Tequila shrugged like it was just another day on the job. “No problem, but it’s gonna cost you your half.”
Hell, I would give her every dime I had earned tonight if it meant getting that sleazeball off my hands. “No problem.”
Her eyes sparkled with dollar signs. “Okay, go back out there and tell ’em you wanna do a private in the hot tub room.”
“Hot tub? I didn’t even know we had one of those.”
She nodded her blond head. “It’ll cost him a hundred and fifty. Seventy-five goes to the house and the rest to me. Get him in there and act like you down for fucking him and we’ll handle the rest.”
After first I hesitated but since I didn’t have much of a choice, I nodded and went back out to the dance floor, taking several deep breaths. You’re a survivor. You can do this.
I found him still sitting, waiting eagerly for my return. He gave me that devilish grin when he spotted me. All I wanted to do was kick him in the dick with my stiletto heel for being such an asshole.
In one swallow, Greg finished his beer, then rose from his table. “You ready to go upstairs?” he said all too eagerly.
“Actually ... how about we get into the hot tub instead?”
My approach worked because he seemed caught totally off guard. “Hot tub?” He looked at me suspiciously like I might be up to something. I was, but he didn’t need to know that. “How much is that?”
“A buck fifty.” I could see he was getting ready to decline, so I leaned in close and rubbed his receding hairline. “It’s in a private room in back. There’ll be no one in there but you and me,” I purred. The thought of being alone must have gotten his attention because he quickly reached for his wallet.
I took his money and walked over to the floor manager and gave him his half and waited while he went in back and unlocked the door. I then grabbed Greg by the hand and led him inside. I thought, Treasure better know what she was doing, because the second I saw him pulling off his clothes, I was ready to run out of there.
The room was warm and the tub quite inviting. If it had been anyone else I might have looked forward to slipping inside. As I was reaching for the zipper of my short royal blue dress, there was a quick knock. The door swung open and Tequila came in wearing a red bikini and matching come-fuck-me shoes.
“Oops ... my bad! I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
“Hey, Tequila,” I said, pretending that I hadn’t been hoping she would walk in at any moment.
She winked, then walked over to Greg with this hungry look in her eyes. “My, aren’t you delicious. Deja, who’s your friend?”
I looked over at him with a phony smile. “This is Greg.”
“Mmm, Greg ... you mind if I join in the fun?” She smiled seductively, her eyes locked on him. She then had the nerve to reach down and squeeze his crotch. Greg’s eyes grew large and for a second I thought he was going to flat-out refuse.
“I-I’ll never turn down a t-two for one,” he sputtered nervously.
I was so relieved. Tequila slipped off her shoes and climbed into the hot tub and purred. “Oooh, Greg, baby! This water feels soooo good. Hurry up and join me.” She moaned like she was having an orgasm.
Greg forgot all about me. He practically dived inside. Tequila patted the spot beside her. I shook my head. Maybe he wasn’t used to beautiful women throwing themselves at him. Whatever it was, I was thankful.
I was taking off my shoes when Tequila climbed over and straddled his lap. Within seconds she started tonguing him down. Greg was groaning and moaning and making all kinds of noise. It was almost comical.
“Deja, why don’t you go and get the massage oils from Treasure.” She then tossed her bikini top onto the floor and guided a large rosy nipple into Greg’s mouth.
“Massage oil?” I mumbled because I had no idea what she was talking about, yet I turned on my heel and left her alone with that freak. I stepped outside the door to find Treasure standing on the other side grinning.
“What?” I asked, because she was clearly amused.
“Girl, relax. Tequila is a straight-up freak! She’ll have that muthafucka feinin for her ass.”
I released a heavy sigh of relief. “Good ... anything ... as long as he leaves me the hell alone.”
“He will,” she replied confidently, and I prayed she was right. “Here ... take this.”
I looked down, and when I saw what she was holding, it finally started to make sense to me. I smiled. “This is gonna be good.”
“Just wait three more minutes and go back in.”
My teeth were chattering with excitement and I was also nervous as hell. I counted to one hundred and stepped back into the room and found Greg had Tequila bent over and was ramming her from behind. Her breasts were bouncing all over the place and he had the biggest grin on his face. His eyes were rolled so far back in his head, he hadn’t even noticed I had stepped back into the room.
I started snapping pictures like crazy on Treasure’s cell phone. She had one of those that took beautiful pictures. Greg was so into what he was doing he didn’t even stop until he came, and by then I had taken a dozen photographs.
“Deja ... did you get that?” Tequila asked nonchalantly.
“Yes, ma’am ... you know I did,” I replied loud enough for him to have heard me.
Greg, who was breathing hard, looked over at me and finally noticed the phone pointed in his direction and the light flashing. It took a few moments longer before realization sank in. “What the hell are you doing?”
“This is my insurance policy.” I snickered. The grin fell from my face the second he jumped out of the tub. Oh shit! I padded over to the other side of the room and moved behind a small bar in the corner, which meant I was trapped. You just don’t know how happy I was when Treasure stepped into the room.
“Well, well ... this must be Greg Stevens,” she purred, eyeing his dick appreciatively. Like I said before, God had definitely blessed the wrong man.
He gave a suspicious look. “How do you know me?”
“Actually ... I know Lauren ... your wife.”
He practically jumped out of his skin as he turned and reached for a towel. “Y-you are mistaken. I’m not married.”
“Hmmm ... really? Because you look a lot like the picture I found of the two of you on the Internet.”
“Deja, let me see that.” She signaled for her phone and I hurried over and handed it to her. She flipped through the pictures, shaking her head. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Lauren would be so hurt.”
Greg started fumbling with his clothes as he tried to put them back on. Tequila leaned back in the water, laughing and splashing her toes. “Greg, you need to give me your wife’s number so I can tell her how good her man was,” she purred.
“I know that right, girl.” Treasure started laughing, and for the first time in weeks I let out a thankful sigh. It felt so good finally being in control again.
Greg looked like Treasure had him terrified. “P-please don’t tell my wife. I’ll do anything you want. Anything.”
She stood defiantly with her arms crossed. “Of course you will. Well ... for starters, we’ll take everything you have in your wallet.”
He quickly reached inside and pulled out several large bills. “Here, you can have it all.” He practically threw the money at her.
“Also, you are to never touch Deja again,” she demanded in a threatening tone. “If I hear that you’ve come by her job or said a word about this to her ex-husband, I swear your wife will see these pictures and I’ll make sure to CC a copy to her daddy.”
I don’t think I ever heard anyone sound so serious. Greg realized Treasure meant every word. His eyes landed in my direction, and if he’d had a gun I would have been dead. I forced myself to remain calm.
He hesitated before speaking. “I swear to you ... Monica won’t see my face again.”
“Good. Now get the hell out of here before I count to three and change my mind,” she ordered with a wav
e of the hand and gestured toward the door.
You would have thought Greg was trying out for the Olympics the way he sprinted out of there, leaving his shoes behind.
32
Robin
I was in my bedroom, standing in front of a full-length mirror primping in a Baby Phat strapless jean jumpsuit with red pumps and a wide matching belt. I looked delicious. It was the type of outfit I would have picked out for myself if I had seen it at the mall. Only I didn’t buy it. Halo had.
A delivery man had appeared at my door with a box for me to sign for. As soon as I looked inside I saw the outfit and a card that read, Look forward to seeing you tonight.
The gift had made me nauseated because that was the type of shit Halo did after he got done whupping my ass. He’d buy me something like it was supposed to make things all better. At first I was tempted to take a pair of scissors to the outfit, but then thought better. Halo would expect me to have it on, and tonight I didn’t need any drama. I was supposed to meet him at the Hard Shell, a seafood restaurant located in historic Shockoe Slip, at eight, and I needed him smiling and the drinks flowing if I wanted to get any information out of him.
Thank goodness Monica was able to watch Kyle for me. I didn’t feel right asking Trey to babysit while I was stepping out with another man. Not that it was really a date. I was just anxious to get the evening over so that I could slide over to Trey’s. I’d called him earlier and told him I had cramps and was going to lie down and I would give him a call later. It was the first time I ever felt guilty about lying to a guy, which was how I knew I cared a lot about him. I wasn’t sure if he would understand, so it was easier just to not tell him what I was doing. I tried to tell myself I was doing it for Kyle so I could get my life back, but I knew it was more than that. I just wasn’t ready yet to admit it.
I slipped on a pair of diamond drop earrings and tossed my keys, money, and ID in a small clutch and was heading to the kitchen when I heard my doorbell ring. When I saw who was on the other side, I was ready to scream. It had to be a mirage. But even after I yanked open the door, he was still standing there in black jeans and a white button-down shirt.
“What are you doing here?”
Grinning, Halo stepped into my town house as if he had every right to be there, glancing around, admiring my place. I’d done everything in my power to keep him from finding out where I lived. “Halo, I asked you a question ... what are you doing here?”
“You know I like to pick my women up.”
I had to apply pressure to my temple to keep from screaming. “But I thought we agreed to meet at the restaurant.”
“And I decided to come and get you instead. Relax.” He walked around the room admiring the décor and the African-American art I had on my walls.
“You got a nice place here.”
“Thank you.” I watched him strutting around the room like he owned the place. Touching this and that, being nosy. “How’d you know where I lived?”
He glanced over his shoulder and laughed. “Believe me ... it wasn’t that hard. You’ve known me long enough to know nothing gets past me.”
Yeah, that’s what I was afraid of. I didn’t know why I felt violated having him in my private space, but suddenly I was anxious to get out of there. “I’m ready if you are.” I grabbed my purse off the couch and headed toward the door, only Halo wasn’t following me.
“What’s the rush? How about showing me around first?”
I hesitated because the last thing I wanted was for Halo to see where I slept at night, yet if I didn’t show him around Halo would know something was up and I couldn’t risk that. Damn, the games we have to play.
I did a big sweep of my arms like I was a game show host. “Well, this is the living room.”
Grinning, he looked around the room, admiring the décor again like he hadn’t just been checking it out a few minutes ago.
“The kitchen is in here.” I started toward the next room and signaled for him to follow, but what he said next almost made me break the heel of my pump.
“Since when do you have a kid?”
My eyes zeroed in on the action figures lying on the floor beside my couch, and I cursed under my breath. In my haste, I had forgotten all about Kyle’s toys. “Oh ... uh, I’ve been ... uh ... babysitting for a friend while she’s looking for day care.” Nodding, he seemed to accept my explanation, and I sighed with relief.
He followed me into the kitchen, stopped, turned, and looked at me, admiring my outfit. “You look sexy, but then you always do.” Halo reached out an arm and pulled me against him so fast I barely had a chance to breathe before he pressed his lips down against mine.
It took everything I had to remain still when what I wanted to do was kick him in the nuts. But what I realized while we were kissing was that I felt nothing for him anymore. No more coochie purring and nipples getting hard. I couldn’t believe it, but my body had finally caught up with my brain. I had Trey to thank for that. The whole time Halo was kissing me, I pretended it was Trey.
When I felt his fingers squeeze my breast, I decided I had done more than enough to make this shit seem believable and pushed him away. I stood there breathing hard and glaring at Halo. He was trying to keep a straight face but I could tell he was fighting a grin. Bastard. He loved making me feel uncomfortable. It was his way of keeping the upper hand.
“Robin?”
“Yes.” I didn’t mean for it to, but my voice shook just a little.
He winked. “Relax. All I wanna do is have a good time tonight. We straight?”
I shrugged and tried to act like it was no big deal. I hurried through the tour and when we reached my room, I watched him lick his lips as he stared down at my comfortable bed. If he thought the evening was going to end with my legs in the air, he was sadly mistaken. It ain’t that kind of party. I wasn’t lying earlier when I said I had cramps. At least when I told him I was on my period, I wouldn’t be lying. Trust me ... Halo ain’t no vampire.
As soon as we returned to the living room, I moved toward the door. “I’m starving. Can we go now?” I was so relieved when he followed me. Hanging out at my place was not even an option. I had locked the door and we were on our way out to his SUV when I spotted Trey coming across the lawn.
What the hell?
Halo turned and was the first to greet my guest. “Well, well ... we meet again.”
Trey stormed up the sidewalk and looked from him to me, looking clearly confused. “Robin, what the fuck’s going on?”
“Homeboy, what it look like? I’m taking my girl out.” I desperately wanted to knock that cocky grin off Halo’s face.
“Your girl?” Trey stepped up to Halo and was all in his face. The two of them were staring each other down, and if I didn’t do something soon there was no telling what was about to happen.
“T-Trey, what are you doing here?” I was nervous.
“I thought I would see how you were feeling.” There was no mistaking the heavy sarcasm in his voice.
“Trey ... I ...” I didn’t know what to say. With Halo standing beside me there was no way I could tell him the truth. I had to find out who really killed Mannie. Despite everything that had gone down between Deena and me, she was still family, and family had to stick together because at the end of the day, all we really had was each other.
The two of them were in each other’s face and I could tell they were seconds away from setting it off out here. Knowing Halo the way I did, he was strapped and I definitely didn’t need any bullets flying.
“Trey ... I wish you had called first.” At this point, I didn’t know what else I could possibly have said.
“Obviously,” he snarled and I didn’t miss the hurt in his eyes. “I come over here to check on you only to find you stepping out with this cat?” Oh, he was angry. “What’s really fucked up, Robin, is ... how you gonna go out with another muthafucka in the outfit I bought you?”
His words hit me so hard my jaw hit the concrete, and trust me
, I felt the blow. I couldn’t even answer him because I was in shock and lost my breath. I had just assumed the outfit was from Halo. It never occurred to me that maybe Trey had bought it.
Neither of us spoke for a long time. I stood there in the grass wondering what was going through his mind. “I’m sorry,” I said, like it was gonna soften the blow, but I think it only made matters worse.
Shaking his head, Trey stormed off, but instead of leaving, he sat in his SUV and watched as I climbed into the QX56 beside Halo. I hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. As he pulled off, I started to wonder if my sister was really worth losing the best thing to happen in my life in a long time.
33
Robin
I was heading toward the dressing room when I heard the club manager calling my name. “Yo, Treasure. There’s a bachelor party upstairs. Grab another chick and get yo ass up there.”
Cha-ching! I loved doing bachelor parties. I hurried through a cloud of cigarette smoke to my locker. Monica was slipping on her shoes. “You just getting here?”
She nodded. “My study group ran a little late.”
I stripped off my costume, then reached inside my locker and started wiping myself down. “You ever do a bachelor party?”
Monica gave me a nervous look, then shook her head. “No.”
“You wanna do one? It’s big money. The house pays us as well as we get tips.”
She hesitated before finally saying, “Okay.”
“Just follow my lead. Everything goes ... short of fucking. If you feel uncomfortable, then just let me know and I’ll handle them.”
“Will I ever get comfortable doing this shit?” She rolled her eyes and made me smile.
“Depends on how long you plan on investing in this career.” She frowned, and I knew if Monica could afford it, she would quit tomorrow. As long as it wasn’t tonight. Right now I needed her to help me make it a big moneymaking night. “Put on something pink. We’re on in ten minutes.”
Nodding, she rose and moved to her locker. As nervous as she looked, I wouldn’t be surprised if she came back to change her mind. She was definitely not cut out for stripping. What she didn’t realize was the customer could tell when a dancer’s heart was in it, and that affected the bottom line. Unlike her, I knew how to turn that shit off and on and played the role.
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