Erotic City (25 page)

Sharon frowned. “That’s just nasty.”

Angel said to Lavender and Brian, “Please, she’s no prude. She’ll come with me next time.”

“I will?” Sharon asked, jerking her head back.

Angel stayed focused. “What nights are you open?”

Brian said, “Thursday though Sunday.”

“So how about tomorrow night?” Angel suggested.

“Us, go to the club?” Sharon replied, looking hesitant.

“Yes.” Angel only looked at Lavender. “Is that okay with you, Lavender? You’ll be there, right?”

“I’m always there.”

“Good.”

Sharon asked, “What about you, Brian? You ever tried it?”

He said, “Ah no.”

“I see.” Sharon’s voice dipped.

Lavender followed up with, “He’ll be there. He works there, too.”

Sharon gave a brisk smile. “Nice.” She secured her purse over her shoulder and elbowed Angel.

Angel said, “We’ll see you tomorrow night then.”

Lavender replied, “Okay.” He said to Sharon, “And you’ll have fun. It’s not as scary as you think.”

She said, “You might see me. But it was nice meeting you both.”

Brian gave a parting smile. “You, too.”

Angel’s eyes were focused. “Bye, Lavender.”

“Bye.”

She jokingly asked him, “Now, what’s my name?”

“Angel.”

“Say it again, this time slower.” She purred as she moved in closer and swiped his ear with her index finger. She giggled again.

Lavender again said, “Good-bye.”

“Bye, gentlemen,” Angel said as they walked away switching.

Both Brian and Lavender kept their eyes on the ladies’ backside departures.

Brian shook his head as he again faced the bar. He put his hand on his beer bottle. “Yeah, you still need the cookies. Damn, you’re a fucking pussy magnet. A lifelong, professional bachelor. That shit is always gonna be thrown your way.”

“It’s not like that. I’m far from some sex-crazed hound.” Lavender paused. “Not anymore, anyway.”

“Yeah right. I’ll believe that when I see it.” Brian took a big swallow. “I’ll believe all of your clean-up-your-act shit when I see it. Angel was fine as hell though. Sharon had a hellabody, man. It was bangin. But she was a butterface.”

“Oh yeah? Everything looked good but her face?”

Brian aimed his beer bottle at Lavender. “That’s it.”

Lavender laughed. “Yeah, I guess I’m always gonna look.”

“Me, too.”

The bartender approached and Lavender said, “Hit me with another Crown please.” He looked at Brian. “Yeah, that Angel is fine,” he said as though he shouldn’t.

39

“Daddy Pop”

Saturday, May 31, 2008
3:30 p.m.

T
amiko said to her sister as they met at Starbucks near Perimeter Mall, “Oh so now you’re the one with your chin hanging down past your breasts. “What’s wrong with you?” Tamiko wore all tan with raisin-colored Ugg boots.

It was a still, cloudy day but it was slightly warm. They sat outside underneath a dark green umbrella, sipping on their favorite brews. On the sidelines, two men stole glances while playing chess and smoking cigarillos.

Milan wore a Falcons cap. She spoke unhurriedly. “I’m tired, Tamiko. I’m just tired.”

“Tired? You’re the creator of a cable television series. You should be on top of the world.”

“You know all the mess I go through being with Lavender. I just don’t know. We’re about done.” Milan had on brown Chloe sunglasses.

“What? Is Ramada’s still trippin?”

“It’s always about Ramada and her bitchassness.”

“Milan, you really need to wash your mouth out sometimes.”

“Oh please.” Milan dismissed her sister’s shock and shooed her away with her hand.

“My goodness.” Tamiko gave almost a motherly look. “Anyway, you mean to tell me you’d let her get in the way of you and Lavender?”

“Please. You sound like Lavender.”

“Milan, you’d hand him right to her?”

Milan held her cup under her mouth. “You don’t know what it’s like to be in love with a man who has a baby’s mom like her. It’s pure-dee hell.” She took a slow, cautioned sip.

“It’s gotta be more hell for him than you.”

“All because he lets it be.”

“And if you break it off that’ll be hell, too.” Tamiko shifted her hips back into the wrought iron seat. “Milan, you know these women out here can be a trip. But how can he control her? All he can do is go through the courts to get them to set the limits legally. He can’t force her to be sane.”

“Yeah, that’s all they ever seem to do is go to court. She’s sue happy. Who wants to have the courts make a decision like whether or not that poor child has surgery to correct a snoring problem? That shouldn’t have a thing to do with the courts. That woman is gonna continually throw all kinds of crap at Lavender. But that’s on him.”

“Please, these women out here nowadays want a man like Lavender so bad they’ll put up with it just to keep the other woman from getting him.”

“Well, you know me. I do not fight over a man. And I am far from the jealous type. If they end up together, then more power to ’em. I’m not insecure about her. I’m just tired of her damn mess.” A group of businessmen walked by and their stares lingered. Milan pulled her cap down farther.

Tamiko smiled their way. “Jealousy is a social condition that we all suffer from.”

“Some of us.”

Tamiko took her vanilla latte in hand. “Do you think Lavender really wants it this way? I’m sure he’d rather be able to reason with her than fight it out in court. Even though she is certifiably loony.”

“Tamiko, what do you know about a loony baby’s mama? The men you dated never even had kids.”

“I do know that just because he’s not doing things as fast as you want him to doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen. He’s doing what he thinks is best and it’s obviously different from what you’d do. But it’s not you who’s going through it. It’s him.” She sipped her drink.

“What he goes through, I go through.”

Tamiko explained like she was the big sister, “Exactly. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Lord knows we’re going through some drama with these men. Mom made hanging with Dad look a whole lot easier than this. And Papa was a rolling stone for real.”

“Yeah well, even she ended up moving on.”

“So, what’s gonna happen with the club? I mean if you guys break up.”

“I don’t know.”

“And think about it. How are you gonna run Erotic City and all the other things you want to do?”

Milan pulled off her shades and looked at her sister. “Well, I’m glad you asked that.”

Out of the blue, a voice behind them said, “Charlie the Scatman Kennedy’s daughters, right?” An older man pointed their way.

They both turned back.

“Yes, sir,” Tamiko replied.

“Go ahead on now. I love that song, what was it, ‘Try a Little Tenderness’?” he asked, looking back as he walked.

Tamiko pointed in return.

“Me, too.” A grin spread across Milan’s face so strong that her dimple appeared. They both turned back around as memory lane popped into Milan’s head. She continued, “Damn, he looked just like Dad.” She refocused. “But what I was thinking was, maybe I could get someone to run it when I’m not able to get there, whether Lavender’s there or not. Like, you maybe.”

Tamiko jerked her head back. “Run Erotic City? Why in the world would I wanna do that?”

“Because I trust you. It’ll only be a couple of nights a week. Just try it. For me. I’ll give you whatever you want.” Milan batted her eyes.

Tamiko sat back. “What I want is not to be a part of that club.”

“What do you mean
that
club?” Milan asked, jerking her head back, too.

“I don’t mean because of the sex part of it. No, I’m lying, I mean that exactly. It’s just not something I wanna be around.”

“Well, Lavender and I made plans to expand, so if that happens, I’m gonna need someone even more when we travel. Tamiko, I can trust you.”

“I’m still nervous about starting my own clothing line, so you know I’d be clueless when it comes to knowing how to run a club like that. Not to mention what goes along with swingers. I’d be totally lost.”

“How about if you start out just giving it a try? I
can teach you what you need to know.” Milan reached over and patted Tamiko’s hand. “Besides, I need to get busy and finish writing this pilot episode. We signed contracts and everything’s done.”

“Milan.”

“Tamiko. Please. I’ve got way too much going on right now. I need some help.”

“And I don’t? I’m trying to get stuff in order, too.”

“Please.”

Tamiko rubbed her temples. “I’ll check it out. But I can’t promise anything.”

“Okay, no promises. I promise.” Milan flashed a smile.

“Very flippin funny.”

“Flippin? Oh Lord.” Milan reached down and grabbed her purse. “Any flippin way, for starters, how about if you come down tonight? Have you ever even set foot in a swingers club?”

“Never.”

“Then tonight’s the night.”

They stood as Tamiko said, “Good Lord. What am I in for?”

Milan reached over and hooked her arm through her sister’s arm. “Sis, it’s time for you to live a little.”

40

“Who Is She 2 U”

Saturday, May 31, 2008
10:55 p.m.

T
hat night, Tamiko actually set foot in Erotic City. She stood in Milan’s office in awe. She was dressed in a heavy sweater and leggings, with low-heeled boots, almost as though trying to completely shield her body. She stared out at the view from Milan’s office while Milan sat at her desk.

Tamiko said slowly, “Look at that guy just strutting around with his shang-a-lang hanging.”

Milan did not look up. “It’s a penis, Tamiko. Stop acting like a virgin when you’re really and truly an undercover freak.”

Tamiko sounded serious. “Oh, I know what a penis is, but just all exposed like that, like it’s hanging from a tool belt. There’s another guy. His is teeny-weeny. I didn’t know everyone just walked around naked.”

Milan said, “Not everyone does.”

“And that woman with the stretch marks, and her man just walked up and took that lady’s hand, and they kissed. They’re going into that room. They closed the door.” Tamiko narrated the play-by-play.

“That’s how it’s done.”

“Wow, that guy has stab wounds or something.”

Milan said, “And some probably have cigarette burns and beer bellies. That’s how real-life bodies look, Tamiko. This is not a movie. Besides, most of the women in here could shop at Lane Bryant. You’ve been looking at too many
Cosmo
magazines.”

“I watch dirty movies, too, now, don’t get me wrong.”

“But that’s my point. These are your average people. Some women are going through the change and their confidence is low. They come here and people find their bodies attractive,” Milan said as she stood. “Here, let’s take a tour. Come on.”

“Are you sure now’s a good time?”

“The sooner the better,” Milan insisted as though she really needed to. “I wanna show you around.”

Tamiko joined Milan as they walked down the spiral staircase and through the VIP room, the silver room, and the dungeon, showing her the layout and making sure she met the bouncer and a few regulars, like Dakota and Jed, and one of the mistresses.

Milan greeted Jed with a hug and found herself eyeing Dakota more than usual. Dakota hugged her. Milan got over it and continued the tour.

She spoke as though reading a script. She had it all down pat. “I’ll give you a copy of the membership agreement that people sign. We search bags here and use a metal detector at the door before we buzz them in. Cameras are at the main reception door and one of the fire exits. There are a lot of rules. No drugs. No smoking. No pressure. No pictures or cell phones. Most people adhere. We encourage safe sex, or as we say, fuck responsibly. I’m sorry about my language, but that’s the term. Also, we have bowls of every size condom, just sitting around like peppermint hard candy, but most men bring their own depending on what they’re packin. We can’t actually serve liquor, so people bring their own and that’s pretty standard at any sex club. The most important rules are that our members practice safe sex and be respectful to each other. You’ve got the freshmen and the big dawgs. We call the freshmen, newbies, and the big dawgs, old hands. Dakota and Jed are definitely old hands. There are those who flirt only, some just watch, the soft swingers pet and do oral, and then there’s the full swap and group sex. Some start out shy but once they start to get intimate, all the shyness seems to go away.

“Most swingers are couples and single chicks, so you’ll see a lot of girls in here who are bisexual. Some men like to watch their women with another woman so a lot is female-female-male, but it can be male-male-female, if the man can handle that. Jed seems to have no problem whatsoever.

“We encourage people who arrive as a couple to leave as a couple. They need to be sensitive to their partners since there are a lot of insecurities here. But most have no shame in their game. Oh yeah, and employees may not engage in acts of a sexual nature while at work.”

“Oh, I know all about that one.” Tamiko spotted a young man sitting back in a dark corner with his head leaned back and his eyes closed while an older woman sucked his dick. “This seems so sneaky to me.”

“Tamiko, these people aren’t sneaky. This isn’t forbidden fruit. They bring sand to the beach. They’re right up front with what they do. Most of the time, that is.”

“Either way, it just seems wrong.”

“I tell people all the time that sexual expression does not mean sexual deviance.”

They passed the dance floor where a Hershey Adonis–looking man and a Halle Berry–looking woman were grooving to a marathon slow jam, doing the slow dance switch with other people, changing partners for a pelvic grind every thirty seconds. One woman, wearing a skimpy nightie, backed it up on a man who wore only a towel.

Tamiko looked like her eyes were being molested. “This is just so recreational, like nobody’s taking it seriously, like people have a license to be a freak. I mean, how do couples even bring up that they’re interested in coming here if they’re in a relationship? How do these people come together and agree on screwing strangers together?”