Nasty Girls (16 page)

Shana came out of her kitchen with two sodas in her hands; she passed one to me and then took a seat in a cushioned chair near the kitchen.

“So what's up, Jade? How is Shy and Camille?” she asked.

“They a'ight. You know Shy's man got locked up a few weeks ago. He caught a murder charge,” I told her.

She sighed. “Roscoe? You know it's funny—he kind of reminds me of Jakim somewhat.”

“Roscoe?”

“Yeah, but Jakim wasn't hotheaded like Roscoe.”

“But Shy's holdin' on. She be going to see him every week in Rikers . . . bringin' him clothing, money, and other shit.”

“Damn, tell her to keep her head up,” Shana said. “And Camille.” Shana laughed. “That's my girl. She still flippin' on bitches in the projects?”

“You know Camille's gonna stay gully wit' her hood ass. We all went out to the club the other night. I wanted you to come; it woulda been so nice for all of us to hang out like that.”

“Yeah, but you know with school, work, and taking care of J.J., I ain't got time like that anymore. That's y'all thing, it's not my life anymore.”

“Please, girl, you ain't that old, actin' like you sixty years old up in here. You can still hang out—you just don't want to,” I said.

“Anyway—,” Shana said, getting up out of her seat and walking back into the kitchen. “So, Jade, you still fuckin' wit', um . . . James?” she asked from the kitchen.

“We gettin' along a'ight,” I lied, wishing she didn't bring him up.

“What you mean, y'all a'ight?” Shana asked, walking out of the kitchen with a snack in her hand.

“It could be better, and it could be worse,” I said.

“Fuck you talkin' about, Jade? Y'all cool or not?” she asked, prying more into my relationship.

“Look, we goin' through our little drama right now, but I know he still loves me. That's what you wanna hear?”

“Don't catch an attitude with me, Jade. I was just askin'. You know you my cousin, and if that nigga's actin' up, then let me know.”

“Look, I can handle myself, Shana; you know what I'm sayin'? We got our problems, I'll admit, but we workin' it out right now.”

“Okay. I was just makin' sure everything was okay with you. I heard about you and your girls fightin' up on Guy Brewer a few weeks back.”

I sighed. “And who told you this?”

“Jade, please, I ain't that out of tune wit' the neighborhood. I still know about some things that goes on. Just be careful around there, and be careful around James,” she said worryingly.

“James? Why you worryin' about him for?”

“Jade, I'm gonna keep it real with you. Since the first day I met him, I didn't like him. He's triflin'. He reminds me of Tyrone. He's selfish, arrogant, and he's shady. And I know you can do better than him.”

“I've been wit' this nigga fo' four years now, Shana. I ain't just gonna leave the nigga like that. He's my man.”

“Listen to me, Jade. I've been through this shit before, and don't let a big dick and a thuggish attitude get you in some shit that you're gonna regret later on. It ain't worth it. If you gotta fight a bitch on the corner for this nigga, leave his ass alone.”

“How you know that I was fightin' a bitch over a nigga?”

Shana looked at me like I was full of it. “C'mon, Jade, this me you talkin' to. I fought bitches in clubs and almost got my face sliced open one night.”

“Camille's been runnin' her mouth to you again, right? She tellin' you my business?”

“I ain't talk to her in months.”

“Listen, Shana. I know you my cousin and we family and all, but the shit I go through wit' James, that's my business. He's my
man, and I can handle my goddamn self, a'ight! I got this under control,” I lied. I didn't want to look weak in front of my cousin. I didn't want her to know that this nigga been beating my ass on the regular and he had me in tears almost every night. My cousin was strong and always had a very strong attitude. And I wanted to be like her, and I tried to fabricate in her eyes that I was just like her, handling my business and letting no nigga put me under.

“Listen, if anything jumps off, you better give me a call,” Shana said.

“I got you.”

She looked at me.

“What?” I smiled.

“You think you're cute, huh?”

“I don't think. I know,” I said.

“If we weren't cousins, I'd be hatin',” Shana said jokingly.

“I know.”

“Whatever, bitch,” she said, laughing.

She took my soda can and placed it in the recycling bin in the kitchen. “What you doin' for the day?” she asked.

“Nuthin'. Why?”

“Because I was about to head up to Jamaica Avenue and look for some shoes to wear tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“I'm goin' out tonight.”

“Oh, word, wit' who?” I asked.

“A guy,” she said, being sparse with details.

“I
know
a guy—you ain't gay. But what's he like? Is he cute?”

“What you think?”

“Okay, he's cute. Where did you meet him?” I asked.

“Damn, Jade, what are you, my mother?”

“No, your cousin, and I deserve to know.”

She laughed.

Shana promised to explain to me later about her date. She wanted to get dressed and go shopping on Jamaica Avenue before it got crowded with schoolkids.

We continued to chill and talk. Shana browsed through some shirts on a rack in Mony's on Jamaica Avenue. As she looked around, I thought about Shy and wondered if she was working today. I didn't see her in the store.

“I met him at my college,” Shana said as she held up a cute Rocawear shirt.

“Who, your date?”

“Yes. His name is Henry.”

“Henry. He a white boy?” I asked. I don't know too many brothas named Henry.

“No, he's black, and he's from the South. He's a senior and trying to get his bachelor's in political science,” she said.

We went looking from one rack to another, looking through different shirts. Shana pulled out another shirt and continued to talk. “He's twenty-eight, tall, and nice.”

“Nice?”

“Yeah, nice,” she said, smiling.

“What you know about nice and nerdy guys? I know you're still into the bad boys,” I said.

“For me, that's so played out. I want a man who can take care of me and my son. I want someone with a future and a regular job. I ain't tryin' to deal wit' no nigga hustlin', and worrying about the feds kickin' in my door eight in the mornin'. Jade, that happened to me once, with Tyrone, and I ain't tryin' to go through that ordeal again.”

“Oh. Well.”

“Oooh, this is nice,” Shana said, picking up a denim skirt.

“Yeah. It's cool.”

“Now, this would look so great on me, but it's gettin' cold, and I ain't tryin' to freeze my legs off. Henry just gonna have to wait till the summer to see me in a skirt.”

“So, you really like him?” I asked.

“Yeah. We've been seein' each other for about two months now.”

“Two months, damn. You fucked him yet?”

“Damn, Jade, can you ask in here any louder? I don't think the people outside heard my business that clearly.”

“I'm sorry,” I said, lowering my voice.

“And no, I didn't fuck him.”

“Why not?”

“Because I've been busy, and we don't see each other like that. He works a lot, and I'm busy with everything else,” Shana said.

“But you're goin' to, right?”

“What is this, Twenty Questions?”

“No. I'm just curious.”

Shana smiled. “I might. He's been patient. I'm fond of him.”

“You gonna fuck him tonight, right? That's why you out here shoppin', tryin' to look nice for him? You already got plans for the dick.”

Shana smiled, confirming my suspicions. “Listen, you mind your business.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We family. We supposed to share everythin',” I said.

“Not everythin'.”

“Okay, not everythin',” I said, smiling at her subtle remark.

I glanced around for Shy, but didn't see her.

“Okay, I'm gettin' this,” Shana said, holding up a cute pink and white J.Lo blouse. “And I'm gettin' these jeans.”

“Shana, I wanna ask you sumthin'.”

“Like what?”

“I met someone—,” I started to say, but Shana cut me off.

“Word. He's cute?”

I sucked my teeth.

“Okay, he's cute. And what else?”

“But it's his job,” I said.

“Oh, oh, Jade found herself a working man too; look out now. Let me find out, we got sumthin' in common now with the men. What is it, Jade? He's not making enough money to support your rich and fabulous lifestyle? He can't afford Gucci and Fendi?”

“No, it's not like that. I know he makes pretty decent money. But it's just . . . I met a cop. There, I said it.”

Shana looked at me in shock. “A cop,” she muttered. “You talkin' to a cop?”

“We met the other day. But I've been thinkin' about him more than often. He's cool. And I'm attracted to him.”

“You want it to get serious?” she asked.

“I don't know him like that.”

“What about James—he knows?”

“C'mon, Shana, what you think? He don't know shit. You know he a thug, and you know how he feels about five-o like that.”

“Listen, Jade, I'm gonna tell it to you like this. If you're feelin' him, then go for it. Just be careful. And don't have everybody knowin' your business. If he's a cop, fuck it—he a man, right? He seems nice, and he got a job. I'm tellin' you, leave these hustlin'-ass niggas alone, because in the long run, it's goin' to be more trouble than it's worth. But don't rush into shit. Feel homeboy out, see what he's about,” she said.

“I know. I'm just bein' careful. People see you hangin' around five-o like that, and they gonna start thinkin' the wrong things. I ain't snitchin' on no one.”

“Jade datin' a cop,” Shana said teasingly.

“We didn't date yet,” I said.

“Listen, get rid of James and move on. You'll feel better about yourself.”

I sighed. James had been in my life for four years, and just getting rid of him so easy wasn't gonna be easy. It's sad to say, but I was still in love with him.

“I'm definitely gettin' this outfit here,” Shana said, holding up a blouse and some tight jeans.

“That's nice. Yo, let me see if Shy's workin' today, because she can get you the ten percent discount.”

“Do that.”

I went up to one of Shy's coworkers and asked if Shy was working today. She looked at me and said, “Shy don't work here anymore. Some shit popped off with her the other day, and she quit.”

I was shocked. “What?”

Her coworker went on. “She had a beef wit' the manager, and then she brought some thug-lookin' nigga up in the store, and he just wild out on my boss.”

Oh, shit,
I thought. I had to give my girl a call and see what popped off with her recently. I haven't spoken to her in a few days, and I wanted to see if she was okay.

Shana paid for her things, and we left the store.

I thought about Officer Reese and decided to give him a call in the future. Shana was right. I needed to try new things in my life.

G
irl, you got that dress in a size six?” Shannon asked me. She peered at the red corset minidress I held up for her, while she sat under the hair-dryer.

“Of course I got your size, girl,” I said.

“I want it. How much, Camille?” she asked, reaching for her purse.

“For you, Shannon, I'll take a hundred.”

“Cool.” She rummaged through her purse and passed me two fifties.

I've been taking orders all day. Cream came through and hooked me up with the nice stuff. I was at Tomeka's beauty and hair salon in Hempstead, and the orders wouldn't stop. Everybody in here knows me, and they trust me. They know my product is legit. So far, I already made about five hundred dollars for the day, and it wasn't even noon yet.

“Camille, I want those shoes you showed me the other day,” another client in the shop said to me.

“What, those pink and white Fendi shoes?”

“Yes. I just bought this dress the other day that would go perfect with them shoes,” she said.

“I got you, girl. They're still in my trunk.”

“God bless you, Camille.”

“Girl, you know I got you.”

Business was booming. After I left here, I had to run out to Brentwood and drop off a few orders in that town too. Tomeka's a cool friend of mine. She started up her own business with her boyfriend's drug money a few years ago. And to show her how I appreciated her for letting me run business out of her shop, I would give her stuff for free on the regular.

Tomeka's a thick and healthy-lookin' woman in her late twenties. She sported thick locks in her head, and her black skin wrapped around her like night. But she was beautiful. Men swarmed around her like she was Beyoncé.

“Camille, I'll take that dress in the chair.”

“Camille, I need some shoes for next week Saturday.”

“Camille, how much for that black dress?”

“Camille, when you comin' back to the shop?”

They all asked and hounded me like I wasn't coming back. But I wasn't complaining. That's my clientele, and without them, I would be out of business.

“Girl, why you always causin' uproar in my store with your overpriced clothing?” Tomeka joked, coming out of a back room. “Shit, business keep goin' this good for you, and I'm gonna have you start payin' rent up in here, like my other employees.”