Cheaper to Keep Her (part 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

Diamond sang, laughing afterwards. She seemed in much better spirits and more like herself than she had been in a while. I guess that was because that bum ass Brian was out of her life for a minute.
    After a few more minutes of going back and forth with Diamond, I finally picked up the phone and called Duke’s number. When his sexy voice filtered through the phone I closed my eyes. Diamond was making all kinds of faces. I could feel her presence.
    Duke and I spoke for a few minutes and he agreed to pick me up. I gave him the address of the Marriott that was a few miles away from my apartment. I wasn’t ready to let his ass know where I lived just yet. Duke said he would pick me up at five o’clock. That only left me an hour and a half to get ready. When I was sure he was off the phone I turned to Diamond with a panicked look on my face.
    “ Ok Miss Bitch, I took your advice and called him, but now the nigga will be here in an hour. What the fuck am I gonna put on and do with my hair!” I yelled at my best friend. “That is not enough time to get something done and find something at the mall to wear.”
    “ Girl, please. You know you got Indian in your family,” Diamond joked, putting her hand up against her mouth mocking an Indian call. We both busted out laughing. But my expression turned serious. I wasn’t one to panic, but I felt some mild anxiety coming on.
    “ Seriously Diamond, what am I gonna do with my hair and what will I wear with a man like that,” I said, getting back to the issue at hand. “Not like he is one of these regular slouches from around here.”
    “ Lynise, your hair is long and beautiful, put some water and gel in that shit and wear it curly,” Diamond told me, her voice of reassurance. “See, now look at my shit, this is gotta-have-a-perm hair.” She playfully patted her hair. “Not you. You got that curly girl shit and besides, I love when you take your hair down out of that ratty ass ponytail you wear all the time.”
    I looked in the mirror at my reflection. Maybe Diamond was right. A little water, some gel, some make up and one of her hot outfits and I’d be set for my date with the businessman.
    It took me close to an hour to get ready. I chose a black, fitted pencil skirt, a white collared shirt, which I left unbuttoned all the way down to my cleavage, and a threw on a pair of red pumps. Not too dress down and not too dress up.
    “ How does this look?” I asked Diamond as I tugged at my skirt.
    “ Nini, you look so gorgeous. I haven’t seen you dressed up in a minute,” Diamond said, faking like she was wiping tears of joy from her eyes. Her ass was hilarious and I enjoyed when we got a chance to spend time together like this.
    “ Your ass is silly!” I exclaimed, laughing at her. Diamond had hooked up my make-up. The fire red lipstick was taking some getting used to. I usually wore tans and browns on my lips, because my complexion was a bit light for the red stuff. Diamond had succeeded once again in convincing me that the red lipstick was the right touch for my outfit. I took her advice, of course. If there was anybody I trusted with fashion sense, it was Diamond.
    I paced the sidewalk outside the Marriot waiting on Duke. I hated that I was there before him. I wondered if that would make me look thirsty or desperate in his eye. Usually the man had to wait on the woman, but being that Duke was such a classy businessman, I didn’t want to have him waiting.
    I stopped walking for a minute because my feet were already killing me in the pumps Diamond had loaned me. Cheap shoes were a bitch to wear. Just as I folded my arms impatiently and shifted my body weight from one foot to the other, I noticed a beautiful sleek, silver Porsche 911 pulling into the hotel’s driveway. My heart started hammering in my chest like a bass drum. The windows were darkly tinted so I wasn’t even sure it was Duke, but my gut told me that it was him. Sure enough, he slowly rolled down the