Chapter 7
A Helping Hand Indeed
“How did a day job suddenly turn into an overnight stay?” I said out loud, in disbelief that I actually agreed to stay the night at Enzo’s house.
I sat on the edge of the bed in his guest bedroom long after he’d left the room, just staring at my bag that sat on a chair across from the bed.
Everything in me said to grab my bag and take my chances with the impending storm, but I knew it’d be just my luck that on my way home, the snow would hit, and I’d somehow be stuck out there.
Still, a sleepover wasn’t in the cards. I turned my head slightly toward the closed door. This shit was really happening.
What was worse than me making the decision was that I was comfortable – my body was at least. My mind…
that was running in overdrive, making up different scenarios.
But my body was settled. The set up of the room may have had something to do with that too.
It smelled clean and was just as cozy as the rest of the house.
Somehow, that made my mind more uneasy than if the room had been disorganized and funky.
Because why did I feel so goddamn comfortable?
Running my hands over my thighs, I exhaled in an effort to ease my mind. Kicking my Crocs off, I sat on the bed Indian style and reached for my phone. Danae’s voice popped in my head before I unlocked it.
“Girl, stay the night. That man ain’t gon’ harm you. I think it’s cute he’s considering your safety.” “If he try to fuck you, then you fuck back.”
Scrolling to our text thread, I typed fast.
Me: I just wanna let you know that you’re a terrible influence. And he heard you talkin’ about fuckin’, nasty ass.
Her reply came instant, like she was by the phone, waiting for an update.
Danae: I’m glad he did hear me because I said what I said. A lil’ one night stand ain’t never hurt nobody. Add in a lil’ hunching in the workplace and I’m here for it.
Me: Is there something you wanna confess about your work husband? Cause I’m all ears.
I smiled while typing, knowing my text would get her riled up.
Danae: That is not my work husband. Just a nigga who won’t take no for an answer. Don’t matter how many languages I say it in.
Me: Yeah, okay. I’m gonna try to get some sleep in this house that doesn’t belong to me.
Danae: sleep tight. Don’t let the fine man bite.
I rolled my eyes, smiling despite the situation, and exited our thread.
Laying back on the bed, I welcomed the silence of the house.
Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the day I had with EJ.
His burst of energy left no room for me to sit down.
He was so sweet and listened intently. I didn’t see the bad side Enzo referred to.
He just needed to learn how to manage all of that energy.
And that was something I started with him today.
The way he listened, how he watched me when I moved, and the way he nodded like he understood more than he could say reminded me of KJ at that age.
It was a testament to Enzo’s parenting. He talked to EJ like he mattered.
Like his voice, although small and sometimes incoherent, mattered. A real father.
Turning onto my side where I got the most comfortable sleep, I pulled the comforter over my body. Before closing my eyes, I sent my last text, this time to the most important person in my life.
Me: I’ll be by Danae’s house tomorrow night to pick you up. I love you.
The three dots appeared, and I held in a breath, hoping that he responded. I loved my son, and I hated when he shut me out. Just as I was preparing for the worst, his response came through.
Sonshine: I love you too.
That response worked for me. Setting my phone on the pillow next to me, I closed my eyes and drifted into an easy sleep.
The sudden urge to pee hit me in the middle of the night, waking me from a deep slumber.
Getting up from the bed, I pushed myself forward to empty my bladder.
My throat was dry, so after washing my hands, I left out of the room to grab a bottled water from the fridge.
The lights from their Christmas tree guided me out to the front, where I could hear the rustling of paper.
I spotted Enzo standing in the middle of the living room, shirtless, in a pair of plaid pajama pants that hung off his waist, showing the hem of his boxers.
The way the lights from the tree and the fireplace illuminated on his skin, I lowkey felt a little drool slip from my mouth that slurped back up real fast. He was sexy as fuck.
The tattoos and the eight pack he possessed did something to my body.
I continued forward, swallowing hard once he looked up at me.
“You look like you could use a hand,” I spoke first, glancing down at a few poorly wrapped gifts and a stack of toys behind him that were up next for the same ill treatment.
He chuckled. “What gave it away? The partially wrapped guitar or the toolset where I used a little too much wrapping paper?”
“All of it.” I burst out laughing. “This is horrible. You can’t do my boy like this.”
“Mann, you just met that kid,” he teased.
“Yep, and we already got a secret handshake. Now what?” I rolled my neck and stuck my tongue out at him.
“Oh, word? Yeah, you’re official.”
“This I know. Now, come on. I’ma bout to give you wrapping 101. I hope you got more paper because we gon’ start with unwrapping the few things you botched and then start over.”
“Listen, I’m good at a lot of things. This right here ain’t my strong suit.”
“At all,” I agreed, giggling. “Grab me a bottle of water and we gon’ get to work.”
I found a spot on the floor and began to rip the paper off the gifts he’d already wrapped.
Once he was back with the water, I handed him something small to start with and set a box the same size in front of me.
Taking him step by step through the process, he was able to wrap the box perfectly on the first try.
“If only more men could take that kind of direction, things would be alright with the world,” I reasoned while taking a sip of my water.
“You think men don’t listen?” he questioned, picking up a bigger box to wrap.
“I think most men listen with their egos and not their ears.”
“Hmm. Interesting point. I guess you could say the same for the women that listen with their heart, right?”
My lips parted into a grin that he matched. “I plead the fifth.”
“I bet you do.” He snickered.
By the time we were finished, there was about twelve neatly wrapped gifts under the tree. I’d wrapped four of the twelve, and he did the rest. Enzo stood, marveling over his work.
“Now that’s how you do it,” I said from the floor with my hand up for him to slap me five.
He took my hand and pulled me up from the floor. “Thank you,” he said, looking down at me.
“Mmhmm,” was all I could make out. “I… I’m going to head back to sleep.”
“Aight. Good night… again.”
He released me, and I bid him good night before walking briskly back into the guest bedroom and closing the door behind me. The seat of my panties was moist, as I stood against the door.
“I gotta get out this man house before I end up being the gift that keeps on giving.”
The next morning, I awoke to my Sunday alarm.
I expected to wake up panicked, but to my surprise, I was at ease.
My body felt light, thanks to the good night’s rest. There was no throbbing between my legs, an indication that Enzo wasn’t a creep and hadn’t taken my goodies in my sleep.
Although he didn’t give weirdo, I slept with my legs tightly closed.
Wondering what came of the snowstorm, I got out of bed and walked over to the window.
Pushing the curtain back just enough to peek out, I saw nothing but white.
Everything was covered with snow. Enzo hadn’t lied, and I was glad I stayed.
As I stood at the window, taking everything in, he came into view.
He was off to the side of the house with a big coat on, a beanie, and boots, shoveling.
I watched him from the window longer than I meant to.
And as if he’d felt me staring, his head lifted, and he turned to me.
Our eyes met through the glass. My stomach flipped, seeing that I was caught. Not wanting to be weird, I raised my hand and gave a small wave. He winked at me and continued working. I sucked in a breath and stepped back from the window.
“What the hell was that?” I whispered to myself, referring to the high school moment. “Girl, get it together.”
Shaking my head, I grabbed my emergency kit from my purse.
It was a little pouch that I traveled with in the event I found myself in a situation such as this.
It consisted of a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, a mini skin care set, and wipes.
I hated being unprepared. It gave me anxiety to the highest level.
Life had taught me to stay ready, so I never had to get ready.
Grabbing my phone on the way to the bathroom, I set it on the counter, while I brushed my teeth.
As I went to wash my face, I could hear the door to the room open.
I poked my head out of the bathroom to see EJ standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes.
On his feet was a pair of Cars slippers, and his durag was off.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I said softly while wiping the facial cleanser off my face.
“Morning, Tyri. I hungry.”
I laughed. “Already? You just woke up.”
He just nodded.
“You eat like a grown man. I got you. Let me finish up here.”
“Okay. I help you.”
Smiling, I lifted him easily and set him on the sink, while I finished up. “Here, put this back in that bag please.” I handed him the small toothbrush and toothpaste and pointed to the bag. I watched him squint, checking the contents of the bag, before tossing the items in. This kid was too much.
He watched as I flossed, flashing his teeth in the mirror. “Teet, Tyri.”
“I see. You have nice teeth. We can brush yours once I’m done.”