millions upon millions of questions. They wanted to know as much about Jay-Z, Memphis Bleek, and Amil as I could tell them. I loved the attention.
There were haters also. Some were jealous but for others, it was deeper than jealousy. It was real hatred in the truest definition of the word. Blacks, whites and even Latino students swore I was trying to act black. Some got buck, even attempting to clarify my racial status, like I wasn’t clear on my heritage being one hundred percent Puerto Rican. I knew how to handle myself though. Shit, I’d been going through that since my toddler years.
For the record, I don’t act black. I act like myself . I act like Winter. I just happened to have been raised around black people all my life. I was never raised around my own people so of course I’m going to act like what or who I’ve been always surrounded by. I’ve never gone out of my way to act that way. It just is what it is. It’s just me being me.
Despite all the talk, Dame and I grew closer on the tour. Of course, since we were seeing each other on a regular basis, we were having sex more often, something I dreaded. But I was definitely feeling like we were going to take the relationship as far as it could go. Shit, I was being extra naive, even thinking eventually marriage. That’s how close we were getting.
There was a downside to it all though. You can’t turn down excitement. Spending so much time on the tour had me craving it constantly like crack or even good dick. Being away from it always made me feel like I was missing something. I couldn’t concentrate on my studies. It had already been difficult enough dealing with college, knowing I truly didn’t want to be there. The tour complicated that situation. I was missing Friday and Monday classes. I also wasn’t studying and my enthusiasm for school work was diminishing.
S pending more time with Dame was beginning to show me a side of him I didn’t like. More money and power had made him cocky and different from the Dame I’d come to know and crave to be around. He was screaming on a lot of people so I’d heard but luckily he never tried the bullshit on me. Still, he started missing my phone calls regularly. He was even getting a little too friendly with other chicks and didn’t seem to care if it affected me. He’d say he wasn’t fucking them but I didn’t believe him. I had no proof though until one night while we were back at his penthouse lying in bed.
His bedroom door flew open. I just knew it was the police. The crashing sound from the door sent chills through me. Even for Dame , the macho image disappeared. His expression filled with fear not understanding how anyone could get into such a secured building. I assumed he thought it was the police too. Security wouldn’t let anyone else upstairs.
“Nigga, I knew it!” some crazed woman I’d never seen before screamed at him from the edge of the bed. “I knew you were cheating, you lying muthafucka!”
Surprised, Dame jumped up and rushed her as she quickly began to make her way around the bed toward me. Strangely, I wasn’t even afraid. For some reason I had the mentality that I belonged and she didn’t. Even after realizing she was the mother of his first born who I thought was still asleep in the room next to us, I didn’t care. “You still fuckin’ them R&B chicks,” she shouted! As she rambled on in a rage, I quickly pulled the sheets tightly around my naked body and jumped up also, ready to whip ass if need be. That is until Dame and I both realized his son was awake and the one who’d let her into the apartment.
Dame quickly grabbed her and took her from the room. Somewhere in the apartment, I could still hear her for at least several minutes going off on Dame until he finally got her out of the house. That was the first sign that I wouldn’t have him to myself, ever. But the shit didn’t stop there. The same woman called a week later while I happened to be
Debby Herbenick, Vanessa Schick