My Cup Runs Over: The Ultimate and Final Deception (12 page)

“So what’s going on down there in ATL?” Trey asked. 

The moment he asked T-Bird couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer as she began to cry.

“Hey! What’s going on? JJ asked.

“Would you please talk to us and where’s Andre?” Trey asked. 

Still sniffling she answered.

“He’s with the groups. I’m so embarrassed and hurt right now. I went to Darnell’s apartment, thinking I was going to surprise him after arriving in Atlanta.  When I arrived, I rang his bell then knocked on his door. I mean damn yawl... I ...I um...found him with another man.”

“Another man? What are you trying to say?” JJ asked. “Do you mean to tell us that Darnell is gay?” JJ's heart skipped a couple of beats.
So that's what I sensed about that muthafucka
...

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. When I rang his doorbell again, Lamar answered the door with a robe on and it appeared he'd just gotten out the shower. I knew without a doubt that Lamar was gay, but I never imagined the two of them having an affair.”

“I knew it! I was afraid this would happen,” JJ said.

“Okay, just calm down,” Q said. “Look T-Bird, where is Desiree?”

“She’s right here...But I don’t think you want to talk to her right now. You’ve got some explaining to do yourself. Don t you think? She does not want to speak to you and I can’t blame her...”

JJ then interrupted. “Wait a minute.. what the hell is going on?”

“Okay. Everyone calm down. She’s right. I do have some explaining to do. One of Desiree’s staff members came to the hanger to pay me a visit after completing her interview in the city just before the dinner party the other night. When I arrived from Phoenix, both Vita and Octavia were there waiting. Octavia was looking for you Trey, since you had security on alert to not allow her access to your building and Vita was visiting, since she was done with her interview in NY..." Q took a breath and plunged forward. If he stopped now, he might no be this confession out.

"..Well, when she came out the bathroom, she was naked and seduced me into having sex with her. That’s the truth. I mean what the hell was I supposed to do, looking at a naked woman in my office and spreading her legs right in front of me? I’ll never forgive myself for not turning her away. I knew it would only be a matter of time before she was going to tell, even after I told her not too. That bitch was determined to destroy what I have with your cuz.”

The phone line went quiet for a few seconds; seemed like an eternity.

“Now wait a minute Q. Are you serious? JJ replied.

“Q what the hell is wrong with you man?" Trey interrupted. "Do you realize Desiree sacrificed a lot to be with you?”

“Just think how I feel. I’m in the middle of all of this. That’s my cuz, regardless of how confident she is and you’re my friend. Damn you Q.” T-Bird responded.  

“We need to talk when we finish this conversation.” Trey was pissed.

“In the meantime, we have to get it together to help T. So this is what we’re going to do. You go ahead and do your show. We’ll be there in the morning.  Can you hold it together until then?” JJ was pissed as well; he was also their constant voice of reason.

“Yes, I’ll be okay. I’ve already decided to stick with the plan and meet the guys to do as many appearances as possible before the show tonight.”

“Alright you go and make your appearances but in the morning have Andre pick us up the minute we land,” JJ said, controlling his anger.

“I’m not going to be the one to say I told you so,” Trey continued. “This is really tripping me out. So did you have sex with him?”

“That’s my concern, not yours and I don’t recall asking you that question about Carlotta. Andre already beat him up pretty bad, but somehow he managed to get away.”

“That bastard. I wish I was there, he wouldn’t be alive...” JJ said.

Q then interrupted, “Where’s Desiree?”

“Q, I don’t think you want to talk to her right now. This is not the time. You’re going to need a little bit more than just a phone conversation to convince her this was not your fault. After all, you’re the one that stuck your dick in the pussy even though Vita was the one spreading her legs. If you really loved my cuz you wouldn’t have allowed this to happen. I’ll see you tomorrow I surely hope. She loves you and now you've broken her heart. You are on my shit list. I will talk to you later..."

The Price

Q just held the phone in disappointment. “I understand. Just take care of her until the morning. And T, just so you’ll know, I do love her. This all happened at the wrong time...”

When T-Bird hung up the phone, the guys were all still on the line. Q immediately asked for Trey and JJ’s sympathy.

“Whoa playboy, I’m not getting in between that one.” Trey continued,

“Me either.” JJ said. "It looks like you’re going to have to make a miracle happen. If I know Desiree, you’re going to have hell on your hands. Point is, we can’t do anything about anything 1,100 miles away here in Jersey. As much as we all wanted to protect T-Bird, at least we finally know the truth about Darnell. But the best thing we can do is be glad it’s over now. She needs us, so let’s just give her the support necessary and we’ll deal with the rest later. Including you Q.”

“You’re right” Trey added. “The important thing is making sure she survives the rest of the tour...She’s got to be able to do that.”

“I agree” JJ said. “Let’s at least make sure that happens. There’s nothing else that can be done now...Q you got this right? So I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

When Q talked to Andre, he told him their flight plans and got the details on what Andre had witnessed when he arrived Darnell’s place. 

Attempting to get dressed for some serious club hopping, Desiree’s phone was blowing up with calls from all her colleagues wanting to know where she would be for the evening, hoping to meet up with her and her cuz. She was on every A list in the city because of her status at the magazine and was used to showing up to take photos or conducting interviews with some of the most prominent figures.

As soon as they arrived at the first stop, Andre had two bodyguards to watch over T-Bird as everyone from the tour entered the club. Immediately the DJ announced their arrival as they consumed the entire VIP space. Not wasting a minute to think about what she had experienced earlier, she grabbed Melvin, her bandleader, by the hand and headed for the dance floor.

Suddenly a ball player from one of the local teams danced between them with cocaine residue still clinging to his nose from doing lines at his table.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked, shouting over the music.

“No, am I supposed to? I mean you just stepped between me and my dance partner without even asking and I’m supposed to know who you are? You haven’t even introduced yourself.” she responded, shaking her head.

“I’m Devon... quarterback for Atlanta. So you wanna hang out with me? I’ve got drinks. I’ve got money and I don’t wanna waste my time.”

Dancing next to her was Andre and Desiree, trying to hold back their laughter watching T-Bird’s expression. She stopped and looked at him.

“So I’m supposed to jump up and down because you got coke, money and drinks? Quite frankly, I don’t wanna waste your time either.You can go over there where the groupies are. I’m good.  Nice meeting you Devon. And oh… Wipe you nose. You’ve got coke all over it. I think I’m going to go back to my table now.”

“Wait a minute baby. I know who you are and I have your new CD. I’ll be at the show tomorrow night. I guess I didn’t impress you at all, huh? Oh well. It’s all good. I can get what I want just like you. Any woman in here will be glad to get with me because I’m the man down here in the ATL... you know what I’m sayin?”

T-Bird just looked at him like he was a fool. Still trying to spare his feelings on the dance floor. 

“I’m glad you can. Because right now all I have is heartbreak. I guess you can get that too, judging from how you’re acting. Yeah, someone probably already broke yours too. You know what I’m sayin? By the way, I think there’s a young lady behind you trying to get your attention and thank you for supporting my music.” She said as she walked away. Even after being gently dismissed, Devon attempted to follow her back to her table only to be stopped by the bodyguards preventing him from coming any closer.

When she sat down at the table, she was relieved to see Melvin and Andre sitting there with a bottle and poured a glass for herself.  She then threw her hands in the air to express her frustration over Devon who was far from sober and had no clue how to approach a woman.

"All I want to do is have a good time and stay away from the drama. Am I asking too much?” She expressed. Andre just nodded his head to keep rhythm with the music. 

“I heard from Shaun. He wanted to me to tell you he’s praying for you.”

T-Bird didn’t know how to respond.

"Thank you. So, does he know anything?"

“Well you’re not supposed to know, but yeah, JJ told him.”

T-Bird just held her glass up to her mouth until it was completely empty.

“That damn JJ! Why would he do that? He can’t even keep his mouth shut long enough for me to handle this. I wish he would have given me time to deal with all this first. Suppose I didn’t want Shaun to know about all this right now? This only makes matters worse. Damn …but I guess it’s too late now. I need another drink.” 

“Look, I’m sorry. All I know is that man loves you and you should respect that, T. You know what I’m sayin?”

“I know, but right now I just want to enjoy myself and not think about anything. When you talk to him again, say that I’m fine and I’ll see him when I get back home. Would you do that for me? I’m always going to love him, regardless of the pain he caused me. He was my husband. I just can’t afford to let him know that. So you better keep your mouth shut too Dre. He’s always going to be dear to my heart. However right now, it’s not easy having your heart broken twice.” She expressed, opening a fresh bottle; Desiree came over.

“Excuse me cuz, this is Allen. He works in the Mayor’s office and I…”

T-Bird stopped her right in her tracks. “Hi Allen. Would you like to have a drink? Please help yourself. Can you excuse us for a minute?” she offered, as she handed him a glass before pulling Desiree off to the side.

“Okay cuz, no more hook ups. I’m not interested. Okay? Let’s just have fun without any more drama. I finally understand what Q was saying when he used that term, “I’ve spared one idiot from embarrassing himself and I don’t need another so your associate’s time is going to be limited.”

She then walked back to the table to talk with Allen and say how impressed she was with the club. He then told her he'd actually been sent to talk to her because the mayor was giving her the key to the city the next day and since Desiree was doing the article, he wanted to give her a few directives when she arrived at his office.

Not realizing who he was, T-Bird had stuck her foot in her mouth as she tried to clean up her mess by asking him to dance while Desiree poured a glass of the remaining vodka in the bottle and looked at Andre as they both acknowledged her pain from all that had transpired earlier.

Regardless of how many drinks he'd already had, nothing could stop Andre from admiring the erection of Desiree’s nipples penetrating her shirt and the curvature of her body. All he could think was how fortunate Q was to have her. Watching both her and T-Bird, he was overwhelmed by their resemblance.

Suddenly two of her staff members, Michelle and Asia, walked over to greet T-Bird while being introduced to Andre as Desiree thanked Allen for coming to give them the details they needed for the ceremony the next day. The more time she spent being around Andre, after watching him beat Darnell and Lamar, began to spark her interest. The fact Q had betrayed her gave her more reason to notice Andre's appeal...

________________________

When they arrived at the Mayor’s office, his entire staff was there along with the media to award T-Bird the key to the city. All Desiree could do was hold Andre by the hand during the event as the mayor made it special with a catered lunch. He then began talking about his friend, the mayor in her city of Newark, and how they'd gone through school together, how he was aware of her efforts and reputation with the foundation. Her accomplishments with the foundation alone were giving her national attention for the outstanding work she was doing in her community.

“You know with all the millionaires down here in Atlanta, that’s exactly what we need, a few individuals who are willing to make a difference in other people’s lives,” he continued, as he put the key around her neck. The perfect moment of affirmation as the photographers began to take pictures of her, Desiree and other city leaders. 

Right after, the groups had to complete just one more interview scheduled by Desiree. T-Bird could really think straight now that Q, Trey and JJ had arrived on the scene.  Finally, she felt the sense of security she needed. Preparing for her show, she was ready to put her total soul, her all into her act , moving beyond one of the most hellacious moments she had ever experienced. One thing was for sure, if she could depend on anyone that night to make her laugh, it was going to be Little Joe.

As the show began, all the other groups performed just as they had in the other cities. By the time she went into her act, the crowd was all set up for her finale as the band played her introduction song. The music was smooth, setting the mood as she sat in a chair in the middle of the stage. With a phone in her hand, she imitated an entire telephone conversation, pretending to be talking to Darnell and ending their relationship after discovering he was cheating. The entire exchange allowed all the couples in the audience to reevaluate the value of their relationships as she elaborated with her sassy role-play, captivating everyone before singing
(Treasure),
She lured the audience deeper into her emotions, to experience the inner love she displayed, while the tears ran down her face. 

In the blink of an eye, the sax player walked over to give her a handkerchief and put his arms around her. At that moment, the audience was totally involved in her response as she pushed him away, thinking it was part of the act. Every time he reached out for her, she pushed him farther away. He then lifted his horn, mirroring her emotional expressions as she sang. She continued to wipe the tears away tailoring the song to its end. The audience went ecstatic over how the sax player followed her every note as she gave more of herself then walked off the stage.

There was no way the audience was going to allow her to leave.. just like that.. without doing one more song. Instead, she kept singing from behind the curtain before appearing to take a bow and point to the sax player, giving him his props. It was a class act as he smiled and gave her a wink over their creativity.

Standing off in the distance, under the dim lights at the top of the balcony, was Darnell, all bandaged, bruised and with one eye swollen shut. He had to see T-Bird just one last time, realizing he would never see her again as he prepared to leave town. 

For the first time in his life, he'd met a woman he would never have the privilege of experiencing again. She had everything and yet he'd thrown it all away. What a sad ending to a potentially good story. However, he wasn’t sure of who he was as a man and certainly he couldn’t be honest with himself. Unable to overcome a broken past of childhood molestation from a babysitter, his past had destroyed the real person inside because he refused to get help. Not only that, if he had told her the truth from the beginning, T-Bird would have only put things in prospective for him. She knew plenty of gay men in the industry, overwhelmed with down low brothers like Darnell who wanted their cake and to eat it too. At the end of show everybody went back to Desiree’s house to celebrate another successful night on the tour.

Desiree’s was living like a queen in a 10,500 square foot mansion and wasn’t afraid to flaunt it, with food catered for all her guests. Everyone from radio personalities to her staff and even her boss at the magazine were invited to this grand after party. Desiree’s boss insisted on featuring them on the front cover in a future issue to come because of the uncanny resemblance between these first cousins.

As everyone continue to mingle, JJ grabbed T-Bird, pulling aside along with Q and Trey.

“Are you okay? He asked.

“No, I’m completely numb. But I’ll be okay. I’ve got you all and my cuz.”

Right after that comment, Desiree walked up, not willing to even look Q in the face. He reached out to grab her by the hand; however, it didn’t work. She just looked at him.

“I think you better remove your hand right now. This is not the time. Not tonight. I’m trying to be strong for my cuz. Trust me, I’m going to deal with you but not tonight. You better walk away right now. I refuse to allow you to see me cry.”

She broke from his hold, walking into the living room.

“I feel like I’m in the middle of heaven and hell all at the same time.” T-Bird elaborated.

“Well, we’ll all have plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Carlotta sends her love” Trey replied.

“Yes and Vivian feels the same.You should expect a call from her.” JJ continued.

“T, you’ve got to help me out with Desiree. She won’t even look at me. I’ve got to convince her that being with Vita was a mistake.” Q said while trying eagerly trying to persuade her. 

“Q, I told you from the beginning this was what I was afraid would happen. You’ve got to work this out on your own. Hurting her was like hurting me. That’s my blood and I’m devastated not once but twice because of you.” T-Bird shared before leaning on Trey’s shoulder. Although it was a hot night in the A, it was a cold one for Q as they all stayed in a suite downtown.