Synergy (24 page)

She
thought about how Jason was around Tushaun, and it made her think
of the new baby she was carrying. This baby was going to have a
good father, one that cared about it, not one that couldn’t last an
entire morning with them. She didn’t know if her and Jason would
work out as a couple. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t
think they would. They were two completely different people, from
two completely different worlds. She already thought it was weird
that he wanted to be with her. At first she thought he was only
doing it for the sake of the baby, but after his words the night
before, she wondered whether it had turned into something else for
him. She knew he wasn’t the lying type, so she couldn’t imagine him
saying it if he didn’t mean it. She did like him, more so the more
time they spent together. He made her feel good, made her feel like
somebody important, somebody beautiful and intelligent, something
she didn’t see herself as at all. She had gone through life having
low expectations for herself and everybody around her; she hadn’t
been raised to think she could do anything out of the ordinary. She
knew she would never be a doctor or an accountant, and she was fine
with that, but maybe she could be more than a stripper and a drug
dealer.

As the
kettle boiled and clicked off, her thoughts evaporated and she
poured the two of them a cup of coffee. Once she’d stirred two cups
of black coffee, she headed back into the living area to see
Tushaun still colouring with Jason. The two of them were talking
and laughing, and for a moment Dee stood in the doorway just
watching and listening. She was amazed they were getting along so
well on a first meeting, but she loved it. After a moment, she
walked over to Jason and handed him a cup.

“
I don’t know if
you take milk, I forgot to ask
”

“
No, I like it
black
” he replied, before winking her way
subtly before smirking.

“
Did you just wink
at me
?!” Dee exclaimed, her eyebrows
raised, but as she saw him smirking she started to laugh
herself.

“
You
bad
”

Chapter 21 – Five Months

Dee was
in her fifth month of pregnancy now, and as time passed, her and
Jason realised it was time they got more organised. While he was
still trying to convince her to let him buy her a new home for her
and the kids, she was standing her ground. She still didn’t like
the idea of somebody buying her something so extravagant. She cared
about what people thought, and she didn’t want them to think she
was with him for his money, that she was one of those women who
trapped men by getting pregnant just so she could take advantage of
his wealth. He was adamant that he would convince her, and he
thought it was only right that he set his child and the mother of
his child up in a suitable home. Though he couldn’t come right out
with it to her, he didn’t like the area she was in. He didn’t trust
the people that lived there or the safety of the area. The gunshots
he had heard at her place worried him, especially the fact that she
didn’t even flinch, that this was normal to her; she’d grown
accustomed to that as a normal, regular sound. He’d seen the type
of people hanging around in the streets, drinking, taking drugs and
generally being loud. The very thought of his flesh and blood
seeing that on a day to day basis made him nervous, and he wanted
nothing more than to just force Dee into accepting his
offer.

While he
was still working on convincing her of the new home, she had agreed
to let him take her shopping for baby items, after all, he was the
one that got her pregnant, so why shouldn’t he take responsibility
of baby items. This was something that she didn’t feel guilty
doing, so when he picked her up she had a list as long as her arm
of what she’d need. Jason, in the meantime had organised for the
shop to be temporarily closed while him and Dee shopped. There was
nothing worse than being mobbed while trying to get something done,
especially something so important. He knew however, that this may
be the time that the paparazzi finally cottoned on to the fact that
she was pregnant. He was prepared for the backlash and the
questions, and after months of being careful, he didn’t care
anymore. He cared about this girl, and the fact she was having his
child made her even more special. Though Dee wasn’t aware of how
the celebrity thing worked, Jason made sure he gave her a rundown
of what to expect when they left the store, just in case. She did
find it weird, but in true Dee style, she told him she ‘didn’t give
a fuck.’

Jason
took Dee to the best store he could find close to the area, and
while Dee regarded it as an expensive store she wouldn’t usually
come to, he told her not to look at the price tags, to just simply
shop and get what she needed. It was a strange concept to her,
she’d never in her life walked into a store and not looked at the
price tag on something. It was a total foreign concept, a different
world. She was surprised when she first walked in and tried to take
a shopping cart that Jason pulled her away from it, instead, taking
an electronic device from a lady and handing it to her. She’d never
used one before and wasn’t sure what it was for, but when she
picked a baby stroller she liked, Jason showed her how to scan the
item and save it into the device. He said it was easier, this way,
he could pay for the items but keep them on hold in the store until
they needed them; after all, he was hoping she would be in a new
home by then. Dee had rolled her eyes at him as he mentioned the
house again, but the more it was mentioned, the more she thought
about it as a reality.

Dee had
never had so much fun shopping. She loved looking around the huge
store, at the variety of items you wouldn’t find in a cheaper
store, and not even having to look at the price. Nor did she have
to struggle to get something off the shelf, as she’d realised over
the years, most things she wanted or needed tended to be on the top
shelf, meaning her small stature couldn’t reach it. After they’d
trailed around the entire store, the two of them headed to the
counter to pay. The woman simply read aloud what they’d added to
check it was right, and then tallied up the money onto the till.
Dee nearly choked when she saw what the final bill came to. It was
practically more than her entire money for a year. She felt
uncomfortable as Jason took out his card and paid like it was
nothing. She’d never liked people paying for her, for anything. She
was proud to be an independent woman who didn’t need to rely on a
man. It was different to have a man pay for dinner, or a date, but
to pay for your shopping, that was a whole other thing.

While
the payment was going through, Jason spotted Dee’s stature and
rubbed her shoulders affectionately.

“
Don’t look so
uncomfortable
” he smiled, but she didn’t
smile back.

“
I am
uncomfortable
” she said, showing it in her
face as the woman at the counter handed his card
back.

“
Relax
” he told her, putting his
wallet back into his pocket and thanking the staff. Dee thanked
them too, and made her way towards the exit with Jason. As they got
closer to the door, Jason took her hand in his protectively, and
stepped outside the doors. Instantly, there was shouting from
around six different men, all piled on either side of the doors. As
they walked, the men followed them, shoving huge cameras in their
faces, bright lights flashing every step of the
way.

“
Is this your new
girlfriend
?” one tubby guy asked,
practically attached to Jason’s side.

“
How long have you
been together? Why were you in a baby store? Is your girlfriend
pregnant? What’s your name sweetheart? Where you
from
?” The questions kept coming from
either side until they finally made their way to the
car.

“
Can we just get a
little space please guys
” Jason asked
politely, and surprisingly, the men did back off a little bit,
allowing Jason to open the passenger side door and get Dee into the
car before getting in himself. As he started up the car, Dee put on
her seatbelt and relaxed into the seat.

“
What the fuck was
that
” she asked, watching as the paparazzi
men parted, allowing a space in the middle of them for Jason to
drive away.

“
Welcome to my
world
.”

________________________________________

That
night, after Dee had put Tushaun to bed, she sat on the sofa eating
potato chips and ice cream. She had developed a craving for both
foods pretty much all the time, but just recently, she’d discovered
dipping the chips into the ice cream and eating them together.
Everyone had expressed their disgust when she’d told them but she
knew women who’d had way worse cravings. Her best friend Shaneeka
used to eat pizza with gravy on top, and Tip had said his ex Kara
had eaten noodle sandwiches and a mix of butter and sugar, like the
beginning of a cake mix.

There was nothing decent on the TV, so after settling for
something mediocre to put on in the background, she took her phone
out of her pocket and went onto google. She had been thinking about
the paparazzi outside of the store since she’d left. She hadn’t had
time to do any searches yet, as she had to pick Tushaun up from
pre-school, make him something to eat and then bath and bed. This
was the first time she’d had chance to sit down since then so she
took the opportunity to search herself. She’d never searched
herself on the internet before; after all, she’d never needed to.
Now, however, she wondered if she would be on there. Jason had told
her not to be surprised if her name ended up in the papers or on
the internet. ‘
People are very good at
digging’
 he’d told her.

She took a moment to pace herself. She told herself not to
get angry if there was anything nasty on there, after all, if
people really were good at digging as Jason said, they might know
what she does for a living or where she’s from. Maybe they’d call
her a gold-digger or something, she really didn’t know what to
expect. After she clicked search, she didn’t have to wait long
before a list of different articles appeared. The first one at the
top showed the headline ‘
Jason Taylor and
New Beau Shop at Baby Store
.’ She clicked
on it. The first thing that showed was a picture of the two of
them, hand in hand, walking through the parking lot. It was weird
to see herself on the internet, especially such a candid photo of
the day’s events. As she scrolled past the photo, she started to
skim read the article. They’d found out her name, but they’d said
she was 23, when she was only 22. They also knew she was from the
Detroit area, and that she used to work in a strip
club
. ‘Great’
,
she thought.

Just as
she hit the back button to check out the rest of the results, her
phone started to ring in her hand, the caller ID showed it was
Jason.

“
Hey
” she answered.

“
Hey, I got a
proposition for you
...” he started, but
before he could continue, Dee had to tell him about the article
first.

“
Wait – did you
know there’s pictures of us from today on the
internet
?”

“
Doesn’t surprise
me
” he replied.

“
You weren’t wrong
though, they know my name, and that I’m from Detroit. I haven’t
read the rest yet but shit, how scary is that. Like, fuck me.
That’s just creepy, checking up on people like
that.
”

Jason
laughed lightly on the other end of the phone.

 “
Don’t read
it Dee, you’ll make yourself crazy
”

“
I can’t not
though, it’s just too weird. I might as well know what they
know
”

As she
spoke, Dee picked up more chips from the open bag next to her and
dipped it into the ice cream. As she finished her sentence, she put
the whole thing into her mouth and began to crunch.

“
What’re you
eating
?” Jason asked.

“
Chips. And Ice
Cream
.”

“
Together
?”

“
Yeah, it’s really
good
.”

“
That’s
nasty
”

“
You’re
nasty
”

Jason burst into laughter. “
Great
come back, you get that one all the way from high
school
?”

“
Shut the fuck
up
” Dee said, but she laughed
too.