Page 50 of Make Me Forget

She handed me my number, and I practically snatched that shit from her ass. These people outside this industry wanted to glorify being a buckle bunny… a ho. If they truly listened to Tanner’s lyrics in the verses, they would know. They could have at it. But when that shit affected me or Cassie, they were gonna mess around and get fucked up. I could guarantee Tanner was only singing about it. She wasn’t a fucking buckle bunny. She was getting her bag off that damn song.

“Kendrall, calm down, baby. I need your mind on fucking shit up on the dirt. I would never fight and get you disqualified. I know you said that shit out of anger, because I also know how much this means to you. Like you said, you do it because you enjoy it. You more than enjoy it. You love it. I would never do anything to jeopardize you being able to do what you love.”

I stopped walking and took a deep breath then turned to face Cassie. I kissed her lips then pulled her in my embrace. “You right, baby. I appreciate you for that. But… if necessary, I will fuck around and get disqualified when it comes to you. I ain’t putting up with bullshit on account of getting paid. It’s about respect. They wanna buck, I’ll show their asses I can be ignant too.”

Grabbing her hands, I brought them to my lips and kissed them one at a time. After all that, I hated that she would be in the stands by herself. When I had competitions this far away, I often went alone. Everybody had their own shit going on and couldn’t take off for days at a time to travel with me.

She leaned in and kissed my lips again. “I love you, Kendrall. Don’t let these bitches get to you. You’re an amazing catch. If I need to handle shit, I’ll handle it verbally and report their asses to somebody important. You focus on the competition at hand. I know you’ll win, but still… focus.”

I gave her a slight smile. “That’s why you my rider. See you when this shit is done.”

I kissed her again and headed toward the trailer to get Suge. This shit couldn’t be over fast enough. In one week, I would be locking her pretty ass down forever.

CHAPTER 18

CASSIE

Iwas nervous as hell. Today was the day I would officially become Mrs. Kendrall Henderson. I wasn’t nervous about that though. I just wanted everything to be perfect… to at least go right. With Uncle Storm in attendance, I knew it wouldn’t be perfect. I’d heard stories from Nesha, Yendi, and Tyeis. Uncle Storm could act an entire fool if the wedding took too long. Damn near everyone expected it.

I didn’t care about that. Shayla showing up to fuck up my day was what had me on edge. I would scrap with her ass out there on the cement in my wedding gown. She had caused enough turmoil in my life the past couple of months. I just wished she could behave like a fucking adult sometimes. She was in her fifties, acting like she was new to adulthood.

Granted, she was only nineteen when she had me and felt like she didn’t get to enjoy adulthood; the clock had run out on that shit. She was twenty-seven when she abandoned me. That was over twenty-five years ago. She should have done everything she felt she was missing out on by now. Instead, she chose to hate her flesh and blood. Why? How could she be so hateful for no apparent reason?

I was nothing but loving to her my entire childhood… whenever she decided to show her face. I rarely saw her through my teenage years, and I was devastated about it. Although I was calling Kendall mom by then, I needed to know she loved me. I didn’t get the satisfaction. She refused to be in my life in that capacity.

“You okay, baby? You seem to be far away from here.”

I glanced over at my mama and smiled. “I’m okay, Mama. I just want everything to be perfect, and I realized that I just need to relax. So I’m trying to relax.”

She smiled at me as I stood from the chair. I was getting my hair done, and makeup was next. I wanted to get my hair done sooner, but I didn’t want the humidity to get to it. So I had to bite the bullet and wake up earlier to get it done this morning. Our wedding was at three, and it was already one.

Last night, we had a great time. Ebony had the drinks flowing, the twins had found strippers, Maui and Ashanni had the games, and Milana was in charge of the music. We were all at Karima’s house, having a great time. No one wanted to leave Nome, because we didn’t want to have to call anybody to drive us home.

My sister-in-law made sure we were all comfortable by getting air mattresses and plenty of linen. She would be leaving for Nashville tomorrow, so we made it somewhat of a going away party for her too. Aunt Tiff cried for at least an hour about it. She said that Karima was like her baby. With as much time as they spent together, I could imagine.

Needless to say, I was super tired this morning and had a headache from hell. My stressing over Shayla fucking things up didn’t help. I was pretty sure Kendrall was feeling just as tired as I was, since he and the guys didn’t get home until nearly four o’clock this morning. I didn’t bother even asking exactly where they went, but I knew it was a strip club. He said they were going to be celebrating his win from last weekend’s competition as well. Although we’d had our own celebration in Tuscaloosa, I felt a tinge of jealousy that I wasn’t there to celebrate even more with him.

My man was a beast on the dirt, and he knew that shit. Once again, those people were in awe of him, but it seemed they were friendlier than the ones in Sulphur, Louisiana. They respected his hustle a lot more there. They practically treated his ass like royalty, and he was eating that shit up.

I continued taking deep breaths, and my mama stepped behind me and started massaging my shoulders. I closed my eyes for a moment and soaked in her methods of consolation. She used to do that when I was younger all the time. Whenever I got worked up about anything, she would massage my neck and shoulders.

“That feels good, Mama. Thank you,” I said when I noticed the makeup artist was done setting up.

She released me and kissed my cheek. When I turned to her, I realized she was crying. “I’m sorry. I just can’t believe this day is here. I love you so much, baby. It’s like I bore you myself. Plus, you led me to who would be my forever. Your matchmaking skills were impeccable as a child.” She giggled. “You grew up to be an even more beautiful woman. You’re strong, smart, and beautiful. What I mean by strong is that you’ve learned how to nurture yourself.”

She swiped the tear that had fallen down my cheek. I was glad she was doing this now and not after I got my makeup done.

“You don’t take shit off nobody while still maintaining a soft heart. You’ve learned how to balance everything, and you make it look effortless. I love that for you. You’ve accomplished something that some women die before figuring out. Now you’re marrying a man that God handpicked for you. He complements you well, baby. I’m so proud of the woman you’ve become, and I know you will accomplish everything you’ve set out to do, simply with the support of Kendrall. Congratulations, sweetheart.”

Tears were falling down my cheeks uncontrollably, mirroring hers. I pulled her to me and hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Mama, for being a caring teacher, who thought enough of me to contact my daddy about my hair.”

I giggled, and she did, too, as I released her from my embrace. I grabbed her hand and continued. “I was eight years old when we met, but we clung to each other like we were truly mother and daughter. The way you nurtured me…”

I slowly shook my head as I paused and reflected. “You aren’t my biological mom, but no one would be able to tell. You provided stability and care. The way you helped my dad take care of me after that accident was something you didn’t have to do. You chose to be a mother to me, even before you met Price Daniels. I can’t thank you enough for that. You played a huge role in the woman I became. I love you so much, Mama.”

We hugged again, and when I released her and saw all the women surrounding us and crying too, my heart was overwhelmed. Mama Keisha, Ebony, Karima, and Kendrall’s many aunts and cousins proved to me that I would never be alone. I had a solid foundation and support system. For that reason, I had a hard time picking who would be in the wedding.

Of course, my sister and Karima were my maids of honor since Kendrall’s two brothers were his best men. After that, I had Bali, Noni, Maui, Ashanni, and Milana. Mya was pissed because I didn’t choose her, but I told her it wasn’t personal. She still had a small child to tend to. Angel didn’t care for the spotlight, so she was just fine sitting in the crowd with Mya.

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