Page 62 of The Prodigy

“He told you about that?”

“Mm hm.” She crossed one leg over the other and tucked her perfect hair behind her ear. “These bitches gon’ take one look at you, the plain girl, the nice girl, and assume you don’t care if your nigga gets took. But when you on top of your shit, they at least gotta respect you. They might still try to get at your man, but they’ll know enough to go behind your back with it.”

“And that’s better?”

She smiled. “You’ll see how it works. Kari might not have said anything to you, but trust and believe, it’s crossed his mind.”

I thought about that while Luna flat ironed my hair. Smoke rose all around me as she tortured my strands into a sleek, shiny, shoulder-length bob. As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I started to feel different.

“So what else do you think I need?” I asked my new sister-in-law.

Her eyes scanned me from head to toe. “Nails. Toes. Makeup. Jewelry. Clothes. Shoes.”

“Bag, too,” Luna chimed in. “That little Liz Claiborne purse ain’t giving, sis.”

The three of us laughed. They were probably laughingatme, but I didn’t care. High school had toughened me up, so I was immune to the ridicule at this point. Although Liz Claiborne was actually five levels higher than the shit I used to wear back then.

“Are you sure Jakari is okay with all that?”

Jaz rolled her eyes and pulled out a credit card. She held it up. “You see this? I asked for it. When he handed it over, he knew I was gonna spend whatever the fuck I want. Real niggas don’t give you a budget.”

“Let her know,” Luna cosigned.

“I want you to practice.” She put the card back in her bag and spoke in a higher-pitched voice. “’Baby, I saw a few things that would look amazing on me. Can I get your card? I promise I won’t overdo it.’”

“But you just said—”

“And then when you come home with way too much shit, you pout and pretend like you’re sorry, then you show him what you bought, and then you suck his dick. Simple.”

“Ew. You’re talking about your brother.”

Jaz laughed. “No, I’m talking aboutallniggas.”

Fair enough.

“And that works?”

“Yes!” they said in unison.

“So it’s basically just foreplay, then?”

“You got it,” Jaz laughed. “You learn quick.”

Strangely, I was getting excited. “Does that work witheverything? Like if you want him to do something that doesn’t involve money?”

“If you know what you’re doing, you can finesse anybody out of anything.”

A smile spread across my face. I’d never gotten anything by finessing. Being straight up was the only strategy I knew. But now, it felt like a whole new world was opening up for me.

“Okay,” I said. “I’m in. Whatever you wanna show me, tell me, buy me…teach me your ways, Jaz.”

She beamed. “You won’t regret it.”

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