Shawna drove down to 16th Street and met her sister Morgan at a sit-down, buffet-styled Chinese restaurant. The two made themselves a plate, sat in a booth, and started to chit-chat.
“Business good in the shop today?” Morgan asked.
Shawna nodded. “Yeah, it is,” she answered. “I like this shop,” she added, comparing her experience now to the first shop where she had rented booth space. “I mean, I feel like I can really build my clientele there and the location is good too. Plus, other stylists in there ain’t on no shady shit like that last place.”
“Girl, I feel you on that,” Morgan said. Just then, Morgan remembered what she’d seen earlier. “Oh, girl, I meant to tell you that I saw Tron earlier.”
“Oh yeah, where you see him at?” Shawna asked.
“Out south actually,” Morgan said. “At first I wasn’t sure if it was him. But once I got a good look at the car, I started to think more and more that it was him. Then, he turned my way and drove past me. I flashed my lights, but I don’t guess he saw me.”
“Out south?” Shawna asked.
Shawna tried to think of who Tron would know out on the south side and why he would be out there in the middle of the day on Thursday. As far as she knew, anything that had to do with his and Tyrese’s club did not have anything to do with the south side. The family that Tron had in Indianapolis, both on his mama’s and daddy’s side of the family, all lived east and northeast with a few exceptions – and these exceptions lived far northwest.
“You said you saw him turning?” Shawna asked. “I can’t think of where he woulda been coming from. Where was he turning out of?”
Morgan shrugged. “Some apartments,” she answered. “I forget the name of that road, but you know where there is a Speedway gas station on the corner when you head down to Greenwood. I was over there, on that road, whatever it is called.”
Morgan went on talking about some other stuff while Shawna was kind of lost in thought for a moment. She knew exactly what part of town Morgan was talking about and could not think of any reason that Tron would have to be over there. On top of that, she damn sure couldn’t think of any people they knew who lived in the apartments over there. She had been talking to Tron for a total of four years, and the two of them were serious for three of those years. Never in all this time had they gone over to the south side unless he was taking her to the IMAX theater. There was just nothing over on that side of town that there wasn’t twice as much of on this side of town.
***
Later that night, when Shawna and Tron were both home at the same time, Shawna was still stuck on the idea of Morgan seeing Tron over on the south side turning out of some apartments. At first, she was thinking of just letting it go. Then, her curiosity really started to get the best of her. This was especially true when she thought about how he could be messing around with one of them girls from the club. Her mind went to all sorts of places, but really led her to thinking that maybe one of the girls lived over there. Shawna had never met any of them, even though she went to the club on occasion with Tron. Tron brought home dinner for the two of them (carryout from Red Lobster), and they sat on the couch in their living room downstairs.
“Busy day for you?” Shawna asked.
It was obvious to her that something was on Tron’s mind. Ever since he had walked through the door, he was kind of quiet. The little bit of hello they had was mostly him responding to her with the shortest answered possible, clearly not trying to engage in the conversation.
Now, Tron was taking several seconds too long to respond, making Shawna really want to know what was on his mind. “Tron?” she said, this time louder.
Tron shook out of whatever he was thinking and looked up at Shawna. “Oh, my bad, baby,” he said. “Yeah, I was busy today. Had to run some errands for the club and stuff. Thinking about redoing the front.”
“Redoing the front? Why?” Shawna wanted to know.
“Well, it ain’t that the front need to be redone,” Tron said. “Really, I just thought it might help business if it didn’t look anything like how the news be showing clips of it from when shit popped off outside in the parking lot.”
Shawna nodded. “Oh, okay,” she said. “I was busy today too. Had a lot of appointments. During my two-hour break I had between heads, I wound up meeting Morgan down on Sixteenth Street at the Chinese restaurant. She said she saw you today.”
At this point, Tron didn’t think anything of Morgan seeing him today. Sure, today he’d gone out and gotten some fire head from Desirae – Desirae and what she was talking about before he left being the main thing on his mind now. Aside from that, the rest of his day had been spent on the north side of the city, which was the same side where Morgan lived.
“Oh yeah, where she see me?” Tron asked. “I ain’t see her, I don’t think.”
“Yeah,” Shawna said, trying to gauge Tron’s reaction to see what was really up. “She said she saw you out south or something like that. You was turning onto some road by some apartments or something and she drove past you. She said she flashed her lights, but she didn’t think that you saw her.”
Tron’s heart instantly started to beat a little fast. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear Shawna say – to hear her say that her sister had seen him out south. Quickly, though, he knew that he had to come up with something to say that would sound totally reasonable for him being out in that part of the town.
Tron pretended to have a memory lapse while he thought up something real good. “Oh, I know where she talkin’ bout,” Tron said. “The dudes we having redo the front of the club live out that way. A couple of white dudes. I went over there and met them and shit, that’s probably where she said she same me coming from.”
Shawna wanted to believe the story, but something was telling her that it all just wasn’t real. While it was plausible, something about it just seemed a little too convenient. On top of that, she remembered how Morgan had said that she’d seen Tron turning out of some apartment complex. What were the chances that whoever he and Tyrese were paying to remodel the front of the club would live in some apartments on the south side?
***
That night, Shawna’s suspicions were heightened even more. She was making it known that she wanted to get it in before they went to bed. To her surprise, Tron had fallen right to sleep almost as soon as he lay down on the bed. Like the few other times this happened, she just pulled the covers up over her and lay there trying to fall asleep too. After a while, it wasn’t working. Her mind was just racing too much, and she was having a really hard time letting go of her suspicions.
For the first time in the three years she’d been with Tron, Shawna thought for a good minute about getting up and looking through his phone. She’d always had the password to unlock it, but she always trusted that she had a good dude. Shawna simply didn’t ever think she needed to do that, and Tron never gave her a reason to think about it. Now, however, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was kind of changing. Morgan had said she’d seen him turning out of an apartment complex. His story just didn’t seem to fit that the least bit. It was possible, but Shawna had a hard time buying it.
After lying there, in their dark bedroom, with Tron snoring to her side, Shawna just couldn’t take it anymore. If something was up, she’d find out in his phone. If it was nothing, then she had nothing to lose. With this in mind, Shawna slid out of bed and went around to Tron’s side of the bed. She dug his phone out and stepped into the master bathroom. She didn’t want to take long. The plan was to go straight in and look at the text messages and to not even bother with the pictures. That would have to wait for another time.
Shawna unlocked Tron’s phone and began scrolling up and down the message screen. She looked at the names, as well as the times the last text messages were coming through. No unusual names appeared. Everybody Tron had gotten a text message from recently appeared to be people he was supposed to be messaging. Shawna even looked in at some of the messag
es to see what the general gist of the conversation was about. Even here, nothing seemed the least bit out of place.
Feelings of guilt then started to come over Shawna. In the three years she’d been with Tron, everything really had been smooth. The nice things they had, and she didn’t have to bitch at him about anything. He even took her on trips to places that she’d never been. Shawna started shaking her head and smirking.
“Girl, Shawna, you trippin,” Shawna said to herself. With her head still shaking, she got up and walked over to the bathroom door. Just as she opened it, there was Tron. He stood in front of the door, in his underwear, looking at Shawna with questioning eyes. His presence alone almost scared Shawna. Based on how cold he was knocked out when she got out of bed and came into the bathroom, the last thing she ever expected to see was him standing outside the door.
His face scrunched together from being dead in his sleep, Tron noticed how his cell phone was in Shawna’s hand.
“Baby?” Tron said, confused. “What you doin?”
Shawna rushed past him, knowing that she’d need a little moment to come up with something to say since her little search had come up with nothing. In all reality, she felt embarrassed that she had even gotten caught. She already knew that Tron was going to make a big deal out of what she was doing.
“Baby?” Tron said, wanting an answer.
Shawna turned and looked at Tron. “I just thought something might be going on,” Shawna said.
“What?” Tron asked, looking confused. “Going on? What you talkin’ bout, baby, going on? Wait a minute.”
Tron stepped into the bathroom and took a long piss. He rinsed his hands off and started talking again as he was drying them in the doorway.
“Shawna, why was you looking through my phone?”
Shawna started to hyperventilate, knowing that she was trying to make something out of something that was probably nothing. She had always told herself that she wasn’t going to be the kind of woman to do that. While it didn’t totally clear her suspicion of Tron, because she knew how men could be if they really wanted to get smart about hiding shit, it did help that she didn’t have anything from her little search.
“Like I said, Tron,” Shawna said. “I thought something was going on. I thought you might’a been fucking around or something.”
Tron’s heart started to beat a little fast, but he wanted to make sure that he didn’t act like it. His main objective at that moment was to not come across nervous because that would make him look even guiltier. Tron kept his cool and remembered how to handle a woman when she gets to feeling insecure.
“Baby, why did you think that?” Tron asked.
“Because Morgan said she saw you turning out of an apartment complex,” Shawna said, deciding at this point that she would just let all of her feelings out. “And I know you said that you was down that way because you was meeting with some guys about redoing the front of the club, but I just didn’t believe that because why would you be going to see them in or near some apartments?”
Tron knew that he quickly had to come up with something to say. He had already begun to think of what he could say while Shawna was talking. Soon enough, as she finished her sentence, he was as ready as he’d ever be. On top of that, he wanted to make sure that it was believable and that he wasn’t coming across as nervous or anything.
“Baby, like I told you, I went down to their little office place before you get to Greenwood,” Tron explained. “I don’t know my way around down there like that. And I certainly don’t fuck with anybody who live down that way either. I had a hard time finding the place, so maybe when Morgan saw me is when I was turning around to go back the other way or something. Baby, you know I wouldn’t be fucking around on you.”
Tron stepped over to Shawna. He lightly pulled her chin up to where her eyes were looking into his.
“You know I love you,” Tron said. “Why would you even get to thinking that I would be fucking around on you like that? Ain’t no chick got what I need like you.”
Shawna smiled, knowing that at least that part of what he was saying was true. They had been together three years, and she even stayed with him when people weren’t trying to be associated with him. People thought she was crazy, but she knew exactly what she was doing and that she was going to stick it out. Tron had always made sure to show his appreciation.
Shawna had to be honest with herself and admit that Tron’s words were indeed making her feel guilty about it all. Now that he explained it more, she knew that she was trying to make nothing into something. For a second there, she was really kind of mad at herself for even going that far.
“I know, Tron,” Shawna said. “I know. It’s just, you know how I get with you and that club business. I know it’s better and safer prolly than when you was out in the streets. It’s just, now I know you got a bunch of chicks that be around you.”
Tron snickered. “You know them chicks ain’t nothing to me,” he said. “They like property. Me and Tyrese got a code name for them hoes: merchandise. Why would I risk all this to get with one of them that gon get with any nigga that throw them a couple dollars?”
Shawna nodded, feeling Tron on what he was saying and knowing that it was true in many ways. Shawna had met a couple of Tron’s ex-girlfriends here and there. There was no animosity or anything like that between her and them. Plus, from when she started talking to Tron and when he was with those chicks, there was definitely no overlapping going on. However, one thing that Shawna noticed about the two ex-girlfriends is that Tron obviously didn’t like bummy bitches.
“Plus, baby,” Tron continued on. “You know I don’t really deal with that part of the business like that. That’s Tyrese. He the one who get the girls and do the auditioning and contracting and stuff. I don’t even fuck with that shit.”
Shawna found herself nodding again, this time because she knew that a part of Tron’s and Tyrese’s business structure was indeed set up that way. She sometimes wondered how Nalique could even deal with knowing that – if she knew that is how it is. Then again, Shawna had always thought of Nalique as the kind of chick who scared any hoe away from her man.
“I’m sorry, Tron,” Shawna said. “I know, and I love you too. You know how I get sometimes.”
Tron smirked then kissed Shawna.
“You know I would never fuck around on you,” Tron said to Shawna, happy that she was finally calming down. “But you gotta trust me. Yeah, this club business is a little up and down at times and comes with that like you said, but at the same time this shit is making money, the legal way, and I ain’t got to worry about the cops and shit breathing down my neck all the time.”
“I know, Tron,” Shawna said. “I know. I’m sorry, baby. Do you accept my apology?”
In a playful way, Tron moved his lips to the side. “I gotta think about it,” he said.
Shawna tapped him on his cheek and walked away, in a playful but pouting way. In one quick swoop, Tron had grabbed her gently by her arm. Next thing she knew, his hands were around her waist and he was holding her in place while he kissed her neck softly. Shawna’s body tingled as it was just getting to be too much for her.
Tron pushed Shawna onto the bed on her back. Tron slid her panties down her legs and over the tips of her feet. Next thing Shawna knew, her hands were gripping Tron’s head while his tongue worked magic on her. He didn’t do this all the time, but when he did, it practically sent Shawna over the edge.
Shawna leaned her head back into a pillow while she let Tron do his thing. The sides of his head pressed and bounced against the insides of her thighs from time to time. Eventually, she got a better idea. She stopped him from what he was doing, had him sit on the edge of the bed, and returned the favor.
Chapter 6
Shawna’s Friday started kind of early. She went into the shop around 9 am, hating that she had to deal with some of the end of the morning rush hour traffic that was heading into downtown. On the flip side, however, she took her time
and didn’t really let anything get to her. Tron had really put it down last night after he found her in the bathroom going through his phone. Shawna slept so good last night that she almost woke up late this morning.
The day went on as usual. At 1 o’clock, she’d had an hour gap between appointments. When she chilled in the chair and started checking her phone and Facebook messages, a text message from Nalique popped up. Shawna and Nalique were cool and all, but they weren’t exactly the kind of chicks who would be buddy-buddy and texting one another. For this reason, Shawna thought it was strange that Nalique would be texting her. Immediately, she opened the text message: Hey Shawna. Would you be able to do my hair tonight for me?
Shawna thought about it. She knew she had a few appointments starting back to back at 2, then another hour gap at maybe five or six o’clock. At six o’clock, Miss Ralston was coming in to get her hair done for some sort of function she was going to. Even though doing Nalique’s hair would probably have Shawna in the shop that night longer than she really wanted to be, she didn’t really feel like she was in a position to say no to some money. On top of that, Nalique was Tyrese’s girl and she was always real cool to be around.
Shawna: Can you come to the shop at 7:30? That’s really the best I can do right now.
Nalique: That works. I’ll be there then. Thank you so much.
Shawna smirked for a second, wondering what had gotten into Nalique where she needed an emergency hair appointment like that. Shawna had done Nalique’s hair a couple of times in the past, but that had been a year or so ago. Right as Shawna was about to sit her phone onto the counter, she thought that she better text Tron and tell him that she wouldn’t be home at the time she normally was. Many Friday nights, Tron went to Honeys East to manage the place and see what was going on. Sometimes, he went in earlier in the night, like around 7 or 8 o’clock. Other times, he wouldn’t go in until much later – until the place was really packed with people. This gave Shawna a chance to eat and chill with him before he went to work.
The Diary of a Side Chick (Side Chick Diaries Book 1) Page 6