by Briann Danae
“Alright. Yeah fasho. I’ll shoot you an email soon as we get off of here. Let me know when he back in town,” Vino said, before disconnected the call.
He was talking to Mel’s manager and the two were scheduling a time to meet. With Shemel being out of town for the next couple of weeks, a scheduled meeting would definitely have to be arranged. Vino’s impromptu style of doing things was not going to work for this occasion. He didn’t mind though. He was quickly beginning to learn that timeliness was all a part of business and scheduling was key.
Slipping his phone into his pocket, he let his eyes roam over Reilyn before looking at Bones. He was laid back with his hand behind his head, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. He had to play the cool role so it wouldn’t seem obvious. Not new to putting on a front, he nailed the act effortlessly.
“Wassup nigga,” Vino asked Bones, while slapping hands.
“I can’t call it. In here checking on yo guest. You know not to leave a pretty lady around me,” Bones chuckled.
“She ain’t checking for you man. Shit, I hope not,” Vino joked.
“No. Definitely not,” Rei replied in a snobbish tone, but grinned.
“Shoulda brought one of yo homegirls through. Shit, I wouldn’t even be in here if you had,” Bones said, making Reilyn roll her eyes. He knew exactly how to get back at her spoiled ass.
“You a fool man. Aye, but check this. I just got off the phone with Young Mel’s manager and shit. We gone set something up so we can meet. My nigga, we about to be on,” Vino grinned, nodding his head to the inaudible beat in his head.
“That’s light work my nigga. We really about to be on,” Bones replied.
“In more ways than one,” Vino said back.
He didn’t know at the time, but that statement was most definitely true. His and Bones plans were alike. They both wanted to come up. Vino, with his music career and Bones with his pockets. What he had planned would have his name buzzing around town and no longer be labeled as Vino’s dark-skinned friend. He wanted a name for himself, and at the time, didn’t care how he got it.
On the sly, Rei and Bones exchanged glances. They were both equally bursting with excitement on the inside watching everything fall into place. It was only a matter of time before it was go time, and from there, there would be no looking back.
“I’ll catch you later my nigga. I’m about to head to the east real quick with my folks. You be straight ma,” Bones said, giving Rei a head nod and pulling Vino in to bump shoulders.
“You be safe out there and don’t forget I got a session later on at the stu,” Vino reminding him, shortening the word studio.
“I won’t. I’ll slide through when I’m done,” Bones said, walking out the front door.
Looking at the interaction between the two, Reilyn shook her head. The two men had grown up together, but that didn’t mean shit when it came to greed. Bones wanted to take Shemel’s life for no reason whatsoever. His reasoning for doing what he had planned was that Shemel “thought he couldn’t be touched”. With his family having the streets of St. Louis on lock and his name buzzing throughout the city for his music, Bones wanted to bring him down a notch or two.
He approached Reilyn about the idea some months back and she declined without hesitation. She would never do anything like that to Shemel, even though he had somewhat cut her off. The love was still there or what she thought was love. The two started seeing each other right after Shemel broke it off with her. Being the schemer he was, Bones saw the perfect opportunity to destroy Shemel and hopped on it. It just so happened, Vino was about to play a role in their plot and didn’t have a clue.
Bones didn’t grow up with much, and his mama could barely keep a roof over his and his siblings head for months at a time. All three of her kids were by different men, who never stepped up to the plate. Her first baby daddy, which was Bones father, tried to help out, but she was so money hungry, and attention-seeking that he cut her off. Even when he tried doing right by her, she would do something grimy. The last straw for him, was her stealing his credit card and maxing it out, with no explanation as to why she did it. She knew Bones would provide for her in a heartbeat, but he couldn’t anymore, so he left. It wasn’t about the money… never was. She was simply a habitual liar and the characteristics seemed to be placed deep inside of her offspring.
“My fault for making you wait in here by yourself. I really needed to take that call,” Vino explained.
“No worries, I understand. Young Mel is definitely someone I’d like to work with too,” Rei smirked.
“What? You rap or something?” Vino asked chuckling. If she said yes, he was about to make her spit some hot shit right there on the spot.
“Hell no. He just seems like a cool person; that’s all. I can barely hold a tune,” she said laughing.
“He good people from what I seen. And nah, we don’t need you in here busting out windows and shit. Keep them vocals to yourself,” he joked.
“I surely will. So what’s up Mr. Vino? What you got planned for me today?”
Vino stood back licking his lips. The spread of Reilyn’s thick hips and juicy thighs had him ready to recant on what he told his boys. Sex wasn’t the first thing on his mind when he approached her in the mall, but it surely was now. She was so pretty to him, and her personality was one he hadn’t dealt with before. He didn’t know the real Reilyn though and would soon regret his decision on choosing a “pretty face”.
“It’s whatever ma. I just wanted to be around you. Get a feel for who you are. Tell me about yourself?”
Silently sucking her teeth, Reilyn fake grinned. Vino was cute, hell he was sexy with his young ass, but she knew she couldn’t take it there. Him getting all into her personal life came with the territory of the role she was playing and she did not like it one bit. On the contrary, no one had ever asked her such a question, besides Shemel. To her beliefs, there wasn’t much to tell. With a shrug of her shoulders, she began to reply.
“I hate this part. Let’s see. I’m twenty-four. The only child, thank God. I’m a huge fan of the Cardinals, by default. I was practically raised in the stadium thanks to my dad. I like to go out with my girls and have a good time. Um, what else,” she said pondering. “Oh! Let’s not forget shopping. I love to shop and spend other people’s money,” she replied with a smirk.
Vino chuckled at her last statement, but knew she wasn’t playing. He could tell from her approach she was spoiled. The mentioning of being an only child confirmed what he already knew.
“Other people’s money huh? You sound like my nigga Dom,” Vino said, referring to west coast rapper Dom Kennedy. He was in the list of top ten rappers Vino thought was slept on.
“I love Dom! He smooth with it,” Rei exclaimed grinning.
“Yeah he nice. That’s wassup though. What ya pop’s do that got you into the Cardinals?”
“He’s the head person over the marketing department. Has been years now. They weren’t always my favorite, I’m not going to lie. They grew on me over the years.”
Agreeing, Vino nodded his head. Ever since the Cardinals won the World Series some years back, it seemed as though a lot of bandwagoners’ hopped aboard. He wasn’t one though. He had been a fan before the ship was even won.
“Damn. He need to hook me up with some tickets.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Rei laughed.
Just as Vino was about to respond, her phone chimed indicating she had a text message. Seeing it was a picture sent by Neka to the group, Rei placed her thumb over the middle button and unlocked her phone. Clicking on the picture, she jumped for joy on the inside with a smile on her face. Neka had sent over a screenshot of Brix’s flyer for an event she was hosting. Reading over the details, she saw it started at two o’clock. Looking at the time, she had about three hours to spare. She wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to fuck with Brix for anything. Even if she had to cut her visit with Vino short, her attention was back to her first victi
m of choice.
“You smiling pretty hard over there. That’s yo nigga texting you?” Vino joked.
“I’m single love. But if you must know, this is my friend. She just sent me the info to her tasting she’s having in a few hours. I’m so proud of her,” she said, faking excitement. The lies even tasted bad coming from her lips, but she’d never show it. Always stay in character, she reminded herself in her head.
“Congrats to her. You need to help her prepare or anything?”
“No no. She just asked me to show my face. Told me today was not about working, just simply showing support and that’s what I plan to do,” she grinned mischievously.
“That’s wassup. You got some time to kick back with me? You just got here and shit,” he asked.
“Yes. I have a few hours. What you have in mind?”
The thought of fucking with Brix had her aroused. She couldn’t stand that Shemel had fallen for her like he did and wreaking havoc in her life was going to be a joy. Licking her lips, she bit down on her bottom lip before flicking her long hair. Putting on her seductive act, Vino fell for it head first.
“Shit I got a few things in mind if you down,” he said rubbing his head. He had a few hours to spare before he went in the studio as well. The earlier he got in, the more he could record.
“I’m down for whatever,” Rei replied standing up.
She knew having sex with Vino was against the rules, but when had she ever followed them? Bones was just going to have to take this L. Vino didn’t seem like the type to run his mouth about the women he smashed, and she was right. He didn’t run his mouth about the women. They usually told on themselves. As long as Bones didn’t find out, she was in the clear. If he did, she’d handle the situation when it presented itself.
Liking what he heard, Vino waited as she gathered her belongings. Directing her toward his room, he smacked her ass that was sitting up perfectly in her jeans. He was about to find out just how down she claimed to be.
Eleven
“Ma! Can you bring out some more cupcakes please,” Brix yelled into the venue’s kitchen.
The tasting party started over an hour ago, and the three trays of cupcakes had already been demolished. A Sweet Delight by Brix, was a last minute event. With the weather getting a little warmer outside, she decided that now would be the perfect time to market her skills before the summer arrived. With her website being the main source of contact and word of mouth being how she received so many clients, she wanted to do more. She had to.
Brix had aspirations of taking her baking skills to another level. She wanted her delicious baked goods to reach the mouths of thousand, not just hundreds. Thinking big, but starting small to work her way up, a tasting event was a perfect way to reel more customers in. If they left here satisfied today, they’d more than likely be using her services in the future.
With a smile on her face, Brix greeted everyone at each of the tall tables. She had the company she rented out the venue from to place a few chairs around for those who wanted to sit. Otherwise, they had to stand. It was a way of getting people to interact with one another without being given an option to stay seated the whole time.
“Hi. How does everything taste?” she asked a married couple who attended her church.
“Honey, everything is delicious! Why have you not entered the baking contest at the church? You would win by a landslide,” the woman said, chuckling.
“I left that up to the older adults. It’s way too competitive, and this is something I love. I’m sensitive about my work,” she answered.
“Oh, child hush. You can bake your little tail off. Where is your mama so I can give her a pat on the back? Better hope the man you marry isn’t a diabetic,” she joked.
“Thank you so much. There she is coming from the kitchen now.”
Carrying a tray of red velvet, carrot cake, strawberry, lemon, and butter cupcakes, Mrs. Carla sat them down on the table and arranged them neatly. Following behind her was Carissa with a tray of cake pops and small plates filled with peach cobbler, apple pie, pineapple upside down cake, key lime pie and cheesecake. The cake pops were a new addition to her menu. A co-worker of hers volunteered to be the taste tester when she first made them and she had been addicted to them ever since. Starbucks had nothing on her.
Slipping on a pair of gloves, Brix began to assort the array of sweets out on the table. Like a swarm of bees, people began to line up for seconds, and for some thirds. She had made plenty just in case and was glad because it didn’t look like the crowd would decrease anytime soon. The support from everyone was real and was greatly appreciated.
“Girl. You gone give me a stomach ache with all this shit. Do you know how many slices of apple pie I’ve had?” Carissa asked, throwing her arm over Brix’s shoulder.
“Why you back there eating Ri? That’s not for you,” Brix chuckled. She should have known better.
“The hell it ain’t. All this work I’m doing, shit, I’m taking leftovers home too. I pray they don’t like the apple pie.”
“I can always make you your own pan girl. You act like I’m not the plug.”
“Here you go with this slang vocabulary. I’ma have to get on Shemel. He turning you into a hood chick,” Carissa laughed.
It was so funny hearing Brix talk that way. Sure, she cursed some, but she never indulged in the urban slang terms until recently. Carissa thought it was cute, while Brix adapted to the change seeing no issue. The more she hung around Shemel, the more she picked up on things. It was bound to happen. Soon, they’d start looking like each other. You usually do when you are around your mate for a while, which was freakishly weird to Brix. It happened with her and Drew when they were dating.
“I know what a plug is. I’m just the one of the bake goods. I got what they need, sweet or unsweet, just hit my line,” Brix said, making them break out in a good laugh.
Getting their selves together, they both began to walk toward the front of the building where Lexi sat passing out tickets. She wasn’t feeling well and thought it’d be best if she stayed clear of the food. What she had wasn’t contagious; it was simply a stomachache, and the thought of even standing for too long made her grimace. Sitting behind a table and smiling at people as they came in was good for her, as long as she was there to show her support.
Just as they made it to the front, Reilyn, Neka, and Raven strutted through the door. With a smirk on her face, she stopped in front of the table to read the menu on display. She had left Vino’s house an hour ago, went home and washed the sex smell from her body, and picked up her girls. She loved to drive them around. Very seldom did you see her in the passenger seat of one of their vehicles. It was just her way of being in charge at all times. She couldn’t help it.
Brix remembered her face from the morning she introduced herself at Waffle House. Getting a closer look and actually paying attention to her this time, she thought Reilyn was a pretty girl. Her outfit of choice screamed “look at me”, but other than that, she was a catch. Smiling, Brix introduced herself.
“Hi. I’m Brix. Welcome to my tasting. If you don’t mind, could you fill out a quick survey before stepping in. Your name will be entered into a drawing to have an event catered by me if you win,” she explained.
“Nice to meet you. Do we all have to fill one out?” Rei asked, holding the piece of paper in her hand like it was contaminated.
“You don’t have to. She said if you wanted to be entered into the drawing,” Carissa spoke up. She wasn’t feeling Reilyn’s vibe and immediately felt the fakeness spewing from her pores. She had always been a good judge of character when first interacting with people and home girls aura was completely off.
Turning her head, Brix looked at her with a forced grin. She saw the look on Carissa’s face and already knew she wasn’t feeling Reilyn. It didn’t matter though. This was her event and just like everyone else, the trio were here to taste. Vowing to always keep it professional, Brix clarified her friend’s words.
“No, not everyone has to. The other items just ask how you heard about the event. That part I would like filled out for my own personal reasons.”
Looking over her shoulder, Reilyn handed Neka and Raven both a half sheet of paper and a pen. The options were Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, through a friend or family member, and flyer. Circling the fourth option, not wanting to let it be known that she lurked her IG page, Reilyn laid the paper down in the stack of others to her right. Following suit, Neka and Raven circled their answers and did the same.
Raven had actually known all about the tasting, but didn’t mention it to her girls. She wanted to attend alone, but that opportunity was short-lived when Reilyn volunteered to pick her up. She knew who Brix was through her friend and knew that they were only going to be messy. Something she tried to stay clear of, but always failed dealing with Reilyn. She was bound to be in some mess whether she liked it or not.
“Enjoy yourselves and let me know how everything tastes,” Brix said, as they walked further into the facility.
As they walked away, Carissa, Brix, and Lexi all watched. Their attire for the event was too much, except for Raven. Rei and Neka dressed like they were getting ready for a fashion show and be damned if they came in second place. Knowing that Brix was the competition now, dressing any less appealing wouldn’t suffice. They came to make a statement and that they did.
Waiting until they were out of ears reach because she knew Brix would trip, Carissa laughed and shook her head.
“Were they serious?” she asked cracking up.
“Girl. All that make-up for what, though? Caked up more than the sweets themselves,” Lexi said, as they slapped hands.
“Will you two stop? Y’all don’t know them,” Brix said chuckling. She couldn’t help it. Neka’s makeup was caked on so much; it looked like it was going to fall off her face if she smiled too hard.
“I don’t give a damn. They know better than that. Then gone have the nerve to hold the paper like she was obligated to fill it out,” Carissa said rolling her eyes.
