Chapter 6: Crush on You
The
little slut, Wanda thought to herself, Like
she’s all that ‘cuz she’s the lead singer. L’il hoe.
The show ended on a high note and
Avant Groove went to the Golden Spoon, a favorite hangout of theirs, to
celebrate a good show and Dominique’s stellar performance.
Everyone had settled into their
favorite large circular booth and already ordered their food from Carla, who
usually waited on them. Wanda settled back and watched as Eric and Lisa
bantered back and forth, Larry and Rob talked about the finer points of R &
B and sucked her teeth as she noticed how Terry and Dominique made goo-goo eyes
at each other. It made her want to vomit.
Terry’s
mine, she thought angrily, It’s not
fair! That little bitch just came in outta nowhere an’ snatched up my man!
Wanda had a crush on Terry from the
first time she saw him. Because of this, she tried to show that she was just as
competent and knowledgeable in music as Terry and Eric, but they always took it
the wrong way, thinking she was criticizing them. Terry never saw her the way
he saw Dominique and this pissed Wanda off to no end.
Wanda continued to stew quietly
until an idea flared to life and made her smile. She knew exactly what she
could do to fuck up Terry and Dominique’s budding romance. Wanda stretched and
yawned as if she were extremely tired.
“A little sleepy, Wanda?” Eric
asked.
“Yeah. I’ma go home and get me some
beauty rest.”
“Such as that is.” Larry commented.
“Ain’t that much sleep in the
world.” Rob chimed in. Wanda gave both of them the finger as she got up and put
her jacket on.
“Good night, y’all. By the way, you
did a good job tonight, Dominique.”
“Thank you.” Dom answered, surprised
at the spontaneous praise.
Terry was suddenly on his guard.
Wanda had done little else but talk about Dominique like a dog, so he was a
mite suspicious about the sudden change of heart. He just knew that the other
shoe was going to drop.
And drop it did.
“So, Terry, don’t forget about
tomorrow.”
“What’s happening tomorrow?”
“Don’t tell me you forgot about our
anniversary?”
Terry saw what Wanda was after and
she got it, because Dominique’s face was a mask of confusion that slowly
coalesced into anger.
“What?” Terry sputtered. “We don’t
have…”
“Anything planned? That’s all right,
we’ll think of something.” She cooed. Then Wanda administered the coup de grace
by kissing Terry long and deep.
“Bye.” Wanda turned and sauntered
towards the exit, grinning as the silent din of the bomb she dropped rang in
everyone’s mind.
Let’s
see how much you want him now, Dom. She thought to herself as she turned
and blew a kiss at Terry.
Terry could feel the word ‘Sucker’
stamped on his forehead. Wanda had played that little scene perfectly. He
reluctantly admitted to himself that Wanda was good. It wouldn’t help him with
Dom’s temper though, which promised to be legendary.
Before he could speak, Dom got up
and excused herself and headed towards the bathroom.
“That was foul,” Eric commented.
“That was ten steps past foul,” Lisa
added.
“Damn, Terry, Wanda fucked you up,
man.” Rob said as he crunched on an ice cube. “Glad I ain’t in your shoes.”
“Fuck you.”
“Don’t trip on me, bruh. Wanda
clowned yo ass, plain an’ simple.” He crunched on another ice cube. “Shit ain’t
my fault.” Terry wanted to say something, but he stayed silent.
“Talk to her” Lisa suggested.
“And get my head bitten off? No
thanks.”
“How else are you gonna tell her you
and Wanda aren’t together?” Eric added.
“Mental telepathy?”
“Now, you talkin’ crazy” Lisa said.
“If Apollo wanna go out like a
pussy, I say let him.” Rob stated and crunched another ice cube. “He couldn’t
handle a sista like dat anyway.”
“Fuck you, muthafucka” Terry
responded.
“Fuck you, bitch!” Rob thundered as
he stood up. Terry stood as well and was immediately restrained by Eric. Larry
grabbed Rob before he could start moving.
“Both
a’ you muthafuckas need to calm down!” Eric snarled. “Charlie will throw our
asses outta here and call the cops if y’all keep this shit up!” Eric hoped that
would break through the anger and keep the both of them from doing something
stupid.
Everyone in the restaurant was looking in their
direction, waiting for a fight to break out. Fortunately, Eric led Terry
towards the front door with Lisa in tow, while Larry kept Rob restrained at the
table. As they passed the Checkout counter, a tall, heavy man with graying
brown hair, glasses and a no-nonsense look about him got up and blocked their
way. Eric, Lisa and Terry immediately recognized Charlie, the night manager and
co-owner of the Golden Spoon. His girth was encased in a burgundy suit with a
white shirt and matching burgundy tie. His loafers shined with polish and his
face gleamed with non-amusement.
“What’s goin’ on here?” Charlie asked.
“We were talking and the discussion got a little
heated, sir.” Eric said with a pointed look at Terry. “It’s under control.”
“It better be. I’ll call the cops if it happens
again.”
“That won’t be necessary, sir.”
“All right, then.” Charlie moved back to his
customary table next to the counter. Eric, Terry and Lisa walked outside.
“Damn, Groove.” Lisa began. “Did you wanna kiss his
feet after you kissed his ass?”
“Look, we’re the wrong color to deal with the police
and I ain’t goin’ to jail for either of our two knuckleheads.” Eric responded
with another pointed look at Terry.
“Kiss my ass, Groove.”
“Whateva.” Eric snapped. “All this could’ve been
avoided if you’da talked to Dom when we told you to, so go talk to her. Now.”
“But—“
“Now.”
Terry glared at Eric who matched Terry’s glare with
one of equal intensity. Finally, Terry relented and went inside to knock on the
women’s bathroom door and possibly get his heart torn out by Dominique.
“Good work, Dad.” Lisa quipped.
“You want some, too? Don’t get me started.” Eric
groused as they went inside.
(c)2014 W.L. Sherrod
No comments:
Post a Comment