Lies & Affairs

six

"Hi, Ty'Quan!" Sapphire cheesed.

Ty'Quan set the paintbrush down and made his way over to her. He was shirtless and sweating, Sapphire felt tingly in places she'd never felt in a long time.

"Hey." Ty'Quan said.

"What are you working on?"

"It's a shelter for women." Ty'Quan said. "Women who are abused and stuff."

"Wow. You're building this whole thing on your own?"

"No, I had some help building it. I'm just decorating on my own." Ty'Quan said. "This is the nursery, for the children. Do you think sky blue is a good color?"

"I think sky blue is an amazing color. It's my favorite color actually." Sapphire said.

Ty'Quan smiled. "Good. I didn't want to redo the wall again. You can sit on the air mattress, you don't have to stand."

Sapphire sat on the air mattress in a way so that Ty'Quan wouldn't be able to see underneath her sundress. "You did all of this on your own?"

"Yep." He said. "I just got done laying the carpet in the other room. This is the last room I have to paint on this floor. I want everyone to be able to have their own privacy and space, which is why I chose this building."

"That makes sense." Sapphire said. "My stomach hurts."

"Did you eat?"

"Yes, I did."

"Surprisingly." Ty'Quan said. "What did you eat?"

"I had a chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato, some fries, and some water. I also had some fruit."

"Sounds good. I haven't eaten lunch yet." Ty'Quan said. "I haven't decided on what I want. I'm surviving off of some pancakes I had this morning for breakfast."

"I had cereal for breakfast."

"What kind?"

"Frosted Flakes, my favorite." Sapphire said.

"Frosted Flakes are good, but they can't be your favorite cereal when there's better cereals out there."

"Shut up."

Ty'Quan chuckled and sat down beside her. "I like your dress. Pink looks good on you."

"Thank you." She looked down.

He lifted her head up with his fingers before leaning forward. "I'm so tired."

"Take a break." Sapphire said, leaning down to look at his face. "A long break. Like an hour or two and you'll be fine."

Ty'Quan looked over at her. The way she had a hold over him didn't make any sense. Her natural scent filled his nostrils, making the hairs on his arms rise up. He stared at her lips, back at her face, then back towards the floor.

"That's your advice?"

"It works for me when I'm working thirteen hour shifts." Sapphire said. "Because I have breathing problems and I have to rush around a busy hospital so I have to take breaks in between so I won't end up in the same hospital I work in."

"You have breathing problems? Why not just say asthma?"

"Because that's embarrassing to say out loud. I'm a grown ass woman who's struggling to breathe, that's already embarrassing enough to say out loud."

She and Ty'Quan both laughed.

"Ty'Quan, where do you get these little shorts from?" Sapphire asked.

He looked down at his exposed thighs. "I don't like shopping because of the people, so I send my driver or assistant to go for me with a list of the things I need. She picked up the wrong inch inseam and I just swore to only wear them when I'm doing work like this or if I'm just walking around the house."