White Lines

by Tracy Brown

  Jada looked helpless, almost coming, but not quite there yet. Born watched her, and he sexed her not too hard and not too soft.

  “Say it,” he demanded, smiling at her provocatively.

  Jada was breathless. “I’m cummin’,” she said in a passionate whisper. “I’m cummin’, daddy.”

  He watched her face contort in pleasure, and once she exploded, so did he. Jada held on to him as she caught her breath.

  He looked in her eyes and smiled. “I told you you were ready,” he said. He pulled himself away from her, gently putting her leg back down.

  Jada stood against the wall, out of breath and smiling from the thrill of the quickie. She walked into the bathroom to wash herself, and Born was hot on her trail. She said, “Damn, I must really look good in this dress.”

  Born laughed as they both stood in the bathroom cleaning up the pretty mess they’d made. “You just don’t know,” he said. “You look good enough to eat.”

  Jada smiled. “Bon appétit!” she joked.

  Born laughed. “Sunny helped you pick that out?” he asked. “Took you to get your hair done and all that?”

  “Yeah. She has good taste, as you can see. But wait until you see what she’s wearing tonight.” Jada shook her hand like it was hot, smiling naughtily, and Born shook his head.

  He had mixed emotions about the influence that Sunny was having on Jada. True, she looked beautiful tonight. But Born was concerned that Sunny might encourage Jada to go too far. Born loved Jada, and he knew how impressionable she was. He didn’t want Sunny, or anyone else, to get her caught up in a lifestyle that didn’t suit her. “You look nice, Jada,” he said. “But don’t start dressing too—”

  Jada cut him off with a kiss. “I’m not Sunny,” she said. “I’m not gonna start dressing as sexy as she does all the time. Just tonight.” Jada winked at him. “But, I like her. I think she might become a friend of mine.” Jada looked Born in his eyes, trying to discern whether or not he approved. “Is that okay with you? I mean, do you mind, really?” Jada’s question was sincere.

  Born looked into those same pretty eyes that he’d been so mesmerized by the day they met. He was happy that Jada had found a chick she liked. She didn’t have a lot of friends, since Shante was old news and Ava was away at school. Jada spent most of her time either with Born or home alone. Sunny might turn out to be exactly what Jada needed. And it didn’t hurt that she was Dorian’s wifey. He kissed her on the nose. “You be friends with whoever you want, baby girl. If you like Sunny, you hang out with Sunny.” He looked at her seriously. “But don’t lose yourself around nobody. Don’t change. This is the Jada I love.”

  Jada looked at Born, understanding his warning and the hidden message. She understood his concern for what she might do when he wasn’t around. Jada shook her head, and she said, “I’m not going back to where I was before for nobody or nothing in this world. You have my word on that.”

  He slapped her playfully on the ass, and smiled at her. She turned and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She touched up her lipstick, and put on her diamond hoop earrings, and the diamond tennis bracelet Born had given her. She turned back to face him. He was smiling in awe of her. “Damn, baby girl.”

  Jada smiled, grabbed her small clutch, and pulled him toward the door. “Let’s get to the party before I get pregnant.”

  Born laughed as she led him out the door.

  He was amazed that he was on the verge of walking into Dorian’s party—the crème de la crème of events—with a woman as fine as Jada on his arm. On the way there, he thought about how far he’d come. He thought about his boys, and about how they would probably never get the opportunity to rub elbows with hustlers of Dorian’s caliber. He was a major player now, with more money in the streets than he’d ever had before. Born realized that leaving his old crew behind had been one of his smartest moves to date. Because now he was on his way to an exclusive event filled with VIPs while his niggas were still holding down the block.

  When they arrived at the brownstone tucked among the homes of some of the borough’s premier black families, the party was already in full swing. This wasn’t Dorian’s house, but one an “associate” had let him use for the event. The music could be heard outdoors, as the party-goers reveled and danced. Born parked his car and escorted Jada past men who couldn’t help but stare at her. Her legs glowed as she stepped in her sexy heels past all of them. But their stares didn’t offend Born. He knew that she was beautiful, and he smiled because she was all his.

  At the door, two tall burly brothers stood in silence. Born stepped forward and spoke into one man’s ear. At once the man nodded to his partner, and the two parted, allowing Born and Jada to pass. They went inside, and scanned the room for the guest of honor. The crowd was all dressed in white, and everyone had put on their very finest. It was a magnificent scene. Sexy waitresses worked the room wearing short white cocktail dresses and little else. They served Cristal from flutes they balanced on trays. Born and Jada both grabbed a glass as they made their way through the crowd, swaying to the sound of Biggie’s “Who Shot Ya.”

  They found Dorian standing in a sea of men in white. He saw Born and his face lit up, as he ushered him and Jada into his circle of friends. There were introductions galore, and Jada tried to remember names and faces. They made themselves comfortable, Born sitting on the sofa beside Dorian and Jada perched on the arm of the sofa next to Born. They sipped champagne and listened to the music, as Dorian and Born talked and laughed. Jada listened quietly as Dorian told Born who various individuals were throughout the room. She could tell that these were important people. She scanned the crowd, checking out the other women in the room and what they were wearing. She saw some cute dresses, a few nice pairs of shoes. Jada was admiring all the beautiful people in designer clothes. But she was surprised to see a couple of the women looking at her in a nasty way, as if they were jealous. She didn’t know if it was because she was with Born or if it was because she looked as stunning as she did. But she didn’t care. She smiled at them, as if to say, “Hate, bitches.”

  Then Dorian pointed across the room with a huge smile on his face. “And there is the person everybody really came to see.” Dorian watched proudly as Sunny walked in wearing a long, white, crocheted Roberto Cavalli dress with peek-a-boo holes throughout. Strips of fabric beneath the stitching concealed her breasts, but the dress left little else to the imagination. Her entire back was out, and it showed off her midriff. The dress clung to the top of her large ass for dear life. Every eye in the room was on that dress. It was a lovely accessory for her perfect body, and Dorian beamed with pride. Sunny’s eyelashes fluttered long and false, but absolutely lovely on her pretty face. From a distance, she looked like an angel.

  “This is her night,” he said, as she walked over to them. “I’m just the man lucky enough to be by her side.” Dorian literally couldn’t take his eyes off of her, as Sunny walked over to their corner, stopping along the way to greet a few party goers. When she finally made her way to the group, everyone greeted Sunny enthusiastically. Sunny kissed Dorian long and deep, and then she wiped her lipstick off his mouth.

  Jada was sitting next to Born with her golden legs crossed, and she watched Born’s reaction. He, like every other heterosexual man in the room, looked at Sunny from head to toe. But then, without looking directly at Jada, he reached over and took her hand in his. She smiled, comforted by Born’s show of affection as she took in Sunny’s flawless appearance. “Hey, diva. You look good!” Jada smiled from ear to ear.

  Sunny returned the gesture, and took Jada by the hand. “Thanks, girl. You, too. Now, come with me so I can show you off a little. Born wants to keep you all to himself tonight, but I’m not having it!” Born nodded and watched as Jada followed Sunny through the crowd.

  Sunny led Jada through the throngs of people, stopping along the way to introduce her to a couple of them. All the while they felt the heat from the stares of some of the women scattered throughou
t the party. Sunny seemed immune to it all. She was used to bullshit like that. She led Jada to another large room, where people sat around on leather sofas mingling and laughing. They stopped in that room and danced for a while, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. There were lots of beautiful women at the party, but Sunny and Jada were the belles of the ball. After about an hour, Sunny led Jada upstairs to the section of the house that was off-limits to most of the guests. Only Dorian and his immediate circle were up there. Born was with them, and Sunny led Jada into the VIP section of the party.

  The smell of weed smoke wafted throughout the whole top floor. Jada saw Born pass a blunt to Dorian, and Dorian took it and inhaled. Born breathed out the smoke as Jada caught his eye and walked over with Sunny in tow. Sunny walked right up to Dorian and took the blunt from his hands. She puffed on it deeply, and Dorian shook his head, jokingly.

  Born pulled Jada onto his lap, and she looked into his bloodshot eyes. He smiled at her, and kissed her softly on the lips. “Wassup, pretty girl? You having fun?”

  Jada smiled back at Born, who looked as high as a kite. She had only seen him smoke weed on two occasions, and she knew that he was twisted. She nodded. “Yeah. But not as much fun as you.”

  Sunny passed her the blunt. “Here, girl,” she said.

  Jada looked at the blunt in Sunny’s outstretched hand, and then looked at Born. Her expression was a puzzled one as she looked to him for direction. She hadn’t done drugs of any kind since she left rehab, and she didn’t know whether to take the blunt or not. He sensed this, and nodded his approval. It’s just weed, he thought to himself. How bad could it be? “Go ahead,” he said. “I got you.”

  Jada puffed on the cigar filled with haze, and slowly felt her mind grow fuzzy. They passed it back and forth between the four of them until it was gone. Then Sunny took Jada by the hand once more, leaving Dorian and Born to twist another one. She led Jada back downstairs, and they rejoined the party, feeling great.

  Sunny sipped her champagne and looked at Jada.

  “The bitch right there in the white leather dress is Dorian’s son’s mother.” Sunny pointed her chin discreetly at a short, slim, dark-skinned black woman standing with a group of four other females. Jada looked at the woman without being too obvious, as she sipped her drink. She saw that the woman was very pretty, with a smooth chocolate complexion and a fabulous short haircut. She looked in Sunny and Jada’s direction, and she whispered to her friends. Soon all the women were looking at them. Sunny noticed, and she raised her glass as if proposing a toast. Dorian’s ex returned the gesture, but the look on her face said something totally different. Sunny smiled, and said through clenched teeth, “Yeah. That’s the ho.” She turned to Jada. “Her name is Raquel. She’s the worst excuse for a woman. Always trying to use her son as leverage against Dorian.” Sunny shook her head. “She can’t get over the fact that I’m the one he wants, and not her. Granted, he cheated on me with her.” Sunny rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed by the fact. “But that shit wasn’t nothing. She just got lucky and got pregnant. But the bitch found out the hard way that he didn’t want her like that. Now, whenever she can she tries to get Dorian to pay attention to her. But she uses their little boy as a pawn.” Jada could tell that Sunny had hate in her heart for the pretty young woman standing across the room.

  Jada nodded. “Well, they must get along pretty good, since she came to his party.” To her, it sounded like Dorian was having his cake and eating it, too.

  Sunny rolled her eyes. “Please! She only came so that she can try and front to her friends. She knows that Dorian is that nigga, and she likes to act like she’s somebody because he’s her son’s father. But that don’t make her nobody. I can’t stand that bitch.”

  Sunny drained her glass and placed it on a nearby table before she and Jada left that room and went into another part of the large house. The deejay played Jay Z’s “Ain’t No Nigga,” and soon everybody in the place was dancing. Sunny and Jada two-stepped in their sexy dresses, getting the attention of all the men standing nearby. Some of the women were so jealous that it was evident by the looks on their faces. None of them dared say a word, though. The men all paused, but none approached Sunny, since they knew that she was Dorian’s wifey, and flirting with her would mean beef with D and his crew. No one wanted that. But Jada was someone they hadn’t seen before. And she was looking sexy as hell, swaying to the beat. She felt all eyes on her, and Jada wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable. She kept right on dancing and enjoying herself, feeling a buzz from the mix of marijuana and champagne. She felt arms encircle her waist, and she tensed up, figuring that some nigga must have gotten carried away. Somebody must have grown tired of watching and decided to try and dance with her. She turned around, prepared to nicely decline the dance, but found Born standing there.

  Jada smiled, and put her arms around his neck and danced with her man. Born looked at her and smiled back, knowing that he was the envy of just about every man in the room at that moment. “You missed me?” she asked.

  Born didn’t tell her how he’d noticed all the men staring at her body as she danced. He didn’t tell her about the whispers he’d heard throughout the party about “that bad bitch that Sunny is walking around with.” But he smiled instead, and said, “Yeah. I did.”

  Jada kissed him, and was oblivious to all the other people at the party. To Jada, it was just her and her man.

  Meanwhile, Sunny wandered off to find Dorian. She went back into the room where Raquel and her friends were lingering. Dorian was in there, in a corner talking with a few of his boys. Sunny stopped to talk to a girl named Olivia, whose brother Lamin and Dorian had done business together, and over the years they had formed a close working relationship. They were often guests at each other’s parties, and his sister Olivia was a girl Sunny considered a friend. Sunny didn’t have many friends, and it wasn’t a term that she threw around loosely. She knew many people, but she had very few friends. Olivia’s brother Lamin was doing big things in the music industry, parlaying his street money into legitimate money. This was precisely what Sunny was trying to persuade Dorian to do. She wished he would listen, but Dorian knew one thing and one thing only: the game.

  Olivia was telling Sunny something about a music video shoot, and Sunny’s ears perked up at the idea of lights, cameras, and attention. Sunny had always loved the spotlight, and craved it, but she had never pursued a career in entertainment. Her looks were exotic enough to model or act, but Sunny had never tried to do either of those things. Her mother was Puerto Rican and her father was black. And unlike most of her peers, Sunny’s parents were still happily married and living a cozy working, middle-class lifestyle. Sunny was the baby of the family, and the only girl. She had two older brothers who had hovered over her until Dorian came through and shut them down.

  Dorian was five years older than her, and a hustler through and through. When she met him, she was seventeen years old and stunning. He met her one day when he was shopping in Brooklyn’s Kings Plaza mall. She was at the jewelry counter looking at a bracelet, and he came up from behind and swept her off her feet. Dorian was tall and had a very commanding presence. His walk was heavy, his voice almost hypnotic. Dorian impressed Sunny and her family with his wealth and his status. Knowing that she was so much younger, and that her family was overprotective, Dorian wined and dined Sunny. He lavished her with gifts and lavished her family as well. And he courted her with respect. On her eighteenth birthday, he slept with her for the first time. She had been with him ever since, by his side through thick and thin. The elder of her brothers worked for Dorian now, and it was a family affair. She was happy with him, but always wondered what she could do to get her own money, her own acclaim. So as Olivia filled her in on the details of the upcoming video shoot, Sunny hung on her every word. That is, until she saw Raquel heading toward Dorian.

  Born and Jada entered the room just as Raquel approached Dorian’s side. The deejay switched to reggae, and the crowd began to
couple off. Born pulled Jada close and danced with her. Sunny looked over Olivia’s shoulder and saw Raquel standing in front of Dorian, grinding her ass on him. Sunny calmly excused herself from Olivia and walked across the room. Jada was still tipsy, and loving the feeling of swaying to the music with Born. She was oblivious. But Born saw what was about to go down, and he watched it all unfold.

  Raquel was obviously drunk, and Dorian stood still as she gyrated in front of him. He had a smile on his face, and his boys standing close by had smirks on their faces at this display. Raquel was tossing that ass at Dorian, making him stand back and take notice. Everybody was watching. But then they saw Sunny approach. Everyone knew that Sunny was Dorian’s lady. And everyone knew that Sunny was no joke. Sunny was glamorous and sexy, but no one should be fooled. She would pull out her earrings and bust somebody’s ass in a heartbeat. Raquel continued grinding on Dorian, until Sunny came and stood right in Raquel’s face. The two women stood eye to eye, and everybody waited to see what would happen.

  Raquel stood and looked at Sunny. She stopped dancing and smiled at her, innocently. “What’s the matter, Sunny? It’s only a dance.”