Chapter 4
Zane's World
Zane X's posh Los Angeles pad looked like a teenage boy's dream. It was filled with colorful graffiti art on the walls, pinball machines in the corners, and sleek black velvet furniture. He had two giant pit bulls freely roaming around the house with no collars, making Robbie extremely nervous. And to add to his anxiety, there was a whole crew of people at the house, from Zane's manager Stephanie down to his high school friends who went on tour with him. Robbie could only conclude that Zane enjoyed a fast lifestyle, and didn't appreciate being left alone with his thoughts.
"Yo, my man, welcome to the crib," Zane said walking down the stairs. He was shirtless and wearing in a pair of grey sweatpants that gave a pretty good preview of something impressive underneath them. He had a buff chest, and Robbie noted the heavy looking diamond chain hanging around his neck, because it almost blinded him when the light bounced off of it and into his face. When he greeted Robbie by saying "Gimme some dap" and tried to slap his hand unsuccessfully, Robbie smelled a strong and expensive cologne on his skin.
Zane was tall and muscular, and the wannabe actor felt strangely small standing in front of the ex-felon. He had done his research on Zane before coming over, and the man had a CVS-receipt-long rap sheet. Zane X, whose government name was Jermaine Aaron Williams, had been arrested for a criminal possession of a weapon, and spent a year in prison after his conviction. Later he was arrested for a charge of sexual assault, for which he served more time. And then another charge of drug possession, which landed him on a lengthy probation.
"Yo, get my guest a drink. Whatcha drink my man? You look like a...diet coke and rum kind of dude," he said and busted out laughing along with the rest of his crew. Robbie didn't know why, but he felt offended.
"I'll have a water please," he said, and the crew laughed even harder. But just as quickly as he started it all, Zane got them back under control.
"Alright, alright. Yo, get the man a water with some lemon, and peace out for a few, I wanna have a chat with my homez," he said and someone instantly came by and handed Robbie a cup of water, then the room slowly emptied out, leaving Robbie with a man who, by all accounts, was very dangerous. Robbie sat across from Zane, on a black velvet armchair.
"Yo, where I seen your face?" Zane asked, staring at Robbie from the couch and making him cringe inwardly.
"Uhh, I'm not sure."
"A commercial?"
"Maybe, I did a spot for Colgate."
"I knew it!" he said, snapping his fingers. "Don't brush in a rush," he quoted Robbie's only line from the commercial. This usually would completely mortify the failed actor, but for some reason coming from Zane X it seemed like a compliment. He even made the corny line sound cool. "That shit was dope," he said, and swiftly pulled out a perfectly rolled joint from the pocket of his sweatpants.
"I appreciate you taking the time to see me," Robbie began politely, and feeling completely out of his element in the bizarre world of a famous rapper. Zane lit up the joint and settled into the couch, blowing smoke out of his mouth.
"Better you than that nut job. He thinks I'm gonna spar with him one on one. Mans is crazy. Whacko. I ain't throwing hands over no ass, not even Casey's, may his soul rest in peace," the rapper said, respectfully.
"Did you and Casey have a close relationship?" Zane took another puff of the joint, then stared at Robbie for a minute.
"You know, we had that chemistry. That deep chemistry," he said licking his full lips slowly and making Robbie feel some type of way--he couldn't figure out if it was uncomfortable or aroused. "But it wasn't like, nuthin serious, you feel me? He was always worrying `bout that busted up boxer. And I'm not chasing after no ass, the ass comes to me, you know, so...but we had our fun, you feel me?" Robbie did feel him, but couldn't really comprehend the meaning of his words.
"Fun?" he asked, surprised.
"No, nuthin like that. We just vibed, you know. We'd run ideas by each other. I'd Facetime him to get his opinion on a verse. He'd call me up and play some of his shit. A collaborative thing, you know. Artist to artist. I called him before Murda Dat Ass' came out, asked if he was cool with that verse. Outta respect, course."
"And was he?" Zane took another puff and threw up his hands like it was a no brainer.
"He loved that shit, ate it up. Who doesn't like having a song about them, ya know? He was especially cheesed that it would make the old man pissed."
"Guy?"
"Yeah, he was like `Oh My God Zane, he's going to flip when he hears that. He'll probably kill me.'" He said, imitating Casey's voice. Both men fell into silence.
"He said that?" Robbie asked, shocked by this revelation.
"In those exact words." They sat in silence for a while, until Zane added, "It was probably that stalker though."
"Ah yes, Elsa mentioned something about a stalker."
"Yeah, wrote him all type of crazy letters and shit. It was wild. I told Casey I could take care of that shit, you know. But he didn't want me to get involved. Didn't want Guy feeling like I was stepping on his toes I guess, and now look at this shit. Old white boy didn't do shit about it, got my boy killed. Useless motherfucker."
"How exactly were you going to take care of it?" Robbie asked, but Zane just looked at him in silence then muttered, "C'mon man, don't ask no stupid questions." Robbie just nodded. Thankfully, Zane's uptight assistant happened to butt her head in at just the right time.
"Zane, the Daily Post wants a comment on the rumors that there will be a full song dedicated to Casey on your new album." Zane shook his head in annoyance.
"Damn, the fucking vultures," he commented.
"I'll just tell them the date for your next single, is that alright?"
"Sure," he replied, sounding tired.
"And you have an interview with HipWorld in an hour, don't forget," she said.
"Nah, cancel that shit. I'm not in the mood. `Sides, I gotta practice my jump shot." She raised her eyebrow.
"You have to practice your jump shot...over promoting your album?"
"Yeah, I gotta get my form right. It's been weak, and now with all this shit going on...no interviews man. Cancel the whole week," he said, irritated.
"Oh Jesus," she replied, looking like she was a moment away from fainting.
"They probably already making a damn documentary about Case. Fucking vultures. Be happy you're doing commercials man, you get your dough then bounce, and people don't stalk you and photograph your every movement like a zoo animal." Robbie wasn't sure if this was a compliment or an insult. "Well listen, this has been a fun chat my man, but I ain't got nothing else to tell you."
"I understand, thanks for seeing me," Robbie replied, and started to get up. He didn't exactly get to ask all the questions Guy would have wanted him to cover, but Zane was too intimidating to argue with. He felt the rapper's eyes roam over his body.
"I mean, shit, you can stay if you want, I got time tonight," Zane offered, his arms splayed out on the back of the couch, and a fully formed bulge presented itself in his grey sweatpants. Robbie froze. Nobody had ever came onto him this bluntly.
"I...uh..." Robbie stammered out, but thankfully Zane was tactful enough to save him.
"Let me show you the upstairs of the crib," he said, and Robbie followed him up the stairs, his heart pounding wildly. What the heck was he thinking? Was he really about to put himself one on one with a convicted felon and sexual offender inside of his bedroom? Even though rationally this was a terrible idea, Robbie wasn't thinking with his head. All he could focus on were those perfect muscles and the impressive looking bulge.
Upstairs, inside of Zane's bedroom, all pretenses were quickly dropped when the rapper grabbed Robbie as if he were a rag doll and kissed him fiercely, then gently pushed him down to his knees and brought a very aesthetically pleasing tool right up to his lips.
"You look a little like him," he said, out of nowhere, and Robbie paused.
"Really?" he asked, thrilled by the prospect of being compared to the stunning Casey. But instead of answering Zane simply thrust his member into Robbie's open mouth.
When he woke up in the middle of the night, Zane was gone. The maid downstairs told him he had gone to the studio to record a feature with another rapper.
"At this hour?" Robbie asked, confused. And she had told him that they usually recorded at night and slept during the day. He wasn't sure if he should stay and wait for Zane to get back, or leave in the middle of the night. He idly walked around Zane's bedroom, opening drawers and letting curiosity get the best of him. Until he opened one that contained what appeared to be a Glock, although Robbie didn't know much about guns. He quickly closed it back up. Zane was still on probation, surely he wasn't allowed to have a weapon in the house. What other secrets was he possibly hiding?
But even though seeing the gun was jarring, there was a strange excitement stirring in Robbie's stomach. Behind the scary exterior of an ex-felon, there hid a childlike joy and enthusiasm for life inside of Zane. An innocent type of sweetness and depth that not everyone got to see. But Robbie got to experience it, the same way that Casey must have. He smiled and pulled out his phone, then dialed Guy to let him in on the details of his conversation with Zane X, while tactfully choosing to leave out the other part of his close encounter with the handsome rapper.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author's imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, business establishments or events is entirely coincidental. Comments and feedback are highly appreciated, send to mozlover21@gmail.com.
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Below is the soundtrack I listened to while writing this chapter, in no particular order.
Stargazing - Travis Scott Press - Cardi B Dior - Pop Smoke Big Mouth - Rubi Rose Mask Off - Future