Dreams Do Come True (15 page)

“My brother? Oh…um…he is still recovering,” she said, sounding confused. Shontell now knew for sure that Ebony was lying. 

“Ebony, I have a question for you. Someone told me that they saw you and Jesse together last night. What’s that about?”

Ebony was glad that she was alone. She almost fell on the floor as she missed the bed where she was trying to sit. She threw the bathing suit in her suitcase and thought fast. How did anyone see them? They always tried to be careful. She warned Jesse that staying at that hotel this week wasn’t a good idea. There were too many activities going on. He got stopped almost every five steps with someone wanting a picture or autograph. She heard Shontell call her name on the phone. Damn, she didn’t like being in this situation. She answered her nervously.

“Um…well…he called me and asked me to meet him. He was asking my help in trying to get you back.”

“Really? Is that so?”

“Yeah, he asked for my opinion. That’s all. It’s nothing to worry about.” Ebony rolled her eyes. She wanted to get off the phone with Shontell. She was never a very good liar, and she thought that she was very transparent when she tried to make up stories.

“Mm…hm…well, I will let you get back to your brother. Sorry I bothered you with this. You are my friend, and I know that I can trust you.” Shontell wanted her to hear the sarcasm in her voice. Ebony didn’t reply to what she said. But she thought it was pretty much a question to get a rise out of her. Before she could answer, all she heard was the dial tone. She hit the end button and pulled her knees up to her chest. 

She started crying because she felt like the shit was about to come back to her. She wanted this over with. The plan was for her to go back to Shontell’s after her flight left and look for the safe. She hoped to find whatever it was he was looking for so they could move on. She typed a text and hit send. Getting up to get the Kleenex, she heard her phone. She answered before she knew who it was. She groaned when she heard her mother’s voice.

“Ebony, Ms. Elaine said she saw you kissing on that celebrity. What’s his name? He used to be engaged to your partner, right?” Ebony could not believe this. Who the hell else saw them together?

“Since when do you care about my love life!” she said forcefully into the phone.

“Don’t raise your voice at me, young lady,” she told her daughter. Ebony set her phone down to get something off her dressing room table. She could hear her mother still talking. Picking the phone back up, she lit a cigarette. Thinking that Jesse would have a fit if he smelled the smoke on her clothes. She put the cigarette out.

“Mom, Jesse and I are friends. We were hanging out.”

“Hanging out my ass, Ebony. I know you. You have an agenda,” she said to her only daughter.  Ebony couldn’t believe her mother. “Mom back off. I don’t tell you how to live your life. It’s time you started keeping out of my business.” There was silence. A few minutes later, her mother said something that took her breath away. “That man is going to destroy you. You deserve better than him. Didn’t you learn anything from my mistakes? I know I may not have been the best mother to you and your brothers, but I tried to be the best mother I could. I really did.” Her mother cried as she spoke to her daughter. Ebony started pacing her floor. What right did her mother have to tell her that she deserved better? To her, Jesse was her better, and she knew that for a fact. Ebony’s hands started shaking with her over-emotional state.

“You are wrong! Jesse loves me,” she said. Although her words were barely audible, her mother heard her clearly.

“I promise you that man doesn’t love you. Leave him alone, child. But I know you won’t do it because the warning is coming from me. So don’t come running to me when he leaves you empty. Goodbye, Ebony,” her mother told her before she ended their call. Ebony almost threw her phone at the wall. She flung herself on her bed and cried. What did her mother know that she didn’t know? Why was she so adamant about her leaving Jesse alone? Lying in a fetal position, she grabbed her phone and typed her text.

Jesse was having lunch with one of the best producers in the business. He was known as the comeback producer. This meant that anyone who worked with him had their career come back with a full vengeance. He was so glad that Dennis was able to make this happen for him. He saw the light flash on his phone and looked at the message:
people saw us last night and told Shontell.
Jesse almost knocked his glass over and quickly excused himself. He walked towards the bathroom and quickly dialed Ebony’s number. She sent him to her voicemail. He cursed silently, and he stood there to get himself together before he walked back over to the table. He sat down and got through the rest of the meeting. By the end of the meeting, he was feeling like his career could be salvaged as the producer agreed to take on the project. Stepping into his town car, he tried Ebony again and was furious when she still didn’t answer him. Leaning back in his seat, he tried to put her text out his mind. He was in a good mood, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Nico’s whole body hurt. He dropped across his bed and laid there. They did so much today that he couldn’t move. Even the rehearsals were brutal today. He kicked his shoes off and turned on his back. He was so mad at himself for rushing this morning and leaving his phone. He knew Shontell must be wondering why she hadn’t heard anything from him. He saw that he had about six text messages and a couple missed calls. He opened his text messages, and he saw the three pictures of her in his shirt. He was glad that he let her keep it. The other texts were from his brother, telling him that he and his parents would be getting in around three tomorrow. He wanted to call Shontell, but it was after midnight. He did send her a text and was surprised when she replied back asking him if they could video chat.

“Hey, chocolate. How was your day?” she asked him. Nico blew her a kiss before he spoke.

“Hey, sweetness. It was hard. I am so sorry about not talking to you all day. I was rushing and left the phone on the night stand,” he explained

“It’s okay. I knew you were going to be busy. I spent the day preparing for this meeting and then had dinner with my parents. They told me to tell you hi.”

“Aw, that was sweet of them. While we are speaking of sweets, how did the desserts go over with them?”

“They both loved them. Giving my mom such a nice surprise made my world. It got emotional, but it was a good time,” she told him as she shifted on her bed. Nico smiled at her gesture as it made her breasts shift as well. Nico was about to comment about it when he heard a knock on the door. He looked at her in frustration, hunching his shoulders. Getting up, he walked over to his door. Sometimes he regretted giving up having a bodyguard. He put Shontell in view before he looked out.

“It must be one of the guys. I am not putting this phone down. I have already missed you too much today,” he told her. He could see her blush, and that made him happy. He really did miss her.

Nico peeked out the viewer and silently cursed.

“You are not going to believe this. It’s Tina,” he whispered into the phone.

“Oh really? Are you going to let her in?” she asked him. Nico shook his head no. “Go ahead; let her in,” she encouraged.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes love, as long as you keep me on here,” she instructed. Nico nodded his head in agreement as he opened the door to Tina, who was holding a champagne bottle and two glasses. He stepped half way into the hallway and looked around. He was thinking that this had to be a joke. He was being punked!  He wiped his face.

Nico heard shuffling and looked down at this phone. He was so glad she was on the phone with him. He saw the look on Shontell’s face, and it mirrored his but for different reasons. He didn’t let Tina see that he was on with Shontell. He made sure that Shontell could see what was going on. She remained silent. Nico was trying to make sense of all this. He didn’t invite her in. Tina looked behind her and in the same direction that he had been looking. She turned back around with a look of confusion.

“Are you looking for someone?” she asked him with a sexy smile.

“Tina, you must have knocked on the wrong door. You know good and damn well I am not letting you in my room. So please stop…now!”

“When did you become so mean?”

“The day your ass decided someone else was the one for you. Now leave me alone, or you might get your wish and see how mean I am.” Nico tried to close the door, but she put the bottle in it to keep it open. He looked at her like she had lost her mind.

“Tina, please don’t test me,” he told her through clenched teeth. He held his phone a little tighter. He decided not to do what his gut said. Shontell was watching, and he didn’t want her to see him as less of a man because of his actions.

“Why is it that SHE can have your attention and I can’t?”

“You can’t be serious.”

“But I am. I am a ten, and what is she?” Tina said, pouting as she stood in the door. Nico could smell that she had been drinking.

“A thousand, compared to you. She has more class, style, and grace than you can even hope to learn about.” He glared at her as he again tried to close the door.

“Now I am going to ask you nicely one more time to leave me alone. My time is too valuable to waste it on you,” he said. He yanked the bottle from inside his door and from her hand. He tossed it in the hallway and closed his door. He held the phone up and saw that Shontell was crying.

“Shontell, baby. What’s wrong? Why are you crying? It’s not about Tina, is it?” She nodded her head and then put a finger up as she placed her phone down for a second. The screen went black. He could hear Tina out in the hall yelling and cursing. She was drunk. Things like this didn’t happen to him—Dennis, yes; him, no. Shontell still hadn’t come back to the phone, and he was getting scared. He didn’t understand her tears. He hoped that she didn’t think anything was going on between them. He wouldn’t jeopardize their beginning nor disrespect her in that way. He let out a sigh of relief when she came back into view. She had taken a minute to compose herself.

“Are you okay? Are you going to tell me why you are crying?” he asked in a small and desperate voice. When she didn’t say anything, he started to panic.

“I hope you weren’t thinking that I was doing anything with her. I promise I wasn’t. I…” he tried to tell her. He sat on the edge of the table in his room, running his hand back and forth over his head.

“Nico, Nico. Stop and listen, please. No, I didn’t think you were with her. I’m reacting to your actions. The way you wanted me to see that you were being truthful and honest with me was just different. I never had that experience. It wasn’t as if you had to prove it to me otherwise. The act itself was heartwarming. Thank you for that,” she told him when she interrupted what he was saying. He wished he could touch her. He needed to have her in his arms. He realized that God put them together for a reason. They both needed to learn some things and he was showing out lessons on their behalf.

“Shontell, I am sorry that your ex and the ones before him hurt you. I can’t take away what they did. But I can show you how a real man can love and treat a good woman, like yourself. I would rather lose my voice than hurt you or mess up what I have found in you,” he told her into the screen. He was about to say something else when the banging on his door got louder. He stood up and walked a little closer to his door. They could hear Tina being dramatic. He needed to diffuse this situation. He sighed and he reluctantly told Shontell that he needed to take care of the situation before it got ugly.

“Yeah, go handle that. I will try and stay up. I am more drained than I was when we got on here.”

“Yes. I second that, beautiful.” They ended their call. He opened his door and saw Dennis, Martin, and the two hotel security guards. He started to close his door, but thought better of it as he stepped into the hallway and joined the other men.

Shontell went to put eye cream on her face. She was way too emotional lately, and her face was showing it. She held onto the sides of the sink, and she put her head down and said a silent prayer. Her mind went back to the last few days. On one side, she was exactly where she always wanted to be. She hoped she never had to see again what was on the other side. Why does it happen that way? When a person finally moves on and tries to have a real life, they can’t because someone always wants to throw a monkey wrench in it. She wasn’t going to let that happen. She was being given this chance by luck. She was over Jesse. The situation with Jesse and Ebony had nothing to do with her.  She was going to stick with that until she saw otherwise.

Shontell finished her nightly regime and was headed to bed when she heard someone knocking on her door. She sighed because she felt that this was going to happen. She walked slowly to the door as she prepared herself for whatever it was that this man was bringing to her door at 1 a.m.  She opened the door, and he was leaning on the pillar. She could smell the alcohol before he even said hello. She instantly regretted her decision. 

“Jesse, why are you at my house at 1 a.m.?”

“I…I…just wanted to talk to you,” he slurred as he tried to make his way into her house. She placed her hand on his chest and stopped him. He gave her a dejected look.

“You’re drunk! So what makes you think I am stupid enough to let you in?”

“Because I love you. I have never stopped loving you.”

“If you love me so much, then why are you hanging out with Ebony?” Jesse looked ashamed. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He looked down at his feet.

“That’s exactly what I thought. You know what? You are a grown man. Do as you please,” she told him as she got ready to close her door.

“Please…please…don’t close the door. I need to be near you,” he barely whispered into the night air. Shontell didn’t want to care. She wanted to slam the door and go on with her life. Jesse was her monkey wrench, and he didn’t even know it. She walked over to where he was and helped him to her couch. She took off his shoes, and then she went to grab a blanket. When she came back, Jesse was out cold. She spread the cover over him and went to lock her doors. Shontell got into her bed and tried to sleep. She looked at her phone and expelled a long breath. She had to be at her meeting in four hours. How in the heck was she going to be able to do this? She closed her eyes and was determined to fall asleep.

Shontell awoke with a start. Why did she smell coffee? Jesse! She recalled his unexpected appearance last night. She got up and dressed for her meeting. Walking into her kitchen, she didn’t feel comfortable with what she saw. Jesse was making breakfast, and his back was turned to her. She cleared her throat to get his attention. He turned around and gave her a big smile. He handed her a cup of coffee and then placed the cream on the counter. She sat on the stool and didn’t say anything. She wanted to see if he was going to say anything about earlier. The room remained silent. Shontell looked over her notes as she sipped her coffee. Jesse finished cooking and placed her breakfast in front of her. She took a forkful and put the rest of her things in her bag.

“When did you start cooking?” Shontell said to him as she tasted more of the food.

“Don’t act like I didn’t cook for you,” he told her as he bit into his bacon.

“Whatever. Your meals were very few and far in between. But thanks.”

“You’re welcome, but I want to apologize about last night. I shouldn’t have come here like that. That won’t happen again,” he told her.

“Oh, I know it won’t happen again. Jesse, you have no claim to my life anymore. If you want a friendship from me, you need to let me get used to you being around. A friendship is all we will ever have. I am not going backwards with you.”

“Shontell,” he whined looking at her like she had just broken his heart.

“Don’t Shontell me. If you can’t abide by that, then all bets are off,” she told him as she got off up the stool. She didn’t care that he didn’t like what she said, because that’s the way it had to be.

“I have a meeting, so we need to get going,” she told him as she started to straighten up. Shontell did her walk-through to make sure everything was in place since she was going straight to the airport after the meeting. She didn’t want to leave anything. Shontell walked over to her door with her suitcases and her garment bag. She stood there waiting on Jesse. His driver pulled up, and they walked out seconds later. For a moment, it felt like old times, but it wasn’t. There wouldn’t be any sweet goodbyes. She gave him a light hug as he got into the waiting car. Then she got in her car and pulled off. Neither of them saw Ebony a few cars down the street.