Erotic City (23 page)

Milan was stone-faced, but fingered the sides of her hair. “This is not a weave, dummy. Besides, where’d you get your damn name? Were you conceived in a hotel room?”

“Better than the seedy motel your mama turned tricks in. Bitch.”

“You need to get your delinquent self the hell out of my damn face. ”

Ramada pumped her body toward Milan. “Make me. I will fuck you up. You don’t know me.”

Milan’s jaw was tight. Extratight. Her neck rolled around in circles. “You need to go to hell, that’s what you need to do. All you do is fuck with us. You lost Lavender by screwing around when you knew the rules. So live with it. Stop being so damn jealous.”

Ramada yelled, waving her hands in front of her, poking her finger in the air like she would poke a chest. Her eyes scanned the length of Milan’s body. “You skinny-ass ho. I’m far from jealous. I used to let that
man fuck other women right in front of me. I just refuse to have you around my child. Let me tell you, you don’t want to fuck with me. I ain’t no punk bitch. You’ll see. I promise you. You will see and you’ll be eating your words.” She flung her long hair that was as red as her face and stormed away.

Milan said extra low, “Oh hell no. That bitch is crazy.” She took the phone off speaker and opened the door, heading back into the house. She pressed the door closed with force and locked it. All she heard was Ramada starting up her car, burning rubber as she backed out and pulled down the street. Then Ramada laid on her horn as she turned the corner.

Milan spoke to Lavender as she entered his den and sat on the leather couch. She made a point to lower her voice even more. “Lavender, I’m telling you. I’ve had about all I can take. One day, she is going to go too far.”

“I’m sorry about that. I’m right around the corner. Milan, listen. What I didn’t tell you in front of Ramada is that I got a call from my attorney today. The one who’s preparing to represent me on the child support petition? He called me, as well as Attorney Hyatt, and we had a quick conference call.”

“And?”

“He said that he got a call from a man named Ray. It turns out he’s the one who was with Ramada the night she came into the club starting all this mess. Ray told him it looks like Ramada has a female friend she just can’t seem to shake, who I think is the one we saw in court with her. Anyways Ray got tired of hanging around so he threatened to leave her and take the Maxima I guess he bought her. They had an argument and that’s when Ramada threw some things up in his face. One of them was that he didn’t support her when she tried to set up the club. So after she hung up on him, he e-mailed her, and in her reply, which the attorney forwarded to me, not only does she threaten to blow up his Porsche, and her Maxima, she also admits to planning the entire thing, that she used him, and that there was no knife, no force, and no sexual assault. Therefore, there can be no civil charges.”

Milan’s mouth stayed open in relief, though she also had a look of exhaustion as she rubbed the creases on her forehead. She closed her mouth and stood up, passed by Taj’s room and peeked inside to see that he was still listening to his music. She headed back to sit on the sofa, all without saying a word.

“Hello. Are you there? Hello.”

“What the hell does she mean, fucked Dee?”

36

“She’s Strange”

Tuesday, May 27, 2008
6:27 p.m.

L
avender headed to Milan’s home after he’d picked up Chinese food from Panda Express. Mandarin chicken, beef and broccoli, and chow mein were her favorites.

He noticed Milan’s reserve as she greeted him at the door from the garage to the kitchen. It had been that way for a few days.

Her hug was weak. Looking down, she stepped away and silently searched the cupboard. She grabbed two plates and sat at the dining room table. He sat beside her and began to remove the food from the plastic bag.

Milan wore a frown to match the tone. “I know we got some good news because of that e-mail from that guy Ray, and the case will be done soon, but Lavender, I’m sorry. I don’t think you’re doing enough to keep Ramada in line and it’s affecting my life. I just can’t have this anymore.”

Lavender opened each of the containers by touch while he looked at her. “What? The restraining order I had you sign has been filed. She won’t be able to call you or come near you, or come to my home for that matter. And the visitation agreement will be modified to only pick up Taj at school.”

“It’s not just that. I think you almost enable her.”

“So, you’re saying it’s my fault she’s like she is?”

“I’m saying I feel like I have no choice but to put my foot down. I have to get her out of my life.”

“So, you’re willing to just walk away from me instead of support me?”

Milan grabbed two of the boxes and scooped the chow mein and the chicken onto her plate. “Lavender, you’re a man. I’d like you to be able to protect me from that woman. But obviously, you can’t. Maybe I need to just protect myself. My business life has been rough and I need my private life to be a safe place. That woman brings you drama all the time. How’ve you been able to deal with her all these years?” Looking puzzled, she twirled her plastic fork through her food.

“It’s been because of my son. I made the choice to break up with her. But she is the mother of my son.”

“Just like you have a choice, I have one, too. I’m telling you I’m about ready to end this, Lavender, as much as I love you. I just can’t take it anymore. I can’t allow her into my world any longer.”

Lavender kept his hand on one of the cartons. “You accept me and my son and all that goes along with me being his father, but you’re letting his mother break us up?”

Milan stared through him. Her tone was extratense. “No, you’re doing that. You won’t protect me from what goes along with her being a psycho-ass baby mama. I need peace in my life. I have a whole lot going on. But I’ll always wonder what in the hell Ramada will do next. What stunt will she pull today? How far will she go? And what bomb will she drop next, like her question about telling me who you two fucked.”

Lavender released his breath. “I know that was messed up. And I know I should have told you that by now. That was way before you. But, do you really think it’s gonna change your life for the better when you’re without the man you say you love? You’d sacrifice that all in the name of your career?”

“It’s about my sanity.” She took a small bite.

Lavender sat back in his chair. “If we were married, would you just toss me aside like this? My son is a part of me. You can’t just accept my half and not his. That, to me, sounds like conditional love.”

“I care about him a lot. But, you have to figure out a way to limit her drama in your life. For you, and for your son, and for whoever gets close to you.”

His eyes showed confusion. “So you’re just gonna give her what she wants?”

“I don’t know.” Milan put her fork down.

“What about what I want? I’m ready to go to the limit with you. I haven’t been willing to go all the way with any woman ever in my life. I made a choice to shake the mentality I lived with when I was in the ring, and the things I had to do to numb my senses when I felt like killing myself after I was told I couldn’t fight.” He spoke with dipped brows. He pressed his fist to his thigh. “I fucked my way out of depression, screwing around on Ramada all the time, and then slept with her and other people together, just so I could get my fill of the rush it brought. With you, I’m satisfied. I’m willing to do better. But I can’t just erase Ramada from our lives. I hoped I’d be worth the fight.”

Milan looked down as though he wasn’t playing fair. “Lavender.”

He pounded his fist again. “So I guess I’m not. Look at me.”

She stood up and pushed in the dining room chair. “I just need to be alone right now.” She stepped away from him.

“Milan. What about us?” he asked, springing to a stance and waving his hands.

“We’ll see. I love you, Lavender.” She stood by the kitchen door and reached back to hold it open for his exit.

He stepped right up to her. “Well, if you get out of this relationship, you’ll prove to me that you really don’t love me. You’ll prove that you only love yourself. You can’t be truly happy alone, only being successful at business, with no one to share your life with.”

“Sounds like the movie
Mahogany.
” She had a smirk on her face.

He shot his eyes away. “I’ll talk to you later. And I am the one who loves you.”

Lavender stepped out of the door and she closed it behind him. She locked it and headed straight to the table. She sat back down and finished her meal. Alone.

Five minutes later, as Milan sat in deep thought after her last bite, a text message chimed in. She reached across the table and yanked her purse closer, pulling out her phone and pressing a button.

I’m a fighter. I’m not going anywhere. U need 2 listen 2 the words 2 the song “All This Love.”

Milan placed her phone on the table, stood, picked up the plates, and headed to the kitchen sink, all the while bouncing the familiar words around in her head:

I had some problems / And no one could seem to solve them / But you found the answer / You told me to take this chance.

She also said to herself,
Who the hell does he think is gonna put up with his dangerous, sick-ass son’s mom? As it is, he should be happy I didn’t trip about Dee.Bringing her up in bed when he’d already fucked her.

She headed straight to her office and let off some steam by getting in some much-needed writing.

37

“Delirious”

Thursday, May 29, 2008
8:40 p.m.

T
he front door was unlocked just for him as it had been the previous times he’d arrived, though another five minutes and it would have been locked and bolted and chained.

Nancy heard Jarod make his way to the back of her small apartment. He stepped inside of her room, humming a mellow tune, before he asked, “What’s your problem? Why’d you hang up on me?”

Nancy said nothing as she sat up in bed.

He’d just returned from Marietta after going to his regular spot to get his head shaved.

Her bedroom was dark and so were her eyes.

Jarod flicked on the light. “And what are you doing in bed so early?”

Her voice was unfriendly. “First of all, I don’t have a problem. Why don’t you ask yourself the same question?”

“You mean to tell me you’re mad because I’m ten minutes late? I said eight-thirty.”

She licked her lips and stayed fixed on the TV screen. “I told you nothing’s wrong.”

“It doesn’t take a degree to see that you’re pissed off, Nancy.” He placed his keys on her wicker dresser. “I know you.”

“You know me?” She moved her eyes his way. “Just how well do you know me, really?”

“Well enough.”

“Yeah right.” She jabbed her vision back toward the TV. “If you knew me, you’d have known to apologize by now for spending all that time on the phone with Tamiko while you were driving here, and then when I called, you casually told me you’re still talking to her but you’re on your way.”

He frowned. “Damn, woman. Who came and stole your cool?”

“You did. Just don’t take my kindness for weakness. Don’t let the myth of the naive white woman fool you. I was married to the king liar of all black men. Remember?”

“Please. One thing I do know is that you ain’t hardly weak.”

“Oh, I don’t think you really know.”

He sat on the corner of the bed. “Wow. This is amazing.”

She looked his way. “Wow what?” She frowned. “And why are you talking to Tamiko now anyway? You told me that shit was over. You told me you two hadn’t even communicated. What could you guys possibly need to talk about now?”

“She’s pregnant.”

She angled her head. “What?”

“I’m just kidding.” He gave one hard chuckle.

“That is not funny, Jarod. I’m serious.”

“Damn. I can see that. We talked about me. I left her a message and she called me back. We just talked. Talked about a lot of things. We even talked about you.”

“Oh Lord, please, don’t talk to her about me. My business with you is none of Tamiko’s business.”

“But it is.”

“Jarod, you made that none of her business when you came to me the day after you got fired, got in my bed, and asked me to be with you.”

“Just because Tamiko and I aren’t together doesn’t mean I don’t still care about her.”

“Yeah right.” She reached back and fidgeted with her hair. “She’d be a fool to believe you give a damn about her. Showing someone you give a damn is not about what you say, it’s about what you do. You left her and ran to me and then you didn’t call. She’d be hard up to even give you the time of day. I know her. She’s a big girl. She doesn’t need me or you worrying about her.”

He faced her. “And since when did you stop giving a damn about her? You’re her father’s ex-wife. You’re her stepmother. You lived with her for years, and from what I know, you and she were closer than you were with Milan. How easy has it been for you to just shut her out of your life now?”

Nancy poked her head toward him. “Ask yourself that. You shut her out, too. But hell, excuse me. I guess it wasn’t too easy, you seem to be running back to her now. Milan and Tamiko shut me out of their lives, not the other way around. The last time I talked to Tamiko she was cruel. What do you suggest I do, invite her over for dinner? I’d be a fool to let her into my life. She never liked me even when I was trying to get along with her. And especially now that you and I became . . . hell, what are we anyway? Fuck buddies. I guess that’s obviously all it is.”

“Bottom line is, Tamiko didn’t do anything to either one of us. We hurt her.” He focused down at his Jordans.

“Okay, so we hurt her. So please tell me why in the hell she even talks to you at all.”

“We loved each other.” He cut his eyes back to her. “Did you ever love her? Hell, did you ever really love anybody?”

Her voice grew. “Fuck you, Jarod. Of course I did. But it’s obvious when you say you
were
in love with her, what you really mean is that you’re still in love with her.”