Nobody Can Love You Like Them Roughnecks Do 3

by Shvonne Latrice

  I scrambled to my feet then hurried out the door.

  Dabbing the blood on my nose with my sweater, I went to the bathroom in the lobby to see if I could clean it completely. It wasn’t much, so I did, ignoring the fact that my nose was red.

  My body was aching, but I went to the bar so I could have a drink; I needed it.

  As I sipped on my third glass of Gin, I heard voices, so I put down the cash to pay then headed out to the lobby. Sure enough, it was Swan and Laron, carrying her bags.

  “Aye!” I barked out, walking up to the right of them.

  “Will, go home,” Swan begged, irritating me.

  “You know what ya girl did before you got her the little law office job?” I laughed, and when he frowned, I knew he didn’t know.

  “Will, stop it. We can talk later.”

  “Nah, we’re done talking.” I looked to her then darted my attention back to Laron. “She worked in a brothel. That’s how we met. Then I became fond of her, so I took her up out and put her in here.”

  “I thought you said he was an ex-boyfriend?” Laron looked down into Swan’s face. She was about to cry, which made me feel bad, but fuck her since she ain’t wanna give up the goods. Since she wanted to diss me for her little boyfriend, I was gon’ end that.

  “Ha!” I yelled through the large, empty lobby, making the hotel clerk look at me temporarily. “Nah, I’m just a well-paying customer.”

  “After tonight, you can find somewhere else to stay, and we ain’t going to dinner. We over,” he replied, making a joyous feeling travel through my veins.

  “Laron, no!” Swan cried as he walked out briskly, still carrying her stuff.

  “Aye, aye!” I grabbed her bicep when she went to follow him. “Now that he’s done with you, come upstairs so—”

  “Leave me alone!” she howled, scowling up into my face after she snatched her arm. “I hate you! I never want to see you again! No wonder you’re lonely! No one will ever love or care for you because you’re a horrible, mean creep! You have issues, Will! Stay the fuck away from me!”

  Swan rushed out of the hotel, leaving me standing there like a fool. The three people in here, including two of the employees, were staring hard.

  As I was about to leave, I remembered Carrie, so I went up to her room. She was there thankfully, welcoming me with all smiles, before we got down to business.

  Swan’s last words still fucked with me though.

  The next morning…

  I woke up and grabbed my watch to see the time was 10 a.m. I was a bit out of it since I’d drank the night before, so I grabbed my iPhone to check my calendar.

  My stomach dropped seeing Belly had an energy drink commercial to film, that started at 5 a.m., and I was supposed to be there taking photos. I saw I had missed calls from him and his manager, Carson, but I was too shaken the fuck up to hit them back just yet. I needed to wake the fuck up all the way first.

  “Come on, Will, what the fuck?” I talked to myself.

  Out of all my years in photography, I’d never messed up this badly. I could party until the wee hours of the morning and still make a job on time.

  I took a shower in the bathroom here, then put back on my old clothes. I left Carrie some extra cash then damn near ran out of the room, to the elevator, and out of the hotel.

  I drove straight home, ready to brush my teeth and change clothes. I cursed myself the whole way there, because I was sure that damn commercial shoot was over since it was already five hours later when I’d woken up.

  As soon as I’d finished brushing my teeth and dressing, I heard someone ringing my doorbell. Fearful that it was Belly’s ass, I slowly approached my door before inhaling and opening. When I saw Dionne, I was relieved but irritated as fuck.

  “What you doing here?” I inquired.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Yeah, man.” I sighed, stepping back some. ”What’s up? What you need?”

  “Are you in a rush?” She sat down on my couch.

  “I am, actually. I’m running late to work, Dionne.”

  “I think we’re even now and should try to work on our relationship. I was emotionally cheating as you say, and you physically cheated on me with hookers, Priscilla, and Nichole Carriage. I actually think I’m owed one more thing, but you get my point.”

  “Dionne, you’re right, but I got some issues.”

  Standing back up, she got closer to me.

  “I know that, and a baby on the way. I know it all, and I still want you. I can help you.” She kissed my lips. “If we forgive one another, we can move forward.”

  I almost declined until I took a second. The fact that Dionne was willing to work with such a fucked-up individual made me look at her differently.

  “I agree, but we can talk later, aight? We can go to dinner tonight. Just be ready by 8 p.m., and I’ll come scoop you.”

  “Okay!” she said excitedly before she started to leave.

  I grabbed her hand, pulling her into me, and kissing her deeply.

  “Thank you.”

  She nodded in response before leaving.

  Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed my iPhone then dialed Belly.

  As soon as the line picked up, he hissed, “Fuck with my career again, and I’ll blow yo’ fucking head open, Willem. Next job, you better be the first muthafucka there, and pray that when I see yo’ bitch ass I’m in a good mood; otherwise, it’s on sight.”

  “Bell—”

  Click.

  I fell down onto the couch, covering my face. I needed to get my damn life together, and a good start seemed to be with repairing my relationship with Dionne.

  Alivia

  Now that I’d been booking way more gigs than usual, I’d decided to hire a manager. I needed someone to handle all that business stuff for me, while I focused on my craft and building relationships.

  Making my own schedule and negotiating my own deals, along with everything else, had become so stressful that I felt like I was slacking. By saying that, having this manager would be a load off and well worth the money. I honestly never thought I’d see the day where I complained about too many job offers.

  “Good morning. I’m here to see Sanya.”

  “Yes, of course, Alivia. Go right in; she’s been waiting on you.” The flamboyant receptionist, Jamal, smiled at me.

  “Great, thank you.”

  I didn’t know him at all, but his name was right up on the desk. And I guess he knew me from speaking with his boss, Sanya.

  “Come in, come in!” Sanya said giddily as soon as I appeared in her doorway. “I have some great stuff to go over with, with you.” She walked me to her couch to sit down.

  “Are you thirsty? Water, tea, coffee, a latte?”

  “A hazelnut latte would be nice.” I nodded. “Over ice.”

  “Jamal, an iced hazelnut latte for Alivia!”

  “Got it!” he replied just before she closed the door. She whipped back around to face me, before a huge smile covered her face. “So I woke up this morning to a very pleasant email, Alivia. I mean, it’s nothing new. Ever since you put my information in your bio on Instagram, we’ve been getting countless opportunities. But this one—”

  “Excuse me, ladies. Here you go, sweetie.” Jamal switched in, handing me a clear cup filled with my iced latte.

  I gave him a nod to say thank you, before he pranced out.

  “Like I was saying, this one is a really great opportunity. For one, it’s a steady job, great pay, and you’ll get so much exposure that it won’t even be funny.”

  “Wow, well tell me what it is!” I grinned, taking a few more sips of my drink before placing it down.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard of the singer Yono. Well, his manager contacted me about you being his deejay. He’s doing a promo tour for his upcoming album, and he wants you to deejay his sets. Isn’t this wild? I mean, Yono is huge, and he wants you.”

  “No, Sanya, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  She
laughed but was wearing a frown, showing she didn’t understand me.

  “I’m confused. What part of this isn’t a good idea?”

  “Well, Yono and I used to date. It was short lived, but it didn’t end well. And I’m kind of dating someone, so me traveling with an ex probably isn’t a smart thing to do, nor respectful.”

  “Okay. Firstly, I know you two used to date; it was everywhere, unless you didn’t have any social media. Secondly, so what? This is a huge paying gig, Alivia, not something you should pass up because he’s an old flame. Let him pay you. Hell, I’m sure you deserve it.

  And lastly, kind of dating someone does not sound stable enough for you to be making bad business decisions based on them. Now if he was a husband or even a solid boyfriend, maybe, but kind of dating? No.”

  “How much is it paying me?”

  “You’d be getting $45,000 a show. Now that’s nothing to Yono and his team, so I let them know that if you went on a larger tour or something, the fee would need to be no less than $100,000 since you’d need to travel for a much longer period and uproot your life.”

  For a moment, I stared at Sanya, not knowing if I wanted to hug or French kiss her ass. The most I’d ever gotten for a deejay gig was $15,000, so to be getting triple that a show was amazing. Even though I’d really be getting a little less once Sanya took her cut, it was still a lot of money.

  “I want to do it. I don’t know what I was thinking.” We laughed together. “Just let me know the next steps.”

  “Great. So once I let them know you’ve agreed, a contract will be sent over. When is the next time you can come see me? I want to have you in the room when my lawyer breaks it down. That way, if we like what we hear, you can sign right then.”

  “I am free whenever. Hell, if he can come through this evening, we can do it then.”

  Giggling, Sanya nodded and replied, “Nice. Well, we will be in touch. For now, just go to the gigs lined up on your calendar. I will continuously update it.”

  “Okay, thank you. I’m so happy I found you.” I hugged her once we were standing.

  “Likewise, girl. We’re about to make a lot of money.” She reached down to grab my latte then handed it to me.

  On the way to my car, Manny called to see if I was home or if I would be there soon, and I told him yes to the latter.

  We’d been talking on the phone and texting since we’d exchanged ‘I love yous’ but I’d been purposely extra busy so we couldn’t hang out. I knew if we did, we’d have sex, and he wasn’t worthy of that just yet.

  “Where were you at?” Manny asked, leaning up against my door as I walked up.

  “I had a business meeting.”

  “Oh word? Excuse me.” We both laughed as he embraced me from behind while I unlocked the door.

  As soon as we stepped inside, he damn near spun me around before pressing his lips against mine. Once it got a little too sensual, I pulled away.

  “You want something to drink?” I went into my kitchen to pull some chicken and shrimp out to start thawing.

  “Nah, I’m good.” Manny stood in the archway, hands planted deeply in the pockets of his Balmain jeans. After watching me move around the kitchen for a little bit, he asked, “Can I stay for dinner?”

  “Yes, but dinner only. After we eat and maybe have some wine, you have to go home.”

  “Why? We together!”

  “No we’re not. I told you the stipulations in order for that to happen.”

  “Aight, and I talked with Jasmine already. I did that the next day, and I’ve been taking my son places. What the fuck else is there to do, Alivia?”

  “Nothing, that’s great. I just have to talk with Jasmine to be sure that what you’re telling me is true, Manny.”

  “Why the fuck do you need her to prove anything? She’s a fucking liar.”

  “Well, from my experience, you’re the liar, not her. So once she confirms for me that you’ve stepped up, we can get back on track.”

  “How are we supposed to be together if you don’t even trust me enough to take my word for something like this, Alivia?”

  “Ask yourself that, Manny. You chose to keep your son from me and would have continued to had Jasmine not popped up on us. Don’t pretend like you’re so innocent. You have to gain my trust back, and if that’s too much for you to do, then let me know now before I get even more attached to you.”

  “Oh, so you’re attached to me?” He cheesed, stepping further into the kitchen as I laughed.

  “Yes, obviously, but I would need to start distancing myself now if you’re not going to step up to the plate.”

  “I am. I am.” He sat down at my table as I began to chop up the sweet potato. “What was the business meeting for?”

  “Umm, it was with my new manager.”

  “About what?”

  “She had this new job she wanted to go over. It’s a gig that pays me forty-five thousand dollars per show. It’s for an artist instead of an event or nightclub.”

  “Damn, shit, you’re almost on my level.”

  “Shut up.” I chuckled.

  “Who is the artist? They gotta be somebody big if they’re breaking you off that type of money per show.”

  “It’s Yono.”

  “The nigga you used to fuck? The same nigga you started messing with, knowing I was trying to get with you?” Manny’s brows dipped.

  “Yes, but this is just work. Trust me, I do not want him like that, I promise you.”

  Manny began laughing and shaking his head, before rubbing down his face and standing.

  “So this is why you got all these stipulations and shit. This is just like before. You wanna give me the fucking run around while you lay up with that nigga.”

  “What? No! I told you I wouldn’t get back with you until I had proof that you’ve been handling your responsibilities, well before I even knew about this job offer!”

  “So you’re telling me ever since y’all have been done, he ain’t hit you up once? He ain’t tried since I’ve been with you?”

  “I mean, he made that post apologizing for lying on me in that radio interview—”

  “Has he tried since we’ve been a couple?” Manny repeated, but his teeth were slightly clenched.

  “Yes, but I don’t give him anything back. I don’t even respond to his texts or his DM’s, Manny.”

  He stood there looking off, shaking his head.

  “I guess we got some problems because I don’t trust you either, Alivia. If you take that job with him, we can’t be together.”

  “Why? You honestly think I would fuck him?”

  “Yes! You already did, knowing I was chasing yo’ ass! Of course you will now that I’m in this muthafuckin’ trial period!”

  “No, Manny, it’s different! At that time, you were some annoying nigga trying to fuck me. Now I love you. I want to be with you!

  You think I don’t want to say fuck your problems and just be your girlfriend? Trust me, it would be much easier than reprimanding you for your mistakes, but I have to be strong. And I want to be with a man who will be a good father to his child, no matter who the mother is.”

  There was a lingering silence between us as we stared one another in the eyes.

  “Alivia, if you work with Yono, you and I are gonna be over.”

  “It’s good money, Manny. I can’t turn it down.” I shrugged. Nodding, Manny did an about face and started toward my door. “Seriously! You really think I’d cheat! What the fuck!” I followed him.

  He didn’t even reply to me as he yanked the door open and slipped out. I trailed him, yelling his name, but he never turned around or acknowledged me, so I eventually stopped.

  I felt tears welling up, and because I didn’t want anyone to see me out here crying, I ran back to my apartment. As soon as I closed the door, I began sobbing hysterically. I swear my happiness only lasted for days and nothing more.

  A couple days later…

  I missed my parents, surprisingly, so I w
anted to stop by and see them. We hadn’t said a word to one another since I brought the U-Haul to get my things, and honestly, I was trying to be strong, thinking they’d miss me so much that they’d reach out. I was clearly wrong.

  And the fact that my life seemed to really be no different than when I was living with them, made me feel like I did all that rebelling for nothing.

  I stayed parked outside, staring at the two Mercedes in the driveway. I knew they’d both be home around this time because after living with them for all of my life, their schedules had become predictable.

  I went over a few topics to talk about in my head, and then got out of the car. On the way to the door, I checked my texts to see if Manny had hit me up, but there was nothing from him.

  If you had told me some time ago that’d I’d be feeling sick over not talking to Manny, I would have laughed. I used to hope he didn’t text or call me, and now I couldn’t stop checking my phone.

  I rang the doorbell to my parents’ home and got nervous when I heard footsteps from inside.

  “Alivia.” My dad opened the door, staring me down.

  “Hi, Daddy. Can I come in for a second?”

  “Uh, sure. Come on.” He walked away from the door, so I entered, closing it behind me.

  “Where is Mama?”

  “She’s in the kitchen here.” He pointed as we passed the kitchen to head to the den area. Before we even sat down good, my mother was walking in, drying her hands.

  “Alivia, what are you doing here?” she questioned, sitting down on the same two-seater couch as my father.

  “I just wanted to visit. We haven’t talked in a long time, and I miss you both.”

  They said nothing as they looked at one another.

  “Well that’s nice, Alivia. How have you been?” my mother inquired.

  “I’ve been okay. I got a really good job that’s gonna make me a lot of money. I just moved into a really nice apartment as well, as you know. It’s expensive, but I can afford it, especially now with this new opportunity.”