“Are you going already?”
“Jesus, fuck!”
The old man’s voice makes me jolt up and turn around. He’s right there, behind the door, closing it again.
He chuckles. “You don’t have to be scared.”
“I’m not scared,” I say, shaking it off. “I don’t fucking get scared.” I clear my throat. “And yes, I’m going. I did my job.”
“Hmm …” He walks toward me. “Well, I didn’t hear him say stop, but he did tell me to pay you, so here.” He pushes a check into my hand.
“Gee, thanks,” I say.
He smiles. “You’re welcome. You know, it’s not every day that he takes a liking toward a girl.”
“Liking?” I raise a brow.
“He asked for your name, didn’t he?”
I’m flabbergasted. My lips part, but I have no idea what to say to this old dude.
“Yes … he also grabbed my throat,” I say after a few seconds.
The old man’s smile gives me the creeps. “He likes you, and it’s the only reason you’re still able to walk away.”
My eyes widen, and my cheeks turn red. Why would he say something like that? Not that I care. I don’t have time for this shit, so I turn around and walk away. “All right, I’ll show myself out now.”
“You should’ve listened when I told you the rules,” he says behind my back.
I pause. A chill runs up and down my spine.
I knew something was off when he never told me to stop.
I looked at him.
I fucking looked.
He could’ve killed me … but I’m still alive.
Swallowing away the lump in my throat, I shake it off and keep walking, determined not to ever make the same mistake again.
Chapter 2
Alexis
I show Deangelo the check, and he bursts out into a squealing laugh. “Fuck, yes!” He grabs my face and kisses my cheek. “Baby, you’re so good at this shit.”
“I know. That’s why you wanted me on this job.”
“God, I fucking love ya, y’know?” he says, smelling the check I hold in my hand.
I smile. “Nah, you just love the money.”
“Damn right, I do.” He takes another whiff. “Whatever he made you do, it was worth it.”
I nod but decide not to respond. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to tell him what really went down. Instead, I stick to the usual. “Ah, you know, I stripped, I danced, he came. End of story.”
He muffles another laugh. “Well, you did good.” He pushes the check into the palm of my hand and closes my fingers around it. “Keep it.”
“What? The entire thing?”
“Yeah.” He winks. “You’ve earned it.”
“Oh, my God …” I throw myself at him and wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He pats my back. “No, thank you for being my best girl.”
“No, I mean it. Thank you. I mean this is like an entire week’s pay,” I say as I lean back.
“Yeah, but you need it.” He shrugs. “Besides, I still have the other check, so I’m good.”
He takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it, still partially grinning. “And ya know what? Tomorrow, Imma take you and your sis out to dinner. And before you say anything, it’s not a date. We’ll go as friends. I just like to do something good for my girls every once in a while. How’s that sound?”
“Aw, you don’t have to do that.”
“No, but I’m gonna.” He grabs my knee and squeezes. “We’ve got something to celebrate.”
“Right. The job was successful. We cashed in good.” I give him a fake smile. Not because I’m not happy, but because celebrating something like this feels weird.
“Ready to go home?” Deangelo asks.
“Yeah. I’m so ready.” I sigh.
He doesn’t even know how ready I am.
Ready to forget it all.
But I don’t think that’ll happen for a long time.
***
When I get home, the lights are already off, so I don’t turn them back on.
I throw my bag and keys on the single nightstand at the door and walk past the clothes scattered on the floor to the fridge. There’s not much left, and my stomach is growling, but when I think of all the money I earned tonight, I know we’ll have something good to eat tomorrow. Smiling, I grab a bottle of juice and chug it back. It won’t fill me up, but it’ll make it easier to sleep.
I throw it in the trash and put some of the dirty dishes in the sink, letting the water pour over them. When I’m done, I turn around and take a breather. Every time I look around our room, which is nothing more than a bedroom used as an entire house, I feel grateful.