Authors: Skyy
Consequences (2 page)
Chapter 2
The smell of bacon and eggs aroused Denise's senses long before her body woke up. Rhonda was cooking breakfast, something Denise had become used to every morning. She got up and headed into the kitchen. The table was filled with all of her favorites.
“Damn, did you cook everything in the fridge? It's only two of us,” Denise said. She didn't know why she was annoyed with Rhonda.
Rhonda placed a heaping plate of food at Denise's seat at the table. “I'm sorry, Denise. I'll buy some more food to cover what I used. I know it's a lot. I just wanted to do something special for you since you made me feel so special last night.”
Denise gave Rhonda a curious look. “I did?”
“Yes, woman, remember what you told me?” Rhonda kissed Denise on her forehead. “That laying next to me was the way things are supposed to be.”
Denise immediately felt guilty. She knew she was not thinking about Rhonda last night. She yawned. “Yeah, uh, I was real tired. I'm not even sure what I said last night. This looks good.” She quickly began to eat to avoid any more questions.
Rhonda's heart stopped. It wasn't the answer she expected. “Well, you know I gotta feed my girl.” She sighed as she sat down with her plate.
They heard the door open.
“Bruhhhhh!” Cooley yelled as she burst into the room.
“Oh, snap. I thought I was picking you up tonight,” Denise said as she hugged her best friend.
“Well, maybe if you would check your voice and text messages, you would know I caught an earlier flight. What the fuck did I get you a Sidekick for anyway?”
“I've been checking my messages whenever I get them. I haven't had any,” Denise said, looking down at her phone.
A loud noise erupted.
“Oh, sorry,” Rhonda said, picking up the pieces of a plate that she threw into the sink. She wasn't expecting Cooley to show up till later. Erasing Denise's messages hadn't worked after all.
Cooley's expression changed. She threw Denise an evil stare. “Oh. Hey,” she said to Rhonda with as much attitude as possible.
“Hi,” Rhonda said, returning the same amount of attitude. “Well, I need to get home, so Denise I will see you later, OK,” Rhonda said as she headed to Denise's room to put her clothes on.
Cooley looked over at Denise. She frowned. “Why is she still here?” She did not like Rhonda at all.
“Shhhh. She might hear you,” Denise answered.
“Whatever, man, I'm definitely going to have to hook you up with someone else. I preferred that ho-ass Crystal over that bitch,” Cooley responded.
“Man, come on, I know you don't like her, but ...” Denise stopped talking when Rhonda walked back into the room.
“Do you need me to bring anything to your practice?” Rhonda leaned down and placed a long, sensual kiss on Denise's lips.
Cooley made a gagging expression.
“Nah, I'm good. I'll just see you later. There is actually no need to come to my practice.”
Rhonda looked confused. She loved watching Denise play during practice. “Butâ”
“After practice, OK! Bye, Rhonda.” Denise knew she had to cut her off.
“All right, if that's what you want.” Rhonda tried to kiss Denise, but she moved her face. Rhonda looked up at Cooley ,who was trying to hold in her laughter, and stomped out the door.
“Man, come on, she is so damn phony! You can do so much better,” Cooley remarked as she headed to her room.
Denise followed.
Cooley sighed when she walked into her room. She didn't realize how much she had missed home. Her room was decked out better than most bachelor pads. A large black and white abstract painting of a woman's body hung on her wall. Her colognes and shades were lined up perfectly along her dresser. The collection of fitted baseball caps decorated another side of the wall, each in its own spot. A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room against the back wall. The black and white Ralph Lauren bed set accented with red throw pillows was one of her favorite things in the room. Cooley had an unmistakable sense of style.
“Cooley, she isn't that bad.” Denise remembered that when Rhonda met Cooley, she immediately had an attitude with her. Rhonda always questioned why Denise was friends with Cooley and Carmen, as she didn't like either one of them.
“Man, that girl is bad news, but the pussy must be nice 'cause you're still with her stank ass.”
“She isn't that bad, and I wouldn't know about the pussy thing,” Denise said as she leaned against the wall in Cooley's room.
Cooley stopped unpacking. “You been shackin' up with the bitch all these months and you haven't fucked? Bro, what the hell is going on with you?”
Before Denise could answer, Cooley responded, “I know you are not still stuck up on Lena.”
Denise remained quiet.
“Damn bro, you either need to go fuck her or let her go, but all this pining over her isn't going to get you anywhere.”
“Who you tellin'? I'm trying to get over her. Shit, I can't get that kiss out of my head.”
The image of Lena kissing Denise immediately entered her mind. She couldn't forget the kiss they'd shared on the last day of school last year. She couldn't forget the intensity and passion that was filled in the minute-long kiss.
“We haven't spoken all summer. I haven't seen her. She's gonna be married at the end of the semester.” Denise sighed. “I know she's made her choice, but I don't know what to do to get over her.”
“Well, maybe if you find a girl to take your mind off of her.” Cooley threw a bag to Denise.
“That's what I got with Rhonda for,” Denise said. “What's all this?” Denise asked and started pulling things out of the bag. It was filled with CDs and a bottle of cologne.
“Oh, some things I got for you this summer. Check that scent out. It's Unforgivable by Sean Jean. Hot shit.”
Denise nodded in approval of her gifts.
“And I meant a real woman.” Cooley laughed. “Seriously, man, if you aren't gonna get wit' Lena, then you need to let it go. Hey, since we have this phat-ass crib now, how about we throw a back-to-school party? I got some great mixes from Jam Zone. What do you think?”
Cooley had spent the summer interning at Jam Zone Record Label. She got the connection when she met Sonic, one of the label's artists, last year in Atlanta.
“If that's what you want to do, then fine. I'm down for it,” Denise said over her shoulder as she walked out the room.
Denise lay down on her bed and looked around the room. She didn't decorate her room like her lavish best friend. The only thing they had in common was how neat they kept their wardrobes. Her fitted hats lined the side of her wall, hanging on individual nails. Her shoe collection was lined up perfectly in her closet, complete with almost every color of Air Force Ones. She looked out of the window and wondered what Lena was up to.
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“I have died and gone to heaven,” Carmen said as she looked at the long table filled with miniature cakes.
“Lena, you are going to have to take my dress out 'cause I plan on tasting every last one of these bad boys,” Misha added as she looked at the table.
The baker came out of the back room. “Well, Ms. Jamerson, these are the crème de la crème. Please take your time tasting all of them. You may mix and match whatever you would like for your wedding. After all we are here to please you.”
Lena smiled. “Thank you. Please leave me and my friends, and we will ring when we are finished.” She walked up to the table as the woman politely left the room. “Let's get started.”
Carmen and Misha looked at Lena as they grabbed forks and began to sample each small cake.
“Damn, the perks of marrying someone rich. Damn, I am mad as hell about it,” Carmen joked as she sampled a piece of a cake that tasted like coffee.
“Yeah, well,” Lena said as she sampled something with a strawberry on top. “Who better to share this with than my girls?”
“I still can't believe it's only a few months until you're a married woman,” Misha squealed in delight. “Oh my God, this vanilla cream is unbelievable.”
Carmen ran over to try a piece of Misha's discovery. They looked up at Lena, realizing she was standing still, a concerned look on her face.
“Lena, are you OK?” she asked.
Lena turned around when she heard the question. “Yeah, I'm just a little light-headed. I haven't been getting much sleep lately.”
“Girl, you better slow down before you wear yourself out. You don't have to do everything. You should hire that Mr. Fabulous guy to do your wedding. His shit is off the chain,” Misha added.
“No, I wanted to do my own wedding. I do have a wonderful wedding planner, but certain things I want to do myself. I just need a good night's sleep.” Lena smiled. She knew that was not her only problem. “So are you all ready for your senior year?” she asked Carmen and Misha, both seniors.
“I am so ready to be done with school. When I finish, me and Nic are moving to L.A.,” Carmen said. She was still with her girlfriend Nicole. Carmen had never been so happy before.
“I'm not too excited. Once I graduate I still have law school,” Misha said as she headed into the dressing room to change.
“At least you're done with most of it. I'm just a junior, and I am only a junior because of the summer school classes and overload from last year,” Lena said.
“Yes, but you are finishing in three years instead of four,” Carmen yelled from her dressing room. “Hell, at least you're smart enough to finish. Most girls about to marry a millionaire would be barefoot and pregnant by now.”
Lena knew that Brandon wanted her to quit school and start working on the home, but she was determined to finish, in case she and Brandon didn't make it.
Carmen's phone rang 50 Cent's “P.I.M.P.”
Misha and Lena both stopped what they were doing. They knew Cooley's ring tone.
“Hey, bro, you're back!” Carmen squealed. “How was Atlanta?”
Lena continued to sample cake as Misha tried to pay attention to Carmen's conversation.
“Misha, are you all right?” Lena asked when she noticed the expression on her face.
“I'm fine. I just, well, I guess I forgot that I was going to be around Cooley again,” Misha said, putting her head down.
“You don't have to be around her too much. I'm sure Carmen will understand if you pass on a few events. I have to as well.” Lena almost caught herself mentioning Denise, but it was too late.
“Why, Lena, because of Denise?” Misha looked Lena straight in her face.
Lena had to tell the truth. “Yes, OK, it's 'cause of Denise. So what?” Lena said, walking out of the dressing room. Misha followed her.
“Girl, did something go on between you and Dee last year?” Misha questioned.
Lena had never told Misha about the incident last year. She had planned on sleeping with Denise the night of the athletic banquet, but things were changed when Brandon asked her to marry him. When she got to her dorm, Denise had changed her mind, knowing that having sex with her would complicate her life.
“Nothing happened. We kissed, but that's it.” Lena thought about the kiss; it was the most intense and passionate kiss she had experienced. The only problem now was, kissing Brandon was not enough for her. She always desired more.
“Misha, can we drop this please?” Lena said, noticing Carmen walking out of the dressing room.
“Hey, guys, we've been invited to a welcome back to school party at Cooley and Denise's new apartment.”
“We? Does Cooley know I would be coming?” Misha questioned.
“Yes. She asked me to tell you. Oh, and you too, Lena.” Carmen looked at Lena, who was grabbing the name cards off their favorite cakes.
The wedding cake maker walked back into the room.
“I can't make it. I have to go to a dinner with Brandon, but I'll send them a housewarming gift.” Lena looked at the baker. “I need to have samples of all of these sent to my house for Brandon to try.” Lena handed the woman the cards. “I gotta finish up here. I will talk to you women later, OK? Take whatever cakes you want with you.”
The baker grabbed some boxes and bags and gave them to Carmen and Misha. Lena quickly followed the woman into the office, leaving Carmen and Misha surrounded by the leftover cakes.
“I wonder what that was all about,” Carmen said as she packed up her favorite samples.
“Oh, come on, girl, you already know, don't you?” Misha replied, sneaking another piece of the strawberry cake.
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