by MìChaune
“English,” Clairese answered. “I’m on the basketball team, and it’s one way I can focus on my creative writing.”
Janae liked Clairese. In a different world, she could see herself hanging out with someone like Clairese. Janae liked to read in her spare time. She was happy to meet a sister who had brains and a little bit of brawn. One who knew how to make and get money without having to open her legs.
“Girl, Lloyd is fine, so Bryson has to be fine.” Lysa brought the attention back to herself and Lloyd again. Janae hadn’t been under his leadership for twenty-four hours, and she was already sick of him.
“If he is ugly I’m walking out and leaving your ass right there by yo’self,” Janae countered. Since when did it become Lysa’s mission to find a man for me? Janae tried not to get suspicious. Hell, if Janae wanted one, Janae could get any of these roughnecks on her own. But Janae decided to be a good sport about it because she would’ve felt guilty if something happened because she refused to go. Janae had taken Lysa under her wing, as Janae looked up to Leshaun.
“Bryson is gonna be fine, I promise,” Lysa insisted.
Speak of the devil, the bass for Bryson Tiller’s song “Don’t” rocked the Sonata as Clairese guided the car down Charlotte Avenue to the turn on Macon Avenue. Janae was glad Clairese didn’t take the longer scenic route through Kimberly Avenue. “Whatever. You hear me when I said I’m out of there. Don’t play me, Lysa.”
“I wouldn’t do that.” Lysa took out her phone and sent a text message.
Janae heard that line before. “So how many rooms did Lloyd get us?” She had meant to get clarification on that before they got into the Uber.
“He got us three,” Lysa confirmed. “We supposed to meet some other girl there, but I don’t know her.”
Before she could protest, Janae took in the beautiful view of the Grove Park Inn. She’d only been there once before; she was drunk and with a client whom Kofi had gotten rid of. The older granite rock building had a valet waiting at the entrance. As they got out of the Uber, Janae reached in her pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill and handed to Clairese.
“Thank you.” Clairese took the money and put it in her pocket.
Janae nodded her head. She knew if she wanted her customers to throw in a little something extra, she had to be a good tipper too. And her karma worked out for that.
“Did you think about what we talked about?” Lysa asked as they stepped into the building.
“No, not really.” Janae hadn’t thought about it. Janae had hoped to take her mind off the betrayal she dished to Leshaun.
“Well, don’t you want to get money?”
“Yeah.”
They stopped at the front desk and got their rooms situated. As she looked around, Janae couldn’t help but notice that she and Lysa had the only brown faces in the lobby.
* * *
Lysa came into the room where Janae was getting ready for this business meeting with Lysa, Lloyd, and Bryson. Janae had to admit, Lloyd had good taste when it came to clothes. The pink satin blouse looked good and matched the threads in her Apple Bottoms jeans. Lysa looked at Janae with a screw face. “Do you think you’re going to church?”
Janae looked in the mirror. Her outfit was subtle and didn’t scream that she was getting paid to screw the rich and famous. In fact, she fit in with the tourists Asheville was known to attract. “What’s wrong with what I got on?”
“Hell no. You’re not coming with me with that on. Let me help you with your outfit.” Lysa left the room. A few seconds later, she returned with a miniskirt that looked a little too small and a tank top. Janae switched gears and made sure her hair was right. Satisfied, they left the rooms and got on a nearby elevator.
“That’s Lloyd in the velour sweat suit.” Lysa grabbed Janae’s hand and exited the elevator. “You see him?” she continued as they headed into the lobby. Janae saw two men who looked similar. “You see him?”
“Damn, Lysa, I see him,” Janae finally told her.
Lloyd acknowledged their presence as he made his way across the lobby, leaving the group of guys he was with as they approached him. When they got close, he reached out to give Lysa a hug. “What’s up, girl?” Lloyd asked as he let Lysa go and gave Janae a once-over. “You look good.”
“Thank you.” Janae hoped it wasn’t obvious that she was a hoochie as Lloyd flanked her on the left side. He looked back and nodded to another man who was part of another crew. “Bry,” Lloyd called out like he was in the middle of the street and not a three-star hotel. The tall, light-skinned boy turned around, nodded his head, and grinned.
“Damn.” Janae admitted he was fine under her breath.
“What’s up?” Bryson yelled just as loud as Lloyd. He then turned his attention to his boys and probably said something slick because some of his boys were cracking up.
“Ay, Bryson, come on, man,” Lloyd insisted.
Bryson left his group and came over to Lloyd. “What’s up, Lysa?” Bryson greeted her as he gave her a small hug. Then he looked at Janae and licked his lips. “You wanted to see a nigga? Where are you from? How old are you?”
“What? Am I on a game show? What’s with all these questions and all?”
Bryson stepped closer to Janae and smiled. “I’m just trying to get to know you that’s all. I see you and Lysa been on waiting on us for over an hour, so I know how bad you wanted to meet me.”
Janae was not about to be played to the left. “Okay. We gon’ keep it real. I only came because she didn’t want to come alone.”
Bryson dismissed what Janae had to say as if he had proof otherwise. “Let’s go back to the room. A’ight, fellas, I got some better friends to entertain. It’s time for y’all to be out.” Bryson dissed the crew he was hanging with. Some of them responded by calling him a sucker and some other names, but that didn’t stop his boys from giving him pounds and man hugs.
Bryson led the way to the elevator. “Go ahead in. Ain’t nobody going to bite you. At least not yet,” Bryson assured them. He pressed the button leading to the top floor.
Once the elevator stopped, he led them to his suite, which was at the end of the hall. “Why don’t y’all have a seat?” Bryson tried to make them feel at home. “I’m about to go put on some Rihanna.” The next minute, “Desperado” boomed in the room and set the mood.
Lloyd and Lysa sat at the table, engrossed in their own private conversation. Janae finally took a seat at the edge of his bed after failing to find preferable seating in the room. The last thing Janae wanted was to give him the idea that she was easy, and sitting on his bed would be defeating the purpose of that. Her other options were sitting on random men’s laps or on the table and, to get Bryson’s attention, she had to come better than that.
Bryson took a seat next to her after a few minutes. “You never did answer my question. I asked, how old are you?”
“Eighteen,” Janae lied. “Why? Does age matter to you?”
“Hell yeah, the difference between jail or not. I don’t mess with jailbait.”
Janae wasn’t concerned because she wasn’t planning on doing anything stupid with him. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“I hope not.”
The song switched to “Work” featuring Drake. Rihanna spoke her language because if she did anything with Bryson, she was going to get paid. Janae noticed that it was five o’clock according to the digital clock on the wall and no action had started. Janae didn’t want to waste her time if he wasn’t serious about making a move. Bryson was cute, but she didn’t come to fuck for free. Janae didn’t see a new target who physically brought his game like Bryson, but she was willing to bet that a few of them had cash that went just as long. Time was money, and if he wasn’t going to drop that paper, then it was past time for them to go.
“We got to go,” Janae let him know as she got up from the bed.
“Man, I feel like I was just getting to know you.” Bryson tried to spit game.
Janae
looked him over again. She didn’t mind that he looked a little like Trey Songz but with the same complexion Lloyd had. “Maybe you’ll get to know me another time.”
Lloyd and Lysa got up from the couch, and he kissed her lightly on the cheek.
“When will I see you again? Do you have a number?” Bryson asked.
Janae enjoyed watching a man sweat. She smiled flirtatiously. “There you go again with the questions. I’m just saying that’s all.”
“Well, I will call you. Give me your number?” Bryson grabbed a piece of paper and tore off the end and wrote his number down and gave it to Janae. She smiled and took the paper and put it in her pocket.
It was time for Janae to meet a new trick. Maybe next time, Bryson would do a better job kicking his game.
Chapter Eight
Kofi hated not being around when shit was going down with Leshaun and the crew. A part of him hated that he ignored the inner voice in his spirit that told him to stay his ass in Asheville. But his yearning to see his son drove him to make the trip to Columbus, Ohio. Upon his arrival, he’d hoped to be able to hustle some money and catch a glimpse of his son. It killed him knowing he couldn’t hold him, call out his name, or being seen with him.
After looking up his parents’ address on Google from his phone, Kofi discovered that his son would’ve gone to the same elementary school he did when he was younger. With that knowledge, Kofi caught a local craps game and quickly lost fifty dollars. Not being able to afford to lose another dime, Kofi walked to a convenient store near the school and bought ten scratch-off tickets. He made thirty of the dollars back and then checked his social media profiles to see if any women hit him up in his DMs. Luck wasn’t in his favor as only older white men in their fifties and sixties wanted the pipe.
Kofi hated that shit. Clearly his profile said he wanted pussy. No dudes, written in big bold letters, was ignored by the men who hit him up. The thought crossed his mind to play along, show some chest and dick pics, meet up with them, and rob a few. If Kofi had planned to stay in town for a long period of time, he could’ve pulled off a robbery or two, but he didn’t know how the local police moved.
Outside of the gate, Kofi found himself waiting five minutes before school got out for his son to come out of the building and head to the bus. Like clockwork, Kofi saw the six-year-old who was his spitting image being led out of the same classroom by the same fine-ass teacher he had twenty years ago. Their eyes met, and Kofi smiled. He didn’t know if his son recognized him, but he did see him get on the same bus to take him to the same suburban neighborhood.
Kofi fell out with his parents when they discovered he got addicted to pills and deviated from his studies at Wake Forest. Kofi was supposed to follow in his father’s footsteps: pledge Kappa, get his undergrad in biology, get into University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s dental school, and become an oral surgeon so they could franchise the dental clinic and become the first blacks to successfully do so.
Being at a large university, Kofi was supposed to have a tight grip on all his vices. It didn’t work out that way. First, the Kappas found out he was pill popping and trying to sell weed on the side, so they dropped him from the line. Being that they loved his dad, the chapter president called his father, hoping that they could let bygones be bygones, overlook the transgression, and get him clean so he could pledge and preserve the family legacy the following year. His father agreed to hide the issue from his mother, but she would find out when he got tried and convicted of assault and battery on a female later that year.
It was when he was in jail that it was discovered that Kofi knocked up some stripper at Sugar Bares. He tried to deny it at first, but when DNA proved otherwise, Kofi’s parents paid the stripper and her family a six-figure sum to buy his son, while working with a lawyer to strip him of his parental rights.
The round-trip back and forth to Columbus had been brutal because he hadn’t lined up a hustle yet. He didn’t want to fly into John Glenn Columbus International because he knew his father knew people at the airport who would report that Kofi was in town. The various airport workers knew his father well because he was a frequent traveler, flying in and out for conferences, classes, and fraternity meetings.
All Kofi wanted to do was see his son in peace.
Undetected by anyone he recognized, Kofi managed to sneak on the bus that went from Columbus to Greensboro, and he had hoped that he would be able to call someone to come get him once he got downtown.
Throughout the trip, Kofi sat next to a fat, bald-headed guy who kept looking him up and down. He prayed to God that the man was getting off at one of the stops. A few stops came and went, but the man stayed on the bus. Kofi tried to squeeze by him, but the inconsiderate jerk wouldn’t move. He was a big guy, but not sumo wrestler big, and Kofi didn’t understand why he couldn’t step back an inch or two to let him by. Kofi sucked in some air and managed to squeeze by him. Feeling his fat roll and shift almost made him want to hurl. Once Kofi got past him, Kofi ran to the first seat available next to the bathroom.
“We are now in Greensboro. Please make sure you have all of your belongings.”
Kofi grabbed his backpack and watched as everyone else began to grab their belongings. Kofi wished he made more than a few sandwiches, but he did the minimum to strike his parents’ suspicion that he’d been in and out of their house. Kofi got up with the rest of the passengers and made his way off the bus.
“Did you enjoy the ride?” the bus driver asked him. Kofi saw his grill filled with yellow and messed-up teeth. He wanted to run, but instead, Kofi had to play nice.
“Yes,” Kofi answered as he got off the bus; and when Kofi turned around, Kofi noticed the bus driver’s eyes were focused on his behind.
“Take care of yourself, young man.” He attempted to flash a winning Colgate smile.
“Believe me I will.” Kofi played his role as he turned around and headed to the bench where he knew his prepaid Boost Mobile smartphone would get the best Wi-Fi signal. He knew Leshaun’s number by heart but didn’t think she’d be in a position to pick him up. He couldn’t remember Zay’s number, and 9ine changed numbers more times than he changed his drawers. And Chasity wouldn’t give him her number.
When Kofi got a good signal, he logged on to Instagram and sent Zay a message in his DM to come pick him up. He knew his young “brother” was vain and always looked to see who checked him out. For kicks, Kofi stood up, took off his shirt, and took a picture, pretending his arm was a selfie stick. He looked around and, when the coast was clear, he pulled his soft, thick chocolate bar out of his pants, squeezed it a few times, and took some more pictures for the Gram.
“Oh, shit, that’s him,” Kofi heard a woman yell as he quickly stuffed his junk back in his pants. He couldn’t believe he’d almost got caught flashing. “Hey, baby.” The woman was loud.
Kofi looked in her direction and vaguely remembered her. Something about her looked different. He quickly posted the pics and let his fans know he was in Greensboro. “Hey, girl, what’s up?” Kofi gave the overweight white girl a hug. He still didn’t remember where he knew her from.
“You remember me right?” she asked as Kofi pretended like he knew her from somewhere. He tried to look inside her open purse for a number or some clue as to who she was. None. “We hooked up at the Sheraton at the Koury Convention Center.”
That narrowed down a few prospects. Kofi and 9ine fucked several chicks up and down Koury; it was a matter of remembering whether 9ine was with him. “Yeah, girl, it’s been about a year right?” Kofi fished for information. He knew he had to put on an award-winning act if he was going to have some cash.
“Yeah, you remember.” The woman got excited as she hugged him. She pulled on his six foot frame so he’d lean down to be closer to her size. “I got a room. Can you do that thing where you fold me into a ball, sit on me like a chair, and eat my ass while you finger fuck me?”
Ching! Ching! Ching! That’s when it hit him that Kofi smashed
her the previous Halloween. He dressed up like Allen Iverson and went tricking in the city. Leshaun had to beg him to cornrow his hair so they could add some weave to it so he’d look more like the NBA star. The outfit treated him to almost five grand. Two grand of it came from the girl standing before him, and he still couldn’t remember her name. It didn’t matter because Kofi hit the jackpot and couldn’t wait to get some of her coins in his pocket.
“What room we going to?” Kofi asked.
“Look, my car is parked a few blocks away because my husband and I are here on business. But, listen, he should be back in my room in about an hour. You think you can shower and do that thing I like?” The overweight lover pulled out two Benjamins and a prepaid debit card with a receipt verifying a purchase for $500.
“Yeah, I can make it do what it do real quick. Let me check my phone, so I can let my brother know I’ll be a little late.”
Kofi saw Zay respond to his DM letting him know he and 9ine would meet him in three hours. Perfect, Kofi thought as he walked with his trick to her car hand in hand. He saw that eighty-nine people liked his pics and he had a few DM messages. Kofi figured he’d put in work with this girl and then maybe get on with the next one and get a few stacks. Shit, if the night went well, he’d talk Zay and 9ine into staying the night so they could help get Leshaun’s money up together. Even though she supplied a large amount of work, she gave the men more freedom to freelance because they could protect themselves and they practiced discretion. Why miss money? If she didn’t book it and they were able to get it through other means, they went for it. Her only thing was not to call her when shit went left on shit they’d gotten themselves into.
Chapter Nine
Leshaun looked at Tiana’s smiling face as “That’s My Best Friend” by Tokyo Vanity played on the ringtone. Excited, Leshaun swiped to the right.
“I found a good ringtone for your ass, too.” Leshaun sang the lyrics to the song as she held the phone.