by Nako
The next morning, she woke up, stretching her arms and legs. No studio today. No gym or vocal lessons. What would she spend her time doing?
California was a sunny place and the weather was perfect, but she checked her account and only had a few hundred dollars. The money that Porter gave her was in an account for the kids and she didn’t have any direct access to it.
She contemplated on asking him for some money, but it would go against everything that she had been fussing to him about.
Mahogany decided to order room service and go back to sleep because she didn’t get enough of it. When she woke up hours later, P had texted and called her twice.
“Hey baby, I was sleep. What’s up?”
He got a good look at her in the camera via Facetime.
“You look tired. What you doing today? 40 said they’re brushing up the song.”
“Not much. I wanted to get out and explore, but I’m going to stay in.”
He didn’t like the sound of that. “I got a few homies out there, I’m sure they’re getting into something today. Want me to give them a call?”
Mahogany didn’t do the friend thing. She was cool on that.
“No thank you.”
Porter asked her again in a different way, “They’re some fun girls…my sis, Carmen, is an up and coming stylist. I think she’s out there now. I would like it if y’all linked.”
Mahogany wasn’t trying to meet nobody that her man described as a “fun girl”.
“Yeah baby, I’m good. What are you doing today?” she changed the subject.
P wanted to desperately snatch her out of that shell that she forced herself to be in.
“Work. I texted your brother to see if they wanted to get out the house. He didn’t respond.”
Him reaching out to them made her smile.
“Really? I’ll call him later. I’m sure Kareem would like that even if Genesis doesn’t want to go. I’ll make sure he’s dressed.”
“Yeah, I had tickets to the Knicks game.”
Mahogany blushed as she rolled over and then rested her head on her elbow.
“What did I do to deserve you?”
Porter smiled at her warmly. Taking all of her in, noticing the arch in her left brow and how there wasn’t one in the right. That lone dimple in her cheek that he only saw when she smiled at him, something she had been doing more often these days. He closed his eyes for only a few seconds, thanking God for answering a forgotten prayer. He wanted to be with someone that saw beyond the money, beyond the success, beyond his career. Someone that stayed with him on the days where he didn’t have much to say because he was one of those overthinking ass niggas that often worked themselves in a rut. He wanted someone that overpowered his anxiety and insecurities. Someone that didn’t run when shit wasn’t peaches and cream every day. Someone that was okay with him pulling out those imperfections and flaws and making things better. See, with Kim she was already “perfect”. She didn’t look at him with respect or admiration in her eyes. She often talked down on him, as if he was nothing. Porter had to constantly check himself because she had done a work on his confidence. What he learned was that her problems had nothing to do with him. She was dealing with those demons long before him and that’s when he took his heart out of it. Kim wanted a husband, she wanted a family. He gave her those things and it still wasn’t enough.
“Bae, you heard me?” She wondered where his head went sometimes…
“Yep. Hurry back, I miss you.”
η
“Carm, I’m not into excuses,” he told her straight up. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about his friend because he loved him as if they shared the same blood, but Casey was a grown ass man. Burke was also another grown ass nigga that chose to do shit that could easily spiral out of control. See, the thing with vices is that they’re not good for you. Vices and addiction are one in the same. A person becomes dependent on these bad things, such as alcohol, drugs, even women…or men. Work can be an addiction too. Because people are running from their problems, they choose these vices to be used as a security blanket instead of facing these issues head-on.
Porter was a strong man; he didn’t give in to life no matter how hard it got. Yeah, he’ll have a few beers, but drinking all got damn day…no. He wasn’t doing that. Burke smoking weed was cool, they all got high. But he took it a million steps further and trekked into territory that has been proven extremely difficult to come out of.
Now, here Carmen was “reaching out” because she had been ignoring the signs for far too long of her brother possibly being an alcoholic. Which makes a lot of sense being that P had to knock his ass out about a month ago for talking out the side of his neck about his growing relationship with his lady.
Casey was drunk as fuck, but it was a night out on the town with some of their homies and he didn’t think too much of it.
Carmen confided in P and gave him an earful of several scenarios that had taken place over the last few months. He was pulled over by the police for swerving and they let him go, simply due to who he was. She was worried that he was overdoing it and wanted P to talk to him.
“Porter, I know you’re Mr. Perfect, but some of us make mistakes. Everyone can’t go through life-”
“Watch it,” he warned her. She was much like her brother when it came to saying shit that crossed the line. He didn’t have much grace left in him for people who kept trying to tell him about he was and what he did.
“All I’m saying is that you know how our dad was and how we were raised. I think that is hereditary or like a generational curse.”
Carmen went to church, she knew all about praying those things away and she had been doing that, yet and still, she wanted his best friend who she knew loved her brother as much as she did to reach out to him, man-to-man.
“I’ll talk to him.”
He was ready to end the conversation. He was on a date with his baby and this was his first time laying his physical eyes on her in what seemed like eternity. Porter wanted to enjoy his night.
“Okay, when?” she was persistent.
Porter gave her an exact date and time, “Tomorrow morning.”
She sounded delighted to hear that, “Great. Thanks bro.”
They ended the call and he apologized.
“You’re good boo. Want to try my seafood salad?” She planned on sticking to her new diet regimen.
“Nah.” He reached for her hand and kissed it.
“Looking like a snicker tonight, girl,” he praised her as he always did.
It felt good when your effort was noticed. He always acknowledged the little things that she did. For instance, he shared with her that he loved women in dresses and heels. Mahogany recorded that note in her head. She didn’t wear dresses and heels every time they did something, but when they had fancy dates such as tonight, she dressed it up and made it real for her baby.
Mahogany blushed and took a sip of her water.
“You showing out tonight.” She laughed at him as he flicked his tongue out at her and then winked his eye. He didn’t get the moniker, Pretty Boy P, for nothing.
Porter ran his hands over his face, trying to shake the conversation he had from his mental, if only for a few hours. He had a whole night planned for his shorty, but because he was a compassionate person he couldn’t help but to think about his friend possibly being alcoholic and if he was, had he not seen what addiction did to Burke?
Casey was too smart for his own good, and most likely had convinced himself that his issue wasn’t like Burke’s, but it was…it truly fucking was.
“Are you going to let the same people listen to the new track?” she asked him a few minutes later.
“Do you want me to?”
She hated when he did that. “P…”
He wiped his mouth and then gulped down the last of his drink. He wanted another one.
“Yeah, I am. Cool with you?”
This song was hotter than hot, so if they didn’t like this then either they were hat
ing on her or P.
“Sure. Them your friends, not mine.”
He wanted their approval, she couldn’t care less.
“I want you to get out of that mindset. You got a long way to go. People aren’t going to kiss your ass, Mahogany. My “friends” are famous. They’re famous because they’re great at what they do,” he didn’t mean to sound harsh, but he had to break that shit.
Her attitude was horrible. She snaked her head back.
“You told me to let you know when you did something I didn’t like,” he reminded her, defensively.
He was right, and she knew that.
“The humble hustler goes further than the one who thinks the world owes him something. Never forget that.” He was only telling her shit from experience.
She nodded her head. “I’m humble.” He couldn’t convince her that she wasn’t. She was still broke as hell, Mahogany didn’t have enough money to pop her shit…yet.
“You are, but you also have this…I don’t need nobody aura about you and it’s uncalled for.”
Porter was so fucking opinionated. “In this industry, you can’t and won’t get to the top by yourself.”
“Why? Because I don’t kiss your ass or your friends’ ass. You wanted me to go to brunch with them fun girls so bad…but for what?” She had brought it up, he didn’t.
Porter looked at her and shook his head. “Baby, whoever hurt you really messed you up. You gon’ make the world pay for it, ain’t you?”
Her makeup was laid for the gawds tonight. She refused to mess it up by crying in his face and spilling her guts about how she and betrayal knew each other on a first-name basis.
“Are we getting dessert? I think I deserve a cheat day.” She was saying to hell with her diet.
He was going to love all that hell and strife out of her. Mahogany was too beautiful to let the past permeate her present and he wasn’t having it. If only she saw what he envisioned when he looked at her, she’d say goodbye to her baggage. They shared a pumpkin cheesecake topped with marshmallow and he had two more drinks. When they left dinner, neither was ready to go home so soon, so they hit a lounge to kill time until the clubs were in full-swing. She danced and sung every song that the DJ played the entire night. Once they made it home, he fucked her with no remorse and then when she swore she couldn’t go another round, he made sweet love to her body until he caught a Charlie horse. Leaving him with no choice but to spill his seeds on the floor and go to sleep.
The next morning, he woke up and his baby was already gone. She had her first photoshoot today. He swelled with pride knowing that although he kept her out all night and fucked her until the sun peaked through the dark skies, she still was up and out. His bookie boo was on her grind. Porter yawned loudly as he reached for his phone and was shocked to see a long text from Mahogany. She was the Queen of one-word text messages.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes to ensure that he wasn’t seeing things, Mahogany had to have been in her feelings this morning and he loved it.
I watched you sleep for hours after we made love.
Counted every single freckle and mole that was scattered across your face. I kissed your lips and tasted me on you…
I prayed for you and I don’t even pray.
Not really sure where we’re going, but whatever the destination is I’m riding with you until the wheels fall off.
Still in disbelief that I’m heading to a photoshoot. A photoshoot for me.
Not me and two other people, but for me.
Mahogany.
If I don’t tell you enough, thank you. Thank you so much baby and I know you probably don’t think I hear you when you’re whispering that you love me while you’re inside of me from the back, but I do baby and I love you too.
He read it a few times, heart getting bigger every time he read the last few words at the end of the message. Porter called down to concierge, “Hey I know this may be far-fetched, my assistant is on maternity leave and her fill-in is a guy. Can you send a bouquet of long-stemmed red roses?”
“Certainly, Mr. Bavay. Let me get the address from you and we’ll have that sent out immediately. Are we using the card on file?”
“Yes.” He didn’t know he had a card on file, but he’d been a resident for years and he trusted these people. Porter had no plans on moving. Ever.
“Perfect. Would you like to include a message?”
He thought about it before responding, “Uh yeah…to my superstar, kill it today. Love P.”
η
Mahogany was freezing cold, she had on fuzzy socks that thankfully she was able to find at the bottom of her Neverfull LV bag. The makeup artist hired for today was taking her precious time doing her makeup and because this was the photoshoot for the pictures that’ll be used to re-introduce her to the world and mainly social media, she didn’t trip.
It was really important that people didn’t tie her into the group she was once in. She wanted to make a name for herself outside of them.
Juice had arranged for a few of his buddies in the journalist world to cover the shoot. They were also planning a one-week campaign that’ll hit the airwaves and timelines, simultaneously. Everywhere she went, a photographer and videographer followed her closely. Porter told her years from now she’d be thankful that she had footage to look back on.
“Do you know what you’re wearing?” the artist asked.
She shook her head.
Mahogany showed up and was thankful that everything was organized. She didn’t know if Juice or P orchestrated the shoot, but so far, everyone was all smiles and rolling. The music was loud, the vibe was lit, and the ambiance was set.
She shook hands with the black sista who had the title as Creative Director and would be responsible for taking her pictures. Juice whisked her to makeup after the introductions.
“That’s a good question because no one ever asked for my sizes,” she said, minutes later.
The artist shrugged her shoulders. “I only do makeup.” She was staying in her lane and minding her business.
Ten minutes later, she was being handed a mirror to check the job out.
“Oh, bitch you beat these brows.”
Mahogany kept forgetting that not all women was okay with being called a bitch. It was out of habit and it wasn’t a personal attack. Judging from the look on the woman’s face, she wasn’t cool with being called a bitch.
“Thank you.” The makeup artist remained professional. Apparently, this girl was the next big thing, so she would let the B word fly over her shoulder.
Mahogany hopped out of the chair and went looking for Juice because she had no clue on what to do next.
She turned a corner and saw racks of clothing. From where she was it looked like some fly shit and she breathed a sound of relief. She walked closer and sorted through the outfits, trying to decide on what she’d put on first.
“Hiiii! I’m Carmen, I am so happy to finally meet you. We didn’t get a chance to link at your listening party.” A super-duper hype, cheerful woman walked up on her with a McDonald’s smile on her face.
It caught Mahogany off guard and her reflex was to back up. Carmen saw the move being made and she said, “I’m Porter’s sister. I’m styling you for the event today. He didn’t tell you?”
The fun girl…
She hated walking into situations and not being properly informed on what was going to happen.
“Hey yeah, I heard about you. Thanks for doing this,” she tried to sound nice, but her tone was laced with attitude.
Juice peeped it, so he knew Carmen did as well.
“I see y’all met, perfect. I was looking for you, Mahogany. We need to get you into your first look ASAP and then to hair. We will be starting on time.”
She nodded her head and then returned her gaze to Carmen the Cheerleader.
The girl was cute. She wasn’t buying the brother sister bullshit. She knew how bitches could be. They’ll be your best friend and will suck the skin off your nigga’s
dick right under your nose.
“Is you ready?”
Mahogany was going to keep it corporate, not knowing how ratchet sounded by saying is and not are. She had his nuts down her throat a few hours ago, this hoe didn’t. Foolishly, she thought this mindset was a good one to have which is exactly what P was fussing about last night.
Carmen handed her a lace dress. “Do you like this?”
Mahogany shook her head. “Nope.”
She went back to looking through the clothing. “I was thinking something like this…. over this…with that.” She pointed to a mink fur.
Carmen thought to herself, Oh, this bitch think she’s Lil Kim.
“That’s not what I was told… P said we were going soft. Blush and nude. I pulled some gray pieces…check these out right here.” She handed her a clear bag with an outfit.
Mahogany heard her man’s words from last night in her head about fixing her attitude, so she kept her comment to herself.
“You’re the expert.”
Carmen didn’t know what she did to this girl, but she kept it moving.
“How about you go to hair and when you come back, I’ll have everything laid out for you?” She told her that after Mahogany never took her eyes off her.
“Hmm hmm, alright.” She walked off with her arms crossed.
Carmen had four looks pulled and laid out down to the shoes and accessories, all lil Boosie Bad Azz had to do was slip everything on. She didn’t have to sit around to help her and she wouldn’t. The girl’s attitude was horrible, and her energy was off. She was packing her things when P arrived.
“Where are you going?”
Carmen pointed to the long folding table with Mahogany’s outfits were laying. “She’s good to go. I’ll bill you once I get home.”
P was confused. “Is everything okay? you told me that you were free today. Why are you leaving?”
Her schedule was open but not free enough to deal with someone’s attitude.
“Yeah, I am. Your girlfriend or whatever the heck she is to you, clearly has a problem with me and I don’t even know her. So… I’m going to go. I hope things work out of her.”
Carmen zipped up the last of her things and headed towards the elevator.