Cali Boys (17 page)

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Authors: Kelli London

BOOK: Cali Boys
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21
JACOBI
J
acobi slid clothes hangers back and forth across the closet bar, looking for something to pack. This weekend was going to be the biggest weekend of her life, and she had to look her best. But what was she going to wear? She'd never really cared so much about clothes before, didn't really see what the big deal was. As long as she had her upcoming career—day-trader and/or film maker—she was fine. But whatever she was going to take, she knew she'd better move quickly. She didn't want to risk being home when her dad returned, for fear he'd change his mind.
A loud banging noise coming from the front of the house made her jump. Paranoid, she looked around and almost hit the floor. Then she remembered where she was. There was no violence here. No gunshots ringing out or helicopters hovering with spotlights flashing down on people running from the law. Here, police didn't bust down the wrong door while trying to apprehend a criminal. “Coming. Coming!” Jacobi yelled, wondering if something were wrong with the doorbell. “I said, I'm coming!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to get whoever it was to stop pounding on the door. Jacobi opened the door and locked eyes with Kassidy.
“Where's Diggs?” she asked, her hand on the door, pushing what little weight she had against it.
Jacobi stepped back, opened the door all the way, and allowed Kassidy to enter. She'd never seen her so frantic, except that time in the shoe department, and it worried her. Kassidy had always seemed so cool after that. “Come in. You okay?”
Kassidy walked inside, looking around. She nodded. “Is your brother here? I need to talk to him.”
Jacobi pressed her lips together and closed the front door. She began walking to her room and beckoned for Kassidy to follow. Kassidy had promised to help her with her boy problem the day they'd met, and, right now, she needed her to make good on it. “Come on.”
Kassidy followed on Jacobi's heels. “Look, Jacobi, I don't mean to be rude, but I really need to see your brother.”
Jacobi walked to her closet and began her search for proper clothes again. “He's not here.”
“What? Where is he?” Kassidy asked, sounding exasperated.
Jacobi looked at the clock on her dresser. She really didn't have time for Kassidy or Diggs, but, because she was Kassidy's friend, she'd entertain her for a few minutes more. It'd cost Kassidy, though. “Look, Kassidy, I don't know any other way to say this. If you want me to help you, you have to help me. I have to find some clothes for the beach house—”
Kassidy raised her brows and put her hands on her hips, looking extra confused. “Wait ... I thought you weren't going. That's what Alissa said. I'm sorry you can't go.” She wore an apologetic look.
Jacobi was a bit emotionally overcome, and couldn't help but reach out and give Kassidy a quick, sisterly hug. “Aw, thanks for being sorry for me. I appreciate it. Alissa was half right, and she wasn't lying. I wasn't supposed to go—punishment, remember? But I'm sneaking up, and hope my mom and brothers don't—”
“Don't what? Is that where Diggs is?” Kassidy asked, cutting her off and pushing her away. “Look, I know we're cool and all, but I don't want to feel your breastesses on me,” Kassidy said, laughing.
Jacobi looked down at her chest and smiled. She'd been so focused on Shooby, filming the flash mob, and getting to the beach house, she'd forgotten about her begging God for breasts and womanhood. She rocked back and forth on her toes. “Sorry about that. Didn't mean to breast rub. Now about my brother. Maybe he is, maybe he's not. Tell you what: you make good on helping me get Shooby, and tell me why you're so frantic, and I'll give you all the Diggs info you need.”
 
Jacobi sat in the passenger seat of Malone's car with more confidence than she'd ever had in her whole life. Kassidy had hooked her up, and it showed in Jacobi's clothes, look, and attitude. She now had an overnight bag and backpack full of outfits and shoes, straight hair that hung past her shoulders, a flawlessly made-up face, and arched eyebrows. Jacobi's eyes went down to her breasts.
Yes!
she thought, Kassidy was right; she had blossomed up top. She was excited and wanted to look at them all day, but she played it off. She didn't want Malone to know she was admiring her own body. “I don't know how to thank you for the ride,” she said, then pulled on the door handle to let herself out.
“You gonna be all right?” Malone asked, holding his finger over the automatic lock button on the driver's side door.
Jacobi smiled, tsk-tsking him. He was gorgeous—so, so cute, but she knew he wasn't for her. She just wasn't his type. “I'm good. I used to live around here, ya know?”
Malone spread his lips into a half smile. “You're looking extra nice—too cute to be alone. Let me walk you, at least—”
“No!” Jacobi accidentally yelled, then caught herself. She didn't want Malone to realize she didn't want him knowing where she was going, in case her father got to him. She grabbed her overnight bag, manually unlocked the door and got out. “I'm good,” she said as calmly as she could. “I only have to cut through those buildings, and I'm there,” she said, pointing, then turned and speed walked to Shooby's.
Her phone read 6:45
PM
as she made her way to the back door. She raised her hand, knocked softly four times and waited. Nothing. Again she rapped her knuckles against the wood, listening for footsteps on the other side. Still there was no sound. Jacobi looked at her watch, second-guessing the time she knew was correct on her cell. Shooby lived in a duplex, so she had access to three sides of the building. Thinking he was still prepping for the meeting, she decided to peer through his bedroom window. Maybe he was still in there and hadn't heard her knocking. Hiking the strap on her overnight bag higher on her shoulder, she made her way around. Before she reached the side of the place, she could hear commotion. It sounded as if someone were arguing. Jacobi exhaled. She hadn't had to deal with any kind of drama since moving, and she wasn't up for it. She only hoped it wasn't the flash mob. They couldn't make an impact on the world, show America how ridiculous high prices and energy waste were, if they were at odds. More importantly, Shooby wouldn't be able to get his message out to the community. He wanted to show them how much money they were tricking off on designer clothes, sneakers, jewelry, cars and rims, instead of investing in education and business ventures.
“Get outta here with that mess, Katydid!” Shooby's voice blared through the open window, making Jacobi pause in her tracks and listen intently. She had no idea what Shooby and Katydid were arguing about, but she'd never heard so much anger in his voice before, and it worried her.
“No, deadbeat. You get outta here. It's not only
my
responsibility,” Katydid shot back. “I didn't do it by myself!”
Jacobi crinkled her brows, wondering what her best friend hadn't done alone. She eased closer to the open window, knowing she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help it. The last thing Shooby had warned her of was to stay away from Katydid. He'd said Katydid was a liar and gold digger, and had been sleeping around. Those hadn't been his exact words, but that's what her ears had heard when he said Katydid didn't know who fathered her baby.
The sound of glass shattering and thumping noises pulled Jacobi out of her curiosity and moved her to the back door. It sounded as if Katydid and Shooby were physically fighting. Standing there listening to them wasn't going to stop them. She couldn't let her best friend and the love of her life tussle, not without intervening. Dropping her overnight bag on the small square concrete slab, Jacobi put her hand on the knob and tried to turn it. She let out a sigh of relief when the door opened. Quickly and quietly, she moved through Shooby's duplex, making her way to his room.
“It's your baby, too,” Katydid said, her words stopping Jacobi dead in her tracks as soon as she opened the bedroom door.
She was stuck. She didn't know what to say or feel. Katydid was her best friend—at least Jacobi had believed her to be. And if anyone knew how she felt about Shooby, Katydid did. Still unable to move, Jacobi just stood there, her eyes on both of them and her jaw to the floor.
Shooby saw her first. He just looked at her and shook his head.
Katydid turned, looking at Jacobi through crying eyes while she gripped Shooby's shirt. “Cobi,” Katydid said, using the nickname she'd called Jacobi since they were five.
Jacobi still didn't speak. She looked from Katydid to Shooby and back to Katydid. Her eyes welled, and her breathing became labored. For the first time in her life, she felt violent. She wanted to hit somebody—Katydid first—but she wouldn't. Unlike Katydid and Shooby—now teen parents—Jacobi refused to become a product of her environment. Her old stomping grounds, she reminded herself. She didn't have to be like them.
Shooby snatched himself away from Katydid's grasp on his shirt and made his way to Jacobi. “Sorry you had to see this,” he said as if it were not a big deal. “That's why I told you to come at eight.”
Jacobi just nodded, replaying their conversation in her head. He'd said eight at first, then she'd heard him whisper
seven
through the muffled line. Apparently, he hadn't wanted her to come an hour earlier, so it had to have been Katydid he'd been talking to while he covered the phone.
Katydid just stood there, her eyes now on the floor, a wash of shame and embarrassment on her face. “I'm so sorry. I wanted to tell you when I saw you ... that's why I said I'm sorry. Remember?” she barely whispered.
Jacobi still had no words. A tear trailed down her cheek, and she tried to wipe it away before it fell.
Shooby reached out to her and tried to put his hands on her shoulders. She jerked away. “Cobi, don't act like that. We have so many bigger things to do than this, like the documentary and going away to the beach. We're still going, right? You're still going to finish the film?”
Jacobi laughed. She couldn't help it. Here she'd believed that he'd liked her, too, especially after the kiss, but he didn't. He was only out for himself, what he could get. He'd been using her, and that was more obvious now than anything. Anything except the pain and betrayal that tore into her soul. She'd lost two friends: a bestest girlfriend, who'd been like a sister, and a fantasy boyfriend she'd liked for years. But the fantasy would never become more than a lesson: All dreams weren't good. Some were nightmares.
Before Jacobi knew it, she'd turned around and run out of the duplex. In one swoop, she grabbed the heavy overnight bag as if it were lighter than a feather and made haste through the buildings. She had no idea how she was going to get out of the old neighborhood or where she was going to go. Home wasn't an option, not after she'd lied to her father and said she'd be staying at Katydid's for the weekend. But she didn't care. She'd figure out her answers as she went along. All she knew was that her mother had been right: the old neighborhood wasn't good for her.
Moving down the dirt path between the buildings, where she'd been so excited before, she collided with a shadow and fell backward. Her heart raced, and an uncomfortable feeling overcame her. History of the neighborhood told her that young girls got hurt here in dark places, and some had even been found dead. She tried to get up, but the shadow reached for her, and she didn't know what to do. She opened her mouth to scream, but her voice got caught in her throat. “Please don't,” she managed to say.
“Jacobi? Is that you?” Malone said, still reaching for her.
Relief washed over her. “Yes,” she said, taking his hand and getting up.
“You okay?” he asked. “You forgot your book bag. I was coming to try to find you so I could give it to you.”
“Oh ... my book bag,” she said. She leaned against his chest, cried like a baby, and told him everything that had just happened while he walked her to the car.
“You're coming home with me. We'll figure this out.”
22
KASSIDY
S
he owed Yummy an apology. She knew she did, and it killed her to admit it, but she had to say she was sorry. She'd been mean to Yummy, maybe more than necessary. Kassidy was a walking emotional rollercoaster when she burst through the front door. She was angry at Faith for being a snake, mad at herself for being so trusting, and desperately desperate to talk to Diggs. She was sure he had answers. If only she could make him spill, which wouldn't be easy. He disliked her for her cheating ways.
“Yummy!” Kassidy yelled, storming through the living room. She didn't see her stepsister anywhere around. “Yummy!” she blared again, this time in the dining room. Still, no Yummy. “Where are you, Yummy?” she asked, making her way to Yummy's bedroom door and banging. But the house was quiet.
“What on earth ... ?” her mom asked, appearing behind her. “I was just in the office talking, and you and your big mouth almost ruined my phone call. What's the problem with you and Yummy now?” she grilled with an annoyed expression.
Kassidy smiled. “Nothing. There's no problem with me and Yummy. Promise. I just really need to see her. Sister business,” she added for effect, and partly because it was true.
Her mother put her hands on her hips and smiled. “Well, say so then. I just saw your sister pull up outside. She was learning how to ride that boy's moped.”
Kassidy took off running. She had to get to Yummy. Quickly. “Yummy!” she said, making her way over to a confused-looking Yummy. “Thank God you're here,” she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her stepsister.
“Hi, Kassidy,” Romero said.
Yummy pulled away. “Get off me! What the heck ...”
“Hi, Romero,” Kassidy greeted, then waved. Before she knew it, she was waving good-bye to him, lacing her arm through Yummy's, and all but dragging her stepsister into the house. “Yummy will be ready in about an hour, Romero. It's kind of important. Come back then, okay?” she asked, not waiting on an answer. “Don't say nothing, Yummy. Just trust me. Please?”
In Kassidy's bedroom, Yummy sat on the bed with an I-told-you-so-look on her face. She listened intently as Kassidy gave her all the info on Faith and the happenings. “I so owe you an apology, Yummy. You were right. Almost exact same haircut, a shoot for the agency that denied me—which I believe she sabotaged, somehow.”
“Somehow? Puhleez. That's what I was trying to tell you the day she picked you up. I saw her walk out of the building the agency is in. She was there.”
Kassidy nodded. “I bet you're right. But to be certain, I gotta get to Diggs to find that out. And now she has the exact same phone as I do, including the protective case. Too many sames, if you know what I'm saying.”
Yummy threw some chips in her mouth, nodding. “Told you! And you thought I was the enemy. Huh?” she huffed. “Okay ... so you called me in here for what? Because you haven't apologized.”
Kassidy crossed her eyes at Yummy. “I just did.”
“Nope! You said you
owe
me an apology. That's not the same thing as giving one.”
Kassidy couldn't help herself. She walked to the side of the bed where Yummy sat and snatched the bag of potato chips from her hands. “Stop all the snacking! All you do is eat, eat, eat. Then you get mad at me for being thin—which isn't my fault, by the way. I watch my figure because I'm a model, but, really, I don't have to. I just can't gain weight. Look at my mom if you don't believe me. I don't think she's ever seen a hundred and ten on the scale.”
Yummy stood up and snatched the bag of chips back. “You need to mind your own business. Why do you care if I snack or not? And that's still not an apology. That's criticism.”
Now it was Kassidy's turn to take the potato chips. “I apologize, Yummy. I'm really, really sorry. You were right.” She dropped to one knee, took Yummy's hand in hers, and gave her a puppy-dog look. She laughed, standing again. “And I have a reason to care about all your snacking. It's unhealthy, for one. It makes you mean to people because you've probably always been teased,” Kassidy began, looking Yummy up and down. “Okay, maybe not teased. Only a fool looking to get whooped would do that. But you've been talked about behind your back, we both know that.” She hunched her shoulders. “Even I did that when I first saw you. I thought and said terrible things about you. I also bet that's one of the reasons you're a bully and have an issue with skinnier girls. And to top it off, Yummy”—she paused—“you're boy-friendless. That can't feel good, especially when I know you like Romero.”
Yummy just nodded. “Maybe. But if you tell anyone, it's me and you. And I'll win. We both know it.”
“Well, I was thinking there's another way we can both win, and I'm not talking about fighting.” Kassidy crossed her arms, waiting for Yummy to take the bait.
Yummy scratched her head. “In your words, Kass, spill. I'm listening.”
 
Kassidy paced the floor of the department store, waiting on Faith. She'd called her and told her she needed to meet up and shop before leaving for the photo shoot. She'd also hinted that the designer was looking for another model, a hook she knew Faith would bite. She looked to her left and saw Yummy hiding between two racks of clothes, looking out for Faith and texting.
“Get through to Diggs yet?” she whispered to Yummy. She turned her attention toward the walkway she knew Faith would have to take to meet her by the store's dressing room. Jacobi had told her that Diggs hadn't left for the beach-house party yet, so she was sure he was somewhere in the area; at least she hoped he was. She was counting on him.
Yummy shook her head. “I didn't get him on the jack yet. But I just texted him, and he texted back. He's going to call in a minute. The phone's on mute, so we're good in that area.”
Kassidy nodded and speeded up her pacing. She needed Diggs on the phone like yesterday. They had to connect with him before Faith arrived, and she was due in a few minutes.
Yummy raised her hand in the air, shaking it side to side. “Got him!” she said a bit too loudly.
Kassidy ran over and ducked down between the clothes racks. She grabbed the phone. “Diggs. Look, I know I'm the last person you want to talk to, but I need you. Really badly. And if you can help me ... I'll pay you. All the money I get from my next shoot is yours.”
There was silence on Diggs's end. Finally, he exhaled in frustration. “I don't want your money, Kassidy. Go 'head.”
“Look, I think we both know the same person. Faith.”
“Yeah. I did some work with her. So what?”
Kassidy sighed. She felt like she was making progress. “Tell me this: Did you meet her at the agency where the blue-haired wannabe model slash receptionist works? 'Cause if you did—”
“That was your job Faith took?” Diggs laughed. “Dang. I knew something funny was going on, and it didn't sound right. The receptionist told me something about a manager calling in and pulling a switcheroo— switching one model's appointment time with another's so the other girl—I guess you—would seem like a no-show. She never said who, though, and she seemed a little too tickled by it ... like she was in on it or something.”
Kassidy almost dropped her phone. Diggs had just dropped a major bomb on her, and she couldn't understand it. What had she done to Faith to deserve this? She counted to ten, deciding Yummy had been right. Pure jealousy and competition moved through Faith's veins. “I know this is childish, and I hate to ask you—”
“Just ask,” Diggs said. “If she did that to you, then I can only imagine what she's done to me. I have something I'm curious about, too—like her standing me up when we were scheduled for New York weeks ago. She made me miss my flight.”
Kassidy nodded. She'd dig deeper into that later, but now she needed to handle first things first. “Can you call her on three-way? I have an app on this phone that can record any audio, even telephone conversations. If you can get her to admit to it, that'd help me a lot. I'm only hitting walls here—can't seem to get any work.”
Diggs agreed, and Kassidy handed Yummy back her phone just as Faith was almost running toward the dressing rooms. Kassidy saw Faith stop, hold up a finger as if to say
wait a minute
, then walked back the way she came. All the while Yummy sat on the floor between the clothes racks, nodding. Finally, she put her thumb up in the air. “Got her,” she mouthed to Kassidy.
“Part two begins!” Kassidy whispered back, and turned to see Faith returning with a fake smile plastered on her face.
“Sorry. Agent, another shoot. You know?” she said, making her way over to the dressing room.
Kassidy was careful. She took Faith's arm and led her to the other side of the clothing section, noticing that Faith's phone and car keys were in her hand. “Okay, so I know this is so cheesy, but I was thinking I may want to take them by surprise. No one will expect me to dress off the rack. And I need to get their attention.”
Faith's eyes lit. She nodded in agreement. “You're right. But you never said which agency or designer.”
Kassidy randomly selected pieces of clothing, draping them over her arm as she walked. She held up a god-awful purple piece that she wouldn't wear to garden in. “This is so in now. I found out this morning. Got word from Paris. Can you believe it's here?” she said to Faith.
Faith's eyes blinked in amazement. “Are you sure? I dunno about that one.”
Kassidy pursed her lips, then reached out and freed Faith of everything she held—clothes, purse, phone, and car keys. “Grab one and hold it up to you. You gotta see for yourself,” she urged, dropping Faith's keys on the floor as quietly as she could.
Faith did as she was told, then shook her head. “I don't think so.” She hung the garment back on the rack.
Kassidy shrugged, thrusting Faith's stuff back in her arms, minus the cell phone. She then took back the dress that Faith had hung on the rack. “Well, you lose. It's in. The real version will hit runways this season. So I have to get it. If they see me show up in something that hasn't been released yet—here in the US, anyway—I'll def snag their attention.” She draped the garment over her arm and made her way to the dressing room. “Oh, about the agent ...”
Faith was so close on her heels that Kassidy could feel her body temperature. “Wait. I'm coming. I need to try on some stuff, too,” she said, following Kassidy into the foyer of the dressing cubicles. “Now, about the agent? You were saying?”
Kassidy went into an oversized dressing room that she knew was reserved for the handicapped. Normally she wouldn't have done so, but she needed the room today. “Go in the one next to this one so we can hear each other,” she said, then began undressing so she could try on clothes she knew she wouldn't buy. “Oh ... the agent.” She stopped talking on purpose, then slid into a grossly designed dress.
“Yes, the agent?” Faith spoke loudly from her dressing room.
“Oh my God. Faith, you have to come see this dress! Slip on whatever you're trying on and come over here to tell me what you think. I'll call the agent ...”
Faith was still hopping into a pair of pants when she entered Kassidy's dressing room. Kassidy looked at her empty hands and breathed a sigh of relief. She needed her empty-handed. “Okay, you were saying?” she asked, looking at Kassidy's outfit like she'd never before seen such an ugly dress.
“One sec. I need help getting into these other two outfits. If you can lend me a hand ...” she said, taking her sweet time trying on clothes and rambling about nothing as Faith helped.
A loud thump coming from an adjoining dressing room, followed by a “Whew” caught their attention.
“What's that? My purse is in my dressing room,” Faith said.
“Probably nothing,” Kassidy said, trying to keep Faith's attention. She pulled a dress off over her head, then began putting the outfit on she'd worn into the store. “Okay, so my agent said the designer's looking for another model. This is a cover shoot—”
Three loud knocks banged against the wall, interrupting Kassidy. That was Yummy's cue.
Kassidy looked at her watch and stomped her foot. “Aw, man. Faith, I forgot I have to be somewhere else ASAP. Meet me at the house in the morning, and I'll get my agent on the phone with you.” She grabbed her purse and left, running into Yummy, who held up the mustard-colored envelope labeled
Contracts
that she'd snatched from Faith's car, and Faith's phone, which she'd swapped with Kassidy's. “Let's hope she doesn't have a password on it.”
Yummy hunched her shoulders. “If she does, I can break it. You learn a lot of things when you don't have friends. I had to have something to do besides eat when I was home alone all these years.”

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