Aldrich #3
My mama raised her voice only slightly so as not to wake Ami who was bouncing on her chest. Despite her saying she couldn’t stop what she had on back home, she was clearly enjoying the time she had with her grandbaby.
Because Matteo and Cassie were coming into their senior year they both had sport camps this summer so she was trying to soak in as much time with Ami as she could.
If Ami wasn’t being held by Ling, my mama had her or one of my siblings.
Real talk, I can’t remember the last time I’d held my baby or been the one to rock her to sleep. Crazy how quickly that changed.
Sterling walked in with a smile on her face and it only brightened when she looked at Ami. “Yes ma’am?”
My mama cocked her head and turned to me expectantly. I felt put on the spot, the same way I did when she wanted me to do something cute in front of my relatives. “Richie.”
I glanced at Sterling and looked back at my mama silently begging her to chill. “Ma—”
“Aldrich!” She spoke as sharply as she could without waking up the baby.
Mama cut her eye at me and then smiled sweetly at Sterling.
“I’m going to lay her down so the two of you can talk, sugar.
” When she walked past Sterling she gave her hand a squeeze before turning to glare at me before she walked away.
Sterling looked nervous and seemed to shift from one foot to the other.
She was in a cotton sweatshirt, cotton shorts and long socks.
It had only been a few weeks and I could tell that Sterling was more comfortable with herself since we started working out together.
The downside of my suggesting lifting was that her body was getting even crazier than it was before.
I could see her ass from the front in these shorts and it was a thing of beauty.
“Have I done something wrong?”
“No. Why would you think that?”
She glanced behind her to look toward where my mother had taken the baby before looking back at me.
“Because I haven’t really been able to do my job since your family got here and I wanted to know if the circumstances of my employment have changed.
I can understand if I need to find somewhere else—”
“No, my mama hasn’t changed her mind about moving.”
“Okay. Are you unsatisfied with how I’m currently doing things—”
“Do you want to go out tonight?”
Her bottom lip dropped open in shock and even as she tried to close it quickly I could tell her mind was still going a thousand miles a minute.
“What? You mean…like a date?” Her widened eyes and the surprise I could see in them threw me slightly.
Sterling had a look on her face like she was surprised I would take an interest in her and I wondered if she’d ever looked in a mirror.
You are her boss, asshole.
“You say that like a date with me would be a bad thing. We break bread together all the time so it wouldn’t have been anything out of bounds.”
She hesitated before she played with the end of the braid her hair was in. “Well, that’s true—”
“But I’m not talking about like a date. I mean like us grabbing some food isn’t out of the question, but a few of my teammates are talking about getting up at a lounge.
Mama said that since my schedule has been so crazy and you haven’t had a day off I should invite you along.
I don’t want you to feel pressured just because—”
“No. That sounds like fun, actually.” With the relief on her face, I realized I needed to give her more time away from us while I could. Camp started in less than a month and then I was really going to be too busy to help. We both needed to take advantage of my mama being here while we could.
I grinned at the proper inflection I heard in her voice and I hoped she’d be able to let herself have fun if we went out tonight. “Why do you always sound like you've rarely had fun?”
“Because that would be extremely accurate characterization of my life.” She grinned but I imagined Sterling hadn’t ever partied or let her hair down.
“All work and no play?”
“Yeah, especially when I did a lot of travel nursing.”
Knowing her work ethic I was sure she commanded a high price. “And you were in high demand I assume?”
“Yeah, I’m good at bedside care and have a speciality that many people burn out on.”
“The NICU thing?”
Sterling grinned, pleased I’d remembered her accomplishment.
“That and I also took a lot of assignments with the ER. I tried to do palliative and hospice care but I couldn’t handle it.
My heart was too soft. It’s a specialty that gets burned out quickly because of the emotional toll it can take on nurses.
When they have gaps, I can step in until they find someone permanent.
That way their patient care doesn’t suffer.
” From the way she smiled, I could tell some hospital out there was missing the care she provided a lot but I was glad I’d been able to secure her for Ami.
“And I’m assuming they pay a lot for the privilege.”
She grinned arrogantly and I liked how she was silently popping her shit about her professional abilities. “Handsomely.”
“No wonder you didn’t have any issues with pulling out that card.”
“I mean, I don’t get out much but I’m well equipped when I do.”
“Cool. So you can step out with me no problem tonight then.”
She hesitated again and I wondered if she thought we were going to have a repeat of the last time we danced. If I made her uncomfortable I hated to think I’d made shit weird between us but I could handle taking a step back from her if I needed to. Right? “Are you sure that’s okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I mean…we're cool, right?”
“Yeah. Besties even.” She was smirking and I took it as flirting but I was going to be calm tonight without blurring the lines. It was going to be the first time that I’d introduced any of my people to Sterling and I wanted them to get to know her for herself, not who she might be to me.
“If that’s how you wanna look at it, Ling Ling.”
She shook her head and leaned up from the counter, looking fake annoyed. “You and this name. But no, that sounds like fun. I’m going to pick out something to wear. What time should I be ready?”
I double-checked the text message to make sure I didn’t give her the wrong information.
I’d been asked to make an appearance and despite not wanting a lot of people around me, we did need to get out of the house.
“Probably around 11. We got a section so we’re just trynna chill.
I hope these other people aren’t trying to be the center of attention but if they are we will absolutely let them have it and go somewhere else. ”
“Aren’t they your friends?”
“One of them is. He’s our age and we’re going out with him and his girlfriend.
The rest of them are just associates on the team.
” When I called the club they were going to already have some of the guys from the team there and they had no issue saying there was room for us too.
I was sure that part of the reason they let us get the section was that having me in the building meant they could charge higher prices.
“Traveling in a pack?” Her face was blank and I wasn’t sure if she was criticizing or encouraging us having people around that would help out if shit got crazy.
A smile played on my lips because she seemed to loosen up more and more with me, which I appreciated.
I wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal for me to want her to be comfortable, but it was.
There was something about her that made me want her to be happy here and it went far past the employer feeling.
“Something like that.”
She studied me, and I looked back at her without hesitation.
Shit was shifting and I wasn’t sure how to even pinpoint what the hell it was.
It just was moving to something that wasn’t strictly boss and employee.
Hell, I didn’t think it ever was. Sterling came into my life when I was in a state of not trusting anyone but I was forced to trust her.
With the most innocent part of me no less.
And she showed that it was a gamble that had more than paid off.
I just prayed that wherever we were headed was going to be the best thing for the three of us.
“Gotdamn.”
“Aldrich Rodrigo Dinero you better watch your damn mouth in this house.”
I could barely hear my mama fussing at me when I saw Sterling’s ass come into the family room.
She wore a tasteful dress that almost hit her knees but the way it skimmed over and emphasized her curves had to be something illegal.
The color was white and looked like heaven against her maple-colored skin.
The highlights in her hair emphasized her features and she was just… she was fine as fuck.
We’d eaten dinner with the family and done Ami’s nighttime routine just so we could spend extra time with her.
My people already said that we didn’t need to worry about rushing home because they would get up with her in the morning so we could sleep in.
Sonya knew she was pulling out all the stops to ensure I spent as much time with Sterling as possible.
“Is this okay?” She was looking down as though she was unsure if she was dressed for the occasion and I had to wonder if she was nervous to be going out with me or nervous to be going out with someone in the public eye.
To be real, it was probably both.
I hoped that she would be comfortable enough tonight not to let anybody or anything phase her but it was always up in the air with how niggas might act. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going to let anyone get out of pocket with her.
“If my son’s inappropriate comment wasn’t enough to reassure you, let me tell you that you look lovely.
” Cassie was grinning and my brother Mateo was looking a little too hard at her.
If he kept it up I was gonna have to punch him in his shit.
Not like I was any better than he was with how I’d been staring.
The way Sterling looked down it was almost shy, like my mother’s kindness made her feel weird. “Thank you. I’m glad I had something that was appropriate.”
“You look perfect, Ling. Let’s get going.”
I didn’t want to say too much else because I was sitting there looking at her in the wrong light. If I focused anymore on it I was going to be thinking of her like a date instead of me just getting her out for the night.
But damn if I hadn’t already felt the switch.
I put my hand at the small of her back, probably the wrong move since the back of her dress dipped so low and I ushered her out of the house.
She had a little purse with her that couldn’t carry more than her phone, a lipstick and some cards.
I hoped she understood that she wouldn’t have to reach in her purse for money tonight but I knew how stubborn she could be when it came to money.
We got to the side of my truck, and I contemplated pulling out my car instead. I hadn’t thought to switch out vehicles and since Ling’s was the one my people had used off and on while they were here; I didn’t want to take hers and leave them without a way to transport Ami if there was an emergency.
“Can you ride in this?” I was dressed casually in a linen short set with a white tank top underneath and some sneakers.
Ling rolled her eyes and I swore they sparkled under the garage lighting. “I’m not that short, Aldrich.”
“You’re never going to stop with that are you?” I could hear my people clowning me over her calling me by my damn name all night.
“Calling you by your name? No.”
She gave me a side eye that let me know she knew exactly what she was doing.
Instead of fussing I opened the car door and held out my hand for her.
She took it and stepped carefully onto the running board.
I did my best not to look at her ass in that dress but it was impossible.
It was wide, high and tight and I really needed to stop staring at her, wishing I could squeeze it.
This has to be a mental form of sexual harassment or something.
I shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side willing myself to play this shit cool.
Before we did anything crazy me and Ling had to talk.
A lot more about her and me. Each day that passed had me feeling like she wouldn’t judge for what happened, but that didn’t completely remove all the doubt from my mind.
I slid into the driver’s seat and started the car before turning in her direction. She was already looking at me and I could see she was getting anxious.
“What?” I was grinning now as I watched Sterling’s face silently scream for me to tell her where we were going and what we were going to do.
“You’re not going to say anything?”
I put the truck in gear and backed out of the driveway. “Yeah. Relax, I got you. Just enjoy tonight.”