Page 26 of Through Treacherous Weather
With a shake of his head, Esco took the blunt from her. He never smoked or drank on the job, and he hoped he didn’t end up regretting doing so. So far, he’d been watching over Fatima without incident, but that didn’t mean that things couldn’t happen. He was nervous about not only losing the great paying job but getting on Wise’s bad side causing the man not to use his services anymore in the future. Wise was where Esco was trying to get. Shit, he was trying to get to where Fatima was. Letting himself be peer pressured into doing drugs while he was on the clock was wild.
After several tokes, he passed the blunt back to her. Esco’s phone vibrated from the pocket of his jeans. Easing it out of his pocket, he smiled when he saw that Star was calling from her iPad.
“What’s up Pretty Girl?” he answered the call with a smile. Fatima felt like a creep as she stole glances at him. Esco was literally one of the finest men she’d ever laid eyes on and when he smiled, my God.
“Daddy, you still at work? When are you coming home?”
“Yes, I’m still at work, baby. I’ll be home tomorrow. I’ll spend two days with you, and then I’ll come back to work.”
Fatima didn’t attempt to pass the blunt to Esco while he was talking to his daughter. She zoned out as she smoked and imagined what life would be like when she had a man and kids. By the time Esco and Star’s conversation ended, more than half the blunt was gone. Fatima extended what was left toward him with a sheepish grin and low eyes.
“You’re fuckin’ fried,” he chuckled.
“I won’t even argue with that. I’m going to bed.”
Esco finished the blunt and got comfortable on the couch. Despite Fatima having an alarm system and cameras, he still didn’t want to sleep in one of her empty bedrooms. If anyone made it inside the house, they’d have to get through him before they got to her. Plus, her plush, expensive couch was comfortable as hell. He hadn’t woken up with a sore back yet. As he waited for sleep to find him, Esco found himself thinking about Fatima’s question regarding his relationship status. For the first time, he was looking at her as a person rather than simply a job or Wise’s daughter.
There had never been any denying that she was beautiful. But she was also smart and had a lot going for herself. Forget what she brought to the table; Fatima was the table. He could see her with a rapper, athlete, actor, maybe even a king pin like her father once was. Fatima definitely gave Real Housewives, WAGS, Love and Hip Hop, all that shit. Her two jobs, college degree, and personality were all admirable. Never once since Wise hired him had she looked down on him or treated him likethe help. He could pick up on her subtle flirting, but maybe she was just polite. And at least if she did like him, she wasn’t overly thirsty with it.
Esco just wasn’t sure if he was ready to commit. He wasn’t afraid to admit that Sophie had done a number on him. Months or even a year into their relationship had anyone told him that she’d end up strung out on drugs, he would have laughed in their face. When she found out she was pregnant, there wasn’t one part of him that was worried because he knew he was going to do what he had to do to take care of his child financially, and he would have bet his last dollar that Sophie would have been an amazing mother. The way she walked out of his and Star’s lives made his gut churn still.
She didn’t choose them, and he wasn’t so masculine that he couldn’t admit that shit hurt. He would have done right by Sophie and Star forever. Cheating wasn’t something he did. He wanted to build a life with Sophie and his seed. Give them both a great life, but a coward had stolen that from him. The bastard that raped Sophie and sent her spiraling into a world of depression deserved a fate worse than death. He stole the Sophie that Esco had fallen in love with and sadly, he doubted she’d ever return.
As disheartening as it was, he could live with it. He could accept the fact that what they had was over, but what would forever make his chest tight was the fact that Star deserved the Sophie that he fallen in love with. She was nowhere to be found though.
Chapter Twelve
“Somebody had toomuch fun last night,” Grey heard Winter joking with Trinity as he walked into the boutique.
He watched Trinity toss a pill in her mouth, tilt her head back, and wash it down with water. She did a double take, and her eyes widened a bit when she saw him approaching the counter. With a bashful grin, she slid the Plan B packet off the counter and dropped it in the trash. He knew they’d had too much fun the night before, so she wasn’t too sure why her cheeks were burning. Winter noticed Grey and smiled never once thinking about the fact that he could have been the person that had Trinity popping the plan B pill.
“Hi, Grey. Thank you so much for coming on such short notice. My chandelier finally got delivered, and Truce couldn’t come put it up because his wife is sick.”
Shalaine was having a Lupus flare up and whenever they occurred, Truce wouldn’t leave her side until he was sure she was good. He didn’t care if his world had to stop for days or weeks.
“No problem. I was in the area. Just show me where you want it. What’s up, Trinity?” he nodded at her.
“Hi,” she sang with a wide smile then finished her bottle of water.
Trinity didn’t talk about her flings with Winter too much. Her niece was an adult, but there was still a big age gap, and Trinity spoke about such things more openly with the older ladies of the crew.
“When can I start planning this bachelorette trip?” she asked when Winter walked back over to where she was standing.
“You can start now. The only month I have more than one free weekend is May. I’m also about to send everybody in the bridal party the text for the dress fittings. I’m giving three weeks’ notice. Everyone has to show up. No excuses. Anybody that doesn’t come will be kicked out of the wedding.”
“Oh brother,” Trinity groaned. “If it isn’t little Miss Bridezilla.”
“You better believe it,” Winter replied in a serious tone before she erupted into giggles. “I’m going to be so freakin’ pissed if I have to stop taking my birth control. That shit has me gaining a little bit too much weight, but I’d rather have weight on me from eating than from a baby. My wedding is six months away, and I can’t risk getting knocked up. We all can’t eat Plan B’s like Skittles.”
“Fuck you little girl,” Trinity snickered. She’d never been pregnant. In fact, she wasn’t sure she could even get pregnant. It was something that she’d learned to accept long ago. But she wasn’t taking any chances. Her and Grey weren’t serious, and he already had a small child. She was good on being baby mama number two to a man she wasn’t even in a relationship with. She’d conditioned herself long ago to stop worrying about whether she would or wouldn’t get pregnant.
Winter laughed. “I saw how you smiled at Grey,” she whispered. “Y’all still be talking?”
Trinity shook her head. “Why are you all in my business?”
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Before Trinity could respond, the door opened, and Fatima walked in with Esco on her heels. “Hey, sister,” Winter smiled at Fatima. “Hey Mr. Sexy Bodyguard, Esco.”
