Chapter 15 #2
“Okay. Well, let’s enjoy the party and we can talk about what’s bothering you later. Can it wait or you wanna talk about it now?”
“It can wait, baby. Nothing you don’t already know.”
As we walked to the round table, I took a seat next to Ava who was engaged in conversation with Sapphire. From what I caught, they were talking about hair products.
“Hey, girl. You finally coming to your own party?” Ava asked jokingly.
“I am. I just needed to make sure the food was set up.”
Tilting her head, Ava glared at me with a questioning expression. Thankfully, she didn’t pry and continued her conversation with Sapphire.
“Okay. I got the cards. Who wants this ass whooping first?” Aaron yelled as he came out of the back door waving the box of cards around.
“Come on, bruh. Me and Mccoy gon’ get at you first. Your homeboy Fred been talking shit since we got here, so he can sit in this round with you,” Justin said as he sat up straight.
As the four of them prepared for the card game, the ladies pulled me into their conversation.
As time went by, everyone eventually made their way to get food and more liquor was passed around.
At the next table, my parents and Mccoy’s parents were engaged in an intense game of dominos while Tiffany and Stacey took shots of vodka.
By now, I’d had more wine coolers than I could remember.
I was feeling good and finally felt like I’d let all my problems go for the night.
“Okay, baby girl. We’re gonna get out of here,” my dad said as he hugged me.
“Y’all leaving already?”
“Yes. It’s getting late and we need to be up early tomorrow to get everything ready,” my mother explained.
“It’s only seven-thirty. The event doesn’t start until eleven tomorrow morning.”
“Now you know this old man isn’t staying up past nine these days. You don’t want me out here snoring in front of all these people. Plus, me and your mother still have a few last-minute things we need to get done before the event starts.”
“Like what?” I questioned.
As far as I knew, my parents would be there tomorrow to support me, but I hadn’t asked them to do anything. Tiffany had already made the shirts and my celebration was tonight. Nothing came to mind that they had to help with.
“You’ll see tomorrow, sweetheart. Just know your mother and I are proud of you. You’ve blossomed into a woman who has far exceeded our expectations. Your grandmother would be so happy right now.”
Tears threatened to fall as I listened to my dad talk about my grandmother. Grief snuck up on me every now and again, but I was sure these tears were also brought on by all the liquor I consumed tonight.
“Girl, if you don’t wipe those tears. May would not want you crying at a time like this,” my mom said as she brought me into a hug.
“What’s wrong with my sister?”
“Boy, don’t be coming over here with all that hollering. Saturn is fine. We were over here talkin’ about May and you know how she gets when your grandmother is brought up,” my mother explained to Aaron.
“You good, sis? You supposed to be turning up. Stop being a crybaby,” he teased.
“I’m good, I’m good. Just had a moment. I’m gonna walk them to the car then freshen up.”
After saying my goodbyes to my parents, I went into my bathroom to wash and moisturize my face.
By the time I was heading to the backyard, Mccoy’s parents were on their way out.
They assured me that they’d be at the competition tomorrow bright and early, which I appreciated.
Aaron was in the middle of hooking his phone up to the Bluetooth speaker when I heard my name being called.
When I looked over my shoulder, Stacey stood by the back door with her purse in one hand and a red Solo cup in the other.
She and Tiffany had been going shot for shot earlier and the proof was in her eyes.
“Hey. Everything okay?”
“Yes, girl, I’m fine. I just wanted to ask if it was okay if I stayed for the afterparty. I see all the young people are still here and your brother pulled out a brand-new bottle of Don Julio,” she explained, making us both laugh.
“Of course you can stay, girl. Are you okay with spending the night? I don’t want Mccoy driving after he’s been drinking.”
“That’s fine with me. All I need is a cover and I’ll make shit happen with one of your couches.”
Before I could respond, Stacey was making her way back to Tiffany.
“Did you talk to my sister? She was looking for you before I walked my parents out,” Mccoy stated as he came out of the backdoor.
“I talked to her. She just wanted to know if she could stay over.”
“She told me. I told her it was fine, but I wanted her to ask you anyway.”
“Your family is welcome anytime.”
“Thank you, baby,” he responded before kissing my lips.
“Ay, man...can y’all wait until we leave to do all that kissing shit?” Aaron yelled jokingly.
“You might as well get used to it, bruh. The only time I’m not all on your sister is when we’re apart. Close your eyes next time.”
“Man, whatever. Y’all asses be hugged up like you just came home from war. Whole time, all you did was go take a piss.”
When everyone laughed at Aaron’s statement, Mccoy and I couldn’t help but join in. Since I knew it was playful banter, I didn’t feel disrespected. Taking my seat next to Ava, I saw she was pouring her and Sapphire a shot.
“Here, friend. Your ass needs to take one. Those weak ass wine coolers you been sippin’ ain’t hittin’ on shit,” Ava said as she slid the shot in front of me.
“The only reason I didn’t call you out earlier is because I had to act like I had some sense.
I couldn’t be doing too much in front of your parents and in-laws. ”
“Girl, I was trying to enjoy my party. Not be in the room asleep because I’m drunk,” I said with laughter.
“One drink wouldn’t have killed you. But it’s cool. We’re here now...drink up.”
After toasting, I tilted my head back and threw the shot down my throat so fast. As always, the burn of the alcohol hit me in my chest and caused my face to scrunch.
Now that I had the first one out the way, any other shots I took wouldn’t hit me as hard.
Slamming the glass down, I picked up the Red Bull Mccoy bought for himself and took a sip.
“Aight, let’s take a break from the Spades game and play something else,” Aaron suggested.
“Like what? We could’ve played giant Jenga, but your sister never brought my shit back.”
“Saturn, I told you I’d buy you a new one. I wasn’t expecting that party to end the way it did,” Tiffany stated.
She told me the same story every time Jenga was brought up. I believed her, but I’d never let her live it down. I’d had that Jenga game since my college days.
“What party?” Aaron asked in confusion.
Setting her cup down and scooting to the edge of her chair, Tiffany told the story I’d heard a thousand times before.
“You remember when I was hanging with Shanice and Tameka?”
“Yeah, I remember Momma telling you they weren’t your friends,” Aaron recalled.
“Yeah them. One weekend, they took me to this party at some dude’s parents’ beach house.
Everything was cool until about three in the morning.
The party was still going and the dude’s mom ended up coming home early…
with the police. I wasn’t about to get in trouble, so I ran when I got the opportunity.
Didn’t think twice about that damn Jenga game. ”
“Damn. I’m mad y’all ain’t tell me about this. Y’all keeping secrets now?”
“Aaron, you’re the last person to talk about anyone keeping secrets,” Tiffany said.
“What secrets I got?”
“Y’all, please don’t start. We’re supposed to be having a good time. How did we go from talking about Jenga to this?” I interrupted.
I knew my siblings way too well and this conversation would get deep quickly.
The three of us were all close in age, but Tiffany and Aaron always went at it.
There was nothing but love between us, but like my parents, Tiffany held some resentment toward Aaron for leaving.
The fact that no one knew the whole truth behind him moving back home definitely felt like he was keeping secrets.
Add to that what I now knew had gone down between him and Ava, the odds were stacked against him.
With all of that being said, the conversation was getting too personal and didn’t need to be discussed in front of company.
“Aright, y’all. We’re playing Truth or Dare. Justin gon’ start us off,” Mccoy announced, saving me like always.
“What are the rules?” Ava asked.
“The rules are, if you don’t answer the truth or do the dare, you gotta take three shots consecutively,” Justin answered.
“Three? You tryna take us out, bro.”
“You got this. Just answer the truths and do the dares and you ain’t got shit to worry about,” Justin said to Aaron. “Sapphire…I dare you to come kiss me.”
My jaw dropped at Justin’s dare and I just knew this wouldn’t end well.
Sapphire wasn’t Justin’s usual type. Part of me wanted to speak up, but the other part wanted to see what happened next.
At the end of the day, Sapphire was my employee, a valuable one at that.
I’d never forgive myself if she left my home feeling disrespected.
A low gasp escaped me when Sapphire approached Justin and placed a kiss on top of his head.
“Naw, that don’t count?—”
“It does count. You said you dare me to kiss you. You never said where,” Sapphire countered as she sat back in her seat.
“You play too much, girl.”
“Welp, next time be more specific.”
“Facts,” Stacey added.
“Sapphire…girl, I thought you were about to slap the shit out of him,” I admitted.
“Oh, you ain’t tell your boss that you finally used my number?”
Instead of answering, Sapphire rolled her eyes playfully before taking a sip of her drink.
When she said nothing to counter his statement, I felt like I’d missed a lot.
Sapphire wasn’t an open book, so her not telling me about them didn’t come as a shocker.
However, Mccoy not mentioning it to me had me side eyeing him right now.
“Don’t look at me like that, baby. I’m just now finding out like you. This man tells me everything else, but he ain’t say nothin’ about this,” Mccoy explained, waving his hand between Sapphire and Justin.
“And y’all talkin’ about me keepin’ secrets,” Aaron said.
“Aaron, you might wanna sit this one out, homeboy,” Ava chimed in, shocking the hell out of me.
Rolling his tongue along his jaw, my brother threw his hands up in mock surrender before changing the topic of conversation.
I wasn’t sure if it was the liquor hitting me, but tonight turned out to be a time I didn’t know I needed.
Everyone was lighthearted, and outside of my siblings’ almost argument, everything was cool.
Before the party had even started, I was thinking about how I wouldn’t have another one for a while, but I was eating my own words.
The people surrounding me were here to support me and it all felt genuine.
I wouldn’t lie and say I’d have company every weekend, but I could see myself hosting more events like this.
As the night went on, Truth or Dare eventually turned back into everyone playing Spades.
The drinks kept flowing and so did the music.
It wasn’t until two in the morning that the party ended.
Stacey kept true to her word and slept on the couch.
Before everyone could leave, I made sure they were sober enough to drive.
Pleasant Springs wasn’t a big city, but that meant nothing to me.
Anything could happen on a ten-minute ride home.
Once I made sure the doors were locked and the alarm was set, I checked in on Stacey who was snoring like she’d just worked a double shift.
By the time I made it to my room, Mccoy was sprawled out in the middle of the bed still fully dressed.
All I could do was shake my head and help him under the covers.