May 25th 2000.
New York, New York.
Detroit, Michigan.
"Amy I swear to god. If you flip out, we'll be leaving straight away". The three of us stood outside D12's hotel room patiently waiting for someone to answer the door. Amy was fidgeting around beside bursting with excitement, unable to keep still.
"I know, I know! I'll be on my best behavior I swear" she reassured me in a breathy voice.
"You'd better be because-" before I could finish my sentence the door swung open and we were greeted by a smiling Proof.
"Cassie! And friends!" he beckoned us into the room which not only had D12 in it but also some people I recognized from various times I'd been with Marshall. Proof rested his arm across my shoulders and turned his attention to the girls "What are you names?"
"This is Jordan and Amy" I gestured to the two individually. Jordan politely smiled at him whereas Amy looked absolutely starstruck, and she hadn't even met Marshall yet. Proof laughed and winked at Amy which visibly startled her, her eyes practically turning into saucepans.
"Why don't you guys go to the kitchen and get drinks? Help yourself" Proof kindly suggested to break the ice. Jordan thankfully dragged Amy away as she seemed incapable of moving by herself.
"I'm going to go find Marshall" I stepped away from Proof's grip.
"Hold up" he grabbed my arm stopping me. "Sorry about earlier today, Marshall can be a real idiot sometimes. He didn't mean to be shady, no pun intended".
"We sorted it out. It was just a bit of a misunderstanding".
"I think you're good for him Cassie, you're what he needs. He will fuck up again but he is a good guy. Keep that in mind, yeah?"
"Thanks Proof" I brought him in for a friendly hug. He was an extremely loyal friend to Marshall which I found admirable. "Can I ask you for a favor?"
"Sure".
"Can you keep Amy occupied tonight? I don't want her to get to close to Marshall to be honest".
"I'm sure I can figure something out" he chortled.
"Oh I'm sure you will". I excused my self from Proof's presence to go find Marshall, where I spotted him facing backwards to me talking to Kuniva. I crept up behind him as quietly as I could, placing a finger over my lips to signal to Kuniva not to blow my cover. Jokingly I pinched Marshall's ass to give him a fright, causing him to jump a little bit.
"Yo what the fuck" he spun around a pissed off look on his face. Kuniva grinned at his reaction and laughed into his beer as Marshall's expression lightened when he registered it was me. "Cassie? When did you get here?" whilst he was talking to me he reached his arm behind him and pulled the finger at Kuniva.
"Only a couple minutes ago. Two of my friends are here too, somewhere" I signaled to the room.
"Come sit down here with us" he pulled me over by the hand to the couches were D12 and some other were sat. Out of my peripheral vision I could see Amy and Jordan emerge from the kitchen with a bottle of Jack Daniels and glasses in hand. They hesitated in the doorway unsure of their next move until Kuniva and Proof walked over to them and sparked up a conversation.
"I need to go get a drink, I'll be right back" I whispered to Marshall as he absentmindedly nodded to me, too engaged in conversation with Denaun. I opened the kitchen door and was nearly knocked over as someone was attempting to exit at the same time. "Oh shit!" I tripped over my in my heels falling right onto a poor unsuspecting girl, making her spill her drink down the front of her top. "I am so sorry" I gushed.
"Don't worry about it. No point in crying over spilled drinks" she sighed before placing the rest of her drink down.
"Here let me clean it for you" I raced over to the sink hunting for a cloth in a desperate attempt to help fix the mess I'd made. She gratefully accepted the cloth and carefully dabbed at her outfit.
"Look it's coming out easily, I'm just a bit wet" she kindly smiled at me so I didn't feel too guilty.
"I feel so bad".
"You didn't do it on purpose so don't worry. Unless you did and in that case we have a problem".
I joined in on her laughter "I'm Cassie".
"Zoey".
She has to be one of the most effortlessly beautiful girls I had ever seen. It was one of those situations where you instantly want to be friends with someone. If she wasn't so nice I would be very jealous of her. "Can I just say you look so much like Gabrielle Union".
"Thank you! That's so sweet of you" she finished getting the stain out of her top and went to re-top up her drink. "I haven't seen you around?"
"Yeah, I'm here with Marshall. We started seeing each other recently. It's sort of-"
"Complicated?" she questioned. I hummed in agreement.
"So how do you know the guys?" I supported my weight on the bench, taking the pressure off my feet.
"I'm their stylist".
"So you'll be going on the tour then?"
"Yeah, I can't wait. Touring is so much fun" she smiled.
"I can't wait either. I'm the tour manager" I explained after she gave me a confused look.
"I had no idea! That's awesome. I'm even more excited now!"
"Even after I ruined your top?"
"Actually on second thought" we chuckled. "It was lovely meeting you Cassie, I can't wait to get to know you and become friends!" She reached over and gave me a friendly hug, her wet top touching my chest, before disappearing out of the door. Her excited energy would usually put me off but for some reason I found it incredibly infectious and endearing. Remembering what I originally came into the kitchen for I went to the fridge and bent over as I looked for the perfect drink. The heard the door creak open and assumed it was Zoey coming back in but instead I felt a light slap on my ass, slightly pushing me into the fridge. I quickly stood up preparing to slap some right back on the face but was faced with Marshall beaming at me.
"Payback".
"Dick" I stuck my tongue out and bent back down to pick out the bottle of cognac I'd found.
"So I've been thinking-".
"That's not good".
"Shh would you?" Sarcastically I zipped my lips and pretended to through away the key earning a smirk from Marshall. "As I was saying, I've been thinking what you said to me. You know, about how we don't know each other very well".
"Mhmm"
"Well, we go on tour in two weeks and we have lots to do in preparation for it. So instead of you flying back and forth from New York and Detroit to help plan for it, why don't you stay with me before we go? That way you can help me get ready and we can hang more" he shrugged acting as if it were no big deal. However I was getting good at reading Marshall and I knew exactly when he was nervous now. His eye would twitch a little more than usual and he would avoid all eye contact, even turning his body away from me.
"That sounds like a really good idea". It was so sweet of him to take what I'd said into consideration and try to do something about it.
"Yeah?" He glanced quickly at me a smiling ghosting his face.
"Yes" I grabbed his hand and pulled him to look at me. Almost as a reflex of his, his hands traveled down to rest on my hips, just above my backside. My arms loosed hung on to his neck, not needing to stretch up towards him much. He closed the distance between us and placed soft kisses on my throat earning a soft sigh from me. He continued to kiss me but murmured into my neck "Are you seeing anyone else?"
"Do you want me to?" I knew where he was going with this but needed to be sure of his answer so I didn't make a fool of myself.
"No" he brought he face out of the crook of my neck and stared expectantly into my eyes.
"Then I won't".
"You're my girl" he stated out loud as if he was reconfirming it to himself. I kissed him, his plump lips spreading into a smile against mine. Our mouths attacked each other, his tongue exploring my mouth. With ease he gripped my waist and brought me to sit on top of the counter whilst he stood between my legs. I wrapped my legs tightly around his body ensuring we were as close as possible. His hands removed themselves from my waist and were placed on my bare thighs, rubbing up and down the smooth skin. Slowly reaching inwards he pried my knees apart, our lips not losing each others once. His fingers managed to reach beneath my play suit and he rubbed me over my underwear with light movements. Moans tumbled out of my mouth from the sensation he was giving me until my mind took over and I pulled away from the kiss.
"Someone could come in at any second". He ignored me and cheekily grinned seeing the effects his touch had on me. "Oh" I gasped as his fingers went under the cloth, the skin to skin contact even more pleasurable. All thoughts faded as I succumbed to his actions.
"You're so wet for me Cassie" he groaned into my ear, my own reactions having an effect on him. Just as I was about to reach down and assist him in his own state the sound of the kitchen door opening filled the room. All our activity halted as I saw Amy freeze on the spot, seeing the situation we were in. Thankfully Marshall's back was turned away from her shielding my body.
"Amy! Go away!" I snapped as she failed to leave. She mumbled a sorry and scattered away back the direction she came from. Marshall had a look of irritation plastered on his face from the unwanted interruption. "Trust me, she's not always like that" I placed my hands on his chest and affectionately moved my hands in an effort to calm him down. "On the plus side, when I come to Detroit with you, when can hook up whenever we want" I raised my eyebrow at him suggestively.
"I like the sound of that" he humorously nuzzled in to my neck nibbling my collar bone and making me tilt my head back in laughter.
"Come on let's go back" I hopped off the counter and pulled him with me out of the kitchen, a dopey smile on both his and my face.
Hours had passed after a very rowdy party and everyone had now left the hotel room, leaving only me and Marshall sitting on the couch together. Marshall had finally met Jordan and Amy, officially, and although Amy was speechless it went much better than I thought. I don't know if Marshall thought much of her after their initial run in however. Currently my legs were strewn across Marshall's lap as he stroked up and down them gently whilst I looked at his chiseled profile. "When do you want me to come out to Detroit" I spoke breaking the comfortable silence.
"You can come out with me tomorrow in the morning if you want".
"Tomorrow?" I sat up and inched closer to him, legs staying in the same position.
"Yeah why not?" he frowned.
"I don't have any of my stuff with me or anything".
"Why don't you go get it now then and then come back here for the night" he suggested. "I'll call a car now to take you to your apartment if you want?" He pulled out his cellphone and began to dial the number.
"You're so thoughtful" I bent over and placed a quick peck on his cheek to show my appreciation.
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The plane ride to Detroit was really nice considering I was terrified of flying. Marshall sensed my apprehension and kindly kept his hand on my thigh the whole time to soothe my nerves. Us and the D12 crew had flown first class, taking up the whole section. Presently Marshall and I were pulling up to his house in a car that had picked up us from the airport. The house was a decently sized and made of white wood, it had a modern look to it but it wasn't overly massive. "Here we are" Marshall brought my attention back to him as I realized I had been staring at the beautiful house in my own world. The chauffeur struggled to help us with our luggage, due to the massive amount I'd packed for the tour, but we managed to get it all into the front foyer. After he'd been paid and tipped, he sped off leaving me with Marshall in this foreign city and house.
"Your house is lovely Marshall" I stared in awe at the beautiful dark oak furniture and crisp white walls covered in frames with memories and family. The house even smelt amazing, the scent of perfectly aged leather all around us. A house like this absolutely amazed me considering I lived in a small New York apartment and never lived any where like this in the Dominican Republic.
"I bought it with my first big check. I haven't had much time to live in it actually" he dropped his keys onto the hallway table and took off his jacket. "Let's take the stuff upstairs, if I can. Jesus Cassie, how much shit did you bring?" he bent down to pick up the biggest bag his knees buckling under the weight.
"We go on tour for like three months, so it's not that much really" I picked up the smallest bag and followed him up the staircase. After three or four trips we'd finally got everything up into the guest bedroom, although we were both exhausted. I began to get myself settled into the room, taking out all of my work gear and putting it onto the bed whilst Marshall stood in the doorway watching on.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Huh?" I faced him a confused look on my face.
"You're not staying in here, I'm just storing all your massive amounts of shit here. You're staying with me".
"It's fine honestly, I don't want to intrude your space".
"Don't be stupid". He walked over to me, picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder with ease. "Staying in here when I'm down the hall" he scoffed thinking I was ridiculous. I just giggled as I dangled down his back whilst his arm was tightly secured around my legs. "Which is your bag for now?"
"That one" I pointed to one of the smaller bags. Careful not to bang my head on the ground he picked it up and then walked down the hall, me still dangling over his shoulder, into what I assumed was his bedroom.
"This is where we will be staying" as he said that he threw me onto the bed causing me to bounce on the soft mattress. "Now that is a nice picture" he stood at the end of the bed and eyed me up and down as I lay there. I didn't have time to come up with some witty comeback because he jumped onto the bed smothering my body with his. He lay out flat making himself a dead weight squashing me completely, "Goodnight" he faked sleeping. Snoring obnoxiously as I lay squirming underneath him.
"Get off you fat lump" I attempted to push him off me.
He gasped and speedily rolled off me, "You think I'm, fat?"
"Not at all" I joked poking his actually relatively toned belly which happened to poke out from his raised t-shirt.
"Hey hands off. Leave my chub alone" he flicked my forehead. "So what do you want to do? I've got the rest of the day off" we lay down both on our sides.
"I don't know, I've never been to Detroit. What do you have in mind?"
"I can think of one thing" he moved to kiss me but I ducked away.
"Uh uh, we can do that anytime. Let's go do something fun".
"We can't go anywhere though".
"How come?"
"Because I'll get recognized" he pulled a funny face teasing me about my obliviousness to his situation.
"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot you were famous" I admitted. Marshall never acted entitled or like he was better than me so it was easy to forget he wasn't able to go anywhere he wanted. "What can we do then?"
"We can just go for a drive around if you want? I've got a few places in mind".
I sat in the front seat of Marshall's silver BMW as he drove one hand on the wheel the other leaning against the window. He was a great driver, a quality I found extremely attractive. The local hip-hop radio station acted as a background noise to our ride because we were far too busy talking to be interested. I stared out the window taking in the surroundings passing by. I'd heard awful stories about Detroit and the poverty here but to me it didn't look too bad, maybe because of my own upbringing. "So where did you grow up? Does you family live in Detroit?" my eyes stared at the gloomy sky. It looked like it would begin pouring down any second.
"You really don't know much about me do you?" his tone and eyes quizzing me.
"Nope".
"I'll show you then". After sitting in silence for ten minutes Marshall turned into a new neighborhood, the large sign reading '8 Mile Rd'. I noticed an instant change in the scenery; more broken down or even abandoned houses, graffiti sprayed across old brick walls and ruined furniture strewn onto the sidewalk. We drove further into the neighborhood until Marshall stopped outside a house which showed signs of age but also of a family currently living in it. He cut the ignition whilst also locking the car doors giving me the feeling this area wasn't completely safe. "I lived here for a while, it's the longest we stayed in one place".
"We?"
"Me, my Mom and later on my little brother Nathan" his happy demeanor changed when he began to speak of his past. "Before you ask, I don't know my Father. Never have, never want to".
"Did you move around a lot when you were younger?" I turned my attention back to the house and the overgrown garden which was attempting to hide the building behind it's tall foliage.
"All the fucking time. Every couple of months my mom would find some reason to move from Missouri to Michigan, and then right back to Missouri".
"That would have been really shitty" I sympathized earning a nod of agreement from him. "Do you see your mother often now?"
Marshall looked at me with a look of bewilderment "Really?"
"Oh my god. She's not dead is she?"
Marshall chuckled and shook his head in amusement whilst putting the car into drive, leaving his old home behind. "No she's not dead. I just don't talk to her anymore, she put me through a lot of shit when I was younger".
"I'm sorry" I didn't pry into the specifics, leaving it up to him to tell me if he wanted. I couldn't imagine not talking to my mother, she was my best friend and biggest supporter. Even if she did live in a completely different country to me.
"Don't be, I'm not" he shrugged. "So what about you?"
"What about me?" I brought my legs up to my chest and placed my chin on my knees as I began to feel the cold.
"Where did you grow up?"
"Well, as you know I was born in the DR. Like you, I also didn't grow up in the best neighborhood, everyone I knew was poor. My whole family; parents, siblings and grandparents all lived in one cramped house together near a produce market. My mother tried her hardest to make my life as good as it could be, she never dwelled on the negatives. So I didn't even realize how poor we were until I came to America, you know?" I smiled as fond memories of my home came back to me. "I was so happy in the islands but there were no opportunities there for me, so my parents urged me to apply for the NYU scholarship and I got it".
"When was the last time you went back?"
"I haven't. So, six years" sadness washed over me and I felt tears prickle at my eyes, begging to fall out. "I want to go back, but I financially support my parents so I can't afford to do both. It sucks but I'd rather they have money to survive than me going to see them".
"I didn't know you gave them money".
"Yeah. Enough about my sop story! Where are you taking me now?" I steered as far away from my family issues as possible, not wanting to bring down the mood too much.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I could eat".
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Author's note: Hi guys! this chapter was really hard to write for me, I've had writers block all week. So this is a bit of a filler chapter but I hope you enjoy nonetheless. Do any of you guys watch Orange is the New Black? I had a total stan moment when the played Bitch Please II at the end of episode 3 lol. Also, yes I did change the cover again, but this is the last time I promise! Please remember to vote and leave comments! It gives me lots of motivation to write and I love hearing from you :) Hope you enjoy!