Sex, Secrets and South Beach (20 page)

Bentley and his entourage
passed a blunt stuffed
with hydro around
the trailer as they waited to be prepped for the video shoot. The
smoke created a visible haze in the luxurious RV. Fresh, the
company's stylist, coughed as he entered the vehicle, fanning and
swatting the air around him.

"Y'all gonna have the gear smelling
all fucked up! Crack a window or something!" he sputtered while
rushing over to the rack that held the shoot's wardrobe. The crew
cracked up laughing.

"Nigga, it's a video! Motherfuckas
can't smell shit!" Bentley joked.

Sparks stepped onto the
bus.

"Damn! How can y'all breathe out this
motherfucka?!"

He grimaced as the pungent odor of
chronic hit his nostrils. His eyes zeroed in on an empty cigar box.
"I know your ass ain't been smoking out of my Cohibas!" Sparks
snapped.

"Yo, man. I'll get you some more,"
Bentley promised.

"Dude, them shits is contraband. Do
you know what I paid for those? They illegal! Yo' ass is gonna swim
to Cuba right fucking now and get me some more 'gars! Fuck Castro's
ass!" Sparks exploded, heading for Bentley. Several of his homeboys
held him back, laughing the whole time.

"See, what I tell y'all motherfuckas?
I told y'all his ass was gonna squawk like a bitch," Bentley
roared. "Nigga, I got your shit right here." He grinned and pulled
a small stash of Cohibas from his pocket and returned them to their
box.

"They better not be all dried up and
broken neither!" Sparks sulked, arranging his clothes. Bentley,
always the practical joker, continued to laugh.

There was a knock at the door. Sparks
opened it, and instantly, his scowl turned into a smile. There
Leilani stood, casual but pretty in navy-blue yoga pants, a white
tank top with skinny straps that bared her midriff, her
waist-length hair pulled into a ponytail that spilled out the back
of a Yankees cap. She held a clipboard, and attached to her hip was
a walkie-talkie.

"Hey, pretty lady," he greeted
her.

"Hey, Johnny. Can I talk to you for a
second?" she asked him. "In private?"

"Sure."

They exited the trailer and stood near
a craft-service truck.

"First, before you tell me anything,
give me a kiss." Sparks nibbled on Leilani's lower lip until she
thought she would pass out.

Leilani finally pushed him away.
"That's enough, baby," she admonished him. "I've gotta talk to you
about Dez." Leilani spat Desiree's moniker with
contempt.

"What about her?"

"She's buggin'. She's acting like the
sun rises and sets on her ass, and it's causing the crew a lot of
stress."

"Look, she's got a lot of pressure on
her. She's been in a lot of videos, but never as anything but a
model. The transition is gonna be rough on her, and she's probably
nervous."

"Ha!" Leilani cackled.

"Come on. Relax. Everything's gonna be
cool. You'll see. Besides, that's your friend. If anyone can help
her, it's you."

"Hmm," Leilani replied, holding her
tongue.

"That is your friend, right?" Sparks
looked into Leilani's eyes with confusion.

"She's just been trippin' since she
met your brother. She's acting real new."

"Y'all will be all
right."
Women are so petty!
he thought to himself, slightly amused. Sparks
bussed her cheek and left her standing there holding the clipboard
and a powder keg of anger inside.

"Be careful in there!"
Leilani warned Ysenia as they
crossed
paths. Ysenia was on her way into the trailer. Leilani had promoted
Ysenia to the lead role that had been Desiree's in order to provoke
her. But considering how the day was going so far, she was
beginning to wonder if that had been such a good idea. Desiree was
already being impossible; when she caught wind of Ysenia, she was
likely to have a conniption.

"Let me guess," Ysenia said.
"Desiree?"

"You got it, mami." Leilani put her
hands on her hips.

"I can see her now. She's walking her
fat ass around the trailer like she's goddamned Jennifer Lopez just
because she fucks with Bentley. And what is this I'm hearing? Now
the bitch is supposed to have a record deal?" Ysenia didn't bother
to mask her envy.

"Yeah, can you believe it? But, girl,
he'll use her up and throw her away. I guarantee it. That's what
you do with trash!"

Ysenia raised her eyebrows in
surprise. "Damn. You still mad at her?"

"You don't know the half of it. She's
gotten worse since the party. And now that she's supposedly the
next big thing, she is really feeling herself. She's acting like
someone died and made her queen over some new dick, and we've been
cool for almost two years!"

"I still can't believe how overnight
her ass got a record deal and her and Bentley are what, a couple
now?" Ysenia ran her hands through her hair.

"They claim they're in love! I heard
them telling each other they love each other!"

"Oh, get real. That's game, and
Desiree is falling for it. I always thought she was smarter than
that, but I guess I was wrong! Shit, I bet you Bentley wouldn't
fuck with her ass if he knew how she really is!" she seethed.
Ysenia was furious that he could have overlooked her the night of
the platinum party to kick it with a skank like Desiree.

Leilani raised an eyebrow at the
comment.

"Come on. Don't act like you haven't
heard!" Ysenia cackled.

"She's not that bad. Don't believe
everything you hear."

Leilani defended Desiree out of habit,
not sincerity. She was mad at Desiree, but she also hadn't
forgotten how Ysenia had ruined her suit. That shit was
unforgivable. Now Ysenia thought they were friends or something,
but she was just a pawn. Besides, Ysenia was no saint. Leilani had
heard a tale or two about her.

"Don't be naïve," Ysenia replied
patronizingly.

"I'm not naïve. Men do the same shit
she does all the time. I'm not saying she's an angel. I'm pissed as
hell at the bitch. I just don't think she's done all the things
people say she has. I would know. I'm probably the closest person
to her; at least I was before all this recent shit," Leilani
explained.

Ysenia shook her head in disbelief.
"Trust me, Leilani, she's done it all and then some." Ysenia
smacked her lips and continued. "It's like the Geto Boys said, you
gotta let a ho be a ho. Say what you want, but someone ought to
tell Bentley he can't turn that trick into a housewife. He sure
can't turn her into no rapper." Ysenia rolled her eyes and sucked
her teeth. Leilani rolled her eyes too, but not in response to
Ysenia's comment. It was in response to Ysenia's over-the-top
actions, the drama that she seemed to add to everything she said
and everything she did.

"I'm not even in that. That shit is a
nightmare." Leilani couldn't decide who irritated her more, but she
knew she wanted to drop the subject of Desiree altogether. Somehow
things always went back to her. Leilani was directing a video, and
all people were focusing on was Desiree. Most of them hadn't even
heard her flow. It just went to show how blind people were, how
they would buy just about anything if it was packaged nicely
enough.

"Ooh and I see you doing
your thang, Miss Director! Look at you, chica. And if I'm not
mistaken, I see you've got you a man too." Ysenia went on a fishing
expedition, anxious for a tidbit of gossip. She was in a very
provocative mood, it was obvious. She was the type of woman always
caught up in some form of drama. She thought it was cute. She also
thought it was "acting black," blinded by the gum-snapping,
neck-rolling, wig-snatching, loudmouthed hoochies she saw on
Jerry Springer
and
Jenny Jones
.

"We're just friends," Leilani said,
blushing. She wasn't about to tell Ysenia all of her business.
Besides, she didn't want the reputation that Desiree
had.

"Oh. Well, all I have to say is that
Desiree better not fuck with me. I'm not like all these other
chicks here. I will put that ho in her place!"

"Yeah, well, I gotta go.
I've got work to do," Leilani said, cutting her off. She'd had
enough of Desiree
and
Ysenia. Ysenia watched Leilani walk away. She folded her
arms.

Leilani is green as hell.
She ain't never gonna make it in the industry. Hmph! I should blow
Desiree's ass right out of the water. She doesn't know what to do
with a nigga like Bentley. That nigga is sleepin' on me. I could
make him happy, not a ho like Desiree. And I think I'm going to
have to just take that man for myself!
she
thought spitefully, the wheels in her mind busy at work concocting
a scheme.

"Desiree, you look perfect.
We need you on the set,"
Leilani told
Desiree firmly as soon as she was inside the trailer. "How long on
the models?" she continued, not giving Desiree the chance to
object.

"Just some powder and we're ready to
roll," answered a frazzled makeup artist.

"Ladies, you all look fabulous. My
stylists and makeup artists, you all have done a wonderful job. I
just want you to know that everyone really appreciates the work
you've done."

Leilani offered the staff a grateful
smile, which somewhat eased the tension in the small, hot trailer.
But she had a feeling in her gut that the worst was yet to
come.

A large section of Virginia Key Beach
was cordoned off for the shoot. Bodies milled about adjusting
lights, reflectors, and cameras for the master shot that would
account for the majority of the video and some of Dez's scenes. The
models found their way to the set and awaited direction from Sparks
and Leilani. They stood around chatting and adjusting their skimpy
costumes.

Bentley and his entourage made it onto
the set, and Desiree instantly joined Bentley. Hype Williams, one
of Desiree's favorite directors, instructed her.

"All right, Dez, before we start
shooting the master scene, we want to get some footage of you and
Bentley freestyling with each other," Hype said. "We're gonna do
some with audio and some with no audio. Just vibe off each other
and make it raw and hardcore, all right?" Hype had been the first
to congratulate her on her deal and promised to direct her first
solo video.

Desiree and Bentley did their takes as
the crew and cast stood transfixed. As dynamic as their chemistry
was behind closed doors, it was just as hot when they rapped.
Anyone who had thought that Desiree was just a pretty face, with
her boyfriend writing all of her rhymes, was shown proof of the
contrary. Hype, Leilani, and Sparks took a look at some of the
footage they shot. The grin on Hype's face said it all. Desiree had
that "it" factor that all stars possessed. He had the crew make
some adjustments to the reflectors and the position of the lights,
then proceeded to the master shot. Ysenia took this as an
opportunity to start some shit.

"Sorry, mami, but I need to cut in
here; just doing my job." Ysenia grabbed Bentley by the hand and
gave it a squeeze.