Motown Throwdown (18 page)

About ten minutes went by before she came back. Standing over me, she taps me on the shoulder and tells me, “Your lunch is getting cold, Rome.”

“I’m trying,” She of course knew what I meant, even if I didn’t. Kneeling down next to me, she runs her fingers over my braids and kisses my cheek.

“The key is to never stop trying,” she says extending her hand to help me up. Taking it, I pull her into my arms and inhale her. “I just want new memories,” I tell her not letting go.

“Have you ever brought someone home to have lunch with Clara?” she asks.

“God, no.”

“Well,” she says taking my hand and pulling me toward the door. “I like that I’m the first. Let’s start with lunch.”

Then like nothing ever happened, the three of us sat down to lunch and talked about everything but my time in prison. It was what I needed, what my grandma needed too. Watching them hug broke something open inside of me. They held on to each other and spoke words I couldn’t hear. Before they broke apart Kandace leaned down and said “Yes ma’am,” which seemed to make my grandma glow.

Walking over to me, she takes both hands and cradles my face. Kissing me softly on the lips, I span her waist with my hands wanting her closer. “Give me your phone,” she says quietly. Not even caring why, I reach into my pocket to grab it. Placing it in her hand I watch her type then hand it back. “Call me after work,” she says with a smile.

With that, she waved to us both on her way out.

That night at work, it was Bishop who cornered me asking about all things Kandace. I didn’t want to tell him because yeah, she was still my secret but I trusted Bishop with her so I caught him up. “The wrist lock,” he says rubbing his own arms. “Kandace taught the girls her version and that shit is effective.”

“I won’t be jacking off anytime soon,” I comment rotating my sore hand. “If you got the Doc, you don’t need to.” He says wagging his eyebrows.

“Truth,” I tell him with a smile. Then checking the time I decided I’d waited long enough to call her. When I got her voicemail I knew she was still at work and gave text messaging a shot.

Me: Busty night?

Her: Every night is a busty night

Me: I meant busty

Me: Shot, I meant busty

Her: Lol!

Handing the phone to Bishop with pure frustration, he starts laughing and tosses it to Jules. “Damn you, auto correct!” she yells with a fist in the air.

“The fuck does l-o-l mean?” I ask them both.

“Relax,” says Bishop handing it back over. “For some reason she thinks you’re funny. It means she’s laughing out loud.”

“Oh,” I mumble embarrassed that I should be aware of what it means but wasn’t. Hell, my grandma was teaching me about computers because I was so far behind.

“Auto correct is the best worst thing ever. She knew what you meant, trust me.” He says winking then she text me back again and I wanted to sit in a corner to talk to her for hours. With this, I could say anything I wanted but I couldn’t seem to get spelling the words right.

Her: How do you like texting?

Me: I suck a tit

Her: Ha! Maybe we should try sexting?

Looking over at Bishop, I scroll down to her last text and he just shakes his head. “Lucky fucker,” he sighs. “I’m not helping you out on this one.”

Me: Sexting?

Her: it’s dirty talk in text messages

Me: I’m downloaded

Me: I mean I’m down

Me: You go first

That’s how I learned what sexting meant and when I wasn’t fucking it up, I’m pretty sure she loved it too. Let me also say she was good at it. Really really good at it. The proof was behind my zipper all night.

“I saw Rome talking to you,” she says picking me apart with her eyes. “I don’t like it.”

“I don’t give a shit what you like, Michelle,” I point out. “If I were you, I’d tread lightly because if you continue to eye fuck me I’m going to think you’re into me.”

“He doesn’t want you,” she says flipping her hair. “I’m next, bitch, so step off.”

“Step off?” I laugh. “If I so much as raise my leg I’d be stepping ‘on’, you twit. You’re next? Well so is she,” I say pointing to some random by the bike rack. “Her too,” I offer at a passerby. “Hell, even that’s a possibility,” I motion with my thumb to the dog peeing on the tree. “Are you current on your vaccinations?” I ask with a concerned look on my face.

“Whore!” she screams stomping away. Shrugging it off, I drop my pack and take a seat in the grass.

“The fuck did she want?” he asks leaning over me.

“You apparently,” I offer.

“Jealous, Teach?” he taunts me.

“No, I’m afraid I’m not. But she never did tell me if she was current on her shots and it’s worth a discussion if you plan to nail her.” Standing in front of me now, I swore he looked pissed off but I needed to focus on my assignment not his face.

“I’ll never measure up, will I?” he grates out.

“Actually you already do,” I tell him bluntly. “Maybe one day you’ll keep your dick in your pants long enough to see it too.”

The next two weeks with Rome were ah-mazing. My wildest dreams couldn’t have imagined this. Between the hours I pulled at the hospital and the hours with him, I should have been exhausted but was far from it. No, I was rejuvenated. For once, I veered away from my routine and I liked the spontaneity of it. Venessa called and asked… okay no, she demanded I come to Lush to sing tonight or she’d lynch me. Valuing my life and the chance to see Rome, I actually dressed up a bit and went in to sing.

When I got there he gave me his usual nod that held heat, which of course made me wet. While Venessa was explaining how she’d advertised for my appearance, I only half listened because Rome winking and rubbing his dick was stealing my focus. Venessa wanted me to sing, I’d sing if it meant Rome was to be my muse and I could keep staring at him.

We were adults now but sometimes it felt like we were kids again. Being silly, telling jokes and sexting with him meant everything to me. Falling for him wasn’t a hardship considering I’ve had these feelings for ten years. Now old feelings I thought I’d buried, rose up and took on a new meaning. Having him in my life now, shitty circumstances aside, was fate. I could feel it and I liked how it felt.

Rome and I had to wait, pay our dues but this was our time. Deep down I was always waiting for something to cut our time short, like he was mine temporarily. I hated that uneasy feeling.

Unfortunately, my grand plans to sing to my man were tossed out the window in a matter of seconds. Protecting him was my priority now, a due diligence even. A rush of fury filled me when I saw a threat to my relationship. I could feel my blood pressure spike and my endorphins kick in the closer she came to what was mine by right.

When I saw her I knew immediately she came here to see Rome. Her eyes were darting all over the club trying to find him. Why she showed I didn’t know…yet. But if I had to guess, she heard he was out and came up here on purpose. Grabbing Bishop, I tell him exactly who’s here and to distract Rome until Jules says otherwise. Tracking Jules down, I let her know the situation by pointing her out. She assured me I was covered.

Then sending Venessa a text, I asked her to block entrance to the bathroom door. To which she said,
fuck yeah
. Grabbing a half empty drink off a table, I run into Michelle coating her in someone’s vodka cranberry. Squealing and trying to shake it off, I beg her to come to the restroom so that I could be a good person and help her clean up. Blabbing that I owed her a drink and offering to pay her dry cleaning bill, I literally drag her giving her no room for argument. Again, my height and strength did me a solid. Once inside, I usher her to a sink and that’s where my apologies stopped. Looking up into the mirror, she turns red and growls, “You.”

“Hello,” I offer with a pinky wave then lean against the door blocking the exit.

“You’re her,” the venom in her voice pleased me. Michelle perceived me as a threat and she’d be correct, I was.

“I’m who?” I ask checking my nails for dirt.

“The bitch from the party, the one he wanted.”

All I heard was the one he wanted and my heart leapt. Rome had been telling me the truth, he was totally getting thank you sex later. “You remember me being there?” I ask genuinely shocked because girlfriend was as blitzed then as she was now.

“How could I forget?” she says narrowing her eyes. “You, the amazon, the fucking bookworm, the fucking nobody. He told me I could suck his dick but the only bitch he’d be fucking was you.”

“He’s sweet like that,” I offer smiling. It was fucked up this made me happy but I am a girl and girls like hearing shit like this. I could do without the dick sucking visual but the past was the past and the bitch looks ninety. My self-confidence however was soaring like a phoenix.

“Did you know he worked here? He’s working tonight, did you see him? He looks good, right?”

“You spilled a fucking drink on me before I had the chance!”

“My bad,” I offer pretending to give a shit. “It’s hard for me to believe he threw you over for me, I mean look at you… then look at me! It’s a no-brainer!”

“I had to wait for him to forget his own name and pretend to be your nerdy ass before I could get near him,” she says wiping her hands aggressively. “He fucked anything with a pulse until you. Once he passed out I got what I wanted, I always get what I want. No one dismisses me!”

“The hell you say,” I say feeling it come over me. “Sounds like you taught him a lesson, huh?”

“Do you have any idea how long I waited to fuck him? What I had to do to get his attention?”

“Don’t you mean become his victim, Michelle?”

“That’s what I meant,” she says back peddling when she realizes I’m not team slut.

“Put on your big girl panties,” I tell her moving away from the wall.

“What why?” she sputters looking wildly around the room.

“You and I are about to have ourselves a Motown throwdown. Well I am anyway, pretty sure you’re just going to stand there and bleed.”

“Just wait!” she says putting her hands up.

“I waited ten years,” I growl moving in. “But while he was serving his time for a crime he didn’t commit, I became a doctor, a good one. So when I tell you that I’m going to deviate your septum, bust your mouth open, snap your collar bone and severely blacken both eyes, we’ll just call it doctor’s orders, kay?”

“Please,” she begs with her arms out.

Adrenaline, anger and a lot of other shit was beating at me and it needed an outlet. And no, it wasn’t of the musical variety.

“You came here to violate the restraining order and thus, his probation. I know your type, bitch. The second he was within ten feet of you, you’d have called the cops. Momma’s here to make sure baby girl doesn’t make it to the phone.”

The bitch let out a heartfelt
help
and then I went to work.

It was over before it started and I knew Jules was up there enjoying every second of it like I was. Fingers crossed she recorded it.

She always had my back. Twice now I’ve caught word that she gave a verbal beatdown and threatened a physical throwdown if a notch had anything nasty to say about me. If they did, I probably deserved it because at this point I didn’t know if a bitch was first or seconds. No matter what I did she defended me but I knew there would come a day when I crossed that line and she wouldn’t anymore. It was only a matter of time…

Kandace was literally pulling someone into the bathroom and I wanted to see what was up but Bishop said we had an emergency to handle. Bringing me into the office, he locks the door and has me take a seat. Seconds later, Jules comes in and starts fiddling with the joy stick to the security system. We have cameras everywhere. Jules refuses to have any shadows in or around the bar and she even has eyes and ears in the bathrooms.

“If I let you see something awesome, you’ll be a good boy and let me handle the logistics correct?” she asks but was really telling me.