Dance For Me Read Free Page B

in loose waves, almost down to her elbows. Her makeup was smudged and she resembled a hooker.
    “Yes it’s true,” Shamayla admitted. “But I don’t know. Look at this shit we’re wearing.” Shamayla leaned back on the hood. “We’re barely wearing anything and we’re dancing for tips like dogs do tricks for treats. Can you honestly say you like this?”
    “We’re making an honest living. No one’s taking off her clothes; no one’s blowing anyone in a bathroom stall.”
    Shamayla looked down at nothing was pensive expression on her face.
     “I thought this was supposed to be easy money and a lot of it.”
    “Maybe things will pick up by summer.”
    Shamayla lay back with a folded arm behind her head. 
    “Did you tell Michael?”
    “I called him earlier.”
    “What did he say?”
    “What do you think he said?”
    Shamayla inhaled the smoke and shrugged.
    “He thanked God. He said he’d been so nauseous he couldn’t eat all this time.”
    Shamayla’s mouth was open.
    “What a prick.”
    “Ten minutes later I got my period.” Hope sighed.  “Anyway, it’s for the best. I’ve always known he doesn’t love me and a baby wouldn’t change it.”
    “All that time you were together…”
    “We weren’t really together.”
    “You could do better,” Shamayla said with a half-smile. “He’s not even cute.”
    Hope stared into the atmosphere. The panoramic sky was deep indigo and Hope wanted to get home before the sun was up.
    “Let’s go.”
    Shamayla flicked her cigarette away and the girls went back to Hope’s apartment. Hope drew the navy blue curtains in the living room to shield all the light away and the girls crawled into bed while the AC hummed. They exchanged a few sentences of mindless gibberish and fell asleep in the room that mimicked nighttime, while the sun rose and lit up the whole desert with day.
     
     
     
     
     
     

 6... Zefar
       
    “Baby, wake up!”
    Tristan rocked Dominic’s body to and fro but he wouldn’t budge. She climbed out of bed and crept into the living room. She couldn’t see anything from the window but she could hear a man outside, pounding on the neighbor’s door.
     “I know you’re in there! You better open the door Jezebel!”
    Tristan’s eyes widened. She ran on the tips of her toes back to Dominic’s bedroom.
     “Something serious is going on outside, get up!”
     The shriek in Tristan’s voice irked Dominic to consciousness. He was blurry eyed and it felt like someone blew sand under his eyelids. Tristan dragged him out of bed.
     “You hear that? Do you think we should call the cops?”
     With his pants in his hands, Dominic went to his front door and pressed his ear to it. It wasn’t necessary as the shouting started up again.
     “Open the door or I break it down!”
     Dominic crinkled his brows. Tristan, standing a few feet away in one of Dominic’s shirts, nodded her head and wrapped her arms around herself.
     “I’m going to call the police, okay? Should I?”
     “No, just wait here.” Dominic got into his pants and then slowly turned the bolt lock.
     “Don’t go out there!”
     “I’m gonna see what’s up. Stay right here.”
     “No!” Tristan got in between the door and Dominic. “He could have a weapon! You never get involved in this stuff!”
     “Get out of the way.” Dominic physically moved Tristan aside, though she asked him to not open the door.
    “Dominic, no! Dom- damnit!”
     Dominic cracked the door and poked his head out. There was a dark skinned man standing in front of his neighbor’s door, wearing dress pants and a blazer over a white shirt. He was tall like Dominic, had gold rimmed dark glasses on the top of his head and a thick banned gold watch on his wrist. He was at least forty and looked really pissed off.
      “What?” He barked at Dominic.
      Dominic was baffled at how the man came out; dude’s got balls.
      “What do you want?” Dominic retorted.
      “I’m not