“I guess you’ll have to get something else for lunch,” Deedee deadpanned.
Reggie looked at his lunch then back at Deedee and laughed. Deedee frowned but soon joined him and they were both cracking up. Coco stared at them both in quizzical silence.
“Okay, really… Lunch that funny, yo?”
“You should’ve seen Reggie’s face when he first saw his lunch. That was soo funny,” Deedee said, chuckling.
“I was all into the music and I just forgot all about—what’s her name…? Well, she was ordering lunch and…”
“I really don’t wanna discuss losers, yo.”
“Yes, let’s go out and eat if you guys are finished, Coco,” Deedee said.
“Yeah let’s do that, yo.”
“I guess you’re gonna need lunch also,” Deedee said, laughing at Reggie.
“You’re going to lunch, now? I mean it’s after two,” Reggie said.
Deedee and Coco were already walking to the exit. Reggie watched them and turned down the music.
“You’re upgrading with one of the owners,” Deedee said.
“Is that a yes?” Reggie asked.
“What do you think?” Deedee asked.
Fried chicken on tray, burgers on the grill and the smell of steak wafted through the diner. Entering the restaurant, Coco saw the contours of trouble on Deedee’s pretty face. They were seated quickly despite the afternoon crowd. Coco sat opposite Deedee and Reggie. Her mother’s condition began to weigh heavily on Coco’s mind again. The time in the studio had provided great relief, but now the sudden rush of thoughts returned, triggering pensive silence in Coco.
Wordlessly she watched Deedee and Reggie. They seemed to be hitting it off alright. He was chatting, and brought up Coco’s exploits in the studio.
“Coco has got that crazy dope flow. This package is gonna be tight. That joint we were working on is slamming,” Reggie gushed.
Coco stared at him and the waiter showed up. He took their orders and walked away. Deedee saw Coco’s demeanor changing and smiled at her.
“Coco, I guess he’s not received the memo… Vibe article said Coco’s what’s next,” Deedee said.
“Yeah, I hear you. I seen that piece on her and now I’ve heard her close up. She’s crazy nice,” Reggie said.
Coco acknowledged the compliments with a nod of her head. She was still thinking about her mother but had not fully heeded the conversation. Deedee and Reggie engaged in small talk until the waiter arrived with their orders.
They went through bowls of salad. Reggie had his fresh chocolate shake and cheeseburger. Deedee ate the same but Coco’s turkey burger remained untouched. Fifteen minutes later, Reggie was finished, and with her burger half gone, Deedee glanced at Coco. She motioned for the waiter, he returned and Deedee requested the check. Outside, Coco lit a cigarette and smoked. Deedee and Reggie joined her.
“I guess you weren’t feeling your burger?” Deedee asked Coco.
“I wasn’t feeling hungry after all the greens, yo.”
“Yes, that was a lot of salad. But the food was really good,” Reggie said.
They smoked for a few and walked slowly back to the building. Coco appeared to be in her own world and Deedee let her be. Instead of badgering Coco, Deedee and Reggie kicked it as they walked. Outside the building, Coco was still quiet and Deedee moved closed to her.
“You know what I’m thinking…?” Deedee asked.
“It’s that time…?” Coco said, raising her eyebrow in mock surprise.
“We’re gonna roll something?” Reggie asked.
“You’re sharp, but it’s strictly a girl thing, yo.”
“You got it, Coco. Reggie we’ll see you later,” Deedee said, waving her hand.
“Thank you for lunch,” he smiled.
“We’ll continue the recording session later, yo.”
“Cool, I’m gonna mix that down and let you hear it later. What should I tell your Eric if he asks for y’all?” Reggie asked.
“Tell him we went to do some girlish things,” Deedee smiled.
Reggie walked inside the building and turned to see the two girls disappear in the garage. Coco and Deedee got into the BMW. The car rolled out of the garage and joined traffic.
“Let’s go shop until we drop,” Deedee said.
“Oh, you must be going through deep depression, yo.”
“Exactly…”
The sunrays bounced off the asphalt while the girls high-fived. Deedee slipped her Gucci shades back over eyes. She calmly watched traffic while handling her whip game proper. Coco turned up the volume of the music, and leaned in the passenger’s seat. The BMW purred through the busy afternoon traffic. Coco and Deedee shared a cigarette while quietly nurturing their emotions.
“Dee, you know what?”
“What?”
“Shits always gonna work out in the end, yo.”
“I know Coco, but it stings when you first find out the truth about certain things.”
“Yeah, I hear you.”
“I mean right now I don’t even know who to trust, Coco.”
“I guess you’ve gotta trust yourself on that, yo.”
“You know when I told Uncle E about everything with Sophia, he didn’t confirm or deny. He just told me to stay out of grown folks’ biz. And even though I’ve graduated from high school and ready for life, I’m still a child.”
“It seems like your uncle is trying to protect you, yo.”
“You can say that again, Coco. The discussion started out good until Uncle Eric said he was gonna take care of Sophia. Then things didn’t go too well after I asked how.”
“No you didn’t yo. You did what…?”
Deedee pushed the BMW into a parking lot in the heart of the shopping district of Manhattan. The sky was clear and blue, and clouds gathered softly when they walked out. Coco turned to Deedee and smiled.
“I guess you asked the wrong question, yo.”
“He got really angry, Coco. He kicked me out of his office. He said I needed to take five, Coco. My uncle has always shown me nothing but love.”
“Yeah, but you were insinuating—”
“I didn’t realize that until the words were already out my mouth. And then it was just too late,” Deedee said, shaking her head. “Coco, I wasn’t wrong to ask the question—”
“Yeah, but you practically told him you didn’t believe him or have faith in him, yo,” Coco said, interrupting Deedee.
They joined the lines of pedestrians crowding the sidewalk. After stopping to get matchng shoes on their feet, the two girls walked and Deedee glanced warily at a busy Fifth Avenue shopping district. They walked closely and Deedee looped her arms through Coco’s.
“I want you to complete this sentence, Coco,” Deedee said. Coco glanced at her quizzically and Deedee continued. “Believe only half of what you hear and none of what you see…” Deedee’s voice trailed.
“That goes double for TV. Cause the joke’s on you me.”
“That’s exactly what Uncle Eric said when I told him about Sophia. He also said it was grown folks’ biz. I went into his office and you know how I was hot about how everything was going, you know? Finding about my mother’s situation was pretty troubling especially coming from Sophia. Uncle Eric just dismissed it all. But it still bothers me, Coco.”
“Maybe he’s right, yo. You should just let it go.”
18
Deedee looked at Coco then silently turned her focus all around on the late June afternoon. Midtown was in full summer swing, crowded sidewalks with shoppers moving swiftly along Madison and Fifth. Before dusk arrived, the girls had covered most of the stores on Madison. Silently combing through designer outfits that caught their every fancy, Coco and Deedee’s eyes met occasionally. Coco would wear a look of disbelief looking at some of the price tags displayed. Deedee didn’t even blink an eye.
“Tell him we went to do some girlish things,” Deedee laughed, recalling what she had said earlier said to Reggie.
>
“Exactly…” Coco said, joining her best friend in the joke.
They went on an exciting and expensive shopping expedition. Deedee shopped until they were about to pass out in exhaustion. Coco had multiple shopping bags from Dior and Coach. She quietly looked at Deedee struggling with the bags from Polo, Chanel, Gucci, and Fendi. They had a pleasurable time, but it was beginning to wear thin. Coco made a recommendation.
“I think we could chill now, yo,” she said.
“I’m glad you called it because I’ll keep going.”
“I mean we alrady copped plenty stuff. What would you do with all the bags?”
“I’ll carry them back and forth to car,” Deedee answered, showing her expertise.
“Okay I feel you, yo,” Coco smiled.
They continued down Fifth heading to the parking garage. Then the smell of steak caught their smell and the girls made their way inside Mr. Chow restaurant.
No sooner had they been seated when they saw Eric and his attorney Max Roose, shadowed by bodyguards, walking inside the popular eatery. Deedee waved at Eric. He quickly spotted her, and walked over to the girls’ table.
“Hey, you guys sure are racking up on clothing,” Eric smiled.
“Yes, well you did say leave grown folks’ biz to grown folks. So that’s what Coco and I were doing. Girls’ stuff like shopping,” Deedee said with a cheerful smile.
“Well don’t spend all your money on only one thing,” Eric said.
“I didn’t, we got shoes from Dior and Manolo Blahnik. Jeans and skirt outfits from Donna Karan… Underwear from Victoria’s—”
“Okay Deedee, I got the picture,” Eric said, hastily interrupting her. Turning to Coco, he said, “Coco, I heard some of the tracks. Reggie was back in the lab mixing down. They’re coming along fine. But that song, Tougher Than Dice—I wanna feel more of your pain in it… The blood and guts of it,” Eric said, looking at Coco. “Good work so far.”
“Thank you, sir,” Coco blurted.
Deedee glanced at her then back at her uncle. Coco stared at her and for a beat there was an uncomfortable silence.
“I don’t have much time to sit and chat,” Eric said, standing up. “Listen if you’d like I’ll get one the security guys to help with the bags. You guys need help or what?”
“No Uncle, we’ll be fine. See you later,” Deedee said.
She stood and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Eric smiled and patted her cheek. Then he embraced her.
“I got you a nice suit, Uncle E. I hope it fits,” Deedee said.
“Thanks, Deedee. What color is it?” Eric asked. Deedee glanced at Coco.
“Black,” Coco and Deedee chorused.
“I’m sure it’s nice. I’ll see it later,” Eric said, walking away.
The girls ordered and ate while Eric Ascot and Max Roose discuss his case over a couple of martinis.
“I don’t recall you buying your uncle a suit, yo.”
“I know,” Deedee smiled. “So that means after we put these bags away in the car, we can go back start shopping all over again.”
“That’s so devious.”
“Why? You wanna go back to the studio or shop?”
“Well you know I wanna make it in the music game. But today I’ll skip the afternoon studio session and do the girls’ stuff,” Coco said.
“You’ve already made it, Coco,” Deedee said. “We’ll stop by the studio later and hear what Uncle E was raving about.”
“Sounds like a bet, yo.”
“Let’s go shopping.”
They did as Deedee suggested. Coco sensed that shopping and getting dressed up offered a cure for Deedee’s illness. It gave her a sense of power. And Coco was a cornerstone, someone strong to lean on. Soon they had put the bags in the car and the girls set off shopping.
Reggie was inside the studio his head bouncing to the beat. His mind and talent were driving him to come up with the hottest mix down. It had to be one that would impress Eric Ascot. Reggie knew it would lead to bigger and better things even his own studio. Fingers gliding across the keyboard, he made subtle adjustments, changing the sounds to his keen ears.
He didn’t realize that eyes were on him. Reggie kept making changes, biting his lips and pausing here, turning there. His athletic physique intrigued her mind. Tina smiled when she studied the total package. The sound charged through the speakers devouring the air, the thump of the base measured in heartbeats. Reggie didn’t see Tina walking up behind him.
“Reggie, Reggie, Reggie,” she shouted.
Spinning around, Reggie knocked Tina over. She fell back and was on her derriere before Reggie realized what had happened. Luckily the soundproof recording area of the studio was lined with thick, carpeted floor. The music was still pumping loudly when Reggie rushed to help Tina to her feet. Reggie held her arm and pulled, and slipped. They both landed in a heap. Finally, Reggie was able to help the giggling Tina to her feet.
“Thanks,” she said, kissing him.
He was still holding her close and she moved her body even closer to his. Reggie felt the heat of Tina’s flesh and kissed her again. He left the music pumping in the background when Tina held his hand. Licking her lips, she dragged him back to the green room.
The door closed and in a flash she was on her knees, unzipping his jeans. Tina smiled and bit her lips when she saw Reggie’s package. Parting her soft lips, she took the head of Reggie’s hardening dick into her mouth. Her tongue snaked around his dick. Soon it was fully ready and pointing to the ceiling. Flicking her tongue around his growing head, Tina continued sucking him off. The music pumped loudly while she sucked his balls. Her tongue dancing up and down his shaft excited Reggie.
“Damn, ma,” he hissed loudly.
“You got any condoms?” Tina asked, rubbing her fingers over his shaft. “You have a big helluva dick and we can’t do nothing without no rubbers,” Tina said, teasing Reggie’s hardened dick with her stiffened tongue.
Suddenly he grabbed her, lifting her up and pinning a surprised Tina against the wall. Her knees were wobbly and Reggie easily raised her skirt up. His hands were massaging her panties and his fingers invading her crotch. In one motion, his hands were ripping her panties off.
“No, no Reggie!” Tina begged. “Papi, go get a condom or sump’n!”
Her pleading came too late. Reggie didn’t heed. His dick was hard and his mind was out of control. He grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. She struggled but his six-foot muscular body was too much for Tina. She gave in and straddled his muscular waist with her legs. Reggie was kissing her neck and hoisted her body. Soon he was entering her hard and ramming his dick into her.
“Oh yes, papi!” Tina moaned.
Reggie continued thrusting into her. Tina was trapped in ecstasy and blissfully clinging to his strong shoulders. She hoisted her legs and felt him go deeper. Tina gripped her nails into his sweat-soaked skin. The music was still pumping and Reggie’s dick was sliding in and out of her moist, sweaty frame. She bit his neck and looked up to see Kim walking away shaking her head. Reggie was in throes of lovemaking and never even heard when the door closed.
“Are you coming soon, papi?” Tina asked.
There was no answer from Reggie, but his hips were moving faster, swinging like a sledgehammer burying deep inside her.
“Papi, papi, bust-off in my mouth. Please, papi!” Tina screamed when she felt his breathing growing rapid.
Lowering her legs, she managed to squeeze him out of her. She was on her knees and Reggie was fighting to give it to her doggie-style. Tina slipped out of his sweaty grip and immediately slid his pulsing dick inside her mouth. Tina sucked and Reggie’s exploded. He grabbed her head on his dick while shooting sperm down the back of Tina’s throat. She swallowed it, licking her lips and smiling up at him.
“You’re loco, papi,” Tina said.
“Lemme show you how crazy I can get,” Reggie said, coming at her and flexing.
“Nah papi, save that for nex
t time. Don’t get too greedy now,” Tina said in mock seriousness.
She kissed his dick and was off her knees. Patting him on the butt she smiled and kissed him.
“Run along and finish what you were doing,” Tina smiled.
“Gimme some more a that gushy stuff,” Reggie said.
“Shut your face and be a good boy, Reggie,” Tina said, chuckling. “I’ll bring you some food. That’s why I first came to get you.”
“But you get got,” Reggie laughed, fixing his clothes.
He was walking away when Tina shouted, “What do you want?”
“Same thing,” Reggie answered and without looking back, he continued out the door.
Tina fixed her clothes, sighed, and made the sign of the cross across her chest. She walked uneasily to the bathroom to fix her makeup. Kim walked in and Tina’s nose twitched uncomfortably when she sniffed her friend’s attitude.
“What’s wrong with your fat ass, bitch?” Tina asked.
Kim turned the handle of the tap and let the water run for a while. Then she glared at the mirror’s reflection of Tina, who was trying not to look directly at her. Kim watched Tina applying lip-gloss for a few beats. Then she said, “You’re such a fucking slut!”
“Who you calling a fucking slut, bitch…?”
“You, I’m talking to Tina Martinez,” Kim said, boldly stepping into Tina’s space.
The music played on loudly and they were arguing inside the bathroom. Coco and Deedee walked into the lobby.
“I gotta hear the song that your uncle was talking about, yo.”
“You couldn’t wait, huh? Let me see if he came back. Maybe he could try on his new suit.”
Deedee walked quickly to her uncle’s office and Coco went toward the recording studio. She could hear the loud yapping form inside the ladies room as she strolled by. Recognizing the voices, Coco paused, stood outside, and listened.
“Oh you gonna be the big bad bitch, huh?”
“Yes cuz every time I say I like a guy, you always fuck him and shyt,” Kim said, sounding annoyed.
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