HARLEM STREETS | DAVE EAST

|CHAPTER ONE|

*ALEXIS' POV*
"Aniyah, please come and clean up your mess! Mommy has to drop you off to daddy titi Maya so I can go to work."

My five year old go back and forth between me and her father's house.

I was eighteen when I gave birth to Aniyah, which means I got pregnant at age seventeen.

Thankfully, it was the end of my high school years and not the beginning.

My boyfriend at the time, Jacob, had me thinking we were going to last forever.

Clearly, we didn't.

We only lasted long enough for me to give birth to Aniyah.

When Aniyah was three months old, we ended up splitting up. You know how teenaged boys are. They cheat, do whatever they want. And I wasn't okay and accepting that, so IM the one who left HIM.

Thank god for his sister Maya, though. She has been a literal angel through this all.

Besides my mother and my brother Trevor, Maya has been the only one helping me.

But recently, my mother and Trevor moved out of New York to help take care of my elderly grandmother.

So, it's only been me and Maya REALLY raising Aniyah. Yeah, Jacob is around. But he doesn't know how to be a father.

Jacob thinks being a father is watching TV with her or taking her out every once in a blue moon.

Being a father means actually taking care of your child. Yeah, spending time comes with it, too. But not just every once in a while. All of the time, it's supposed to be.

Anyways, I started stripping as soon as I was able to. A regular nine to five job isn't ever gonna help me pay my bills, especially in New York. We probably have the highest amount of rent besides Los Angeles.

I don't strip because I want to. I strip because I have to.

When I found out I was pregnant, I DID work a regular job for about two months just trying to prepare and save up for Aniyah's arrival.

But, evidently, that money wasn't cutting it for long.

My best friend Alyssa suggested the idea of stripping to me.

Alyssa is a year older than me. So, by the time I became pregnant, she was already stripping cause she was of age.

As soon as I gave birth to Aniyah, I waited about four months and then I started my job as a stripper.

My boss Draco is...

Interesting.

Draco treats all his strippers the same, expect for me.

Draco seems like he has a thing for me. He's always flirty and extra nice when he's around me.

Which doesn't even surprise me at this point. It's something about older guys that ALWAYS have a weird thing for me.

Jacob has been like the only guy that is my age who fell in love with me.

Men are just...

Weird.

But, that's something I have to deal with on a daily due to me stripping.

"Why can't you stay home? Just once, mommy? Please?"

"I wish I could, baby. Mommy has to go to work every single day of the week just to make sure we have everything we need. At least we have the weekends together, pumpkin."

"I want to have everyday with you though, mommy. It's not fair."

"I know it isn't, baby. I wish I could have every single second with you, too. I just want you to know that mommy only works so hard because I'm doing what's best for us. You don't want us to end up homeless and on the streets, right?"

"No, I don't, mommy."

"That's all I'm trying to say. I just want the best for us. Now come on. I have to drop you off to daddy so mommy can get to work on time."
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I dropped Aniyah off at Jacob's house, then quickly rushed to the club before I was late for my shift.

When I walked backstage, I seen Alyssa and a few others that I work with getting prepared. Kandi is one of them.

"You were almost late, AGAIN. This is the second time this week, Alexis."

Draco came out of nowhere. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, looking at him.

"I'm sorry, D. Getting my daughter to her father's house has been a hassle lately. I'm trying to do better."

"Please do. Show time is in fifteen minutes. You better hurry to get ready."

Draco snarled, walking away from me. I rolled my eyes, then making my way over to Alyssa and Kandi.

"What's up Draco's ass tonight? He's never acted like that towards me. It seems like someone shoved a stick up his ass or something."

"Oh, THATS because he hired a new stripper that's in his new favor. Her name is like.. Queen Naya, or something."

Kandi responded to my question. Alyssa laughed and shook her head.

"Queen Naija is her name. So, I guess he'll back off of you since he has her to obsess over now."

Suddenly, I seen the new girl that everyone was talking about.

She was about one of the most beautiful strippers I've ever seen. Like she's almost too pretty to be a stripper.

"Hi! You must be Alexis?"

"Yeah, I am. And you must be... Queen, right?"

"Yes, you're very correct! Draco told me that I should come and introduce myself to you since we'll all be working together. I already met Alyssa and Kandi.. and everyone else who works here."

"That's nice. It's very nice to meet you —"

"SHOWTIME IN TEN MINUTES, LADIES!"

Draco shouted.

It looks like another night, another strip.