Full Circle (Urban Books) Read online

  “Soon.” Karen smiled.

  Lena nodded before she headed inside. She looked at Bria’s face, covered in vanilla ice cream. Lena sighed.

  The break was looking better by the minute.

  Chapter 2

  Lena watched as Brandon raided her refrigerator. Li’l Brandon and Bria were making a ridiculous amount of noise in Bria’s room. Lena tried to ignore it. Jessica must have known Lena wasn’t going to check up on them, as she walked out of the laundry room toward Bria’s room.

  “So you don’t mind?” Lena asked as Brandon downed almost a whole gallon of apple juice.

  Brandon wiped his mouth. “I mean, I do, but then again, I don’t. I trust your parents, and I think Bria would love to see some new countries.”

  “Yeah, but without us?” Lena sat down on the tall bar stool. “And for so long.”

  “I guess for me it isn’t that bad, because I’m not with her every day.”

  Lena knew his underlying message. Brandon was still living in Memphis and hated not having Bria closer to him. Lena moving back to Atlanta was something he’d been completely against in the beginning. Even being divorced, he hated being so far from his daughter. Lena had to admit he was making it work. Almost every weekend Brandon was in Atlanta, sleeping in her guest room, so that he could be with both of his children.

  It had taken two years, but they had finally repaired their friendship for the sake of their child. Brandon was a wonderful father and a great friend. Lena was able to forgive him completely for fathering a child with another woman while they were together. Brandon had even come to terms with Lena’s sexuality. It was still difficult to think of his ex-wife as bisexual, but he felt better knowing that she was not completely gay. The turning point for them had come when Brandon tore his PCL. Lena was there for him, taking care of Brandon Jr. and Bria while he recuperated in her guest room. Brandon had sat out the whole last basketball season. Now his contract was up for negotiation, and it wasn’t looking good. For once Lena was taking care of Brandon, and the closeness had helped their friendship to mature.

  “So you think I should consider it?” Lena leaned on the countertop.

  “Yeah, I think it would be good for her, and for you.”

  Lena sighed. “I just can’t shake the feeling that if I say no, they will keep my trust from me. I don’t want to be forced into anything.”

  Brandon laughed. “Lena, please. No one is forcing you. Your mom may be a bit twisted at times, but I doubt she would even do something that low. But think about the flip side. They are right. You do deserve a break. You are twenty-three, and for the last couple of years you haven’t done anything for yourself.”

  “God, what is this? You sound like them now. What am I? Some old spinster or something?”

  “Not quite, but close to it.”

  Lena hit Brandon as he giggled.

  “Lena, I’m just thinking about you. You take amazing care of our daughter, and you took care of my big ass when I was down and out. Maybe you do deserve this break.”

  Lena’s and Brandon’s eyes met. She smiled. This was the Brandon she wished she had married to begin with. She couldn’t help but think about how much he’d matured in the past few years.

  Brandon sat on the stool next to Lena. He put his big hands on her leg. “But seriously, um, we need to talk about something.”

  Lena turned her head.

  Brandon’s face was serious as he tried not to look directly at her.

  “What is going on?”

  “Um, you know our rule, right?”

  Lena nodded. They had one main rule: no partners around their kids unless it was serious. Lena didn’t have a problem in that area, as she hadn’t dated anyone since leaving her ex Terrin at the Westin.

  “Well, it’s time to talk about that.” Brandon looked at Lena. “Symone is, um, moving in.”

  Lena’s eyes widened. “Moving in where?”

  “Come on, Lena, you know where.”

  Lena stood up. “So Symone is moving in. Interesting. So it’s to that point now?”

  “Well, we’ve been seeing each other for about a year. It’s just time, I guess.”

  “You guess? You don’t sound too sure about it.” Lena poured herself a glass of water.

  “I am sure. I care about her, Lena. And I think it’s time she’s able to be around Bria more than just in passing.”

  First, her parents wanted to take her child out of the country, and now Brandon wanted to have his girlfriend around her. Lena felt the room spinning. Things were changing around her, and she didn’t know if she liked it. She knew she didn’t want Brandon back, but she realized something. He truly had moved on.

  “Well, I’d like to have dinner with her first. Just so we can really talk, get to know her.” Lena forced a smile.

  She had met Symone only a few times. She remembered when Brandon met Symone. She was in her last year of law school at the University of Memphis. Lena had always been suspicious of women trying to date Brandon due to his athlete status, but even during his injury, Symone was still around. She knew Brandon was more serious about her than about other women, but she didn’t realize just how serious he was, especially since she knew he wasn’t faithful. A few of his slipups had been with her, in fact. She might have turned her emotional side off, but the physical side still had needs, and Brandon had come to the rescue on a few occasions while living with her.

  “That’s cool. I understand.” Brandon hugged Lena. “I’ll set it up for next weekend, when I come back.”

  “All right.”

  The three women held their wineglasses in the air.

  “Here’s to Carmen and her upcoming nuptials to that fine-ass Nic.” The three toasted as Misha gushed.

  “Hey, you aren’t allowed to talk about women like that anymore. You’re a straight, remember?” Carmen joked.

  Misha rolled her eyes. “Please! I’m married, not blind.”

  “Ugh. I don’t see how y’all do it,” Carmen squealed.

  “Please, girl, you get dicked down too.” Misha nudged Carmen.

  “The only dick that goes in me is plastic and strapped on. And even that’s on a rare occasion.”

  They laughed.

  Carmen looked at Lena. “And what’s been going in you lately?”

  Lena’s mouth dropped at Carmen’s crude statement. She walked over to the counter and grabbed the bottle of wine. “None of your nasty-ass business.”

  Misha looked at Carmen, then shook her head, knowing Lena wasn’t getting any.

  Lena hit Misha’s arm. “I’ve had some recently.”

  “Please! Getting a fix up from Brandon doesn’t count. And you better hope that chick doesn’t find out you’re using her man as your personal maintenance man.” Carmen finished off her glass, and then Lena poured her some more.

  “Please. That was my man first. And Brandon and I haven’t done anything since he moved back to Memphis.”

  “Okay, so if it isn’t Brandon, who is it?” Carmen’s big curly ’fro bounced with the smallest movement of her head.

  “No one.”

  Both Misha’s and Carmen’s faces dropped.

  “What? I have a child, remember? Bria is the only thing I’ve been focused on.”

  “All, Lena, but you know what they say.” Carmen walked over to Lena. “All work and no play makes Lena . . .”

  “A horny-ass bitch.” Misha’s statement caused them all to burst into laughter.

  Lena couldn’t get the conversation with Brandon out of her head. She turned the TV on, hoping some celebrity gossip would take her mind off the day. Her attention was quickly captured by a story on TV One about a hot new movie and a hot new star.

  Denise’s face flashed on the screen as the reporter talked about Denise Chambers, the hot new rising star of the new movie Ball. Lena had seen her share of stories in which critics praised Denise. Denise was becoming a star. Lena’s stomach dropped when an image of Denise and her gorgeous long-term girlfri
end, Farih, came on the screen. Lena felt her heart sink. Everyone around her was living amazing lives, especially Denise. Lena smiled. Her intense, determined roommate had completely changed in three years. Lena’s smile faded. She wondered if Denise ever thought of her in the midst of living the Hollywood life. She wondered if she ever crossed Denise’s mind when Denise was surrounded by gorgeous people, including her model girlfriend, Farih.

  She thought about her dream. Lena felt pathetic. Denise was living a fabulous life, and she was still having crazy dreams about her. Lena didn’t know what had happened to her life. It was as if they had switched places. When she met Denise, Lena was the “it” girl on campus. She was gorgeous and was dating the star of the basketball team. That life was a distant memory. Lena felt left behind. While others blossomed, she was nothing more than a basketball wife/baby mama. Lena realized the “it” factor she had had was gone. She couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever get it back.

  Chapter 3

  Denise stared at the door to the SoHo apartment she shared with Farih. She sighed. She didn’t want to go in. She missed the days when she was excited to come home after being in L.A., to crawl into their platform bed, and snuggle with her girlfriend. The light in their relationship seemed to dim as soon as her celebrity star began to glow brighter and brighter.

  Denise could hear Farih’s voice, with its strong Nigerian accent, coming through the door. Her accent always came out when she was angry. Denise rolled her eyes, knowing what she was about to walk into.

  Farih paced the floor with the Bluetooth in her ear. Her face was stern, and she didn’t notice Denise as she put her bag on the floor.

  “And so there’s nothing you can do?” Farih sounded desperate. Denise knew that meant bad news. “Well, then, I guess there’s nothing else to say.” Farih hung the phone up and sighed.

  Denise’s voice startled her when Denise called her name. She turned around and looked at Denise.

  “Hi.”

  “What’s going on?” Denise tried to sound as concerned as possible.

  “Nothing . . . absolutely nothing.” Farih poured a glass of rum and Coke. “That’s the problem.” She drank until the glass was empty. Even though the cocktail burned, it didn’t burn as badly as her feelings at the moment. “I’m not going to be an Victora Secret Angel this year.”

  Denise’s face dropped. “I’m so sorry, babe.” She walked closer and put her arm around Farih.

  “Don’t.” Farih pulled away immediately. “Don’t do it.”

  “Don’t do what, Farih?”

  “Don’t put on the fake caring routine.”

  Denise wanted to scream. “Okay, whatever! I am not about to let you do this now.” Denise grabbed her bag and headed to the bedroom.

  Angry, Farih followed her. “Let me do what, Denise? I’m not doing anything. Isn’t that obvious!”

  “Farih, I’m not talking about this right now.”

  Denise’s calm voice only infuriated Farih more. “I think we are talking about it! You aren’t going to let me do what, Denise? What is it that I’m doing?”

  Denise snapped. “This.” She motioned with her hands. “All this! Every time I try to be there for you, I get my damn head chewed off.”

  “You don’t understand what I’m going through, Denise.”

  “Farih, you aren’t the first person to have a little downtime in their career.”

  Farih’s head snapped around. “Downtime? Denise, I don’t have a career. That call, that call was my last job, and it’s gone!”

  Denise sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her glimmer of hope of having a stress-free break was gone. She rubbed her hands over her hair, as she always did when she was frustrated. “Farih, I understand your frustration. I really do. But I’m really not trying to fight with you right now. I’m just getting home, I wanted to relax, and I wanted to spend some time with you.”

  Farih held her tongue. Even though Denise’s voice was calm, she knew she meant business. Farih knew she had been taking her anger out on Denise, something she had been doing ever since her jobs started to dry up, but she couldn’t stop herself. “I’m sorry, Denise. I don’t mean to act the way I do, I’m just so . . . scared.”

  Denise looked into Farih’s brown eyes. She wanted to be mad, but she couldn’t. She opened her arms.

  Farih sat next to her, laying her head on Denise’s chest.

  “Farih, things are going to work out. But getting angry and stressing aren’t helping the situation.”

  “I know.” Farih said. “Did you talk to Cooley about me yet?”

  “Not yet. I’m going to when I go to town. We barely talk about anything besides work. I’ll have more time when we are face-to-face.”

  Denise could feel Farih’s mood change immediately.

  Farih smiled. “Thanks, baby. I really think having Cooley as a manager might be the move I need. I mean, look at what she’s done for you and Sahara.”

  Denise was offended but decided not to mention it. She hated when Farih made statements like that. She knew Farih was envious of her success, but when she made it seem like it was all because of other people, Denise got upset. Denise knew she’d been fortunate to meet people who were able to help her get the career she had. Her old sports agent Mariah had helped her land her first modeling job after a run-in with her crazy ex-girlfriend, Rhonda, ruined her basketball career. From modeling she met Melanie, her mentor who introduced her to the director who casted her in her first movie. Denise was eternally grateful to them, but Farih’s statement angered her. They might have given her a boost, but she had worked very hard and hated that her girlfriend made it seem that she was successful only because of others.

  “Look, I’m really tired. I think I’m going to take a nap before we go to Mel’s tonight.” Denise pulled her shirt over her head, threw it on the floor.

  Farih knew she was tired and upset, since Denise never threw her clothes on the floor.

  Denise crawled into the bed and covered her face up. She didn’t want to give Farih the chance to say anything else insulting.

  “Okay, I’ll wake you when we need to get ready.” Farih turned the light off and closed the door. Farih knew she and Denise were on thin ice and it was all her fault. She needed to fix her attitude, and immediately, before she was really left with nothing or no one.

  In the dark Denise couldn’t sleep. She started to think about her relationship. She wanted the woman she’d fallen in love with to reappear, but she had a feeling that Farih was gone for good. Denise sighed. She was seeing the ugly side of fame, and she didn’t want any part of it.

  “So the piece on TV One was really good. They are predicting awards.” Melanie raised her expensive glass of champagne as she, Denise, and Farih sat at her dining room table.

  Melanie Guston had become like a mother to Denise. She was the closest thing she had to family. Denise couldn’t help but laugh at how they had met a few years ago. Melanie had taken Denise under her wing, only for Denise to find out that Melanie’s real reason for mentoring her was that she’d been friends with, and in love with, Denise’s mother, Tammy, when they were teenagers. Denise had forgiven Melanie for hiding that secret from her and now looked up to her more than ever.

  “I don’t know about all of that.” Denise found it hard to talk about her accomplishments, especially when her fragile girlfriend was present.

  “I think she’s going to take it all. Golden Globe and Oscar too.” Farih beamed with pride.

  Melanie agreed. Denise looked over at her girlfriend. Denise didn’t know why Farih was having such a hard time getting a movie role, because the girl could act. She played the part of supportive girlfriend unlike any other. On the outside they were still the perfect lesbian couple. Denise knew it was all a lie.

  “So, Farih, I heard about Victoria’s Secret.” Melanie’s face was straight. She knew how to cut to the bottom line. “How are you feeling?”

  Farih sucked up her feelings and smiled. “
Hey, we knew it couldn’t last forever, right?”

  “Well, you know you are on my runway for my new collection.”

  “Thank you, Melanie.” Farih hated the idea of being a charity case, but she knew that might be her only way to let others see she still was a force to be reckoned with. She just wished Melanie would make her the face of the collection.

  “No problem. Oh, there is something that I heard about that you might be very interested in.” Melanie walked over to her desk. They watched as she thumbed through a Rolodex, then picked out a business card. Melanie was approaching fifty, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by her looks. The little bit of gray in her mini ’fro gave her a very mature look, but it was still appealing. “Have you seen that show The Buzz?” Melanie walked back over and sat down. She handed the business card to Farih.

  “I’ve heard of that. It’s like The View, but younger and edgy,” Farih responded as she looked at the business card.

  “Well, I know the producer, and I heard they were looking for someone to replace one of the women.”

  “Really?” Denise looked at Farih. “Babe, you would be perfect for that.”

  “I would. I really would.” Farih couldn’t hide her excitement. She really wanted to do movies, but a successful talk show could get her the buzz she needed to get into movies.

  “Well, I’ll call Harrison in the morning. Have your agents submit you for it. I think it would be a great look.”

  “Me too.” Farih wrapped her arms around Melanie. “Thank you so much.”

  “Anytime.”

  A few minutes later Denise and Melanie excused themselves from the table, giving some excuse to have some alone time. They went into Melanie’s bedroom, and Denise plopped down on Melanie’s plush bed.

  “Uh-oh. What’s that all about?” Melanie asked.

  Denise smirked. Melanie reminded her so much of her grandmother. She always knew when something was on her mind. “Mel, I don’t know what is happening with Farih and me, but all the fighting is driving me insane.”