Say It Ain't So Read online

  “I saw that,” Diesel said, walking behind him. Both men looked like they had just stepped off the cover of GQ magazine dressed in custom-fitted suits: Scooter in smoke gray and Diesel in navy blue. She didn’t know which one was sexier: Diesel with his smooth coffee skin, muscular body, and bald head, or the dark chocolate–com-plexioned Scooter, with his thick, curly afro and medium build.

  They walked over and hugged both girls.

  “You look good, Pais,” Diesel said.

  “She damn sure do.” Scooter winked at her.

  “Thanks, fellas, even if I know you’re both lying,” Paisley said. Hanging out with her friends made her feel as if things were returning to normal. “And I told you about hating on my truck, too.”

  The guys often teased Paisley about the Toyota Tundra pickup truck she loved. It was her pimp ride, painted hot pink, dropped with a set of twenty-two-inch rims on it.

  “You know they’re just hating.” Seymone nodded toward them.

  “We definitely ain’t hating on you,” Diesel said to Seymone. “I ain’t seen you move like that in a minute. I didn’t know you still had it in you, girl.”

  “Whatever.” Seymone sucked her teeth at him.

  “What are y’all doing here on a Friday night?” Scooter asked, sitting in the chair and pulling Paisley into his lap. She started to protest, but he smelled so good and the warmth of his body was so inviting that she remained there.

  “Getting ready for this week,” Seymone answered.

  “What’s this week?” Scooter ran his fingers along Paisley’s hand and commented, “Your pink cast matches that ugly truck.”

  “Shut up. The studio is reopening this week. Seymone is going to run the classes for me,” Paisley told him.

  “Cool. Now whose ingenious idea was that, I wonder?” Diesel raised his eyebrows at Paisley.

  “So, that means you can work with our girls?” Scooter asked Seymone.

  “What girls?” Seymone reached for a towel and wiped her face and neck.

  “We’re hiring a couple of go-go dancers for the club,” Diesel said. “Paisley was supposed to train them.”

  “Damn, I forgot about that,” Paisley mumbled. She had agreed to teach a couple of routines to the girls who had been hired.

  “I can do it.” Seymone shrugged. “Paisley can give me the songs and walk me through the choreography.”

  “Bet, that’s what’s up.” Scooter nuzzled Paisley’s shoulder.

  “Ouch,” she whined and pulled back. “I know you see these scars on my neck.”

  “I only see beauty.” He stared at her.

  She shook her head and stood up. “You play too much. Where are you two headed, anyway?”

  “We’re going to hang at Jasper’s for a minute,” Diesel replied.

  “Aw man, Jasper’s. I wish I could go,” Paisley commented. Jasper’s was one of her favorite restaurants, known for its live jazz and awesome food. The owner, Uncle Jay, was a character and she loved hanging out just to talk with him.

  “Come go with us,” Scooter suggested. “Then I won’t be a third wheel.”

  “Why are you a third wheel?” Seymone asked.

  “Because he’s going to hook up with Qianna. He thinks I don’t know it.” Scooter cut his eyes at his boy.

  “Man, you tripping,” Diesel said. “I’m going to eat.”

  “You still got a crush on Qianna after all these years?” Seymone laughed.

  “Hell yeah, and he still ain’t made a move,” Scooter said, nodding.

  “Oh, ye of little game,” Paisley sighed. “Didn’t you almost lose her to another man a little while ago?”

  “All of y’all are tripping. Yaya and I are just good friends, and I don’t wanna jeopardize that by making a wrong move,” Diesel explained, then aimed at Scooter. “Some friendships are too precious to ruin by trying to throw unwarranted romance in the mix.”

  “But everyone knows that she’s feeling you too,” Paisley said. All Paisley had to do was say Diesel’s name and Qianna’s face would light up. There was no doubt in Paisley’s mind that the two of them had feelings for each other. Paisley’s cell phone rang. Her thoughts shifted to Warren, and she hoped he was finally calling. She struggled to get up from Scooter’s lap. He gently used his arms to steady her.

  “I ain’t taking no chances.” Diesel shook his head. “Man, you ready? We gotta get outta here and these ladies gotta get back to work.”

  Paisley answered her phone. “Hello.”

  “Ms. Lawrence, this is Kevin with ADT. Is everything okay?”

  “What do you mean?” She was confused by his question.

  “Your alarm is going off.”

  Paisley began to panic. “I’m not at home.”

  “Okay, ma’am, we’ll dispatch the officers to your home,” he told her.

  “I’m on my way now,” Paisley said, frantically looking for her keys.

  “Don’t go into your home until the police arrive,” she heard him say before she ended the call.

  “Paisley, what’s the matter?” Seymone ran to her side.

  “Someone just broke into my house.” She broke down crying. It only took a matter of seconds for them to lock up the studio. Scooter drove her home in her truck while Diesel followed with Seymone in his silver Chrysler 300. They could see the flashing lights of police cars as they turned into her cul-de-sac. Paisley rushed out and headed for the front door as soon as Scooter pulled into the driveway.

  “Paisley, wait!” he called after her. Paisley ignored him, spotting Officers Jenson and Bell standing in front of her door.

  “We’ve secured the area and it’s all clear. You can relax,” Officer Jenson told her.

  “It was a false alarm,” Officer Bell told her.

  “Thank God.” Paisley sighed. “I was so scared.”

  Scooter walked up, shaking his head. “For someone whose legs were just crushed in a car accident, you sure can move.”

  “They said it was a false alarm,” she told him just as Seymone and Diesel got to her.

  “That’s good,” he said.

  “Yeah. It happens all the time.” Officer Jenson nodded.

  “Your front door was unlocked, and we checked everything out. The sensor was probably alerted by your dog. He is so cute.” Officer Bell smiled. “He was yipping at us as soon as we walked through the door.”

  They all stared, looking at her like she had just fallen from the sky.

  “What’s wrong?” Officer Jenson asked.

  “I don’t have a dog,” Paisley said.

  Scooter

  I wish there was something I could do. I feel so helpless. The woman I’m in love with is being stalked by some psychopath and I feel like there’s nothing I can do. I must admit, when the cops said the alarm was set off by the dog, I was kinda freaked out my damn self. Especially because I know Paisley doesn’t have a dog. And then, we walk in the house and who comes bouncing down the steps, barking like crazy, but a six-pound, gray Yorkie. A Yorkie, for God’s sake. Then, Seymone leans over and picks him up and around his neck is a Juicy Couture bracelet with a Mickey Mouse charm attached. I swear, whoever this dude is, he’s not only slick, but he’s stupid, too. Ain’t no way I’m spending five hundred dollars on a bracelet and have the chick I bought it for not know who I am. After seeing the bracelet, Paisley had a meltdown. She just shook her head and withered down to the floor, then started rocking back and forth.

  “Why is he doing this to me?” she kept repeating over and over.

  I took her into my arms and carried her upstairs to her bedroom. Seymone and Diesel dealt with the cops and called Fallon to let her know what was happening. After I put her on the bed, I took a quick look around the room. Paisley has the biggest bedroom I’ve ever seen, and I have a few fantasies about what I could do to her in that bed. If only she knew . . . how much I do . . . I mean, besides the fact that she’s beautiful and you can’t help but see how fine she is Paisley is the epitome of the woman I wan
t to marry. She’s a no-nonsense woman who knows what she wants out of life and is not afraid to speak her mind. For years now, I’ve been dealing with these gold-digging chickenheads who don’t mean anything to me, and I realize now how much I care about Paisley. Her accident has made me see that. I know Diesel thinks that my making a play for her is stupid, but there’s something there between us. I can feel it. I refuse to be like him and Qianna, acting like they’re still in middle school, scared to take their friendship to the next level. I ain’t wasting no more time and missing out on what I know is meant to be.

  “Come on, Pais, it’s all right.” Scooter sat beside Paisley and pulled her close to him. She buried her head in his chest and cried for several minutes. He stroked her hair and rubbed her back, whispering, “You’re gonna be fine.”

  “Come back here, you little runt!” Diesel yelled from downstairs.

  Suddenly, the little dog came running into the room and began barking at Scooter. Paisley raised her head and stared at it. Scooter stood up and tried to grab it. The dog leaped onto the bed and curled up beside Paisley, and the barking stopped. Again, Scooter reached for the dog and it growled and snapped at him. Scooter took a step back and the dog quieted down.

  “Pais, the cops are calling Animal Control to come pick up the dog,” Diesel said as he walked into the room. “Why the hell is the dog on your bed?”

  “It jumped up here.” Paisley wiped her eyes. Diesel reached for it and the dog growled.

  Diesel laughed. “This dog really thinks he can protect somebody.”

  Paisley’s phone rang and she grabbed it. Her eyes widened and she wore a strange look on her face. “I gotta take this in private.”

  Scooter helped her off the bed and she went into the bathroom, the dog following right behind her. He could’ve sworn he heard her say the name “Warren,” but he knew better than that.

  Scooter shook his head and smiled at Diesel. “Man, this is wild.”

  “You got that right. I guess she’s cool with the dog.” Diesel sighed. “I’ll go tell the cops they can leave.”

  “All right, I don’t feel right just leaving them here alone tonight. I’m probably gonna hang out here,” Scooter told him.

  “Isn’t that noble of you?” Diesel gave him a knowing look. “Man, I respect your wanting to be here for her safety and all. I just hope that’s all you’re trying to do.”

  “All I can say is, it’s a start.” Scooter smiled.

  If only she knew how much I do. . . .

  Chapter 10

  “Warren?” Paisley said into the phone.

  “Hey, sweetheart. It’s so good to hear your voice.” He sounded winded. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m two seconds away from losing my mind, that’s how I’m doing.” She couldn’t believe she was talking to him. It had been a month since the accident and she had so much to tell him.

  “What’s wrong? They said you were released from the hospital a week before I was and you’re doing fine.”

  “Who is they? And how do they know how I’m doing?” Paisley snapped.

  “My people,” was his response.

  “Well, that’s interesting, Warren. Because according to your people I’ve talked to, you don’t have a clue who I am.” She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and shook her head, wondering if the bruises would ever go away.

  “What? That’s crazy,” he told her.

  “I’m just going by what Ebonie, your publicist, says.” Paisley stepped back onto the tiny ball of fur that she hadn’t noticed follow her into the bathroom. The dog yelped, and she looked down at it. “What the heck are you doing in here?”

  “Was that a dog?” Warren asked.

  “Yeah,” she answered, leaning down and picking it up.

  “When did you get a dog? You don’t even like dogs.”

  “Some crazy man who’s stalking me broke into my house and left it.” She explained to him all the drama she had been dealing with since the accident, then added, “And to top it off, they said you didn’t even know who I was.”

  “Baby, I’m so sorry,” he replied. “I swear, you know I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I didn’t have any recollection about the accident, but I don’t even think they asked me about you. I’m really worried about this guy, though. What are the police saying?”

  “He’s like a damn ghost, Warren. No one sees him except for the two times I woke up and he was in my room. And even then, it was dark. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” She felt the tears begin to form, and sniffed.

  “Paisley, don’t cry. I’m gonna take care of it for you. I promise. I’ma make sure you’re safe,” Warren told her.

  “How?”

  There was a pause. Finally, he said, “Look, I gotta go. But I love you and I’m gonna take care of you. I’ll call you in a couple of days.”

  “Warren, wait!” she said into the phone, but he was gone. She tried calling him back but it kept going straight to voice mail. Paisley was so confused by what Warren had said, she didn’t know whether she was coming or going. She wanted to talk to someone, but felt she had no one to share her feelings with. She looked down at the dog she was holding and it licked her face. Something about that moment touched her inside.

  “Gross,” she said, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand and putting the dog on the floor. “If you plan on staying here, you’d better chill with the licking.”

  “I don’t think we should stay here tonight,” Seymone said.

  “Where are we gonna go?” Paisley frowned.

  “We can go to a hotel,” Seymone suggested. “I mean, Paisley, even with the security system, this fool got inside.”

  “I don’t wanna leave my house,” Paisley replied. Even though she was just as freaked out by the incident, there was no way she was going to be forced to leave her own home.

  “I don’t wanna stay here, Pais. What if he comes back?”

  “I don’t think it’s safe either,” Diesel told them, “at least not until we get all these locks changed and the security system checked out.”

  Scooter cut his eyes at Diesel and then said, “I can stay here with you guys.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” Paisley smiled at him.

  “That’s not a bad idea.” Seymone nodded. “At least he’ll be more help than Chester would be.”

  “You can’t stay here by yourself, Paisley,” Scooter told her.

  “But I know you had plans,” Paisley said.

  “I’m staying, that’s final,” Scooter said. “Cool?”

  “Cool.” Diesel nodded. “I’ll be back in the morning to check on you guys.”

  He went to give Paisley a hug and the dog began yapping again. Seymone laughed and picked it up.

  “See, we’re good. We got Scooter and a watchdog.” Paisley rubbed the dog’s head.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually gonna keep this loud-ass dog.” Scooter shook his head.

  “She shoulda let the cops haul it right off when they left,” Diesel added.

  Seymone nodded. “And kept the bracelet.”

  Even though Scooter was at the house, Paisley was still afraid that maybe her intruder would return. She couldn’t sleep because she feared that she would wake up to find him standing over her again. For the umpteenth time that night, she got out of bed, hobbled downstairs, and checked all the doors, making sure they were locked.

  “What are you doing?”

  She jumped and nearly peed on herself, turning to find Scooter standing in the doorway. “Dammit, Scooter! You scared the hell outta me. I was checking the doors.”

  “Didn’t we already check them before you went to bed?”

  “Yeah, but I was just making sure. I locked them before I went to the studio yesterday too, but he still got in.” Noticing his striped boxers and white tank undershirt, she couldn’t help smiling.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Cute pajamas.” She winked.

  “It’s
not like I knew I would be staying here tonight. It’s not like a brother came prepared. And for your information, these are Yves Saint Laurent, baby.”

  “Gosh, can’t you take a compliment? I told you they were cute.”

  Paisley gave Scooter’s body the once over. He wasn’t as built as Diesel, but Scooter was fine in his own right. She had always found him attractive and she knew that he had a slight crush on her. But even though he had the looks, job, and security she desired in a man, Scooter had an air of arrogance about him that turned her off.

  “Where is your new rat?”

  “He’s not a rat, he’s my watchdog. I put him in my bathroom with some newspaper. I ain’t wanna take a chance of him going to the bathroom all over my house.”

  “I still can’t believe you kept that damn dog. You don’t know where it came from. You don’t have no papers on it.” He sighed. “That means you can’t even breed it.”

  “I’m going back to bed,” she said.

  “I’ll carry you,” he said, scooping her into his arms in one motion. “You don’t need to be going up and down these steps anyway.”

  “You are crazy.” He was such a good person, but although she tried to imagine being more than friends with him, she just couldn’t see it happening. She put her arms around his neck and held on.

  “Look, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll just bunk in here,” Scooter said when they got to her room.

  “Yeah, right,” she giggled. “I don’t think so. You know it ain’t even that type of party between us.”

  “See there, I was talking about sleeping over there.” He gestured toward the sofa in her sitting area. “You were the one talking about the bed. You must want me there.”

  “Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t even try it.”

  He began massaging her shoulders.

  “That feels good.” She groaned.