Pretty Girls in the Vip (9781617730283) (8 page)

“Oh, Wendell isn't living with us anymore. He's back out here. He has his own place. He still helps me out, but from a distance. I don't really need him all up in my business anymore. You know, telling me what to do. I'm older now. What about your sister and little nephews?”

“They are good boys. My sister is doing well.”

After our meal, the waiters brought out a huge birthday cake covered with gold flowers and silver stars. It had huge sparkling candles like fireworks sprouting out of it, and they all sang “Happy Birthday” to me again. The cake read: H
APPY
21
ST
B
IRTHDAY
, BABY. I LOVE YOU!

 

I couldn't have ever dreamed of a birthday this great. I blew out my candles, and instead of wishing for anything, I simply thanked God for everything I had already received.

 

We took the elevator on to the casino floor. I was ready to show my identification, but I didn't get carded and was able to gamble without any problems. I didn't win any money, but it was fun. On the way back up to the hotel room, Miles called me.

“Aunt Kiya, are you okay? We were waiting for you to go to dinner.”

“My nephews were waiting for me at home,” I whispered to Jabril. “Miles, tell your mom I'm sorry I didn't call.” Lisa came on the line.

“Is everything all right?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, I'm with Jabril. It's a long story. I'll be home in the morning. He showed up and surprised me at my school.”

“That was nice. Well, enjoy yourself. Have fun and call me.”

 

Once in the room Jabril hugged me tightly and would not let go. His body was warm and felt so good. “Thank you for all this, Jabril. No one has ever done anything this big or sweet for me.”

“You're welcome. You know I can and would do anything for my girl. I always wanted to give you the world.”

“I know. You almost did today. How did you plan all of this?”

“My boys Lloyd and Omar helped me out. We work out and practice together. Lloyd is cool. He's a little bit older. Him and his wife are good people. Then my other boy, Omar, be schooling me on and off the court. I asked them all the time, how can I get my girl back and what do you think I should do? And they gave me some pointers. I asked they wives, too.”

“Well, they did a good job. Tell them I said thank you.”

“I will, but I have to tell you, Zakiya, my life hasn't been right since we've been apart. I've been asking God to bring you back to me. I don't understand why you left me. But I know I'll do whatever I have to do to fix it and make it right. I can't believe God brought you back to me.”

“I can't believe I am here.” The entire day had been full of surprises. I was still shocked that I'd left my house this morning in hoodie and jeans, was lost in math class, and now I was relaxing with the once love of my life.

“Zakiya, you don't understand what you mean to me.” He took off his T-shirt, uncovering his muscular physique and his tattoo with my name, his name, and our son's name.

“You didn't cover the tattoo, Jabril.” I touched the tattoo, and tears flowed out of my eyes.

“No, I wouldn't do that. I know we lost our first son, but I know one day we are going to have Jabril the second again. I know we will. Just not right now. It wasn't our fault . . . not yours or mine. You shouldn't have ever left. Why would you leave me, Kiya?”

I didn't want to cry again, but I didn't have an answer for him.

“I don't know why I left. It was just so hard for me, Jabril,” I said, trying to hold back tears.

“We were being tested. God tests everyone. He wanted us to be a little more mature and married before he gave us our son. So, no, I didn't cover the tattoo because when I'm talking to our son one day, I'm going to tell him all it took for him to get here.”

He grabbed me and held me some more. I cried. I let out every emotion that was pinned inside of me for all of this time. The hurt, the longing, the sadness. He removed my clothing and kissed me all over my body, and then moved to enter me.

“Jabril, you have to wear a condom.”

“Why? I don't have anything. Have you been dealing with anyone?”

“No, but I just don't want to get pregnant.”

“All right, fine. Grab one, it's on the side of the bed, in the bag.”

I leaned over the side of bed and noticed in his duffel bag strips of condoms and all types of flavored lubricants.

Once the condom was on, he plunged deep inside regions and openings that hadn't been touched in over a year. It started out a little uncomfortable. I was on my side and positioned my body so he could reach the right spots. Back and forth he dove into my warm waters. I let out short moans of pleasure as he filled my body.

“Have you let anyone else in here, Kiya?”

“No, Jabril.”

“You sure? You been keeping it tight for me? It's still mine?”

“Jabril, it is still yours.”

“I want to feel it. I want to feel you. Let me see if it's still mine, Kiya.” He quickly took himself out and slipped the condom off and then began going wild inside of me. “You better not ever let anyone near mine. You hear me?” His face was serious. Sweat beads poured off of him and onto me.

“Yes. Yes. Yes, Bril.” I couldn't get it out. I was gasping for air. He was more forceful and aggressive and gave my body an hour's worth of ecstasy.

We showered and then I wrapped myself in him. Jabril made me feel so beautiful and special. We were reunited, and nothing else mattered.

He kissed my cheek. “Zakiya, I would have been come up to your school, if I knew this is all it would take to get you back.”

“Whatever.”

“You know I'm only playing. So are you going to start answering the telephone now?”

“I'll think about answering the telephone.”

“You better.” He playfully slapped my butt. He then threw on his boxers, walked into the bathroom, and came out with a Ziploc bag of weed. I watched him as he carefully picked out the seeds, poured the herb into a blunt wrapper, and then licked it closed.

“Since when did you start smoking, Jabril?”

“Since I needed to relax. Kiya, I was so stressed out. Now I can deal with any and everything.” He lit the long brown paper, inhaled, and exhaled, then offered me some.

“No, I'm good, Bril. It is not making you slow?”

“No, not at all. It's actually helping me. When I smoke, I get relaxed, then I eat and it helps me build muscle to train.”

“Just be careful. Don't they drug-test you?”

“Yeah, they do. They say it is random, but we all get a heads-up a few weeks before and I'll cut it out then.”

I
walked into Ian's office and sat on his lap. It was the only way I could get his attention. He was in the middle of editing a music video he had just filmed. I played with his dreads and massaged his scalp with the tips of my fingers.

Editing was a complicated process that usually took days and days at a time, and I tried not to bother him. It took hours and hours of footage to make a four-minute video. Ian had amazing patience and was super-talented. I admired the way he was able to get it all done. He needed full concentration so he could precisely sync the audio and visual up so they would match. He was also looking for shadows and other things that most people wouldn't even care about.

I've been on the set with him and thought,
Oh, this is easy.
The first hour I was excited to get there and then it got boring as hell. In my mind, I thought, just hit RECORD, let the singer sing the song, and you have a video. However, I was so wrong. There were so many other things involved. Ian kept telling the actors to repeat themselves or do it this way . . . turn to the side and speak with feeling. Making music videos wasn't his passion, but it was the money that was paying the bills and would one day fund his film career.

“Are you almost done, babe?”

“Yes, almost. I have to go out and get more B-roll. Why, what's up?”

“I wanted to ask your opinion on something.” He stopped moving his mouse and looked at me.

“What do you think about me opening a nightclub?”

“In Miami?”

“Yeah, I was joking with Angelique about it when she was here. But the more I think about it, the better of an idea it is becoming. I need something to invest my money in, right? And a nightclub is a sure thing. If I have the perfect location and people, it could be a success. I can charge people thousands of dollars a night to drink and be seen. I'll make so much money.”

“Adrienne, you should probably start a business you're more familiar with, like a hair salon or boutique or something.”

“I do know about nightclubs. I've been to enough of them. I used to go out all the time. I saw a few empty spaces when I was walking down Collins Avenue today.”

“You know my cousin Keldrick is a party promoter in D.C. I can ask him and we can see what he thinks. But I honestly think you should come up with something else.”

 

Later that evening, Ian set up a conference call with his cousin Keldrick. His cousin had this rough, country voice. He was from D.C. but sounded like he was from farther south. Ian told him about my club idea, and without even knowing me fully, he began ripping my dream apart.

“Thank you for speaking with us, Keldrick. So like I was telling you, my lady was interested in opening a nightclub here in Miami.”

“Has she done any research on the club industry in Miami?” Keldrick asked with authority in his voice. Ian looked at me and then spoke into the phone. “No, we were just in the beginning stages of everything.”

“Listen, Ian, tell her I know everything about nightclubs, and there are so many things you have to think about before you open your doors. You have to have a liquor license, and you have to hire staff. You need the right spot, and when all that is said and done, you have to create a buzz and get the word out about your club.”

“I could hire a street team and web people,” I said, joining in the conversation.

“Yeah, that's not all. In my opinion, Miami is too expensive to open a club, and there are enough clubs down there already. If anything, I would bring the Miami vibe up north.”

“I don't want a club in Philly.”

“No, I wasn't really thinking Philly. I was thinking the DMV area. Even though there's enough clubs up here, too, you have a better chance here than in Miami. What makes you even think you can do this?”

I stared down at the phone, annoyed and mad that Ian had even had me on the phone with this loser.

“I know it can happen. Your cousin contacted you because he thought you could help me.”

“I probably could. I got friends, but you really need a team to open a club, and since you don't have a team, then you are wasting your time. One chick opening up a club by herself, I don't really see that happening. Let me ask you a question—how soon do you want to open up your club?”

“Like in the next couple of months, maybe by the spring,” I responded.

“That's almost impossible, to get something open that quick. Do you know it usually takes at least nine months to get a club up and running?”

“It may take that long, but I'm really good at putting things together.”

“You need to know more than just how to put things together. You need to sit down and write up a business plan. Start checking out your competition. And what type of money are you trying to invest? Your liquor license application alone can run thousands of dollars.”

“I have money. That's not a problem. I have friends who know people and I can get them to come out. I partied with celebrities, and I can pay people to spread the word to anyone I may not know and get them to come to my club.”

“Just because you know them doesn't mean they are going to come to your club. But, okay . . . Let me ask you, how are you going to get people who don't know your friends to the club?”

“You just asked me that, and I said I'd hire a street team. I'll use social media and word of mouth. Believe me, my friends will make sure to spread the word.”

“There are guys who've been hosting parties and have followers for ten . . . twenty years, so you just can't rely on the people you know and some websites.”

He was making me seem like I was a moron, like I hadn't weighed all my options and I didn't know what I was talking about. Which was true, but I didn't need him to emphasize my shortcomings. I didn't like the way he spoke to me, but it was obvious that he knew exactly what it was going to take to get started. The only reason I tolerated his know-it-all attitude was because he had information that I needed. I've learned that it's better to let someone underestimate you than to argue with them and prove them right. I already knew that I could pull this off, so Keldrick was going to be in for a surprise when he saw how successful my club turned out to be.

“What you need to ask yourself is, what's going to make your club different. If there are ten clubs on the same strip, why would the people come to yours?”

“They would come to my club because the entire club will be VIP only. And I will have an all-female staff. I do know that where the pretty girls are, the men will follow.”

“You're not listening.”

“No, I'm listening. I know I can get people out. And I know what kind of atmosphere elite people want to party in. They don't want people taking pictures and being extra; they want their privacy and to be able to enjoy themselves.”

“Let me ask you this: Are you interested in having any partners? I know people who would be interested in investing, possibly a forty-sixty split.”

“Forty-sixty? I don't know about that. I'll be doing all the work.”

“But you're going to need at least about a hundred to two hundred thousand dollars to get started, and I know you don't have that kind of paper.”

“That's about how much I thought it would be.”

“Then maybe you do have something. VIP-only sounds like something people will be interested in.”

“Yeah, I know. Well, thanks for speaking with me.”

He had given me a lot of information, but I was done hearing his voice. I got Ian's attention and told him that he could end the call. He got back on the phone and concluded the conversation.

“All right, cousin, we will look into everything. I'm going to talk to you.” After Ian disconnected the call, he looked over at me.

“I think what he was saying is true. Like I said, you should probably do something that you know more about.”

“I still think it is a good idea. We'll see.” I couldn't let on to Ian that he was right.

 

Hmm, I suppose maybe I wanted to be too big, too soon. I wanted to go straight from sneakers to six-inch stiletto heels, and there were so many steps that needed to be taken in between. The more I thought about it, the more I really wanted it to work. I don't know, maybe I wouldn't be opening a night club. I had to meet DeCarious and pick up Malaysia in Gainesville, Florida, the exact middle of the road between Atlanta and Miami. I couldn't wait to see my baby and I could think everything over during the long drive.

When I arrived, they were already parked at the rest stop and I pulled up next to DeCarious's big navy-colored truck. I caught a glimpse of his fiancée, Cherise. She got on my nerves. Why was she always with DeCarious and my daughter? Didn't she have a job to do? Like go cover a news story or something? Why did she feel like it was necessary to have to drive with him to drop my daughter off? She probably thought I still wanted him, but I didn't. Looking at DeCarious, I felt not even a twinge of jealousy. If he tried to come on to me, I would be sick and vomit. I got out the car and waited for him to bring her over.

My baby, Malaysia, saw me and ran over to my legs and began hugging me. “Mommy!” I gave her kisses all over both cheeks. She was three, but she could talk well. She started forming sentences when she was one and she talked so much, we actually had to tell her to be quiet.

DeCarious handed me her suitcase. I snapped her in her car seat. His fiancée got out of the car and I gave her an
I don't really like you, but I'm going to speak anyway
wave.

“Listen, I wanted to talk to you about Malaysia staying with me year-round for some stability,” DeCarious said.

“Yes, we've been thinking—” Cherise butted in, but I looked over at her and cut her off with a look, then I rolled my eyes. She had nothing to do with the conversation, and she could get back in the car.

“That's not going to happen,” I said calmly.

“You know everything doesn't have to be nasty, Adrienne,” DeCarious stated.

“DeCarious, it is not nasty, but I don't have time for this discussion. I need to get on the road, and I don't see anything wrong with our current situation. I'll see you in two weeks.” I left them both standing outside their car and pulled off.