Abnormal Lives (13 page)

“Oh shit!” Stefan yelled, and then bolted out the door, making his way to the car with Simone and Paris running behind him.

11

“O
ut of control,” Simone muttered as she clasped Paris's earrings in her ears and fastened his bracelet on her wrist. She was thinking about the excitement she'd felt as she'd dashed out of Michael's place.

Simone sat in the car, primping herself until she looked as perfect as she possibly could. She was nervous about dinner. Sleeping with a man was one thing but sitting across the table and engaging in a conversation with one for thirty minutes or so, especially one who had some scruples, was totally different. She sat in the car, trying to figure out what she would tell Wayne if he asked about her parents, or what sort of education she had, and what she would tell him that she did for a living. She wondered if Wayne would frown down on the entry-level position she had just been appointed to at the bank, or if working at the bank as a branch manager for two years sounded like a more suitable career for a grounded young lady.

The text messages she'd sent Wayne kept popping up in her mind. She realized that it had him thinking about a little more than dinner and she didn't know if she would be able to resist. She didn't want to seem easy. She wanted Wayne to think of her as more than a one-night stand. She wanted him to think of her as a keeper. Someone he could talk to. Someone he was happy to have in his presence. Someone he would want in his corner.
Not just somewhere to stick his dick when he had exhausted his options.

There was something about Wayne. She didn't exactly know what it was. The way he stood, the way he spoke. It subdued her and made her more willing to give into his request than money did. It was odd. Over forty men had fallen victim to Simone between the sheets since she was nineteen and she was sitting there brooding over dinner and the possibility of sleeping with a man that she actually wanted to sleep with. Then again, sex was her moneymaker. It could keep the money rolling in but it didn't seem to be successful when it came to snagging her love interest.

Before Simone started her infamous profession, she had hoped and dreamed to meet a man and fall in love. She had it all planned out. They would work part-time jobs as they both nickeled and dimed their way through college, where she would major in Fashion Design. And after they both graduated and got their careers off to a good start, they would get married and buy a house in Glen Allen, Virginia, where they would start a family. Simone wanted two girls and maybe a boy. She pictured herself on the treadmill, desperately fighting to regain her figure while her husband was gone on long business trips. But those dreams were crushed by her first love.

Simone met Danny while she was in high school. He was in the twelfth grade and a point guard on the basketball team. He was awarded a scholarship to play for Virginia Tech and the student body constantly praised him for it. He could have had any girl he wanted and he knew it by the way they threw themselves at him on a daily basis. Even the teachers would secretly flirt with him out of the sight of their colleagues. Simone was in the eleventh grade and a social misfit. So she was in disbelief when Danny parted company with his friends to approach her and ask for her
number one day after school. Danny called her the same night. He told Simone how pretty she was. Danny said most of the girls at school were made up. Makeup pretty. But her, she didn't need that. She was naturally beautiful and she was someone he would love to have on his arm at the prom. Simone was flattered. She agreed to let Danny take her to the prom and they made plans to go to the movies the following day.

The next day when Danny pulled up at Simone's house, she was sitting on the porch waiting for him, wearing her black, low-cut, form-fitting shirt, a pair of jean capris, and a pair of strappy black sandals. Simone hopped in Danny's red convertible Mustang; his parents had recently purchased it for his birthday. She realized that she was the shit, riding down the street with Danny in his brand-new Mustang with her hair blowing in the wind. Simone pretended not to notice the neighborhood kids staring as they rode by. A lot of kids from school would be at the movies and she couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they spotted her with Danny.

Danny grabbed at his pockets. “Damn, I left my wallet at home.”

Danny pulled up at his house and got out of the car. He asked Simone to come in the house with him. “I might be a while and I don't want to have to come back outside and fuck a nigga up for trying to holler at my girl,” Danny said.

Simone was flattered by his comment and decided to accompany him inside.

Danny told Simone to have a seat on the sofa while he ran upstairs and searched for his wallet. When Danny came back downstairs, his shirt was off. Simone was embarrassed by how much the sight of the bulging muscles in his arms and chest aroused her and quickly looked away. Danny sat down on the sofa beside of Simone and grabbed her hand. Simone looked
down at the shiny peach nail polish on her toes, not wanting to make eye contact with Danny.

“Simone,” Danny said softly, placing two of his fingers on Simone's chin and turning her face toward his. “You're beautiful; you know that?”

Simone looked up at Danny as he leaned forward to kiss her.

“What's wrong?” Danny asked.

Simone shook her head.

“I told you, I'm going to take you to the prom with me,” Danny said before he pecked her on her lips. “Next week, I'm going to take you to pick out your dress,” Danny said before placing another kiss on Simone's lips. “I want you to be my girl. I ain't gonna let you turn me away that easily.”

Danny bit down on Simone's lip and slid his tongue in her mouth. Simone lay down on the sofa as Danny ran his hands up her torso, feeling how plump her breasts were. He then made his way down to her waist, unbuckling her pants and sliding them off along with her panties.

“Turn around,” Danny said, motioning for Simone to bend over the sofa. “I like doing it like this.”

Danny eased his way inside of Simone until he fully occupied her body and she let out a faint cry.

“Don't worry,” he said. “You'll like it.”

The next thing Simone knew she was moaning at the top of her lungs while Danny squeezed her waist with his hands and plunged deep inside of her.

After what seemed to be about fifteen minutes, they were getting dressed and on their way to take Simone home.

As soon as Simone took a shower and got some rest, she swore that she was in love. Danny was all she could think about. First, she told herself that she wouldn't call him. She didn't want to
seem pushy. But after not hearing from Danny the entire weekend, she decided to call. No one answered. She told herself to let it go. Maybe he was busy. She decided to wait an hour and then call Danny back. After an hour had passed, she called back but there was still no answer. She waited two more hours and called again. There was still no answer. From then on, she called Danny every hour. At first, she had no success. At about six o'clock, Danny's mother picked up and Simone could have sworn she heard Danny in the background telling his mother to tell her that he wasn't there.

“He's not here!” Danny's mother shouted before slamming down the phone.

Simone didn't talk to Danny until she got to school the next day.

“Where have you been?” she asked. “I've been trying to call you all weekend.”

“Out, chilling with my girl,” Danny said.

Simone was in total shock. “Oh, for real? I thought I was your girlfriend.”

“Naw, I decided to work things out with my ex,” Danny said before walking off.

Simone's eyes flooded with tears. She took refuge in the bathroom until she could control her emotions long enough to call a cab to take her home. She promised herself when she got home, she would crawl underneath her covers and die.

The day after the prom, pictures of Danny and his girlfriend, Tanya, the shapely chocolate chick all the guys put on a pedestal and regarded as the benchmark for beauty, were posted all over the school, congratulating them for being prom king and queen. All the chatter about how cute they were together ate Simone up inside. So she threw her book bag on her back and walked out of the front door. She rode the GRTC bus home and looked out of
the window the entire ride, not wanting any of the passengers to see that she was a few seconds away from crying.

When Simone got home, she jumped in the bed and buried her face in her pillow. She replayed everything Danny had said to her since their first encounter in her mind.
How could he say all those things to me and then act like he doesn't even give a shit about me and ignore my calls like I'm some annoying groupie that's stalking him?
Simone asked herself.

After a few minutes, she became furious and built up the nerve to call Danny. She was going to ask him how could he do that to her. He was supposed to take her to the prom; she was supposed to be prom queen, the one in the picture with him that everyone around school was talking about. She thought he wanted her to be his girl; what happened to him not letting her slip away?

But when Danny picked up the phone, all Simone could say was, “How could you go to the prom with her? You said you were taking me.”

“She's my fucking girl! Bitch, stop stalking me!” Danny shouted and then slammed down the phone.

Simone fell back down on her bed and cried.

A few weeks later, when Simone thought she was finally ready to put Danny behind her, she found out that what she had been buying tubes of yeast infection cream to treat, and what was so irritating that it had forced her to take a trip to the free clinic, was an STD. She was so pissed off that what she had kept secret from Stefan out of fear of ridicule she blurted out in front of Crystal, Jewel, and Paris as soon as she returned home from picking up her prescription at the pharmacy. She bent down and laid her head on Stefan's knee and cried.

“He did what?” Stefan shouted. “Oh, somebody's getting fucked up tonight.”

Stefan stormed out of the house with his crew behind him.
About thirty minutes later, the phone started ringing off of the hook. Simone looked at the caller ID and it displayed Danny's number across the screen.

“Hello,” Simone answered.

“Let me speak to your grandmother!” Danny's mother yelled.

“She ain't here,” Simone replied before hanging up the phone.

Danny's mother called right back.

“What?” Simone yelled into the phone.

“Little girl, put your grandmother on the phone,” Danny's mother said.

Simone sucked her teeth. “I said, she ain't here.”

“Child, you better stop playing games with me,” Danny's mother said. “I know you sent them goddamn punks over here to fight my son. If you don't put your grandmother on this phone, I'm sending the police over there.”

“Then send them, bitch!” Simone yelled and then slammed down the phone.

Simone walked into the living room and plopped down on the sofa, ignoring the sound of the phone ringing. She wondered what kind of damage the four of them had done to Danny.

Simone heard the door unlock and Stefan walked in with his crew behind him. All of them had bloodstains on their shirts, Paris's eye was puffy, and Stefan's shirt was torn.

“What happened?” Simone asked.

“What you think happened? We went 'round that nigga's house and whipped his ass,” Stefan said.

“And you lucky I fucks with you,” Paris added. “That nigga can throw and you know I bruise easily.”

“Who keeps ringing the phone like that?” Stefan asked.

“That's Danny's mama,” Simone said. “She's called damn near twenty times, asking for Grandma.”

Stefan stomped in the kitchen and snatched the phone off of
the base. “She's dead, bitch!” he shouted into the phone. “And don't call here no fucking more before I send somebody over there to whip your ass.”