“So, all these years of stabbing me in the back have been about me making you feel like less of a woman or something?” Nikki said, sarcasm lacing her every word. “Bullshit! You never had a problem telling anybody anything including me! You’ve always said whatever you wanted to whoever the fuck you wanted, including me! This shit is about you being jealous that any man that you wanted always wanted me!”
“Apparently, they didn’t want you since they always found their way to my bed.” Tia shot back, angry that Nikki would try to make it seem like all of their problems stemmed from some placed other than the way she treated her throughout their entire friendship.
“Yes, they found their way there but they always came crawling back begging me to forgive them forgiveness leaving your ass looking stupid. You said, I made you feel like second fiddle, but you went out of to prove that was the position you wanted to play. Always, picking up the scraps I left behind or better yet stealing crumbs right off my plate. None of those dudes you fucked up our friendship for wanted anything more from you than a roll in the sack. You’re willing to play the back burner bitch for a man who don’t care enough about you to make you his main chick, but want to try to destroy my happiness because I tried to help your sorry ass out financially.”
“Fuck you, Nikki!” Tia snapped as Nikki’s words had finally started to penetrate the wound and began to sting. She had heard the same words from not only other women but also from many of the men for whom she’d played the roll of the other woman. “Play your position” was as phrase that she had gotten more than accustomed to hearing whenever she had questioned a lover about leaving his significant other to be with her. She had accepted her “position” as being that of personal whore of whomever she was involved with at the time. She had told herself that it didn’t bother her to be the other woman but deep down she wanted to be the main girl for at least once. That being said no words had bothered her as much as Nikki’s at that moment.
“Yes, why stop now? You’ve been fucking me, as well as, yourself over for so long now that it doesn’t even matter anymore. I’ve given you everything you have; right down to the man you’re shitting on right now to try and hold on to my leftover scraps of an ex-husband. You are so pathetic! I should have expected that from someone whose never had anything including a mama to teach her right from wrong; however, even you’re ignorant behind should know by now that nobody wants to make a ho a housewife, not even Sterling so, I hope your happy being the mistress…” Nikki said.
“Shut up, Nikki.” Tia replied angry that she had allowed herself to even get this conversation started with Nikki. Nikki was the nicest person in the world when she had nothing against you but cross her once and the raft of her vengeance was the stuff chick flicks were made of.
“…the whore,” Nikki continued determined to break Tia’s smug demeanor. She couldn’t stand the smart comments Tia had made or the smug tone she had used to deliver them. Tia had always played the part of the martyr and Nikki was tired of hearing her used the excuse of her mother not being around as an excuse for her loose morals. As far as Nikki was concerned, Tia was a whore; plain and simple. Tia was well over the age of when a woman should know that the dirty deeds one does in the dark inevitably shine brightly to the light. So by now, Nikki was enraged and filled with an uncontrollable desire to destroy Tia in the process of expressing her anger. She continue flinging insults as she moved closer and closer to Tia until she was standing square inside of her personal space.
“You better back up, Nikki!” Tia snapped trying to add more bark to her bite than what was really in her heart. The last thing she wanted to do was get into some kind of screaming match or Heaven forbid, a physical altercation, with Nikki.
“…the slut,” Nikki continued, her voice cold as ice, as she stood close enough to Tia’s face to feel Tia’s nervous breath on her face.
“Nikki, I’m telling you…you betta get outta my face.” Tia said nervously shaking her head from side to side, now because she knew Nikki well enough to know what she was trying to do. She could feel the desk against the back of her thigh, which meant she was trapped between the desk and Nikki hurling insults at her. She was boxed in with nowhere to go and afraid of what may happen next. Still Nikki didn’t move. She just stood there unyielding, fists balled up, looking as if she were ready to become violent at any second.
“…the nasty, gutter butt, cum guzzling, home wrecking, wanna be trick who’s obsessed with being Nicollete Williams!” Nikki snapped and with her words she could hear the little voice in the back of her minds saying, “punch this bitch in the face” as she clenched her teeth tightly together, but as if guided by some sixth sense Velle interrupted the intense tension in the room by opening the office door.
“Nikki.” He said in a somber yet all knowing voice. He knew his sister’s temper and was fully aware of what a situation like this could do to any woman’s better judgment, let alone a woman who would stop at nothing to satisfy her need for revenge. Nikki stood motionless, almost ignoring the sound of Velle’s voice. Tia stared nervously over Nikki’s shoulder, looking at Velle as if she were begging him for a way out of the mess she had gotten herself into. Seeing that his sister was ignoring him he turned his words to Tia, “Tia, your next client is here. I don’t think you should keep her waiting.”
“Okay…I’ll go right now.” Tia said as she rushed from her trapped position between Nikki and the desk to make her way out of the office. Her eyes screamed gratitude as she made her way passed Velle and out of the office.
“Three words for you Nikki.” Velle said, knowing that she was in no mood to listen to anything he had to say; still he felt that she needed to hear them. He continued, “Let it go.”
“Three words for you Velle,” Nikki quickly replied before he could make the swift exit she knew he would want to make after giving her such foreboding words of advice. She continued, “…go to Hell!”
It had been the longest day of Tia’s life and it wasn’t about to get any shorter, seeing as how she had to now go in and play the role of innocent girlfriend to Sterling. He was all that she had left, but she still didn’t really want him. She just needed the security he provided. She had always been able to count on him to be there when times were tough and she’d always been able to persuade him to see things her way. She smirked as she took her key out of the car’s ignition while thinking back to Nikki’s earlier insults. Nikki had been dead wrong about no man ever wanting to make her his number one lady. She had Sterling at her beckon call so at least one man that had belonged to Nikki now belonged to her.
Her mind did cartwheels as she ran through every possible thing she could possibly say to make Sterling believe that she was just as surprised by Ricardo’s reaction as he was. She just had to convince him that Ricardo had been trying to cause a scene earlier and that he was well aware of her son wasn’t not his. She just had to act as naïve and caught off guard as Sterling must have been in the park. Sterling was as easy to play as a game of go fish and about as simple. She had been able to convince him that she had been going out of town for hair shows while she was laid up in a hotel somewhere with Ricardo. Sterling never asked any questions. He just took whatever she said to be the truth. It was that kind of gullible personality that made his so easy to bend to her will. Besides if she could convince him to leave Nikki for her, then she was damned sure that she could persuade him not to listen to anything Ricardo had said. After all, she had been telling him that it was Ricardo who was holding onto their relationship, not wanting to let her carry on her life with Sterling.
“What a dumbass.” She thought as she turned her key in the lock. She had expect to find Sterling sitting in his favorite chair in front of the television with his lips poked out while pretending to watch whatever was playing. She finally had everything worked out; just what she’d say and how she’s say it. She was prepared for scene except the one she found on the other of the door. She opened the door to find Sterling standing directly on the other side, suitcase at his side, keys in his hand with a big smile spread across his face. His being where he was startled Tia enough to cause her to scream before regaining composure. “You scared me!” She exclaimed as she closed and locked the door behind her. She had seen the packed bag and wasn’t sure what was going on.
“Uhm,” he said while scratching his forehead with his thumb. He continued with no concern for her being frightened, “Yea well, I ran into Ricardo at the park today…do you wanna fill in the rest?”
“Huh?” She said deciding at the last moment to act totally aloof. She was still mentally taking in the sight of Sterling standing at the door with his bags seemingly packed. She continued as she threw her keys on a side table, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to stay with Ross for awhile. I’ve packed all of my things and this suitcase is all that’s left to move.” Sterling started, somewhat dismayed that she had decided to ignore his question all together. This was the way she had chosen to play her little game but this time he was not willing to throw in his hand and fold for her. She was slick with the tongue, a fact he knew all too well, so this time he decided that he would do all of the talking before she caused him to have a slip in judgment giving her a chance to explain. He continued, “I ran into Ricardo in the park today. Imagine my shock and his embarrassment when we both found out that he still thought that he was my son’s father. Now, I know you can explain but I don’t want to hear it. I’ve done all that I can do to try to make this thing work, but I finally took the blinders off so that I can see clearly that you don’t want me.”
“Sterling, wait, listen!” her words rushed from her lips trying to race against his determination not to give her a chance to speak but she wasn’t quick enough.
She started to make her way over to him, to place her hands on his being so that he could feel that she was sincere in whatever lie she was about to try to feed him, but he put his hand up to her face like a stop sign, stopping her dead in her tracks. Seeing that his hand gesture had served its purpose he continued, “Save it, baby girl. Save it for the next man or the next woman’s man rather. What comes around goes around so this is what I get for doing the same dirty shit to Saint Nick...Karma, she’s a beautiful bitch. Now, we can be good parents…we can even be good friends but we could never be good for each other, so let’s just leave it be.”
Tia didn’t know what to say. She was losing the only sure thing she had in her life. She had to stop him; had to say or do something to make him stay. She didn’t wan to be alone, not now. She opened her mouth to say something but he gently placed his finger over her lips before she could speak; a gesture she knew to mean that he was done listening. That was it. Her six-year off and on, love-to-love Tia relationship with a man whose love she never had to question was over. Sterling moved like a silent wind, swiftly and quietly out of her front door and out of her love life. As Sterling walked out of her life, she is again filled with the anguish that she had again lost to Nikki but she doesn’t quite know how.
