It's Like Candy (12 page)

River took a couple of sips from her Long Island iced tea and then slowly stood up. Her long gleaming legs stretched to heaven in her red miniskirt and heels. And like before, she made her way over to the bar, but not before she and Eric made quick eye contact and he held her gaze for a short moment, causing him to smile.

“Yo, E, fuck that bitch!” Critter cursed. “She's bad news.”

“Yeah, for you, maybe,” Eric replied. “But she's just my type.”

“Yeah, whatever, niggah. Pussy probably boring anyway,” Critter said.

“Yeah, well, I'm willing to find that out for myself,” Eric stated, rising from his seat and starting to head toward River where she stood by the bar about to order herself another round of drinks.

Clad handsomely in a red-and-blue button-down with knit sleeves and denim jeans, new Timberlands, and an iced-out lengthy chain adorning his neck, Eric effortlessly made his way over to River.

River didn't even have to turn around; she felt his presence coming her way. She had played this game so many times that she immediately knew how it would turn out.
All men are the same, all they see and care about is pussy, pussy, and pussy,
she said to herself.

Eric was a few feet from her. He knew he had to make his move quick.

Everyone was thirsty and trying to get at River from all directions. But she was shooting them all down, waiting for that certain one who she knew was on his way over.

“You gonna turn me down too, beautiful?” Eric asked, standing next to her and smiling.

River turned and looked at him with a deadpan look. “Maybe,” she replied.

“How can I turn that maybe into a sure thing with you?” Eric asked. He was charming, making direct eye contact and being confident.

“You figure that out. You look like a smart guy,” River said, playing hard to get.

“Really. Well, let me start by buying you a drink.” Eric pulled out a wad of bills. “Bartender, I got her. Give her whatever she's drinking.” Then Eric turned back to River and asked, “What are you drinking? “

“Long Island iced tea.”

“Make that two.”

Eric stared at River from head to toe, but he glanced discreetly, not wanting to make her feel as if he saw her as a piece of meat.

“So, can I have the pleasure of knowing your name?” Eric asked.

“I don't give out my name to strangers.”

“You don't, huh. Well, my name is Eric, but you can call me E.” He extended his hand for a polite handshake but River just stared at him. “I'm trying, here, beautiful. You making me work this hard for your name, damn, imagine how it's gonna be on our first date.” He got River to smile and chuckle a bit. “Oh, I see a smile and a laugh, finally.”

“And what makes you think there will be a first date?” River asked.

“Because so far I'm still here talking with you. You didn't shut me down yet like you did them other niggahs. And plus, we caught eyes for a moment while you were walking to the bar.”

“I could have been looking at anyone,” River lied.

“Nah. I don't believe that, beautiful. You were staring at me. So I figure you like what you saw.”

“Are you always this cocky towards all the women you meet? “

“Do you always play so hard to get? I still didn't get your name, and you know mine already.”

River smiled, thinking he was cute. “I'm River,” she said.

“River; that's a lovely name.”

“Thank you.”

“So let me ask you somethin', River. That fat light-skinned nig-gah you came in with, he's your man?”

“Nah, they're both my cousins.”

“Oh, word, so is it safe to say that you ain't got a man?”

“Yes, it's safe to say so.”

Eric smiled.

“Why, you looking to fill the position?” River asked, teasing just a bit.

“Hey, anything can happen, right?”

River smiled. The bartender placed both drinks in front of them, and River quickly took a sip from hers while Eric watched.

Big Red sat back and watched River work her magic. He was proud of her for easily reeling the niggah in. He felt the cash was already in his hand.

“Twinkie, it's in the bag for us. We got us another score,” Red proclaimed.

“She's good,” Twinkie said.

“Too damn good.”

Critter just sat at the table and watched Eric get reeled in by someone who'd completely shot him down earlier. He felt envious but quickly got over it when he noticed another big-booty female and he made his way toward her, desperate to take anything home tonight and get his dick wet in some pussy.

The night continued to flow smoothly for the two. Eric kept River's undivided attention as he made her smile and laugh, and paid for her drinks. They both had forgotten that they came with other company.

An hour passed, and Eric glanced over at his boy and saw that
Critter was engaged in conversation with a woman. He smiled at his friend and turned his attention back to River.

“So, when can I call you?” he asked.

“Anytime. My cell phone is always on.”

“I'm definitely gonna give you a call tomorrow sometime,” Eric said, placing her number in a secure location, his wallet.

“I definitely had fun talking to you,” Eric stated, holding her gaze. All night he'd been in awe of her beauty.

River smiled, leaned forward and placed a gentle, innocent, warm kiss against his cheek. “You're a sweetie.”

She strutted off while Eric gawked at her backside and legs, and mumbled, “Umm . . . damn!” He knew niggahs in the place hated him, but he felt like the man. Every other niggah had tried to get at that but were quickly rejected.

He glanced at the time and saw that it was twenty minutes past one. He was ready to go. He'd already got what he came for and he wanted to call it a night.

He walked up to Critter and his lady company and asked if he was ready to go. But Critter, horny and desperate for a piece of ass, told his friend to leave without him. He was catching a cab back to shorty's place—pronto. Shit, Eric didn't care; it saved him the extra miles. He gave Critter dap and walked out the door a happy man, having River in his thoughts.

As River rode in the back of Twinkie's old Pontiac, she pondered about Eric.
He's cute,
she thought. River couldn't deny that she was definitely attracted to him. But she knew not to let her feelings get involved with the job, because it made it difficult to execute the plan. Her heart belonged to no one. Many men tried to claim it, but to no avail.

“You worked that niggah lovely, River,” Red said, sitting shotgun, and peering out the windshield. “You know what to do, you know what I'm sayin'? You had that niggah open at the bar for over an hour. He's definitely feelin' you, you know what I'm sayin'? So how long you think it will be before we can move on this niggah?”

“Don't know yet, he's different from the others,” River mentioned.

“Different? What the fuck you mean, he's different?”

“I mean, he . . . I just got a different vibe from him.”

“Please, he got a dick, right? He sees pussy, right? Yo, that nig-gah's high off your shit and wants a taste of it just like the next niggah, and the niggahs that came before him. You can crack this one, River.”

River didn't comment. She just stared out the window and thought about the night.
He was nice,
she thought. But Red was right, she had to crack him, get that money, and bounce. It was about survival, not love. Love could get her killed. River wanted to save enough money to leave town and do her own thing. After a year, she wanted out. She wanted to do one big score and leave New York for good. She had North Carolina in her thoughts. She had a grand mother living out there who she hadn't seen since she was seven. But she remembered her father driving her and her younger sister down to Durham, North Carolina, for a week or two and she'd loved it down there. She loved it so much that she hated it when her father brought her back to the city.

River was set to leave for North Carolina and wanted to leave her dreadful past behind state lines.

Starr' eyes slowly began to open,
fluttering from the small light above her bed. It had been two days since she arrived at Jamaica Hospital and she had no idea of her surroundings. She saw that she was hooked up to a machine, and began to panic. She started to hoist herself up from the bed, but felt a pain race through her body, causing her to let out an agonized grunt.

“Rest yourself, chile, there's no need for you to try and get out of bed so soon,” Starr heard a voice say.

She slowly turned her head to the left and saw a nurse standing by her bed.

“Hello?” Ms. Henderson greeted her with a warm smile and a friendly attitude. “I'm glad to see you up.”

Starr didn't say a word. She just lay still, wishing she was some where else. But the woman continued to talk. “I'm Ms. Henderson, the nurse that's taking care of you. You took a bad beating and was brought here two days ago. How are you feeling?”

Starr didn't answer. “You have a name?” Ms. Henderson asked politely.

There was still no answer from Starr.

“I guess you're shy,” Ms. Henderson said.

Starr glared at Ms. Henderson, watching her fix the bedsheets, checking the IV that was in her arm, and tending to other items around her bed. “Are you thirsty or hungry?”

“I guess not” Ms. Henderson said after a long pause.

There was a moment of silence between the two ladies, but Ms. Henderson was trying to make Starr feel really comfortable around her.

“Okay, maybe it's the motherly character in me, but I've been worried about you since you came in. You were in pretty bad shape. You mind telling me what happened to you out there?”

Starr turned her head away from Ms. Henderson and began peering out the window.

“Okay, I guess that means no.”

Starr tried to ignore the nurse who was prying too much into her business and, instead, gazed out the window.

“Okay, you may not want to talk to me, but I'm gonna talk to you,” Ms. Henderson said, pulling a chair up to Starr's bedside and making herself comfortable. “I'm a nice person once you get to know me. I've been working here for over fifteen years, and I took care of many young girls like yourself, and over time they begin to love me like I was their mother. I have four children and six grandchildren, but I do look good for my age, right, hon?” she joked.

Starr just continued to lie motionless with her face turned away from the nurse. She didn't care. It was dusk outside and Starr wished nothing more than to be back out on the track grinding for her money. And Bamboo, she was going to kill that niggah if she ever saw him again.

“You know, you're a beautiful young girl that could be doing so much with your life, and I'm not trying to be in your business—”

“Then don't!” Starr scolded, still not looking at Ms. Henderson. She watched the glare of city lights from her bedside window and felt
so angry at herself for being stupid and ending up in a hospital bed.

“I don't want to offend you. I just want to help you,” Ms. Henderson continued.

Starr sighed, mouthing to herself, “This stupid bitch!”

“You know, having an attitude and keeping quiet is not going to help you much. Sooner or later there's going to be a lot more questions from a whole lot of people coming into this room, even the police. They found you naked in a motel room not too far from here, with no ID and no money. Now, the person or persons that are responsible for your attack, do you really want them to get away with it by being stubborn with the people who want to help you?”

Starr wanted to answer that sarcastically but kept her mouth shut.

Ms. Henderson sighed, but she was not giving up on her. She continued, “Now, I know you feel alone, but don't be. I'm Ms. Henderson, and I want to help you.”

“Bitch, please,” Starr sternly returned. “You don't even know me.”

Surprisingly, Ms. Henderson smiled and retorted, “I see I finally got a full sentence out of you. But if you give me a chance, I want to get to know you. I want to help you, and I know it sounds crazy, but that's why I love being a nurse. Because I get to help people, it's something I'm really good at. Trust me. Do this wonderful and charming face look like it will lie to you? “

Starr turned around, facing the nurse with a blank stare, not saying a word, and then she turned the other way, showing her back to Ms. Henderson.

“I don't know your past or what you been through in life, but let it go and look forward to the future. You're one of the lucky ones, chile, because you was given a second chance in life. You're still alive, and be thankful for that. God still wants you here on earth with us. I've seen a lot of young ladies who come into this hospital the way you came in and they leave here on their way to the morgue. Well, I've talked enough this evening, and I know you need your rest. But it sure would have been nice to know the name of the lovely
young woman that I had the pleasure of meeting this evening. Good night, chile,” Ms. Henderson said, making her way toward the exit.

“My name is Starr,” she blurted out.

Ms. Henderson stopped in the middle of the doorway, smiling. She didn't turn around to face Starr, but she said, “Starr, now that's a lovely name to hide from the world. Well, Starr, if you need me for anything else this evening, just push that small buzzer by the side of your bed, and I'll be at your bedside within a moment. Okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded.

“Get your rest, Starr. Good night,” Ms. Henderson said, leaving the room feeling blessed that the girl had finally opened up to her somewhat.

Starr lay back against the pillows staring up at the ceiling. A few tears began trickling down her cheeks, because no matter how hard she tried, she always felt vulnerable in life. She wanted to be her own woman, but certain circumstances would occur, making it impossible to stand strongly on her own. Now she felt like a victim, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before they found out about her age and her illegal profession. And then the city would start investigating her case, and take her away and put her into a group home, or worse, foster care. Starr wanted no part of being dragged through the system. She knew when the time came she would fight and let it be known that she wasn't going down so easily.