Anything for Profit 2: Nothing to Lose (30 page)

So now she had finally convinced him that she was ready. She was Baltimore bound on that Amtrak train because she wanted to hold her man down. Elle was excited about the idea of getting to see what Knight did out of town. He was always out of town, so if she took him the stuff he needed, she could see him more.

When she got there, she winded up being very disappointed because he didn’t stay with her for more than two hours during the two whole days she was there. He told her he was really busy taking care of business. When she pouted, he reminded her that he was out of town working, not vacationing.

Knight gave her five hundred dollars for the run, plus money for her train ticket and cab fare, and then he told her he would see her back in New York. Elle was so hurt she actually shed a few tears. She didn’t let him see her cry but she returned home heavy hearted.

Chapter 2

“Good morning, sunshine!!!” Etta opened the curtains and let the light shine in her baby sister’s face.

Elle threw up her arm to shield the unwelcome sunlight. She growled, “Close that damn curtain and get out!” Etta got on her nerves with that perky shit. She was a morning person like their mother. Elle was definitely not.

Her older sister was only amused by her cranky disposition. Etta laughed, “Girl, get your ass up!” She placed her hand on her hip and got stern with Elle. “Twyla told me you went outta town for Knight, with your
hot ass
! Did I give you permission to be running to some damn Baltimore? I ought to tear your grown behind up!”

Elle came to terms with the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep, and sighed. “Oh boy, here we go …” Damn, Twyla had loose lips. She couldn’t keep her mouth shut for nothing.

Etta was the tall redbone version of Elle. At twenty-one, she was the oldest sister of the three. She stood over Elle frowning at her. “Did you ask me if you could go, Fast Ass?”

Elle sighed, “No, Etta, I didn’t. ‘Cause I knew you would say no.”

“I sure would’ve. I
should
tell Mommy.”

“Don’t tell Lady that, sis.”

Just then, Elle’s little nieces came running in the room and jumped up on her bed.

“Hey Auntie!” they said in unison. They were both adorable. She hugged them and tickled them a bit. They giggled uncontrollably and loved it.

Janae, Twyla’s baby, was almost three-years-old. Micha, Etta’s daughter, had just turned two. They were nine months apart and their nicknames were Nay-Nay and Mimi. They were adorable and spoiled by the whole family. Etta was in a relationship with her daughter’s father so she was the homebody of the three. She kept Nay-Nay for Twyla most of the time because their daughters were like sisters. Their babies looked alike too. And a lot of times they dressed them alike, so the resemblance was sometimes startling. People often assumed they were both Etta’s.

Their eight
-
year
-
old little brother, Elliot Jr. came walking in Elle’s bedroom next. He had a stern look on his face and was brandishing a thick leather belt. Junior demanded answers immediately.

“Where the heck were you the last few days, Elle? You think you grown? I should tear your behind up with this belt!”

Elle stared at her kid brother in disbelief. She had to laugh. Etta started cracking up too. Junior really thought he was their father sometimes. He was the only boy, and had been a bossy natured kid who demanded respect ever since he came in the world.

“Boy,
I’m
older than
you
,” Elle reminded him. “You better go put that belt down somewhere. Come gimme a hug, with your big head self.”

Junior smiled mischievously and walked over open-armed for a hug. When he got to Elle he hugged her tight, and then threw her in a headlock. Laughing, the siblings began tussling. Junior was like a Pit Bull that wouldn’t let up. That little devil loved to fight. Out of breath, Elle gave in and declared him the winner.

Their little nieces tried to help her by attacking their young uncle with blows across his back. Junior knocked them off of him and chased them out of the room with the belt. The pretty little toddlers ran off hollering and squealing in fright and delight. Elle and Etta were both laughing out tears. Their little brother was a mess. He thought he was the boss of everybody.

After the kids were gone, Etta got back to the lecture at hand. She sat on the foot of Elle’s bed and looked in her sister’s eyes like she was trying to read her mind.

“Elle, what is with you lately? What you doing taking some mess outta town for some Knight? That is a
grown man
, so you ain’t even got no business messing with him!”

Elle groaned, and got up and found her purse. She pulled out two twenties and handed them to her sister. She didn’t appreciate the shake down but that hush money was a necessary investment. Her mother would be pretty upset if she knew what she had done. And her father would kill her.

Etta tucked the money in her bra and looked at Elle. She was growing up. What could she do? She was a little wild at her age too. Etta just wanted her little sister to be careful. She knew Knight. He was a drug dealer, a murderer, and a player as well. He was far too advanced for Elle. Knight was dangerous, and Elle just came out the house. Etta just shook her head and sighed.

Elle sucked her teeth. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not as young and dumb as you think.”

“Girl, you wouldn’t know shit if you fell in it face first. You
are
young and dumb. Young, dumb, and try’na get some. And that nigga Knight gon’ be the one to give it to you. Just make sure you can handle it. You in the big leagues now, little girl.”

Elle nodded sarcastically and laughed.

“Keep laughing, with your lil’ fast ass! Knight got
way
more experience than you. And he got mad girls too. I keep on telling you, Elle. You better be using condoms with that nigga. Just ‘cause you on the pill don’t mean let him be running up in you raw! We only put you on birth control as a back up. Think smart, little sistah! Don’t be nobody fool! I done told you, these niggas out here ain’t about shit. Especially Knight!”

Elle didn’t bother to tell her she’d stopped taking those birth control pills because they made her nauseous. “I know, Etta. I know.”

Etta just stared at her for a minute. “Be smart, baby sis. Don’t mess up your life and go down for no nigga.”

Elle nodded. She knew her sister was right. “I got you. I won’t.”

Elle didn’t know but Etta had a little talk with Knight too. She told him she didn’t play when it came to her little sisters, and warned him that she would step to him if something happened to Elle. Etta was the protective type but she was a cool big sis. All she could do is give her sisters advice and pray they took it.

She didn’t condone Elle having sex. In fact, she had literally jumped on her ass when she found out. But after she beat her up, what could she do? She warned her about STDs and took her to the doctor and got her on birth control. She’d just taken precautionary measures. Elle was smart so Etta wanted her to go to college after high school. Unlike her and Twyla did.

Elle’s face lit up. “I know. You going?” Etta never hung out with them anymore. She was on her grown woman family shit lately.

Etta grinned. “Yup, Saturday we hanging!”

The sisters hit high five and shared a hearty hug. Their moods were oftentimes unpredictable but the camaraderie between them was always evident. They were very close. If you fucked with one of them, you fucked with them all.

$$$

Saturday rolled around, and it was time for the party. That evening the sisters were all gathered in Etta’s bedroom getting ready. They were joined by their cousin Needra, who was like a sister to them as well. As Twyla, the new cosmetology school attendee, put the finishing touches on their hair and makeup, the aroma of marijuana smoke blended with incense wafted through the air.

Etta was the only one in the group who didn’t smoke. Sometimes she took a little toke on special occasions, but you could probably count them on one hand. She started coughing dramatically and heisted the window. Elle, Twyla, and Needra just laughed and rudely blew smoke at her.

Etta gave them the middle finger. “Man, hurry up and put that shit out. Y’all pothead asses got my whole damn room smoked out!”

“Sorry, boo,” Needra apologized, frowning at herself in the mirror. “Y’all, I don’t look right in this, do I?”

The three sisters just rolled their eyes. They knew it was coming. Needra was neurotic about her appearance. And there was no need to be because she was just as attractive as they were. Her complexion was darker than Twyla’s but lighter than Elle’s, and she could go for their sister. She was between Elle and Twyla in height and age too. That night Needra looked just as good as everyone else, but as usual, she found something wrong with her outfit.

They were first cousins; the children of two brothers, so they all grew up close. The sisters knew Needra like a book. She was just getting started.

She rubbed her chest disapprovingly and made a face. “I should stuff some damn socks in my bra. Etta and Elle got them big ass cannonballs. Ain’t nobody gon’ want these little bee stings.”

She never failed. Twyla said, “Here we go. Every time it’s time to go somewhere you start this insecure, low self-esteem bullshit.”

Needra said, “Shut up, Twyla. You just as bad. You ain’t got no tities either.”
“Well, I ain’t like you, bitch. I works what I
got
. And not to mention the fact that I got all this here
ass
!” She dropped it low right quick and came back up and smacked herself on the behind.

They all laughed but no one could dispute that. Twyla did have a big old funky butt.

Elle poured Needra a shot of Hennessy and Coca Cola on the rocks. She handed it to her, and said, “Needra, this gon’ make you forget about your hang-ups. Relax! You look beautiful, boo. Let’s go out and have a good time.”

Needra tossed the drink back in seconds. She slammed the cup down and did a little two-step booty shake. “Okay, let’s go, bitches. I’m ready now!”

The sisters laughed and everybody started spraying on different
scents of
perfume. The young ladies grabbed their purses. It was party time.

When they got to their friend Poochie’s party there was good music playing. It was pretty crowded in there too. It looked like everyone was in their groove so the night seemed to be going well.

Etta, Twyla, Needra, and Elle were all dressed in silk rompers by Ellen Tracy. They each wore designer sandals and had perfect hairdos and manicured nails and toes. They were some of the best dressed girls at the party and started turning heads as soon as they got there. They spotted their homegirl Poochie and went over to wish her a happy birthday.

Afterwards, Elle bumped into some girls she went to junior high school with; Portia, Fatima, and Simone. Excited to see each other, they all exchanged smiles and hugs. In school Elle wasn’t in their circle, which had consisted of them plus another girl named Laila, but they were all pretty cool back then. They had a mutual respect for each other because they were all cute, and all on the list of best dressed girls in school.

Elle stood there chatting with her old friends until this dude from around her way they called Blaze grabbed her hand to get her attention. Just then, a popular reggae song came on. When Elle realized who Blaze was, she grinned and started dancing with him flirtingly. Blaze looked pleased by her reaction. He pulled her over in a corner where they could talk. Elle followed him willingly. It was no secret that they’d had a little crush on each other when they were small. They’d gone to elementary school together.

Blaze had a fresh haircut and looked really good. When he pulled her close Elle discovered he smelled good too. He was wearing Polo cologne. Elle loved the reggae song that was playing so she danced with him closely.