CHAPTER 23
Tyson
“It’s been a minute since I’ve been over to your bachelor pad,” Heshan said.
Tyson nodded.
The men were sitting in the living room, drinking beers and watching ESPN.
“Wait–I take that back. It’s certainly not a bachelor pad anymore, now that Gabrielle is living here. How has that been going?”
Tyson forced a smile away from his face. “It’s going good.”
“Yeah, but I know you must want your house back to yourself.”
“Um...you know what? I haven’t really thought about it. It’s been nice having her here with me.”
Heshan sat up straight. “Really, now?”
“Yeah. It’s nice having someone around to talk to.”
Heshan gave Tyson a hard stare. “Since when? If I stay longer than an hour, you’re ready to kick me out, but now, all of a sudden, it’s nice to have somebody to talk to?”
Tyson shrugged and sipped beer.
“Wait–you like her, don’t you?”
“Of course I like her. I couldn’t survive being here with her for three months if I didn’t like her.”
“True, but when I say you like her, I mean you like her.”
Tyson smiled, then turned up the beer bottle to his mouth and, after taking a long swig, he said, “And what if I said I did?”
“I knew it!”
“Heshan, chill, man. That was a hypothetical question.”
“Sounds more like an admission to me. I thought, after Desiree, you were done with relationships. At least that’s what you said, anyway.”
“Who said anything about a relationship?” Tyson asked, unable to remove the smile from his face.
“You don’t have to say it, my brother. It’s written all over your face. How long has it been since Desiree, anyway? Four years?”
Tyson shrugged. “Not sure. All I know is I like spending time with Gabrielle. But, real talk–she’s young.”
“How young?” Heshan inquired.
“You don’t know how old your sister-in-law is, man?” Tyson quipped. “She’s twenty-one.”
“Hmm…how did I not know that?” Heshan asked, and after thinking about it for a moment, he said, “Well, whatever the case, you can help yourself with the love thing. I’m not going there. Life is good like it is without the added pressure of making somebody love you.”
“You don’t have to make anyone love you, Heshan. That’s not how relationships work.”
“Well, either way, I’m good.”
“Yeah, until Padma finds you a woman.”
“Nah, she won’t do that to me.”
“But isn’t that your culture? What people back in your homeland do?”
“It is, but we’re not there anymore.”
“So, how did she get Dilvan to agree to marry Gabrielle?”
“Easy. She told him she would cut him out of the will. He’s always been somewhat of a shark when it comes to money.”
“Interesting...”
“No, here’s where things get interesting. Get this–Dilvan and Gabrielle aren’t even married.”
“Say what?” Tyson asked, turning to look at Heshan so fast that he could’ve pulled a neck muscle.
“Mom said even though they had a marriage ceremony, the license wasn’t properly filed with the state, so, therefore, they aren’t legally married.”
“Hmm...” Tyson rubbed his chin. “That is interesting.”
“I’m curious–what is it about Gabrielle that you like?”
“Why did you ask the question like that? Like there’s something wrong with her?” Tyson asked.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just curious.”
Tyson took a sip of beer. “Well, she’s interesting. She understands me, and I understand her. I enjoy her company, and I haven’t felt this way about a woman in a very long time. My only issue with pursuing her is—”
“Dilvan.”
“It’s not even him necessarily. My issue with Gabrielle is, I think she may still have feelings for Dilvan.”
“I think you might be right.”
Tyson frowned. “Why you say that?”
Gesturing with the beer bottle in his hand, he said, “Okay, so this morning, we had brunch at Dilvan’s place.
He was going on and on about how sorry he was for what he did.
..said something about not being perfect.
..that he made mistakes with Gabrielle, blah, blah, blah.
..long story short, she’s having dinner with him as we speak. ”
Tyson’s brows hiked up when he asked, “She who?”
“Gabrielle. She’s having dinner with Dilvan.”
Tyson shook his head. “No, she’s not. She’s with your mother. I dropped her off there myself.”
“She was with Mom earlier, but Dilvan told us this morning that Gabrielle agreed to meet him for dinner. Shocked the crap out of me. I didn’t think she had it in her after everything he did.”
Tyson seethed but tried not to let Heshan see his shift in mood.
If Gabrielle was meeting Dilvan for dinner, she would’ve told him about it, right?
He’d even mentioned to her, a while ago, that whenever she was ready to face Dilvan, he would be right there to support her – to make sure she was comfortable.
That was before he had feelings for her.
Now that he cared for her, the thought that she was spending time with Dilvan incensed him.
Did she really go to meet Dilvan alone, over dinner, after all the things he did to her?