Bitch Reloaded # 4 Page 8

  "So I guess you want to wine and dine me before you sleep with me, huh?"

  "It's not so much that. I want us to really get to know each other. I think you're special, Precious, and you're someone I want in my life on a long-term basis."

  "I don't know if that's possible."

  "Why not?"

  "Because you knew and know two of the men who have had the biggest impact on my life. It might be too complicated."

  "Listen, Supreme is no longer with us, may he rest in peace, and Nico isn't part of my life. I want to have the biggest impact on your life, in a positive way. I can see us sharing an incredible life together. I can show you things that you've never been exposed to. There is so much out there, Precious, and I want you to experience it as my wife."

  "What?" I almost choked on the champagne going down my throat.

  "You heard me." Mike paused as he leaned back in his chair. With his caramel complexion glowing under the light, he ran his fingers over his perfect full lips. "It's my hope that one day soon you'll become my wife."

  "I just lost my husband less than a year ago. I have no plans to remarry anytime soon, if ever."

  "So you have no problem having sex with me on a desk, but you don't want to consider marrying me one day?"

  "Sex is totally different than being somebody's wife. We don't even really know each other."

  "They say you know if you want to marry somebody within the first moments of meeting them. I never believed that to be true, until I met you. Unfortunately you're afraid of letting your guard down with me. I can't blame you, under the circumstances. It'll take time. But like any great stock, you have to invest. I'm willing to invest in you, because I believe the benefits are worthwhile."

  "I'll admit that I'm extremely attracted to you. Not just physically but mentally. You seem to understand me, and at the same time not judge me. There was something about you from the moment I met you, and I think it's because I see so much of myself in you, which is a little frightening. I don't have the most endearing qualities."

  "To me, Precious, you're perfect. The qualities you say are lacking in endearment are what I find most appealing. That is the reason you will be mine. I'll put money on it."

  Mike and I ate our dinner as he talked to me about everything from the music business to great investments. He was truly well schooled. He told me the street life was the best form of education he ever received to prepare him for the cutthroat corporate world.

  By the time we finished, we had went through two bottles of champagne and I was tipsy. As we waited for the valet to pull the car around, I caught the side profile of a woman about to go into an apartment a few buildings down. "Is that Nina?" I asked out loud.

  "Who is Nina?" Mike questioned as he walked in my direction and put his hand around my waist. I shook my head because I was so drunk I could barely stand up straight.

  "Just someone I know," I replied, glancing back over to where I saw her. But when I turned around she was gone.

  "Where? I don't see anybody?" Mike said, peering in the direction I had my head turned to.

  "Me neither, I think my eyes were just playing tricks on me. That's what happens when you have too much to drink."

  Mike and I got in the car, and he took me home. When he reached my house, I didn't want him to leave. "Would you like to come in?"

  "No, you need to get some rest. I'll call you tomorrow."

  "Okay."Mike walked me to the door, and I was disappointed that our night was ending. I really enjoyed his company and looked forward to spending more time with him. "Thanks, Mike," I said before giving him a kiss goodnight. When I walked inside, Nathan was sitting in the corner pretending to be flipping through a magazine.

  "Enjoy your evening?" Nathan asked with his head still buried in the magazine.

  "Didn't I tell you not to wait up for me? Don't answer that, just don't do it again." I went upstairs and closed my bedroom door. Even in my drunken stupor I knew that one day soon I would need to have a serious talk with Nathan. I had to set some rules regarding him interfering in my personal life, especially since I had the feeling Mike would soon become a big part of it.

  I woke up the next morning with a newfound anticipation. It was due to the wonderful evening I shared with Mike the night before and the many possibilities it raised. The depressing, not wanting to get out of bed feeling that I had to fight for months after Supreme died was gone. I was looking forward to my next date with Mike and what the future might hold for us.

  Ring ...ring.. .

  The sound of my cell phone interrupted my daydreaming.

  "Hello."

  "Precious, it's me Nina. I wanted to make sure we were still on tonight?" I fell back in bed, closing my eyes. It slipped my mind that I was suppose to hang with Nina tonight. But I did promise Jamal, and I couldn't let him down.

  "Of course we're still on."

  "Great, I already made reservations for us at this new hot spot. We're going to have so much fun. I'll see you tonight." Before I had a chance to roll my eyes about Nina's extra bubbly ass, my cell phone rang again.

  "Hello."

  "Good morning." Without even thinking I started grinning at the sound of Mike's voice.

  "Good morning to you." I couldn't help but wonder if the tone of my voice gave away the smile on my face.

  "It will be, if you say you'll see me again tonight."

  "Mike, I can't. I already have plans with a girlfriend of mine.

  "You have a female friend? I had no idea," he said sounding surprised.

  "She's more of an associate, but nevertheless we're going out tonight."

  "You can't reschedule with her? I have something for you.

  "As tempting as that sounds, unfortunately these plans are unbreakable. Maybe tomorrow or another day this week?"

  "We'll work something out. I'll give you a call later on. Enjoy your evening." I was furious that I had to hang out with Nina all night when I could be with Mike. But Jamal needed me, and if anyone deserved my help it was him.

  With so much going on, I hadn't been focusing on finding Nico. It seemed all my leads had dried up. The police weren't making any headway and even the private investigators that Supreme had hired before his death were hitting dead ends. It was becoming frustrating. I did want to see where things could go between me and Mike, but I wouldn't truly be able to go on with my life, until I got retribution for what Nico did to Supreme. But I knew patience was what this situation required. If you keep putting your questions out there, sooner or later, the answers find their way to you. Eventually Nico and I would have our showdown, and my face would be the last he'd see when I gave him the kiss of death.

  "This place is cute, Nina," I commented when we walked right in to the slick two-level club/lounge in the Meatpacking district.

  "Isn't it? The who's who always comes to this spot. Getting a table is damn near impossible, but with Jamal's connections it was smooth sailing. Now that he is the president of Atomic Records, everywhere I go, I get red carpet treatment. Red carpet, I thought to myself, this chick is straight tripping. Talk about Hollywood, Nina acting like she's Halle Berry or some shit like that. Unfucking believable.

  "Yeah, it seems pretty exclusive," I said noticing Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri at a corner table. "What's the name of this spot again?"

  "AER. Do you want to stay up here or go downstairs?" Nina inquired.

  "It's up to you."

  "I'll show you around then we'll come back upstairs, because this is where our table is." I followed Nina downstairs and the spot felt like an intimate private VIP room. The floor was transparent with a pulsing video projection underneath. Lining the room were plush suede couches with Lucite armrests. Nina then showed me two smaller rooms, one with nothing but a few antique throne chairs and a movie playing on the wall. The spot was definitely official.

  After Nina gave me the tour we went back upstairs and Young Jeezy's new single was blasting from the speakers. The crowd was dancing on the
thickly upholstered ottomans and when they would come up for air, they'd grab a drink from the metallic cocktail tables. Some other patrons were getting their party on by dancing on the banquettes and the carpeted platform that wrapped around the room. The `it' crowd was predominately white with a sprinkle of black people, but the music was all hip hop so I was cool.

  The moment we sat down, the waiter approached with two magnums. "Nina, did you order some champagne before we got here?"

  "Nah," she said shaking her head.

  "Sir, we didn't order no champagne, at least not yet."

  "These are complimentary," he replied.

  "From who?"

  "Who cares," Nina said with her face lighting up. "It's free, and top of the line bubbly." Nina broke out into a little celebratory dance, grinding in her chair. "Can you pour me a glass?" The waiter obliged and poured both of us a glass. In the middle of her sipping, Nina nudged my arm. I turned in the direction she was nodding her head to see what looked like some NBA players were walking through the entrance.

  "I told you, Nina, I only fuck wit thug niggas."

  "First of all, there are a lot of athletes that's straight gangsta with theirs."

  "Name me one?" I gave Nina the screw face waiting for her answer.

  "Allen Iverson." Nina paused and stared at me. "Him, and all his people carry heat." That I could believe. I didn't know who too many basketball players were, but I could see Allen Iverson being `bout it, `bout it.

  "Whatever, he ain't in that crowd, besides he's married with enough kids to start his own NBA team."

  "Girl, you so crazy, I'm engaged anyway. I was just playing with you, but it doesn't hurt to just flirt a little bit. We're just having fun." I continued to drink my champagne, as Nina made eye contact with one of the players. To her delight they were seated at a booth across from us. Before long the dudes were offering us drinks and shit, even though we had two big-ass bottles sitting on our table. But Nina didn't care she accepted them anyway. Then they started motioning their hands for us to come join them, and I pretended that I didn't see that shit.

  "Precious, they want us to join them. Let's go over there." Nina was all giddy. I really wanted to scream at Nina and tell her I didn't think Jamal would approve of her ho-ass antics. But I was trying to befriend her so she'd feel comfortable to do and say anything she pleased around me.

  "Hell no, I'm not about to sit at a table with a bunch of niggas and ain't none of them my man."

  "Stop being so uptight, it doesn't hurt to play a little bit as long as you know where to draw the line. I'm committed to Jamal, and I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

  "I hear you, Nina, but still. If they want to talk to us they can come over here." I don't know if the niggas read my lips or were just mind readers, but before I even completed my sentence three of the guys strolled over to our table.

  "How you ladies doing?" The ring leader said as he extended his arm. Nina shook his hand and I just nodded my head and smiled. Shoot, I didn't know what he had been touching on before he came over to see us. "Can we have a seat?"

  "Sure," Nina responded before I had an opportunity to shut them down. But it was a good thing they came over. Now I could see how far Nina planned on taking her so-called flirtation. "I'm Nina, and this is Precious."

  "How you doing fellas?" I asked casually.

  "Better after meeting you ladies. I'm Keith and these are my boys, Jalen and Mark."

  "What's up?" the once mute fellas said.

  I finally took a good look at the three men and they all had the same style; jeans, a button-up shirt, fresh sneakers and enough bling between them to open up their own jewelry store. They were a variation of browns with low cut hair. Each was above average in the looks department, but nothing to make you wanna write home to your mama about.

  "So, what do you ladies do?" Keith asked.

  "I'm a model. I do music videos and stuff like that."

  Then Keith looked at me waiting for my answer.

  "I don't do anything."

  "What, you somebody baby mama or something, sitting back collecting checks?"

  "Yes I am collecting checks as a matter of fact, but I ain't anybody's baby mama. How many do you have, while we're on the subject?"

  "What you mean by that?"

  "What I mean is, how many baby mamas do you have, Keith? Is that question clear enough for you?" The nerve of that nigga stepping to me asking me a question like that, and now he wanna act like he don't understand when I throw the shit back at him. Even if I was sitting back collecting checks as somebody's baby mama, it wouldn't be none of his business.

  "Yeah it's clear. I actually got three."

  "Three kids or three baby mamas?"

  "Three baby mamas." Jalen and Mark chuckled a little bit.

  "Seems you've been a busy bee. Are they sitting back and collecting checks from you?" I asked sarcastically.

  "I'm a NBA player. I make plenty of dough, so all my kids are straight."

  "Good for them. Make sure you keep making that money, `cause you have a few mouths to feed."

  "Anyway, back to you." Keith got the hint and started his conversation back up with Nina. See, that was the reason I didn't fuck with athletes. Most of them are some real soft niggas. They were pampered all through high school and then college. They expect everybody to kiss they ass. Then when they go pro and make all these millions, the ego becomes out of control. Because they was too busy practicing their hoop game they never truly had to get their hustle on in the streets. I had no time for dudes like that. A bitch like me would have to cut one of them when they crossed my path on some simpleass shit. Then my face would be spread across every paper in America. Nah, I was better off with my thug niggas.

  "So you got a man or what?" One of Keith's friends asked me. I couldn't remember if he was Jalen or Mark, but I knew he might be the one with a little gangsta in him if he was still thirsty for me after I checked his friend.

  "No, I'm single."

  "We're playing the Knicks tomorrow, and then we fly out. Can I get your number and maybe you can come visit me, since you said you don't really do nothing but collect checks?" We both started laughing.

  "Yeah, I did say that didn't I?"

  "No doubt, but that's cool. I don't know if you're into basketball, but I can leave some tickets for you if you wanna see the game. It'll be a blowout `cause that's how we do."

  "Is that right?"

  "That's a promise. Let me take down your number and I'll call you to set everything up."

  "Okay, but I'll need two tickets. I'm bringing Nina."

  "No problem, I got you."

  "What's your name again?"

  "Jalen."

  "I like that. You look young. How long you been in the league?"

  "This is my fourth year. I got drafted straight out of high school."

  "You must be really good."

  "I was the league MVP."

  I decided I might have to make an exception to my athlete rule, because Jalen seemed cool. He was laid back and not so boisterous with his shit. I was feeling his easy-going attitude. I was beginning to relax and get comfortable kicking it with Jalen. I still kept my eye on Nina to see just how up close and personal she was getting with Keith. I caught the occasional fake, sexy laugh she was giving him, but nothing else.

  Then, in the middle of Jalen telling me one of his locker room stories, I felt the coldest hands pressing down on my shoulders. "What the fuck!" I said, turning my head to see who was testing they're life by sneaking up behind me and touching on me.

  Jalen was just as surprised as me, and immediately stood up as if ready to go to blows for me. He was definitely my type of man.

  "Did you enjoy the champagne I got for you?"

  I instantly recognized the voice. "Mike, how did you know I was going to be here?"

  "Oh, so you know this guy?" Jalen asked as he sat back down in his seat.

  "Yes, she knows me very well."

  "I was sp
eaking to Precious. I don't need your input," Jalen spit.

  "Young blood, I think you need to check who you speaking to. I'm not David Stem and I don't give a fuck about you being the MVP. If you want to keep dribbling that ball correctly, stay out of grown people's conversation." It was obvious Mike knew who Jalen was, but poor Jalen had no idea who he was dealing with. I'm not saying on a one-onone battle Jalen couldn't hold his own, it was the aftermath I would be worried about. Mike vicious ass might put a street hit out on Jalen just because.

  "Nigga, ain't nobody tripping off of you. You can get it just like the next man. I know how to beat down grown-ass men too," Jalen said as he stood back up. Then the other three players that were still sitting in their booth got up and came to our table.

  "Listen, this is some bullshit. Mike, let's go."

  "You leaving with this nigga?" Now Jalen looked like he wanted to whip my ass.

  "Yes." Call me, I silently mouthed. The last thing I wanted was a brawl. One thing I was sure of, Mike wasn't in here alone. Somewhere close by I'm sure he had some niggas that were strapping lingering about.

  "Come on, Nina, let's go."

  "Do we have to?"

  "Ah...yes, unless you wanna stay here. I'm out."

  "Baby, you stay right here. I'll take you home." Keith stood up and put his hand around Nina's arm.

  "No, I can't. If Precious is leaving, then so am I."

  "Fuck her. You ain't gotta leave `cause her punk-ass man is dragging her home. You can chill with me."

  I just shook my head, because I knew it was about to be on.

  "My man, what the fuck did you just say?" Mike asked calmly.

  "You heard me, and I ain't yo' man, nigga. Nina's staying here with me."

  "Understand one thing. The only interest I have at this table is Precious. Everybody else is irrelevant to me. But if you keep riffin' wit' yo' mouth like something is sweet over here, you gon' have a problem."