“It’s just a dress,” Ellie snickered, taking her pointer finger and touching his lips. The pressure of her body against his— the way his dick reacted to her and the way he made sure she felt it.“It doesn’t have that much power.”
“It’sthe body in the dress…” He shook his head again. He backed her against the wall and devoured her lips.“You taste so fucking good, E,” he whispered as he raised one thigh.
“What’s going on with you and Tisa? It feels like we’re sneaking away in empty rooms, so we don’t get caught,” Ellie said.
“I’m just being respectful, E,” he said.
“To her,” Ellie said, eyes narrowing in disbelief as she eased from beneath him and began to walk away. He pulled her hand, forcing her back to him.
“Loyal, just go back to your party.” She was disappointed as she rubbed her arms.
“Loyal? Baby, are you back here?”
Ellie was mortified as Tisa walked into the secluded room, eyeing them suspiciously.
“There you are,” Tisa said, looking back and forth.“What’s back here?” Tisa asked, eyes never leaving Ellie.
“Tis, this is Elliot. We’ve been spending some time together,” Loyal introduced, taking a neutral step away from Ellie.“E, this is my son’s mother, Tisa.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just sweet-talked the building commissioner of Macomb County for you. I know you’ve been trying to get a meeting with him. He wants to meet you. I sat him at our table. You need to stop hiding in corners and get in there,” Tisa suggested.
“Nah, I’m good right here,” Loyal stated.“I’llcatch up with him another time.” Loyal answered, looking at Ellie.“I’m busy. I’m trying to enjoy my night. Tell that nigga to grab a shrimp cocktail or something and enjoy his, too,” Loyal said.
“Loyal, if you impress him tonight, that’s hundreds of millions of dollars in construction jobs secured,” Tisa said under her breath.
Ellie interjected,“No, please. I’m a big girl. Go handle your business. I’llbe here.”
She wanted him to stay, but she didn’t want to make it seem like he had to babysit her all night. Loyal walked off with Tisa, and Ellie lingered in the private room to admire the art. She wasn’t too thrilled to watch Tisa work the room on Loyal’s behalf, so she opted for the more private experience. When Tisa reappeared, she caught Ellie by surprise.
“You’re Cassidy’s sister, right?” Tisa asked as she passed Ellie a champagne flute. There was a smile on Tisa’s face that Ellie couldn’t decipher. She didn’t know if Tisa was being nice nasty or willfully obtuse.
Ellie wanted to bite back,“No, Loyal’s girlfriend,” but they hadn’t decided on titles, and girlfriend sounded childish when speaking to the woman who had given him a son. She wanted to follow Loyal’s lead and keep this thing between her and Tisa positive. She respected him enough to not blow up his relationship with his baby mama— at least she was trying to. She wasn’t a young girl anymore. In her 20s, she would have been ready to take it wherever it needed to go over that man, but she was supposed to be grown. She was supposed to come into his life and bring peace, not spark a war. For lack of a better introduction, Ellie responded,“Yeah, Cass is my brother.”
“I’m sorry about everything you’ve got going on. That little thing with your husband. Yikes,” Tisa said, gritting her perfect veneers.“Loyal is always in a charitable mood. Glad he was able to give away those tickets to your daughters to make them feel better. I wasn’t feeling toowelI. He knows I hate those games. Glad they went to good use.”
Ellie frowned.Here we go, she thought, knowing that Loyal had been too optimistic about how this night would go.
“Yeah, it was great. My girls loved sitting courtside, but I didn’t see much of the game. Loyal was so nice that he showed me the suite. Robert and Tracy were nice enough to keep the girls on the floor. Everybody had a memorable night,” Ellie’s subtle jab landed with precision. She didn’t have to say too much. One thing a woman was going to do was fill in her own blanks. Ellie hadn’t even slept with Loyal that night, but Tisa was running a movie in her head.
Tisa sipped from her champagne glass.
“He’sa gentleman that way,” Tisa said affectionately, giggling.“I remember the first time he asked me for a threesome. I was so nervous to try something new. Scared he would like it too much. I asked myself a hundred questions.” She smiled sheepishly as she listed them off.“What if he sleeps with this girl behind my back? What if I’m expected to go down on her?” She shrugged.“Although, I quickly got over that. I truly overthought it. He’s found girl after girl; we’ve done this many times. He’s never doubled back for any of them, and the orgasm is top-tier. Give a man a fantasy, and he’llmaintain your dream.”
Ellie played it cool on the outside, but her mind was going haywire. Was Loyal grooming her for an indecent proposal?He’s met my kids. He knows this can’t be casual for me. He wouldn’t do that.
“We even kept one around for almost six months. Took vacations and all, but at the end of the day, he and I only need one another. We’re just having fun before baby number twoarrives, and I’llneed someone to relieve my stress when those hormones are going crazy.”
Ellie felt like Tisa had wrapped her hands around her neck.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Not yet, but actively trying. That’swhy we were late. Something about Loyal and car sex before a big event,” Tisa said giggling. The revelation made Ellie sick to her stomach.“We want to be pregnant within the next few months.”
It was the actively trying that fucked Ellie up. She knew that Loyal had been intimate with Tisa, but she had just given her body to him the night before. She had assumed his intentions with her were pure, but to hop out of bed with her and inside another woman was hurtful, to say the least. It was fucking nasty and irresponsible, to say the most. Ellie was sick to her stomach, and everything in her wanted to cuss this bitch out.
“Men are cool, but I promise you there is nothing like getting your body catered to by a woman, and let’s face it, I’m not going to want to have sex all the time when I’m in my second and third trimester, so he’llhave needs. He wants my approval with you, and I approve. You’re pretty enough, but I see stars in your eyes, so let me have this conversation with you now. This can be enjoyable for everyone involved, but don’t forget, you’re replaceable.” Tisa lifted her flute to Ellie.“Salud,” she said before walking away.
“You look…wow…”
