Chapter 7

"You need to leave."

I'm still remembering what Valentine whispered to me as soon as he saw me in the party.  He hadn't said anything else.  That was almost an hour ago and I still hadn't gone.  I refused to leave.

I'm sitting on the other side of the room.  There is a bit of awkwardness.  I can see Valentine and Morocco arguing.  I have no doubt that it's about Jonathan Chambers.  It turns out that Jonathan Chambers just so happens to be Valentine's house brother.  I have to admit it's a little funny.  It's a little embarrassing even that Valentine allowed Morocco's ex to be waving his dick in Morocco's face.

I'm sitting on the bar getting drunk off of the idea.
"Can I join you?"

I turn over to see none other than Jonathan Chambers.  His face looks the same.  He's always looked a lot like Chris Brown.  He has blonde hair now which is different from the dirty brown that he had when we were kids.  His eyes are like chocolate.  His teeth are pearly white.  I always thought he was so...attractive in his own way.  He was a bad boy...just like Morocco back then, always going against the grain.  I tried to stay away from him.  I was never too good at it.

"I was just about to leave actually," I state, "Been feeling uncomfortable."

Valelntine has been giving me mean stares all night.  I would have thought it would have been coming from Morocco but no.  It was coming from Valentine.  Even now after Valentine and Morocco stop the arguing, Valentine posts on a wall across the room.  He has a drink in his hand and his leg kicked up against the wall.  He stares at me, his snapback hat lowered to the point that I can barely see his eyes, but I can feel the angry grimace.

"Trust me.  I used to fuck the soon-to-be groom.  I know awkward," Jonathan Chambers laughs from his nose before leaning back on the bar that I'm against, "Don't leave" though.  We can be awkward together..."

"Morocco will be pissed if he sees you talking to me," I warn him.

"Isn't he engaged?"

"His first was always Jonathan Chambers though," I respond.

"I go by Lucky Cavalli now," he tells me.
Lucky, suits him in a way.  He's always seemed to get his way. He seems to know it too.  I notice how he slants across the barstool, making sure that his abdominal muscles are tight and flexing.  His junk is leaning off to the side.  It's like he's been walking around with a constant hard on this entire time.  I'm struggling not to stare but I can't help it.
"Lucky done...grown up," I acknowledge.

He flexes assuming I'm talking about his muscles, "Not the skinny kid anymore that dated your brother to get closer to you."

"Stop saying that."

"It's true," Lucky responds laughing at that moment, "You were so shy back then.  Your brother was the talkative one.  So fuck it.  I did what I did.  I used him just so you could open up Just a little bit."

He tells me this with a sense of pride.  It's almost like he is bluffing.

"When you kissed me...he blamed me.  He never let it go."

Lucky rolls his eyes.  He sighs a little bit and for a moment, it sounds like something he had done back in the day, "Sounds like your brother, petty and dramatic.  C`mon let's be for real.  You were always the nice one.  Who wouldn't want someone with Morocco's face...but someone with a soul also?"

I shake my head, "Man c`mon now he's still my brother...don't say he doesn't have a soul."

He gives me a look as though saying `you know what I'm talking about' without really saying it.  Instead, he just pulls me up.  He grabs me and pulls me close and presses his fingers on the small of my back making me feel very uneasy.

"Enough of Morocco.  Ok.  Let's talk about what is right in front of us."

I have to admit he's enticing.  Maybe he was right.  My brother did move on a long time ago.  This was the sexiest man who had approached me in a long time, save Valentine. And Valentine thought I was my brother when we hooked up.  For whatever reason men didn't seem to like approaching me.  Maybe I just wasn't their type.  The fact that a sexy guy like Lucky Jonathan Chambers, or whatever name he went by, found me attractive was amazing.

I don't know why my mind goes to Valentine.

He's across the room.  He's still staring bullets at me.  I wonder if a part of Valentine even hates me.  It could be possible with the way he's looking at me right now.

"I really don't want to be here."

"We can go back to my spot," Lucky tells me, "watch some Netflix and chill?"

He gives me a knowing wink and licks his lips.  He's trying to seduce me and truth be told a part of me was falling for it.  Before I know it, he's leaning over.  Lucky is squeezing my ass.  He's pulling me close getting all into the meat.  It may be the alcohol that is making him so aggressive.  Lucky is pressed up on me before I know it and he's grinding into me.  His dick print is plastered against my crotch.  He grinds it up and down slowly...steadily making sure that I can feel how thick his manhood is.
"Damn..."

He leans in at that moment pressing his mouth to my ears, "Yo---I'm finna take you home.  I'm gonna long dick you for hours.  Eat you out.  Dick you down again.  Wake up in the middle of the night and suck you off.  Ride your dick until you nut---twice.  Then I'm going to cuddle you all night and wake you up in the morning and make you some waffles.  How that sound?"

Shit.

He was cocky.  He was the same smug Jonathan Chambers that I remember.

I want to say something.  I want to deny him but then he starts to lick the rim of my ear...slowly carefully licking the rim of my ear and sticking his long wet tongue all the way into my ear until I begin to literally hear his low, masculine slurping noises.

By now, my dick is hard and all I can do is let out a low moan and mutter, "You know how to make blueberry waffles?"

He smiles grabbing my hand and leading me to the coat rack.  I watch, as he gets dressed putting on the clothes he came with.  Jonathan Chambers has definitely grown up.  Back in the day, he wore baggy stuff attempting to be a thug and swearing up and down he could get any female he wanted.  Now he was all fitted pants...blazers with a rich boy swag.

"Ok it's time to go!" Valentine comes out of nowhere.
He grabs me by the arm and I have no idea what's going on until I'm halfway down the hallway.  Valentine is dragging and manhandling me the entire way.

"I was already leaving.  Valentine---Valentine LET GO OF ME!"  I tell him angrily, "I told you.  Didn't I?  I was already leaving your stupid ass party."

He's been treating me like shit since I came here.
"I'll call you an uber."

"I got a ride."

I turn to see Lucky.  He's chased us down the hallway and is literally facing off with his house brother now.  Lucky seems just as confused as I am on why Valentine dragged me out of the party in the way he did.  We both look at Valentine lost and confused by his actions.
Lucky refrains from getting rude or aggressive, "Yo Val.  He's good.  Don't worry are we about to head to my house.  You know.  Chill out.  We're old friends or whatever..."

"Yeah Morocco told me," Valentine responds, "Israel's good though.  He's drunk."

I look at Lucky and then look at Valentine.  Am I acting drunk?  I had a couple of drinks but I knew I wasn't drunk.  Maybe Valentine just assumed since the first time he met me I was fucked up that I didn't know how to handle my alcohol.

"I'm good."

"You're leaving," Valentine aggressively says.
"He looks good to me.  Why you cockblockin' bro?" Lucky asks.

Is that what he was doing?  Lucky calling Valentine out though seems to cause Valentine to get in his face.  Valentine throws his weight around in the most aggressive way at that moment.  He stares Lucky down giving him a stare that seems to turn Lucky cold.

"I'm not going to repeat myself.  I'm the overseer of the house of Cavalli.  What I say goes?  You want to be a Cavalli you keep your fucking dick in your pants."

Lucky is uncomfortable.  Hell so am I.  We have two completely different reactions to Valentine going off like this.  I'm a little amazed while Lucky lets off an uncomfortable laugh as though not believing this is happening right now.

I'm outside with Valentine before I know it as he aggressively is trying to wave down a taxi.

"I told you I was leaving."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Valentine asks me.
He's such a...man.  I guess it isn't true what they say about light skin boys being soft.  Valentine is aggressive.  He's forceful.  He's looking at me with this look that seems to smoother me with the power of his words.  I realize now it must be only a man like that that can tame someone like Morocco.

My voice reaches only higher than a whisper in return to him, "I was already leaving Valentine.  Is this about the New York ball?  It wasn't my fault what happened."

"It takes more than a couple punks to fuck with me.  I'm no pussy," he responds abruptly taking a few steps away from me before I get too close.

"Well then what is it?  I'm not drunk---but you know that don't you?"

"Listen.  You're causing trouble.  I know you.  Morocco told me all about Jonathan Chambers and your past."

I laugh, "So you're doing this out of spite?  You hate me because a boy kissed me a long time ago.  A boy that I didn't ask to kiss me.  Just like my brother."

Valentine seems confused.  Maybe Morocco left that part out of the story.

"I don't---hate you," Valentine responds, just a pinch less aggressively, "Lucky.  He's no good.  Trust me."

"I can make that decision on my own."

Valentine's eyes are just as defiant as mine as he struggles to look anywhere else but at me, "I'm just looking out for Morocco.  He'd want you taken care of.  He doesn't hate you either."

I find that hard to believe since my brother hadn't even talked to me while I was in there.  I cross my arms.  I look over at Valentine hoping that I can get a little bit more out of him.  That's when I just say fuck it.  That's when I just go for the argument.

"Please.  My brother would be more mad about the fact that you are out here then if I went home with Lucky and you know it."

Valentine's face is guilty before I even finish my complete argument.  He turns away and looks impatiently at his phone, probably hoping to see where the uber is.  I can see him hoping around on the balls of his sandals attempting to ignore me.

No words come out of his mouth.

"Has nothing to do with my brother," I continue before adding a sneering off a resilient, "And you know that."

"So why the fuck else?" Valentine says louder than I expect him to, "Why the fuck else am I out here?  Why the fuck do I care.  Why the fuck else have I been thinking..."

He stops.  The aggression seems to have gone off into a tangent of confusion that I don't think he expects it.  The way he stops talking is so abrupt that he might as well have covered his mouth as if vomit were coming out of his mouth instead of words.
I raise my eyebrow interested at this moment to see what he would say next.

"What were you saying?"

"Nothing."

He turns away from me again.  At this point, he's attempting to hail a taxi.  No luck.  Taxis don't stop for black men out here even if he looked like he was mixed with white.

"You just said that you didn't understand what you were thinking.  What have you been thinking Valentine?"

"Please...don't...Israel..."

The voice sounds more like a plea and less in command than he did a couple minutes ago.  He takes his long hair and ties it up with a hair tie.  He's doing everything to distract himself to from the feelings that he is having at the moment.
"Remember when we had sex.  The first time.  You said it was the best sex you ever in your life."

"What's your point?  I thought you were someone else?" he immediately defends without giving me a moment to finish my thought, "Besides there's more to life than sex."

"And supposedly you never lie, right?"

"Nope."

"But you haven't told my brother about the sex we had.  Why?"

Valentine gives me a quick stare, "Are you joking?  You begged me not to.  You are terrified of your brother.  Remember..."

"But you love him, Right?  Who am I?  Why would you listen to me?" I ask.
Valentine sighs, "Morocco was right.  You aren't as innocent as people think you are."

"Listen.  I was ignoring you... you came to me," I respond, "Maybe I'm not as innocent as I should be.  Maybe there is a part of me that's selfish.  Maybe there is a part of me that's shady.  But you're the one who is bringing that part out by doing shit like this.  Dragging me out here because another boy wants to take me home.  Staring at me every moment that you think Morocco isn't looking."

Valentine rolls his eyes, "Boy get the fuck outta here.  I love your brother."

"Then kiss me."

"What?"

"Kiss me and prove there are no sparks between us," I challenge him, "Prove that there is no chemistry."

Valentine rolls his eyes, "Boy please.  You think I'm dumb?"

"Naw...but I think you're a pussy."

Just then, I realize my uber is pulling up.  Just in time.  I don't have to deal with this.  Maybe I am fucking with his mind.  Maybe it isn't right but he's playing this game too.  I know he is.  That's why when I walk towards the uber I'm not surprised when he pulls me back.
Valentine's strong muscular hands hold onto my wrist.  He puts both hands now above on my face keeping me completely still and demanding with a hard stare that I don't move a muscle.  So I just sit there.  I just quietly allow him to reach over and within a minute, he kisses me.

He inhales me.  His soft lips slowly part mine.  His tongue begins to explore the outskirts of my mouth attempting to break through.  He enters and within a second, our tongues are battling one another.  I'm holding onto him.  I'm grabbing onto anything that I can.  At first, it's just the ends of his shirt.  Then I'm grabbing onto his side.  His strong stomach muscles are like hard rocks as I hold them, bracing myself for the next time he allows himself a minute to breath.  He inhales air and then dives back in as though still unsure or maybe not believing what's happening.
His tongue rips against mine.  The pressure and the ease of his movements seem to last.  They seem to string along this world of happiness that I didn't know existed.  This world belonged to my brother.  This man belonged to my brother.  But at that moment, I could care less.
And the strange thing is neither could Valentine

It ends reluctantly with the Uber driver honking.  Nothing happens but a small acknowledgement from Valentine, "Fuck..."

He doesn't need to say anything else.  I know what it means.  I know what it means because he's still holding my face.  I'm still clutching onto his side muscles.  The uber car doesn't matter.  Nothing seems to matter.  He's ready to do it again.  He leans in.  He's ready to kiss me again and he parts his lips wanting to jump straight into tongue action.
Instead I pull back...seeing someone at my side.

"Lucky."

Lucky stares back at me.  His mouth is completely wide open.  It's clear that he was upset about Valentine pulling me away.  Maybe he wanted to take me home.  Neither matters at that moment.
Valentine looks like he is emotional.  He doesn't cry or anything but his voice lets out of a shaky, "I-I—I got to go.  I got to get the fuck away from you man."

"Valentine!"

He doesn't answer.  He runs across the street fast.  Faster than I thought anyone could go.

Lucky stands there, "I guess you're not in the mood for waffles in the morning huh?"

I'm at the ball with Chaos and Cha Cha.  We're here to support Chaos walking sex siren.  From the stage, Cha Cha and I watch him walk up against a slew of sexy ass men.  Sex siren is a category all about selling sex.  I notice Laurence is walking.  He gets his tens and stands to the side.  Chaos walks shortly after...having no trouble at all getting his tens.

A slew of other houses walk. Almost nine of them are chopped after Chaos.  I watch one man get through.  He is an Asian boy, a little slim but with a beautiful face and an ass that looked like the male Kim Kardashian.  After he gets through, I notice Valentine about to walk.  He gets halfway up the stage and then he sees me.

Then the weirdest thing happens.  He just jumps off the stage...almost like he doesn't want me to see him in his underwear.
"What was that about?" Cha Cha asks.
I shrug, "I don't know."

Chaos wins.  It came down to him and Laurence.  Honestly, I think Laurence is way sexier than Chaos but whereas the queens on the panel definitely seemed to love how aggressive and ultra manly Chaos was even if his body wasn't as toned as Laurence.  Chaos was more bulky than muscular.  When he comes off the stage, he is flexing the muscles he does have.

"You guys saw that.  Valentine took one look at me and he ran his ass away," Chaos explains.
Cha Cha and I look at one another.  Cha Cha damn near explodes into laughter and I can't help but to think the same.
"Valentine is sexy Chaos.  I don't think he didn't walk because he was intimidated," I have to admit.

"He didn't walk because he was scared.  Everyone's scared of the Balmains."

More laughter.
"It's just two of us here," Cha Cha responds, "If they wanted to whoop our asses and get revenge for New York they would have done it already."

"They aren't stupid," Chaos argues.
"Maybe they just don't want any more issues," I respond, "What happened in New York was wrong plain and simple."

I said it before and I was going to say it again.

Chaos gives me a look though.  Clearly even if Cha Cha and I find this funny, he isn't amused.  He's angry and I can tell from a mile away that he's pissed and somewhat embarrassed.  He looks like he wants to argue some more maybe assume that Valentine saw one look at his body and just decided he wouldn't bother walking.  To be honest I don't know what it was either.  But I wanted to find out.
"I'll be right back."

"You can't run off.  This place is crawling with Cavalli's," Chaos states attempting to grab my hand.

I swerve out of the way before he's able to grab me and quickly let out a, "I'm fine."

I've been noticing how controlling he is.  Chaos was notorious in Philadelphia for being violent.  Cha Cha and I had become pretty close and she let me know all about Chaos.  Supposedly, he was in and out of jail for credit fraud.  Mostly he did things like that for the house.  It was a part that I honestly didn't understand.  Even in our house, a lot of people were scared of him.  He was the overseer meaning he basically told everyone what to do especially when Naomi wasn't around.  I mean until today I really didn't see the asshole side of him.  He'd always been pretty nice to me but the look he was giving me now was the Chaos I had heard about.

I find myself getting away from Chaos as fast as I can and making my way towards Valentine.  He's getting dressed in the back area of the ball where a lot of other Cavalli's are standing.  I know I'm walking into enemy territory and I can sense it.
Before I get to close to Valentine, I feel a hand.
I turn and see Lucky.
"I knew I'd see you again," Lucky states.

He's dressed scandalously.

"You didn't walk sex siren?" I ask him.
"I got scared after I saw Valentine jump off the stage.  I was going to go try my luck right after him but...I don't know.  If Valentine doesn't think he can win then I don't stand a chance.  Figured Laurence would win.  Not Chaos Balmain."

I didn't want to talk shit on Chaos but Lucky wasn't the only one who didn't expect Chaos to win.  Maybe the judges were scared of him or something.  I didn't think he was sexier than the Asian boy with the big booty and he damn sure wasn't sexier than Laurence.

"Why'd Valentine leave?"

"Same reason I was nervous to walk."

"Why?"

"You were watching," Lucky says licking his lips.

"About what happened...?" I start out.
Lucky stops me, "I can do better.  Kiss me I'll make sure to get that asshole wet..."

"Jonathan...stahpppp."

Lucky laughs knowingly acknowledging that he's making me uncomfortable, "Fine ok.  Ok.  So why aren't you walking?"

"Face?"

"Yeah."

"Did you see what happened last time I walked face?"

"I heard.  Valentine is a dick for that man. I would never chop you.  Maybe you can try your luck again today."

"I'm not even ready.  What's the category calling for.  White?"

"I got a toga in my backpack.  You can change into that."

"A toga?"

"Don't ask.  I'm kinky like that," he tells me, "Come here."

He pulls me aside and puts me in a white toga before I know it.  He stares at me for a moment.  A part of me sees all these other people lining up for the face category right now.  They are beautiful men more beautiful than I saw lining up at the New York ball.  These men were drop dead gorgeous.

Before I can even agree to it, I see that I'm not alone.  Chaos walks up to me and in a minute he looks me up and down.

"And what the hell do you think you're doing?" he asks me.

Lucky is about to reply but I shoot him a stare.  One thing I knew was that Lucky didn't want any problems with Chaos Balmain.  He was a fucking lunatic. One call and an army of Balmains would be up here and with how many Cavalli's were around I didn't want any other house wars going on.

I quickly answer before Lucky gets chatty, "I'm thinking about walking.  I don't know."

"You don't just walk..."  Chaos responds.

I'm confused.

"Um...why not..."

The category is already starting.  One boy is going up.  He's from the House of Carta.  Cha Cha had told me the house was the house with the most people that walked face.  One after another the representatives from the house of Carta were already walking up and getting there tens and here I was looking at Chaos.
"You see them?" Chaos tells me, "They are from the house of Carta. They are legends.  They've been walking the face categories for years.  You'll lose.  Are you trying to lose?  Are you trying to get chopped again."

"Chaos---c`mon, he's beautiful.  Maybe he has a chance," Cha Cha interrupts.
"Bitch shut the fuck up.  Was I talking to you?"

"If Naomi were here..." Cha Cha starts up again.

"Say something else and I'll slap the dog shit out of you Cha Cha," Chaos threatens her outright, "I'm not playing.  He's not ready.  He's not walking.  Period.  He needs the house to back him.  What if he gets chopped again?"

I sit there and think.  What if I did?  Would Chaos run up and attack the person who chopped me again?  Is that the kind of thing that I wanted?  The way I was looking at him was almost like he didn't believe me.  It was almost like he didn't think I was worth it.  The way he's talking to Cha Cha I'm sure he'd do it.  He'd slap the dog shit out of her if he disobeyed.

"I'm walking."
Chaos looks at me, "What the fuck did I just say.  Don't make me drag your ass out of here.  I'm the overseer.  You understand.  You do what I say."

I was done doing what people told me all my life.  From my parents and my brother I had been told what to do.  I had been told to hide in the shadows and just obey.  I wasn't to speak.  I wasn't to be heard.  I was just supposed to be a shadow of Morocco.  I was never allowed to shine.

Fuck that.
I walk forward at that moment, "I'm walking."
"BITCH!"

I feel Chaos attack me from behind.  He pulls at the toga tearing it clean off my BODY!  I'm standing there naked at that moment!  BUTT NAKED AT A BALL WITH NOTHING TO COVER ME UP!

Cha Cha is struggling to pick up the strands of fabric to help cover me up.  Lucky looks like he is stuck halfway between blocking Chaos from getting at me and staring at my body.

"Everyone calm down," Lucky is saying.

Chaos gives me a triumphant stare, "I told you that you weren't walking."

He smiles.  He thinks he has control over me.  That's what they always wanted, the control. But I break out of their boxes now.

I stare towards the stage.

"Isreal," Cha Cha states, "Izzy.  What are you doing?  Boy..."

"You're naked," Lucky states with his mouth wide open as if I don't know."
Chaos opens his eyes wide, "You wouldn't..."

That's where he was fucked up.

I would.

I throw the little piece of fabric left from the toga Chaos ripped off of me and put it over my head to make a headdress.  That would be my white.  From the neck down, I am naked as the day I was born.

I walk up on the stage.

It seems like hundreds of people are staring at me.  The crowd goes completely silent wondering what the fuck is happening with this naked man on with white fabric wrapped completely around my head.

It is a complete and deafening silence.

Then I begin to unravel it.  I begin to unwrap it.  One thread at a time.

When my face is revealed, the entire room begins to shout with applause.  It's a louder applause than I had ever heard in my life.  I feel alive.  Not even a gang of Balmains behind me could make me feel so powerful.  I don't need them.  Right now in this moment...standing naked in front of all these people I feel like I am someone.

I walk forward ready to serve my face to the judges. I'm ready to battle my competition...naked.
Tonight...I may not become a legend...but I'd do something legendary.

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