What Goes Around Page 2

  “Oh, yeah? And what, exactly, is that? Unrestricted access to Aunt Lorraine? Okay, if you consider that a good thing, but, er, um, I was cool with her being a really distant relative.”

  “What, you got something against sloppy, chain-smoking, ghetto-queen aunties?” Sydney giggled. “No, seriously, I was talking about what Altimus said about Dice. Maybe he’s serious about helping out—you think?”

  Lauren rolled her eyes. Sydney knew exactly where her sister was about to head with her standard “I couldn’t care less about Dice” comments, but this time Sydney shut them down with a quickness. “And if he’s willing to help Dice out, maybe he’s willing to help Jermaine out, too.”

  Now you’ve got my attention, Lauren thought to herself. “Go on,” she said, sitting up.

  “Well, since Altimus is in such a benevolent mood, maybe he’d be willing to give peace a chance with Jermaine. I mean, if he’s willing to work with Dice, then there’s no reason he wouldn’t consider you exploring a relationship with your crush, right?”

  “You think so?” Lauren said, her eyes widening with each of her sister’s words.

  “I don’t think—I know,” Sydney said. “I mean, not once did they say anything to you about the phone. Maybe they’re letting that go.”

  “Yeah, but how do I even begin to ask for that—particularly after what just went down?” Lauren quizzed. “And not for nothing, what do you care about Jermaine anyway?”

  “I don’t know Jermaine enough to care anything about him,” Sydney said simply. “But I do know that I’ve never seen you happier than when you were kicking it with him or more upset about something unrelated to yourself than when you thought your boy was in trouble. Plus, how likely is it that Altimus will do something directly to your man? Seems to me like the best way to protect Jermaine is to keep him close. Plus, he might know something more about Altimus and his involvement with the murder. Next to Dice and us, he’s the only other person who knows what’s up and can identify with the craziness.”

  “True,” Lauren said, contemplating her sister’s words. “But how do I even begin to get Jermaine into the family circle of trust?”

  “Come on, you know how to work Altimus and Keisha,” Sydney insisted. “Pour on some of that Georgia-peach charm of yours. It’s undeniable.”

  “With Altimus, maybe, but Keisha? I don’t know…” Lauren began.

  “Then just set it up so both you and Jermaine can win Altimus over. Take Jermaine to the dealership. It’s a neutral location and public, so there’s no way Altimus can do anything to him, and Keisha won’t be there to make things hot,” she reasoned. “If you bring him here, they might try to bury him under the crape myrtles out back,” she smirked.

  Lauren gave herself an hour and a half to work up enough nerve to go to Altimus’s office.

  “Daddy?” she said sweetly, sitting on the wingback chair positioned in front of Altimus’s desk. “Can I ask you something about Jermaine?”

  Altimus gently placed his pen on his oversized mahogany desk and folded his hands. “I have to say I honestly don’t get your preoccupation with thugs, Lauren, particularly since Brookhaven is full of fine young men with great potential,” Altimus said, pausing to rub his teeth together. Lauren could hear them clanking; she tried, albeit unsuccessfully, not to furrow her brow when she peeped her stepfather’s temple about to burst through the side of his forehead. She knew that when Altimus ground his teeth hard enough to make his temples jump, he was either pissed or lying or both, and it was clear from the way he was working his jaw that he really wasn’t feeling the idea of his daughter dating a boy from the West End. “The Donald fiasco aside, you’re usually pretty good about picking ’em. What’s this Jermaine got over all the other boys who are about something and doing big things?”

  “Jermaine is doing things,” Lauren said simply, trying her best not to incite any arguments with her stepfather. She didn’t want him to say “no” outright without giving her a chance to state her case.

  “Really? What exactly is he doing?” Keisha asked, chiming in as she walked into Altimus’s office with a Diet Coke in one hand, a bag of popcorn in the other—just in time for the show, no doubt.

  “I—I don’t know just yet,” Lauren stammered, mentally kicking herself for sounding weak. She couldn’t help it, though; she was still shaken from the afternoon family powwow. This much she did know, though: Altimus and Keisha thrived on intimidation, and now they could smell the faint scent of fear; if she didn’t get it together, any second now they were going to deny all her requests to get with Jermaine. Stop being a punk, she warned herself. You got this. Lauren put a little more bass in her voice: “But no one knows if someone is right for them until they get to know them, right? That’s all I want to do. Get to know Jermaine.”

  “And I guess it hasn’t occurred to you that we might have a bit more info about this little boy than you do, huh?” Keisha said, popping a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

  “Look, I’m not trying to marry Jermaine and have his babies,” Lauren snapped, squaring her shoulders. “He’s just a friend I’m interested in getting to know better. That’s all.”

  Altimus glanced at his watch and worked his jaw. He slowly rose from his seat, signaling he’d grown tired of the topic. “Look, I got to get to the office. But I want to meet this Jermaine. Soon,” he said.

  “Not a problem,” Lauren said. “How about tomorrow? I can bring him over for dinner. Maybe we could watch a movie together—you know, kick it for a minute?”

  Keisha almost choked on her soda mid-swallow; Altimus reeled back like Lauren had just slapped his face.

  “Just kidding,” Lauren said, raising her hands in surrender. “Laugh? Ha, ha?”

  “Okay, Chris-Rock-Not, don’t get your little feelings hurt,” Keisha said. “Ain’t nothing for him to change his mind up in here.”

  “Just jokes, Mom—just jokes. I’ll talk to Jermaine and we’ll figure out when is a good time to meet, okay?” Lauren insisted as she rose from her chair. “Love you, Daddy,” she practically sang, laying a smooch on Altimus’s cheek. “You’re the one.”

  “Fine,” Altimus said and headed out the door. Keisha watched Lauren run up the stairs and straight to Sydney’s room, confident her daughters were going to sit and powwow over everything that had unfolded.

  “Explain to me why you would want that boy around when he’s been running all over the West End telling people you killed his brother,” Keisha demanded, following Altimus. She popped another piece of popcorn into her mouth and washed it down with a swig of soda.

  “You know the old saying, ’keep your friends close and your enemies closer’?” Altimus asked. “Well, let’s just say that it’ll be better for all of us if the brother of the man I’m accused of killing is an official friend of the Duke family. I’m thinking maybe it’ll help the hood quiet down about the bastard that went and got his block knocked off.”

  Bringing Jermaine to the car dealearship had seemed like a good idea. But when Jermaine walked through the doors of Altimus’s Buckhead BMW dealership, pants sagging a little too low, polo a little too long, cap a little too twisted, swagger a little too hard, Lauren did a small sign of the cross and silently asked Jesus to make a way.

  “Hey, L,” Jermaine said over the ringing doorbells that clanged loudly as he stepped into the showroom.

  Lauren put her magazine in the chair next to her and popped up from her perch. “Hey,” she said, reaching out to embrace Jermaine. His hug was inviting; he smelled totally delicious. But she pushed him away almost as quickly as she fell into his arms, with one eye on Drew Grier, Altimus’s top salesman, and Lisa Cypress, the snobby receptionist who, when potential customers entered the swank dealership, weeded out the wannabes from the ballers before they could get onto the showroom floor.

  “Man, it’s good to see you,” Jermaine said, taking her hands into his. “It’s been a while, huh?”

  “Too long,” Lauren said, a little less
nervous as she looked into Jermaine’s eyes. “I’m really glad you came.”

  “I’m glad I could come,” Jermaine said. “I thought I’d never see you again, what with everything that’s been going on.”

  “You don’t know the half. But let’s not talk about that now,” Lauren countered as she nervously eyed Drew again. “You know, in front of mixed company and all.”

  “Oh, yeah, okay,” Jermaine said. “Does that mean I can’t kiss you, though?”

  Lauren giggled. “Boy, if you want to leave here with both your lips attached to that face, you might want to hold off on that.”

  “Damn,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Well, since a brother can’t give you a proper greeting, how about you show me around.” Her hand still in his, Jermaine made his way over to the black Z4 M coupe standing sentry on the stage of the main showroom. He whistled as he ran his fingers down the sides of the car, circling it like a lion about to partake in a fresh kill. “Dang, a brother would look hot to death in one of these,” he smiled, peering into the driver’s side window. “What does something like this set you back?”

  “I don’t know, like fifty Gs, I think?” she said.

  “So can I get a hookup since I’m officially dating the owner’s daughter?” he asked, smiling and turning his attention back to Lauren. He leaned against the car and grabbed Lauren’s hands to pull her closer to him. Lauren, keenly aware that both her father’s employees were focusing on her and Jermaine, made a point of keeping a reasonable distance between the two of them.

  “Yeah, about the random acts of hookupdom? They don’t really do that here in BMW Buckhead,” she smirked. “And, um, unless you’re planning on taking that baby home with you, you probably shouldn’t lean on it—I’m just saying.”

  “Oh, my bad,” Jermaine said, hopping off the car. “This is a hot ride, though,” he said, folding his arms and eyeing the rims. “I might have to cop me one of these.”

  Lauren reeled back and giggled. “Oh, really now? And you just got fifty Gs sitting around for a BMW, huh? That would be quite the upgrade from what you’re rolling around in now.”

  This time, Jermaine furrowed his brow and smirked. “Hey, my ride gets me from Point A to Point B, so there’s no need for the upgrade right now,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t have one eventually. In case you didn’t know this about your man, I got big things planned.”

  “Really? Big things, huh?” Lauren smiled, trying hard now to conceal her nervousness.

  “Well, yeah,” he said simply. “I’m not going to be in the SWATS forever. I’m trying to go places, do something with my life.”

  “And how, exactly, are you planning to do that,” Altimus boomed, startling the couple. He walked up from behind; neither of them saw him coming.

  “Um, uh, Daddy? This is, um, the guy I was telling you about—Jermaine,” Lauren said, laughing nervously. “Jermaine? Say hi to my stepdad, Altimus Duke.”

  Jermaine snatched his hat off his head and quickly said, “Hello, Mr. Duke.” He held out his hand; Altimus let it hang there for a moment, long enough for Jermaine and Lauren to wonder if he was going to reciprocate Jermaine’s greeting. After what seemed like forever, Altimus took Jermaine’s hand in his, squeezing it so tight Jermaine grimaced. After a few seconds, Altimus loosened his grip and sucked his teeth. Lauren felt faint. It was this mess right here that was going to make the sky part so the Lord could call her home.

  “So don’t stop talking on my account, Jermaine. Tell me what you’re going to do to get in here and make a deal for this beautiful machine of mine. You know, this is a mighty fine vehicle—got a great handle to it. It’s a high-performance race car—the ultimate driving machine. Only the most skilled, fearless drivers feel truly comfortable pushing it to its limits.”

  Lauren wiped her brow but knew not to say a word. Jermaine cleared his throat but was surprisingly unbowed. “Oh, I got skills,” he boasted.

  “Really, now?” Altimus said, crossing his arms. “Tell me about these, um”—Altimus paused and let his eyes slowly roll from Jermaine’s face to his feet and back up to his eyes again—“skills.”

  “Well, as I’m sure you know, my brother passed away last month and I’ve been involved in trying to find out who killed him, so my class work and my extracurricular activities suffered some, but it won’t be a thing to get my weight back up,” Jermaine said confidently. His words made Lauren shiver—partly because she was impressed that her boyfriend was standing up to Altimus, but mostly because she was sure Altimus would just as soon see Jermaine join his brother in the afterlife than continue to let Jermaine disrespect him this way. She shifted from one foot to the other, searching desperately for something to say to cool down the conversational tension that went from simmer to boil in just a few sentences.

  “Get your weight up, huh?” Altimus said, his eyes locking with Jermaine’s. “What weight, exactly, are you talking about, Jermaine? Surely you’re not referring to drugs in the presence of my daughter, are you?”

  “No, sir,” Jermaine said quickly. “I don’t fool with that stuff. You’re from the West End, so you know how it can get in the hood, but you also know that it’s possible to leave the hood and do something with yourself that doesn’t involve illegal substances. I mean, you proved that with your business selling all these ultimate driving machines, right?”

  Altimus didn’t bother to respond.

  “I got nothing but good intentions, Mr. Duke,” Jermaine continued. “Right up until my brother died, I was always a straight-A student. I got big plans to turn that into something positive for myself—the kinds of things only a skilled, fearless driver like yourself can accomplish. You can believe that.”

  Just as Altimus was about to respond, Lisa summoned his help. “Mr. Duke, sorry to disturb your conversation, but you’re needed in the office. We have a gentleman who is looking to purchase a 7 Series, but Drew would like to give him some incentives to close the deal.”

  “I’ll be right there, Lisa,” Altimus said, his eyes still locked on Jermaine’s.

  “Yes, sir, I’ll let him know,” Lisa said.

  “But I must say, your daughter,” Jermaine continued, smiling at Lauren, who was now as close to physically ill as she could possibly get, “she’s been really supportive—helping me get through the death of my brother and all,” Jermaine said, folding his arms.

  Without bothering to reply, Altimus turned his attention to Lauren. “Lauren, I’ll see you back at the house. I’ll be working late tonight, but you make sure you get home in time for dinner. Your mother is expecting you.” And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away, without so much as a word to Jermaine.

  “Okay, Daddy,” Lauren called out after him.

  “Nice meeting you, Mr. Duke,” Jermaine yelled.

  Lauren waited until Altimus was out of their view before she turned to Jermaine and let him have it. “What the hell were you doing? Didn’t I tell you my stepdad is crazy? Are you trying to get on his last nerve?”

  “Come on, Lauren, don’t sweat it, okay?” Jermaine said. “And get it right: I’m the one who told you your stepdad is crazy.”

  “Oh, I see—you’ve got a death wish, huh?” Lauren stage-whispered as Jermaine took her hand and headed toward the door.

  “No death wish. I just wanted your dad to know a little bit about your man, that’s all. Where’s your coat? Let’s get out of here.”

  Lauren grabbed her coat off the showroom chair and pulled it on as Jermaine opened the door. The Atlanta winter chilled her to the bone, but she suspected her shivers had less to do with the air than what she thought Altimus might do to Jermaine for cutting up. “You know, you really ought to watch what you say to him,” Lauren said. “Altimus usually has no problem giving me exactly what I want, but giving him lip isn’t going to convince him to leave you and your family alone.”

  “I’m from the West End, baby—the SWATS,” Jermaine countered. “I can handle myself.”


  “Whatev, straight-A boy,” Lauren joked as Jermaine opened his car door for her. “And what was all that ’I get good grades and help in the community’ bull about, anyway?”

  “What, a brotha from the hood can’t be smart and helpful?” Jermaine said as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started his engine.

  “Ain’t nobody say all of that. Dang, why you gotta assume that’s the way I think?” Lauren questioned defensively.

  “Aw, baby, if I were making assumptions about you, you wouldn’t be riding shotgun,” he said as he pulled out into traffic.

  “Then why are you with me? I mean, with everything you know about my family and what happened to your brother and all the questions about how he died and who killed him, why are you with me?”

  Jermaine was silent.

  “Dang, you don’t even have an answer? Pull this car over, boy,” Lauren demanded, punctuating her every word with a punch to his arm.

  “Chill, chill,” he laughed. “You’re going to get us into an accident. But then you know all about crashing into other people’s cars, don’t you.”

  “See how you do me?” Lauren said, cracking up. “Why you gotta bring up the car wreck?”

  “Well, if it weren’t for that car wreck, I would never have found you, so I’m glad you took a brother’s bumper out,” he said quietly as he put on his signal and slowly pulled into the right lane. He turned into the parking lot of a Kroger shopping center and slowly came to a stop next to a large red minivan.

  “What, we going shopping now?” Lauren said, eyeballing the shopping center; she and Jermaine watched as a mom struggled to get her two children and all of her groceries into a car just across the way from Jermaine’s.

  “Though I’m quite aware of how much you like the pastime, we’re not going shopping,” Jermaine said, shifting his body to face Lauren. “I have something much more fun for us to do.” And with that, he leaned in and kissed Lauren on her lips so gently, she felt herself get a little dizzy. “I’ve been waiting for way too long to do that,” he finally said after a long kissing session.