I slid off his lap like it had suddenly caught on fire and swung my hair away from my face. Greg just sat there smiling.
“That was nice,” he finally said.
I struggled to keep a straight face as I put my clothes back on. By the time I tied my dress on the side, he rose and stood before me.
“I’d like to see you again. What days do you work?”
“Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.” I couldn’t believe I was telling him that, but then what else could I do?
“Good ... I’ll see you then.” He reached inside his pocket, pulled out another $100 and slipped it inside my G-string, and when his fingertip grazed my crotch, I jumped.
“That’s for being so nice to me.” Chuckling, he winked, then left the balcony.
I waited until he had gone back onto the dance floor before I followed. Unfortunately, Mercedes was waiting at the top of the stairs. I watched as she blatantly eyed me from head to toe with her lips scrunched up like I had just passed gas.
“You know ... it’s ho’s like you got muthafucka coming in here treating us like tricks.” With that she spun on her heels and stormed down the stairs.
That was one time I couldn’t even argue.
24
Robin
“Let me go in back and see if I’ve got any extra-skinny on hand,” Reyna sneered.
I rolled my eyes and watched as she walked to the back of her shop. Bitch. If it hadn’t been for Monica, I wouldn’t even be in her little boutique in the first place. But Monica had been raving about Reyna’s Couture, a shop prominently displayed on Sycamore Street in downtown Petersburg. She had been talking about how cute her clothes were, so when she invited me to go to lunch and insisted we drop by, I agreed.
Big mistake.
I couldn’t stand that chick. Reyna acted like she owned Monica, the way she kept jumping into every conversation, making it clear they were best friends for life. From the second we stepped into her little-ass shop, she’d been turning up her nose at me, talking about how skinny I was and that she catered to women with curves. If it wasn’t for Monica, I would have cussed her fat ass out minutes ago but I was trying to hold my tongue because I could tell it was important to Monica that the two of us hit it off.
She and I had been hanging out quite a bit—going to the park, movies, and even out to eat. Kyle loved her girls, and I was glad to let him play with them and give me a break because that boy demanded all my undivided attention.
“You’re in luck. I found a size extra-skinny in back,” Reyna commented on her return.
I took the proffered dress from her hand. “Thanks.”
I held up the yellow wraparound dress and made a show of examining it. It was the best-looking thing I’d seen so far. It had a cinched waist and capped sleeves, and was perfect to go with these slamming chocolate pumps I had found at Saks. I was definitely planning to buy the dress. I just wasn’t ready to let that fat cow know that yet.
“Ooh, Robin! That dress will look perfect on you. Why don’t you go in back and try it on.” Monica was ooohing and aahing and pointed to the small dressing room to the right.
“I guess it won’t hurt to try it on.”
Reyna stood to the right looking like she didn’t want me to try it on. Too bad; if that was the case then she should have pretended she couldn’t find one in a size six.
I moved into the room and within minutes I had the dress on. Just as I suspected, it was fabulous on me. I strutted out of the dressing room and made sure everyone else knew it. “Whadda you think?”
Monica turned from the shoes displayed on the wall and smiled as I turned from side to side. “Dang, girl, you wearing that dress!”
Reyna walked over with arms folded across her chest and scrunched up her face. That woman barely came to my shoulder and was almost three times my size. The way she was looking at me only cosigned everything Monica had just said, but since she was jealous of skinny women, I wasn’t at all surprised by her response.
“Hmm, I guess you don’t look bad for someone with a flat ass.”
“Flat ass? I don’t know what you’re looking at because I’ve got plenty of junk in my trunk.” To emphasize my meaning, I bounced my ass, then dropped it like it was hot. Monica laughed along with me but Reyna didn’t see anything funny.
“Uh, I know this might be hard for you to understand, but, um ... this ain’t no strip club.” She then stormed off to assist another customer.
Monica shook her head. “Robin, don’t pay her no mind.”
“Shit, I ain’t thinking about your girl. She’s just mad because I make this dress look better than that damn mannequin.” Grinning, I turned on my heels and went back to change. While I was slipping on my jeans, my cell phone rang. I glanced down at the screen. “What the hell does he want?” I mumbled when I saw Halo’s number on the screen. Ignoring it, I let the call go to voice mail. By the time I had made it back to the front, Monica had a pair of rhinestone jeans in her hands. “Those are cute.”
“Well, of course they are. That’s why I picked them out for her,” Reyna sneered from out of nowhere. “Are you buying that dress or do I need to hang it back up?”
“Robin, you better buy it or I’m kicking your butt,” Monica urged.
“I’m buying the dress.” I moved up to the counter and reached inside my purse. I hadn’t had a chance to run by the bank this morning, so inside I had a stack of one-dollar bills. I could have used my debit card but since Reyna was such a bitch, I decided to make her work for her money.
“That will be a hundred dollars.”
I handed her the stack and almost burst out in laughter at the disgusted look on her face.
Monica noticed what I had done and started chuckling. “Reyna, I don’t know why you tripping, because I’m about to give you the same thing.” Sure enough, she reached inside her purse and pulled out a wad of bills. Laughing, I gave her a high five and watched as Reyna personally counted each bill, barely touching them like the money was diseased or something. Whatever.
“Let’s go get something to eat.” The sooner I got the hell away from Reyna, the better.
Monica nodded and moved up to the register. “Cool, I’m starving.”
“Why don’t you wait until my relief gets here, then I can go too,” Reyna insisted.
Hell no. The last thing I wanted to do was share a meal with that chick. Thank goodness Monica shook her head.
“Reyna, I’m about to pass out. We’re going to run to Louise’s for catfish. Just come over and join us when you get lunch.”
Reyna nodded with her lips poked out. I didn’t care how mad she was. That chick rubbed me the wrong way. As soon as we were alone, I was going to make sure Monica knew how I felt.
“Monica, what is up with your girl?” I asked as soon as our waiter left with our orders.
She shrugged like it was no big deal. “Reyna just acts funny like that. She has a hard time making friends.”
“I see why. That bitch wears my nerves. I was ready to let her have it.”
Monica reached for her water glass and tried to explain. “She doesn’t mean any harm. Just at times she comes off too strong. We’ve been friends for years, and I guess she’s afraid someone else will step in and take her place.”
“Whatever, I think the chick has issues.”
“No, she’s really a sweet person. Will give you the shirt off your back if you need it. You might not believe it, but it was her idea for me to audition at Scandalous.”
She was right. I didn’t believe it. “I know you lying. That chick acts like she can’t stand me because I’m a stripper.”
“No, she’s jealous because she wishes it was her chunky ass up on that stage. You should have seen her at home swinging around that pole in her basement.”
My eyes widened. I couldn’t believe what she was saying. “You is killing me!”
She was cracking up. “I’m serious, but don’t say anything. She bought some poles and a video. That’s h
ow I learned how to do the few moves I know.”
I still had a hard time believing that. I sipped my lemonade and glanced down at my watch. I needed to pick up Kyle in another hour.
“She really is a good person,” Monica insisted. “Just has a few insecurity issues, but she’s like a sister to me.”
“I guess that’s why I don’t have a sister.”
Monica gave me a strange look, and it took me a moment to realize what I had said. “I thought Kyle was your sister’s child?”
Damn. Okay, I put my foot in my mouth with that one. Now what the hell was I supposed to say? I didn’t like talking about my personal life with folks, but I guess I didn’t have a choice but to explain. Monica was cool so I felt I at least owed her that much.
“My sister and I are not close ... we haven’t been for years.”
I could tell that all I was doing was confusing her even more. “Then what are you doing with her son?”
“While she’s in jail I don’t have much of a choice.”
“Jail!”
At the sound of her annoying voice, my eyes snapped over toward Reyna, who just so happened to make it to the restaurant in record time. “Oh, hell no,” I cursed.
For someone who couldn’t go to lunch until her relief came in an hour, she sure broke her neck to get to the restaurant in under thirty minutes.
I guess I wasn’t the only person who’d noticed. Monica made a show of glancing down at the slender watch on her wrist, and then up at her. “I thought your lunch wasn’t until one?”
Laughing, she gave a dismissive wave. “Shana got there early, so since I was starving I thought I would go ahead and eat with my friends.”
Friends? I couldn’t help but laugh. A friend was the last thing I would ever consider her.
“Did you already order?” she asked as she lowered onto the chair to my right. Monica nodded, and don’t you know Reyna had the nerve to look disappointed that we hadn’t waited for her needy ass. I didn’t understand how Monica’s friends with that chick.
My cell phone vibrated and I reached for my phone in my Prada purse and frowned. It was Halo. Why the hell couldn’t he stop calling me?
“Stalker on your hands?” I looked up at the smug look on Reyna’s face. “Girl, it’s okay, I’ve got one of those myself. They just don’t seem to understand when a sistah says she’s done, she’s done.”
I had to smile at that one. I guess she was trying to make up for being a bitch earlier.
Our food arrived and Reyna ordered a salad and then we chatted about the upcoming fashion show she was planning at her boutique.
“Robin, I would really like it if you’d model for me. With a shape like yours, you’d make everything I’m selling look good.”
I was stunned by the compliment, being that it was coming out of that crazy chick’s mouth. “That’s funny, because earlier you said my butt was flat,” I replied sarcastically.
“Girl, I was just playing! I had to find something to complain about. For a little chick you got an ass, although Monica’s got you beat!”
“Whatever,” she mumbled.
We laughed and I was starting to relax a little bit and was thinking maybe Reyna wasn’t so bad and I was too quick to judge; however, just as I was considering giving her the benefit of the doubt, she had to say something to put up the radar again.
“I happened to walk in while you were talking about your sister. Why’s she in jail?”
I looked over at Monica, who was staring down at her salad. Ms. Nosy was leaned across the table waiting to hear some juicy gossip. I decided to let her have it.
“She killed her boyfriend. Shot him in the head twice with his gun.”
Reyna’s eyes grew large. I guess it was because I spoke so loud I made sure the couple at the next two tables had heard as well.
“How’s she doing?” Monica asked between bites.
“About as well as expected.”
She shook her head with compassion while Reyna looked amused by the whole thing. “Murder, huh?” She ran her tongue across her lips in a mischievous smirk. “I hope your sister has a good lawyer. One of my customers ... her brother just got twenty-five years for shooting a man.” Reyna acted like we were discussing the weather.
“Actually she does. I hired a damn good legal team.”
“It’s a good thing she has you in her corner,” Monica said. “The last thing she wants is to leave her future in the hands of a public defender.”
“I know that’s right,” Reyna chimed in. “So why’d she do it? Was he beating her?”
I bit into my fish and ignored her question.
Monica cleared her throat and mumbled, “Reyna, quit asking folks their personal business.”
“Why? We’re all friends, right?” She made a show of throwing her hands up in the air. “If your sister went burning bed on his ass, then I ain’t mad at her.”
I had to count to three, backward, on that one to resist the urge to punch her in the mouth. Monica looked uncomfortable. “Robin, you know I’m here if you ever need me to watch Kyle for you.”
I glanced across the table and smiled. “Thanks, Monica. I appreciate that.”
“Yes, she’s right,” Reyna chimed in, although her tone was anything but supportive. “If you ever need a friend to talk to, Monica and I are always here to be supportive.” She leaned in closer and flashed me a coy smile, “So tell me ... how she kill him? C’mon ... paint a picture and take me there.”
“Get the fuck outta my face!” I pushed my chair back and rose so fast, Reyna fell backward out of her seat and hit the floor. “Monica, I’ll holla at you later. If I spend another second with this fat ho, I’ma have to stab her in the eye with this size eight stiletto.” I tossed a twenty on the table, then stormed out of the restaurant.
25
Monica
“I can’t believe you were that rude.”
“Who, me?” She pointed at herself, grinning innocently.
I gave her a very serious look. “Yes, you.”
Reyna tried to laugh like it was no big deal. “Seriously, Monica, why the hell would you wanna hang out with someone like that?”
“Like what?” That’s what I wasn’t understanding.
“Come on, Monica, she’s a stripper who obviously grew up on the wrong side of the street with a badass little nephew and a sister who’s in prison for murder.”
“Kyle isn’t bad ... and you forget, I’m a stripper too.”
“Yes, but your situation is different. She doesn’t have a choice, you do,” she said, all nonchalant.
“Excuse me ... what choice? If I had another choice, do you think I would be working at that club?” I didn’t even wait for her to answer. “Of course I wouldn’t be. And might I remind you that it was your idea. The only reason I’m dancing is because I didn’t have any other freaking choice.” She was starting to piss me off. Reyna had this habit of judging folks and thinking she was better than other people, and that shit just wasn’t right.
“What I’m trying to say is that she’s not even in our class. She’s from the streets.”
“Reyna, I don’t know if you remember, but you grew up on the west side of Chicago. If that ain’t the hood, I don’t know what is. It wasn’t until your mother married a man in the military that you had a chance to experience another way of life. Before that your mother was cleaning toilets at the Holiday Inn.”
She rolled her big eyes toward the door and looked relieved the waitress had arrived with her food. For a second I thought she was going to cry. “I guess you’re right,” she finally said.
“Damn right, I’m right. Robin’s really cool people. There’s a lot of hating going on in that club, but girls respect her and that’s saved my ass from more than a few squabbles.”
“Really?”
I nodded, not that I should have to justify myself. “Some of them chicks are treacherous. Ready to cut you with blades and shit, but Robin’s different.” She was nothing a
t all like that bitch Mercedes, who I had caught last night sitting in her Camry, watching me leave the club. I swore I saw her writing down my license plate number.
Reyna sat there quietly playing with her food. “I guess I’m just jealous. You and her have been hanging out and I’ve been working overtime trying to keep the boutique afloat.”
“Afloat? I thought business was good.”
She shook her head. “No,” she said sadly. “Business has been way down. I’ve been struggling just to make my lease payments. The economy is really starting to make business suffer for me. If things don’t change soon, I might have to close the store.”
My heart went out to my friend because I knew that boutique meant everything to her. In all these months, she had been trying to loan me money and help me with my bills when she was barely holding it together herself. I felt so bad for her.
I placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. “Maybe the fashion show is what you need to pull it together.”
Her smile returned. “That’s what I’m hoping. You think you can help pass out some flyers?”
“Sure, I would love to, but all that jealousy shit has got to stop.” I gave her a look that said I was serious.
“Agreed.”
I brought my salad to my lips and chewed before asking, “So ... have you heard back from the twins?”
Reyna gave me a strange look. “Hell no, and if they have any sense they won’t bother. I decided to leave men alone for a while.”
“Excuse me?”
She shrugged like she’d just told me she decided to dye her hair red. Not dating was just not something she did. “I decided that I’m looking for love in all the wrong places, and maybe I need to just take some time out for Reyna and learn my own self-worth before I can get some man to see that.”
“Have you been watching Oprah?”
She shook her head. “Silly ... Oprah’s no longer on the air. I’ve been seeing a life coach, and she’s teaching me how to have the best life ever, and that starts by being true to myself.”
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