Get Over It

by Nikki Carter

  “I know how you feel about Sam, DeShawn. You don’t have to remind me.”

  “Do you really know how I feel about him?” DeShawn asks. “I don’t think you do.”

  “To tell you the truth, I think you’re jealous of him.”

  “I am, but not for the reasons you think.”

  “You’re not jealous of his money and his career?”

  Now DeShawn looks at me crazy. “I know I’m ambitious, but I’m not all about fame and money. I can’t believe you think I’m that shallow.”

  I don’t know how to reply to this, because that’s one of the things about DeShawn that gives me pause. I really think he’s all about the money and the lifestyle. He loves that I’m a pop star—maybe even more than I do. And that scares me.

  “I’m jealous of Sam because he’s gotten to hold you, and kiss you. He’s gotten to claim the title of boyfriend even if it was briefly. I’m just the friend who’s attended some events with you. I want more. I want what that dude threw away.”

  Gulp. I’ve never heard DeShawn speak with such intensity, and the gaze of his brown eyes matches his speech. Two girls sitting near our table give him a round of applause.

  “That was beautiful!” one of the girls says.

  The other one chimes in too. “If she doesn’t want you, I’ll give you my number!”

  Some heffas are so rude. If I was sure that there was no one in this Starbucks with a cell phone video, I’d really tell her off.

  “Come on, DeShawn, let’s go outside. I’d like to have the rest of this conversation in private.”

  DeShawn jumps up to pull my chair out even though I’m almost out of my seat by the time he gets around the table. He races in front of me to hold the door. He’s always polite and gentlemanly, so that’s one thing he doesn’t have to learn.

  “DeShawn, I respect your feelings,” I say once we’re away from the rude girls. “But I don’t do ultimatums. I can’t force myself to feel ready to commit to you. It’s not fair for you to ask me to do that, either. If we finally get together, it should be organic. It shouldn’t be forced or planned.”

  Suddenly, DeShawn pulls me close to him, and kisses me softly and sweetly on my lips. It’s surprising, but not unwelcome. I stop short of kissing him back though.

  “Was that okay? Are you mad at me?” he asks.

  “It was nice, DeShawn.”

  “Oh, because your facial expression says something totally different.”

  “Well, I just think you should probably ask a lady if you’re going to kiss her.”

  “I didn’t think you’d say yes, and I thought this might be the only chance I had.”

  DeShawn’s hopeful facial expression reminds me of the look that Piper has on her face when she thinks of becoming a Gamma Girl. I think he’s romanticized me to the point where I’m perfect in his eyes, and I am so far from perfect.

  I’m the exact opposite of perfect.

  The first thing that popped into my mind when DeShawn kissed me was Sam’s face. What type of chick thinks about her cheat-prone ex-boyfriend when she’s being kissed by a hot guy whom half of the girls on campus would kill to be with? Only me, a dum dum.

  “Okay. The Spring Step Show. I’ll tell you then how I feel. But you’ve got to promise me one thing.”

  “Anything.”

  “Promise me that, no matter what happens, we’ll stay friends.”

  DeShawn tilts my chin up toward his face. “I can’t promise you that, Sunday. You don’t get the easy way out.”

  “Why are you the only one that gets to make ultimatums?” I ask.

  “Because I’m the one who has everything to lose.”

  He’s not the only one who has something to lose. DeShawn is an awesome friend. I don’t want to lose him if my heart chooses Sam. But I guess it’s not fair for me to try and keep him all to myself when there are plenty of girls who’d love to put him in the number-one spot, when I have him in a tie for first with Sam.

  “You ready to go?” DeShawn asks. “I’m all tense now. I need to go and do some yoga or swim some laps or something.”

  “I got you frustrated?” I ask with a giggle.

  “Yep. You and the purity posse got a brother getting more buff than I’ve ever been. Look at my arms!”

  DeShawn flexes his muscles and smiles at me. Those biceps are so nice that I want to reach out and touch them, but I won’t. Not until I answer his ultimatum.

  “You already know you’re not going to choose me, don’t you?” DeShawn asks.

  “Well, you know things with your head, and my mind is not doing the choosing. It’s my heart.”

  DeShawn speaks down toward my chest. “Sunday’s heart? Are you in there? Hi, this is DeShawn. I know that the other dude broke you, and it was touch and go for a while whether or not you’d even survive. But you’re still here. And I’m here. Please don’t pick the other dude again. Save yourself.”

  “Do you think my heart heard you?”

  “I’m sure it did.”

  I’m glad he’s sure because, right now, I’m not sure about anything. It would be nice if my head was picking the guy, because then I’d follow the logical choice and pick DeShawn.

  Logic and ultimatums. Yeah, I’m sure my heart isn’t hearing any of that.

  5

  Is That a Baby Bump?

  Black Celebrity Gossip insiders spotted music’s hottest IT couple, music executive Evan Wilborn and his artist fiancée, Drama. With a new album dropping in a week and a wedding planned at the end of the month, they sure have a lot going on. But is there a reason these two are racing to the altar after only dating a few months? Can anyone say “shotgun wedding”? Drama, who normally sports barely there fashions, is now wearing baggy tops that hide her midsection. Sounds like a little diva or divo is on the way. This comes right on the heels of Mystique and Zillionaire announcing their new addition. Drama has found a way to upstage Mystique again! Looks like these two will be duking it out on the record charts and in the maternity ward. Keep checking back for more updates!

  This blog is beyond annoying! Evan knows the girl who started it and who writes most of the articles. They are cool enough for him to leak music to her, so I wonder if he leaked this story too. Dreya didn’t want anyone to know she was pregnant until after she and Evan were already married.

  “Sunday, can I borrow your laptop?” DeShawn asks as he plops down on the couch next to me munching a huge bowl of cereal.

  “What happened to yours?”

  “Nothing. Yours is just better. It has a faster Internet connection. What you looking at?”

  I close the browser window. “Nothing important. Here, you can use my laptop until I need it.”

  I keep waiting for DeShawn to act abnormal since we had our conversation and he made his demands, but he’s not acting different at all. He’s still making jokes, stealing my cereal, and begging to use my laptop. Even though the ultimatum has been issued, he’s not demanding an answer every moment.

  Gia walks into the family room wearing a very cute, but very short, miniskirt, a sheer blouse, and a sparkly tank top. She smells like vanilla and coconut, and her afro is picked out to symmetrical perfection and held back with a thick, shiny headband. Her large hoop earrings and shiny glossed lips make her look like a seventies throwback.

  “You look cute!” I say. “Looks like somebody in this house has a social life.”

  Gia smiles. “Yeah, I’m going to a poetry reading with a few friends.”

  “Is Rashad one of those friends?”

  Gia winks. “He could be, but I won’t say for sure since we’ve got spies in the midst.”

  DeShawn gives her attitude. “I don’t care who you’re going out with, Gia. I think you want Ricky to know anyway, though. You should just go ahead and invite him with y’all.”

  “This has nothing to do with Ricky. We’re broken up, so he has no say whatsoever in whom I see or where I go.”

  Piper walks into the room wearing her y
oga attire, and with her hair piled on top of her head in a bun.

  “Where are you going?” she asks Gia. “Did you forget we were supposed to be doing yoga this evening?”

  Gia’s eyebrows shoot up, so I’m sure she’s definitely forgotten her plans with Piper. “I’m sorry, girl. I forgot. Can I have a rain check?”

  “Yeah, I guess. What about tomorrow night?”

  “Can’t,” Gia replies. “We’re going to the Gamma Phi Gamma house to choreograph the step, remember?”

  “Oh yeah. That’s right. I better get up on the Gamma Girl schedule now that I’m an apprentice.”

  “Apprentice?” DeShawn says. “That sounds pretty degrading.”

  “No, it doesn’t! I’m in learning mode right now. I have to learn the ropes.”

  DeShawn hands my laptop back to me. “You can go back to surfing the Web while I work out.”

  “You’re going to work out? Why doesn’t anyone invite me to work out?” I ask.

  All three of my friends stare at me like I have a horn growing out of the middle of my head. Okay, maybe they have a point. I don’t really like . . . well, actually I hate working out. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t ask me.

  “Oh, whatever!” I say. “I’m about to do some work in the studio anyway, haters.”

  “On that note, I’m outta here,” DeShawn says. Every time we mention the studio he gets uncomfortable, maybe because of Sam, but I think he doesn’t want me doing music with any male producer.

  I nod and wait for DeShawn’s expression to change. It doesn’t. He either has a great poker face or he doesn’t care. But based on our conversation yesterday, I’m going with the whole poker face thing. He leaves the room, still looking completely nonchalant.

  “Is Sam coming over?” Piper asks when DeShawn leaves the room.

  “You’re about to have a love triangle on your hands,” Gia says.

  “I don’t think so. DeShawn won’t compete. If I decide to get back with Sam . . . it’ll be a wrap.”

  “So that option is on the table?” Gia asks.

  “I don’t know. . . .”

  The doorbell rings before I finish my thought. “That’s probably Rashad,” Gia says.

  “Oh, he’s picking you up?” I ask with widened eyes. “I didn’t know he was coming here.”

  I follow Gia into the parlor so I can meet her new boo. Ricky and Kevin both stand at the top of the staircase. Kevin glares down at Gia, but Ricky’s expression doesn’t betray his feelings.

  “You look nice, Gi-Gi,” Ricky says.

  “Thanks,” Gia replies.

  Kevin shakes his head. “That skirt is too short. Half your behind is hanging out. I’m calling Auntie Gwen.”

  Hope pushes past the two of them and bounces down the stairs fully dressed. “Move, haters,” she says.

  Her perfectly relaxed hair is in loose spiral curls and pinned up on one side. Her preppy style is the opposite of Gia’s eclectic look, but it totally works for her.

  “You’re going?” Ricky asks.

  “Yes. It’s called a double date,” Hope replies.

  Gia frowns at Ricky and Kevin. “If y’all are gonna stand up there mean mugging, I’d appreciate it if you’d go back in your room.”

  “I’m not mean mugging,” Ricky says. “Rashad is my boy. Let him in.”

  Gia pauses for a moment more as if she expects the boys to move, but they stand firmly in place. Kevin has a fierce scowl on his face and his arms are folded across his chest. Looking like the straight-up hater that he is.

  Gia opens the door, and two very handsome guys are outside. Gia beams a smile and then hugs the extra-fine one with the locks. “Come in! I want you to meet my landlady.”

  “That’s all I am?” I ask. “Wow!”

  “You know I’m playing, girl! Rashad and Neeko, meet Sunday Tolliver. You all know the two standing at the top of the stairs.”

  Rashad looks up and Ricky and gives him a curt head nod. Ricky responds with the same. Can somebody say awkward?

  I have to say, though, Gia has great taste in boys. Brown-skinned Rashad is wearing a snug cotton button-down that outlines a very, very nice physique and his jeans fit perfectly. They’re not sagging, but they’re definitely not skinny jeans. He actually looks like a model. And those locks are flawless. A lot of guys I see with them don’t keep their hair up, but Rashad’s look fresh and clean.

  Hope’s date is no slouch either. He’s one of those buttery-complexioned guys with hazel eyes, but he’s clearly an athlete too. I’m glad Piper is somewhere doing her downward-facing dog or sun salutations, because she’d have a coronary that Gia and Hope didn’t find her a hottie too. Her love life has been in total struggle mode since she found out her ex-boyfriend Linden was dating Meagan at the same time.

  “Well, have fun, ladies, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” I say as they prepare to leave.

  “Can we be specific with that please?” Kevin asks. “No fornication of any kind.”

  Everybody, including Ricky, bursts into laughter. This makes Kevin even more irritated. He is clearly uncomfortable with this situation.

  “Don’t worry,” Rashad says. “I always treat Gia like the royalty that she is.”

  “Well, let’s go!” Gia says.

  Hope follows her lead as they rush out the door ahead of the boys. Rashad looks up at Ricky as if he wants to say something, but then he doesn’t. After the door closes, Ricky crosses his arms over his chest and frowns.

  “Sunday, you do know that I love Gia, right?” Ricky asks. “Why would you all encourage her to go out with that guy? I mean . . . anyone but him.”

  “I had absolutely nothing to do with that! Talk to Piper and Hope.”

  “Yeah, but she listens to you,” Kevin says. “You should tell her that kicking it with that guy is a bad idea.”

  I stare blankly at Ricky and Kevin. I don’t know why they think I have so much influence. And furthermore, I don’t see anything wrong with Rashad.

  “Rashad seems all right to me,” I say.

  “But he’s not her true love,” Kevin says.

  I just have to shake my head and walk away. Did this dude really just say true love like we are a house full of fairy tale creatures? I love Kevin’s innocence, but he just crossed some imaginary line.

  I can hear him running down the stairs and following me into the family room, but I don’t want to respond to what he just said.

  “Sunday! You don’t believe in true love, do you? I do. I believe God has a soul mate out there for each one of us, and that when you meet them, you should hold on tight and never let go.”

  “Ricky broke up with her,” I say. “So maybe he doesn’t feel the same way you do.”

  “Of course he does. He just wants it to be special.”

  “What do you want me to do, Kevin?”

  “Be her friend. Convince her to stop seeing Rashad. It’s breaking Ricky’s heart.”

  I sit on the couch and run my fingers through my hair. “Okay, all right. I’ll do it. But I’m not making any promises.”

  “Thank you. They’re my two best friends, Sunday. It means a lot to me, and Ricky would never ask.”

  What part of the landlord game is this?

  6

  There’s something about a tight drumbeat and a banging bass line that gets my mind right. I feel it right down in the core in my being in a way that’s hard to explain. When the track is a perfect fit to my melody it’s like seeing a solar eclipse for the first time. Downright incredible.

  The only thing making this setting less than rapturous is Sam staring me down. I have no idea what’s wrong with him. I’ve let him back into my life, my music, and my studio. So, I’m thinking he should be as chilled out as I am, but instead he’s sitting across from me on my red leather sofa straight up mean mugging me. I stretch out on my comfy armchair and roll my eyes at him while this track plays.

  “What’s your malfunction?” I ask when he turns the track off.<
br />
  “Nothing. You like?”

  I nod. “It’s perfect for the melody. I love it. Have you thought about that country melody I sent your way?”

  “Nah, not yet. I listened to it, but I have no idea what to do with it.”

  “But do you like it?” I ask, now feeling a little bit insecure about the sound of it.

  “Usually, I’m not a fan of country, but it’s nice. It’s got your vibe all over it and the lyrics are the bomb.”

  “Okay, so why were you just looking at me like I had a third eye?” I ask.

  “Because, this . . .” Sam motions from the top of my body to down to my feet. “. . . is not the business.”

  I look down at my grey sweats, and shrug. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with what I have on.”

  “You look stale, like a loaf of day old bread.”

  Oh no, he didn’t! I sit up ramrod straight and say, “I don’t have to dress up for ex-boyfriends.”

  Sam smiles and clears his throat. “But you should get real fly for your future husband.”

  “And when I see him I will get all the way fresh and clean.”

  Sam grabs his midsection like I punched or stabbed him. “Ouch.”

  “You’re the one who tried it, boo boo.”

  “I did.”

  Sam shakes his head sadly as he pulls a CD out of his backpack. I didn’t mean to bust his bubble, but he need not get ahead of himself. I’m not ready to let him get back to boyfriend status, much less future husband. He should seriously consider slowing his roll, for real.

  “Listen to this,” Sam says, “and tell me what you think.”

  He pops the CD into the player and a bumping beat blares from the speakers. Then, I hear a girl singing a really catchy pop star hook, which totally makes sense because she is definitely a pop-star type of chick.

  “Whose record is this for?” I ask.

  Sam holds a finger to his lips shushing me. “Listen.”

  Then, on the verse, my homeboy and former Reign Records artist Dilly. Evan unceremoniously dropped Dilly from our label right after announcing his wedding plans to Dreya.

  “Was this gonna be on his album?”