Nervous (12 page)

“The poe-poe?”

“Yeah, the police. Five-O.”

The idiot was starting to rub me the wrong way.

“No, I’m not the fucking police but I fucked a couple of them once.” I couldn’t help but snicker as I remembered the time I’d been pulled over for speeding in Jon’s car. I couldn’t allow a ticket to come to the apartment if it wasn’t paid or even risk her finding out if I paid it so I did what I had to do and fucked both police officers in the back of their squad car to get off scot-free.

“You’re a trip, girl,” Skippy said.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“How old are you, Skippy?”

“Old enough to be your damn daddy, that’s for sure.”

“Then don’t you have enough confidence in yourself to believe you’d be able to spot a police officer if one came in here under-cover?” I asked.

“Of course.”

“Then why are we wasting valuable time with asinine questions?”

Skippy chuckled. “You’ve got me making all kinds of exceptions up in this bitch tonight. First the free drink and now you’ve actually got me thinking about letting you get up on the stage without an audition. I live by rules. They are my rules, but they are rules just the same.”

I ran my fingertips over his chest. “Skippy, what’s the point of having rules if you never venture to break them?”

“What’s your name, Sugar?”

I hadn’t thought about a name until that point. I needed something that would land a bunch of bucks. “Just call me Mercy because that’s what men will have to beg me for when I start slaying their dicks with my pussy.”

Skippy almost fell off the barstool when he broke out in laughter. “Okay, Mercy. You have something to wear for your big performance?”

“No, just tell the audience the truth. That I wandered in off the street and asked for a
public audition.
Like I said, I’m not sure I want to be a stripper. I just want to try it out for one night and see if I’m feeling the profession and if the profession is feeling me.”

“Name your song, girl!” Skippy said anxiously.

Ten minutes later, I was taking the stage to Madonna’s “Secret” and the crowd was rowdy from the first second. Skippy had personally announced me and they were all excited about a freak coming in on a whim to shed it all.

I closed my eyes and got into the tempo as it started out slowly and then picked up the pace. The song was just fast enough and just seductive enough to dance erotically to and before I knew it, men were pitching dollar bills on the stage.

I swirled my hips and started undoing the rest of my blouse until it was completely undone. I turned my back to the audience and inched it off my shoulders until it was covering my hips. Then I swung back around and let it fall to the floor. I palmed my breasts and rubbed on my nipples through my bra. They immediately stood at attention.

I reached behind me and unzipped the skirt. Once again, I turned my back to them and started working my hips out of the skirt as the DJ switched to my next request: “Always on Time” by Ja Rule. I really got into it then and so did they. They started chanting, “Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!”

I worked my way over to a young brotha sitting at a table right in front of the stage. I got down on my knees and moved them back and forth together, licked my index finger and rubbed it over the crotch of my panties. I placed my fingertip on his lips and he licked it. Then he handed me a five-dollar bill.

I spent the rest of the song making my rounds and collecting money. I even swung around the pole a time or two but didn’t try to jump on the top and slide down. I wasn’t geared up for that one and didn’t want to make a fool out of myself if I fell. I danced to two other songs after that one ended: “Super Freak” by Rick James and “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight.

Once the next stripper, who went by the name of Pisces, took the stage, I spent about an hour doing lap dances and yes, collecting more money. I was convinced that, if I really wanted to, I could make a good living shaking my ass in men’s faces.

I got dressed, thanked Skippy for the experience and told him that I may or may not be back. He seemed disappointed and claimed he would make me his star if I decided to work for him.

When I got outside, I noticed that two men were following me. They had been seated at the bar inside the club.
Is this what strippers have to put up with?
I thought.
Motherfuckers trailing them out the damn club?

“Hey, Mercy!” one of them called out.

I swung around to face them. “What the hell do you all want? Why are you following me?”

The other one, obviously as drunk as his friend, said, “We want you to make us beg for mercy.”

At first, I rolled my eyes and then I checked them out more closely. They weren’t half-bad-looking and it had been a while since I’d fucked two men at once. Still, I wasn’t interested so I told them, “I’m not interested but I’m sure one of the other girls would be, if the situation’s right.” I was implying that they could get whatever they wanted if the money was on point, and they knew it.

“Well, what would we have to do to make the situation right for you?” the first one asked.

“Not a damn thing. I’m just not feeling it tonight.”

They started whispering to each other. I walked on toward the car. “Listen,” one of them called out. It turned out to be the taller of the two. “Duke and I have always had this competitive spirit. He and I both claim we’re the best pussy connoisseur on the planet but the bullshit talk is getting old.”

I raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And how about you let us settle the dispute once and for all?”

I laughed. “So you two want to eat me out and let me decide who’s better at it?”

The shorter one nodded. “Exactly.”

Now I was tired and drained but I had never been one to turn down a good pussy eating and if they were planning to battle, then they would both be trying to outdo even themselves.

I stood there trying to come up with the right price. If I didn’t charge them, it would have seemed bizarre. Besides, they were undoubtedly planning to pay, and money is money.

Finally, I said, “A hundred bucks each.”

“To eat you?” the taller one asked.

“Look, I don’t have all night,” I said. “Either you want to eat this pussy or you don’t. It makes no difference to me.”

The taller one glanced at his friend. “Maybe we should go back inside and find someone else.”

The shorter one objected. “No, I want this one right here. If a hundred is too steep for you, I got you. It’s all good because I know that I’m going to win the competition and it’s worth every penny to get you to stop bragging on that tongue and shut the hell up.”

He dug into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash and paid me. I winked at him and said, “It’s on.”

As I lay on a bed in a pay-by-the-hour motel with my legs spread open being eaten out, I couldn’t help but giggle. That damn bitch doctor didn’t know what she was talking about. I was in complete control to the point that I had taken Jon’s degradation to another level by accepting cash for a sexual favor. The shorter one found himself ass out. Not only did he give up the two hundred; he also gave up bragging rights because the taller one was
definitely
the best pussy connoisseur on the planet.

jonquinette

Never had I wished that I had started my own accounting firm more than when I went into work that Thursday and asked for Friday off. You would have thought the world had come to an end by the expression on Mr. Wilson’s face.

“Jonquinette, we really need you here tomorrow,” he whined.

“We’re backed up on a lot of things.”

“Hmph, I thought we were all caught up. I only have one thing in my in box and that will take me less than ten minutes to straighten out. Fridays are slow but anything that comes in, I can surely knock out on Monday morning.”

“Are you ill?” Mr. Wilson asked me.

“No, I actually need to go see my father in North Carolina.”

“I wasn’t aware that your father was still alive.”

He said that as if I regularly discussed my private life with him. For all he knew, my mother wasn’t among the living and she lived right in Atlanta.

“Yes, he’s alive,” I said.

“Well, is he ill?”

“Yeah, he is,” I lied, sensing that Daddy would have to be practically on his death bed in order for my day off to be a crisis.

“What’s wrong with him?” Mr. Wilson pried.

I didn’t want to wish anything too bad on Daddy so I said, “He runs an auto repair shop and there was a mishap.”

“What sort of mishap?”

“Um, one of the cars fell off the lift. Luckily, it fell to the side but it did bang against his leg and it’s broken.”

What I said couldn’t have sounded more outlandish and I realized it after I said it. Amazingly, Mr. Wilson believed me. He winced and said, “Ooh, that sounds painful. You should go check on him, in that case.”

“Thank you.”

He started walking out of my office but paused. “Now, you will be back here on Monday, right?”

“With bells on,” I replied. When he left, I added, “More like with shackles on my feet.”

Darnetta came in as I was talking to myself. “Did you say something?”

“Oh, no, just thinking aloud.”

Darnetta sat down without an invitation. “So what’s up, girlfriend? We haven’t had a chance to talk much since the wedding. What happened to you that night anyway? Logan said you got sick but you seemed fine when I picked you up and all throughout the wedding.”

I deliberated over an answer but knew I couldn’t take too long to fabricate one because Darnetta would figure me out.

“Um, I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with me. Either that or I ate entirely too much. My stomach was upset. Plus, I had cramps.”

“Hmph, please don’t mention cramps. I’m on my period now and mine are killing me.”

“Have you been drinking hot tea?” I asked her, legitimately concerned for her well-being.

“No, tea and I don’t agree with each other. It always makes me feel bloated and I feel bad enough already.”

“What about some of that over-the-counter medication for cramps?” I asked.

“I’ve tried every brand they make and nothing seems to help.”

“All I can say is the person that invents something to stop menstrual cramps is going to be one wealthy man.”

“It won’t be a man who invents it,” Darnetta said. “That’s the quandary now. I bet you all the ones on the market were invented by people who have never felt a single menstrual cramp in their lives.”

We both laughed.

“Probably true,” I agreed. “Well, the good part is that we only have to suffer the madness for a few days a month.”

“Yeah, but three days on a period can feel like three years sometimes.” Darnetta got up and went for the door. “I’m going to call you soon so we can hook up again.”

“Okay,” I said, knowing good and well that I wouldn’t be hanging out with her ever again. I wasn’t even clear about what had happened the first time that I did.

It took me four hours to drive from Atlanta to the outskirts of Charlotte. He lived in a small town called Trinity. Once there, I drove around for more than an hour searching for my father’s house. Everyone in the small town knew each other so I stopped an older African-American couple and asked them. They said Daddy fixed their cars for them and was a great man. Then they gave me directions. One or both of them must have been senile because it took me a while to figure out that they had told me to turn left on High Bridge Road when I should have turned right.

It was dusk when I finally arrived. I was shaken to see the condition of the place. From the outside, it looked like it was about to give way. While Daddy had never been one to define himself by his surroundings, this was definitely not what I expected.

I rang the doorbell and was stunned when a little girl answered the door.

“Can I help you?” she asked in the sweetest voice.

I glanced up at the house number on the porch to make sure I had the right place. “Um, does Henry Pierce live here?”

“Daddy!” the girl yelled out as she disappeared around a corner.

Daddy?

A moment later, my father appeared and had to take two steps back when he saw me. “Jonquinette?”

“You say that like it’s a question. Has it been so long that you don’t even recognize me?” I asked.

“Of course, I recognize you.” He embraced me, then pulled me inside. “Come on in, please.”

The little girl stood there swaying her hips. She was adorable with fudge-colored skin and big brown eyes. She had her shoulder-length hair in two pigtails tied with violet ribbons to match her short set.

“Jonquinette, this is Flower. Flower, this is your big sister, Jonquinette,” Daddy said, making a formal introduction.

I got the impression that Flower never knew of my existence. I couldn’t blame Daddy for not telling her. Since I had not responded to any of his letters, he had to assume that she would never meet me. She would have been confused to know that she had an older sister who was never around.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Flower,” I said, extending my hand, which she graciously accepted and gently shook.

Daddy sighed and looked at me. “I’ll explain everything.”

I told him, “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

We all migrated into his living room, which was very basic but neat. At least he hadn’t become a slob over the years. He had a tattered couch and loveseat set that had seen much better days, a scratched-up coffee table, and a new nineteen-inch television sitting on top of the original box by a window. It was hot and his air-conditioning unit in the window wasn’t working too efficiently. I immediately started sweating.

“Flower is a very pretty name,” I told the little half-sister that I never knew existed.

She blushed like it was the biggest compliment she had ever had. “Thank you. My mother picked it out.”

“Well, she did an excellent job.” I surveyed the house. The dining-room table was bare and there were no pictures on any of the walls from what I could see; definitely no visible signs of a woman’s touch. I wanted to know if Daddy was remarried without coming out and directly inquiring about it, so I asked, “Is your mother here?”

“Oh, no.” Flower shook her head and hips simultaneously. “She doesn’t live here but she’s coming to pick me up Sunday night.”

Daddy cleared his throat. “Flower, why don’t you go get washed up for dinner.”

“Okay, Daddy.”

Flower pranced off and I could hear her little footsteps running up the stairs.

“No running in the house!” Daddy yelled after her.

I laughed. “Some things never change. You used to yell the same thing at me.”

He grinned. “That’s because you wouldn’t listen and ran through the house every single day.”

I picked up a department store sales paper from the coffee table and started fanning myself. “She’s adorable. How old is she?”

“Six.” He went over to the air conditioner and banged on it. “Sorry it’s so hot in here. I’m trying to save up to get central air but it’s not easy. Even with regular clients, it still isn’t easy making a good living in this backass town.”

“Well, Daddy, no one told you to give up being a computer programmer.”

He and I both sat down on the sofa.

“No,” he said. “They just told me to give up my whole damn family, which was the same thing as giving up my life.”

I could tell that he was still bitter about the divorce and wanted to say something like, “You made your own bed so lie in it.” But I didn’t. It wasn’t my objective to visit him and incite drama after so many years.

“I guess you neglected to mention her in your letters,” I said, getting back to Flower.

He sighed. “I didn’t know how to word it. I figured if I told you I had another daughter, I’d never get a response.”

I disagreed. “Actually, it probably would’ve been the exact opposite. If I’d known I had a little sister, I would’ve wanted to meet her.”

“You want something to drink? I have some orange juice and milk.”

“No, I’m fine for now. I already knew you had orange juice and milk because…”

“Those are the only two things a person needs daily to survive,” we said in unison. Daddy used to wear that saying out when I was a child. If my mother didn’t have anything else in the house, she knew she better have milk and orange juice or Daddy would have a fit.

We sat in silence for a minute, feeling each other out with our eyes.

“To make a time-consuming story short, her mother, Allison, and I are just good friends,” he said, evidently referring to Flower’s mother. “We took pleasure in each other’s company for a while and Flower was the result. We haven’t fooled around in years. We just share custody and try to make sure she has a normal life.”

“Unlike my life, which was never normal,” I blurted out.

He put his hands on his knees, like he was bracing himself for something physically painful. “I don’t know what to say.”

I stroked him on the hand so he would ease up some. “No need to say anything. We’ll chat about it later. I’m planning to stay for a couple of days, if that’s okay?”

He smiled like he had won the lottery. “Jonquinette, you have no idea how okay that is. You’ve made my day, my year,
my decade,
by showing up here.”

I was hoping he would still feel that way by the time it was all over, said and done. “So, what’s for dinner?”