Chapter 5 #2
For all I knew, Celeste could’ve stepped out and been unfaithful first, but I knew that shit wasn’t it.
Spinna was kissing Serenity’s ass way too hard for that to be the case.
This nigga had a beautiful woman who ran her own business and this was the shit he was out here doing.
Even if Celeste clocked in to a nine to five, she still deserved better than Spinna’s lame ass.
Serenity was a beautiful woman, but she was young, and I prayed this industry wouldn’t chew her up and spit her out.
She was drinking from his glass with her arm wrapped around his waist. Spinna wasn’t all smiles, but he damn sure wasn’t acting like he had a woman.
The last thing I saw of the two was Serenity running a hand down the side of Spinna’s face before Tripp pulled my attention.
“Man, look to your right and tell me what you peep,” he said when he took a seat next to me.
I couldn’t do shit but shake my head when I saw my cousin in a nearby section. Deontay’s ass stood on the couch with a bottle in each hand, rapping the lyrics to the song word for word. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve thought it was his birthday from the way he was carrying on.
“That shit crazy.”
“That’s that shit Unc was talkin’ about. Nigga in the club with two hundred thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry on and you wonder why Unc don’t want young people in his shit. But I’m the bad guy.”
“Ay, wear the Michael Myers mask with pride, my boy. His ass ain’t gon’ ever grow up. If he gave a fuck about takin’ over the business, he’d be somewhere other than in here every weekend.”
“How much was the bottle?” I asked, shifting the focus from Deontay.
“This shit was only eighty. Shorty said since we already had a section the bottles were cheaper.”
Tripp tapped the cork and tilted the bottle for me to do the same. Once the bottle was blessed, he opened it and poured a glass.
“Pour your own troubles, my nigga,” he said, taking a sip of the dark liquor.
As the night went on, Tripp and I continued to chill.
A few strippers gave us dances, but I wasn’t really in the mood.
Celeste was on my mind and I wondered what she was doing while her lame ass boyfriend was out here making a fool of her.
This party had way too many cameras and people for Spinna’s ass to be so careless.
“Yooo, I’m about to dip out in a minute. Marissa said she’s on her way to get me. I thought she was fuckin’ around, but she sent her location,” Tripp said as he showed me his phone.
“It’s cool. I was ready to leave myself.”
Standing from the couch, I looked over and saw Jay had no women on his lap right now.
I took that opportunity to wish him a happy birthday before we left the section.
The club was still packed, but not as much as it had been when we arrived.
The fresh air blessed my nostrils as soon as we stepped outside.
“How far is your lady?”
“She pullin’ up in one minute,” Tripp answered.
When I went to acknowledge him, commotion not far from us caught our attention.
Since it was so dark out, it was hard to make out faces, but when the voices stepped closer to the streetlight, I saw Spinna’s face and Serenity not too far from him.
She wasn’t the woman doing the yelling, so I kept my gaze in their direction until Celeste came into view.
“Allen, fuck you! I fuckin’ hate you and wish you would leave me the fuck alone and stay where you’re happy at! I’m tired of this shit!” Celeste yelled, pain laced through every word.
“Baby, it’s not like that. We were only talking. Nothing else happened.”
“If nothing else happened, why the fuck are there pictures all over the blogs with your lips on her?” she countered, pointing her finger toward Serenity.
“I’m sorry, Celeste. I love you so fuckin’ much, baby.”
One of his homeboys came up and my attention was pulled away by the headlights coming in our direction. The driver’s side window rolled down and a brown skinned woman spoke to Tripp.
“Come get yo’ ass in the car. You stay thinkin’ you need to be outside somewhere,” she spat playfully.
I didn’t get a good look at her, but I for sure saw the pink bonnet on her head. She also had on a pair of black framed glasses, but that was all I could make out.
“Woman, don’t be pullin’ up on no bullshit. Nobody told yo’ ass to be grown and come get me. Anyway, bae, this my homeboy, Shane. Shane, this my lil baby, Marissa. If she act right, maybe I’ll keep her around long enough for her to earn that sis title,” he joked.
“How you doin’, miss lady? Text me when y’all make it in safely.”
“Bet, stay safe, bruh.”
Before they were even out of the parking lot, I was in my truck and pulling out of my parking spot.
Turning onto the main road, I damn near slammed on the brakes when I saw Celeste standing on the sidewalk.
Her head was buried in her phone and I could tell she was crying.
Hitting the button to turn on my hazard lights, I pulled over and got out of my truck.
“Celeste? Is that you?” I questioned.
I walked up slowly, with my hands up so she’d know I wasn’t trying to harm her. Once I was a little closer, her shoulders relaxed and she let out a breath of relief.
“Shane? What are you doing out here?”
“I was at the club tonight. I was on my way home and noticed you over here. Why are you outside this late, and alone? Where’s your car?” I threw out.
“I didn’t drive here. I was so mad I couldn’t drive, so I took a U-Ride. I’m trying to order another, but they keep switching my damn driver!” she cried.
“Let me take you home.”
“No. I’m okay.”
“Where’s Spinna?”
Her head snapped at my question and she didn’t answer me. All I got was a head shake that signaled she wouldn’t be answering me.
“Celeste, let me take you home. If not home, at least somewhere safe. All I know is I’m not leaving you out here to wait for no damn U-Ride,” I stated honestly.
“Why do you care? You don’t even know me!”
“I don’t know you, but we’re familiar. I care about the safety of a woman, period.”
I saw the exact moment her phone died and that was when she lost it.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Throwing her phone to the ground, Celeste stomped on it until the device was in pieces. She was spiraling and I’d seen enough.
“I’m gonna take your hand and walk you to the passenger side of my truck. Is that okay?” I quizzed in a low tone.
Her beautiful face was stained with old tears and her eyes were red and puffy.
Even in the middle of having a breakdown, Celeste exuded nothing but beauty.
Her hair was curled the same way it had been when I saw her last week and her graphic T-shirt and cotton shorts let me know she had probably been chilling before all of this.
Carefully, I reached out and grabbed her hand.
When she didn’t resist, I gently pulled her in my direction.
I opened the door with my free hand when we approached my truck and helped her inside.
Rounding the truck to the other side, I slid in and turned the overhead light on the low setting.
“Do you wanna use my phone to call anyone?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
“No.”
“Okay. Where would you like to go?”
“Anywhere but back to that house.”
“I got you.”
Turning my hazard lights off, I waited for traffic to clear so I could pull back onto the road.
Tonight was taking a turn I hadn’t expected and I only hoped I was doing the right thing.
Honestly, it would’ve fucked me up had I not made sure Celeste was okay.
Her phone going dead only let me know I was at the right place at the right time.
Her ass shouldn’t have been out here in the first place, when her weak ass boyfriend was right at the club.
This was the second strike in one night where Spinna’s ass had rubbed me wrong.
Even if you not gon’ fuck with somebody, have the decency to be a stand-up man and make sure the lady got home safe.
I had half a mind to take Celeste back to my condo, but I wanted her to feel safe. She was right when she said we didn’t know each other. Even if I never saw her after tonight, I needed her to know my intentions were pure when it came to her safety.
For twenty minutes, we rode in silence. The only sound that could be heard was her sniffling every now and again. Pulling up to the gate, I put my code in and parked behind my mother’s truck.
“Is this your house?” she asked in a panic.
“Calm down, shorty. This is my mom’s place. I figured you’d feel better over here.”
“Are you leaving me here alone? Your mom doesn’t know me. Hell, you don’t know me.”
Unbuckling my seat belt, I turned the truck off and exited. It wasn’t until I was at her side that I spoke again.
“We already established we didn’t know each other, so there’s no need for you to keep stating the obvious.
My mother doesn’t know you, but she knows me.
Meaning, she won’t be on no weird shit. She’ll treat you with kindness unless you personally give her a reason to treat you otherwise.
And no, I wouldn’t leave you alone with her.
Like you said, we don’t know each other, so what do I look like leaving my mother alone with a stranger? ”
A part of me was being an asshole because I was starting to get annoyed.
The situation we were in was unconventional, but she could’ve told me to take her ass home.
Since she’d left the ball in my court, I was doing what I felt was right.
She kept saying we didn’t know each other, but clearly, she trusted me enough for us to get this far.
Her expression was one of awe. Celeste was taken aback but I didn’t care.
“Again, would you like me to take you home?”
Instead of answering with words, she peered at me before stretching her hand for me to take. When I thought about it being two-thirty in the morning, I knew my mom would have some smart shit to say. Like I knew she’d be, my mother stood at the front door with her piece in hand.
“Shane, what is going on?”
“Sorry for waking you up, Ma. I hadn’t planned on coming by this late, but I wanted to bring Celeste here. You remember her from the store the other day?” I asked.
Familiarity glistened in my mother’s eyes before she spoke.
“Oh yes, uh, Luxe Creation?”
“Luxe Addiction,” Celeste corrected respectfully.
“Well, come on in, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is cool. Can we sleep in the guest rooms tonight?”
“Of course. Are you sure you’re okay, son?”
“Yes, Momma. We’re both fine. Celeste, I’ll grab you something from upstairs to sleep in so you can shower.”
As I made my way upstairs, I heard my mother’s voice fading as she told Celeste not to step on the carpet with her shoes.
I laughed on the inside since I hadn’t been able to prepare her for my mother’s personality.
Approaching the door to my old bedroom, I walked to the dresser and pulled out a plain white T-shirt and basketball shorts.
I was sure the clothes would swallow Celeste, but at least she’d be able to wash away the events from today.
By the time I returned downstairs, my mom had already shown Celeste to the guest room on the first floor.
The shower water was already running and I decided to put the clothes on the bed without making my presence known.
I settled for a seat at the table and waited for my mother to join me.
As cool as she was being right now, I knew she would want an explanation about what the hell was going on.
The thought of trying to explain was already exhausting, but I hoped the short version would be good enough for tonight.
The sound of the door clicking pulled me from my thoughts.
In her burgundy robe, my mother made her way to the table with a blank expression.
“I’m sorry, Momma. I really didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“Boy, hush, it’s fine. It’s not like I got nobody’s job to wake up for. Now, what the hell is really going on and how did you end up with the owner of the store?”
Starting from the moment I’d met Celeste, I ran down the order of events that had led me here.
I didn’t go too much into detail about her having a boyfriend, but my mom wasn’t stupid.
She saw right through me but chose not to speak on it.
By the time we were done talking, an hour had gone by.
I hadn’t heard any movement from the guest room, prompting me to check on Celeste.
Opening the door softly, I saw her figure under the covers and light snores bounced off the walls.
I was surprised sleep had come easy, but was happy she felt safe enough to close her eyes.
“Is she good?” my mother asked.
“Yeah, she’s asleep.”
“Good. Will the two of you be here for breakfast?”
“I think so. I don’t think she’s in a rush to leave. I’ll take her home after we eat,” I decided.
The circumstances were fucked up, but I loved having Celeste with me.
It felt right, although I knew it wasn’t.
She had a boyfriend who seemed to have a hold on her on top of a broken heart.
I needed her free of both before I even considered pursuing her.
I wouldn’t sit around and wait for her to leave, but I’d make it my business to be unforgettable.