The Pink Palace Read online

  The Pink Palace

  Triple Crown Collection

  Marlon McCaulsky

  www.urbanbooks.net

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue - Black Girl Lost

  1 - I’m a Hustler

  2 - Play Your Position

  3 - Friend or Foe

  4 - Deep cover

  5 - The Last Dance

  6 - Pussy Kills

  7 - Indecent Proposals

  8 - Who Am I?

  9 - One Way or Another

  10 - Hot Shot

  11 - Worse Than Death

  12 - The Block is Hot

  13 - Too Good to Last

  14 - A Woman Scorned

  15 - Industry Gangsta

  16 - The Omen

  17 - Life After Death

  18 - Ghetto Love

  19 - Karma’s a Bitch

  20 - Who Shot Ya?

  Epilogue - A woman’s worth

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  This is dedicated to the memory of my brother

  Michael Anthony McCaulsky.

  I wish I could still be with you today.

  I love you.

  Acknowledgments

  Only God knows all the work and sacrifices made in order to get to this point. Even though I don’t always do the right thing and I make mistakes, He knows my heart. So it’s to Him I give all my praises.

  Sheena McCaulsky, my wife, my lover, and soul mate. Without your love and support I never would have become the man I am today. Even when I was ready to give up on myself, you never stopped believing in me. Nobody has ever loved me the way you do, and I’ve never loved anybody the way I love you.

  My hero since the day I was born, I love you, Mom (Zelpha McCaulsky). I love you, Dad (Lloyd McCaulsky). To my immediate family here and in Jamaica: I love you all very much. (It’s too many of y’all to name and you know it.) My sisters, Sandra and Joanne McCaulsky, my niece Kendra McCaulsky and LeAsia, I love y’all dearly.

  My family in England: Rashida Malcolm, the bond we got, cousin, can never be broken. You’re like the sister I never had and always wanted. I love you. Malieka and Aqukilah couldn’t have a better mum.

  Charelene Malcolm, the sweetest person I have ever known. Just don’t make her mad. You wouldn’t like her when she’s mad. I love you so much, and I’m so proud of you. God bless you, Wayne, and the kids.

  My nigga Bigga, Daniel Malcolm, Evolution Entertainment at its best. Stay focused, cuz, and all your dreams will come true.

  Adam Malcolm, what’s up, cuz? Where you at? When you gonna come see me? Stay up, cuz.

  Joan, thank you for all the little and big things you did for me when I was there. I truly appreciated the way you made me feel at home.

  Mum (Mrs. B), thank you for welcoming me into your family and raising such a beautiful daughter. Thank you for believing in us from the start.

  Sharon Campbell, you’re the big sister I wish I had. Thank you for your support and all the advice you shared with us.

  Kaisha Sherelle Campbell, thank you for loving my work. I can’t believe you’ve grown into such a beautiful woman. You’re gonna be a Top Model somewhere.

  Rhianna Campbell, your feedback on my work kept me motivated to keep writing. I can’t believe you’ve grown from a hyper little girl to a stunning young woman.

  To all my other family in Birmingham, England, I love you all.

  My ace from day one, Heath McKinney, we’ve been best friends for almost twenty years, and I can’t see anybody else taking your place. Much love to you and the family.

  Tito Ramos, my brother from another mother, Afro-Rican Films is gonna jump off. Much love to Yaritza and the kids. See ya soon.

  Raequel A. Edgerson, a.k.a. “Roxi”, my writing partner! I told you Diary Confessions is coming soon! I’m gonna give you a bottle of Bacardi for old times’ sake!!

  Mike Malcolm, a.k.a. Goodus, you a fool. Cuz, I’ve watched you grow from a crazy boy to a grown man, and I know you can do anything you put your mind to. The next time you wanna use the back seat of my car, just let me know (a.k.a. Mr. Cheap Dick LOL!) Marvin Malcolm, you gotta stay in contact with me, cuz! I know you running things down in Miami, but damn, holla at ya boy!

  I love you, Janise Anderson and Tamar Humes. Don’t ever forget that.

  Tammy and Grenvile, we’ll always be friends. I love y’all, man! Take care of my boy! Damaris DeJesus, thank you for being my friend. Ron “Double R” Gaines, stay focused and it’s gonna happen for you. Shadcore, the real king of the Burg! Your day is coming. I can feel it. Swi-yyah, thank you for your support, and I know it’s going to happen for you too! Don’t Call Me Crazy I’m Just In Love on sale now!! Krystal “Krys-E” Robinson, thank you for being a real friend. Now go buy my book LOL!

  To my Grand Hustle Crew: Iris “Nadia” Bailey (thank you for the feedback), Tarius Bell, Shardae Bennett, Tresaca Hamilton, and Elaine Barnes, thank you for sticking by my side!

  My e-mail family: Kem Cameron, loyal to the bitter end (free Mike Vick); Juanita Chemont, my book club fanatic; Karmen Moore, my fellow writer, keep on writing and it will happen!

  Lewis Gilbert, Brooklyn in the house! Michael Richards, a.k.a. “Snaggle Puss” The CEO of the Royal Blue Crew LOL . . . Nikia Clarke, hey, white girl! Oh, I forgot BOHEMIAN AND ITALIAN; Patrick Beaufort, my debate sparring partner LOL . . . I value your opinion, even if you’re wrong most of the time! Tia Bethal, The voice of reason. Larissa Carter, Myca Harrison, Shamika Deck, Tanya Williams, Shenetha Daniel, Tammy Reed (the book fiend.) You go through books like crack. I hope you enjoy this hit!

  Adante Harmon, you will soon be a published author. Don’t doubt your talent.

  A very special thank you to, Vickie M. Stringer, for giving me a chance to be heard. You don’t know how much I truly appreciate you and Triple Crown Publications for providing a company where a young author can grow. Thank you, Mia McPherson, PriScillia V. Sales, Karla Un-gurean, Adam Johnson and the Triple Crown staff for all of your support. God bless you all.

  A very special thank you to Cynthia Parker for your friendship and advice. We will be working together in the future, no doubt!

  To everybody else that supported me over the years, thank you, too.

  Prologue

  Black Girl Lost

  Bankhead, GA

  JANELLE “MO’NIQUE” TAYLOR

  I can remember the day I stopped believing in God. It’s not because my father left me when I was seven and I haven’t seen him since. If I did see him today I would probably spit in his face. It’s not because my mother died of breast cancer when I was 14. As hard as that was, I guess it was her time to go. It’s not even because I’m a stripper at The Pink Palace now. I got into that bullshit myself. No, the reason I stopped believing in God was because of men.

  All my life men have abandoned, used, and abused me. How could God leave His world in the hands of such a simple, lustful, and disgusting creature? Because of men, there’s all kinds of shit wrong in the world. If women were in charge, things would be ten times better than this crap we got now.

  But don’t get it twisted, shorty; this bitch ain’t lesbian or bi. I can see why some women get tired of men’s bullshit and go that route, but that isn’t for me. I’m strictly dickly! A man has only two things going for him: his cock and his money. Half the time they can’t even fuck good, always saying they’ll blow ya back out and then bust too quick. Fuck that. No wonder I hustle these tricks.

  It wasn’t until I was 16 that I learned the truth about how the world really works. I was still living at home on the w
est side of Atlanta, unaware that my life was about to pull a complete 180. I stayed near Bankhead’s Tech-wood Projects, which had some of the city’s highest crime rates. The place got demolished back in ’96, forcing all its thugs to the streets. Eventually, they got a HUD house like everybody else.

  Even as bad as shit was around there, I still felt safe. Before my mother died, she remarried a police officer named James. After she died, I lived with James and his 16-year-old son, Tony. They never supported me like my mother did. She always encouraged me to keep dancing, even going so far as to enroll me at the North Atlanta Performing High School. Although I learned most of my moves from the street, going to school helped to refine what I could already do.

  By the time I was 16, I already had the goods to make them drool—I wore a 36C bra and my ass was round like Beyoncé’s. Some of my friends said I looked like her, but I never saw it. I did, however, see the way boys looked at my body.

  I had a little boyfriend back then named Shaun, and he was the only guy I had ever had sex with. As far as I could tell, he was the only guy I would ever fuck. I was crazy in love with his ass. That is, until I found out he was cheating with this chick named Wilma over in Buckhead. That was the second time a man had broken my heart. The first being my dad, of course, but I won’t even talk about his lame ass.

  Eventually, I got over Shaun. There were more than enough guys trying to holla at me. One boy in particular caught my eye. His name was Steven, and he was a senior at my school. Every day he would watch me dance in the performance room. He was fine as hell, too. All the girls in school were sweating him. Steven’s father was a successful music producer who generously gave his son some spending cash and a new BMW to drive around. Steven had girls throwing themselves at him, but I never stooped to that level. I let him come to me.

  “Hey, Janelle,” Steven said to me as I walked out of the dance room one day.

  “What’s up, Steven?”

  “You looked good in there,” he said with a smile.

  “I’m glad you noticed.”

  “I notice a lot of things.”

  “Yeah? Like what?”

  “I notice you be alone a lot. How come?”

  “I just am. Sometimes it’s good to be by yourself,” I remarked as Steven followed me down the hallway.

  “So, do you plan on going to Skate Town Sunday night?” he asked, knowing I was there every week with my girl, Nadia.

  “Maybe,” I said with a smile.

  “Good, I can show you some moves,” he shot back confidently.

  I looked him up and down.

  “Whatever, just try and keep up with me.” I walked slowly toward the girls’ locker room, giving him one last good look at my ass before I disappeared.

  By the time I got home that day, my stepfather, James, had already finished work and was halfway through a bottle of E&J. Since my mom’s death, he had been reassigned to a desk job on the Atlanta P.D. He was 45 years old and slightly overweight, but his 6 foot 4 inch frame hid it well. James wasn’t a bad cop; he just didn’t enforce every law in the book. Let’s be frank—the man had a weed habit, and looking past certain drug laws allowed him to smoke in good conscience.

  “Hey, James,” I said as I walked by his La-Z-Boy chair. He nodded his head and looked me up and down, taking a drink of his E&J.

  “Where’s Tony?” he asked me.

  “I don’t know,” I said as I walked into the kitchen. We didn’t have any home-cooked meals. Most nights we ordered a pizza or had takeout. James got up from his chair, followed me into the kitchen, and stood in the doorway.

  “What do you wanna eat?”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he replied.

  “Well, Chinese it is.”

  James just continued to look at me oddly as I dialed the number. A couple of minutes later, Tony came in and James went back to his La-Z-Boy to self-medicate.

  Sunday night couldn’t come soon enough. I was dying to see Steven at Skate Town. Of course, I couldn’t let him know that. I had to stick to the script and let him come to me. To make sure that would happen, I wore some denim hot pants and a tight green top I got from Old Navy. I went to the rink with my girl, Nadia, and as soon as we hit the door, all eyes were on us.

  Even though I could do without it these days, I kinda enjoyed being the center of attention back then. The looks we drew felt good, especially those from Steven, who had been staring at me from the moment I walked in. I acted like I didn’t see him as I seductively moved to the desk and got a pair of skates.

  Truth be told, I was better at dancing than skating, but I didn’t care. As long as Steven was there, I was gonna do my thing.

  “Damn, Janelle, ya boy is watching you like a hawk up in here,” Nadia said to me.

  “Oh, he is? Good,” I replied as I put on my skates.

  “He looks good, too,” Nadia remarked, looking over to where Steven sat.

  “Yeah, I know,” I said like it was no big thing.

  I started to skate around the rink, making regular eye contact with Steven. I knew what he was thinking by the way he stared at me so eagerly. It didn’t take long for him to start skating behind me.

  “What’s up, Janelle? I see that you made it.”

  I turned around to skate backwards and look at him. “I’m here. I thought you were gonna show me something,” I said to him.

  “Oh, I’m gonna show you all my moves. It’s gonna be a lot to take in.” He rolled up and put his hands on my hips. I felt my panties get wet as soon as he touched me. I wanted him bad, but I couldn’t fall apart just yet.

  “You ain’t said nothing, shorty. Talk is cheap,” I said playfully.

  “All right, let’s do it.” Steven turned me around and pulled me back, putting his crotch up to my ass. We began to dip, dive, and grind on each other as we circled the rink.

  I remember thinking that if he was that good on skates, how good was he off of them? I could see the other girls looking at me with envy, but I didn’t care. I had the hottest guy in the spot getting rock hard on my ass. Eat your heart out, bitches!

  “Hey, Janelle, you wanna get out of here?” Steven whispered into my ear, pulling me close.

  “Where we gonna go?”

  “Someplace where we can just talk for a minute.” I could tell by the way he held me that we wouldn’t get much talking done.

  “Okay.”

  We got our shoes and hopped into his car. He drove me to a vacant lot and parked. He pulled out a Black & Mild and opened it up, removing the tobacco filling. Then he reached in his pocket and took out a dime bag of weed. He filled the cigar paper with some broken-up chronic and rolled it up. He lit the joint and took a hit while leaning back in his seat.

  “So, you ain’t gonna share?” I asked him.

  “Oh, my bad, shorty. I ain’t know if you smoked,” he said apologetically. He was lucky that he was so damn fine or I might’ve thought he was being stingy.

  “I do occasionally,” I replied as he passed me the blunt. I took me a drag. It was some really good shit. We sat in his car for a minute, puffing on the blunt and passing it back and forth. After we finished, Steven rolled another one and we puffed on that too. The radio played Usher’s “U Got It Bad” as we sat in his car.

  “I love this song. It’s my jam,” I said to him.

  “Really? So who do you got it bad for?”

  “Nobody,” I lied. Truth was, I felt so horny for him that my panties were soaked.

  “Right, I’m sure,” Steven said to me cockily. I couldn’t get mad at him. He had every right to be full of himself.

  “Maybe you just ain’t met the right one yet. Or maybe you ain’t paying attention,” Steven suggested as he slid his big hand up my thigh.

  “Oh, I pay attention to everything. So why don’t you show me what I ain’t seeing?” I said.

  Steven responded to my challenge by leaning over and kissing my lips. My hands wandered up his thigh and felt his dick become rock hard underneath his jeans.
Steven’s hand was under my shirt, fondling my soft titties. I didn’t know if it was the weed or just me, but it felt like a pool was forming between my thighs. As good as my pussy was feeling, I knew I had to stop before I went over the edge.

  “Steven, I gotta get home.”

  He pulled up off me and smiled. “All right. So when are we gonna finish what we started?”

  “Real soon, I promise.” It was a promise I intended to keep.

  Steven drove me home, and I was as high as hell. I didn’t really care, because James was probably drunk himself.

  “I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said to Steven.

  “All right.” I gave him another deep kiss before I got out of his car. Damn, I was gonna fuck the shit outta him.

  When I came in, James was up in his La-Z-Boy watching TV, drinking, and smoking a blunt. He was one hell of a father figure.

  “Hey, James, what ya watching?” I asked him.

  “New Jack City.”

  “New Jack City? Man, I haven’t seen that since I was a little girl,” I said as I sat on the couch. I was still pretty worked up from being with Steven and wasn’t sleepy at all.

  “Where’s Tony?” I asked him.

  “Spending the night at his friend’s house,” James said as he puffed on his blunt. He looked at me then passed the weed. I was already high, so why not? I grabbed it from him and took a hit. It wasn’t as strong as the weed Steven had, but it was good enough. James was definitely not gonna win father of the year, but at least I didn’t have to sneak around and do stuff.

  “Your mother and me used to watch this together all the time. She used to love Wesley Snipes’ black ass,” James said as he poured me out a glass of E&J.

  “Yeah, I know. We used to watch Jungle Fever and the Blade movies together all the time,” I remarked.

  “You still miss her, don’t you?” he asked me.

  “Yeah, I do. It’s just so hard to . . . to know she ain’t here no more,” I said to him.