Abnormal Lives (23 page)

Paris pulled the key card out of his pocket. “You sure they ain't here?”

“Yeah, I'm sure,” Stefan said. “They're at the club, waiting for us.”

“Well, call Jamal and make sure, 'cause the last thing I need is for them to come up in here whiles we stealing their shit,” Paris said. “I'm too tired to be fighting for my life.”

Stefan sighed. He flipped open his phone and called Jamal.

“Hello,” Jamal answered.

“Where y'all at?”

“Down here at Body and Soul, waiting on y'all.”

“Oh my bad; we got tied up,” Stefan said. “Paris wanted to get a tattoo; we ain't think it was gonna take this long.”

“So are y'all coming or what?”

“Yeah, we'll be there in about an hour,” Stefan said. “Don't go anywhere.”

Jamal sighed. “Yeah, awright.”

Paris slid the key card in the door and swiped it. “You think he knows it's missing yet?”

Stefan shrugged. “I don't know. Even if he does, he probably figures he misplaced it.”

Paris gazed around the room, wondering where to search first.

Stefan snapped his fingers to get Paris's attention. “You search the dresser and I'll search the closet.”

Paris slammed the last dresser drawer. “Well, it damn sure ain't in the dresser. All the drawers are empty.”

Stefan dragged two suitcases out of the closet. “Come over here and look through one of these suitcases.”

Paris sat down on the bed beside of Stefan. He grabbed the suitcase that had Jamal's name on it and searched through it. “Damn, there's nothing in here either. We probably came up in here for nothing. We probably helped them sniff the last of that shit last night.”

Stefan continued looking through Kenneth's suitcase. “We won't know until we finish looking, will we?”

Stefan couldn't help but think about what Jamal had said about the big-time cat that he used to cop from; Kenneth. He refused to believe Jamal and Kenneth's trip was purely for pleasure. It was a business trip as well. He was damn near sure of it.

Stefan pulled two neatly coiled shirts that lay side by side out of Kenneth's suitcase and unraveled them. Stefan held up his findings so Paris could see; a twelve-ounce bag of powdered coke and a stack of hundred-dollar bills four-inches thick, held tightly together by rubber bands. “We came in here for nothing, huh?”

Paris couldn't believe his eyes. He reached for the money.

Stefan snatched it away. “Naw, this mines right here.”

“What!” Paris exclaimed.

“I stole the key, I found the shit, and this was my idea in the first place, so this is my lick.” Stefan handed Paris the bag of coke. “That's yours.”

“Come the fuck on,” Paris said. “How the hell am I gonna get that shit on the plane?”

Stefan caught sight of a large baby powder bottle on the dresser
and gave it to Paris. “Pry the top off of this and put the powder in here.”

Stefan zipped both suitcases up and put them back in the closet while Paris stared at the bottle of baby powder, unsure about Stefan's suggestion.

Stefan nodded toward the door. “Awight, let's dip.”

Paris peeked out the door, making sure no one was in the hallway as they made their way out. “I wonder if we could catch an earlier flight.”

Stefan nodded. “Yeah, we need to leave as soon as possible 'cause when that nigga realizes his shit's gone, he's gonna be ready to kill something.”

Jana squeezed aloe vera gel in her hand, preparing to rub it on Simone's back. “Take your shirt off. I don't want to mess it up.”

Simone took her shirt off and lay down on the bed. Jana rubbed lotion on her back. The coolness of the lotion soothed Simone and she cried out with pleasure. “That feels good.”

Jana smiled. “Oh, you like that?”

Simone nodded.

Jana unhooked Simone's bra and kissed her on her neck. Simone opened her eyes, wondering whether Jana had actually kissed her. Jana slid her hands underneath Simone, clutching her breasts.

Simone sat up and hooked her bra. “What are you doing?”

“What I've wanted to do since I laid eyes on you.”

“Jana, I'm not gay.”

Jana frowned. “What?”

“I'm not a dyke! I'm not a lesbian! I'm not gay!” Simone exclaimed.

Jana slapped herself on her forehead. “I can't believe this shit. So, what was all this, me taking you out, treating and shit? You used me.”

“I ain't do nothing,” Simone said. “You were the one who approached me, who offered to do that shit for me. If I knew you were trying to fuck me, you wouldn't have gotten far enough to know my name.”

“Well, if you aren't gay, what are you doing here?”

“Chillin', with my cousin; that's what. Stefan asked me to come; ain't like I've been anticipating this shit all year.”

“And you're telling me that you didn't think, for one moment, that I was gay? That I might be trying to get with you?”

“Naw, I mean people do shit like that for me all the time,” Simone said. “How was I supposed to know?”

Jana shook her head. “I can't believe this shit.”

Simone grabbed her purse and pulled out her money. “Want me to give you your money back? How much did you spend? Maybe five or six hundred dollars?” Simone handed Jana the money.

Jana stared at the money in Simone's hand and shook her head. “Naw, it's all good.”

Simone put the money back in her purse.
I know it is, 'cause you weren't getting shit.

Jana leaned back on the headboard and sighed. “I just wish I would've known.”

“Oh, so if you knew you couldn't have your way with me, you would've never said a word to me?”

“I probably wouldn't have,” Jana said. “I came here to put some notches under my belt; not to make friends.” Jana placed her hand on top of Simone's hand. “But I'm glad that I did.”

Jana made her way for the door.

“Where are you going?” Simone asked.

“I better leave.”

“Don't leave,” Simone said. “We can chill and watch TV or something.”

Jana agreed. She spent the night with Simone watching TV. When Simone fell asleep, Jana held her and took in her scent until she drifted off herself.

The ringing of Simone's cell phone woke her up. She answered the phone, breathing deeply into it. “Hello.”

“What you doing?” Stefan asked.

“I was sleep.”

“Look, our plans have changed,” Stefan said. “I thought our flight left at five o'clock this evening but, actually, it leaves at five o'clock this morning. So hurry up and get your stuff together and meet us downstairs.”

“Okay, I have to wake up Jana.”

“Jana?” Stefan looked at Paris and smiled. “Naw, don't wake her up.”

Paris giggled. “Bet she knows what she needed the dental dam for.”

“I can't just leave her here.”

“She'll be awright,” Stefan said. “Hurry up and get your shit together so we can leave.”

Simone sighed. “Awight.”

“And do me a favor,” Stefan said.

“What?” Simone asked.

“Lock the bathroom door.”

“For what?”

“Just do it and hurry up,” Stefan said, before hanging up the phone.

Simone stuffed her belongings into her suitcase. She picked up the headdress Jana had bought for her and took a deep breath. She didn't want to go home. She wanted to stay in the carefree city of New Orleans, away from family and the bad relationships she had managed to develop. She didn't want to take a chance on not ever seeing Jana again. But she knew that everything had its proper place. Soon, she would be home in Virginia, and Jana would shortly after make her trip home. She had a good time, but nothing lasted forever and it was the good times that were often short-lived in her life. Simone kissed her hand and placed it against Jana's forehead. She then grabbed her suitcase and made her way out of the door.

Kenneth shut the door to his hotel room. “Damn, man, I can't believe they left us hanging like that.”

“Fuck them. It's their loss,” Jamal said. “Now go grab us some of that powder so we can end the night right.”

Kenneth opened his suitcase to retrieve his stash. “Fuck, my shit is gone, and my money.”

Jamal got up from his seat and helped Kenneth search through his suitcase. “You sure you had it in here?”

“Yeah, I'm sure,” Kenneth said, kicking his suitcase.

“Nobody could've stolen it,” Jamal said.

“What the fuck you think happened to it?”

Jamal shrugged. “Who would've known you had the shit?”

“I'll tell you who, the two muthafuckas that stood us up a few hours ago.”

Kenneth called Paris and didn't get an answer. He then called the hotel where Paris and Stefan were staying and was told that they had checked out. Next, he called Jana.

“Hello,” Jana answered.

“Hey, is Simone there with you?”

“Yeah, I'm in her room.”

“Ask her if she's heard from Stefan and Paris.”

Jana scanned the room for Simone and noticed the bathroom door was locked. “I'll ask her when she comes out the bathroom.”

“I'll ask her myself when I get there.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I'll let you in on it when I get there,” Kenneth said, and then hung up the phone.

Jana knocked on the bathroom door. “Kenneth says he's on his way up here. I think he's looking for Stefan and Paris.”

Jana waited for Simone's response but never received one.

Jana sat on the bed and waited for Kenneth and Jamal to arrive. She hoped nothing had gone wrong between Kenneth and Stefan or Paris. She didn't want Simone to get caught in the middle. She didn't know whether she could help Simone, if she did.

Jana heard Kenneth pounding on the door. She opened the door and let Kenneth and Jamal in.

“Where's she at?” Kenneth asked.

Jana pointed toward the bathroom. “In there.”