by T. N. Baker
“Epiphany.”
“Epiphany?” he repeated.
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s nice. It’s different.”
Epiphany smiled again, moving seductively to the music and taking a sip from her glass.
“What you drinking?”
“A mimosa,” she replied in a sexy but girlish kind of tone.
“Oh, word. So why don’t you come chill with me and have another one?”
She smiled some more. “Okay.”
“Yo, dude, let shorty through,” he said to the bouncer.
Epiphany gave the bouncer a mean “you should’ve let me through the first time” look as he shook his head and reluctantly unhooked the rope to let her through. She walked over to her new friend’s table, and he introduced her to four of his boys and two girls that looked like video hoes with all their assets hanging out.
“Okay, I know their names, but I don’t know yours,” she said. He gave her a dumbfounded look, like she was supposed to know who he was.
“That’s ’cause you ain’t ask.”
“I’m asking you now,” Epiphany replied.
“Wild.”
“Wild what?”
“No, that’s my name,” he said.
“Oh, okay!”
The two hit it off so well that she forgot all about the celebs in VIP and her girls. Wild entertained her with his conversation, jokes, and plenty of Veuve Clicquot mimosa refills.
Epiphany didn’t find him all that attractive. As a matter of fact, on a scale of one to ten, she’d rate him a flat five, but deep pockets and a free-hearted spirit could easily put him in the eight spot, especially if the dick was good. A big nigga like him had to be equipped with a get-up-in-ya-guts size dick, meaning twelve inches or more.
She learned that he was a music producer and owned his own company called Wild One Productions, with quite a few hits under his belt. Epiphany felt kind of bad for not knowing who he was from the jump. She loved the limelight niggas: Jay Z, 50 Cent, and P. Diddy, but she couldn’t give a fuck about the behind-the-scenes nigga laying the tracks—until now.
“Epiphany!” Keisha was standing next to the security guard.
“Yo, is that your friend calling you?” Wild asked.
Epiphany turned around and noticed Keisha signaling her to come over.
“Yeah, that’s one of them,” she said, getting up to see what Keisha wanted.
“Nah, hold up a minute.” Wild pulled Epiphany back down in the seat. “Yo, homes,” he called out to the bouncer. “Let her through.”
“Sorry, man, I can’t let no more through right now,” the bouncer replied.
“That’s all right. Let me just go see what she wants, okay?” Epiphany said to Wild as she got up and walked over to Keisha.
“What’s up, girl?”
“Nothing, but we’re ready to go.”
“Already?” Epiphany said, looking down at her diamond face Rolie, which only read three a.m.
“Yeah, I’m tired, and I think Shana had too much to drink.”
Epiphany sucked her teeth and let out a hard sigh. “Okay, just give me five minutes.”
“All right. We’ll be waiting by the exit.”
Epiphany walked back over to Wild with an agitated look on her face.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Nothing. I should’ve drove my own car, that’s all, but since I didn’t, I have to go.”
“Ahhh, come on. You can’t be serious. Our vibe is too good for you to go now.”
“Yeah, but my girls are ready now.”
“So then let them go and I’ll take you home.”
The offer sounded good, but Epiphany didn’t want to seem too thirsty. Besides, the last time she was with a guy, she ended up with a bullet in her chest, so it was best that she played it safe.
“Nah, I’m gonna go, but why don’t you take my number?”
“Oh, no doubt. Hold up. Let me put it in my phone,” Wild said pulling out his phone. “Okay now, what is it?”
Epiphany recited her number while he punched the keys on his phone and then repeated them back to her. “A’ight, sexy, I’ma holla at you.”
Epiphany blushed as she said good night.
“Damn, these bitches get on my nerves,” she mumbled under her breath, making her way to the exit.
Chapter 68
It was six in the morning when the all the yelling and screaming woke Epiphany up out of barely two hours of sleep. She hopped up out of bed, cracked the bedroom door, and stuck her head out to hear what the fuss was about. Being miss nosey, she wasn’t satisfied with just the earshot she had on Keisha and Tucker’s argument. She wanted to see what was going on as well. Epiphany tippy-toed over to the stairs and peeked down into the living room. She still wasn’t able to get a clear view, but she could hear them better.
“Who told you to pack my stuff up, Keish?” Not giving her a chance to answer his question, he continued, “Look, just unpack my things and put everything back where it belongs.” Tucker tried to rationalize without getting loud.
“I ain’t unpacking nothing.” Keisha said, shrugging her shoulders. “I want you to take it and go. Since you don’t want to be with me anymore, leave.”
“You got some fucking nerve.” Tucker laughed, pausing in disbelief. “I don’t believe you. You walk around here acting like I’m the bad guy, Keisha, but if I’m not mistaken, you’re the one that went out and fucked some gay-ass stripper nigga. You’re crazy if you think I’m leaving my house. You better be lucky I let you stay here.”
“What! You can’t make me leave. My name is on the deed too,” Keisha said.
“I don’t give a shit. My money paid for this right here, so act up if you want to, and word to my son, I’ll burn this bitch down and neither one of us’ll live in it. I ain’t trying to hear all that shit about your name. The only reason why you still here is because of my little man. You played me, and ain’t no way in hell I could forgive some shit like that.”
This was the first time Tucker had ever spoken about how he felt about what she did. He had finally confirmed it—it was over.
The only reason he lets me stay is because of the baby, huh, Keisha said to herself.
Tucker still loved her, but there was no way he could get past what she did, not now anyway. It might have been different if he heard that she fucked around, but seeing her get fucked by another dude, especially a stripper, left tainted thoughts of her in his mind. Watching her cry made him feel bad, but in all reality, she had done it to herself.
“Tucker, I’m sorry, baby. Please tell me you still want me. Please say we can work this out.” Keisha sobbed. “I’ll do anything. I love you so much. You’re the only man I ever loved and will ever love. I can’t live without you.” Keisha poured her heart out to Tucker as he sat on the couch with his head down, trying to take everything she was saying into consideration.
There was a moment of silence between the two. While Keisha waited for Tucker to say something, he was at a loss for words. Part of him wanted to push his pride to the side and wrap his arms around her waist, hold her tight, tell her how much he loved her, and tell her, “Yes, I forgive you.” The other part of him wanted to wrap his hands around her neck, squeeze the dear life out of her, and express the hate he felt toward her for playing him like she had.
Meanwhile, while Epiphany continued to get her ear hustle on at the head of the steps, she too waited impatiently for one of the two to respond. Her heart went out to Tucker as she watched him closely and imagined what her life might have been like if she had gotten with him instead of Mali. Tucker was fine, and she envied the kind of relationship Keisha had with him.
They were exclusive, and he adored her, so she couldn’t understand why Keisha, or anyone else for that matter, would jeopardize perfection to get dicked down by some cornball with muscles. Even though she couldn’t remember exactly what happened, she knew without a doubt that her strong influence on Keisha could have prev
ented her from making such a big mistake.
Still looking down at the hardwood floor, Tucker shook his head and finally broke his silence.
“Keish, I can’t . . . can’t fuck with you like that. You can stay here if you want, as long as you want. Just be a good mother to my son. That’s all I ask. I’ll still pay the bills, take care of my son, and do what I gotta do. But this is my house, and I’ll come and go as I please, so don’t be bringing no niggas up in here. You got that?”
Keisha didn’t answer. She just stood in front of him with her arms folded, tapping her feet while the tears continuously rolled down her face.
“Go get you some rest. You can put my stuff back when you wake up.” Tucker got up and walked out the front door.
“Keisha?” Epiphany called out as she stepped down to the middle of the stairs, where she saw Keisha balled up on the couch, crying.
Keisha didn’t answer.
Chapter 69
When Shana got home, K.C. was in the bed ,knocked out sleeping. The eight apple martinis she’d had at the club had her stumbling all over bedroom while trying to undress. Easing herself into bed, she stared at K.C. with disgust while he slept. Considering he had chosen not to come home the night before, she was furious.
Hopping up out of bed, Shana was looking for a fight. Creeping over to K.C.’s side of the bed, where his pants rested on the floor, she kneeled down and checked his pockets in search of condoms or anything that might indicate that he was fucking around. Deep down inside she didn’t want to believe that he was, but she wasn’t about to sleep on him neither.
Shana then took his cell phone from its charger and headed to the bathroom with it. She closed the door and turned on the faucet to drown out the sound of the keys on the phone as she pushed them to check the call history of all his incoming and outgoing calls.
No incoming or outgoing calls all day. Bullshit. She found it ironic that no data appeared on the screen. From that, she assumed he was guilty of foul play. Shana stormed back to the bedroom and threw K.C.’s phone at him, scaring him up out of his sleep.
“Bitch, what the fuck is wrong with you?” he yelled.
“You, muthafucka, that’s what. Where the fuck did you stay at last night?”
“Man, come on with all that bullshit. I tell you one thing: You throw something else at me like that again and watch me beat the shit out of you,” K.C. threatened.
“Fuck you, nigga. You better go beat on the ho you was with last night. And why the fuck you erase all the calls off your phone, you sneaky bastard?”
K.C. jumped up and grabbed Shana by her throat, pulling her down to the bed. “You nosy, drunk-ass bitch, keep your hands off my shit! The only reason I did that was to see if your sneaky ass be snooping through my shit.”
Shana struggled on the bed as she pulled at his hands, hoping to get him to loosen the tight grip he had around her neck. “Get the fuck off of me,” she cried.
“You gon’ shut the fuck up, right?” K.C. asked before he let her go, noticing how red her face had turned, along with the tears that were streaming down the sides of her face. He released her and started to laugh. “I bet you’ll stay out my shit now, won’t you?” K.C. said.
“K.C., just leave me alone,” Shana whispered, massaging her neck.
“Ahhh, come here,” he said, pulling her toward him, “I’m sorry, but you did hit me first.” K.C. pleaded his case as he began to fondle Shana’s breast.
“K.C., stop it.”
“What the fuck you mean, stop it? This is mine right here.” He grabbed in between her legs. “Right?” Looking dead in her face, he waited for the correct answer to come out of her mouth.
“Yeah, but—”
“A’ight then. Ain’t no buts.”
“K.C., for real, all jokes aside, are you fucking around on me?”
“Yo, why you bugging the fuck out with all this bullshit?” K.C. said, shaking his head, but still avoiding her question.
“I knew you was. You can’t even answer the fucking question,” Shana said, pushing his arms off of her so she could pull herself up.
“Sha, where you think you going? I ain’t fucking no other bitch. Stop tripping and chill out, a’ight?”
“Yeah, a’ight.” Shana was still not convinced, but she knew it was a no-win situation.
“Good. Now, here. Taste daddy. Make a nigga feel good since you woke me up,” he said, wiggling his hardness from side to side.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Shana was still sleeping when K.C. came in the bedroom, already dressed and smelling like weed. He tugged roughly on her shoulder.
“Yo, Sha, wake up. Come on, get up and fix me and the fellas something to eat.”
“Stop. Come on, no. I’m tired,” Shana barked, pulling the covers up over her head.
“Yo, get up and feed a nigga. That’s my word, yo, you slipping on your wifely duties. You don’t do shit around this muthafucka. Get up!” he yelled, snatching the covers off of her.
“You get on my fucking nerves.” Shana sucked her teeth, put on her sweats, and headed for the kitchen.
“I don’t give a fuck. After you feed me, you can leave. And yo, I don’t eat no pork.”
Shana didn’t bother to respond. He knew damn well that she didn’t fuck with swine no more. K.C. was no doubt an asshole, but part of his performance was for the benefit of his boys, Smitty and some new jack nigga named Ness, who were sitting in her living room. They seemed to find his disrespect toward her entertaining.
Shana was still paying Smitty and still trying to figure out how to get out of that situation. She couldn’t stand him, and K.C. was on her shit list too. She didn’t know shit about this new cat Ness, except he was paid, and rumor had it he was the one that ran C-God out of town. One thing was for certain: Her vibes never lied, and if he hung with those two, he was up to no good as well.
Chapter 70
“Keisha, I know you ain’t gon’ keep moping around here like it’s the end of the fucking world. You got to get it together, girl. Come on, get up. Your hanging out with me tonight,” Epiphany said.
“No, I’m really not up for it.”
“Keisha, how long are you gonna sit here feeling so damn sorry for yourself that you can’t even get up and go wash your ass? You need to get up, take a nice hot bath, and come on out and have some fun. You don’t even have to worry about finding anything to wear ’cause I already took care of that at the mall earlier, so come on.”
“Epiphany, where are we supposed to be going?”
“Out!”
“Out where?”
“To Lotus.” Epiphany started pulling the covers off of Keisha.
“On a Monday night?”
“Yeah, girl, that’s the night it be jumping. And damn, do it matter? You act like you got a job to be at in the morning or something. What’s with all the questions anyway? You ain’t got shit to do but sit up in here and be crazy depressed. You might as well get used to going out and meeting people. I’m pretty sure Tucker’s doing it.”
“I guess you’re right. Shoot, let me see that outfit,” Keisha said, absorbing all of Epiphany’s advice.
“That’s my girl. Now go wash your stinking ass, ’cause we gon’ party like it’s your birthday.” Epiphany started singing a verse from “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
* * *
That night was just the beginning. Epiphany and Keisha were doing the club thing hard. Every night of the week there was something popping off in the “City that Never Sleeps,” and those two were there.
Shana kicked it with them a few times, but like always, she was off doing her own thing. For Keisha, getting her party on was just what the doctor ordered. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. She even arranged for her son to stay in Atlanta for at least two more weeks, and the more she got her club on, the less she thought about Tucker.
One night, they were out at this spot named Cream. Epiphany noticed these three guys at the bar
buying Hennessy Privilege by the bottle.
Yeah, this is Privilege too, she thought, since they all seemed to be checking her out so hard. It got to a point were their stares started making her feel uncomfortable, like maybe they knew her or something. Then she saw Keisha walk over and talk to one of the guys.
Okay, now’s the perfect time to go over and find out what’s really good. Epiphany pranced over to the bar where they all were standing.
“Girl, I was looking all over for you,” said Epiphany, putting her arm around Keisha.
“You was? Oh, I was in that damn bathroom on that long-ass line waiting to pee. Anyway, you remember K.C., right?” asked Keisha.
“His face looks familiar, but I can’t really recall where I know him from.”
“Girl, this is Shana’s man. You don’t remember him?” Keisha questioned.
Epiphany rolled her eyes and gave Keisha the “Hello, stupid, that’s what amnesia means” look.
“Oh, damn. Sorry, girl. I forgot all about that,” Keisha said, realizing what that look meant.
“Hi, K.C. I’m sure Shana told you about my little accident, right?”
“Yeah, she ran that by me. How you making out though?” K.C. questioned.
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking,” Epiphany answered.
Meanwhile, Smitty and Ness kept their backs turned to avoid any chances of her remembering them. Although they had already been aware of Epiphany’s memory loss, they didn’t want to take any chances.
“Yo, B, that bitch really don’t remember us,” Ness whispered with a boyish giggle.
“Man, you believe that shit?” said Smitty, not easily buying into that amnesia act.
“Nah, that bitch don’t remember! She got more than a good look at me to recognize who the fuck I am, plus that weak-ass nigga C said my name. She badder than a muthafucka, though.”
“Yeah, I used to fuck with her. The pussy good, too. Word up, I can definitely vouch for that shit,” said Smitty with a laugh. “Shit, matter of fact, nigga, I can drink to that,” he added.
“Yo, you a funny muthafucka.” Ness laughed.
