Put A Ring On It (24 page)

“I can’t believe the dude that parked my car tried to hit on me. I should report his ass to management. I bet he wouldn’t have come at me like that if I were a white woman. Black dudes are always taking liberties with sisters. It doesn’t matter how well-dressed or educated we are, they still think they’re entitled.”

“Was he hot?” Vangie asked, trying to lessen the tension.

“Hell no! He was all pimply-faced and scrawny. Had a mouth full of bad teeth.”

“Wow! He was that bad?” Vangie added.

“Yes! His teeth were all separated and crooked like an old-ass picket fence.”

Both Vangie and Harlow laughed.

“You’re as funny as ever,” Harlow said. “Good to see you, Niv. How are you?”

“I’ll be better after I have a stiff drink,” Nivea replied, refusing to acknowledge how nice Harlow looked and she refused to look at Harlow’s left hand. Nivea couldn’t come to terms with Harlow living the good life. It was infuriating. Harlow had barely made it out of high school. She never attempted to build a career. How does a fucking receptionist latch on to such a rare commodity as a rich, handsome, single black man?

“We’re having mojitos,” Vangie said.

Nivea wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want that girly shit. I want vodka—straight.”

Vangie and Harlow exchanged confused looks.

Nivea scanned the menu and told the waitress, “I’m sure that everything on this menu tastes like crap, so just give me whatever they’re having.”

The waitress blinked, offended by Nivea’s rude comment. “Do you want the grilled salmon or the Philly cheesesteak?”

“Surprise me. But bring me a drink right away.”

“Would you like to see the drink menu?” the waitress asked.

“No. A double shot of Absolut.”

“Mixed with…?”

“Straight,” Vangie blurted before Nivea had a chance to be rude.

After the waitress scurried away, Nivea leaned forward. “So let’s discuss the elephant in the room.” She held up her bare left hand. “Eric made a baby with some skanky stripper. As you can imagine, it got ugly. We broke up. My parents don’t know yet, and I don’t know when I’m going to tell them.”

“Oh, Nivea. I’m so sorry. That’s horrible!” Harlow said.

“Stop playing dumb, Harlow. I know Vangie couldn’t keep that juicy tidbit to herself.”

“Actually, she didn’t tell me anything,” Harlow remarked.

“Mmm-hmm,” Nivea murmured doubtfully.

“I didn’t,” Vangie said. “I’ve been too busy bringing Harlow up to date about my own life. About Shawn and what a good father he’s being to Yuri. How he’s paying most of the bills and has finally stepped up to the plate.”

Nivea rolled her eyes at Vangie and then finally turned her attention to Harlow’s left hand. “Your ring is gorgeous,” she said. “Some people don’t require an engagement ring, you know.” She cut an eye at Vangie. “Some people are so happy to have a man around, they’ll accept shacking up with the very man who ruined
their life in the first place. Umph, umph, umph.” She stared at Vangie, mouth turned down in disgust. “You should be ashamed, handing out keys to Shawn when he never even paid any child support. Pitiful!”

Vangie leaned toward Nivea. “If you have a problem with me, just say it. Your comments are vicious and I’m starting to get pissed off.”

Nivea ignored Vangie. Though she resented Harlow’s large diamond, Nivea wanted to irk Vangie. “Drake has excellent taste. And you’ve obviously overcome your impoverished childhood.”

“I guess I have,” Harlow said, refusing to let Nivea get to her.

The waitress placed Nivea’s drink in front of her. She downed it in an instant. “Can I get another?”

“Certainly.” The waitress hurried away.

“Go easy, Nivea. You have to drive,” Harlow reminded her.

“I have other options. I can afford a cab. Or a limo. You’re not the only person with money, you know.”

“I wasn’t suggesting—”

Vangie patted Harlow’s hand, silently letting her know that it wasn’t worth her time to argue with Nivea.

“I can afford a lot of shit. And the money I do have, I earned. You won’t catch me depending on a man.” This time her derogatory comment was aimed at Harlow.

Vangie and Harlow gawked in surprise at Nivea’s nonstop insults. More amused than angry, Vangie smiled and shook her head.

“Anyway, I wanted to tell you about my revved-up sex life,” Vangie said, directing her conversation to Harlow.

“Oh boy. I’m not sure I’m ready to hear this,” Harlow said, blushing.

“Well, you would think Shawn just met me. He can’t get enough. I go to work walking all crazy from all the sex I’m getting. I swear
I must have gold between my legs because no matter how many times he smashes, he still wants more. Seriously, I can’t make it through the night without Shawn easing up behind me and trying to steal some pussy while I’m asleep.”

“Considering the fact that you were depending on an assortment of sex toys for your pleasure, you should be pretty thrilled about Shawn’s ravenous sex drive,” Harlow said, laughing.

Nivea received her second drink, took a swig. “I guess Shawn has been away so long that the old pussy that he got sick of five years ago has started to feel like new pussy.” Nivea laughed loud and inappropriately.

Speechless, Harlow and Vangie exchanged shocked, wide-eyed looks.

Nivea gave a feigned innocent shrug. “I’m just sayin’…”

Fed up with Nivea, Vangie let her breath out slowly. “Why are you being so obnoxious? What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me. You can’t stand hearing the truth.”

“You keep throwing slurs; it’s obvious that you have a problem with me. So spit it out. What’s up, Nivea?”

“I hate seeing you go down a path of destruction. Shawn is no good and you know it. Don’t forget, I was with you and Yuri when he dumped you for that little hoochie five years ago. I witnessed his ignorant ass publicly dumping you with no consideration for his infant son.”

Embarrassment flashed across Vangie’s face, and then her expression hardened. “Did I make slurs when you announced that you were marrying that box-lifting, big-bellied bum? No, I didn’t. I never said an unkind word about your mismatched relationship,” she retorted, gesturing with her hand in a confrontational manner.

“Well, it’s obvious that you had your nose turned up, but unlike me, you weren’t woman enough to speak your mind.”

“I don’t go around making cutting remarks and deliberately trying to hurt feelings. And I especially wouldn’t try to hurt someone that I consider to be a close friend.” Vangie rolled her eyes at Nivea.

Harlow nodded her head. “Nivea, you’re really not yourself tonight. You’ve been making sarcastic and snide comments from the moment you sat down. What’s going on with you? Are you on your period or something?”

“Oh, that’s really original.” Nivea pulled her cell out of her handbag, glanced down, smiled and began texting. Finishing her message, she looked up. “Listen, I wish I could stay longer. But I have things to do.” Nivea flung a twenty on the table. “That should cover my drinks. You can send back that nasty-ass food I ordered.”

Harlow waved her hand. “Keep your money, Niv. This is my treat.”

“Great,” Nivea muttered, picking up her money.

“Drive carefully,” Vangie said in a tone that contradicted her words.

“Don’t worry about me, chica. The person you need to be concerned about is that no-good baby daddy you allowed to come back into your life.”

Nostrils flaring, Vangie rose from her seat. “I’ma fuck you up, Nivea. Say another word.”

“Calm down, Vangie,” Harlow soothed. Vangie flopped down in her seat.

“Good advice, Harlow, because ya girl was about to get a blast of pepper spray.”

With those words, Nivea threw on her coat and sashayed out of the restaurant.

Vangie shook her head. “I swear I was on the verge of punching Nivea right in her sarcastic mouth.”

“I’m glad you restrained yourself. Nivea’s going through something. She’s always had a bitchy side, but her behavior tonight was deplorable.”

“I don’t know if our friendship can survive whatever she’s going through. That bitch is acting like she’s lost her damn mind. I believe she really would have pulled out some pepper spray and used it on me. Nivea needs to get some help.”

“She is acting a little off. And she’s particularly furious with you, Vangie. I wonder why?”

“Jealous.”

“Because you got back with Shawn?”

“Obviously. But she’s also upset about you.”

“Me? What’s my crime?”

“You rocking that big-ass, flawless ring. Drake is rich, handsome, and devoted to you. Look, she pretty much admitted that she was jealous of you when I told her that Drake got down on his knee and proposed to you.”

“What did she say?”

“I can’t quote her verbatim, but to sum it up, she thinks you’ve gotten stuck-up since you got with Drake. She thinks that you’re a lazy gold digger.”

Harlow became briefly pensive. “I didn’t know she resented me.”

“Now you know.” Vangie waved her hand dismissively. “Girl,
she’s been upset with you since the day she met you. She’s still irked over the fact that you didn’t have to pay any fees to that fancy summer camp where we all met.”

“I was a charity case. She should have felt sorry for me.”

“I was a charity case, too,” Vangie said. “My mom got me in that camp because she worked as an administrative assistant to someone on the board. I don’t know why Nivea thought I deserved to be there more than you.”

Harlow’s eyes turned sad; she looked down at the table.

“Girl, Nivea has issues. Nivea is more like her siditty mother than she realizes.”

“I wonder why she started hanging in the hood with you back when we were teens. Why didn’t she stay in her tree-lined, suburban neighborhood?”

“Because all her friends in the ’burbs were corny. She turned her nose up at poor people, but she was still attracted to the ghetto fabulous lifestyle we were living. Niv was so wild while we were growing up, I’m surprised she was able to settle herself down long enough to get an education.”

Harlow nodded.

Feeling relaxed, Vangie kept talking. “Nivea loves money, and she knew she couldn’t mooch off her parents the way her sister does. But Niv is still rebellious as hell. Her parents expected her to marry a doctor, but she chose Eric. See what I mean? Nivea is still defiant as hell.”

“Yeah, I hear what you’re saying, but I’m still a little confused. After all these years of us being friends, are you saying that Nivea has never really liked me?”

Vangie shook her head. “She’s always referred to you as
my friend
because I’m the one that invited you to join us at our lunch table at summer camp.”

“Wow. I’m shocked. I didn’t realize that she dislikes me.”

“Girl, do you care? Nivea was always jealous of your looks.”

“Nivea’s pretty.”

“She’s not a natural beauty like you.”

“I could have been jealous of her cushy lifestyle, but I wasn’t. She had it all: clothes, big house, professional parents. Nivea had the best of everything. Why would she resent the fact that I got an opportunity to go to an upscale summer camp?”

“She’s selfish.” Vangie cut her eye at Harlow’s ring. “Girl, judging by that chunk of ice you’re rocking, your social worker knew her stuff. Mingling with the upper class taught you some valuable lessons.”

“You know I’m not with Drake for his money.”

“Just kidding. For real though, I’d be happy if Shawn gave me an engagement ring with a diamond chip.”

“Give him time. You two haven’t been back together that long, Vangie.”

“I’m trying to be patient.” Vangie looked sad, but then her expression turned into a smirk. “Since Nivea showed her ass tonight, I don’t feel like I should have to keep her dirty little secret.”

Harlow leaned forward, interested.

“Guess what she told me?”

“I’m scared to ask.”

“She paid for her own engagement ring and pretended that Eric bought it. She has to continue making all the payments, too.”

Harlow looked stunned.

“It’s true. And it seems that ever since she found out that Eric went out and got that stripper pregnant, Nivea has not been in her right mind.”

“I’m shocked that Eric would do something like that. I thought he was too afraid of Nivea to run around.”

“Hmph. Nivea thought she had him by the balls, too. Girl, his baby mama came over Nivea’s crib and whooped her ass.”

“Whaaat!”

“Uh-huh. Eric brought the baby over to Niv’s house. The dancer found out and went ballistic. Kicked the door in. Attacked Nivea. Biting, kicking, and scratching. She fucked Nivea up.”

“Did Nivea press charges?”

“No.”

“What did she do about it?”

Vangie snickered. “She went out and bought that pepper spray that she’s so eager to use,” Vangie said, laughing.

Harlow put a hand over her mouth, shoulders jerking as she laughed along with Vangie.

Vangie’s chuckles trailed off. She shook her head. “On a serious note, though. Eric and that stripper did a job on Nivea. I think she’s at a real low point. She took a beat down for a dude who cheated on her and made a baby. Nivea was so embarrassed, she didn’t want anyone to find out about it. Not her job and especially not her mother. She knew her mother would say, when you lay down with dogs, you wind up with a pack of fleas.”

Harlow started laughing. “Vangie, you’re killing me with your crazy twist on idioms.”

“I’m serious. Nivea’s ass is irritable because she’s been itching and scratching from that flea infestation that Eric left behind.”

K
nox had texted her three times, wanting to know where she was and what was taking her so long. She shouldn’t have allowed Vangie to talk her into joining her and Harlow for dinner. One look at Harlow’s hand and Nivea knew she’d made a huge mistake. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to sit around while Harlow gloated and flaunted her bling.

Obliging Knox and his oral fetish was more exciting than breaking bread with two boring bitches.

Being with Knox was sexually fulfilling and emotionally stimulating. Every time he ate her box out, it seemed that he became a little more attached. If feeding Courtney’s fiancé pussy was a way to interfere with their wedding plans, then Nivea would be sure to give him a coochie snack every day.