Kat winked and hugged her, as if to say “I was joking earlier.” Goldie was checking for Tender’s reaction to Kat. Sensing some animosity in the air, Goldie said, “Yeah, Tender, you did do da damn thang! …”

TENDER WAS RELIEVED to finally be back at Kat’s house. The night was long. Back home, while Kat was taking her shower, Tender and Goldie were free to kick it about everything that had happened.

“That was some real foul shit Kat said ta me,” Tender said. “She knows I’m in a jam. I’m pressed fa dough. My back iz against da wall.”

“… Yo, Tee, don’t pay dat bitch no mind,” Goldie said softly, referring to Kat. “She trip from time ta time. Just make ya loot and get da fuck away from her. Run, don’t walk.”

Tender was all ears now. What did Goldie mean by that? Aren’t she and Kat supposed to be friends?

“What I’m telling you is between you and me. So keep dis on da down low,” Goldie said. “You probably can’t really understand what I’m sayin’ or why I’m sayin’ it. But if you stick around long enough, you’ll see fa yaself.”

In the distance they could hear the shower water cut off. They heard Kat heading in their direction. She was singing an old Mary J. Blige song aloud: “You remind of a love that I once knew …”

As they sat on her bed, Goldie reached out and squeezed Tender’s hand. She began to talk loud as Kat came in earshot. “… Dat nigga wuz ugly, right?” They burst out laughing, trying to play it off.

“What y’all in here talking ’bout?” Kat asked, as she entered the bedroom.

“Aw, nuttin’,” Goldie said. “Jus some lame-ass niggas who be tryin’ ta cop a free feel.”

“I be tellin’ them broke-ass niggas all da time, hands off,” Kat added. “Look fa free, touch for a small fee. You gotta put ya foot down wit these niggas, ’cause they got short arms and deep pockets. Let ’em touch you fa free if you want to and you’ll be one broke bitch.”

Goldie grinned at Kat, a big shit-eating smile, signaling her approval. In Kat’s presence, Goldie said and did all the right things. To be around her was to be underneath her. Besides that, she always had to add her two cents to everything. Goldie was growing plain tired of all the extra stuff that Kat brought to the table.