“Maybe she just doesn’t like you.” Camarih shrugged.
“Is that true, Shanece? You just don’t like me?” He turned to look me in the eyes. The sun beaming down on his chocolate skin made him look good and should’ve been a crime. I suddenly had the urge to eat a chocolate cake or dessert of some kind.
“I don’t know you to like or dislike you, Wade.” I gave an insincere smile.
“Well maybe you should get to know me. What’s your phone number? I gave you mine, but you must’ve accidentally lost it.”
“No thank you. Now is not a good time for me, but I appreciate your efforts.”
“You don’t need a friend?” He licked his supple lips. When he placed his arm on top of the table to lean toward me, his scent became airborne.
“I have some right here, and they’re better looking than you.” I gestured toward the ladies.
“Now that I agree with.” He stared at me for a moment then got up. “Well alright, I guess another time. Nice meeting you, ladies.”
Camarih and Rubie mumbled the same in return, and since I felt them staring at me, I focused my attention on the menu.
“Who was that, Shanece?” Camarih inquired.
“I don’t know.”
“You knew his name.”
“Okay. He’s this nigga I met at Red Lobster when I went a little bit ago.” It was still quiet, so I added, “I am not interested in dating. After Paul, I need some time. And after Rahim, I’m scared to even give a nigga a chance in fear of him being married, gay, or something else secretive.”
“I agree. I think you should only go out when you feel ready.”
“And it’s not like he just died a week ago. Or did he die a week ago?” Rubie looked confused.
“No.” I chuckled. “Much longer, but it feels like yesterday.”
Lunch or the early dinner was a breath of fresh air, and it was nice to have people to celebrate my new job with, even if I didn’t know one of them well.
I liked Rubie though; she wasn’t obnoxious, loud, full of herself, or rude like a lot of women these days. She seemed sweet, so I wondered how she got wrapped up with Eitan. Don’t get me wrong, he was nice too, but he seemed to have a lot of drama going on.
I texted Camarih that I would call her later as we waited for our cars at valet. I wanted to tell her the update on Keira, but I didn’t want Rubie to hear because I didn’t know her like that.
“Thank you.” I spoke to the valet guy after handing him $10 as a tip.
Just as I was about to close my door, someone stopped it, and of course, it was annoying ass Wade.
“Leaving so soon?”
“I’ve been here for three hours. Did you seriously wait around for me?” I was starting to get weirded out.
“Yeah. I couldn’t leave without your number, beautiful.”
“Okay, no. This is not cute and—”
“I’m kidding.” He dropped down so he could look up into my face. “I’m the manager here.” I knew he had a good job. “However, I did make sure one of the waitresses at the rooftop restaurant let me know when you were about to leave.”
“Annoying.”
“Or persistent.” He smiled.
“Oh my gosh.” I tittered, kind of pissed he had me smiling.
“So, can I get your number?”
“Wade, I have things going on, so like I said before, now is not a good time for me.”
“I can tell. You look like you need someone to talk to and maybe pay for dinner while it happens.”
“I have my friends.”
“And now me.” He handed me his phone with the contact sheet already up for me to fill out.
Sighing, I snatched his phone as he chuckled, then typed my number in, along with my name.
“Don’t be calling me all the time either, Mr.…?”
“Bias. Wade Bias. Shanece Bias.”
“Mr. Bias.” I rolled my eyes and shook his hand since he reached it out to me.
When I tried to pull back, he kissed my hand first.
I shook my head at him, putting my other leg in the car so he could close my door. He watched as I pulled off, and for some reason, my smile lasted until I was halfway down the street.
When I got to a red light, I peeped my screen, which had a text from an unknown number, who I already knew was Wade.
(424) 555- 7331: Friendly outing this Thursday?
Me: I will let you know.
Again, I was grinning hard, but I wasn’t going anywhere come Thursday.
Eitan
Few days later…
I woke up feeling weak as hell from getting drunk as fuck last night with Frida. She was little as shit but didn’t fuck like it. Second to Rubie, she was the best sex a nigga ever had and that was saying a lot. What was supposed to be some one-nighter shit turned into multiple nights, and now she’d stayed over a few times.
I know you’re wondering how was that possible when Holli’s ass was staying with me, but I’d purchased a new luxury condo that her ass knew nothing about. My money situation was even better than it had been and was only skyrocketing, so it made no sense for me to be in that damn apartment, held hostage with Holli’s ass.
I spent the night over there occasionally so it wouldn’t raise any red flags. But a lot of the times when she thought I was working or doing something I knew she couldn’t verify with Tony, I was actually here.
I smelled something good, so I climbed out of the bed, snatching my boxers from the floor, and slipping them on. Walking out of the bedroom and downstairs, I followed the smell to see Frida in my kitchen cooking. She had shit all over the place, in a good way.
“Damn, chef.” I sat down at the table.
Smiling, she replied, “You’re welcome.”
“My bad. I didn’t know this was for me.”
“Who else would it be for?”
“Shit, I don’t know. You do eat a lot.”
“Whatever.” She giggled.
Frida wasn’t my type body wise, but the pussy was too good, and her face was beautiful, so I could work with her. She had a little ass, not anything huge, small round breasts, and enough thighs for me to grab on. Skinny females usually did nothing for me, but Frida embraced her shit and knew how to work it.
I guess my mama was right when she said men were attracted to confidence. I wasn’t saying I’d take a cocky ugly bitch over a low self-esteem having pretty one, but I had to admit it was attractive seeing a female proud of how she looked even if it wasn’t what the craze was at the moment.
“Pancakes, bacon, eggs, shit.” I simpered down at the plate as she set it in front of me.
A glass of juice followed, before she brought her own meal to the table to join me.
“So what you got planned for today?”
“Work shit as usual.”
“Okay, so I guess I will be going home then.” Frida kept her eyes locked on her plate as she cut her pancakes.
“You wanna stay here while I’m gone?”
I knew she lived in the hood, and it was like a break to be laid up in my spot in Beverly Hills. By saying that, I felt bad just sending her ass home sometimes.
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Nah, you good. Plus, I’m trying to do something when I come home.” I touched her leg under the table.
“You sure?”
“I am.”
Frida grinned widely, before we finished breakfast, chopping it up. When done, I went to brush my teeth before showering, which she joined me in. We fucked, got cleaned up for real, and then I sent her off to the mall with some cash while I got dressed.
Getting into my new Maserati, I sped off to the hotel downtown where Holli was having her baby shower. I wasn’t in the mood to go, but like I said, if the baby turned out to be mine, I didn’t wanna feel bad for skipping out on the festivities.
Upon my arrival, I had valet park my car and then made my way inside and to the big ballroom area where it was being held.
A
s soon as I walked in, I shook my head seeing how decked out this shit was. Whole baby shower ran me about $40,000 for all of it.
It was comparable to a damn wedding in here, including the extra ass dress Holli was walking around in. She even had a big ass chair to sit on like kings and queens did.
“Hey, baby daddy!” She shouted loudly, rushing up to me.
“Chill.” I put my hand out once she got close.
All her homegirls, or who I assumed were her homegirls since I didn’t know these rats, were taking pictures and probably recordings too.
“Bop” by Tyga was blasting loudly over the room, and the song was the perfect fit because the room was filled with bops.
“Aye bro, let me talk to you for a minute.” Al’s big ass walked up on me.
He nodded for Holli to step away and then took her place to stand in front of me.
“Man, look, I’m not here to be in no bullshit,” I let him know.
“Neither am I, nigga. I just wanna make sure you play nice with my damn sister. Don’t be acting all rude and shit like you don’t want nothing to do with her. You got her pregnant, so act like you care about her, even if you don’t.” His teeth were clenched together tightly as he spoke to me.
“Be happy I’m here for this shit. And I’m not staying all damn night. I gotta work.” I slipped around him.
“Play nice, Eitan, or the only way yo’ baby is gon’ know you is through photographs in yo’ obituary.”
I ignored Al, but his words plagued my mind. I didn’t want no problems, because the nigga was off, but then again, I was tired of the threats and shit.
For the next hour or so, I chilled, and Holli was doing the most, acting like I was her boyfriend. I was happy when she took her ass to dance with her friends, even though she had the nerve to get on the ground and pop her ass like she wasn’t pregnant as fuck.
The gender reveal was now, so I put my phone away to go stand next to Holli.
Everybody crowded around us, before her friend counted down from five, then we each pulled on the flaps of the large ass decorated box. A plethora of pink balloons burst from it and filled the air, as everyone screamed out of excitement.
For the first time since I’d found out about the baby, I was feeling a little bit of joy.
“A girl!” Holli shouted to me excitedly before we hugged.
I smiled down at her, kissing her forehead.
After that, the rest of the time at the party was cool. I guess it hit me that this shit was really happening, and I had a baby girl coming. I left about forty-five minutes after that since I had to be at the studio, but I made sure to say bye to Holli and throw her ass a little bit of parting money.
She hadn’t been able to work like that, now that she was in her final stages of the pregnancy, so she wasn’t making any money.
As soon as I got in my whip, my phone buzzed, letting me know I had a text, which was from Frida.
Frida: Happy couple? Lol
She attached a couple photos of Holli and I hugged up during the gender reveal, and truthfully, we did look like we were in love. I had to laugh because it was far from the truth. Some blog had posted it, making it seem like Holli and I were a happy union.
Me: Hell no. You know the media makes nothing look like everything.
Frida: I know how you feel about her so that’s why it’s so funny. These pictures got people thinking y’all in love lmao
I shook my head before dropping the phone into the cup holder and speeding off.
When I got to the studio, I didn’t see Tony’s car or Abel’s, so I figured them niggas weren’t here yet. Rahim had already text me and said he was coming in half an hour.
I went inside, used the bathroom, and then entered the actual studio room.
“Oh, what’s up?” I spoke to Nala who was chilling on one of the couches, texting.
She was doing the hook for one of my songs. Our last collaboration did so well that Tony wanted to have us do another, since the song with Holli was put on hold until she could perform and do a video for it.
“Hey.” Nala sat up.
“I saw yo’ video. It was dope. Congrats on four million views.” I sat down on the couch next to the one she was on.
“Thank you.” She grinned. “I was so surprised by that, but Houston was right about the song doing numbers.”
“Didn’t them checks prove it?”
“They did. I’m finally moving, and I just got a new car.”
“Oh shit. That was yo’ G-Wagon in the lot?” I pointed, and she nodded happily. “Aight then.”
Giggling, she got up and came to sit next to me. She was wearing a one piece that was pants, which clung tightly to her shapely ass body. Her hair was down and wavy all over, or whatever you called the style.
“So you about to propose?”
“To who?”
“Baby mama. I saw them pictures.”
She laughed when I shook my head.
“Not even. Ain’t it crazy how photos can make shit look one way, but it’s the opposite?”
“Y’all were hugging rather tightly.”
“Yeah, because it was a cool moment as parents, nothing else.” I looked Nala deeply in the eyes so she’d feel me. “I’m single.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Her comment made me frown slightly.
“How so?”
“Because it means you can do whatever you wanna do, with whomever.” She got in my lap, straddling me.
Nala was fine, and it took so much for me not to grope on her hips and plump ass.
“What you doing?” I felt myself becoming short of breath. I knew the pussy was good.
“What you think I’m doing?” She reached down to unbuckle my pants.
“Shit.” I felt my dick getting hard as hell already.
“And I don’t care if you tell Tony we fucked.” As soon as she said that, I moved her hands from my belt buckle, holding them up by her wrists. “What’s wrong?”
“Nala, fucking me ain’t gon’ make that nigga care.” I sighed.
I already knew what she was trying to do. She wanted me to brag about fucking her, piss Tony off, and have him running to her to check her about it, proving he cared.
“This has nothing to do with Tony.”
“So you not trying to fuck to upset him and make him wanna be with you?”
“No.”
We stared at each other for a few before she climbed from my lap and started crying. This shit was awkward.
“Nala, come on, man,” was all I could say as I rubbed her back.
“I can’t be mad, because he told me from day one, but I can’t help it.” She sobbed heavily.
“Look, I don’t know nothing about none of this shit, but maybe you should create some distance between y’all. Keep it about work, and maybe you’ll get over him. ’Cause he ain’t leaving Camarih, and she kind of crazy, so she might kill you.”
Nala nodded in agreement, grabbing tissues from the box placed in the middle of the coffee table to dab her eyes.
“You’re right. I’m not even gonna pay him any mind. I’m just gonna stay focused.”
“Good.” After some silence, I asked, “You think Rubie will forgive me for that diss track?”
I didn’t wanna mention how I’d kept Holli a secret because I feared Nala’s answer would be something I didn’t wanna hear.
“Maybe. Try buying her something nice.”
“Nah, she don’t like all that.”
“All women like nice things; it just depends on who it’s coming from. Some will take it from anybody, and some will only take it from a certain someone.”
“Thanks.”
Just then, Rahim, Abel, and Tony walked in. They all spoke, before Tony walked over to hand me some paperwork.
“You ready?” he asked Nala.
“Yes, always.” She was cheesing hard, forgetting everything I’d just said to her ass. She stood up, standing close as hell to Tony before asking,
“Can I have some?” referring to the candy in his hand.
As he poured some of it into her palm, she watched his ass like a child faced with their idol. He didn’t even notice.
“Drink some water so you won’t be laying down some bullshit,” he told her, prompting her to prance off happily as he sat down.
“Nigga, Camarih gon’ kill her,” I said.
Tony just shrugged, munching on his candy as I chortled. That nigga didn’t give a fuck, and Nala was the only dummy who couldn’t see it.
I was done at the studio by 11 p.m., and soon as I got home, I sent an email to this female I knew who had connections with different brands. I needed her to send a bunch of shit to Rubie.
Whether she knew it or not, we were getting back together.
Camarih
Now that I was dressed, I spritzed on some of my Viktor&Rolf perfume, then tousled my curly hair a bit. I had on black jeans, a silk white spaghetti strapped top, and some cute Aquazzura sandal stilettos. Grabbing my Off-White purse, I went to get my baby who I’d just placed in his carrier.
“You know Mommy did all the work, and we look nothing alike.” I kissed his small nose.
Only thing he got from me was one dimple in his cheek like I had. Everything else was Tony. I could already foresee the crying girls in his adult life.
Just as I got ready to go, my phone rang, and I saw it was Tony.
“What you doing?” he quizzed right when I picked up.
“Going to an early dinner. It’s with a girl, don’t worry.”
“Not worried. You don’t want them crazy nigga problems in public.”
Chuckling, I replied, “And you don’t want them problems either. That’s why you better not go to lunch with a bitch.”
“I won’t. Shit, fuck I look like buying a bitch something to eat anyway?”
“True.” I giggled.
“Text me the address of where yo’ ass is gon’ be, aight? Do it as soon as we hang up.”
“Why?”
“I’ll be waiting,” was all he said before ending the call.
Rolling my eyes, I went onto Google search in my Safari application, and screenshot the address of the restaurant here in West Hollywood.
She Gave Her All to the Hood’s Finest 3 Page 17