The DJ was jamming and the spot was packed. The décor always reminded me of a 1970s-raunchy, sex, pervaded bathhouse. The red, felt banquettes and the raw white-oak planks lining the walls and floors screamed hot, steamy, sex cabin. It probably didn’t help that during my first time hitting up the location in the meatpacking district, there were snippets of an old-school porn flick being projected onto a wall and playing in a nonstop loop. Porn in public? Only in New York.
My girls and I headed to the lounge area, drinks in hand, and sat down at a table with an excellent view of the comings and goings of the crowd. Nikki turned to Dev. “Dev, are you nervous?”
Dev turned to Nikki, blinked her faux lashes and cocked her head to the side. “Nope, are you?” We cracked up given the comment that Nikki had made earlier in the night. The alcohol had us all feeling carefree.
As it turned out, a guy that Dev and I knew in passing was having his birthday party in the lounge area—he was a major player on the social scene. That’s why the spot was packed. I saw a couple of other familiar faces, too. The girls were enjoying the chic New York scene so they mixed and mingled, collecting drink after drink from the throngs of men falling at their feet and vying for their California girl attention.
Around three o’clock in the morning, we closed out our tab. We were spent and the crowd started to wind down. After the waitress finished collecting our signed receipt, she was headed away from the table when a large-framed woman pushed past the frail waitress charging in our direction. It was like something out of a cheerleading movie, the way that we all stood in our sky-high stilettos to confront whatever drama was coming our way.
The linebacker-sized heifer tried to approach Dev, but not before Sydney and I blocked her path.
With an intimidating scowl on her pretty little face, Sydney shouted over the music, “Who the hell are you?”
I couldn’t see Dev at the moment but after a few glasses of alcohol, she was likely feeling herself, which was par for the course. I was sure that she was right behind us saying to herself, I can take this big broad down.
The big woman shifted her weight to one side, then looked at Sydney. “Wow, I was coming over to speak. Are you her bodyguards or something?”
Sydney didn’t let her guard down. “Depends on who’s asking,” she shot back, throwing a quizzical look back at the big woman.
“Look, I thought that I recognized your friend from the hair shop and I was going to say hello. But it’s not that serious.”
I felt a hand on my shoulder pulling me back. Dev pushed Sydney and me aside. The next thing I knew, she embraced the girl offering a dramatic, Dev-style hello. We sat there looking like a fake goon squad all worked up for nothing while the two of them chatted for a brief second.
“Whatever,” I whispered to Sydney. “Better safe than sorry.”
“Exactly. Now let’s get the hell up out of here. We’ve had enough drama for one night.”
We made our way back to Jersey and everyone was beat. Girls were dropping out of their stilettos at the front door. Jewelry and makeup were coming off like costumes. Once everyone was situated, I climbed in my bed and lay there staring at the ceiling, thanking “sweet baby Jesus” that we made it home safely and the night did not get any crazier. I rolled over and grabbed my phone off of the nightstand to text Kari that we had made it home safe.
By the time I woke up the next day, the girls were all stirring and Sydney was in the kitchen making breakfast for everyone. She whipped up fluffy eggs, grits, biscuits, and bacon. Light meal but a good start to the day. Even though it was a holiday weekend, I decided to stay home and get on my grind applying for jobs while the girls roamed the city. They would probably end up shopping in SoHo and given my budget—which was just above the poverty line—I thought it best to stay home.
I needed to get focused. A little fun in moderation was cool, but the bigger picture had to stay at the top of my mind. I was ready to get back to work.
I made a list of all companies or things that were even remotely of interest to me. Once I created a decent list, I scoured company websites and checked the career sections.
I applied for every single in-house public relations position that I could find. From record labels to beauty companies and even sports leagues, I was up for anything. By the time the girls got back to the apartment, I had covered a lot of ground and I was feeling accomplished and ready to party. A Sunday night on a holiday weekend in the city was guaranteed fun. With no work the next day, everyone would be in the streets heavy, looking to get a little crazy and have a good time.
We were hitting up Lotus, a swanky hotspot on Fourteenth Street. It was a restaurant by day and club by night. To get ready, we cranked up the music and started the pre-party drinks. Everyone began selecting looks and outfits for the night.
Nikki and Sydney had picked up a few cute items on their shopping spree, so the only trouble they had was deciding between which sexy little number to wear. I had a skin-tight tangerine jumpsuit that I couldn’t wait to rock, so there were no decisions needed on my part for once.
Dev and Sydney were in Dev’s room throwing outfit options on the bed for consideration when Nikki and I ran into the room with drinks in hand and a brilliant idea.
“So who’s down for a little extra fun?” I said.
Dev looked suspicious. “What are you chicks up to?”
“We should play a little game tonight,” Nikki chimed in. “Nothing too complicated. It’s pretty simple actually. Let’s see who can get the most numbers.”
Dev paused. She looked as though she was letting the idea register. It didn’t take long before she quickly said, “I’m in!” Then she added, “But what’s the prize? What do I get when I win?” The room fell silent. We each looked at her with the screw face. She even had to laugh at herself on that one.
The night was getting off to a festive start and we were all geeked to get to the club and let the games begin. Dev had her flask, so we were taking shots on the way into the city.
The conversation on the way to the club consisted of a sole topic: shit-talking about who would win, what assets we would use, and how many men we could snag. Everyone pulled out extra stops in the wardrobe department because we knew what was at stake—a pair of earrings. It was laughable as designated prizes go, but it was more about the bragging rights. Who would walk away the illest chick with the most game?
Everyone’s look was on point. Lashes were luxurious and ready to bat, lipstick was poppin’, and titties and ass were spilling out from every angle like bang-boom-pow!
Dev had been texting back and forth with Mel since earlier in the day. She knew that he was planning to go to Lotus as well. On a holiday weekend, Mel was likely to roll deep; his boys liked to do it big. We wanted to get to the club at the same time as Mel so that we could walk in with him, hassle-free. The door would be crazy and that’s when the bouncers started acting extra selective with letting people in.
We arrived at the club slightly before Mel and the crowd was spilling over into the street, which was not a good sign. The girls started asking questions about what we were going to do and it looked like Dev was getting a bit annoyed. I told them to chill and let her handle it.
About five minutes later, Dev told us that Mel was walking up on the left side of the club, so we headed in that direction. We had to push through the crowd, and people were the worst when it came to lining up for a club. They would stand there like statues not wanting to lose their spot when in actuality, it didn’t matter because nothing was guaranteed. Things were so chaotic. It took a minute for Dev to finally spot Mel.
As I thought, he was with a bunch of guys. It must have been a special night; some of his dudes even brought their trophy women out. I was peeping everything trying to see who was what to whom.
Mel hugged Dev and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “What’s good, ma?”
“Trying to see what’s up with you,” Dev said.
“Wait here. I’ll be right
back,” Mel said.
I watched him make his way to the Arnold Schwarzenegger-looking doorman.
“What is he doing?” Nikki asked. “We better get in this club tonight. I did not squeeze my butt into this Dolce and Gabbana dress for nothing.”
“Hush, girl,” I said. “Don’t trip. We’ll get in.”
Nikki had never met or rolled with Mel before. She wasn’t familiar with his way of doing things. We had never gone to a club with Mel that we did not get into.
Mel came over to Dev and swiftly told her to collect IDs.
Dev picked up on the sense of urgency. “Get your IDs out quick and give them to me.”
We all obliged but looked at each other sort of unsure. I was thinking, please don’t let these people lose my ID. Dev collected IDs from our group and Mel collected IDs from his group, then he walked away again.
Apparently, the doorman was giving Mel a hassle about the number of people that he was trying to get in. Since it was a holiday weekend, you had to move fast and the doorman basically told Mel that if he wanted to get everyone in—all thirty people—he would have to buy out the entire basement bar. Mel was a boss, so he didn’t hesitate. He told the bottle service girl standing next to the doorman, “run it,” as he handed her his credit card. It was like the red sea parted. Bouncers were clearing the way and yelling at people to step aside.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Nikki said at a level that was way too loud. She didn’t even know these people. I quickly shot her a glare.
I had never actually been to the basement bar area. I honestly did not know that it existed, but it was definitely the sexiest part of the club. The dim lighting and warm brown tones almost made this spot seem secret and forbidden. The ambiance screamed for people to “Make Love in the Club” like Usher recommended.
As soon as we all got settled at the table of Mel’s choice, the drinks started flowing and so did my courage. It was time to start winkin’ and blinkin’ at some cuties.
I spotted a fly little something by the entrance to the area that we were in. I headed his way. Normally, my girls went by the code: you come together, you leave together. However, this night was a movie in the making, and it was every woman for herself. There was a title at stake and I intended to win.
With my swag on a thousand, I casually looked in the cutie’s direction before I made my move. I wanted to establish eye contact first. We briefly met eyes and I subtly looked away. It was time to hunt. I waited until the right amount of people attempted to pass by him and I made my move. I approached the walkway and made it seem as though I had no choice but to get close to him in order to pass. He fell for it. He reached for my arm as I attempted to slide by and said, “Don’t pass in such a hurry.” It was a lame effort, but whatever, that wasn’t my concern.
“Give me a reason to slow down,” I snapped back.
“Feisty. I can get with that. What’s your name?”
“Scottie,” I replied with a slight smile. He was corny, but I needed to seal the deal. “You know what? Put your name and number in my phone and I’ll call you sometime. I would really love to chat, but I was on my way to the restroom. Sort of an emergency.”
“Cool, cool. I dig it.” He definitely was not from New York speaking like that. Oh well, I would never call him anyway so it really did not matter. I handed him my phone and he did as he was instructed. Number locked and loaded and I was on to the next one.
I noticed Dev pass while I was making my first transaction, so she was feeling the pressure. I spotted her by the bar and went right over to rub it in. “One to zip, baby!”
She shot me a look.
I laughed and strutted off in my strappy, gold sandals.
As I headed up the stairs to the main level, it was a bit dark and I was definitely tipsy, so I decided that I’d better hold on tightly to the railing. I made my way through the crowd, dancing a bit here and there. The music was blaring and the party was live. The bar was jam-packed, too, so I hit the white illuminated glass stairs to the right. I needed to check out the scene from the loft view.
As soon as I found a place to stand, I scanned the main floor and it didn’t take long to spot Nikki sitting in a booth with four guys chatting it up. I knew that she was on her game when I noticed the hair flip. Then she offered a subtle touch on the knee of the guy sitting closest to her. Nikki was playing to win, but she unknowingly created the perfect assist for me. I thought to myself, thanks, girl, as I hurried down the stairs in her direction.
“Hey, Nikki, who are your new friends?” I asked, with an innocent smile.
The anxious one in the crew stood immediately and extended his hand. “Please, join us.”
I followed his lead and slid into the booth being careful to sit up straight, eliminating any potential bulging in my stomach region.
“Would you like a drink?” the anxious dude asked.
“Sure, thank you,” I said.
I had been drinking Kir Royales all night, but at that point I would sip on anything. The downside of the tipsy life after a certain point was that I would drink whatever and that was always a recipe for a massive hangover.
Nikki and I clinked glasses as we winked at each other. Time to wrap this up and move on. Nikki got her friend’s contact information and I settled for anxious dude. He wrote his number down on a cocktail napkin. There was no way that he would make it into my phone. That may have sounded mean, but the rules of engagement were not always fair.
We headed back down to the basement bar to check in and see if anything exciting was happening. To our surprise, the other girls were huddled around the table taking shots with Mel. I was secretly hoping that Mel was slowing down Dev’s action. He wasn’t the super-clingy type, but maybe he would have tried to have her on lockdown, for our sake.
Everyone was feeling good and that was obvious. It was like we were all one big happy family. Drinks were flowing like crazy. Everywhere that you turned there were huge bottles of liquor. Mel’s friends were getting even friendlier and the girlfriends of some of the guys were even chatting it up. I noticed that one girl in particular kept trying to make conversation with Dev. It seemed a bit strange, but with Mel around, nothing too crazy could pop off. After I took my shot of Patrón, I was ready to collect more victims. I headed out on a mission.
If this was how guys operated when they went out, then I could completely understand why they always had so much fun. While ladies sat posted like wildflowers waiting for a man to approach them, we could have been out there picking who we wanted, testing out the waters and throwing what we didn’t like back.
Regardless of how anyone felt, my crew and I were moving around that club like we owned the joint. We were killing the game with the amount of sweet-talking that was going on. I only gave out my number to one cutie. As for the others, I collected the digits so that I stayed in control.
It had to be close to four in the morning and my feet were killing me. All I wanted to do was go home. One of Mel’s friends lived in Jersey and agreed to give us a ride, which was perfect. We were all too far-gone to navigate our own way.
Everyone in our party started to make their way to the exit around the same time and we were all borderline drunk. Mel was hanging on Dev like I had never seen before so he must have been feeling good. It looked like he was grabbing at her butt and trying to whisper in her ear, but I tried not to pay attention. That was way more than I needed to see.
When we hit the street, the fresh air felt awesome. It sobered me up a tiny bit and that was exactly what I needed. At least one of us had to be somewhat aware of our surroundings.
Nikki, Sydney, and I were all standing in a huddle waiting on Mel’s friend to pull the car around. Dev and Mel were off to the side, talking and smooching.
“I bet Dev didn’t win with Mel all in her face like that,” I said to the girls.
They cosigned my sentiment. We had a good chuckle since his back was to us and he was in her ear hardcore, completely ob
livious to his surroundings.
“What could he possibly be talking about right now?” Nikki asked. “It’s too late for excessive chitchat.”
“Don’t act brand-new,” Sydney chimed in.
All of a sudden, Sydney, the shortest one of the crew, went plowing into Nikki as some headscarf-rocking, hoodrat-looking girl with black Timberlands came barreling by. I caught a glimpse of her face and she looked familiar.
“What the fuck?” Sydney yelled out, but the girl kept moving past Sydney and didn’t even react to her.
As we were all talking shit and getting ready to act up, it clicked that she was headed straight for Dev and we sprung into action. Fuck, how did she find us? It’s the crazy stalker bitch. It was the same woman from a while back who had stared Dev and me down at the happy hour spot.
You could hear nothing but a massive rush of high-heels click-clacking at a rapid pace toward the direction of Dev. There were snippets of a crazy bitch screaming and ranting about hoes, sluts, cheating asses, bitches, and babies. Her volume was on a thousand. Even with all of the chatter from the after-club crowd, you could hear her clear as day. She was acting like a raging lunatic and it seemed as though she had no plans on slowing down or letting up.
This was going downhill fast and it all clicked for me in an instant. She was Dev’s stalker. But in actuality she was not after Dev at all; she was after Mel’s scumbag ass. That must have been his bitch!
I was instantly nervous and fired up. This woman was clearly ready to do damage. I didn’t know what she was capable of, given all the harassing calls to Dev over the past few weeks. What I did know was that people in New York fought dirty. Razor blades, box cutters, and any other dangerous items that you could think of were common in street fights. I couldn’t even count how many people I’d seen walking the streets with large, horizontal scars on their faces.
Luckily, the crazy hoodrat went straight for Mel. I heard a loud thud as she bopped his ass in the head real swiftly with something hard. I couldn’t tell what it was; it all happened so fast, but he began stumbling instantly. As she continued to flail her fists toward him, we were right there to swoop Dev up and get her out of harm’s way.
Preseason Love Page 9