by T. Styles
Passion jots up the stairs crying the entire way. Olive peers at Jayden, she’s disappointed that she seems delicate around the girls. She’s the boss not the other way around. So why was she letting Gucci carry shit like this? One minute she was checking her ass and the next she was bowing down. It was like they were taking turns on who was in power. “I’m going upstairs too.” Olives says with an attitude. “I’ma leave ya’ll to it.”
“Fuck both of them,” Gucci continues fanning her hand. “Anyway, let me go since Passion couldn’t play. I never…fucked three niggas at the same time.”
Everybody took a drink but Jayden. Gucci laughs. “It’s your turn, Jay.”
“I never…been jealous of my friend.”
Everybody took a drink but Gucci. Which was comical since she was the most envious of the bunch. She knew what Jayden was trying to imply and she wasn’t feeling it one bit. “My turn,” she says, “I never…took my girls to fuck a trick and left without getting paid.”
Jayden’s face reddens. Nobody took a drink but her. “You not gonna let the shit go are you? You really are going to hold onto this shit forever. I didn’t know he was going to do us like that. But everybody got their paper later didn’t they? Don’t I get credit for that?”
“It’s just a game, Jayden. Lighten up.” Gucci drinks from the bottle. “After all, we’re business partners now. What’s done is done. Just as long as you know going forward we looking for a leader not a follower. If you understand, everything should be as right as rain.”
HARMONY
STRANGE NUTS
Me and a nigga I won’t remember in the morning are getting it in on my bed. Shit is going good until my bedroom door flies opens. “Ma, can I talk to you for a second?”
She loves cock blocking. Since she was my fake little boy. “You can talk to me all you want after I finish doing what I’m doing.” I kiss the nigga's dry lips. “Now beat it.”
“I’m serious, ma! I gotta talk to you and I gotta talk to you now.” She holds the door open.
“All I wanted to do was have a little fun. But now I’m out of here.” The dude says as he stands up. He swerves frontwards, grabs his pants and the bottle of liquor he promised we’d split and rolls out of the door. I’m so mad I want to kill Jayden but I’m too tired to move.
“Now that you’ve ruined my night what the fuck do you want?”
“Ma, do you even care what’s been going on around here? Aunt Ramona and Laura threatening you and somebody keep throwing piles of shit at our windows. You leaving me to handle all of the bills and responsibility on my own. It’s not fair! Either you start pitching in or you gonna be by yourself.”
I laugh. “You really are feeling yourself aren’t you?” I shake my head. “Jayden, there’s nothing neither of us can do to save this place. It’s a wrap. And you might as well start to understand it.” I throw the covers over my head but she doesn’t leave. I take them off and look at her. “What now?”
She looks at me. “I know you think I’m dumb, mommy. But I’m going to come through with a plan for both of us. And when I do, I want you to eat your mothafuckin’ words.”
JAYDEN
RED OLIVE
I open the door to my bathroom and slip some olive oil into the warm water in my bathtub. Then I throw my pink washcloth in the tub and watch it darken in the water. Before long, we’re going to hit the stroll and I can’t lie, I’m worried. Worried that I don’t know what I’m doing and worried that I won’t make the money I need. I allow my lavender bathrobe to drop to the floor and ease my achy body into the water. The olive oil coats my skin and makes it sparkle. I’m immediately at ease. With a house full of girls, I quickly realize that the only time I can get privacy was in the bathroom. That is until there’s a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” I yell.
“It’s me, Olive. Can I come in?” She’s screaming so I hear her clearly. How did she know to do that?
I fish for my washcloth and cover my wet breasts. “Come in.”
Olive eases inside, sits on the edge of the tub and looks down at my naked body. I focus on her lips. “Can I talk to you for a second.”
“Are you gonna talk to me or look at my pussy?” She’s so freaky, it’s hilarious to me. She claims she doesn’t fuck bitches anymore, but every time I turn around she’s touching somebody too much when they ask her how they look in a certain outfit, or if they seek her advice. Most of the girls don’t seem to mind, she’s stunning.
“I’m not going to fuck with you.” She looks at me seriously. “Unless you want me to.”
“Olive, what’s up?” I rub my breasts with the rag. “I’m tired.”
She sighs. “I see how close you are with the girls and I wanted to tell you that I think it’s a bad idea.”
I fucked with Olive no doubt, but she’s going to have to realize I’m the boss of this shit not her. “Olive, I got this business. What you fail to realize is that I did this fine before you came along.”
“And I’m not trying to get in your way, Jayden. All I’m saying is that you’re treading the water too close for business. If you want the girls to respect you, you gotta make sure they have a reason. They have to know who’s in charge at all times and should never, ever, mistake you for a friend. Weakness is not a good trait in this business.”
I hear her, but there’s nothing she can say that’s of interest. I’m running this thing, and until I see a reason to change, I won’t. “Right now I want to relax but before you leave can you get the box from up under my bed?” She leaves and comes back with it. “Open it up.”
She takes the first thing out. “A wig?” She shakes it like she’s expecting something to fall out of it.
“Yes, to be used whenever you hear the code word maroon. The other code word you need to worry about is thirteen.” She looks confused. “Look at the sheet in the box, it explains it all.” She takes it out and reads over it. She grins. I spent a lot of time going over the plan after realizing my mother really wasn’t going to help me. If she didn’t have HIV, I would put the bitch on the clock.
“You thought about it all haven’t you?”
“I might be young but I’m smarter than people think. I’m not doing this shit just to sport fly clothes and to eventually by a nicer car. This is my life and one of these days you’ll respect me for the battles I win instead of the ones I walk away from.”
****
It didn’t take me long to find the rest of my team. After cruising a few clubs in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area, I was able to get the perfect mix of misfits. Johnna, my first white girl, with the strawberry birthmark on her face, was halfway out of the pussy game when I met her. She worked for Mr. Grover, the same mothafucka who told me I could pay him later for my father’s funeral, only to change his mind the day of the service. When I found out she belonged to him, I couldn’t wait to snatch her up and bring her into my fold.
It wasn’t like he made it hard. He almost put her eye out with the retractable blade that came from the end of his cane. All because she couldn’t work with the broken arm she’d gotten that same night from him. If Metha and me hadn’t pulled up on her when we did at the restaurant, he may have killed her. He saw my face and I think he decided after what Kreshon did to him, that it was in his best interest to leave me alone. I’m not naive enough to think I won’t see him again though.
Then there was Blaq, who I met at an all you can eat restaurant. She was a hostess and I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life, until she opened her mouth. It was then that I noticed that although she had a face as beautiful as Kerry Washington, her voice was as strong as Barry White. Without a doubt he could fool the straightest of men and his need to be something other than what he was born as, reminded me of my sister. For a brief moment it was the one thing I hated about him, until I remembered this was all about money.
Our relationship had benefits because Blaq needed cash for his sexual reassignment surgery, an
d if he worked for me, I could help make that happen. On one condition, that he stripped himself of all the makeup, hair and dresses. Why? So men who were interested in him could know what they were getting. I already had bitches that looked like bitches. I wanted a gay man to fulfill my homosexual customer requests. He refused at first, but it didn’t take him long to realize I was his best bet after hearing Passion roll down how we split the pot evenly amongst everyone.
Then there was Jackie, a beautiful Asian girl who went by the name Jay-O. She was taken from her home as a child and sold into sexual slavery in America. When her owner died in a car accident when she was thirteen, she took to the streets alone. When Passion approached her at the bus stop, the only thing she had to her name was a navy blue back pack which was full of holes. Passion brought her to meet me in the truck, and when she saw the smile on my face and the girls in my truck, she was happy to join our sweet team.
Hadiya was by far my favorite. She always seemed to stare at me, like she was waiting for me to give her orders. She was a beautiful Indian girl who went out her way to make me happy. If I wanted a cup of coffee, she knew it before I had a chance to ask and that’s probably why she and Foxie bumped heads all the time. I found her and Catherine, another one of my girls, at a local bar not to far from Concord Manor. All they needed was a little guidance, and I was ready to give it to them. Provided they would suck a dick and take it in the ass whenever asked. Needless to say it wasn’t a problem.
Unlike Hadiya, Catherine, a cute black girl, was extremely loud. Mostly because she was recently released from prison. She walked around like she was tough and was always talking about how she wouldn’t be punked by nobody…even me. Although she was rough around the edges, she told me there wasn’t a thing she wouldn’t do for money. And since Passion wasn’t working anymore, I needed a bitch like her on my roster. A stone cold freak.
There was one problem, the bond between Passion, Catherine and Tabitha, a young girl I met at a bowling alley, was tightening. It looked like it might be dangerous. Because of their bond, the house was divided. As long as the relationships didn’t fuck with my paper, I didn’t care what they did.
Now Tabitha’s mind was weak and it was easy to manipulate her. She was a beautiful black girl who had a passion for designer purses without a means to get them. With promises to get her bag game up if she could take dick to ass, she eagerly joined my squad. All the members of Thirteen Flavors up to this point needed to belong. They needed a place to stay. They needed stability and I provided that for them. That is until I met my final girl.
I wanted her above them all. It was obvious that wanting and getting her were two different things. I met Tywanda at a cheap clothing store when I was getting my girls outfits for their first night on the stroll. I hadn’t planned on connecting with any other girls, until the money came in and I could afford to have them around. But the moment she walked past me, I knew I had to have her. Tywanda was black but her even skin tone made her look Brazilian. Her hair was cut low like a boy’s but instead of dying it blonde she made it dirty brown. Her lips were pouty and pink and her breasts were round and firm. I thought I seen the best of her beauty, until she turned around and I got a look at her ass. She was perfect. Thick like a black girl and toned like an athlete.
Passion was with me the day I decided to bring her into the fold. “Go get her.” I said, counting the money in my mind I would make off of her alone. “That bitch is gonna get us paid.”
Passion quickly hustled up to her, as Tywanda thumbed through a few cheesy dresses on a rack. It was the only place I could buy my girls an outfit for under twenty dollars. I positioned myself so that I could read their lips and see everything they were saying.
“You are so beautiful,” Passion told her, “but I’m sure you hear that all the time.”
The girl smiled. “I don’t hear it often, but thank you anyway.”
Passion moved closer. “My boss wants to know what you’re going to do with that body of yours.” She pointed at me and I winked at them. “It would be such a shame to let it go to waste.”
Tywanda blushed a little and shook her head. “I’m not into girls, if that’s what she means.”
“She’s not gay either.” Passion said with a straight face. “She is about her money though and she would love to make a little with you. If you’re up for it. Why don’t you let me take you over there to meet her.”
Tywanda glared. “If she got so much to tell me, how come she won’t say it to me directly? Why she gotta send you?”
Passion gave me the wave and I walked up to them. The closer I got to Tywanda, the prettier she became. “My name is Jayden,” I said, looking at the product before me, “and I would love to work with you.” Passion stepped away but remained close in case I needed her.
She blushed again. “What kind of stuff you do?”
“I sell pussy.” I didn’t want to beat around the bush because I didn’t have time. And anybody who wasn’t interested in doing what needed to be done, wasn’t useful to me.
She frowned and stepped back. “I…I’m not a whore.”
“Never said you were. And since when does getting paid for what you possess, make you a whore? If you ask me, it makes you a business person.”
She shook her head no. “I can’t do what you’re asking. I’m sorry.” Although I was irritated, I smiled at her and waved at Passion. She came back over and I said, “Give her your number and when she’s ready she’ll call me.”
They exchanged numbers and I spent the next day waiting for her call. The phone never rang. I guess she wasn’t interested in fucking, sucking and licking to make her money after all. It was weird because something in her eyes told me she was ready. Like she needed to give herself permission to be bad. They told me she was born for that shit.
And then one day, I was chilling in my house getting my feet rubbed by Hadiya. My mind was on my money and our first day on the stroll. It was raining hard outside and there was a knock at the door. I didn’t hear it but Passion looked at me and told me. Before the knock she was on the floor dancing with Catherine and Tabitha in the middle of the living room. She went to answer it, and when she did, Tywanda was standing at the doorway with a brown suitcase in her hand.
I tried to hide the pleasure on my face. This moment told me that I knew exactly what I was doing. And that I could read people even when they couldn’t read themselves. If Armanii was alive she would be proud. Tywanda placed her suitcase on the floor but she remained outside the house. I hadn’t invited her in yet. Her face was dripping wet and her full pouty lips were turned upside down into a frown. Her sadness excited me and I examined her fully.
“You want me to let her in?” Passion asked.
I didn’t want her to at the moment. Instead I observed how the white t-shirt she wore clung to her wet body revealing her round nipples. She wasn’t wearing a bra. The shirt was short enough to showcase her pierced bellybutton which blinged with a hoop diamond ring. The expression on her face was heavy and it looked like she was running from something, or somebody.
“Let her in now, Passion.” I finally said wearing my game face.
As if she was on an audition, Tywanda glided slowly into the house. I watched the way one leg crossed in front of the other, like they were one. She moved like she was on a runway and I enjoyed every minute of it. Her hips elevated up and down and didn’t stop until she was standing directly in front of me. She would be one of my top earners, I knew it. I’m so excited I can barely stay still. The best thing about it all was that she made the thirteenth girl to complete my team. My lucky number.
“Hello, Jayden.” She looked me in my eyes. “I was wondering,” she wiped a few raindrops from the top of her breasts, “well I was wondering if the position you were offering was still available. I kind of need the work and a place to stay, badly.”
I pointed to the floor and she slid to her knees and rested at my feet. The other girls stood behind her as if they were waiting
to see if she would be accepted, while Gucci looked jealous. I was dragging things out because I knew my answer the moment I saw her face. But I wanted her to remember this day in case she ever got the idea to fuck me over or play games with my money. When I was certain she suffered enough, I lifted her chin and said, “Be sure, beautiful. Because the moment you shake my hand and look into my eyes, I own you.”
Without hesitation she extended her hand, and signed over her life.
Present Day
Green Door – Adult Mental Health Care Clinic
Northwest, Washington DC
Christina sits across from Harmony breathing heavily. She was by far her most pathetic patient, but she’d be lying if she didn’t say she was also the most interesting. Flipping through the notes in Harmony’s chart she asks, “So basically you think Mrs. Sheers was the person who catapulted Jayden into the sex industry?”
Harmony heard the condescending tone she was famous for and rolled her eyes. “Yes.”
“If that is true, which we both know it isn’t, what part of Jayden’s path in life do you own?”
“I’m still working that out, Miss lady bitch, that’s why I’m here. You tell me, you get paid the big bucks to answer my questions don’t you?” She rubs her arms for warmth. The air conditioning is on too North Pole.
“Your daughter had to make major decisions, Harmony. In most of what you told me, I don’t think she had a choice. Being forced to come up with $250,000 in six months? That’s insane! Some people don’t see that amount of money in a lifetime.”
“I didn’t know about the fifty thousand dollars. Jayden never told me she couldn’t hear.”
“Would you have cared if she did?”
“We’ll never know now will we?”
Christina shakes her head. Harmony was still drunk and totally disrespectful. She could’ve thrown her out on her ass because of her condition alone but in her opinion she seemed more honest now. Also there was something dark about Harmony’s presence today, something that seemed final.