Love In the Red Zone (Connecticut Kings Book 1) (55 page)

He took a deep breath. “When I got sentenced, my salary from my trust went from eighty to fifty. That covered my monthly expenses like food, property taxes, utilities, and stuff like that. I had some dividends coming in from my
DiFillippo’s
investment—”

“You own that?” I gasped in shock. I wondered why he took us to such a fancy restaurant that wasn’t exactly in the vicinity.

“Part owner with a few others. And that’s what I was surviving off of when I met you.”

Things got quiet as so many revelations ran through my mind like how him tossing his furniture just before being sent to prison was an act of him cleansing himself of Brielle, but apparently fell back into it with her once he was released. How could we continue with so many hidden secrets? I didn’t hold anything back from Trent. Why couldn’t he be just as transparent. So many questions ran through my mind. Fears that would destroy me if they came to fruition. But out of all the doubt, there wasn’t any regret. I wanted this man and would have to love him through this mess he’d made.

“Trent…”

“Yes, baby.”

“No more.”

“No more,” he repeated with conviction.

“No more secrets from here on out,” I warned.

“You have my word.”

That pledge sounded so sure. Whether or not it was, time would tell. Trent had his demons before I came. Most of which wouldn’t go away so quickly. I had to have patience with him. Our truths, pasts, and old habits didn’t run as fast as our passion for each other. We burned with it. Now we’d have to let everything else catch up.

I chewed my lips as we perused the paint aisle in Lowes. Trent was on my heels with Kyree sitting on his hooded shoulders. I guessed the kid was just as used to Trent wearing hoodies while out as I was. They shared cotton candy we picked up after having dinner out. I wanted him here while I picked out colors I wanted for three of his six guest bedrooms at the house. Kyree’s room was completed days before Christmas, an easy task, considering he and Trent chose the theme and cool and fancy furniture. Those two were in a fantasy land, making it hard for me to distinguish the twenty-seven year old from the seven year old. Christmas night, I had to come into Ky’s room to wake Trent and have him come to bed. The sight of his six-foot-five frame on a full-size bunk bed was comical. Having to drag him so far to the master suite had me reconsidering our agreement to move Kyree further down the hall—more like midway—for privacy reasons. Trent said I’m too loud during sex. Go figure.

We were having the other rooms Trent and I decided to occupy painted, and now that we had decided on which ones to dress, I needed to move on to the colors. Trent made it clear he had no concern of the details as long as the work got done. I didn’t like bearing the total weight of the responsibility. It was his house after all, and he should have a say. So on one of his rare nights home with us, I brought him here, “at the last minute.”

It was a new year and the
Kings
had just won the Conference Championship, which meant they were going to the Super Bowl. I didn’t know much about football, but never got bored at any of the
Kings
’ games I attended and tried hard to keep up with the success of the season to best manage Trent’s emotional state. I knew he had a lot wrapped up in his return to the game. 

“What do you think about this Anjou Pear for the second guest room?” I handed him the swatch. “My thought is to go with a neutral shade, but with a splash of color to break the monotony of the white.”

Trent paid two glances to the swatch before handing it back.

“All good,” he answered before accepting the ripped piece of cotton candy Ky hand fed him.

“I was thinking it’s either that or this Bittersweet Stem. It’s softer than the Anjou Pear.” I handed him the swatch and Trent pretty much gave it the same amount of attention as the first. “Okay…” I breathed, going back to the kiosk.

Maybe it was a bad idea doing this with KyKy here. He has even less detail preservation
.  

The pair began giggling behind me as I twirled my hair hanging over my right shoulder with my fingers. There was more than color swatches I needed to discuss with him. I had little time, too. Trent was leaving soon for the Pro Bowl and would be away for almost a week. There was a conversation we couldn’t have over the phone.

“Ummm… Trent,” I started.

“Yeah, baby?”

“We need to chat about something.”

“What’s that?” I heard Ky laugh. “You being mad stingy, dude,” Trent playfully scolded.

I cleared my throat and scanned the surrounding area for privacy. Then I backed up so I was closer to them while they horseplayed.

“I’m not on
BC
.”

He continued zig-zagging in the aisle with Kyree on his shoulders. “What? What’s BC?” Trent asked.

“Because!” Kyree shouted. “
BC
is because, TB!” He laughed proudly at his own joke.

I rolled my eyes, growing somewhat frustrated. It was one thing to have one child to deal with, but oftentimes when these two were together, I had two children to manage.

“It’s what women—not girls—use to stay child-free,” I tried.

Then I watched them intently. Trent
Milly-Rock
ed with Kyree still on his shoulders, reciting the chorus to the song.

Yeah, this was really a bad idea
.

“Trent,” I lowered my now annoyed high pitch. “Are you hearing me?”

“Nah,” he replied doing some combo move to add to the dance, his face contorted with his tongue extended out of his mouth. Suddenly, I was reminded of his sexual agility, too. That annoyed me even more. “What’s that, babe?” His eyes were to the floor as he moved.

“It’s what I need in order for you to not have a second little person to entertain while I’m out shopping,” I hissed.

All of his six-feet and five-inches straightened at that. Trent turned to me with troubled eyes. At first, he didn’t speak, just stared at m
e…
my body. I wore harem styled sweatpants with wedged sneaker boots, and a fitted black t-shirt under a black leather motorcycle jacket.

I mocked his eye action to ask why he was looking at me like that.

“What’re you saying?”

“Nothing, but we should be more careful.”

He inched closer to me, his face hard. With anger? Confusion?

With a lower tone, he spoke again. “Aren’t you on the pill?”

My eyes perused the surrounding area again. Trent was more than a full foot taller than me, so even with caution, his voice traveled.

“No.” His eyes went wild. “I told you I switched to different ones over the years because I have an allergy to them. Some made me nauseous, gain weight, moody, gave me headaches, dizziness, made my boobs sor
e…
all kinds of stuff over five or so different brands.”

“C’mon, J. There has to be one that works for you.”

“The one that didn’t give me any of those symptoms totally wiped my libido completely out.” I placed a hand on my hip and swung my neck. “That issue suit you?”

Trent rolled his eyes as Kyree tapped on swatches in his reach.

“I’m not trying to be funny here. It’s just been on my mind a lot becaus
e…
it’s what we d
o…
a lot. And when we d
o…
we’re so wild with it the last thing in our heads is prevention.”

“What other options are there?”

“C-o-n-d-o-m-s,” I spelled.

“Oh, hell no!” he grunted.

“Trent!” My eyes shot up to Kyree.

“Oooh! Trent said a bad word!” Kyree sputtered in laughter.

I was convinced my son thought he and Trent were peers. At times like this, I saw why.

“I’m just sayin
g…
” He exhaled haughtily with flared nostrils. His eyes darted below my waistline. “It’s officially mine now. If I wasn’t suiting up before I put a ring on it, I ain’t doing it now.” He scoffed again.

My eyes circled the area and caught an oncoming Asian couple.

“Trent!” I whispered hard through clenched teeth again.

The couple appeared in his peripheral, now passing him.

“My bad,” he lowered his tone. “We shouldn’t even be discussing this in front of the little homie anyway. Let’s table this for now.”

“Until when? After Ky goes down and you swell up?” Now I
was
being sarcastic.

Trent didn’t respond. His face went placid, an expression that told me he was no longer comfortable with the conversation. He moved to pass me, leaving the aisle.

“Very adult-like, Trent,” I hummed underneath my breath, not intending for him to hear me.

I grabbed a few more swatches I liked for other rooms with the topic still playing in my head. An unplanned pregnancy was a real issue for me. It would always be a reminder of when my life began spiraling out of control. It was the act that made me feel stupid, thinking having a child at nineteen by a kingpin-ambitious thug was a good idea and would bring me happiness. The next time I had a child—which wouldn’t be anytime soon—it would be planned and wanted. Children shouldn’t be conceived in error no matter if it is by a reckless teen. Having children before you’re prepared to could prove detrimental to the child. My recent bout of homelessness was evidence of that. Of course, Trent had no appreciation of that because he didn’t have children and could afford a barn full of them now.

With a heavy sigh, I left the kiosk and took off, looking for my guys. I saw them waiting for me at the door. When we walked out together, I heard Trent mumble angrily under his breath. I turned to find him glancing into his phone.

Now ahead of them, I asked over my shoulder, “What’s that about?”

“Damn JJ…still tryna get me to do this Super bowl celebration party with him.”

“Really? When?”

He tapped into the phone as he walked and mumbled, “On the 25
th
.”

I gasped, stopping in my tracks. “That’s in two days, Trent.”

“I know. I ain’t beat for it, though.”

“Why?”

“Because, man.” He lifted to pull Ky from his shoulders now that we were near the truck. “Those things get wild. I know we’re blessed to have this opportunity, especially with me being out of the league for like two years, but…”

“But what?”

“I ain’t that dude no more. That shi—stuff don’t interest me anymore. And I told dude no, but he went on ahead and planned it anyway. Now, he tryna shoot me deets—the same ones we used to do back in the day—thinking it’s going to entice me. JJ got the game messed up.” He scoffed, his face falling into a cute smirk as he pulled the keys from his pockets to let us in.

“I’ll pack,” I informed while opening my door. “We’re going.”

I caught Trent’s jaw drop just before I slid into the truck.