| "OVERHEARD" Part 20 |
Author: CBW1986
DISCLAIMER: Story material is not based on actual events and all content (with the exception of character names) is completely fictional, as a result of creative story telling for recreational purposes only. All story material is copyrighted and all rights are reserved to the original creator.
Tyler woke up the next morning more than a little upset. He laid in bed, something he doesn't usually do when he first wakes up, staring at the ceiling, mad at himself for giving into temptation. Last night was the very first time, he and Denise had ever slept together, and he couldn't believe it. They've come very close to on more than one occasion, but never went all the way. The sex was great, but definitely not worth it. Especially since he had so much on his mind already...at this point, Tyler just wished he could take it all back. He suddenly heard Denise's voice to the left of him:
DENISE: (quietly says) "Goodmorning."
(Denise was standing on the side of the bed, getting dressed . Tyler said nothing. He actually half expected her to have been gone. Tyler turned his head towards her and watched her slip back into her trench coat.)
DENISE: "You know the Mecca Banquet is tonight..."
TYLER : "Yeah..."
DENISE: "You're going right?"
TYLER : (hesitantly says) "...Yeah..." (looking suspiciously at Denise, wondering why she was even asking)
DENISE: (boldly says) "I'd like to go."
(Tyler turned his head to face the other side so Denise wouldn't see him roll his eyes. He had too much to deal with and being bothered with Denise tonight at an event was something he did not want to do. Tyler wanted to go alone. He thought about Briana and hoped that she would be there)
TYLER : "I only got one invite." (stating matter-of-factly, turning his head back in Denise's direction)
(All the seduction in Denise's eyes that was there the night before, was completely gone, and she suddenly looked very serious)
DENISE: (immediately stopped fastening her jacket, stared at Tyler, and paused) "I'm sure you can work something out."
Tyler very rarely was ever intimidated or threatened by anyone, in fact, people usually described him as such, but the look in Denise's eyes caught him off guard. She looked as if she would tell the whole world their secret if he didn't comply, and it made Tyler think twice about repeating the fact that he only had one invite. Denise broke the stare to quickly look around to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything, smiled bitter-sweetly at Tyler, and walked out of the hotel room without another word.
Tyler threw the bed covers back and swung his legs out of bed onto the floor, a difficult task, seeming as his whole body felt very heavy with guilt. There was so much on his mind. So much he had to do. He had to go to his studio and tape at least two or three episodes for each of his television sitcoms, meet with Lionsgate to finalize a contract, call a cleaning company, have the wine-stained carpet in his home replaced, and get ready for the event tonight. Speaking of which, Tyler now also had to make a few calls here and there, to try and pull some strings to round up another RSVP to the Mecca Banquet for Denise.
Tyler said a prayer, before doing anything, asking God to forgive him for last night and to have mercy on him to get him through any challenges he faced today, then he put the call in to a home cleaning service he found in the telephone book from the nightstand's drawer. Tyler told them the address and instructed them to clean and go everywhere, except for in his study and master bedroom. He already felt violaed enough, and didn't want complete strangers venturing in the most personal and private places in his home. Tyler quickly said another silent prayer as he felt himself getting pissed all over again, and was tempted to call Gelila, but he managed to push himself off the bed, making his way to the bathroom, to shower and wash off all the ill feelings he had about Gelila and now Denise...
~*~*~*~*~*~
The red carpet was littered with reporters and paparazzi, calling out to various celebrities. This was Atlanta's first annual Mecca Banquet and it was to honor its heavy hitters in music, movies, and entertainment, and the black elite was out in full effect. Designer gowns, suits, and jewelery were on display as celebrities posed for the cameras, soaking up the attention.
Briana was doing all that she could to keep her infamous smile on her face. She was paranoid and was sure that the gown she wore made her look pregnant. Her doctor's appointment was in the morning, but she had taken a home pregnancy test before she left the hotel for the event, and it pretty much confirmed what she already thought. Briana was indeed pregnant.
"Briana, Briana! Over here!" she heard a camera-man shout. She hoped the look of worry on her face would not reflect in the pictures that would be in tomorrow's magazines. Briana turned from side to side, showing off her royal blue, Greek-goddess inspired Chanel gown, and gold Cartier accessories, but being very careful not to get her picture snapped at the wrong angle. As she was turning around, she caught a glimpse of Tyler, standing farther down the red carpet. Her heart started to beat a little faster. He wasn't alone. She strained her eyes to see who he was with, but it was no use...they were too far away, and began walking inside. Briana decided she had enough camera time and decided to head inside as well.
~*~*~*~*~*~
After Maxwell and the Black Eyed Peas performed, and the recognizing of special guests, Tyler Perry included, was over, dinner and conversation resumed. Briana loved the smell of the catered food, but wouldn't dare eat more than the garden salad guests were served first. There were so many cameras and reporters around, God was derfinitely not the only one watching tonight. Many people walked around interviewing, networking, and posing for more photos, but Briana sat at a table with Marvin Sapp, Mary J. Blige, and some other guests, laughing it up, enjoying the company. Suddenly she felt the presence of someone stand behind her:
TYLER : "Hello, everyone." (shaking hands with Marvin, and walking around the table to hug Mary)
MARY: "Hi, Tyler! Good to see you."
(Briana sat quietly)
TYLER : "Yeah, it's good to see everybody." (he said over the music, making his way back over to Briana)
MARVIN: "Yeah. Same to you, brother. You're doing great things."
TYLER : "Thank you, thank you." (turned his attention to Briana) "I haven't seen you in a while." (not sure how receptive Briana would be to a hug so he just smiled at her, hoping to get a feel for her mood)
BRIANA: (nooded her head) "Yeah. I've been busy..."
TYLER : "You look very nice."
BRIANA: "Thank you."
(Briana didn't know how long she could keep up the pleasantries. She was screaming inside! Marvin went back to a conversation with the other guests at the table and Mary actually got up from the table to pose for pictures with other celebrities. Tyler took this opportunity to sit down in her place)
BRIANA: (drew in a sharp breath) "You're pretty bold."
TYLER : "I have to get your attention some how. You aren't accepting my calls. I had to make a move."
BRIANA: "Where's your girlfriend?"
TYLER : (sighs) "Briana, there's so much I need to tell you."
(Briana eyed Tyler suspiciously)
TYLER : "I miss you."
BRIANA: "Tyler, I don't think this is the time nor the place..."
TYLER : "I don't care. I really need to talk to you."
(Briana started looking around, and got that paronoid feeling again...she felt like every camera in the room was on them)
BRIANA: "Can we go, like outside, or something?"
TYLER : "Sure."
They both stood up, and Tyler instinctively reached for Briana's hand, but caught himself. He didn't want to risk her snatching away from him in public. They walked out onto a large, gated, outside patio area, where a few of the guests had spilled out onto, but not many...they figured this was as close as they were going to get to being alone. Briana sighed and stood with her arms folded across her chest facing Tyler, but with her back against the cool brick wall. She looked up at him and waited for him to start talking. Tyler really wished he had rehearsed what to say, because he didn't know if he would get another chance to talk to Briana...it was all or nothing...
TYLER : "Briana, I miss you. I miss us. I miss how we used to be. Talking, laughing, praying...just being together. We used to talk on the phone everyday...all the time. I miss that."
(Briana had to look away, because she could feel herself start to get emotional)
TYLER : "There's so much I wanna tell you. Just over the past couple of days...the things that have hapened. Did you know I almost died?"
BRIANA: (quickly looked at Tyler) "What?!"
TYLER : "Well, not really, but close."
BRIANA: "Tyler..." (unfolding her arms and shifting on her feet)
TYLER : (stepped closer to Briana and gently put his hands on her arms and whispered) "I want us back."
(Briana stepped out of Tyler's grasp, not because she was uncomfortable, but because she was too comfortable. She loved this man with everything she had, and that caused her to be weak, letting him back in her life and bed, so many times before due to all of his sweet talking. She had to be strong this time)
BRIANA: "I'm sure Jaleela is waiting for you back inside..."
TYLER : (slightly amused at the fact that Briana could never, or perhaps would never, pronounce Gelila's name right) "We're not together anymore."
(Tyler's statement caught Briana off guard. She definitely wasn't expecting to hear that)
BRIANA: "Then who is that?" (gesturing inside the building)
TYLER : "That's Denise." (he could see Briana trying to put two and two together in her head and he shook his head 'no') "It's just business."
(Briana looked away, trying to find some excuse to leave Tyler standing out on the patio. She let out a heavy sigh, and Tyler reached for her hand, closing his own around hers)
TYLER : "I love you."
(Tyler's words entered her ears, swirled around in her head, and made their way to that soft spot in her heart that belonged only to him. Briana closed her eyes to prevent the tears that threatened to fall, and suddenly saw an image of Eli. She snapped her eyes back open, realizing that she was literally carrying a heavier confession)
BRIANA: "Tyler, I have a lot to think about right now. I can't...just...just give me some time."
(And with that, Briana turned to go back inside, ending the conversation)
~*~*~*~*~*~
Briana left the Mecca Banquet early, because she had a lot on her mind. She was hungry, confused, and emotional. All she wanted to do was get to her hotel room, order room service, and call Eli, but she couldn't get Tyler out of her head. The hotel was close to the event venue, so a lot of the banquet's guests were staying there, but the majority of them were still at the banquet, enjoying the scene, the food, and the alcohol.
Once Briana entered her room, she got out of her gown and stood naked in front of the mirror, looking at her belly. She turned to the side to examine if there were any visable differences, and there weren't. Briana had been paraniod for no reason. She was sure she wasn't going to show for another couple of months or so. Briana jumped in the shower to relax. While the hot water ran over her body, she rubbed her stomach. Perhaps she should look at this pregnancy as a blessing. She lived by the mottos that "everything happens for a reason", and "God would never put more on you than you can bare", so when she thought about it that way, Briana smiled. There was nothing that she could do at this point but continue living her life. She knew she wouldn't get another abortion. That was just out of the question. She could never go through anything like that ever again. The only real pressing issue was figuring out which man could be the father.
Briana got out of the shower, fantasizing about what it would be like to raise a child with Eli. She dried off and sat on the bed, looking at the hotel room service menu, but was no longer in the mood for it all of a sudden. She had this weird craving for Cheetos and popcorn....together. She passed a snack vending machine by the lobby elevator on her way up, and hoped they had what she was looking for. Briana threw on an pair of basketball shorts from an ex, her old college hooded sweatshirt, her monkey slippers, put her iPod ear buds in her ears, her hood over her head, and walked out to the elevator.
In the elevator, on the way down, Briana started to fantasize about what it be like to raise a child with Tyler. This thought made her smile the most. It's pretty much all she ever wanted, and she got to thinking...had what Tyler said to her tonight the truth? She wanted so badly to believe it. One of Briana's favorite love songs, "All My Life" by K-Ci & Jo Jo, played on her iPod, and she closed her eyes to groove with her jam. Soon, the elevator doors opened to a drunken couple who were all over each other, oblivious to anyone else, kissing and carrying on. Briana looked at them out of the corner of her eye, and recognized their familar faces...
~*~*~*~*~*~
Denise's arms were wrapped losely around Tyler's neck as they kissed like hormonal teenagers. They stepped onto the elevator and Tyler rested his back against the side wall. He opened his eyes in time to see an orange hooded sweatshirt with green lettering, just like one Briana wears all the time, exit the elevator. Denise started kissing Tyler's neck and he quickly and forcefully pushed her away, as soon as he realized that it was in fact, Briana that had just walked out of the elevator...
To Be Continued...
Copyright ©2009 CBW1986. All rights reserved
