“Your mama is wrong for not showing up.” Ms. Franklin smacked her lips as she hugged Aphtan. “Well, I’m proud of you. A black girl from the projects number one? All these white kids and you smarter than everybody. Gon’ on with your bad ass.”
“Mama, shut up.” Mila hugged Aphtan. “You deserve this, girl. No matter who here and who not.”
“Thank y’all.” Aphtan blew kisses at them. “I need some fresh air. I’ll see y’all at home a little later.”
Aphtan slowly made her way through the auditorium; through the crowds of people like waves on a vast ocean. She wasn’t quite awkward through the small talk, but something seemed off about her. The building was full of people, engaging in cheerful conversation. Everyone’s bodies touched, like a silent dance of a mosh pit.
“Congratulations.” Cole stopped her, his gown folded on his arm.
“Same to you.” Aphtan looked past him.
“Are you looking for someone?” Cole waved his hand in her face to get her attention.
“Yes,” she answered softly.
“Is it a guy?” He raised his eyebrow.
“Why do you ask that?”
“I gave you my number a week ago.” He leaned back on one of the connected seats. “You still haven’t called me.”
“I’ve been busy. There’s been a lot on my plate,” Aphtan defended.
“I get it.” Cole stood up straight. “No pressure. I see my brother coming. Would you like to meet him?”
“Sure.” Aphtan turned around to greet his brother, and Scooter’s face met hers.
“Congratulations, baby.” Scooter kissed her lips.
“Thank you, boo.” She hugged him. “I’m glad you made it.”
“I had to come see my baby and my little brother walk across the stage.” He reached over her to grab Cole’s head.
“Really, Aphtan?” Cole shook his head as his nostrils flared. “How did you get mixed up with Chris?”
“Brothers?” Aphtan looked at them one by one. “Damn, y’all do favor.”
“Y’all know each other?” Scooter hugged her from behind.
“This is the chick I told you I was feeling.” Cole’s eyes stayed on Aphtan’s.
“She needs a man, baby brother,” Scooter suggested.
“Trust me, I’m definitely a man,” Cole spat. “Of all the girls in this city, how did you cross paths with her?”
“We go way back.” Scooter put his fist to his chest. “She’s your sister-in-law now, so get those nasty thoughts out of your mind.”
Cole opened his eyes as wide as he could and gave them a death stare. His face was glazed for a split second, and then he frowned. His lips pursed and his eyes were unblinking. At that moment, if his eyes were a weapon, the piercing look in them could have caused serious destruction. He was a lion, and Scooter had just gone into his territory and he was about to attack.
“This shit is crazy.” Cole took a step back in shock. His voice was so loud, so thunderous, that they couldn’t concentrate on what he had said, only the tone in which he had said it. He had become a whole different person. His shining, golden brown eyes had turned into a dark and gloomy black. His eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched together. His hands fisted in rage.
“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Aphtan grabbed Cole’s arm. “I’ll be right back,” she told Scooter as she looked back at him.
Aphtan pulled Cole by his arm through the busy crowd. The last thing she wanted was for brothers to be at odds over her. She didn’t have a lot of family; however, it was still important to her.
“What’s up?” Cole shoved away from her when they made it outside.
“I know we don’t know each other that well, Cole.” She looked serious. “I don’t want you and Scooter at each other’s necks. I’m with him, and you have to accept that.”
“You don’t know him at all.” He put his hand on her cheek. “He’s bad news. I know I don’t know you that well. I do know that you’re smart. You’re number one in our class. You’re destined to be a lawyer, a doctor, or something equivalent to that. I know you not supposed to be the wife of a drug dealer.”
“I know what I’m supposed to be.” Aphtan moved out of the way for an old woman who was walking by. “I just want to live better, by any means. I’m tired of roaches.” Her eyes teared up. “I’m tired of the projects and stealing to get by.”
“I understand what you’re saying. Get out the right way, though. Don’t get sucked up in that shit. Once you get in, you can’t get out.”
“You ready?” Scooter walked up on them.
“Yes, let’s go.” Aphtan looped her arm into Scooter’s.
“Are y’all coming to my graduation dinner?” Cole called out to their backs after they walked toward the parking lot.
“We’ll be there.” Scooter threw up the deuces.
Aphtan thought about what Cole said as she sat in the plush seat of the car. She couldn’t shake his words the entire way to her house. Life with Scooter would be so much better. She wouldn’t have to worry about a thing. All of her needs and wants would be taken care of. It was an easy way out, and nothing ever came easy for her.
She didn’t want to take that way out. It was exactly what her mother had done. Simone had given her all to Aphtan’s father and ended up with nothing. She wanted her own stability. She didn’t want to become dependent upon a man. She wanted to find her own way.
Aphtan looked around the foreign car that she was in as they stopped in front of her building. She could only imagine the kind of life she would have if she gave her all to Scooter. She kissed him before going up the stairs, her diploma still in her hand, to change before the dinner.
She opened the door to her apartment. The smell of Raid tainted the air. She looked around the apartment for her mother, but she wasn’t there. She went to her room and set her diploma on top of her dresser next to all of the acceptance letters from colleges all around the globe.
As she passed the coffee table full of bills on the way out of the door, she decided that college wasn’t for her right now. After the dinner, she planned to talk to Mila about working at Pearl Tongue.
CHAPTER 12
Water poured endlessly from the gray sky. Lightning illuminated the day occasionally followed by the deep roar of thunder. Aphtan leaned closer to the glass, her nose pressing against it. The grass seemed to drown in the low flood of the storm. Eerily, yet not unexpectedly, a popping sound floated through the air. More than likely a tree was getting knocked down nearby.
The cold rain pelted the window of the car, drumming a hypnotizing beat that thrummed painfully in Aphtan’s skull. The lightning flashed spookily and the wild wind shook the stark, leafless trees. Every now and again thunder would boom, shocking her heart and making her cringe involuntarily. Icy wind stole through the cracks in the windows and doors and snaked delicately around her skin, raising goose bumps. The day, only sunny and bright some minutes ago, was now dark and shadowed.
“You sure you want to do this?” Mila looked at the large tongue with a pearl in the middle of it on top of the building in front of them.
“I need this money.” Aphtan sat up in the seat. “Do you think your boss will hire me?”
“Who? Crisco? Hell, yeah, he will hire you. But will Scooter be okay with you stripping?”
“It isn’t about if he will be okay with it.” Aphtan opened the door. “It’s about survival.”
“Well, let’s go.” Mila got out of the car with her.
Aphtan glanced wearily at the dull white building, knowing it was her prison today and for a while. The flowers were growing slowly and weakly around the sidewalk as if they were feeling her pain. Her heels galloped down the walkway as she pulled the halter she wore down some.
They walked through the double doors. The inside of the building was dark as night. The smell of cheap perfume owned the hallway as they made their way through the establishment. Mila held up her hand as they made it to a red door. She knocked
as hard as she could and waited for an answer.
“Who is it?” a voice asked through the door.
“Black,” Mila answered.
“Black?” Aphtan whispered.
“My stripping name,” Mila replied as the red door opened. “You will get one, too.”
Crisco sat behind the office desk as the door closed behind them, twiddling his thumbs and gazing around the darkly lit room, with only a lamp producing little light. He never looked at them as he leaned back in the chair, the tie around his neck hanging loosely. His Egyptian-like skin glistened under the scarce light. His face wasn’t so easy to see.
He took a sip from a glass full of chilled Hennessy, which by now had gone a little warm, as his eyes inattentively gave focus on the money piled neatly next to his free hand. He scanned the money from the night before, then the two women who were now sitting in front of him.
“Black,”—Crisco looked at them—“the only thing you better have for me is an explanation as to why you weren’t at work last night.”
“It was my graduation.” Mila dug in her purse and took a stack of money out. “I told you I wouldn’t be here, but this should cover what I owe.” She tossed the money on the desk.
“You’re lucky you make me so much money.” He snapped his fingers to order the man guarding the door to remove the money from the desk. “Who is this?”
“My home girl.” Mila made her finger go up and down to signal Aphtan to stand up. “She wants to work.”
“She does?” Crisco looked at Aphtan’s small body as she spun around. “How old is your friend, Black?”
“Seventeen,” Aphtan chimed in and answered as Mila gave her a scolding look.
Mila shook her head. “What she meant to say is that she’s a fresh eighteen.”
Crisco poured a line of cocaine on the desk and snorted it through his nose. “I really don’t give a fuck about her age.” He wiped some powder from the tip of his nose. “Can you dance is the money-making question.”
“She can dance,” Mila answered.
“Let’s see, then.” He snorted another line.
Crisco stood up. The light from the single lamp flashed on him just enough to show his face. He was short but stout. His skin had the brown tone of a Reese’s and scars covered his handsome face. His demeanor was calm, yet strong.
The man guarding the door opened it as Crisco, Mila, and Aphtan approached it. They walked down the long hallway. Aphtan’s stomach felt like it would fall out of her anal cavity at any moment. The smell of rum and sweat was prevalent as they entered the main room of the business.
“I’ll go cut on some music.” Crisco headed to the DJ booth. “I need to see what you can do.”
“You ready?” Mila grabbed Aphtan’s purse from her.
“I guess I don’t have a choice.” Aphtan gulped loudly as she eyed the stage.
The lights beamed throughout the room at Crisco’s demand. The long stage lit up as smoke rose from the bottom of the pole. Aphtan bumped into tables as she made her way to the stage. She approached the stairs leading up to the stage as her back filled with sweat.
“Next up to the stage it our new booty here at Pearl Tongue,” Crisco screamed into the microphone. “Y’all open y’all hearts, and wallets, to our new dancer, Lotus!”
“Don’t Make,” 8Ball and MJG’s hit song, came blasting through the speakers at full force. Aphtan walked up the stairs as her tongue rubbed the roof of her mouth. She swallowed hard as one large light shone down on her. She closed her eyes as she held her head back and let out a big sigh.
“Make me want to hire you,” Crisco yelled into the microphone. “Dance, girl.”
“Clean that pole,” Mila yelled as she pointed to a bottle filled with clear liquid that had a towel on the top of it. “Dance while you cleaning the pole. These hoes are nasty in here, Aphtan. Always clean the pole before you touch it.”
A feeling of dread crept up from the pit of her stomach. A cold wave embalmed her as the hairs rose on the back of her neck and her mouth ran dry. She was paralyzed to the spot, the menacing aura holding her in a tightening grip.
Aphtan blinked for a minute, wishing she could be as graceful as Mila. She imagined how it must feel to have the world spin around her while she twirled on the pole. Or how it felt to climb to the top. Or even how to just have a general rhythm to the movement of her hips. She found herself drifting out of her clothes. She wasn’t even conscious of it.
Before she knew what was happening, she was twirling around to the beat the music gave her, grinding around on the pole as if she always belonged on it. Even though she was unsure of when her daydream had crossed into reality, she knew she was doing the dance right, and she could feel that the music emphasized her every move.
Aphtan grabbed the pole and climbed to the top. Her ass bounced to the bass in the song as she slowly turned around while she held on for dear life. She did a split in the air, using every ounce of the upper body strength she had. She slid all the way down until she was flat on the surface of the stage, her legs still in a split.
“Yes, bitch.” Mila stood up and walked over to the stage. “You killed that shit. You gon’ get paid.”
Aphtan put her clothes back on as Crisco walked up to the stage. She could see a look of satisfaction on his face. The way he grinned let Aphtan know that she had gotten the job. He held his hand out to help her off the stage.
“You can definitely dance.” He stepped back to get another good look at her. “You can start whenever you want.”
“We gone be the most wanted in this bitch.” Mila handed Aphtan her purse.
“I’ve got to go.” Crisco walked off. “Black, fill her in on the rules.”
“I got it.” Mila leaned back on the foundation of the stage as Crisco disappeared through the hallway. “Let’s do this run-down.”
“Cool.” Aphtan sat down on the edge of the stage.
“I already told you about cleaning the pole.”
“I got that.”
Mila looked at her phone to read a text message. “Second, always give Crisco his cut off top. The requirement is five hundred a night. It goes up by how popular you are and the more you make.”
“Five hundred dollars?” Aphtan crossed her legs. “Damn, that’s a lot.”
“Maybe for these ugly hoes in here, but for pretty bitches like us, that ain’t shit. Third, never tell these niggas or bitches your government name. Crisco names every stripper that works here, and he called you Lotus, so get used to it.”
“I don’t like that name. I’m not feeling it.”
“You think I like Black? Hell no. It’s all about the money. Fuck a name.”
“What else?” Aphtan eyed the room again.
“Set boundaries off top. That’s with these niggas and these hoes that work here. Don’t let these niggas touch you any way they want to. Be known for being a bitch for not letting them touch. Don’t let these hoes in here lie to you and pretend to be your friend. There are no friends here.”
“You know I already know that.” Aphtan put a piece of hair behind her ear.
“That’s about it, though. Leave your pride at the door and think about the money.”
“You’re a trainer now, Black,” a woman asked as she walked up on them.
“Lotus,”—Mila pointed at the woman—“this is Tsunami. Tsunami, this is my girl Lotus.”
“Hey,” Tsunami said with force.
Tsunami’s hair was the color of melted gold with natural butterscotch highlights that brought out the bronze flecks in her golden eyes. They cascaded down to her curvy hips, smooth and soft as silk. Her eyes flickered under the strobe lights, lush long lashes brushing against her delicate brow bones. Her skin was clearer than the glittering ocean. Her full, pink rosebud lips were shaped in a glossy, puffy O.
She was taller than average and thick, with ample creamy breasts. She was fully nude, except for a thin gold body chain that accentuated her pink nipples, and made her thin arm
look as if it would snap under the weight of it. She was all gold and endless legs, too beautiful for words.
“This is one of the bitches you definitely shouldn’t trust.” Mila laughed.
“You should work on that jealous thing.” Tsunami walked up the stairs to the stage to practice. “It’s not a good look for you.”
“Bitch, please.” Mila rolled her eyes. “Lotus, let’s go. We need to go get you some outfits anyway.”
“What was that about?” Aphtan nodded her head toward the stage after she jumped down and followed behind Mila.
“Nothing,” Mila lied. “That bitch is garbage.”
* * *
Boss inhaled the fresh air deep inside of his nose as the gates to the federal prison closed behind him. He looked up at the sky with a squint, his eyes trying to get use to the beautiful light the sun produced. He tugged at the pajama pants he had been arrested in eight years prior as a pearl-white foreign car pulled up in front of him.
He walked toward the car. The muscles in his arms flexed from the weight of the bag he was carrying. He opened the door to the car and got inside. He threw the bag in the back as the car accelerated forward with ease. He was finally free, and he planned to remain that way.
“Welcome to the free world.” The woman driving the car grabbed his hand and held it. “I’m so happy you’re free.”
“Me too.” He reached over and kissed her lips. “Have you been watching my daughter like I asked you to?”
“Baby, you know I’ve been on it.” She tossed him a bag full of jewelry. “She graduated number one in her class a couple of months ago.”
“That’s my girl.” Boss put the jewelry on piece by piece. “What about Simone?”
“She’s in them streets. She’s strung out, and I don’t think there’s no coming back. She’s a full blown crack—”
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