by Nikki Carter
I answer the door, and there is a cute petite girl on the other side, wearing glasses that take up half of her face. A smile explodes onto her face when she sees me.
“Oh my God. You’re Sunday Tolliver. I never expected you to actually answer the door. You don’t have a butler or something? Like isn’t there some dude named Geoffrey that gets the door?”
I cock my head to one side. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
“Oh, I’m so stupid. I’m Lisa, and I’m here to study with DeShawn. That’s okay, right? I mean, I know he was your date on the red carpet and all, and I know y’all have this Team DeShawn and Team Sam thing happening, but DeShawn said that was all for publicity. Plus, we’ve got a final, so, you know.”
Does this girl breathe? I’m convinced that she did not take one breath during that monologue. And what does DeShawn mean, our triangle is for publicity? Was it for publicity when he was in the kitchen on the verge of tears begging me to kick Sam to the curb and choose him?
“Nice to meet you, Lisa. Come in. I’ll let DeShawn know you’re here.”
Lisa steps inside and I show her to the kitchen table. Then, I go and knock on DeShawn’s bedroom door.
“Come in!” he calls from behind the door.
I step inside and DeShawn is wearing a snug-fitting T-shirt and sweatpants. He’s got his rhinestone earring in and has on just the right amount of cologne.
“Your study date is here,” I say.
“Who Lisa? She’s not a study date. She’s got great notes and we need to study for a final.”
“Oh, okay. Well she’s here.”
“Send her upstairs,” DeShawn says.
I take a long pause. He wants me to send petite and perky in the tiny shorts up to his very private bedroom where he smells great and looks fine. I am feeling some kind of way about this.
“Sunday?” DeShawn asks. “Did you hear what I said? Do you mind sending her up?”
I clear my throat. “Sure. As long as you remember Kevin’s house rules.”
DeShawn laughs. “The house rules? Are you jealous, Sunday? She’s just my friend.”
“I’m not jealous. I’m just saying.”
“You want your cake and you want to eat it too. You can’t be drooling all over the producer and then be trying to hate on me and my needs.”
“Your needs?”
DeShawn strokes his chin. “Yes, my need to be adored by a beautiful girl. You don’t adore me, and have no plans on it. So send my fan up here so we can study.”
“Your fan? Ew! Is that how you treat your chicks?”
“I treat them just fine. Don’t worry, though, Sunday. We will follow the house rules. I can accomplish quite a bit fully clothed.”
“You don’t sound like you’re trying to be chosen anymore.”
He laughs again. “Please. You’ve already made your choice. I’m just trying to roll with it.”
I leave DeShawn’s bedroom and lean over the staircase. “Lisa! DeShawn wants to see you in his bedroom.”
Lisa walks up to the base of the stairs. “His bedroom? I don’t think I feel comfortable with that. Can you tell him I’d rather study downstairs?”
An evil giggle rises in the pit of my stomach. I poke my head back in DeShawn’s room. He’s now stretched across the bed with his hands behind his head and his muscles bulging all over the place.
“Where’s Lisa?” DeShawn asks in an irritated tone.
“She doesn’t want to come upstairs. She said she’s here to study, not be the middle-of-the-week freak.”
DeShawn grimaces and hops up from the bed. He pushes past me and jogs downstairs.
Is it unfair of me to be secretly happy that Lisa refused to go upstairs to DeShawn’s room? Well, then call me a hater and catch me laughing my evil laugh. He’s gonna have to move up out of here if he wants to avoid the hateration.
I mean, I am a girl. Even if I don’t necessarily want him, that doesn’t mean I want to give him over to petite and perky. Petite and perky can pull him on her campus.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
I leave DeShawn and his friend in the house along with the rest of the roommates, because I have to visit Bethany at the rehab hospital. I promised her that I would visit while she was there, and I want to keep my promise.
When I get to the spa facility, I park far away from the rehabilitation section. I’m incognito with a baseball cap pulled all the way down on my face and big sunglasses. Although, thanks to Mystique, everyone already knows that Bethany is in here, I don’t need any extra photo opportunities to go along with it.
On the rehab floor, they make all of the patients stay out in the open in the common rooms. I guess because when they’re in their rooms they could get kind of depressed and want to turn back to the drugs.
Bethany looks nothing like her pop star self. She’s sitting on a long green couch wearing pink sweats and tennis shoes. She’s not wearing a stitch of makeup and her long brown hair is pushed behind her ears and hanging straight. Her face lights up when she sees me.
I hug her tightly and plop down next to her on the couch. “How is it going today?” I ask.
Yesterday wasn’t good. They’re doing a rapid detox on her body to totally flush the drugs out, and last night wasn’t good. She even had two seizures and had to be sedated. But she does look better today.
“I’m okay today. I’ve been reading, and listening to music all day.”
“Is there anything you need?” I ask.
She lifts an eyebrow like she wants to say something mischievous, but then she says, “I could use a computer and an Internet connection.”
“Ooh, no. You don’t need the Internet right now.”
“That bad, huh?”
I shrug. “It’s not super bad. Most of the bloggers are wishing you the best of luck with getting it together.”
“Evan said it was Mystique’s assistant who called Tina at Black Celebrity Gossip. I don’t know if it was at Mystique’s request or if she just overheard Mystique gossiping about me. Either way, it’s her fault.”
“Yeah, I figured she had something to do with it. Jacinto is real discreet, and you know neither me nor Kevin said anything. I already confronted her about it actually.”
Bethany’s eyes widen. “You did? You didn’t have to do that. I don’t want you to ruin your relationship with Mystique over me.”
“Come on! She’s not really helping my career all that much. I think she’s gonna try to deep-six me at some point just like she did Dreya. It’s just a matter of time.”
“Tell me some gossip that I don’t know. I need some gossip about someone besides me.”
“Well, when I left my house DeShawn had a girl over.”
Her jaw drops. “Are you kidding me? Even he isn’t on Team DeShawn.”
“I don’t know what he’s doing. He’s convinced that Sam has already won my heart, so I feel like he’s giving up.”
“Has Sam won you over?”
I shake my head. “He put this video up on YouTube, and well . . . he’s got me pretty sprung right now. He’s moving back to Atlanta. Picked out a condo and everything. He says he wants to be near me.”
“You guys are meant to be, Sunday. That’s your boo for life.”
“Everybody keeps saying that. Maybe if we say it enough, it’ll be true,” I say.
“You don’t believe it?” Bethany asks. “If DeShawn gives up, doesn’t Sam automatically win?”
“Um, no! Sam was never really competing with DeShawn! This is about what he’s going to do, and how he makes me feel. If I choose him, it won’t be because DeShawn backed down. It’ll be because he swept me off my feet.”
“Well, I wish you had reality show cameras following you around, because I want to be a fly on the wall for when Sam finally makes his move. I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one.”
“He’s gonna be at Big D’s party tonight.”
“Yeah, I hate that I’m gonna miss that, but t
here are gonna be some people there that I don’t really need to see. Like Truth.”
I scrunch my nose into a grimace. “I’m not really trying to see him either, but I’ve got to support Big D, and Dilly.”
She laughs. “I’m not trying to see him either.”
“Oh, yeah. Bethany, we’ve got to get you a good boyfriend. Maybe we could put up a profile on DateAPop Star.com.”
“Is that really a thing?” she asks.
I kick my feet into the air and laugh. “No, you nut! That is not a thing!”
“I was about to say, if that was a thing, you need to hook your girl up! I want a regular dude. Like one of those college dudes or something. What about that preacher boy in your house, Kevin? Didn’t you say he likes white girls?”
Now I’m laughing even harder. “No, I said he likes a white girl, not all of y’all!”
“Oh, I misunderstood! Well, find me a boyfriend!”
Hanging out with Bethany like this, even in this setting, reminds me of how we were before we ever got a record deal. When we hung out in my living room singing harmonies and dreamed of making it big. Sometimes I wish we could go back in time and live in those moments once more.
“Thank you for coming here, Sunday,” Bethany says with tears in her eyes. “I want to get better. I do. I’m gonna stay right here until I do.”
“Whatever you need, Whooty girl, I got your back. I love you.”
Bethany throws her arms around my neck and bursts into tears. I hug her back, and just hold her, rocking back and forth, like my mom would do if I was feeling broken. This is what my mother does whenever me, Dreya, or my little cousin Manny need a little tender loving care. I guess I have the touch too, because Bethany’s sobs slowly stop and her breathing calms. Next thing I know she’s snoring peacefully in my arms.
I say a prayer that she can hold on to this peace until she’s back together again.
16
When Big D wants to throw a party, he goes all out! Especially when he’s spending someone else’s money—in this case it was Epsilon Records’ loot.
Club Pyramids is decked out in white and gold—Big D’s favorite colors. The entire spot is looking fresh and clean. Of course, we head to the VIP section because that is the only way we travel now.
I am so happy for Big D and I wouldn’t miss this party for the world. After that big speech Evan gave us on solidarity and what not, I’m sure he doesn’t want any of the Reign Records artists up in here, but oh well. Big D is not just my manager; he’s like a big brother, and someone I truly care about.
We’re rolling deep as usual. All of my tenants (I love saying that) are here, except DeShawn, who is at a photo shoot for some sporting goods catalog. This is a good thing for me because Sam is going to be here, and I don’t want to have to choose who I’m hanging with for the evening.
Since I know Sam is gonna be here tonight and checking for me, I went overboard with my flyness. My orange tube dress hugs every one of my chicken-and-waffle-enhanced curves. I had my hair done in big barrel curls that are so flawless that you’d swear my hair was a lace-front wig or some high-priced hair weave. I’m so fine tonight that I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror and almost got jealous.
If it sounds like I’m feeling myself right now, it’s true! I totally am. But I’m not one of those girls who have to be the queen of their clique! My girls are as bad as I am, and we can all shine. We’re black girls (except Piper, who is honorary) and we rock!
Gia’s afro demands attention, and once she gets it, she keeps it for days with her legs in her jean miniskirt and silver T-shirt. Ricky hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off her and has complimented her like a hundred times. He better, ’cause this spot is crawling with ballers and shot callers. She’s trying to act all nonchalant about it, but I can tell she’s tickled that Ricky is on her tonight. She has a glow that looks like it comes from the inside out.
Piper dialed back her punk look and went for pretty girl swag. Her royal-blue mini-dress looks great on her and not just because it’s her Gamma Girl apprentice color. Last, but not at all least, Hope is rocking the flyest skinny jeans and heels and a nearly backless blouse that she borrowed from my closet. I get so many clothes samples in the mail, that I can’t possibly wear them all, so I share freely with my fashionista homegirls.
When we get to the VIP entrance, my jaw drops when I see that they’ve got my dad, Jonah, playing bouncer. What in the world is he doing at Club Pyramids? And why would he be at Big D’s party? I know he doesn’t really have a lot of love for Big D, because he wants to be my manager instead. That’s not happening though.
“Hey, y’all! Sunday Tolliver and her crew are in the house!” he yells out.
I cringe and say a little prayer that he doesn’t announce himself as my dad. I hope no one notices a resemblance either.
But it looks like I don’t have to worry, because he doesn’t say anything. He just shows us to the rope.
“Sunday, can you please get the Gamma Girls in the VIP area? It would go a long way to fix what’s wrong with me and Millicent,” Piper begs.
I give her a skeptical look. Millicent can’t stand Piper. She gets a stank look on her face every time she sees her. I can’t tell if it’s because she’s white and trying to be a Gamma Girl, or if she just thinks that Piper isn’t Gamma Girl material. Either way, it’s all bad for Piper.
“Okay, I will talk to the bouncer, but I can’t make any promises.”
Don’t ask me why I didn’t tell Piper that the bouncer is my dad. It’s kind of like I don’t want to claim him, not even to my best friends. Not yet, anyway. And as much as I don’t want to do this, I walk back over to the entrance to VIP to ask my dad to let the Gamma Girls in.
“Hey, honey. What do you need? Is someone bothering you?”
Wow. He’s the protector now too?
I shake my head. “No. No one is bothering me.”
“You just wanted to chat with your old man, huh?”
I don’t even know how to respond to this. So, I merely chuckle. “Well, actually, I wanted to ask you for a favor.”
“Whatever you need.”
“Well, pretty soon, there’s gonna be a group of girls that show up wearing turquoise and white. Can you please let them in? They’re my friends.”
“I sure can. Let me know if you need anything else. Or any of your friends too.”
This conversation leaves me feeling weird because my dad and I haven’t kept in touch since we sat down and talked after he got out of jail. Then, he was trying to convince me that he’d make a better manager than Big D. Now, he’s in their camp—well, Bryce’s camp—and it makes me pause. Is he really just doing this for a job or is he trying to get close to me? Or maybe it’s just because he and Bryce share a common enemy—my mother’s ex-boyfriend Carlos.
Piper has a very hopeful look on her face when I get back to the table. For a second, I think of teasing her and telling her that they won’t let them into the VIP area. But she looks so pitiful that I decide not to let her squirm.
“Go ahead and let them know they can come in,” I say.
She jumps up and squeals. “Thank you so much, Sunday! I know I’m gonna cross now.”
Every time she talks about crossing into Gamma Phi Gamma and becoming a soror, it makes me worry. What if she doesn’t get in? She doesn’t have legacy status like Meagan, so it’s not a given. What if they invite people to pledge that they’d never accept just so they can have someone to reject? I’m probably being unnecessarily negative, because that does seem kind of diabolical, but I wouldn’t put it past Peony and her wicked hair weave.
I slide back into the booth, next to Kevin, who is looking wistfully at Piper as she goes to send her text message.
“Why don’t you ask her out, Kev?” I ask.
He shrugs. “She’s got me in the friend zone. I tried to flirt with her the other day, and it totally backfired.”
“What happened?” I ask, totally surp
rised that he tried anything.
“I told her that she looked really nice in her skirt.”
“Okay . . . and then what did she say?”
“She said, ‘Thank you, Kevy Kev! You rock! You’re like my gay best friend, except that you’re not gay. Are you?’ ”
I let out a loud whoop that ends in a flurry of giggles. I have to cross my legs to keep from peeing on myself. That is utterly hilarious. And poor Kevin is glaring at me like he wants to wring my neck.
“Keep laughing. You all are exactly the reason why she can’t see me as a boyfriend.”
“Oh, it’s our fault? You’re the one who keeps talking about fairy tales and house rules. It’s not our fault that she doesn’t know you’re flirting. Stop acting like a eunuch and maybe she’ll see you differently.”
“That was mean, Sunday. Did you know that many of the eunuchs in Bible times had no choice in the matter? They were sold as slaves as children and then mutilated. Does that sound funny to you?”
My jaw drops. “Really?”
“No. I just made that up, but you are mean, though!”
I crack up laughing again, now with tears running down my face. It’s a good thing I don’t have on any mascara, or it would be running all over the place.
“Well, then you tell me!” Kevin fusses. “What should I have said to Piper?”
“You should’ve just told her that she looked hot.”
“Uh, no! Hot equals lust, and that’s not how I roll.”
I shake my head. “Kevin, I see what you mean, but it’s slang. We’re teenagers. You asked me what would make her think you were flirting and I told you. So, you can disagree all you want, and stay in the friend zone. It’s up to you.”
“You put DeShawn in the friend zone, and he has mad swag. Is that enough slang for you?” Kevin asks.
I nod in agreement. “I put DeShawn in the pre-boyfriend friend zone. There is a difference. DeShawn definitely has boyfriend potential, but there’s something that he’s missing.”
“I know what he’s missing. He’s not Sam, and he’s never gonna be Sam.”
“You may be right, but he’s at least got a fighting chance. We’ve got to get you into the pre-boyfriend friend zone with Piper. You can start by not trying to get her to accept Jesus as her personal savior every five minutes.”