Secret Society (7 page)

“No, sweetheart, that was the club entrance. You know that hill we rode up when we first got here? If you were to drive down it you’d see an off-road. That leads you to the main entrance,” Terry explained.

“Damn,” I said. “That’s some hot shit.”

“Ain’t it, though. Long ways from Philly,” Tina said, taking a puff from Derrek’s cigarette.

“The man who owns this place, Cairo, his wife doesn’t want for anything and she never lifts a finger. This is the kind of life I want to give to Tina,” Derrek said.

Tina just smiled at Derrek’s comment. I didn’t think she knew how serious he was.

“You both deserve this kind of life, and you should let us give it to you,” Terry said.

I
got back from Mexico just in time for the Fourth of July. I checked my machine and there were no new messages. That was surprising. Things were a lot different without the three dudes I came into the game with. I didn’t have anybody to chill with, and with Tina being gone I was bound to be miserable. I thought about calling Shawn, but since that incident with Tina and his bull Chris he hadn’t called me, and I wasn’t into chasing no nigga. The only other option was my new fling, Darrell. He was fine as hell and fun.

“Hello,” a female voice answered.

“Hello, uh, can I speak to Darrell?” I asked hesitantly.

“Darrell is out with the kids. Who’s calling?” the woman asked, sounding just as confused as me.

“It’s Celess.”

“Celess, I’m Rachel, Darrell’s wife. What is this in reference to?”

“Nothing anymore,” I said with an attitude.

I was so pissed that you would have thought Darrell been my man for years.

“Well, uh, what would it have been in reference to had I not been his wife?” she asked, returning the attitude.

I was in a shitty mood and this bitch wasn’t helping any, so I decided to give her what she was asking for.

“This would have been in reference to us spending another beautiful day at his beach house, and another movie wouldn’t hurt. Oh, yeah, and I would have definitely been in the mood for some of his homemade dumplings—”

She cut me off and blurted out, “Are you trying to say you fucked my husband?”

“No, your husband fucked me, even though I could have fucked him, seeing as how I have a dick,” I shot at her.

“What? Wh-what are you talking about?” she stuttered.

I calmed myself and decided I was going too far. I was only with Darrell one time and it was no reason for me to put him out there like that to his wife. It wasn’t her fault he was cheating on her, and he didn’t know that I was a man, so I damn sure shouldn’t have disclosed that information to her.

“Nothing! Never mind! I’m just pissed that he didn’t tell me he was married,” I said, trying to clean up my prior statement.

“I’m pissed too,” she said. “How long have you two been seeing each other?”

“Since April, but we only had sex once,” I admitted.

“That son of a bitch! He was with you while I was giving birth to his child,” she mumbled.

I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing by telling her so much, but it was fun airing his dirty laundry. I felt like it was what he deserved for being so stupid.

“Listen, I’m sorry about all of this. I know you must be very hurt right now. But you don’t have to worry about me calling Darrell anymore. I am through with him. Good-bye,” I said.

“No, no, please, don’t hang up.”

“Excuse me?”

“I want you to come over. Not today, because we’re expecting guests. But one day next week. I’ll call you. He’s coming, I have to go, ’bye,” she said in a rush.

I knew Darrell was too good to be true. That day at his beach house was probably something he did on the regular with a different girl every time. I didn’t know why he would give me his house number if he was married, I thought. To be so cute, he was dumb as a damn doorknob.

I gave up on trying to hook up with somebody. I figured I’d lie around the house and watch movies to pass the time. But I just got bored with myself. I was lonely, and that was something I wasn’t used to, especially on a holiday. I even thought about how nice it would have been to visit my mom. But I hadn’t seen her since I left home almost four years ago, before I started dressing up. So I was not about to go around her like this, and she wouldn’t have wanted me to either. Just when I thought I was hopeless, my cell phone rang.

“Yes,” I answered.

“What’s up, sexy?”

“Who is this?” I asked.

“Throwback,” he answered, as smooth as can be.

“Ohhh, hi,” I said, remembering the night he got that name.

“You got plans for today?”

“Hell, no,” I said.

“Well, I’m in Philly, so let’s hook up,” he said.

“Oh, sweetheart, you are a lifesaver.”

Throwback came and picked me up, but this time instead of a platinum Benz, he was in a green Mercury Tracer.

“Tina, I can get past that the car didn’t have leather seats or a sunroof. But the damn thing didn’t even have AC! It was ninety-degree weather out there! I thought I was going to die! Talking about it’s broke! I was heated! Literally! Then when I offered to drive my car, he said no!”

Laughing like she was watching an episode of
Martin,
Tina asked, “Why didn’t he want to take the Range Rover?”

“This nigga talkin’ about it’s too flashy! He said if a girl was going to be with him she had to like him for him and ride with whatever! I told his ass that he might as well drop me back off because I wasn’t the girl for him!”

“Girl, I’m about to cry, I’m laughing so hard,” Tina said. “What did he say after you told him to drop you off?”

“Nothing. He dropped my ass back off.”

“Well, what happened to the Benz?” Tina asked, still choking on her own laughter.

“It wasn’t his from gate. It was his uncle’s. The one that live up here.”

Tina’s laughing slowed up. “Well, what about the cute boy you just met, what’s his name, David, Darnell?”

“Oh, my God, Darrell? Let me tell you about his married-with-kids-ass whose wife wants me to come over, for what, I don’t know, but I’m guessing it’s to see the look on his salty-ass face when he sees me and his wife chillin’ together,” I ran it down.

Tina just laughed some more. “Drama knows exactly where to find you.”

“You ain’t never lie,” I agreed in a pitiful voice.

“Aw, poor baby. What are you going to do?”

“Be lonely like I was before all this shit,” I said.

“Aw, it’ll be all right,” Tina sighed.

“No, it won’t. Come back,” I sighed back. “If you was home, me and you would have tore the streets up today,” I continued.

“I know, but…”

“But what? When are you coming back? Chris is busy boxing, he ain’t thinking about you no more,” I pleaded.

“It ain’t Chris I’m worried about. It’s Derrek. He…”

“He what?” I asked.

“He asked me to marry him,” Tina said timidly.

“What? Marry him? Whatever!”

“I’m serious, Celess.”

“And did he give you a one-way ticket back home when you said no?”

“I didn’t say no.”

“What? So you are going to marry him?”

“Yes.”

I was surprised and mad at the same time. I think deep down inside I knew if Tina married Derrek she would definitely not come back to Philly, and that would hurt my heart. I mean, Tina was all I really had. She was my friend and my family.

“So when is this supposed to happen?”

“We didn’t set a date yet, but soon.”

“Um, um, um…”

“You mad?” Tina asked. She must have sensed it.

“No,” I lied. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

Tina knew I was bullshittin’. She started explaining herself.

“I’m just tired of playing the game, you know?” she said. “Derrek is perfect for me. He knows everything about me already and he’s cool with it. Plus he got plenty dough and I know I’m safe with him. I can just chill. My worries are over with him—all of them, you know?”

As much as I hated to admit it, Tina was right. Derrek was her best bet. I was just jealous and lonely at that time. I was feeling left out. I mean, Tina introduced to me this game of dressing up and having dudes thinking I’m a chick, taking care of me. And now it would be like I was out here alone playing by myself.

“Well?” Tina asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“Well, what?”

“Are you still mad?”

I thought about her question and I realized that if the shoe was on the other foot, if somebody who knew all about me, who could take care of me, and who I was attracted to offered to take me away from all the stress and bullshit of going from man to man, I would take him up on it.

“No, girl, I’m not still mad,” I said sincerely. “I just can’t believe it. Tina getting married?” I pondered aloud.

“I know, right. It sounds crazy, but it’s the best thing to do. I would be a damn fool to say no.”

“You’re right and I’m happy for you, for real,” I said with tears in my eyes.

The clock said eight twenty-five. I turned over in my bed and reached for my ringing phone, wondering who could be calling me this early on a Monday.

“Hello,” I said, sounding like I had swallowed a mouthful of sand.

“Hello, may I speak with Celess?”

I sat up, trying to figure out who the voice on the other end of the phone belonged to.

“Who’s calling?” I asked, praying it wasn’t any bill collectors.

“This is Rachel Greene, Darrell’s wife,” she answered.

I took a breath. “What can I do for you?”

“I am so sorry to wake you. Darrell just left for work. Listen, I want you to come over to the house this evening so when he comes in from work, you’ll be here and we can get to the bottom of this,” she began.

“Rachel, listen, my part is done. I don’t think I want to get any more involved in you and your husband’s personal problems than I already have.”

Rachel cut in quick. “I understand that completely, but when I confront him about you, he’ll just deny it, and if I don’t have solid proof, he’ll just wind up getting away with cheating on me like he always does. You know how men are.”

“I don’t know…” I said.

“I need your help. I mean, us women have to stick together. You didn’t know he was married. It’s not your fault.”

“I know, but…”

“He was obviously going to try to play you too,” Rachel said.

She sold me with that one.

“What’s your address?”

I promised to be at Rachel’s house by four-thirty. I figured, fuck it, I didn’t have anything to lose. Plus, I couldn’t wait to see what Darrell was going to do when he walked in from work and saw me in his house with his wife.

I made sure I looked sexy. I put on some Dolce & Gabbana jean booty shorts, a white wife beater, and a pair of gold BCBG stilettos. I wore my gold Chanel jewelry and my white and gold Chanel bag. I pulled my hair back in a slick ponytail held together with a gold Chanel clip. I threw on my gold Chanel belt, put on my gold Chanel glasses, and left. I was fly.

It was four-thirty when I arrived at Rachel’s. I parked the Range Rover on the corner of the block as planned, then walked down the street, passing three single homes to reach Rachel’s. It was a brick single two-story home with vinyl sides. The grass was freshly cut and a small garden was maintained along the walkway. I rang the doorbell.

“Hiii,” Rachel sang as she let me in her house.

I gave a slight smile and said hello.

“Celess, it is nice to meet you,” she said, looking me over. “Have a seat.”

I sat down on a red fabric sofa neatly decorated with multicolored pillows. In front of me was a wooden coffee table with a glass top. There were issues of
Essence
and
Sports Illustrated
spread across it.

“Can I get you anything to drink—a glass of water, perhaps?”

“Yes, thank you.”

I looked around the house. The walls were covered with family photos. From the looks of it, Darrell and his wife had three kids, two boys and an infant girl. I was disgusted that he never mentioned any of them. One thing I couldn’t stand was a man who denied his kids. Did he think I wouldn’t have dealt with him if he told me he had children? And if so, it’s not that much good pussy in the world (even if I did have one).

“Here you are,” Rachel said as she set the tall glass of ice water down on the table.

She sat down in a reclining chair to my right and crossed her legs. Rachel seemed very sophisticated and somewhat posh. She had pale light skin with big brown eyes and a big smile. She wore her hair down on her shoulders. It was bouncy and curled. She had on a dark blue jean skirt that came to her ankles with a slit up the side to her knee. Her yellow short-sleeve cotton shirt was tucked in neatly, revealing a brown leather belt. She had on some brown flip-flops to match her belt. A pretty face, but she was so simple. She was a plain Jane. She had nothing on me.

“You have a beautiful home,” I said, trying to break the awkward silence.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling, staring at me strangely. “We just did some remodeling right before the baby was born,” she explained.

“How old is she?” I asked, referring to the baby girl in the pictures.

“She’s going on three months. I had her on April twenty-first, the day Darrell had to close an urgent business deal, or so he said. But I’m sure he was at the beach house with you,” she said, still smiling.

I almost spit out my water.