Corey was in panic mode, but he tried to play it cool. He’d had lots of girlfriends in his twenty years, but none of them were like Stori. She was the complete package. Besides her looks and shape, she dressed nice and could cook her ass off. She was young, but she was about her business. Sex with her was amazing and he wasn’t ready to give that up. Even though he was her first, Stori was a fast learner. She had him hooked and he wasn’t opposed to begging if he had to.
“Don’t be like that Stori. Nigga not asking you to wait for another year. Just give me a few months to get straight,” Corey begged. He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to him. He didn’t foresee her breaking up with him, but he was willing to fight for what he wanted.
“Let me go Corey. I have a lot going on right now and I don’t need the added stress. I was bawling my eyes out a minute ago and you never even cared enough to ask why. All you cared about was what I was cooking. You’re selfish and inconsiderate. Those are two traits that I despise because my mother is the exact same way. I let shit slide for too long, but I’m at end of my rope now. I don’t have it in me to try and save a dead relationship,” Stori said.
“Dead? Since when? Shit was all good before your moms got here,” Corey argued.
“Open your eyes Corey. Shit hasn’t been all good with us in months. When is the last time you saw me genuinely smile if Toi wasn’t around? I’ve been avoiding this conversation for months, hoping that things would get better. I tried throwing you hints that went completely over your head. I have enough to deal with already and I don’t need any added stress. Just get your stuff and leave,” Stori said with finality.
“I’m not a mind reader Stori. How do you expect me to know when something is wrong with you?” Corey questioned.
“It wouldn’t have hurt you to ask,” Stori pointed out.
“Okay, I’m asking. What happened?” Corey questioned.
“Bye Corey,” Stori said with a sarcastic chuckle.
“Man, fuck! What else do you want me to say? You’re having a bad day and you want a nigga to kiss your ass. I don’t have time for this dumb shit!” Corey yelled.
“Neither do I. That’s why I want you to go,” Stori replied while walking away.
“Fuck you, Stori. Straight like that,” Corey snapped angrily.
“Thanks for letting me know that I made the right decision,” Stori said as she walked up the stairs.
Before she got too far, Corey pulled her by her hair and threw her to the floor. He was hurt, angry and a mixture of other emotions that he couldn’t identify. Stori was treating him like a lame and that bruised his ego. Before he had a chance to walk up to her, she was up on her feet in a flash. Stori ran to the sofa and reached underneath it. When she pulled out a silver gun and pointed it at him, Corey’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
“I dare you to put your hands on me again muthafucker,” Stori sneered.
Lady taught her a few bad habits and keeping guns stashed around the house was one of them. Being with so many dope boys had Lady paranoid and she had Stori the same way.
“Chill out Stori. My bad for doing that. I was acting off of emotions,” Corey said as he raised his hands in surrender.
“Yeah and so am I,” Stori replied with a murderous gleam in her eyes.
Corey was no fool. He’d robbed a few niggas with his cousins, but he wasn’t as hood as he pretended to be. Stori looked like she was about that life and he didn’t want her to make an example out of him. She was Lady’s daughter, so there was no telling what she’d do. He walked up the stairs to the house and Stori followed right behind him. She kept the gun at her side as he packed up all of his belongings and left her house. She was happy that Kalani had Toi occupied in the kitchen because she didn’t want her little sister to see what was going on.
“Look Stori, we made popcorn balls,” Toi said excitedly when her sister came back into the kitchen.
“Really Kalani,” Stori laughed as she discreetly slipped the gun into an empty drawer.
“What? She wanted popcorn balls and this was the only thing that I could think of.” Kalani shrugged. Toi was making a mess with the microwaved popcorn, candy and syrup that Kalani had given her.
“She’s gonna be jumping around all night with all that sugar in her system,” Stori replied.
“Well, I’m staying over tonight, so I’ll be up with her. I can tell that my best friend needs me.” Kalani smiled as she bumped hips with Stori.
“Girl, you must be trying to knock me down with those child bearing hips,” Stori laughed.
Kalani was a thick size ten with sharp, wide hips. Her chocolate skin was flawless and her smile could light up the darkest room. She and Stori had been best friends since seventh grade. Some girls were trying to jump Kalani in the bathroom of their private school, but Stori wasn’t having it. It was just the two of them, but they took down four girls like it was nothing. They exchanged numbers after they were suspended for fighting and had been inseparable ever since. Kalani still lived at home with her mother, but she was always at Stori’s house. She was an only child and Stori was like the sister that she never had. She and Stori graduated together, but they both bypassed going to college. Stori got her certification for culinary arts, but she didn’t want to be a cook. Doing hair was really her passion so that’s what she wanted to do. Kalani was trying to find a job, but she hadn’t had any luck yet. She was thinking about going to a trade school to become a dental assistant. If she didn’t find a job soon, that’s exactly what she planned to do.
“Girl, these hips open a lot of doors,” Kalani laughed as she bumped her again.
“I know they do. What’s for dinner tonight Toi?” Stori asked her baby sister.
“Um, let’s eat chicken and fries!” Toi yelled excitedly.
“Okay, chicken and fries it is.” Stori smiled.
Toi had been picking out their daily meals ever since she got old enough to talk. Sometimes Stori had to improvise, but she let her have her way most times. After getting Toi washed up, Stori turned on a movie for her to watch as she prepped their dinner. She and Kalani enjoyed a bottle of Lady’s expensive wine as they talked and tried to come up with a solid game plan.
W hen the alarm beeped, Stori groaned inwardly but she didn’t make a move to get up. She hit the snooze button and laid there a little while longer. She always set her alarm for a few minutes earlier than she actually needed to be up. She hated having to jump right out of bed and she wanted to lay there and relax first. As usual, she had a busy day ahead of her. It was Saturday and she had a lot of heads to do. Toi was fourteen years old now and she helped Stori out a lot. Toi shampooed hair, washed towels and kept the fridge filled with drinks for the customers. She didn’t need the money, but Stori paid her for helping out on Friday nights and all day Saturday. Lady sent them a nice bit of cash every month, but they were good. Stori had made a name for herself and she had steady clientele. She had to turn people away sometimes because she was too busy. She didn’t like to have her customers in the shop all day and she liked to be done early. Although she worked from home, she still liked to be professional and on time.
A few months after she got custody of Toi, Richard and Lady had the huge garage remodeled and turned into a hair salon. It was beautiful and Richard spared no expense. He even had a door put up so that her clients didn’t have to come into her house. They could enter and exit right from the shop. He had another bathroom added on and it looked better than most commercial businesses. Richard always joked and called them Toy Story like the movie and that’s exactly what Stori named her shop. The only difference was that she spelled it like their names instead. It had been seven years since Lady left Toi in her care and they were doing great. Toi was an honor student and she never gave Stori any trouble. She was a cheerleader at school and Stori let her be a teenager. Toi had sleepovers and she did what most girls her age did. Lady came to visit every now and then, but she made sure to call them almost every day.
&nbs
p; “I’m too damn tired,” Stori said as she sat up and yawned.
When a pair of strong arms pulled her back, she looked behind her and locked eyes with her husband of two years, Gavin. Stori met Gavin three years ago when she went to a hair show in Atlanta. Gavin was a barber and he was there with some of his friends. As handsome as he was, Stori wasn’t interested at first. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and he damn near followed Stori around the entire day until she agreed to go out with him. The one date turned into several others and they became a couple after two months. When Stori introduced him to Toi, they hit it off immediately and she felt good about being with him. When he asked her to marry him, she was skeptical because she wasn’t in love with him. She told him how she felt and he was okay with it. He told her that it would happen over time and she foolishly took his hand in marriage.
Sadly, after being married for two years, Stori still wasn’t in love with her husband. Gavin was good to her and Toi and that’s what helped to make the decision for her. She didn’t need his money, but he paid all the bills and gave her and Toi whatever they wanted. Gavin had smooth cocoa colored skin with a nice toned body. He had dreads when they first met, but he rocked a curly mohawk now. He catered to her and Toi and her baby sister adored him. Most of their chemistry was in the bedroom and Gavin seemed to never get enough.
“You on your period?” Gavin asked as he pulled her body closer to his and kissed her neck.
“Yep. You know that’s the only time I wear clothes to bed,” Stori replied.
“I kind of figured that,” Gavin replied solemnly.
Gavin wanted kids more than anything in the world. He and Stori had been trying for the past six months, but they hadn’t had any luck yet. They even went to a fertility specialist, but they were both healthy. Maybe it just wasn’t their time, but Gavin wasn’t trying to hear that.
“Don’t start stressing about that Gavin. It’ll happen when it happens,” Stori said as she sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed.
Gavin licked his lips in appreciation when his wife got up and stretched. Stori was beautiful and sexy as fuck. Gavin still couldn’t believe that he was married to someone like her. He was confident in the eyes of others, but he used to suffer with self-esteem issues when he was growing up. Gavin’s parents always told him that he tried too hard to be liked, but he couldn’t help it. Growing up as an only child was lonely and he started clinging to his friends. He wasn’t street smart, but he was good at pretending. He always wanted to hang out with the popular kids in hopes that he would one day be popular too. Even now, the barber shop where he worked was the place to be. The place was huge and there were fifteen barbers on staff. They used to have a hair salon in the rear, but the owner said that it was too much work to keep up. Cuttin’ Up was one of the hottest barber shops in New Orleans and it was almost impossible to get hired. Gavin’s boy got him on over there and that wasn’t easy to do. You had to be the best of the best for the owner to even consider you. At thirty years old, Gavin finally felt like he was a part of the in crowd. He had a beautiful wife that turned heads everywhere she went and life couldn’t get any better than that. Well, unless Stori gave him a baby.
“Put some clothes on. Nas is here,” Gavin said.
“Again? The hell did he do this time?” Stori asked.
“Same shit as always. Nigga be out there playing with them hoes, knowing that he got a wife at home. Milan put his ass out again and I had to pick him up. He was too damn drunk to even drive,” Gavin laughed.
Naseem was Gavin’s best friend. He was also a barber who Gavin met in cosmetology school. He and his identical twin brother, Kareem, owned a strip club and they were always into some shit. Nas and Gavin worked at the same barber shop, but Nas was into all kinds of illegal activities too. His brother mostly ran the strip club because Nas’ wife hated for him to be there. Milan used to be a stripper, but she didn’t dance anymore. She knew all too well how thirsty the dancers were because she was just as bad at one time. Her sister, Misty, still stripped at the club and Toi sometimes watched her six month old daughter, Summer. Stori lost count of how many times she woke up to see her husband’s friend camped out in one of their spare bedrooms. He even had Toi’s number and she opened the door for him sometimes if they weren’t home. Nas was cool though and so was his brother.
“Him and Remo just need to get another apartment together,” Stori said, calling Kareem by his nickname.
Remo had dreads that Stori kept maintained. He was always coming to get his hair retwisted and styled, which was how he met Kalani two years ago. For a while, Kalani brushed him off, but Remo was persistent. She had a boyfriend at the time, but Remo didn’t seem to care. The two of them ended up dating exclusively and buying a house together. Since he had a record that was a mile long, Kalani had to get the house in her name. She even quit her job as a dental assistant and started working as a bartender at their club. She made more in tips and pay every week than she made at the dental office for the entire month. Her money was flowing nicely, but the same couldn’t be said about her relationship. Since Remo couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, Kalani broke up with him but he wasn’t having it. He moved out of the house, but he still paid all the bills. He swore that Kalani was his future wife and he refused to let her move on. He had a different bitch every month, but he was out for blood if she tried to be with someone else. He wanted Kalani to wait on him to settle down, but he didn’t give her the same respect. Remo wanted to fight any man who even looked at her too hard and that drove Kalani crazy.
“Them niggas can’t get nothing in their names. I don’t even know how they got that strip club,” Gavin replied.
Nas was his boy, but Remo didn’t really fuck with Gavin for some reason. They all started out in cosmetology school together, but Remo got locked up after only being there for two months. Nas and Gavin got close during that time and Remo didn’t seem to like that very much. He let Gavin know that he didn’t like him, so he never even bothered to be in his company.
“I’m going to get breakfast started,” Stori said once she did her morning hygiene and put on some decent clothes.
Gavin got up and headed into the bathroom to get ready for work. Stori went downstairs to the kitchen and started getting things out of the fridge. She was used to making breakfast for four because Nas’ visits were becoming more frequent. He was at their house at least three times a week, but Stori didn’t mind.
Once she got everything started, Gavin came downstairs dressed in jeans and his barber’s smock. He stood behind Stori and wrapped his arms around her waist as she cooked. Gavin didn’t refer to many things as perfect, but that’s exactly what he considered his wife to be. She boosted up his self-esteem in a major way and Gavin was borderline arrogant now. He was never that way at home, but he was an entirely different person when he wasn’t in Stori’s presence.
“Good morning,” Toi said as she came waltzing into the kitchen.
“Hey, my Stanka. How did you sleep?” Stori asked as she moved away from Gavin and kissed her sister on the cheek.
“I slept good. Mommy just called me,” Toi announced.
“What did she want?” Stori asked.
“She asked if we needed anything and I told her no. She keeps asking when I’m coming to spend the summer with her but I don’t want to,” Toi said.
“And you don’t have to,” Stori replied.
“I told her that she had to ask you, so tell her no when she calls,” Toi begged.
“You already know I will,” Stori assured her, making Toi smile.
“Why don’t you want to go spend some time with your mama?” Gavin asked as he looked at Toi.
“Because she doesn’t have to. Lady don’t even stay in the same place for too long. She knows not to play with me when it comes to Toi,” Stori answered on her sister’s behalf.
“Calm down baby. I was just asking,” Gavin laughed.
“I’ll go visit her for a few days, but I don’t th
ink I can do the whole summer,” Toi said.
“Depending on where she is, you might actually like it,” Gavin replied.
“I don’t know, maybe.” Toi shrugged.
“What’s for dinner tonight Toi?” Stori asked her.
“Can we do stuffed shrimp and pasta again? We haven’t had that in a while,” Toi said.
“You got it my love.” Stori smiled, as Gavin tried not to show his annoyance.
After three years of being together and being married for two, Stori had yet to ask him what he wanted for dinner. Even when he confronted her with his feelings, nothing ever changed. She claimed that she and Toi had been doing that for years, but he didn’t care. He was in the picture now and that should have changed. He was her husband and the only time he got a say was when Toi wasn’t home. The shit annoyed the fuck out of him, but he would never say that to Stori. She would go to war with her own mother behind Toi, so he didn’t stand a chance. Toi was a sweet little girl, but Stori had her too damn spoiled. Gavin hated to feel like he was in competition for his wife’s affection, but that’s exactly what it seemed like.
“I washed and folded all the towels that we used last night. I made you a list too because you need some more supplies,” Toi spoke up.
“Aww, thank you, Stanka. My baby is too sweet,” Stori cooed as she repeatedly kissed Toi’s face, making her blush.
“Stop treating that damn girl like a baby. She’s fourteen years old,” Gavin fussed.
“I don’t give a damn if she was twenty-four. She’s my baby and she always will be,” Stori said, right as Nas walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning,” he spoke in his deep, raspy voice. He looked like he was hungover and he was still wearing his clothes from the day before.
“Hey Nas. I didn’t know that you were here.” Toi smiled brightly.
Worst Case Scenario Page 2