5. Taelyn
When I woke up today, I never in a million years thought that a black son of God would tell me that he couldn’t be my therapist because I was his future wife. I hear You, God! After Blair and I left the club, she swore up and down that Draco liked me. I can call him that since I’m the future Mrs. Dr. Carlton Draco McMasters. I thought she was crazy because, in my mind, there was no way that this thirty-six-year-old man of value would have a crush on me. That wasn’t me saying that I thought I wasn’t a woman of value, but I knew I still had some growing to do. I was a twenty-eight-year-old virgin for Christ’s sake.
When I got ready for my appointment, I took a lot more care in what I would wear. My brother popped up at my house with the expectation that he would be my ride to therapy. I told him absolutely not. I heard him say something about not being grown. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but now it made sense. Mont must have sensed that Draco liked me. It was that whole “a man knows a man” premise.
Today, Draco had the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. At the club, I saw his full sleeve tattoos on both arms. Just sexy! He must have known I loved that shit. I was tattoo free, but I was highly attracted to men with tattoos. The more the better. Everything about this man made me think I will have all your babies and be your slut ass wife. How I was a virgin already with thoughts of being whored out was fascinating as hell.
“Um, okay. Well, is my new therapist also in this practice or another?”
There was no need for me to act hard to get, because Draco didn’t come across as a man who played games. Add to the fact that everyone in my family had the never waste time mentality, it just fit for me to admit what I wanted when it was in my face.
This man’s smile was hypnotizing. “Your new therapist is in another practice. However, they are here today in our guest therapist’s office. When I thought of this conversation, I made sure your new therapist was here for an introduction. Like I told you earlier, Dr. Prentiss is also a part of the organization. Therefore, you can speak with her freely.”
I crossed my arms over my breasts. “It sounds like you were overly confident that I would be alright with seeing a new therapist. You already have the therapist here to make introductions.”
“You could say that I was overly confident in knowing that you are my future wife. My future wife would know that I wouldn’t be able to counsel her on a professional basis. I will counsel you in the confines of our relationship and as your husband always. Do you understand?”
Do you understand? That question was some sort of aphrodisiac. It fed straight into my desire for him. Just knowing that he wanted me to understand even the most minute thing was sexy. Most people wouldn’t care if you understood.
“Yes, I understand. Am I going to meet Dr. Prentiss now?”
He nodded. “Yep. We can head that way now. Taelyn, I need you to be as open and honest with her as you were prepared to be with me. By not being honest with your therapist, you don’t cheat us. You cheat yourself. Always remember that we get paid either way.”
With the corners of my lips upward to my cheeks, I responded, “I understand.”
“Good girl. I didn’t even have to ask you this time. I love quick learners. Just to let you know… I’m a quick learner myself.”
He stood from his seat then walked toward me. I watched his every move. When he stood in front of me, he squatted down. What is he doing? His hand gripped the back of my ankle. He lifted my shoe from the floor before he lifted my leg high enough to slip my shoe on my foot. Well, Cinderella the fuck out of me, you black ass Prince Charming.
After both of my shoes were on, he pulled me up with my hands. The front of our bodies touched, causing my breath to get locked into my lungs. The warmth of his breath near my ear made my body shiver.
He spoke softly in my ear. “No need to hold your breath. You’re not ready for office sex yet, but you will be.”
What the hell do you say to that knowing you’ve never had dick in vagina action? I had no time to respond before we were walking toward another office that was in a different hallway. This building was a lot larger than I thought it was. When I pulled his file, I saw that he bought this building outright when he decided to grow a private practice. This man had an 815 FICO score. The highest a person could have was 850. I was a billionaire thanks to generational wealth, and I only had a 760 score.
I learned my lesson with Kevin. I never looked him up until I already suspected something was up with him. Had I pulled his file when we first started talking, I might have never moved forward in a relationship with him.
When we got to the office door, Draco knocked. Once he had the alright to enter, he opened the door. Behind the desk sat a beautiful woman. Her smile was bright as she stood up to walk around the desk. Even in her business casual attire, her athletic, curvy build could not be hidden. My hand rubbed down the front of my outfit. I wonder if they’ve ever fucked.
“Dr. Emma Prentiss, this is Taelyn Smith. I’ve already let her know of your placement in the organization, so she is aware that this is a safe place.”
Dr. Prentiss extended her hand for me to shake. “It is nice to meet you, Taelyn. I’m excited to work with you to get you where you want and need to be. If you like, we can start right now. I’ve cleared the hour so that we can have an introductory session.”
After I told her that was fine, Draco told her to make sure she took care of me. His arm wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me into him. Once again, his lips went to my ear.
“To answer your unasked question, no. I’ve never fucked her. Like I said, you’re safe with her.”
Our gazes connected. He released me, winked, then left the room. What a man!
“You can breathe now, Taelyn.”
Dr. Prentiss’s voice not only knocked me out of my daze, but it allowed me to have my first intake of air in a minute. There was a sense of embarrassment.
“Sorry.”
“There’s absolutely no need to be sorry. Dr. McMasters is a hell of a man. I see he’s locked in with you because he has never passed on a client. Please come sit.”
She sat in the armchair that was across from the couch that she instructed me to sit on. I took my seat and got comfortable.
“How are you so sure that he’s locked in with me? H-have you ever experienced that hell of a man?”
She looked up from the notepad that was in her lap where she wrote something down. Yes, Draco told me no, but I wanted to hear it from her directly. Should I have trusted Draco? Perhaps.
Dr. Prentiss smiled. “No, I’ve never experienced that hell of a man. So, we can have a completely transparent relationship, I have never desired to experience that hell of a man.” She looked down at her notebook again.
Her answer confused me a little bit. “Okay, you said you have never and had no desire to experience him, but you said that he’s a hell of a man. If he’s a hell of a man but you still don’t want him, what’s wrong with him?”
She glanced up at me again. “Excuse my vulgarity. Dr. McMasters doesn’t have a pussy.”
Oh, okay! “Well, that explains it.”
For the next hour, we went through an exercise that was much like the one Draco and I did in our first session. I asked her a question, and she asked me one. The exercise was comforting because it helped me feel more receptive of what she would say in the future.
LATER THAT EVENING…
“Pretty Girl, you missed our show earlier.”
I had just walked into my parents’ theater where my mama was. She spent so much of her time in there now. It was her sanctuary almost. There were nights that I came over late, and my parents were both in the theater sleeping. My parents’ theater had four rows. The first and last row had six recliner seats in each. The second and third row each had four small bed setups.
We used to sleep in the theater as a family when I was younger. It was only recliners at the time. The bed setups came about four years ago. When my mama had moments of clarity, she still came up with designs for rooms, events, and other things. In her haze, she did also. However, she explained her designs better when she had her clarity. Regardless of when my mama came up with the design, it was copyrighted and sent over to Tae’s Design and Event Firm. People were still amazed at her creative mind, dementia aside.
“Really! I came to tell you something,” I told her excitedly. I still confided in my mama. Now, she just thought it was Pretty Girl confiding in her, not Taelyn.
My mama shifted in her seat toward me.
“What is it?” She stared at me for a moment before she shimmied in her seat. “I know that sparkle in the eyes. You done met you a man. Tell me about him!”
I turned in my seat to face her with a giddy smile. “Okay, his name is Draco, and he is so fine! You want to see a picture of him?”
After she nodded, I pulled his practice’s site up on my phone. I went to his page then turned it to her.
“Girl, this man is fine, fine. Don’t tell my husband I told you that, though. This man will come up missing,” she mumbled the last sentence.
I snickered with my hand over my mouth. “He’s so smart. He told me that I’m his future wife. Do you think that’s crazy?”
She waved me off. “Honey, no! Girl, let me tell you, my husband Trell was on my ass from the moment he saw me. I gave him this good snook, and it was a wrap. Had that man kick my sister’s door in behind me! You want ’em a lil fool, only if it’s about you, though.”
“There’s an age gap, though.”
Her face scrunched to my confession.
“Is he old enough to be your daddy?”
When I shook my head, she smirked.
“Then it’s fine to make him your zaddy.”
My eyes bulged. “Mama!”
We both giggled like schoolgirls. Once our laughter subsided, she put a hand on my cheek. “I love it when you call me mama, Pretty Girl. For some reason, it just feels right.”
My phone was still in her hand when a video call from Draco came through.
“Oh my God, it’s him!” I squealed, almost scaring myself.
She passed the phone to me hurriedly. “Answer it. Answer it!” she whispered as if he could hear her.
I cleared my throat, then answered.
“Hey, Draco.”
He looked so damn good. All of his tattoos were on display because he had on a wife beater. I loved his after-work attire. He still had on his glasses, which made the whole look sexier.
“What’s up, beautiful? I hope you had a great day. If you didn’t, tell me how I can make your day better.”
My mama dipped her head over to get a look at him. “He’s handsome, Pretty Girl.”
When he asked me who she was, I couldn’t contain my smile. I knew that he knew my mama suffered from dementia, because before my first session, I had to fill out a form that asked about family history. I listed my mother’s condition.
“Draco, this is my mama. Mama, this is Draco.” I angled the camera at her so that she and I were both in the frame. The pride I felt in my chest just from introducing her to him was heavy.
Draco’s cheeks rose. “It’s so nice to meet the beautiful woman that my future wife takes after. How are you doing this evening, Mrs. Smith?”
“Whew, boy. You better stop talking to me fresh before my husband Trell comes in here and sees about you. So, my pretty girl tells me that you’re smitten with her.”
Draco blushed. He actually blushed. I love this man!
“Mrs. Smith, your pretty girl can have anything that she wants from me. She just doesn’t know it yet. I was calling her to ask her out on an official date. I want to get this relationship going sooner than later.”
My mama shimmied in her seat.
“I know that’s right. Well, where you planning to take my pretty girl? She’s top tier, so you need to treat her as such. I will have it no other way.”
I listened as Draco and my mama planned my date. I had no input, but I was alright with it. She requested that he picked me up from here. Now, I wanted to object to him picking me up here because I was not ready for him to meet my dad. I’ll just call him when I get to my house.
“Mrs. Smith, I can promise you that I will always treat her with the upmost respect, love, and care that I have in me. You are right, she is top tier. I’m thinking about taking her to a murder mystery dinner theater. I heard my baby loves theater.”
How did he know that? My mind went over what I wrote on my intake form. It did ask for hobbies, likes, and dislikes. I didn’t think I wrote that I liked theater. But I loved theater. I was extremely active in drama club all through middle, high school, and college. I never wanted to be a professional actress, but I enjoyed the stage.
My mama glanced at me. “Pretty girl, you like the theater too? My baby girl loves the theater. I have pictures and videos of her in plays. You want to watch one?”
After I told her that we could and that I did like theater, she told Draco that it sounded like a plan.
Draco and my mama confirmed a date for me and him this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
“Mrs. Smith, it has been a pleasure talking to you. I hope that we can do it again soon. I look forward to meeting you when I pick your pretty girl up for our date. I’m going to let you spend some time with her. Have her call me later, alright?”
“You know I will. You have a good night, son.” My mama disconnected from the call. Her neck snapped in my direction. “Pretty Girl, I have a good feeling about him. That’s gonna be your husband and give you those babies that you want.”
“You really think so? I feel like it too.”
She smiled, then put her hand on my cheek.
“Let that man love you, Taelyn.”
Her calling me by my name made my back straighten.
“Mama, is that you?”
“Who else would it be, silly?
It was crazy how this dementia thing worked. It really looked different for everyone. When I was told about her diagnosis, I thought it meant she would be sitting in a window somewhere looking at the sky, counting clouds. For some reason, or based on what I’d seen portrayed on television, I thought she would be bedridden. Tae Zoie Smith was the liveliest woman I knew. Sure, there were times, a lot of times, that she didn’t know I was her daughter. Then there were times like this when it was like she never left. She could be here for a few minutes, hours, and once for a few days.
“Mama, you think that I should go out with him?”
She nodded. “I know you should. This is the man for you. I can feel it in my bones.” Both hands cupped my face. “Sometimes a mama knows, baby girl.”
A tear fell from my eyes when she started kissing me all over my face like she did when I was a little girl. It was something that she did to all of my siblings too. After she finished kissing me, I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie. For the next hour, we watched a movie of her choice. Halfway through the movie, I became Pretty Girl again. That was fine because for that short time, I had my mama back.
When I got home from my parents’ house, I took a shower, got comfortable, then texted Draco. It wasn’t too late, but I still hoped he would be up. I knew very little about his lifestyle.
Me:
Hey, you don’t have to pick me up at my parents’. I can meet you there.
I saw that he read the message immediately. I expected him to text me back, but he video called instead. When I connected the call, I could tell he was lying in his bed.
“Lyn, baby, why are you texting me foolishness at this time of the night?”
“Um, I didn’t mean to disturb you. I just wanted to let you know that you didn’t have to pick me up from my parents’ house to appease my mother. I can meet you at the place.”
He glowered at me without words. When his jaw tightened, I knew he wasn’t pleased.
“Taelyn, let’s start off in the right direction of open communication with no subtext. You will never meet me at a place. I will always pick you up if you are not already with me. The only time you will meet me somewhere is if it is my house before it becomes ours. Do you understand?” When I nodded, he told me that he would only accept a verbal response to his question.
“I understand, Draco. I just don’t want to put you out of your way.”
His eyes tightened. “How is it possible for my wife to put me out of my way? This is an improbability. I can guarantee you that your mother has never put your father out of his way. Stop playing with me, Lyn, baby. Tell me the real reason that you don’t want me to pick you up at your parents’ home. I expect the truth, love.”
Something about Draco made me not want to lie to him. It wasn’t fear; it was respect.
“I don’t want you to meet my daddy because I feel like he’s not going to be happy about our date. I’m not ready for all of that.”
“Thank you for being honest. May I be honest?”
I told him that he could.
“I respect your father. However, how he feels about me and you is of no concern or worry of mine. I understand that you may not be ready for all of that, but what I will not do is tiptoe like a child about being with you at any point of this growing relationship. If that is what you want me to do, let me know now. I want to be with you, but not at the expense of my respect as a grown ass man.”
I didn’t need any time to think about my answer. “No! That’s not what I want you to do, Draco. Generally, I don’t introduce guys to my parents during the talking stage.”
His face contorted in the sexiest way. I knew I shouldn’t have been attracted to it, but nothing this man did could be deemed as unattractive. He was just perfect.
“Taelyn, what the fuck is the talking stage? First, I’m not a fucking dude. I’m a grown ass man. If you want to talk, we can talk when we’re on the podium at our wedding saying our vows. By that time, I’ll know everything I need to know, but for shits and giggles for the crowd, you can tell them. Now that I know you don’t want that, I will pick you up at your parents’ place for our date. Do you understand?”
With a wet pussy and a weak voice, I told him that I understood. He told me to get some rest and that he would talk to me tomorrow. I couldn’t wait.
“Let me get this straight. You have a date with Carlton Draco McMasters as in your therapist? As in the super grown ass man that is also employed with Christianson Enterprises? Is that what I’m hearing?”
Mauri’s questions coupled with her fingers in midair frozen over her keyboard and her facial expression had me in stitches. We often got together to go over new programs, codes, security software, etc. I also got input on the apps that I created and own. There were apps that millions of people used that were created by me, Mauri, or us jointly. Naturally, we talked about a lot of other topics that had nothing to do with technology.
I decided to tell her about my date with Draco to get her input. I told Blair, and she, of course, told me to lose my virginity in a handstand with him. I valued Mauri’s opinion. Although I valued her opinion, I recognized that it was just that. I would not change my decision about going on the date. At this point, I didn’t think anyone could.
“Yes, Mauri! Well, no because he’s not my therapist any longer. He told me that he can’t be the therapist of his future wife. It’s unethical to fuck on his patients.” My heart, pussy, and soul thumped at a beat of yearning.
Mauri’s eyes nearly fell out of her sockets. “Oh, that’s that grown man business talk right there. Draco is that nigga. I can’t even lie, he’s fine as hell too.”
“You think my people are going to have a problem about us being in a relationship or whatever?”
She chuckled. “Problem? Girl, Uncle Trell is going to go through the roof and repair it just to go through it again.”
We both laughed this time.
“The good thing about this is that you’re dealing with a real man. Draco doesn’t give off the type of man that would cower in the presence of your father. He’ll respectfully lay claim to his future wife.”
Her expression got serious. “Taelyn, with all that being said, I still want you to be careful. I want you to do what makes you happy. That might require you to go against the grain of what people think you should do. However, running is not going to be an option. When you were with Kevin, you ran and hid because you didn’t want to deal with the mouth of your dad, brother, cousins, or whoever.”
“Yeah, Draco said that he refused to tiptoe like a child about being with me. He will not give up his respect as a man.”
Mauri smirked. “You know what type of man you’re dealing with? I’m going to tell you, and you should know this. The first thing your dad is going to object to is the age difference.”
My mind went back to my conversation with my mama. “Girl, I told my mama about him. I was Pretty Girl at the time, but yeah. When I told her about our age difference, she said, ‘If he’s not old enough to be your daddy, then he can be your zaddy.’”
“Your mama is wild as hell for that! She’s not wrong, though! All I can say is, if you’re not ready to ride this rollercoaster, get off now. Don’t even go on the date. This is not a time for you to pussyfoot and play games. I did that for years with Yetti and missed out on time that we could have had together as one.”
I heard what she said, and I understood. I wasn’t around when her and Yetti went through their bullshit, but I heard about it. Now, you would never know that any of that happened. After a few more words about Draco and me, Mauri and I went back to updating our apps and working on new codes.
Excitement wasn’t strong enough of a word to describe my anticipation for this date. I’d never experienced a real man. We would see how much of a real man Carlton Draco McMaster was soon enough.
DATE NIGHT…
“Calm down, Pretty Girl. You look gorgeous. That man is going to salivate over you.”
My mama was kind enough to let me use my own room in my parents’ house to get ready. She said that her daughter Taelyn wouldn’t mind. I appreciated that. When I came into the house, my daddy wanted to know what we were doing. Like she always did when I came around, she shunned him, telling him to mind his business. I knew had she been in the mindset of knowing that I was Taelyn, she would have told my daddy what was up.
I giggled when my mama smacked me on my bottom. I stood in front of the floor mirror, looking at the outfit that we picked out. Every day since the confirmation of the date, my mama had me bring over outfits to pick from. I enjoyed that time because sometimes I was Taelyn. We did the same thing when I lived at home and had dates or dances. I went with a pair of fitted jeans, a nice statement tee shirt under a blazer, and a pair of nice heels.
“You think he’ll like it? It’s not too casual?”
I wanted to look perfect for him. My hair was in my signature half up, half down with a few tresses hanging on both sides of my face. I went simple with the jewelry, wearing a pair of diamond studs and a cross necklace that my daddy gave me when I was a little girl.
“Taelyn, what did I tell you about doubting yourself?”
I gazed at my mama through the mirror. I wanted to cry that she was making an appearance tonight for this.
“You told me not to ever doubt myself because I’m the daughter of Trell and Tae Smith.”
“That’s right.” She walked over to me. “You look absolutely perfect and he will love it.”
Her assurance meant the world to me right now. Footsteps pulled my attention to the door. Damn, he would come in here when she was lucid.
“What y’all got going on in here?”
My daddy leaned against the door frame. Time had been good to both of my parents. He took exceptionally great care of himself. He ran, went to the gym, and ate fairly healthily outside of his Doritos. I was surprised that he didn’t have a bag in his hands now.
My mama slowly pranced over to my daddy, wrapped her arms around his waist, then stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. After she pulled back, she glanced over her shoulder at me.
“Our baby girl has a date tonight. He should be here soon.”
My father’s jaw twitched, and his brows met downward toward his nose.
“A date, huh, Baby Tae? That nigga is coming here to pick you up?”
“Yes, he is, and you better not do all that extra bullshit, or it’s going to be me and you.”
My mother answered in my place with an additional directive. My father threw his hands up in surrender.
“I don’t want no smoke, Mrs. Smith. You look beautiful, baby girl.” He gave my mother a final kiss then excused himself. Oh, he’s totally about to give all the smoke and deal with his wife later.
I moved to sit at the vanity to make sure that my makeup was intact. I did nothing special tonight. A simple, natural beat for the occasion tonight. Me and my mama talked until we heard the doorbell ring.
“Let’s get down there before your daddy and whoever he done called start their bullshit. I just know he put something in that stupid boys chat they have.”
Oh, God! I grabbed my purse from the bed, and we hastily went downstairs. I wanted to cry again when I saw my daddy, Mont, and Brandon standing there. Tana sat in the den looking at the malarky with a smirk. Why! Draco stood in the foyer stoically, appearing unfazed. It was so sexy.
“Hey, beautiful.” Draco greeted me over the heads of my family. He stepped toward my father. “Excuse me, sir. May I get to my woman?”
My eyes bucked at his request and reference of me as his woman. My father looked at Mont who stood behind him before he chuckled. He and Mont made room for him to walk through. Draco walked over to me. Before he addressed me, he spoke to my mama.
“Mrs. Smith, you look radiant tonight.”
My mother blushed. “Thank you, son. It’s nice to talk to you again.”
“Oh, so you done talked to this man before, TaeBae?” my daddy asked incredulously.
My mother’s body leaned to the side to look around Draco. “Trell Lamont Sr., I promise you won’t like me later tonight if you don’t shut the hell up. Of course, I talked to the man that is going to be my daughter’s husband.”
Mont threw his hands up.
“Nigga! Mama done drank the Kool-Aid. This can’t be life.” His eyes bounced between our daddy and Brandon. “Aye, Dr. McMasters, can we have a word with you privately?”
Draco pulled me into his arm, planting a light kiss on my lips. He handed me a bouquet of flowers and a gift bag. He turned to face my family.
“Of course, you can. I came early in anticipation of this. Lead the way, gentlemen.”