Chapter 16
Carmen looked at herself in the mirror, jeans and a baby doll shirt. She liked herself in the outfit, and she headed out the door. Cooley, Denise, and Lena were waiting in the living room, all looking upset with how long she made them wait.
“Gotdammit, Carmen! You made us wait all that time for you and that’s what you put on!” Cooley said.
“What’s wrong with this?” Carmen asked, looking down at herself.
“Nothing is wrong with it, Carmen,” Denise quickly added before an argument erupted between Cooley and Carmen.
They all got into Lena’s father’s Mercedes to head out to see the town.
“So, how was the country club?” Carmen asked Lena. “I bet there were some movers and shakers there.”
“Yeah, it was horrible, they were all up in my business about why I go to Freedom and not an Ivy League school. Seems that the high-society black folk who all graduated from the historically black universities now think that they’re too good for the places that made them who they are.”
“Damn, that’s fucked up. Well, you would be the same way if you didn’t have Dee and Carmen keeping your ass grounded,” Cooley added and laughed.
“Whatever,” Lena said
“It’s true, and you know it. You even needed to redecorate your room so that it would be to your standards.”
“That wasn’t my doing; that was my mother’s doing, so don’t go there.”
“Yeah, okay, you came to Freedom to get away from that high society or to be up under Brandon, one or the other.” Cooley made her point.
“First off, I came to Freedom because I wanted to meet my own kind of people—black, normal people.”
“Oh, so we were a sociology project. The little rich girl wanted to rebel against the high society she was accustomed to, to meet regular people who would love her for her. Well, you found it ’cause we all love you for you, boo, with your siddity ass.”
“Chill out, bruh,” Denise interjected.
“No, I never meant it like that.” Lena couldn’t believe what Cooley was saying. Could she have really been that bad?
“Cooley is just fucking with you, girl,” Carmen added. “We are glad that you took the time to get to know us and to try something new. You could have easily gone to an Ivy League, but you decided to try something out of the normal, and that takes courage.”
“Thanks, girl. So are you ready for Chi Theta when we get home?” Lena quickly changed the subject off of her.
“Oh, I am. I want it so bad.” Carmen wanted to be a member of Chi Theta more than anything. Ever since she came to the school, Chi Theta was what she wanted, and hopefully it was about to become a reality. “I just hope they take the time to see me and not just other things.”
“I don’t know why you want to do that bullshit anyway. You know they gon’ trip off you being gay,” Cooley added.
“No, they aren’t. They pick women because of quality, not who they sleep with.” Carmen wanted to believe what she just said, but she knew it was a big possibility that they would look at her sexual orientation and not accept her.
“Whatever, man. Don’t you think those bitches think that who you sleep with does affect how you are? Just look around campus. Bitches still frown up at us when we’re on the yard. Men still disrespect y’all femmes ’cause they think you’re going. It’s okay to watch us on TV, but joining their secret society is a whole different thing. We can entertain them, just not become them.”
Everyone got quiet. They knew Cooley was right that time.
“Denise, what do you think?” Carmen asked Denise.
“Well, honestly, Carmen, I think you’re going to have a hard time.” Denise didn’t think it was a good idea for Carmen either. She didn’t want her to be hurt anymore than she already had been.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You’re not Legacy, so they can’t just accept you,” Cooley added.
“I’m Legacy, and I really don’t care if they accept me or not,” Lena added. She had no desire to be a Chi Theta, but was only going through with it for Carmen and her mother.
“I wish I had it that easy,” Carmen said.
“Girl, please. If they don’t take you, they aren’t going to have me, ’cause I’ll be damned if I go through that without my girl,” Lena said to Carmen.
That made Carmen feel better. At this point she didn’t care if she got in because of Lena. She just wanted those letters. “Hey, are we in the gaybrohood?” Carmen asked as she started to notice rainbow flags on many of the buildings they were passing.
“What’s a gaybrohood?” Lena questioned.
“It’s the neighborhood that is really gay, with all the gay stores and stuff,” Carmen added as they passed another store.
“Hey, isn’t Brushstrokes close? Let’s go, please. I need a shirt. Lena, do you mind if we go into the gay store?”
“Um, no, I have never been in a gay store before. Let’s do it.”
They parked the car and hopped out in front of the building. It was adorned with rainbow flags and triangles. They walked inside to hear the sounds of techno music playing.
Lena’s eyes widened as she noticed some of the gay magazines. “This is wild.” She turned around to find everyone was off on their own, looking at the items they wanted. There was a wall covered with various gay logo T-shirts.
Carmen headed over to the lesbian shirt section. She always wanted some gay shirts, but usually couldn’t fit the cute girly ones. She picked out three baby doll shirts including one that said SINGLE in the rainbow colors.
Cooley and Denise looked around the store. Neither of them really wore rainbow paraphernalia. Cooley never needed to; her look was enough paraphernalia for her orientation.
Carmen looked at the stickers. She saw one that read, “I’m straight not narrow,” which she bought for Lena.
“Lena, I got this for you.” She handed Lena the sticker. “It’s not many girls who would choose to be friends with a bunch of lesbos. Thanks.”
They hugged, and everyone walked out of the store.
“So, what’s up people? What are we getting into tonight?” Cooley asked as they got into the car.
“I don’t know. What’s up?” Denise said.
“How about that club we went to Christmas Eve? That would be off the chain,” Cooley responded.
“Oh, wait, you guys. I have somewhere we can go. Jam Zone Records is having a party tonight. I forgot all about it,” Lena added; she hoped they would want to go. She didn’t want to be home alone while they partied at the gay clubs.
“Jam Zone, that sounds cool. I bet the line is gonna be long as hell.”
“No, no, I can get us in as V.I.P. I’m a socialite, remember.” She smirked at Cooley.
“Oh, okay, okay. Do your thang then; Jam Zone is off the chain.”
“It sure is,” Carmen added. “Now, I gotta go find an outfit. I hope Supa Sonic is gonna be there. God, I love her.”
“Supa Sonic isn’t gay,” Lena said, causing everyone to laugh.
“Man, Lena, we are going to teach you some things. If Supa Sonic isn’t gay, I am not gay.” Cooley said. “I personally believe that all the women in the industry are goin’, and when I get into the industry, I am going to fuck every last one of them, starting with Beyoncé, Janet, oh shit and Nia Long.”
“Cooley, none of those women are gay. Isn’t Beyoncé with Jay-Z?”
“And your point is?” Cooley said to Lena.
“You have to excuse Cooley,” Denise said. “She lives by the motto that all women are gay. Who knows if celebrities are gay or not? Cooley is just running off at the mouth.”
“Okay, I don’t think all women are gay. I just know that all women are goin.”
“Goin,” Lena questioned.
“Yes, goin. It means that they will go for someone of the same sex. It’s the truth. Man, all women think about being with another woman at least one time in their life. There are just those that don’t act on the feeling. But it takes a pimp nigga like myself to turn any girl out,” Cooley boasted.
“Cooley, that’s ridiculous. You do realize I am standing here and I am straight. I am not goin’.”
Everyone got silent.
Cooley opened her mouth to respond, but caught a quick punch by Carmen to let her know not to go there.
“Well, um, maybe you are the exception. But I am telling you, most women are goin’. They just haven’t found the right girl to bring that shit out of them. Do you know how many so-called straight girls try to get on me daily?”
“How many, Cooley?” Denise jumped in.
“Plenty. They all say the same shit about just having a strange feeling, and just wondering what it’s like. They get a piece of Cool and lose their damn minds, ready to leave their husbands, give me their damn credit cards and shit.”
They all laughed, knowing Cooley had possession of a married woman’s credit card as they spoke.
“Well, that still doesn’t mean all straight girls are,” Lena said.
“Okay, if you say so. But I’m telling you, I bet you I can pull at least one girl up in this mall. And if I don’t pull them, even if they curse me out, for the rest of the day they’re going to think about that fine-ass girl that looked like a boy that tried to pull them in the mall. That simple. I have sparked their curiosity, making it even easier for the next girl to come along and pull her ass.”
They all laughed.
“So, Cooley, how did you get that nickname of yours?” Lena asked.
“Well, when I was in high school I was real cool with all the dudes; they liked my style and started calling me Cool Carla. I changed it to Cooley, and these chicks on campus started that Killa Cap shit.”
Everyone laughed.
“So, you been out since high school? How long have all of you been out?” Lena looked at Denise.
“Hell, I was the first to come out,” Cooley jumped in. I’ve been fuckin’ bitches since the eighth grade. One of my dad’s women was my first.”
“What!” Lena looked at Cooley. “What did your dad do?”
“Not shit. He walked in on us and everything. He laughed actually. He said he always knew I was gonna be a pussy magnet like him.” Cooley laughed. “I talked Dee into coming out.”
“Really,” Carmen said. “I didn’t know that.”
“Don’t believe everything you hear,” Denise said, smiling.
“Dee, you know I helped you come out. We went to high school together, and I hooked her up with her first girl. Gwen.”
Denise laughed. “Damn, I forgot about that. Yeah, she is right, after all.”
“Yeah, and as far as me, I was messing with this older woman in high school, but I didn’t come out till I was in college so I didn’t have to hear my mama’s mouth,” Carmen said.
“Wow, this is so interesting,” Lena said.
“Now, Cool, tell why they call you Killa,” Carmen said knowingly and shaking her head.
Lena looked back at Cooley as Denise laughed.
“Tell the truth, Carla, before I do.”
Denise continued to laugh.
Lena kept asking them to fill her in.
Cooley looked down and smiled. “Okay, this is what happened. I was fucking with this girl name, um . . . Monica.”
Denise and Carmen continued to laugh.
“I can’t tell the story with y’all laughing,” Cooley said as the two giggled. “Well, we was getting into it, right. I was doing my thing.” Cooley smiled, thinking about how good she gave head. “The girl was moaning, grabbing all on my shoulders and shit. Then her moans started turning into this heavy breathing. I just figured she was about to nut.”
“So, what happened?” Lena questioned.
“Well . . . I kept doing my thing until I realized she wasn’t grabbing on me anymore. She was sorta limp.”
Carmen made a noise as she tried to stop herself from laughing.
Cooley looked at her and frowned.
“Anyway, so like I was saying, she went limp. So I looked up and realized that she was having an asthma attack.”
Lena hit her brake by mistake, and everyone jerked. “You are lying. You gave the girl an asthma attack!”
Carmen and Denise bust out laughing. Cooley just smiled.
“Hell yeah. So she didn’t have an inhaler, so some girl had to let her use hers. Everyone on the hall could tell what was going down ’cause she didn’t have any clothes on. So after we got back from the hospital, she told her friends that she had the attack ’cause the head I was giving her was so intense. Then they started that Killa Cap shit.”
The whole car was in hysterics.
“That is the most unbelievable thing I have ever heard,” Lena said, completely shocked by the story. “So, Dee, why don’t you have any nicknames?” Lena asked Denise.
“She does have a nickname. Dos.” Carmen started to giggle.
Denise threw an evil look her way.
“Shhhhiit, I forgot about that, Dos.” Cooley laughed.
“That’s not my name.”
“How did you get that name?” Lena smiled.
“That’s not my name,” Denise repeated.
“She got it because the last girl she was dating bragged that Dee made her cum in two minutes. So she started calling her Dos.” Carmen laughed.
“Wow, it’s that good, huh.” Lena smiled at Denise again.
“Wouldn’t she like to know?” Cooley whispered to Carmen, causing her to bust out laughing.
“No comment,” Denise said. They had finally arrived at the mall, and she was ready to end the conversation.
“Okay, Dos, I get ya,” Lena said as she opened her door.
“Hey, the only people who can call her Dos are girls who have experienced her in action,” Cooley said, grinning from ear to ear.
“Oh, okay, in that case I guess I won’t call you that anymore. But I think it’s cute.”
They headed into the mall to pick out their outfits for the night.
“So, what stores do y’all want to hit first?” Carmen asked.
“Hell no. I am not shopping with you,” Cooley said. “You’re too damn indecisive. So you and Lena hit yo’ shit, and Dee and I are headed to Bloomingdales.”
“Yeah, come on, girl. I want to hit St. John.”
“I can’t afford that shit, Lena. So we gotta hit Bebe or something.”
“Cool. We out. Meet y’all back here in three hours,” Cooley said.
“Wait a minute. Denise, come with me real quick. I want to show you something,” Lena said, pulling Denise’s hand toward Louis Vuitton.
Carmen and Cooley lagged behind Lena and Denise.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you need to stop it,” Carmen said to Cooley.
“Nope, I will not. I am willing to make my bet. Denise is gonna tap that before this school year is out.” Cooley refused to change her mind.
Denise laughed to herself when they walked in the store. The salesperson knew Lena by name. Denise looked around as Lena talked to the salesperson. The salesperson brought a large bag to the front and rung up Lena’s purchase.
Lena grinned as they walked out the store.
“You are so gangsta, Lena. They know you by name and shit.” Denise smirked.
“Whatever. Here.” Lena handed the bag to Denise.
Denise opened it and gasped.
“I thought you could use a good duffel bag for championships.”
“Lena, I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”
“No, it’s not. You deserve it. Oh, and I am not taking no for an answer. Come on, Carmen,” Lena said as she quickly walked off. “See y’all later.”
“What the hell is that?” Cooley said, grabbing the bag from Denise.
Cooley laughed. “Oh y’all are definitely going to fuck after this one.”
“Shut up,” Denise said as she walked off. For once she wished Cooley was right.
Denise, Cooley and Carmen could not believe they were walking into a Jam Zone party and that they were skipping the whole line to get in.
“Is this shit for real?” Carmen said to Lena as she showed her V.I.P. pass to the bouncer of the club.
“Girl, just relax. I want all of you to enjoy. Welcome to my world,” Lena said as they all walked into the dark entryway.
The sound of the bass was the only thing you could hear as they walked down a long hallway toward the main party room. The sound of the music grew louder as they noticed lights starting to form on the side of the wall.
The main room was packed. Women were dressed in their skimpiest club clothes, hoping to land an athlete or celebrity for the night. There were three bars, all surrounded by people wanting their alcoholic concoctions. Men were buying women drinks, wondering which one would be the one to go home with them for the night.
Two girls walked past Cooley and smiled. Cooley instantly was in heaven.
“Man, I am going to go have some fun with those two girls over there!” Cooley exclaimed as she headed toward the girls.
Lena grabbed her hand before she could walk off. “No, Cooley, that’s bottom barrel. We are heading to the V.I.P. lounge,” Lena said as she pointed to a high flight of stairs. The windows were blacked out so that no one could see what was going on in the much-desired V.I.P. room.
They headed to the V.I.P. room, and with one flash of Lena’s pass they were in. The V.I.P. room looked like a scene from one of the music videos. There were two poles set up with exotic dancers dancing around them. There were music industry representatives, including most of Jam Zone’s artists.
“Oh my God. Is that Supa Sonic over there?” Carmen said as she noticed a woman sitting in a corner with four groupies surrounding her.
One of the groupies pulled her top down, and Supa Sonic proceeded to feel on her breasts.
Carmen gasped. “I knew her ass was gay!”
Cooley nodded her head as she rubbed her hands together. “Oh yeah, I am going to go holla at her real quick, get in on some of that groupie action.” Cooley walked over to Supa Sonic and her group.
Much to their surprise she was welcomed with open arms. Cooley sat down next to Supa Sonic as one of the groupies poured Cooley a glass of champagne.
“Denise, are you all right?” Lena said when she noticed the expression on her face.
“Yeah, I’m cool, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so gutta up here. I was expecting a little more.” Denise was not impressed by the spectacle of girls and sex. The smell of marijuana filled the air. Denise hated the smell. “I think I am going to check out the main room.”
“Cool. I’ll go with you,” Lena said. “It is a little smoky in here. Carmen, are you coming?” Lena said as she turned to Carmen.
“No, I think I’ll stay up here and keep an eye on Cooley,” Carmen said as she walked over and joined Cooley with Supa Sonic and her crew.
The downstairs party was completely different from the V.I.P. area. It was packed with people dancing and having a good time. Denise watched as Lena danced with various men.
Lena walked off the dance floor to Denise. “Why aren’t you dancing?” Lena yelled over the loud music.
“I just prefer to watch.” Denise secretly wanted to dance with Lena, but she was always cautious when in straight environments. One time Cooley and Denise got into a fight with some men at a local straight club because they were dancing with two women. Men had a tendency to become envious of them, especially Cooley. They always felt that women like her tested their manhood. Denise learned to watch her back at all times.
“Oh well, if you change your mind, let me know,” Lena said as she smiled. Another man walked up to her and asked her to dance.
Denise watched her walk away again, wishing that she was the one she was walking with.