“Loser buys the pizza,” Garrett said, as he shook her hand.
“Okay, you’re ticking into my time. Scoot,” she said, pushing him out of his own guest room.
Garrett didn’t realize that as an ex-supermodel she was used to dressing in a hurry; she just chose not to. She liked taking her time, but a bet was a bet and thirty minutes later, Hailey was calling out for Garrett. They both had a huge smile on their faces. She said, “Make sure you have enough for the tip.”
“Do you want everything on your pizza?” he asked.
“Everything but onions,” she responded.
An hour later, they were sitting in the living room on the floor around his coffee table eating and watching a movie. Although they were not out at a five star hotel or at some big Hollywood premiere, Hailey was having the time of her life doing absolutely nothing with Garrett.
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I wish I would have talked to you first.”
“Me too,” Garrett confessed.
“Let’s make a pact. Neither one of us will bring up you know who.”
“Well, I wish it was that easy. Tre and I are friends and you forgot we’re business partners as well.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. You’ve made some bad decisions in your life.”
“Wow. Well thanks.”
“Not concerning me though.”
“So what do we have Hailey? Are you saying, you’re willing to give me a chance? A chance to be your man?”
Hailey didn’t respond right away. “Garrett, I need to be sure. I’ve wasted too much time pining after the wrong man. I don’t want to leave one dysfunctional relationship for another.”
“A relationship with me will be nothing like Tre’s. Trust me.”
“Easier said than done,” Hailey admitted. Hailey placed her hand on one of Garrett’s cheeks. “Can you give me some time?”
Garrett responded, “By the end of this weekend I want an answer.”
“Why do we have to rush?”
“We’ve both wasted too much time with other people. I don’t want to waste any more.”
That’s exactly what Hailey wanted to hear. She kissed him intensely. Before long, Garrett was laying on top of Hailey’s clothed body. “Baby, you’re making it hard on me to resist you,” he said, in between kisses.
“Okay, we’ll stop for now.” Hailey said, as they both brushed the wrinkles out of their clothes.
Hailey didn’t know if she should feel relieved or disappointed that they each went to separate rooms that night. She thought about Trevon before going to sleep. At one point, she did love him. If she was honest with herself, it had been years since she had actually been in love with Trevon. She was just a woman who hated to lose. Hailey felt like she had invested so much time and energy into their untraditional relationship that the thought of him marrying some other woman made her temporarily lose her mind.
Now that she had her full senses, Hailey would no longer settle for being anyone’s booty call. If she couldn’t have the real deal—the type of relationship she felt she deserved, she would remain by herself. Hailey preached women’s empowerment to her audience and fans. It was way past time for her to live the life she had been lecturing about. Hailey decided to take charge of her life.
~ 27 ~
The next morning, while Hailey slept, Garrett checked with Omar to get an update on what was going on at Hailey’s place. Garrett felt relieved. No strange events were reported. Hailey remained sleeping, so he decided to surprise her by cooking a hearty breakfast. This time when he went to her room, she was awake. His labor was worth it when Hailey gave him her trademark smile. He wanted to melt as he placed the tray over her legs in the bed.
“A woman could get used to this treatment,” Hailey said, as she took a bite out of her food.
“This is only the beginning.”
“You’re not going to eat?” she asked, in between bites.
“I’ve eaten. You were sleeping so hard earlier that I didn’t want to wake you up.”
While Hailey was eating breakfast and getting dressed, Garrett retrieved his messages. All was well with his clients as some of his employees that worked the night shift checked in. The doorbell rang as he was disconnecting the call.
Without asking who was on the other end or looking out the peephole, he opened the door. Trevon was standing on the other side. “Man, I thought you were going to be at the gym this morning so since you didn’t show up I decided to stop by.”
“You should have called first.” Garrett wasn’t ready for a confrontation. He hoped Hailey stayed in the other room.