When she heard the door close she let out a sigh. She plopped into her chair and sat there, staring into the air. Her phone buzzed. UNKNOWN CALLER flashed across the top of the screen on her cell phone. She pressed END.
There was a knock at her door; then Shore entered her office. “Shawna, can we talk?”
Shawna’s nerves prevented her from speaking; she just nodded.
“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable and I definitely don’t want to lose you as an employee. So, how we going to fix this?” He leaned against the door.
Shawna just sat there staring at him with questions swirling about in her head. What do I do? Should I even get involved with this man? Is this shit for real?
“Shawna, can you say something? You’re scaring me.”
Clearing her throat she whispered, “Are you serious?”
He moved toward her desk. “Yes.”
“This can’t be happening. I thought you didn’t want my panties.” She forced a smile on her face.
“I didn’t and I still don’t, at least not yet,” he joked. “I said I want to see where this can go. If I wanted a whore I would have hired one.”
“Damn, you didn’t have to say it like that. I don’t know. This seems like it could be messy.” Shawna spoke the truth. She didn’t want to be known as the boss’s girlfriend. “What if it doesn’t work out? Then what, we go back to normal? I really doubt that.”
“Why? Oh, let me guess, Emma’s filled you in.” He rolled his eyes and took a seat in front of her desk.
“Actually no, but you could.” She waited for his response.
“She was a one-night stand before we were even Lifers Music. It meant nothing and will never be anything. She works here as a favor to my partner. Yeah, she gets into everybody’s business and creates some of her own but she’s manageable.”
“Wait, you mean you and Emma?” Shawna laughed loudly and a sense of reprieve came over her.
“It’s not that funny and something I definitely am not proud of. Now can we move forward, because I need to get back to work, but I would like to take you out tomorrow night. What do you say?”
Shawna closed her eyes. “Okay, let’s see where it goes.”
“Good. Just one thing: Can we keep this to ourselves for now?”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Shore took her hand and kissed it, then walked out her office with a smile on his face.
Shawna’s phone started to blast salsa music, indicating it was her mother on the line, “Hola, Mama, what’s up?”
“Umm, you coming for dinner tonight? I made your favorite.”
“Yeah, I’ll be there. I love you; see you later.” She hung up the phone quickly, not wanting to get into a full conversation with her.
For the rest of the day there was a nervous tension between Shore and her. She kept to herself in her office and left early, avoiding Shore and everyone else. Her mind kept telling her this was something she could use to her advantage. She’d already gotten this far without any drama, but she needed to think about her next move carefully. Damn, I wish I could bounce some shit off Keisha and LaRhonda.
A few hours later she was back in her old hood, walking to her mother’s house from the train station. Suddenly someone tugged on her bag. She spun around quickly. “Who the—”
“Hello . . .”
“What you doin’ ’round here?” She was a bit scared to see Jeremy.
“You forgot I was from over here. Yo, what really happened today? I thought you was feeling me; at least, that’s what you said when I was knocking your back out a week ago. What happened?” he asked loudly.
Shawna felt embarrassed by his tone. “Lower your voice, Jeremy. You almost cost me my fuckin’ job.”
He stepped in front of her, preventing Shawna from moving forward.
“Excuse me.” Shawna tried to push through him.
“Nah, you owe me an explanation. I ain’t just no regular nigga you can play like that. I have a reputation.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“I don’t owe you anything and I definitely don’t owe you an explanation. So I suggest you keep it moving, Jeremy. I think you forget who I am and what I can do to that reputation of yours before it got put to use.” She stepped back, feeling empowered.
He laughed. “Do you really think you got power over there? Shit, is that why yo’ girl Emma put me on to yo’ game? Look I’m in it to win it so trust me if a scandal is behind my name it’ll just be a boost. You ain’t nothin’ in this industry unless there’s some kinda scandal behind you and if the label wants it, I’m game, baby. I’ll make sure to tell Shore why it was so easy to sign that contract.” Before he could walk away he heard his street name being called: “Shotta.”
Humiliated by his words and attitude she bowed her head and turned to walk away when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
“Shotta, where you goin’?”
Shawna turned around to see LaRhonda standing next to Jeremy. “Ronnie?” She had to look harder because it’d been awhile since she saw Ronnie last. Her hair was shorter and it seemed that she lost a lot of weight; almost too much.
“Oh shit,” LaRhonda said, surprised to see her.
“Ronnie, you know her?” Jeremy asked, stunned that their worlds were closer than he thought.
“Yeah, that’s my girl. You better not be tryin’ nothin’ with her,” she joked with him, but soon discovered it was the wrong thing to say.
“Too late, I already did,” Jeremy said, walking away pissed off.
“What the hell was that about?” LaRhonda asked.
Shawna wasn’t laughing and wasn’t about to give in to the drama. “Nothing.”
“You know he just signed some record deal so now he think he hot shit.”
“I know; he signed with my label.” Shawna rolled her eyes.
“Look at you.” LaRhonda stepped away, checking out her new Manhattan look. “I guess workin’ for that label made you step up your game in the style department. I missed you.” LaRhonda reached out to hug her, hoping to bury their little misunderstanding.
LaRhonda’s friendly attitude threw Shawna off; she didn’t return the friendly hug. Their last conversation wasn’t very pleasant and she hadn’t talked to her since. She wondered if her embrace was sincere or was there something up Ronnie’s sleeve.
“If you missed me why you haven’t called me?” Shawna asked, standing still.
“I did, you just didn’t pick up. Don’t front after you cussed my ass out and you put me and KeKe out to dry. I can’t believe you got mad that KeKe didn’t tell you she was gay. That’s her business. Sorry if you didn’t want to hear it the way I said it, but you act like you didn’t already know.” LaRhonda tilted her head a bit, letting it all out.
Shawna watched her closely; her words opened a dark box. “What do you mean by that?”
“Look I ain’t tryin’a dig into anyone’s closets. Can we just move pass all this shit?” LaRhonda knew bringing up her dark secret would get her back in line.
“I guess. So, you going to yo’ mama house?” Shawna started to walk toward the projects.
“Nah, I ain’t there no more. I’m over in Marcy now, chillin’. The kids don’t gotta see the bullshit with my mom and we got a decent place to ourselves. I don’t gotta worry ’bout nobody bustin’ my door in and stealin’ my shit no more.” LaRhonda smiled.
“Oh well, that’s good. I’m headin’ to my mom’s for dinner. You wanna come?” Shawna invited her.
“Umm, I don’t know. I gotta go get the kids from Mary then head home ’cause Eric said he was comin’ through,” Ronnie replied.
“Eric? You back with him now?” Shawna stopped and stared at her.
“No, I’m not, but he’s helping me out for now until I can . . . well, you know, until I can get somebody to take care of me,” LaRhonda admitted.
“Okay, I guess I’ll see you around then,” Shawna said.
“How’s that when
you don’t even live over here no more? I heard ’bout you movin’ out. You know them heifers in the building nosey as shit. There was even a rumor that yo’ parents kicked you out.”
“How you know I moved? When I was callin’ you and Ronnie to help ain’t nobody pick up their phones.” Shawna sucked her teeth.
“C’mon, I was goin’ through my own shit, Shawna. You livin’ it up from what I hear. You got yo’ own place, doin’ what you want to do. Let’s be for real, you don’t want nothin’ to do with me or KeKe anymore.” LaRhonda’s voice became loud.
“Why you say that? I’m busy. I guess you forgot I’m tryin’ to get my name out there. Do you think I want to go back to school? How long do you actually think my parents gonna go for this? They expected me to go to college and when I convinced them this what I wanted to do my father told me if a year passes and I don’t excel, I will be back at home and going to school.”
“So what?” LaRhonda shrugged her shoulders.
Shawna looked at her strange. “You used to say that the hood was for losers. Now you want to be here?”
“I never said that. Don’t put words in my mouth. All I’m sayin’ is would it be that bad? Shit I still live in the hood, just a different hood. Ain’t nothin’ wrong wit’ that.”
“You crazy. I don’t wanna be around here,” Shawna responded.
“Then you rather not be ’round KeKe and me ’cause we from here. Shawna, don’t forget where you came from. Don’t let all that good shit get to yo’ head,” LaRhonda snapped at her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shawna questioned.
“Nothin’, I’m just sayin’. I woulda told you that Shotta was a nobody and giving him the cookie would be a strike all around.” LaRhonda stopped at the front of the building. “Okay, so when we all gonna get together? Besides, you gotta show KeKe and me your new place. You know you need help decorating. You probably still sleepin’ on yo’ air mattress.” LaRhonda laughed.
It was true, she was still sleeping on her air mattress only because she couldn’t decide on what kind of bedroom set to get. Shawna rolled her eyes and admitted, “Yeah, you right.” Shawna would never admit that all her swag was a mixture of LaRhonda’s and Keisha’s inputs. They had always been there and turning her back on them now only seemed ridiculous. They were her friends; closer than anyone in her life now.
Shawna pulled her phone out and texted LaRhonda her address. “There, why don’t y’all swing by sometime? I’m sure we got a lot to catch up on.” Shawna smiled, hugging her.
“Okay. I’ll call KeKe ’cause she probably still mad at yo’ ass for talkin’ the way you did to her.”
“Oh, she’ll live,” Shawna said, waving good-bye.
Shawna didn’t want to admit it, but it felt good seeing LaRhonda; it made her feel better. It was good to see a real face instead of the fake ones she saw on most days. She walked into the building and headed to her parents’ apartment. Shawna thought about what LaRhonda said about her still sleeping on her air mattress. Who does she think she is? At least I got my own place. What does she have?
12
Keisha
The lights were extremely dim and music was playing softly when Keisha entered Nicole’s apartment. Oh c’mon, I ain’t with this shit. She was beginning to think living with Nicole was a huge mistake. Keisha wasn’t prepared to have a relationship. Outing herself to her friends was easy, but outing herself to the world was a different story.
Since Nicole allowed Keisha to stay with her there was an underlining eeriness to her. After the first night Keisha caught her snooping through her duffel bag. She covered up the snooping pretty well by convincing Keisha that she was only putting her stuff into a drawer she cleared out for her. Then Nicole presented her with a key immediately, which was super weird to Keisha because they had only been intimate a few times since they met. Later that same week Keisha caught her again when she came out the shower. Nicole was fiddling with her phone. When Keisha snatched it away and looked at her phone the picture of Shawna and her was on the screen letting Nicole know that she had competition.
The first week was what Keisha thought to be just Nicole being nosey because she caught some feelings. But when the questions became frequent and the repeated text messages entered a new realm of annoyance, Keisha tried keeping her distance by working constantly and staying away from the apartment as much as she could. But when Nicole started arguing about money and Keisha didn’t have it, showing love was the easiest thing to do behind closed doors.
“Nicole . . .” Keisha yelled, propping her bike against the wall of the hallway.
Suddenly a shadow passed through the kitchen toward Keisha. “Hello, baby. I’m glad you’re home,” Nicole whispered and walked closer.
With the dim light hitting Nicole it seemed as if she was nude in red six-inch Jimmy Choos. At a closer look she was sporting a nude-colored mesh crotch-less body suit. “What’s this about?” Keisha asked, walking pass her toward the kitchen, heading to snatch a drink out the fridge.
“I thought we’d make it official tonight and stop pretending to just be roommates. I care for you. I wonder where you are, who you with, when you coming home because, I’m cooking dinner for you. Keisha, there’s nothing I won’t do for you,” Nicole said from across the room.
When Keisha heard Nicole’s words she choked on the OJ entering her mouth. She had a strange feeling that this was going to happen. Keisha didn’t have a clue on what to say. Staying with Nicole was out of desperation and now it was obvious she expected more.
“Keisha, talk to me. I just spilled my heart out and you have nothing to say? This is what I’m talkin’ about. If our communication ain’t right, I won’t know what’s going on with you. Now talk to me,” Nicole insisted with her arms folded across her chest.
Keisha felt trapped. There was nowhere to run. With juice spilling from the sides of her mouth she answered, “I don’t wanna sound ungrateful, but I don’t want this. I don’t want to be in a relationship. I don’t want the constant contact. I need some space.” Keisha flicked on the kitchen light switch to see Nicole’s reaction.
“Space? You have your space. I’m not on top of you twenty-four-seven. If you felt that way about it why continue to sleep in my bed then?” Nicole walked over to the stereo and pushed the off button.
“You invite me into your bed every night since I came up in here. I’ll sleep on the sofa if that’s what it’ll take for you to slow yo’ ro’. Look, I do appreciate everything you doin’ for me right now, but if this what you want I can’t continue to stay here. That’s on some real shit,” Keisha said, walking closer to her.
“Oh I get it. So when you was fucking me that meant what exactly? Was it just ’cause I let you stay with me?”
“Come on, now; you and I both know what that was. Strictly sex, nothing more,” Keisha answered, hoping to shut her down a bit.
“Really, just sex, right. So who was that on your phone? Is that who you want to be with?”
Keisha looked at her funny. “What are you talkin’ ’bout now?” Keisha looked confused, not knowing who she was talking about.
“Give me yo’ phone and I’ll show you.” Nicole put her hand out.
“Why should I give you my phone? So you can break my shit? C’mon, ma, I ain’t that stupid.” Keisha had to laugh at her request.
Nicole rolled her eyes and walked over to the dining table, picking up her cell phone. She turned to Keisha and handed it to her. “Here, take my phone. If I break yours you can break mine; that way we in the same boat.”
“Like you don’t have two more just like it,” Keisha said, reaching into her back pocket, taking out her phone. “I swear, Nicole, if you break my shit I’m smashing yo’ phone and everything in this bitch.”
Nicole rolled her eyes and snatched the phone out Keisha’s hand. Quickly she pressed on the screen, and then she faced the phone for Keisha to see.
On the screen showed the one picture of Shawna naked on
LaRhonda’s bed. Keisha took that picture the night Shawna was drunk and allowed her kissing to go further.
“That’s my best friend. I took that pic so she could send it to her boyfriend. I just never erased it out my phone,” Keisha lied.
Nicole looked at Keisha with a smirk on her face. “Is that why you got that only pic in a so-called hidden folder on your phone?”
She was caught. The pic was loaded into a hidden folder. The only question in Keisha’s mind was, how in the hell did she figure out her password? Keisha took her phone out Nicole’s hand. “How did you get into that?” Keisha’s asked seriously.
“You don’t worry about that. Just tell me the truth.”
“It is the truth!” Keisha screamed.
“You know what, Keisha, I think you right. This ain’t gonna work out; maybe you should just leave.” Nicole’s voice trembled with tears falling from her eyes.
“It’s midnight right now; where the fuck you want me to go?”
“Why don’t you go back to that roach motel you was staying at. But before you leave you owe me at least a G for putting you up for these past weeks.” Nicole slipped out of her six-inch heels and patiently waited for Keisha to respond.
“You know what, Nicole, why is it every time we get into it and shit ain’t goin’ yo’ way you ask me for fuckin’ money? That shit is lame as hell. You know I don’t got the money or else I wouldn’t be staying with you.” Keisha’s temper was building.
Nicole could tell Keisha was upset, but her next words were proven to show Keisha’s true colors. “Is it that you still don’t want nobody to know you gay? You can’t handle someone looking at you sideways ’cause you like pussy instead of dick? Or is it that being with me will force your ass to fully come out? You scared?”
Keisha smacked her across the face.
Nicole exited the room, sobbing, and slammed the bathroom door.
Keisha stood there momentarily, listening to Nicole cry loudly. Her whiny moans seemed to get louder. Keisha walked toward the bathroom, standing in front of the door. “Nicole, open the door,” she said in a soothing voice.
Girls From da Hood 8 Page 17
