Chapter 10
Ten
Mila
M y eyes rapidly fluttered as I tried to open them.
I scanned the room, realizing I was in an unfamiliar place.
Panic set in, causing me to pop up. That was when I realized I wasn't wearing anything besides a muumuu.
Everything was a blur. I remembered leaving with Trey to get pizza, and that was it.
I frantically looked around the room. The space was clean and didn't give a hidden lair vibe, but I still wasn't taking any chances.
I lifted the muumuu to make sure that I still had on panties.
Once confirmed, I paced the floor, trying my best to remember what happened.
My instincts kicked in. I hiked up the gown and ran to the door. My goal was to find the front door and beeline to the nearest safest location. As soon as I opened the door, I ran smack into something hard, causing me to fall backward, but an arm wrapped around my waist caught me from falling.
"Whoa, Mila, you good?"
The familiar voice caused me to spring my eyes open. I instantly locked eyes with Tremaine, and he looked concerned.
"Where the hell am I? Where are my clothes? Did you kidnap me? Help! Help!" I rushed out.
"Mila, calm down. Why are you screaming for help?"
I jumped out of his arms. "Because I don't have memory of anything. I don't know where the hell I'm at, and my clothes are different!"
He raised his eyebrow.
"I know it looks bad, but you threw up all over yourself, then passed out. I brought you here to get cleaned up and to clean your clothes."
"I did what?" I asked, shocked by my actions.
He nodded. "Yeah, it was a lot. There was no way I could let you sit in your own vomit like that."
"You—I'm sorry," I apologized, lowering my head.
I shook my head, embarrassed at myself. I couldn't believe I had done all of that.
"Don't be sorry," he assured me. "I'm not judging you. You were having a fun night that ended up with you getting sick. It's nice to see you letting your hair down and getting loose. You're not as mean and boring as I thought."
My mouth fell open, and I playfully slapped his arm. "Don't tease me."
We stood in silence for a while. I did the best I could to avoid making eye contact with Tremaine. His taking good care of me tugged at me in ways I hadn't felt in a while. It was a taboo feeling.
"Did I mess up your car?" I asked.
He nodded. "It's cool, though. I already cleaned it up."
"Damn, you can take it out of my paycheck, I swear."
He shook his head. "I won't."
"At least let me make this up to you in some way."
He fanned me off. "I don't do favors for favors. I do it because I want to. I'm not asking you to make anything up to me, but one thing you can do is pop on over to that bathroom and use the spare toothbrush I got laid out for you."
I immediately covered my mouth and sped off to the bathroom, brushing my teeth to get the taste and smell of vomit out of my mouth. After brushing my teeth, I sauntered out of the bathroom. Tremaine had a smile on his face.
"Better?"
"Much, but I still feel bad. I owe you so much for this."
He shook his head. "Stop asking."
I huffed. "Can I at least give you a hug for your kindness?"
Tremaine laughed. "That's fine."
I slowly walked into his arms and wrapped my arms around him.
His sweet, masculine scent filled my nose as my body molded against his.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in tighter.
Tremaine slowly rubbed up and down my back.
His soft, comforting touch caused my body to relax.
I ended up lying my head on his chest and shutting my eyes.
I didn't realize how much I needed a simple hug, not to feel the weight of the world on my shoulders.
My emotions surged, and for the first time in a long time, I felt protected and cared for.
I regulated my breathing to stop the tears from falling but failed. I sniffed in an attempt to control their rapid speed but failed. I tried to move my body out of his grip to give him his space, but he tightened his hold on me.
"Let it out, Mila," he urged in a whisper.
The floodgates opened, and I cried away the weight and stress that had been sitting on my shoulders.
"Shhh, let it out."
He continued to rub my back up and down until the tears and sniffing stopped. Tremaine released his grip on my back but didn't let me go. He held my hands and scanned my eyes. I wasn't sure what he was looking for. He released my hand and wiped away a tear.
"Feel better?" he asked.
I nodded. "A lot better."
He smiled. "Good."
We stared into each other's eyes. I couldn't make out what was happening, but all I knew was Tremaine made me feel some type of way.
He stirred up emotions in me I hadn't felt in many years.
The feeling was foreign, and I didn't know how to address it.
We continued to stare at each other, and before I knew it, we moved in toward each other.
Seconds later, Tremaine's lips were on mine.
The kiss was soft and light, yet full. The small peck increased rapidly.
He inserted his tongue into my mouth, but never once did he get forceful.
He remained steady and slow. He kept his hands on my lower back, drawing small circles through the thin material.
For a second, I had forgotten how to return kisses, but Tremaine helped me find my rhythm.
He took his time and treated the kiss delicately.
My nipples hardened through the thin material, while my lower half pooled with wetness.
The kisses alone were sending me on a high.
Tremaine's hands lowered to my ass, and he gripped it.
My floodgates opened, and I was confident that my panties were ruined.
I inserted my hand up under his shirt, feeling his smooth and firm skin.
I could no longer contain my moans and moaned into the kiss.
That caused another smack to my ass. Suddenly, I heard a cough from behind us, causing us to jump apart.
Tremaine spun around, and we made eye contact with a petite woman.
She had curly hair with small specks of gray in it.
She had caramel-colored skin, and her eyes were almond-shaped.
She wore a matching navy sweatsuit and white socks.
She stood there with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes bounced back and forth between Tremaine and me. Then she walked over toward us.
"What's up, Ma?"
My head shot over to Tremaine. I looked at him to confirm I'd heard him correctly.
"Oh, nothing much, my lying ass son."
He sucked his teeth and laughed. I heard correctly. Tremaine's mama just caught us in a full make-out session, and I was highly embarrassed. She looked over at me and smiled.
"Hello, I'm Trey's mother, Shonte."
"Hi," I softly replied. "I'm Mila."
She smirked. "Hungry? Thirsty? I'm sure your mouth is dry after my son sucked all the spit out of your mouth."
I covered my face in shame.
"Ma, chill. We'll be down soon."
"Hmm," was her reply before she spun on her heels and walked away.
My hands still covered my face when Tremaine reached and removed them.
"You good?"
Tremaine is my boss. I shouldn't have fallen into temptation. I needed to control my emotions. Clearly, I was vulnerable and got wrapped up in him. This couldn't happen again. Tremaine was here to help me, not to please my body. He went to touch me again, but I stepped out of his way.
"I'm good. Sorry about all of that."
"Mila—"
"Where is the kitchen? I'm a little thirsty," I interrupted him.
He scanned me up and down, but I avoided eye contact. My guard needed to be up and to remain up.
"Mr. Houston, can I have a drink, please?"
He let out a deep breath and turned toward the door. "Follow me."
As instructed, I followed Tremaine down the stairs. The smell of food hit my nose, causing my stomach to growl. We made it to the kitchen, where Ms. Shonte stood by the stove, placing food on a plate. She looked at us when she heard our footsteps.
"Grab a seat at the table, baby. I'll bring you a plate."
Tremaine looked back at me. "Pick a seat."
I slowly did as instructed. I watched as she and Tremaine moved around the open kitchen. It had beautiful appliances and decor on the walls. Seconds later, she placed a glass plate in front of me.
"It's rice casserole. It has chicken, broccoli, and cheese inside it. I hope you're not allergic to any of that."
I shook my head. "No, ma'am. Thank you."
"Enjoy." She smiled and walked away.
Tremaine returned with a glass of water and a Gatorade. He sat down beside me while his mother placed his plate in front of him. She finally sat down and looked at us.
"Bow your heads."
It was currently midnight, and I couldn't believe I was sitting at a table with Tremaine and his mama, eating a casserole.
We bowed our heads and prepared for prayer.
She prayed over the food and ended with an amen.
The only thing heard was our forks hitting the glass plates.
The food was so good, and I was trying my hardest not to dig in, but I couldn't help it.
"Is it good, Ms. Mila?" Ms. Shonte asked.
I looked and noticed her and Tremaine staring at me.
I nodded. "It is very good. Sorry if I'm devouring the food. I didn't realize how hungry I was."
"It's okay, baby. I love to see people enjoying my food. Make sure you take some home with you."
"You sure?" I asked.
She nodded. "I'm positive. Matter of fact, I'll fix you a Tupperware worth."
"I'll appreciate that."
We went back to eating, and before I knew it, my plate was empty, and my stomach was satisfied.
"Are you done?" Tremaine asked.
"Yeah, I'm done, and I think I need to be getting home. I'm sure Trina and Chas are concerned about me."
He nodded. "They were, but I had Vance and Owen update them on what was going on.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Just give me a few minutes. Let me get your clothes out of the dryer. I'll leave them in the room upstairs."