Consequences

Genres: African American

Synopsis

School's back in session and there's a lot of unfinished business to handle. As Lena prepares for her wedding day, she can't help but think about Denise, her sexy b-ball roommate who almost stole her away. A summer isn't enough time to get over a true love. Denise just can't shake the feelings she developed for soon-to-be-married Lena. Should she go for what she wants or leave well enough alone? Cooley let Misha walk away, but she can't take no for an answer. Will her determination to win back her first love bring Misha back or push her further away? Carmen worked hard to get her life back on track. . .but will fears of the past wreck her future with new love Nic? This fast-paced sequel to Choices will leave you on an emotional roller coaster you won't want to get off.

Release date: October 24, 2011

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 400

Sample

“Showtime,” Lena said to herself as she looked at her image in the mirror. The Manolo Blahnik stilettos lengthened her five foot three inch frame to nearly five-and-a-half feet. Her long hair flowed perfectly under the veil, and her Vera Wang wedding dress fit perfectly around her curvaceous body. She looked down at the five-karat, princess-cut ring on her finger that was about to have a beautiful platinum band to go along with it, and smiled. She had made the right decision.

“Lena, it’s time,” Carmen said when she walked into the room. She helped Lena place the Swarovski crystal-studded veil over her face. “Next time I talk to you, your name will be Lena Redding.” She hugged Lena, and they headed out of the room.

The New York Philharmonic began playing the traditional Mendelssohn March as the guests turned to watch the procession enter the orchid-filled chapel. The bridesmaids glided one by one down the aisle in their creamy white dresses accented with Tiffany-blue sashes. A groomsman dressed in a white tuxedo with a matching Tiffany-blue cummerbund received each. Brandon stood at the altar in the middle wearing an enormous smile on his face.

Lena walked down the aisle as David Hollister’s “Forever” began to play. The guests stood as Lena slowly made her way down the aisle. Lena glanced at her soon-to-be husband. Brandon’s tall, athletic frame looked amazing in his white tuxedo. She was about to marry “one of the sexiest men alive,” according to Essence magazine. She looked to the right and noticed many of her friends from St. Benedict High School and some of her new sorority sisters of Chi Theta. She looked to her left and saw mostly Brandon’s teammates and their wives.

Finally she made it to the altar, and her father proudly gave her hand to Brandon. The ceremony began.

“Is there anyone who objects to these two joining hands in holy matrimony?” the preacher asked.

Lena smiled as she looked at Brandon and resisted the urge to wipe the tear sliding down his left cheek.

“Yeah, I do!”

Commotion ensued as someone burst into the church.

Lena’s body started to tremble at the sound of the voice. She turned around to see Denise headed toward her in jeans and a black wife-beater.

“Lena, you don’t love him! You love me!” Denise yelled as every bit of her toned body fought to break through the bodyguards holding her back.

“Denise, what are you doing?” Carmen yelled at her friend.

“Bitch, have you lost your mind?” Brandon yelled as his groomsmen held him back.

“I am sorry, Brandon, but Lena loves me, and she knows it!” Denise exclaimed.

Lena turned to Brandon. “I’m sorry, Brandon, but it’s true. I do love Denise.” She turned around and ran toward Denise.

Instantly they embraced each other, sharing a passionate kiss. The church was in hysterics.

“Well, if you want her, y’all can have each other,” Brandon said, walking up to the both of them. “In hell!”

Two shots rang out, and everything suddenly went black.

Lena abruptly woke up in a sweat. Her heart was pounding as she turned to see Brandon in his usual deep sleep. “It was only a dream,” she thought to herself. She eased out of her bed and quietly went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.

“Lena, what is wrong with you?” she questioned herself. The dreams were becoming more frequent as the wedding date drew closer. She was losing more and more sleep.

She headed back into her bedroom in the new loft that Brandon had purchased for her. He had signed a 9.5 million-dollar contract with the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team. Even though he was a rookie, it was well known that he was going to be one of the star players.

Lena grabbed a bottled water out of her brand-new Sub Zero Refrigerator at the morning bar and sat on an oversized leather couch. She looked out of the large double-hung windows at the beautiful view of the Mississippi River and Memphis Bridge.

Lena looked down at the massive rock on her hand. Brandon had upgraded her original ring as soon as he signed his contract. Lately she felt the weight of the ring not on her finger, but in her heart. She couldn’t stop thinking about Denise. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to suppress her feelings.

Lena crept back into bed and stared up into the pitch-black space. Denise came into her mind again. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking of her. The school year was approaching, and she was going to be faced with her skeleton again. Lena said a silent prayer for strength to overcome her impure desires for Denise. She looked at Brandon again and felt she was where she was meant to be. She only hoped that she remembered that the entire school year.

“Get a grip, Dee.” Denise stared into her bathroom mirror. This was becoming a nightly routine. She splashed cold water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Droplets rolled down her brown cheeks. She could see the stress in her dark brown eyes; small red lines filled them from lack of sleep.

“Baby, you OK?” a voice called from the other room.

Denise didn’t want to answer. She pulled her ponytail holder off of her head and ran her hand through her thick, long hair.

“Yeah, I’m good,” she replied through the door. Denise sighed and brushed her hair back before placing the ponytail holder back on it. She wiped her face and walked back into the other room.

Rhonda stared at Denise as she illuminated the bedroom with the light from the bathroom. She smiled. She loved everything about Denise, especially her frame. She watched Denise’s toned arms sway. She noticed from day one how great Denise’s body looked in clothes, and she couldn’t wait to see how it looked naked.

“Baby, I know you’re stressing about school, but I know something that can relieve that stress,” Rhonda hinted, caressing Denise’s arm. She quickly began to massage Denise’s broad shoulders.

Although it felt great to Denise, she knew it would lead to something she didn’t want.

“Rhonda, we already had this conversation.” Denise sighed.

“I know, but it’s been three months. School is about to start. I just want to show you how much I care about you.”

“And I told you I don’t get down like that.” Denise turned away from Rhonda.

Rhonda looked down at Denise. “Fine, baby, I am willing to wait,” she said, turning her body toward Denise so she could put her arm around her.

That’s what I’m afraid of, Denise thought to herself as she closed her eyes, hoping to quickly fall back to sleep. Before she knew it, she was.

Denise turned over and wrapped her arms around Rhonda. She loved holding Rhonda in her arms. “This is how things are supposed to be,” Denise whispered in Rhonda’s ear as she kissed her on the cheek. She felt Rhonda caressing her hand. Things were perfect, just how they were supposed to be.

The smell of bacon and eggs aroused Denise’s senses long before her body woke up. Rhonda was cooking breakfast, something Denise had become used to every morning. She got up and headed into the kitchen. The table was filled with all of her favorites.

“Damn, did you cook everything in the fridge? It’s only two of us,” Denise said. She didn’t know why she was annoyed with Rhonda.

Rhonda placed a heaping plate of food at Denise’s seat at the table. “I’m sorry, Denise. I’ll buy some more food to cover what I used. I know it’s a lot. I just wanted to do something special for you since you made me feel so special last night.”

Denise gave Rhonda a curious look. “I did?”

“Yes, woman, remember what you told me?” Rhonda kissed Denise on her forehead. “That laying next to me was the way things are supposed to be.”

Denise immediately felt guilty. She knew she was not thinking about Rhonda last night. She yawned. “Yeah, uh, I was real tired. I’m not even sure what I said last night. This looks good.” She quickly began to eat to avoid any more questions.

Rhonda’s heart stopped. It wasn’t the answer she expected. “Well, you know I gotta feed my girl.” She sighed as she sat down with her plate.

They heard the door open.

“Bruhhhhh!” Cooley yelled as she burst into the room.

“Oh, snap. I thought I was picking you up tonight,” Denise said as she hugged her best friend.

“Well, maybe if you would check your voice and text messages, you would know I caught an earlier flight. What the fuck did I get you a Sidekick for anyway?”

“I’ve been checking my messages whenever I get them. I haven’t had any,” Denise said, looking down at her phone.

A loud noise erupted.

“Oh, sorry,” Rhonda said, picking up the pieces of a plate that she threw into the sink. She wasn’t expecting Cooley to show up till later. Erasing Denise’s messages hadn’t worked after all.

Cooley’s expression changed. She threw Denise an evil stare. “Oh. Hey,” she said to Rhonda with as much attitude as possible.

“Hi,” Rhonda said, returning the same amount of attitude. “Well, I need to get home, so Denise I will see you later, OK,” Rhonda said as she headed to Denise’s room to put her clothes on.

Cooley looked over at Denise. She frowned. “Why is she still here?” She did not like Rhonda at all.

“Shhhh. She might hear you,” Denise answered.

“Whatever, man, I’m definitely going to have to hook you up with someone else. I preferred that ho-ass Crystal over that bitch,” Cooley responded.

“Man, come on, I know you don’t like her, but ...” Denise stopped talking when Rhonda walked back into the room.

“Do you need me to bring anything to your practice?” Rhonda leaned down and placed a long, sensual kiss on Denise’s lips.

Cooley made a gagging expression.

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll just see you later. There is actually no need to come to my practice.”

Rhonda looked confused. She loved watching Denise play during practice. “But—”

“After practice, OK! Bye, Rhonda.” Denise knew she had to cut her off.

“All right, if that’s what you want.” Rhonda tried to kiss Denise, but she moved her face. Rhonda looked up at Cooley ,who was trying to hold in her laughter, and stomped out the door.

“Man, come on, she is so damn phony! You can do so much better,” Cooley remarked as she headed to her room.

Denise followed.

Cooley sighed when she walked into her room. She didn’t realize how much she had missed home. Her room was decked out better than most bachelor pads. A large black and white abstract painting of a woman’s body hung on her wall. Her colognes and shades were lined up perfectly along her dresser. The collection of fitted baseball caps decorated another side of the wall, each in its own spot. A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room against the back wall. The black and white Ralph Lauren bed set accented with red throw pillows was one of her favorite things in the room. Cooley had an unmistakable sense of style.

“Cooley, she isn’t that bad.” Denise remembered that when Rhonda met Cooley, she immediately had an attitude with her. Rhonda always questioned why Denise was friends with Cooley and Carmen, as she didn’t like either one of them.

“Man, that girl is bad news, but the pussy must be nice ’cause you’re still with her stank ass.”

“She isn’t that bad, and I wouldn’t know about the pussy thing,” Denise said as she leaned against the wall in Cooley’s room.

Cooley stopped unpacking. “You been shackin’ up with the bitch all these months and you haven’t fucked? Bro, what the hell is going on with you?”

Before Denise could answer, Cooley responded, “I know you are not still stuck up on Lena.”

Denise remained quiet.

“Damn bro, you either need to go fuck her or let her go, but all this pining over her isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“Who you tellin’? I’m trying to get over her. Shit, I can’t get that kiss out of my head.”

The image of Lena kissing Denise immediately entered her mind. She couldn’t forget the kiss they’d shared on the last day of school last year. She couldn’t forget the intensity and passion that was filled in the minute-long kiss.

“We haven’t spoken all summer. I haven’t seen her. She’s gonna be married at the end of the semester.” Denise sighed. “I know she’s made her choice, but I don’t know what to do to get over her.”

“Well, maybe if you find a girl to take your mind off of her.” Cooley threw a bag to Denise.

“That’s what I got with Rhonda for,” Denise said. “What’s all this?” Denise asked and started pulling things out of the bag. It was filled with CDs and a bottle of cologne.

“Oh, some things I got for you this summer. Check that scent out. It’s Unforgivable by Sean Jean. Hot shit.”

Denise nodded in approval of her gifts.

“And I meant a real woman.” Cooley laughed. “Seriously, man, if you aren’t gonna get wit’ Lena, then you need to let it go. Hey, since we have this phat-ass crib now, how about we throw a back-to-school party? I got some great mixes from Jam Zone. What do you think?”

Cooley had spent the summer interning at Jam Zone Record Label. She got the connection when she met Sonic, one of the label’s artists, last year in Atlanta.

“If that’s what you want to do, then fine. I’m down for it,” Denise said over her shoulder as she walked out the room.

Denise lay down on her bed and looked around the room. She didn’t decorate her room like her lavish best friend. The only thing they had in common was how neat they kept their wardrobes. Her fitted hats lined the side of her wall, hanging on individual nails. Her shoe collection was lined up perfectly in her closet, complete with almost every color of Air Force Ones. She looked out of the window and wondered what Lena was up to.

“I have died and gone to heaven,” Carmen said as she looked at the long table filled with miniature cakes.

“Lena, you are going to have to take my dress out ’cause I plan on tasting every last one of these bad boys,” Misha added as she looked at the table.

The baker came out of the back room. “Well, Ms. Jamerson, these are the crème de la crème. Please take your time tasting all of them. You may mix and match whatever you would like for your wedding. After all we are here to please you.”

Lena smiled. “Thank you. Please leave me and my friends, and we will ring when we are finished.” She walked up to the table as the woman politely left the room. “Let’s get started.”

Carmen and Misha looked at Lena as they grabbed forks and began to sample each small cake.

“Damn, the perks of marrying someone rich. Damn, I am mad as hell about it,” Carmen joked as she sampled a piece of a cake that tasted like coffee.

“Yeah, well,” Lena said as she sampled something with a strawberry on top. “Who better to share this with than my girls?”

“I still can’t believe it’s only a few months until you’re a married woman,” Misha squealed in delight. “Oh my God, this vanilla cream is unbelievable.”

Carmen ran over to try a piece of Misha’s discovery. They looked up at Lena, realizing she was standing still, a concerned look on her face.

“Lena, are you OK?” she asked.

Lena turned around when she heard the question. “Yeah, I’m just a little light-headed. I haven’t been getting much sleep lately.”

“Girl, you better slow down before you wear yourself out. You don’t have to do everything. You should hire that Mr. Fabulous guy to do your wedding. His shit is off the chain,” Misha added.

“No, I wanted to do my own wedding. I do have a wonderful wedding planner, but certain things I want to do myself. I just need a good night’s sleep.” Lena smiled. She knew that was not her only problem. “So are you all ready for your senior year?” she asked Carmen and Misha, both seniors.

“I am so ready to be done with school. When I finish, me and Nic are moving to L.A.,” Carmen said. She was still with her girlfriend Nicole. Carmen had never been so happy before.

“I’m not too excited. Once I graduate I still have law school,” Misha said as she headed into the dressing room to change.

“At least you’re done with most of it. I’m just a junior, and I am only a junior because of the summer school classes and overload from last year,” Lena said.

“Yes, but you are finishing in three years instead of four,” Carmen yelled from her dressing room. “Hell, at least you’re smart enough to finish. Most girls about to marry a millionaire would be barefoot and pregnant by now.”

Lena knew that Brandon wanted her to quit school and start working on the home, but she was determined to finish, in case she and Brandon didn’t make it.

Carmen’s phone rang 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.”

Misha and Lena both stopped what they were doing. They knew Cooley’s ring tone.

“Hey, bro, you’re back!” Carmen squealed. “How was Atlanta?”

Lena continued to sample cake as Misha tried to pay attention to Carmen’s conversation.

“Misha, are you all right?” Lena asked when she noticed the expression on her face.

“I’m fine. I just, well, I guess I forgot that I was going to be around Cooley again,” Misha said, putting her head down.

“You don’t have to be around her too much. I’m sure Carmen will understand if you pass on a few events. I have to as well.” Lena almost caught herself mentioning Denise, but it was too late.

“Why, Lena, because of Denise?” Misha looked Lena straight in her face.

Lena had to tell the truth. “Yes, OK, it’s ’cause of Denise. So what?” Lena said, walking out of the dressing room. Misha followed her.

“Girl, did something go on between you and Dee last year?” Misha questioned.

Lena had never told Misha about the incident last year. She had planned on sleeping with Denise the night of the athletic banquet, but things were changed when Brandon asked her to marry him. When she got to her dorm, Denise had changed her mind, knowing that having sex with her would complicate her life.

“Nothing happened. We kissed, but that’s it.” Lena thought about the kiss; it was the most intense and passionate kiss she had experienced. The only problem now was, kissing Brandon was not enough for her. She always desired more.

“Misha, can we drop this please?” Lena said, noticing Carmen walking out of the dressing room.

“Hey, guys, we’ve been invited to a welcome back to school party at Cooley and Denise’s new apartment.”

“We? Does Cooley know I would be coming?” Misha questioned.

“Yes. She asked me to tell you. Oh, and you too, Lena.” Carmen looked at Lena, who was grabbing the name cards off their favorite cakes.

The wedding cake maker walked back into the room.

“I can’t make it. I have to go to a dinner with Brandon, but I’ll send them a housewarming gift.” Lena looked at the baker. “I need to have samples of all of these sent to my house for Brandon to try.” Lena handed the woman the cards. “I gotta finish up here. I will talk to you women later, OK? Take whatever cakes you want with you.”

The baker grabbed some boxes and bags and gave them to Carmen and Misha. Lena quickly followed the woman into the office, leaving Carmen and Misha surrounded by the leftover cakes.

“I wonder what that was all about,” Carmen said as she packed up her favorite samples.

“Oh, come on, girl, you already know, don’t you?” Misha replied, sneaking another piece of the strawberry cake.

Carmen looked confused.

“Did you know they kissed last year?”

The comment caused Carmen to stop dead in her tracks “What? Misha, are you serious?” she asked Misha, who kept walking. She ran to catch up. “Bitch, you better answer me.”

Misha smiled. “Yes, OK. Lena just told me they kissed last year. From the look on her face it was a pretty damn good kiss.”

“Oh, hell no. I am going to kick Denise’s ass,” Carmen replied. “Damn, maybe that’s why she has been shacking up with that bitch-ass Rhonda.”

Carmen hated Rhonda more than Cooley did. Rhonda had asked Denise to stop hanging with Carmen because she didn’t think a femme and a stud could be real friends. Denise didn’t do it, however, and from then on Rhonda always had an attitude with Carmen, and Carmen had one with her as well.

“I know, right. That girl is so not Denise’s type,” Misha added as they got into Carmen’s car. “Seriously, I wondered why Denise was messing with her.”

“Well, now I know, and now I can squash that shit. So, are you coming to the party?” Carmen asked Misha.

“I don’t think so, girl. I don’t think Tay would like me going to a party at my ex-girlfriend’s house.” Misha had started dating Tay, a very popular stud on campus. Cooley and Tay both could pass as men. They were studs personified.

“Speaking of why people date who they date, you need to dump that loser and give my buddy another chance. You know Cooley isn’t over you.” Carmen didn’t approve of Misha being with Tay either, who was known for hitting her girlfriends. She also knew if Tay ever laid a hand on Misha that Cooley would go to jail for attempted murder.

“Really? Is that why she slept with two girls the last day of school? Carmen, we hadn’t been broken up twenty-four hours yet.”

“Misha, Cooley was hurting very bad. That’s the way she dealt with the pain. She couldn’t let you or anyone see how hurt she was. Why do you think she actually took that internship? To get away from Memphis and away from you. Hell, every time she called, she wanted to know stuff about you.”

“Well, a little too late to tell me that now,” Misha said. “If Cooley wanted me, she knew my number, so let’s drop this convo now please.”

“All right, it’s dropped.” Carmen pulled up in front of the dorm. “Well, see you later girl. I gotta go meet Nic.” Misha got out of the car and headed into her dorm as Carmen drove off.

Misha sat on the bed while Tay primped herself in the mirror. She laughed to herself, remembering how long it used to take Cooley to get ready. Misha knew that Tay was cute but didn’t have anything on Cooley. She looked Tay up and down. Misha had never realized just how short Tay was. Tay didn’t have the captivating effect on her that Cooley did.

“Misha!” Tay yelled.

“Yeah.” Misha jumped, realizing she had been daydreaming.

“How this look?” Tay said as her mouth shined with a gold grill.

Misha watched Tay turn around, showing off her Sean Jean outfit.

“It looks fine. But I wish you would take that damn grill out.” Misha rolled her eyes. She would never understand the fascination with wearing grills. She liked to see white, healthy teeth, not a metallic grin.

“Whatever, girl. I’m keeping my grill in.” Tay folded her arms and flashed her teeth in the mirror. She popped her collar. “I need to be better than fine. I gotta be the flyest stud tonight,” she said, brushing her waves down.

“Why you wanna be so fly to go to a movie?” Misha asked as she stood up.

“Oh, shit, we’re going to a welcome back party.” Tay placed her fitted blue cap on. She gave herself another complete look over in the mirror.

Misha looked at Tay. “What if I don’t feel like going to a party?” Misha paused. “Wait, the only party I know of tonight is at Cooley’s place.”

“Yeah, that’s it. I can’t wait to see the look on that nigga’s face when I walk in lookin’ like this.” Tay smiled at the thought of out-dressing Cooley at her own house. She knew Cooley was the only person standing in the way of her being the hottest stud in Memphis.

She looked at Misha, her most recent victory. She got the girl Cooley actually settled down with the year before. Tay knew Misha still cared about Cooley, but wasn’t afraid. Misha had left Cooley because of all the drama that followed her. By the end of last year all the stares, gossip, prank phone calls and psycho chicks had gotten to Misha. Tay knew she would never put herself back in that situation, and being with Cooley was always going to bring drama.

“Wait, you want me to go to Cooley’s party?” Misha snapped.

Tay looked at her with a confused expression.

“Did it ever occur to you that I might not be comfortable going to a party at my ex-girlfriend’s place?”

“What? Misha, the only reason that shit should matter is if you still want to be with her. But we know that’s not the case. Cooley ain’t got shit on me.”

If only you knew. Misha thought to herself. “You still should have asked me.”

“My bad. So you wanna go or what? We need to be showing off how fly we look together. Shit, I know my outfit is going to be the hottest. I paid a grip for this. Cooley gone be hatin’. I know it.”

“Why the fuck do you always gotta bring her up? Damn, you act like you in some kind of competition or something,” Misha said, while rummaging through her closet. She had to find an outfit to show Cooley exactly what she was missing.

Over the summer Misha had made some changes. She took out her frustration in the gym, causing her body to tone up. She cut her hair to her shoulders and began wearing her natural curls. She also changed her style a little. She always knew she was sexy, but with her new tone body, she began to show off her sex appeal even more.

“No, I don’t. Man, she be the one thinking she the best thing going and shit. She always think she so fly. She think she the hottest, but she’s not. I am. Shit, wait till the stud competition this year. I am going to win.” Tay held her head up high, imagining the look on Cooley’s face when she won.

“Tay, it is not that serious.” Deep down Misha knew that for Tay and many other studs it was.

“Man, OK, so you ready to go?”

“Let me change real quick, and we can roll out,” Misha said.

Tay sat on the bed, constantly looking in the mirror until Misha was ready to go. Tay smiled when she saw Misha’s new look.

“Damn, baby, you went and got Rihanna fine.” Tay wrapped her arms around Misha while Misha put her finishing touches on her lip-gloss. She knew Cooley was going to be pissed when she saw. . .