CHAPTER 18
Shakita was back in the city and was still broken by all the money she had lost. She didn’t want to go to work feeling all depressed, but she had no choice. She had to keep getting money, hoping to make enough to resolve her problem. She walked into the spa with her sunglasses on not wanting to look at anybody until the receptionist, Monique, called her over. Shakita didn’t want to be bothered but went over to see what she wanted anyway. When Shakita got close to her, Monique handed her an envelope.
“What’s this?” Shakita asked, confused.
Monique smiled. “It’s your check.”
Shakita had forgotten that they got paid every week and needed this money more than Monique knew. She quickly tore open the envelope so she could see the amount.
What the fuck is this? Shakita said to herself as frustration spread across her face. “Is Eric up there?”
“Yes he is. Would you like me to call him for you?”
“Please do.”
Monique smiled, paying Shakita’s anger no mind and placed the call for her. “Yes, Eric. Shakita is here to see you. Okay… No problem.”
Shakita was going to be pissed off if Eric dismissed her visit.
“Here’s your card.”
“Thank you, Mo,” Shakita said as she walked away in a hurry. Shakita couldn’t wait to get off that elevator so she could tell Eric what she really thought about her check. She arrived and entered.
“Eric. What the hell is this?” Shakita said as she held out the check.
Eric leaned back in his chair. “It’s your check. I’m not understanding what the problem is.”
“Eight hundred dollars, Eric! What am I supposed to do with this? You told me I would be making more money than this.”
“Relax, girl. The pay period cut-off day was Friday. That means that check is only for two days. Don’t worry; they get bigger.”
“I can’t tell. I did all that work and this is all I get?”
“You just started back. If you want more money, you’re going to have to rely on your recurring clients. Those men alone should provide you with all the money you need.” Eric spoke unflustered, hoping that Shakita would calm down and see his point.
“What about putting me on the damn purple or black floors? I don’t have time to be depending on tips!” Shakita shouted while Eric remained cool.
“I told you already. Those rooms are not for you.”
“You keep saying that and not telling me why. I need to know why.”
Eric thought for a second about what Shakita asked him before he answered. “Didn’t I give you ten grand the other night?”
“Yeah. But I asked you for two hundred and fifty.”
“What I’m getting at is if I gave you ten and you have been making good tips, you should have close to twenty thousand or more right now.”
Shakita gave him an uneasy look as he continued to talk.
“And if you still had twenty thousand now, you and I both know that you would reach your mark right when you need it. So that makes me wonder if you still have the money.”
Shakita became stumped by Eric’s assumption of her and didn’t feel comfortable being in his presence any longer. She rolled her eyes at him and then walked away. She realized he may have been on to her and needed to do something else to make that money back. If Eric wasn’t going to let her in the purple and black rooms, then she was going to have to get it another way. She was going to have to work the corners even though Eric didn’t want her to. Yet, it wasn’t Eric’s life that was on the line. It was hers. If Eric wasn’t going to ensure her life, she had to go against him and do it herself. Shakita would hit the streets and start hoeing. She had to make that money.
Eric watched as Shakita left his suite and couldn’t understand why she had so many problems with saving money. If he didn’t know any better, he would have presumed she had a drug problem. But he knew Shakita better than that and realized she must have still been gambling. He didn’t understand why she kept putting herself through the misery of losing. Eric was a risk taker himself but never spent everything he had on only one investment. He was convinced that it didn’t matter if Shakita were on the purple or black floors. If she was gambling again, she would still find a way to lose all her money. Even if he gave her the two hundred and fifty thousand that she had asked for, he wasn’t sure she would do the right thing with it. Shakita was going to have to make that decision on her own.
Shakita got off work an hour earlier and hit the streets to make more money. She made four thousand in tips for the night but still wasn’t satisfied. She left her car parked in the garage and walked up to Logan Circle. This was one of the hot strips that Eric had his girls work on. When Shakita got on the strip, she didn’t recognize any of the hoes except for one, Cotton, a thick white girl who wore her long black hair in a ponytail. Her diamond-studded earrings, electric-pink lipstick, and ultra-short mini dress was her winning formula to getting paid. Cotton labored the corners because Eric wouldn’t let her work in the spa. He wanted to keep an environment with only women of color and Cotton’s white ass wasn’t dark enough.
“What’s going on, Cotton? I didn’t think you would still be out here.”
“Well, everybody ain’t got privileges like you to work in the spa,” Cotton said sarcastically.
“How you know I’m back over there?”
“You know how. We in the hoe business and hoes talk.” Cotton took a pull from her cigarette. “Since you working at the spa, what brings your ass out here?”
“Times are rough.”
“You got some nerve talking about times are rough? At least you get to work on the fucking inside. I’m a rain, sleet, or snow bitch. If anybody got it rough, it’s my ass.”
Cotton was very bitter about not being able to work at the spa. The spa bitches had it three times as good as the strip hoes and had no risks to take. Shakita always thought Cotton was jealous when it came to her position, but she couldn’t care less. It wasn’t her fault that Cotton was born white.
“So how many johns you have tonight?” Shakita asked.
Cotton gave her a nasty look. “Ain’t you making enough money at the pussy palace already?”
“No, bitch. Didn’t I just tell you that times were rough?”
Cotton raised her eyebrow. “Does Eric know you’re out here?”
“No he doesn’t and I plan to keep it that way.”
“Well, bitches talk so you better be careful,” Cotton said, giving her fair warning to stay off her block.
“Well, if I find out that one of them bitches is you, then you are the one that will need to be careful.”
Cotton couldn’t do anything but suck her teeth at Shakita, and then responded to a trick that had pulled over for her. “You looking for a good time, baby?” Cotton said as she stuck her head in the passenger-side window. The trick agreed with her price and Cotton rolled her eyes again at Shakita before she got in the car and was off.
Shakita knew that Cotton wasn’t a fighter and really didn’t want any problems with her. Cotton was only mad at her circumstances and not with Shakita. She believed Cotton wouldn’t say a word to Eric. If she did, her ass was going down. Even if it did get back to Eric that she was tricking, she really didn’t care. He wasn’t willing to help her more than he was. She was the only one who cared if she lived or died, and that’s why she was out working the corners. Shakita wore a silk violet-colored halter and a black mini skirt as she strutted in her four-inch heels. She was determined to get some money out there and she had three hours to do it before the sun came up.
Shakita was walking hard, trying to get the attention of every car that rode past until one of them finally stopped.
“Hey, baby? You looking for a good time?”
“What can I pay for?” the middle-aged black man asked.
“Two hundred for pussy and fifty for head,” Shakita said as she leaned in the window. “Get in,” the man told her as he unlocked the door to h
is Camaro.
Shakita got in and they both were off. The man parked his car in a quiet alley that was across from the House of Kabob on N Street, so that they could get it on. The man only wanted to pay for sex so that’s what she was going to give him once he paid up front. She rolled the condom down on his dick until it reached the bottom of his shaft and then climbed on top of him in his seat. The man tilted his seat back and let Shakita do what she did best. When it was all over, the man had definitely gotten his money’s worth. He told himself he would return for some of her sweet pussy when he got paid again.
Thirty minutes later, Shakita was back on the strip and looking for her next trick, and it wasn’t long before she found one. A gray Lincoln Town Car pulled up a little way in front of her and she walked up to it.
“You tryna have some fun?” she asked the white man as she leaned in the window.
“How much?” he asked.
“Two hundred for pussy and fifty for head.”
“Two hundred? Ain’t that kind of steep for a piece of ass?”
“No, two hundred is cheap for this type of ass, baby. I should be charging you a thousand as good as this pussy is.”
“I don’t know, honey. Turn around so I could see that little tight ass of yours.”
Shakita turned around, then lifted up her skirt and put her entire ass in the window, showing him her luscious back side. She then jiggled her ass cheeks in his face, giving the man more of a reason to want her.
“Not bad, sweetheart. Not bad,” he said as she turned back around and lowered her skirt. “So do you want this pussy or not, daddy?”
“Do you do anal?” he asked in a creepy, whispering tone.
White men are such fucking disgusting pigs. They always wanna do some anal shit, she thought to herself.
“Yeah. But that’s another two hundred.”
“All right, get in. You better be worth it.”
“Oh believe me, baby, I am,” she said as she got in the car and shut the door.
“So do you want me to pay you now?”
“You know it. No money, no honey, baby.” Shakita said as she held her hand out for payment.
The man quickly reached in his pocket and placed his badge in her hand.
“You’re under arrest,” he said before Shakita even knew what she was holding.
Another unmarked car pulled up beside them with the sirens blaring, backing up their fellow officer in case Shakita decided to run. She couldn’t believe what the hell was happening to her and wanted to cry. The undercover officer cuffed her and placed her in the backseat. As the car pulled off, Shakita rode with her head down as the tears began to fall. She was about to go to jail for prostitution and she was scared as hell. She’d never been to jail and so far, this was the worst day of her life. Her mind was in a whirlwind as she headed off to jail. What the fuck am I going to do now?
As Cotton stood on the other side of the street watching all the action, she couldn’t help but to find it amusing at how Shakita had gotten caught up. When the car that was transporting Shakita to jail was finally off the street, the other unmarked car came around to where Cotton was standing and stopped in front of her. She walked over to the car and lowered herself to the officer’s window.
“Thanks for the tip, darling,” the officer said to her.
Cotton smiled. “No problem. I owed you a favor, right? Favors are what we do for each other.”
“Now I owe you one,” he said as he waved a handful of money at her. Cotton grabbed the money and then walked over to the passenger side and got in.
Cotton sat back in the seat as the car began to move. She was off to go show her cop friend a good time and had Shakita to thank for it. The money she received tonight for helping get Shakita busted was more than she would have made in a whole day. Shakita may have had a job at the spa that Cotton always wanted, but out in the streets, Cotton was the queen of the night. She didn’t feel sorry for what she’d done to Shakita, and neither did the cops. Besides, it wasn’t their fault that Shakita was born “black.”
CHAPTER 19
“Turn to the left.”
Snap!
“Now turn to the right.”
Snap!
Shakita couldn’t believe she was getting her mug shot taken and it was the most humiliating thing she’d ever had to do in her life, besides getting strip-searched. During the rest of her intake process, she was allowed to make phone calls before her hearing took place. There was no one she could call who would bail her out without asking why she was there in the first place. She thought about calling Eric, but she didn’t want him knowing about her arrest. She still needed to work at the spa and didn’t want Eric to lose his trust in her so soon. Since she couldn’t call Eric, that meant her only other option was Latrice.
Latrice wouldn’t understand why she was in jail either, but if Shakita had to count on someone, it would have to be her. She dialed Latrice’s number and hoped she would pick up.
• • •
“Who the fuck is callin’ me this early?” Latrice wondered. She looked at the clock to see that it was only 8 a.m. She hoped it was a telemarketer so she could cuss their ass out for calling her house so early in the morning.
“Hello,” she answered, sounding halfway sleep.
The way the automated prompter came on, she knew it was a collect call from the D.C. Jail. “I actually talked to his ass yesterday,” Latrice said, waiting to hear Bay’s name.
“You have a collect call from… Shakita Marshall… Do you accept the charges?”
“What the fuck is she doing in there?” Latrice was so shocked that Shakita was calling her from jail that she almost forgot to accept the charges. She quickly sat up in bed and accepted the call. She couldn’t wait to find out what was going on.
“Hello,” Shakita spoke hesitantly.
“Girl! What the hell are you doing in there?”
Shakita didn’t want to tell her what was going on yet, but she had to tell her something. “I can’t explain everything right now, but I might need you to bail me out.”
Latrice was momentarily speechless as she covered her face not believing what she was hearing. “Kita. I don’t even know what to say to you right now.”
Latrice didn’t even like bailing Bay out of jail and now her best friend was asking her to do the same for her.
“I know you’re mad at me, but I really need your help.”
Latrice remained silent as Shakita continued to plea for her help until she gave in. “Aight. But you better tell me everything.”
“I will. I need you to get me out of here first.”
“When do I need to be down there?”
“My hearing isn’t until ten-thirty, so you can come here around twelve.”
“I knew this was going to happen to your ass one day,” Latrice said, letting Shakita know how frustrated she was with her.
Shakita sucked her teeth. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you always doing some grimy-ass shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me you were in there for credit card fraud or some shit like that.”
“Could you just come down here, please?” Shakita asked not knowing what else to say to her.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Latrice hung up the phone and not giving Shakita a chance to say anything else.
She was fully aware that Latrice was really pissed off with her and had every reason to be. If Latrice was mad about having to go pick Shakita up from jail, she was really going to have a problem when she found out about the money. Shakita hung up the phone and went to sit on a bench along with some other women in the holding cell. Shakita crossed her legs and then rubbed her goose-bump-covered arms, as she attempted to keep herself warm from the cool air that continued to travel through the bars. She looked leery at the other women in the holding cell. They were all in there for various crimes, and it finally resonated that jail was no where she wanted to be. She hoped 10:30 would come quickly.
Judge Tomlin was a dark-skinned man with a small afro and wore thin-framed glasses. He had big eyes that immediately demanded your attention. Judge Tomlin had been on the bench for over fifteen years and had seen every type of individual walk through his courtroom. He hated it the most when black women were coming before him now at the same rate as black men. He didn’t understand where so many of them went wrong.
“Miss Marshall. I see here that you have been picked up for soliciting. Is that correct?” Judge Tomlin asked as he looked over her file.
“Yes, Your Honor,” Shakita answered meekly.
“I also see that this is your first offense, but you and I both know that this is the first time you’ve ever been caught.” Shakita gave the judge a guilty look.
“How long have you been soliciting, Miss Marshall?”
“Only a few times,” she answered, trying to sound believable.
“Only a few times? Is this what you want to be doing for the rest of your life?”
“No, Your Honor. I needed some fast money.”
“I guess receiving a paycheck every two weeks isn’t fast enough these days?” Judge Tomlin said sarcastically.
The situation Shakita was in would not allow a regular paycheck to fix her problem. She needed more money than the judge was able to understand.
“So, Miss Marshall, do you currently have a day job?”
“No, Your Honor.”
“Why don’t you have a job, Miss Marshall?”
“I’ve had a hard time trying to find one.”
“That is funny you say that, Miss Marshall. I looked in the Washington Post this morning and saw pages and pages of them.” Shakita didn’t have anything to say. “You know what I think your problem is, Miss Marshall? You, along with most of young America, want instant gratification. You don’t want to work hard for anything and want everything right now. Let me ask you this, Miss Marshall. Were you trying to get money to support a drug habit?”
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