by Jade Jones
Jude quickly followed after me as I walked away from the scene. “Cameron, wait!”
I turned around and looked at him. “How many other strippers you fuck with? What number am I on the list?” I asked.
“Cam, that’s old shit. I been knowing her before she started strippin’.”
“Like she said, it wasn’t that old. You were fuckin’ with her when you knew me.”
Jude looked defeated. “Yeah, I may have fucked with her from time to time, but that was before me and you got serious. I haven’t spoken to her since. She did all that shit just to stir up some drama. Don’t let that fuck up what he got.”
“What we had,” I said before walking off.
Jude was silent as he followed me out into the parking lot. “So, now you don’t wanna drive?” he asked me as I stood at the passenger door.
I ignored him as I tapped my heel incessantly upon the pavement. A habit I usually did whenever I was overly pissed off but refused to speak on it.
“Okay, then,” he said opening the driver door.
After hitting the automatic door unlock button, I climbed inside and slammed the door. Had he been Silk, he might’ve slapped the hell out of me, but Jude only shook his head before turning up the volume to his Future mixtape.
We didn’t say another word to one another on the way back to the dorms. When he finally pulled alongside Viking Hall, he turned the music down and turned towards me.
“I kept it real with you since day one, “ he said. “I told you the strip club ain’t my thing. I don’t go around tryna smash every dancer I meet. I knew Keisha before she even started strippin’. I promise you, that was a minute ago. Yeah, I was fucking with her off and on lately, but I put a stop to that shit as soon as I saw how much I was feelin’ you.”
I knew I should have just let it go and moved on, but my emotions eventually got the best of me. I didn’t say a word as I hopped out the truck and slammed the door behind me.
“Damn, so it’s like that, Cameron?” Jude asked as I made my way to the entrance of my building.
I ignored him as I stepped inside. At that moment, I was feeling like “Fuck Jude” and “Fuck the truck”.
Chapter 24
After tossing my clear six inch heels into my rolling suitcase, I zipped it up and headed downstairs. There was a yellow cab parked on the side of the building waiting to take me to my destination.
Six minutes later, I pulled up to The Shakedown.
Making money was a great way to get my mind off the whole Jude and Pure and Seduction thing. Surprisingly, there was a nice crowd inside. Bills were flying from every which direction as they littered the stage and floor. Both Pocahontas and Juicy were on stage entertaining the fellas with a little girl on girl action. After paying the fee to dance, I headed to the back to get dressed.
For the entire night, Pocahontas and I stayed out of each other’s way. It wasn’t until the club closed when she decided to speak to me.
“You need a ride home?” she asked.
I literally looked behind me to see if she was speaking to someone else.
“Cameron, you need a ride home?” she repeated.
I had called Ace Taxi thirty minutes ago and they still had yet to arrive. Truthfully, I would have rather walked than to get into Poca’s car.
“Naw, I’m good,” I told her not bothering to look up at her. Instead, I scrolled through the text messages Jude had sent me while I was working.
Pocahontas sighed. “I know you pissed about the shit with Silk. Hell, you got every right to be. I know we ain’t gone never go back to being how we used to be and I don’t expect us to. But I just wanna let you know, I’m sorry for the way shit went down,” she said. “I was dead wrong. Straight up. I should’ve told you what it was from day one. I should’ve never did my girl like that.”
“Hypnotic, I’m giving you ten more minutes and then I gotta close down,” Ahmad hollered from the back.
“Come on, I’ll take you home,” Poca offered again.
I sighed dejectedly. The last thing I needed was to get robbed or raped while walking back to the dorms. Gathering my pride, I climbed off the stool and followed Pocahontas to her Challenger.
After we climbed in and fastened our seat belts, Poca looked over at me and said, “I really am sorry, Cameron.”
I looked out the window, not evening wanting to look at her as she apologized.
“I deserved that ass whupping,” she admitted. “For real, you was like the closest thing I had to a sister. I mean...Juicy cool...but it ain’t like how me, you and X-Rated used to kick it. You know?” She paused. “I did you worse than I ever did any nigga...and you was my friend...you was my ace bitch.”
I finally turned towards her.
“Honestly...” she sighed. “I’ve always been jealous of you Cameron.”
“Jealous?”
“I mean look at you. You’re strongminded...you’re smart...you gotta good head on your shoulders. Hell, you strip but still manage to do it with a lil’ dignity.” She paused. “Me? I’m all fucked up out here. I can’t even be a mother to the one kid I have.”
Suddenly, the flare of bright lights behind us interrupted her.
“What the hell?” I asked turning in my seat.
There was a dark green van parked behind us, and the driver’s front brights nearly blinded us.
Putting a hand over my eyes, to shield the intense light, I asked Poca, “Who is that?”
Poca looked in her sideview mirror. “Oh, shit! That’s Kevin!”
“Who is Kevin?!”
Poca quickly started the ignition. “Girl, this nigga I robbed a few days ago!”
“What?!”
Poca quickly pulled off, and so did Kevin.
“How much you get him for?” I asked.
“Girl, I ain’t even count all the damn money. After I fucked the nigga and put his ass to sleep, I got to lookin’ around the house for his stash--”
“Stash?!”
“Yeah. You don’t know that dope boy that be coming in the after hour spot--Smoove’s from time to time? Short nigga from Texas with the funny accent.”
“I danced for him a couple times but--”
“Anyway, I found the nigga’s stash in a NIKE shoe box in his closet. Girl, I took that shit and bounced!”
“And you didn’t think he’d come looking for your dumb ass?!”
Poca opened her mouth to answer, but the back of her car being rammed by Kevin’s bumper instantly stopped her. Me and Poca’s bodies jerked forward from the impact and I nearly smacked my head against the dashboard.
“What the fuck?!” Poca screamed.
I turned in my seat just before Kevin rammed Poca’s car a second time. That time the side of my head connected harshly with the dashboard.
“Get us the fuck away from him!” I screamed in fear, cradling my head. A knot was quickly forming near my temple. “Drive this mothafuckin Challenger!”
Poca mashed her foot on the gas pedal and the car accelerated further away from Kevin’s van. She was in such a state of panic, that she didn’t realize she had quickly pulled into a one-way street, nearly colliding with a Ford Explorer.
Poca’s tires screeched as she stopped abruptly. The Explorer quickly pulled around us as the driver shouted obscenities through the window. Together we sat there for a brief moment as our chests heaved, relieved that we hadn’t drove into the truck. However, our brief reprieve quickly ended when we saw the bright lights of Kevin’s van approach us. He had to be driving at over forty-five miles an hour when his van clipped the back of Poca’s Challenger, causing the car to spiral out of control and--
***
As soon as I opened the passenger door, shattered glass poured onto the ground. My entire body ached as I tried to climb out the wrecked car. Uncontrollably, I tumbled onto the pavement smacking my face against the cement.
“Get off me! Get the fuck off me!” Poca screamed.
“Where’s my mothafucki
n’ money, bitch?” An unfamiliar deep voice yelled.
I slowly picked myself up and took a few steps around the front of the car before collapsing again. Looking over at the altercation just a few feet away from me, I clearly saw a guy standing over Poca with a gun pressed to her chin. He was holding a fistful of her hair with the other. With all the cuts and bruises on her face, she was almost unrecognizable.
“I don’t know,” she said. Her tone was defiant.
“Bitch, I’ma ask you one more fuckin’ time?” He cocked the trigger. “Where’s. My. Money?”
“It’s gone!” she yelled, writhing in his grip.
“Gone?!” he screamed. “Bitch, you mean to tell me you blew through twenty mothafuckin’ stacks that quick?!”
“I didn’t say I spent it!” she yelled.
“Well, what the fuck you do with my money?! Quit playin’ with me!”
“I sent it to my mother and daughter!”
He roughly pushed her onto the pavement and stood up. Aiming the gun at her, he said. “Fuck your mother! Fuck your daughter! And fuck you!” He then let off two bullets into her body.
I turned my head away as tears streamed from my eyes. Gravel crunched underneath the bottoms of his Timberland boots as he approached me. I slowly looked up at his blurred figure and wasn’t surprised at all as I stared into the barrel of his glock...Suddenly, blackness englufed me...
Chapter 25
The wailing ambulance sirens brought me back to reality once I opened my eyes. Looking around at my surroundings, I realized that I was not in some fucked up nightmare. Only three feet away from me, Poca lied motionlessly in a puddle of her own dark red blood.
I struggled standing to my feet as I made sure Kevin was long gone. The only vehicle I saw was Poca’s totaled Dodge Challenger. I slowly made my way over towards her body and looked down at her.
Vomit shot up my throat and I quickly swallowed it in an attempt to keep from throwing up. One bullet was lodged deeply in her chest while the other had entered the tip of her skull, pushing her wig back. Her eyes were wide open as she stared expressionlessly at the starry sky.
The sound of sirens grew louder as I quickly retrieved my suitcase from the wrecked car and walked away from the tragic scene. By the time I made it to 24th street and Superior Avenue, I couldn’t hold the vomit any longer. I threw up right on the corner. After emptying the contents of my stomach, I tried my best to pull myself together as I walked home.
***
As soon as I made it inside my dorm room, Jude was the first person I called. He answered on the second, “I’m glad you finally stopped ignorin’ your man,” he said.
I opened my mouth to speak, but a croak was all I managed to emit.
“Cameron? You there?”
“I’m here.” My voice cracked as I spoke.
“You okay baby?” he asked.
Tears slipped from eyes. “Yeah,” I squeaked out.
“Naw, you don’t sound alright,” he said. “I’m ‘bout to come down there right now.”
Before I could decline his offer, he quickly hung up.
Surprisingly, twenty minutes later he called me telling me to come downstairs. After handing his ID to the front desk employee, he followed me to the elevators.
“How’d you get here so fast?” I asked. “You didn’t go home?”
“No,” he said. “I been at my mama’s house. I ain’t wanna drive back to Columbus and leave shit the way it’s been today.”
I was silent as I stepped into the elevator.
“So what happened?” he asked.
At the question, my eyes watered up and my bottom lip trembled. All I could think about was the last moment Poca and I had shared before the chaos occurred.
“Come here, baby,” Jude said sympathetically as he pulled me towards him. “Look, I don’t want you upset, so you don’t have to talk about whatever it is that happened tonight. Okay?” he said.
I nodded my head as he held me tightly. Suddenly, the elevator chimed indicating we had reached my floor.
“You know I really don’t wanna lose you,” he said after we were inside. “I’m sorry about that shit that hap--”
“I’m not even on that,” I told him. And truthfully, I wasn’t. After the shit that had happened only moments ago, Pure Seduction and Jude’s past relationship had been pushed to the back of my mind.
Right about now, I was happy simply to have him here with me. We were fully clothed when climbed into the bed.
Holding me closely while running his fingers through my hair, he said, “I’ve been thinking about moving back to Cleveland permanently.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah. My brother, Jerrell just brought a dealership on the westside and he lookin’ for somebody to manage it. I also been wantin’ to be closer to you,” he admitted. “I don’t wanna have to drive two hours every time I wanna see my lady.”
“That’d be nice to have you closer to me,” I mumbled.
“I was also thinkin’ about movin’ you out these dorms.”
I looked up at him. “Why? What’s wrong with the dorms?”
He snorted. “Uh...they’re dorms. Besides, I’ve been looking up homes for when I move down here. I found a nice luxury condo in Lakewood. I wanna go look at it next week. Will you come with me to see it?”
I nodded my head in agreement. Jude talked to me a little longer until he ended up talking to himself after I drifted off to sleep.
***
When I awoke, Jude was no longer beside me but he was considerate enough to leave a note on the desk. Beside the note, were the keys to the Audi Q7. Picking the note up, I read over the hastily scribbled words: Hey baby, went to run some errands with bro. Hope you feel better. Find you somethin’ to do to keep ya mind off the bullshit. I left u a lil somethin. I’ll talk to u later aight? Jude
It wasn’t until I read the note, that I noticed the folded up bills on the desk. I sucked my teeth, because Jude knew I felt about him spoiling me too much. A little was nice, but I didn’t want him to go over and beyond with it.
Truthfully, I just did not want him to turn into another Silk. I didn’t want him thinking I needed to depend on him, when I was more than capable of taking care of myself. Instead of taking his money and blowing it, I decided to follow his advice of finding something to do to. After scrolling through my contacts, I called up my girl Tiffany.
***
Once Tiffany arrived an hour later, we ordered Chinese food and I briefly filled her on everything that had occurred over the past two months. Me meeting Jude, finding out about Silk and Pocahontas, and even the crazy shit that happened last night.
“So you just left?” Tiffany asked with a mouthful of orange chicken.
“Why would I stick around?” I asked. “The police were on their way there and I just wanted no part of it, girl. I mean...you should’ve saw the way...” My voice trailed off as I thought about the way Pocahontas looked the last time I had saw her. I didn’t want to remember her that way, but the image was forever imprinted in my mind.
Placing my fork inside the take out box, I slowly pushed the food away.
“Sounds like a bad case of karma,” Tiffany said. Suddenly her cell phone began ringing. “Hold on,” she pulled her cell phone out her purse. “Damn, this is little my sister. She must be ready for me to pick her up. Hello," she answered. “Yeah. Okay. I’m on my way," she disconnected the call. “Sheesh, I’ll be so happy when she finally gets her license.” She closed her to-go box and placed it in a plastic bag. “Alright, girl. I guess I’ll catch up with you later. Don’t be a stranger now,” she joked.
“I won’t,” I agreed as I walked her to the door.
“Really, Cameron,” she said turning to face me. “Hit me up if you ever wanna kick it...or even if you just want someone to talk to.”
Tiffany and I were once the best of friends before I had begun a profitable career of dancing. Since then, we barely spent time or hung out togeth
er. Pocahontas had quickly taken her spot and Tiffany had been pushed to the sideline. Truthfully, I was looking forward to rekindling our friendship.
I had made the decision last night--while staring down the barrel of a gun--that if Kevin spared my life, I would never step foot inside another strip club. There was no doubt that I would stick to my self-promise. The shit that happened last night had really opened my eyes. It caused me to see my hustle for what it really was. And the gamble wasn’t worth my life. The rape, the robbery, the beatdown I had suffered at the hands of five strippers. The shit wasn’t worth it anymore. Whoever said that stripping was easy didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about.
“Will do,” I said.
“Alright, girl.”
I watched as Tiffany disappeared into the lobby before closing my door. Just as I was walking towards my bed, I noticed she had left her red handbag on my desk.
Suddenly, there was a knock at my door. Grabbing her purse, I walked to the door and opened it. “Girl, you forgot your--”
My mouth fell open at the sight of the one person I would not have expected to see standing here.
Chapter 26
“You don’t look happy about seeing me,” Silk said. He bombarded into my dorm room and slammed the door shut behind him.
How the hell did he get past the security and front desk employee, I thought.
His body reeked of alcohol and it was only two in the afternoon. “Silk, what are you doing here--”
“I been seeing your mothafuckin’ ass running all around town with that nigga. You a hardheaded bitch!” he spat.
“Silk--”
Whap!
He slapped me so hard that I felt my lip split.
So you ain’t gone stop it, huh?” he asked. “You ain’t gone put an end to shit?!”
