In The Company of My Sistahs

by Angie Daniels

  Okay, I was sharing shit so I could be the subject of her laughter. Although the way Leroy had played her and the way Troy had played me were two different things. I didn’t know he already had a wife, while everyone at Mt. Carmel knows Leroy’s married. Shit, my ex was military and he had a wife in another state, only I didn’t find that shit out until after we had been married six months. So, yeah, my ass got played, but that was nothing compared to what I did to his ass. However, like I said before, I’m gonna save that experience for another time. It would take too much time to share and right now I’m trying to enjoy my vacation. Well, at least I would after I got done dealing with Kayla’s ass.

  “Before Troy remember that Nigerian I was fucking with the big dick?”

  She wiped her nose with a Kleenex and nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Well, I walked into K-Mart one afternoon and ran into him, his wife, and their six kids.”

  Her red-rimmed eyes had grown large. “Oh my God, you never told me that.”

  “Shit, would you?” One thing I don’t like is to look bad in front of my friends, so I am selective as to what I share with them and what I don’t. Damn, I don’t have to tell them everything.

  “So, as you can see, you ain’t the only one to get played. We’ve all gone through it. Look at Nadine and her husband. Even Lisa’s ass was played before she met Michael.”

  She sniffled. “I guess you right.”

  Of course I’m right.

  She balled the snot rag in her hand. “It’s just that it has happened to me too many times.”

  “Girl, you’re gonna have to develop thicker skin. You know how I am. I hate to say it, but sometimes you’ve got to treat a man like shit. When you give them everything they want, when they want it, they take yo ass for granted. Why you think I act the way I act?” She gave me a look that said she was giving what I said some serious thought. “You got to start breaking a brotha down. Let them know that it’s gonna take a lot to get with a sistah like you.”

  She gave a timid smile. “Yeah, right.”

  “Girl, you better recognize. That negro is not worth wasting tears over. You’re letting him ruin the first vacation you’ve had in five years. I guarantee he ain’t giving your ass a second thought since you left.”

  There was an awkward moment of silence, then she sighed and finally reached over and hugged me.

  “Thanks, Renee, what would I do without you?”

  Not much, that’s for damn sure. I took a deep breath. My work was done. Now I could take my ass to sleep.

  Chapter 29

  NADINE

  They walked down the driveway toward the main gate. The sun was already scorching. The temperatures had to be close to ninety degrees. Nadine fell into step beside Kayla. She moved at a relatively slower pace, so she adjusted her normally rapid steps to stay with her friend. Today however, Kayla was moving even more slowly. Her shoulders were slumped forward and she stared off in front of her. It was obvious to Nadine, she was still thinking about Leroy.

  Nadine felt like she needed to say something. “I want to apologize for what happened the other day. If I had known you were kicking it with the reverend, I wouldn’t have said anything.”

  Kayla snapped out of her trance. “So you’re saying you wouldn’t have told me he was playing me?”

  Nadine shook her head, realizing how what she had said must have sounded. “No. What I mean is I would have told you in private. I wouldn’t have busted you out like that in front of everyone.”

  Kayla chuckled. “I know what you meant. I just wanted to get you started.”

  “So, has he called you back yet?”

  She gave her a long gloomy look. “No, and probably won’t.”

  Nadine hesitated before she spoke again. “If he does are you going to forgive him and take him back?”

  She took longer than any scorned woman would have needed to answer, which made the answer quite obvious. So she was surprised when Kayla finally said, “I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

  “Think? Girl, don’t think, know. We’ve been friends for years. You deserve better.”

  “So why ain’t I getting it?”

  “Because you’re always settling for less.”

  Kayla released an audible sigh. “I just want to be happy.”

  “Happiness is what you make it.”

  “Are you happy?”

  Nadine gave a forced chuckle. “My husband left me for a white woman, but I’ve gotten on with my life. Actually started a better one.” Even as she said it she knew she wasn’t being completely truthful. Her life and future was still uncertain.

  Kayla stared down at the pavement as she spoke. “What bothers me the most is that I can’t understand how a man of the church could lie like that. He never had any intentions of leaving his wife. It was all just a game to him. He intentionally set out to hurt me. I can’t understand how someone, a messenger of God, could do something like that to another person without feeling any remorse.”

  “Girlfriend, even a minister can be a dog, ’cause he’s still a man.”

  “But I thought this man was going to be different.”

  “We always do.”

  Kayla had to laugh at that. “I know that’s right.” After a few minutes she added. “I don’t need another man.”

  “What if it was someone like that fine Clayton O’Neal?”

  “What in the world would he want with me? Renee is more his type.”

  Nadine had thought the same thing last night after seeing the two of them together, but Renee would have kissed and told, and today she hadn’t said a damn thing. So either he had a little dick or she wasn’t interested in him. Or maybe Renee wasn’t Clayton’s type. She smirked. Wouldn’t that be something if someone had finally rejected Renee’s horny ass?

  “What’s so funny?” Kayla asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  She giggled. “Nothing important. All I have to say is that the next time a pro football player asks your crazy ass out to dinner, do not turn the brotha down. I still can’t believe you did that.”

  Kayla increased her speed. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Clayton was just being nice. I looked so pitiful sitting there thinking about Leroy that he felt sorry for me.”

  “I doubt that. Just next time, say yes.” Just in case he did decide to ask Kayla to dinner again, she wouldn’t mention Renee leaving with Clayton last night. Because if Kayla knew, she wouldn’t even give Clayton a chance.

  They waved to the guard at the end of the driveway. He waved back and told them they would need to show their room keys in order to get back into the resort.

  They moved out to the curb and Nadine frowned. “Now we’ve got to figure out how to get across the street.” Cars were racing down the road, going in both directions.

  “Girl, we are going to have to haul ass if we’re gonna make it.” Kayla said as a car whizzed by. “I don’t know if I can move my wide ass that fast. If anything I can use it to stop traffic long enough to get you across.”

  Nadine cackled. “You are crazy.”

  “Shoot, girl. I’m serious.”

  They looked both ways and as soon as the last car raced around the corner, Nadine screamed, “Now!” They flew across the wide highway and Kayla moved faster than she had before. They reached the other side and stopped to catch their breath. “Damn, girl, you left my ass in the dust.”

  Kayla laughed between breaths. “You didn’t think I could move like that, did you?”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  A car whizzed passed them and blew its horn. Then another.

  Nadine glanced over at Kayla. “Kayla, girl, you’re showing all ass.” She was bent so far over trying to catch her breath, she was showing all ass from the back of her skirt.

  She quickly stood up again and grabbed Nadine’s hand. “Let’s go, girl, before I cause a twenty-car pileup.” They moved up the path to Holiday Village, a small craft market directly across the street from the hote
l, which would have been a much better choice than the one they had made this morning.

  “Kayla, look.”

  Kayla followed the direction of her eyes to where Clayton and another player were coming out of a small t-shirt shop.

  Nadine noticed Kayla start to shy away, so she grabbed her arm and pulled her up the path toward the two.

  “Hey, Clayton,” Nadine said as they passed.

  “Ladies.” He winked and smiled at Nadine, then glanced at Kayla. “How are you?”

  Nadine pinched her in the side. “Ow! I’m fine.” She mumbled, then grabbed Nadine by the arm and dragged her up the path.

  Nadine wiggled her arm free. “That was rude.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I just didn’t know what else to say.”

  “He definitely likes you.”

  Kayla’s eyes narrowed curiously. “Why you say that?”

  “It’s the way he looks at you. He looked right past me and gazed directly at you.”

  Kayla grinned as they moved toward the shops.

  “Now his boy, he was ugly.”

  Kayla choked on her gum, coughed it up, and spit it out on the path. “You need to quit making me laugh.”

  Nadine draped an arm around her waist. “I’ll do whatever it takes to take your mind off that no-good reverend.”

  Just as they prepared to step into the t-shirt shop, she spotted Clayton and his boy heading their way. He politely looked at Nadine, then turned to face Kayla. He cleared his throat. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

  “Sure.” She glanced over at Nadine, who wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as Clayton took Kayla’s hand and led her away from the building. Nadine noticed that the one with the big bubble eyes was staring at her.

  “Whassup, Shorty? My name is RD.”

  Ugh. She hated when a man called her shorty. She simply rolled her eyes and glanced over at Kayla, who was nervously shifting her weight from side to side.

  “Damn, baby, you are hard. I just wanted to ask you out to dinner tonight.”

  He was the last person she wanted to spend the evening with. How could she possibly spend a meal sitting across from someone who looked like a toad? She was ready to tell him no when Kayla came dancing over and grabbed her arm.

  “Nadine, I need a big favor,” she whispered.

  As Kayla dragged her into the store, Nadine noticed her eyes looked panicky.

  “Whassup, girl?”

  “Clayton asked me to dinner and”—she hesitated a minute—“and he wants RD to come.”

  “Hell, no!” Nadine frowned. “Girl, I don’t want to go out with him. He looks like Kermit the Frog.”

  Kayla was laughing and pleading at the same time. “Please, Nadine, please. I promise not to think about Leroy once all night. Come on, you owe me from the last double date.”

  She pursed her lips. She was right, she did owe her. Kayla knew there was no way she would say no to that. But asking her to spend an evening with a Muppet was a bit much.

  “You’re going to owe me big-time for this,” she whispered.

  Kayla’s face lit up like a lamp had been switched on beneath her beige face. “Thank you.”

  Nadine turned around. “All right, I’ll go out with you.”

  Chapter 30

  KAYLA

  When they got back to the hotel, Nadine went up to the room while Kayla went to grab herself a hamburger. While she was walking away chewing happily on her sandwich, she spotted Renee sitting at the bar. It was barely three o’clock and she had already been going strong since this morning. She shook her head as she moved to stand beside her.

  “You are going to be drunk before we even get to the club.”

  Renee scowled. “Quit trying to act like my mama. I’m trying to enjoy my vacation.”

  Kayla rolled her eyes and took a seat on the stool beside her.

  “Here you go, sexy. Tequila and pineapple.” Kayla glanced down at his name tag, which read THOMAS. He smiled as he sat another glass before her.

  “You are too good to me.” Renee blew him a kiss as she slid the drink next to another glass that was half empty.

  Kayla noticed the way he looked at Renee before he moved to serve a customer at the other end of the bar. It was obvious she had spent the afternoon flirting with the cutie. Kayla slapped her knee. “Dang, Renee, I guess tonight you’re going to be the one doing the serving.”

  Renee rolled her eyes. “Girl, ain’t nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting. The more attention I give him the stronger my drinks get.”

  Kayla sucked her teeth. “And like any other man he’s going to want something in return.”

  Renee swung around on the seat and glanced over in Thomas’s direction, studying the strong contours of his face. “Shit, anything is possible.”

  “What about Everton?”

  She scrunched up her lips. “Fuck him! He ain’t my man.”

  Kayla tossed a hand in the air. “Whatever, girl. The rate you’re going, tomorrow you’ll be trying to screw a lifeguard.”

  “Bitch, don’t hate,” Renee snapped.

  “Who’s hating? Be glad I care enough to say something.”

  “Point taken, now leave the shit alone. If I want to fuck every employee at this resort then that’s my business. I’ll never see any of these mothafuckas again no way.” She then raised the half-empty glass to her lips and finished the drink.

  Kayla blew out a huff of breath. She was too through.

  Thomas returned. “Renee, can I get your friend something?”

  Kayla shook her head. “No, nothing.”

  “Girl, you only live once. Come on, it’s my treat.” She then started cracking up like she had suddenly remembered that drinks were free.

  “You know I don’t drink.”

  “You used to until you went and got all holy and shit.”

  “Well, I’ve changed.”

  Renee gave her a dismissive wave. “Live a little. Thomas, make her holy ass a Shirley Temple.”

  “One Shirley Temple coming right up.” When he moved to make her a drink, Renee turned to her. “Loosen up a little.”

  “I am loose.”

  “No, you’re not. You’ve been moping since yesterday over that no-neck mothafucka.”

  Kayla glanced over her shoulder, ignoring Renee.

  “Fuck Rev. All the dick running around this island. You can do a whole hell of a lot better than him.”

  Kayla didn’t bother to answer.

  “Play dumb if you want to, but I ain’t the one letting some man make me look like a damn fool. That man doesn’t care about anybody but himself. To him you are just another piece of ass.”

  Kayla rolled her eyes at that last comment and was thankful Thomas had returned with her drink. Sometimes Renee could say some real hurtful shit.

  Kayla remained quiet because she knew Renee was trying to comfort her in her own tactless way. All the years they had known each other Renee was loud, blunt, and lacked compassion. She had always given unwanted advice and butted her nose in where she wasn’t needed. She had hurt Kayla’s feelings many times but regardless of how much it hurt she had never stood up to her. Not once had she confronted her about how much her words hurt.

  Like now.

  However, this was one time when Renee was right. Reverend Leroy Brown had made her look like the biggest fool, and it hurt. It hurt like hell and all she wanted to do was go curl up in a corner until the pain went away. Renee expected her to just get up and move on—the same way she handled things.

  She glanced at her out the side of her eyes, watching her openly flirting with the bartender, and shook her head. Renee had never been one to let anything or anyone stand in her way.

  Kayla’s spirits lifted slightly as she thought about her dinner date tomorrow with Clayton. Beautiful smile, gorgeous body, and he had done something that no other guy had. Instead of trying to climb into her bed, he had asked her to dinner. Maybe Renee was right. Maybe she did need to quit moping over Le
roy and get on with her life.

  “Ooh, Kayla. Look!”

  Kayla rolled her eyes and reached for her glass. Thomas had gone to serve another customer, and without even looking in the direction of her eyes, she knew Renee had already found someone else to focus her attention on.

  “Damn, that Clayton O’Neal is fine.”

  Clayton.

  Her heart fluttered as she glanced at the pool, where Clayton and RD were standing at the side. Her mouth dropped open as she took in how good he looked in his swim shorts. Better than before. The sun was beaming down on him. His body was glistening as if he had bathed in baby oil.

  Renee shook her head with appreciation. “Mmm, mmm, mmm, I’m going to get me some of that.” She finished her drink in one gulp, then slid off the bar stool. “Come on Kayla, we’re going swimming.”

  “But—”

  “No buts.”

  Any further protests were cut off when Renee grabbed her hand and yanked her off the stool.

  Reluctantly she followed her down the path, past the pool. Kayla moved fast so that Clayton wouldn’t try to stop her. He waved and before she could raise her hand, Renee waved back. As soon as the two of them were out of sight, Renee started talking nonstop, with her hands flying through the air.

  “Girl, did you see how good that mothafucka looked? Damn, I am going to get me some of that.”

  “What about Thomas?”

  “Girl, fuck Thomas. I’m gonna get me some rich dick tonight. That broke-ass negro Thomas will still be there tomorrow.”

  She dashed into the building and up the stairs to their room before Kayla could catch her second wind. Shaking her head, she moved to wait for the elevator.

  With a sigh, she realized she needed to let Renee know that the guy she was acting a fool over had asked her to dinner tomorrow night. But to be honest, Kayla was actually getting a kick out of the entire situation because for once someone was interested in her, not Renee. Between the two of them there had never been any competition, because men always preferred Renee over her, but this was one time things were different. As she boarded the elevator, Kayla giggled like a kid with a secret she was burning to tell.

  By the time she made it up to the room, Renee was padding around in a yellow string bikini, hunting for her flip-flops.