Chapter 4
J rue
I stared down at my phone as the word Bae danced back and forth across my screen.
It was the second time in three days that I’d seen the contact that I’d never saved in my phone.
The first time it popped up, confusion almost made me answer the call.
It only took a second for it to register that it was Ian’s phone number.
I didn’t even know if I should call him that anymore.
Supreme Ian McNabb was a thirty-year-old rapper who simply went by the rap name Supreme. How the hell did I not recognize him? There was the fact that I didn’t listen to rap or hardly any new music at all, nor did I follow celebrity news. I was all the way out of the loop, but now I was locked in.
For three days, I went down a rabbit hole of who Supreme the rapper was.
Curse me for never listening to Jeremiah’s music.
I didn’t have to do much research, because Jeremiah knew all about him.
I found myself sneak listening to his music and actually enjoying it.
Supreme was a pretty good rapper, and that came from someone who didn’t listen to rap at all.
That was all well and good, but there was no way I could keep seeing him now. He was famous.
What the hell was I going to do with someone famous? Be a jump-off? Yeah, I was good on that. I knew damn well the man didn’t want anything more than someone to screw when he was in the area. He was sexy and sweet and all, but I was sure that I had seen the last of him.
For the tenth time since he’d made me breakfast and walked out of my life, I considered deleting Ian’s number.
I hadn’t called him in all this time, so there was no reason to start now.
Well, there was the immaculate dick and superb tongue work.
He was dangerous actually. That was all the more reason for me to stay away.
I never planned on calling him at this point, so I had no idea why I couldn’t bring myself to delete his number.
As I sat at my desk going over the vision board for my next event, yet another call came in. This time, it was a video call. I sighed and shook my head at Supreme’s persistence. His calling on video was actually a good thing. I needed to tell him this was just a one-night stand over the phone.
I released the air from my lungs as I swiped the button to answer the call.
He appeared on the screen within seconds.
His hair was down, framing his strong jaw.
A fresh lineup made him look cleaner than he had when I saw him last. He was still just as handsome, strikingly so even.
There was no telling how many women he had. See why this was too much?
“Why didn’t you tell me you were famous?” I fired off immediately.
“Fame implies that I’m well known. If I was so famous, I wouldn’t have had to tell you who I was.”
“Oh, you told me who you were. You just lied.”
“I didn’t lie. My name is Ian.”
“So I’ve found.”
His mouth curved into that cunning grin of his. His smile was unnerving. “You googled me, Choc?”
“I’m not playing with you, Ian.”
“I didn’t intend to lie to you, Jrue. I thought you were pretending at first, then I kinda liked that you didn’t know who I was.
Do you know the last time I didn’t have to wonder if a woman laughed at my joke because I’m Supreme the rapper and not just because I’m hilarious? It felt good to be liked for being me.”
“Who said I liked you?”
“Why else would you save my name in your phone as bae if you didn’t like me?”
I laughed. “I wasn’t the one who did that.”
“But you answered, and you knew it was bae on the line. Say you didn’t.”
“I figured it was you,” I said, rolling my eyes playfully.
“What’s your favorite flower, Jrue? It’s been weeks since I gave you flowers. I know better than to assume that all women like roses.”
“When did you give me flowers the first time?”
“The night we met.”
“You mean the rose you stole from that party?”
“Yes, the one I knew would look better on you.”
“To answer your question, I’m a simple girl. I like roses.”
“Good. I like simple.”
“Ian, don’t send me any flowers.”
“See how you still see me as Ian? I like that. Look, they’re calling me back for this radio interview. Be on the lookout for a couple of deliveries, though.”
“Didn’t I just say don’t send me?—”
The screen went blank, indicating that he had hung up.
I shook my head, knowing that he would only be persistent for a little while.
Men liked the thrill of the chase. I was just a shiny, new toy right now.
Soon, he would move on. He could do anything he wanted to do, but this was not about to be a thing.
I was not about to disrupt my life trying to be a groupie to a rapper who thought gifts were substitutions for loyalty and respect.
Some girls wanted to live that life; more power to them.
As for me, give me a no-named nigga who loved me for me any day.
I didn’t need fame or fortune. I just wanted love and happiness.
My Ring camera dinged, alerting me that someone was at the door.
Lottie was supposed to come over to watch the new episodes of our guilty pleasure show, Not My Baby Mama .
I couldn’t wait to find out if Sharanda was pregnant again or not.
I hated Lottie for getting me hooked on her trashy soaps, but now I hated to miss them.
The storyline was ghetto as hell, but the acting and writing made it one of the most watched shows on TV.
The knock on my door put some pep in my step. I was so ready to see my girl.
“I hope y’all don’t be in here with all that laughing and giggling,” Jeremiah snarked as I passed his room.
“Boy, shut up. I don’t say nothing when you and your musty friends get on that football game.”
“You know that’s a lie. You always curse us out for being loud.”
“Well, I’m about to show you how it feels in a few minutes.”
“Y’all lame as hell for watching that dumb ass show anyway.”
“Boy, what did I tell you about your mouth?”
“You know I just like messing with you, Sis. When is Supreme coming back? I want him to autograph something for me.”
“That’s none of your business, but just so you don’t get your hopes up, he’s not coming back.”
“Aww man, Jrue, you ran him off that fast? What did you do?”
“Um, excuse me, I don’t have to answer to you,” I said, finally opening the door for my girl.
The smile that I would have worn to greet Lottie quickly fell because she wasn’t alone. It took a few seconds for me to realize that the man holding the huge bouquet of black roses wasn’t with her.
“Jrue with a J?” the man asked.
“Yes.” I nodded, taking the humongous glass vase from him.
“This too,” he said, extending a black box.
“Girl, who the hell sent you all this?” Lottie asked, yanking the box from the man’s hand before I could take it. He didn’t seem to mind my friend’s rudeness as he quickly scurried away.
“This guy I met.” I filled her in.
“This guy you met. When did you meet a guy, Jrucilla?”
“Dang, I don’t have to tell you every little detail of my life.”
“Yes, you do. I’m your life coach. I need to know things so I can coach you effectively.”
“I wish you would resign from your position as my self-appointed life coach.”
“Not until we both live happily ever after.”
“Happiness is a construct, Carlotta.”
“Don’t start that pessimistic shit tonight. You just got a million black roses for your black heart.”
“They are gorgeous, aren’t they?” I said, nuzzling my nose in them as I placed them on the coffee table.
“Girl, fuck them dead roses. This watch is everything. Who the hell is this mystery man? He must be rich, girl.”
I sighed, releasing a deep breath as I decided how much I wanted to tell my friend. I plopped down on the couch before I spoke.
“The night of the mystery celebrity party, I met this guy. It was just a conversation, but he gave me his number.”
“And you actually called him? Go, you.”
“No, you know I didn’t. I ran into him again at Jrake’s party.”
“He a party hopper? No wonder you ain’t feeling him.”
“He’s Supreme, girl.”
“Supreme who?”
“The rapper?”
“You mean the real Supreme?”
“Yes, girl! I didn’t know who he was until after he came over to see me. Jeremiah had to tell me.”
“So, he came here? Did you give him some? How was it? Tell me everything! Is he as fine in person as he is on TV?”
“Dang, girl. Calm down. Can I see my own gift?”
“Oh, sorry. What kind of snacks you got? I brought our favorite popcorn. We need something else.” Lottie reached in her oversized bag and pulled out a box of movie theater popcorn. She tossed a couple of bags of gummy bears on the table.
“I got cookies on the kitchen counter.”
“I’ll grab them.”
When Lottie left the room, I took that as my chance to open the box.
My mouth formed an O as the lights in the room danced off the diamonds on the watch Ian had sent me.
This was too much. My heart raced as I moved closer to the coffee table.
Hurriedly, I plucked the card from the plastic stick jutting from the roses.
I hated seeing your wrist naked, Choc. I hope your roses make up for the two weeks I missed. It won’t happen again. Black roses for my black rose.
“You like him, Jrue. Look at your ass cheesing.” Lottie teased as she pranced into the room holding a bag of popped popcorn.
“I am not cheesing.”
“Whatever. You might be able to convince yourself that you don’t want that man, but I can see right through you.”
“What the hell am I going to do with a celebrity, girl? Can you imagine how them bloggers would drag my life?”
“Girl, fuck them miserable people. If you like him, I say go for it.”
“Of course, you do.”
“Of course, I’m going to tell you to do what makes you happy. That’s what friends are for.”
“Child, I’m not thinking about any of that right now,” I lied.