Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.
No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.
HOME – 2:20 a.m.
“Was that Demi?”
I set my phone on the coffee table. “Yeah, she’s on her way.”
“I’ll get it.” Sway retrieved a forty sack. “How close is she?”
I stole a peek out the window. “She’s pulling in now.” I tossed on a jacket and stepped into my slides. “I’m going down to let her in.”
Demi was on the other side of the door when I opened it. “It’s fucking cold out here.”
“We were out earlier, and it was almost sixty.”
She followed me up the stairs. “Dallas weather. If you don’t like it now, just wait a couple hours.”
We entered. “Hey, pudding!”
Sway smiled in return. “Hey, Demi.”
Demi gazed at the forty sack. “That looks good, Andre.” She peeled two fresh twenties from her wallet, placing them onto the table.
“You worked tonight? You’re off on Saturdays, right?”
“I had one of my regulars come in.”
“Ah, you made money.”
“Hell yeah, I did. I just wish I had a couple more girls. I could have used them.”
“Well… Sway’s ready.”
Demi was mid-snort on her second scoop. “Really?! When?! Do you want to start right away?! I’ve got one of my best customers coming in on Monday. You’d be perfect! Oh my god, you’d get paid well… Very well. I promise you. Easy money! Do you have something to wear?”
“Andre’s taking me shopping…”
“We have outfits at the club. I can set you up with the house mom. She’ll do credit on my word. She can even do alterations to make sure…”
“I have my mind set on Electric Boutique.”
“Oh, but they are so expensive.”
“It’s okay.”
“You have your driver’s license…or an up-to-date ID?”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect! Can you be there at five?”
Sway looked to me. I cut in. “I’ll drop her off.”
“Awesome!” She turned to Sway. “I’m scheduled for seven, but I’ll get there early so I can go over everything with you and introduce you to the night manager. He’s laid back. You’ll have no problems at all.
“Then I’ll introduce you to all the cool girls; the ones you want to be around, and I’ll point out the ones who are trouble.”
Demi took a couple more draws. “We have a makeup artist too if you want, but I wouldn’t do too much dolling up. You have that young girl thing going for you. Older guys love that.
“Make as much money with it while you can. In a couple of years, that kind of customer will have found the next round of eighteen and nineteen-year-olds.
“But I’m going to get out of you guys’ hair. I’ve got to let the dogs out and take me a long, hot bath. My feet are killing me!”
“You need me to walk you out?”
“Oh, no, Andre. I’m okay.” She looked to Sway. “And I’ll see you Monday, pudding. Just relax and don’t worry about anything. Like I said, easy money.”
Sway countered. “What’s to you?”
“Huh…?”
“You keep saying easy money. What’s your cut? How much to you?”
“Oh… Don’t worry about all that. We’ll sort it out Monday.” Demi’s eyes darted, shifting, reading our faces. “Just a little something for the hook-up. I’m not greedy.”
Sway was straight-faced, laser-focused. “I guess we’ll see Monday.”
Demi softly closed the door as she left. I turned to Sway. “Now that I did catch.”
“She’s trying to play me.”
“As long as I’ve known Demi… I didn’t think she’d go out like that.”
“She’s retired in the game, Andre. The only way she can make any real money is to find young, dumb girls.”
“Do you want to try somewhere else? Maybe another club?”
“And miss that trick? That sounds like a lot of money for us. I definitely want to see what that’s about.”
“Do you think she’s still going to go through with it?”
“Because I called her out?”
“Yeah.”
“As hard as she’s pushing, I’m thinking she’s impossible to work with and no one wants to fuck with her. She needs me… But, I don’t really want to talk bad about her because I respect that she’s one of your regulars…”
“Fuck that bitch if she’s trying to go in our pockets.”
“I’ll figure out who’s who.” Sway grinned mischievously. “I can’t wait to meet Jeanice and Holly… Get their take on Demi. I’m sure it’s a different story.”
Creole Gaudet
Feeling generous? If you enjoyed this content, please consider leaving a tip in my Cash App or Venmo. Thank you.
