Promise Kept, page 5
“Damn, that white girl was hiding all that?” Bone gave voice to his brother’s thoughts. Earlier he’d wanted to stomp the clumsy waitress out, but now all he could think about was laying her down. “You think she goes the extra mile like the rest of these bitches.” He began counting his money openly.
Sin ignored his brother and kept his eyes on Promise. “For a minute, I was starting to think you changed your mind about taking care of me tonight,” he said, greeting her once she had arrived at the table.
“Sorry, I had to change my clothes,” Promise explained. She tried her best not to squirm too much under his hungry stare. He was looking at her the same way Asher used to before she discovered that he was really a wolf in sheep’s clothing. “What can I get for you guys?” she asked, back on topic.
“How about something that don’t taste like pee-pee?” Bone raised the bottle of André. For as much as he complained about the horrible taste, that hadn’t stopped him from sipping from the bottle.
“You can bring us another bottle of Hennessey and a few waters,” Unique answered for them.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t take too long, Ms. Jersey,” Sin said flirtatiously, watching Promise as she made awkward steps to the bar. It was almost like watching a baby calf trying to walk for the first time.
“What happened to not being drunk on the job?” Bone asked Unique.
“Aesthetics,” Unique replied, tossing a few singles at a girl who was trying desperately to get one of the men at the table to make eye contact with her. She wasn’t much to look at, a bit on the skinny side with a dry, synthetic wig. But he allowed her to dance in front of him for a bit.
“What?” Bone didn’t understand the word.
“Appearances,” Unique said, simplifying it for him while stuffing a few singles into the stripper’s top. She tried to sit on his lap, but he waved her away. He was short on sympathy, and the few beats he allowed her to linger had served their purpose. “Three dudes at a table with no bottles and no bitches sends up a red flag. Be active, but on point, feel me?”
“That’s a strategy I can get with,” Bone agreed. He summoned two passing strippers and had them squeeze into the booth on either side of him. He draped one arm around each girl and started talking dirty to them while flicking.
Inviting a bunch of random chicks into their space wasn’t exactly what Unique meant, but it would keep Bone occupied and out of trouble, so he let it go.
A few minutes later, Promise came back carrying a tray that held an ice bucket with a bottle of Hennessey in it, several plastic glasses, and a few bottles of water. Taped to the top of the Hennessey bottle were two glow sticks. Promise had wanted to light the sparklers like she’d seen the other girls do when bottle service was requested, but Big Sally wouldn’t let her. It would’ve been just their luck if Promise had fallen again and accidentally burned the joint down.
“Here you go.” Promise carefully set the bucket holding the liquor bottle at the center of the table, and then sat the waters down. She was proud of herself for not spilling anything. “If there’s nothing else, I’m gonna make my rounds, and I’ll come back and check on you in a few.” She made to leave, but Sin stopped her when he gently grabbed her wrist.
“Wait a second. Where you off to?” Sin asked.
“I . . . um . . . I was just gonna go and check on some of my other tables and spin right back,” Promise explained. Larry didn’t pay them, and she didn’t dance, so she had to depend on the tips she made waiting tables to make ends meet.
“I thought we had an agreement, Ms. Jersey? In return for me saving your job, you belong to me tonight,” Sin reminded her, running his index finger over the back of her hand. He could feel the girl shudder before snatching her hand away.
“Ain’t no nigga got no papers on me,” Promise said defensively.
“Watch that N-word, shorty. I ain’t comfortable with no clear folks throwing it around, and you shouldn’t feel comfortable saying it,” Unique warned.
“That girl ain’t no cracker. She’s just as much of a nigga as you,” said one of the girls who had joined their table. It was Lita. Bone had her in such a deep headlock that Promise hadn’t noticed her. Promise couldn’t stand Lita, and the feeling was mutual. She was one of the last people that she wanted to see at that table.
Sin looked from Lita back to Promise. He’d assumed that she was white. Her skin had a little hue to it. Maybe he would’ve given her Spanish, if not white, but Black? There was no way. “Bullshit!” he blurted out, not being able to mask his shock.
“Real shit,” Promise confirmed. “My dad was white. Not that it’s anyone’s business.” She cut her eyes at Lita.
“Don’t be cutting your eyes at me like you’re about that life,” Lita said threateningly.
“She might not be, but I am.” Mouse’s cousin Keisha appeared just behind Promise. She was a tall, dark drink of water who stood at about five eight, but the high-heeled thigh-high boots she wore had her flirting with six feet. She was a strikingly beautiful girl with Hershey-colored skin and lips that looked like they were made for sucking dick. “We good over here?” She was speaking to Promise, but her light brown eyes were locked on Lita.
“Yeah, we good,” Promise answered.
“We’d be even better if your big, fine ass joined us,” Bone shot at Keisha.
Keisha looked over the trio and gave a little chuckle. “Nah, I got somewhere to be, but thanks for the offer. Let me holla at you for a minute.” She took Promise by the arm and led her away from the table before she could protest. “What did I tell you about letting these hos in here walk over you?”
“Lita wasn’t walking over anybody. She was just talking shit,” Promise said.
“That’s how it always starts. A dirty look here and there, talking slick out their mouths. You let shit like that slide, and the next thing you know, they’ll be trying to press you for your tips or force you into some dyke shit.” Keisha recalled some of her early experiences when she first started dancing. “When these bitches get out of pocket, you got to bank their asses off the rip. This will send a message to the rest of the girls that you ain’t having it. Tighten up, white girl. And what is your ass even doing here? You weren’t scheduled to work tonight.”
“Larry called me and asked if I’d cover Gene’s shift,” Promise said. A look flashed across Keisha’s face. It was brief, but Promise caught it. “Something wrong?”
“What’s wrong is, you over there playing in the mud with that bunch.” Keisha nodded toward the table where Sin was trying to pretend not to be watching them. “You know you ain’t built to be tied up with no real gangsters.”
“And how would you know what I’m built for?” Promise asked defensively, folding her arms across her breasts.
“Because I was there when your ass showed up on my doorstep with Mouse, broke, dusty, and scared out of your damn mind when you thought them niggas y’all crossed were after you.”
“Well, I ain’t that same weak bitch,” Promise informed her.
“Yeah, you’ve grown some stones since you’ve been here. You’re tougher than I used to give you credit for, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to run in the fast lane, shorty.” Keisha was speaking to Promise like she was a child that she was trying to deter from getting in the streets.
“Whatever.” Promise rolled her eyes. She wasn’t up for Keisha’s shit.
“Promise, don’t think because you’ve put in on a few off-brand bitches that you’d stand a chance against this grand champion, so watch that slick shit. I ain’t for it. Save that for hos like Lita, who you keep letting punk you. Don’t try it with me,” Keisha warned. Promise may not have been a fighter, but she had shown that she was willing to get busy. Keisha had seen her whip a few girls out, and it had earned her a bit of respect from the veteran street runner, but not enough to where she would allow Promise to start thinking they were in the same weight class.
Promise glared at Keisha, but her gaze softened. She knew that Keisha was right. She had been out of pocket for popping fly when she had just pulled her out of the fire with Lita. She was wrong and big enough to admit it. “My fault.”
“Ain’t it though,” Keisha replied. “Promise, you’ve only been in New York for a year, and I know you think you’ve got this city figured out, but I guarantee you don’t.” Her eyes drifted back to the table again. “Keep your head down, get your money, and keep it pushing. Serve the drinks, but don’t get caught standing too close to Sin.”
“What is it with everybody warning me to stay away from Sin? Y’all act like y’all don’t want me to get no money,” Promise accused. Sin was tipping bigger than anybody she had ever serviced at Dirty Wine, and it seemed like everyone was hating on her.
“Naive lil bitch, you’ll find yourself getting more than money fucking with Sin, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Keep your distance,” Keisha said seriously.
“I got you, Keisha,” Promise said, but she had no intentions of letting Keisha or anyone else block her bag. The fact that Keisha was even bothering to try and look out for her came as a surprise. When they were in the apartment, it felt like Keisha was always on her back about one thing or another. Promise went out of her way to try and please the twin, but it seemed like she could never do anything right. Her change in attitude made Promise just a little suspicious. “Oh, and thank you for what you did back there with Lita.”
Keisha let out a chuckle. “Don’t flatter yourself. That had more to do with me than it did you. You’re working here on the strength of me, which means you’re riding my G-card. I can’t have these whores thinking that I rock with weak bitches. Besides, if I let something happen to you on my watch, I’d probably have to fuck Mouse’s little ass up. You know she thinks she’s your guard dog.”
“Keisha . . . I ain’t paying you to stand around and talk shit. Let’s get this money!” Larry shouted from across the room.
“Hold your damn horses! I’m coming!” Keisha yelled back. “Remember what I told you, Promise. Focus on your money and steer clear of everything else, especially Sin.”
Keisha’s words buzzed in Promise’s head even after she had gone. This was the second time that night that she had received a warning about Sin. If the girls had meant to scare her off, the effect was the opposite, and she only became more intrigued by him. Not that she wouldn’t heed the warnings and proceed with caution, but she was curious as to what there was to Sin that made even girls as seasoned as Donna and Keisha leery of him.
When she returned to the table, she found Sincere waiting for her. He had an apologetic look on his face. “Listen, Jersey. I didn’t mean no offense. I was just a little thrown off because I assumed that you were white from the jump,” Sin explained.
“People assume a lot of shit, but that don’t make it so,” Promise said flatly.
“This one has got a slick mouth!” Bone laughed heartily, slapping his hand on the table, causing Lita’s cup of vodka to spill. “My bad, baby. Let me pour you another one.” He reached for the bottle, but Lita stopped him.
“Nah, let the bottle girl take care of it.” Lita glared at Promise. She was still upset that Keisha had checked her in front of the customers, but she was too cowardly to direct her anger in the proper direction. So she turned it on who she assumed was the weakest link.
Promise matched her stare. “I don’t work for you.”
“Nope, but you’re a bottle girl assigned to this table. And I’m a guest of this table. So, why don’t you get to pouring. My throat is dry,” Lita said mockingly and slid the cup across the table.
Lita was always fucking with Promise by doing or saying something out of pocket. They had been at odds for the last few months or so. The crazy part about it was that their beef really didn’t have anything to do with Promise. This was about Mouse. Not long after the two Newark girls had started working at Dirty Wine, Lita and Mouse had gotten into it. Promise couldn’t even remember what the argument was about, but it had turned physical. Lita assumed that, because Mouse was so small, it would be an easy victory, but she was wrong. Mouse had been raised in the trenches, and her combat skills said as much. She whipped Lita’s ass on a crowded Saturday night at Dirty Wine, and everybody saw it. This was part of the reason Larry had fired Mouse. Lita had been the one who started it, but she brought in more money than Mouse, so Mouse was the odd girl out. Lita had never really gotten over that beatdown and was always looking for someone to take her aggression out on because of it. She didn’t want any smoke with Keisha or Candice, so she chose to give Promise a hard time whenever she felt like it.
There was a heavy silence as tensions settled over the table. Everyone looked at Promise to see how she would respond. You could tell by the burning in her eyes that she was hot. Lita was always picking at Promise, and for the most part, Promise always let it go. Lita had seniority and was one of Larry’s special girls, so Promise often turned the other cheek to avoid a confrontation that could lead to her getting fired. That night was different though. It was one thing for Lita to talk down to her in front of the other girls, but now she was trying to show off for Sin and his crew.
As if on cue, the DJ spun Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck,” and set the tone. The two girls eyeballed each other from across the table, Promise looking uncertain. Lita smirked when she saw doubt cross the girl’s face, figuring that she had snatched her heart. She intended to make Promise her bitch for all the disrespect she had been made to suffer by Keisha and Mouse’s little dusty ass. “Well?” she pressed.
“You got it,” Promise said in a voice that said she conceded. She took the bottle of vodka in one hand and Lita’s glass in the other. Instead of filling the glass, Promise hawk-spat into it and slid the soiled glass across the table back to Lita. “Sip that, messy ho!”
Lita was momentarily struck by the move. The girls who danced at Dirty Wine had been bullying Promise for so long without any real backlash that none of them had ever stopped to consider what they’d do if she ever grew a spine and decided to stand up for herself. The rabbit now had the gun, and all eyes were on Lita. With little more than her ego dictating her next move, she got up and took an aggressive step toward Promise, but her feet stuttered when Promise’s hand snaked around the neck of the Hennessey bottle on the table. It wasn’t a threatening gesture, but one that told Lita how far Promise was willing to go over this. Whatever point Lita was trying to make, she would have to bleed to get it across.
“Fuck is this?” Odell appeared. He glowered at everyone at the table, eyes lingering on Promise longer than anyone else. She was still clutching the bottle by the neck, nostrils flaring and eyes burning into Lita as she sat back down.
“Oh, I was just about to freshen the drinks for these gentlemen and skanks . . . I mean ladies.” Promise batted her eyes, while cracking the seal on the Hennessy bottle to fill Sin and his boys’ glasses.
“Yeah, Odell. It’s hard to find good help, but Promise always makes sure she goes the extra mile,” Lita said through gritted teeth.
Odell knew bullshit when he smelled it, but he didn’t feel like dealing with a catfight at the movement. “Lita, raise up from this table and hit the floor. Some important folks rolling up and through here, and Larry wants you to entertain them personally.”
“I’ll be along as soon as I finish my drink,” Lita told him, plucking a fresh glass and holding it out for Promise to fill.
“Your drunk ass will be along now!” Odell jabbed his index finger into the table for emphasis and almost flipped it and the bottles over.
“I’m coming.” Lita rolled her eyes and slid out from under Bone. Her friend continued to linger. “What are you doing?” she asked the girl.
“Larry requested you, not me.” The girl smacked her lips. With Lita gone, she would now be the center of attention at the table.
“Consider us a package deal. Now come the fuck on!” Lita commanded. Reluctantly, the other stripper slid out from under Bone, too. “I’m gonna see your pale ass again soon,” she whispered to Promise as she passed her.
“Don’t wait on it, ho!” Promise challenged her. Jack had slain the giant, and she now saw Lita for what she really was, and that was a coward and a bully.
Lita and her flunky had gone, but Odell remained. He wasn’t saying anything, just standing there, looking over Sin and his crew with those creepy dead eyes. It was a very awkward moment, which would only become even more awkward once Bone opened his mouth.
“Something you need? You done already chased our bitches off. You plan on taking their places?” Bone asked in a challenging tone. Sin’s baby brother was a live wire and obviously not very smart if he was taunting a man like Odell.
Promise’s heart leaped in her chest as she saw Odell’s jaw clench. His eyes burned a hole in Bone, who defiantly returned his stare. She knew this was the calm before the storm. She wasn’t sure if Bone or any of his people had been skilled enough to sneak any weapons into Dirty Wine, but even if they had, she doubted they’d do much good. She had seen Odell disarm, and break, men armed with everything from pistols to machetes. He was the embodiment of “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.” Just when Promise was about ready to take cover, the most unusual thing happened. Odell smiled. At least, she assumed it was a smile. His lips turned up at the corners, and there was the briefest flash of yellowing, crooked teeth buried in gums of a sickly purple.
“This is my second time having to see about you boys. Third time will be the charm.” Odell turned and lumbered across the room.
“Damn, Jersey. Ain’t never a dull moment with you, huh?” Sin asked once Odell had gone and some of the tension had fled the table.
“You don’t know the half,” Promise said with a sigh. Without even thinking about what she was doing, she grabbed a plastic cup and helped herself to a shot from the bottle of Hennessey on the table.
