“I did vote and I’m sure it helped,” Roc said.
Jada threw her hand back at him. “Roc, please. You a convicted felon. Convicted felons can’t vote, so stop playing.”
Several people laughed, including Roc.
“I am not a convicted felon. And even if I am, I still voted.”
“Nigga, quit lying. You didn’t get no pardon from the president, and if you did vote, I want to see your voter registration ID right now.”
I hurried to silence Jada. “He voted. I assure you he did.”
All heads turned in my direction. Jada touched her chest and stuttered. “I . . . I voted too, right?”
“Yes, you voted Democratic. I appreciate your vote.”
“I voted Democratic too,” Keith said. “Not ashamed to say it, and I voted for you because of your African American status.”
“I thank you for your vote, regardless.”
My eyes shifted to Chase who studied me, trying to see if I knew how she’d voted. I let her off the hook. “Thanks for your vote, too, and sometimes you have to switch parties.”
She smiled. “I did this time, only because I had a lot of faith that you would do the right thing.”
The only person sitting at the table I hadn’t looked at was Scorpio. She looked at me and shrugged.
“What can I say? I’ve been a lifetime Republican and I never had much faith in the Democratic Party. Sorry you’re on that team, but maybe you’ll consider switching parties, since the new and improved V.P. is a Republican woman.”
“Girl, shut yo mouth,” Jada shouted and slapped the table. “Ain’t shit about you conservative and how do you have faith in a party that don’t even respect black folks? Y’all fools get on my nerves with that mess. If I was the president, I would reach across the table and slap the shit out of you right now.”
“Jada, shut up,” Scorpio said. “I vote for whoever I want to, and at the time, I didn’t know enough about the president to cast my vote for him. I do, however, regret that I didn’t vote for him. He has proven himself to be the best man for the job, and at re-election time, I will cast my next vote for him.”
“Don’t make me throw up, please,” Jada said, sticking out her tongue. “I can’t with you, and from this moment on, I need to distance myself from you.”
“I feel you on that,” Chase added and defensively crossed her arms. “But I guess we forgot that she only half black anyway.”
For the first time, I witnessed Scorpio lose it. “Both of you bitches can go to hell. I am African American, and my vote is my vote. If don’t nobody like it, allow me to turn around so the two of you can kiss my ass. All of it.”
Her eyes shifted to me, but I made sure she knew I had no problem with her not voting for me. Things like that used to bother me, but not anymore. I guess if I’d lost, that may be a different story.
“I truly believe in letting people vote and vote for who they wish. Next time, however, for the sake of saving our country, I do hope you get it right.”
I was done with dinner, and as the others stayed to converse with each other, I headed outside to take in some fresh air. I kept thinking about what was happening at the White House, and before I knew it, it had gotten pretty late. I couldn’t sleep so I went to the theater room to watch movies. The first one was a comedy movie; the other was a war movie. I was very much so indulged while chilling back in the plush, leather chair with my feet propped on an ottoman. My hands were behind my head; I was more relaxed than I had been in months. The movie was almost an hour in, before I looked up and saw someone enter the room. I squinted, trying to see who it was because the room was pretty dark. But when the big screen lit up, I saw Scorpio standing by the door, wrapped in a blanket.
“Everybody was wondering where you had gone to,” she said. “They’re inside playing Twister and listening to music. Care to join us?”
“No, not tonight. Been a long day and it’s now time for me to relax.”
She headed toward me. “Is the movie any good?”
“It’s okay. It may be quite boring to you though.”
Scorpio sat in the leather chair next to me. She removed the blanket, laying it across her lap. Her nightgown was on. It cut right above her knees and was silk. The top part revealed a healthy portion of her firm breasts and her hard nipples poked through the silk fabric.
“I’ll watch for a while and then I’ll let you know if I think it’s boring,” she said. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all.”
For the next twenty minutes or so, we sat silently watching the movie. She yawned a few times, and I could see her eyelids fading every now and then. It was a long movie, and just as it was almost finished, Scorpio leaned her head on my shoulder and went to sleep. Some of her hair covered her face, and as she released light snores, I kept taking peeks at her. Beautiful she was, but beauty was never enough to move me.
JADA
I couldn’t believe that a whole week had gone by and there hadn’t been any fights yet. Now, I could have kicked a few people’s asses, but since everyone seemed to be getting along, I kept my little issues to myself. I continued to cook delicious foods for everyone, and just last night we had porterhouse steaks, baked potatoes, broccoli with cheese and a whole bunch of wine to top it off. Almost everybody had been getting toasted, with the exception of the president. He said he didn’t drink, and he told us an interesting story about his mother being an alcoholic. I really and truly adored the president. Maybe his presence caused everybody to get along, and it sure didn’t stop Roc and me from getting high. We had been creeping around getting lit like a mutha. He was my nigga—I swear he was. Lord knows if he wasn’t married to Desa Rae, he would be my soulmate. I told him that last night, but as usual, all he did was brush it off. We tried to be discreet with the marijuana, but with the smell all in our clothes, everybody knew what we’d been up to. Even the president, but he didn’t say much. All I could say was, this was nothing like the last time. It was a whole lot better, and on a daily basis, I reported to the Alex who I thought should win the million dollars. In return, he reported to me that my money had increased by twenty more thousand dollars. I was good with that.
My decision about the million dollars was based on how I felt that day. One day I was on Roc’s team, another day I was for Evelyn. She’d said some nice things about me, and she even apologized for leaving the table that day. Her apology seemed sincere to me, so that was why I voted for her that day. I’d even voted for Keith, even though I sensed that he thought I was too ghetto for him. The only person I did not vote for was Chase. I hated that heifer with a passion. No matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t get with her.
She had been all on the president’s nuts, but he hadn’t paid her much attention. And when she didn’t get attention from him, she turned to Keith. The two of them had gotten chummy over the past few days, but I also noticed that him and Evelyn had gotten close as well. I questioned that because her best friend was supposed to be engaged to him. In my opinion, something wasn’t right. Evelyn kept watching his every move, and when Scorpio admitted that she and Keith hadn’t gotten their freak on in the bathroom that day, both Chase and Evelyn seemed relieved. I was relieved for a while, too, because they all seemed to leave Roc alone. That was until I saw him and Scorpio outside late last night, talking and standing real close to each other. She kept whispering something in his ear. I wondered what she had said to make such a serious look appear on his face. He kept nodding his head, and when they headed to the bedroom, so did I. I was supposed to sleep in my own room downstairs, but to hell with that. It was scary down there, and more than anything, being down there at night was no fun. The president gave me his bed, while he chilled on the sofa. I hadn’t seen him sleep yet, and every time I got up to get me a middle-of-the-night snack, he was still up watching TV, reading or doing a crossword puzzle.
I’d thought it was early, but when I looked at the clock on the wall, it showed nine o’clock i
n the morning. Everybody’s bed was empty, and I looked around, thinking what a mess. Nobody’s bed was made, sheets and pillows were on the floor, shoes were strewn here and there and clothes were all over the closet. I called Alex yesterday to see if he would send over a maid service, but nobody had shown up yet. We needed something, because the people in this house, I guess, were used to being waited on. It was no secret that everybody was lazy, even the president who always left his socks in the living room. Every day he rocked a crisp shirt with slacks. Not once had I seen him in a pair of jeans or shorts. Whenever he chilled by the pool, his shirt was off, slacks were still on. Sunglasses shielded his eyes and observing is what he did best. Keith and Roc were hooked up though. Their bodies with all those tats were tight. I couldn’t get enough of looking at either of them. That was why I got out of bed, did my duties in the bathroom, got a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal and went to the workout room, where I figured the men would be. When I got there, everybody was there, except the president. I didn’t know where he was—his ass was always disappearing. But the loud treadmills were going, the TV was on and grunts from Keith lifting weights could be heard outside the glass door. I opened it, holding the bowl of cereal in my hand.
“Y’all be taking this workout shit too serious for me,” I said, looking around at Scorpio on an elliptical machine, Evelyn on a stepper and Chase jogging on a treadmill, next to Roc.
“Yeah, well, you need to get busy too,” Roc said. “Put that cereal down and get over here.”
“No, thank you. I’ll get my workout in later, trust me.”
I sat on the floor and started eating my cereal. While I was watching TV, Roc interrupted me again.
“Jada!” he shouted. “Come on, Ma. What in the hell are you doing?”
“Roc, please mind your own business. Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Concern yourself with what you doing.”
I sipped milk from the bowl, and then I hurried to the kitchen to get two iced cinnamon rolls that were fresh as ever. Icing dripped from the top, and as I went back into the workout room, everybody was looking at me.
“Damn that looks good,” Keith said, licking his lips. “Anymore of those left?”
“Yep. But I don’t know if it’ll be enough for everybody because I already had two last night.”
“I had one too,” Evelyn said, slowing down on the stepper. “They are good, but I need to finish my exercise before I tackle another one of those.”
I bit into the cinnamon roll, licking the icing from my lips. I could see Roc shaking his head, and then he said something to Scorpio that I couldn’t hear. She laughed and winked at him. I didn’t like that shit one bit, so I spoke up to get his attention away from her, especially since the workout gear she had on had her ass looking even plumper. If I was a man, I’d be trying to fuck her too.
“Roc, you’d better be careful on that treadmill,” I warned. “That’s the same one I got messed up on. You have to stay real focused on that thing or it will send your ass flying, trust me on this.”
Roc was jogging at a fast pace with his muscular calves on full display. His wife- beater was soaked from his sweat, and I had to lick my lips, again, from seeing all that sexy wet blackness.
“You got messed up on here because you didn’t know what you were doing. You gotta show this thing some love and use it for its purpose.”
Roc started jogging faster, and all of a sudden, the treadmill just stopped. Came to a complete halt, and his ass fell face first. When he bounced on it and hit the floor, I cracked the fuck up! The loud thud caused everybody to shut it down.
Chase got off her equipment to help him. So did Scorpio. “Are you okay?” Chase asked while reaching for his arm to help him off the ground. “That looked painful.”
He appeared to be in a daze as Scorpio and Chase helped him to his feet. As he stumbled and attempted to stabilize himself, he shook his head and brushed it off as if everything was all good.
“I’m all right. That . . . That muthafucka just cut off.”
“I warned yo ass, didn’t I?” I was still laughing hard. “That treadmill don’t like black people and it will fight back when you keep pouncing on it like that. You can’t get me back on that thing to save my life. I still got scars from when I fell off of it. You, though, need to check those white teeth you got and make sure they’re all still there.”
Not only was I laughing, but Evelyn and Keith started cackling too. Evelyn laughed so hard that she had to leave the workout room. Realistically, she wasn’t fooling anybody. Her ass was on the way to the kitchen to get one of those cinnamon rolls.
Roc looked so embarrassed as he limped away from the treadmill. Scorpio and Chase appeared really concerned about his ass. Their faces were scrunched, and Chase kept asking if he needed some help.
“It looks like your ankle is swelling, Roc. Do you want someone to call a doctor to come here and look at it?”
With a twisted face and eyes squinted, he waved her off while making his way to the door.
“I said I’m good.” He spoke in a nasty tone. “I just need to go sit down in the living room and prop my leg up.”
“Be careful,” Scorpio said. “I’ll get you an icepack, and if it looks too bad, Roc, I’m going to request a doctor for you.”
Roc didn’t respond. He walked out, and the second the door closed, everybody burst into laughter. They had me fooled because I seriously thought they were concerned about his fall. Scorpio was laughing so hard that she was holding her stomach. Chase had dropped back on a weight bench, cracking up. Keith was still at it—the fit of laughter went on for about ten long minutes.
“He hit that muthafucka hard!” I was barely able to catch my breath. “I told him, but he just didn’t want to listen. Y’all better stay off that thing. If you’re brave enough to get on it, good luck!”
“I’ll get on it,” Keith said as he walked over to it. “A treadmill is a treadmill, and the only reason Roc fell was because he kept turning his head, talking to you and Scorpio. It didn’t have anything to do with the treadmill not liking black people on it.”
Keith turned off the treadmill then turned it back on. He started slowly walking on it.
“Men are so stupid,” I said, shaking my head. “Y’all don’t believe fat meat greasy, and I’m not lying about how that thing feels about black people. You gon’ hurt yourself too, but if Scorpio get her mixed, light-bright ass on it, she’ll be good.”
Scorpio stopped laughing and put her hand on her hip. “Jada, don’t even go there, okay? I’m not in the mood to hurt your feelings this morning, so keep eating your cinnamon rolls and shut up. For the last and final time, I am B.L.A.C.K. black.”
“The only thing black on you is the hair on your head and pussy. Stop trying to claim something that you ain’t.”
Chase laughed louder, until Keith chimed in. “No black hair on her pussy for sure.”
“Thanks for validating that Keith,” Scorpio said, rolling her eyes at me. “I take good care of my shit, and you need to tackle that bushy armpit of yours that’s growing pretty wildly.”
“I planned on doing it today, but even after it’s gone, you still won’t be black. With that being said, I gotta go check on my Boo and make sure he’s okay. As for you, Keith, I’ma pray for you on that treadmill.”
I left the workout area, and as soon as I went inside, I saw Evelyn sitting next to Roc. She had an icepack in her hand and was rubbing it against his ankle that was propped on an ottoman.
“That feels guuuud,” he said with his head dropped back, eyes closed. “Damn that feels good.”
“I didn’t see anything I could wrap your ankle with, but if you put on a sock, it’ll keep the icepack in place.”
“I don’t need all of that,” he said. “Just keep massaging it and rubbing that icepack on it.” He lifted his head, looking over at me. “Can you get me a couple of aspirin, Jada? My ankle is throbbing just a little. I want to stop the pain before it gets too severe.”
>
“I don’t mind getting you any aspirin, but if you’re in pain, you need to let me call a doctor.”
Roc didn’t say anything, but that’s how men were. He was trying to keep a brave face, but after that fall, I knew something had to be broken. My phone was in the bedroom downstairs. And as soon as I reached the bottom stair, I could hear the president talking. I tiptoed over to a door that led to the storage area in the basement and placed my ear against it. I heard him laugh, and then his voice sounded more serious.
“Maybe in about another week or two,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to know about this and continue to keep a close eye on my mother.” He paused and then he spoke up again. “Keep an eye on her too. If she keeps asking, just say you don’t know. I haven’t figured out how I’m going to deal with her yet, and I’m still upset about everybody’s betrayal. If she hadn’t left, we wouldn’t be in this predicament.” He paused to listen again. But as my dumb ass tried to move in closer to the door, it squeaked. “Let me call you back later.”
I rushed away from the door, but by the time I made it to the bedroom, the president called my name. I pivoted, looking like a school girl who had gotten busted for cheating.
“I know we’re not supposed to utilize phones while we’re in here, but there are important calls I must make every day. Besides, I’m not really interested in winning the million dollars. I’m here for other reasons, if you don’t already know.”
I nodded and couldn’t help it that my thoughts had turned dirty. His voice, his mysteriousness, those lips and his powerfulness . . . all of it turned me on.
“You can use the phone whenever you want to. Who am I to stop you? I didn’t hear all of your conversation, but I did hear some of it. I hope everything will be okay with you and the first lady. If not,” I cleared my throat and giggled. “You can sleep down here any time, especially since I took over your bed upstairs.”
Hell House Returns 4: Reality TV Drama Page 7
