Love Locked Down (11 page)

“ How the fuck I don't stay here? I give you money....when I got it. I sleep here every fuckin' night. I see you on that same bullshit Tamera. When you gon' stand up to your brother and let him know you fuck with me? When he find out what  liar your ass is that's when he's really gonna cut your ass off.” Cordell spat.

“ Whatever nigga. Just get this little bit of shit you got over here and leave. When you making enough money to keep me in the lifestyle my brother does then we can talk. Until then you ain't talking about nothing around here. Now hurry up because he'll be here soon.” I said walking into my closet to find something to wear for the day. My mind ran to Dana's ass too. That bitch got her nerve running and telling my business!

Seems to me like she's taking this little marriage thing a little too far. And what I will not have is Dana thinking she can come between my brother and I.

* * * *

I
started to panic for a moment then my feelings shifted and I was pissed! Now wait a damn minute...didn't I tell Terrence I would call his ass? He's got me fucked up if he thinks given the argument we just had and him telling me to “stay out of his business” he can just show up here. This is my place. I wrapped my robe around myself tightly,ran my fingers through my hair and marched down the steps towards the door. Janay's eyes were bucked at the state of her roommate.

“ Lord have mercy this bougie ass girl has lost her damn mind!”
They better not bring that bullshit in here,shit I'm trying to sleep
,Janay thought heading towards the stairs to her bedroom.

I marched over to the sleek,black car and banged on the window. The window slowly rolled down until I was looking to the chocolate brown eyes of my husband.

He grinned at me “ I mean that outfit wasn't really what I was expecting you to wear for our brunch date but do you baby. I'll shut the whole restaurant down for you so you can walk around in your robe and slippers. It ain’t no big ooo-wee to me.”

I wanted to burst out laughing but contained myself. I was mad as hell with Terrence. The last two months hadn't gone as smoothly as I'd thought between arguing with Tamera and just adjusting to being married period. I was not happy. A week ago I'd just made the decision to move back in with Janay for awhile.

I wasn't standing outside in my robe for shits and giggles. I needed Terrence to know he wasn't running shit. At least not with me his ass wasn't. Terrence hadn't been out but a month or so but the other side of his personality was showing itself. If I was honest with myself I found it a little exciting but the rational side of my brain knew I needed to be careful.

“ Look Terrence what are you doing here? I do not appreciate the way you spoke to me last night. You can't just show up here like everything is fine after what you said to me. How the hell did you get my address anyway? I never even gave it to you and when I wrote you letters I used my post office box. So where do you get off just showing up at my home unannounced like you running the damn show? Last night you acted like you didn't even know you were a married man. So what the hell do you want with a wife today?” I asked folding my arms across my chest and cutting my eyes at him.

Terrence sat a little further back in plush seat of the car so Dana wouldn't see the immediate disdain etched over his handsome face. This marriage shit was taking a little longer to get used to than he had imagined. He wasn't used to being loud talked and questioned by a woman.  Let alone a from a woman he called his wife. Especially after he'd gone to so much effort to impress her to the tune of $5,000 in designer roses? Some of these basic bitches out here didn't even know black roses actually existed and Dana had a dozen sitting in her home right now courtesy of him.

Women in every borough in New York vied for his attention on a daily basis before he got locked up and in the eight weeks since he'd been released, hadn't shit about that changed. The one time he wanted to settle down and do right by a woman, hadn't made her a “ wifey” but an actual wife and she had the nerve to call herself leaving him?

Terrence opened the door to the car and stepped out. Terrence leaned against the car looking down at her. Dana had come out the house in her robe and slippers and was still fine as hell.

I had to step back real fast for fear of all my resolve dissolving within seconds in regards to Terrence. He had quickly become an addiction to me. These past few nights sleeping without him had began to take it's toll on me. The warm earthy scent of his cologne was making it's quick ascent to my nostrils and I was a sucker for a nice smelling man. Especially this man. Smooth,brown skin...and to top it off, I'd swear he was smiling at me on purpose just to tempt me into going back home with him but I wasn't. I was staying at my old place with Janay until he made up his mind to do right by me.

“ Please accept my apology for being presumptuous...”Terrence started in his rich,deep baritone voice. “ ...I found out where you stayed though Tamera,so it wasn't too hard to get the information. As for the roses,I can see you're different but most women do like roses, I simply sent every color just to make sure one of them was to your liking. I was only trying to do something nice for my wife but it's evident to me you don't appreciate shit. So my apologies. I'll leave you to your day.” Terrence said getting back in his car. Seconds later the car took off down the street.

I stood there looking after the car. Damn! I hadn't necessarily meant to run my husband off. I just wanted him to know he couldn't be doing no drive-bys on me. I walked back in the house to Janay's disapproving stare.

“ I thought you said you were going to lay down?” I said cutting my eyes at her. The last thing I needed right now was a lecture from her. Janay had quickly become a part of Terrence's fan club. Janay thought he could do no wrong especially since two months ago when he came home,he paid her for my portion of the rent. Janay got a years worth of rent out of him. She was happy because for the next year she didn't even have to worry about replacing me as a roommate. Not that she really worried about that anyway. Janay had inherited the apartment when her grandmother who raised her had passed away.

“ Now you went and sent your husband away after all of this...,” Janay said opening her arms up in a sweeping gesture of the room filled with fragrant roses “ ....to sit around and mope?  Look you the one who made the choice to get married to a man that was locked up. Y'all are just getting to know each other. I'm no expert but to me at least the man is trying.”

I sat down on the couch and sighed.

“ Janay it's not even about that. I didn't exactly send him away...he left. I did let him know he couldn't just come tracking me down and showing up on my door-step unannounced! He doesn't know me like that. Janay this whole club business has changed him.” I said my voice breaking,tears sliding down my face. As hard as I tried to be optimistic about my situation with Terrence the truth of the matter was it looked bleak. I'd wracked my brain trying to figure out why Terrence had turned. I just thought once he was released he would want to dedicate some time to getting our marriage off the ground but instead it was the exact opposite. Terrence had thrown every ounce of his energy into making his club one of the hottest in the city.

Hell I hadn't even known he owned a club. Not once in all those months did Terrence tell me he owned Club Taboo one of the hottest clubs in the city. Tamera didn't even know. I'd heard of it though because Tamera had tried to get into it several times and hadn't been able to get in. She had been looking for hook-ups into the place for at least six months. Then come to find out her brother owned the place.

“ Whatever is going to happen with Terrence and I is going to happen Janay. I'm tired of worrying about it. I love him but at the rate things are going now, I'm just wondering if our paths are going in two separate directions right now.  Terrence is throwing himself into his club right now and I need to do the same. The past two months since graduation I've gone totally off track with my own plans. I need to get back to me.” I said walking towards the stairs before she could reply. I walked into my room and shut the door.

I stood looking in the mirror several moments before walking to my nightstand to grab my cellphone to call Terrence. The phone rang several time before he answered.

“ This is Terrence.”

“ Hey Terrence it's me...,look about earlier.”

“ We don't need to discuss earlier. You ain't feeling me. You don't wanna be married to me anymore I get it. I thought we had something special but I guess I was wrong. You just needed some money, I supplied it for you. It is what it is.”

My heart sank. Why was he trying to make it seem like that's all I was out for?

“ Terrence please don't make it seem like that. You know that's not true. You're the one acting like you don't want to be married. Telling me shit is none of my business. And who the hell was that bitch all over you last night at the club?” I  said my voice rising. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to say to him but damn if this conversation wasn't going the wrong way.

* * * *

I
tossed my cell on my desk, kicked my feet up and smiled. I don't know what made Dana call me so fast but I was glad she did. One thing I'd come to know about Dana was that she was stubborn. I also know she loves me. I didn't have a doubt in my mind that her heart was with me. Even though we'd never spoken the words to each other. I mean she slipped up and said it once but I know she does. I can feel it every time we speak, the way she looks at me when she doesn't know I'm aware. I feel like you gotta be in love to make love. So every time I've laid between my wife's legs I've been making love to her. Even if it felt like straight fuckin'. I just got something holding me back from saying the words and I don't quite know why. I heard a buzz and looked up at the security screen to see my right hand man Latrell at my office door. I buzzed him in.

“ What's up nigga?”

“ Not a damn thing. Just been making sure shit is straight for these three V.I.P parties going on tonight.”

“ Everything cool ?” Terrence asked.

“ You already know it is nigga.”

“ Cool. All right nigga I need to get these papers signed before Aprils little short ass tries to kill me, I was up early trying to get into something but that shit didn't work out so I'm spending the rest of the afternoon working. Anything come up handle it unless you really need me.” Terrence said as Latrell rose and walked to the door.

* * * *

C
amyrn and I had just settled down at our table at Amy Ruths. I was starving. It seemed like I hadn't eaten a nice meal in ages. Hell “ seemed” was an understatement. I hadn't. I'd been too busy the last two months working my fuckin' ass off. Two months ago Terrence had brought his ass over to the house and informed me that after graduation  I would have to get a job to maintain myself. After graduation my monthly stipend was cut off. He offered me a job in his club...the hottest club in Brooklyn, that I wasn't even aware he owned. Did this negro know just how many times I'd tried to get into Club Taboo and had been turned away? I should have been walking up in that bitch like royalty!

Now I get to go in there every goddamn night. To serve drinks to other muthafuckas. I was beyond livid. Terrence is my brother! If I had to work I was at least expecting him to make me a damn manger! Head bartender or something. But a server? I had to rely on tips just to pay my lights and water. It was unfair. Terrence felt like he was helping me out since I didn't have to pay any rent.

I tried to talk up on some change with Cordell but I guess he was holding a grudge because of how I had put him out but what was I supposed to do? If Terrence had come over and found Cordell there it would have been major trouble for me. Then to add insult to injury there was Dana.

A few months ago she'd come to my house not knowing what her next move was going to be. Not a dime to her name to even finish up her degree and who had went to bat for her with my brother? ME. Now this hoe laid up in my brothers house without a care in the world? Was she at the club seven nights a week serving drunk muthafuckas? No. What she was doing was walking her ass right up to the goddamn VIP with my brother.

I didn't like that shit. I didn't like that shit at all.

Which was exactly why I'd called Camyrn to come have lunch with me today. I knew her hungry ass would be willing to come eat. And discuss getting back together with my brother. With a little help from me of course.

“ So I was surprised to hear from you Tamera.” Camyrn said looking at me coyly.

If I didn't know the bitch loved cocking her legs up to my brother I would swear the bitch was flirting with me. This hoe better save that sweet tone for somebody else.

“ Girl you know I’ve always liked you. But you know how my brother is. His business is his alone. Terrence doesn't really like me talking too much to his women. Besides I liked you so I knew the only way to keep you around a little longer would be to play it cool. You always been my girl though. Which leads me to why I asked you here.”

The waitress interrupted us to take our orders. I was glad to see her ass too.

“ I'll have a side of collard greens, candied yams and give me the Gabrielle Union fried ( pork chops ) and a sweet tea. Thanks.” I said closing my menu and handing it back to her as she took Camyrn's order.

“ Look Cam, the long and short of it is this. My brothers wife is no good for him...,”

Camyrn's eyes bucked.

“ Hold up did you say wife? You mean he really is married? I just knew that shit was a nasty rumor! I can't believe this shit. As long as we were together? I stood by his ass when he got locked up and then he just tossed me away like trash? Oh I am too through.” Camyrn spat.

“ That's because Dana was sniffing around your man. If I had known what she was up to sooner I sure would have tried to warn you girl. This girl is just doing the most and it's time to get her away from my brother. All she's doing is spending his money and word on the street she's creeping too? What kind of sister would I be to let some shit like this go on under my brothers nose?” I asked sucking my teeth.