Wrong Way Renee (21 page)

Joe took them from her. “That’ll work. My stepmother will love them.”

“That’s the first thing we’ve looked at for her. Are you sure?”

“Positive.” He carried the set up to the register and paid.
He’d agreed just as quickly to the
decorative easel
she’d suggested
for one of his father's paintings.

“You don’t spend much time at this, do you?” It had taken her hours to decide on the
gold pen for her father and
the
polo shirt for Gary.

“They’
re just Christmas presents. It’s not like I’m choosing my profession or my soul mate.”

They left the store with yet another bag to add to the
three
they’d already accrued.
It felt good holding
his
hand
as they looked in stores and at the mall’s festive decor
. They passed a jewelry store and
she glanced inside.

Oh God,
was that Cleave?

All the air whooshed from her lungs.
Blood pounded in her ears.
She
spun around
the other way, practically pulling Joe's arm out of its socket.

“Hey, slow down,
”
he said.

“I'm…
hungry. Can we go to
Denny’s
for a bite to eat now?
”

Hurry!

“Su
re, but can we slow down? You’re not going to pass out if you don’t eat in the next five minutes, are you?”

She
urged him faster
to
ward
the
nearest
exit.

“My car’s around the other side of the mall.
Quickest
way there
is back through the mall.” He pulled open the door.

“No!”

He let the door shut
and set his hands on his waist. “
What the hell is going on
?”

She swallowed. “Huh? Nothing. What do you mean?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not an idiot. Do you want to tell me or are you going to make me guess, although I have a pretty good idea what’s got you so freaked out.”

“Y-you do?”
Her voice came out as a squeak.

He hooked her arm and
led her to a concrete planter where he set his bags down. “Sit.”

Gulping, she complied.

He poked a finger at her.
“
Give me a little credit, would you?
”

Could he possibly know about Cleave?
“Um, what do you mean?”

“
Come on Renee.
You
saw someone you knew in there.”

Oh, God.

“You’ve never dated a white man before and you’re afraid whoever it was is going to judge you for being with me.” He sat beside her.
“You’re cool with it and so am I. So who gives a damn what anyone else thinks.”

She drew a breath and offered up a silent prayer of thanks.
“You’re right.”

He nodded. “Thought so. Now get off that adorable ass and let’s get back in there.”

She gasped. “No, I can’t.”

His features softened.
“Okay. I can see you’re not ready. Fine. We’ll go the long way around. But next time you’d better introduce me to them or my feelings are going to get hurt. Kapish?”

“Kapish.”

He pulled her up and into his embrace.
“You’re not ashamed of me, are you?”

She laid her head against his strong chest. “No, of course not. I’m happy to be with you.”

He lifted her ch
in so she had to look at him as he seemed to scrutinize her eyes.
“I hope
that’s true. Honesty is really important to me.
”

Wasn’t as if she was lying to him about not being ashamed. She was proud to be seen with such a hot man, black or white.
She pushed up on her tiptoes and
pressed her lips to his.
“You can take that to the bank, mister.”

After dinner, Joe dropped her home, but not before a heavy petting session in the police cruiser. When she got inside her apartment, she saw the message light on the answering machine flashing. She hit the button.

“Hi, Renee, it's
Cleave
. You never called me back. The party at the country club is Friday at six. I would really appreciate if you could join me. It wo
uld mean a lot to me. Call me.”

Joe had asked her to his friend’s party first. It was only right to go with him.
Might as well get
it
over with.

“Hey, it's me,
”
she said when
Cleave
picked up.

“Busy day?
”
He sounded tired.

“Yeah. Sorry I didn't call you
back earlier
. I was trying to juggle my schedule around so I could go to the party. I have to be at my friend
Toy
's house at eight o'clock. I promised I'd go to her company party. Poor thing just got divorced and she has so few friends, has trouble meeting people, you know? Anyway, like I said, I have to pick her up by eight, so I don't see how I could do the country club party.
”
Boy, if he ever met
Toy
, she knew she'd have a lot of explaining to do.

“But you could make an appearance. Why don't we go to the party at six, then I'll drop you at
your friend's house by eight?”

Damn. This was going to be harder than she thought.
“Well
…
”

“Look, Renee. I'm leaving for Atlanta on Sunday. I want to give you your gift. I'd like to see you before I go. And fran
kly, I'd like to show you off.”

“Gift?
”
She
slapped her forehead.

“Now don't you even think about getting something for me. It's just a little something
I saw and thought you'd like.”

How was she supposed to turn him down now?
“I'll tell you what. I'll meet you there at six. But I'll have to leave by seven-thirty to make it to
Toy
's.”

“But—”

“Bo buts. That’s the deal. Or else I skip the party.” She crossed her fingers.

“Sold. I'll see you then.”

After she hung up, she rubbed her temples to ward off the beginnings of a headache. Although she was pretty sure she wanted to take things to the next level with Joe, she had to be
positive
she
wasn
’t make a huge mistake by ending things with Cleave. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to blow it with both men.

Chapter Seven

Renee parked next to Antoine's electric green Volkswagen Bug
Tuesday morning
.
“Need help?”

He lifted his trunk and pulled out a large box overflowing with
curling irons and blow-dryers.
“Sure, cupcake.
”
He pushed the box into her waiting arms them wrapped a black feather boa around her neck.
“I drape that over the mirror
at my station.
”

She smiled. Having him around was going to be a hoot. She could feel it.

In less than half an hour
, Antoine had transformed the back station into a pink and black paradise, complete with a tiara and a plaque, which read
“Queen of the Salon.
”

His
first client
arrived
at ten
,
an elderly diva
sporting a mile-high beehive
.

Renee introduced herself to the woman until
Melissa ran into the shop
.

As Renee hurried to her station, Melissa
threw herself into
the chair at Renee’s station.
“I'm pregnant,
”
she blurted out.

“Congratulations.”
Sh
e squealed and hugged her.

“Rich is so happy. So am I. We've been waitin
g for this for four years
. Can you imagine?
”
She giggled like a
little girl
.

“
I'm
so
happy for you.
”
Her
hands were shaking from the exciting news. She wondered what it would be like to have another life inside of her.

They got carried away discussing babies, names, where to register for shower gifts and old wives tales about how to tell the baby's gender.
By the time
Melissa left, Renee was on a high for her, having developed a genuine affection for the woman.

Gerta was next. She was the needle that let the air out of Renee's balloon. The woman was dull and depressing. She was a challenge for Renee
and she worked way too hard to keep the conversation going
.
“How's your granddaughter doing
?”

The older woman rolled her eyes.
“Dating that awful boy again.
”

Wrong
think to say
.
“I like your hair. Did Becky us
e a new color on it last time?”

“Who knows? I do
n't pay attention to that.
Sometimes I don’t think she does, either.
”

Strike two.

“Are you and your husband planning any vacations next year?
”

Gerta shrugged.
“Maybe to Atlantic City.”

“That soun
ds fun. Do you like to gamble?”

“No. Frank does. I hate it. And I always lose.”

Some people would always see the glass as half empty. Next she did four more manicures, one pedicure and a fill before calling it a day.

As
she
wiped down her nail table, Becky c
ame over and sat opposite her.
“So, what's going on in your life, kiddo?
”
Becky
rested
her chin on her hand.

“I'm torn between two lovers.
”
She threw her head back in a dramatic gesture.

“Feeling like a fool?
”
Becky sang.

“
Tell m
e what to do, Beck
. They're both great guys. I know if I was seeing either of them and not the other, I'd be excited about the prospect of a future. But I'm having trouble deciding who I should keep
and who I should stop seeing. I was with Joe at the mall the other night and I caught sight of Cleave. I practically dragged Joe out of there. He thought I was a crazy woman.”

Becky's smile faded.
“You need to make a decision. It's not fair to either man. Anyway, each of us is only allotted one man at a time. Y
ou have somebody else's share.”

“Like Dan did? But this started by accident.
”
She furrowed her brow
. Both Joe and
Cleave
were so sweet. She hated the idea that she was going to be the cause of pain for either of them, the kind of pain she'd suffered when Dan left her.

“Dan might tell the same story.
”

“God, I never saw myself like Da
n
before. I guess I should do something soon.
”
She hated to admit it, but Becky was right. Dating two men started out as an ego trip, but now she really liked them both. Who wouldn't? They were both great men. It was wrong to keep stringing them along,
though. She had to decide soon. Either way, someone was going to get hurt.

* * * * *

Friday evening, Renee entered the restaurant at the club wearing a strappy black dress with a red silk shawl and black satin pumps with rhinestone swirls on each pointy toe. Huge garlands, wreaths and mini Christmas trees decorated the room. The buffet spread seemed to go on forever. She
glimpsed
Cleave
in a corner speaking to her
mother. Had he told her parents that she was leaving early? She just prayed they didn’t give her the third degree over where she was going after.

“Hi,
Mama
,
Cleave
.
”
She looped
her arm through his.

Cleave
took a step back, look
ing her over from head to toe.
“God, you look gorgeous.
”
He gave her a peck on the lips that took the chill right out of the air
.