Modeling was also great for her. She had a lunch meeting with a local designer to go over some of his ideas for a spread she was doing for a New York magazine. As she sat at the table waiting for Mark Watts, the designer, she noticed a man sitting across the room at a small table, reading a newspaper and drinking a cappuccino. She had never been so amazed by a man before that day, but something about him was consuming all of her attention. She didn’t want to be rude with a continuous stare, so she would take her eyes off him every few seconds to avoid making eye contact.
You could tell by the way that she sat at the table with her legs crossed that she was confident. Her makeup was flawless, and her eyelash extensions made her eyes pop. Her jet-black hair hung beneath her shoulders, and every time she turned her head it bounced.
She almost dropped her glass when he noticed her stare and smiled. The light and warmth from the gesture had her heart racing. She tried to ignore the fact that he was now returning the stares. Damn! she thought to herself. How did I manage to be so obvious?
She retrieved a book from her purse and acted as if she was reading it. She could feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of her face. She was saved by the bell when Mark walked in.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he took off his jacket and hung it over the back of the chair. “Traffic was rough today.”
“Oh, no problem. I was a little late myself,” she lied, focusing all of her attention on him. “So what do you have for me? I don’t doubt that it’s anything less than extraordinary.” She smiled.
“I’m glad you have so much confidence in me,” he said as he pulled his portfolio from his briefcase.
She was so excited about Mark’s designs, she’d completely forgotten about the game she was playing with the handsome stranger.
Mark agreed to have the samples ready by the end of the week, and they shook hands before he rose from the table and walked away.
She glanced across the room, where the stranger had been sitting, and noticed that the table was now occupied by a group of teenagers. She flagged down the waitress to get the check and was surprised to find out that the bill had already been paid.
“By whom?” she asked.
“The man who was sitting at the table across the way,” she said, pointing in the direction of the teenagers. “He left his card and told me to give it to you.”
Brooklyn was smiling from ear to ear as she silently read the name. She wasn’t sure how she would contact him, with Sincere always around.
She drove over to Sincere’s house and found it empty. She decided to get dinner started and arouse him at the same time. So she cooked naked, hoping he would come home alone.
Sincere was just finishing his runs for the night and was on his way home. He planned to run back out later that night, but he knew if he didn’t spend time with Brooklyn, it would turn into a screaming match. As he opened the door he could smell the aroma of chicken and garlic. She must have read my mind, he thought, because I’m starving.
He entered the kitchen and spotted her naked body, which turned him on immediately. He forgot about how hungry he was. He walked over to her and palmed her soft cheeks. He softly kissed her on the neck as she tilted her head to the side to give him full access.
She moaned slightly to welcome him, and as she was practically dripping wet from the excitement, he slowly eased down to his knees and began to playfully place bites across her behind. She loved it and continued to moan as she bent over the sink to push her ass out a little farther.
Sincere pushed her right leg up, so she could place her knee on the counter. Her wetness now staring him in the face, his tongue was ready to taste her juices. He stiffened his tongue as he moved closer and slowly licked her mound from front to back. “Ummm!” he moaned, enjoying the wonderful taste. As her fresh scent tickled his nose, he went to work with his tongue, causing her to tremble.
Brooklyn grabbed a hold of the faucet as she had one orgasm after another.
He paused. “You like this shit, baby?”
“I love it, baby. Now keep going.”
He moved up to her asshole as he stuck two fingers inside of her tunnel. She moved back and forth on his finger as he used his tongue to make love to her from behind. She was trying to grab hold of anything, to keep her composure. He sped up the pace, making the experience even more electrifying.
As she continued to release her juices, he took it all in. After draining her of all of her energy, he pulled his finger from inside of her and slowly sucked the remaining juices from them.
“I’m starving, baby. I could eat a whole horse,” he said as he stood up from the ground.
They both burst into laughter.
“You are so crazy,” she said as she eased her leg off the counter.
“That’s why you love me.” Smiling, he eased in to kiss her lips. Then he headed to the bathroom to wash his face.
Stacey crossed his mind as he looked into the mirror and tried to figure out how he would get away from Brooklyn to give her a call. He hurried through the meal that Brooklyn had prepared and broke the news to her that he had to run out to take care of some business. She, of course, was pissed, but after he promised her a round two of what she had earlier, she quickly let the anger go.
Within minutes he was on his way to his brother’s house to get a quick shower and call Stacey. He’d been thinking about her a lot lately. As much as he cared about Brooklyn, Stacey had also become special to him during their breakup. He stopped at a pay phone and dialed her number.
After the second ring, the tone of her beautiful voice boomed through the receiver. “Hello.”
“Hey, Stacey. It’s Sin.”
“What’s up, stranger? Haven’t seen or heard from you in a while.”
“I missed you, and I wanted to take you out to dinner so we could talk. That is if you don’t have any plans tonight.”
“No, I don’t have any plans.” Stacey smiled. She had missed him too but figured, if she gave him some space, he’d come back to her. “Dinner isn’t a problem. Just let me know the place and time, and I’ll be there,” she said, trying not to sound overly excited, because the truth was, she was damn near ready to jump through the roof.
He definitely didn’t expect the conversation to go the way it did but was glad he’d decided to call. They set a time to meet, and he headed to Sidney’s house, where he always kept a spare outfit.
He knocked instead of using his key, since this was a surprise visit. He didn’t want to risk walking in on Sidney ass naked with a woman, which had happened plenty times in the past.
“Hey. What’s up, Sin?” Sidney said, smiling as he opened the door. He reached in to give him dap.
“I just need to use your shower and change real quick.”
“What? You and that chick are fighting again? I told you to leave her ass alone a long time ago,” he said, moving into the house.
“No. Actually, I have a date, and I can’t go back home to change.”
“Hell yeah, you can change. It’s about time you came to your senses. Who’s the lucky lady?”
“It’s Stacey.”
“Aww, man, I thought it was somebody new. How the hell you gonna cheat on Brooklyn with her again?”
“Man, I love Brooklyn, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like the relationship is forced. She doesn’t really want to be with me.”
“But why Stacey? Damn, that was her best friend.”
“Shit, they haven’t been friends for a long time, and the truth is, they probably will never be friends. I’m really trying to get to know Stacey to see what can happen.”
“Well, if you want my opinion, I’d just leave both of them alone. You can have pretty much any chick you want. Why backtrack?”
“Man, I’m going to take a shower. We’ll talk about it later.”
“All right. Well, don’t come running to me when one of those chicks cut your ass up.” Sidney laughed.
Sincere quickly got changed and headed
down Center City to meet with Stacey. He was almost knocked off his feet when he walked into the restaurant and saw her. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that hung over her shoulder, and she was wearing a black strapless dress that stopped just above her knee, her black pumps with the bow on top complementing the dress perfectly.
Stacey smiled as he headed over to the table and stood up just as he got close. She held out her arms to meet him with a hug.
“You look amazing,” he said, getting a whiff of her perfume.
“Thanks. You look sexy as always.” She smiled, and they sat down at the table.
Sincere was excited. He was losing interest in his relationship with Brooklyn and was hoping to get something started with her.
“So what’s going on with you and Brooklyn?” She took a sip of her water. “You dropped me like a hot cake when she came back into your life.”
He hesitated for a second, caught off guard by the question. He wasn’t even positive that she knew about him getting back with her. “Wow! I wasn’t expecting that.”
She laughed. “Well, you brought me here to talk, right? I’m just curious, because you never asked me on a date before. So what’s up? I’m used to going straight to your house, getting screwed, and being dropped off with a few dollars in my pocket.”
“Damn! I was that bad?” he asked, realizing how he treated women.
“Yeah, you were.”
“Well, that’s the old me, OK. I asked you here so I could apologize. To be honest, I’m not sure why I wanted Brooklyn back. I guess it’s just the history, and we have a child together. You know what I mean?”
“So what’s different now? You’re still with her?”
“I realize that what we had is over. But I’m a man; I can’t be alone. But if you want to make this work, I will let her go.”
“Are you bullshitting me, Sincere, or are you serious?”
“I’m serious.”
“Well, make it happen,” she said, smiling from ear to ear. For once, she felt confident that she was winning the race and no longer had to try and keep up with Brooklyn. The rest of the dinner was perfect, ending with his promise to be with her.
Sincere went home, knowing that Brooklyn would be pissed and probably start a fight, which was just what he needed to end it all.
Chapter Thirteen
Meeting in the Ladies’ Room 1988
“I need a place to stay. Is there any way you can help me?” Brooklyn whispered to Mesa from the small bedroom at her mother’s house.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just got in a huge fight with my mom, Sincere and I broke up, and I really have nowhere else to go.”
“I can come get you, Brooklyn, but the boarding house doesn’t allow babies.”
“That’s fine. She’s OK with my mom. She won’t hurt her. I just have to get away.”
“OK. Where are you now? I’ll come and get you.”
“I’m across the street from my mom’s, at Ms. Rose’s house.”
“OK. Give me an hour or so, and I’ll be there.”
“OK.” Brooklyn hung up and patiently waited for Mesa to arrive.
Brooklyn’s fight with her mother had gotten totally out of control. What started off as a verbal spat quickly turned physical, scaring the kids. Lately, Brooklyn’s temper had been hard to manage, and combined with her mother’s lack of parenting, it was bound to happen eventually. She felt like her career was going to slip away if she didn’t get focused, that the longer she stayed in that house unhappy, the more likely it would be to happen.
Once Mesa arrived, Brooklyn happily ran out of the house to meet her. She was excited about the possibilities of being out on her own. Mesa explained that she’d be sharing a room with another model, that the agency would take an additional percentage from her checks as payment for room and board, and Brooklyn easily agreed, knowing it was for the best.
Just as she was putting her bags into the trunk, Sincere pulled up behind the car. It was just like him to show up at the worst times. Surely, she wasn’t in the mood to talk, fuss, or fight with him.
“Where are you going?”
“That’s none of your concern, Sincere. Sasha is in the house. I’m not your child.”
“Yes, it is my concern. Your brother called and said you and your mom were fighting. What happened?”
“Look, Sincere, I have to go. I really don’t have time to stand here and hash out my family problems with you. If you were so fucking concerned for me, you wouldn’t have left me for that tramp of yours. My life is no longer your business.” Brooklyn closed the trunk and began to walk over toward the passenger side door.
Sincere grabbed hold of her arm. “You realize you’ll always be mine. I don’t give a fuck how far you go to try and hide.”
She looked down at his hand and then back up to his face. “Let go of me,” she responded, through clenched teeth.
Mesa got out of the car when she noticed him holding her arm. “Let her go, or I’ll call the cops.”
He laughed as he slowly let go of her arm. “I’ll let go for now, but remember what I said.” He backed away and headed back to his car, which was still running. He quickly sped off, leaving Brooklyn and Mesa standing there.
“Are you OK?” Mesa asked, placing her hand on Brooklyn’s shoulder.
“Yes, I’m fine. Can we just go?”
Brooklyn was even more confident at that very moment that she was making the right decision to get away, even if just for a little while.
With so much on her mind, the ride to the boarding house seemed especially long, and she was more than relieved when they made it there. When she went up to her room, a female, introduced as Natasha, was sprawled out across the bed.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to get acquainted. Brooklyn, I’ll call you tomorrow, OK,” Mesa said, walking out of the room.
Natasha looked over at Brooklyn, taking a glance at her clothing. She didn’t appear too impressed by the young beautiful female, who appeared to lack the confidence needed to make it in the business. Natasha knew, coming in, that she had to find a way to outshine the other females in the industry.
Brooklyn, though exhausted, immediately noticed that Natasha didn’t look too fond of her.
“So what’s your story?” Natasha finally spoke as she sat up on the edge of the bed.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what brings you here? Everyone here is running away from something, so what’s your story?”
“I’m not running from anything. I just wanted to try being on my own.”
“Yeah, I guess if you say that enough, you’ll believe it, but I’m sure it’s bullshit.”
Brooklyn was shocked by her abruptness and wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Afraid it would lead to a confrontation, she tried to brush it off, but Natasha wasn’t through yet.
“You look like the type that has man trouble. Am I right?”
“No, you’re not, and I’d appreciate it if you just—”
“Girl, I’m just playing with you. I love fooling with the new kid on the block. I am definitely not trying to be all up in your business.” Natasha laughed.
Brooklyn wasn’t laughing immediately but eventually let out a giggle. She hadn’t laughed in a long time about anything, so it was sort of like therapy.
Following her first night at the house, she and Natasha spent a lot of their time together. She loved all of the knowledge she got from hanging around someone who’d been modeling for a while. She would call home daily and would stop in to see Sasha and her brothers on the weekend.
Most wouldn’t understand how she could leave her daughter behind, but she felt like she had no choice if she was ever going to make it big. Some day she was certain that her daughter would understand why she made most of the choices she did, including steering clear of her father.
Eventually, she picked up a lot of Natasha’s habits as well, including the use of cocaine. The first time she saw her snorting the powder
through a straw, she didn’t know what to think. Natasha quickly explained that it was necessary, to stay thin and keep the energy she needed to do all of the events and shoots. She coaxed Brooklyn into trying it out, and Brooklyn was hooked from that day on.
Mesa noticed a change in Brooklyn and pulled her aside at one event.
“Hey, I just wanted to talk to you because I’ve noticed you and Natasha getting pretty close.”
“Yeah, that’s my girl. I’m glad you put me in the room with her because most of the other girls in the house are complete duds.” She laughed.
“Well, that’s not what I mean. I’m aware of her habits, and I don’t want to see you screw up your future, following behind her, if you know what I mean.”
“Not really. I think she’s great. I get a lot of good information from her, and she actually keeps me focused. Being away from my family all the time was hard, so it’s nice to have someone close to talk to when I’m confused and things get rough.”
“I need you to be careful. I was your age once, and I know how temptation can get the best of you. I just would hate to see you fail. When I saw you at your school, I saw something special. I just want you to succeed.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m going to make you proud. You believed in me even after I got pregnant, and I appreciate that.”
“Just don’t let me down. I have a lot riding on you, and it could be bad for the both of us if things don’t work out. Just don’t be so easily influenced. What’s good for the goose is not good for the gander, OK. Keep that in mind.”
“I will.”
Mesa reached in to hug her before letting her return to hair and makeup. Brooklyn knew exactly what she was referring to, but she was confident that she could handle her own. She could appreciate her concern, though she wasn’t worried in the least bit. The decision to trust Natasha was one that she felt was the better of any that she’d made in the past.
Mesa watched as Brooklyn pranced around, high strung. She was hoping that she could be strong enough to walk away from it all, just as she had walked away from Sincere.
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