One Hustle

by Cortney Gee

  "Jesus was never in a movie."

  "Exactly and neither have you. So if I didn't book Our Lord and Savior, what the fuck are you complaining about? Look Marc, I know it's not the ideal situation, but you have a room, the city is littered with bitches, and you have money to burn this weekend, so try to have a good time."

  It was too fucking hot to be arguing with anyone. The air conditioning on my Range was blowing cool but not cold, and my tolerance for bullshit was at an all-time low.

  All I wanted to do was get out of my vehicle, get checked into my room and await my crimson stallion to arrive from Oakland.

  Speedy was flying in from LAX with the girls. I thought I would be immune to babysitting anybody's emotions by putting the San Diego Trio on the plane, but I hadn't counted on Marc having his panties in a bunch.

  I guess I was taken off guard because Speedy hadn't cracked a word about not performing. He was too busy pushing up on Sabrina and getting money, to be worried about slanging jokes.

  It truly surprised me that he was interested in Sabrina out of the three. Speedy dug red bones and Sabrina was far from that. I guess it was her quick wit that intrigued him. What really threw me a curve concerning his pursuit of her was the fact that Sabrina was petite. I had never known Speedy to be interested in a woman that wasn't over two hundred pounds. His motto about chicks was they paid what they weighed. I estimated my friend must have fleeced a few fluffy ladies out of a ton of dollars.

  I didn't know why I even drove through the desert. I could have easily booked Marc and me a flight through TMB and rented a fly whip to get around town. I just thought it would be cool to put the Range on the road and hang with my boy, road trip style. I hadn't considered that he would be in such a shit mood about the concert.

  "We have a few hours to kill before anyone else gets here; you wanna go to a strip club and throw some dollars on naked bitches?" I asked my disgruntled comrade.

  "Yeah, that would be cool. I might as well do something constructive seeing that I'm not going to be able to flex on stage."

  We grabbed our bags and checked into our rooms. I told Marc that I needed a few minutes to freshen up and wash the feel of the road off my body. He agreed that it would be proper to be hygienically on deck if we were going to have exotic entertainers rubbing against us.

  I never suggested that anyone frequented a strip club during the day shift. I'd heard a lot of cats say they dug having lunch and looking at the ladies while they ate. But having some broad's bare ass over my burger and fries was never a fantasy of mine, but my opinion is just that -- mine.

  I didn't know why they named the Crazy Horse, crazy. There was no insanity going on here like Magic City in Atlanta, The Rolex in Miami, or LA's Three Kings. This was sanitized sin.

  Marc and I had frequented our share of exotic establishments while we flipped our fraudulent funds. He dug the power the all-mighty dollar had over the entertainers and when we were up in the club, our spending power was virtually limitless.

  Marc and I left the hotel and drove to The Crazy Horse.

  We were lucky to have the two most attractive dancers to be paying us attention. When I say 'the two best' what I really meant was Marc had the coldest piece in the spot and I had the distant second. All the other dancers looked like they were night shift rejects or headed toward exotic dancer retirement.

  I was bored by the blonde who was grinding on my lap. Her lack of ass made it almost painful. I was sure there was someone who would have appreciated her talents. I was too close to being with Jessica to allow myself to be pleased by Candy and her fake double d's.

  "You want another drink?" I asked Marc who was totally into the Asian girl bouncing on him. Maybe if she had been grinding on my shit I would allowed myself to get into it.

  "Cameron, I got you my, man. I don't even have to ask, I know the drill, double jack, right?" he said, pulling out a wad of cash and peeling off five hundred dollar bills and instructing the waitress to bring us the drinks. He knew that she would bring back change so that he could continue paying for the diversion.

  "Hey, man, I'm sorry about the whole you not being on the billboard thing, but when Cedric gets here I'll see if he wouldn't mind you getting in some stage time."

  Marc was having so much fun making money and new friends at the Crazy Horse that he wasn't upset about the show anymore.

  "Fuck it, if I don't get to perform. Shit, I'm hanging with my folks, I'm getting money, and if I'm lucky, I'll be getting some of this tonight," he responded, tapping Beijing on the ass.

  The money had her as intoxicated as the rum-liquored-up Marc. Beijing didn't put up any argument about his objectifying her. I mean really, how could she expect much more from an inebriated man while she paraded around naked?

  Marc was throwing around enough money to impress her to take off her shift and come back to the hotel with us. I refused to clown him for tricking. Shit, when you get dough, that's what all men devolve to. My Uncle Snag told me long ago that men only got money, power and position to get pussy, and from my travels I’d have to say his words rang true.

  Candy, my dancer, offered to accommodate me as well, but even if Jessica wasn't bound for Vegas I would have rejected her company. I would have rather gone to my room and touched myself off with the complimentary lotion than have her slim body bang against mine. After changing three thousand of the ill-gotten bread, Marc and I went back to the Palace Station with Beijing in tow.

  "So, I guess you going to clown me for paying for her time, huh?"

  "Hell nah! No man with a bankroll would rather be hunting cooz in this city tonight, man. What happens here, stays here. Now if you were on Figueroa hailing hoes, I might have something to say; but this is fight night in sin city. School teachers from Memphis will be in town peddling gash."

  Beijing exited the club as we were discussing the pros and the cons of the world’s oldest profession.

  I had to admit that Beijing was equally attractive after leaving the dim lit club. What I found most attractive about her was the fact she didn't look like a stripper once she was off work. The diminutive lady came out of the Crazy Horse looking nothing like the gyrating entertainer we had been drinking with. No longer was she standing erect in five inch heels. Beijing had dwarfed down to her natural four-foot-eleven self, rocking earth tone sandals, loose fitting Levi's, and a Wu Tang T-shirt. Sometimes exotic dancers didn't know how to leave it in the dressing room and their appearance screamed -- I'm a dancer -- when they were out in public. I was sure that Marc was happy that his rented escort looked gamed and not bought.

  "Cameron, do you mind if we stop by my place so that I can grab my outfit for tonight?" she asked from the backseat.

  "Not at all; just point me in the right direction and it would be my pleasure."

  Beijing had impressed me again. Here, she had an opportunity to scheme Marc out of a shopping trip, but she let him off the hook by wanting to go grab her own gear.

  We drove to her spot on the north side of Vegas. It was a lavish condo she shared with a showgirl named Heather who worked at Bally's. Heather was a caramel skinned sister who had legs for days. She wasn't fine enough to make me forget about Jessica's arrival, but when she inquired if I would like her to join us, I was hesitant to refuse her.

  After Beijing retrieved her clothes, we jumped back into the Range Rover and made our way to the hotel.

  I was happy to get back to get a nap in. The rest of our party would be in town in two hours. The travel, Jack, and Candy's painful lap dance had taken its toll on me. I wanted to be fresh for the show and energetic enough to welcome Jessica properly.

  I didn't even hear my trophy side piece enter the room. What was intended to be a power nap had turned into a full fledge slumber.

  "Reesie, are you slobbering?" Jessica chided me.

  I arose, wiping my mouth, my hand not finding any moisture, and my eyes beholding the beautiful vision of The Body.

  "Oh, I see you have jokes sexy, wassup?
"

  "From the looks of things you are, handsome," she said looking at the erection that the lap dance from Candy couldn't produce but obviously my subconscious thoughts of her had.

  I sat up in the bed and took a full view of Oakland's Finest. Jessica was making her basic black dress look anything but basic. The form fitting outfit hugged her incredible curves in ways I was looking to challenge.

  "You like?" she asked, spinning around on patent leather black heels.

  "Like isn't a powerful enough response, I love it. You look good enough to eat."

  "Oh, really now. Good enough to eat?" she asked, sliding out of her panties, climbing into the bed and mounting my face.

  Jessica's sweet musky aroma filled my nostrils and her moist mound was perfectly positioned for my darting tongue to assault her swollen clitoris.

  Jessica held onto the headboard to support herself as she allowed my oral talents to work its magic.

  "Aw yes, Cameron, that's it, baby. Don't stop, I love the way you love me, baby." She pushed her nether region at me, matching the intensity of my flickering tongue with her gyrating hips.

  She closed her eyes and let her head fall back. Jessica moved with fever, then came violently, toppling in a heap next to me.

  "Wooooo, I’m going to need a minute to catch my breath. I don't know how you do what you do, but you better not ever stop doing that to me."

  Who was I to deny her ecstasy if that's what she wanted? I would oblige.

  "I've never known you to cum in such speedy fashion, Carrot. What's up with that?"

  "What's up, Reesie, is that mamma has been yearning for you to touch me for too long. There was no need for me to hold out anymore. Now get out of that underwear and give me what else I've been longing for."

  I quickly peeled off my drawers and guided myself between her welcoming spread. There, I found a moist home for my stiff rod and I probed her methodically.

  "Don't you dare try to make love to this pussy. I've been waiting for weeks, pound her like you missed it," she commanded in my ear.

  As instructed, I pushed with vigor, hurling my sword, stabbing her hole.

  "Like this? Is that how you want it?" I asked between powerful strokes and hastened breaths.

  "Harder! Stop playing, Cameron. Give it to me!"

  I slammed myself against her with reckless abandon until I felt the familiar tingle announcing my climax. I tensed up and tried to calm myself.

  Jessica wasn't having it; she gripped my ass and locked her legs around me.

  "Oh no, the fuck you don't. You're going to give it to me."

  I didn't even try to fight anymore. I let my orgasm sweep over me. My hot seed exited my staff and entered my lover's sweetness.

  I rolled off Jessica, exhausted and the first thing that I did was apologize.

  "What are you sorry for, baby?"

  "I didn't mean to get off so fast."

  "Cameron, darling, I don't need marathon loving all the time. You've shown me your ability to go the distance. Today I needed you to sprint. We have a whole weekend to do that tantric stuff."

  All the experience a man thinks he has is thrown out the window when he deals with a woman. Had I came that fast with Karen, it would have turned into a heated argument.

  Jessica had given me another reason to love being in her company. I was about to tell her just that, but she had fallen asleep and wouldn't have heard a word I said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  The concert was packed. TMB was happy with my suggestion that we book Cedric the Entertainer for the engagement. His celebrity had risen. Being on TV twice a day as the host of BET ComicView paid dividends at the door. There were other shows and concerts in town competing for patrons who weren't able to attend the sold out Tyson vs. Seldon unification bout.

  TMB had balked at the asking price of fifteen thousand, but after I told him the deposit wired to the agent had been them thangs, he was cool as a fan. We had been making money with the comedy concerts and he had been a soldier with the beezles.

  The beezles was our nickname for the credit card fraud airline tickets. They came in handy when my crew and I dropped down on the amusement parks and fleeced them. It only seemed fitting that I would include him in on the good thing I had going with Kwan and Jessica. He was a real player in Oaktown and I trusted him not to bend if we were ever to get pinched. Being with Lance taught me to indebt your folks to you and loyalty would prevail. I had already shown myself to be a lucrative asset to TMB and I knew he respected my hustle.

  Cedric's manager, Eric Rhone, had made my night easier, lifting the comic limit and allowing Marc to perform. As expected, Marc went on stage with a vengeance and put up a set that was sure to put heat on the comedians after him. I introduced AJ Johnson to the more-than-warmed up crowd and they responded to his appearance with a rousing ovation.

  I was waiting in the wings when I spotted Crystal enjoying the show and the libations provided by the hotel. She was rocking a sparkling gold halter top and some tight black jeans. It was good seeing her relaxed and enjoying herself.

  I had them handling business since they touched down in town. The trio had already run a few errands by going to the MGM Grand, purchasing thirty thousand dollars’ worth of chips and placing a hefty bet on a first-round knockout.

  I made my way over to Crystal, greeted her, then asked, "So, you ladies did like I said and played a few hands of black jack and threw some dice, right?"

  "Cameron, since we met you have we yet to not follow your lead? You take good care of us and we appreciate it. Ain't nobody trying to fuck around and catch an Anna."

  I was slightly humored that the crew had a moniker for being terminated. I wasn't happy that I didn't have another beauty working with us, but when the beauty started acting ugly, beauty had to be dealt with.

  "Where's Monica? Have you seen her?"

  "Don't you already have your hands full with the red headed girl?"

  "Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I was just asking so we would be altogether for the limo ride to the after party."

  "The last I saw her she was being pursued by Jemmerio. Between me and you, Cameron I think she's only paying him attention to make you jealous."

  I explained to Crystal that we were all business, and mixing the two was the problem I had with Anna.

  "I feel you, Cameron but if you have any intentions about Monica, you better speak up now or be prepared for sloppy seconds."

  I was glad to see Marc and Beijing come around the corner. Their presence meant the end of this uncomfortable conversation.

  Marc was elated that I had got him a spot on the show and he was able to impress his for-hire honey.

  "So we cool again?" I asked.

  "We ain't never not been cool, dude. I was pissed that I wasn't on the show, but being on that stage and hanging with Beijing changed all that, pimp."

  "I never knew rocking the mic and having your mic rocked could have such a mood altering effect. Ah, you did get your mic rocked, right?"

  "Man, money takes all the guesswork out of the equation, brother. But on some real shit, she off the clock now and hanging because she wants to hang." He put out his fist for me to bump.

  AJ was rounding up his performance and on cue, Jemmerio appeared from his dressing room with a shit-eating grin and Monica trailing him straightening out her ruffled cream dress.

  "I hope you didn't over exert yourself before the show, blood," I teased him, keeping it quiet enough so not to embarrass or enrage Monica.

  "Nah, Cameron, she said she didn't know nuffin 'bout Jemmerio and you know I couldn't have that."

  "I know that's right. Now get your ass out there and put it to this capacity crowd just the same, soldier," I told me him before walking out to relieve AJ of the microphone.

  After introducing Jemmerio, I had Jessica make me a double jack and I lit up a celebration cigar. With all of the minor acts already finished and the money already in the box office, my only remaining duties we
re to introduce the star of the show and call it a day. My gig as a comedian might have been over, but the evening was just about to really get underway with the promise of limo rides, VIP status, and bottle service at The Shark Club. I was riding a high from the cash I stood to gain from the bet placed on the Brownsville Bomber. Bruce Seldon had only survived one minute and forty-nine seconds in the ring with Iron Mike, making me a winner on my one round wager.

  As a gambler, I was elated. But as a fan of the fight game, I was utterly disgusted.

  One minute and forty-nine seconds!

  Shit, that motherfucker didn't even have to train to get that paycheck. I guess he just ran around and sparred in his trunks so he could look good for the bitches. I was disappointed, but I knew I wouldn't have lasted that long against the champ myself. The only other person on the planet capable of putting the hurt on him, besides Buster Douglas, had been that beauty pageant chick in Indianapolis.

  "Damn, CB, you gonna kill a brother with your second hand smoke," Speedy complained, feigning like he was choking.

  "Nigga, if I don't give a fuck about my lungs, do you think I care about anyone else's?"

  "Oh, I know you don't give two shits. I just thought I would fuck with you about it. You motherfuckers cleaned up tonight. I kinda wished that I had bothered you to hit the stage, but it's all good. I was hitting other shit, if you know what I mean."

  "Get the fuck outta here. You didn't crack Sabrina's code!"

  "CB, you ain't never known me to lie on my dick. If you don't believe me, feel free to smell my fingers."

  "Fuck, are you a fifth grader? I believe your nasty ass. I was just returning the favor of giving you the business, brother and don't let me see your ass over at the craft service table until you wash your hands."

  Speedy was like Lance in the sense that neither of them put vices into their own bodies but were quick to shove their vice into someone else. He hadn't let his pursuit of Sabrina distract him from getting the work done. We had settled up on all that he owed me and had set up his own thing with my blessing and with Kwan's.