Maybe Baby Lite (56 page)

“
What’s wrong now?” he
asked, not hiding his exasperation.

“
I want to know why you
said that about me spending money on you for Christmas. That really
hurt my feelings.”

“
Tylar,” he said, walking
over to me, “I love that you want to buy me things. You’ve made it
very clear, though, that I can’t reciprocate. You hurt me when you
traded in your Mercedes without even discussing it with me. Did you
ever consider that?”

I truly hadn’t considered
discussing it with Trey. It was my gift, I thought, to do with as I
pleased. Was that wrong?

“
I understand the
practicality of trading in the Mercedes. But, had you come to me,
I'd have helped make sure you wouldn’t take such a loss on the
deal. I get it that you want to make practical decisions. I support
that. You haven’t given me a chance, though. I can afford to give
you the things I give you. But you won’t let me buy you things, so
I have to be concerned with your spending your money on me. That’s
all I meant.”

“
Oh Trey,” I sobbed, my
eyes tearing up. I launched myself into his arms. “I’m sorry. I
guess I didn’t look at it from your point of view.” He leaned down
and kissed the top of my head.

“
So,” he said, “where’re
you going just now?”

“
To get a dressed for
dinner. We’re still going to Morelli’s?”

“
Yes, we are,” he said,
his eyes sparkling. “We have some time though. I was thinking that
we could shower together?”

“
Sure,” I giggled, “Let’s
go.”

Savory Italian flavors
enveloped us as we entered Morelli’s. Carmelita greeted us with a
shriek, holding her meaty arms out, capturing Trey in a bear hug,
and winking at me slyly over his shoulder

“
Signor Trey,” Carmelita
gushed, “sono molto content di vedere nuovamente con questa bella
ragazza. Non posso tollerare che brutta strega e venuto qui con
l’ultino tempo. Mi auguro che sia finite!”

Mr. Trey, I am so happy to
see you back with this beautiful girl. I cannot tolerate that nasty
witch you came in here with last time. I hope that's
finished!

Ah hah! Trey had brought
Charlotte back in here. Carmelita wanted me to know. Carmelita
glanced over at me as she released Trey from her sturdy embrace. I
gave her a slight nod to let her know I appreciated the heads
up.

“
La ringrazio, Carmelita,”
Trey said, laughter in his eyes. “Avete la mia parola la strega non
sara qui con me sempre! Saremo al nostro solito tavolo?”

Thank you, Carmelita. You
have my word the witch will not be back here with me ever! We will
be dining at our usual table please?

“
Ma per favore venite in
questo modo.”

But of course, please come
this way.

My feelings were hurt but
I had to contain my emotions for now. I followed as Carmelita
seated us at “our” table.

Obviously not!

She handed each of us a
menu, snapping her fingers for a server to fill our water glasses.
“Un momento,” Carmelita said, hurrying over to scold a busboy who
was noisily clearing a table.

“
What was all that about
when we came in?”

“
All what
about?”

I know the truth,
Sinclair.

“
All that Italian
gibberish going back and forth between you and Carmelita when we
first got here. I don’t understand why she doesn’t use English when
she talks to you.”

“
She was simply telling me
that she was glad to see you and me; that she thinks you’re
beautiful. I agreed with her that you're by far the most beautiful
woman on earth and that you're mine,” he said sweetly, taking my
hand in his and raising it to his lips.

Not a totally accurate
translation, Sinclair. Nice touch with the charm.

I gazed sweetly at Trey,
squeezing his hand. Carmelita arrived back at the table,
smiling.

“
Quale vino sara bere
questa, Signore Trey?”

What wine will you be
drinking this evening Mr. Trey?

“
A Tuscano merlot will be
fine, Carmelita. Just a glass for me please, Tylar is abstaining,”
Trey said, not answering her in Italian this time. He was evidently
tired of me asking him to interpret their conversations. She nodded
and was off.

I took a sip of my water,
noticing how handsome Trey looked in his suit. It was a dark grey
flannel; the front-pleated trousers hung low on his narrow hips.
He'd worn a white dress shirt and a scarlet silk tie. I was wearing
a curve-hugging Nicole Miller maternity dress that made me feel
like a model, with my new black ‘fuck me’ heels, against Trey’s
advice.

Surprise,
surprise!

They were high black
spikes with chrome metal heels, ankle wraps, and a metal toe plate
in chrome to match the heels. When Trey saw me putting them on he
did a double take.

“
You aren’t seriously
wearing those shoes outside are you?”

“
Why wouldn’t
I?”

“
Those shoes are not meant
to go beyond the bedroom!” He held the shoe I’d yet to put on in
his hand, examining the metal heel.

“
What?” I asked, feeling
mocked.

“
Baby, these shoes were
made to dig into somebody’s back while he’s fucking you; these
shoes weren't made for walking.”

“
Give me that!” I said,
snatching my shoe from him. I blushed at his assessment, but filed
it away for future reference.

Trey silently studied me
from across the table. I took another sip of water, trying to
figure out what was on his mind this evening. It was quite warm in
the restaurant this evening. Carmelita returned with a glass of
merlot for Trey. Trey ordered for both of us, knowing that I wasn't
picky when it came to Italian cuisine. He raised his wineglass for
a toast.

“
To the most beautiful
woman I've ever met, being here with me tonight in our special
restaurant.”

I wonder if he made that
same toast to Charlotte.

“
Per la salute, Tylar,” he
finished, clinking his wine glass against my raised water goblet. I
waited until he took a long, leisurely swallow of his
wine.

“
Trey, vorrei sapere se
questa e la tabella con le prostitute Charlotte? A proposito, hai
fuck lei?”

Trey, I would like to know
if this is your table with your whore Charlotte as well? By the
way, did you fuck her?

Trey choked, as I
expected, desperately holding his napkin up to his mouth to stifle
his involuntary coughing. Carmelita rushed to his aid, patting his
back.

“
E il vino non a tuo
piacimento, Signor Trey?” she asked, her voice filled with
concern.

Is the wine not to your
liking, Mr. Trey?

Trey was still hacking,
unable to respond. I took the liberty of answering for
him.

“
Il vino va bene,
Carmelita. Era qualcosa che no andava bene.”

The wine is fine,
Carmelita. It was something else that did not sit well.

I saw the flicker of
amusement cross her face; Trey was still busy composing himself and
did not notice the look that passed between Carmelita and me. She
left the table seeing that Trey was regaining his composure. He
took several gulps of water, eyeing me suspiciously.

“
So,” I said, “are you
going to answer my questions?”

“
Why did you pretend not
to understand Italian?”

“
That’s not an answer,” I
retorted. “Have you slept with anyone else since we made our baby?”
I wasn’t sure why that was so important to me, but it was. I was
more sad than mad that he'd brought Charlotte to “our
spot.”

“
For God’s sake, Tylar,
lower your voice,” he pleaded, looking around at nearby tables
where a few snickers could be heard.

“
I’m waiting,” I said,
quieter, arms crossed. I tapped one of my stilettos impatiently
against the leg of my chair. Trey leaned in close, looking directly
into my eyes.

“
No, the answer to your
question, to both of your questions is ‘no.’”

I believed him but my
feelings were still raw. The server brought our salads and warm
bread on a cutting board. My hunger had dissipated. I needed some
answers.

“
I know that you were
seeing Charlotte again, Trey. I remember that you made it a point
one night of blowing me off because she was at the manor with
you.”

“
Tylar, as God as my
witness, I've never done more than kiss the witch. I promise you
that. If you recall, I thought that you were seeing Mark…that you
two were involved. It hurt me. As sophomoric as it sounds, I admit
that I used Charlotte to show you that I was getting on with my
life.”

“
I see,” I said, keeping
my emotions in check. “So Trey, you thought that I was seeing Mark.
Did you think that I was sleeping with him, too?”

“
Yes, the thought crossed
my mind, more often than I liked as a matter of fact.” He visibly
blanched at that question.

“
So you admit you were
behaving sophomorically in trying to get on with your life. I can’t
believe that hooking up with Charlotte wouldn’t have occurred to
you. Maybe it would have given you some closure in some way on our
relationship?”

He lowered his head and I
could tell by his body language I'd hit pay dirt. “I’m going to be
honest with you Tylar, because you deserve that and it might sound
messed up, but it's the truth.”

Oh God, what's he going to
tell me?

“
I know everything about
your sexual history; you know none of mine. That’s not fair and I
believe that you have a right to know. So here it is. The first
girl I was ever with was Tess. I was 17, she was 16. I was faithful
to her until she ended it. After that, I didn’t get involved in
relationships. I'd no desire to ever put myself in a situation that
would devastate me like that again.”

He took a sip of his wine
and continued. “I’ve had casual dates that included casual sex with
several women over the past few years since Tess. That’s probably
what Charlotte would have been to me had I not met you. Once the
woman wanted an exclusive relationship, I bailed. I’m not proud of
that, but it's the truth.”

He paused as our entrées
arrived. “After you left me, I called Charlotte. I wanted something
to distract me from the emptiness I felt. It was a
mistake.”

I kept silent, waiting for
him to continue. I knew there was more.

“
We dated off and on,
Tylar. I was spending more time in Atlanta since you left. Until
then, nothing had happened between Charlotte and me, though I knew
that she was willing. She came to spend a weekend with me in
Atlanta. We went out drinking. I was struggling to get over
you.”

He stopped, took another
drink of his wine, and I saw a smile flicker across his face. What
did he find amusing about any of this? I felt that I was on the
verge of being crushed.

“
We were in the limo on
the way back to my apartment. Charlotte was trying her best to
seduce me. Don’t get me wrong, I'd every intention of hooking up
that night. I wanted to wash away the emptiness. She unzipped my
fly and went down on me.”

I don’t want to hear
this!

“
Nothing happened,” he
said, “I couldn’t even get an erection. She wasn’t
you
. I hadn’t even
touched her. She disgusted me. I finally told her to sit up. I put
my flaccid cock back into my pants and told the driver to take her
to the Marriott close to my apartment. I handed her $500 and told
her to get a room for the night, that I'd ship her luggage back to
her.”

How humiliating for her, I
thought. My hormones were giggling and snickering. “What'd she say
to you?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“
I believe she called me
an impotent faggot and told me to burn in hell,” he smiled, showing
his dimple. I couldn’t resist laughing.

“
Well, I mean eventually
you'd have been able to perform sexually I’m sure,” I
commented.

“
I hope I never have to
test your theory,” he responded. “So am I forgiven?”

“
Trey, you don’t need to
ask for forgiveness. I’m relieved that you couldn’t get it up; I
won’t lie about that. I don’t like thinking about you being with
anyone else, but given your past with Tess, I see why you can be
emotionally distant.”

He nodded and reached out,
capturing a lock of my hair between his fingers.

“
Can I ask you a personal
question that doesn’t pertain to me?”

“
Go ahead,” he said, still
rubbing my lock of hair.

“
How long was it after
Tess broke the engagement that you hooked up with someone
else?”

He thought for a minute
before answering, “It was about two or three weeks. There were
plenty of women in Cambridge, trust me.”

“
Did you have a problem
getting an erection with whoever that was?”