Scandalous Heroes Box Set (65 page)

Jalissa had already purchased her popcorn and was munching on it while giving her cousin a knowing look. Scotty walked out the door with his purchase and Vanessa quickly paid for her sunflower seeds.

“Liking a dope boy is how you get shot, remember?” Jalissa said sarcastically.

Vanessa shook her head and suppressed her pleased smile. “Just because I was happy to see someone that I
used
to have a crush on doesn’t mean I still do!” They walked outside in time to see Scotty driving off in a black convertible. She didn’t know what kind but it was sharp…and it had a woman with long blonde hair in the passenger seat.

~***~

When they returned home Jalissa called the gang and the girls gathered in their old spot at the playground.

Theresa brought her toddler and so the girls had a good excuse to play on the playground equipment. Although Jalissa and Theresa were the only two to have experienced pregnancy, it became obvious to Vanessa that her friends all had much more experience than she did when it came to sex. Their discussions weren’t on who was the virgin—clearly Vanessa was the only one, but what sexual positions they had experimented with. They discussed the pros and cons of acts that went beyond average sex and into a mystery area that she knew nothing about. They discussed their men friends, giving Vanessa the impression that having an actual ‘boyfriend’ was now considered jive.

However, no one made fun of her lack of experience. They got a great deal of joy in explaining what she was missing. Vanessa glanced down at Ricky, Theresa’s toddler, distressed that the girls were using those words so freely around the child. What if he started using dirty words like that—walking into kindergarten talking about blowjobs?!

She picked up Ricky and kissed him on the forehead. At first he kicked to be put down but then he placed his head on Vanessa’s shoulder and played with her dark curls.

He was so cute. She couldn’t wait for Jalissa’s baby. Maybe she wouldn’t even go to New York. She wanted to be a part of the baby’s life and to make sure he or she turned out okay. She thought fleetingly of Scotty and her old fantasies of a life with him. The sudden images that came to mind due to her friend’s discussion caused her cheeks to burn because they all now starred the man that Scotty had turned into.

Chapter 21

The next day the gang of girls got on the bus and went downtown to shop for clothes for a party that they wanted to take Vanessa to in order to re-acclimate her to life in the projects. Jalissa said that her clothes looked like they came from The Brady Bunch and Vanessa had been embarrassed because she had thought that her clothes were stylish. She liked her peasant skirts and loose fitting blouses but Jalissa said that she should be wearing halter-tops to show that there were some tits beneath her clothes.

They stopped into an urban attire store—one of many that dotted the streets downtown. Vanessa tried on some hip huggers and decided that she did look like she had more of what she didn’t.

They got ready for the party at Sal’s house and jammed to Prince and Michael Jackson tunes. But when a Teena Marie song came on and Vanessa began singing about Portuguese Love her friends screamed as if they were at a concert.

“I remembered that you could sing, but dayum!!” Theresa hollered while slapping her knee.

“Did y’all hear the Spanish just come out of her!” Carmella laughed in admiration. “You need to be singing professionally.”

“That’s the plan.” Vanessa said while dropping down onto Sal’s twin sized bed. “I want to be an actress and a singer.”

“Is that what you do at your school?” Sal asked.

“Wait! Do people jump around and start dancing in the cafeteria like they do in that movie FAME?”

“Sometimes they do. And yeah, I’m training to perfect my craft.”

It grew quiet as her friends mulled over that information. For the most part none of them thought too hard about what they wanted to grow up to be. You just grew up and it was all laid out there for you; kids, a man, a regular check. But Vanessa was thinking on an entire different level. It gave them something new to consider. Vanessa noted that the conversation had tapered off and she tried to think of something to cover the awkward silence.

“You know what we should do sometime? My friends and I karaoke and it’s a blast!”

Malinda gave her a confused look. “Carry-what?”

“Karaoke. It’s when you get up and sing in front of a crowd. They play music…” Her voice trailed off because her friends were looking at her like she was a nut.

“Girl, that sounds like some white-people mess.” Sal said.

“Y’all just get up in front of people and start singing?” Jalissa asked, her brow furrowing in disbelief.

Vanessa wished that she hadn’t brought it up now that they were looking at her as if she’d invited them to an orgy—No, they probably would have been willing to go to one of those. She decided then and there that she would not bring up her life in the suburbs or her school and singing again unless she was specifically asked.

Once it got dark the girls crowded into Malinda’s mother’s car and someone asked what had happened to the white Caddie that her mother used to drive.

Vanessa blinked at the unexpected jolt the question caused in her. “Oh…well it got taken back by the dealer when—when no one made the payments on it.”

“Oh damn…” Sal spoke. “Sorry to hear that. That was a bad-ass car.”

“Yeah it was,” Theresa agreed.

“Aunt Leelah was a bad-ass woman.” Jalissa muttered.

Carmella looked at everyone. “I feel like we should have a Cooley High moment and pour some wine on the ground.”

After a long pause they all started laughing and the awkward moment ended.

As the laughing girls walked down the streets of Downtown Cincinnati to get to the party Jalissa nudged her.

“Remember cuz…uh I’m Vanessa so you have to think of a new name.”

Jalissa had the good grace to look embarrassed as she reminded Vanessa that everybody downtown knew her by the name Vanessa—including her baby’s daddy.

“Well nobody knows me so why do I have to change my name?”

“Because there’s already a Vanessa and that’s me!” Jalissa yelled.

Jalissa was acting as if there was only one person in the world named Vanessa. She rolled her eyes but played along. “Fine. I’ll be…Donna.”

“Donna it is,” everyone agreed.

Vanessa had been looking forward to going out partying with her friends but somehow what she imagined was nowhere close to reality. The party was in The Laurel Homes, which was another Cincinnati housing project. However, these housing units were more run down and the people here were a lot rougher. The Laurel Homes met the very definition of urban blight. Every business that lined the streets was outfitted with metal bars and gates. The streets were crowded with people which created a party atmosphere and because The Laurel Homes ran up a main strip, the people spilled in and out of stores and restaurants which were all in walking distance of the actual housing units.

Just walking from the car to the unit where the party was taking place took courage because it seemed to Vanessa that every male that set eyes on the group of girls had some comment to make about their beauty, availability, or body parts. Her friends walked boldly, easily throwing back comments or brushing off the interest of someone unappealing.

They finally reached a townhome where a Shalamar tune was playing. The sound of several people singing the lyrics to Make That Move drifted from the opened door. The party had progressed to the front yard where people were mingling on the stoop eating barbecue ribs or drinking and dancing.

Jalissa slapped her arm lightly. “See! I told you this would be live!” She began to shake her pregnant body to the music and Vanessa followed her friends into the apartment amidst stares—some of which were far from friendly.

A man stepped up to her and called her ‘beautiful’ and then started dancing with her. She looked around desperately and danced a few seconds until she managed to dance her way back to her friends.

She grabbed Jalissa’s arm. “Don’t ever leave me again!”

~***~

Phonso Tremont was the ‘weed man’. He always showed up at the parties in case someone wanted to cop a few joints or some pills. If they wanted something harder than that then they’d have to see Scotty who dealt in weight; coke, heroin and marijuana.

At eighteen Phonso hadn’t grown to be as tall as Scotty, but he made up for what he lacked in height with muscles and good looks. His brown skin was accentuated by dark eyes and hair that he wore naturally curly instead of in the Afro that he used to be known for. He was dressed sharply tonight in white slacks, a hundred and thirty dollar Stacey Adams shoes and a cream colored silk shirt.

A joint hung from his lips and he slapped hands, talked, and laughed with the other party-goers but he always kept a watchful eye out on his surroundings. He had several joints already rolled and he preferred selling those to his customers because it brought him more money in the long run. He could keep the joints thin. People rarely complained because then he would tell them to buy a nickel bag and role their own—which no one wanted to do while at a party.

His chick Angelique brought him a drink and he kissed her. She understood the deal; he was at a party but he was working, not partying. Of course, had she not been there with him he might have managed to find a little side action. His eyes landed on a tall chick with long dark hair that ran in waves down past her shoulder blades. She was shaped like a brick shit house with long legs clad in tight hip huggers and a suede and beaded tank top that showcased the tops of café au lait colored breasts.

When she turned her head and he caught sight of the girl’s face Phonso pulled the joint from his lips and looked at her harder. “Oh damn…” He grabbed Angelique. “Hold it down, baby. I’ll be right back.” He gave her his stash and walked into the kitchen for the telephone. He dialed and waited with a grin aching to cross his face.

“Hello?”

“Yo, bro. Guess who I’m looking at? You’ll never guess—not in a million years-”

Scotty sat up straight. “Vanessa White?”

“What the hell, man?! How did you guess?!”

Scotty stood and crossed the room to turn the television set off. It had been on the playoffs but in truth Scotty had no idea what was going on. His mind had been drifting every since he’d seen Vanessa the day before.

“I saw her yesterday at Stop-N-Shop. Wait, where are you?” Scotty could hear loud music in the background.

“I’m at a party at Tree’s.”

Scotty quirked his brow upward in surprise. Tree was a pimp that was tall and dark; hence the nickname. “Downtown?”

“Yep.”

He frowned. Vanessa partied downtown
and
with pimps and hos? He would have never guessed anything like that in a million years. But people changed—look at him. He suppressed further thoughts on the matter.

“Well?” Phonso asked.

“Well, what?” he replied gruffly.

“Are you coming downtown or what?”

“And why in the hell would you think I’d do that?” He snapped.

Phonso brushed off his brother’s moodiness. “Because I remember what you were like when that chick left.” Scotty scowled at his brother’s limited memory. Phonso continued. “I also remember the look on your face when I told you what Tino had done to her,” Scotty froze.

“Phonso.” He warned in a low voice.

“More importantly,” he said, ignoring Scotty’s threatening tone. “If you don’t come, then I’m considering that to mean that you’re cutting your ties…and if she’s fair game then I’m moving in.” Although he was just forcing his brother’s hand, there was a part of him that wanted to do just that if Scotty didn’t smarten up.

“Like hell you are!” Scotty’s breath nearly froze in his throat. Phonso with Vanessa?! He could see the little bastard trying it.

“Bro, she is so hot! She has every dude in the place sweating her-“

“I’m on my way!”

The phone went dead in Phonso’s ear and he grinned and hung up.  He did indeed remember the way Scotty had changed after Vanessa left—and it was not for the better.

Scotty grabbed his car keys before remembering that he might want to put on something a little more acceptable than the warm-up shorts and a sleeveless tee that he’d been lounging around in. He slipped on jeans and a fresh shirt and then hurried out the door.

As he raced down the street in his BMW he began to question himself. Why was he opening that door again? It had been hard enough to close the last time. Besides, he had seen the way she had looked at him yesterday.

Vanessa never was good at hiding her thoughts; she wore every errant thought and emotion right on her face. And that was the problem; he knew that she had a crush on him, probably from the very moment that she realized she did. In the beginning it had been cute the way she would peek at him from behind her bedroom curtains as he rode his bike around her parking lot. But then one day everything changed. The little girl began to grow up and he realized that Vanessa was everything that he liked in a girl.

Scotty’s expression became grim. He was now so far removed from the kid that he used to be that being reminded of the old him was almost painful. Warring parts of him wanted to recapture those feelings of innocence that Vanessa elicited in him, while the other half wanted to bury his emotions down where they could never be exposed again.

His mind replayed the way she had looked at him yesterday…and the feeling had been mutual—he had just been better at shielding his own emotions from her. Years of practice had perfected the act. But in that moment when he saw Vanessa, he had very nearly gone to her and pulled her into his arms where he would have clung to her like a lost little boy.

Scotty sighed at the reason that he had walked away from her and the possibility of doing just that. He had been admiring just how beautiful she had become; her face now mature and her body tall and sleek. But then she looked down and a soft blush had filled her cheeks. And suddenly she was again that thirteen year old girl that he used to give rides to on the back of his bike, the girl he did homework with…the girl that had been his first love. He knew that he had to leave because if he didn’t…then he just might never be able to do it. And yes, he had to leave her alone.