Crooked G's (11 page)

“You could have at least sent me a text message or something, girl. Even if it was just to tell me you were all right.”

“I'm sorry, damn. You're questioning me like you my man or something.”

“No, if I was ya man, I'd be whooping your mothafucking ass for getting out of pocket.” Shakita took her ear off the phone and shook her head thinking about how retarded and silly her friend was. “Where are we going tonight?” Latrice asked.

“I can't go out tonight.”

“And why not?”

“I got something to do.”

“Like what?”

“Whatever I got to do bitch, damn.”

“You can't tell me what you got going on? When has the shit ever been like that?” Shakita heard someone at the door and had to get off the phone.

“Look, girl. Shit is complicated right now. I can't hook up with you tonight, but meet me at Afterwords for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“All right, I'll meet you at ten,” Latrice slowly responded.

“Okay. I got to go. Bye.”

Shakita hung up the phone and put her purse under the bed. She hurried out of the bedroom so she could greet her guest.

“Hello. How are you, mister?” Shakita said, making her dark-skinned, overweight client comfortable. The man took one look at Shakita and thought he was in for a treat. Shakita looked at the size of her first client and realized she was in for another long night.

•  •  •

Latrice was so pissed that she and Shakita weren't going out that she leaned up against the headboard and pouted. Shakita was acting strange and Latrice was going to find out why. But in the meantime she was stuck at home without shit to do. Her phone rang and she thought it was Shakita calling her back telling her to get ready. She looked at the number and didn't recognize it. “Hello,” she spoke hesitantly.

“Hello. Is this Latrice?”

“Yes. This is she.”

“This is Teyron. I gave you my demo last night.”

Latrice was so happy that he called that she was momentarily speechless.

He thought she hung up. “Hello.”

“Yes, I'm still here. I'm so glad you called. How are you?”

“I'm good. I know I just gave you my demo yesterday, and I'm not even sure if you had a chance to listen to it yet, but I am going out of town tomorrow morning, and I really wanted to touch bases with you before I left.”

“No, I did listen to it and I thought the whole thing was incredible.”

“So you really liked it?”

“Woo. You have no idea how much I enjoyed it,” Latrice said, fanning herself.

Teyron was so excited he wanted to know what she really thought of it. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Nothing. I thought me and my girl were going out tonight, but we're not. I was actually sitting here not doing shit before you called.”

“Well. I don't have anything going on either. How about we get together tonight so we can talk about my demo?”

“Okay. I'm feeling that. Where would you like to meet?”

“I'm not really hungry and I don't feel like hitting the club either. But if you want to go dancing, I don't mind going out with you.”

“I don't have to go out. It's whatever.”

“How about coming out my way? I got some new stuff I would like you to hear.”

This was the invitation she had been waiting for. She had to take it.

“If you got new songs I definitely want to hear 'em. Where are you at?”

“I'm over in Southwest. I stay at Eagles Crossing Apartments. You familiar?”

“Yeah, I know where that's at.”

“I'm on the Joliet side.”

“Okay. I got to get dressed. I'll be there in the next forty-five minutes.”

“All right. I'll be waiting for you.”

Latrice hung up the phone and shuffled through her closet looking for the right outfit to wear—something that wasn't too slutty or too conservative. She didn't want to go for the same executive look she'd had on the previous night, but surely wanted to wear something that would get his attention. She then found exactly
what she needed. She pulled out a tangerine-colored halter top and some black Rock & Republic jeans. “He's gonna like me in these,” she said, holding the jeans up to her butt. Latrice put her clothes on the bed and skipped to the shower. She was up to no good.

L
atrice turned onto Joliet Street once she arrived at the Eagles Crossing Apartments. She used to have an aunt who stayed in the same complex, so Teyron's spot was easy to find. She thought that it was a good time to call him.

“Hello.”

“Hey, it's me. I just pulled up.”

Teyron peered through the blinds and saw Latrice's car. “I see you. You can park where you're at. I'll be right out.”

“Okay.” Latrice hung up the phone and waited for him. When he was finally in view, she got out the car and walked across the street.

Teyron came out the house wearing a wife beater, gray sweatpants, and some house shoes. Latrice could see that he had a nice body and his tattoos were still visible under the complex's lighting. She was even more intrigued with him.

“What's up, baby girl?” Teyron asked, giving her a hug.

“Nothing much.” Latrice took in the scent of his cologne. “Whatchu got on smelling all good?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Teyron said, laughing. “I got on some D and G. What about you?”

“I'm wearing Valentino,” Latrice said as they started to walk into the building.

“Valentino, huh? I was wondering why you smelled as good as I did.”

Latrice was definitely turned on by his cockiness. She loved that in a man. She walked into Teyron's apartment and noticed that his place had a modest look. There was no clutter and everything was well put together. In his living room there was one long couch and beside it was a tall protruding floor lamp. There was also a round coffee table in front of the couch with magazines neatly arranged on it. On the other side of the room, there was a small dining room table with a ceiling fan spinning slowly above. Latrice presumed he had a bachelor's pad judging by the simplicity of his dwelling décor.

“Have a seat,” Teyron insisted.

“You have a nice spot,” Latrice said as she took a seat on the couch.

“Thank you. Now can I get you anything to drink?”

“Sure. What do you have?”

“Bottled water, orange soda, grape juice, white zinfandel in a box, and Hennessy.”

“Boy, whatchu doing with some wine?” Latrice asked flirtatiously.

“I don't drink it. It's only for whenever I have company.”

“You know how much
us
girls like to drink. Are you sure you have any left?”

“Yes. It's not even opened yet, smart ass.” Latrice laughed. “I'll get you some water since you like to tell jokes.”

“Nooo. I was just playing. Can I have some wine, please?”

Teyron smiled and rolled his eyes at her as he walked to the kitchen. While Latrice waited for him to return, she noticed that there wasn't a television in the living room. She would ask him
why when he returned and decided to pick up a magazine in the meantime.

Teyron's magazine selection ranged from
Bizarre, XXL, F.E.D.S., Entertainment Weekly,
and
Don Diva.

“I'm going to be on this cover one day,” Latrice said as she picked up an
XXL
issue. By the time she was able to flip through a couple of pages, Teyron was back. He handed her a glass of wine.

“Thank you. I noticed that you don't have a TV in here. What's up with that?”

“My TV's in my bedroom.”

“Is that where you entertain your guests?”

He shook his head. “I'm not even going to answer that.”

“I think you already did.”

“Whatever. I'm not in here that much. That's why I don't have one in here.”

“Whatever. You know you do that so you can lure innocent girls to your room.”

“For your information, whoever goes in my room ain't innocent.”

“Well, excuse me, playa playa. I guess I'll never be watching anything in your room, huh?”

“I guess not. I only mess with innocent girls now,” Teyron said, giving her a wink.

“You know what? I'm not even going to comment on that,” Latrice said, refraining from not saying what was really on her mind. She was as freaky as the next girl but didn't want Teyron to know that about her yet.

He sat down beside her as he cracked the top off his bottled water. “So you really like my demo, huh?”

“Do I?” She turned to face him and got more comfortable on the couch. “That thing cranked. I couldn't believe that every song
on that joint was like that…And ‘Teyronimo.' That shit right there was off the hook. Whenever girls hear that song you're going to have panties wet all over the world.”

Teyron laughed at her exaggerated compliment of his work. He believed he would do some damage but not like she was saying.

“I have to ask you something. Did you write all those songs yourself?”

“Yes. I wrote and produced them.”

Latrice was shocked. “You made those beats yourself?”

“Yeap. All by myself.”

“What studio do you record at?”

“I got my own studio here.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It's in the back room.”

“Wow. You really got your shit together, don't you?”

“Not quite. I still don't have a deal.”

“Yes you do,” Latrice assured him.

“Are you serious?”

“Hell yeah. I'm offering you a deal with Bangspot. I don't have a contract prepared yet, but I know we can get everything worked out. Do you accept?”

“I can't believe this is happening.”

“Believe it, boo. Everything I say is real. So do you want the deal?”

“Yes,” Teyron said, struggling to hold his composure.

“Then it's settled. Welcome to Bangspot.” Latrice extended her hand for him to shake.

Teyron grabbed her hand and pulled her in close for a hug.

“I won't let you down.”

“I know you won't. I believe in you.”

Teyron still couldn't believe he'd gotten a record deal. After dozens
of major labels closed the door in his face telling him his style wouldn't work, and that his voice wasn't good enough, Teyron still didn't stop at accomplishing his dream. He was determined to be a singer amongst the best of them, despite what the majors thought of him. He knew in his heart that he was a star in the making and was going to do everything in his power to prove them all wrong. After four years of hustling, grinding, and dedication, he'd finally gotten a shot to show the world who he was. Teyron had Latrice and Bangspot to thank for that. He realized Bangspot was up and coming but so was he, and he believed that they could make it happen for him, and for that reason alone he was going to take a chance.

“As soon as my business partner gets out of jail, you can sign a contract. He'll be home in less than thirty days.”

“Cool. I'll be ready. Did you ever talk Clarity into signing, too?”

“Matter of fact, I did, and she'll be your label mate.”

“That's what I'm talking about.” Teyron was charged up and saw bigger things for Bangspot knowing that they were going to both be on the same team. “I got this track that I want Clarity to spit on. I want you to come hear it.” Teyron stood up and reached out for Latrice's hand.

Latrice grabbed his hand as she carried her wineglass in the other one. They began to walk down the hallway to his studio room. Teyron didn't have all the state-of-the-art equipment like a real studio, but he had what was necessary to produce good music. He had a Yamaha AW 2400 and an 808 machine. He had a laptop that stored all his music and he used his closet as the recording booth with the microphone connected to the inside wall. Latrice was impressed with his little mini hit factory.

“All right. Let me play this track.” Teyron sat down at his desk
and searched for the song he was looking for on his computer. He quickly found the track and Latrice started to listen.

Latrice was feeling the song and thought the beat sounded like something that Drake would use. As the music played, Teyron had the lights in the room synced together with certain instruments, making everything look like a flashing disco. Latrice liked Teyron's uniqueness and could definitely hear Clarity spitting over the track.

“That shit was like that,” Latrice informed him when he stopped playing the track. “Thanks. With Clarity and me on that track, we'll tear it up. If you like that…Believe me, I got a whole lot more for you to hear.” He then looked for another track to play.

Latrice indeed wanted to hear more of his music, but she also wanted to hear more about him.

“Teyron. Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. I'm afraid I don't.”

“You know. I find that quite odd. You make all this baby-making music and you don't have a girl? What's up with that? I mean, if you don't want no main chick and just want to have your friends, I can understand.”

“It's not that. I'm not out to get a bunch of hoes, if that's what you're thinking. I wouldn't mind having a girl, but most women can't vibe with me.”

Latrice twisted her lips. “Are you trying to say that most women aren't on your level?”

“It's not that,” Teyron said as he went back to searching through tracks, leaving the conversation still open.

“Then what is it?”

He sighed. “Okay. You really want to know?”

Latrice nodded her head yes as she waited.

“When I first meet a girl and she listens to my music, she wants to know the person singing the songs instead of me. They get so caught up in the music that they don't have a clue who I really am. They don't understand what I'm saying at all. They only hear how I'm saying it. All I want is for someone to know me.”