C H A P T E R | T E N
CHECKING UP
𝙲 𝙰 𝚁 𝚃 𝙴 𝚁 𝙼 𝙴 𝙺 𝙷 𝙸
HE drove past El Tigre's the other night, on his way home from a meeting in Manhattan and he thought about her as he was stopped at the light. A smile came to his face when the baby faced girl entered his thoughts and he wondered about her. He wondered if she had really taken his advice and gotten out of the game that she was in before it got her. There was no suitable place in a dirty game like he knew the streets were for a girl like that - - chubby brown skinned cheeks, long baby doll hair, and a smile of a woman in the making yet not quite there yet - - a porcelain doll, somebody's little girl, the last of unspoiled souls left in the world; no, there was no suitable place for her there and Carter was sure of it.
Something about her compelled him and that something went beyond the fact that she was a pretty girl; he'd met, dated, played, and fucked, a bunch of pretty girls in his lifetime. She compelled him further than just that, there was something about her that he could see - - she was so misguided and so lost. When he looked into her eyes that night he didn't see something to be played and played with; he saw a scared little girl who didn't have a soul in the world to care about her or what she was doing to her self-esteem.
Mostly, Carter saw a young girl - - who like most girls yet not all, that he encountered that stripped for cash - - trying hard to fill a void in her life that she just couldn't shake. He thought maybe in those men she danced for she was searching for that one man who probably didn't love her like he should have - - her father.
Carter wondered a lot about girls like that who used their bodies as means of getting paid whether they were stripping, prostituting, or fucking big shots like him to pay the bills - - he wondered where the hell their father's were. That night he had told Destini that he was staying in the city, he'd called her from the club and told her not to wait up but all that changed after he sat down and talked to Stoni that night. His mind was changed in an instant Carter went home instead of staying in New York after he dropped Stoni and Allison off in Harlem. He literally walked into the room, woke his girls up out of their sleep - - all three - - Khloe, Brooklyn, and Kayden and told them that he loved them.
He hugged them for what had to have been fifteen minutes and kept telling them over and over that he loved them and that no matter what he'd always be there for them and he meant it. Stoni had compelled him to do that because in some odd way he saw his daughters in her that night yet unlike her, his girls had the benefit of actually seeing and feeling their father's unconditional love and as long as he had breath in his lungs he would give this to them, no questions asked.
Destini thought that Carter was either being crazy or insanely drunk when he did what he did but he didn't care because he was neither; all he wanted to do that night was let them know that their daddy loved them and like three little musketeers, they all climbed in Destini and Carter's bed and slept together as one family. Carter had Stoni to thank for inspiring that.
But he couldn't leave it just there, he couldn't help but think about her as he passed the club and since he knew where she lived because he'd dropped her off that night - - he hadn't seen her since - - he decided he needed to go check up on her and see if her listening skills were as good as she promised they'd be when he told her to get as far away from El Tigre's as possible. He didn't want her to have the fate a lot of girls like her had before her.
Carter knew the game swallowed pretty faces like alcoholics devoured spirits and this one he just wanted to save - - he had to. Maybe a higher being had introduced them with some great divine plan in mind? Maybe he was sent to be a blessing to someone in need of guidance? Just maybe she was sent to show him what he hadn't been doing in his own relationships with his children? Whatever it was, he couldn't forget her, the girl that reminded him of a little porcelain doll - - so delicate, so pretty, like a baby doll.
The black tires of his midnight blue Bentley came to a halt at the edge of the curb as the driver stopped in front of a tall apartment building. He knew this kind of environment well, the concrete jungle, the hustle and bustle of people with agendas just trying to survive in a world that told them they couldn't. He had come from the projects and though he lived like a king these days he never forgot about the pissy hallways, the street fights, hunger pains when he didn't have anything to eat, the crime and poverty - - that place, as gritty and uninviting as it was - - that place was home and would always be home for him.
Brooklyn was in his heart as if it were tattooed there forever and the struggle that made him a man resided there as well. A life-changing mentor of Carter's had instilled that in him when he was a young man, only sixteen years of age.
Carter could still hear his words in his head, 'never forget where the fuck you come from cause you can always go back - - never lose that humble nigga inside you, Carter - - God'll snatch it all if you do'. Carter had seen it happen before too and knew that it was as possible as it was to come up and he didn't ever want to come back down. Putting God at the forefront no matter how dirty business got meant something - - even some murders, adulterers, hustlers have God's influence in them somewhere. Surely, Carter had Him there too.
The door was opened for him and Carter's killer shoe game stepped onto the cracked gray pavement of Harlem with an unavoidable presence. When he stepped out the car dripping in humble power he cast his gaze up the brown brick of the housing project and sucked his tempting bottom lip in his mouth looking at the building that stood so high. His manicured fingers reached for his cellular when he felt it vibrate in his pocket and he ignored the call that was coming through - - Aiko once again and he didn't have time for her foolishness. He didn't know what she said to Destini in the bathroom but he didn't like how it had Destini thinking that she wasn't beautiful anymore.
Carter knew that Aiko had some issues that went beyond craziness and she thought he was blind to the fact that she was shoving her finger down her throat to stay thin and feel good about herself - - to feel beautiful - - but Carter knew she did that shit. He heard her one night after he was getting dressed from a session of them going at it like rabbits and honestly that's what confirmed her insecurity about herself. What really pissed him off was the fact that Aiko went projecting her insecurities about her looks onto Destini because she was upset that Carter wasn't giving her any play. So fuck it, thought Carter, I'll let the bitch suffer. She was going to pay for that little tid bit that she put in Destini's head at the restaurant and that was for sure.
Carter just didn't have the kind of respect for her that he might have had for other women and if it was wrong then so be it - - a man will only do to a woman what she accepts and Aiko accepted a lot of shit that practically begged Carter to disrespect her. If it was foul then it was what it was to him; Aiko needed to be taught a lesson and Carter was going to make her fiend for him, need him, cry and go through withdrawal over him until he felt like dealing with her.
As he ascended the stairs he saw neighborhood eyes all on him with their mouths dropped; they didn't know what Carter was doing there but they knew his face and they sure knew the name. A few of them had the courage to wave at him and Carter waved back. There was a ball game going on in the middle of the courtyard and as he passed it he saw the guys on the court shouting out to him and one threw him the ball. Carter smirked holding the ball in his hands and paid them their respect as they exchanged respect with him and he tossed the ball back. Suddenly he heard his phone chime again and looked down to see a new text message in the screen:
Message Received at 2:15 P.M.
Sender: Koko Hamilton
Message Body: This is bullshit
Carter I know you aren't mad about the other night. I didn't know
you and her were gonna be there when me and daddy went!
Get over it cause it's not that deep.
Message Received at 2:17 P.M.
Sender: Koko Hamilton
Message Body: Ugh, seriously, Carti, I wanna see you. Baby, when
are you gonna get off this and come and see me again?
Message Sent at 2:19 P.M.
Message Body: Dick got you actin' like a straight basic
bitch right now Koko and you can miss me with all that
spoiled brat bullshit, ma. Quit blowin' me up.
Message Received at 2:19 P.M.
Sender: Koko Hamilton
Message Body: You're such a fucking asshole! OMFG you're
totally being a bitch 4 no reason. All I wanna do is see
you so why do you have to act like that?
Carter... I miss you...
When Carter got off the elevator and made it to Stoni's door he had stopped texting Aiko and decided he would hit her back when he felt like it. He really wasn't in the mood to go back and forth with her so he didn't respond to the last text she sent him. 'Stupid ass broad', he thought of Koko as he shook his head and waited for someone to answer Stoni's door. It was boiling hot outside but it was even hotter the more levels Carter went up because heat rises and it seemed like they didn't have a working air conditioner in the place.
He heard sounds at the door, someone unlocking the locks. The security lock with the chain pulled back and he saw an eye peek out at him and a pink roller in the hair of what sounded like an old Dominican woman, "Que quieres?" She asked sharply and uninviting as Carter scratched his head and sucked his bottom lip - - he didn't know Spanish and had no clue what she was asking him.
(TRANS: What do you want?)
"Uh," he laughed a little and ran his hand over his chin, "Excuse me, I'm lookin' for Stoni," he said politely, "Is she here?"
"No yo habla ingles," the woman said in a rushed tone, "No - - no habla ingles, lo siento." Although he didn't know Spanish fluently, he knew a few key phrases so that one he understood pretty clearly (TRANS: I don't speak English. I don't speak English, I'm sorry.)
"Stoni," he said the name slowly, "I'm looking for Stoni," he repeated again, thinking that if she didn't understand him then maybe she would know the name he said, "Stoni," he repeated, "Does she live here?"
Carter heard another voice from behind the door speaking Spanish and saw a dark brown eye appear through the crack. She quickly opened the door, exposing the apartment to Carter and also her short stance and the older Dominican woman as well. The Dominican woman stared at Carter's fancy attire and then looked at Stoni, "Lo conozco senora Reyes," said Stoni, surprised out of her mind to see Carter standing in the doorway. Mrs. Reyes threw her hands up and walked off into the apartment and Carter's eyes followed her until she got to her bedroom and closed the door.
(TRANS: I know him, Mrs. Reyes.)
"Your moms?" Carter said, looking back at Stoni with a smirk present on his handsome deep butterscotch face, "She was lookin' at me like she was about to hit me with a combo punch or somethin'," Stoni laughed as Carter did boxing hand gestures and then put his hands down at his sides, "Can I come in?"
Stoni looked up at him like a stray puppy with her mouth slightly opened and opened the door and stepped to the side. She covered her mouth with her hand as Carter walked in and behind his Prada clad back she whispered a soft 'oh my God' into her palm and then locked the door. Carter looked around, seeing Santa Maria's everywhere and traditional Dominican flags on the wall along with some family pictures. He didn't see Stoni in any of the family pictures though.
"No that's not my mother," Stoni said as Carter looked around, "I'm renting a room here in her apartment," Stoni lived there for little to nothing with Mrs. Reyes who was in no way related to her - - basically she was her landlord for the room she rented out in her apartment. Mrs. Reyes had three bedrooms, one for herself, one for her nineteen year old son Carlito, and one for rent - - Stoni's. Yet even though the apartment had three bedrooms it was cramped as hell like a tiny box and Carter stood slightly suffocated in the living room because of his height.
"Oh," he said and turned around looking at her who looked at him dumbfounded and shocked, "I just assumed I guess," said Carter, "My bad."
"I must look a mess," Stoni patted her hair, her dark chocolate hair were in their naturally curly state. She couldn't keep her hair straight for long in that apartment - - it was too hot and the humidity made her hair curl up like nobodies business. She wore her hair in a curly ponytail away from her face that made her look even more young and a pair of tiny shorts that stopped at her thighs and a tank top. He looked her over once, her body glistening just barely from the heat, "I didn't know," she said, "Um I, I didn't expect you to - - to come here," she said feeling horrible because she knew she looked crazy, "My hair's all over the place."
"Nah - - nah, it looks straight - -" Carter said as she walked over by the couch, "It's cute on you."
"I don't mean to be rude," he smiled a little, he could hear her accent a little through her words more now - - she talked differently than he thought but he liked the twang she had to it; it had been so loud in the club that night he didn't catch it, "But what are you," she looked at her fingers and then nervously back at him, "What are you doing here, Mr. Mekhi?"
"I came to check up on you," Carter licked his lips and laughed, "I wanted to see how you were doin'. I don't know - - you kinda ran across my mind the otha' day when I was passing by Ty's place."
"Me?" She looked at him and then quickly back down when his green eyes became too much for her, "But why?"
"I wanted to see if you took my advice," said Carter as he inched closer to her and bit down on his bottom lip while she looked at her feet.
"Wow," she said nervously, "Mr. Mekhi I - -"
"Just Carter," he touched her cheek and her entire heart stopped - - she was already a timid person but she got ten times more timid around Carter, "Shit, anything but Mr. Mekhi, babydoll," he caressed her cheek and she looked up at him, "You still won't look me in the eyes," she looked back down, "I'm beginnin' to think you think I'm hideous or somethin' ma," he said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood and loosen her up, "Am I that ugly to look at?"
She shook her head that he wasn't, "No," she said in her accented tone, "No it's not that," Stoni said in a meek whisper, "I never really get visitors so," she shrugged, "I don't know - - I just," she was rambling again and looking down but Carter tilted her face up to him and she stared into his deep dark green eyes like there was no tomorrow and saw heaven in those eyes, "What do you want with me?"
"Another conversation," Carter said down to her as she looked at him breathlessly - - he was stealing her air and will to breathe, "Slip on your shoes and we'll have one," he said, "Just me and you," his smile was priceless, "All you gotta do is say yes, ma," but she couldn't say a thing; all she could do was nod.
● ● ●
Stoni looked around the Starbucks and drummed her fingers on the table as she waited for Carter to come back with the sugar for her tea with lemon. She was trying to be as nerveless as possible but it was hard when she was around a man with so much power and command like Carter. Stoni was like a mouse compared to the lion that was Carter but he didn't mean her harm he only wanted to talk with her. She had never rode in a car so nice before with a driver aside from the time Carter dropped her off after the club when they first met at the strip joint. Riding in the Bentley was a world away from what she knew but it seemed so customary to Carter.
She looked up and saw him talking with a lady at the counter for her sugars and watched him closely. The way he spoke, his strong and hard Brooklyn accent, his well built body in the expensive clothes he wore, his beautiful curly hair, and the way he licked his lips - - even when he bit them and she saw a slight dimple in his cheek - - it was all intriguing to her. Stoni noticed that when he talked, he talked with his hands a lot and when he laughed he wrinkled up his nose a little and made the cutest face.
Stoni noticed the way he seemed so well put together - - his skin was smooth and flawless, his nail beds were clean and manicured, and his scent, goodness his scent was out of this world. It wasn't fruity like a woman but it wasn't horribly harsh like some men's cologne - - it was right there and it was so memorable. There was nothing like a man who looked good AND smelled good on top of that. There wasn't a thing out of place about Carter Mekhi and that fact made her nervous because she felt like she was in no way equipped to handle a man like that; he was superior on all levels.
Carter turned around from the counter and winked at Stoni and then went back to his conversation with someone he seemed to know up there. She looked at him and then back at the table and took a deep breath telling herself to just relax around him and stop being so fidgety. A few minutes later Carter came back to the table and slid into the booth, "My fault, babydoll," he said in a genuine voice, "I knew that lady from my old neighborhood. She used to babysit me and my brother back in the day," he laughed a little and handed her the sugar she needed, "There's ya' suga' though," Carter smiled.
"Thanks," Stoni took it and concentrated on breaking open the packets as Carter relaxed in the booth and drank his coffee and watching her.
"So where were we?" He said, "Oh, I rememba' now," Carter licked his lips, "You were telling me about some audition?"
"Yeah," she nodded.
"What's the audition for?" He asked curiously, "Like actin' or somethin'?"
"No," she laughed and looked up at him as he rested his arm across his side of the booth, "It's a dance audition."
"Hold on now, ma," Carter smirked at her, "Dance audition? What kind of dance? Not the kind you was givin' me I hope," he said to her with his eyebrow curved, "Cause you know I'd be upset with you."
"Nooooo," she waved her hands and then giggled, "It's a dance audition for a dance school," Stoni said as Carter grinned, "It's in two weeks."
"Woordddd," he said, "Well look at you - - doin' big things."
"Not exactly," she sighed and shook it off, "I'm scared out of my mind about it - - I don't know if I should go - - I feel like there's no point."
"What kind of dance is it?"
"Ballet," replied Stoni, "I've been practicing but - - I just don't know - - I don't think I should go and I've really been debating it," she shrugged her shoulders.
He reached across the table and curled her finger in his, "Why don't you think you can do it? I bet you be beastin' it out in a tu-tu, ma," he laughed a little, "You'd be crazy to pass that up. If you wanna be a dancer then this audition should be ALL you wanna do."
"Even if I get chosen it's pointless," she said and sighed, "You don't understand - - it's still - - it still won't matter."
"I'm lost," he said, "Why wouldn't it matter? You get chosen and you can go to the school - - I don't get it, Stoni."
"You know why I was dancing at El Tigre's," she looked down into her cup and bit her lip, feeling tears stinging her eyes, "I was trying to make enough money for my tuition," she wiped away the water, "I hated that place - - I didn't want to be there - - but I knew I could never pay for that school with a regular job."
"What school is it?"
"Julliard," he looked at her when she said that and was shocked and impressed - - she had gotten an audition at Julliard - - notably the best dance school in America, "And as good as that is - - I just - - I can't afford that."
"Do you have any family here?" He asked, "Nobody to help you out? I mean there's gotta be someone, right?"
"I don't have family. It's just me," she breathed out and looked out the window, "My mother died a long time ago and my father - - I never knew him," he could tell it was hard for her to talk about it, "I don't know whether he's alive or dead," a tear fell from her eyes, "I've been in the system - - in and out of different group homes and I had some fosters - - since my mother died - - but they just released me, a couple months ago when I turned eighteen and that's how I ended up at Mrs. Reyes. Someone told me she was renting out a room so I took it and then I met Allison and that's how I got to Ty's club."
"Hey now," he wiped her tear with his finger tip, "Don't cry," Carter said reassuringly, "You're too pretty to be cryin', ma," she didn't really believe him but she said nothing - - she felt like she deserved this life by now, "Seriously," he said, "How much's the tuition?"
"It's about fifty thousand a year - - so I need to come up with twenty-five thousand for fall tuition - - I went to see what loans I can get but I can only get about ten thousand because I don't really have any credit established and - - it's just a mess," she said, "Yeah I know," Carter shook her head, "Even with the club money I couldn't have pulled it off - - but I still tried," she said, "I had to try at least."
"That's a lot of money, babydoll," he said as she sniffed, "But you can't give up if your hearts set on somethin' - - goin' to college to better yourself and do what you dreamed of doin' - - ma that's a major move," he nodded and reached into his breast pocket pulling out a leather Louis Vuitton checkbook, "Sometimes I wished I went to art school - - I used to draw and shit," he talked as he pulled out a solid gold pen with his name monogrammed on it, "But I wasn't passionate enough about it so I mean," he shrugged as he scribbled on the check, talking nonchalantly, "What can you do right? I found my bearings though in the whole business management thing."
Carter continued on, "I had to deal with the loans shit too cause I didn't have a whole lot of guap to pay for college but I got a partial scholarship and somehow I got through it," he looked up at her and licked his lips talking, "It was like some school out in Delaware - - I fuckin' hated it," he shook his head and talked with his hands again, "The worst three years of my life," Carter looked back down and started scribbling again.
"I thought it was country as shit out there and you know, I'm a city boy so all that cows and farms and shit - - no good - - I swear I got out there and literally was like where the fuck am I as soon as I got out the car," he shrugged his shoulders, "But I got my degree and I did it in three years as opposed to four cause I took summer classes - - I wanted to be up outta there and back to Brooklyn," he tore off a piece of paper, "And you know what I don't regret staying there even though it was hard," he handed her the paper, "That's why arts and shit like that - - you know up and coming niggas I gotta support because I didn't have the dedication enough to stick with my drawing but they did just like you too, ma."
"What's this?" She looked at the paper and realized it was a check with Carter's signature at the bottom, "Oh my God," she covered her mouth and looked at the check reading: written in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars from the account of Carter Ryan Mekhi, "No - - no papi - - no I - - I can't - - I - - woah," she looked at him, "Please take this back."
"It's yours."
"I can't take this," she looked up at him teary eyed, "I can't."
"I want you to take it," Carter said, "I'll give you the other twenty-five thou when spring semester rolls around," he grinned and rubbed her cheek, looking directly into her eyes, "I gotta see how your grades look for fall semester first, babydoll - - make sure you using my money like you should be, ya'know," he laughed a little and bit his lip as his hand rested on her cheek, "Stoni I'm not taking no for an answer."
"But how?" She looked at him, "How can you afford to toss this kind of money around?"
"I had a good summer," he laughed and licked his lips, "Business was boomin'," he shrugged, knowing any time of the season he could have shelled out the cash.
"I don't know what to say," she said, "Thank you - - I - - I'm speechless."
"You don't have to say anything," he took her hand, "When's your audition?"
"Two weeks from today at 10 in the morning - - it's at Julliard," she said still stunned, "I can't breathe."
"Well don't not breathe, ma," he laughed again, "I need you to breathe otherwise I won't be able to enjoy your lovely company," Carter kissed her hand, "Relax about the audition, love. Now you can just focus on practicin' and shit."
"I'm sorry," she placed her hand on her head, "It's just a lot for me to - - to take in."
"That was cute what you said earlier," he grinned at her.
"Huh?"
"When you called me papi," he licked his lips, "I kinda liked that shit, ma - - sounds good when you say it to me," she watched his long tongue as it swiped his bottom lip, "Say it to me again."
Stoni looked at him shyly and covered her mouth giggling looking around, "No - - I can't," she said giddy like a school girl, "I'm shy."
"You just said it," he laughed and looked at her, "C'mon you ain't that shy, babydoll, are you?"
Stoni looked off and giggled again as she looked out the window and felt his hand against her cheek. She slowly looked back at him, "Thank you," she whispered to him and looked back at the check, "Thank you for doing this for me, Papi," she didn't need to call him Mr. Mekhi anymore; he had a new nickname that only she would call him from there on out because that's what he was to her, that's what he felt like - - like a father - - like a savior. He was and would forever be her Papi.
● ● ●
When Carter dropped Stoni off back at Mrs. Reyes' apartment and settled back into the car he finally handled his missed calls and texts. After everyone else was contacted he saw that he hadn't responded to Aiko and curved his brow and began to type:
Message Received at 2:19 P.M.
Sender: Koko Hamilton
Message Body: You're such a fucking asshole! OMFG you're
totally being a bitch 4 no reason. All I wanna do is see
you so why do you have to act like that?
Carter... I miss you...
Message Sent at 4:02 P.M.
Message Body: You'll see me when I'm ready to see you.
Meantime, ease the fuck up on my fuckin' number, ma
...real shit.
"Silly fuckin' broad," Carter said to himself as he rested his head against the headrest while his driver rolled through the streets of Harlem. He closed his eyes and thought about his little senorita that he couldn't help but want to put a smile on her face. She was so appreciative and so worth every penny, Carter knew it - - as he rested his tired green eyes a smile appeared on his face. He would be at her audition to see her do what she'd always dreamed.
-