Chapter 26: Thanksgiving (Finale)

Roman had gone into full ring master mode on Thanksgiving. I sat in the living room with my legs crossed at the ankles watching as he ran up and down making preparations for dinner. He was on the phone the entire morning making sure that the turkey would be delivered on time. He surprised me when he whipped out pots and pans and a recipe book and got to work baking cornbread and oven roasting sweet potatoes. At three I finally decided to get up off my lazy ass and help him out. Mashed potatoes is pretty basic and we got a good conversation in while I peeled potatoes and put them to boil along with some collard greens and mixed vegetables. My grandmother had taught me to bake bread so I made some home-made buns.

Coco came in at four with two pumpkin pies, and when Scarlet strode in a half hour later she was not pleased to find Roman and me in the kitchen. "I need to put this ham in for an hour." She had preped a ham the night before, all it needed now was to sit in some heat for an hour. Her boyfriend Jean Claude Philippe came over, he was dressed immaculately in a black linen suit. He had that famous French nose, too long with an ugly bump, but other than that he was handsome. Jean Claude's family owned a vineyard in the French countryside, he and Scarlet met at an art gallery two weeks ago, but if you met them you would swear that they've been together for decades. 

Dinner was two hours late, we intended to begin at six but we didn't start until eight. Kitty Kat walked in just as Roman started cussing her out every way he knew how, he gave her a sour look when he realized that she'd brought company. "Who's this?" Roman began his interrogation. 

"This is my friend  Shane D'Angelo Cooper, he's a performer at this underground club, you should come sometime. Angel, you remember Brooklyn, this guy with the sour face is Roman, he's just a bit peeved because this is our first Thanksgiving without our friend JQ. That's Scarlet and her boyfriend JC, Coco, never underestimate her, trust me, and Dom."

"Wow," Dom said strolling toward Archangel with her large booty swaying seductively. "Kitty always knows where to find the fine ones. Come'ere and sit next to me."

We gathered around the table, there was more food than we initially started with since every time a roommate came home they brought something with them. We sat at a round glass table that was rarely used, it sat five so a couple of chairs had to be drawn  up. Roman said a quick prayer, thanking God for family and friends and then we started sharing food. 

For JC, this was his first Thanksgiving away from his family. "Hopefully next year you'll celebrate with your wife." Kitty winked at him and Scarlet blushed.

"Next year you'll all be coming over to my penthouse. Maybe I'll have an Emmy or at least have gotten nominated." Roman grinned.

"Here, here!" I raised a glass of wine, Roman touched his glass to mine and we took a big swallow. 

"Next year JQ won't be missing." Coco put in, "Here, here." We clinked our glasses together.

"And Dom will finally beat out Lambskin Dildo for the Woody! Here, here!" Dom joined in the glass clinking, I had to refill before I could swig again. 

"Y'all are really strippers and porn stars?" Archangel asked, his eyes bouncing between Kitty and me.

"They're all strippers, except for Dom who's an adult film actress, Coco is retired, she's a club manager now and I'm a designer and in charge of Kandy Shoppe's promotions."

There was a lull in conversation while platters and bowls were being passed around, it was Scarlet who broke the silence. "I haven't spoken to Braxton yet so I didn't want to say anything, but you are my family and it's only fair for you to be the first to know." My heart sank, "JC and I just got together but there's a lot of love between us. JC's family are very prominent, and I see him in my future so I'm going to have to do what's necessary. I'm quitting Kandy Shoppe and stripping. That part of my life is past now, and I'm excited to become a wife and mother."

As sad as I was about her leaving, I was overjoyed that one of my girls had found someone to settle down with, someone who made her happy and would love her unconditionally. We all told her how proud we were of her and congratulated her and JC on their future. She would be moving to France in a month. It hit me that I'd already lost JQ, and Roman already dropped the bomb that he'd be gone in January and now Scarlet was leaving as well.

"Mr. Cooper," Roman drawled, "What do you do?"

"Officially I'm an officer with the K-9 unit of the NYPD, but I do some work--mostly behavioural and training--with the SPCA."

"Uh oh! Mr. Officer!" Dom laughed and bumped her shoulder into him.

Coco scrunched up her face, "You're a cop? I didn't get that vibe from you."

"I'm on leave right now."

"Why?" Bold Dom asked.

"My last case involved a conflict of interest and I also lost my dog so..."

Poetic Justice, a movie in the 90s which starred Tupac Shakur and an all star cast about a poet named Justice. But Angel had to be the full package, he is a cop who recites poems so deep that they touch your soul. My mother has two phrases which she used often to describe whether she liked or disliked a person, either her spirit took to them or it didn't, and my spirit took to Shane D'Angelo Cooper. There was a calm to him, despite everything he went through, and it was infectious. There was something else that drew people in to him and I could see Roman battling it, he hated getting close to anyone he didn't know, hated letting his guard down and Angel's mere presence was making him.

"What did you do?" Dom pressed.

"I'm not allowed to talk about it." Just like that he dismissed the topic.

"Since it's Thanksgiving we should all say what we're thankful for." Roman announced, "I'll start. I'm thankful for everyone here, even the ones I just met. I'm thankful to know all of my girls, each of you brought something to my life that I've been missing since I was sixteen, you are my family now. Even Dom when she's being a pain in the ass." We all laughed. "I'm thankful to have met JQ, he was somebody who understood what I was going through, he understood why my mood shifted so quickly and he taught me how to relax and let people in, from that moment it's been easy and I'll continue to pray for him and his family every day."

Coco was next, "I feel the same about each of you, there's a reason you're all in my life, some more temporary than others but each having an impact. I'm thankful for good friends and an extended family. I'm thankful that this thanksgiving I'm not fighting with my sisters over the leftovers that Ma brought home with her from the restaurant she worked at. I'm thankful for where I am today, I had given up on myself but God hadn't given up on me."

Kitty grinned, "I'm thankful that I get to be Kitty Kat, a person who I always felt like on the inside but was too afraid to be. I'm thankful for my friends and family and this food that Roman didn't cook so I know we won't die of food poisoning tonight." We chuckled. "I'm thankful that my family continues to grow and even when things seem lost we manage to overcome and we get closer together because of it. I'm thankful for Angel and JC, there are people out there daring enough to enter our house of sins and real enough not to judge us. Here, here!" We toasted and swallowed.

It was Dom's turn next and I was curious about what she would say. "I'm thankful for a job, for roommates like you and your friendship, and for this bangin' body that God gave me." She giggled and my roommates and me made disagreeing sounds in our throats and laughed at our crazy Dom.

Angel said, "Despite everything I'm thankful for where I am, I'm not where I need to be but thank God I'm not where I used to be."

JC nodded, he said what he was thankful for but in French, then he said, "I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know you all, I'm thankful for the woman beside me."

Scarlet blushed, "Well, I'm thankful for the man beside me and everyone at this table. I love y'all! Here, here!" Glasses clinked and wine was swallowed.

It was my turn, "I'm feeling Angel right now, I'm thankful for where I am, it's a hell of a lot better than where I've been. I'm thankful that I'm not the person that I used to be, when that Brooklyn came here, she was a frightened, insecure little girl who was away from her mommy for the first time, now she's bolder, more comfortable with the person that she is and she would have never become this person without all of you." I sipped some wine, Roman chastised me with a grunt, "I've overcome my share of obstacles since I'm been here, and I'm thankful that I didn't crumble and fall. I'm thankful for my promotion but I'm not going to take it, like I said, I'm thankful for where I am."

"You are crazy as hell." Dom told me. "You'll be working with Azari and maybe next in line to run the NY office."

"I didn't come to New York to be the boss. I came here to figure out how to be a more independent Brooklyn and I've done that. So for now, I'm good with graphical design and promotions." The new Mr. Braxton would not be pleased at all about having to have all of my things moved back down to my corner office, and I'm not sure how Mr. Braxton senior would take me declining his offer, but I needed to do what was best for Brooklyn and Brooklyn was not ready to be a boss, she was still getting over what happened in L.A. and Stone's betrayal while dealing with JQ's departure and the 'what if' phenomenon.

"Brooklyn," Angel said, "You sound as if you're not done yet,  you say you'e gained your independence yet you're not ready to be in a leadership position, what's next for you? If you don't mind me asking, I'm just curious."

I smiled, that was a good question, something I hadn't really thought about. "I haven't given it much thought, but everyone seems to be branching out and preparing to do their own thing, maybe I'll do mine. I always loved graphical design but I never really knew what I wanted to do with it. Kandy Shoppe pulled me out of my element big time, I've seen things even the biggest ho back home couldn't even imagine so as far as promotions are concerned I learnt how to think outside of the box, even if it means stepping outside of my comfort zone. I've come to love event planning and management, I mean, even though what Braxton made me do caused my blood to crawl, it was always awesome to see the event I planned go smoothly."

"Are you thinking about starting your own company then?"

"Maybe, that's a huge possibility."

After dinner we drifted to the living room area and sat down talking, getting to know JC and Angel. JC was royalty in France, literally, if he were born in the sixteenth century, he would have been the cousin of the crowned prince, or something like that. He showed us pictures of his vineyard in the country side and the majestic horses he bred, he also showed us pictures of the city and the country during the different seasons and I had to admit France was a beautiful place, I hope I get to visit it one day. Angel wasn't big on talking, he mostly listened to what everyone had to say but he answered questions readily. It was after one in the morning when JC and Scarlet left, Angel lingered to help us clean up although we told him it was okay.

While he helped me put food into containers and get it into the fridge, I asked him where he was from, he told me that he was born and raised in Virginia but didn't go into much detail after that. When it was time for him to leave Kitty was passed out on the couch, her wine glass still in her hand so I offered to see him out. We were coming off the elevator when I caught him staring at me. "What?"

Angel shrugged, "You're an interesting person. I know all about reading body language and while you speak with confidence, the way you fold your arms and look past people, you're not comfortable in your own skin."

"I'm still getting used to this one." I confessed.

He pulled my arms down and tilted my head so that I was looking at him, "There, now you're talking to me not at me. It was nice getting to know you Brooklyn, maybe we should hang out some more."

"That's not a good idea. I'm terrible at picking men, and I think Kitty kinda likes you. It was nice getting to know you too, although I still know as much about you as I did at the club, or when you walked in the door. I guess you are going to be one of those people who leave me wondering what their story is."

"It's a shame really, mine is quite a story." He grinned and stepped outside into the drizzle of cold November rain. I went back to the elevator, my mind miles away in Florida, this was the first Thanksgiving I had spent away from home and I doubted if it would be the last. I had no idea what was in store for Brooklyn James in the future, but I was scared and excited to find out.

Chapter 25: The Story of Maggie

When I got home, Roman was waiting for me. "I'm sorry you had to find everything out like this." He said as soon as I pulled the door open, I had a massive headache, the last thing I wanted to talk about was the events of the last week. I needed a break, I needed to unwind and I needed to be away from Roman.

"Where's Kitty?" I asked rubbing my throbbing temple.

"In her room."

"Thanks."

I found Kitty sprawled across her bed, a Hello Kitty pillow between her legs, her head was over the side of the bed, her arms dangled awkwardly to the floor. She was watching a video on her iPad which was on the floor between her hands. "Hey Mama." She greeted me without looking up.

"What are you doing tonight?"

Kitty folded one of her arms beneath her chin and tilted her head to look at me. "I was going to this poetry club down town. One of my friends introduced me to it and I must say I'm impressed by the talent."

"Cool, I'll tag along."

"Be ready for seven."

"Okay."

I took some pain killers and went to bed. My alarm woke me at five and I went to take a shower and ate some leftover Chinese food. I always missed JQ when it was time to eat and with Thanksgiving only days away, I still feared food poisoning. Coco waved to me on her way out of the apartment, "Motherfucking Azari." She grumbled.

"Azari's here?" Dom's head whipped around, she was sitting in the living room watching television.

"He's going to take over the office," I explained, "Stone fucked up big."

"Rumour has it that he's going to have some good help with running things." Coco winked at me as she headed out the door. God I hoped my working relationship with Azari won't cause me the same problems with Dom as my living arrangements with JQ had. I must say Dom has good taste in men, she didn't just jump on some random man at a club, he had to have money and look like an Ambercrombi model.

I retreated to my bedroom, Roman was on the phone with his manager, his eyes pleaded with me. I wasn't mad with him, I just wasn't in the mood for his apologies and having to face my own stupidity.

I dressed in a jade colored romper with a low cut in the neck. I noticed for the first time that my behind and thighs had gotten bigger. My mother had wide hips and thick thighs and apparently I was on the way to looking like her in the lower region. I was on the way to busting out of my B cups and would have to go underwear shopping. I decided to forego jewellery and stepped into a pair of red pumps. I went to the power room where Kitty was applying light makeup. I did a nude eye look and applied cat-eyes liner, then applied some red lipstick. I let my hair swing, it hung down to my butt now, I needed a  hair cut.

"Let's head out then." Kitty said and clapped her hands. She wore tight jeans and a white lace blouse, pink pumps and accessories added a pop of color to her outfit.

We climbed into the Escalade and Kitty drove us to the club. It was located in the basement of an unused warehouse, if you did not know the location it would have been easy to miss it. On stage a woman was crooning her lungs out while a bass player strummed his instrument. People were sitting at round tables sipping javas.

"Hey Charlie," Kitty led me over to the bar, "This is my friend Brooklyn."

"I know, Flow's girl." The bartender nodded and slid a apple martini to Kitty. "What'll you be having Brooklyn?"

He was a big man with a Jersey accent, buzz cut, stubble and brown eyes that seemed to belong to a child rather than this burly fella. "I'm good." I told him and he offered me a complimentary espresso.

"Okay, okay, that was Miss Vex ladies and gents!" The host strode onto the stage and snapped his fingers along with everyone else in the club, it amused me, I felt like I had been kicked back to the nineties. "Miss Kitty Kat has just entered the club y'all, give it up."

Kitty wiggled her eyebrows at me before strolling onto the stage. The bass player gave her a tempo and Kitty closed her eyes, what came out of her mouth was the deepest, most passionate tale I had ever heard. A tale about a young girl who came to a strange country, a girl who was raped by a man she trusted and used by the men she loved, it described the child as a rose, soft, delicate, white with innocence and later the rose bled red as innocence was lost and then became black as she gave up on moral and ethics and did what she had to to survive. It told of how this girl who came from nothing found everything she could ever want in a house of strangers, in an industry that was frowned upon, about how she had learnt to love herself and how she is now ready to try to find love again. When Kitty's tale ended the patrons snapped and she came back to me, a pleased smile on her face.

"That was amazing." I breathed.

The host called up another performer, the club went wild with snapping and cheering. "Ooo, listen to this, this guy is so deep, you'll feel like he's reaching into your soul and telling your life story."

The host had called the well muscled, mahogany skinned guy Archangel, three women followed him on stage and when the base started the women started wailing. The guy licked his lips and a few of the women in the room shrieked. When the guy started speaking I was hypnotized, his voice pulled me in. "Come closer, closer, closer, silence is a virtue for what I'm about to tell you. A story about a little girl named Maggie who never understood love. See, Maggie was only eight years old when her mother found a boyfriend and started acting like she struck gold. They got married, he moved in and then began the game of cat and mouse that little Maggie couldn't win. Puberty came early, for this girl in my story, maybe it was her genes or it could have been her jeans, and her step father, let's just call him Jean. With her breasts poppin' and hips rollin' Jean couldn't help but notice that little Maggie wasn't so little any longer. For weeks the nights seemed longer as old Jean began to ponder, replacing his wife with his his step daughter. It wasn't long before Jean began to knock on little Maggie's door, it was his house and his roof so she could not ignore the sound."

The room had fallen into silence, the woman screeched into the mic, a forlorn sound, a haunting wail, Archangel made a sound in the mic with his tongue, a knock, knock, knock. "Little Maggie pulled the door open, Jean said, 'hey baby girl how's it goin',', 'fine', she replied, the innocence of a child toward a man she trusted, the only father that she's ever known was about to treat her like she's grown. He said on her bed, said they were going to have a talk and the unsuspecting child began the walk to the event that would shape the rest of her life. So she sat down beside him and they talked, he told her how much he loved her mother who was his wife, and then he touched her, the bulges in her Belle and Beast nightgown, told her a man had desires, things that the child could not understand but she nodded." The base stopped playing, a keyboardist played a suspenseful note, one that left everybody waiting, curious about what would happen next. "He said, 'Maggie get up and take this dress off girl', the child was confused, but she was a good girl, she did as she was told although she was about to be used. The cotton pooled on the floor and she stood there, in nothing but her flowered panties, and then he came over."

There was another pause, Archangel tapped the mic, thud, thud, thud. When he spoke again his voice was barely a whisper. "He came over and suddenly those flowered panties were at her knees and her touched her, teased her. Little nipples hardened but the sensation confused her. This was wrong, a song that played constantly in her head, I should tell my mom. And then he was naked, and she was naked and they stood there, her breathing shallow, fearful, his breathing harsh, lustful." There was silence, there wasn't even any of the ambiance music, Archangel closed his eyes and continued to speak. "He put her on the bed and spread Maggie's legs, forcing his hard length into her opening that was too small to take it. Maggie said ouch and begged him to stop, she wanted to scream but he put a pillow over her said silencing her, 'quiet girl, you know you want this, so shut your big fuckin' mouth and take this'."

My hands tightened on my seat and I waited for the rest of the story. "After five agonizing minutes it was done, he'd stolen her virginity, 'you better don't tell mommy what you made me do', he said to her like it was her fault, her doing, like it was all her. But she laid on that bed with her legs wide open, confused and scared with everything hurtin'." Archangel held up a hand and the music began to play again, the woman began to wail again. "It was the first time but far from the last time, night after night he visited her, she grew to expect him. She was thirteen years old and had a body of eighteen, big breasts, large hips she was something amazing. Men noticed, women noticed, Grams said, 'somethin' ain't right', but there was nobody to dare tell Maggie's mommy about what happened at night. She got older, started to bleed monthly, Mommy said, 'baby you can have babies now'. She didn't explain so Maggie didn't understand so she hid when her belly started to swell at fourteen."

I gasped along with a couple other people in the room, "Nobody can hide a pregnancy forever, she was called nasty, a slut and a whore, by people at school and the woman in the corner store. Mommy blamed the little boys on the street who always told Maggie she was something sweet, and just before the baby was born Maggie told Mommy what her step father had done. The slap resonated like an atomic explosion, 'not my dearest husband, he loves you like his own, never say that to anyone or little girl we are through'. But the child was born and his features were telling but Mommy lived in denial and so the abuse continued. Maggie lived in a dark world where she was given no love, and now she was scorned by the friends and her family, with a son to raise things became very hard for poor little Maggie."

The wailing stopped, but the music continued. "The child grew and Maggie got older, being a mother was second nature. School was a bust she was too tired to study so Maggie got a job at her local Wendy's. But bad luck followed Maggie like an unwanted shadow and once night she experienced a fear like nobody would ever want to. It was late and she was closing when five men walked in, they said they wanted the sweetest thing on the menu. 'I'm closing', she said, 'I cannot help you'. And then left."

He stopped speaking, the music stopped playing and he looked around at his audience, "She went to take out the trash, simple procedure, but then a guy came in, followed by another, and another, and another and another. Sweetest thing on the menu was to be found between Maggie's legs, she ran, they pursued, they tackled her and beat her and one by one the proceeded to rape her. This was different from what he step father had done to her, he was gentle they were not, he did genuinely love her. For hours they were at it, high up off some white powder, an they they left her, cold, beaten and battered. For years she was molested by a man who had been her father, but it was what happened in the alley that broke her. Fear and depression had worn her down, and when her second son was born she was way past done. She couldn't love him like her first, for he conjured dark memories, he looked too much like her unknown enemies, she saw all five on them in his face, their blurry eyes the night of her rape."

He checked the watch on his wrist, "She was seventeen with two rape babies and no one to love her, not a man nor her mother. She tuned out of the world with the help of a white lady, she was so gone that she ruined her third baby, she was dead before she was dead and buried. Staring down at her lifeless body, in a cheap white coffin, the only she had hated whispered low and loving, 'I love you Miss Maggie, you will always be Mommy'." He raised up his shirt and there was a tattoo on his chest of a smiling woman but I was too far to read the writing or see the features clearly.

"Oh my God." I murmured when I finally grasped what Archangel was saying. He had already left the stage when one by one his audience snapped out of their trance and began to clap, apparently for such a grasping story snapping was not enough.

Chapter 24: Braxton's Fragile Trust

I strode into the office on Monday morning and knew instantly that something was wrong. The security guard, a burly man of about thirty toyed with his radio as if he were waiting to be called in to deal with a situation. The receptionist Jenna looked up at me, worry pooled inside her green eyes. "Stone is waiting for you inside his office."

"Thanks Jenna." There had been a lot of tension in the building since last week when I was given the corner office and I had spent the rest of last week listening to people whisper about how I'm as much Braxton's whore as Stone was Braxton's pet. I played ignorant when my co-workers gave me smiles, the bunch of back biters! I knew that the reason for the corner office was that I would need more space to work, already there were a million Post-Its on my desk with various projects that needed advertisements and billboards made up. Not to mention Braxton had already ordered designs to be done for next years toys and his engineer had been calling me constantly.

I caught the elevator to my floor and went straight to Stone's office, I knocked twice since his door was closed and he told me to come in. "The hell is wrong with you?" I asked when I pulled the door open. Stone had taken last week off so that his bruises and bumps could heal, but today his face was drawn and he kept running his fingers through his hair, a sign that he was stressed since Stone never fidgeted.

"Who did you tell about L.A.?" He got straight to the point, motioning for me to close the door.

"Nobody." Well, not exactly, but nobody who would run their mouths, only Cassie and Roman.

"Braxton will be here by ten o'clock with his new COO, a job that was promised to me. He called me this morning, told me that I couldn't be trusted with what was important to him, demoted me and announced that his nephew is going to run his New York office."

I looked around Stone's office and noticed the boxes for the first time, the walls that were usually decorated with artwork and certificates were bare. "I don't understand."

"Neither do I, but since we have a meeting with him as soon as he arrives, I'm sure we're about to."

I swallowed, Stone pulled out a strand of hair and stared at it curiously. "You're going to leave aren't you?"

"Damn right I'm leaving. I worked for Braxton for a long time Brooklyn, maybe not as long as some of these other losers, but I invested my heart, soul and life into Braxton's companies. Hell, I'll even take credit for making it what it became over the last five or so years, and for that man to demote me  as if I'm just another worker here..." His voice trailed off, his hands fisted on the desk. "Roman did this."

"What? Roman would never..."

"Roman did this!" Stone roared, I jumped. "You see how he was at the airport, he was pissed and he knew how much my job meant to me."

"I think you're jumping to conclusions."

"And I think you're delusional about the kind of person Roman actually is. He and JQ were pulled off the streets, they did...things, before Braxton found them."

I was taken aback, "What kind of things?"

Stone gave me a long look before he finally chuckled and shook his head. His telephone rang, "Hello? Okay." He stood up and motioned for me to do the same, "Braxton's here."

*****

Azari Braxton looked a hell of a lot like his uncle and both of the Braxtons stared at Stone as he stood at the door beside me. Howard Braxton toyed with a ring on his right ring finger but his gaze never left Stone. "I'm disappointed in the both of you." He said, still looking at Stone. "I do not condone inter office relationships, they cause conflicts of interest and I cannot have that at Kandy Shoppe.  Don, you were in the running for COO and you broke one of the simplest rules." Braxton shook his head. His eyes fell on me and I shuddered, "There are rules here at Kandy Shoppe Ms. James, who would have thought that a rule concerning sex would be one of them considering the business." He chuckled, but there wasn't a damn thing funny.

I folded my arms, "Are you just doing this to Stone because he told me of your little arrangement with Roman?"

Braxton raised an eyebrow. "Ah, that." He smiled, "You are a very beautiful woman, but you've gained some sexiness. I have to admit I was attracted to you from day one, wit is one of the things I enjoy in a woman and you have a lot of that, which is why you are an asset to this company." He flicked a wrist at me, "I'm rather impressed that Don beat me out, but I've been very busy lately. To answer you question, no, this is not about whatever the two of you did in L.A., that is your business. It becomes my business when the man I trust with every aspect of my office bullshits me." His eyes turned to stone, "I'll be damned if I sit on my ass and let this Sicilian fuck take my company from right under me." My mouth fell open, "He's been wining and dining my female employees, dipping into company funds to buy them fancy things, erasing details from files so I wouldn't fire some of them..." Braxton sighed. 

I looked at Stone in disbelief,  his blue eyes had turned black and he said, "Braxton, I have no idea where you got this bullshit but that's all it is. After all I invested in Kandy Shoppe, I would never...."

"Save your story Don." Mr. Braxton leaned back in his chair. "Your investments are what alerted me to your activity Don. You are not a man who lives for praise, so why would you put so much into a company that does not fully benefit you? When it comes down to it, only me and mine benefits one hundred percent from Kandy Shoppe. Do you think I was oblivious to the reason you had so much interest in my daughter?" Braxton questioned, "Never underestimate the wrath of a woman scorned, the women in this office sang like coronaries so you screwed yourself over there. When I sent her away you had to regroup, go with your original plan and weasel your way up, get close to me and once you had full access to my money and my information you could destroy me and ultimately take Kandy Shoppe." Braxton smirked, "Too bad I don't trust anybody, just ask my mother. I see your things are packed, pride will be the death of you Don." Another flick of his wrist dismissed Stone who slunk out of Braxton's office.

Howard Braxton got out of his chair and paced in front of the floor to ceiling windows that gave him a marvellous view of the city scape, a city he peered out at as if he owned it. With money came power so maybe Braxton did. "Boooklyn I'll be straight with you, when you first showed up here, yes, my intentions were to make you my mistress, but now I see a greater potential in you."

I swallowed, Braxton turned away from the window to look at me. "This is my nephew Azari, I raised him alongside my own daughter and he's more my son than my brother's. Azari has been learning how to run this company since puberty, with you doing promotions and Azari doing overall work, I'm sure you can continue to make Kandy Shoppe great." He raised an eyebrow, "Why is your lip trembling?"

I sucked in my bottom lip and looked up at the white ceiling. My entire body was trembling because Stone had not only fucked over Mr. Braxton, but he had literally fucked me over! I don't think I'd ever felt so used in my life, I never had a fairytale dream about losing my virginity, but shit, I didn't think I would be conned out of it. Had he intended to treat me like he had the other women in this office, made me feel special to dump me when Braxton brought in somebody new?

"Do not worry yourself about Don, Brooklyn, he will get what is coming to him...in due time." Azari chuckled at his and his uncle's inside joke. "Welcome to the real world Ms. James, Lord, you are such an innocent."

Now I was just embarrassed. "You can take the rest of the day off Ms. James, I'll have your things moved up to this floor and see about getting your advisers in place. You will also be required to take management and business classes. You will enrol in NYU as a part time student in the Spring. Thank you for your time Ms. James."

Chapter 23: Big Brother

I hopped out of the taxi, Roman swung into the reserved parking space and ran out of the car after me. "Brooklyn wait."

I rounded on him, "What the fuck is wrong with you going off on Stone like that?"

"That motherfucker had no right, he had no right! It wasn't even like that, maybe it started that way but that's not how it is anymore." He reached for me, I slapped his hands away. "I was only looking out for you I swear."

"You played me Roman, if you love me so much, why weren't your balls big enough that you could tell me what Braxton was planning yourself?"

I stepped past him and walked into the building, the elevator took forever to come, Roman caught up to me again. "I'm sorry, how many times do you want me to say I'm sorry. I haven't taken money from Braxton for months."

I shook my head, that wasn't the point. "The point is Roman, you lied to me and when you got found out you acted like a caged animal." I showed him the bruise on my arm where he'd gripped me. "You came out there acting like a fool and I nearly got ran over, thank you for that."

The stainless steel doors slid open and we stepped onto the elevator. "I'm sorry! Damnit!'

"Look, I'm tired, I was up all night, I just want to go to sleep." The doors opened on our floor.

"Why are you so defensive of Stone anyway...it was Stone!"

"I'm not being defensive of Stone, he's gonna get his when I see him." We stepped into the apartment, the girls were there to greet us but the tension between Roman and me was so thick they shied away from us, but only far enough away that they could still hear what we were talking about.

Roman and I moved our argument to our bedroom. "You're right." He said after an hour of shouting back and forth. I was sitting on my bed with my face washed in tears, I didn't even know when I had started crying, I had never been an emotional person before. "I'm sorry, I love you."

I sniffed, knelt on the bed and opened my arms for him, "I love you too." Roman pulled me up against his chest, I always felt safe in his embrace so I clung to him for a long while, listening to his heartbeat.

We had just had our biggest argument and we survived, I really did love him, wholly and completely. He was my big brother, my protector, my best friend. I hoped we never had a fight like this again, it was scary and exhausting, the thought of losing him made me sick to my stomach. I had finally found someone I couldn't live without, someone who loved me unconditionally and just knowing that made me warm inside.

I had survived. I had gone off into the world on my own and I had survived. I survived New York City. I had become an independent woman, I had experienced friendship and love. I had survived sex too although I wasn't too eager to try that again anytime soon. Life had thrown me a few curve balls, but I had hit them out of the field and strode home. I wasn't stupid enough to think that life was done with me yet, but life and Ma could suck my balls because Brooklyn James is ready.

Chapter 22: Not Today, Not Ever

Being up all night left me exhausted, I fell asleep on the plane, grateful that we were in first class where the seats could recline. When we landed Stone shook me awake and helped me get my bag out of the overhead compartment. I was too happy that I traveled with one overnight bag so I could bypass the baggage claim.

"How are you getting home?"

"Roman is supposed to be waiting on me." I frowned, I didn't think I wanted to ride with him. When I stepped outside of the terminal there was the shiny black Escalade. Roman came out of the car wearing gray sweats and a black tank, his face was contorted in anger.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him when, he stank of attitude and I wasn't in the goddamn mood.

"Get in the car." He said grabbing me by the arm.

"Get off me man!" I shouted trying to brush him off  me. 

"I said get in the car!" He shouted in my face, his eyes back with anger.

"Roman, let her go, what are you doing?" Stone dropped his bag and tried to get Roman off me.

"Getting her away for you, you punk ass motherfucker." He swung and landed a solid punch to Stone's face, I screamed, Stone fell and Roman pounced on him landing blow after blow. They rolled and Stone was on top matching Roman's blows. People whipped out cell phones, a couple people pointed but nobody tried to stop the men's heated battle.

"Stop!" I shrieked grabbing Stone by the collar, he off balanced and Roman punched him, the force of the blow pulled Stone's collar out of my hand, he fell and rolled, jumped to his feet and landed two punches to Roman's face. They were sweating and bleeding but they kept going at it like two animals. Roman ended up on top of Stone again, Stone managed to get him into a headlock and punched him awkwardly. In a second they were on their feet again, each trying to get a grip on the other.

"Y'all are being crazy!" I jumped in between them, I was so short they easily punched each other in the face without having to worry about hitting me. They shifted again and butted me, I stumbled into the street and landed on my behind. A horn blared and tires screeched as the red Dodge Durango tried to avoid hitting me.

The entire world seemed to slow down as the car slid toward me, I could hear the blood roaring in my ears and my body stiffened, bracing for impact.  

It stopped centimeters from my body, I could feel the heat from the engine and I could smell the burning rubber. "Are you okay?" The driver, a balding middle aged man hopped out of the car. "I'm so sorry."

He helped me to my feet, "It wasn't your fault." I gave the boys a sour look and stepped back onto the sidewalk where it was safe. Both of the boys--because they sure as hell weren't acting like men--ran toward me. I held up a hand, it shook like I had Parkinson's disease, "I'm fine." I picked up my bag and flagged a taxi, I didn't have time for this craziness, not today, not ever. 

Chapter 21: No Awkwardness, No Bullshit

I stared at the cell phone beside me in the bed, we were staring each other down for the better part of an hour now. I was back in my own room, the door that joined mine with Stone's was closed but not locked. I wanted to call Roman, I wanted to tell him about me and Stone but what Stone had said about him being paid to guard my pussy for Braxton weighed heavily on my mind. I hated arguing with Roman, but if what Stone had said was true then...well, I don't know what then.

In the end I picked up the cell phone and dialed Roman's number, "Hey hun," He picked up after the first ring as if he was waiting on my call. "I didn't hear from you so I assume things went well."

"Roman, how much did Braxton pay you?"

"What?"

"How much did Braxton pay you to guard my virginity for him."

There was a long silence, then I could hear him shifting and then a breath being released. "Look that was before I knew you..."

"Was it Roman? Because you nearly shitted that night with Flow. You know, I'm wondering if maybe Dom knew and you just didn't want her to tell me, maybe that's why she was forcing all those men on me."

"Brooklyn..."

"It's just amazing what you get to know when you piss off somebody's right hand man. Stone told me everything. I trusted you Roman, God! I love you like a brother and you were using me as your meal ticket! Well you can just forget about your little arrangement, there's nothing to guard anymore." The tears that I had held on to earlier came spilling down my cheeks. I always thought my first heartbreak would come from some guy that I had been dating and had fallen in love with. 

I ended the call and cried into my pillow.

*****

I hardly slept that night and in addition to the headache that had kept me awake all night,  my crutch was sore. I wanted to take a warm bath and lay down the rest of the day but we had a flight to catch at two o'clock. 

"Are you okay?'

I had the cover over my head so I had no idea how long he was hovering in the doorway. I sat up and pulled the blanket off. "No."

"Did I hurt you?"

I rolled my eyes and climbed off of bed, "Yeah, I could have gone without knowing about the little arrangement Roman and Braxton had."

I grabbed some clothes out of my bag and brushed past him on my way to the bathroom. I ran a bath full of hot water and locked the door behind me. I didn't want to be bothered, I didn't want to talk about anything that had happened yesterday, but he did apparently. 

"Shit." I cussed at the ruined panty shield. Normal little girls had a mother or a cool aunt that they could call and ask how long they're supposed to bleed, I couldn't, my mother already thought I was a whore. I sank into the warm water, again I was tempted to call London, but she was still a child, what advice could she give me?

"I'm sorry, I was just angry."

"I know, you were trying to hurt me." I stepped into the tub, this was a VIP room, if the maids bullshitted in any other room, they would take their time and polish a suite. I sighed with relief and sank down to my neck in the water. 

"I'm sorry."

"Were you just trying to piss Braxton off when you...when we..."

"No, God no!"

Uh huh. I had hickies everywhere! How was I going to explain those when I got home? I was practically sharing a room with Stone and they already thought he wanted the kitty. Roman had been blowing my phone up all morning, I eventually turned it off. Daddy was supposed to call me before I left but I wasn't in a talking mood.

Stone started to say something when the doorbell rang, "Your parents are here."

They're not my parents, they're my father and his wife, I thought. But I was desperate, I needed a woman to talk to. I was sore and bleeding and confused and my best friend had broken my heart, I needed to talk to someone. For now Cassandra was somebody I didn't give much of a damn about if she liked me or not, I was still unsure about her. My father would probably freak the fuck out if I told him and he was a man, his experience would be a lot different, but I was sure I could convince his wife to leave our conversation in the bathroom.

"Go keep Daddy's company and send Cassandra in." I ordered Stone, when I heard him walk away I tiptoed over to the door and unlocked it, then I made my way back to the tub and sank so that everything up to my chin was submerged. 

"Are you okay?"

I looked down at my body that was contorted by the water. "I had sex last night." I blurted out.

"Oh." She looked at me as if trying to figure out why I was telling her this. "Oh!" Her penciled eyebrows nearly flew off her face.

I couldn't look at her, I kept my eyes trained on the clear, steaming water. "I'm still bleeding and a bit sore." My words came out like, istillbubbleenabibsore. 

"That's normal. A warm soak should still work and the bleeding will stop in a day or two." I still couldn't look at her. "Brooklyn, you're a grown woman, as long as it was consensual you don't have to worry. It was consensual wasn't it."

I finally looked up at her puckered rat face, "Yeah, it's just..." I shrugged, I wasn't even sure what I was trying to say.

"And for the record, it may hurt the second and third time you have sex too."

I shifted in the water, this conversation was so awkward. "I don't intend to ever do that again."

Cassandra laughed, "Oh, you're saying that now."

"Cassandra, can you not tell my dad about this?"

"I won't." She smiled warmly at me and I returned it.

"You will stay in touch when you go back to New York right? The kids adore you. I'll keep you away from Junior though, the last thing I need is for you to create a mini monster."  We laughed, Junior was a terror, that was for sure. 

Cassandra left the bathroom and locked the door behind her. I soaked a while longer before I got out of the tub and pulled on a white singlet and a pair of jersey shorts. "I thought you didn't wanna come hug your old man." Daddy smiled and opened his arms to me, I skipped into his embrace. 

"I'm proud of you." He murmured into my ear and I smiled. 

"Where are the girls and Junior?"

"It's Sunday, they're at Sunday school."

"I'll visit again soon." I hugged Cassandra again and walked her and Daddy to the door.  When I closed the door and turned around Stone was staring at me. "What?"

"We have to talk about yesterday?"

"Why?"

"Because you are used to running away from your problems, every time you have an issue you look for somebody else to fix it or you ignore it in hopes that it will go away. Life doesn't work like that."

"What is there to talk about? We had sex, I'm not the kind of girl to get emotionally attached to a man because he told me I'm pretty. I thought you knew that."

"I didn't tell you you were pretty, I had sex with you, your first time."

"Do you want a cookie?"

"Brooklyn I uh..." His voice trailed off, I gave him a hard look, Storm was never one to be short on words. "Why do you sell yourself short? You're a beautiful woman."

I folded my arms, I was still having a hard time accepting compliments, I wasn't used to getting them, I was used to men always drooling at the girl standing beside me. "Okay."

"There was just something about you, I don't know what it was but I wanted to get to know you the moment I saw you in Braxton's office, and the more I got to know you the more fascinating you became. You're different from all of the women I met and..."

"Stone, I just broke up with Flow, I'm not about to get into another relationship. Think about how that'll look man."

"I understand, nothing has to change since I was practically dating you anyway."

I folded my arms, he had a point, I had lunch with him nearly every day. We always met Braxton's associates together and we hung out on the weekends a couple of times. Stone was different from Flow in the way that Flow had money but he didn't have class or time, and Stone owned that classy swag and had too much time on his hands if you asked me. I had to admit the fascination was mutual.

I released a heavy breath, "Fine."

"No awkwardness."

I smiled, "No awkwardness, no bullshit." I turned to head back to my bedroom but I could feel him staring at me again, "What?"

"No awkwardness, no bullshit? You were the star of my wet dreams for months, this was a business trip. After a situation a couple of years ago, I stopped having sex on my business trips so I don't carry condoms on my business trips," I froze, "Taught myself discipline. You caught me off guard last night..."

I held up my hand. Nobody was completely oblivious to sex, even little kids giggle at the mere mention of 'doing it', there was sex ed in schools and biology. "It's cool, I am too close to my period to get knocked up, but we do have to be more careful." I grinned, "If you stop being such a dick to me I may consider birth control." I didn't want to fuck with shots and pills that would screw up my hormones then  stop me from getting pregnant when I wanted to. 

"Do we have a deal Ms. James?"

"We do Mr. Stone." He offered me a hand to shake, I laughed and went to my bedroom, I could catch up on a couple hours of sleep before it was time to get ready for the airport and I could eat when I got home.

Chapter 20: Pleasure & Pain

Dear Ladies in the Coffeehouse, those of you who voted in the anonymous poll, this is where you find out what you voted for.

 *runs for cover*. #Stoners

_______________________________________

"That had to be the single most disgusting thing I've ever experienced." I grumbled and stretched my leg out as far as it could go.

"That is your job, you've been doing this long enough to expect these things." Stone said with an attitude.

"I just watched a woman plow herself with a fake penis that is as big as my arm!"

"Again, a job requirement."

I sucked my teeth and a tense silence fell between us and lasted until we got back in the room. "What is your problem?" I snapped at Stone.

"What is yours? Do you know how many people would kill to have your job? Clearly you are not committed, you missed an important meeting, you made us late for our presentation and instead of telling Braxton that you needed to help me set up you went strolling."

"Braxton is my boss."

"And I'm your supervisor."

"You were supposed to do the presentation."

He yanked his vest and shirt off and tossed them on the coffee table. "Then what would there be for your ass to do?"

"Don't talk to me like that." I shouted at him.

Stone stalked across the room toward me, I backed up against the door. "This is my own fault, you are far too comfortable with me, I should have treated you like everyone else but you were so..."

"So what?" I rested one hand on the knob and fisted the other one.

"So weak and helpless! Everyone said it, everyone was waiting for you to fail and the only reason you're still here is because Braxton wants your pussy." My mouth opened and closed, how do you reply to something like that? "That's right, when you left his office he told me to take care of you, to protect his investment. Ask Roman how much he got paid to keep JQ and Flow off of you."

"Shut up!" I shouted and brought my fist up, it collided with his face, he immediately grabbed both of my wrists and forced me up against the door. He was panting lightly, I was breathing heavily, hot tears burned the back of my eyes, but he was too close, his breath tickling my neck, his blue eyes blazed, his lips were inches from mine.

"And what do you want?" I breathed.

He hesitated and then pushed his lips up against mine, kissing me greedily, kissing me like he'd been lost in the desert for an eternity and my lips were his oasis. I returned his fire, biting his lips when he bit mine, pulling  his tongue like I owned it. He dropped his lips to my neck, my arms wrapped around his shoulders, his hands grabbed my ass and pulled me to him so I could feel the bulge in his pants pushing up against me, it excited me. His desire became my own, I wanted him as badly as he wanted me.

Stone hoisted me up, my legs wrapped around his waist, our lips connected again, I moaned, his lips tasted like heaven, I wanted to just die and stay there. We stumbled around the room clumsily, neither of us wanting to break the kiss, I kept my legs wrapped around his waist when we collapsed onto the couch and then his hands were all over me, touching me, rubbing me, feeling me.

He trailed kisses from my lips to my neck, over my chest, the top of my dress came down and his lips were on my breasts, my nipples, left one, right one, both, lick, suck, lick, his tongue made them harden and I moaned my pleasure. Stone yanked the dress past my waist and then completely off, then he was kissing me lower and lower, lingering just below my bellybutton. My body got so hot I thought I would ignite.

And then he went ever lower and sensations like I'd never experienced before raced through my body. I didn't fight him, instead I flung my legs as far apart as they would go, wanting him to explore that which made me a woman.

"Oh my God!" I squealed and swam backward on the couch, he grabbed my ass and held me in place while he devoured that pussy!

"Oh shit!" I breathed in another breath and shuddered, my back arched thrusting my hips harder against his mouth and he sucked and I shrieked.

"You like that?" He asked in a husky voice.

"Uh huh." I panted.

He made his way back up the length of my body until is lips found mine again, it was my turn to be greedy, to be thirsty. His hand slid back down to my hot spot and I jerked when he slipped his finger inside me, he massaged me, I struggled while he kissed me.

"Damn, you're so wet."

I figured I must have been speaking in tongues when I replied because that sure as hell wasn't English. He popped in another finger and I stiffened, this was not very comfortable, even a bit painful if I moved.

"Just relax." He coached me, I grunted.

Stone worked his fingers until they moved freely and I trembled when he pulled them out. I realized then he was naked, I was naked, when had I lost my panties? Where had his clothes gone? He kissed me sweetly, softly, relaxing me. I felt his hardness at my opening and took a deep breath, readying myself. Stone entered me slowly, as gently as he could, my jaw clenched, my eyes closed tight, a sorry attempt to fight off the pain. He grunted when I dug my manicured nails into his back and neck.

"You have to relax Brooklyn."

"Lemme stick my fist up your ass and see how relaxed you are!" I shouted back at him.

He covered my mouth with his, kissing me to keep me quiet, he moved deeper and I squired and shrieked, why did women do this shit? I never liked pain, my mother always told me not to have children and if anything was worse than this, well, she could forget about grandkids.

The line between pleasure and pain blurred when my walls stretched and I welcomed his thrusts. Stone started grunting and huffing like an angry bull, I watched him, fascinated by the faces he pulled, fascinated by the reddening of his olive face. I was still not enjoying this shit, I could see my claw marks on his shoulders, they were red and puckered, no wonder he had pinned my hands up behind my head. I was fascinated by how his manhood felt inside me, I could feel him swell before his release, before he collapsed on top of me panting like he'd ran a marathon, and then I could feel him shrinking.

I'm not sure how long his sweaty body was on top of mine, how long he laid there panting, his hot breath on my neck. The ugly faces he'd made, the animal-like noises that came from the usually regal man. There was nothing sexy about sex, we were both sweaty and red in the face, our ruffled hair sticking to our foreheads, it was painful and I never wanted to do it again. I would never look at Stone the same way either. How did people do this and then go out in public and act like nothing had happened?

I groaned and covered my eyes with my hand, I'd just fucked my supervisor!

Chapter 19: Braxton's Event

I dug to the bottom of the bag for the skirt suit I'd packed for tonight's occasion and I cussed the girls every way I knew how. I had no idea when they could have gotten into the my luggage and swapped the suit for the skimpy, skin tight black Dior dress and one of the highest pairs of pumps that I owned, but they did and I didn't pack a spare so I had no choice but to put on the dress and the diamond accessories. I did a black smokey eye look and pulled my hair into an over-the-shoulder ponytail, dabbed on some red lipstick and stepped out of my room. Stone was already in the living room dressed in a black dress shirt, white vest and tie, black pants and white shoes. I narrowed my eyes at him when I caught him checking me out in the dress, sometimes Stone could be such a boy.

"Ready?"

"Obviously." I snapped at his sarcasm, he was in a pissy mood because I'd spent all day by the pool and managed to make us late. It was bad enough I hadn't shown up for the meeting with Braxton last night, there was no way we could get to the hotel in time.

"The car has been downstairs for a while, did you forget we have to set up for our presentation?"

"Relax Stone."

He opened the door and waved me out before shutting it behind us. He hovered behind me, making sure I didn't get distracted, I'd forgotten my cellphone but I was not about to go back for it. Stone rushed me out of the elevator once it reached the ground floor, outside and into the waiting car. He slid into the seat beside me and told the driver to go as fast as he could.

I thought traffic could get bad in New York, it was just after seven in L.A. and the roadways were packed tight, I looked out of the window when Stone turned to look at me.

"I hope you're happy now."

"Sorry." I grumbled.

When we arrived at the private ballroom, Braxton's guests were already arriving and he was not pleased with our tardiness. "Stone is always on time so I'll assume you were the problem." Braxton told me.

"I fell asleep at the pool." I didn't, I was enjoying just spending a day lounging around and I didn't want it to end so I dragged it out to the last possible second.

"You do look nice." He offered me his arm and led me to each of the L.A. executives. They were all women and just as brutal as my friends had said. They demanded to know why I wasn't at the meeting, a couple said that because I was at the NYC office and thought the rules in L.A. didn't apply to me, one even accused me of thinking that I was better than everyone.

"Harsh." I mumbled when Braxton handed me over to Stone who had already gotten our lube/massage gel display already set up.

"Since you did everything else Stone, I think it's only fair that Ms. James handles the actual presentation."

Huh?

"I think that is a good idea." Stone grinned and walked away to greet a man from the L.A. office.

As the guest started to pile into the room, I started to get very uncomfortable. For one, I had still not gotten over my fear of being in a crowded room and secondly the 'entertainment' began. There were sets all over the ball room; bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and in these sets were naked people ready for action. The most ironic thing about the whole set up I think, was the three dozen or so tables around the room with about five seats each and a sample basket in the center. I found myself seated at a table with Stone and three other women, one curtly said that I was Stone's date, I laughed and corrected her and she called me a bitch. I must have turned ten shades of red when Stone laughed, I was embarrassed and angry and if I wasn't such a softie I would have slapped that hefier into next week.

Braxton acted as the master of ceremony thanking everyone for being there and giving special welcomes to his distinguished guests. One by one he called up people from what is now officially the Marketing & Promotions department to speak about upcoming events and products. When he called me I nearly melted out of my seat, a not so gentle nudge from Stone sent me scurrying on stage. I squinted through the bright lights that were pointed at me. I would not only be presenting Desire, I would be talking about upcoming events as well.

"Uh...goodnight." My voice echoed around the room and I cleared my throat. The last thing I wanted to do was flop in front of the L.A. office bitches. "Since Mr. Braxton already established protocol I'm going to just get right to the heart of the matter. Kandy Shoppe N.Y.C. would like to present Desire, our latest product for pleasure. It is not only a massage gel, it is a lubricant as well because you never know where a massage will lead." I winked for effect and there were a couple of chuckles from the audience. I grabbed the navy blue bottle from the podium. "The ingredients are all natural, for example, this one uses eucalyptus oil for a cooling sensation. There shouldn't be any excuses when it's time to indulge in your desires."

There were a couple other products that the NYC office worked on, the most bizarre was a glow in the dark dildo that I refused to touch, the thing was massive! Twelve inches and an impossible diameter equipped with veins, it was disgusting!  There was also a pair of balls that were supposed to be used to tighten vaginal walls, they weren't used but come on, just the thought of where those things went turned me off! And the meeting of the pervs would not be complete without the vacuum. When it was time to speak about the events which included a toy party I wanted to be gone, if either of my parents were in the room right now...Lord have mercy!

When my presentation was done I slumped back in my seat proud that I didn't collapse on stage. One of the women at my table pulled the dildo out of the goody basket and poked me in the face with it, Stone pulled it away from her and one of his icy looks kept her from harassing me the rest of the night.

After the final presentation Braxton encouraged the guests to walk around and check out the products. There was no way to avoid a live porno, I pitied the tiny woman who was sprawled on a red couch ramming herself with my office's newest dildo. The worst part was I couldn't leave, I had to mingle with Braxton's guests and hover around our displays to explain the products to the guests.

A tall slim woman with long black hair and the most beautiful mocha skin I'd ever seen stood staring at the vacuum set. "Does it have adapters?"

"Yes." My stomach churned, I don't think I would ever get used to this side of my job.

"Can it work in reverse?" I looked at the woman in disbelief, what the fuck did she need it to work in reverse for? What did she intend to blow up her pussy?

"Yes." I said slowly. She handed me one of the anonymous pre-order cards. It contained a delivery address but no name and shipping would be paid by Braxton's company under another name, there was no need for the delivery man to know what was in the box or who he was delivering it to. I handed her a slip of paper, she would pay before she left and it would be as if she never even attended this event.

It was midnight when Braxton's event came to a close, Stone and I got in our car and the argument started almost immediately.

Chapter 18: Daddy and Them

"You seem nervous." Stone said, he was sitting in front of the television eating the complimentary lunch the hotel had provided on check-in. There was one thing I learnt about Stone, he ate a lot, he never said no to a meal no matter who offered it to him, if I ever wanted to kill Stone I could just feed him poisoned spaghetti.

"Of course I am, I haven't seen my father in years and now I'm going to spend the afternoon with him and his new family."

"Can you stop pacing please."

"No, I can't." My cell phone rang and I nearly jumped out of my clothes, Stone chuckled as he flipped through the channels. "Hello?"

"Hey baby, I'm downstairs."

"Okay, I'm gonna be down in a second." I ended the call and gave Stone a sour look. He didn't come from a broken home, I met his parents once and they were still very much in love. They had no problem showing affection...in a crowded restaurant...with their son's underling sitting at the table right across from them. The Sansones were an interesting pair, I have no idea how two bubbly people conceived a stick in the mud like Stone. Donatello Sansone aka Don Stone came from the average Sicilian family, there were the two loving, very Catholic parents, the two older brothers and the three younger sisters. They were the family I wish I belonged to. Stone's parents told him constantly that they disapproved of his work, how unholy it was for a man to have such easy access to women who were naked and willing, but they supported him, he could be hustling on the streets, trying to sell dope and stay one step ahead of the law and the big cartels. 

"Are you going downstairs or are you going to stand there staring at me?"

I folded my arms and intensified my gaze, he gave me a once sided smirk and stuffed what was left of a sandwich in his mouth. I shook my head at him, grabbed my purse and headed downstairs. 

I was shocked at my father's appearance, not because he was hideous but because Henry James looked exactly as he did the last time I saw him and that was at least ten years ago. He was wearing his silky black hair long again, it cascaded around his face and neck, his beard was neatly shaped, there were a couple of crow's feet at the corners of his eyes and a few stray white hairs but my daddy still looked like he was thirty. Ma looked all of her forty-eight years and then some, she stressed herself out about everything.

"Wow, look at you! How are you? Haley said you and your boyfriend broke up."

I smiled and stepped into his embrace. "I'm fine Daddy, I ended things because we're both busy people right now, but Fabian and I are still friends."

"Come on, the family is in the car and the girls are so excited to meet you, they're huge fans."

"I have fans?"

"You're practically a celebrity." Daddy led me outside to where he was parked, his wife and their four children were standing around the car. "Everyone, this is my baby girl Brooklyn." I looked at his wife, she was rather plain, a dry curly weave, ebony black skin and black eyes. She wasn't as pretty as my mother and looked twice as old, but her eyes lit up at my approach and I had to admit she had a beautiful smile.

Cassandra Whitley had practically stolen my father away from me, when he left, she was pregnant with their second child. My mother was devastated, I had no idea how I would react when I finally met this woman but I realized I didn't care. She wasn't giving me an attitude and she still made my father happy so I was cool. "Wow, you sho' do look Henry." She hugged me.

"These are the girls, Haley is fourteen, Layna is twelve, Cherish is ten and over there is Junior, he's six and wants to go to Disneyland."

My father's children were all darker than me, but the resemblance was uncanny. They had the same high cheek bones, almond eyes and pouty lips that I had, the girls had the same curly hair and there was Junior who looked like a dark-skinned clone of Daddy.

"Oh my God!" Haley squealed and clapped her hands. "I can't believe Daddy wasn't lying. Where's Flow? Are we going to meet him even though y'all aren't together? You're so pretty!"

Layna was shouting at me too. "You're prettier in real life! Are you really my sister? Why haven't I met you before? Are you gonna visit us all the time now?"

I smiled at their enthusiasm, they were all so cute. I climbed in to the backseat with the children while my father and his wife got into the front seats. "How's your mother?" Daddy asked me, and I wondered if Cassandra felt as uncomfortable as I did about his question.

"She's...Ma." I shrugged. "I don't talk to her much, she never has anything good to say to me so...I don't need that negativity."

"What's it like working for..." Cassandra turned around and mouthed Kandy Shoppe to me.

I grinned, "It's not what you would expect. It's a bit more exciting than the average marketing job though."

We went to a little mom and pop place, "You're probably used to better but this is our favorite restaurant. We usually eat here on Sundays." Cassandra said, I didn't catch the name of the restaurant but it was quaint and cute.

"Actually, it's the five star places that throw me. I don't eat at the five star joints often, only when I have a business meeting."

We sat at the family's table, the waitresses greeted the Jameses by name and at one point I heard them whispering about how much I looked like Flow's girlfriend, Haley looked at me and giggled, she'd heard them too.

I chatted with the siblings I'd only heard about. Haley was an aspiring journalist and I promised her I would get her an interview with Flow for her school's paper. She took a camera everywhere with her and had the most beautiful pictures of beaches, sunsets, her family, even a traffic shot that looked very artistic. She had just started high school and unlike me she wasn't socially awkward, she was rather popular. When her mother excused herself to the restroom and Daddy went outside to scold Junior, Haley confessed that her boyfriend was the captain of the school's basketball team, a senior. "I dated a celebrity and I'm still a virgin, no need to rush into anything and if he can't wait for you then he's not good for you." My sisterly advice shocked me, what if I'd given London this kind of advice?

Layna boasted that she was the captain of her soccer team, she preferred the L.A. Clippers to the L.A. Lakers and she spoke about Kobe like a Heat fan would. She wasn't in to boys yet and told me that Haley always said she was weird because of it, she reached over and pinched her sister. "Don't be mean to Lay-Lay at least you don't have to worry about her tryna take your man." I chuckled.

Cherish was in to music, she played the keyboard and toyed around with the guitar from time to time. She and her friends had started a band, the older girls laughed that Cherish and her friends sang about soda pops and unicorns. "My friend JQ plays all kinds of instruments, hopefully you'll get to meet him."

"I would love to meet him!" Haley gushed and showed me a picture of JQ that she had on her phone and I nearly choked on my water. He was sprawled in a couch butt-ass naked except for the copy of Kandy Kane Magazine that hid his dick. "He is soooo cute!"

"Yeah, I'm deleting this." I tapped her phone a couple of times but it refused to work for me.

"I can always go on Google and get another one."

"What do you have of Roman?"

My sister winked just as Daddy and Junior came back, their mother had already left the bathroom but she was at the back of the room talking with another woman.

Junior pouted, "I wanna go to Disneyland."

"We should go to Disneyland after lunch." I said and gave Daddy an innocent smile. "It'll be on me."

"No, we're treating you today.'

"Come on Daddy, that way I can hang out with y'all for a little bit longer."

Junior gave Daddy his best puppy-dog face and after lunch we piled back in to the Honda Odyssey and headed to the theme park. After a long day of sun and fun with the family I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel. Stone arrived back the same time I did, he picked up the slack at the meeting we were both supposed to attend and he was not happy but he didn't go off on me...yet.

Chapter 17: Surreal

"Do you have everything?" Roman asked checking my duffle bag. "Listen, those people in the main office, they're sharks. They've been doing this marketing thing a long time and they think they know it all, anything you do they will dry to berate it, to tear it down and ultimately make you feel stupid, but you go in there with confidence and you go hard, okay Baby Girl?"

"Roman, I got this." I laughed, he was still looking out for me. "This isn't my first presentation and Stone is going to be there. I'll be fine."

"That's my girl."

I grinned, it was wonderful that I was still his girl. He grabbed the dufflebag and followed me downstairs. The girls were lined up at the door waiting to hug me, they were treating this like my walk to the electric chair, I didn't understand what the big deal was. I had a feeling I was walking into a battlefield unarmed. 

"Good luck Mama, remember, go in and go hard." Coco hugged me. "You're the boss of this situation, don't let those loud-mouths in L.A. intimidate you."

Kitty hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. "Scope out a couple of hotties for me now." 

Scarlet hugged me but didn't say anything, instead she made a fist and bumped it against mine then tapped my nose twice with her fore- and middle fingers then tapped the left side of her chest twice. It was a code my roommates and me had come up, it meant that even when we're away from each other we're together. I loved these people so much!

Roman drove me to the airport, suddenly I burst into tears! It was so surreal, this was deja vu. In the beginning there was Roman, he had welcomed me into my new surroundings, held my hand every step of the way, he protected me and gave me advice and he was always there for me whenever I needed him, no matter where he was or what hour I called, he was always there.

"What's wrong?"

"I love you so much Roman." He hopped out of the car, pulled the passenger door open and pulled me in to his warm embrace.

"I love you too Brooklyn." 

"I know I never say it but I appreciate everything you've done for me. Everything."

"I appreciate everything you've done for me too."

I stood back and brushed away my tears. "What have I done for you?"

"Honestly, if you weren't here when JQ left I would have just fallen apart. I haven't been away from him for this long since we met, but I had you to take care of. But you're here, I can talk to you whenever about anything and your advice is damn good!"

"How is JQ?"

"His grandma is still hanging in there, she has her good moments. I talked to him last week, he said her body is really shutting down now. No matter how much they move her she gets bed sores and she doesn't speak anymore. She's usually just laying there staring at the ceiling. It's hard for him, I may go down there in a couple of weeks."

I nodded and wrapped my arms around him. "He's not going to be here to cook our Thanksgiving meal, we're probably going to get food poisoning if we don't order in."

"I'll work on it." He chuckled.

"Good morning." Stone greeted us, he always wore a suit or a dress shirt and vest. Today he was dressed up in a blue long sleeved blouse, gray vest and gray pants. "I'm sorry to spoil the moment but I need to get checked in."

I gave Stone a bored look, I knew he could crack a smile, I knew how to get him to crack a smile. His hard exterior was merely a facade. I turned away from him and gave Roman a long squeeze. "Keep your phone on, I have a feeling I'm going to need the emotional support after meeting Daddy's new family."

"You'll be fine."

I took my bag from Roman and followed Stone into the terminal, once again I wished for the power of foresight because if I knew what was going to happen, I would have caught the next flight to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 

Chapter 16: Cheers

When I got home the next evening, Roman was in our room sprawled across his bed. "You okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah, just got a lot on my mind. You?"

"Same." I didn't crawl into my bed, instead I threw my laptop and duffle bags on my bed and snuggled up against Roman, he pulled me on to his chest and we sat in silence with me listening to his heart beat, slow and steady, rhythmic.

"I broke up with Flow and got a promotion yesterday."

"I figured things went well, that's why I didn't hear from you. Congratulations Mama. I landed a lead role on a TV series."

"Wow, congratulations Papa."

"Thanks." He chuckled. "For me this is a big deal, it will mean ending my contract with Braxton and Kandy Kane. I've been working for him forever, I have a sure place to live, good friends and a heavy pay check. What if I leave Braxton and this TV thing doesn't work out? Then what?"

"Then you chill for a couple of months while you try to find something else to do. You're a sexy, talented socialite, shouldn't be too hard for you to find work."

"Why thank you Miss Thang."

"That's what all of the meetings in L.A. were about?"

"Yeah. The show will be shot right here though, which means that even if  have to move out, I'll still see you on a daily basis."

I chuckled, "I'd like that." I closed my eyes and silence descended between us again, for a long while we laid there listening to each other's breathing, his heartbeat lulling me nearly to sleep. "How's JQ?"

"He's miserable, Mama J is dying slowly, he says she talks about him constantly but doesn't recognize him. She calls him David a lot."

"Who's David?"

"Her dead husband." My mouth opened and closed, Roman continued, "You should hear him now, he's gone full island boy on me. His accent is so sexy."

My eyes popped open, that was the first time I heard Roman express any interest in JQ. "I thought you saw him as a little brother."

"I do, don't you have cousins tell you you're sexy? JQ is fine, I'm not going to take that from him, if things were different, if we weren't as close as brothers and he was gay, yeah, I'd tap that." I laughed, Roman's deep chuckle vibrated through his chest. "We've got a lot to celebrate, we should go out. Shower, eat and I'll wake you at ten."

*****

The club was crowded, the music was bumping and me and Roman were staying out of the VIP. We were hanging on the main floor, leaning against a wall watching the many gyrating bodies. I felt comfortable enough with Roman to drink and I had a couple cups of vodka and cran, enough to get me bouncing to the beat.  Dom was shaking her ass in some guy's crutch, everyone else was at work so we decided to bring her with us. Dom didn't know that I knew she had it out for me, I had thought that Roman was being paranoid, but I was keeping a close eye on her too. She had suggested living with my sexy rich boyfriend a couple of times, a couple times we were out at the club she tried to get me to hook up with some guys, to cheat on my boyfriend. She also made a lot of snide remarks, remarks that I just laughed at although they struck a nerve.

I looked at her every time a guy offered to buy me a drink, every time a guy asked me to dance. I saw the look, her scrunched face, the frown. She was definitely jealous, I knew I looked a hell of a lot better than I did when I moved in, but Dom was still the queen bee, she was still immensely beautiful, lovely, gorgeous. I still thought she could do better than porn, but just as always, what she did with her body wasn't my business and I did not want to piss her off any more than I already had.

I moved onto the dance floor after my fourth drink. I was feeling hella amazing, I had survived my first month, I had survived the house of sins, I had experienced my first relationship and I was looking forward to the future. I closed my eyes and let the music guide my body as Kitty, my dance instructor, had advised. I felt a pair of strong arms around me, could smell Roman's cologne. 

"Cheers." I told him and raised my plastic cup.

"Cheers." He tapped his cup against mine, our cups exploded and our alcohol spilled all over the dance floor but we didn't care, we were in a zone and loving our lives. 

Chapter 15: Becoming Brooklyn

Fabian picked me up from work that evening, I climbed into the passenger seat of his rental Cadillac Escalade and leaned over for a kiss, he gave me a quick peck and pulled off. "How was your day baby?"

"It was awesome." I told him, "My presentation came over perfectly, Braxton was impressed and made me permanent on the spot. I got a pay increase...and I think I've been promoted." I patted the bag, "A brand new laptop and my own corner office. I guess I passed the test."

"Congratulations."

"What about you?"

"I was in the studio all day, trying to get this album done. Between that and producing Da Cross' album too, this clothing line and my endorsements I'm going to have one hell of a month."

I sighed, "I'm not going to see you then?"

"Don't worry Brook, I'll spend every free moment with my woman."

I ran my fingers through my hair and rubbed my temples, I hardly saw Fabian but I didn't want to complain, when I met him he was doing his thing in the music game, I didn't want to be a distraction or make him feel like I was trying to change him so I said nothing. Instead I turned my attention to the window and the city flying past me.

"Next week I'm going to be in L.A. at Kandy Shoppe's head office, I'm going to have to do another presentation on the massage gel, I leave next Friday and I probably won't be back until Sunday or Monday."

"I wanted to go to the Blue Note tonight, but I guess I'm just going to spend it with you."

"You're talking like you won't see me anymore this week."

"I probably won't, you know once I get in the studio I can stay there all day. I'm sorry bae."

"No, it's okay, this is your job."

We arrived at the hotel and the paps were already in place to attack us with their cameras, the hotel's security came out and opened our doors then helped us get inside. The paparazzi were all screaming questions at Fabian, asking five different things at the same time. They were shouting questions at me too, do I love my boyfriend, when is the wedding, will I be attending the Grammys with him?

We entered the hotel and caught the elevator up to his top floor penthouse apartment. Fabian pulled his shirt off as soon as we entered the apartment and kicked his pants off. "You're upset." He said and came to sit beside me.

"I never see you. When we started this whole relationship thing, I came in not wanting to get attached to you, you're a player if I've ever met one, I figured that you would have tried to have sex with me by now or at least cheated on me but you haven't, and I've gotten attached to you. I miss you so much when you're gone it's impossible, I never cared this much about anybody, but I let down my walls for you. I really like you Fabian Johnson, but I think we need to end this."

"You're breaking up with me?" He seemed amused and that pissed me off.

"Yes I'm breaking up with you. I've never had a boyfriend before, you're my first boyfriend but we haven't had a relationship, you were never here. Maybe we can try this again, when you're not so hot in Hollywood."

He rested a hand on my face and caressed my cheek with his thumb, it was hard to think with his face inches from mine. "I thought we would try to make this work."

"I want to but with your work and the media, it's too much for me. It's not how I expected my first relationship to be."

He pulled his hand back and folded it in his lap. "You've changed a lot in the past month and a half. You're not the quiet girl anymore, you're more confident, outspoken," He picked up one of my hands and kissed it. "But you're not all the way there yet, you're still becoming Brooklyn. I love what you've become, what you're becoming and I would love to love you whenever you're ready, after you've reached your potential."

Beautiful words from a singer and songwriter, I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. "I love you Fabian Johnson."

"I love you too Brooklyn James."

This was hard, but I didn't run away from it, I didn't want to run away from uncomfortable situations anymore, I was growing and I wanted to keep on growing, the more difficult the situation the more I'll learn and grow. I spent the night with Fabian, we joked and laughed and watched movies. That night I slept in one of his t-shirts snuggled up against him, we got along better tonight than we had during the entire month we were...supposed to be dating. Fabian 'Flow' Johnson will always be my first boyfriend, the one who eased me into the idea of relationships, of getting to know and then loving another person as much as I loved myself and my family.

Chapter 14: Go Hard

"Indulge in your desire." I said the slogan in a slow, sensual voice and paused wondering if that vixen's tone had come from me. Initially I had put up walls and set boundaries with Flow, but once I got to know him it was a completely different story. He wasn't the superstar playboy I had imagined him to be, the player who when women tossed their pussies at him he caught them with no reservations. He was human, as human as the men who passed me on the street on the way to work. This revelation frightened me, I had never cared about any human who wasn't me and wasn't family before. Since I came to New York there were so many people that I had grown to love, my room mates, including Dom, Stone's miserable ass and then there was Flow.

Fabian Johnson had known my roommates before I did and but they had never been close, but since we got together he had genuinely started to care about them. He asked about JQ all the time and I usually didn't have an update. Roman was going through some emotional stuff after JQ left, he didn't like to talk about it. He had never told me the story about how they met or came become such close friends, but he was obviously having a difficult time during JQ's absence.

Clapping pulled me back to the conference room. I listened as one by one Mr. Braxton, Stone, the rest of the marketing department and some other Kandy Shoppe high-ups critiqued my presentation. They were impressed, I could see it on their faces and that made me proud of myself. I wanted to call my daddy, I wanted to call Fabian, I wanted to call London...I wanted to call Ma.

"What made you think of the design for the bottle, it's rather...provocative."

I smiled, there were two designs for the bottle, one was a naked female, the other was a penis. Stone had laughed until he was red in the face at the second design so the the hour glass shape won. I had worked on the label, it resembled black lace and had silver writing. I had worked out the packaging for the product as well, very easy just a box with the exact design as the label and Kandy Shoppe's logo big and bold in the center.

"I live with a porn star and strippers, it was the most obvious thing."

The boardroom roared with laughter. I looked at Stone, he was all smiles, his blue eyes lighting up, just when I thought this man couldn't do anything but smirk mischievously he learnt to laugh.

Mr. Braxton said, "Stone, I need a sample of this product in full packaging for the event next week."

"Yes sir, how many will you be needing?"

"About a hundred and fifty, and when you come do not leave Ms. James behind." When Mr. Braxton stood the rest of people in the conference room got to their feet. "Also Stone, since Ms. James is going to be here for a while, she will need more space to work with." Like the boss he is, Mr. Braxton strode out of the room and everyone else followed leaving me and Stone alone to clean up after the presentation.

"You impressed Braxton, he is not a man who is easily impressed."

"You were impressed too." I grinned.

"Okay, you got me. Braxton figured putting you in a house with Roman and his group would get you out of your shell. He has a way of reading people." Stone grinned, "We knew we were expecting you and not your cousin. Come on, lunch is on me, unless of course your boyfriend will mind."

I rolled up the printouts of my bottle designs while Stone shut down the projector. "Fabian isn't like that."

"Oh, he's Fabian now?" Stone chuckled, "Go put your things away and meet me in my office."

"Sure." I caught Stone looking at my ass as I stepped out of the conference room. In the month that I'd been in NYC, I went from a size two pants to a size five, I went from one hundred pounds to one ten. I ate three full meals a day and snacked in the middle, and beers are fattening. Dom had also taught me the maternity vitamin trick, so my skin and hair always had a healthy glow. I wasn't gaining any more weight but my ass and breasts were ballooning, I went from an A cup to a 44 B and my behind was getting wider and rounder. Coco and Kitty were convinced that me and Fabian were having sex, as if they were oblivious to how much I was eating. There was just so much food in New York, in Florida I only ate pizza, Wendy's or a home cooked meal on Sundays. I kept up with my salon appointments which meant that my hair and nails were always immaculate and as far as clothes went, Fabian's stylist made sure that I always had a new outfit.

I took one of the seats in front of Stone's desk, he handed me a computer bag with the Kandy Shoppe logo on it. "Macbook, fully loaded with Photoshop and all of the other programs you requested. Mr. Braxton got it as a congratulatory gift when I told him how well you were doing. It's yours, personally. Because you are the only one here with any graphical skills, you get the second corner office, we've already had your computer moved in there, everything else will be moved there once you get back."

"No way! I've been using Skype on my cell phone, it's going to be amazing to finally see my cousin at a more life-like size. Oh my gosh! This is amazing!" I squealed.

Stone chuckled, "Well leave the computer here and let's get lunch."

I followed Stone downstairs to his car, a recent model Audi R8. I got into the passenger seat and buckled my seat belt. I was surprised when we pulled into the parking lot at Aureole, Stone only brought investors here when they were desperate for their business--as desperate as Braxton and Kandy Shoppe could get. The maitre d' led us to our booth, an intimate little spot at the back of the dining room.

"Wow, this is a nice place." I said looking around me at the five star eatery, I've never even eaten in a place like this with Fabian, we usually hung out in his suite or ate at one of the bars he frequented.

A waitress wasted no time handing us menus. We decided to keep it simple and have whatever was on the prix fixe menu today. A three course meal at what I thought was a reasonable price.

"Do you like working at Kandy Shoppe?" Stone asked me.

"I love it. Honestly, working at an adult entertainment company was not something I ever thought I would be doing. At twenty-two I was pretty sure I would be working at a small company in Florida and living with my mother for the rest of my life."

"Sounds like fun." He said sarcastically. "You didn't have any ambition to do better?"

I chuckled, "Where I come from, 'doing better' is finding a man who wants to marry you, popping out a few kids, while working the same nine to five until you die. Even if I moved away and got a job, Kandy Shoppe wasn't where I thought I'd be. I love it because it is so out of the box."

"And what about your roommates?"

"I never thought I'd be living with strippers and a porn star that's for sure."

"They're celebrity strippers and an adult entertainment star, socialites, maybe not on the same level as you are because of your relationship with Flow, but you have to respect their achievements."

"Well, yeah. You know what I mean. But I love them like my family, they've been more like family than my actual family, it's good to know somebody has my back." The waitress came back with our first course. "So, when are you going to tell me about this new assignment Braxton talked about."

"Do you think you're up for it?"

"I don't even know what it is, but I'm feeling like I'm on top of the world right now."

"Every year we release a new line of products. He wants you to be there since you're working on what we're now calling the Desire Project. Basically we'll introduce Desire Massage Oil & Lubricant along with some other Kandy Shoppe project. Pleasure Room is the department of Kandy Shoppe that works with adult products. That's lubricants, massage oils, lingerie, sex toys, condoms..."

"I get it."

"The event usually involves a lot of...how do I say this...?" He rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "Testing and showcasing."

"Meaning?"

"A lot of naked women and men showing off the use of our products."

I dropped the fork, "There's actually going to be people having sex there?"

"Not exactly, actors."

"They're still going to be having sex."

"I guess you're right. Braxton really wants you there, but you don't have to go unless you want to."

"I want to, I signed up for this."

"Cheers." He grinned and took a sip of his water.

Roman had told me that my roommates had lived by the motto: go in and go hard, I was already in this, it was time for me to go hard.