The Playa Chronicles (12 page)

I don’t think so.

I’ll just say that I’m not interested in dealing like this and hang up. And what if she calls back and asks me to explain what this means? Let her catch voice mail.

Coward.

Be a man and face that woman. I said it again, “She gotta go!” And that’s all there was to it. I rolled over and the phone rang.

“Can I come over?”

“Come on. I’ve been expecting you.”

Things couldn’t be any worse. April finally got around to calling me back. She called to say, that as much as it hurt her to say it, she couldn’t see me anymore. “You’ll never change, Rick.” So, in spite of the fact that I really have changed, it’s over between me and April. I can’t honestly say that I blame her. I did dog her, and dogged her for years. And to make matters worse, I haven’t heard from Vanessa in weeks. I guess she moved on too.

So now I’m alone.

I sat at my desk staring out the window at nothing in particular, when the phone rang.

“Rick, you need to get down here right now and do something about that fool, before I have to hurt her,” Laura said excitedly. She was mad, shaking mad; I could hear it in her voice.

“Calm down, Laura. What’s Yvette doin’ down there?”

“About to get her black ass kicked, that’s what she’s doing down here. You just need to come get her.”

“All right, all right; just chill out for a second, Laura, and tell me what happened.”

“It started yesterday. She just walked up to me in the lobby and introduced herself—get this—as
your
new, other woman. Then the fool just walked away. But for the rest of the day she would just be there. Every time I’d turn around, there she’d be with this stupid ass grin on her face.”

“Why didn’t you call security?”

“I did. But by the time they’d get there, she’d be gone. So this morning she calls me. Mad, ’cause I put the ‘
poo
-lice’ on her. And all morning I’ve been getting pages to call a number, but when I called, nobody there had paged me or there’s no answer. I know it’s her.”

“How do you know she’s down there? She’s probably calling from somewhere else. I don’t think she’s stupid enough to come back down there, when she knows security is looking for her.”

“Rick, you just don’t know. That bitch is crazy. I just saw her at the escalator. I called security and told them what she was wearing, but they won’t catch her. This is a busy hotel. She’ll just blend in with the rest of the crowd. You need to talk to her and get her to stop bothering me.”

“I’ll call you back.” I hung up with Laura and tried to call Yvette. When I didn’t get her, I called Laura back.

“Did you talk to that crazy bitch?”

“No.”

“Why not?” Her question laced with attitude.

“I tried callin’ her at home, but the number is disconnected. I called her at work, but they said she doesn’t work there anymore.”

“Probably found out she was crazy and fired her crazy ass.”

“I don’t see what good me coming down there is gonna do.”

“Look, Rick, I’m tired of this
chile
bothering me. You just need to come on.”

“Okay, Laura, I’ll be down there.” She slammed the phone down in my ear, which was becoming her custom. Especially since the only time I heard from Laura was to complain about Yvette.

On the way down there, I thought about what kind of mess I was driving myself in to. “The mess you created, playa,” I said out loud. Laura was right, Yvette was out the box and it was my fault. There are some women that you’re glad you didn’t fuck with and Yvette was definitely one of those women. And now, I wish I could actually say that about her. But I can’t. I know, I know; I said I wasn’t gonna fuck her. But I did. I fucked her.

I was supposed to meet Vic one night at the
DoubleTree
, but he was a no-show. I sat at the bar by myself and had a couple of drinks, until I decided he wasn’t going to show. I paid my check and walked right into Yvette.

“Hey, Rick. I didn’t see you inside.”

“I was sitting at the bar waiting for Victor, but he didn’t show.”

She looked good. As always, her outfit fit her and showcased her legs. Yvette really does have pretty legs. Pretty body really. It was the type of body that you just can’t wait until she comes out of them clothes, so you can see it. Because a black woman’s body is something to behold. Nothing compares to their beauty. Sometimes that’s all there is. Anyway, Yvette’s suit was gold, trimmed in black and buttoned up to the neck.

I told Yvette that I was getting ready to leave. She says, cool, she was leaving too.

I started lying to myself at that point.

I offered to walk her to her car. She said she took the train and asked if I’d take her home, and I said yes. That was my first mistake. I should have lied and said anything to get outta taking her home, but I didn’t. I said, “Sure, come on.” During the ride to her apartment the lying continued. Those lies allowed me to live in the delusion that some bizarre scenario existed where I would drop Yvette off at her door, say good night and go home. So I kept telling myself that I wasn’t gonna fuck her. I was just gonna drop her off and go home.

As soon as we got in the car, Yvette unbuttoned her three top buttons, exposing a delectable view of cleavage, which only made the lies more complex and harder to support. I reminded myself that this was supposed to be the great project. I reminded myself of the reason I went out with Yvette in the first place: To prove to myself that I could be friends, just friends, with a woman. A woman I wanted to fuck. Traffic was heavy on the way to the west side. Yvette commented that she had to use the bathroom and that she might have been better off taking the train. Sensing an opportunity, I offered to take her to the nearest train station. But she wasn’t havin’ it. “Oh, but no, Rick. You gonna finish what you started, tonight.” My delusion allowed me to believe that her comment wasn’t laced with sexual innuendo.

Traffic finally broke loose and we made it to her apartment. I was hoping that since she had to go, she’d jump out the car. But that wasn’t gonna happen either. I pulled up in front of her building and looked over at her. She called me on it. “Come on now, you need to see me safely to my door.” She was right. If it were April, I would have jumped over the car to the open the door for her. But she wasn’t April. Yvette walked quickly and I followed behind her. She opened the door and headed straight for the bathroom.

Yvette came out of the back about ten minutes later, wearing a big T-shirt and red sweat pants. She turned on the radio and asked me if I wanted a drink. I accepted. What it was didn’t matter. I thought about the consequences of what I was about to do. I sat watching Yvette. The view was fascinating. I would have to justify this with myself. Or could I just take a shower and shrug it off? But by the time we finished our drinks we were naked and on our way to her room. It didn’t last long. The girl had no skills at all. She just laid there and let me fuck her. I hate it when that happens.

When I got to the plaza it was on. As I walked in the lobby, I saw that both Laura and Yvette were being separated by security. By the look of their clothes and their hair, I could tell they’d been fighting. By the time I made it through the crowd, Laura had calmed down enough for security to let her go. Yvette, on the other hand, was still wrestling to get free. That wasn’t gonna happen. Herb is too big a boy.

“Rick!” Laura said.

Almost immediately, Yvette calmed down and stopped fighting with Herb. “What you doing here?” she said to me. Her entire demeanor had changed until I walked over and stood near Laura. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Laura. “You called him, didn’t you, bitch? Tryin’ to embarrass me in front of my man, huh?”

“Yvette, I ain’t your man!” I yelled.

“That was your last mistake, Miss Laura Barnes.”

“Just get her out of here!” Laura yelled and walked away.

I watched as Herb and the boys escorted Yvette out without anymore drama. I caught up with Laura at the elevator. She had been crying, but she stopped when she saw me. “Are you all right?”

“That’s a stupid question. No, I just had a fight on my job. In the lobby, on my job. Because of you, Rick. All because of you.”

I felt like shit.

“I need a drink . . .” Laura said with a disgusted look on her face.

We sat in the Sun Dial, where it all began for us, and talked. Well, Laura mostly talked and I mostly apologized. What else could I do? Everything she was saying was true.

“. . . Because of you.”

It was the way she spit out
you
, that dug the knife in a little deeper. The expression on her face turned the knife slowly.
 

After a long silence, Laura finished her drink and stood up. “I’m not gonna be any good here for the rest of the day. I’m going home.” I went with her to get her things and to let her boss know she was leaving. Naturally, she knew all about what had happened and insisted that Laura go home and
take
a day or two off, which Laura gladly excepted.

We took the service elevator down and went out the employee’s entrance.

“Time to die, bitch.”

Yvette pointed the gun.

I pushed Laura down.

Yvette fired.

Instinct got the better of common sense and I jumped at Yvette. I felt something burning in my stomach. We hit the ground and the gun fell out of her hand. With both hands free, she proceeded to punch me repeatedly about my head and shoulders. I closed my eyes and accepted every blow she had to offer. I felt like I deserved them. If Laura decided to join in and start kicking me that would have been cool too.

Finally, Herb and the boys showed up; then the police arrived shortly after and took control of the situation. I looked around for Laura. A small crowd of employees had gathered around her.

“Are you all right?” I said and reached out for her.

Laura pushed my hands away. “Don’t touch me, Rick! She just tried to kill me, Rick! Because of you!” she yelled. “Get away from me!”

Laura turned and walked away. I tried to go after her, but her coworkers closed ranks to block my path. What would I say anyway? I’m sorry. Pretty lame at this point, don’t you think, playa?

That’s when I felt myself getting a little light-headed, and the pain shot through my stomach. I grabbed my stomach and felt the blood on my hands. My legs gave out on me and I fell to the ground. I looked up in time to see the cops drive away with Yvette in the backseat. She tried to kill Laura, over me. Laura’s words:
because of
you
,
rolled around in my head. I tried to make sense of it, but it didn’t matter.

Yvette was going to jail for murder.

Mine.

No matter how I sliced it, it was my fault.