Mahogany: The Love Drought Series

by Nako

  “All I ever wanted was to see her win,” he shook his head as he rolled another blunt.

  This whole situation had taken back a few steps and he honestly didn’t know if he wanted to be with her anymore. He rather let her go and let her find some management and do her own thing. A relationship without trust is a waste of time and he could be doing all kinds of shit. Porter put his life and career on pause to help her get to where she was. She had straight slapped him in his face throwing that legal shit at him, like he was her ex. He didn’t know if he could forgive her for this.

  “Bought that bitch a house, a car…put her son in private school. Iced her out...nigga, studio time. Sent her to LA so she could get her mind right. Just got her fuckin teeth done,” he started thinking of everything he had done without no hesitation.

  “Aww man don’t call her no bitch, you don’t mean that, P.”

  She used him.

  “She never loved me, this what she does for a living.”

  He felt tried right now.

  “She can have that shit, I’m still rich.”

  Porter pulled his phone out and blocked her number. He texted Juice, “Wrap up your affairs for Mahogany ASAP. That project is closed.”

  As soon as he sent it, Juice started blowing his phone up.

  Porter wasn’t in the mood to talk, he texted him again, “Or you can quit and help her out. Choice is yours.”

  He knew that he was being childish, but he didn’t care. Mahogany was going to soon see that the grass wasn’t greener on the other side and she had lost a good thing. A loyal man and the one person that had her best interest at heart.

  “Are you sure you done with her?” Big Mo asked him, minutes later.

  Porter blew smoke out of his nose, “A hundred percent sure, you cross me once and it’s fuck you forever.” He didn’t appreciate his kindness being taken as a weakness and if she ever thought that she had pimped him, she had another thing coming. It would be her loss way before it was ever his.

  C H A P T E R 21

  5’5 she my ride or die, never tell a lie. We like Bonnie & Clyde - 21 Savage

  6 Months Later

  “Mz. Nene if you nasty,” she giggled into the microphone and then stepped back from the stand to cough. She was sick as fuck and needed to be home nursing her cold, but instead she was in the studio in the wee hours of the morning, finishing up a feature for rapper 21 Savage’s latest track. He personally reached out to her and she was hype as hell to get on his song.

  “Ugh,” she coughed up a wad of gunk and spit it in a trash filled with snot covered tissues and bottles of water.

  She then sneezed, and the producer’s voice blared over the intercom, “Mahogany, I think you need to knock the cold out and then we relay your verse.” Her voice was raspier then ever due to her having a sore throat and cold.

  21 was on the couch with a baddie smoking a blunt when he chimed in, “I actually like the way she sounds.”

  Mahogany couldn’t hear him, so when she stepped out the booth she was prepared to apologize for being sick and would promise to redo it as soon as she felt better.

  “21, I been doing these shows, hugging people and I think I picked up this cold from my son.”

  His manager let her know, “Nah, we with it. You good to go. Thank you for doing this at the last minute.”

  21 nodded his head in agreement. “Shit is hard as fuck.” He was feeling her vibe and hoped that he could hop on her album whenever she finished it.

  Mahogany was confused, she looked at Juice who kept sneaking in on her sessions. Although he told her that his loyalty was to P, her ex-boyfriend. They still remained thick as thieves.

  “I like it too,” Juice shrugged his shoulders. Her voice had a gutter feel to it when she was sick, so for now, it would work for her.

  “Let me hear it.”

  Everyone was saying that they liked it, so she wanted to hear it for herself.

  And they weren’t lying, it sounded smoky and sultry.

  “Yeah, we gon’ have to do a video for this. Hit my line when you ready.”

  21 stood up and hugged her, thanking her again.

  “Let’s get a picture, so I can post to get the buzz started.”

  She looked down at her puma outfit and Yeezy sneakers. “I don’t really have no clothes on.” She wasn’t too active on social media these days. The breakup had taken a toll on her and she refused to give in to the rumors of him leaving her because of his heartbreak after finding about Kim possibly cheating on him. That was far from the truth and people were going to believe what they wanted too anyway. She posted her singles and shows, nothing more or less. Mahogany was dealing with their separation the best way she knew how, and that was too stay focused and keep working. The hardest part about breaking up is losing the routine. Her life consisted of Kareem, Genesis and P. It took her mind a while to register that he was no longer in the picture. When she went up the street to pick up food for Kareem, she would still order P’s normal and a few times of her leaving the studio she would text his phone to let him know that she was on the way home.

  However, he had her blocked on all three of his phones and that hurt too. He didn’t even have the decency to break up with her the right way. He straight ghosted her. Porter sent Juice to get the things that he wanted from the house and anything else they needed to tie up, Juice handled it. Porter kept his distance and it boggled her mind that in six months, she hadn’t seen him not once. At any of the industry events, he wasn’t present. No shows, nothing. She was floating through with no manager, but had a great PR who started playing every position there was until Mahogany sat down and got her business all the way together. She was aware that there was a lot she didn’t know and her fear of being played kept her somewhat still in the past six months. Casey told her that the lawyer she had was a good one. He also wanted to know how she met him, but she kept that info to herself.

  She had a few deals on the table including one from YQ Recordings, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to do a deal or not, and especially not without P’s blessing. She wanted him back so bad, but her pride was a motherfucker. She was extremely stubborn and refused to be the bigger person. He showed her what he would do once problems arose, and she showed his ass right back.

  “Girl, you look good as hell. You still with P?” he asked her, seriously.

  Mahogany laughed him off, “Let’s take this picture, boy.” She’d been doing a great job of dodging that question. Everyone wanted to know what was really going on, but she wasn’t clearing shit up.

  After they wrapped the session up, the only people that remained was her and Juice.

  “You shouldn’t be smoking until you feel better,” he scolded.

  Mahogany ignored him and continued stuffing the Backwood. “It makes me feel better. My own personal heartbreak medicine.” She didn’t laugh or anything, she was hella serious. Her heart was hurting.

  Juice didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead, he changed the subject.

  “That track is hot, it’s going to blow up too.”

  She figured it would. The hype of all this was still there, but it didn’t give her the same feeling it did when she was with P. They used to celebrate her highs together. Now she was fuckin’ alone.

  “How have you been?”

  She hadn’t seen him in about a month or two.

  “Good, working. Per usual. I bought shorty a ring, thinking about asking her on Valentine’s Day.”

  Mahogany liked his girlfriend. She couldn’t help but to feel a little jealousy at the thought of her being lonely and in her feelings on Valentine’s Day.

  “That’s the move right there. She’s going to be so surprised.” She gave him a warm smile. Juice was a good guy.

  “Have you started back on the album?”

  Mahogany shook her head. “Nah.”

  He saw the weight loss and she was losing her ass. “You alright?” he was now concerned about her and was wondering was
she really okay. She didn’t look like herself and she damn sure wasn’t acting like his sister.

  She chewed on her bottom lip as she intently focused on sealing the blunt. She and Juice hadn’t discussed the intricate details of her and P’s breakup. The night when he came by the house to pick up his things, his words weren’t plentiful, and she tried her hardest not too be offended.

  “I had to make a choice and I know you gon blow up, sis…it’s not like I don’t believe in you…” Juice struggled with his words and Mahogany stared at him wanting more, expecting more from him.

  “Okay, so what are you saying?”

  He looked into her eyes. “P needs me to focus on the other clients…so I’ma do that.”

  “Oh.” She tensed up immediately.

  “It’s not personal, it’s business.”

  “Do you think I was wrong for having someone to look over my paperwork?”

  “Be honest...” she added.

  Juice refused to get in the middle of that.

  “I fuck with both of y’all.” He prayed she let it go, but she didn’t.

  “So, if you ain’t never had shit, family ain’t got nothing, you done stole and scammed your way through life…”

  Juice didn’t want to go here. “Mahogany.”

  She stood up and coughed, “Nah, let me finish… ain’t never had nothing, Juice. Straight out the projects. No hot water, food stamps being sold by your mama, lights off every month. You ain’t got shit and the one time you see some real money, you not gon get a lawyer?” She wanted him to really to think about this shit.

  Juice dropped his head. He understood where she was coming from, completely.

  “That’s what the fuck I thought.”

  η

  Whenever he saw the little girls dance at church it made him tearful because his daughters were little prima ballerinas in the making. Kim had them in extensive training almost three times a week and he could count on one hand how many recitals he made. The few he did show up to, he was either late or in the lobby on the phone handling business.

  “Can I count on you to make this happen tonight?” He was pacing the floor with his phone in hand.

  Before he could hear Walt’s response, someone snatched his cell.

  He spun around so got damn fast, ready to go the hell off.

  His wife stared at him and if looks could kill he would be dead.

  “KIMMMMMM!”

  She was the most irritating person in the world. Like a boil on your balls, she was excruciating.

  “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK! TAKE YOUR BLACK ASS IN THAT AUDIOTORUM AND CHEER SO LOUD FOR YOUR DAUGHTER. SHE WAS THE STAR OF THE SHOW AND YOU OUT HERE ON THE PHONE!”

  The auditorium wasn’t full, but it wasn’t empty either. However, about her kids, she couldn’t care less. She was so sick of Porter being a half-ass parent. He had to do better. It wasn’t even about her no more.

  Porter didn’t argue back. She was right, and he knew it. He ignored the shameful looks of everyone while the moms silently praised Kim for speaking up for her daughters. If only they had the courage to do the same.

  After the show, Porter and Kim walked backstage and greeted his princess with a huge bouquet of roses.

  “Daddyyyy! You made it!”

  Kim stood there as if she was invisible, all her baby clearly saw was her daddy. He was their superman. Not mommy, who brought them to practice, made sure they ate once they were done, fed them and nursed their wounds. Nope. Not mommy.

  “You killed it baby girl!” he said, as if he’d seen the show. The way he could lie irked her dearly.

  “Did I really?” she yearned for the praises of her sweet father.

  He spun her around and kissed the top of her head. “Where do you want to eat?” He would do anything to keep that precious smile on all of their faces, including his wife who looked like she rather blow his face off instead.

  Dinner was pleasant, and the kids ended up falling asleep mid-way the ride home. After the kids were tucked in, he found Kim on the balcony drinking whiskey and smoking one of his cigars.

  “Would I be wrong If I said we got the prettiest kids in the world?”

  She smiled, because she thought the same thing every day.

  “No, just don’t say it in front of nobody.”

  Porter sat beside her and pulled her thighs on top of his legs.

  “I’m going to do better,” he promised.

  She wasn’t in the mood to argue with him tonight. “We’ll see.”

  She was over him but wanted to keep her picture-perfect family because her kids deserved that.

  “I’m serious, they’re getting older. I don’t want them thinking that I’m never around.”

  “But you’re not,” she reminded him.

  “I’m about to fix it, don’t give up on me.”

  It was too late though.

  He shook the memory out of his head and refocused on the cute little girls praising God through dance. The church was on their feet as one of the girls took the lead and mimed the last verse. Once the song faded out, they waltzed down the aisles, still ministering to the congregation. One of the dancers couldn’t have been no older than fourteen had a spiritual encounter with God and could barely make it down the aisle. She was shivering and crying loudly. The mothers of the church stood up and covered her, telling her, “Let God have his way.”

  Porter stood up and clapped. He was on the row with Carmen, who had no problem sitting in the main section with him. Their famous friends were up top in the vestibule. Porter wasn’t as high-profiled as them and didn’t feel the need to hide himself at church, nor did he care anymore. Last week, a tweet went viral of him and Nia on their knees at the altar. Their privacy was violated and what was supposed to be a personal and very spiritual moment was posted for the world to see. Nia was such a classy woman, she reposted the picture with a caption that stated, “Yes, I go to church. Yes, I praise God. If you knew what I been through, you’ll be on your knees too. #womenwhopray #churchgirlsbelike #youcanfindmeathealtar #prettygirlsworship #shoutouttomybrotherPholdingmedown”

  Of course, a few spectators were at church today trying to get a glimpse of the celebs that attended, and Apostle made it so clear that this was not the place to do that when he approached the podium before the dancers began, “We got a full house today. I hope y’all came to meet God and also tithe.”

  The church erupted into laughter, the Shephard of the house had a great sense of humor.

  “Them babies danced today!” Teka said over brunch an hour later.

  “And did!” Narie chimed in.

  Nia was relatively quiet, she was still feeling the remnants of the Worship on her.

  “You good?” P nudged her.

  She nodded her head. “Y’all ever think like this is our lives? I’m grateful, but it’s like today, I woke up and was like, this is really my life,” she spoke from such a sincere place and it caused the entire table of family and friends to stop and meditate.

  Nia’s eyes were teary. “I want us to remember that none of us would be here without God. We can’t never lose sight of that. At the blink of an eye it can all be taken away.” She wiped her face with a napkin.

  Porter felt what she was saying on a whole ‘nother level. These past six months hadn’t been the easiest, but at the same time, he’d been happier than ever. Of course, he missed Mahogany, but being on his own again placed a lot of things into perspective for him.

  Life was short, and Nia was right; God had been too good to Him. And for that, he decided to lift the grudge and be the bigger person.

  η

  She was headed into Drais in Las Vegas, Nevada to do a club appearance when her phone kept ringing. It was almost two in the morning, so she assumed whomever was calling had the wrong number and continued to press the call to ignore. They called a fifth time and because she was a mother, she answered the phone. Kareem was at a camping trip with the Boy Scouts and it came on the perfect weekend since she
had a show.

  “Hello,” she pressed her index finger into her right ear to hopefully help herself hear better.

  It was loud backstage at the club as the DJ got the crowd ready for her to come out. The small entourage that was with her consisted of her PR, makeup artist and hair stylist. She didn’t have any friends and sometimes she wished that she did because the clubs always gave her a nice section with tons of drinks and food. She was growing tired of going out and normally after she performed or did a walk-through, she was off the stage and in a chauffeured vehicle headed back home to her son.

  “Hello, is this Mahogany Sinclair?”

  She told security to give her a second, the caller sounded serious.

  “Give me a minute. Let me step outside. I can barely hear you.”

  She moved as fast as the platform pumps allowed her to. On the exterior of the club she caught her breath and said, “Okay, yeah this me. Who is this?”

  “You were listed as the emergency contact for Genesis Hicks, are you the next of kin?”

  Mahogany knew that this shit wasn’t happening to her.

  Tears rushed to her eyes as her heart prepared itself to stop.

  “Ma’am?” the nurse sounded impatient. She’d searched high and low to get a contact on his family.

  “Yes…yes…I’m here. I’m his sister.”

  “Okay, how soon can you get here? We aren’t allowed to give medical information over the phone.”

  “Is he dead?” She needed to fucking know.

  The line went silent.

  The only thing that replayed in her head was the conversation she had with her mama last week.

  “What the hell Genesis be doing when you all over the world and shit?”

  Mahogany rolled her eyes. “I’m not all over the world.”

  Her mom was so proud of her, but she was forever worried about Genesis getting into trouble. He’d always been bad as hell, so she knew he was probably stressing his sister out.

  “I don’t care where the fuck you be at, that’s your brother. He needs to be with you. Make him the road manager or something.”

  She worried about her kids often. Thank God Mahogany pulled it together and figured out how to survive in this cold world.