. That night as she drifted off to sleep, Trinity found herself thinking about Grey in a way she never had before. Initially, any thoughts of anything serious was off limits, and that was just what it was. However, Trinity found herself wondering if she could be in a committed relationship with a man that had such a young child. Bonding with a child and helping to take care of her was a major step.
Money aside, Grey was a manly man, and Trinity didn’t doubt his ability to lead and protect. She could provide for herself as long as the things she did didn’t make him feel emasculated. Trinity hated that she was in her head so much. This thing with Grey was supposed to be sex and sex only, but the way he was dominating her thoughts made Trinity aware that it was becoming something much deeper than that. At least on her part anyway.
Chapter Six
