by Nikisha Mock
Instead of being rail thin like a lot of the other dancers in the club that night, Indigo was bodacious with curves for days. Her waist was perfect and so was her ass. She had on a long blue and purple wig and purple contacts in her eyes. He purple and blue bikini top had tassels hanging from it and so did her purple bikini bottoms. The heels on her blue shoes were ridiculously high but that didn’t stop her.
She came out shaking and rotating her hips to the beat of the song and never stopped moving unless it was to pause and allow some man to put some money on her. Her skin was the color of peanut butter and looked to be just as smooth. After just one song, the stage was covered with so much money that it looked green instead of black.
“Do that shit, Indy!” Star screamed from behind the bar. We giggled.
“I wish I could do that,” I said in amazement.
“Shit, why can’t you? Ain’t nothing to it but to do it! How you think these chicks in here got started? Ain’t no poles in the projects where I’m from but please believe if you put one in front of me I will show you what to do with that bitch,” Star said.
“I like you, Star,” Eva laughed.
“I can dig y’all too Eva. Y’all alright and any friends of Yanna’s are friends of mine,” Star said.
Ayanna opened her mouth to say something else but stopped in mid-sentence as she was staring at something behind the girls. On instinct, I turned around to see what had my friend’s undivided attention and their jaws dropped.
The guy was tall, very built, and walked with a swagger. His boys walking in with him were just as sexy. Each one had a girl hanging on to their every word. The one with the dreadlocks, the one that seemed to have Ayanna’s full attention, stared directly over at the bar causing me and Eva to turn around quickly as we started giggling like schoolgirls. Star mumbled under her breath, “Aww shit” and Ayanna’s face was unreadable.
When the three men and their entourage of women begun walking towards the bar, Ayanna seemed to still be on edge and I immediately picked up on it.
“Hey, can I get a peach Ciroc and pineapple please?” one of the girls asked Star.
Star just nodded, didn’t say a word, and began making the drink.
“Aye ma, let me holla at you for a second?” he said to Ayanna.
Eva and I looked at each other and then back at Ayanna.
“I’m working,” Ayanna said flatly.
He slammed a couple stacks of money down on the bar. “You just got paid for the night. Now bring your sexy ass over here.”
Without hesitation, Ayanna picked up the money and counted it. Then she pocketed that money and walked to the end of the bar where there was a small opening. The girl that had been trying her best to keep this man’s attention was now failing miserably and she was staring Ayanna up and down then she began whispering to one of the other girls in the crew. Eva saw this too and got Star’s attention.
“Okay, what is all this about and am I gonna have to beat this chick’s ass tonight?” Eva said, talking about the salty girl.
“Who her? She ain’t gon' do shit. That’s his sister, Fallon. She hates any girl that gets his attention because she acts like she’s scared they’ll somehow mess things up for her. She hits big brother up whenever things get tight for her which seems to be on a regular basis from what Yanna told me. Those other chicks are Fallon’s little flunkies. They do whatever the fuck she tells them to do. All them bitches lame as hell. It’s amazing to me that Cam could possibly be blood related to this thirsty ass broad.”
Star left no chances of the girls wondering if she and Fallon were friends. Star couldn’t stand Fallon and the feeling was so mutual that Fallon had begun throwing Ayanna shade at first simply for being guilty by association.
“Why you always coming in here trying to stunt, Cam?” Ayanna asked him.
“I’m just messing around girl. Quit acting like you don’t like it,” Cam replied.
Ayanna smiled. Cam was something new, someone that I would have never thought Ayanna would be involved with a few years ago. But now things were different, and so was she. She decided to take Cam over to meet her girls.
“Eva, Ciara, this is my friend Cam. Cam say hello to the beautiful ladies,” Ayanna smiled.
“Hello beautiful ladies, the pleasure is all mine,” he said while first kissing Eva’s hand and then mine. We were cheesing from ear to ear and ready to giggle as soon as he left our presence.
“So you’re Yanna’s new boo thang. Okay. I like and I approve. For now,” Eva said jokingly.
“Word. I feel that. Yanna ain’t got nothing to worry about as long as she’s with me. What are you ladies drinking? Bartender, get them rounds on me,” Cam said.
“I like him already!” I exclaimed and they all laughed. His sister and her flunkies stayed in the background looking and hating. It’s a shame that women can’t be more open and supportive to each other instead of immediately throwing shade. But we couldn’t care less what they were thinking. The spotlight was on us tonight and we were having a ball.
Just then, the pretty dancer named Indigo walked up to the bar and got Star’s attention. I watched as the two of them interacted. It was clear that they were either really good friends or really good more than friends. Star touched Indigo’s hair and Indigo smiled.
When a guy walked up and held up a wad of cash, Indigo turned her attention to him, smiled brightly, and promptly commenced to bending over in front of him and shaking her moneymaker. The guy was obviously sloppy drunk and began making it rain all over Indigo’s body while of course copping a cheap feel every now and then.
Star’s face was stone cold. It was obvious that she was hot but she kept it cool. If this was her girl she had to know these types of things would happen, I was thinking. But that was their issue and I was not one to get involved in the mess of others. Unless it was my girls, of course.
The rest of the night was pretty chill for all of us. We laughed; we danced, and just had a great time. Cam stepped off with his crew and they enjoyed themselves in the VIP section. Well, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves except for Fallon. I made a mental note to ask Ayanna about her as soon as she had the chance. Something was up with that chick and I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it would manifest itself in time.
Chapter Eight
Ayanna
Another night of work at the club was coming to an end. As we worked to get the bar cleaned down, I noticed something was up with Star. She wasn’t her usual talkative self. So I decided to ask her what was up.
“What’s going on with you, girl? Why you over there looking like you just lost your best friend?” I asked.
She just looked uneasy for a minute and then she said, “I’m not sure if I’ll ever get used to this shit. I mean, it ain’t like I’m trippin really but it’s hard to see Indigo when she’s working. Maybe it ain’t such a good idea that we work in the same spot you know?”
“I understand that but Star you met her here. You already knew what her job was. Why does it bother you so much now?”
“I don’t know. I guess in the beginning you’re just excited about the relationship being new. Yeah I knew she was a dancer and what comes with it, but my heart wasn’t in it then.”
“So your heart is in it now? You’re saying you love Indy?”
“I mean, maybe? I might. I really do like her. But this is her first girl relationship. Sometimes I wonder if I’m going to be competing with girls and guys too. That ain’t nowhere near cool, Yanna.”
She was being very honest and open. This was so unlike Star because she usually kept all of her true feelings quiet. Every now and then, she opened up a little more to me so I guess that meant she trusted me. The last time she opened up to me, she dropped a huge bombshell that I wasn’t quite ready for.
“Well, I know you’ve been through a lot so if you think things are a little too messy right now, time and space might be in order. You gotta work so leaving here isn’t an option unless
you got something else lined up already. Talk to her, Star. If certain things bother you, why can’t you let her know that?” I asked.
“Because she told me what it was in the beginning. She let me know that when she was at work she was on and that I can’t freak out every time some guy asked for a lap dance or wanted to try to cop a feel. That was then though. I don’t know. Maybe I jumped into a relationship too fast anyway. That shit with Raya ain’t really all that old, you feel me?”
Raya was Star’s ex-girlfriend. Now that was a real piece of work. Star told me they had been together for about three years but it was a violent relationship that ended with Raya landing in the hospital and Star in jail.
Star had a rough childhood and it took next to nothing to set her off sometimes, which is what had happened the day she caught Raya getting out of the car with her ex-girlfriend. Star dragged Raya from the car and in her words, beat the living shit out of her. The ex-girlfriend attempted to jump in and Star pulled out a switchblade and cut the girl almost ear to ear.
She did a little time in the state prison and once all of that was over, she moved to North Carolina from her birthplace of Commerce, Georgia to start her life over. But the ghosts of her childhood had followed her. Star’s mom was an alcoholic and a drug addict, and her dad was a ghost dad.
All throughout Star’s life, she told me her mom never cared about her. She said she blamed Star for the man of dreams walking out on them. Star was only thirteen when she was awakened one night by her mother’s boyfriend who had snuck into her room and was fingering her.
When she woke up, she said she screamed bloody murder but her mother never came to her rescue. The man raped her for hours. When he was done, he spit on her and told her that if she ever told anyone he would kill her mother.
Out of fear and embarrassment, she said nothing. She continued to go to school every day as if nothing had happened and she didn’t even tell any of her friends. The abuse never stopped.
While Star told me the story of all the horrible things she’d gone through as a young girl, it made me want to be closer to her. I felt like I could somehow be her voice of reason when she felt like she would lose control. Call me a softy but I felt like women, especially black women, needed to stick together and she had trusted me with the dark secrets of her past. Now this new issue with Star and Indigo was present and I didn’t like the look I was seeing her Star’s eyes. I knew she cared about Indigo a lot. I was thinking that maybe it was time for me to have a private chat with Indigo to see where her head was at too. I didn’t owe Star anything but everybody can use a friend in their corner that will look out for their best interests.
Chapter Nine
Eva
Tuesday was quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. It was my appointment day with Dr. Sexy, I mean, Dr. Jones. When I walked in, the pretty receptionist greeted me with her usual smile as I signed in and waited for my turn with the good doctor.
“Dr. Jones is ready for you now Eva,” the receptionist said.
He always greeted me with a smile and although it was faint, his cologne always greeted me too. It hugged me and sent warm happy thoughts to my love below.
“Hello Miss Harris. How are you doing today?” he smiled and extended his arm indicating for me to sit down anywhere I chose. Today I sat directly in front of him. I wanted to be close and study his face the way he seemed to be studying mine.
“I am well, Dr. Jones. The nightmares are still happening though. I just wish I could somehow turn off my mind at night,” I said, momentarily forgetting my childish crush on my doctor.
“I see. Well, when these dreams occur, what do you do? How do you feel once you wake up?”
“I’m usually screaming in my sleep or tossing and turning right before my fiancé wakes me up.” I couldn’t believe I’d just said fiancé. But wait, then again, why wouldn’t I have said it?
The expression on Dr. Jones’ face was unreadable for a moment and then he said,
“How does this affect your relationship? Is he supportive of you and what you have been experiencing?”
“Oh yes he’s very supportive. Coming to see you was actually his idea. I’d toyed with the thought for a minute but he finally encouraged me to come and talk about what’s been bothering me so bad. I know there’s no magic fix for it, but I really wish I could move past it. I have to do it before it does become a problem at home.”
“I think it’s wonderful that you recognize that there is an issue that needs to be addressed before it becomes an even bigger one. That shows maturity and that you’re capable of taking responsibility for what’s yours. How about your relaxation methods? Did they seem to help?”
I laughed a little. “You mean the bubbles? Yeah, they help. My daughter can’t get enough of blowing bubbles with me. It gives us a chance to act silly and enjoy each other,” I said with a smile.
Dr. Jones smiled too. His smile was intoxicating. I looked away for a minute. I made up my mind right then and there that I was going to push whatever this silly crush was as far out of my mind as possible. It’s not like I was ever going to act on it anyway. But damn he was fine though.
We talked the entire one hour session away and then it was time to go. As I stood to leave, so did Dr. Jones. He opened his door for me. I smiled, said thank you, and went on my way. I was beginning to feel that talking to someone about Damien and the dreams was really going to help me. It’s a shame that even post mortem that man still had such a strong hold on me. Made me wonder if I would have been able to continue to resist him if the police hadn’t shot him.
On the way home, I decided to call Tyler and see if I could set a little something up for us later on that night. His phone rang a few times and then his voicemail picked up. I left a flirty message for him and proceeded to go home and prepare dinner for my family. My life wasn’t perfect but it was certainly peaceful for the moment and I was enjoying it.
****
Miles and Kyla enjoyed the lasagna and salad dinner I made for us and we did our usual evening ritual of checking homework, talking about the day we’d all had, and then preparing for bed. Tyler still hadn’t made it home yet which wasn’t unusual but I was a bit thrown off at the fact that he still hadn’t returned my call. I decided to shoot him a quick text asking when he would be coming home. Thirty minutes later, I still had no response so I called him again. No answer.
Okay, what is really going on? I thought to myself. Then I had to give myself a pep talk. Eva, don’t start stressing girl. There are a million reasons why he might not be able to respond to you at the moment. Don’t start tripping too soon. Wait until he gets home and see what his explanation is.
In an effort to keep my mind from wandering, I decided to watch a few movies on Lifetime. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Tyler was lying in bed next to me, kissing me on the forehead.
“Hey sleeping beauty. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” Tyler said while smiling down at me.
I stretched and sat up. “What time is it?” I asked groggily.
“It’s about 11:30, bae. What did you cook? It smells real good in here.”
I paused for a moment. Did he just try to deflect the fact that he strolled in here at 11:30 with no excuse or explanation for not responding to me or calling me back? Oh hell no.
“I called and texted you a few times Ty. How come you didn’t respond to the texts at least?” I checked my tone because I did not want to come off as the insecure girlfriend.
“Ah man, my bad, E. I was at Jay’s house and we were watching the game and drinking. I left my phone charger here and my phone died. I’m sorry. I should have at least called you from Jay’s phone to tell you what was up. You forgive me?” he asked, placing his hand on his heart and melting me with his smile.
I tried not to do it but I smiled despite myself. He took this as his moment and leaned in for a kiss. I sighed deeply like I always did when Tyler kissed me like that. Just as I was starting to enj
oy my man’s hands roaming all over my body, his cell phone beeped. I froze and then I pushed him away from me a little.
“I thought you said your cell phone died?” I said with an eyebrow raised.
“It did. It’s on the charger now though, look,” he said and nodded towards the dresser. Sure enough, there sat his iPhone, plugged up and charging. I felt like such a clown.
“Oh. Okay. I’m sleepy. You know you can’t come in here talking to me when I’m half asleep,” I joked, hoping to diffuse the situation.
“Yeah, I do know. Come here girl, let me get your mind right,” he said as he pulled me closer to him and then pushed up against me until I was laying down on my back again.
He took his left hand and rubbed his way up my leg but he didn’t stop there. He kept going until he was able to feel the wetness that was already gathering there. He put one finger inside me and wiggled it around in circles. I started to squirm and squeeze my legs together but Tyler wasn’t having any of that. So I let him in and enjoyed the pleasure.
He kissed my neck, my chest, each breast, and even my stomach. He kissed my inner thighs and grabbed my waist. Then he pushed back the skin just a little to reveal my clit which was sitting up pretty and ready to be kissed.
Tyler went to work on me like he hadn’t done in a long time. The sex was always good but this night he was so gentle and he did everything just right. Within minutes, he had me pulling sheets off the bed and scratching his back. I told him I was about to come and he increased his tongue strokes. Over and over, Tyler sent waves of ecstasy throughout my body and I trembled at how good it felt to me.
“Oh my God, Tyler, baby, that feels so freaking good!” I said in a low voice so we wouldn’t wake the kids.
“You like that, baby?”
“Hell yeah I like that! Ohhhhhh…” I moaned.
When he entered me, a single tear dropped from my eye. I wasn’t upset at all. The feeling Tyler was giving me was so overwhelming and so damn good that it brought me to tears. He stroked me long and slowly, twisting his hips like a stripper and plunging deep, deeper inside my love. I grabbed his ass and tried to pull him in even deeper. Then he flipped me over and let me get on top. I stood on my feet in a squat position and proceeded to bounce up and down on my favorite part of Tyler. Rolling my hips in circular motions, I watched Tyler’s face contort as he tried to remain cool. He always tried this and he always failed miserably.