by Anna Black
“That’s what I’m talking about. Reesy all up in da house,” he cheered and danced to the beat of the rhythm in his head, and then started twerking.
“I don’t know how these bitches don’t know yo’ ass is gay,” she teased.
“It’s image, baby. My people know how to do their jobs, and as long as those lonely, desperate, need-to-get-a-life bitches out there with their tubs of ice cream and bottles of wine are tuning into my show and buying up all my ‘Must Be the Magic’ series trinkets, a brother like me can have pussy when I’m in the mood for pussy and the dick, which I prefer, whenever I fucking want it,” he gloated.
“You are still crazy as hell. Come on, and, Stephen, I can’t stay out too late. I have work to do,” she pouted.
“You’ll be back before you know it,” he said.
Tressa let Stephen lead the way. She had worked hard and did her best to stay clear of trouble, but like some things, not all things come to an end. She never made it back to work. She fell off the wagon, and she wondered whose bed she was in when she opened her eyes the next morning. She immediately began to panic. “Oh my God, my father is going to kill me,” is what she said after she sat up and realized she had done the ultimate no-no. “Holy fuck!” she said and got up. Her head spun out of control as she tried to locate all of her personal items. “My purse, where the fuck is my purse?” she cried in a panic, scanning the room. She put on the items of hers that she could find, and she was completely dressed sans panties.
She looked down at the man that was sprawled across the bed and her eyes began to burn. She didn’t know him, and she had no clue of what she had done with him. She spotted her shoes near the door and still wondered where her purse was. “Please, God, this cannot be happening, please, Jesus.” She began to shake like a leaf. “I got to get out of here. I need to call for a car.” She rushed over, grabbed her shoes, and when she opened the door, the place then became familiar to her. She was at Stephen’s, and she wondered where that bastard was and why didn’t he look out for her.
She made her way to the front of the house and was overjoyed to see her handbag hanging on the coatrack near the entry door. She hurried over to it, ignoring the banging in her head, and did a quick check inside to see if her items were still there. With a quick glance, her credit cards appeared to be all there, and her cash, gum, gloss, and other items were there. She went for her phone, and praised God, it was there. She quickly dialed for her car to come get her. She didn’t look for Stephen. She just walked out of the front door and prayed her car would get there fast.
As soon as she got in, she cried because she could not remember a thing about the happenings the night before, and when it hit her, that that day was piss-testing day to get her next payment, she broke down in the worst way. She would go back to square one with her father, and she knew that her chance of being at TiMax was gone. Her dad would kick her out for good. Instead of going to the main house, she went to her condo, a place she hadn’t been to in weeks because she needed time alone to figure out what was next. Leaving L.A. sounded better and better the closer she got to her home.
I Got You Now
Episode 19
Tracy
She planted a listening device in Tiffany’s office. She didn’t know what advantage that would give her, but she had grown desperate and had to try something—anything to sabotage Tiffany. She now knew her chances of completely destroying Tiffany were slim to none because she didn’t have shit on her. Tiffany was squeaky clean, and everyone one adored her, but she didn’t want to give up. She wanted to add some level of humiliation and shame to her life, so this was a happy start. As diabolical as she wanted to be, she wasn’t, so she was tired of racking her brain for ideas. Now, maybe Tiffany would feed her something she thought as she crept back to her office after planting the small device under Tiffany’s desk. She’d just listen in for a while and use whatever she could to gain power and control of the situation and do the ultimate . . . bring Tiffany down a few notches.
She grabbed her tablet, made sure she had the app downloaded properly, and hated she had no way of doing a sound check. She’d just have to wait until Monday when everyone was back at work. She left, and as she was leaving, she could have sworn she saw Tressa getting into Stephen’s car, but she only caught a glimpse of the woman, so she wasn’t too sure. It was a nice night, so she decided to walk to the parking lot instead of calling for a cart because she hadn’t valet parked.
When she got to the lot, she ran into Colby, the last person she thought she’d see on a Sunday. “Perfect,” she said when she realized it was him. She increased her pace so she could speak to him before he got into his SUV.
“Hey, there,” she called out.
She caught the disappointed expression on Colby’s face, but she didn’t give a damn. She didn’t give up so easily. When she wanted something or somebody, she went for it, so his partial frown wasn’t a deterrence. She moved a little faster to close the distance.
“Hey, Tracy, what’s going on? I didn’t expect to see you here on a Sunday.”
“I had a few unfinished businesses to take care of. Why are you here on a Sunday? We don’t tape on Sundays.”
“I was working with Bella. She needed me to go over some lines with her for tapings tomorrow, so I came through to help her out.”
“Oh, so Bella the reason why you won’t go out with me?” she asked inveigling. Colby was A-list, tall, fine and rich, and she wasn’t going to give up so easily.
“No, Bella is not the reason, Tracy; you are the reason.”
“What’s wrong with me, Colby? I know you find me attractive.” She was a gorgeous, five-seven, petite, yet curvy framed work of art. She could still go braless, and her curly tresses were always well groomed.
“You are attractive, Tracy, very,” he said. She moved closer. “But you are full of drama.”
“Drama! What?” she asked surprised as if she was clueless to his accusation. “How and why would you say that?”
“In the door, after you cast me for the lead, you pulled me to the side and went in aggressively about destroying Tiffany. You started bringing up my relationship with Tiffany and how she dumped me and left me cold, trying to amp me up to join forces with you, and, that, my dear, was a total turnoff. When I met you, Tracy, our initial meeting, I won’t lie, I was checking you. You are a gorgeous woman. During auditions and negotiations, I did consider asking you out, but as soon as I got this role, you like flipped the script and starting talking crazy and trying to recruit me to join forces with you. You are too old to be running around L.A. holding a grudge over something that happened years ago.
“Tiffany took your spot—big deal. This is a dog-eat-dog world, so get over it. So, no, Bella isn’t the reason, Tracy. You turned me off, and I say this as a colleague who believes in this series. Let it go. Concentrate on this show and go on to do more great things. You are just as bright and talented as Tiffany, but the sad thing is, you don’t know it. If you did, you’d ditch the drama.” With that, Colby hit the button on his remote to unlock his doors. Tracy stood there stunned, unable to move or even speak.
“Good night, Tracy.” He opened the driver’s door, got in, and cranked his engine. Even after he pulled away, Tracy stood frozen in place.
“Did that bastard just call himself reading me?” she said before her legs moved. “Who in the fuck does he think he is?” she said as she sashayed to her vehicle. “Get over it, get over it.” Why did he not get that Tiffany had knocked her ten steps back from her dream? Yes, she had a spot at TiMax, but she was nursing a grown-ass man to be there. “Wow, Colby, wow. Tiffany has your dumb ass under her magic spell too. She has all of y’all fooled like she is some kind of goddess, but I’m going to show her ass. She isn’t as good as I am, and she is going to have to pay for what she did.”
Tracy hurried to her car, got in, cranked it, and then hit the gas and sped out of the parking lot. The words of Colby still stung her ears, and she no longe
r wanted his stupid ass. “You’re just as dumb as Mr. Green and Kory, but I’ll be the one on top—just watch. I’m going to make Mike give me just as much power as Mr. Green has given to his precious Tiffany. She may have put it on Langley, but I’m going to put it on Mike, and we will see who gets the last laugh!” Tracy declared.
She dialed Mike and smiled when he said he’d meet her at his playhouse. That night she planned to do Mike so well, he’d want to sign over his ownership of TiMax to her. She laughed out loud. “Oh yes, Mikey, baby, Mommy has something special for you tonight, baby. Let’s play!”
I Couldn’t Resist
Episode 20
Rose
It had been four days since Rose had seen Levi, and she was going insane. They both agreed that things were getting too heavy since they both said they’d just be “company” to each other, and that they should scale back. Levi had begun to spend more nights with her and fewer nights at the hospital. They’d stay up late talking, holding hands, and exchanging sweet kisses and caresses, but they refrained from sex.
“Look, Rose, I adore you, baby, but I need to put some space between us, baby.”
Rose froze. That was the last thing she wanted to hear. “Why?” she asked sadly. She enjoyed every moment spent with him, and she hated when he had to go to work and leave her alone. The gallery was finished, and she had a few more days before the grand opening, and now with her new assistant trained and ready to work with or without her, her afternoons were filled with nothing to do.
“Baby, you know why. Every time I’m near you, I want to kiss you, touch you, and be close to you.” He paused. “Rose, I wanna make love to you.” He eyed her down. His dark brown pupils penetrated her, and she believed him to be genuine.
She was not surprised because she wanted what he wanted. She wanted to make love to him just as much. “And I, you, so I understand if you need to fall back.”
“Baby, you know this is so hard for me. I’m just conflicted and want to do the right thing, Rose. You do understand, right, Rose? You know what I mean, baby, right?” he asked.
“I know, Levi, and it’s so hard for me too. I mean, you are perfect. I love the way you look, the way you smell, the way you smile, the way you make me laugh. I love everything about you.”
“And I, you. I have moments when I wish I never met you, and then I have moments where I want to give up hope, pull the plug, and move on. I just don’t want to be an asshole about it. Like I wonder if I’m being selfish or if I’m not being patient enough. I’m so confused right now, baby. Can you understand that?” he asked. The look on his face was so serious, so intense, and Rose could feel his heart crying out to her.
That made her pull back from his embrace. “Yes, Levi, we definitely need some space. I don’t want to weigh so heavy on your heart that you’d considered doing something because of me, and then resenting me later for it.” The last thing she needed was for him to go and pull the plug on his vegetated wife because of her. She’d never be able to live with something like that. That would be too much for her.
“I could never resent you, Rose,” he smiled, and then caressed her cheek.
“You say that now, baby, but if you make a decision based on us, and we don’t work out, you will hate me, so we do need a serious break, baby. Just take some time and sort out what you truly want. Don’t make any decisions based on me or how you think I’ll feel, because I’ll be all right. As long as you are happy, I’ll be happy, babe.” It wasn’t easy, but she gave him a reassuring smile. Well, as best she could, considering the circumstances.
After a long pause, he agreed. “Okay, but I won’t take long, Rose. If I return, that means we’re going all the way.” He locked his finger with hers. “I love you.”
She blinked a few times and told him the truth. She wanted to lie and downplay her feelings, just to make sure he didn’t do anything hesitantly for her, but she had to be true to herself and him. “I love you too, Levi, and if you don’t return, I’ll understand. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I know you will, sweetheart.” He gave her a passionate kiss, squeezed her tightly in his arms, and then he was gone.
That was four days ago.
For Rose, it had been four long days of praying, begging God for strength to not call him, and praying for the best for Levi. To pray for him to choose her would have been selfish, so she just asked God for the best for them both.
Now Rose was sitting in her backyard, with a glass of red wine, watching the sunset. She wasn’t heartbroken, but she was lonely as hell without him. She had gotten used to him being around. Now there was no him. She hadn’t had love in a very long time, and meeting Levi was something that she least expected. She came out to L.A. to start over and launch her career, not thinking love would be on the menu. She wasn’t the same old confident Rose she had once been.
After losing her gallery, damn near going bankrupt, she moved in with her sister and basically cut herself off from the world. She stopped going out, going on dates, and even attempting to fix herself up. She basically became her sister’s live-in nanny and housekeeper because since her funds were nonexistent, she cooked, cleaned, picked up the kids, helped them with homework, and whatever else she could do to contribute to the house.
She got a little check from Amazon every now and then, because some of the pieces she had online for sale would sporadically sell, or she’d get a client out of the blue to call and request something unique. Tiffany would always send her a check here and there, even before she got the huge amount from Mr. Green, and finally, Rose found a job doing what she hated . . . taking pictures at the mall. Yes, she was a photographer, but she never wanted to be in the mall taking holiday photos.
It didn’t pay much, but it was enough to give her sister something toward her living arrangement, but deep down, Rose was unhappy. Little by little, she gained more pounds, and after Tiffany’s wedding, it was like the weight came on full force. Basically jobless, no place of her own, and the horrible incident with her sister thinking she was sleeping with her husband, she finally took Tiffany up on her offer to move out to L.A. To start over. Starting over was what she was confident she would do, but falling in love . . . She did not anticipate that at all.
She grabbed the remote and cranked up Anthony Hamilton’s “Charlene,” and then reclined on the chaise she was relaxing in. With her shades on, she closed her eyes and thought of him. The man she needed and wanted after such a short amount of time. There was just something about him that gave her chills. He was sexy, fit, and a bit mysterious. His deep-set eyes and devilish grin were sexy, and she wondered at times how someone so delicious found her attractive. She wasn’t ugly, far from it, but she never expected someone so fit to even give her a second glance.
She sipped from her glass and put her drink down. Relaxing, she sang, “Come on home to me, Charlene.”
“Baby,” he said. She jumped. Her heart immediately raced as she sat up to find Levi standing over her.
“Levi, baby, you scared me to death. How did you get past the lock on the gate?”
“Your front door was unlocked, which is not smart,” he admonished with a look. “I rang the bell, and since the music was so loud, I figured you would not hear it.”
“You’re right. I didn’t, baby. Why are you here? Why aren’t you at work? Where is your uniform?” she asked him back-to-back questions. Usually, he’d be protecting the citizens of L.A. at that hour, so she was shocked he was there.
“I’ll be off for the next few days. We are going to lay Paris to rest on Friday,” he said.
She blinked in confusion at first, but comprehension dawned quickly. “Awww, baby, come here,” Rose said, and he joined her on the chaise. She held him in her arms tightly, and she wasn’t surprised when he began to sob in her arms. “I’m so sorry, Levi. I know that was a difficult decision.”
“I wanted her to wake up, I did, but I knew she’d never come back,” he cr
ied.
Her heart ached for him. “I know, baby, I know.” She held him tightly and cried for him. She didn’t know Paris, but she knew him, and what he told her in their numerous conversations about Paris, she was a great person and a wonderful wife. “Levi, if you need anything, anything at all, just let me know.”
He moved out of her embrace. “I’m good for now.” He wiped his eyes. “It’s hard, but I know she died a long time ago. I just didn’t want to not see her, you know, not be able to touch her or stroke her hair. She died months ago, but I was so selfish, I couldn’t let her body go.”
A tear fell to Rose’s cheek. “I can only imagine, Levi. I’ve never been married, never lost a spouse or anyone remotely close. I’ve had boyfriends and dated, but I must admit, you are the first man I’ve ever loved.”
He looked at her and caressed her face. “I love you too, Rose, and as much as I still love Paris, I decided yesterday I wanted to move on with my life. I want something real, something tangible. I want to be touched, have someone to talk to, someone to laugh with, and someone to touch me back. All those things were gone when Paris got shot. Before I met you, Rose, I honestly thought I could settle with her just being here, but the more we spent time together, the physical exchange and the conversations until four in the morning and just when you wrapped your body around me when we slept . . .
“I fell in love with who you are, not your sex or what you have, but just to simply be with you feels right, and I know Paris knows that. I think she had a hand in me getting that call that night I met you, so when I signed the papers yesterday to lay her body to rest, I felt good. I felt relieved. I felt like a man making a responsible decision. I know she died awhile ago, Rose, but until I met you, I just settled with her lying there in that bed. No movement, no exchange, no conversation, and she couldn’t touch me back.” His head fell low.