Tender knew better than to wake a sleeping person up out of a bad dream. So she patiently watched and waited until Goldie had calmed down a bit. Tender walked over to her bed and gently whispered her name. “Goldie … Goldie,” she whispered. “Girl, you alright?”

Hearing her stripper name brought Goldie back into reality and out of her dream.

“Huh? …” She pried open her eyes, straining to focus on the figure in front of her. “What time is it? It ain’t mornin’ yet, is it?

“Naw,” Tender answered. “What’z up wit you? You wuz callin’ out in ya sleep again! Screamin’ and carryin’ on … Musta been some dream, huh?”

ANOTHER NIGHT, another dollar for Tender, Kat and Goldie. They were back at the club, chasing paper. Kat sat at the bar drinking Hennessy straight—in no apparent hurry—since she had already gone out on a few dates, while Tender dressed. Goldie, on the other hand, was busy VIPing with a regular customer of hers.

Coming out of the dressing room, Tender was approached by Jules, a local pimp, who frequented the clubs to check up on his hos and seek out new “stock.” Jules was light-skinned, average height, medium build with curly black hair. He was a self-proclaimed pretty boy with the gift of gab. When angered, his temper was legendary.

“Hey Tenda! Tenda!” he called out, as he motioned with his hand for her to come here. “Lemme holla atcha’ fa a minute. Just a moment of ya time, if you would be so kind.”

Warning bells went off in her head. She knew who he was and what he was about. Kat and Goldie had pointed him out on several occasions and warned her to stay away from him. They said he was, most notably, Cookie’s pimp.

“Dig, Tender,” he began. “I’ve been checkin’ you out fa months now. And I’m really diggin’ ya style. You ain’t like da average broad around here. I like da way you carry yaself. Na’mean? Ya real low key. But what I respect most about you iz da way you grind. Real recognize real. I see you got da makin’s of a star. You just need da proper guidance, direction …”

He scanned every inch of her tight young body. She thought she was used to this kind of thing by now but he was making her feel uneasy.