Though Reese was heated, she was more hurt than anything. She had done some whorish things, but she knew she wasn’t a true whore. She had gotten in the Hummer that night because she liked Don B., and the foolish little girl in her said that if given a chance she could make him feel the same way about her. In the end she went out the back, letting Don B.’s crew run through her, and gotten a dose of chlamydia. With the word out about how she got down, a man would never take her seriously. People wouldn’t be able to see past the freak move she pulled in order to get to know who she really was.

At that moment, she hated them all. She hated Don B. for twisting her feelings, Jay for blowing it up, and Rhonda for being so damn judgmental. But as much hate that burned within her heart for them, she felt twice as much hate for herself for going out like that.

29

By the time Billy made it to the club it had just started to pop. Girls were being dropped off at the door by the vanload and the fellas were beginning to come out. Billy told the bouncer who she had come to see and was allowed in without having to pay the cover charge. She drew quite a few stares as she crossed the main floor on her way to the bar.

Before she left the house she had Reese come over and help her with her outfit. The girl might not have been very book smart, but she had an eye for fashion. She was rocking a pair of green parachute pants and brown suede boots balanced on inch-high heels. She had to practice walking around the house in them for about twenty minutes before she was sure she wouldn’t bust her ass in the street. Her hair hung down her back, with bangs brushing her arched eyebrows. The silver hoop earrings dangling from her lobes played tricks with the light and swung against her lightly blushed cheeks. That night was supposed to be the beginning of her starting over, and she wanted the world to know it.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was only 9:35. She still had some time to kill before Marcus finished his shift, so she decided to order a drink. The bartender, though fully dressed, radiated sex. She was a shapely girl with full pink lips, rocking her hair in thick goddess braids. No sooner had she gone off to make Billy’s drink than a party crasher was up in her space.

“How you doing, love?” he asked, trying to be sexy. His breath smelled of mints, but Billy could detect the stench of cheap liquor beneath it.

“Not interested,” Billy said, not bothering to turn around to address him.