Doing My Own Thing (17 page)

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Authors: Nikki Carter

BOOK: Doing My Own Thing
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Sam shakes his head. “We don't have the pull yet to make that happen, but maybe one day.”
“Until then, he's not going to hold you back from you doing what you gotta do, Sam. Big D's heart is too big for all that.”
“What about you, Sunday? You're not going to have a change of heart about me, are you?”
“You mean about you working for Zac, or our relationship?”
“Both. Are you gonna be okay if I blow up too? Are you still gonna be my boo?”
I give Sam a gigantic smile. “You're gonna be my boo whether you blow up or not. You just better remember that when those NYC groupie chicks push up on you.”
Sam chuckles quietly as if a big laugh might disturb the cave.
“I don't know what you're laughing about. I hear the New York groupies are on a whole other level than the ones in ATL.”
“Well, I wouldn't know, and I don't want to know . . . because I only want one girl.”
“That would be me?” I ask sweetly.
Sam kisses my forehead. “That would be you.”
23
W
e're back at the hotel, getting ready for our night in St. Lawrence Gap or De Gap if you're one of the Bajan locals. Bethany tries on outfits and models them for me and Dilly (who looks a hundred-percent better).
I can't keep my mind off of Sam, though. He took a walk with Big D to tell him about Zac's offer. I think Big D saw it coming, because the look on his face was of quiet resignation. I think he knows that we can all be bigger than Atlanta local artists, but I just hope he doesn't feel slighted by Sam's departure from Big D in the A Records.
“What about this one?” Bethany asks.
It's a clingy silver tube dress that she's coupled with some black and silver heeled sandals. It looks very good on her and it hugs every one of her ample curves. I think it's hot, but Dilly frowns.
“You're not wearing that,” Dilly says.
“Why not?”
“Because I don't want any guys trying to look at my girl.”
Bethany looks at me and we both crack up laughing.
“Dilly, you aren't her daddy,” I say. “Nor are you her husband. Stop tripping! Boyfriends don't get to tell their girlfriends what to do.”
“Okay, okay,” Dilly says, hands raised in defeat. “I'm asking you not to wear that. I'm asking if you would please, please wear something that covers a little bit more of your body.”
Bethany pokes her lips out and puts a hand on her hip. “What if I say no?”
“Then I'm going to be forced to not hang with the guys all night and follow you all over The Gap.”
Bethany laughs out loud. “Okay, I'll change, but not because you told me to, but because I want you to have fun and not be miserable.”
“Thank you,” Dilly says with a satisfied grin.
Bethany goes into the bedroom to change into something else. While she's out of the sitting room, her cell phone buzzes on the table. Then it buzzes again.
Dilly and I make eye contact.
His chest heaves up and down. I know he's trying to keep himself from grabbing that phone. I see his restraint slipping. . . .
“Don't . . .” I say.
But it's too late. Dilly picks up the BlackBerry and reads the text messages. It must be all bad because he bites his lip, swallows hard, and drops the phone on the floor.
“I-I gotta go,” he says before making a mad dash to the door.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
Bethany comes back out of the bedroom wearing a cute jean-short onesie, and a scarf around her neck.
“Where's Dilly?” she asks.
I just shake my head and point to her BlackBerry.
She gulps.
Crap! Crap! Crap!
“I can explain,” Bethany says as she retrieves her BlackBerry.
I shake my head. “Don't explain anything to me. Explain it to your boyfriend.”
She reads the text messages and groans. Then she growls. “I hate Truth. I really, really hate him.”
“You still messing with him?” I ask.
“No, I'm not still messing with him, but he won't leave me alone. He's been texting me since we've been down here trying to get me to meet up with him.”
“And you told him no.”
“Of course I told him no! Why do you sound so suspicious?”
Is she seriously asking me this question? She's the one who steals everybody's boyfriends and does everyone dirty. How can she expect me
not
to sound suspicious of her?
“Bethany, you're tripping. Dilly is a good guy, and he really likes you. You should've been up-front with him. How do you expect him to believe anything you say to him now?”
“I can show him all my sent messages where I told Truth to stop texting me.”
I bite my lip and think on this a moment. I don't know if it'll be enough to make Dilly believe her. She's got too much of a history of being foul. But even though she's got history, the tears in her eyes make me think that she might be telling the truth.
Finally, I say, “My mother always tells me that you don't ever have to prove you're telling the truth because God always reveals a lie.”
“But there's no lie here, only a misunderstanding.”
“I guess you have to try to make him understand. But do it quickly. Don't give him too much time to think about it.”
“Where were the guys meeting before they leave?”
“At Zac's villa.”
“Will you go with me? I can't have Dilly thinking this about me all night long. I just can't.”
Bethany is full-on crying now and as much as I hate to admit it, I truly believe her. I've seen her tell lies, so I could basically be a human lie detector when it comes to Bethany. I just hope that Dilly believes her too, else the BET cameras are going to have some drama-filled breakup footage to add to their collection.
24
“I
s Dilly here?” Bethany asks Mystique when we get to Zac's villa.
Mystique has got her party clothes on—a bright colorful mini dress and yellow heels. She flips her wig out of her face and appraises Bethany. She looks her up and down and then takes her tear-streaked face into her hand.
“What's wrong with you?” she asks. “And does it have anything to do with why you're looking for Dilly?”
Bethany glances at the BET cameraman out the corner of her eye. “I-I just need to talk to him.”
“I don't want any drama tonight!” Mystique says. “Y'all youngsters stay mad and arguing about something. We're in Barbados, for crying out loud! Let your hair down and have some fun. Y'all too dang intense all the time.”
I clear my throat. “Um, that . . . well, that was pretty intense, Mystique. Maybe you should go lie down and chill for a minute.”
She looks at me and smiles. “Okay, Captain Obvious, you got me. That was kind of intense, but y'all are getting on my nerves with all this teen angst.”
“We're teenagers,” I say. “What do you expect?”
Bethany gives a big sigh. “I just love how y'all are making jokes when I've got a serious issue to attend to. Is Dilly here or not?”
“He's not here. Try him and Sam's room.”
Bethany turns to leave, but I hold up one hand. I dial Sam's cell phone number.
“Hey, boo,” he says with a chuckle.
I want to stay serious for Bethany's face, but I can't stop the smile from exploding onto my face. “Hey, boo! Is Dilly there with you?”
“Naw. I thought he was in y'all room.”
“He ran out.”
“Good grief. Why did he run out? What happened?”
“Tell you lata. Amera-cay.”
Sam says, “The camera dude is near you?”
“Yeppers.”
“Okay, so just answer my questions with yes or no responses.”
“Okay.”
“Is Bethany playing Dilly again?”
“No . . . I don't think so.”
“Does Dilly think she's playing him again?”
“Yes.”
“Does Dilly think she's playing him with Truth?”
“Yes.”
Sam says, “I'm sick of their triangle. Bethany ain't all that for these dudes to be getting so twisted over.”
“You just got extra points by saying that, you know.”
Sam laughs. “I didn't know we were taking score.”
“I'm
always
taking score. Right now you're ahead. Keep that in mind while you're out with Zac tonight.”
Bethany taps my shoulder. Hard. Okay, I know girlfriend is stressed, but she needs to fall back with the physical contact. I look down at her finger like it's a bug I'm going to squash and she quickly removes it.
“Is he there?” she asks.
Oh, duh. This is the reason I called in the first place.
“No, Sam thought he was still with us.”
“I'll tell Dilly to call you if I see him,” Sam says.
“Okay. Bye.”
I disconnect the phone and turn to Bethany. “Looks like you're just going to have to wait until Dilly wants to be found.”
Bethany's tears start up again. “I can't go out with him thinking . . . what he thinks about me.”
It's funny how we're speaking in code around the cameras now. Nobody, no matter how much money you're paying them, wants all of their business on a TV show for the world to see.
“So don't go out with us, then. Sit in your hotel room, crying your eyes out, while Sunday and I enjoy some reggae music and good food.”
Bethany rolls her eyes at Mystique. “I don't see how you can be so mean, Mystique. I'm going to find Dilly.”
She storms out of the villa and Mystique shrugs. “Like I said, teen drama. That's why I like you, Sunday. You're so much more mature than your cronies.”
I don't know if I'm so much more mature than everybody else, I just don't like people in my business. And the BET cameras are putting the entire country in Dilly and Bethany's mix as soon as this thing airs. I thought this show was gonna be about my video shoot, but there's a lot more happening than that.
Zac comes out of the bedroom and looks Mystique up and down, from head to toe and back up to her head. “We should've brought your bodyguard, Mystique. I don't know how I feel about you going to the club unprotected, and dressed like that.”
“Are you kidding me, Zac? They don't even know who I am in this country. I only get recognized in the resort, and that's because there's more Americans here than anywhere on the island.”
“Just because the people at the cave didn't know you, that doesn't mean that someone else won't. Why don't y'all just hang with us?”
Mystique frowns. “But we were having a ladies' night out.”
“I know, but I would feel more
comfortable
if you went with us.”
My eyes dart back and forth between Mystique and Zac. This is clearly a battle of wills. Mystique lifts an eyebrow and smirks.
“All right. We'll. Go. With. You.”
Uh-oh. Although we're going with the guys now, I have an idea who actually won this battle. I don't think it's over, but it won't be played out on TV either.
I'm so glad to hear the knock on the villa door, because the moment of tension between Mystique and Zac is too much for me. It's like watching your parents fight. Like what kid wants to see their parents argue?
But when Zac opens the door to Dreya and Truth, my big sigh lets everyone know what I'm thinking. Wish I could just have a fun evening!
Dreya is wearing heavy makeup, eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliner, but I can still tell that her eyes are puffy, swollen, and red. She's been crying her eyes out, probably all day. Her entire face is swollen, really, probably also the effect of her tears.
I guess she figured out the password on Truth's phone.
But Truth is looking real relaxed like there's nothing wrong. I know my cousin.
Something
is wrong. Maybe she hasn't mentioned it to him yet.
“Where are we going?” Dreya asks.
“A reggae club in The Gap,” Zac says. “Soon as Sam gets here, we're out.”
“Isn't Big D coming?” I ask.
Zac shakes his head. “Nah. He's staying here with his lady. I invited him, but he declined my invitation.”
Hmmm . . . what's that about?
He declined my invitation.
Zac sounds like he might be offended by Big D turning him down. But for real, if I was Big D, I wouldn't be trying to grin and cheese all up in Zac's face pretending to be friends. Zac is taking Big D's main producer, if Sam says yes, and that's not really a friend move.
Finally Sam shows up. He looks good in standard Sam apparel—black tee, jeans, black sneakers. Chain on his neck, cap on his head. Typical, low-key Sam. Hotness.
“What took you so long?” I ask.
“I like to keep the ladies waiting,” Sam says.
After everyone cracks up laughing, Sam says, “Wow. But seriously, I went to talk to Big D.”
“And?” Zac asks.
“It's all good,” Sam replies. “We'll talk business tomorrow. But tonight I'm ready to chill.”
Zac slightly narrows his eyes as if he doesn't like Sam's response. I don't think Zac is used to being kept waiting by anyone. Especially a new producer to whom he's just offered the deal of a lifetime. But I appreciate Sam and his swagger. A dude with swagger never lets the next man see him sweat.
“Well, if we're all here, let's go! I'm hungry for some jerk chicken,” Mystique says. She's regained her cool diva-like composure, but I'm sure that Zac is gonna get it later when the cameras are no longer rolling.
We all ride in a limo van like the one that brought us to the resort from the airport. Dreya is uncharacteristically silent, and the smile she has plastered on her face is fake as all get-out. The first opportunity I get, I'm pulling her to the side to get the scoop.
When the limo driver pulls off, Mystique says, “It's a good thing Bethany and Dilly didn't go with us, since Truth and Drama decided to roll. That would've been awkward.”
Now see, this is Mystique trying to start something in front of the camera. I stare at Dreya, trying to send her mental signals. . . .
Don't take the bait!
“Why would that have been awkward?” Dreya asks.
Clearly, my cousin missed the signal. We've got to work on our telepathy. When we were little, we used to be like the wonder-twin cousins or something.
Mystique says, “You know, with what happened on the tour and all.”
“Oh!” Dreya says with a phony chuckle. “You mean the fact that Bethany is a slut and was hooking up with my man?”
Oh no . . . the carefully placed façade is cracking. Dreya's about to let loose. And Mystique is poking the bear.
“Yeah, but I guess y'all hashed that all out because you and Truth are still together. Like it couldn't be me. If Zac did that . . .”
Zac says, “Why you gotta put me in that discussion? This is about Truth and Drama.”
“I'm just saying,” Mystique says.
I'm not liking this side of Mystique. This catty, disliking-Dreya side of Mystique. I know that Dreya has said some twisted stuff about Mystique, but I feel caught in the middle of that. I'd feel like dirt choosing Mystique over my cousin, but if they keep this up, it's going to come down to a choice.
“Maybe Dreya was just able to forgive him. There's nothing wrong with forgiving someone,” I say.
Truth gives me a fist bump across the seat with the hand that's not wrapped around Dreya and holding her close. Dreya looks like a ticking time bomb.
“I forgive, but I don't forget, and I'm not stupid,” Dreya says.
Are we there yet? Because all of a sudden it's starting to feel cramped in this ginormous limo.
“No one said you were stupid, baby,” Truth says. He plants a kiss on her cheek.
Dreya untangles herself from Truth's arm and sits straight up. “Yeah, you think I'm stupid. You
and
Bethany think I'm stupid.”
Big sigh. Here we go.
“Wh-what do you mean, babe? I'm not fooling with no Bethany.”
Dreya leans right in Truth's face. Nose to nose. “That's only because she told your raggedy, busted-up self, that she didn't want you.”
Truth looks surprised and furious as he wipes Dreya's spittle off the bridge of his nose. “I
said
I don't know what you mean.”
Dreya laughs out loud. “I'm not stupid,
babe
, but you are. If you're gonna be sending reckless texts to someone else's girlfriend, don't you think you should put a better password on your phone than your birthday, you big dummy!”
“I told you to stop going through my phone,” Truth says.
“I told
you
to stop cheating on me, but clearly neither of us has been listening very well,” Dreya replies.
“Hey, why don't y'all chill?” Zac says. “We're all trying to have a good time here.”
“You ain't my daddy,” Dreya says. “I know everybody's treating you like you're some kind of don or something. You need to fall back and mind your business.”
“Don't you talk to my man like that,” Mystique says.
Dreya just laughs in her face. “You do
not
want it with me.”
Truth says, “Drama, why don't we just talk this out when we get to the club. Ain't no need to bring Mystique and Zac into this. They don't have anything to do with this.”
Sam and I are silent. I'm not saying anything because I'll be darned if I take a side this time. Plus, I'm waiting to see if Truth thinks he's gonna manhandle my cousin. Because it's not going down like that tonight.
“You don't tell me what to do either, Truth. You need to start explaining, right now, why you were sending Bethany text messages.”
Truth chuckles. “All right, since you want to try and put me on blast in front of everybody, Bethany still wants me. She hasn't stopped wanting me since day one. And if you keep tripping, I'm gonna give her what she wants.”
“Obviously she DON'T want you because she sent you about five texts that said, ‘NO THANKS, I'm with Dilly.' ”

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