“So, whassup?” he asked.
“You,” I said.
He looked at Simone then back at me. “You ladies mind if I join you?”
They both shook their heads.
“I was just about to use the ladies room,” Diane said as she stood, Simone followed.
“I like your style,” he said. “You know, the way you carry it.”
“Is that right?”
“So what’s up with you? I ain’t seen you here before,” he said.
“Are you a regular or something? Keeping tabs on who comes and goes?” I inquired.
“Nah, I just recognize a dime piece when I see one,” he countered.
“I understand,” I said, but I wasn’t getting a good vibe from this one. The way he was talking just didn’t fit what he was wearing.
“Would you like to dance?”
“No. I don’t dance,” I replied coldly, as Bella came back and slid in next to me. He started to say something, but I cut him off. “I don’t mean to be rude, but, I need to speak with my friend. I really appreciate the Cristal, but if you’d excuse us.”
“I really did wanna talk to you.”
“Do you have a card?”
He stood up and reached in his pocket, pulled out a solid gold cardholder and handed me one. “I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” he said and walked away.
Once he was gone, Bella looked at me. “He was cute. What does he do?”
I looked at his card. “Investment banker,” I told Bella. “But there’s something about him that doesn’t quite feel right. But I’ll check him out.”
By the time we left the club, I had a collection of business cards and phone numbers that I was confident would turn into money.
8
Since we began going to the club business had picked up, and not a moment too soon as far as I was concerned. The club had become a mandatory event, unless you had an appointment, and had been every Friday night for the last three months, but it was starting to get old. Fact of the matter was, I was getting enough referral business from our clientele that we really didn’t need to go there, but the ladies loved it. It was the one night of the week they looked forward to. At first, I thought it was because it gave them a chance to be stars. “That’s not it, Jada,” Bella corrected. “It’s because it’s the only time that we all get together and hang out.”
“Yeah,” Diane added, “just hangin’ together, you know, like we used to, shoppin’ or whatever. But we were always together.”
“Like a family, Jada. Ain’t that what you used to call us? Well, that’s what we are.”
The limo picked us up at my apartment, we made our usual entrance, and we were escorted to what had become our spot at Sensations. That night the club was packed. More packed than usual. But as packed as it was that night, our usual targets didn’t seem to be in the house. So I allowed everybody to cut loose a bit, which meant doing more dancing and drinking than usual.
We had been there an hour and a half when I decided that nothing was up for the night and Simone advanced the idea that we go to another club. “You know, see what else is out there,” she suggested.
“Yeah, I’m for that,” Diane added. “Have some fun. I ain’t got drunk and wild in a minute.”
Bella laughed. “Now you know any time you start drinkin’, you start lookin’ for a woman to seduce.”
We all laughed, but it was true. When she used to dance at Ecstasy she’d get with a woman, but only if the price was right. That was her policy until she ran up on this one client that turned her out. After that, anytime I ran up on a female client, she belonged to Diane. “Keep talkin’, Bella,” Diane threatened. “And I’ll be suckin’ on one of those fat, juicy nipples you got,” she said and playfully reached for Bella.
“Back up off me. You know I’m in it strictly for the Benjamins.”
“I am too. So for you, I’ll only charge you half price to suck on these titties.”