Faces of the Game (10 page)

She reminded him.  “Well, my baby mama was tripping like hell trying to come in the house.  She popped up at like 6:30 ringing the door bell, blowing up my cell phone and all of that and I didn’t want her to come in and try to start something with you so I left with her.”  “Oh really?  Where did y’all go?”  Chelle was pissed now, realizing that he had been with this bitch for the past couple of days.  “We went back to her house, man she is crazy as hell she told me that she had an interview the next day and she wanted to go get something to wear.  She snuck and took my phone and car keys with her and didn’t come back until the day after that, that’s why I couldn’t call you.”  “Okay Chip, being the fact that she is crazy as hell I can trust you 80% until I find out different.  That just doesn’t sound too right but I guess I have to believe you.”  “Please believe me, she did and she was tripping so hard when she came over that  I could only imagine what she would have done if she came in my room and saw you sleeping so peacefully.”  “What would she have done?”  “Who knows, but I will make sure the drama never touches you because I know you have zero tolerance for drama.”  He reached over and hugged her tight and continued to explain himself.  “I like you so much, I just can’t imagine letting you go over some shit like this she set me up.”  Chelle pushed him off of her and rolled her eyes again, then she picked her cell phone up to call Neese.  Chelle and Neese talked for an hour while Chip sat on the couch wondering if he was going to get the cold shoulder the whole time.  “So that was the business you had to handle?”  “Yes!  That was the business, look I didn’t have to tell you the truth but we are suppose to have that understanding and you know it ain’t shit between me and her so don’t even trip.”  “Whatever Chip, do what you do because trust me I didn’t lose any sleep and the same way you disappeared, I can do it better.”  Chelle said as she sat down at her desk to study once more for her quiz.  “Let me see those note cards.”  Chip said as he walked over to her and pulled up a chair beside her.  “They are my study cards, why do you want to see them?”  “Just hand them here” he said taking them out of her hand.  He quizzed her for almost two hours until she knew all of the information on each note card, then he offered to take her out to eat.  Chelle was so amazed at how much he really cared about her, she went in her room and laid out an outfit to wear.  “Where are we going?”  She asked him.  “You want Outback?”  He asked.  “Yeah, that’s fine.”  She took a quick shower, put on her black and silver vest, a black long sleeved tee shirt and some straight leg jeans and a pair of black cowboy boots with swarovski crystals on the sides of them.  She let her hair down and threw her diamond studs in her ear, after that she was ready to go.  “Oh wait, let me get my ID”  she ran back into her room and picked up her grey and black Ralph Lauren clutch, threw her driver’s license, lip gloss and keys in it and motioned him to come with her. 

                                                                      *** Later That Evening ***

They sat down in the restaurant, both of them silent as they were the whole ride to Outback.  “So, what did you mean that’s why you didn’t want to talk to someone like me?”  Chip asked breaking the silence.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”  Chelle said knowing she had just said that a few minutes before.  “So, what took you so long to talk to me I don’t want a half ass answer either I want to know why you were so hesitant.”  He asked Chelle hoping to initiate a long conversation.  “Okay, all my life I always said I never wanted to date a drug dealer or anyone who dealt with any of that type of stuff.  I always tried to talk to the school boys, you know the opposite of you.  They never really treated me the way I felt I should have been treated so I finally decided to talk to you, and you are just like the rest of them.”  Chelle said crossing her arms.  Just then the waitress came to take their order.  As soon as they ordered their drinks and food, Chip said “No I am not, I told you the truth but I can’t make you believe me.  You never said exactly why you never wanted to date a dude like me either, what makes me so different from a school boy?” 

Flashback:  “Your lifestyle is dangerous Chip, I don’t like dangerous situations.  Whatever my dad was involved in caused our house to get shot up, someone tried to kill my daddy and I was there.  I was four years old, old enough to remember what bullets sound like when they rip through the walls, what it feels like for your mother to rock you to sleep with her hand over your mouth telling you to be quiet while you try to prepare yourself to never see your daddy again.  My daddy lived which obviously means that his work on earth wasn’t done yet, but he could have been dead and he still has a bullet wound that will never go away.  I had to move in with my grandmother for a lot of years while my parents got everything straight, I have no idea what exactly went on all I know is I lived with my grandmother from the first to the fifth grade.  I often thought that I would never see my parents again.  I had nightmares about people walking with me holding my hand telling me that everything would be alright.  When they moved to Winston, I remember sleeping in their room one night and someone knocked on the window.  I looked out of the window and someone had a gun pointing at me.  Do you know how fucking scared I was?  I promised myself that I would never date a street guy, I always made sure I learned as much as I could in school because I knew that an education would take me further than anything else.  Even now, my parents both work good jobs and I’m glad to have an imaginable lifestyle, things aren’t perfect but it’s good.  I want to provide security for my children.  It’s so much more to it but that’s the essence of things.  I would never want to create that type of atmosphere to raise a family in.”  Just then, the waitress came to bring their food and drinks.  “That’s why I hate robbers with a passion.  That is why I am always paranoid that someone is following me.  That’s why nobody ever knows where I stay.  I               have lived my whole life scared that someone is after me.  It goes deeper way deeper than it seems, man that shit is crazy.”  Chelle finished and sat back to stared at him, she was just getting comfortable with the things from her past that haunted her, and to get them off of her chest made her feel some sort of deep relief.  “Now I see, dang that’s crazy.  I feel you though I always said I would never do any drugs or be an alcoholic because of my dad.  I turned around and did the shit anyway, but I always have and always will take care of my children they are my everything.  My dad was sorry when it came to taking care of some shit, I promised I would never be like that and so far I haven’t.  My dad would call my mother out of her name when he got drunk and high or whatever it was that he did.  They would argue about bills and everything all of the time, I always thought he was a lousy ass nigga if you ask me.  I never ever wanted to be anything like that, that’s why I do what I do because I don’t ever want to struggle.  I want to give my mother everything that she needs, I refuse to ever have a female want for anything.  I will never ever call a woman out of her name no matter what.”  He said reflecting back on how his father treated his mother.  They ate their food in silence for a few moments realizing that they both hit sensitive subjects.  Then they continued their conversation.  “It’s okay, I am not going to do this shit forever.  I want to stack my money and own a few small businesses.”  Chip told Chelle.  “What type of businesses?”  Chelle asked.  “I want to own a laundry mat, and a gas station.”  Chip sounded like he didn’t have a stable plan, Chelle was willing to help him come up with a more reachable plan.  “Why don’t you start with one thing at a time.”  Chelle suggested.  “I don’t know how to get it started.  I have the money I just don’t know what to do.”  He explained to her.  She explained to him the different types of business grants and loans that he could apply for and how it would work, but first he needed to get a job.  It seemed like the word job startled him or something, she couldn’t understand it.  “When was the last time you had a job?”  She was curious if he had ever worked.  “When I was twenty-one I had a job, that shit didn’t last long that was my first and last job.”  Chelle shook her head
what am I going to do with this nigga, he doesn’t want to work but he wants to treat me like gold.  He tries to tell me the truth because he is trying something new this time; he wants to make me his wife.  I refuse to sleep with anything illegal under the same roof, I will not marry a man without a job, and he has a lot to think about. 
Chelle refused to ever work up a sweat because of a nigga and his stupidity, so she didn’t give it any more thought.  She concluded the conversation by saying, “when you are ready, let me know I will help you get it by any means necessary.” 

Back to Reality

              Chelle logged on to her Facebook page when she got back home from class, she hardly ever checked her account, and she had a message from Mr. G.J. again.  She read the message while Chip stood over her and massaged her shoulders. 
Hello Chelle, I was pleased to hear back from you.  I think it’s wonderful that you are graduating next year.  That means you know a little about Public Relations already, would you like to interview with me for a part-time position until you graduate?  If so, please call me at 704-555-6554.   I look forward to hearing from you soon! 
“Let me call this dude and see what he is about.”  Chelle said as she grabbed the house phone.  “Hello?”  A male voice answered the phone.  “Hi, is Mr. G.J. in?”  Chelle asked.  “This is he, Chelle?”  “Yes, this is Chelle.”  “Hi, how are you?”  He asked sounding like a southern white man.  “Oh I am fine, and you?”  “I’m great, good to hear from you.  So would you like to set up an interview?  You could work for my company until you graduate, and then you could possibly be hired as a full time worker.”  “Sounds Good, so when should we set the interview?”  Chelle asked eager to interview with a young successful black business man.  “Is tomorrow good for you?”  “Sure, I get out of class at 10:50 a.m. so maybe around 4:00?”  “Well, let’s do 6:00 that will give you more time.”  “Alright 6:00 p.m. tomorrow, sounds good.”  “Great I will e-mail you the directions.”  G.J. said, and then he closed the conversation thanking her once again for contacting him.  He sounded just as eager to work with her as she was to work with him.  Chip went and got lunch for Chelle before she went back to class.  While Chelle waited on him to get back, she completed her online assignments they only took about twenty minutes a piece.  She was so determined to stay on top of everything because she knew that online classes can be overlooked if she didn’t keep up with them.  As she was finishing her last assignment Chip knocked on the door, she opened the door and helped him with the food and drinks.  “Thanks sweetie” she said as she closed the door behind him.  “So are you excited about your interview?”  He asked her as he sat down on the couch and took his food out of the bag.  “Yeah, a little I am more excited about this quiz I have tomorrow.”  “Yeah, when you come home from class we are going to go over the note cards one more time.”  “Okay, give me my food I’m starving.”  She said reaching down for the bojangles bag.  Soon after eating lunch, it was time for Chelle to go back to class.  She asked Chip to drop her off so she wouldn’t have to find a parking spot, since he hadn’t redeemed himself all the way he agreed to do so without hesitation.  They walked down the steps and he tried to put her on his back, but since she wasn’t feeling his playful mood, she got aggravated and asked him to stop.  He sensed the attitude immediately and he stopped playing, they walked to his car and he opened the passenger door.  She threw her bag on the floor and put her notebook on top of it, and she got in and closed the door.  He got in on his side, turned up the radio and for once he was listening to an R&B CD.  Chelle busted out laughing and looked at him as if he was crazy, “what the hell is this?”  She asked him.  “Damn, a nigga too cool for R&B every now and then?”  She just laughed, shook her head and reached down to get her lip gloss out of her bag.  He was listening to Jagged Edge, “Promise” she thought he was trying to throw game on her so she listened to the music and looked out of the window until he got off of the exit.  She directed him to the building she needed to be dropped off at, and he let her out at the front door.  “Be back at 1:45 and I mean it” she said and slammed the door behind her.  He rolled down the window, “damn, I don’t get a bye or nothing?”  “Bye” she said in a dry tone, and walked into the building.  He pulled off and turned the music back up.  On his way back to her house, he wondered how he was going to get back in but then he realized that she had left her keys in the cup holder.  When he got back to her house, he called Mo and talked to her for a little while.  He knew he was wrong, but he didn’t care niggas don’t change overnight and he wasn’t trying to change any time soon.  As much as he liked Chelle and he admired her lifestyle, charisma, charm and wisdom, as soon as he and Chelle were mad at one another, he knew that he would always have Mo and Kiki to fall back on.

Chelle jogged up the steps and turned the key to the door she had got out of class early so Christi brought her home, “I’ll call you back later” Chip said into the phone as she walked into the house.  “Hey baby, how was class?”  Chip asked.  “It was straight, who were you on the phone with?”  Chelle asked him, in a suspicious way.  “Oh, my homeboy Jarick” he said with the lie written all over his face.  “Whatever” Chelle said throwing her books on the table and kicking her shoes off.  She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and Chip looked over the bar into the kitchen, “how did you get home?”  He asked as if he was accusing her of something.  “Christi brought me home, we have class together and our professor let us out early.”  “What are you cooking?”  He said as if he had been patiently waiting on her to get out of class just so she could cook.  “Not a damn thing” she said in a nonchalant voice and rolling her eyes. 
We haven’t even been talking for six months yet and I already feel like he is just here to be here.  Man he is starting to get on my fucking nerves already.
  Chelle thought to herself as she sat at her desk and began studying; she decided that she would ignore him for the rest of the day. “What are you studying?”  He asked as if he was concerned.  “This Michael Vick Case for my class, why?”  Chelle asked as she rolled her eyes and swung her chair around.  “Which case, you know he stays in trouble” Chip said trying to add humor to the conversation.  “Don’t y’all all stay into something” Chelle said as she sucked her teeth and turned back around.  He continued to talk to her so she totally ignored him knowing that he was on her phone with another female.  It made her sick to her stomach, he did all of the chasing and promising and just like any other guy, he’s a whore by nature.  “What’s up baby?”  He said trying to figure out why her attitude was so strong, he wasn’t feeling her negative vibe at all so he walked over and tried to massage her shoulders.  “You seem to be having a bad day, what’s wrong?” He asked her as he leaned down and kissed her on her neck.  “Don’t put your lips on me” she said as she leaned away from him.  “Leave me alone, I don’t feel like being bothered” she said as she put her mp3 headphones in her ears to block any further conversation.  Chelle loved music, it was her anti-drug whenever she was feeling down she always knew just how to make herself feel better.  All she had to do is listen to a song that let her know she wasn’t the only one going through the bullshit that comes along with any life situation.  She played Resentment by Beyoncé, and when it was over she played it on repeat over and over again while she highlighted main points on the Michael Vick case review.  After going half way through the paper, she got tired and stretched out her arms turned off her headphones and went to sit beside Chip on the couch.  They watched basketball in mere silence, he was very stubborn so if she wasn’t going to talk to him he wasn’t going to talk to her either.  After sitting there in silence for a while, she just decided to go into her bedroom and take a nap.  She turned her shower radio on to the Old School and R&B radio station, poured some lavender bath salt into some bath water to relax her mind; she wrapped her hair and got into the bath to soak.  Chip still sat in the living room and watched the games and whatever else guys watch on television while Chelle soaked and listened to smooth R&B for a half hour.  After bathing, she got out of the tub and washed it out, cut off the radio dried off and slipped into one of her silk robes.  She was so relaxed she fell asleep on top of her down comforter.  A couple of hours later, Chip came into the bedroom and woke her up and asked her if she wanted him to order anything for dinner.  “Yes please” she said turning over to look at him.  “What do you want?”  He asked her, glad that she was in a better mood than before.  “Oh, I don’t care babe you could order takeout from Darryl’s if you want” she said trying to wake up.  “I just want the pot roast with no mushrooms” Chelle said as he reached over her to get the phone and place the order.  Just as Chip got on the phone Chelle’s phone rang, it was Neese.  “Hey girl what’s going on?”  Chelle said answering the phone.  “Yeah, that shit is tired.” Chelle responded.  Neese was aggravated with her cousin Chloe, if it wasn’t one it was the other.  The girls were so protective over one another when it came to them being heartbroken over guys.  “Well I think it’s time to cut her the fuck off if you waste another breath on trying to give her valuable advice you are going to be pissed when you take your last breath of life.”  Neese said sounding more pissed off than ever.  “Why you say that?” Chelle said laughing at Neese’s impractical comment.  “Girl, she trying to tell me that she got a bond with him that no one will ever understand, she was there for him when no one else was and she basically is trying to say that she is his ride or die bitch and she ain’t going nowhere.”  Neese was mad, she continued for about three minutes straight while Chelle got her notecards back out to study again.  “Girl, don’t stress yourself over her shit she will be alright.  Do you think I have it easy when I try to give her advice?”  Chelle paused to let Neese respond.  “She just makes me sick sometimes with that bullshit.”  Neese said aggravated.  Chelle smacked her lips, “cut her ass off in the middle of her sentence from now on every time she gets on that bullshit and tell her you will talk to her later.”  “Alright, I hope it works you know she will talk right over you if she isn’t finished talking.”  “So, hang up on her ass.”  They shared a giggle before Chelle told Neese that she had to get back to her homework.  Chip helped her with her flashcards again; she knew the information inside and out way before Friday.  They ended up climbing in bed about thirty minutes after Chelle studied.  Chip rocked the two of them to sleep, Chelle’s attitude still wasn’t quite right she felt completely betrayed but safe at the same time.