How did he, mister bachelor, get himself tangled up in this mess? Out of all of the women in the world, he had to fall for Hailey. He used to think she was a spoiled celebrity but after getting to know her, he knew she was like a delicate flower. She needed to be taken care of. It angered him that she settled for the way Trevon treated her. She deserved better, so much better. Until she recognized it herself; there wasn’t anything he could do about it. That realization stung. He drank until he passed out on the couch.
Buzz. Buzz. Garrett threw a pillow and hit the radio knocking it off the nightstand. Buzz. Buzz. The sound didn’t stop. It got louder and louder.
Rubbing his eyes, he twisted his body so he could attempt to reach the clock to turn it off since his previous attempts didn’t work.
“Ouch.” He rubbed the back of his hand. The clock read seven thirty. Where had the time gone? When he laid down all he could think about was Hailey and when he slept he had nightmares about beating the crap out of Trevon.
Garrett decided he needed a break from the norm. He left a message for Caroline and curled back into bed. He needed one more of a sleep and then his body and mind could function. Before his head could hit the pillow, his cell phone was chirping. If it would have been anybody else but Caroline, he wouldn’t have answered.
He listened as Caroline reminded him of a few meetings he had previously scheduled. All of which had slipped his mind.
“Tre called in too and he’s not answering his phone,” Caroline informed him.
He cursed under his breath. He would have a talk with him. He was letting his personal life interfere with their business. He shook his head. Who was he to talk? He was doing the same thing.
Caroline called out his name a few times.
“I’ll be there in about an hour. Please make my apologies. Order breakfast for everyone.”
He hung the phone up. His day was already starting off on the wrong foot. He couldn’t forgo the meeting because the company could always use the revenue. This liaison could lead to other jobs and he was in business to make money. With that revelation, he shrugged off the “I don’t wanna” to an attitude of “let me go make some money.”
He would deal with Trevon later. He knew Hailey was at the forefront of why he didn’t show up. What he did in his personal life was no longer his concern. He was only concerned about him doing his part in their partnership.
***
“Move,” Hailey yelled.
Trevon wrapped his arm around her waist even tighter. He had bad halitosis and she couldn’t wait to escape his foul breath. She pushed his arm off her and threw the cover back on him. He barely stirred. She was tempted to go open up the curtains so the dim light shining through would be at full blast, surely jolting her bed partner up. Instead of doing that, she gathered up some items and headed to the bathroom.
As the hot water cascaded down her body, she reminisced about the night before. Trevon showing up late put a damper to her plans. Although he apologized and had come bearing flowers, she could not shake the awkward feeling. Her body not wanting to cooperate with the romantic night she had planned alerted her that all wasn’t well. Instead of a night of passion to celebrate their reunion , Hailey opted for a night of cuddling. Tre didn’t like it, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He was still in fact in the doghouse as far as she was concerned. She didn’t hesitate to remind him of that every time he begged for her to let him show her through the power of his tongue and the tool between his legs on how much he missed her.
Guilt. Why was she feeling guilty? Garrett and her didn’t have anything going on. For a brief second, very brief, she thought they could build something. But nothing would have come from it. They were too closely tied to Trevon and although neither would admit it, it wouldn’t have worked. Fantasy. That’s what her life was becoming. A fantasy like the books she read and the movies she enjoyed.
Reality. Trevon was here. Lying down in her bed and waiting on her to forgive him. Could she forgive him? Was Mo right? Would she be settling? Why should she settle? She was “the Hailey Barnes.” The person that millions of women tuned in to each week for their weekly dose of sisterly advice.
She dried off and stood in the doorway of the bathroom with a clear view of Trevon snoring. Physically, he was every woman’s dream. In fact, up until learning about his upcoming nuptials, she was satisfied with their physical sessions. Not one to be outdone, she may have overreacted. Having him as more was probably another fantasy she should have let go of years ago. How could she trust him? Grant it, they weren’t in a committed relationship, but they were friends. He could have shared the fact that he was thinking about asking some other woman to have his last name. If he had, she wouldn’t have liked it, but she would have respected him. She would not be feeling empty; like she was settling. She wouldn’t be questioning why she was allowing him back into her life.