The Reunion Show (2 page)

“I'm sure they'll be happy to hear that,” Nokea said. “I'm sorry you didn't win, but I'm glad you'll be coming home. It hasn't been the same without you.”

I didn't bother to reply. I preferred to keep my conversation short with Nokea. She knew I was still on edge about her relationship with Tyrese. I told her I would holler later, and instead of contacting my best friend, Shane, I decided to wait until tomorrow. I was sure he would have plenty of questions about why I didn't win. I didn't feel like answering them, even though I was really the big winner in all of this.

To relax for a minute, I laid my cell phone on the table and placed my hands behind my head. I propped my feet on the table and stared at the TV. Jada was trying to distract me with her puzzling looks.

“I'm glad you're stayin' here for one more night,” she whispered and then looked over her shoulder. “I don't know what I'm gon' do around here with Roc's ol' borin' self, and I'm sholl gon' miss you.”

I nodded and straightened my trimmed goatee with the tips of my fingers. “Jada, just so you know, I'm not giving you one penny. If you win this challenge, and I suspect that you will, it won't be because you played fair and square. It's obvious that you've been doing some sneaky shit.”

She opened her mouth wide, as if she were shocked by my accusation.

From a distance, I looked inside of her mouth. “I didn't know your mouth could get that wide. Is it stuck or what?”

“You darn right it is. How dare you claim to be a man of your word and then renigga on givin' me the money? I am gon' to win this challenge fair and square, so you will have to pay up.”

“Renege or renigga? Whatever renigga means, I'm not paying you anything.”

“It means that you done made a nigga move by tryin' to run and not pay up. Boy, I tell you, some men ain't shit.”

I couldn't believe she was actually sitting there upset with me. Other than Jeff, I wanted no one to know that I had the flash drive. It took everything that I had not to tell Jada, but she kept going on and on about the deal I
reniggad
on. I was forced to silence her. I removed the flash drive from my pocket and waved it in front of her eyes.

“Weren't you looking for this?”

Her mouth clamped shut. She scratched between her thick cornrows that were braided straight back.

“Yeah, that's what I thought,” I said. “I suspect that Chase knows something about this too, and if I wanted to end this today, I could. But I'm not going to because it doesn't seem to be in my best interest. So for the record, you fucked up our deal with the money thing, not me.”

She reached out to snatch the flash drive, but I was too quick for her. I put it back into my pocket. There was no way she was getting it.

“Okay then, keep the darn thing. I don't care. It ain't nothin' important on there anyway.”

“Important? No. Damaging? Yes. Chase may be more familiar with what I'm talking about. Maybe I should give her a call, so we can discuss what's on the flash drive.”

I reached for my cell phone and punched in Chase's number. Jada sat speechless. That let me know that she was concerned about what Chase would say. After a few rings, she answered.

“This is Jaylin,” I announced. “I got your message, and it was good hearing from you. The purpose for my call is to invite you to come see me tonight.”

“Where are you? At home?”

“No, I'm still at Hell House. I'll be leaving tomorrow, but I need to get at you about a few things. Can you make it here within the hour?”

She paused for a few seconds before answering. “Maybe within a couple of hours or so I can. I was in the middle of something. But before I make any moves, tell me what this is about.”

“It's about us. I wanted to see you again. You rushed out of here so quickly that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye like I wanted to.”

She hesitated again, but finally said she would come.

“That's what's up,” I said, winking at Jada. “Holla soon.”

She shook her head. “Why are you invitin' that heifer back into this house? You breakin' all the rules. Does Jeff approve of you doin' all of this?”

“I can do whatever I want to around here. Don't concern yourself with me. I'm curious as to why you're poking your nose in my business, especially when you should be out there partying with Roc. He's chilling by the pool, and I'm sure he may want your company.”

She rolled her eyes and threw her hand back. “Forget Roc. I want to know what you're up to.”

“No more than what you've been up to. As a reminder to you, in case you forgot, we're all being watched. Be careful who you trust, all right? Don't say that I didn't warn you. I just did.”

I stood and left the living room, leaving Jada confused and in deep thought like I wanted her to be.

I thought I was done with Hell House. At least until the reunion show. But Jaylin's phone call surprised me, especially since he'd invited me to come back to the house. Jeff had already called to give me the scoop on their conversation. I needed to find out exactly what Jaylin knew or what he didn't know. I assumed it wasn't much, but he told Jeff that Jada had been running her big mouth. I couldn't wait to see her and give her a piece of my mind for telling Jaylin what was up.

It was almost 10:00 PM. I knocked on the door to Hell House and was glad to see Jada's wideness through the glass door. She opened it for me to come inside. While standing in the foyer, I wasted no time telling her how I felt about her snitching.

“You fucked up, Jada. I can't believe you betrayed me. And I thought you were eager to win this challenge and put some money into your pockets?”

“I am, but you need to correct your tone and tell me what the hell you're talking about.”

“Don't play stupid. This could be a major setback for us. If you've been in here running your mouth to Jaylin, I'm so done with you. Please tell me how in the hell did he get that flash drive? A little birdie told me that he has it, so don't lie. The question is why did you give it to him?”

Jada frowned and rolled her neck around. “To hell with you and your little birdie who goes by the name of Jeff. He don't know what the hell he's talkin' about, and neither do you. I haven't said nothin' to Jaylin. If he told anybody that I have, he's a liar. If he knows anything, he got his information from Jeff, not me. As for the flash drive, I had it hidden in the closet. Jaylin must've found it. I don't know how, because it was hidden away in my shoe. Or maybe it was still in my pocket.”

“Hidden, but certainly not hidden good enough,” Jaylin said from behind us.

Jada and I snapped our heads to the side. I wondered if he'd heard everything I'd said. At this point, I wasn't going to say another word until I found out what was really going on.

“We're done with this conversation right now,” I said to Jada. “But we will definitely talk more about it later.”

I turned to Jaylin, forcing a smile. The sight of him was very pleasing to the eyes, but I was a little nervous about our meeting. I hoped he wouldn't notice.

“Now that I'm here,” I said, sauntering toward him. “Did you miss me? Or should I ask, what exactly are you going to do with me?”

“No, can't say that I've missed you, but I'm glad you came. Follow me, so we can catch up on a few things. And before I forget, welcome back.”

I followed behind him. Jada followed behind me, damn near walking on the back of my heels. She tapped my shoulder and I quickly swung around.

“Don't tell him nothin',” she whispered. “He's playin' on yo intellagant. Trust me when I say he is.”

Unfortunately, she didn't understand how worried I was. The issues with her vocabulary worked me even more. Her opinion didn't even matter to me because she wasn't
intelligent
enough to form one that made sense. I rolled my eyes and kept it moving.

“Screw you then, heifer,” she said loud enough for Jaylin to turn around. “That's why you got a piece of meat stuck between your teeth. Those tight-ass jeans gon' give you a nasty yeast infection, and I hope you fall and bust yo big head with those ugly, cheap heels you got on. I saw those at Big Lots, so don't be up in here like you got Saks Fifth Avenue taste when you don't.”

I had to silence her so she'd stop embarrassing herself and me.

“Jada, please go somewhere and take your meds. You are really tripping. I seriously wonder what has gotten into you.”

“When the two of y'all get done exchanging jabs,” Jaylin said, “I'll be in the game room. Chase, don't have me waiting too long, all right?”

He walked off, leaving me in thought about what a real jerk he was. For now, though, I was fuming behind Jada's actions. I had to address her right away. I wanted to cuss her out, but instead, I did my best to bring this psycho bitch back to reality and on my side.

“You're pissing me off, Jada. I'm curious about what has gotten into you, but no matter what it is, we're too close to getting this over and done with. All of this arguing and disrespect needs to end. I don't know what I did to upset you. Whatever it is, would you please tell me?”

She shot me a dirty look and hissed. “Bitch, you accused me of doin' somethin' that I didn't do. You're makin' me uncomfortable by comin' here to be with Jaylin. I don't know what the hell is goin' on with y'all, and I ain't nobody's fool. All I know is y'all could be tryin' to trick me. If that's the case, you'd better think twice before you think about stabbin' me in the back.”

She was a pain in the ass. I tried to convince her that what she was referring to wasn't the case, or I hoped it wouldn't be.

“I wouldn't backstab you, okay? It's too late in the game to change the plan, and I'm sticking with you because I trust you. All I'm asking is that you trust me on this. I'm not trying to do anything with Jaylin but pump information from him. Jeff requested it, so that's why I'm here.”

She pursed her lips. “Chile, please. You're not goin' to be able to pump no information from him by riding his dick, so stay away from it. I'mma let you do you, but just so you know, I will be keepin' my eyes on both of y'all.”

“Good. Watch all you want. Maybe you'll learn something about getting a man to do exactly what you want him to do.”

I winked at Jada and walked off. As soon as I stepped in the backyard, I spotted Roc sitting by the pool, listening to music. I said hello to him, but all he did was suck his teeth and turn his head to avoid me. I was surprised by his actions, so I went up to him.

“It's like that, huh? Are you that upset with me for leaving you? If so, don't worry. You'll be seeing much more of me in the weeks to come.”

“Bitch, get the fuck away from me before I get up and slap the shit out of you.”

My eyes grew wide from his bluntness. I let out a soft snicker and shrugged. “Wow. I didn't know it was that serious. Since you're so bitter, I'll mosey on into the game room with Jaylin and go where the real fun is at.”

Roc didn't respond. He bobbed his head to the rap music he was listening to and closed his eyes. I walked away, thinking about my future plans to make his life a living hell. I couldn't help but to smile.

I entered the game room, seeing that Jaylin had already prepared drinks for us. I fanned my hand in front of my face.

“It's awfully hot out there,” I said in a teasing manner. “Roc and Jada seem real tense, but here you are in here with a smile on your face, making drinks. You're the one going home tomorrow, so why are you so thrilled?”

“Because, at the end of the day, I still consider myself a winner.” Jaylin handed me a glass with alcohol in it. “I assume you will be too, but that's just my opinion.”

I took the glass from his hand and clinked my glass against his.

“I'll drink to that. Winning is my motto.”

He drank from his glass and I tackled mine. When he took a seat at the bar, I sat next to him.

“So, what's on your mind?” I asked. “I'm sure you didn't invite me here so you could admire my beauty did you?”

A grin appeared on his face. “Of course not. But I did invite you here so that we could have a down-to-earth, truthful talk. In my heart, I believe that you've been up to no good. I hoped that you'd be willing to provide some specific details about your plan, or of a plan that Jeff has been plotting all along. Somehow, Jada is involved and it appears that Roc and I are the targets.”

“Hmmm, seems like you've been doing a little homework, but not much. Besides, what makes you think that I would tell you anything, if what you're assuming is correct?”

“Because I know how much you like me. Thing is, I like you too. I think we may be on to something special, and I don't think that the connection we made should end here. Ya feel me?”