Chapter 28: Reason.
"Hey, Jasmine." Gustavo calls out to me. I run to him and I hug him. It's a weird sight seeing him around the club and not at the bar. He has an arm cast on, so I don't squeeze too hard as I hug him.
"You look so good. I'm sorry about your hand." I tell him.
"It's not my first time getting shot, so I kinda knew I'll be fine." He says and I stare at him with wide eyes.
"Oh really, so you're about that life?" I ask him, chuckling. He just shrugs and I laugh at his antics.
"It was nice seeing that you're fine and healthy. Duty calls. I have an audience to entertain." I say, patting his shoulder and he hisses.
"I'm so sorry." I say, staring at him in concern.
"I'm just fucking with you. Go knock 'em dead, kid." He says before I walk past him, heading to my section.
I see the guests waiting for me and I say hi to some of the regulars as I head for the stage. I climb onto the stage and a spotlight shines its light on me as the music starts. I saunter towards the metallic pole and I climb it. Posing on the pole before I take it for a spin. I work the pole and I hear the crowd cheering as I spin faster. I slow down and grind my body on the pole.
I get off the pole and get on my knees, feeling up on myself. I crawl to the edge of the stage and I stare at the man in a suit, standing in front of the stage with money in his hand. I tell him to tuck it in the side of my panties and he does that. Crawling on all fours, I head back to the pole. I work my way up to the pole from the floor and the audience cheers for me.
After my set, I am drying my wet hair with a towel when I see Christopher walking up to me.
"Hey, you." He says, smiling at me.
"Hey." I say, staring at him.
"What you're doing right now?" He says, smirking.
"Nothing, why?" I ask him.
"We have some deliveries to make." He informs me.
"Already?" I ask him, shocked.
"Yup. I hate that I'm dragging you into this." He tells me, looking down.
I sling the towel over my shoulder and I touch his chest. He looks at me.
"Hey, don't be hard on yourself. I chose to be your partner in crime, remember?" I tell him.
"You don't deserve to be around this mess." He continues.
"But I chose to be. Now, let's go." I say, grabbing my backpack. Christopher leads me to his car outside and we get in. He looks tense as he drives out of the premises.
"Cheer up, would ya?" I quip.
"I'm not exactly thrilled that I'm being blackmailed to deliver and sell drugs." He tells me and I nod.
"But it's already happened. We'll get through this." I tell him, holding his hand. He looks up at me and I smile at him.
"So, where are we going?" I ask him, intrigued.
"Two blocks down. That's the customer's address."
"Where're the goods?" I ask and he points to the backseat.
I turn around and I see a duffle bag sitting on the backseat chair. Grabbing it, I go through the bag, scanning its contents.
"That's a lot of drugs." I tell him.
"Well, our job is to sell and not ask questions." He says, driving into a street.
"We're gonna get through this, you know that right?" I tell him.
"We?" He says, staring at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Me, you, the club." I clarify, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
The car comes to a halt and Christopher takes out the keys from the car. He grabs the bag on my lap and opens the door.
I stop him.
"Where are you going?" I ask him.
"Inside." He says, gesturing towards the house we're parked in front of.
"I'm going with you." I tell him, taking my seatbelt off.
"No, you're staying here." He says getting out of the car. He slams the door and looks at me through the window.
"Please." He says, his eyes speaking a language of their own. I give in and nod. He sends me a small smile before he turns around and heads to the house. I watch him knock on the door and then go in.
My phone starts ringing and I fish it out of my stuffed bag.
"Hello." I say, bringing the phone to my ear.
"What are you doing?" Miles asks me and I groan.
"You really called me to ask me that?" I say, letting down the car mirror. Holding the phone to my ear with my elbow, I apply lipgloss to my dry lips.
"I'm bored and it's the weekend. So yes, I want to know what you're up to." He says and I laugh.
"Well, if you must know. I'm on a drug run right now, that's my side hustle now." I tell him and he laughs.
"Jaz, you always know how to crack me up." He says and I giggle.
"I'm serious." I tell him.
"I didn't think you were about that life." He says.
"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, Mr. Miles." I say, closing the mirror as I place my legs on the dashboard.
"I bet." He quips.
I see Christopher come out of the house and I relax. I was so nervous, thought something bad was going to happen.
"You're awfully bored this fine Friday night." I point out.
"Because I'm calling you, doesn't mean I'm bored." He says and I laugh.
"It does. You'd rather play Fortnite with your buddies than talk to me." I say as Christopher gets into the car. He starts the car and drives down the street.
"Are you in a car?" Miles asks me.
"I did say, I was on a drug run." I tell him and he laughs again.
"You're a character, you." He says, chuckling.
"That I am. I'll talk to you later, Milo." I say.
"What did you just call me?" He asks and I hang up. I place my phone in my bag and stare out the window. I expect Christopher to ask me who I was talking to, but he doesn't.
I don't even know why I expected him to. We stay in the car in silence as we cruise down the highway.
***
"Mom, I'm home." I say as I walk inside the house.
"I'm in the living room." She yells and I go to the living room. She's watching TV as expected.
"You're back early today." She says, smiling at me.
"It was a half day at school." I tell her.
I've been meaning to talk to her since I had that conversation with my father. I sit beside her on the couch, placing my backpack on the floor, beside my feet.
"You look pretty." She says, putting my ear behind my ear as she looks at me in admiration.
"Why did you lie about dad leaving?" I spit out. She looks taken aback by my question and she stares at me in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" She asks me and I stare at her.
"You heard me." I retort.
"Your father left me to raise you on my own, he abandoned me." She says, touching my face.
"Did he?" I ask. She seems to be in thought. "Don't lie." I add.
"Yes. He abandoned us. He abandoned you." She says, raising her arms up in frustration.
"Dad, just up and left for no reason?" I ask her.
"Yes." She says and I shake my head.
"So, you weren't sleeping with your co-workers then?" I quiz and she stares at me with wide eyes. The guilt is written boldly on her face.
"That's not what we're talking about." She yells, standing up.
"You didn't even deny it, Mom." I scoff.
"This situation is a lot more complicated than it seems. And why are you even asking all these questions?" She asks.
"Because Dad reached out to me and we've been talking." I tell her.
"Jasmine, you can't do something like that and not tell me." She says, staring at me with disappointment in her eyes.
"Oh really." I say, standing up to be at this same face level with her. "But you can cheat on my Dad and expect him to stay with you after being unfaithful to him. And then you make up this whole story about how he hated black women and whatnot, when you were the one who stepped out on him first." I scream in her face. She slaps me and I stumble back, holding on to my face.
"Who has been here for you all these years? Me. Who made sure you were fed and clothed? Me. Who was there for every hospital visit, every birthday, and every Christmas? Me. Don't you dare bring up that man when he left us for dead. You wouldn't even be standing here if it wasn't for me." She yells as I stare at her.
"You may have been the one that stayed, but you're the reason he left in the first place." I tell her. I pick my bag from the floor and head towards the front door.
"JASMINE!!!." She calls out as I walk out of the door, slamming it as I leave.