“I gotta make some runs with Sin; you’re going shopping with Kane and Eisani.”

Arnessa stopped walking, “Butta, no, I don’t know them. You and I can go shopping this weekend. I’ll get whatever you pick out,” she pleaded.

Standing on the stairs, he rubbed her face and assured her, “That’s my family. They going to take good care of you, get you right for our trip.”

“What trip?”

“We’re going down south next weekend for a wedding.” Apprehensively, she sighed. “If this is what you want.”

“It’s not just about what I want, Arnessa. It’s about preparing you—”

“Preparing me for what?” she snapped. “To be a lady?”

“Yes, but no, that’s not the only thing. I mean I’m into you—you know that—and I only want to see you shine at anything you do. If for whatever reason we don’t work out, I want you to leave me a better woman.”

Over the course of the day, while shopping, Arnessa got more than clothes. She gained two new friends. At first appearance she’d thought Kisa and Eisani were stuck up, but she soon learned that they were the exact opposite. She found them surprisingly down to earth and easy to talk to, like the older sisters she’d never had. An added plus was that they both knew what it was like to be in the game.

Arnessa reminded Kisa of herself when she was younger, a wild child, sort of a loose screw. She liked her instantly.

Shopping should have been Kisa’s middle name. She was addicted to it. She lived for it, no matter if it was for herself or someone else. Arnessa became Kisa’s muse as they swept through every high-end designer and department store in Midtown. The trunk of Eisani’s S550 was filled with so many shopping bags they could barely shut it. By the time they reached the last store, L’impasse, Arnessa and Eisani were exhausted, but not Kisa.

“I hope this is it,” Eisani said.

“You don’t have to come in,” Kisa replied. “I came to get something to wear tonight. Arnessa, you wanna come in and get something for the party?”

“What party?” Arnessa asked, confused.

“My cousin, Kennedy, is having a book-release party tonight at Strata. Butta is coming. Aren’t you coming with him?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say anything to me about it.”

“You don’t have to go with him … ’cause you’re going with us.”

A few hours later, the girls were at Eisani’s loft having drinks and getting dressed. Eisani and Kisa’s younger cousin Tyeis came over to touch up Kisa’s hair. She ended up doing Arnessa’s hair too. Tyeis’s hands were anointed—every time she picked up her scissors or curling iron she created magic. She cut the front of Arnessa’s hair into long flowing layers with a straight razor and gave her feather curls around her face.

“Tyeis got your shit looking good,” Kisa said as she entered the vanity area of the spacious bathroom and handed Arnessa a caramel martini.