whispered.
âNinety-seven percent.â
âJood,â Sidney breathed. He doesnât eat red meat. Working out six days a week, he has to watch every gram of fat he puts into his body.
Monroe doesnât (or, more aptly, doesnât want to). â Turkey sausage?â
Mitchell rose. âYou wonât know the difference.â
âAnd even if he could tell the difference,â added Errol, âainât no way heâd watch us eat it.â
Monroe took a plate from Errol. âYou know thatâs right.â Picking up the serving spoon Errol had just rinsed off and placed in the lasagna pan, he was about to dig in.
âYo, man, wash your hands first!â Sidney demanded, soaping up himself.
âOops.â He did so after Sidney.
Errol cut the lasagna into eight cubed portions. He helped himself to two of them. Sidney placed one on his plate.
âMan, thatâs all you havinâ?â Monroe asked him.
âYou know I can only eat small portions,â Sidney reminded him.
âLike he really cares,â remarked Errol as his food warmed up in the microwave. âThat just means theyâll be more for him.â
âNo question,â Monroe agreed.
Mitchell walked toward the kitchenâs entryway. âWhat time are you all leaving?â Theyâll be spending the night at Monroeâs.
âAround seven,â answered Errol.
âOkay. Iâll be in my office if yâall need me.â
Sidney watched Monroe place four pieces of lasagna on his plate. âHa, Roe might. He may need you to whip up another pan.â
Monroe smiled. Mitchell and Errol chuckled.
Chapter 6
R aheimâs gone from being a homeboy to a homebody. Chances are better than jood he can be found in one of three places on any given day, the first being a soundstage. But on average he works two days out of the week. In fact, he spends more time traveling to and from his modeling or acting jobs than he does on the set.
The second is Crunch, the gym. Thatâs where he was after his lunch with Troy. He hit the treadmill, worked on his back and chest, then chilled in the sauna for almost an hour listening to the âMissing Uâ cassette tape Mitchell made him eight years ago when he went to L.A. for the first time. He found it this past March, tucked in the inside pocket of the old Nike duffel bag he took on that trip. The songsâespecially his favorite, the first one on side A, Gladys Knight & the Pipsâ âTill I See You Againââhave taken on a different meaning now.
He pumps up three days a week, just enough to maintain his six-pack and muscular frame. But on five out of every seven, heâs maxinâ in his fatherâs black leather easy chair with built-in massage in front of the TVâeven on a Friday night. And this Friday was no different.
He had his usual goodies: two fruit bowls, French onion Sun Chips, microwave buttered popcorn, and his fatherâs famous lemonade. The thirty-six-inch flat-screen TV (a present from him to his father last Christmas) would be on mute this evening, though: instead of flipping from one sensational murder case to another on Court TV and newsmagazine shows like Dateline NBC and 48 Hours Investigates , he planned to finish the Dodging Me script and plot how heâd tackle each scene.
He was settling into the chair, had the script open to page 99, and the credits for Wheel of Fortune ended as a promo for John Stosselâs âGive Me a Break!â segment on 20/20 was beginning when his cell rang.
âHello?â
âRah, whazzup?â It was Angel, his homie from way back. Before Raheim could respond, Angel answered for him. ââNothinâ much,â right?â
âAs it turns out, no.â
âNo? Whatâs the dealio?â
âI got offered the lead in a movie today,â he stated proudly.
âYou lyinâ, yo!â
âNah. Iâm
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