“You had yourself a good time?” YB said mockingly.
“It be just business wit’ me on that stage, nuthin’ else,” Chaos shot back. She stared straight ahead, not giving YB any eye contact.
“Business . . . yeah, right. Why you keep letting that bitch-ass nigga Crown run you like some mule?”
“YB, chill out. Just buy me my drink and relax.”
Angel set Chaos’s drink in front of her and looked at YB.
“I got it.” YB pulled out a wad of bills and passed Angel a twenty. “Keep it.”
Angel nodded and walked off.
Chaos took a sip from her drink and then said, “You wanna do a VIP wit’ me? We can talk more privately in the back.”
“You know I don’t pay for pussy,” YB said.
Chaos sucked her teeth. “I ain’t asking you to pay for it. I’m just sayin’, pay for the room and break me off wit’ somethin’ and we can talk in the back.”
“Nah, I’ll talk to you right here.”
“YB, you gonna get me into trouble. You know I ain’t supposed to be talkin’ to you in the first place. If Crown comes up in here you know what type of drama it’s gon’ cause.”
“Chaos, why don’t you leave that nigga? What he do for you? You the one fuckin’ niggas and he gettin’ rich off your pussy. The nigga blacks a bitch’s eye when they don’t earn enough and y’all respect that nigga like he somebody.”
“Like what you do out in them streets is any better. You a wicked nigga just like him. You sell drugs. He sells pussy. You got guns. He got guns. And from what I’ve been hearing about you, you ain’t too shy about killing, either.”
“I do what I do, but I don’t respect that pimp and his ways.”
Chaos looked at him. “Niggas that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Say I leave him, YB. You gonna take care of me? I mean, you stable and all, stackin’ that paper. I know you been in the game long enough. You ain’t gonna be ashamed to have a ho under your arm? You just saw me onstage doin’ what I do. So you ready to call me wifey, despite all that greasy talk you gonna hear about me from other niggas and knowing who I fucked? You ready to let my past be and accept that? ’Cause if you are, then I’m ready.”
YB just stared at her. Chaos was beautiful, but she was also damaged goods and had fucked many niggas in Philly.
YB’s hesitation let Chaos know he wasn’t ready to handle it.
“Exactly,” she said.
“Look, Chaos, shit is complicated right now,” YB said.
“What the fuck is complicated, YB? If you wanna be wit’ me, then be wit’ me. I ain’t gonna front, I like you a lot, but I can’t lose out on anything for some part-time shit. I’ve been in the game too long to know that every word or promise out a nigga’s mouth ain’t the truth.”
YB had to respect her honesty and her edge. She knew the truth about herself and didn’t try to mask it for any nigga.
“You’re real, Chaos. I like that.”
“Well, when a nigga starts being real wit’ me and I know he fo’ real by his actions and not his mouth, then I’m gonna really show that nigga somethin’ about me. But till then this is me and who I am.”
YB nodded.
Chaos took another sip from her drink. She wanted to be with YB and she did want to change in her life, but it was risky. To leave Crown was a dangerous task because Crown’s ego and pride could be murderous. To even think about taking take that chance Chaos had to know that YB was for real with her.
“I gotta go make this money. I’ll see you around, YB,” Chaos said.
She walked away from the bar and YB turned to stare at her backside. It was a lovely sight to see. YB wasn’t the only one to take notice. Niggas were studying Chaos’s figure and booty like it was an exam.