by Nako
“That’s the makeup artist…I’ll let her in for you,” he excused himself, patting her on the butt before he exited the bathroom. Leaving her to stare in the mirror at her new do.
The night moved rather fast and before she knew it, they were back in bed, makeup removed. Hair in bonnet, showered and feeling free.
Porter rubbed her feet as she recapped the night from her own two eyes.
“Do you ever get tired of taking pictures?”
They weren’t necessarily in people’s faces like, “yeah hoe, we go together,” nor were they coming in at two separate times either.
“Nah, I do get tired of being asked the same questions.” He was on his third blunt and second drink since they made it back home, so he was feeling real good.
“About your wife and kids?” she questioned, stretching her arms above her head, wishing that she had two men right now. Porter was flexing and pulling her toes, if only she could have one more of him rubbing her shoulders and scalp.
“That too.”
Her new cut grew on her quite fast. The people that interviewed her all wanted to know who did the cut. With batted eyelashes and a warm genuine look upon her face, she said in her best Floridian tongue, “My man.”
Mahogany was happy to be back in the bed, chilling with her nigga, smoking trees and talking about life. Summer Walker’s latest EP was on low and she was feeling all four of the songs.
“What else do you get tired of?” There wasn’t nothing that she didn’t want to know about her man.
“People trying to steal my joy.”
She didn’t think that was about to come from his mouth.
“Like who baby?”
He shook his head and closed his eyes, she slowly pulled her feet from his hands and he grabbed them. “Stay.”
Mahogany moved around and adjusted her body to lay on his chest.
“Talk to me.” She couldn’t offer any advice if she didn’t know what exactly he was talking about.
“Baby, I have to tell you something and I know it’s going to fuck up your day.”
She felt his heartbeat thumping erratically.
Today was a good day, she’d rather not know.
“Tell me next month.” She knew that probably wasn’t possible, but tonight...no, it was too perfect of a day to go there. Mahogany didn’t feel like getting mad at him, storming out and going to sleep alone. She wanted him near.
“No, I can’t.”
Mahogany reached for his head and pulled him in for a kiss.
“Not tonight, P.”
“Well let’s talk about something then, shit.” He needed to get his mind off the rising drama.
She wasn’t in the mood to talk though.
“What iffffff we don’t talk at all,” she suggested, moving her hands into his boxer briefs. Sex was a welcoming distraction and she could never get enough of her sweet tasting man.
“Oh, that’s what you on?” he mumbled as she began to fondle his semi-limp penis.
“Hmmm hmmm.”
She bent her head down, slipping her lips over his shaft and hardening him with her warm and wet mouth.
Porter had a love-hate relationship with his shorty’s head. See, he loved it because the sleep after she gave him permission to bust in her mouth was non-comparable. However, he hated it because he didn’t know how to control his movements or outbursts. She openly explored every part of him below his belly button. She was a sloppy sucker, Mahogany had no manners. She was the girl that took every inch of him like a champ and because he was nasty too, he fed her all of him. He always loved the gagging effect of her eyes rolling back and her choking on the length of him.
“AWWW FUCKKKKKKKK!”
He tried to sit up in bed and run away from her mouth, but she pushed him right back down and sucked him even harder.
Her man had some shit on his mind that had him boggled, so it was her job to remove those thoughts and put a satisfied smile back on his face.
η
Mid-way through the video shoot something shifted and for the life of everyone on set. They didn’t know what the fuck went wrong. The director, producer, creative marketing team, dancers, makeup artist, hair stylist, even the damn catering crew were on pins and needles. Mahogany was in her dressing room, blazing. She was such a pretty lady. The artist wanted to tell her that smoking made her unattractive. It was a good thing the woman kept her opinion to herself because she would’ve got cursed the fuck out today.
Juice tapped the door twice and then opened it, in his hands was a large bouquet of roses and she told him, “Throw it away.”
She didn’t want shit from P.
“I’m not throwing it away. Look, I hate to be the time is money nigga, but for real, you gotta finish the video.”
She wanted to cry so bad, but she refused to ruin her makeup.
Mahogany took a deep breath before saying, “Alright. I need two minutes, Juice.”
Two minutes to process the text message that her man sent her and then she could handle her business.
A text message?
He didn’t have the decency to even Facetime her and keep that shit real.
Porter’s cocky ass sent her at text message. He was a coward in her eyes and she told him, via text message since that’s how he was choosing to communicative with her on today.
If you were here right now, I’ll knock your motherfucking head off your shoulders.
Oh, and baby, she meant every single word. Mad was an understatement. She was enraged.
Porter read the text and didn’t respond. Typical nigga shit when they knew they fucked up. It was like soon as you told a nigga that you loved and trusted him, they did most.
Juice asked the makeup artist to step out and give them a second.
“I don’t feel like talking,” she told him as she finished the last of her blunt.
He wasn’t stunting what she was saying. “Do you really think he’ll risk losing you to that hoe? No. This shit is old. He’s going to explain everything to you after the shoot. Let’s get through this video, please. The song is hot, you’re at number four right now. We drop the video ASAP and it’ll only boost you on the charts. You’re the one crying about wanting the number one spot, right?”
She didn’t say anything, which told him that she was contemplating what he told her.
Mahogany rolled her eyes, sighing, “You’re right.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. Porter begged him to get her back on set.
“Let’s do this.” He helped her out of the studio chair.
She looked at the roses and told him, “Let P know this don’t make me feel better.”
She wasn’t one of those bitches that could be bought with a car or a Rolex and apologies had to be verbal, not bought.
“I’ll handle that while you go back and finish. Please.”
The day before, she knew something was off with him. It was to the point where she asked him to leave set because he was blowing her high. Every little move she made, he had problem with it and she couldn’t catch a vibe for nothing in the world.
First, it was her hair was too long. Okay, she let him chop it half way off.
On the set for her first video, he hated the outfit. He then felt like her makeup was too gaudy, so they tried a smoky eye only for him to say she looked like a meth addict. Porter irritated the hell out of her when he straight took over everything. After they found a look that satisfied him, he complained about her cheeks hanging out the outfit that was designed specifically for her.
Halfway through the song, he yelled, “Cut.”
Porter Bavay was not the fucking director.
Mahogany blew smoke out of her mouth as she stormed off the floor and mushed him in the head, not caring who was looking at her. “Fuck wrong with you?”
He had pissed her off.
“You twerking and shit man. You’re not in the fucking strip club no more,” he shouted back.
Juice shook his head and placed h
is phone on the table before walking over to do damage control. They both were too playa for this bullshit.
“P, are you talking to me right now?” She couldn’t believe that he came at her like that.
“Why you gotta be popping your pussy all in the camera and sticking your tongue out and shit?” he continued.
Juice said quietly, “Come on, y’all causing a scene. Take it outside.”
Mahogany was so over this shit. “I’m going home.”
Porter then thought about the money he would stand to lose if she walked off set.
“Nah, handle your business. I’ll leave,” he declared.
“Good!” That’s what she wanted him to do anyway.
They were able to jump right back in and the day was a successful one. She called Porter as soon as they were done, but he didn’t answer.
“Have you talked to P since he left?” she asked Juice.
“Nah.”
She packed up her belongings and called him again and again, which she never had to do before.
Mahogany blew his phone up until hers went dead. When she made it home, she told Genesis that he could stay or go home since Kareem was already sleep. Her brother caught an Uber home. She smoked again and took a bath, falling asleep sooner than she expected due to her having a long day.
The next morning, there wasn’t a notification of a missed call or text message from her man and she refused to reach out again. She dropped Kareem off to Genesis and headed back to the building where they were filming her very first video. One day down and two more days to go. Despite Porter not answering the phone, she was in a good mood and was anticipating seeing the finished project. This was a different situation, versus having someone’s cousin record her rapping in front of the liquor store or in the back of the club. Much better than them half editing the video and getting a few views on YouTube. She had a whole team dedicated to making this video stands out from the others. Bright lights, backgrounds, visual boards, and almost seven cameras surrounded her. The video production was a big deal which let her know that she too, was a big damn deal.
Mahogany was in and out of the dressing room in less than an hour.
“We’re not gon be here all night tonight,” she told the crew. It was her way of apologizing for yesterday’s public argument between her and P.
“Good morning everyone! We have some muffins and shit over there, if anyone is hungry.”
She asked Juice if they could cater breakfast on her and he obliged. It was really important to her that she didn’t leave a sour taste in people’s mouth. Her reputation mattered to her. Pretty Boy P taught her that.
It seemed as if every time she was in a good mood, some bullshit happened. During a restroom break, Porter finally broke his silence with a text message explaining himself for being MIA yesterday and he also revealed the true reason behind his saltiness on the first day of her video shoot.
It saddened her that a man, the love of her life, had the power to control her mood. She hated it so much knowing that no one should be able to dictate your emotions but you. Him and his fucked-up ways from the past had come back to get him and although it was before her, it still hurt. She tried her hardest to push through her emotions and stay focused but struggled tremendously. Some girl claiming to have a toddler by Porter was the last thing she expected him to tell her. If anything, she was looking for an apology for tripping about nothing. But no, he dropped a load on her and she still had business to handle.
η
“How did you get so tall?” Kareem asked a lot of questions.
Before P could even answer the hundredth one of the day, he had another one, “Do you think I’m done growing?” he asked him with wide eyes, which caused Porter to chuckle loudly.
“Kid, you’re five. You have a long way to go.”
Kareem seemed relieve to hear that.
“When I get tall, can I have your shoes? You always have nice kicks.”
“Yeah, but you’re going to have your own money, so you can buy all the kicks you want.”
He pushed the plate of pepperoni pizza towards him. “Thought you were hungry.”
Kareem picked it up and gobbled half the slice down in silence before posing another question, “Are you going to marry my mama?”
His little friend looked to his own father. “Daddy, when are you and momma going to get married?” he wanted to know as well.
Xavier and his son, who tagged along with them for the day, looked at Porter. “Whoa! Y’all go play. No more questions.” He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
“Where do kids get these thoughts from?”
P shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea.”
Mahogany was busy finishing up the video and asked him to spend some time with Kareem. She never acknowledged what he told her, instead she threatened to knock his head off. Juice said that was better than blocking him, which is what his girlfriend did on the regular whenever he fucked up. Mahogany didn’t know what the fuck Genesis had going on and until she had some time to get to the bottom of his extracurricular activities, she didn’t want him keeping Kareem as much. Genesis was beginning to become a pain in her ass. Her cursing him out and threatening him was growing old. She was tempted to force him to tag along with her but was trying to hold out on that.
“Are you and her serious?” Xavier was curious.
Porter was never one of many words, so he kept it short, “We’re comfortable where we are.”
“Fuck that mean, nigga?”
He picked up a slice of pizza. “She’s focused on her career right now and I want that to happen for her more than me putting a ring on her finger. If that makes any sense.”
He was becoming a selfless man this time around.
“Yeah, it does.” Xavier understood. He had one more question, “Is the baby yours?” He, of course, had heard the rumors and saw it on the blogs.
“Honestly, Xa…I don’t know. I fucked her a few times.”
“Did Kim know?”
P shook his head. “Man, hell nah. Contrary to popular belief, we were not in an open relationship. I wasn’t just out here fuckin hoes for her to see.”
Whatever people believed about him and Kim was wrong. All wrong.
“Then this same bitch tried to sue me for sexual harassment right before everything went down, so I’m like which one is it. Pick a lie, hoe.” He was irritated with the entire situation, but Casey ensured him he was handling it.
“Let’s go see what their bad asses are doing.”
Porter was hoping that the last stop to the game arcade tired little Kareem out and he would fall asleep in the car. It was a lot having a kid with you all day, literally no nanny or no breaks. Porter hadn’t checked his email or text messages because the kid kept him busy. Mahogany hadn’t called or texted and he wondered if it was because she was considering leaving him or maybe, she trusted him with Kareem. If so, he would be happy to hear that. These days you couldn’t let anybody around your kids, all kinds of trifling shit was happening these days.
Kareem was at the basketball game, but was missing his shots.
“Let me help you out, real quick.”
He pulled him backwards a tad and told him. “Move your legs apart…lil more.”
Kareem did as he instructed.
“Okay, so you’re going to use the tips of your fingers to shoot the ball. Got it?”
He tried to shoot and missed again.
“Man.” Kareem dropped his head, disappointed that the stupid ball wouldn’t go into the hoop.
“Lift your head, don’t do that no more. You’re a king, okay?”
Kareem told him, “Yes sir.”
They’d been working on his manners, handshakes, and making eye contact when you’re speaking to someone. He also told him that he wasn’t tying a grown man’s shoes and he had no choice but to keep his damn shoe strings tied when he was around P.
“Try again, we don’t give up. Quitting is for losers. Are you a lo
ser?”
Proudly, he declared, “NO!”
He liked the sound of that. “Come on, let’s hoop!” he hyped him up.
Two hours later, he had to carry him to the car. Kareem was knocked out. When they made it back to his penthouse, he didn’t bother giving him a bath. He took his shoes and pants off and tucked him in the guest bedroom. His kids’ rooms were still decorated in bright pink and the doors were closed. He knew sooner than later, he needed to have the things boxed and donated to a local shelter or non-profit organization.
After P smoked a blunt and drunk a half glass of wine, he called his baby and she answered on the first ring.
“I was thinking about y’all earlier. How did it go today?”
“Perfect.” He was all smiles and was in a great mood, surprisingly. He really enjoyed his day.
“Was he talking a lot? Now that he’s used to you, I know he be talking your ear off.”
Porter laughed, “He’s good. Most kids don’t say shit. I’m happy that we’re building something.”
She blushed although he couldn’t see her, “I’m happy too.”
Porter knew that he was high, but he couldn’t be too damn high to think that she wasn’t still mad at him.
“Are we going to talk about…”
She interrupted him, “No.”
“It’s a possibility the child can be mine, do you get that?”
Mahogany was feeling grand today, she didn’t want to discuss him and his past infidelities that were honestly, before her.
“Yeah, P. I do. We’ve been doing good. I want it to stay that way.”
She admitted to herself that when they were at odds it made her sick, literally. Vomiting and all. She enjoyed smiling and being a happy person. If sweeping this shit under the rug was what she had to do to keep her head lifted, then so be it.
Porter decided to let it go, since that’s what she wanted him to do.
“Can I ask you a question?”
She was hoping that he respected her wishes and would change the subject.
“Of course, baby.”
She was getting ready to grab dinner with Juice. They were going to take shots and shit to celebrate a successful week but wouldn’t dare rush her nigga off the phone. They’d barely talked in forty-eight hours and she missed him so much.