Chapter 9
Charly
Imoved quickly around the kitchen as I removed the yeast rolls from the oven and grabbed two plates. The front door opened just as I plated the smothered chicken.
“Hi, honey. I’m home,” Dominic called out teasingly as I heard him set his keys in the bowl.
I giggled and called back. “I’m in the kitchen.”
My body hummed in anticipation of seeing his gorgeous face as he stepped into the kitchen with me.
“Damn, you up in here cooking up a feast. What have you done?”
“I didn’t cook up a feast, and I haven’t done anything. It’s just smothered chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and yeast rolls.”
“I smell something sweet too.”
“Oh, that’s the brownies that are in the oven now. I thought that would be a great dessert for some ice cream.”
“Listen, woman, if you wanted to stay here in my apartment and not have a deadline, all you had to do was say that shit.” He chuckled as he grabbed a sports drink from the refrigerator.
“Boy, whatever. Are you ready to eat this food or not?”
“I mean, a man like me just finished a difficult shift . . . so you know.”
“What kind of shift did you work today?” I asked, bringing his plate and mine into the living room.
He sighed and dragged his hand over his face.
“It was a rough one. Two kids, no more than sixteen and seventeen years old, caught in the midst of their father’s rage.
Apparently, the wife had been experiencing domestic violence for years.
The kids couldn’t take any more. The last time their father beat their mother, she almost didn’t survive.
They finally convinced her to leave him, and they found a new place for just the three of them.
He showed up and shot and killed both kids, the mother, and himself. ”
“Fuck!”
“Yeah. Same thing I said. Stupid bastard. I don’t know why he didn’t just take himself out and leave them alone. The world would’ve been better without him.”
“I’m sorry that you had such a horrible day, Dom. I know that this won’t make up for it, but I hope you can enjoy a good meal and conversation.”
He looked up from the plate that I had set before him and eyed me curiously. “What are you up to?”
I giggled and replied, “Nothing. I told you.”
“So what conversation are you trying to have?”
“You know how I went to school and got my journalism degree?”
“Yeah.”
“And I applied and interviewed at Bolton Media and didn’t get the job? I was passed over for the PR specialist position at my last job, and I grew bored with the social media manager position. You know that I love flexibility and creativity, and I get that bartending.”
“Yeah, but you don’t make that much bartending.”
“I know, which is why I’ve been wanting to race with the team.”
“That shit ain’t no steady income, Char.”
I sighed. “You don’t think I know that? But between the two, it will give me what I need to invest in other things.”
“Other things like what?” he asked and bit into his chicken.
That man was so deep into his food, I wondered if he really was paying attention to the conversation.
“Like me wanting to start doing documentaries on the street and drag racing industries.”
“Word?” he asked, licking gravy from his lips and turning his gaze to me.
I knew I had his attention now. “Yeah. But I need to be inside, Dom. Not like just attending the races like I do now, but I want to capture it from all angles, including what it’s like to be on a team, and the only girl on the team. There aren’t that many girls racing.”
“Have you ever thought about forming a team with just you ladies?”
“I have, but five of the girls are already on teams, and the other three don’t want to be attached to anything. I’m not like that. I want to be on a team, and more specifically, I want to be on your team.”
“Why?”
“Because.” I stared deeply into his eyes as he dropped his gaze to my lips and back up again. “You’re my brother, my best friend, and my inspiration. I never want to compete against you.”
“You don’t have to take any races against me.”
“It would only be a matter of time.”
“So, what do you want to do?”
“I want you to talk to Chopper and convince him that I’m a good fit for the team, the best fit, in fact. I know that I have a temper, but I can curb that shit. You know this.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Do I?”
“Are you saying you don’t believe in me?”
“I’m saying it sounds like you might say anything to have your way right now. I’ve never seen you show restraint when something or someone pisses you off.”
“You’re right, I haven’t. Maybe it is time for me to put the work in, but everyone has their flaws, Dom. My skills and raw talent shouldn’t be overlooked because of that.”
“You’re right, it shouldn’t. I honestly don’t know if I can convince Chopper to take you on or not. He’s had his mind settled on this for a long time.”
I poked my bottom lip out and gave him the sad puppy dog eyes. “Pullleeze,” I begged, placing my gravy-covered fingers together in a prayer pose.
“Quit that shit. You know it gets me every time.”
I made my bottom lip tremble and rested my head on his shoulder.
“Okay, damn, girl. I’ll holler at him for ya aggy ass. But this is gonna be the last time, you hear me?”
“Thank you, Dom!” I pecked him on the cheek and bounced up and down on the couch.
“If he says no this time, don’t ask me to do this shit for you again. That’s the end of it. You hear?”
“I do. I promise I won’t ever ask you again. Just make sure that you’re very convincing.”
“We’ll see.”
We finished eating our food before I snatched up our plates and rinsed them in the sink.
After I placed them in the dishwasher, I headed back to my room.
I had just come out of the closet from putting on my black jeans and T-shirt when Dominic came to the door bare-chested and rested an arm against the doorjamb.
“You work tonight?”
“Yeah. I’ll be off at about two.”
“You want me to take you?”
“No. I’m good, but thanks though. You need to catch up on some sleep yourself.”
“Nah. I might roll out with the fellas and see what we can get into.”
“Make sure you behave tonight. Okay?”
He smirked and bobbed his head, but he continued staring at me for several seconds as I gathered the remainder of my things.
Dominic walked me to the door.
“Be safe in them streets, Shortcake.”
“I will. I’ll see you when I get in tonight.”
“A’ight.”
We were short-staffed when it came to the bottle girls and servers tonight, but we had more than enough bartenders in the house. Since I had been a bottle girl before I became a bartender, our supervisor, Vaughn, asked me to fill in for one of them.
He had texted me and asked me before I left home. I had thrown my old uniform into my bag before I got dressed for the evening. I didn’t want to argue with Dominic about my filling in as a bottle girl because he’d always hated it when I did that job.
He hated the short two-piece outfits we wore with our asses hanging out and our cleavage shoved underneath our chins.
Well, he hated me in them anyway. He seemed to love the other bottle girls in them.
He always treated me like I was his kid sister, despite the fact that I was a grown woman, a college graduate, and had a man of my own.
Sometimes it seemed as if he were more protective of me than Ramon had been.
“You should come back and work the floor with us, full-time, Charly,” Reanna stated as we walked from the bar back to the VIP section with the orders of our latest patrons.
“Girl, I wouldn’t come back for a million dollars.”
“Lying ass!” she shrieked with a giggle.
“Okay, . . . maybe for a mill, or even half a mill.”
“Hell, for a quarter of a mill, your ass would come back.”
I laughed and nodded. “You’re right. I sooo would. I just hate the way the customers in VIP feel entitled to grab our asses.”
“And yet, you know all you have to do is complain to Frost one time, and their asses would be banned.”
“Right. And word would get around, and that would be the end of anyone wanting to fuck with me. The tips are great though.”
“Precisely. You’re not getting that at the bar.”
“I’m not getting the same type of tips, but I get tips. In some ways, it balances out. All I have to deal with at the bar is flirting.”
“With broke bustas. The men with the money ain’t visiting the bar,” she declared, sucking her teeth.
We stepped into the area with our latest patrons and busied ourselves with chatting with them and serving them before we moved to the next area.
The club was hopping all night long, and Reanna and I were constantly on our feet.
I was able to manage a fifteen-minute break to grab a snack and a drink.
I didn’t even get a chance to take a piss until another hour later.
An hour before my shift ended, Ramon showed up with a few of his business constituents.
I had not met them before, but that didn’t matter to Ramon.
He made it his business to show his ass from the minute that I was assigned to his area.
“Say, beautiful. Can we get a lap dance?” Ramon asked as though we were strangers.
“This isn’t that type of club,” I replied sassily.
“Oh yeah? I couldn’t tell. You’re walking around here in that skimpy costume with your ass out,” he replied.
“Listen, I’ll be back with your orders momentarily.”
I turned to walk away, but Ramon smacked me on the ass and gripped my ass cheek before releasing it. I turned around with fire in my eyes, and he smirked at me.
“I’m sure you’ll need the tip, ma. You might not want to bite the hand that feeds you.”
His friends snickered, and one of them had the nerve to say, “You shouldn’t be out here teasing men like that. That peach is sitting fat and high, sweetheart.”
I rolled my eyes at him, and I hated that Reanna wasn’t assigned to this section. Because there were only four of them, two servers weren’t necessary, especially when we were already short-staffed.
“And if either one of you puts your hands on it again, then I promise I’ll break your jaw and sue you for sexual assault.”
“Whoa! She’s a feisty one,” another man added, causing them all to laugh.
Ramon’s eyes darkened, and he pulled his fingers through his beard. “Nah. She’s all talk and no bite. I promise you I know how to tame feisty little bitches.”
“I’ll get you someone else to serve you.” I turned to walk away because the last thing that I wanted was for my temper to get me in trouble. I’d already been in enough trouble over my temper and my mouth. I couldn’t afford to lose my job too.
Ramon stood and grabbed me around the waist. He glared at me with his teeth bared.
“No. I think that I’ll keep your ass right here serving me and my friends tonight.
Run and tell some shit if you want to, and I swear that tonight will be your last one on this job.
And when I’m finished with you, you won’t be able to get another job in this city,” he threatened in a whisper against my ear.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because I’m tired of playing with you. Now pack your bags and come back home.”
I shook my head and tried to pull away. “I’m not coming back home.”
“Yes, you are. Don’t make me show my ass up in here and drag you back,” he warned in a low growl as he gripped my ass and rubbed it.
I was so humiliated and so angry. I tried jerking away and pushing him off me, but he only tightened his hold. Lowering his head, he tugged the shell of my ear into his mouth and whispered, “It always did turn me on whenever you became feisty. We’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
When he finally released me, I raised my hand to slap him, but he grabbed it and squeezed my wrist tightly. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“You’re going to regret this,” I warned.
“Why? You gon’ get my brother to come and try to whup my ass again? Too late for that. After our recent show of affection, I seriously doubt he’s got any words to say to you.”
Ramon spun me around and held me against his chest. With one arm wrapped around my midsection, he slid his hand up my abdomen and fingered my nipples. All I could see was Dominic’s retreat as he made his way angrily away from the section we were in.
My heart dropped. I knew at that moment that he had seen everything, and there was no telling what was going through his mind. Ramon had put on a show for Dominic’s benefit, and I was certain that from where Dominic stood, it looked like Ramon and I had made up.
“You bastard!” I hissed and stomped on his foot.
He released me, and I ran from the section. When I got back to the middle of the club, I couldn’t find Dominic. I raced to the locker room to grab my things.
“Hey, are you okay?” Reanna asked, rushing in after me.
Talia and Johanassie, two other bottle girls, were in there changing into their street clothes.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, angrily wiping the tears from my face.
“Are you sure? What happened?”
“My ex happened. Nothing that I can’t handle.”
“All right. Well, go cash out and get your tips for the night. I’ll finish off your last section.”
I stared into her eyes and replied, “He can be an asshole, Reanna.”
She smirked. “Assholes are my specialty, baby. My ex-husband was one, and I love nothing more than shoving it up their asses. I got this, boo. Go home and rest.” She winked at me.
I only prayed that I had a home to go to and that Dominic hadn’t thrown all my shit out on the street by the time I arrived.