Miss Opportunity - Ch. 4.1

January

Having enlisted as E-Blade’s new partner in crime, Cami patiently awaited the day when they would put their plan to remove Aisha from Bonz’s life in motion. That day was the Sunday of Aisha’s London premiere. A premiere that Bonz had not accompanied her to.

As soon as Bonz arrived at E-Blade and Delia’s house to watch a football game, Cami could tell that he didn’t really want to be there today. No doubt he wanted to be in London with his model/actress chick.

Cami knew exactly why Bonz wasn’t with Aisha at such a prestigious event. After E-Blade’s meeting with the model, which included blackmailing her about a hidden secret she had, it was determined that Aisha would bow out of Bonz’s life gracefully. That she would not be putting her career temporarily on hold in order to get married and start a family with him as planned. That Aisha would, in fact, leave Bonz’s life forever.

I can hardly wait, Cami mused, anxious to see Bonz reap some of the same rejection she’d felt from him. Then she would swoop down and claim the heartbroken man as her own when his defenses were at their lowest.

Although Bonz seemed to be doing his best to reconnect with his friends tonight, whom he’d been neglecting lately on account of Aisha, Cami could tell that E-Blade wasn’t going to make it easy for him. In fact, he was acting moodier than usual. E-Blade even went so far as to joke about Bonz slumming with the little people tonight.

At Bonz’s snappy comeback, their third partner, Racker, soon fell into the role of referee between them.

Cami didn’t make things any better by constantly bringing up Aisha’s name for no reason at all. Exactly like she was doing right now.

“That’s a fly ride right there,” Cami said, pointing to the black Mercedes on the TV screen. “Much flyer than that red Jag Aisha got.”

Bonz rolled his eyes upwards and blew out an exasperated breath. “Cami, can you please kill that noise? You and I just weren’t meant to be, all right? So you can just stop hating on Aisha.”

Cami scoffed. “I ain’t hating on nobody. You wasn’t all that no way.”

“Good.” Bonz was ready to agree with anything just to get her to shut up.

“Y’all so crazy.” Delia chuckled at their verbal exchange. Then she turned to E-Blade and said, “I’m going up to bed now. I have a lot going on at work tomorrow.”

“A’ight, baby.” E-Blade barely looked away from the television set when he said that.

“Night-night, cousin,” Cami sang out super-sweetly as Delia rose from between them on the black leather couch all three had sat upon this evening.

This time Delia rolled her eyes upwards. She was so ready for her cousin to move out that it wasn’t even funny. But since Cami still hadn’t found another hustler to replace the one she lost to the prison system in Texas, she was still living off Delia and E-Blade.

Instead of looking up, Delia should have been looking around. If she had, she might have caught Cami giving E-Blade the covert eye of interest. She might have seen one of the worst kinds of betrayal.

Unfortunately for Cami and E-Blade, Bonz and Racker saw what Delia had missed. They quickly picked up on the fact that Cami decided to shop for her new hustler right there at home.

When her cousin was out of the room, Cami moved closer to E-Blade on the couch. She picked up the remote and turned to another channel.

“Hey, turn that back!” E-Blade gruffed out beside her, though he didn’t look all that upset by her actions.

“It’s on a commercial. I’ll turn it right back, I promise. And you know I always keep my promises, E-Blade.” Cami gave him a heated look that had nothing to do with anger. A scorching look that instantly melted any anger E-Blade had, real or fake, since it was preplanned that he would appear reluctant with the remote.

Caught up with her present desires, Cami almost forgot that others were still in the room. It had been just that long since she’d been sexually active with a man.

Quickly getting back in character, Cami used the remote to turn the channel. She pasted a look of shock on her face when she paused at a particular station. “Hey, ain’t that your model chick right there?” She turned to Bonz with a smug look on her face.

Bonz’s head snapped to the right. Sure enough Aisha’s beautiful face was on E-Blade’s wide screen TV. She had on an equally beautiful golden dress. Except she wasn’t alone. On her arm was none other than Jarrett, a man that Aisha claimed was only a friendly brother-type, but whose eyes she was smiling adoringly up into in a non-sisterly fashion.

Now the whole world would assume that they were a couple.

Were they?

Upon seeing Aisha on the arm of Jarrett, Bonz let out a harsh expletive through clenched teeth. Rage surged through his body as he stood to his feet. His hands balled into fists. He wanted to smash something…someone.

“Man, that chicken head is playing you like a fool,” E-Blade said with a smug smile of his own. He was pleased that Aisha had kept her word. That she’d chosen to diss Bonz so publicly in order to protect the secret of why she’d really hooked up with him in the first place. Cami had played the moment out perfectly by switching channels at the right time.

Bonz turned to glare down at E-Blade. “Check your mouth before I do, partner!”

“No, you need to check yo’self in my crib!” E-Blade stood to his feet. He didn’t appreciate Bonz getting rowdy in his house one bit. “Don’t get hot with me ‘cause you ain’t got no control over yo’ woman.”

At those words, Bonz rushed E-Blade and slammed him up against the den wall.

Cami screamed and got out of the way as Bonz’s large fists commenced to delivering mighty blows to E-Blade’s face. Only Racker tried to break the two men apart.

Would his attempts be successful?

© 2008 by Suprina Frazier