DRIVE SLOW

The DJ announced Three the Hard Way was coming up. Magic City was packed. Bank$ had his own section in the strip club. The four of us sat on sofas, not too close, but in perfect view of the stage. We had our own private platform and pole. The lights went lower and the music louder.  The crowd whooped its enthusiasm and three girls came out onto the stage. One girl had her hair dyed the color of red, yellow, and orange-blue flames. I knew the other two of them, Panda and Peanutt, from home. Panda’s ass and her breasts had gotten bigger, but her hair was all gone. She , was almost bald and what was left was bleach blonde. Peanutt wore a blood -blue Farrah Fawcett wig and put two snakebites under, and a Marilyn Monroe piercing above her lips.

The three of them were doing this trick where Panda positioned herself onto the pole flipped upside down; her feet serving as a base for Peanut to appear to be lying flat out like a table top across them. Peanutt playing table, gripped the pole with the inside of her thighs, while the fire -haired girl stood atop her and made the fringe on her outfit ,and her ass cheeks, and the meat on them move in all different directions. Strippers are strong people. They called that shit the spinning top.

“I know them,” I said. 

“Who?” Bank$ asked.

 “The bald one. And the blue- haired one with the piercings.” I watched as they exited the stage and collected their roses, while the floor man collected their trash-bags full of dollars.

“Oh yeah? From where?” 

“Home. The bald tatted one, she used to fuck with my dude.” 

“Nigga, won’t tip that one then,” Bank$ rested his weight on my back for a second and I leaned into it.

“Nah, it’s cool. He’s dead now,” I said. 

I motioned in Panda’s direction. She saw me and Bank$ and a big smile spread across her face. She was cute with those two little golds. We were still here. No one could say we didn’t still exist. That we hadn’t landed on our feet, at least for the night. She bounced as she headed over to our section. I picked up a stack of Bank$’ ones and flicked them playfully at her. Sigrid and Mikhel were happy to instigate the scene. Mikhel gave her some more bills and Sigrid laid them out in a heart shape around our pole. Panda hopped up on the platform, swung once around and squatted right down in the middle of the heart. She popped a little, then stood up and put her ass right in my face. I smacked it—hard. The DJ played one of Bank$’ songs and the dollar bills began to fall from the sky.