“Yeah, man.” I half lied. I didn’t really know if Camarih would be there. Lately, she didn’t come to the studio, when before, she used to be in that bitch all the time. So I wasn’t too sure if she’d come to my show either. “What, you trying to fuck Camarih or something?”
“No! I just don’t like going places when I don’t know anybody, unless it’s for work.”
“You know me.”
“Not really.”
“Aight, well you will if you come tonight.”
“I will.”
“See you later, beautiful.”
“Boy.” She made us both laugh before hanging up.
Later that night… Showtime…
“’Sup, nigga? How you feeling?” Tony greeted me backstage.
“Straight.”
“How that meeting go earlier?”
“Cool. And you’ll be happy to know I told her ass we wasn’t together so she won’t expect nothing.” I nodded with a smirk.
“What’s popping with her brother? I seen that video. That nigga want smoke or some shit?” Tony’s lids lowered as he inhaled on the blunt between his fingers.
I wasn’t about to mention what Al had said about lighting his ass up, because Tony was crazy as fuck. If he got word on that, he’d be trying to ride out and kill that nigga tonight. Neither of us needed that right now, so I was gon’ keep that on the low. Plus, I believed Al wasn’t gon’ do shit.
“Nah, he was just bitchin’ ’cause I ain’t go see his damn sister. But that shit is settled.”
“Ready.” Camarih appeared. “Hi, Eitan.”
She had on a dress, but I noticed her stomach wasn’t flat like usual. In fact, the shit was round, and protruding. When I noticed it, my eyes darted up to Tony who was already looking at my ass.
“Speak back to my girl, muthafucka,” was all he said, hugging her from behind and caressing the bulge in her midsection.
“My bad. What’s up, Camarih.” I smiled. She looked good as fuck to be pregnant, which caught me off guard.
“We about to go sit. See you after, nigga.” Tony led Camarih off.
I watched until they got to the reserved table, and when my eyes landed on fine ass Rubie, I felt a surge of energy through my body. Rahim was here also, along with a few of the homies who always kicked it at the studio.
A couple minutes later, I was called onto the stage, so I said a quick prayer and went out to do my thing. It was a gang of muthafuckas here, but I didn’t let that shit sweat me because this was what I wanted.
Thankfully, everybody was fucking with all four songs I did, and when I was finished, I saw a long ass line at my merchandise table that Tony had set up. That off-kilter ass nigga thought of everything.
“Good job, bro! That shit was lit.” Rahim rose up to dap me when I got to their section. The other homies followed suit.
“Thanks,” I replied to them all as my eyes went back to sexy ass Rubie. Funny enough, she had on a ruby colored dress that looked nice as fuck against her chocolate complexion. “What’d you think?” I smirked.
“It was aight.” She grinned as everyone laughed. “Excuse me. I will be right back,” she added after checking her phone.
I took her seat once she left and chopped it up with everyone at the table. After a few minutes of talking though, Tony and Camarih started with that bullshit ass kissing. I didn’t know who this nigga was when she was around.
“Hey, can you sign this for me?” A girl appeared, holding one of the t-shirts she got from my table.
“Yeah, I got you.” I wrote on it, and when I looked up, she was eyeing Tony.
“Hi, Wacko.” She waved.
“’Sup.” He nodded.
“Bye. Thank you.” Camarih waved, staring the girl down who promptly walked away. The whole table chortled, including Tony as Camarih smacked his chest.
“Sorry about that.” Rubie appeared, but she had a nigga with her. He was cheesing hard. “Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Armonn.” Rubie gripped his hand in hers, smiling right at me.
“Oh, you the broke ass nigga,” Tony responded. And though I knew this nigga had no filter, even I was shocked as shit.
“Excuse me?” Armonn frowned in confusion, briefly glancing down at Rubie.
“You broke… You ain’t got yo’ own bread. Nigga, you speak English, don’t you?” Tony’s brows dipped.
“Oh my gosh, Houston.” Camarih massaged her temples.
“Please do not talk to my man like that.” Rubie piped in. I was still floored by Tony’s crazy ass. I could tell everyone at the table was holding in their laughter, right along with me.
“I’ll talk to that muthafucka any way I want to. He ain’t gon’ do shit about it.” Tony stared Armonn right in the eyes and laughed, bitching him out. “That’s why you ain’t got no fucking money; you a little hoe. Got the nerve to be wearing a fucking purse like you got some money on you.”
I heard Abel then Rahim snicker, and once that shit happened, the whole table let their laughter out.
“It’s called a belt bag.” Armonn corrected Tony, but it only made the shit funnier.
“You and that dick in the booty ass bag need to get the fuck on, ’fore we have an issue, bruh.”
This nigga Tony was trying to kill me via laughter. My damn side was in pain like a muthafucka.
“Look, I just came here to have a good time. I’m not trying to enter into any type of altercations.”
“I’m not trying to enter into any type of altercations.” Tony mocked him in an uppity ass voice, prolonging our chuckles.
“Where she find this nigga?” Abel inquired, drinking from his glass and shaking his head.
I was happy Armonn’s ass was getting roasted because I didn’t know why she brought the nigga here anyway. She knew I was trying to fuck with her, yet she invited his bitch ass.
“Get up out of here, bruh.” Tony refilled his glass, using the Hennessy bottle on the table.
“Can’t we just—”
“I said get up out of here.” Tony placed his heat on the table coolly.
Scowling, Armonn shook his head at Rubie and left.
“You are such an asshole, Tony!” She hollered over the music playing.
Tony ignored her as he put his gun up, while Rubie ran off behind her nigga.
“Why did you do that?” Camarih shook her head, obviously angry. “I won’t have any friends fucking with you.”
“’Cause the homie is trying to fuck, and she brought her bum ass boyfriend here on some funny shit. Plus, I’m the only friend you need anyway.” Tony started to kiss on Camarih’s neck, but she mushed his face, making him cheese hard as hell.
I laughed as I hopped up to chase after Rubie, hoping she hadn’t left yet. By the time I got out to the lot, I saw her chasing after a car before finally giving up.
“Was that yours?” I neared her.
“Yes. He came in an Uber, but now I’m gonna have to get one.” She pulled her iPhone from her small red purse.
“Nah, I can drive you. I’m done for the night.”
“That’s nice, but no thank you. Go back inside to join your rude ass friends.” She waved me off just as Camarih appeared.
“Rubie, I am so sorry. I can’t control his mouth.” Camarih moved closer to her.
“No, I know. It’s okay.”
“The next time we hang out, he will not be there.” Camarih giggled along with Rubie. “Did you need a ride home?”
“Nah, I got her.” I interjected, making Camarih glance my way.
“Yeah, he can take me, but thank you. I will text you when I get home.”
Camarih and Rubie hugged one another, before Camarih smiled at me and switched off.
“I parked over there.” I started walking and could hear Rubie following me.
After we got in the car, I started it up but let the car sit for a little bit.
“Are you gonna pull off?”
“Why you bring that nigga?”
“Do n
ot start after you let your friend in there humiliate me. If you liked me so much, you would’ve said something.”
“Said something? Why would I defend yo’ nigga if I like you?” She was out of her mind. “Wacko ain’t say shit about you, only him.”
“So what? It was still embarrassing to me for all those people to know my man borrows money from me or is broke!”
“Aight. My bad, Rubie. I invited you so we could kick it and so you could enjoy yourself, not get humiliated.”
“Whatever.”
“You knew why I asked you to come, so why you even bring his ass?” I had to know.
“Because I want you to understand that I’m not single. Seems like you weren’t getting the picture, so I thought maybe you were a visual learner.”
“Funny. But just because I see him doesn’t change my mind about you.” I watched her for a little bit as she looked down into her lap. “I think you’re curious about me too, or else, why would you even entertain me?”
“Maybe.”
I was jumping up and down on the inside.
“Okay, so why don’t we see where stuff goes?”
“No sex or anything.” She looked up and over at me. “I’m not that type of girl to sleep with two men at once.”
“Okay. What about kissing?”
Smirking, she shrugged, so I leaned over some to allow my lips to meet hers. It ain’t take long for our mouths to open and our tongues to tangle together.
“Okay.” She pulled away snickering after we kissed for damn near forever.
I pulled off, letting her direct me to her home. We listened to my songs the whole way there.
“Do you only listen to yourself?” she asked when I pulled over.
“Sometimes.”
Rolling her eyes, she replied, “I should’ve known. Typical light-skinned nigga.”
“Whatever. When you free again?” I touched her leg.
“How about you text me when you want to see me and find out?” She pecked me before I could say anything else and hopped out of the car.
I watched her prance off until she disappeared and let a grin spread across my face.
Tonight was only the beginning of me and Rubie, but Holli’s revelation was still nagging at me.
Shanece
Currently, I was at work, and there was another spread we were doing on the top 5 R&B singers on the up and up. Of course, Prince was here with his whole crew, and they were so over the top.
Prince was never someone who had a lot of sense, but today, he was doing the most and being a complete show off for the few ladies that came with some of the other singers. And like the groupie hoes that they were, they were falling for the shit.
“Okay, everybody. We will start shooting in about fifteen minutes. First, we’re going to get all the singers together in one photo, then you will branch off to do your own. If you have any questions or concerns or even need to use the restroom, address all that right now,” I announced before walking around the room to be sure everyone was good and ready for the day. This would be a long shoot, and the smoother it went, the less like work it would feel.
“Doing alright?” I quizzed Prince the same way I’d quizzed the three artists before him.
“I am.” He nodded. “Wait, wait.” He grabbed my arm, which I slickly moved from his grasp.
“Yes?”
“I see you been hanging out with Camarih.”
“How would you know that?” I felt my brows dip.
Neither me nor Camarih were heavy posters on social media, but we did post occasionally. Come to think of it, she and I had no photos together, so how would his ass know who she was hanging with?
“A few of y’all photos had the same background, so I knew y’all was at the same spot,” his stalking ass responded.
“Wow.” I laughed out of disbelief.
“Am I wrong?”
“We kick it, yes. Why, Prince?” I checked my watch, hoping he caught the hint.
Prince licked his lips before chuckling. He thought he was so fine, and he was a handsome guy, but his personality killed it for me. He was a nice height, maybe six feet exactly, nice skin, and super deep waves that only a skilled barber could provide. And his voice was like silk, making him sound like an angel on any song he crooned on.
“I was wondering if you could do me a solid.”
“Explain.” I cocked my head.
“Talk to Camarih for me. Help her understand that I love her, and I miss her.”
“I don’t think so.” I tried to walk by, but he blocked me with the swiftness.
“Shanece, I need you to do this. That’s my girl, and I ain’t never fell in love before until I met her.”
“Then how did she get away?”
“Over her hating ass homegirl. But look… just talk to her. And if I need to send some flowers or anything through you, let me know.”
I looked up into this man’s eyes, and I felt bad because I could see he really did love Camarih. I didn’t feel for him because I liked him as a person, but because I knew Camarih and her heart were long gone. And to make matters worse, homegirl was pregnant.
“Prince, to be honest, I think you should let it go. It may be too late for any rekindling.”
“Fuck you mean?” His already tight eyes squinted even more. I could still spot the worry in them, however.
“I just don’t think there is a chance at this point.”
“Shanece—”
“Prince, I am at work, and this has nothing to do with my job. If you want to be with Camarih, then be a man about it. I will not be your proxy just so you can avoid getting your ass beat by Tony.”
With that said, I switched off and continued making my rounds.
The shoot went cool as well as the interviews. I did get a few looks from Prince, but I couldn’t care less about the nigga being angry with me.
By 7:30 p.m., the shoot was over, the people had gone home, and everything was cleaned, so I walked my tired ass to my car.
On the way home, I tried calling Paul to see if there was anything specific he wanted for dinner so I could stop at the store, but he wasn’t answering his cellphone. My mind immediately shifted to Keira, wondering if that bitch was at my house and with my man.
Pressing my foot down harder on the accelerator, I floored it until I had arrived home. Running up the stairs like a champion sprinter, I damn near burst off into my house after unlocking the front door. I didn’t see Paul on the couch, and there was no sign of Keira either.
“Paul!” I went back to the bedroom and saw him on the bed, sleep. “Baby, how are you feeling?” I rubbed his head but got no response. “Baby?”
I began shaking him, but he wouldn’t wake up, so I touched to see if he had a pulse, and thank God he did. Calling the paramedics, I continued trying to wake my husband up as I waited for them to arrive. He finally came to but was still dazed by the time they arrived and whisked him into an ambulance truck.
I wanted to ride with him, but I knew I would need my car, so I chose to follow them instead. Because they knew Paul at the hospital and was familiar with his situation, a room was prepared for him immediately, without us having to fill out too much paperwork.
“Hello, Mrs. Porter.” Paul’s doctor, Laura, entered.
“Hi.” I jumped up from my chair that was next to Paul’s bed. “Is everything okay? What did the tests say?” We’d been here for hours on end it seemed.
“Well, we are still waiting on a few, but umm…” She eyed Paul as he slept soundly with so many tubes plugged up to him. I hated seeing him like this, and even though I should have been used to it, it was still hard for me. All I could think about was the Paul he used to be: strong, athletic, bright-eyed, and optimistic.
“Umm, what?”
Dr. Laura waved for me to follow her off to the side. She always did that when she had bad news because she didn’t want Paul hearing, even while asleep. She claimed patients tended to give up upon learning bad news.
/> “It doesn’t look like the cancer is staying away, Mrs. Porter.”
“You guys said things were on the up and up. How the hell—”
“I know, I know, and they were. We would never lie to you. But from looking at him, I can tell he is very ill. He doesn’t seem to be recovering.”
“No, Dr. Laura. You guys have to figure something out. You don’t understand. This is my husband, and we are young, okay? We’ve only been married a few years. We’re still supposed to have babies and buy a house together.” I was crying like a child being told ‘no’ in a toy store.
“Mrs. Porter, believe me, I understand—”
“Do you? Was your husband on his deathbed at twenty-six years old? Was half of your marriage plagued by a terminal illness?”
Pausing for a moment, she replied, “No, none of that has happened to me, sweetheart, but I have witnessed a lot being in my field. What I need you to do is calm down because you won’t be of any good to Paul if you’re a wreck. If he sees you’ve given up, he may do the same.” She rubbed my shoulders before pulling me into a hug. Although an older white woman, Laura was sometimes like a mother to me.
My own mother had moved to Nashville with her new husband, so she could only support me via phone calls. That was fine, but sometimes I needed a hug, like right now.
“This has to be fixed,” I sobbed into her chest.
“We will work hard, but please relax, sweetie. I am begging you. Now, are you able to answer a few questions for me?” She pulled me from her, and I nodded. “Okay, firstly, how many times a day did he use the bathroom, both number one and number two?” She pulled a pen from her pocket to write.
“Well, I believe it was twice a day.”
“You believe? You’re not using the chart?”
“I do, but I work from ten a.m. until about seven in the evening, so during that time, I don’t know what he’s doing.”
For a moment, Dr. Laura stared me down, lids low over her eyes like she was confused and thinking.
“How often were you watching Paul while he was home, Mrs. Porter?”
“Well, before ten a.m. and after seven p.m. during the week. Then it was all day during the weekends, unless I went somewhere.”
“Did getting him an at-home caregiver ever cross your mind? I’m only asking because when we released him, you said you’d be able to tend to him.”
She Gave Her All to the Hood’s Finest 2 Page 12
