Read Online Time to Shine by Nikki Carter - Free Book Online Page A

know what? I don’t even care who you’re going with. It ain’t with me, so whatever,” Sam says. He starts banging out chords on the keyboard like he’s lost his ever-loving mind.
    â€œOh, calm down! I’m going with my friend DeShawn. He’s not my boyfriend, so you can stop tripping.”
    â€œI saw how that dude was all on you in that video. We weren’t even broken up yet. Why you talking about me playing you? It looks like you were doing some playing too,” Sam says.
    Okay, now I’m about to be on anger and fury level ten. I know he’s not about to sit up here and accuse me of being unfaithful. Not when I was the one who was holding on to us for dear life.
    â€œDon’t do that, Sam. Do not do that.”
    â€œDon’t do what? Don’t throw your past dirt up in your face? Why not? That’s how you do me. I can’t live anything down.”
    â€œOh my goodness! You kicked it with someone behind my back, took her virginity, and then bought her a computer! Not to mention the girl you slobbered down in the club. I haven’t done anything to you, Sam.”
    Dreya picks this moment to bounce down the stairs and into the lab. “Ugh. Can y’all stop fighting and finish my songs?”
    â€œI’m in agreement with Drama,” Big D says. “Let’s take this one song at a time. Can y’all agree to bury the hatchet for the rest of the day?”
    Sam and I both tentatively nod. I don’t know if I have a hatchet. It’s more like a sword. But I do want to get back to my dorm. Today is the last day of the weekend, and I’ve got a paper to finish up for my composition class.
    â€œLet me hear what y’all been working on,” Dreya demands.
    â€œHold up,” Big D says as his currently on-again girlfriend Shelly descends the stairs daintily carrying a tray with glasses of lemonade and slices of cake. Shelly is like the hood Martha Stewart. She’s always baking or cooking something. How she does it in five-inch heels, acrylic nails, and ten pounds of hair weave, I’ll never understand. She smiles at Big D like he’s the only one in the room. I could never be like her. Big D plays her for sideline chicks all the time. They get into arguments, she storms out, and he begs her to come back. She always does. That is crazy to me.
    â€œY’all want some of this cake?” Shelly asks. Her thick Southern accent tells me that she’s a native Georgia peach just like me.
    â€œI’ll pass,” Dreya says. “The last thing I need is cake.”
    â€œYour body is perfect. You can eat what you want,” Big D says.
    Dreya shakes her head. “No. Evan told me that my skin is dull when I don’t eat right. When I get off the plane in New York, I want to be glowing.”
    Glowing? Really? I’ve never seen Dreya quite so taken with a guy like she is with Evan. I think she, like Shelly, turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to dirt he might be doing. This is how rich guys get over, I guess, because girls will stay with them in spite of foolishness, just so they can get iced up with diamonds and wear designer clothes.
    â€œWhen does your flight leave?” Sam asks. “Are we going back on the same flight?”
    â€œI’m leaving next Friday,” Dreya says.
    â€œOh, naw, then. I’m out tomorrow morning,” Sam says.
    â€œYou let your man be alone that long?” Shelly asks as she sets her tray with the uneaten cake slices on the table.
    â€œMe and my man are both grown,” Dreya replies. “I’m not stressing what he does when I’m not there, just like he’s not stressing what I do. That’s called grown and sexy.”
    I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Okay, moving right along. Here’s what we came up with so far. Come on, Sam. Play the music.”
    Sam moves slowly, like he doesn’t like being bossed by me. After a long and