Page 27 of When You Dance
“We got a court date!” Shyrón yelled as he walked in the door. “Chad, Skyler, and I will be fighting the FBI in four months! Those MFs goingdown!”
Everybody cheered, and after we all quieted down, he continued. “With that being said, y’all watch your backs. The government some dirty SOBs. This filtering around these kids is driving me insane though!”
I laughed as Zay said, “You better get used to it.”
“Hell yeah! We having twins!”
Everybody cheered again. Shy was on one. I could see just how happy he was. He had been kind of salty for the past few months. “Focus, nigga,” Chad said.
“My bad. I wouldn’t put it past them to try to get at any of us, especially Chad, me, Skyler, and Lexi. From now on, we will have people on us. Chad and Lexi will have Ali, Seneca will be with Dylan and Skyler, and Jericho will be with me and Britt. If I think the rest of y’all need a body, I’ll get with Ali to get more security.”
Everyone nodded quietly. That shit kind of put a damper on things. As if sensing that, Alexz said, “Well, as the only Berotte princess, I would say that I needed a few on me. We can’t be too careful.”
Everyone laughed as DJ, Shavozz, and the boys walked through the door. “’Bout time y’all get here! A nigga starving!”
“Yo’ big ass always starving, Chad,” DJ said as he greeted everybody.
When he got to me, he said, “What’s up, bruh? I gotta holla at’chu before you leave. You working in H-Town this week?”
“Katy. So I won’t be too far. Everything good?”
“We’ll talk.”
He was making me more on edge than I already was. I would definitely have to hit Arrow up for drinks tonight.
CHAPTER12
SANDRENE/OBSESSION
The weekend flew by. If I wasn’t asleep, I was at the club. I’d practice during the daytime hours. Although I was off Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, I had time to be in my feelings. Sunday, I’d moped around and stared at the beautiful arrangement Jamel had sent me. I felt like I overreacted about him fighting in the club, but I knew I had a real concern if he had a problem with me stripping.
Monday, I’d gone on a job interview, and I already knew there was no way in hell that I would work for them. They wanted me to be able to work six days a week between the times of seven a.m. and ten p.m. They weren’t gonna have my schedule all over the place for a measly thirteen dollars an hour. They could kiss my ass. My minimum was fifteen dollars. I was making eighteen when I got fired.
Tuesday, I’d spent the day cleaning my place, doing laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking. By the time all that was done, the day was gone. Here it was Wednesday again. I was so tired. I was going to have to start working out more. I felt like I was slipping into depression, and I didn’t like the way that felt. I wasn’t getting the best sleep, and I missed Jamel.
When I texted him Sunday, it killed me not to respond to him. However, I knew we needed to have a real conversation. There was no point in going any further if he wanted me to stop stripping. If I stopped, it would be my decision, not his. It was weird not seeing him Saturday though. My eyes were closed for a lot of my routine because I was visualizing that he was on the front row drinking me in like I was the most expensive cognac.
He’d been texting me every day since then, and he’d sent another bouquet yesterday. Maybe we could take the time to talk Sunday. I knew he had his brother’s wedding this weekend, so he would be busy. I grabbed my bag to make sure everything I needed for my set tonight was in there. I was doing a throwback dance tonight, using T-Pain’s “I’m N Luv Wit a Stripper.”
I remembered when I danced to that almost eight years ago. My skills had elevated so much since then. I was one of those ‘just twerk my way through it’ chicks when I first started. Once I got comfortable, I started implementing what I knew. I knew dance. Grabbing my keys and sliding on my mask, I headed to my car and made my way to the club.
When I got there, Jeremiah was standing at the door waiting to escort us as we arrived. After parking, I saw him heading to me. He was tall and big, just what a person thought of when they heard the word bouncer. He had slanted eyes like me and was a shade darker. By the time I grabbed my bag, he was opening my door. I was smart this time and wore my sweats and T-shirt. While I supposed it didn’t matter, since they would be seeing me naked at some point, there was no point in giving him something to see before my performance.
“Hey, Obsession. You good?”
“Hey, Jeremiah. I’m good. How about you?”
“I’m a’ight.”
As we walked toward the building, he turned to me and asked, “You wanna get breakfast later tonight?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t. By the time you get off, I’ll be in my second dream anyway.”
He chuckled. “Why you leave early?”
“I’m here to do a job. When I’m done, I go home. I’m not hanging around unless I’m getting paid.”
“Well, you can get paid. It’s not like you can’t give lap dances.”
