8. Erissa
“Girl, this house is beautiful. Can I take pictures?” Shakira asked when she entered River’s home.
“Kira, hell no, you can’t take pictures. You’re lucky he was cool with you coming over, considering the two of you haven’t met.”
She rolled her eyes.
“First of all, I was kidding. Give me a little credit. I do have a little couth. Secondly, I should’ve met him weeks ago. Why wouldn’t he be cool with your best friend visiting? He can’t keep you holed up in here away from the rest of the world forever.”
“The rest of the world ain’t thinking about me. Just you and possibly Sammie because I’m your best friend. I made lunch, but before we eat, let me introduce you to Riverlynn.”
We went to the family room, and Riverlynn was babbling away in her bouncer, trying to get the hanging toys that were still out of her reach.
“Hey, Rivvy! We have a visitor,” I said as I took her out of the bouncer.
Anytime someone picked her up, her excitement went through the roof. She flailed her little arms and legs while showing all her gums.
“Oh my goodness. She’s even more adorable in person.” Shakira gushed.
“She is, and she’s such a sweet baby. I really enjoy spending my days with her.
Taking care of her is so different from taking care of my grandparents.
As much as I loved them and would do it all over again in a heartbeat, Rivvy brings me so much joy.
I kinda feel guilty because I enjoy taking care of her much more than I did taking care of my grandparents. ”
“Your grandparents were sick, and seeing them deteriorate right before your eyes had to be hard. Rivvy is full of life and, prayerfully, has a full life ahead of her. It’s different, friend. Don’t feel guilty. Plus, being around River’s fine ass makes it even better.”
I released a deep breath because Lord knew I’d been lusting over that man something terrible. He was literally the man of every woman’s dreams.
“Kira, I’m trying to be a good girl, but damn, it’s hard. Let me give you a tour.”
We continued to converse as she followed me through the house.
“What have I told you every time we’ve talked since you took this job?”
“Bust it wide open for a real nigga.”
“Why aren’t you listening to your best friend?”
“Because River’s mother told me not to let him charm me out of my panties. I’ve been doing my best, but damn, my resolve is weakening. When he invited me to hang out by the pool and ended up giving me my first swim lesson, it was torture.”
“I’m sure it was, because I know being close to a man that fine, with both of you wearing next to nothing, and not sitting on his face or dick takes a lot of strength. Oh my God. The nursery looks even better in person.”
“This is my favorite room in the house. I’m pretty sure the first night I was here, and all those nights that he disappears, he had someone else sitting on his face.”
River hadn’t come home as late as he did on my first night of work. Most days, he arrived home before dinner, and when he didn’t, he told me practice ran late when he was actually meeting up with his women.
Unfortunately for him, he could rarely go out without ending up in the gossip blogs, so his lies were unnecessary and annoyed me even more than his absence.
He wasn’t my man, and he was paying me very well to take care of his daughter.
I’d been annoyed about River dipping off to hook up with his jump-offs, but knew I had no right to be, so I hadn’t shared my feelings with my best friend.
“What does that have to do with you, and why does it feel like you forgot to tell me something?”
“I didn’t forget to tell you anything, but what River is doing with his time isn’t worth mentioning.”
“Spill it!” she demanded.
“Fine! The first night I was here, he left after dinner and didn’t come home until close to midnight. Since then, he comes home late from practice a couple times a week, and lo and behold, the next day or the day after, there are pics of him in the blogs with a different woman.”
“I mean, we know he’s a ho.”
“That he is. I love this job, and the last thing I want to do is go back to waitressing. As tempting as it is to sleep with him, you know I won’t be able to keep my feelings out of it. I’ll crash out the first time I see or hear about him with another woman, and then he’ll fire me.”
“That nigga ain’t gon’ fire you, sis. He needs you too much, but I understand what you mean. When are his mother and sister coming?”
“Tomorrow. I’m kinda nervous, but they both seem cool. You should come over to help me stay calm.”
“If you need me, I’m here, but there’s nothing to be nervous about. You ain’t his woman, and you’ve already proven to be a great nanny for Rivvy. Let’s eat.”
We made it back downstairs and went to the kitchen. While she kept Riverlynn entertained, I made our plates. My grandmother had a delicious chicken salad recipe that I’d perfected, and I made a big bowl of it to eat for lunch and dinner today.
“I see the hoopla around that post about you and River on Keeping It in the Closet has finally died down,” she said.
It had been a couple of weeks since someone had sent pictures of River, Riverlynn, and me having dinner to the gossip blog page. There was quite a bit of speculation about who I was, and if Riverlynn was his, but I guess the nosy neighbors didn’t find anything worth reporting.
“Yeah, it became old news fast, but when he’s giving the blogs plenty of other shit to post about, why would they dwell on that one thing?”
“I’m surprised Jeremiah didn’t blow up your phone from an unknown number after that was posted.”
“You know what, I got a few calls from an unknown number that could’ve been him, but I didn’t answer. After that read I gave him at the day party, I would hope his ass would leave me alone for good.”
“Are you really over him, sis?”
“It only took too damn long, but yeah. I let the comfort of having a man, as trash as he is, blind me. I can see clearly now, the trash is gone.”
“I know that’s right. What about Donovan? Did you end up rescheduling your date?”
“He didn’t want to wait until next weekend to see me, so we’re going to dinner Tuesday night. I need to let River know so he’ll come straight home after practice.”
“You could also forget about Donovan and let River blow your back out.”
“I’m not fucking that man, Kira. Let it go.”
Shakira and I enjoyed lunch before we left to run some errands. There were a few stores at the mall she wanted to go to, and she hated shopping alone. Now that I had some disposable income, I could buy a few things to add to my basic wardrobe.
“Damn, this truck is nice,” she complimented when I slipped into the driver’s side of the SUV.
“It is. River insists that I drive it whenever I have Rivvy with me. He thinks my Camry is trash.”
Shakira laughed before saying, “It’s not trash, relatively speaking, but compared to this luxury vehicle, it’s trash.”
I playfully pushed her shoulder before backing out of the long driveway.
“True, but you know I love that car. I was low-key offended that he was talking shit about it.”
“I’m sure you were. I know how you get about that car.”
We spent the next hour shopping, and Riverlynn was a perfect little angel. She barely fussed while we were out, but when we got home, she was a little cranky. Once I got her settled, she was her usual happy self.
River got home later than usual. It had started raining about an hour ago, so I was glad he’d gotten home safely.
I’d already eaten and given Riverlynn a bath, and we were in the family room.
I had reruns of old Black sitcoms playing on the TV in the background while I read A.
Blossom’s latest book, After the Knockout.
“Hey,” he greeted on his way to the kitchen to wash his hands.
“Hey.”
“You already ate?”
“Yeah, and I bathed Rivvy already.”
“Thank you. My bad for being a little late. Everybody drives like they just got their license when it rains. I should’ve called.”
“No worries. I figured it was the weather. It sounds like it’s coming down pretty hard.”
I returned my attention to my book, and a few minutes later, River stood behind me, looking over my shoulder.
“No wonder your nose is always in a book. That’s some nasty shit,” he teased.
I gasped when I realized he could see the text on my Kindle, and I quickly flipped it over. I spent most of my evenings in my room reading, giving him time alone to bond with his daughter. Today was the first time he’d seen exactly what kind of books had my attention.
“You didn’t see the words from that far away.”
“Like hell I didn’t. I got 20/20 vision, baby. Don’t let that nasty shit get you too hot and bothered, but if it does, I’m a few doors down.”
My eyes widened, and my mouth dropped open. I didn’t have a response, so I kept my mouth shut and hoped he would go away. When I no longer felt his presence, I released a breath, but I was too embarrassed to keep reading my book.
“It’s lonely in here. Bring baby girl and come keep me company while I eat. I want to hear about your day,” I heard him say behind me.
Who could deny a request like that from a man as fine as River? I gathered Riverlynn into my arms and went to the kitchen table. When I reached for the chair across from him, he nodded toward the one next to him, so I sat there instead.
“How was your visit with your friend?” he asked.
“Much needed. We don’t see each other as often as we’d like.”
“You don’t have to stay here all day. You can leave and take Rivvy if you want, and you're free to do what you want with your nights when I get home.”
“I know, but I’m very much a homebody.”
“I see that, and I’m the exact opposite. I mean, I used to be. I haven’t spent this much time in this house since I bought it, and I haven’t been to my condo in weeks.”
“Having responsibilities forces you to make changes.”
“Especially when one of those responsibilities is an infant.”