 Rude ghetto girls gave him dirty looks but Darnell didn’t care. He pushed his way to the front of the crowd. His stomach gurgled as the stage door opened and two intense body-guards emerged scanning the scene like lions on the Serengeti. Even though the object of their affection had yet to appear, the girls screamed with insanity and flash-bulbs exploded. Darnell, the only man in the crowd, stood out like a pudgy sore thumb in the mayhem.
In the crowd were several older women well past groupie age, one in particular was still eyeing Darnell with suspicion. Lil’ Wolf wasn’t even old enough to drink. Neither were his fans—most of them, at least. The thugged-out only child of infamous rap mogul Platinum Star, had, with daddy’s help, broken all sales records in Hip Hop and had even crossed over—yeah, he had white fans too—making his debut CD Most Wanted a phenomenal success. And with success came rumors. Maybe it was because he was so pretty beneath his thug persona. Maybe it was because it was obvious that he’d grown up with money and the only streets he knew were the mansions and palm trees of Baldwin Hills. Maybe it was his hazel eyes and pouty lips which caused people to speculate. Or, maybe it was just the price of fame. Whatever.
Tyler King didn’t think it was just internet rabble though. He felt it in his gut the rumors were real. Yeah, in his gut, or somewhere there about. There were a lot of black gay stars creeping around on the low and Tyler took it personally. He’d once confessed that if they weren’t going to have the balls to come out and be the role models they’re meant to be, then it was up to investigative reporters to blast the cowards out. He’d done it before with politicians who voted down gay legislation while enjoying the fruits of man-sex on the side. He’d become infamous for it.
But Lil’ Wolf was on another level. Tyler had been stalking him to prove his theory—taking pictures, digging for dirt, knowing he’d eventually catch the hot young star with his pants down. So to speak. And he must’ve found something. The night he died he’d given a package to his best friend with instructions to open it if anything should happen.
“What do you mean, don’t open it?” Darnell narrowed his eyes, glancing around Tyler’s apartment. “Does this have something to do with your little witch friend?”
“Madame D’Gosa is not a witch. Don’t belittle shit you don’t understand. And this is not about her anyway—well ... sorta not. Look, just trust me on this, seriously. Just take it.” He pushed the shoe-box sized package against Darnell’s torso.
“Alright, alright, just put it down. I just got here.” Darnell brushed him aside, his attention on the computer. Images flashed. “And what’s this? Is that who I think it is?”
“The one and only.”
“And who’s that he’s with? Is that Omega?”
“Yup. His one and only.”
“You really want that boy to be gay, don’t you?” Darnell eyed him with an air of sympathy that annoyed Tyler.
“He is gay.” Tyler’s eyebrow rose.
“Prove it.”
“Keep watching.”
They did. Darnell remained quiet until all the pictures had shown and began to repeat. “I don’t see any proof here. I thought you were gonna catch them in a lip lock or something. All these pictures say is that they hang out.”
“In his hotel room. In their underwear. If you or I was in that room with them running around like that, somebody would get fucked. Am I right?”
“That’s aside from the point. But this doesn’t say they’re gay. Media Take Out would make that leap, but I don’t think it would hold up on Judge Judy. And aren’t they doing a concert tour together?”
“Yeah, and ain’t that sweet?” Tyler grew fidgety. “I’m telling you they’re fuckin’. What better way for the two of them to disguise spending time together 24/7 than to do a tour together? It’s kinda genius actually. But I’m not fooled. They usually close the drapes, but this early morning they clearly wanted some daylight. C’mon, it’s obvious. My gut knows it. Madame D’Gosa said my gut is never wrong.”
“Okay, you seriously need to stop listening to that crazy bitch. A spiritual advisor who reads burning bowls of pot pourri? Jesus Christ, Tyler. She’s a witch. I knew you took your break-up with Jay pretty hard, but ....”
“This has nothing to do with ....”
“You have got to see how weird this is. How did you even get these pictures anyway? Have you been stalking him?”
“No. I wasn’t stalking him. I uh ... just happened to be on the roof across the street.”
“With a high powered zoom aimed at his,” Darnell leaned closer to the screen, “... Dolce & Gabbana boxer briefs?”
“You make it sound perverted.”
“Oh, forgive me; I forgot. Your voyeurism has a higher purpose.”
“Look, how else was I gonna get the proof I needed, send him a questionnaire asking if he sucks dick?”
“Why the hell is this so important to you anyway?”
Tyler looked frustrated and threw Darnell a weary glance. “If you already don’t know, then I can’t explain it.” Darnell went uncharacteristically quiet. Tyler turned back to the screen but could feel Darnell’s stare. “Lil’ Wolf always stays in that same suite when he’s in Manhattan. The bathroom has a marble Jacuzzi big enough for eight people. And in the adjoining suite, guess who stays there?”
“Uhm ... Omega?”
“Mr. Boy Band himself. Don’t ask me how I found out, let’s just say they should pay hotel staffers more.”
“You’ve been stalking him, like I said.”
“Haven’t. I’ve been researching him. There’s a difference.”
“A microscopic one.”
“Look, I’m not John Hinckley tryna to get a date with Jodie Foster here. I don’t wanna get in his pants, Darnell. That’s not what this is about!”
“You sure about that? He is beautiful, and he’s barely legal so you know that’s up your alley. Are you telling me you don’t fantasize about fucking him?”
“No. I don’t.”
“Liar. You and Jay sat in my living room watching Lil’ Wolf’s new video and you both were practically drooling. You know it’s true. And I’m telling you, this whole obsession phase of yours started after your break-up. First you consult a witch to ....”
“She’s not a witch! Damn Darnell, she helped me through a really bad time.”
“You’ve been through bad break-ups before and you never lost your damn mind. Okay, well, you and Antonio crashing your cars into each other was nuts, but that was momentary insanity brought on by ... what was it ...?”
“The brick he threw through my window.”
“Right. See, understandable. But this Lil’ Wolf thing is nuts. You wanna fuck that boy, admit it. You wanna replace Jay with him.”
“That’s nuts.”
Darnell smiled as if his new theory was fact. “It’s the oldest motivation in the book—get back at your ex by hooking up with someone ten times hotter.”
“That’s bullshit. It’s petty and beneath me.” Tyler turned away and walked across the room.
Darnell followed, “Even if there was a vague possibility of you pulling off this coupe, like, somehow, the stars aligned in just the right way to make Lil’ Wolf kick Omega’s sexy ass to the curb and fall madly in love with you,” Darnell chuckled. “I mean, if that highly unlikely event took place, do you ....”
“What’s your fuckin’ point?”
“Do you think that’s gonna make Jay take you back? Hooking up with a rap star half your age?” His chuckle morphed into a cackle, reminding Tyler he did indeed have a witch in his life.
Tyler snatched the package off the counter and thrust it at Darnell. “Just shut the fuck up and take the damn box with you. I got shit to do. I’ll call you later, okay?”
But he never did. The only phone call Darnell got was the disturbing one a few days later......
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