Page 18 of Off the Charts
I applied gloss to my lips. This life shit seems to throw the hardest curveballs at black women and it hurts to the core, rocks us even, but that shouldn’t be the end of our story. The world never expects us to bounce back. They underestimate the strength that God gave us not knowing that when He crafted us, He gave us an extra dose of determination. No matter how hard that situation sets you back, keep going. You gave that dead thing enough tears, enough time, now it’s time to get up.
“Get up, Jersei,” I repeated to my reflection as I twirled two pieces of hair by my ears to set off my low slick back ponytail and dramatic edges. “You got this. If nobody believes in you, I do and that’s most important.”
I was thankful my eyes weren’t puffy from all the crying I’d been doing today. Mama, Jade, and Zy made it around six and Ivowed not to call him a million times and let him enjoy himself. After touching up my makeup, I accessorized the outfit with gold and eased on some black strappy high heels.
“You ready to go? The truck is here!”
“Yeah, just let me pee real quick,” I called back.
Amid my crying, I got a knock at my door. Jade knew I was going to need some company, so she and mama paid for our cousin Harmoni to come up for the weekend.
She entered my room drinking straight out of the tequila bottle dressed in a black mini dress that left nothing to the imagination. To the world, she was Honey, one of the best strippers down in Indigo Falls. To me, she was Harmoni, my sweet baby cousin and the family wild card. It was hard to explain, but she was the most open yet closed book I’d ever met. Despite her dark past, she was a beautiful person inside and out. If you didn’t understand her the first time you met her, then you never would.
“Okay bitch! You look good cousin,” Harmoni did a dance and took another shot as I washed my hands. “You leaving the club with something.”
I let her talk me into going out. At first, I was not feeling it, but I was laying up like I was grieving or some shit. I needed some fun in my life so when Harmoni mentioned going to Feelz, I was all in.
“I’on know about all that, but I am ready to go throw some money.”
I straightened up as much as I could before heading out. As we got settled in the black truck, Harmoni went back and forth on two phones before releasing a long breath and turned toward me.
“How is everything with Seven Keys?”
I thought about her question for a second along with what I’d been thinking regarding it. “It’s easy. I love that it’s fun, so Idon’t have moments where it feels like a job. The shit makes me feel so powerful.”
Harmoni smirked, pulling a dime bag of weed from her titty. “Mind control is some powerful shit. Add pussy to that mix and you can have a nigga’s entire existence. I’m telling you what I know,” she typed on her phone again.
“I believe you. I am considering a break right now. It’s a distraction, but not necessarily a good one. You ever do some shit but realize your motives are wrong?”
“All the fucking time.”
I snickered. “That’s where I’m at. The money is good, but I don’t know. I have a lot to sort out within myself. I don’t have to decide tonight, but I will soon.”
“Whatever and whenever you decide, I support it. If you take a step back and come back to it, it’ll be there. If you step back and walk away forever, that’s even better. Your future is bright, Jersei. You won’t lose either way,” Harmoni shrugged as she broke down her blunt.
I smiled at her words, not expecting my eyes to gloss from them. Reaching over, I squeezed her hand. “Thank you Harmoni. The same shit applies to you though.”
“Yeah, I hear you.” She brushed me off. “I need to tell you two things, and you have to promise not to be mad at me either.”
My head tilted. “What did you do, Harmoni?”
“Okay, so I wasn’t completely honest with you about tonight. I have a private booking at Feelz, and me and one of the strippers may or may not have a past and she wants me to spend the night. Will you be okay?”
I gave her a dull stare, trying not to get annoyed because I would want someone to go with me too if the shoe was on my foot.
I sighed. “Rideshare runs all night. I’m cool with taking one back. Next time, yo ass need to be honest ‘cause I could’ve cometo support you then drove myself home. Now tell me the other thing.”
“There’s a bag in Zy’s room for you. Don’t ask me what it is, just know I don’t need shit in return.”
“Whatever it is, I appreciate it.”
For the rest of the ride, we laughed, drank, and caught up. An hour passed before we were pulling up to Grove Hollow, a city east of Harvest Hills. The Grove was classified as hood, but I always felt the most connected out here. Plus, they had the best food and the finest niggas. The driver parked on the VIP side. The building was dual sided, one for the night life and the other for the strip club. The club bouncer helped us out and the second my heels touched the ground, I realized just how good the liquor had me feeling. Harmoni gripped my hand tightly as we entered the club. She captured everyone’s attention without mumbling a word. We were escorted upstairs by security to a section that was secluded and overlooked the entire club.
“We got Honey in the mutha’fuckin’ building yall. Make some noise!” Everybody went crazy as the DJ dropped what I knew was her theme song.
I fell back and allowed her to have all the spotlight because this was her moment, and I was good with that. Harmoni and I took turns dancing and throwing ass. Our section was filled with dancers. The club fucked with her, so they were sending shots, hookah, food, and mixed drinks back-to-back. We were having a good time, and what made it better is that I didn’t have to come out of pocket. It felt like college days but with money, an indescribable and undefeated time of life.
Sliding a few bills into the stripper’s waist, I threw the rest of them on her back. She was shaking her ass in all kinds of directions. To me, stripping was a sport. People looked down on these women, but they were doing the same shit Olympians do in different clothing. Their confidence was out of this world andthe shit they put their bodies through to put on a show made me have nothing but respect for them.
