Audra – The Prequel: Episode 17

Here comes the first major test in their relationship, and it’s not good. This is the incident Damon told his friends about in the gym.

Audra’s phone rang as she was placing her shopping bags in the back of her BMW. She had found some good deals, including a few trinkets that would make great gifts for friends.

She slammed the trunk closed and fished her phone out of her purse. Inwardly, she groaned when she saw her ex’s name.

What does he want? she thought irritably.

“Hello?” she said as she climbed into her car.

“Hi, Audra.”

“Can I help you with something?” She intended for the conversation to be short and kept her voice cool, the way she always did since she had given up hoping for a future where the two of them raised their daughter together.

“How are you?” Kerry asked.

Sitting in the parking lot, she stared out the window and frowned at the question. Since when did he care about her wellbeing? They rarely had much to say to each other that wasn’t related to Kerilyn.

“I’m fine. How are you?”

“Doing great, actually. We kick off our European tour in a couple of weeks. Merch is selling well, and streams of our music are through the roof.”

“Congratulations. Things are going well for you,” Audra said.

Kerry was a great musician, and she wasn’t surprised the band was seeing increased success. He wasn’t only the drummer. He wrote some of the group’s songs. She wished he worked half as hard at fatherhood as he did at music.

“If you want to speak to Keri, she’s not with me. I’m out shopping. She’s at home with Mom.”

He cleared his throat. “Actually, I called to speak to you.”

Now he really had her attention.

“Why?” Audra asked, suspicious.

“How are things with you and your baseball player boyfriend?”

He knew Damon’s name but refused to say it. As a courtesy, she had told Kerry about Damon and Kerilyn meeting and the time they were all spending together. Not that she had much choice. Kerilyn talked non-stop about Damon, and Audra knew it was only a matter of time before she mentioned him during a conversation with her father.

“Everything with us is fine.” Not that it’s any of your business, Audra silently added. “Why?”

“I know you don’t pay much attention to what’s going on online, but er… I was doing a little research on your boyfriend—”

“Whatever you have to say, I don’t want to hear it. I already know Damon was out there before we became involved. He’s not like that anymore, so whatever dirt you think you’ve found, you can keep it to yourself.”

“What I found isn’t old, Audra. The two of you are in a relationship. An exclusive relationship, right?” her ex asked.

“Yes, Kerry.” Audra was hard-pressed to keep the annoyance out of her voice.

“Are you sure about that?” He asked the question with quiet confidence.

A cold chill went through Audra, and she straightened in the seat. He sounded as if he had a piece of juicy gossip he couldn’t wait to rub in her face.

She shouldn’t entertain his messiness but heard herself ask, “What are you talking about?”

Kerry blew out a breath, as if what he had to say was difficult to divulge. “I don’t know, Audra, it might be nothing, but… I saw a couple of photos of your man with someone else.”

Her stomach tightened, and her heart started pounding. Still, she dismissed what he said. “You’re making that up.”

“I’m not. I wouldn’t do that.”

Audra swallowed hard, hesitant to ask the next question but knowing she had no choice. “What’s in the photos?”

“Look, I didn’t know if I should say anything since—”

“What did you see, Kerry?” Audra demanded, the pitch of her voice sounding particularly high inside the car.

He blew out another breath. “I saw a couple of photos of your man—with another woman. Looks like they were on a date, but like I said, it’s probably nothing, Audra.”

“It was one of those blogs, wasn’t it? Which one?” she asked, her throat tight.

“It wasn’t a blog. It was People magazine. I’ll send the link, but don’t overreact. Give the man a chance. Find out for sure what’s going on before you go off on him. The photos could be innocent.”

“Thank you for the relationship advice,” Audra snipped. The gall of him.

“I know things didn’t work out between us, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. I also don’t want you to give up on a good relationship—assuming it’s good.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m not,” Kerry insisted. “But I do find it interesting that you made all kinds of complaints about me and the pictures I took with other women. Then you end up with a man who obviously can’t keep it in his pants. Before you, he was working his way through every Black model and actress in the country. I’m surprised he had time to play ball!”

“Are you done?” Audra asked through tight lips. She wanted this conversation to be finished and for him to send the link so she could see for herself these allegedly damning photos.

“Yes, I’m finished. I’ll give my baby a call tomorrow when I have more time to talk to her.”

“I won’t mention it in case your plans change.”

He muttered a curse. “You couldn’t help yourself, could you? Guess what, Audra, if I didn’t work so hard, I wouldn’t be able to send those monthly child support checks. So maybe act a little more grateful that I’m not one of these men out here refusing to take care of his kid.”

His words bristled with anger, which kept Audra quiet. No point in arguing with him anyway because her head was spinning, preoccupied with chaotic thoughts about his Damon accusation.

Please let it be innocent. Please let it be innocent.

She desperately hoped Kerry was just being messy. Even if the photos looked bad, there was probably a very reasonable explanation.

“I can see you don’t want to talk to me anymore. I’ll hang up and send the link,” Kerry continued.

“Thank you.” Hurry!

Audra stayed in the parking lot, unable to drive away until she received the text. When it came through five minutes later, she hastily clicked the link and read the headline: “It’s a Home Run! Flash Foster and Supermodel Nami Deagan Heat Up NYC Party!”

Audra scrolled lower to the photo of Damon, who looked sexy as hell—but when did he not?—in a light-colored shirt open almost to his waist, exposing several gold chains against his chocolate skin.

With him was a woman she didn’t recognize, but the caption identified her as Victoria’s Secret model Nami Deagan. She was as tall as Damon in a pair of high heels, the two of them dancing up close, Damon’s arm resting on her waist. Nami wore a champagne-colored dress with spaghetti straps that shimmered against her umber skin. The short dress stopped mid-thigh and showed off her long legs. There was plenty of room around them, as if the other partygoers had cleared out of the way to give them space to dance.

Another photo showed the couple hand in hand, leaving the venue, with Damon leading the way. The wind blew Nami’s straight raven hair as they hustled out the door. Knowing Damon the way she did, he was probably horny from grinding on Nami while they danced, so he was taking her to a place where he could satisfy his sexual appetite.

Tears blurred her vision.

They looked amazing together—two impossibly beautiful people basking in the glow of flashing cameras. Audra desperately wanted to believe the photos were harmless and that there was nothing more to the story, but betrayal and disappointment settled in her chest like immovable twin boulders, squeezing the air from her lungs. A hollow ache spread through her. Seeing Damon with the supermodel suggested that she had been wrong about him—about them.

She didn’t bother to read the article. She didn’t have to. What more evidence did she need to see that he couldn’t be trusted—which she should have known?

The allure of multiple women and living on the edge was too seductive. She had learned that lesson with Kerilyn’s father but had wanted to believe in the fairytale. Damon had convinced her he was different.

When was she going to learn her lesson? How many more mistakes did she need to make before she understood that men—especially those focused on their careers and courting the limelight with all that entailed—could not be trusted?

And she’d introduced him to her family. He’d met her daughter.

She groaned, slumping in the seat.

“Dammit, Audra, you’re such an idiot,” she muttered, blinking back tears of anger and hurt.

What a fool she had been to believe this time was different. What a fool she had been… to fall deeply and madly in love with him.

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