“I hear y'all.”
“No, you really need to hear us,” Cooley said. “Handle your shit, Dee. With Rhonda and Lena.”
“Oh, snap,” Nic laughed.
“What's that supposed to mean?” Denise said.
“You know what it means,” Cooley countered.
“Whatever. There isn't anything between Lena and I. I've told you that.”
“Except you kissed her last year, ” Nic said.
“She almost fucked her this year,” Cooley said. “Personally I say fuck her and get it over with. Yâall are worse than a fuckin' movie.”
“Waiittt a minute! You almost fucked Lena? Damn, Carmen didn't tell me that,” Nic said.
“Carmen doesn't know 'cause it's not like that,” Denise said. “Look, we had a moment, but that's all it was. I have let go of Lena. She is about to be married. She loves him, so I've moved on. We are just friends.”
“That's bullshit, and you know it. Dee, that girl is as much in love with you as you are with her. Y'all are going to fuck. It's going to happen, and I know it. It will happen when you stop acting like a pussy and give Lena what she has wanted since day one.” Cooley shot the ball toward the goal but missed. Denise grabbed the ball.
“True, true,” Nic co-signed. “But, honestly, Cool, you ain't no better. Misha and Lynn.”
“Thank you!” Denise said. “How you gon' give advice when you fuckin' Misha and Lynn?”
“Look, I am single. I can fuck who I want to fuck, and they both know it.”
“Well, when are you going to get out of denial about how you really feel about Misha? Every time the girl comes around, you light up like a kid in a candy store,” Denise said.
“Whatever. Y'all don't know shit.” Cooley shot the ball again and missed.
“You know you love Misha,” Denise continued. “You need to tell her, and yâall need to get back together. Maybe you need to get rid of that âcool nigga' act and let her truly know how you feel. I bet once you actually tell her how you feel, she is going to run back to you with open arms.”
“Trust me, I got this with Misha. I'll admit I care about her a lot. I'm not giving up. By the end of this semester I am going to have her back. Trust that,” Cooley said.
“And you need to let Lynn go. As much as I would hate to let that cooking go, you need to handle her. That girl is falling hard for your ass.”
“You notice that too?” Cooley said. “I got it.”
“Well, let me get my ass home before Carmen gets back. She's at some poetry reading.”
“Oh, not with that nigga Neo. Fake-ass nigga right there. I knew Neo back in the day when she was just Nedra, trying to fuck around like I was. These bitches kill me, trying to be in competition with me, like Pooh weak ass.” Cooley sneered.
“She don't seem to be like that no more,” Denise said.
“Please, she is still the same Nedra. She just is taking a more realistic approach. She still wish she could pull half the amount of hoes I could pull. She just like to use her poetry to pull them. I'm not buying this whole act she got going right now. All of a sudden she's all about gay pride and revolution and shit. Whatever.”
“Cool, you think everyone is the same,” Nic said.
“Not everyone. Just most of the weak-ass Memphis studs. I can't wait till I get the fuck up out of here,” Cooley said.
“Dig that,” Denise said. “I've had too much shit happen recently. I can't wait to move on to something new.”
“We gon' be doing big thangs in other cities, just like we do them here,” Cooley added.
“And good riddance.” Denise shot the ball and made a clean basket. She looked at Cooley and smiled. Nic began to laugh.
“Man, fuck you, wit' yo' hoopin' ass.” Cooley hit Denise.
They headed out the gym.
Chapter 10
Nic sipped on a coke as she attempted to understand her Shakespeare assignment. She wiped the sweat off of her head.
“You look stressed.” Larissa laughed. “It's not that serious.”
“That's easy for you to say. I can't get through this shit,” Nic said.
“OK, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. There are movies of
Othello, Romeo and Juliet,
and
Midsummer's Night Dream
. Rent them and watch them. Maybe then you can make it through the book better.”
“You think he will know if I only watch the movie?” Nic said.
“Hell, yeah, he will.” Larissa laughed. “He asks questions that they don't discuss in the movie. Shit. Where the hell is my man?”
“Oh, Thomas is on his way?” Nic said. “How are y'all doing?”
“It's all good. Let me go wait for him outside.”
“I'll walk with you.” Nic stood and packed her books.
Larissa looked at Nic as she opened the cafeteria door for her.
“Nic, you know you are a true gentleman. You act more like a man than half of the men I know.”
“Umm, OK. Is that a good thing?” Nic laughed.
“Yeah, it is. You do the little things. You open doors, pull out chairs. I can't get Thomas to open a door for me. Hell, I bet if there was a puddle you would put your jacket over it.”
“Naaa, I'm not fuckin' up my clothes. If it's that serious, I'd just pick you up.” Nic smiled.
“See, that's what I'm talking about. If you were a man, you would be fucking perfect.”
“Aww, thanks, but seriously I'm not. I just believe in letting women be women. I guess a lot of men forget that women are supposed to be treated with pure respect.”
Larissa smiled. “I know Carmen isn't going anywhere. She is a lucky girl. Well, let me go. See you later, Nicole.”
Nic waved good-bye. She sighed. She only wished Carmen could see her the way other women did.
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“OK, are you all ready?” Lena yelled from out of the dressing room.
Carmen and Misha let her know to come out.
Lena stepped out the dressing room. It was her final fitting and she was now completely flawless.
Carmen and Misha were speechless. Tears began to form in Carmen's eyes.
“Carmen, don't start,” Lena said.
“What, girl? You look so beautiful. I am going to be no good at your wedding. I already know it,” Carmen said, wiping the tears from her face.
Lena turned around and looked at herself in the mirror. “One month. One month till my wedding.” Lena took a deep breath and looked at herself in the mirror again. She felt butterflies starting to form in her stomach.
“Actually, it's only twenty-four days,” Misha corrected as she smiled at Lena. “And I have planned the best bachelorette party. Exams will be over on that Thursday, and we are going to party all night long!”
They all laughed.
“Oh, my goodness, look at my baby.”
The girls turned around to see Lena's mother, Karen, standing in the door. She walked up and hugged Lena.
“Mom, I didn't think you were supposed to be here for another two weeks,” Lena said, still in shock at seeing her mother.
“Oh, I decided I needed to be here with my baby. Oh, you look so beautiful, butâ” Karen looked at the dress on Lena. She snapped for an attendant. “Look right here, it is missing a bead.”
Carmen, Lena and Misha looked down at the dress.
“Mrs. Jamerson, how did you spot that?” Misha said, surprised at the small defect Karen noticed.
“Oh, sweetie, it's called a trained eye. Everything needs to be completely perfect for my baby's wedding, so I am going to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb.”
Lena headed back into the dressing room to change. “Mother, it's not that serious. That's why I hired wedding planners.”
“Wedding planners are there to assist. You are to make sure that everything is perfect. It's your day, after all,” Karen corrected, grabbing Lena's wedding dress out of the dressing room. She handed it to the attendant. “I expect you all to go back over this dress thoroughly. If I see any mistakes, there will be hell to pay.”
Karen walked back over to Misha and Carmen. “So, ladies, how are your dresses?”
“Absolutely beautiful. We already had our final alterations,” Carmen replied.
“Great. Well, if you don't mind, can I have a few minutes alone with my daughter?”
“Sure. We will head over to the restaurant and get a table. See you soon, Lena.”
The two headed out of the dress shop.
Lena came out of the dressing room. “Mother, what's going on? Why are you really here?” Lena enquired. She noticed a worried expression on her mother's face.
“Well, after that last disturbing call that we had, I realized something was not right with you. So I decided to check on the wedding details myself.”
“Mom, I told you I was just stressed. Is everything all right with you?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing. What is Denise's name doing on the guest list?”
It was no secret that Karen was no longer fond of Denise. Once she found out she was gay, she was always suspicious of Lena's and Denise's dealings together.
“Mother, that is my friend. I am not going to not invite her to my wedding.” Lena was irritated by her mother's constant bashing on Denise. “You know, before you found out she was gay, you thought she was pretty nice.”
“Yes, before I knew she was gay, and trying to ruin my baby's future.”
“Mother, she has not tried to ruin anything! Denise and I are friends. What part of that don't you understand?”
“The part where you sent her a love letter this summer when you were at my house.” Karen caught herself too late.
Lena remembered sending Denise a letter but never receiving a response.
“Mother, what are you talking about? What did you do?” Lena demanded. She could feel herself starting to tremble.
“I saved your relationship. I got the letter before you sent it, and I must say, how could you even think about doing something so ... so ... Well, it doesn't matter now that you are about to be married.”
“So, you mean to tell me you not only got my letter, but you opened it as well? Mother, how could you do this?” Lena stormed out of the store.
“I did it to protect you!” Karen said, grabbing Lena's arm. “I knew when I walked in that dorm room that there was something between the two of you. Lena, you are not some damn dyke!”
“I know I am not, butâ”
“But nothing. If you would have sent that letter, that girl would have been coming to try to break you and Brandon up in a heartbeat!”
“Denise is not like that.” Lena felt her eyes watering. “She is a wonderful friend, and I am so privileged to have her in my life. This conversation is over, mother.”
Lena got in her car, but her mother grabbed the door before she could close it.
“Baby, I am sorry. I just wanted to look out for you. It is perfectly normal to be curious about the other sex, but it's not acting on it that is important. In a few days you will be a married woman.”
“I know that. But if the only reason you came here was to pry into my personal life, then you might as well go home. I will see you in a few weeks. Good-bye, Mother.” Lena closed the door and sped off, leaving her mother standing on the sidewalk.
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“Damn, I can't believe I actually have to study for this test. I've barely had time to kick it at all!” Cooley said to Nic as they looked over their notes.
“Yeah, I feel ya, and on top of that, I barely see my baby. She is so busy with Lena's wedding, that sorority, and work. I don't see how she does it.”
“Yeah, Carmen is the super worker. So how are you all doing?” Cooley asked as a group of girls walked by the table.
Cooley caught the eye of one of them. She was thick in all the places Cooley liked. The girl smiled at Cooley, instantly giving Cooley the go-ahead to approach her.
“We are doing fine. I want her to quit her job and let me support her, but you know Carmen is not going for that,” Nic said. She noticed Cooley's attention was gone. “Go catch the girl before you fall out your seat looking.” Nic laughed.
“Yeah, I'll be right back.”
Cooley walked briskly to catch up with the girl, who was looking at the Chi Theta information board. Her friends had headed into the food den.
“You know my best friend is president. If you give me your name and number, I can give a good word for you.”
The girl looked at Cooley and smiled. “Is that right? What if I don't need your help?”
“In that case I should give you my number, in case you need my help with anything else.” Cooley gazed into the girl's eyes. She knew that she had her just where she wanted her.
“I honestly don't think I will need your help with anything.”
“Well, just in case, call 569-COOL. Dig that?” Cooley said, making sure to keep her eyes on the girl's face. She knew that women hated it when people were checking them out. She always focused right on their faces, so that they would think she was interested in them and not just their bodies.
The girl laughed. “Are you serious? That's your number?”
“I am dead serious. I like to keep it simple. If it's one thing I know you will never forget my name, and I made it so you could never forget my number either. Oh, and your name would be?”
“Tara!” a deep voice yelled from behind them.
Cooley turned around to see a large guy headed toward them. She could tell he was not happy with what he was seeing.
“Hey, baby,” Tara responded as the man stared Cooley down. “This is Cooley. Her best friend is the president of Chi Theta. She is going to arrange for me to meet her.”
Cooley smiled at the guy. Something told her that he didn't believe her.
“Look, no offense, but if I want my girl to meet the president, I will take care of it. She don't need any help from you,” the guy responded.
Cooley knew that he was feeling threatened by her. She smirked.
“Yeah, OK. Well, anyway, it was nice to meet you, Tara, and, um, I didn't catch your name.”
“Don't worry about my name. You just keep your ass away from my woman!” The man grabbed Tara's hand and stormed off.
Cooley could tell they were arguing once they got outside. She shook her head and headed back to the table.
Nic was standing up watching the whole thing. “Is everything cool? I was right here waiting on him to try some shit,” Nic said as they both sat down.
“Yeah, everything is good. Looks like she has a jealous boyfriend,” Cooley said casually as she looked down at her notes.
Nic could tell that Cooley was hiding something. “Dude, I would advise that you not fuck with that girl. Unnecessary drama.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Cooley said, excusing Nic's warning. Something told her that it wasn't going to be the last time she heard from little Tara.
“Well, I will admit one thing. It's actually good to see you back to your old flirtatious self.”
Cooley smiled. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means that you have been walking around looking a little off lately. I never see you looking at other women. I was starting to worry about you.” Nic looked at Cooley, who appeared shocked.
“I can't believe you noticed that.”
“I notice everything,” Nic said. “Like your girl walking her way toward us.”
“Fuck,” Cooley said when she saw Lynn out of the corner of her eye.
“Hey, baby!” Lynn said, putting her arm around Cooley from behind.
“Hey, Lynn, what's going on?” Cooley hugged Lynn. She was going to let her go, but after they'd had sex, she woke up to a great meal that Lynn fixed. She had to keep her after that.
“Nothing much. Just got out of class. What time are you coming home?”
Cooley and Nic looked at each other, both catching what Lynn said.
“Home?” Cooley responded.
“Yeah, to your home. I was going to go to the grocery store and make steaks tonight.” Lynn realized Cooley wasn't happy with her previous response.
“Actually, I am kicking it with Nic and Carmen tonight. But maybe tomorrow, OK?” Cooley realized that the girl was getting too comfortable. She usually never let a girl stay over so much, but she couldn't help it. Cooley was digging the big breakfasts and dinners Lynn was making every day.