The Real Deal Read online

  This bitch.

  I laughed to myself as Gavin looked down on her with confusion before giving an unenthusiastic smile for the fans. Then he yanked away to catch up with Caleb who was hanging in the background.

  Good job, babe.

  Once Gavin was inside, the line continued to move until I was right at the front. I was glad that he had already made his way inside so I wouldn’t risk getting caught. But more importantly, I was glad to see he was keeping Shy in her place.

  Gavin

  “Yo, G. Are you ready?”

  I flashed my eyes up to Caleb, giving him a nod before I finished off my text to Reagan.

  About to hit the stage. Miss you already, sweetheart. Text you when I’m done. - Gavin

  I was tempted to send another one, something along the lines of how much I loved her. But I hadn’t said it in person yet, so I refused to let the first time be over text. I tossed my phone in my bag before I was too tempted, then followed Caleb and Shy past a bunch of the other dressing rooms that were backstage.

  I was first up, performing a couple of songs including the two with Shy. And then there were a couple of bigger names that would be performing after me. I vowed to get there one day; be the headliner instead of the opening act. But I knew it was only a matter of time before I’d be getting those calls. For now, I just appreciated any call at all.

  I peeked from backstage out to the crowd and saw the venue was packed with people from top to bottom, though the top was reserved specifically for Bryson and his guests. Of course it was lined with celebrities, from fellow players to models to actors and everything in between. But there was someone in particular that stood out to me.

  From afar, the girl looked like she could be Reagan’s twin; same body type, same skin tone, same hair. I mean, it was literally like a spitting image of her, though I knew it wasn’t my girl considering she was laughing it up all in some baller’s face. Reagan wasn’t the type to be that impressed by anyone, and she certainly wasn’t the type to be hangin’ in anyone’s VIP section tryna get chose.

  And what the hell would Reagan even be doing here?

  “Bro, you’re trippin’,” I thought to myself with a laugh, excited to call and tell Reagan about her twin as soon as I got off the stage. Then I listened as Caleb hyped me up before I came out from the back, causing an uproar.

  The crowd rapped every song with me word for word, even the ones with Shy where she tried her best to use the only time I let her touch me to her advantage. I mean, was grinding down my whole body with her hand gliding down the middle really necessary?

  Yeah, it got a reaction from the crowd. But it also did nothing but build speculation about what was far from the truth. I knew Shy wanted me, she had made that clear on more than one occasion. But at the same time, I had always been honest with her that I wasn’t interested; even more so now that Reagan and I were really giving things a go.

  I was positive that the footage would go viral in no time at all and there was nothing I could do to stop that. But in the back of my head, I knew I would have to at least warn Reagan about it first.

  &

  My calls went unanswered.

  My texts went unreturned.

  And now, I was starting to get worried.

  I had tried to get in touch with Reagan as soon as we were done performing, but she hadn’t responded to anything, making me wonder if she had already saw the footage and gotten pissy because of it. She acted like she understood whenever I found myself explaining my interactions with Shy, but that certainly didn’t mean she ever liked it. I could honestly already see her now, watching the short clip on loop with fire in her eyes, followed by all five foot three inches of her gettin’ hyped up to tell me off. And I would take that shit, always amused by her little ass going back and forth about nothin’ at all. It was honestly sexy watching her get herself all riled up just so I could calm her down with my truth and fuck all that extra energy out of her.

  I was low-key looking forward to it.

  Now if only I can get her to call me back…

  “G, let’s head up to VIP. They’re gettin’ ready to do a toast to Bryson.”

  I stared at my phone for a few more seconds before I shoved it in my pocket and followed Caleb to VIP. A crowd had already formed around Bryson, everyone with a shot glass in their hand. I snagged a glass from one of the waitresses’ trays, handing it to Caleb before reaching back to grab another. Then I listened in as Bryson’s girl gave a toast, followed by his little brother, and then one of his teammates; the one that had been hanging with Reagan’s twin.

  Speaking of which…

  I looked around the crowd to see if I could get a better look at her. I mean, from far away she looked just like Reagan, but maybe she looked different up close.

  My eyes scanned the faces of everyone with a shot glass in their hand, but none of them even looked remotely like Reagan. So I shrugged, clinking glasses with a few of the people around me before tossing the shot back.

  And just as I went to set the now empty glass on a cocktail table nearby, I heard a little voice behind me say, “Surprise, babe.”

  I froze, turning around to find my girl looking radiant in a dress I certainly wouldn’t have approved of if it was for anyone’s eyes other than my own.

  But it was.

  And she was here.

  Though I wasn’t exactly sure how she had pulled the whole thing off, it didn’t matter as I wrapped her up in a hug that lifted her off of her feet, following it up with a long, lingering kiss like I hadn’t seen her in weeks instead of days.

  “Damn, maybe I should surprise you more often,” she teased, wiping her lips.

  I held her around the waist, giving her another quick kiss to her forehead before I asked, “What the hell are you doing here, sweetheart? You came all this way by yourself? I’ve been callin’ and textin’ you.” I could hardly contain my excitement enough to stop talking.

  And I could tell she was excited too, all smiles as she replied, “I know. But if I would’ve answered any of it, that would’ve ruined the surprise.”

  I nodded my head to agree with her. “How long have you been here?”

  She shrugged, taking a sip of the drink I hadn’t even noticed in her hand. “Since the beginning really. I saw you perform, though I really could’ve done without the peepshow from Shy. I mean, does the girl have any respect? I certainly have no problem giving her a few lessons.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction that was honestly a lot milder than I expected. “Chill, Reagan. You know how that shit goes.”

  “Yeah, and I know that shit won’t go if she keeps at it.”

  I laughed even harder as I took her free hand and lead her through the crowd to the bar so I could get a drink of my own. As we waited for my drink, we chatted a little more about her trip, the performance, and how she had managed to get in VIP of all places until someone interrupted with a, “Yo, G. Griffey. This you?”

  I turned in my bar stool to see it was the same nigga that had been talking to Reagan’s twin. But when I took a second look at Reagan’s dress and realized it was the same one the “twin” had been wearing, things suddenly clicked for me.

  I stood up to make my point, though since he was a ball player we were about the same height. “Yeah, this is me.”

  He held his hands up, a little smirk on his face as he said, “My bad. I didn’t know.”

  Then he turned to Reagan, looking her up and down before he licked his lips and added, “You better be careful, baby. Don’t wanna get yourself in trouble.”

  And Reagan didn’t say anything, just watched with nervous eyes as he walked away.

  It wasn’t in me to react with a hothead, especially in front of the crowd around us. So as calmly as I could, I asked her, “Care to tell me what that shit was about?”

  For the first time in a long time, I saw a little flash of panic in her eyes as she said, “I uh… we were just talking, Gavin. It was nothing really.”


  My eyebrow piqued as I watched her get even more uncomfortable. “You sure about that? I mean… you wouldn’t get in trouble over nothin’, would you?”

  She sighed, almost defeatedly as she answered, “Seriously, Gavin. It wasn’t like that. I told him I was a fan and he kinda… took that and ran with it. He got a little flirty, but I got away before anything happened.”

  I wanted to believe her, but I had saw too much of it with my own eyes even if I didn’t know it was really her at the time. And she was definitely enjoying herself, giving just as much as she was taking.

  “Reagan, just be real with me. I’m not the type of nigga to get jealous over some stupid shit.” I was sure this was her first time around celebrities which meant she had probably really gotten caught off guard by someone of his caliber coming at her like that; though I certainly wasn’t here to make any excuses for her falling for his bullshit. She was definitely smarter than that.

  “Gavin, I… I may have laughed a little too hard at his jokes. But I’m not interested in him. I came all this way for you.”

  Or maybe you came all this way to use me for your real agenda...

  I shook off those foreign thoughts as I searched her face to see if she was telling the truth. And since everything looked genuine, I tried my best not to be bothered; especially considering how much shit she had to put up with on a daily from some of my crazy fans shooting their shot. Even if I didn’t engage - never, ever engaged -, I could only imagine how she felt about me receiving nudes from random numbers and social media profiles at any given time of the day. A little harmless flirting was nothing compared to that shit.

  So I sat back down, taking her hands in mine as I told her, “Just be careful, Reagan. I know you probably don’t know how these niggas operate, but they’re all full of shit. Don’t fall for it.”

  She nodded, a clear sincerity in her eyes as she replied, “I got it, Gavin. I’m sorry.”

  Reagan

  So the trip wasn’t completely ruined by my lapse in judgment, though I should’ve saw the signs. The grazes of the arm, the unnecessary closeness, the hand ever-so-gently against my waist as we chatted about his season; it all rang “flirty” now that I could think back on it. But in the moment, I was just having fun, enjoying the party, enjoying talking to one of my favorite basketball players in the league. And I mean, a girl didn’t miraculously end up in VIP with a bunch of celebrities all the time. But I guess that should’ve been the first sign; the fact that he had found me in the crowd and invited me up.

  Stupid… stupid… stu….

  “Reagan, what you over there thinkin’ bout?”

  I peeked up from my spot on the bed to a freshly-showered Gavin, water pellets still scattered along his skin as he used a small towel to scrub the water from his hair. He called himself “growing it out”, but I knew I only had a few more days of tolerance left in me before I’d be cutting a chunk of it in his sleep that would force him to have to cut it all off.

  “Right now, I’m thinking about how badly I want to cut your hair.”

  He laughed, dropping the towel that was around his waist to the floor and crawling into bed like his still damp body was no big deal. And it wasn’t the moment my senses were refreshed with the smell of his soap that I had grown to love almost as much as his cologne.

  He was already kissing along my neck as he said, “You sure don’t seem to mind it when you’re yankin’ my shit and tellin’ me to fuck you harder.”

  I shrugged, my eyes already slanted closed as he slid a hand between my thighs, bypassing my panties to find his real destination. “Only thing it’s good for, really.”

  His laugh rumbled against my skin as he kissed his way under the cover, though I could still hear him when he asked, “You sure about that? What about when I’m eatin’ this juicy ass pussy of yours and hittin’ the spot with my tongue? How do you manage to keep me in place?”

  His kisses along my inner thigh made it hard for me to focus on giving an answer, but somehow I still piped out, “I uh… dig my hands in your hair.”

  “Mmhmm. Gonna miss that if I cut it, aren’t you?”

  “The mouth will still be the… mmmm…” He certainly knew how to shut me up.

  It was crazy to me that people really believed Gavin’s voice was the most talent his mouth could produce when I knew oh-so-well how his oral skills certainly gave his lyrics a run for their money. I suppose they were one in the same, a manipulation of his lips and tongue to get a reaction.

  And shit, I was already ready to react.

  But before I could, Gavin climbed from under the covers to give me a kiss; a filthy ass kiss that he knew I secretly hated, but had learned to embrace all because he found it sexy.

  Real relationships are all about compromise, right?

  He was all smiles as he proudly licked my excess off of his lips. “See how good you taste? No wonder you had ballers chasin’ after your fine ass tonight.”

  “Gavin, I…”

  He cut me off. “Shh… I’m good, sweetheart. Not even trippin’.”

  “I’m just… I’m sorry.” And I really meant it. I was honestly grateful that instead of flippin’ out, he had managed to, “put me up on game” as he affectionately called it. It was like he had stepped outside of the boyfriend role to be more of a male best friend.

  But he was certainly back to boyfriend now as he leaned back against the headboard with his hands behind his head and said, “Show me.”

  “Show you? Show you what?”

  He served me one of his crooked smiles as he answered, “How sorry you are. Ain’t that what ya’ll women do when ya’ll feel like ya’ll might’ve fucked up a little? Give a fuckin’ apology?”

  My initial reaction was to side eye him, but I quickly realized how right he was. And I mean, what better way to say sorry than a win for the both of us?

  So instead of wasting time getting unreasonably testy, I climbed on his lap and gave him the best fuckin’ apology of his life.

  &

  “Yo Baé Griffey, what you think of this?”

  My eyes were still closed as Gavin rattled off a couple of bars that sounded good on first listen, but I still asked him to repeat. We were still in the city and I really wasn’t in a rush to make the road trip back home. But I knew it would be better than the drive up since Gavin was coming with me instead of flying back with Caleb and Shy.

  “I said… “I’ve been really tryna fight it, but I guess it’s time to own it…. I just want you to know that my love is bigger than the moment…. I’ve been dreamin’, tryna figure how to tell you how I feel… But I should probably start by tellin’ you it’s real.” Is that cool?”

  I sat up, pulling the covers with me as I digested his words.

  They were… heavy; unusually heavy.

  So heavy that I started to wonder…

  “I like it. It’s… cute. Let me guess; you’re gonna put Shy on the chorus?”

  I wasn’t intentionally being salty, but it had clearly come off that way as he laughed when he answered, “Nah, I was actually gonna do this one myself. Been takin’ vocal lessons and shit.”

  Now I was the one laughing. “Vocal lessons? Since when?”

  “Since I signed a deal that can pay for that shit. This actually might be my first single from the album.”

  I thought about the little snippet he had shared. And even though I honestly wanted to swoon, I told him, “It sounds… worthy. I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  “I mean… you may wanna hit them with something a little harder, grittier…”

  He sighed, standing up from the bed to pace back and forth. I watched with concerned eyes since it wasn’t like Gavin to get riled up about… anything really. But when he finally spoke, his frustrations began to make sense.

  “I can’t write hard and gritty lyrics when I feel fuckin’... fuzzy and warm.”

  “Fuzzy and warm? What’s that all about?”

  He stopped dead
in his tracks, turning towards the bed and looking me dead in my eyes to confess, “You, Reagan. It’s about you.”

  “I don’t know what to say…”

  In a few long strides he was back to the bed, sitting on the edge right against my hip and taking my hand in his. “I don’t need you to say anything, sweetheart. I just want you to know, understand, that I… fucks with you; like for real.”

  My heart pounded as I looked into his eyes and read further into what he was saying, though I couldn’t help but tease, “Oh you fucks with me, huh? Is that like, rapper code for something?”

  He shrugged, plastering on the crooked smile that I loved so much. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

  Now it was me who was smiling, hard and uncontrollably, as I took his face in my hands to pull him closer. “Well for the record, I fucks with you too.”

  Gavin

  “So they want me to write a verse for her new single?”

  Caleb’s eyes were locked on his phone as we sat outside of the studio. I hadn’t been back home for more than a few hours before I was already being shipped off to somewhere new; this time to the recording studio that was thankfully only a short flight away. We had arrived at my recording session a little early, so while I was busy scrolling through Instagram, he was busy reading emails.

  He glided his finger through the lengthy message a little more before he finally answered, “Well… not exactly.”

  That got my full attention.

  When Caleb mentioned that Zalayah’s camp had reached out to him for us to do some work together, I wasn’t completely surprised. She was one of those young superstars who was beginning the transition from little teenage Pop&B diva to sexy songstress; something that could easily make or break her career. And since I was still in the “young” category as far as the industry was concerned, it made sense that we would link up eventually, though I still didn’t understand exactly how.