A Project Chick (23 page)

Even though Tressa had a rocky start with the neighborhood girls, the girls and Tressa eventually gave each other a mutual respect. Although they never hung out together, if one needed something, Tressa pretty much 149

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loaned them whatever they needed. In return, they paid her back and watched her back.

Tressa was no fool when it came to loaning money.

She never loaned more than one hundred dollars, and for every dollar, she charged an interest rate of 30%. So, this became her hustle, everybody's got one. She knew she could have done like her brother did in prison. Anything he loans out he gets double back of what was borrowed.

There was this one girl, Britta, from the projects Tressa would see from time to time. Britta was beautiful.

She had light skin, long hair and a body to die for! Britta was only eighteen and already mothered two young children. Both of her children stayed with her eighty year-old grandmother most of the time. Britta was a girl that Tressa felt sorry for and she tried to get her on the right track. Britta was young, dumb and full of cum. Britta had all kinds of rudy-poot dudes running in her house and was always broke, begging to borrow money from Tressa.

One day, Britta explained to Tressa that she was about to get evicted because she hadn't paid her $46.00

rent in three months.

"Tressa, I know you don't loan more than $100, but I can't get put out. I'm not going to have no where to go." Tressa had to ask. "Why do you have all those niggas running up in your house, and it never seems like it's never beneficial to you?"

"They promise me they're going to look out, but they never do. I wish I had a way to get some money other than my $291.00 welfare check, I need a hustle. Do you know of one for me?" She asked Tressa sarcastically.

"Well, I might. Let me think about it. But in the meantime, don't let them niggas run up in your house.

Especially if they're leaving you to borrow money for your $46.00 rent!"

"The truth of it is, I like the attention." Britta said.

Tressa never commented on Britta's stupid and naive statement, but a bright idea popped in her head. "Let me check on something and I'll get back at ya." Tressa met back up with Britta and loaned her the money. When they met, Pondee saw them talking. Pondee immediately called Tressa over. "What's up with your girlfriend?"

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"What you mean?" Tressa asked.

"I'm trying to hit that." Pondee said.

"Well, go over there and talk to her then. I'll introduce you." Tressa said.

"Look, I ain't got no whole bunch of time to be lollygagging, taking a chick out to dinner and playing the dating game. Straight up, a nigga trying to fuck." He went in his pocket and pulled out $150.00 and handed it to her.

"Give this to her, and if she bites, I got you. Since you my peeps, I'm going to give you some money for the hook up." Pondee said.

"Shoot, you better give that girl more than some damn $150.00 then." Tressa said.

"Look, by the time I take her to the movies, dinner a couple of times, and give her money to get her hair done, that's what it would have took to get her to give me some.

So, I am just trying to cut through the chase. Now make that happen."

"I'll see" Tressa said smiling.

Tressa set it up for Pondee to screw Britta, and he gladly accepted her fee. A few days later, Pondee approached Tressa asking her to also set up strip parties for him and his homeboys. She would never have to come off of anything, except make the arrangements to get the girls together. He expressed to her that she could make good money, and Lord knows, she needed all the extra income she could get. But after thinking everything over, she decided she wouldn't pimp any more females, instead she'd just keep on loan sharking.

The lone sharking alone, combined with Mr. Bill's money and her legit job salary, enabled her to get ahead a little.

She was able to bank some money, but still not enough to move herself out of the projects.

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-16-

M.M. Ordeal

Everything was going fine between Mr. Bill and Tressa. Tressa wasn't in love with Mr. Bill, but very content with their friendship, until one day when he was dropping her off. Mr. Bill had just taken Tressa to the mall to buy the boy's Easter outfits, and "Nosey Rosey" was sitting on the bench as she watched, with green-eyed envy, while Tressa got out of Mr. Bill's car struggling with all the shopping bags.

How in the hell this girl get this old man to peel off
paper like that for her? Shoot, she makes me sick. She think
she better than everybody else cuz she got a job, and now,
she got that old man looking out for her. I can't stand her! I
remember I used to go up to that man's shop, trying to get him
to notice me, but he never would. Now, tell me what she got
that I don't have? It's all good, cause I'm about to burst this
bitch's bubble, while she thinking she all that,
Rosey thought to herself.

Tressa made eye contact with Rosey, who was plastered in her usual spot, on the bench. "Hey Rosey."

"Hey Tressa."

Tressa walked past Rosey, tussling with all her bags, when Rosey called out to her. "Tressa." Tressa stopped, but turned to make eye contact with Rosey.

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"Look, Tressa, I can't believe you been dealing with that married man as long as you have."

"What?"

"Yes, Bill is married to a girl name Angel. She's young and they have been together for a while now, since she was about sixteen years old."

"Oh, for real. Thank you girl for putting me down with that info, I really appreciate it."

"Yup, I am only telling you for your own good." Rosey was attempting to seem concerned, but she knew she was only telling Tressa to steal her joy. Rosey hoped that Tressa would stop messing with Bill, because married or not, Bill took care of Tressa and her boys, and that was something Rosey didn't have.

Tressa started feeling sick and dizzy. She felt a cold sweat come over her body. However, she managed to hold herself together while she was there in front of Rosey. The walk up the three flights of stairs was the longest walk up those stairs in a while.

All kinds of things started running through Tressa's mind.
If this were TRUE, where was his wife? When did he
possibly spend time with her? What does she have to say
about him not coming home on a regular basis? Maybe she
worked at night. Maybe they are separated. Maybe she lived
in another city. Maybe she was away at college or tending to
a sick family member. Where was his wedding band? There
wasn't even a tan line on his left ring finger to indicate that
he'd ever worn a wedding band.
All these were possibilities, but she had could not understand how he could be married. There were not any signs.
Maybe Rosey was lying
or exaggerating,
she thought. No, Rosey never gets the negative reports wrong.

Tressa had expressed to Mr. Bill, how Lucky had hurt her feelings with the all the lying and cheating, and now him too. She held her composure until she got into her apartment.

This situation needed her immediate attention. She called him. Tressa informed him that she needed to speak to him. He could sense in her voice that something was definitely wrong.
Had she found out what he had concealed
from her?
He insisted that she tell him what was wrong, because he'd surely fix it. Whichever secret she knew 154

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about, he'd have to come clean and explain. How would she ever accept his betrayal?

Tressa wanted to ask him face to face. She always felt that it was indeed better to approach a person who she was unsure about face to face. Their body language would usually speak for itself, and she couldn't read body language over the telephone. Tressa drew the conclusion, a while ago, if there was chin stroking, lip pressing, earlobe pulling, nose touching or rubbing slowly, covering the mouth while talking, the person is lying. She was certain when there is an increase in hand to face motions, that was a sure sign of deceit or trickery of some kind. Other parts of their bodies project the truth as well, their legs and feet.

As bad as Tressa was trying to hold it in and wait to ask him face to face, she couldn't, she had to know.

Tressa bluntly asked him. "Are you married?"

"Where you get that from?" He asked. Because he didn't deny it right away, at that instance, Tressa was convinced it was true.

He began to ask Tressa. "Does it seem as though I'm married? How could I be married, if I'm either working or on the phone with you day in and day out?" Everything was starting to look like a blur. Tressa never responded to him, she simply hung up the phone.

The rest of the day, Tressa did not accept any calls from Bill. It wasn't the fact that she was heart broken or anything of that matter, it was just the principal that he put her in a very dangerous situation. He called her repeatedly.

He left her all kinds of messages about how he needed to talk to her on her answering machine. He expressed how important it was for her to call him back. After two days of totally ignoring him, he showed up unannounced on her doorstep. She didn't answer the door. She was so hurt and confused. She was disgusted with him, simply because they had put so much emphasis on honesty in their friendship, and he was the one living a lie.

Tressa was leaving out for work, Bill was staked outside of her apartment in the parking lot. He approached Tressa. He expressed that he desperately needed to talk to her. She listened to him, hoping just maybe, this was all a big misunderstanding. He denied being married. His body language declared his guilt. She could tell he was lying.

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Lucky had played Tressa time and time again, but make no mistake about it, Tressa was very clever. She told Bill that they were never going to get anywhere with him lying to her.

She told him she knew for a fact he was married, because she had seen his wedding pictures. His mouth dropped to the floor. Of course, she hadn't seen anything. She also told him that he should've been totally up front and honest with her from the beginning. She should've had the prerogative to decide if she wanted to be involved in a triangle or not.

Bill used the same excuses that EVERY single married man who cheats uses. How he's not happy at home, how his wife doesn't cook or clean anymore. He proceeded to give her this lame story about how not a day went by that he wanted to tell her, but he knew the type of woman she was. He knew that she wasn't going to accept the situation. He didn't want to risk losing her, so he kept his secret from her.

All kinds of things started running through Tressa's head. The biggest issue was, he was somebody's HUSBAND! REGARDLESS OF WHAT HE'S SAYING, HE'S

STILL SOMEBODY'S HUSBAND!!!!! That was kind of a hard pill for Tressa to swallow. The next fact was, this man had been parading her around town, not only hugged up, but she was driving one of his cars for a few months when the dogs were slaughtered. He was not concerned as to who may have seen them. His wife's cousin, sister, girlfriend or the wife herself could've seen them! What if the wife would've seen them together, and Lord forbid, killed Tressa for being with her husband. Tressa would be dead and her family wouldn't have a clue as to why.

Tressa discovered that it was many issues that came along with the M.M. (married man) ordeal. At that point, as much as she wanted to continue the relationship, she knew she couldn't. She felt they'd developed such a connection, that she considered being undercover with him.

Maybe just a little more discreet.
She knew she deserved more than a being a down-low lover. She owed it to herself.

Although, she was fully aware of the fact that there was a black male shortage of good men in Richmond.

Tressa contemplated,
what kind of future could I
possibly have with this man? In the long run, I'd only be left
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with a broken heart. How would I ever be able to trust this
double-crossing, two-timing man anyway? If he double-crossed the one he said, "I DO" to, just imagine what he'd do
to me.