Chapter 6
Need I Remind You?
ENZO
The way Thyri interacted with my son left no room for me to think about what he may have been missing out on with Kennedy not being around.
Everything was natural between the two of them.
Thyri made EJ feel safe. Their bond was more than a nanny who looked out for a child as part of her job.
She’d integrated herself in his life in a way that didn’t feel pushy.
She belonged there. So much so that it made EJ miss her when she wasn’t around.
If he wasn’t talking my head off about some two-year-old shit, he was talking about his Tyri.
I held her hand in mine, sneaking peeks over at her as we drove.
Her fingers were relaxed, intertwined with mine, while she stared out the window, oblivious to the shit she was doing to my heart.
Singing to EJ may have been a part of the bedtime routine she had with him, but for me it was something entirely different.
It was her going the extra mile for a child that wasn’t hers. My child.
I parked in a nearby parking garage, and we walked over to Amavi, a Mediterranean restaurant that had been suggested to me by Kyiris.
I wanted to take Thyri somewhere that required her to dress up.
She got the memo and exceeded my expectations.
Thyri was effortlessly sexy on a daily, but she’d gone the extra mile tonight.
I appreciated every curve, the switch in her walk, and that glossy shit she had to reapply when we got out the car because I couldn’t keep my lips off hers.
The way she walked beside me – unhurried, steady, and comfortable – her confidence was on 100.
Grown woman shit at its finest. There was nothing performative about Thyri.
She was the shit, and she knew that. A woman that knew she was the shit couldn’t help but to walk with that kind of air.
That kind of confidence made my dick hard. Thyri made my dick hard.
Inside the restaurant, we were led to a corner table, which I’d requested when I made the reservation.
I liked to have a full view of the dining room and exits.
I pulled out Thyri’s chair, not only because it was the gentlemanly thing to do but because I wanted to get another view of that ass as she sat down.
She must’ve been reading my mind too because she made sure to sit down real slow.
Pecking her cheek, I took my seat across from her.
Smiling, she glanced around the space. “This is nice. I like the ambiance.”
“I did good?”
“You did great. I’ve never had Mediterranean food. This should be interesting.”
I nodded, feeling the same. The candlelight flickering low in the middle of the table gave a romantic touch.
This was different for me. I’d admit I hadn’t always been that thoughtful in the past. I’d taken women on dates, but the thought was minimal.
With Thyri, I wanted to romanticize everything because she deserved it.
“Hi, my name is Jessie. I’ll be your waitress for the evening. Can I start you off with something to drink?” The waitress beamed as she spoke.
“I’ll take sparkling water and the Casa Blanca Margarita please,” Thyri said.
“I’ll have water for now.”
“Okay. Coming right up.”
The waitress bounced off, all happy and shit.
“She happy as hell, ain’t she?”
Thyri giggled. “I was thinking the same thing. They either beating them or paying them really well.” We both laughed at her assessment. “You wanna share an appetizer?” she asked, scanning the menu.
“These appetizers?” I repeated with a noticeable frown.
“Yes.” She laughed. “Fix your face.”
I looked up at her and shook my head. “Don’t nothing on that part of the menu sound appetizing, Ma. I read it twice.”
Still laughing, she shook her head. “That’ll be the highlight.”
“The highlight is none of this shit sound appetizing to me?”
“No, silly. The highlight is the memory we’re creating,” she corrected. “Since we’ll be trying whatever we order together, if it’s nasty, then we’ll have something to look back on and laugh about in the future.”
“Oh, you planning a future?” I challenged her reasoning to see if she’d double down on it.
“Maybe. It’ll be one of our firsts that we share together.”
I leaned forward slightly. “I can get wit’ your thought process but believe me when I say you’re not about to convince me to eat no beef tartare. I don’t care how fine you are or how good the future sound, Ma.”
Giggling, she snapped her fingers. “Damn. I guess I gotta be a Sullivan to pull that smooth stuff off, huh?”
I smirked. “It’s a skill, Ma.”
“Okay. How ‘bout we just do entrées? Order something different than what I choose though, deal?”
“Why, so you can eat off my plate?”
She rolled her neck. “Like the woman I am, absolutely.”
The waitress returned with our drinks and took our orders. I went with the oven-roasted chicken, and Thyri ordered grilled lamb chops.
“How’s everything been down at Sullivan & Co.?” she asked.
“Business is good. Just secured two new contracts the other day. Commercial properties that I’m sure we’ll lock in long term.”
“Okayyy. Go you. I’ll cheers to that.” She held her glass up, and I cheered with my water.
“Preciate it.”
Dinner arrived quick, securing the waitress’ tip in my head. I wasn’t the most patient person by nature, so prompt service was always a plus for me.
“Oh, we gon’ eat good,” Thyri let out, her eyes roaming from my plate to her own.
“You better than me. You know, seeing as you’ll be eating your food and some of mine,” I teased.
“And the fact that you’re gonna let me is scoring you major points and a kiss.” She leaned forward with her lips poked out, and I met her halfway for the kiss.
“Lips soft as fuck,” I said, licking mine as I pulled back.
She smiled and cut into her lamb chop. We ate in silence for the most part, except for a few sexy ass moans Thyri let slip as she chewed. That shit had me so turned on, I momentarily tuned out the people in the restaurant just so I could concentrate on listening.
And then I heard my name.
“Enzo.” The voice cut through the moment I was having with Thyri.
I looked up slowly to find Kennedy walking over in a black leather dress and a full-length mink. This bitch wanted to be somebody so bad it was sick.
“I thought that was you when I walked in,” Kennedy continued, ignoring the coldness in my stare. Her eyes then slid to Thyri, who seemed unmoved by her presence. “Hi, I’m Kennedy,” she introduced herself. “I’m EJ’s mo…”
“Egg donor,” I completed her sentence before she could lie. “This is EJ’s egg donor, Ma.”
“According to you,” Kennedy countered.
“I think the last two years of his life is proof of that. I’m really not sure why you’re at this table right now. You know where I stand with you.”
Her fake ass smile thinned. “I know where you stand, but I came over here to let you know where I stand. I wanna see my son. And I feel that as two grown adults, we should be able to make that happen. Holding me to the past is not helping EJ at all.”
I looked across the table at Thyri, quiet and poised in her seat. She took a slow sip of her drink and returned my stare. Kennedy was trying to get an emotional response out of me, but I had nothing for her.
She went to speak again when some baldheaded, foreign looking ass nigga in a suit walked in our direction. I could tell by the way he walked up that he wanted the people in the restaurant to think he was someone important. He wrapped his arm around Kennedy’s waist, pulling her to him protectively.
“Darren,” he spoke with his hand extended to me.
Seeing that I hadn’t attempted to shake his hand, he continued.
“I’m Kennedy’s husband. It’s nice to meet you. Now I can finally put a face to the name.”
Something dark came over me as I sat up in my chair. “It’s never nice to see a nigga like me under circumstances like this. And the last thing your wife should be talking to you about is a nigga she used to get fucked by.”
Kennedy’s eyes widened, her husband’s turned to slits, and I could hear an ‘oh, shit’ from Thyri’s side of the table. Kennedy should’ve been the last one shocked about my response. Of the people gathered, she knew how lethal I could be.
“Excuse me?” Her husband final spoke up after taking a few seconds to process what I said.
I discreetly grabbed the knife on the table, or I thought it was discreet until I felt Thyri’s hand cover mine.
“Excuse me,” Thyri spoke up. “We were having a private dinner and would like to continue to do so.”
Although her tone was polite, there was no mistaking the ‘get the fuck on’ in it.
Kennedy’s ho ass husband blinked then nodded. “You’re right. We apologize for the intrusion. Come on, babe,” he said to Kennedy before guiding her away.
I caught Kennedy’s eyes as she looked over her shoulder one last time.
Exhaling slowly, I’d already put a plan in my head to see her again and not under the circumstance she nor her husband would like.
Thyri rubbed her thumb across my knuckles softly. “You want me to go beat her ass for you and EJ?”
Turning my head to her, I chuckled. “Nah. I don’t want my woman fighting. I got people who live for that kind of activity if it ever comes down to it. I want you to be beautiful and poised at all times.”
“Oouuu, yeah. You have a lot more to learn about me, Enzo. I’ve never been anyone’s dainty princess.”
I locked our fingers together and picked her hand up to kiss it. “Well, you can be my dainty queen.”
“Who will get a bitch right if and when necessary,” she assured with a wink.
I chuckled inwardly, noting that Thyri could get on the fuck shit if she wanted to. I liked me a lil’ gangsta, but so long as she was with me, she’d never have to worry ‘bout fighting no ho.