by Kiki Swinson
come into the bathroom. I was suddenly missing Duke very much.
Diamond and Brian both turned and looked at me as if I was crazy. I don’t know why my feet
wouldn’t move. I was stuck in imaginary mud, watching them instead of turning around and getting my
ass out of there.
“Bitch, do you mind?” Diamond shouted indignantly. She had every right to yel at me. Brian didn’t
even have any shame. He just kept on fucking Diamond from the back with me standing there, unable
to move.
“Damn, I thought you were in here alone. I’m sorry,” I apologized as I was final y able to move and
come to my senses. I hurriedly backed out of the door and slammed it shut.
“This bitch can’t fucking knock! Non-paying rent ass bitch!” I heard Brian comment as I left the
bathroom. His words seared right through me and fucking pissed me off. The audacity of that no good
ass nigga, who didn’t do shit for Diamond.
When I thought about what he had said and his past behavior, I banged my fists on the door.
“Fuck you Brian! Ya’l should’ve locked the fucking door anyway! Shit, I live here too and I gotta take a
fucking piss! Diamond got a bedroom to fuck in!”
I fucking hated that muthafucka. Hel , I think at that moment I fucking hated men.
I went back to my room and flopped down on my bed. I was even more motivated to get my plan
underway now. Blackmailing Duke was the order of the day, because I needed to get some money. I
definitely needed to get out on my own. It seemed as if Diamond and I were growing apart and going
our separate ways in life.
I started running through my mind how much money I was going to demand from Duke’s ass. I
needed enough to give myself a brand new start in life. Fuck Virginia Beach! I needed to get the fuck
out of this area. Hel , I probably needed to leave the state. In the back of my mind, the thought of the
young girl being mutilated stil lingered with me.
I started plotting how I was going to get this money from a powerful ass dude like Duke and remain
safe at the same time. It was a lot to think about. Trust me, my mind was racing a mile a minute. My
head ached from thinking so damn much.
After lying there thinking for several minutes, I heard Diamond and her piece of shit man come out
the bathroom. I could actual y hear Brian’s hard ass footsteps going towards Diamond’s room. I just
rol ed my damn eyes and stared up at the ceiling. I was stil thinking about my dilemma when I heard a
smal tap on my bedroom door. I leaned up on one elbow and looked at the door. “Who?” I cal ed out,
knowing damn wel who it was.
Diamond peeped her head inside. I gave her a mean look and flopped back down on my bed.
She smiled at me and came and sat on my bed. I couldn’t stay mad at Diamond’s ass for long. She
always knew how to make up with me whenever we had a little dust up.
“Girl, don’t be mad. You know how Brian is and we were just caught off guard,” Diamond said
apologetical y. “He ain’t mean nothing by what he said . . . you know about the bil s and stuff. I got on
his ass about that.”
I twisted my lips. “Yeah, but you know we always talk while one or the other is in the shower, so I
was just trying to tel you about this shit that’s going on with Duke. I wasn’t trying to bust in on ya’l on
purpose like he was making it seem.”
“I know . . . I know you wasn’t. Now what’s this shit with Duke?” Diamond asked. But before I could
answer her she started talking again. “Oh yeah, wait a minute, now I remember you cal ed me at the
club last night after my first set. I kind of remember you talking some crazy shit about some dead girl
and some baby . . . Duke and the doctor. I believe you said a girl was on the news and her body was
found or some shit. I mean, you sounded like a mad woman. And I wanted to ask you what the hel
was you smoking on, girl. I couldn’t believe that shit you was saying,” Diamond said, laughing
afterwards.
“You think this shit is al a joke?” I asked seriously. “I was dead ass serious! I’m tel ing you
Diamond, I’m on to something here. I saw a girl on the news who was missing and found dead. She
had been given a c-section and now her baby is missing. And I mean, stolen Diamond!”
I looked her in the eyes. Then I said, “Get up for a minute.” When Diamond stood up, I lifted the
edge of my mattress and retrieved the pictures and the paperwork that would confirm my suspicions
and explain to her what I was trying to say. “Look at this shit Diamond,” I passed her the stack of
photos.
Diamond grabbed them and shuffled through the stack. Her face was deadpan. No emotion or
reaction. “And?” she asked, twisting her lips. She had a so what, what the fuck look on her face.
“And . . . this girl right here, was on the fucking news,” I said, plucking the picture of the dead girl,
emphasizing my point. “She was found dead . . . murdered from a botched C-section! How many
times I gotta explain this shit to you! These pictures came from Duke’s condo . . . his desk! Now you
tel me I shouldn’t be suspicious that he had her kil ed or even worse, kil ed her himself so he could
snatch her fucking baby!”
“What?” Diamond asked, crinkling her face in confusion.
“Diamond, what are you smoking these days? You can’t fol ow me?” I said out of frustration.
“Have you heard about a missing pregnant girl that was found dead over on Highway 3? It’s al over
the news. Have you watched TV lately?”
“Hel no, I ain’t seen or heard nothing about no missing girl or baby! Bitch, you know I don’t watch
the news!” Diamond exclaimed. “C’mon now, I’m a fucking lady of the night, when do I have time to
watch news about shit that ain’t got nothing to do with me!”
I knew that, but I thought I would throw it out there. More and more I was realizing just how much
of a fucking mess my friend was.
“Wel , I seen this girl right here on the news!” I said, snatching the picture from her this time and
putting it close to her eyes. “Same face . . . same girl. Now put that together with the fact I heard Duke
tel ing that Dr. Gavin to make sure he gets these babies no matter what . . . and what do you have?”
Diamond looked as if she was concentrating. “That’s some shit,” Diamond replied.
I had final y gotten through to her.
“I started to turn over the pictures and the information I stole from Duke’s condo to the police. But
you know what? I said, why not get something out of this shit. So I decided I wil put the screws to
Duke’s ass. I’m going to threaten him with going to the media and the police with what I know if he
don’t give me some serious paper. This nigga just thought he could take everything I had, leave me
with nothing and get married on me without any consequences? Hel no, it ain’t going down like that.”
Diamond was al ears. I knew anything that had to do with money she would be down for it. Once I
was sure I had her undivided attention, I told her what I needed.
“So I need your help with putting together a solid plan where I can get the money from his ass
safely and get the fuck outta dodge. Of course I’ma hit you off with your share for any help you give
me with this,” I told her. I was saying the key words and Diamond was into it.
“So, here’s what I had in mind for us to do,
” I continued. “Maybe we can—”
Before I could brainstorm some of my ideas about the blackmail plan, this muthafucka, Brian,
knocked on my bedroom door.
“Diamond!” the worthless asshole yel ed from the other side of the door.
I instantly cut my words short. I didn’t want him to hear anything about my plans. Not only did I not
like Brian, I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw his ass.
“What?” Diamond responded. She stood up and I knew that meant our meeting was over.
“Bring your ass out here before we have problems!” he barked. “You think a nigga got time to be
sitting in your room alone playing with my dick! I came here to see you, now get the fuck out here
before I bounce on your dumb ass.”
I couldn’t believe how disrespectful this nigga was towards Diamond. It seemed as if she would
just accept anything from his ass and for the life of me I could never understand it.
“I’m sorry, girl. Let me go see what this pain in the ass wants,” Diamond whispered. It was as if
she wasn’t even embarrassed by Brian’s rude displays. I rol ed my eyes at her because I was
fucking disgusted that she refused to put her damn foot down with him.
“I know, don’t mind him,” Diamond consoled when she saw how mad I was now. I didn’t say a
word. “Listen, hold those thoughts about the plans. I’m down for whatever and we can talk al about it
in private when I get home from the club tonight.”
I softened my face a little bit. Primarily because what other choice did I have. Reluctantly, I agreed
to wait for her to talk more about it. There was no way I could do something as serious as this without
Diamond. She was way more street savvy than me. She also had her ear to the ground in the streets
so putting together a plan would be easy for her.
I sighed loudly and just accepted the fact that I would have no choice but to wait on her. Diamond
left out of my room and I could hear her and Brian going at it. I didn’t know if they were arguing or
fucking again. I closed my eyes and tried to think positive thoughts. I got a little excited about the
possibilities of getting my hands on some money.
Together, Diamond and I were going to come up with what I deemed my “cheaper to keep her
plan” against Duke.
And I couldn’t wait!
Cheaper to Keep Her Unique
Chapter 25—Do or Die
Being in the house with so many thoughts and different variations of plans in my head was driving me
crazy.
The anxiety I was feeling was enough to kil me. Not only did I need Diamond to hurry up and
come home, I also felt as if I needed a stiff drink to ease my mind. I tried to be patient and wait for
Diamond to come home from the club, but it seemed as if I had been waiting for her for days instead
of hours. With no real money of my own and nothing to do, I was restless as hel . That was probably
the reason I kept obsessing about my plot against Duke. I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to get
with Diamond so we could come up with a good plan.
“I can’t take this shit no more,” I huffed as I started putting on some clothes. I dumped out my
purse and counted up the little left over dol ar bil s and change I had scattered in the bottom of my
bag. I counted it, hoping I had enough. Damn, just made it, I thought.
I used my last few dol ars and cal ed a cab. I had the cabdriver take me to the Magic City.
Diamond was going to have to see me now. It was just that serious with me . . . or I was that impatient.
I needed to discuss this shit with Diamond and I wasn’t confident she would bring her ass home
before I conked out or something. She had been keeping some fucked up hours lately. She had also
been drinking a lot too. She probably had already forgotten that she promised to come straight home.
In any case, I was at the club now so she had no choice but to get with me on this.
When I walked in the club, I was immediately assailed by the strong smel and thick, hazy smoke
from cigarettes and weed. I waved my hand in front of my face realizing that being away from the club
for so long I was no longer immune to the scent of it. I could hardly breathe and frankly I wanted to
gag. I had my face contorted into a nasty scowl. I didn’t know how I used to do it in this ghetto ass
place and I stil didn’t know how Diamond was doing it every night.
As I weaved my way through the tables I recognized some of the same old regulars that were
always in the club day in and day out. Nothing much had changed about the place. A few patrons
spoke to me and asked if I was coming back to work there. I told them hel no, acting as if I had
dumped the club instead of the truth, that Neeko wouldn’t hire me back out of fear Duke would try to
ruin him. I stopped and spoke to a few patrons that told me they missed the way I mixed my drinks. I
listened to them complain a little about the new bartender and I found it quite amusing. Shit, I needed
an ego booster.
I final y spotted Diamond after scanning the club a few times with my eyes. I twisted my face into a
scowl once again when I spotted her. “Fuck!” I hissed. She was busy, which wasn’t good for me. She
was giving a patron a lap dance, which meant I was going to have to wait for goodness knows how
long before she was done. I didn’t care. I walked up on her and her customer. “Diamond!” I screamed
over the music.
She stopped her dance for a few seconds and looked at me strangely. She looked like she was
high on something.
“I’m gonna be at the bar. When you finish, come see me. We gotta talk as soon as possible,” I
shouted.
Diamond nodded her head as if she was barely able to keep it up, then she started grinding on
the guy’s dick again. As high as she looked it gave me an uneasy feeling. When I saw the guy reach
under her thong and touch her bare pussy that made me queasy. I always thought the rule of the club
for lap dancing was no under the clothes contact. Diamond was getting desperate these days. I
couldn’t believe she was letting a total stranger put his fingers inside of her pussy like that. I stomped
away in total disgust. Plus, I was a little worried about her.
I climbed up on a barstool and ordered a shot of Patron. I was scrutinizing the new bartender and
I couldn’t front, I was envious as hel . She was real y cute and the customers that used to skimp on
tips with me seemed to be tipping her wel . I was pissed off watching this whack ass chick try to be
me behind the bar. I was jealous as hel . I turned around and went back to watching Diamond instead
of the bartender.
My girl was working hard trying to make a quick buck. It was pretty fucking pathetic the way she
had to do al of that for those few little dol ars. She was dancing to Gucci Mane’s rap song,
“Lemonade.” I didn’t know how Diamond did that shit. She was grinding and popping and straddling
the guy. I could see the sweat on her body from where I sat. My girl was working too hard for a smal
payday from these slimy assholes.
I shook my head and took my shot to the head.
I winced as the tequila went down warm. I watched Diamond some more and knew just why I
couldn’t do that bul shit stripping and lap dancing. Suddenly, I saw Diamond stop dancing. She
jumped up off the guy’s lap and I saw her waggling her finger in the guy’s face and twisting her neck
was going down. I slowly stepped down off the barstool but I didn’t move, I just watched for a minute
to see if she was going to be able to handle whatever was going on.
“What’s up, nigga? I’m dancing like a muthafucka and you ain’t pul ed out no fucking money yet!”
Diamond yel ed, her words slurring. Damn, if I could hear her almost clear across the club with loud
music playing I knew she was yel ing very loud. I saw the dude stand up and stand toe-to-toe with
Diamond. He was tal er than her but he was right in her face. That’s when I started moving slowly
towards them. I wasn’t about to sit there and let a nigga put his hands on her.
“Where’s my fucking money!” Diamond screamed. Now I could hear her better because I was
getting closer. The dude pushed Diamond out of his face roughly and told her he wasn’t going to give
her shit because her pussy stunk. A group of dirty, broke down ass niggas that was with him starting
laughing and clowning Diamond. I made it over to them to pul Diamond away before he did
something stupid to her, but I wasn’t in time to keep her from doing something to him.
Within a blink of an eye, Diamond grabbed a glass of champagne from the table next to the rude
guy and threw the shit right in his face. “Argghh!” the dude screamed out. I could tel his eyes must’ve
been on fire because he hadn’t seen that shit coming from her.
“Diamond!” I screamed.
The dude pul ed himself together real quick and went after her. “You dirty bitch!” he hol ered.
The next thing I knew, he pul ed back his huge hand and smacked Diamond so hard she went
sailing backwards on her ass and hit the floor.
“You muthafucka!” I screamed, racing over to Diamond to see if she was al right. She was looking
a little dazed. That bastard stalked over to us, stood above Diamond and hawked a wad of spit right
on her.
“You asshole!” Diamond shouted. She was struggling to get off the floor. “Oh no this bitch ass
nigga didn’t just spit on me!” She wiped the spit off her body, but before she could go back at the
guy, the bouncers had final y made their way over to the commotion.