Goldie sat back listening to Kat’s boasts. As long as she’d known Kat, she’d never actually seen her legendary gang. But she sure heard plenty about them. All that tough talk from Kat went in one ear and out the other.

“… Dat nigga iz all mouth,” she continued. “He still mad about da way we whipped up on his hos. And now dat you dissed him, he really tight. So he gonna hide behind dat. But I ain’t stupid, I know why he really mad. Feel me. His bitches took an ‘L’.”

“Yeah, dat nigga definitely on some ole extra shit,” Tender added. “Homo-thug, he wanna talk shit ta me. Cause I’ma fuckin’ female.”

Kat stated, “Jules think his game iz so tight. Only because he be pullin’ ’em dumb, young, and weak-minded hos. He gets them, now he feel he can pull e’rybody ….”

As they talked, unbeknownst to them someone was approaching them from behind. The light tap on the shoulder startled Tender. Her heart almost stopped; she thought it was Jules.

“Tonya, Tonya Morris,” the man said.

At that point, Tender knew that this couldn’t have been Jules. He didn’t know her real name. She herself had almost forgotten her government name, she hadn’t heard it in so long.

As she spun around on the bar stool, “What up, cuz?” the young man asked, with a wide grin on his face. “Long time no see! So dis iz whatcha been up to? Huh? … Dig, don’t worry ’bout me, I can keep a secret. Just hit me off wit a couple dollars e’ry now and then. And I ain’t seen you. Feel me? I mean you are a li’l too young to even be up in dis spot. Somebody could get in some serious trouble, fuckin’ wit you …”

The blood in Tender’s veins began to boil. It was her second cousin, Terrence. He was one of the principal reasons she ran away from her so-called family. He was one of the men in the family who tried to sexually assault her. Not even time could quell her anger.

So here she was, half-naked and full of rage, as he stood over her grinning, with lust in his eyes. He was probably replaying all those nights he had attempted to have his way with her.

Goldie interrupted their stare-down. “Tender, who dis nigga callin’ you by ya handle like dat?”

“Nobody!” Tender replied through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I’m nobody now?” the man said. “Keep treatin’ me like a stepchild and the cost of livin’ iz gonna go up. You betta be nice ta me, if you know what’s good for you.”