I'm Doin' Me (13 page)

“No, no, no,” Tiffany cried at the sight of her menstrual. She knew it was coming in a couple days, but it was there now. Her plans to get down with Colby that night were a bust. She stood, washed her hands, and went back to the living room where he was waiting. “Colby, I have to go,” she said sadly.

“Why? I thought tonight was going to be our night,” he said.

“I know, but I have a visitor; she came unannounced.”

He looked confused at first, then comprehension dawned. “Oooh, that visitor.”

She nodded. “Yes, and I need to get home because I don't have anything on me.”

He kissed her on the forehead. “It's cool, Tiff. Our time will come.”

“Yeah, next year. I mean, damn, it's always something.”

“I know, but at least this will be over in a few days. And then . . .” He smiled.

“Yeah, yeah. I must go. I will call you,” she said and made her way to the door.

“Okay, drive safe and I'll see you soon.” He gave her a final kiss.

 

 

The next day, Tiffany was in her comfortable pajamas on the sofa with her favorite blanket. She hated being on her menstrual because she still cramped so bad. She took a couple of pain pills then said the heck with the rules and poured herself a glass of wine. She popped in
Just Wright
to watch again and called Colby. She convinced him that she was in no mood for company, and he agreed to let her chill.

Around eight and halfway through the movie, the doorbell rang and she smiled. She knew Colby would come by anyway. She did a quick mirror check and went for the door. When she opened it, she was shocked to see that it was Kory.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, not inviting him in.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She folded her arms. “Where is your fiancée?”

“Look, Tiff, the wedding is off and I really need to talk.”

She stepped aside and let him in. “I'm sorry, Kory.” She looked closely at him and noted he looked terrible. “Would you like something to drink?”

“A Scotch, rum, brandy on the rocks is fine. Whatever you have dark.” He flopped down on the couch.

“Of course,” she said and hurried to the kitchen. She poured him a drink and went back to the living room and handed it to him. He downed it and asked for a refill. “What happened?” she asked, sitting down across from him.

“Do you want me to start from the beginning or just at today?” He took a huge swallow of his drink.

“Start wherever you want to start. I'm here to listen.” Her heart was racing. She had Colby, she told herself, so why was her heart doing flips and why was she excited that he and the queen of L.A. were done?

“You were right,” he said.

“What was I right about?” she asked, confused. She'd never told him her thoughts about Tressa.

“Tressa is using again.” She opened her mouth to deny it and he held up a hand to stop her. “I know it was you who told Keith, so don't deny it.” He looked at his empty glass and his eyes welled.

She knew he needed another drink, so she stood and took his glass. When she came back to hand him his refill, he grabbed her, put his face to her stomach, and sobbed.

She rubbed his head. “Kory, shhh. Tressa just wasn't the right one.”

“I know, Tiffany. I tried to be stand-up and stand by the commitment I made to her, but after seeing you again, things changed. I'm upset because I was asking God for a way out.”

Her hand stilled. “Kory, this has nothing to do with us. Tressa needs help; she is an addict.” Darryl had called her that morning and told her about the party, but she had vowed to stay out of it.

“I know that, Tiff, but I am relieved because I want to be with you.”

She stepped away from him and dropped back onto the other sofa. “Kory, you are not thinking clearly. You were just engaged to Tressa.”

“Yes, and that night I came here, the night of the engagement party, I wanted to be with you so bad, Tiff. You've been on my mind ever since.”

She suddenly needed a fan. The love of her life was right in front of her face and she couldn't do shit. She was with Colby and on her cycle, so she had to use her brain and block out what her heart was screaming in Dolby Surround sound. It yelled at her, saying,
move over close to him and tell him you want him too.
But her brain reminded her about her sweet and fine-ass boyfriend, Colby.

“Listen, Kory,” she said, “I'm sorry about Tressa and the way things turned out. A few weeks ago, I would have been doing back flips on my lawn with the news of your wedding being off, but I am involved. I'm seeing someone.”

The color left his face. He got up and went into the kitchen. Her floor plan was open, so she saw him fix another drink for himself. He downed it and poured another before he returned and sat back down.

“Are you happy, Tiffany?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“Yes,” she whispered. She looked at the muted television, unable to look at him.

“I need the bathroom,” he said and stood up.

She pointed the way and sat nervously on the sofa, wondering what thoughts were going through his mind. When he finally returned, she didn't take her eyes off the television.

“Listen, I'm sorry I came here talking about us. I'm happy you've met someone.” He paused. “I really need a moment, do you mind?”

When she shook her head, he sat back down on the sofa and lay back. Ten minutes later, he was snoring, so she got up and got him a blanket. She got back on the other sofa, pulled her blanket up, and restarted her movie. She turned the volume on low, and after a while she dozed off.

When she got up to go to the bathroom, he was still asleep. She went and did her business and then went back into the living room and shook him. “Kory,” she said. He opened his eyes and looked up. “Why don't you come to the bed,” she offered.

He declined and said he was going to head home, but she insisted because it was after one in the morning. He headed toward the guest room, but she remembered the bed was not made because she never put the sheets back on after she had washed them.

“No, this way,” she said. He followed her into her room. “That bed is not made and I have a king size. I'm sure we can share a bed as friends, right?” He nodded.

She got on the opposite side of the bed from what she was used to sleeping on while he took off his shoes and lifted his shirt over his head. She looked at his jeans and knew it would be a mistake, but she wanted him to be comfortable.

“It's okay to take your jeans off. You do have on boxers underneath, right?”

He stopped as if thinking and then stood to pull them off. She got a peep at his dick when he climbed into the bed through the slit in the front of his boxers. Even though it wasn't erect, she imagined it could grow into a pleasurable size. She closed her eyes, lay back on her pillow, and told her inside voice to stop talking about Kory's dick.

“Thank you,” he said.

“What for?” she asked, confused.

“For letting me stay. I honestly didn't want to go home alone tonight.”

She looked over at him. “Anytime. I know if the tables were turned, you'd do the same for me.”

He smiled a gorgeous smile. “Yes, I would. And, Tiff, I'm happy that you're happy.” He closed his eyes.

“Thank you,” she said and turned over to go to sleep. Not long after, he was holding her and it felt nice. She snuggled into him.

The next morning she got up to hurry to the bathroom. When she looked over, he had an erection. She covered her mouth, marveling at how huge it was. She wanted to see skin, so she gently pulled the little opening on his fly. The sight of the stiffness with veins popping out everywhere made her mouth water and her pussy clench. She quickly pulled away and rushed into the bathroom.

When she returned, the show was over; it had deflated. She climbed back into bed, and although she had a man, she took advantage of the one that was currently in her bed and cuddled up close to him.

Before she could fall back into a deep sleep, she felt his erection again. She pressed her ass up against him even closer.

Tiffany was headed to Colby's when her cell phone chirped. It was Kory. She didn't want to reply, but she did, telling him she was headed to Colby's. He texted again and asked if she could stop by before going, he had something he needed to discuss.

She texted him back:

His next text said it couldn't. She ignored it and kept driving in Colby's direction. She got another text:

She made a detour and headed for his house. She hit the speed dial button and called Colby.

“Hey, babe, I am going to be a little later than planned. Is that okay? I have to make a quick stop.”

“How much later? These last five days not seeing you have been hell.” The first couple of days, she had kept him away from her place for fear that Kory would drop by unannounced.

“I know, Colby, and I am dying to see you, but you know Kory just broke off his engagement and he is a mess.”

“I know, but your man is dying to see you. How about you invite him over? Maybe if he hung out with us, we both could help him out. You know what, maybe we should hook him up. I have a friend who is a model and she is hot.”

“Colby, he just broke up with his fiancée; he may not be interested in getting hooked up.” She omitted the fact that she didn't want the love of her life being hooked up.

“How do you know that? The old saying is ‘If you want to get over someone, find someone new to help you get over them.'” He quoted it all wrong, but she knew what he meant.

“Listen, I am just going to run by and check on him and then I'm all yours.”

“Okay, if you must, you must. Just don't keep me waiting long. I'm ready to hear you moan.”

“I won't be long, I promise,” she said and ended the call.

Traffic was horrible, so it took her longer to get to Kory's than she anticipated. When she got to the door, he opened the door looking sexier than ever. She wanted to run back to her car. She liked Colby, but there was still a place in her heart for Kory.

“Hey, Tiff, hey,” he said and let her in. “Thank you so much for coming.”

“I would have been here sooner, but traffic was a monster.” She followed him in and laid her purse on the sofa. “So what's up, what did you want to talk about?”

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked.

“Sure,” she said. “Just a quick one.”

He dashed off to the kitchen and came back with a glass of merlot. “I hope red is okay.”

She took the glass from his extended hand and took a sip. “Red is fine, Kory. What's up, why did you want me to come over?”

“How about we go outside,” he suggested. They went out the French doors to his outdoor living space and got comfortable on the couches.

“Kory, I can't stay long. I'm meeting Colby soon.” She looked at her watch.

“That's what I wanted to talk about. I, ummm, talked with Amber, Reesy's friend, earlier today and she told me some things about Tressa that I didn't know. And she also told me something about Colby.” Kory thought back to his conversation with the wedding planner. He had called her to ask her about any outstanding balance that was left from the cancelled wedding so he could take care of it and she agreed to meet with him. After they had gone over the wedding business, she remembered he called her a couple weeks back, but she never returned his call.

“Look, I'm sorry I didn't get back to you when you call me the other week. Being pregnant and a doctor's wife is full
-
time work, and I honestly forgot to give you a call back.”

“Tressa wasn't having an affair, Kory; at least I don't know of any. Sex is at the bottom of her to
-
do list. She is messed up when it comes to intimacy. She has been in some physical situations before you, and that has her messed up in the head when it comes to sex. I'm only telling you this because I know she has issues and needs help. But no matter how I've tried to help her, she refuses to get it. Truth is
. . .
” She leaned in close.“Can I say the truth?” she asked. Kory nodded. “She gave you horrible head jobs just so you wouldn't ask her for it.”

“Not your money, her trust fund. Her dad has changed the terms a billion times because she has not proven responsible enough to have it. Now, at thirty
-
one, her dad said he won't give it to her until she marries an honest man for love and makes it for at least a year. You are an honest man, not Hollywood or an athlete, and as long as you love her and marry her, after a year, she will get her trust. I don't know if she loves you. All I know is if this marriage would have taken place and y'all made it at least one year, she would have inherited over forty million dollars. Her own money. No more permission from her daddy, but her own money. No more depending on Mommy and Daddy to pay this or that. No more spending limits and so forth, and she wouldn't have to go to them for anything.

Now he was sitting next to Tiffany, ready to disclose the horrible news he had received.

“Okay then, let's hear it,” she said. She took a sip of wine and looked at him.

“Colby is a fraud.”

“Excuse me?” she asked, leaning in.

“Colby is not who he says he is.”

“Colby is Colby,” she said laughing. She took another sip. “What are you talking about, Kory? You're not making any sense.”

“Tiff, how long have you known this cat? I mean, seriously, do you think he is stand-up?”

“Kory, you are shitting me right?” she snapped. “You ask me to come over to put some bullshit in my ear about Colby not being the one?”

“Look, Tiff, all I'm saying is you should be careful, you know. Take it slow. This guy could be a player or a drug user, hell, I don't know.”

“Unbelievable,” she said, standing. “Really, Kory, really? I am sorry for what you went through with Tressa, but trying to bad-mouth Colby when you don't know a thing about him is just plain crazy. What do you want from me, Kory? Tell me!” she yelled. “I am with Colby now and I am over you, okay? So if you want to be more than friends, we can't talk anymore, we can't hang, and I certainly cannot continue to be here for you.”

He got to his feet. “Tiff, hold on, okay, calm down. We are friends and I care about you. I just don't want to see you get hurt, okay?”

“Look, Kory,” she said, her eyes watering. “I don't want to kill our friendship, but in order for me to move on, it has to be done, because I can't do this.”

He moved closer to her. “Tiff, please, I'm begging you not to walk out the door. I love you, Tiffany, and I want to be with you. I know that Colby is not the one for you. I know you love me too, so please, just stay and you and I can start on us. Take it one day at a time, and just make each other happy.”

“No, Kory, no, we can't, okay?” She blinked back tears. “I am with Colby and I am happy with him. So please, just be happy for me, just as I was for you when you were with Tressa.”

“Colby isn't the one, Tiff.”

“How do you know?” she yelled. “Because you are free to move about the cabin now? Why can't you accept that he makes me happy?”

“Because Tressa paid him to go out with you!”

“What?” she asked in disbelief.

“Tressa paid him to go out with you. She sent him to your premiere party for
Boy Crazy
and paid him to woo you, so you would stay away from me.”

She looked at him blankly. “Oh my God, Kory. Seriously? It has come to you making up shit about Colby to get me to stay with you?”

“I'm not lying, Tiff, Amber told me today. I didn't want to say anything, but you needed to know.”

She stood frozen in disbelief. After she gathered her thoughts, she said, “You are a liar and I never want to see you, ever, ever again. If you come anywhere near me, God is my witness, I will scream bloody murder. How did you turn into this selfish, evil liar? You should have stayed with Tressa, because you two are one of a kind!” She put her glass down, stormed inside the house, grabbed her purse, and headed to the front door.

Kory ran after her, trying to reason with her, but she refused to stop and listen. She got into her car and he kept trying to talk to her, but she refused to listen.

“I'm not lying. I love you,” he yelled as her tires shrieked out of his circular driveway.

Tiffany drove away fighting tears. The idea of Colby doing that to her was ridiculous; she couldn't believe Kory would stoop so low. When she arrived at Colby's house, she was surprised to see so many cars. She didn't understand why he didn't tell her he was throwing a party.

She made her way through the crowd and found him. She discovered a friend of his popped in from out of town and invited some folks over, who invited others. She didn't feel particularly welcome at his party and it didn't take her long to see that he had had one too many drinks. She mingled with a few of his guests, and when she saw Vi, she reminded him who she was.

They found a corner to chat and she asked him if he would do the theme song for her show for TiMax. He immediately agreed. She asked him to write it with Julia Valentine in mind, because she was sure she'd agree to do the vocals.

His reply was, “I'm all over it.” He told her he had caught an episode or two and that he thought the show was a winner. He made sure she had his number and they made plans to meet another day.

She went to find her man and found him in a circle of young beautiful women. She remembered what he said about his ex, so she went over to the bar and got a drink and tried to not think about what Kory had said to her.

When the night finally came to an end, she found Colby passed out across his bed, still fully dressed.

“Colby,” she whispered and tapped him.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“I'm gonna go down and start cleaning.”

He rolled over. “No, no, no, boo, come here. A cleaning crew is coming in the morning to handle that. Come give daddy what he needs.”

She climbed on top of him and they kissed. She went for his belt and heard the raging sounds of snores coming from his nose, so she stopped. She looked up and saw he was out, mouth opened and all.

“No, no, this is not going down like this,” she said.

She shook him and nothing. She sat up in his bed and kicked him until he rolled over, but it still didn't wake him. She was pissed and frustrated, but what could she do? She got up, wrote him a quick note, and left.

When she got into her ride, she thought about Kory and what he said, but shook it off. She tried to deny it, but she wanted to run back to his house. She knew that would not be good, so she hit the highway and headed home.