by Desirée
“As long as you get that shit off yo’ chest, do it matter? It’s on her, but it was too easy fucking her ass up that day.”
“It was.” I laughed, feeling my phone vibrate. I looked at the incoming text from Jahiem. It was a picture of a crib he saw in a magazine.
He was asking me, What about this one?
Zooming in, the moment I saw the wheels on it, I was done.
I texted him, No to the wheels, nigga.
“Where she stay at?”
“Over there in the woods where all the Greek houses are at. Her and that girl she stay hanging with. What’s her name? Rita or some shit?”
“I don’t know,” I said, waving her off as we stepped out into the parking lot of our building, that cold air whipping us hard. “Ooooh, shit! It’s cold!” I shrieked. “We walking to her place?”
“Well, neither one of us got a car, so . . .”
“Shit!” I flipped again, stuffing my hands in my pockets as we walked across the yard to the back woods of the school. Nobody was out that night. The yard was completely dead. It was too cold, and it was a Saturday night too. Nobody was trying to hang outside in the middle of November like that in Atlanta. We turn up indoors, bruh.
“You think she’ll give us a ride back?” I joked, and we laughed, trudging our way to cross the street, officially stepping off the yard. I couldn’t believe I was going to apologize to this girl. I never apologized to no bitch. I mean, I was sorry, but I didn’t think I had to speak on that shit.
Walking up alongside the dark street, we came up to a small house with the porch light lit.
“This is it?” I asked, blowing hot air into my hands.
Jade nodded as we walked up on the grass, making our way to the front door to knock. As soon as the door pulled back to open, Jordyn stood in shorts and shirt, with those infamous thick socks. Her black curly hair was all over the place, with those thick-rimmed glasses on. Whatever Elijah was doing to her, bitch was getting thick in the hips.
“Yo, can we come in?” Jade asked, and Jordyn stepped aside, allowing us to walk in.
I looked her directly in the eye, and for the first time, she didn’t look away. She just stared back.
Oh, okay, bitch. You bold, I see. Got some of that brave dick hitting you every night, you think you about it. Don’t get stupid, though. Pregnant or not, I will still tap that ass.
Stepping into her house, I looked around, seeing she had her basic shit: couch, chair, TV, and dining room set. Nothing fancy. I sat down on the first spot available, and Jade took the seat next to me, while Jordyn sat on the chair, tying up her hair in a bun.
“So, look.” Jade sighed as she dropped her head. “I’m sorry for how I treated you this semester, Jo. I know it’s not a possibility of us being friends, but I do want you to know I am truly sorry for the fucked-up shit I did. For the fight. And if Elijah was here, I would apologize to him, too. So, on your behalf, I am sorry to him, too, for how I came at him. I just—” She stopped as she stared at her hands. I nearly had to do a double take, seeing tears forming in her eyes. “Trent has been cheating on me this whole time, and I just . . . before I go off on this nigga and break it off, I wanted to clear the air with everyone. All three of us are dating brothers, and none of us are cool like that.”
Jordyn pushed her glasses up as she looked at me like she was waiting for me to say something.
“I’m sorry I don’t have a long-ass speech like that,” I started, patting the side of my head to scratch my weave. “But what I did was fucked—”
“You treated me like shit from the moment you met me, Tia,” Jordyn started as I cocked my head back.
Oh, okay, bitch! So we really doing this.
“Okay, first of all,” I started, finger already pointing. “You were acting weird as fuck when we met. Did I like you on sight? Fuck no, I didn’t. You tried waaay too hard, Jordyn. You tried so hard to be cool like—”
“I didn’t give a fuck about being cool and being cute, and whatever the fuck else you want to say. You did! All of y’all are so focused on fucking image and looking a certain way that because I was the one girl who stood out, who didn’t care, y’all treated me like an outcast. I tried telling you Trent made a pass at me,” she said, pointing at Jade before turning her attention to me. “I don’t even . . .” She stopped, shaking her head with a laugh as she got up. “You and I will never be anything other than two people sitting across from each other right now.”
“Bitch, I didn’t come here to be friends with you!” I snapped, standing up. “You really think I’m the type of bitch to beg for friends? I whooped yo’ ass, and I will do it again if—”
“Tia!” Jade snapped, pulling me back down on the couch. “Both of y’all need to stop it! We didn’t come here to argue.”
I took deep breaths, gripping my stomach to remind myself I was pregnant with a child. I almost forgot I was carrying a baby, because I would have surely crossed this table to get at Jordyn and fucked that face up once more.
I’m a mother now. Mothers don’t fight basic bitches. Gotta keep telling myself that.
“Why are you here, Tia?” Jordyn asked, standing up with her hands on her hips.
“To apologize for fighting you that day.”
“Why did you even hit me? It still doesn’t make sense why you don’t like me, because whatever you just told me wasn’t a valid—”
“She was jealous of you,” Jade snapped as I looked hard at her. “Look, keep that shit one hundred, ma. You’ve always been jealous of Jordyn from day one. Now she got the nigga you wanted, and that made it worse. Jordyn, when a girl don’t like you for no reason, that shit is jealousy and hate. Tia came over here to apologize for that jealousy and hate, because now that’s she’s a part of the family with this baby, she wants to make amends. Right, Tia?” Jade pressed as she gave me a hard look.
I bit the bullet on this one as I looked at Jordyn. Stupid bitch.
“That’s right,” I answered instead with a fake smile.
“What’s done is done,” was all Jordyn said with a wave of her hand as she walked to her room before coming back out with sweats and hoodie on. “We will never be anything other than what it is now. You don’t have to talk to me, and I don’t have to respond to you.”
“Fine with me, bitch,” I mumbled, and Jade hit my arm.
“You can apologize to Elijah yourself if you want to, Jade. I’m going to their video shoot right now if you want to come,” Jordyn suggested, slipping on her coat.
“Trent’s not there, right?” she asked hesitantly.
Jordyn shook her head as Jade and I stood up, making our way out the front door. Jade looked at me with a knowing look, and I shoved my hands in my pockets. I wasn’t walking back to the apartment. I’ll be damned.
“Aye, can Tia come too?” Jade asked.
Jordyn didn’t even respond as she opened the car door to get in. Shit, we took it as a yes. I sat in the cramped back seat, holding onto my stomach as I texted Porscha. I knew she wasn’t going to ever believe what the fuck I was doing.
The ride to the shoot was uncomfortable to say the least. Jade and Jordyn were barely making light conversation. Hooking her phone up to the radio, Jordyn dialed a number that rang through the car speakers.
“Yo,” Elijah answered, and I heard all the commotion in the background. “Where you at, baby?” I almost cringed at the thought of him calling her that.
“I’m on my way now. What am I supposed to be doing, Elijah?”
“You’re the leading lady, shawty. Mannn, wait until you see the bitch they got to play my girl for this video, Jordyn. They had to have picked her ass up from the streets. Bitch looked like she was cracked out. Aye!” he called out to someone as I smiled. “Bring it closer this way, Mike!”
“Was she at least pretty?” Jordyn continued, and Elijah laughed.
“Nah, we got the same taste in women, baby. I’ma show you her when you get here. Body was banging, though, but you know me
. Weave was fucked up, no edges and shit. You know how a nigga be about that hair,” he stated, and I tried so hard not to laugh. He sounded so much like Jahiem just then, it was uncanny. “What you doing afterwards? You staying with me tonight?”
“I don’t know yet. I had someone coming over,” she said softly, almost like she wasn’t trying to say it.
What the fuck kind of relationship do they have? Same taste in women? Niggas coming over? But y’all together?
“We’ll see when you get here,” was all he said, and Jordyn sighed. “Yo, hurry up.” With that, he hung up.
Jade looked at Jordyn. “What’s up with these Carter boys being pretty boys?” Jade started as Jordyn and I laughed. “I thought it was just Trent, but apparently not.”
“Nooo! Elijah stays looking in a mirror,” Jordyn stated with a shake of her head. “If my hair isn’t right, he will fix it to his liking before we step out.”
“That’s nothing,” I mumbled with a smile. “Jahiem will damn near cuss me out if I don’t look a certain way. What the fuck you got on, Tiana?” I said, mocking his voice, and we all laughed. “When the nigga be bumming it out all the damn time. I can’t even wear makeup around him.”
“Shit, I wish I could go without makeup for a day without Trent saying something,” Jade chimed in. “Do they snore in their sleep?”
“Ohhhhh! Gurl!” I flipped, hands in the air like I was praising the Lord. “Yasss! Jahiem sounds like a fucking monster in the bed!”
“Can’t be no worse than Trent.”
“Thankfully, Elijah doesn’t do that. He moves in his sleep a lot, but he doesn’t snore.”
“How did you even meet that nigga, Jordyn? Like, real shit. You don’t go nowhere, so how did you meet Elijah?”
“At a gas station.” She laughed as she thought back. “Him and his brothers pulled up so loudly and obnoxious, and you know I don’t keep up with this Atlanta music. So, I didn’t know who he was,” she said, shrugging as she got off the highway. “He came after me so hard, and I kept turning him down until finally, I just asked him to have sex with me. Vibrators weren’t doing the job no more.”
“Vibrators!” Jade and I shrieked before laughing.
“You guys were so busy bashing me all the time and making fun of me. Had you actually sat down and got to know me, you would know I’m . . . probably the biggest sex whore you’ll ever meet,” she said sarcastically, poking fun at herself. “I love men, and I love women.”
A proud ho, I see.
“That was you that night! You and Elijah! When we heard the screaming?” Jade let out, and Jordyn nodded. “Oh my God! Girl, you were giving that nigga the business, yo. You gotta teach me all the shit you know.”
“I remember that night,” I said, thinking back.
“After that night, Elijah really hasn’t left.”
“So, Elijah doesn’t care that you like girls?” I asked.
She shook her head. “There have been a few times that we will go out to meet girls to bring back to his place for the night. It only becomes a problem when the girl doesn’t want to leave.”
“I can’t believe you’re like that, Jo. You look so fucking innocent,” Jade said with a stunned expression.
“I have certain needs that only a woman can fulfill,” she said, shrugging.
Bisexual proud ho. I knew something was off about her weird ass.
“Hey, this is weird to ask, but during sex, do y’all men always make these weird grunt-like noises and ask if you like what they’re doing?” Jade asked.
I laughed, already hearing Jahiem in my head. “Girl, Jahiem is a fucking beast in the bed. And he do ask me all the time, but shoot, I be so focused on the dick that I don’t even care. I’ll answer whatever if you keep going, nigga. Shit,” I said, and they laughed. “That’s how my ass is pregnant now, fucking around with him.”
“Trent likes it rough,” Jade said with a slow smile. “Nigga will choke, bite, pull, slap as hard as he wanna. I be telling him to slow that shit down, because sometimes I want something more sensual, soft. Make love to a bitch, like damn, nigga,” she let out, and we laughed.
“I like it rough, too. I can’t handle it slow. Drives me fucking insane,” Jordyn said with a shake of her head. “That’s why I almost always dominate Elijah, because the moment I let him get control, it’s done.”
“Fuck that. Jahiem give it to me different every time, so I can’t complain,” I boasted with a smile. “Whatever the mood is for the night is what we doing.”
“Amen,” Jordyn agreed softly, and I smiled.
“So, y’all have an open relationship?” Jade pressed.
I sat up curiously, wanting to hear about this shit. This foolery.
“Yeah, but . . . it’s complicated. He can go out and sleep with whoever, because of who he is, but if I do it, it’s a problem,” she stated, and I shook my head. “I’ve been talking to this guy for about a week or so, and I really like him. He’s . . . the first guy I met that doesn’t want sex. We hang out, go to the movies, work out together, and just do whatever.”
“Elijah doesn’t know?” I asked.
“Nope. I have to tell him soon, because everything him and I are doing has to stop if I want to give this relationship a chance with Desmond.”
“Well, is the sex with Desmond good at least?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet. We never had sex yet,” she beamed, sounding so excited.
Mmmph. It’s nice when a man wants to get to know a woman without sex being involved, but that shit is scary, too, because if that nigga turn out to have a li’l dick, or that stroke game is weaker than a basic bitch? Uhh . . . you got to make that life decision on whether you want to stay and train, or bounce. Shit, or hope that head game is twice as strong.
“I can’t believe we’re dating brothers,” Jade mumbled as Jordyn turned down a street where a bunch of cars were parked alongside the curb. I could see huge stage lights flashing down and a crowd of people on the side, watching the commotion. Video girls walked by wearing their best, and I suddenly felt like a slob. Shit, had I known, I would have come better prepared.
Getting out of the car, I could already see Elijah and Jahiem talking with the director, while the other two brothers were enjoying the company of the women, chopping it up with the whole neighborhood that came out to show love. Walking slowly up to the chaos, Jordyn waved at Elijah, who immediately rushed over, all smiles, before glancing at Jade and me. His dreads were loose, and his straight-leg jeans were sagging. He wore a thick black coat with the fur on the hood. He was decorated in chains, rings, and all in all, still looked good as fuck. It’s one thing to look like a street nigga; it’s another to truly be a street nigga to the core. Yet, the moment his eyes landed on Jordyn, everything hard about him softened up. He looked at her like she was the reason he was alive.
Jahiem don’t look at me like that.
“I brought her along because she had something to say to you,” Jordyn said to Elijah, who looked at Jade.
“Look, I know we not gonna ever be cool, but I apologize for how I came at you that day, B. And I already told her I was fucked up for what I did,” Jade said, accent heavy as Elijah just looked at her, eyes squinting before looking at Jordyn.
“You good with her, baby?” he said, hands cupping her face.
“I’m over it,” she said, nodding her head.
I smiled, watching him kiss her before whispering something against her ear as Jordyn looked around.
“Nah, don’t look around, shawty. Damn!” He laughed. “Be cool about that shit. She’s over there.” He pointed, and we all turned to see the girl he was talking about in the car. Yeah, she did look cracked out, like she was a retired stripper. “You see that fuck shit? That’s the girl they trying to get for me? Fuck nah.”
“She’s pretty,” Jordyn said, and Elijah rolled his eyes.
“You would hit it?”
“Not if my life depended on it,” she said, and he laughed.
> “Aye! E! Bring her on so we can get these scenes knocked out!” a man yelled.
The moment Jordyn left, it was just Elijah, Jade, and me, standing there as he looked at her.
“We good, son?” Jade asked.
“If my girl good with you, then I’m good with you,” he cheesed, turning that boyish charm on before turning to look at me. “So, you the other bitch that fought Jordyn? Do Jahiem know you fought my girl because of me?”
“Nigga, correct yo’self. Don’t call me no bitch,” I snapped. His hands went up in the air in surrender with a laugh. “And no, he doesn’t. Just like Jordyn doesn’t know that you and I almost fucked.” I hoped to leave it at that and never speak on it again.
“You got it, shawty. Jahiem is over there if you trying to talk to him.” He pointed far off, and I walked away from them.
I watched them cue a scene, and the music started playing loudly. It was Jahiem’s part. He leaned on a car with two girls dancing on him while he recited his lyrics to the song, wearing all black, with a thick red coat with brown fur on the hood. He had chains around him, jeans sagging, and a trimmed goatee with a fresh barber cut. My man was fine as hell, okay? The moment they were done, he cut his eyes toward me before rushing over.
“What you doing here, baby?” he said quickly as he gently hugged me like I was eight months pregnant before kissing me on the lips.
“Long story.” I sighed. “You look good out there.”
“I know.” He smirked with a wink before kissing me hard on the cheek. “Yo, stay put. Let me finish up my shit, baby.”
Watching him walk off with the director, I smiled. Other girls were eyeing me in pure jealousy. Looking back, I saw Jade nearly crying in front of Elijah, who was talking to her like he was trying to calm her down.
So, Trent really is cheating on her. Mmmph. Trent was a selfish-ass nigga, naturally. It was only a matter of time before she found out anyway.
Walking farther into the video set, I saw where they had a house open, with people walking in and out. So, I stepped in, seeing the makeup artist hard at work, stylist changing the clothes, and directors and producers talking. Assistants were running around. There was so much chaos in the small-ass house. I spotted Jordyn in the corner, already dressed in the outfit that they gave her. She was getting her makeup and hair done.
