An Urban Drama by Roy Glenn Read Free Book Online

at me,” I demanded as I took his seat. I was really getting into the spirit of this now. He stumbled to his feet and turned around. He loosened his tie as I pulled my legs back, practically behind my head. He stood there mesmerized as the others looked on. He started rubbing his head, and before I knew it what was happening, he was on the floor. I guess he was so drunk that he passed out.
    We were there for an hour. After we left, Amel handed me two hundred dollars, and I had made another two hundred in tips. I became a private dancer, and the money got nothing but better. Amel took me along on all of her jobs, and every time she called me I got no less than two-fifty plus tips. Most nights I came away with five hundred dollars. I had quite a few customers who tried to proposition me, but I would tell them I was just there to dance, get my money, and leave.
    Then I got lucky.
    Amel called me and said she had an easy gig that night. “It’s just one guy and he said he would pay big-time for two, so come on and get paid. We’ll pick you up in an hour.” When we got there, though, the guy said he would only pay if he got to watch us take a shower together. “I wanna watch the two of you do each other, and then I wanna join in. How much would that cost me?” the guy asked.
    “Fifteen hundred, each,” Amel said quickly.
    I said, “Oh, hell no!” Got my shit and got out of there. It was a good thing that I did to, ’cause that guy was a cop and he arrested Amel . That was the end of my career as a private dancer.
 
Six
    Now I was addicted to having that cash again, so once again, I had to decide what I was going to do. What I decided to do was something that I swore I would never do. I walked up in a strip club and asked the manager for a job.
    My thinking was that I would be all right onstage dancing, ’cause I would just dance and the customers would bring me money. That’s what I was used to from working with Amel . I would dance around the room teasing men, then they’d pay me.
    Unfortunately, I learned that in the club, the way to make money is to walk around all night saying “You want a table dance? You want a table dance?” Then, when you get a guy who’s paying, you gotta sit there and listen to him try to mack. I told one guy, “Look, I’m just here to get paid. I don’t wanna hear that shit.”
    As you could imagine, he told me to get the fuck on, which I gladly did. I lasted two weeks before I quit. I was making money, but I was never really built for all that anyway. Still, whether I was meant to be a dancer or not, the fact remained: I still needed to make some money. And I don’t care how good they make it sound on TV; I was not getting a job at Wal-Mart. I decided that if I was gonna have to hustle, I might as well get paid.
    But was I really ready? I thought about Lorenzo. Damn, I missed him. What was more important to remember, though, was why I missed him. I missed him ’cause he was in jail, and I certainly had no desire to do any time. So, if I was going to do this, I had to be smart about it.
    Me, Shay, and Teena sat in my living room and talked about getting into the game, and most importantly, avoiding Lorenzo’s fate.
    “One thing you won’t have is a woman like you,” Shay said. “You were the flashy one. Drivin’ that BMW; spending all that money shoppin’. And Teena, you weren’t too much better. Both of y’all was caught up in that lifestyle.”
    “Don’t hate, Shay,” I said.
    “ I’m not hatin’ . Come on, Nina. You know me better then that. I’m just being real. Y’all two heifers was caught up in that ballers’ girl lifestyle, spending money like it was water. Now what you got to show for it? Government took everything but the clothes you had on your back.”
    “You’re right, Shay. I don’t have shit. But what’s that got to do with avoiding Lorenzo’s fate?”
    “I’m just sayin’, you should have opened an account in your name,” Shay went on