Working Girls (12 page)

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Authors: Treasure Hernandez

BOOK: Working Girls
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Chapter Sixteen
“T
asha, I don't know about y'all living at the hotel. That would be double the cost just for the rooms. Instead of paying for the rooms for a couple of hours, I would be paying full price,” Manolo said, skepticism in his voice.
“Come on, Daddy. Think about it. We are missing out on so much money. By us being here at the hotel twenty-four hours, we could make twice as much money. It's a win-win situation,” Tasha said convincingly as she talked into the phone in her hotel room. She hoped that Manolo would fall for the little trick she had up her sleeve, because she knew that she would need time to get Halleigh back right. If Manolo saw her in the state she was in, his method of detox would probably be another two weeks in the basement.
Manolo listened closely on the other end of the phone, while one of the girls filed his fingernails for him. Fortunately for Tasha, the more she talked, the more he began to see things her way. The mention of making more money had him game.
“All right, Tasha, but if the cash flow don't double up, I'ma take it out on that ass, hear me?” Manolo said sternly.
“Yeah, Daddy, I hear you. I'ma make you proud.” With that, Tasha hung up the phone and focused her attention over to her bed. She knew the other girls weren't going to take too kindly to the new arrangement she'd just made with Manolo, but if she had to sacrifice their time and happiness to save one, then her mind was made up: she was going to do it.
Tasha knew that she had bought herself some time. She wanted to keep Manolo away from Halleigh for as long as possible, until she got better. Seeing her would be a dead giveaway. He would easily see that Halleigh was fiending for one of two things: either dope or Malek. And neither one would please him.
Now that Tasha had taken care of phase one of the plan with Manolo, it was time to take care of phase two with Halleigh. She went into one of the dominatrix bags that the girls sometimes used on their customers. She then made her way over to Halleigh, who was coming out of a dope coma.
“Let me go, you crazy bitch!” Halleigh yelled as she tried to avoid being handcuffed to the bed. She was too weak to stand a chance against Tasha.
“Look, Halleigh, I'm sorry about this. I don't want to have to leave you tied up like this, but I can't sit here and watch you continue to hurt yourself. You are killing yourself slowly on that needle. Believe me, I've seen that shit destroy some of the toughest chicks. Let me help you, okay?” Tasha said in a comforting tone. She looked into Halleigh's baggy eyes and felt sorry for her. Determined to help Halleigh shake her habit, she wasn't about to let the streets swallow her whole like they did Loita.
“Bitch, I said let me go!” Halleigh screamed as she continued to squirm and jerk to no avail.
Tasha had to head out and take care of some business, and she didn't want Halleigh to hit the streets looking for another fix. Unfortunately, part of her plan meant that she herself would have to come out of retirement and hit the track to compensate for Halleigh. While out tricking, she knew she had to keep Halleigh restrained, or else the first thing she'd do was go out and get a hit.
“I will let you go, Hal, but you have to kick this shit first. I'm so sorry, but it's for your own good.” Tasha looked at her, hoping that Halleigh could see in her eyes how sincere she was about helping her.
“Aghh! Aghh! Help me!” Halleigh screamed, hoping her cries for help would grab someone's attention.
Tasha let her scream, knowing that no one would come and check on her. They were at a “whore motel,” and screaming and begging was a common sound coming from their rooms.
“Go ahead and scream all you like,” Tasha told her, “but I'm not going to let you go until I get back. I know you don't believe me when I say it, but I really do care about you and what happens to you. I don't want to see you end up like . . .” Tasha's words trailed off. “Look, I love you, girl, and I know that you are going to beat this shit.” Tasha sat on the bed next to Halleigh and began to rub her head.
“I don't need your help!” Halleigh forcefully yanked away from Tasha. “I need a hit!”
“That shit is going to kill you, Halleigh,” Tasha yelled as she looked down at her with tears in her eyes. Why couldn't Halleigh see that all she was trying to do was help her? Tasha could have easily just let her fall off and become like some of the other girls, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself. She just couldn't understand why Halleigh wouldn't want the help somebody was trying to offer her.
“Maybe I want to die, Tasha. You ever thought about that? Malek doesn't want me. What man would? There's no point in living,” she said, staring at the ceiling.
“Fuck him, Halleigh, and anybody else, for that matter.” She grabbed Halleigh by the face. “Do this for you! Don't end up like your mother. Fight this.”
Halleigh was offended that Tasha would even insinuate that she was anything like her mother. “I'm not going to end up like my mother. I'm nothing like that bitch.”
Tasha realized that she'd hit a nerve, and so she decided to go for the jugular. She let out a menacing chuckle. “Huh? Nothing like her? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You're just like her. Matter of fact . . .”—Tasha got up and went over to her purse, pulled out a M•A•C makeup compact, opened it up and held the mirror in front of Halleigh—“See. Look at yourself. Just look at you.”
Halleigh turned. She didn't want to see herself. She could only imagine what her reflection looked like. “Stop it! No!” Halleigh continued to struggle.
Tasha grabbed her tightly by the chin to hold her face steady and rammed the mirror in front of her. “I said look! Look at you. If you're not your mother, then who are you?”
Halleigh began to weep, but it didn't stop Tasha from making her point. “Who are you then?”
When Halleigh's eyes met those looking back at her in the mirror, she shut them tight and began to cry. “I don't know,” she finally answered. “I don't know who I am anymore. Oh, God,” she cried with heaving shoulders.
Tasha uttered a sigh of relief, figuring she'd made her point and that Halleigh had had enough. Tasha took Halleigh into her arms and rocked her.
Just then, a thought came into Halleigh's mind. “I hear what you're saying, Tasha,”—She rattled the handcuffs—“about me being locked down and all, but what will Manolo say? He'll know that I'm fucked up when he sees that I'm not bringing in any money. I'm better off killing myself with drugs anyway after he gets a hold of me.”
But Tasha knew that was just a last-ditch drug addict tactic to convince her to let Halleigh go.
Halleigh was right about Manolo's cash, though. If he sensed that the money was coming short, he would definitely put a foot in their asses. That's why Tasha decided to come out of retirement. She didn't want to go back to ho'ing, but she knew that she had to, to keep Halleigh's condition a secret from Manolo. She'd promised herself that she would never turn a trick again, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And this was definitely one of those times. Halleigh was like a little sister to her, and she refused to let her continue down the path she was taking.
You have to make this game your hustle, not your life. Tricks get in this game for the wrong reasons.
Tasha released Halleigh and then stood up to head for the door. “I've taken care of that.” She opened the compact she already had in her hands and touched up her face with the powder puff.
Tasha knew being a prostitute wasn't easy. It was best to get money and then get out because in this game, if you stay in it too long, it becomes you. And when the streets become you, there is no turning back.
Tasha had on her four-inch stilettos and a black miniskirt. Before walking out the door, she walked over to the dresser mirror to apply some mascara. She could hear Halleigh moaning in the background in obvious pain, and she wanted so badly to uncuff her, but that would only be enabling her friend to go and do more drugs.
“Sorry, Hal,” Tasha whispered as Halleigh continued to moan loudly, “but this is for your own good.” Tasha finished applying her mascara then headed for the door.
“Please help me, Tasha. I hurt so badly,” Halleigh said, tears streaming down her face. Her body was craving the drug, and sharp pains shot through her stomach as the monkey jumped on her back.
It's for her own good. Tasha exited the room. Somebody had to fill in for Halleigh, and Tasha was taking one for the team.
“Please! Please, Tash, help me out. I need a fix. I swear this will be the last time,” Halleigh begged.
Tasha knew that if she looked back at Halleigh, she would give in, so she just exited the room with tears in her eyes and never looked back.
Chapter Seventeen
“Y
ou like that, Daddy?” Tasha asked the john seductively as she massaged his balls with one hand and gripped his pipe with the other. Tasha peeked up at the man, and he was in pure bliss. He was about to cum, and she hadn't even put her mouth on his dick yet. This is what she called “easy money.” As she continued to massage his balls and blow on his manhood, she felt his legs stiffen up. She gave him one good stroke and licked his head, and that was it. Game over.
Tasha hadn't lost her touch. She made that fool cum in under a minute. She wasn't the best for nothing.
“That's a hundred and fifty dollars, Daddy.” Tasha got off her knees and held out her palm. She had charged him for a head job, when in actuality he only got jerked off. The fool was so in love, he didn't know the difference. Tasha could peep vulnerable men from a mile away. The way he was moaning and looking into Tasha's eyes, she knew from jump that she could overcharge him.
The man handed Tasha two crisp hundred dollar bills. “Keep the change.”
Tasha got the money and then hopped out of his two-door Cadillac. She walked the track, trying to pick up her next john. She had only been on the ho stroll for a couple of hours, and she almost had six hundred dollars, just that quick. As luck would have it, she ran into one of her better customers, who was more than happy to see her back on the grind.
Tasha was a veteran. She knew which johns to service and which johns not to. If a john didn't look like he was spending big dough, she passed on him. For her, being out there all night fucking with small-timers just wasn't worth it.
Tasha grew hungry and stopped at the chicken spot on the corner of Clio and Stewart to grab a bite to eat and to use their bathroom to freshen up a little. She picked up two chicken dinners then walked out of the spot.
“Hey, miss.”
She turned and saw the store owner coming her way. He was the one who had just waited on her.
Once he finally caught up with her, he said, “You uh, you uh, forgot your change.” The way he said it was kind of peculiar, and he seemed to be looking around to make sure no one was watching him.
“Oh, did I?” Tasha could have sworn that he'd given it to her.
She started to check her purse, but then he extended his hand to her. Inside of it was a hundred dollar bill.
Tasha took it out of his hand and looked at it like it was nothing but a dollar bill. “And what's this for?”
“Oh, yeah, I, uh, just was wondering if you could do something for me.”
Once again, Tasha looked at the hundred dollar bill like it was nothing.
The man continued. “I was just, uh, wondering if you could come with me to my truck. It's, uh, right over there.”
Tasha's eyes followed his finger to the black SUV with tinted windows. “And?”
“And just watch me.”
A puzzled look came across Tasha's face. Seeing her confusion, the man went on. “And just watch me, you know, take care of my business.”
“Ohhh,” Tasha said, nodding her head. She smiled and then licked her lips. Once again, a vulnerable one. She loved how she attracted his kind. She knew that she could have easily manipulated him out of more money if she threw in a couple of extra treats, but to watch him jerk off for a bill was good enough. Besides, she didn't want her food to get cold, so she obliged him, joining him over in his truck and watching him, while he watched her watch him jerk off.
Three minutes tops was all it took. Now that was easy money!
Tasha's feet were killing her as she headed back to the hotel. She hadn't strolled in stilettos in almost two years and was paying the price.
When Tasha made it to the room, her heart dropped when she opened the door. Halleigh was gone. She'd found a way to slither out of the handcuffs. Tasha flopped on the bed and buried her face in her hands, knowing that she'd failed Halleigh.
A noise from the bathroom startled Tasha, and she quickly looked in the direction of the commotion. She walked to the bathroom and opened the door to find Halleigh with her head over the toilet bowl.
“Halleigh, are you okay, girl?” Tasha dropped to her knees and pulled Halleigh's hair away from her face. Halleigh looked horrible, like she had lost even more weight within the past couple of hours. Her body was soaking wet because of all of the sweating she was doing. Halleigh trembled as a chill ran through her body.
“I stayed in the room. I didn't go anywhere. I didn't go,” Halleigh said in a child-like, whiny voice. “See? You can trust me.”
“I know, baby, I know.” Tasha continued to rub her hair. She understood that Halleigh was actually trying to beat her addiction because she didn't leave the room when she had a chance.
“Come on, girl.” Tasha helped Halleigh up and began to pull off her sweaty clothes.
Tasha helped her into the shower and let the water hit her face and body. She stood right by her side, washing her and holding her up. Halleigh's body was so weak. The dependence on the drug had gotten the best of her.
She's so young. I can barely handle this life and I'm twenty-four, Tasha thought.
Tasha had been involved in the pimp game for years. Just seeing Halleigh in this position and being reminded of Loita, whom she herself had introduced to the game, Tasha decided that she couldn't do this anymore. It was time for a change. The first chance she got, she would come up with a plan to do something better with her life. When she did finally decide to make the move, she promised herself that she would take Halleigh with her.

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