Good Girls Ain't No Fun Boxed Set (The SIX romance and urban fiction volumes of the LOVE, SEX, LIES series)

by Jessica Watkins

  There was a carpet of money on the floor a mile long and two inches thick. There were about thirty men cramped into the studio room to see the show. Other guys were outside of the room in the halls attempting to see, but our rules were that those that were tipping got the front row seats.

  It was apparent that about ten of these guys had the real money. The rest of them were foot soldiers. The ones with the money were doing a good job of keeping the party going though.

  They drank straight out of Remy and Don Julio bottles. The weed smoke was so thick that I surely smelled like it and was damn near high myself from the second hand smoke. I kept my tips on me, because I still didn’t trust these bitches.

  “Aye, what’s up with a private show, mama? You and your buddy.” The guy whispering in my ear while I clapped my ass in front of a few guys was pointing at Keesha. I told him that that was cool, as soon as the main show was over.

  Thirty minutes later, Keesha and I were taking the dude by the hand down the hall to the room that we were given as our area to do private shows in.

  “I got two bills for each of you,” he told us as soon as I closed the door.

  Keesha’s eyes lit up like a Christman tree. But before I got excited I wanted to know what he wanted for that two hundred dollars. Before I could open my mouth to ask, Keesha was kneeling down in front of him while unbuckling his pants as he sat in a folding chair. In disgust, I turned my back to leave and by the time I was closing the door behind me, his dick was in her mouth.

  I know that I am not above fucking for money, but it was gone be for way more than two bills; especially when I could go back into the studio and make that without being on my back or knees.

  I made my way back to the main room of the studio. I was trying to see if I could come up on a few private dances while these guys were drunk, high, and feeling themselves. I got a few gestures as I searched the crowd. Most of them were from the guys who obviously didn’t have any money.

  As I continued to scan the room, eyes fell on me that were eerily familiar. Those sexy brown slanted eyes locked with mine, and I damn near shitted in my thong. Immediately, I did an about-face and bolted down the hallway to the room where our clothes were, hoping that DeShawn hadn’t recognized me. But the way he was looking at me, I knew that he had.

  I threw my tips in my purse, threw on my leggings and wife beater, and threw all of my belongings in my gym bag, praying that when I left out of that room, DeShawn wouldn’t be outside of that door waiting on me.

  The last time I saw DeShawn face to face, he was testifying against me for setting up the robbery that got his friend killed. The time I saw him before that, I had just finished having sex with him before he and his friends went into his garage where my friends, Benz and Scoop, attempted to rob him and ended up killing his friend.

  Therefore, there was no telling what the fuck he would do to me now that there wasn’t a judge and bailiff standing between us. Since he was there, I assumed that there were probably a lot of other men there that knew Tim, the friend that got killed; meaning there was nothing but air and opportunity for these motherfuckers to jump me or even kill me. That thought sent panic and terror through my body.

  Once I saw the door, I ran for it. I damn near knocked niggas over trying to get down that hallway.

  I heard my name being called by a familiar voice. “Star! Yo’, Star!” Then I took off, out of the door and down the street in a full sprint.

  Eight

  Friday, August 24, 2012

  Victoria

  “Are you dating anyone?”

  My eyes lit up as memories of Greg flooded my brain. I hadn’t seen him in a week, but we had plans to hang out that night.

  “Greg,” I answered with a smile. I tried to hide my bashful blushing, but I couldn’t.

  Dr. Peterson smiled at my happiness with a bit of surprise.

  Still smiling, but now with a bit of embarrassment, I asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “You’re blushing. I have never seen you blush when you talk about a man. Do you like him?”

  “He’s nice, attractive, and, unlike Vince, he doesn’t pressure me into being in a situation that I don’t want to be in.”

  “Which is?”

  “A committed relationship.”

  “What’s wrong with being in a committed relationship?”

  I sighed as I allowed my raw feelings towards love to come out. Dr. Peterson was the only person that knew how I felt when it came to the opposite sex. I was never strong enough to say it out loud to any of my friends for fear of sounding pathetic and insecure.

  “I’m scared.”

  “Of?”

  “Being hurt, of course.”

  “Do men always hurt you?”

  “Usually.”

  “Who?”

  “Jesse. Taij.”

  “And?”

  “That’s it really.”

  “Did Vince hurt you?”

  “No, but I hurt him because I was too wrapped up in my own bullshit to be the woman he deserved.”

  “So, you would have been in a relationship with him had it not been for your issues.”

  “Right.”

  “So leaving him hurt you as well?”

  I flinched as I felt familiar emotional pain. I thought about how it felt to push the one man away that I knew was there for me unconditionally. I felt that gnawing feeling in my stomach like it just happened yesterday.

  “Yes.”

  “So there was hurt from Jesse, Taij, and Vince that you are now avoiding.”

  I replied, “Exactly!” I was so satisfied that she got my point.

  “How many men was that?”

  “Three.”

  “And one of them was a man that you thought was your father. So, you were hurt twice in a committed relationship. How many committed relationships have you been in?”

  Shamefully, I answered, “Two.”

  “And how old are you?”

  “Thirty.”

  Then, I felt stupid and she looked at me pleasingly, satisfied that I had now gotten her point.

  Dr. Peterson smiled at me like I was a little naive child. “How can you run from something that you have hardly experienced, Vic? You’re scared of something that you know nothing about. You haven’t experienced enough of love to run away from it.”

  Tricey

  “Are you going somewhere?”

  I was standing in front of the wall mirror admiring my outfit. I looked cute in the high-waist jeans, tie-up top and pointed-toe five inch pumps. With my long curls and this outfit, I looked like a retro pin-up girl.

  As Blood stood in the doorway watching me, I turned to find the Louis Vuitton to match my fit.

  Things hadn’t gotten much better around the house. We were still barely talking and I hadn’t had sex with him since he came home with Mauri.

  Honestly, I was so wrapped up in Damion that I haven’t had a chance to focus on what was going on in my home. For the past week, Damion had been sweeping me off of my feet.

  He was showing me how it felt to be pursued, and, after being in this relationship for so long, I forgot how being woo’d, with things other than money, made me feel.

  “Yeah, I’m going to meet up with Vic for a little while. Why? What’s up?”

  I spoke to him nonchalantly; fixing my hair, going through my purse, and spraying myself with perfume; anything to keep from looking in his eyes so that he would see my lies.

  “I told you that I was going out of town,” he answered, watching me curiously.

  “Yeah, I know. What time is your flight?”

  “In two hours.”

  “Oh ok.”

  Usually, I would be telling him how much I was going to miss him, maybe even giving him some goodbye sex. But, for all I knew, he was on his way to some pussy, so I wasn’t feeling very loving.

  “I need you to watch Mauri.”

  Immediately, I chuckled like he was making a damn fool of himsel
f. I had been doing a little better; making Mauri’s plate when I made Ariana’s, putting them both to bed. I was trying my best to engage with him since I could no longer avoid him like the plague without looking like an evil bitch.

  Yet, my child was gone with her dad, so his child, the one that I knew nothing about until a month ago, would need a sitter.

  “Well, I’m about to go. I have plans,” I told him.

  I could see Blood’s irritation with my carelessness as he replied, “You knew I was leaving town.”

  “And?!”

  Blood huffed and puffed and shook his head. He was so aggravated, but I didn’t care.

  “Look, excuse me if I didn’t take into consideration that you would need a babysitter. It’s easy to forget that. Sorry, I’m not use to taking your child into consideration since I just found out about him.”

  “I would need a sitter?” He repeated what I said like it was a problem. “No, we need a sitter. Tricey, you gone have to get used to the fact that he is here and he is our responsibility.”

  “I’m trying to, but, sorry, I’m not quite there yet.” As I spoke, I walked out of the room with my keys and purse in hand.

  “Tricey, so what am I suppose to do?!”

  I laughed to myself as I opened the door. “Find a sitter. That’s what single parents do.”

  Victoria

  Later that day, I had to drop DeSire off at Kim’s sister’s house. Her niece was having a backyard birthday party, and Kim and Taij wanted DeSire to attend.

  I had only worn a pair of shorts and a tank to therapy. But knowing that I was going to Kim’s sister’s house, even to only drop off DeSire, I had to make sure that I looked good. I had never met any of Kim’s family and probably would have very little contact with them. However, I knew that they, especially the women, would be looking at me with a hell of a lot of scrutiny. They would automatically hate me because I was the ex of her future husband that will always be around. Therefore, looking anything less than perfect would only give them more shit to say once I turned my back to leave.

  I walked into the backyard wearing a cream halter maxi with a crochet waistband and long flowing skirt that hovered over the ground. The color popped off of my skin that had darkened over the summer. With my hair pulled up into a high bun and naturally beat make up, I felt a bit angelic, yet classically sexy.

  Of course, eyes fell on me curiously. As soon as they recognized Taij’s twin that was holding my hand, they immediately knew who I was.

  Taij walked towards me as DeSire let go of my hand and took off running. I watched her as she ran straight to Kim, who welcomed her with open arms and a kiss on the cheek. That was my first time seeing them interact, but I wasn’t surprised. My child spent so much time with her father that I assumed that his fiancée would have a very close relationship with DeSire. Besides, if I was marrying the man of my dreams, I would lay it on thick with his kid too.

  Yet, I didn’t want to watch her be a mother to my child, so I waved politely, said hello, and made my exit as Taij followed me.

  “You don’t have to leave,” he told me as we walked along the driveway. “You’re more than welcome to stay.”

  I laughed. “Yeah right. Why would I stay?”

  He didn’t know the answer to that any more than I did.

  “I don’t know. Just didn’t want you to feel unwelcome. You can hang out. Kim knows we’re cool.”

  I smiled as I shook my head. “Thank you, but no thank you. You’re marrying her, not me.”

  Taij shook his head with a chuckle. “You’re such a bitch.”

  Only Taij could have called me a bitch and made me laugh in response, instead of getting pissed off. “You’re damn right I am. You are used to it by now. She might as well get used to it too.”

  As we reached the end of the driveway, Taij looked me up and down curiously, from my five inch stiletto heel sandals, that were hurting like a bitch, to the top of my bun.

  “Where you goin’? You got a date or something?”

  I smiled, answering, “Sure do.”

  “Oh, that’s why you don’t wanna stay!”

  I laughed as I began to walk away, towards my car, while Taij whispered loudly, “Don’t give that nigga none!”

  I continued to laugh as I climbed into the car. I turned on the ignition and it was like that was Taij’s permission to walk back into the yard. He waved goodbye, still laughing, and I returned the gesture with a sigh of relief.

  I was realizing how far I had come with letting the hurt go from me and Taij’s break up. For years, I cried, hurt, and blamed him and me.

  I had come a long way. I didn’t have to be high to genuinely feel good about that.

  LYRIC

  I was very surprised to see Cory as he stood in the doorway of my condo literally beaming from ear to ear.

  Not only was I shocked to see him, but the complexity of this man’s attractiveness that stood behind him through me totally for a loop.

  Cory knew that this man was taking my breath away. That’s why he stood in front of me with this pleasingly juicy grin on his face.

  “Don’t just stand there looking cray. Invite me in!”

  Instantly, I shook off my shock and attempted to laugh off the tension. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you. C’mon on in.”

  “I know. Me and my beau were in the area, so we decided to see if you were home. And we brought drinks!”

  I was completely thrown off by Cory for more reasons than one.

  “Hi, Kadeem.” I shook his hand while taking in his beauty. Damn shame this man was playing for both teams.

  When he greeted me and smiled, I got goose bumps! His eyes seemed to sparkle when he smiled. No wonder this man had my friend in a spell!

  “Hey Lyric.” Even this man’s voice made my lady parts quiver. It was so deep that I could feel the vibrations of it against my skin.

  “Babe, have a seat. I’ll go make you a drink.”

  I couldn’t help but stare at Kadeem’s walk as he strolled over to the couch with this cool ass swagger.

  I was so glad that Marcel wasn’t home.

  As Cory left the living room, he took me by the hand and forced me to go with him.

  No sooner than we were away from Kadeem’s ears, my lust came pouring out. “Damn, that man knows he’s fine. You sure he’s gay?”

  With a devilish grin, Cory replied, “The sex we just had at my house says he is.” Then Cory smiled with satisfaction as he sat the Reposado on the counter and went into the freezer.

  As he continued to go on and on about Kadeem, Cory’s appearance was just too much to ignore any further. It was the other reason, despite his unannounced visit, that was overwhelming and throwing me off. Cory, though very feminine, was never one to dress feminine; nothing compared to the skinny jeans, fitted tee, and feminine sandals that he was sporting that day.

  When he turned to look at me, I noticed the lip gloss.

  He was still going on and on about Kadeem, but I cut him off. “What’s up with the drag?”

  Bashfully, he ran his fingers through his hair that was growing out. “You don’t like it? Kadeem does.”

  Whether I liked it or not wasn’t the issue. The issue was that I knew that it wasn’t like Cory. I don’t care how many twirls he did or how many “honey’s” came out of his mouth; he always preferred to look very much like a boy. I started to wonder if Kadeem being in the closet had anything to do with him liking that my BFF was willing to look more like a woman, but I kept those thoughts to myself for the sake of allowing Cory to enjoy this wonderful day that he was obviously having and just followed him back into the living area.

  Soon as we entered, Kadeem stood and asked where the restroom was. I told him which hall and turns to take and he exited stage left.

  “If he is in the closet, then why is he so willing to be around me?”

  As he sipped from his cup, Cory played in my extensions and answered, “I promised him that you would kee
p who he is on the low. He would have never met you otherwise.”

  Before I could say anything else, ringing interrupted us. Kadeem had left his cell phone on the coffee table. Cory jumped for it like a damn squirrel chasing a nut!

  “What the hell are you doing?!”

  Cory ignored me as he looked at the Caller ID. “Mmm humph! Look at this shit. Who the fuck is Richard?!”

  “Are you crazy?!”

  “I should answer this shit.”

  “Cory, stop it! Put his damn phone down!” I snatched it from Cory before he could do anything stupid and sat it back on the table. “Are you out of your mind? Since when did you get so damn crazy?”

  “Since he started lying and being sneaky.”

  “He’s married and in the closet. Hell yeah, he’s sneaky!”

  Tricey

  I know that it sounds lame, but it felt like nothing had changed between Damion and me. It was like the years we spent apart meant nothing, because now that we were back in touch, he was still the attentive and caring man that he was when we were dating.

  Experiencing him made me wonder if we had made the right decision to break things off. But I chalked it up to now being mature enough to appreciate the little things in a man so much that the distance and women throwing pussy at him don’t matter as much; as long as he isn’t catching it.

  Damion and I were sitting in a cigar bar downtown on Dearborn. We sat close. His arm was around me as he held my hand. We sipped cognac as we tested several flavors of cigars. He taught me the science of cigars, all while rubbing me and looking at me so attentively and affectionately. The moment was so intimate, and something that I hadn’t experienced in years.

  Though prior to Mauri’s arrival I was head over heels for my man, there were a lot of little things in our relationship that no longer existed because of years of getting used to one another.

  Yet, being with Damion reminded me how being courted felt. I enjoyed being able to look into a man’s eyes and fall for him.

  Being with Damion made me even more upset that Blood fucked up our happy home.