Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
Gina
I looked in the mirror, reapplied my Topicals, and straightened my hair for the third time. I didn’t think I would be, but I was nervous. Ramel was standing outside of the car with his hand outstretched to help me out, and I was contemplating changing my mind about the whole night.
When he suggested I join them for their bowling night, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but now that I was there, the reality was starting to set in.
Not only had I never had a real boyfriend in my adult life, but I’d also never met the friends of anyone I was dating.
Before I left home, I never really realized just how sheltered my life had been.
“Baby, I don’t think you can look any better than you already do.”
Ramel’s compliment brought me out of my constant need to fix myself. I was naturally panicking, but just hearing his voice calmed me. I couldn’t help but smile when I finally pulled my eyes from the mirror and allowed them to land on him.
We’d barely separated to breathe over my birthday weekend and even the few days that followed. The only time we were apart was when we had to work, and he was always on time to pick me up from my shift. I spent so much time at his home that we were practically living together.
“Thank you, baby.”
I finally grabbed Ramel’s hand and let him help me out of the car. I spotted his crew as soon as we walked into the bowling alley. They all looked different outside of their uniforms, but I still knew it was them. The loud shit-talking always gave them away.
Ramel held my hand as we walked to join the group. All eyes were on us, the closer we got, but he kept me tucked close to him with a firm grip. The tightness of his grip let me know that he had my back, not just in this moment, but in every moment going forward.
“What’s up, y’all? This is my girl, Gina.” He introduced me as I smiled and waved at everybody. “Gina, this is Cap, Top, and their ladies, Anissa and Alexis.”
“Nice to meet you,” Cap spoke first.
“Wait a minute. Did you say your girl?” Top chimed in right after.
“Don’t even start. You know that secretive ass nigga won’t tell us shit else.”
They both laughed before dapping each other up and pulling Ramel over to where they were sitting.
Hearing that he was also secretive with his friends made me feel a little bit better about not completely knowing everything about the man I was spending so much time with.
It told me that it wasn’t just something he did with me, but instead, it was who he was.
“Never mind them. I’m Alexis. This is my sister Anissa.”
The thicker sister spoke as she grabbed me into a side hug. They were both gorgeous girls, but I could tell Anissa was the more reserved one. She wasn’t standoffish at all, but she also wasn’t as open as Alexis.
“Nice to meet y’all.”
“I never thought I would see the day Method introduced us to a woman,” Anissa finally spoke, calling Ramel by his last name. “I already know you have to be someone pretty special.”
“Thank you.” I smiled shyly, still not quite sure how to take either of them. I’d experienced catty girls before, and if this was going to be that, I’d rather not even try to build anything there. I wanted friends, but not at the cost of my own mental health.
“Y’all ready to get beat?” Cap asked, grabbing his girl from behind.
“Trust me. You ain’t winning shit tonight.”
“Maybe not this game, but trust me. I’m winning something.” He bit his lip, causing everyone to laugh as Anissa pushed him away.
“So damn nasty.” She laughed as we all took our spots and prepared for the game.
They had set it up with men versus women, and I was actually happy they did it that way. Bowling just happened to be a hidden talent of mine, and I loved beating men at anything, especially ones that assumed they would win just because they were playing women.
It didn’t take me long to warm up to the girls, especially since we were on our third game and hadn’t lost yet.
I wasn’t the only one with a hidden talent for bowling; both Alexis and Anissa played like it was their favorite sport.
Every time one of us got a strike, the others took our time rubbing it in the men’s faces.
They’d started out talking a lot of shit, but now that they were dragging behind us in the third game, not too much was being said.
“I know that’s right, Gina. Show Method how it is done!” Anissa cheered, and I collected another strike.
“I don’t need no tips. Just wait until it’s my turn.”
Ramel mugged me as he stood between his boys. I could tell they were all competitive as hell because they weren’t taking too kindly to being beaten by a group of women, especially not their women, but that didn’t stop us from doing everything we needed to do to win.
“I’m sorry, baby.” I kissed Ramel on the cheek before he moved to take his position in the lane next to ours. “That’s for good luck.”
“I’ll take it,” he said, still a little salty, before reaching for his ball.
Competition aside, they all made me feel so welcome.
I couldn’t believe how well I fit in with everyone and how welcoming even the men were.
Outside of boarding school, I’d never had a real friend group.
I honestly believed being so far away from home and family was the only thing that bonded me with any of the people I met there.
Here, with Ramel’s friends, I felt safe.