What a Fool Believes (16 page)
Read What a Fool Believes Online
Authors: Carmen Green
This time his growl made her laugh. “That gay wolf is my hero. I just hope I'm not creating a rift in your family.”
Ronnie/Rhonda laughed fully. He grabbed her sweater and doused the light on her desk. “Honey, you couldn't touch our troubles if you crocheted together all the Neide Ambrosio belts in the world. Do your job, and you'll come out on top.”
They rode the elevator down in companionable silence, Ronnie/Rhonda swinging her hand.
“How is Officer Abs, Ass, and Pecs?” he asked.
Tia giggled, some of the tension leaving her. All day her whole body had been tight with tension, but now that she was off duty, she felt as if she were emerging from an iceberg. “He's fine. We're not a couple, you know. He's just myâ”
“Bodyguard?” Ronnie/Rhonda filled in. “Like Kevin Costner to Whitney Houston? Like Taye Diggs to Angela Bassett? Like Larenz Tate to Nia Long? Likeâ”
“No,” Tia interrupted. “You know your movies, don't you?”
Ronnie/Rhonda checked his manicured fingernails. “It's chapter six in the being bi man's handbook.”
“You're so silly.” They walked outside as Tia shouldered on her jacket, loving the slow slide from winter to spring. The sun had already set in the west, but a few fingers of orange and blue streaked the sky in the distance. She wanted to head in that direction and chase the tail end of the day, but reconsidered when her stomach growled for food.
Ronnie/Rhonda stood next to her in his sleek outfit, looking like he should be on somebody's drill team. She wasn't sure, however, what college would have pink as its school color. “Who is this mystery man, and is he on the way?”
Checking a beautiful Movado watch, Ronnie/ Rhonda nodded. “He's Damien St. Jacques. Sounds like a porn star, but he's not. He's with an accounting firm, and yes, he'll be here in about five minutes. Would you like to join us for dinner?”
Tia blushed. Ronnie/Rhonda really was her friend. “You don't need a chaperone. Have a good time, and I don't want to hear a single detail tomorrow. You know, I'm still in relationship recovery.”
He grinned big. “Please, cream puff, you're over Mr. Stupid. I'm tellin' you every last lip-smackin', booty-rubbin', chest-touchin'â”
Tia cried out, laughing as Ronnie/Rhonda pretended to molest her on the street. The sidewalk cleared around them as smiling people gave them room to play.
“Behave,” she told him as the wind blew her hair into her face. She wiped the curls away. “You're never going to get a second date if he sees you feeling me up.”
“Oh, damn. I didn't think of that. She's a lesbian!” Ronnie/Rhonda announced to passersby. “She's trying to turn me,” he said to two obviously gay men.
“Into what, baby? A boy?” the tall thin man said.
Tia and Ronnie/Rhonda joined the men in uninhibited laughter. The men winked and walked on down the street.
When she could control herself, Tia patted Ronnie/Rhonda's arm. “I've got to go now. My bus will be coming soon.”
“Where's your car?”
“Parked until I can afford to drive it.”
She saw the look on his face and rubbed his arm. He was feeling sorry for her, and she wasn't going to have it.
“Hey, I'm fine. Man, I can stand to lose a few pounds,” she said. “Walking to and from the bus stop isn't going to hurt me.”
“Tia, it's dinner, and it's not an imposition. I don't want you trolling happy hours for free food anymore.”
“I don't do that.” Tia turned her embarrassed face in the opposite direction of Ronnie/Rhonda's. How did he know? She'd been so discreet. Perhaps he'd seen her. Or it could be that every doggie bag in the break-room refrigerator had her name on it. “I'm going to have spaghettiâ” she lied.
“Tia, is that you? Remember me? It's Kirk.”
Distant reminders tickled her memory. Tia looked up into the handsome face of Kirk Giles.
“Right,” she said, extending her hand. “This is my friend Rhonda/Ronnie!” The men shook, and to Tia's relief, Kirk didn't seem at all homophobic.
They'd met at happy hour a while back, and Tia was supposed to have called him. Somehow she hadn't gotten around to it. Her life sucked, and she hadn't wanted to share that bad news.
“What are you doing over here?” she asked.
He grinned, showing a perfect Crest white smile. “I ran into your friend Megan, and she said you were waiting for her to pick you up. So I offered, hoping we could grab a bite to eat and talk.”
Alarms went off in Tia's head. She wasn't waiting for Megan. “Where'd you see my friend?”
“At Art & More on Ponce this afternoon.”
One of Ronnie/Rhonda's eyebrows shot up like Chance's, and Tia caught his drift. What successful, gainfully employed brotha went to an art store in the middle of the day? One who'd just lost a job or was
about
to lose one.
about
to lose one.
Kirk gave them a knowing smile. “I'm in radio. They're running a promo ad, and while we're still a small start-up, I wanted to press the flesh and get to know the area at the same time. I assure you both, I have a
real
nine-to-five job.”
real
nine-to-five job.”
All three laughed. Atlanta was full of fakers.
“We believe you,” Ronnie/Rhonda said to Kirk. “Press the flesh,” he sighed to Tia. “Yum.”
Tia elbowed Ronnie/Rhonda. “That sounds great,” she said to Kirk. “I wonder what Megan was doing there.”
“She said something about finishing a mural.”
Tia rolled her eyes but couldn't comment further. The girl was definitely certifiable.
Just then a sleek, smoke grey Lexus convertible pulled to the curb, and a pretty blond man stretched out of the vehicle, leaning on the door and the roof. “You ready?”
“Double yum. Good night, girls and boys.” Rhonda/Ronnie kissed Tia's temple and looked directly at Kirk. “Tia's the absolute best meteorologist in the state. Don't try to steal her away from us. And don't break her heart.”
The men shook hands firmly. “I'll take good care of her,” said Kirk.
Ronnie/Rhonda leaned over Tia, fixing her already straightened collar, and said, “Don't look now, but Officer Wonderful is fuming over your left shoulder.”
He started humming Nelly's “Hot in Herre” before climbing into the Lexus. The men drove away, leaving Tia and Kirk in the middle of the block.
“Want to grab a bite to eat?” Kirk asked.
So Byron was spying?
She might as well give him something to look at. “Best offer I've had all day.”
Although Tia wanted to look over her shoulder, she couldn't bring herself. Lately, she'd been having more than just feelings for the attentive cop. She'd been dreaming about him.
Wanting to hear his voice. Imagining them together. And she wasn't happy about it.
He'd arrested her. Carried her out of jail over his shoulder. Shoved her into his police cruiser, and in general, had been arrogant and bossy.
She wondered if she suffered from some type of bizarre attachment disorder. Like Stockholm syndrome.
Some people fell in love with their therapists. Others with their doctor.
Maybe she was infatuated with Byron because he was the only man who'd paid her any attention lately. Byron was her protector. There was comfort in knowing he was just over her shoulder, watchin' her ass.
Tia didn't look back as she added a little more sway to her step.
She took Kirk's extended arm. “I'm incredibly hungry. What did you have in mind?”
“I'd love some soul food. Know of a good place around here?”
“Gladys Knight's restaurant. It's called Chicken and Waffles. They have a full menu. Want to give it a try?”
“Lead the way.” Kirk gave her an admiring glance that said he would let her lead, for now.
She got into his Infiniti and belted in. Looking at his navigational system, she plugged in the street name and address, and they both looked right before he eased into traffic. Then Tia drew back.
A squad car had pulled door to door with their vehicle, and a scowling black man was staring at her.
“What's he doing?” Kirk asked.
Tia met Byron's stare evenly.
What was he doing? Was he jealous that she was with another man?
There was no class tonight. So he couldn't say she'd be late or that he was there to offer her a ride. Maybe he thought Kirk was involved in her plot to retaliate against Ginger's husband.
Kirk put the car in park. “Maybe he thinks I pulled into traffic illegally. I hate cops who take their jobs too seriously. Maybe if you smile at him, he'll be nice.”
“It'll take more than that. Believe me.”
Byron turned away and started moving his mouth.
As he talked, she admired the shift of his jaw, the way it clenched and relaxed as he spoke. She studied it now as she had a hundred times before.
He looked at her suddenly, gave her a two-fingered salute that looked more like a warning, then pulled off, taking the corner ahead in a hurry.
What had taken him away so quickly? Tia didn't want to acknowledge the feeling of disappointment in her stomach. Although she hadn't been expecting Byron, it was nice knowing he'd been there.
“He's gone,” she said.
“Don't sound so disappointed. That smile worked like magic.”
“Okay, we need to have an understanding. I'm in relationship recovery. So if your intentions are anything more than friendship, you should probably take me to the bus stopâafter we stop at Chicken and Waffles and get me something to eat.”
Kirk gave her a long look before they both burst out laughing.
“Yeah?” he asked, following the directions of the automated voice.
“Yeah,” Tia confirmed.
“Then let's get you some food, enjoy some friendly conversation and nothing more. Sound good to you?”
“Perfect.”
Â
Tia swallowed the last of her food and laughed when Kirk eyed her plate.
“You want something else?” he asked.
“Don't ask. You might have to get a job washing dishes. I might eat a hole in your wallet.”
He pretended to wince and smiled. He would be perfect for Megan if she wasn't so strange right now. “My wallet can handle it. After all you've told me about your job, why don't you just quit? You can get something else. You're certainly marketable.”
“You heard Rhonda/Ronnie. I'm supposedly the best.” Tia didn't really believe all his hype, but a part of her wanted to. “I've never walked away from anything. I can't now.”
“Tia, there's no shame in leaving a job that's no longer working for you. That's the thing about options. I think of them as coins.” He pulled a handful from his pocket and showed them to her. “See these? All different sizes and colors. When you need them, you pick what's best, what's right for that time.”
She smiled. “Good analogy. I guess I'm just not there yet.”
“Then you should fulfill your destiny. I'm proud of you for not bailing out. If you ever change your mind, consider radio. We could use a good weather, traffic, full-time whatever we need you to be person.”
Tia smiled at the vague but all-inclusive job description. Lately, her job had turned into a girl Fridayâtype thing, and although not what she wanted, it was far more interesting than just editing weather copy for Ben.
“Thanks, Kirk. I'll keep an open mind.” Her cell phone interrupted the life lesson, and Tia picked up. “Hello?”
“It's Sonny.”
“Oh. Hey. What are you doing calling me?” Tia sat up straight, the shine rubbing off an otherwise enjoyable evening.
“Megan's here again. At my house.”
Tia wondered why she should give a rip but was reminded of the last picture Megan had painted of Sonny's severed penis. “What's she doing?”
“Sitting on the porch.”
“Why? I mean, has she said anything?”
“Only that she wants to talk to me.”
“Have you talked to her?”
“Do you know what she looks like? Like she came straight out of living in Grant Park. She's covered in paint. And she smells.”
“Damn, Sonny. Four weeks ago you were engaged to the girl, and now you're married to someone else. Excuse Megan for not being able to make the transition as quickly as you.”
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