Free Brooklyn Brothel by C. Stecko Page A

Cinnamon hopped up, and jetted across the room with the otha girls, avoidin’ Betty at any cost.
    I’d had enough of Betty and Serita. They had been keepin’ a close watch on me all day. After every date, Serita or Betty would stand at the door with their hands out. All the girls would watch wonderin’ what kinda deal I had set up. It was so degradin’. I would give them their share, Bo’s cut, and keep any tips I’d earned.
    In all, I’d made $750 for the day, told them $500 though. Not only did I stash the extra $250, but kept the tips too.
    Betty walked up on me like the police. “You get those last two guys?”
    “Nope. They didn’t choose me.”
    She eyed me like she didn’t believe me.
    “I didn’t Betty. Every guy isn’t gonna want me. Some like’em dark, some like’em light. I guess I wasn’t the one.”
    Betty didn’t believe me one bit, but her next few comments had me seein’ her in a different light. It made me think she wasn’t all that bad.
    “Look Co-Co. I know you’re keeping a lil’ money for yourself. If you won’t tell, I won’t. As long as I get my cut, I’m good. This is why I really don’t like dealing with girls who have pimps. It’s better when there’s no middle man.”
    My eyes lit up. What was she gettin’ at?
    “I’ll tell you what,” she continued. “Once you get back home. Give it a few weeks, dump him, and come back to work for me on your own.” She scribbled her number on a crumbled up piece of paper and handed it to me. She still neva smiled, but did show me she understood my struggle.
    A couple of hours later, I sat propped of in my bed with two pillows behind me drinkin’ and cryin’ at the same time. I had literally broken down. I scratched myself continuously until my skin turned purple. Sasha grabbed my wrist trying to stop me. Without knowin’ that reality had set in, she tried everything she could to cheer me up. She even gave me her $300 favorite human hair wig that I had admired just the day before.
    I thanked her for the wig multiple times ’cause I really loved it. But it wouldn’t take away the reality. I’d allowed myself to become a whore all at the expense of makin’ some pimp named Bo Rich, wealthy at my expense. I was gonna take Betty’s offer at face value.
    Sasha got up on my bed, rubbed my shoulders, and handed me another drink. I took it, and several othas after that. Before long, Sasha’s phone rang. It was her daughter calling to say goodnight. When I realized it was almost ten ‘o’clock, I begged her to let me call Carlton from her phone before he went to bed. The timin’ was perfect. The otha girls had decided to head to the kitchen to cook up some food and have a mini-storm party since we shut down early. Of course, I thought it was stupid, and preferred cryin’ and sulkin’ in my bed.
    When the phone rang, I got all jumpy.
    I had to have the perfect attitude to handle Dre. Luckily, Carlton answered the phone, which made me feel like things were lookin’ up. He sounded so happy with his sweet innocent voice.
    “Hey honey,” I cooed into the phone.
    “Mommy, when are you coming to get me?” he asked with disbelief in his voice. “Daddy said you keep telling me lies.”
    “Oh no, baby. Mommy got a good job, and will be there to get you soon.”
    I wanted to make a few phone calls to my prison connections and have Dre dealt with. Carlton was just a young boy, and shouldn’t have to be in the middle of his parent’s feud. I told him I loved him a hundred times when I heard his daddy in the background, yellin’ for him to go to bed. When I hung up, that one call made me determined to stay on my grind. I got motivated and knew I had to stick this shit out for the rest of the week.
    I thanked Sasha for the use of her phone. She really did have money. She had everything; a cell phone, the flyest clothes, and all the latest electronics. Plus, she seemed to be someone I could lean on.
    “Sasha, this might sound crazy,