Page 45 of Grand Master

TIME TO THINK….

“Hoe is you cool?” Yvette yelled at the top of her lungs at me as she cocked her head to the side.

“You telling me a fine ass chocolate man that has owls as pets… killed Darius punk ass right in front of you…Darius been lying to you this whole time, got you out here pan handling for money and starving yourself to death while you never had to pay rent to begin with because his baby momma owned the building…”

Yvette picked up her glass cup off the bar top and drunk the rest of her cognac like it was water. She wiped her forehead dramatically as my eyes swept from left to right taking in the empty club.

Yvette rose from her barstool in one fluid motion, the curve of her hips caught the light as she paced the length of the bar.

She was tall, her skin was a deep shade of red as she shook her head.

I always admired how she always reeked of confidence.

Thick curls spilled from her scalp, haloed around her head with the kind of beauty I’d seen in magazine covers but never in real life.

Her eyes shimmered with shock as she kept looking over at me.

I was just happy to be here, relieved that Kenric actually trusted me enough to let me leave.

Still, I felt his discomfort with me far away.

When I closed my eyes, I not only saw his dark orbs blazing into mine but Josie’s eyes as well.

I was far from normal with all of this. Here I found myself worried and thinking about Kenric, when I should’ve been planning a way to break free from him.

Truth is…I didn’t want to…

I shifted uncomfortably on the bar stool and locked back into what Yvette was saying.

“I mean you look, well rested and well fucked I must add.” She stopped pacing to offer me a crooked smile.

“Yvette please,” I sighed.

“Yvette please my ass, I can say whatever comes to mind, okay? I’ve been worried sick about you. Darius’s baby momma came up here looking for you as well?—”

“The police came?” I cut her off.

“Nah, not that I know of. I thought you was dead Mira! Oh, my goodness, I prayed hard daily for the past month, girl. I’m happy to see you, there’s so much shit that’s been happening around here.”

I tried to steady my breathing, as I blinked away memories that wanted to snare me back into old worries.

Worries that I always had whenever I did come to this club to play my violin.

Half the time, I came high out of my mind looking for an extra escape.

I let my gaze wander, sweeping every corner of the club.

The place had changed. It wasn’t the same run-down looking strip club that had a molded smell on the inside. The bar now glimmered with polished wood; the surface was glossy and clean. The stage was no longer rectangular and worn down, it was diamond shaped with a brand-new glistening pole.

New velvet drapes hung against the walls, deep plum and navy. There were expensive gold fixtures on the tables and even the air smelled different, richer somehow, like vanilla and cedar instead of spilled beer and cheap perfume.

“What the hell happened in here?” I asked.

“A fine ass man by the name of Bleu, is what happened. He bought the place and wants to turn the strip club into a sex fashion house.” Yvette frowned.

“Sex, fashion house?” I asked, perplexed.

“I don’t know girl, that’s what I’m getting from it all.

Strippers haven’t been stripping for the past three weeks.

He hardly comes in but whenever he does, shit turns into a big photoshoot.

They bring in prompts and have most of us model his new clothing line.

There’s more to that but I’m not complaining because I’ve been getting paid six figures just to come in and oversea the new construction that’s been taking place here.

His assistant claims this will be one of many…

I’m just trying to see what his dick is hitting on.

If not him then the other rich looking guys that come through with suits and ties. ” Yvette shrugged.

I couldn’t help but to let out a soft laugh.

“Six figures? To stand around and make sure people are doing their jobs while lusting over the new owner. Sounds like easy good money.”

Yvette grinned, twisting a loose piece of hair around her finger.

“Hell yeah. And to keep the girls from sneaking off with all this new, nice, expensive shit in here. You know how it is.”

I pressed my hand to the bar and grounded myself.

Memories of the club’s old ghosts flickered in and out of my mind.

Nights where music and regret mingled with heavy congested air.

For a moment, I wondered if the place could ever truly shake its past, even with all the new money being poured into it.

“So, you like what you see in Bleu?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

“Mm-hmm. He fine as hell, tall, with smooth brown skin, He got some sexy bedroom eyes that look like he could see through all your secrets. I ain’t stupid though, Mira…

I know he got that hush money charm, the kind that makes you want to confess and follow him anywhere, even if you know better. ” Yvette’s laugh was full and warm.

“I don’t plan on getting too caught up or trying too hard with that man, Mira. Even a blind bitch could see that he’s colder than the ice in his cognac.” She sighed.

“And the others?” I asked, voice softer now.

“The girls. They, okay?” I swallowed down roughly thinking about the other strippers.

Most of them were here to simply survive what awaited them on the outside.

We all kept a mutual respect for one another, there was never fighting or arguing whenever I came to play the violin.

Yvette’s expression slid into something sad and knowing.

“Some made out, some dipped, a couple got on with the new vibe. But it’s different, Mira. Feels like we’re all waiting for the next act, trying to figure out if we’re part of the show, or the audience.”

I nodded, letting her words settle. Change had come, whether they were ready or not.

I felt uneasy, realizing that change had come into my life with Kenric.

My thoughts buzzed inside of me. It felt good and bad to have a man become so obsessed with me just from me playing the violin.

It was also scary and thrilling to wonder what great lengths he would take to keep me in his possession.

What’s really next for me? Do I make it this easy for Kenric to have me or do I make him work for it since I can’t deny the raw attraction that I feel for him.

Especially after playing the violin for him and watching him play chess as he fought through his own self conflicting thoughts.

I was drawn to him like a magnet. It’s like I pushed all the bad facts and red flags attached to him to the side to only recognize the good cause of all of his madness.

My fingers itched for the comfort of strings and music, for something real amid all this shimmer and pretense.

Playing my instrument brought me back to my own reality.

Staress popped into my mind, she was currently outside of the club waiting for me to come out.

While it was never my intention to make things hard for her by trying to disappear to get my mind right.

I had to make my own decisions in that moment.

“Yvette, I want you to help me.” I uttered, voice cracking out of nervousness.

The words sounded foreign off my tongue because I never liked to put my burdens on anyone.

I hoped that Kenric didn’t take this as me running away from him.

I would take my phone with me and if he really wanted to hunt me down, he could track the phone.

That’s how much denial I was stuck in. I wanted him, wanted to know more about his world but was scared shitless.

It felt like I needed time in the real world outside of his darkness to see if it was something that I really wanted.

“Talk to me babe.” Yvette slid on the barstool next to me and looked me deep in the eyes.

“I’m scared—” My voice broke as my heart rate doubled.

Yvette’s face softened, her brows knitted with concern, but she didn’t interrupt. She just waited, patience written in the set of her jaw, her fingers gently grazed my elbow, it felt like a silent reassurance that I wasn’t alone, that someone was here to help me shoulder the weight.

I took in a shaky breath, letting the silence sit between us.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to step back,” I whispered, the truth ashamed of my admission.

“Kenric feels like gravity, I’m scared that he might make me forget how to stand on my own.

I never had a man make me feel so wanted in safe all in the same breath…

the way he does my body, listens to me… I—its beautiful. ”

She squeezed my arm, offering me those understanding eyes.

“Mira, you don’t have to figure it all out today.

You don’t have to do it alone, either. Let’s just breathe.

One choice at a time. I have a two-bedroom house thirty minutes away.

We can leave right now through the back of the club…

get some drink, food, and just talk and relax.

I still have to come to work, but my place is open to you for however long. ”

The ache in my chest loosened, just a bit. It felt like I could breathe better and like I had somebody in my corner. I needed time to think.

“I’ll go with you,” I managed, voice steadier.

“Thank you so much, Yvette.” I smiled through the tears that started to build in the corners of my eyes.

“No thanks needed. I’ve been wanting to help you for a while now.

This is what friends are for; I just never wanted to push you.

You’re a good woman, I always admired you, Mira.

This Kenric better do right by you. I want to slap his ass for kidnapping you…

He’s dangerous but for some odd reason from what all you told me…

it sounds like he really cares. Now let’s go. ”

Yvette offered me a reassuring smile; I slowly stood to my feet more determined than ever.

“Plus, it’s good to make a man chase you… Wheeewww the make-up sex gonna be intense when?—”

“Let’s go Yvette before I change my mind.” I laughed.