Love Lost (Love's Improbable Possibility) (25 page)

“Okay, first of all, you’ve had too much to drink because now you’re acting like a little bitch. Second of all, I
have
told Tara I loved her
even when I didn’t
. Thirdly, I do desire love. In fact, I have a shortie that could be that one right now. Lastly, what did I tell you about making fun of my leisure vernacular? Do I talk about how you still call ya’ moms every night before bed?” Although true, I tried to throw in the last line for comic relief. This dude can get extremely sensitive when he’s drinking. Eric fell out laughing. I had to join him after looking at Mark trying to process what I’d just finish saying.

“Do you mean to tell me someone has caught your attention for more than one night?” Mark’s mouth hung open as he sat erected in his chair.
He’s such a fuckin’ herb.

“I ain’t even hit yet
,” I spurred with sophistication in my tone to further get under his skin.

“How long have you known her?” Eric
suddenly asked in disbelief.

“Yeah, a brother needs to know!” Mark chimed in.

“I met her at the top of the year but we’ve been kicking it since…like February,” I stated proudly. There was a pregnant pause. To do the math in terms of time, Mark’s gaze fell upon the table while Eric stared at something in the distance behind me.

“How long before you dump her, Azmir?” Eric asked resolutely.

“Well, she’s still marketing herself. So far she’s doing a hell of job,” I informed with confidence.
But I still need to taste that ass.
My dick got hard just thinking about it.

“No, what he means is how long will it be before you get tired of the Virgin Mary act?” Mark thought he’d clarify.

“Yeah Az, you know women throw their panties at you. You’re not the holding out type!” Eric heckled, and although he tried to mask it, I knew his assumptions were genuine.

I sat there and questioned why I was subjecting myself to this judgmental interrogation. My goons back in L.A. wouldn’t dare question my game. There are just some lines we don’t cross and this was one of them. They may ask if I hit it or if I was really feeling a chic but never this
touchy-feely
shit these dudes loved analyzing.

“If ass is what I need, I can make a call and guess what
—ass is what I’ll get. You guys are killing my character and you’re supposed to be my boys…two of few who I call friends,” I tried to sound offended. 

“Yeah, but Az
—” Mark tried until I interrupted.

“…I
’ve had my fair share of women. That’s not news to us but what is—is that I’ll be turning thirty-seven in a couple of months. I need the right woman to continue this journey with,” I used a bit of candor.

“What type of woman? A hood rat?” Eric asked and he and Mark cracked the hell up.

“Nah, a woman with class…” I tried to explain once they were done.

“Define class
,” Eric demanded. “The classiest woman you’ve taken seriously was Tara,” he continued.

“Try the
only
woman,” Mark scoffed.

“Well…” I paused before continuing. I contemplated getting so pers
onal with them about private matters. I’m not comfortable discussing them.

“Well…what’s her name? Tell us about her
,” Mark insisted.

I figured
what the hell
. “Her name is Rayna Brimm. She’s a physical therapist at a sports medicine center in one of my suites on the rec’s property.”

“Describe her!” Mark drooled.

“Come on, man. You’re buggin’,” I warned.

“Okay, you’re making it up!” Eric slapped the table, attempting reverse psychology.

“Why do I even bother with you guys, man! Eric, man, you wanna know what she smells like, too?” I yelled in jest, to which Mark fell over in laughter.

“Give it up, Jacobs!” Mark tried taking a breath, asking for more information.

“…acting real female-like!” I mumbled to myself before saying out loud, “Her glowing brown skin is more like a caramel shade, she’s about five foot seven and weighs between one thrity-five and one forty. She’s a dime for real. Her conversation is inspiring and she loves to laugh…even makes jokes about herself. She’s familiar and mysterious all at the same time…like she doesn’t press me for much, and as stimulating as that is, it makes me wonder if the reason why is because she doesn’t want to be pressed. Of course, that would mean she has something to hide. I just wanna make sure she’s legit, you know?!” I said waking from my trance. 

“You’re serious…?” Eric
declared, appearing really shocked.

“Oh, yeah
,” I answered with furrowed eyebrows.

Shaking his head, Mark alleged, “No! Jacobs is making this all up. It’s just as he use
d to do in undergrad. He’s pulling our chain!”

“Come on, man! You’re buggin’!” I blew off the comment with a wave.

Eric reasoned, “Azmir, I’ve never heard you speak of a woman as if she’s more than an object created for orgasms. If this Rayna Brimm really exists it means you’re evolving, man. Cheers to you!” he lifted his glass to me.

“I’m having a re-opening at my club in Venice in two weeks. We just got confirmation of the performer. If this girl truly exists
—materialize her there!” Mark assumed he had cornered me.

“Ah man! You know I don’t like my chin being tested like that. I don’t know, my nigga.”

“How convenient,” Eric said feigning disappointment; he was goading me. Mark just shook his head.

“Okay, let’s do this…I’ll bring my little mamma if you, Eric, b
ring Natasha and Mark brings his new blonde lover,” I tested.

Things got quiet for a while. Testosteronic fumes were looming over the table. I didn’t know if they’d take the challenge but I had to put it out there.

“I’m in,” Eric said with resolved reluctance.

After another long pause Mark shrugged his shoulders, sighed and
mumbled, “Agreed.”

The next morning I asked Rayna to attend Petey’s wife, Kim’s
, fortieth birthday party and Mark’s reopening with me. Surprisingly, she said yes to both right off the bat.

~~~~~~~~~~

Rayna

Azmir invited me to Kim’s birthday party. From the moment we walked through the door I noticed the sheer difference in atmospheres between this club and Cobalt. The patrons ranged from ghetto fabulous to bottom of the barrel hood. I’m not quite sure why but it all took me by surprise. I had to check my bourgeois card at the door. No, in fact, the car! The
women and men were eyeballing the hell out of us from the door. If I thought Azmir was “somebody” anyplace else, it came nowhere near his status here. He was like the President of the United States. The girls were breaking their necks, whispering to each other and sucking their teeth. I remained composed and maintained my stride. It was uncomfortable at first but the reverence that was paid to Azmir by most reminded me that I had little to worry about in terms of safety.

Not too long after our arrival
, Chanell popped up. Seeing her familiar face did a lot for my comfort level. She had a few friends with her but you could tell they were not connected to the ‘Clan’ like she was. She had access to V.I.P. while they stayed at bay. She was as loud and vibrant as always. There was something very endearing about her personality. I understood that Azmir was our common denominator but I felt like she genuinely liked me. She was real. I’m sure Azmir wouldn’t have a problem if we weren’t friendly so she wasn’t obligated to befriend me. She complimented me on my attire and I shared how I admired her hair. Chanell wore the hell out of that tight curl style with her gold and brown highlights. It was gorgeous! She really strongly resembled the actress, Rachel True—until she opened her mouth.

In the middle of our chatting
, a B.I.G. track came bursting through the speakers. We both jumped up in wonderment. Once I realized we shared the same sentiment I was compelled to hit the dance floor. We made our way there without thought. Once we found a spot we swayed and sashayed and bellowed out lyrics like they were our very own. It was invigorating. Her friends were right there with us and we formed a cipher. It was cool being with the girls from around the way as long as they stayed in their lanes.

A few songs later
, this random guy walks up on me and grabs me by the waist. I jumped and managed my way out of his clench. I told him not to touch me. I hate when dudes act as if women are objects and invade our privacy as if we have none. This little prick really tried to flex by getting in my face with, “Bitch, you ain’t all that! I’ll snatch your dumb ass up outta here.”

Chanell jumped in with, “Yo, Mikey, take yo’ little ass somewhere. This Divine girl. You ‘bout to get yo’ ass handed to you
,” she warned. When his facial expression went from upset to shocked, I realized that I knew him from somewhere.

“Dis’ right here is Divine girl? Fuck outta here
,” the kid said in disbelief.

As Chanell continued digging in his ass my recollection returned. I realized where I knew him from. Not only was he the kid who tried to play me at the dance competition my first night at Cobalt but I’d seen him before then. Just as I was about to cuss his ass out
, I see like five dudes swarming. They grabbed the kid off his feet as if he was a toddler. They yoked him up by his hood so hard and fast he literally gagged mid-sentence. I was shaken.     

I shot straight back to the V.I.P. section to Azmir. As I got closer
, I could see him calmly sitting there with his eyes glued to me. When I entered the section, he rose to his feet as if he were bracing himself. I immediately told him how I knew his little goon.

~~~~~~~~~~

Azmir

Petey’s old lady’s gig was at my club called
The Joint
in Compton off Long Beach Blvd. When I picked Rayna up, I didn’t realize how sexy she looked until we got out of the car.

She wore a tan colored vest that fell a bit above her naval
, showing the contour of her shape with a pair of ripped jeans that were hugging her hips and fell just below her calves. She rocked gold stilettos topped it off. What really caught my attention was the Salvatore Ferragamo bag she wore. I wasn’t sure of the type of Ferragamo but I knew it was Ferragamo. I have a mean designer shoe and handbag fetish; I know my work! Don’t get me wrong, Rayna had always dressed stylish and sexy even while at work but there was something bracing about seeing her outside of her business attire. When we were in Mexico, I took note of how she wore a lot of sexy bathing suits and wraps with T-shirts. Her style of dress was stimulating.

Inside the club was a zoo. Anytime the
‘Clan’ had an event here, the people came out in droves. As Rayna and I walked in you heard the whispers and even the women also referred to as ghetto birds clucking really loud. I even heard one say, “
Ohhhhh, look at him!
” and another say, “
Mmmmm, no he ain’t!
” I thought the chatter would cause Rayna to react or look tight but she didn’t. She maintained her face and walked right through.

From the time we hit the door
, my people were shouting me out. Even people I didn’t know was giving me dap. I was used to this but again, I didn’t want Rayna to feel uneasy with it all. We got to the V.I.P. section, where the bodyguards were visibly in the house, and grabbed a seat. Wop came over and asked why we were so late. At first glance, I had to wonder why he was questioning me, but quickly remembered that he was responsible for the coordination of my security seeing that Petey was tied up playing host and Kid was watching over him. I was proud of Wop for stepping up in the ‘Clan’. I gave him a few words of explanation about the traffic and he gave me the rundown for the night. I tried to stay under Rayna. After all, she was in a bloods and crips infested area. I mean, her safety wasn’t exactly a concern but this was her first time here with me and people didn’t know who she was. 

I started scowling the place for Chanell’s ass. Unbeknownst to me, she and Rayna hit it off big in
Mexico. After that trip it seemed like everyone was crazy about Rayna—except that damn Syn. The reason why Rayna got such rave reviews is because she represented when those clowns tried to rob us. She’s suddenly become my ride or die chick in my goons’ eyes. Every thug needs a woman that will throw down with them in the time of need.

Petey wanted me to marry her after that. He was definitely hard on himself believing he should’ve come that night with us but was too tired to. I told him I didn’t recall asking him to come, I was with a lady. I’d had enough of the
‘Clan’ and their business by that time. Come to find out, the cats that tried to rob me were small time hustlers who knew I was in town and the nature of my visit. They’d seen me with my goons earlier at the hot spot in passing. Someone dropped dime about our business and how I was at the helm. It was by coincidence that I’d been walking down that alley later that evening. They thought they’d struck gold when they recognized me. I made sure to inform my connect. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t a set up. My peoples apologized and told me they’d look into it. Last I’d heard my assailants’ bodies were found in a field near the hot spot.