Sincere, still upset about the information he’d heard in the bar, was anxious to get to the bottom of things. His face was now serious. “So I have something to ask you, and I really need you to be honest with me, OK.”
“I’m always honest with you, Sincere. Ask me anything.”
“When you told me you were a virgin, were you being honest with me?” He rubbed his hands through her hair softly, trying to make her feel comfortable.
“Of course. What made you ask me that?” Strangely, she was feeling lightheaded but still tried to stay focused on what he was asking her.
“Because today I heard otherwise, and I just want to know if I can trust you. Before today, I did, but now I’m not so sure,” he said, his tone now stern, the softness disappearing as he noticed she was appearing drowsy and less focused with each passing second.
“Who would tell you something like that? I haven’t even had”—Brooklyn fell down onto the bed unable to move, her eyes still open.
Sincere sat for a moment pondering his next move. He knew it would alter their relationship, but he couldn’t go any longer without knowing whether or not she was honest. He untied her robe, revealing her pink nightgown underneath. He reached under the nightgown and pulled down her panties to face her nakedness for the first time. For a second he thought about turning around and walking out of the door, leaving her untouched. No real man would rape his girl and risk taking her virginity just to find out if she was a virgin in the first place.
He quickly pulled down his pants, letting them drop to his ankles, and spread her legs far enough. Being so close to her almost made him erupt and he didn’t even touch her. He grabbed his dick, which was hard as a brick, and slowly guided it inside of her. Though her walls were extremely tight, he still wasn’t certain.
He saw a tear streaming down the side of her face and wanted to stop, but he was feeling too good to pull out now. In fact, he picked up the pace and began using more force, moving in and out, as he ignored her pain. Her pussy wrapped around his dick so tight, it was almost smothering it. He stopped when he felt like she was too wet. After pulling out, he noticed some spots of blood on the bed underneath her.
Sincere felt like the biggest asshole on the planet for what he’d just done. Instead of her enjoying her first experience, she’d know that she was raped. He stood up and pulled his pants back up. He began pacing the floor, trying to figure out what to do. He thought, Maybe she’d forget all about it, with the drugs and a good night’s sleep. He went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth. He wet it then went back into her room and tried to clean her now swelling lips. He put her panties back on and positioned her on the bed and pillow.
After kissing her on the forehead and whispering how sorry he was in her ear, he left the house unnoticed by her brothers. The entire ride home he thought about the fact that he hadn’t thought things out, something Sidney had warned him about.
Chapter Eight
24 Karats 1986
Brooklyn smiled as she shook hands with Mesa Grimes. She’d just had her first meeting regarding the contract the agency had offered her. The following week she’d do her first test shoot to begin her portfolio. Mesa was almost as excited as Brooklyn.
Brooklyn’s mind was focused on getting out of the ghetto, and moving on to bigger and better things. Now it was much more than a dream and more like a reality. She could imagine her face in the magazines and on billboards. She left the office with a new attitude, one that focused on her future and not on some of the negative things that weighed her down.
Brooklyn hadn’t yet found a way to forgive Sincere. Ever since the night he had raped her, he’d been showering her with gifts, hoping to make up for what he’d done. She didn’t give a shit about the clothes and fancy jewelry. What she did care about was, he’d robbed her of the one thing she’d held sacred. Though she still kept in touch with him, she hadn’t spent the night with him or even let him get close enough to hug or kiss her, every encounter being uncomfortable for her. But keeping contact with him was a way to keep food coming in for her brothers, and she didn’t want to risk throwing that away.
To make matters worse, she felt like she had no one to talk to. Since her argument with Stacey, the group of friends she once could call on was no longer within her reach. She missed them even more after that night, but she knew there wasn’t any point in trying to reconcile, as long as she was still with Sincere.
Walking outside of the building, she put on her Gazelle’s and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she adjusted her dress to make sure everything was in place. She walked over to the BMW, which was waiting for her with Sincere patiently sitting inside. She climbed in and sat quietly, not really in the mood to talk. Knowing he wouldn’t let the entire car ride remain silent, she prepared herself for small talk.
“So how did it go, baby?” he said, placing his hand on her thigh.
Frowning, she looked down at his hand then up at him, and he removed his hand.
“It went fine.”
“Just fine?”
“Yeah,” she said as she turned to look out of the window, her mind wandering. She loved him, but she knew he was bad for her.
“Why the funky attitude, Brook? What’s crawled up your ass and died?”
“Nothing, Sin. I just answered your question.”
“You didn’t answer my fuckin’ question, you know. Why don’t you stop being such a bitch all the time. There’s plenty women that would love to take your place,” he yelled, sick of getting the cold shoulder. Shit, if she didn’t want to be with him, then she should have left a long time ago.
“Listen ... stop threatening me. Because, if you wanted me gone, I would be gone.”
Sincere wanted to wrap his hands around her throat or, better yet, smack the shit out of her for disrespecting him, but he held it together. Instead he probed her for the information he’d originally asked her. “So when are they going to start getting you work?”
She sat silent for a moment before answering, unaware of how close she came to being abused. “We do the test shoot next week, and hopefully, after that I’ll start getting work.”
“That’s good. I’m happy for you. You really deserve the best.”
“Thanks, Sin.” She turned to him and smiled. She could appreciate him showing his compassionate side. When she fell in love with him, it was partly because of it. “So where are we going anyway?”
“I’m taking you somewhere special to celebrate your new contract.” He laughed and patted her on the leg, drawing a smile from her. “Don’t worry. I promise you’ll enjoy it.”
They drove to a French restaurant in Center City, Philadelphia. The valet took Sincere’s car keys and gave him his ticket. They walked into the high-class establishment, which was full of older wealthy white couples.
The hostess looked at them strangely as she greeted them. In fact, they were the only young black couple in there. She was probably wondering how they could afford a meal worth one hundred dollars each. Immediately, she assumed he was drug dealer.
“Hello, and welcome to Le Bec-Fin. Do you have a reservation?” she asked from behind the wooden podium.
“Yes, two for Sincere Blake at six P.M.”
“OK, I see you here. Follow me right this way,” she said, directing them toward the main dining room.
Most of the patrons looked them up and down and whispered under their breath as they sat down. Brooklyn was smiling from ear to ear. She had never been in a restaurant nearly as nice as this one. The lighting was dim in the historical-looking building, which had large chandeliers hanging from its ceilings, and the tables were covered with white tablecloths. Hell, she hadn’t even seen one on TV.
After getting glasses of water and ice tea poured, they looked over the menu, which included a variety of seafood and steak combinations that instantly caught her eye.
“This is really nice, Sin. You really didn’t have to do this.”
“Why not? You’re my girl. I�
�d do anything for you.”
She smiled, taking it all in. The little argument that they’d had in the car on the way over no longer mattered. He was definitely making up for his attitude.
“Look, I know I’ve done some fucked up things, and I can’t take them back, but I plan to make up for them in any way I can, to show you that you’re the one for me. I’ve never met a girl like you, and I truly let my inability to trust cloud my judgment. And I was wrong for that. I love you, and I hate that we argue so much now. I want to get back to the times when I made you smile. You think we can work on that?”
Brooklyn’s body was warm. She wanted to jump over the table and kiss Sincere for taking responsibility for his mistakes.
She held in the laughter that almost burst out of her when he slid a little black box across the table. “What is this?” she asked, almost afraid to open it. He’d given her plenty of rings before but not after he’d poured his heart out.
“Just open it and see.” He pushed it closer to her.
The waiter was now standing at the edge of the table. Looking down noticing the black box he asked them if they wanted more time. Sincere nodded.
Brooklyn grabbed the box and held it in her hand. What the hell is he doing? She thought. She was only sixteen, not nearly old enough to be married. Maybe she was overreacting, and marriage wasn’t on his mind at all. Slowly she opened it to find a diamond ring. It appeared to be an engagement ring.
“Sin, what are you doing?”
“Look, it’s just a promise ring. I know you can’t really think about marriage at your age, and I understand that. So just take it, and promise me that, when you are a little older, you’ll consider marrying me.”
She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing and ruin the nice evening he’d planned. A promise couldn’t be that bad. Hell, promises could be broken. Fuck it. I’ll play along with it. The ring was beautiful. Like nothing she’d ever seen. She slid it off the placeholder and put it on her finger. She held out her hand to see how it looked on her. It shined alongside the tennis bracelet he’d just bought her the week before.
“What am I going to do with you?” She shook her head and smiled.
“Just keep loving me and don’t give up.”
“I can do that.”
The dinner was better than she expected. Seafood that tasted as fresh as if pulled out of the sea that day mixed with Sincere catering to her was the perfect combination. He was winning her back.
Following the dinner they headed over to his house, where he planned to just lay next to her and go to sleep.
But Brooklyn had plans of her own. She knew that if she didn’t stop being afraid or uncomfortable around him, things would never progress, and she wasn’t about to sit still.
The house was quiet as they entered, apart from the patter of the dog’s feet. Butch, Sincere’s black Doberman, was almost the same height as Brooklyn when he stood on his hind legs. He ran toward the door, practically tackling Sincere when he entered the foyer. Brooklyn, still a little bit afraid of the dog, stood near the door until Sincere calmed the dog down and took him into the kitchen for some food.
She walked over to his record player and shuffled through the records he had sitting off to the side. Spotting “Rock Me Tonight” by Freddie Jackson, she smiled. Here Sincere was this hard gangster type with love songs, but then she thought about how suave he was and knew they were only for the ladies.
This night, she planned to show him that she could move on and make the best of the situation. The fact of the matter was, outside of the rape, he was the best thing that had ever happened to her. She put the record on the turntable, placed the needle on to it, and pressed play. Soon the mellow sounds of Freddie’s voice boomed through the speakers.
She began to remove her clothing, hurrying up, so she could sit down on the sofa and surprise him when he came back in.
Sincere entered the living room. “Hey, baby, I bought you some more”—He paused upon noticing her nude body. Instantly he turned around to avoid looking. “What are you doing, Brooklyn? You don’t have to do anything. That’s not why I gave you the ring,” he said, his back still turned. He didn’t know how to react, and assumed that getting too excited would ruin his chances of ever making her comfortable again.
“Sincere, turn around please.” She giggled. She was now standing with her hands on her hips, revealing the full length of her body. She had never been more ready to be with him than she was at that moment.
“Brooklyn, I really want to, but I don’t want to mess things up. We had a good night, and I want it to end that way.” He stood still as a statue, holding two glasses of ice tea in his hands. He was never afraid to look at anyone; usually, he’d jump right on them. But Brooklyn meant so much more to him than a quick screw.
“Sit the glasses down and turn around, OK. You won’t mess it up. Just a little while ago you said you would do anything for me, right?”
“I did say that but ...” He felt her hands around his waist and instantly got a hard-on. His body was betraying him. He’d tried to hold back, but her touch made it virtually impossible. He could smell the scent of her perfume, Chanel No. 9, the scent that made him weak, the scent he couldn’t resist taking a whiff of. Even if someone else was wearing it, he always thought of her.
“Sit the glasses down—now,” she whispered into his ear as she pushed on his arms from behind him into the direction of the end table.
Finally, he obliged and took a deep breath before turning around and meeting her lips with his. He massaged her tongue with his, moaning as he did so. His body temperature was rising as his adrenaline began to pump in overdrive. He’d waited for this moment for so long. They both had, and now that it was happening, their hormones were going wild.
His hands were all over her, touching places he hadn’t been able to touch before. Her body was soft as cotton, just as he’d imagined it would be. They continued to kiss each other as he led her to the sofa. Staring her in the eyes, he paused to stand and undress.
Brooklyn looked at his smooth, chocolate body, a sculpted masterpiece. She rubbed on his back as he got back in position on top of her and began kissing her neck. Inexperienced, she didn’t know what else to do, but what she did know was, his kisses on her neck and body felt first-rate.
He paused again. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Without a reply, she pulled him down and kissed him again, confirming that there wasn’t any turning back.
Sincere slowly guided himself inside her womanhood, which welcomed him with lubrication and a tight grip. He continued with a slow thrust, moving in and out of her tunnel, all the while looking at her to make sure she showed no sign of pain.
She smiled and continued to kiss him, and they moaned in ecstasy.
“I love you, Sin,” she whispered.
“I love you too.” He’d never told her he loved her. He felt like he showed it often but was never able to allow himself to speak the words.
Within seconds, after confessing his love, he erupted. His body shook as he kissed her, and she held on tight. They lay there for some time before showering and going to bed both satisfied. Things from that point on would be much better between them.
Chapter Nine
Take a Picture 1986
“OK, now turn to your right ... yes, just like that. Now smile,” the photographer spoke in between snapshots of Brooklyn.
Inside the large studio located on Fourth and South Streets in South Philadelphia were Brooklyn, the photographer, his assistant, and another model, who was in the back preparing for her shoot. For the first time she was without a chaperone, since her agent was out of town this particular weekend.
Brooklyn had been featured in a few local magazines as well as one national magazine called House of Couture, in which she’d participated in a full six-page spread. She had also been invited to New York Fashion Week to walk the runway alongside two other models signed to the same agency. Sch
ool, which she had since given up on, was the last thing on her mind. Modeling was all she could eat, sleep, or breathe at that point.
“OK, let’s change for look two,” the photographer said, calling for a break.
Brooklyn had been shooting for an hour straight and needed a break. She’d never realized how hard modeling was. When she entered the dressing room, Tania looked over at her.
“I’m Tania,” she said, reaching her hand out to shake Brooklyn’s. Tania was a few years older than Brooklyn and had been modeling for four years.
“Hi. I’m Brooklyn.”
“You’re doing good. Looks like you’re a natural. Mesa is your agent, right?”
“Yes.” Brooklyn was quickly changing into her next outfit as Tania sat looking into the mirror.
“Well, just a word of advice ... don’t let temptations ruin you.”
Brooklyn looked over at her. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean everything that can turn your life upside down. Men, drugs, and money, they will all ruin you if you allow them to.”
“Well, thanks. But that won’t happen to me,” she said, confident she could handle herself in any situation.
“We all say that, Brooklyn, but the truth is, you are no match for sin. It’ll make you think that it could change things for the better and end up turning your world upside down.”
Though Brooklyn was a complete stranger, Tania felt compelled to speak a few words of wisdom. She reminded her of herself and the days before she wasn’t an addict or suffering from an eating disorder as she tried to keep up with the younger females in the industry. She also knew that a hard head made a soft behind and hoped that Brooklyn would heed her warnings and avoid making some of the same mistakes that she did.
“Well, thanks again,” Brooklyn said as she put on her shoes, “but I’ll be OK. I’m sure of that.” She gave a forced smile as she turned to walk out of the room, annoyed that a woman she didn’t know from a can of paint was trying to tell her what to do. She believed that she would be able to manage anything thrown her way, and regardless of how naïve she appeared, she knew how to take care of herself, or at least she thought she did.
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