Sex, Secrets and South Beach (29 page)

"Look, I'm living proof that people
can change," Ginger said. Bentley sat silently digesting what
Ginger had told him.

"Are you a Christian, Bentley?" Ginger
asked him, interrupting his thoughts.

"No doubt."

"What's the best thing Jesus did for
us?" She quizzed him like he was one of her Sunday school
pupils.

"He died for us," Bentley answered
smugly.

"Very good. And what did that
accomplish?"

"You know," Bentley said, avoiding the
question. "What are you, some kind of Sunday school
teacher?"

"Yes" - Ginger grinned - "I am. And
I'll be marrying a minister in three months. What is your
point?"

"You went from the strip club to
Sunday school?"

"Yeah! Look, it's like I told you,
people change. But this ain't all about me. To answer the question,
when Jesus died, we were forgiven all our sins." Ginger raised an
eyebrow.

"Well, I ain't Jesus!" Bentley
remarked sardonically.

"No. You most certainly are not. And
it's a good thing you aren't. We might still be hell-bound if we
had to count on you for forgiveness. Now, if God can forgive the
whole world for committing sins far greater than anything Desi's
ever even thought of, can't you forgive her? Are you better than
Jesus?" Ginger put the pressure on.

"Okay, I get your point.
I'll
talk
to her.
But I'm not making any promises. It's just crazy seeing her all the
time and not peaking. It could be bad for business."

"Right, business," Ginger said
sarcastically. She could see right through Bentley. He wasn't a bad
guy; he was just young and full of pride. "You do love her, don't
you? If you don't, don't waste your time or hers. Let her go."
Ginger couldn't help being protective; she didn't want to see Dez
hurt any more.

"Yeah, I love her," Bentley
admitted.

"Can't help it, can you?" Ginger
rubbed his arm in a matronly fashion.

"Nah. There's just something about
her..."

"I know. You were lucky enough to meet
the real Desi. Now, be smart enough not to let her walk away,"
Ginger said.

Bentley smiled at her. "You're
something else, you know that?" He cocked his head and looked at
Ginger curiously. How was it that some woman he'd never seen was
able to get him to talk to Dez when no one, not even Dez herself,
could? Bentley chalked it up to her sincerity. Ginger seemed as
real as they came. Despite all the God talk, she seemed to be
accepting and nonjudgmental, unlike most religious people he knew.
It didn't hurt that she was fine too.

Ginger laughed. "That's what they
say."

"Is Dez home?" Bentley inquired. "I
got something to tell her."

"Yeah, she's here." Ginger stayed
planted in her seat but yelled at the top of her lungs for Dez to
come downstairs. She looked at Bentley and laughed
again.

"You can take the girl out of the
ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the girl." Ginger
grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

Dez came bounding down the steps in a
sports bra and yoga pants. She wanted to look sexy, but she also
wanted it to look like she wasn't trying. Ginger winked at her when
she appeared in the kitchen.

"Bentley. This is a surprise," Dez
lied, feigning shock.

"Hey, babe," he said, smiling at
her.

Babe! He called me babe
again!
Dez's heart leapt with joy. She had
no idea what Ginger had said to Bentley, but she could sense that
whatever it was had helped. Bentley stood and crossed the floor to
where Dez stood. Her heart was palpitating wildly.

"I was here to talk to Sparks, but
this has everything to do with you." He grabbed her hand and
smiled.

"What?" Dez could barely utter a
syllable. Ginger sat silently spectating from the
sideline.

"I've been nominated for several BET
Awards," he began cockily.

"That's great!" Dez replied
enthusiastically. She'd been so busy with Ginger that she'd
forgotten about the nominations announcement. She still saw Bentley
as her man and couldn't help supporting his efforts. She wanted so
badly to give him a congratulatory kiss.

"And one of them is for the song with
you! We've been nominated for Best Rap Collabo for the remix!"
Bentley announced.

"Oh my God!" Dez shrieked. "You've got
to be kidding! We're nominated for a BET Award?" Dez did a little
dance and jumped up and down. Ginger hopped up from her chair and
hugged Dez with all her might.

"Oh, Desi! I'm so happy for you! You
deserve it. I know you're going to win!" Ginger cried.

"You know, without you, I wouldn't be
here," Dez responded.

"All that matters is that you're
here," Ginger answered modestly. "Congratulations, Bentley!" Ginger
gave Bentley a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Talk to her," she
whispered in his ear before joining their hands and leaving the
kitchen with a mischievous smile on her face.

Bentley looked into Dez's feline eyes
and couldn't believe that he'd allowed himself to remain angry with
her for so long. She was so beautiful and so sweet.

"Bentley, I'm sorry," she
began.

He interrupted her apology with a
kiss. "Dez, we've got a lot to work out. But I do want to work it
out. I love you," he murmured in her ear, stroking her hair as he
held her tightly.

"I love you too," she whispered back.
Then she cast her eyes toward the ceiling and silently mouthed an
amen for all her granted blessings.

Leilani stood at the Delta
Airlines gate at Miami
International
Airport, eagerly awaiting Sparks's arrival. He was one of the last
people to exit the plane. He looked exhausted, but Leilani figured
that one of her special massages would get his juices flowing. But
when she greeted him, she couldn't help but notice that there was
absolutely no passion in his kiss.

"What's wrong, Sparky?"
she asked him, fearful of his answer. In the few short months they
had been seeing each other, Leilani had grown attached to Sparks.
At first she had mainly been interested in who he was and what he
could do for her. However, she felt no shame about that, because at
least what she felt
now
was real. It was hard for a woman to make it in
the entertainment industry, and it's not like he was interested in
her only for her mind. He wanted a trophy, and she provided that
service for him. The way she saw it, one hand washed the other. But
now she had feelings for him, strong ones. She couldn't imagine her
life without Sparks. She thought about him all day and dreamed
about him all night. Who would she find better than him? He was the
epitome of a man, the pinnacle, a true catch.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" he
asked her. He hated when she called him Sparky. That name only
sounded right coming from Dez's lips. He was going to cut to the
chase, then check into a hotel, handle some business, and head back
to New York.

"Aren't you staying with me?" she
asked.

"I don't think that's such a good
idea," he said softly.

Leilani stopped walking, dropped his
hand, and stood in front of him. "Hold up. What's the deal? Before,
you couldn't get enough of me. Now you don't even want to stay with
me?" she asked him, her voice getting slightly louder.

"Can we just go grab a bite to eat and
talk about this?" Sparks didn't want to draw too much attention to
himself. He preferred to keep a low profile.

"I had a feeling something was wrong!
Are you going to dump me?" she asked, bypassing the bullshit. This
caught Sparks off guard. He'd planned a speech to give her over
dinner. He was confident that she would handle the situation like a
lady, but he could see that he had overestimated her.

"You're fucking dumping me, aren't
you? I could tell something was up from that tired-ass kiss you
gave me. Plus, you haven't been calling me like usual. I knew it!"
Leilani screamed. Several people began to point and
whisper.

"Lower your voice, Leilani, please. I
said we need to talk, but here is not the place," he said
evenly.

"Don't tell me what the place is. The
place is where I make it! You're dumping me, and I want to know
why. Does it have something to do with that bitch Dez? She got to
you, didn't she? You all have been fucking, haven't you?" she
asked, jealousy dripping from her lips.

"Relax, Leilani. Let's get my bag and
get out of here!" Sparks was willing to say or do anything to get
her out of the airport and somewhere with more privacy. It was
obvious that a restaurant wasn't going to work either. "Let's just
go to your house."

"So you're not dumping
me?" Leilani looked hopeful. Not answering her, Sparks kissed her
on the cheek and walked around her toward baggage claim.
Crazy broad!
he
thought.

Thankfully, his baggage arrived in a
short time, and soon they were in Leilani's convertible and on
their way to her apartment. They rode in silence, Leilani staring
out the window pensively as she whipped her tiny car through the
Miami streets. Her almond eyes were narrowed to slits, and her
expression was hostile, but when she noticed Sparks looking at her,
she gave him a big smile.

As soon as they were across the
threshold of Leilani's apartment, she pounced. She smothered Sparks
with kisses, clawing at his clothes and grinding her pelvis against
his. She snaked her hand down to his crotch to get him nice and
hard, but something was drastically wrong. His penis was totally
limp. "Okay, nigga. You need to explain some shit!" she barked,
pushing him away.

"Leilani, calm down."

"I will not fucking calm down,
motherfucker. Are you a fag or something? A batty boy? Did you meet
someone else? What? What's the deal? It's got to be something
because there is no way you could not want this!" Leilani said,
running her hands across her body.

"Look, Leilani. I like you, but I
think you're better off with someone else. We aren't gonna work
out." Sparks decided to come right out with it. Leilani would be
mad, but she'd get over it. She was a beautiful girl, she'd meet
someone new.

"Fuck you!" she spat. "That's
bullshit. There's only one reason why a nigga flips the script all
of a sudden, and that's because he's fucking somebody else. Who are
you fucking?" Leilani's Jamaican accent appeared out of nowhere,
thick as molasses.

"I'm outta here."
This is too much drama!
Sparks thought, picking up his cell phone to call a cab.
Leilani snatched it and hurled it at the wall, smashing it into
myriad pieces.

"I hate you!" Leilani shrieked. Then
she began to rant in patois, spewing forth expletives like a
geyser. It was bumbaclot this, batty boy that, and rasclot the
other. Sparks observed her tirade, unsure of what to do next. He
could try and calm her down, but that probably wouldn't work.
Leilani was liable to haul off and hit him or, worse, try to really
hurt him. Then he'd go to jail, because he'd surely kill her crazy
ass. He didn't want to put his label or artists' careers in
jeopardy. A scandal surrounding Dez was one thing, but a scandal
surrounding him was another story altogether. Sparks's thoughts
were interrupted by a shoe hitting him squarely upside the
head.

"What the fuck?" Sparks had to stop
himself from choking the life out of Leilani. Not an easy task.
"Yo, I'm up outta here." Sparks grabbed his bag, shoved Leilani out
of the way, and made his escape. He didn't care if he had to walk
all the way back to New York; he just knew he wasn't going to spend
another minute in Leilani's presence.

Luckily, Leilani resided in South
Beach, so he walked to the Loews Hotel. He was a puddle of sweat
thanks to the South Florida sun, but it didn't matter. He took a
shower and ordered from room service, glad he'd broken off the
relationship before things had gotten any more serious. He'd heard
that Jamaican girls weren't to be tangled with, and now he knew
exactly why. Leilani had transformed into a madwoman! But Sparks
knew Leilani's tantrum was fueled by a little more than island
blood. Regardless of whether or not her accusations were justified,
Leilani was clearly not balanced.