Her smile brightened. “You do?”
“Mm-hmm, and your smile.”
“Thank you, Nolan.”
“You’re welcome.”
We stared at each other for a moment before I moved in to kiss her, felt her wrap her arms around my neck, and moved forward until her back was against the door. She wrapped a leg around my waist and I fucking lost it, transforming what was supposed to be a simple good night kiss into virtual foreplay. This woman tasted and felt so good to me, like a damn dream come true, and I guess that’s kind of what she was. After all the months of me wanting to know her, wanting to be with her, she was here, and damn if this didn’t feel…right.
Her phone began to ring, but she didn’t miss a beat, pulling me closer to her and returning the kiss, our tongues playing a game of tag. Her phone stopped and mine started. Then mine stopped and both our phones started ringing at the same time.
I released her, and said, “Shit,” under my breath while she groaned loudly. We both checked our voicemail messages, looked at each other, and almost simultaneously said, “Jo’s in labor!”
Nolan and I rode to the hospital together and arrived in the Labor and Delivery waiting area with our hands clasped and big smiles on our faces, despite the fact that my newest goddaughter had lousy timing. The first face I saw and recognized was that of one of Jo’s and South’s bodyguards—Oba. The second familiar face was one which mirrored that of the man who held my hand—his twin, Neil. The first time I saw the two of them in the same room, I wondered if they used to play tricks on people when they were young, because when I say they were identical, I mean identical. If Neil was a little better kempt, didn’t have the wild beard he’d recently grown, they would be indistinguishable. That and their style. Nolan was the type of man who’d never be caught dead without looking his best while Neil’s uniform of choice was hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans, but like I said before, he was just as fine as the rest of the male McClains.
“Hey, is Ev back there with Jo? She had the baby yet?” Nolan asked, as we approached Neil.
Looking up from the cell phone in his hand that was holding his attention, Neil frowned at Nolan, let his eyes slide to me, and then down to our joined hands, before fixing them on his twin again. “The fuck y’all got going on?” was how he chose to answer. “This—y’all? Really?”
Nolan sighed. “Where’s Everett, Neil?”
“Shit, my bad. Yeah…uh, he’s back in the room with Jo. I don’t know if the baby is here yet or not. Just know she’s in labor and fully dilated or something like that.”
“Oh, wow! Little Mama will be here any second!” I nearly squealed. “Where’s Nat? With Ms. Sherry?”
Neil stared at me for a moment. “Uh, yeah. She’s gonna bring her up here after the baby gets here so she can meet her and stuff. Ella’s on her way, too.”
I grinned and squeezed Nolan’s hand. “Good! I can’t wait to see the baby!”
Nolan smiled at me as he gestured to a couple of empty seats located in front of where Neil sat. “Me either. Ev’s been so excited about this new baby, you’d think it was his first.”
“Yeah, he’s definitely been hyped up about this little one,” Neil agreed.
“Hey, Oba,” I greeted the behemoth sitting a few seats over from Neil.
“‘Sup, Bridgette. Guess you’ll be posting about the baby for Jo, huh?” Oba replied.
I nodded. “That’s what she pays me for.”
“I forgot you’re her assistant. How are you gonna handle those duties once Floetic Lustice hits theaters and you become a breakout star?” Nolan asked, turning in his chair to face me.
I rolled my eyes. “Honey is the star. I’m the sidekick. Ain’t nobody checking for sidekicks.”
He shook his head. “No, you’re the standout. Every time you get in front of the camera, you’re the star, Bridgette. The dailies don’t lie. When you’re on screen, all I can see is you.”
Lowering my voice and my eyelids, I said, “Don’t you think you might be a little biased?”
He shrugged as he leaned in and gave me a peck on my lips. “Hmm, maybe? But it’s the truth. I’ve been a film buff all my life, studied film in college, have probably watched thousands of movies. Your talent is rare and natural. I don’t even think you try to steal scenes, you just do.”
I gave him a wink and a little kiss on the cheek. “Well, thank you, Mr. McClain.”
“You are more than welcome.”
“Okay, time out, time out!” Neil nearly shouted, pulling my attention from his brother to him. He was sitting up straight in the seat he’d been leaning forward in, making a letter “T” with his hands. “What is going on here? I know Ev said something about you liking her that day at your house and you got all sensitive about me talking to her, but is this for real, Nole, or is it some kind of experiment? You tryna see if you like Afro-pussy or something?”
Nolan shook his head as he chuckled bitterly. “Neil, do not start this shit with me in this hospital. If you do, your ass is gonna wake up in one of these rooms in traction from me whooping your ass.”
“Naw, man…listen! I’m confused. You been on that Svetlana crack for like what? Nine, ten years straight? And now you’re with—and I mean no offense to you, my sister—the most African American woman you could find. I mean, she ain’t even really light-skinned, don’t have none of that mixed hair, got black features and shit. She ain’t even starter black like a damn Mariah Carey or Zendaya or somebody. She looks like a regular black woman. I’m fuckin’ flabbergasted!”
“Neil, would you shut the fuck up?”
“Okay, answer me this: is this for real or are you just trying to see if black pussy is still good? For the record, it is.”
“How the hell would your no-pussy-getting-ass know?” Nolan countered.
“Fuck you, bitch!”
“If I’m a bitch, I’m a pussy-getting bitch!”
“Hey, hey! Would you two not do this here? Goodness!” I cut in.
“Sorry,” they both muttered in their identical voices. While watching them interact was already like a scene from some strange M. Night Shyamalan movie, watching them argue was akin to viewing a Shakespearean tragedy. It was just plain sad.
And since Nolan looked like he was two clicks from turning the waiting area into a wrestling ring, I decided to speak up. “Since you just have to know, Neil, it’s real. Believe me. It’s very real and I’m loving every minute of it.”
Neil looked at me as if he was trying to see through me to detect if I was lying, but I wasn’t. Yes, I was trying to imply with my words that more was going on between us than a few dates, but honestly, those few dates had been wonderful. Spending time with Nolan had been wonderful. Working with him had been the best experience I’d ever had as an actress. So no, I wasn’t lying, and once Neil confirmed that in his mind, he nodded and held up both his hands.
“Hey, I’m glad you two are good together. Congrats, bro,” he said.
Nolan mumbled, “Whatever, Neil.”
Before either of them could say another word, Big South appeared in the waiting area wearing a set of hospital-issued scrubs that were floods on his tree-tall ass and a big smile. “Our baby girl is here!” he shouted.
*****
“You are beautiful, you know that? But I’m wondering how you could possibly be this tiny when your mom tried to put every rib joint in town out of business over the last nine months. Or not quite nine months, because you’re a little early, aren’t you? We’re gonna have to work on your timing, sister, because you kind of, sort of cockblocked Teetee Bridgette today. Yes, you diiiiiiid,” I cooed at the gorgeous little brown-skinned girl. Yeah, she looked like a little wet rat, as did all newborns, but she was a pretty little wet rat.
Jo’s eyes ballooned as they darted from where I sat next to her bed cradling the baby in my arms to the closed door that Big South, Neil, and Nolan had exited through when they all decided they needed some coffee. Chink was still standing guard o
utside Jo’s room while Oba stood—or rather sat—guard in the waiting area. Big South did not play about his family’s safety!
“Don’t say cockblocked in front of my baby, and um…you and Nolan done started screwing?” she asked, in a hushed tone.
“So you can say screwing but I can’t say cockblocked?”
“You said it again!”
“Really, bish?”
“Are y’all fucking?”
“You just said fucking!”
“Bridgette! In your famous words: spill the tea!”
“I’m trying to, but you are policing my words and that makes it hard to—”
“Ho’, if you don’t tell me what happened before those men come back in here!”
“Damn, okay! Little bossy ass! So we went to the movies and he drove me home and at my door, we kissed, and when I say we kissed I mean, we kissed. Like we was damn near foreplaying until South started blowing our phones up.”
“For real?!” she shrieked, making her own sleeping baby flinch. “Dang, y’all are moving fast. You’ve been on what now? Five dates?”
I frowned slightly. “Um, five, six, seven, maybe? I don’t know. We spend a lot of time together on set, though.”
“But…you’re ready to have sex with him already?”
“Jo, I’m thirty damn years old, I lost my virginity a long time ago, and I like to have sex. Plus, you already know Nolan is my type. That’s why you keep egging this thing on. So yeah, I’m ready, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. You know me well enough to know that. Ain’t nothing changed just because it’s a McClain man we’re talking about.”
“Yeah, I know better. Hell, I don’t know why I even asked you that.”
“Mm-hmm. So you two settled on the name South chose?”
“We did, because his big ass had a tantrum when I protested. I wanted to name her Eva or Eve or Evan after him, but Lena it is.”
“I think it’s sweet that he wanted to name her after you, and it fits her, you know?”
“It really does, even though I can’t tell who she looks like yet.”
“Well, so far I can see that she definitely has your lips and South’s nose and coloring. Damn!”
“What?!” Jo shrieked. “Is something wrong? There’s something wrong with her?! What is it?!”
“Girl, calm down! There’s nothing wrong with her. She just opened her mouth, and I’ll be damned if I can’t see her tooth gap in her gums.”
“Oh, I saw that. This freakin’ gap is a dominant trait, evidently. Everett is over the moon about it. He’s praying she gets my freckles, too. I’m hoping they miss her like they did Nat.”
“Well, either way, she’s perfect, a good mixture of you and her daddy. Ain’t that right, Lena Joy McClain?”
“Sounds like she’s an actress or something, doesn’t it?”
I smiled as I kissed her little forehead. “It sounds like she’s gonna be a superstar.”
The door to the room flew open, and in ran a bundle of energy by the name of Natalie Walker.
“Teetee Bijitt! Is that my new baby?!” she chirped, standing on her tippy toes, trying to see little Lena.
South picked her up to give her a better view, as I said, “It sure is, Nat-Nat.”
Nat smiled and then looked up at South. “I love her!”
16
Montana was gorgeous, and the beauty of it made the fact that I had to tear myself away from Jo and Nat and baby Lena to make this work trip less tortuous. I wasn’t born to be anyone’s mother and I accepted that, but I loved my godbabies and my bestie and hated not being able to kiss little Lena’s cheeks whenever the mood hit me.
But Montana? The lodge that would serve as our film location and temporary home for the next four days? Well, I don’t think I possess an extensive enough vocabulary to adequately describe the majesty of the mountains that provided a gorgeous backdrop, the open sky full of shades of blue and white, the trees, the clean air, the beautiful modern tents. I’d never been the outdoorsy type, but Montana was purity in geographical form, the most beautiful place I’d ever visited.
We were a small group of ten people rather than a full crew and cast. Honey, Nyles, and I were the only actors to be filmed for this portion of the movie—a girls trip that Brother crashes after he and Jazz have an argument. I only had a few lines, so I was surprised I was assigned my own little luxury tent. The tents at this lodge had wood floors and a wooden frame covered in canvas. Mine housed a queen-sized bed—yes, a real bed—a little settee, and a wooden stove to take the edge off the early April chill that was in the air. I even had my own bathroom—a cute little teepee right next to my tent with an actual functioning toilet and rain-head shower in it, along with a sink. Now, I truly understood the meaning of the word, “glamping.” This place was fabulous!
Nolan’s tent was right next to mine, and when I went to check it out, I couldn’t help but notice that he had a king-sized bed and that his accommodations were roomier than mine, but I guess being the director came with perks. I couldn’t complain, though, because one: my paycheck for this movie was nice. Two: not only was I being paid to be there, but hell, my room was paid for, too. So I was being compensated to be pampered, and if I was lucky, I just might travel from second to third base with Nolan while we were there. Shit, this wasn’t nothing but a win-win situation for me.
“You like?” His voice came from behind where I stood staring at the mountains, and instead of startling me, it made me smile.
Spinning around to face him, I said, “Yes. It’s …I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“Really? Haven’t you been traveling with Ev and Jo? I thought you went overseas with them last year. Figured you’d seen the best of the best of everything by now.”
“I did, but I don’t know. This is just a different kind of beautiful. I can’t really explain it.”
He stared at me for a moment, smiled, and said, “Yeah, I know how you feel. Hey, wanna have dinner with me and the Adamses this evening? Then maybe we can take a walk or something alone afterwards?”
“I’d love to.”
Leaning in to kiss my cheek, he softly said, “Good. Now, go get in that makeup chair so we can put in this work.”
Something about the way he said that made my yoni twitch, so I grinned at him, and said, “Yes, sir, Mr. Director.”
*****
“So you’re saying you’re in love with him? Love? Really?” I asked, as I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and shivered a little.
“Cynt, it’s not even that chilly out here.”
“Uh, I wasn’t raised in New York. Shit, I put on fur boots and a bubble coat when it hits fifty and it’s damn forty out here. Now, answer the question at hand. Are you in love with Brother?”
She sighed as she swept some of her flyaway blond hair out of her face. “Yeah, I think I am.”
“Then what the hell are you doing here with me? I know we planned this trip months ago, but if I knew things were that deep with him, I would’ve been cool with rescheduling. You don’t fight with your man and then leave the damn state without fixing things, Jazz.”
She dropped her eyes and shook her head. “You’re right. What am I doing? I need to talk to Brother right now. I need to let him know how I feel.”
“I’m glad to hear that. At least I didn’t drive all this way for nothing.”
We both turned to see him standing behind where we were seated on the pier overlooking the crystal-clear lake.
“Brother!” she shouted, leaping to her feet and flying into his arms.
“Yeah, baby. It’s me.”
“Cut!” Nolan commanded. “Damn, that was perfect! Can’t believe we got that in one shot. I was afraid we’d miss the sunset. Great job, everyone!”
It sounded like everyone present took a collective sigh. I know I did, because getting that scene done at the right time per Nolan’s vision had seemed like an impossibility, but I had to admit, Honey running into Nyles’ arms right as the
sun began to set made for a beautiful shot. We all knew it would and were on board with Nolan but weren’t sure if we could make it happen. I was so happy we did.
As I stood and began making my way to my tent, since my work was done for the day, Nolan stepped up beside me, and whispered, “You killed it just like I knew you would. That was phenomenal.”
Cheesing like I’d never received a compliment before in my entire life, I replied, “Thanks, Mr. McClain. See you at dinner.”
“Looking forward to it.”
“She kept coming to my shows, sitting front and center, looking like the answer to a dream I didn’t even know I’d had. Tall, pretty as hell, and her eyes? They hypnotized the shit out of me. She didn’t just stand out in the crowd, she made the whole damn crowd disappear. One look, and I knew she was mine, that I was made to love her.” After he finished his statement, Nyles Adams grabbed his wife’s hand and kissed it. Then he added, “Damn, I love this woman.”
“You know, I have a whole Spotify playlist of your poetry, but I don’t think any of it is as beautiful as what you just said,” I declared, my hand resting on my chest. Turning to his gorgeous wife, I asked, “Does he always talk like this? I don’t know how you can take it!”
She grinned as she leaned in close to him. “I’m used to it now, but I’m still his biggest fan. I try not to miss any of his shows, but that’s hard with managing my boutiques and taking care of our little boy.”
“But,” Nyles cut in, “we have a nanny, so my queen is still usually front and center when I hit the stage, and projects like this where we can work together help a lot. When I first started getting approached for acting gigs, I wasn’t sure how we’d work it out, but we’re doing it.”
“Well, I’m glad you agreed to be a part of this movie. I can remember when you first got popular back home in Houston and some of my old friends there told me about you. I finally got a chance to check you out and you blew me away. Your stage presence was ridiculous, and I knew right then if I ever made this movie-making dream a reality, I wanted you to be a part of it,” Nolan said.
Let Me Show You (McClain Brothers Book 3) Page 8