Chapter 2

“Calm down Tammy…are you okay?” I asked with concern. She sobbed and leaned her head on my shoulder. I looked up at the boy. “I’ll be right back.” I promised. He nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable. I took Tammy’s hand leading her to the back of the pool hall, stepping into the shadowy front of the bathroom stalls.

“That was undignified Nicky.” Tammy said frankly, straightening to her usual ramrod stiff. I counted out the bills, then folding them slid them into the back pocket of my skirt.

“Maybe, but I just managed to cover the rest of the rent so it served it’s purpose.” I told her pointedly. She nodded, lips set in a firm line and my brow furrowed as I looked her over. Of all the girls it was Tammy I knew I could rely on, specially in a situation such as we were in now. It was also her, of all of them, that was most likely to finally get fed up of all this and tell me she wasn’t doing it anymore, and didn’t think I should either.

Tammy wasn’t a social animal like most of my girls. And I knew that she avoided being around men at all cost. What that said about her sexual preferences, well I really didn’t know, and it didn’t make a damn bit of difference to me. Actually in a way it was probably better she didn’t join in with the other girls competing for male attention. At a permanent nineteen years old Tammy was stunning, her skin a dark coffee and cream, her eyes a deep golden brown and her body voluptuous in a way only a black woman can really pull off.

She was every guys wet dream yet I knew for a fact it did nothing but irritate her. Tammy was the smartest, most serious person I’d ever met, and it was through sheer willpower alone, well that and probably hanging out with the rest of us rejects, that gave her even the barest grip on youth. She deserved it more then anyone I knew, I was old enough to have seen the world she’d been forced to grow up in.

A high pitched whistled pulled me from my thoughts and I looked up, a bad feeling turning deep in my stomach that whatever was catching everyone’s attention concerned me. Tammy and I walked over to stand by the partition between the pool section and the bar, and I was grateful for the crowd that kept me out of sight of the guy I’d been conning. Almost all of my girls, split around the room to keep a careful eye out for the members of the resident gangs, were now either standing or leaning forward, eyes fixed on something near the entrance.

Looking to the front of the bar I caught sight of Mica…all she’d done was pull off her jacket but she’d caught the eye of every guy in the place. I groaned. Someone had to remind Mica we weren’t in New York anymore, and this wasn’t some sleazy high end club, it was a hole. Her black shirt was completely transparent, so much so her gold nipple rings caught the light and reflected it proudly, and what she wore around her waist didn’t contain enough material to deserve the title skirt. The worst part of the whole image was the fact that looking at Mica made you do a double take. Not only because of her outfit, but because she looked so young. No less then fifteen guys had been roughed up by the cops for something like perverting a minor or some such nonsense. Luckily she had good ID, giving her real age of eighteen. Dates were slightly off but hey, what’s a century here or there?

“We are going to have to intercede before too much attention is drawn our way.” Tammy said shrewdly. I stopped her as she moved forward.

“Wait. Katie’s got it.”

We both stood back and watched with no small amusement as Katie stood, bristling like a wet cat when the guy she’d been smoozing with all night kept his open mouthed stare on Mica for an exaggerated length of time. She bolted a little too smoothly over the table and landed on her feet in front of Mica, giving her a sharp shove. Sarah who as usual was inches behind Mica moved up, shouting something obscene at Katie that did nothing to help our cause. Katie’s eyes narrowed and the air was tense with anticipation. So much for a quick show, this was about to get way too real.

“Your little ho talk for you bitch or do you got a mouth of your own?” Katie hissed. Mica cocked her head, unconcerned. Typical.

“Oh I got a mouth of my own.” She said sweetly, her finger tracing her lower lip. “And when I’m done with you I’ve a mind to show your man what I usually use it for.”

Katie slapped her and I cursed under my breath at the overkill. I hoped her date was too distracted by the scene to question why a girl he’d just met was getting that wound up. Sarah grabbed Katie’s arm and Katie flung her back, sending her flying into a booth no less then ten feet away. When Katie turned back it was to catch Mica’s hand, clawed with long, sharp red nails, across her face. Katie responded with a high pitched screech and grabbed hold of Mica’s hair in the mist of a forward rush, throwing them both to the floor.

I moved forward, now it was Tammy’s turn to stop me.

“Let me take care of this, it wouldn’t do for others to arrive and find you here, scamming on their turf.” She advised. I nodded and watched her head in, taking the emergency exit out.