Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
“Girl, act like you have a fun bone in your body, please, before I throw myself off the nearest bridge,” Isla whined.
Currently, Remedie lay flat on her best friend’s bed, stomach down and face planted into the buttery brown comforter. Her muffled groan caused Isla to huff out a breath.
Finally, Remedie turned her head to the side and peered at her best friend through her curly hair that had flopped into her face. “Do I have to go, best?”
“And do.” Isla marched over to her and tugged on Remedie’s arm. With another groan, Remedie stood and faced her friend. “Look how good you look, girl. Everyone deserves to see that fat ass.”
She punctuated her point by tapping Remedie’s jiggly ass. Remedie rolled her eyes to the ceiling. The last place she wanted to be that night was at some hood ass party with a bunch of niggas who didn’t know how to act and bitches who had no clue what girl code was.
“Who goes to house parties anymore, anyway, Isla? We’re in our thirties,” Remedie argued.
“You know house parties are for all ages in the Ellway Projects. Shit, my mama threw one every Friday night when I was young. The older the crowd, the more ballers too. Come on. You finally left that bum ass nigga. Time to move on to the next.”
Isla walked out of her room on that note, which left Remedie no choice but to follow her.
Her friend looked the fuck good too. Her smooth chocolate skin popped against the light blue two piece she wore.
She was tall and stacked like Meg Thee Stallion, and her long hair damn near touched her ass. It was all real too.
Remedie, on the other hand, wore a red bodysuit that hugged her curves. Her curly hair was left alone and wild, and she actually wore makeup for the first time in a very long time. She hoped it wasn’t smeared from her face plant on Isla’s bed a moment ago.
Remedie sighed as she thought about the evening.
Isla was right. Ellway Projects was known for their house parties.
Growing up, she would sneak to many house parties out that way.
She didn’t even really have to sneak. Her foster mom didn’t care what she did, as long as she brought her ass back home every night and went to school.
Some of her best times were in those projects.
She smoked weed for the first time over in Ellway.
She had her first kiss and her first sexual experience there, and she had her first fight right off Third and Newton Avenue in front of the infamous gas station the Ellway Boys used to terrorize.
But that was all so long ago, . . . damned near two decades now. She didn’t particularly feel the need to relive those moments at this point in her life.
When they got to the living room, they gathered their purses for the night and double-checked that they had everything while Remedie spoke.
“I don’t want another man. I just want peace. Going to a house party in the projects does not sound peaceful at all.”
“It ain’t supposed to be peaceful, Rem. It’s supposed to be fun. You remember what that is, don’t you?” Isla asked as she grabbed her car keys and walked out of the house.
Remedie chose not to respond as she followed. When Isla had her mind made up about something, that was it. They’d been friends long enough now for Remedie to know when to pick and choose her battles.
For the past twelve years, they’d been joined at the hip.
Back in their early twenties, they’d gone to their fair share of house parties and clubs.
They used to be the life of the party. Now Isla was the life of the party, and Remedie just felt like she was a mess.
She had too many grown ass adult issues on her mind to have fun, but since Isla had opened her home up to her, Remedie figured she could at least try to go with the flow.
The car ride was spent with Isla doing her best to hype her bestie up. She played throwbacks and urged her to sip from the flask she tucked into her purse.
Remedie knew they made it to their destination when she saw a street lined with cars and a house vibrating with bass from the loud ass music inside. Niggas littered the lawn, smoking and talking shit, while women swayed their hips extra hard as they walked by.
“It’s already so lit.” Isla squealed after she parked the car. She danced in her seat with her tongue out, and Remedie side-eyed her.
“Already?” Remedie scoffed as she checked the time on her phone. “It’s almost one in the morning. It better be lit by now.”
Isla stopped dancing and cut her eyes at Remedie. “You gon’ have that skunk ass attitude all night?”
Remedie scrunched her face up. “Who says that?”
“I do.” Isla deadpanned. “Answer the question.”
Remedie sighed. “Fine. No.” She snatched the flask from the middle console and took a large shot of the tequila to the head.
If she was forced to be there, then she would do her best to have a good time.
Fuck the job applications she needed to fill out.
Fuck the bills. Fuck the fact that she had no money left on her EBT card.
Fuck Zayden. And fuck the pending eviction she would have on her credit because she’d be damned if she paid rent in a place she no longer lived in.
Tonight, she would do her best to unwind.
Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
“That’s my bitch! Isla Bae and Remy Bama back in action!” Isla’s high-pitched voice pierced Remedie’s eardrum, but she giggled at her words.
“Not Isla Bae and Remy Bama. We ain’t havin’ a night like that, ho. Not happenin’.”
Isla giggled. Their twenties were wild. Those nicknames were an ode to their wild sides, but even Isla knew Remedie was right. They were too grown and too smart to have a night like that. Puking out of cars, dodging the police, fighting, fucking random men . . . yeah, long gone were those days.
“You right, but cheers to a good time. Let’s get in there. I feel like I’m missin’ out. If you hadn’t dragged your ass on coming, we would have already found a lil duck off for the night.”
Remedie grinned and shook her head. The last thing she wanted was a duck off for the night, as Isla called it. Her pussy wouldn’t be getting any action tonight, but Isla could have fun with that.
As soon as they stepped out of the car, niggas spotted them.
How could they not? Remedie and Isla commanded attention when they were apart.
Together? It was unlawful not to stare. They were complete opposites.
Remedie was short and slim-thick with toffee skin.
Isla was tall and thick with chocolate skin. They were every man’s dynamic duo.
“Aye, ma, let me holla at you right quick.”
“Damn, shorty. Let me get ya number.”
“Baby, you got a man?”
The catcalls were endless as they made their way into the house.
Remedie and Isla ignored them all. None of the men on the outside of the house warranted a response.
On the inside was a bit different. Fine niggas who were clearly drippin’ in money were everywhere.
The women seemed to be of higher quality too.
Remedie was surprised. The people on the outside must be the ones that couldn’t hang with the people on the inside, because it was like a whole new world.
The bass from the music vibrated her entire body as they maneuvered through the crowd. The lights were dim, and Remedie spotted a whole deejay setup in the far corner of the living room. If she knew Isla, her best friend was trying to find her way toward the kitchen so they could take some shots.
After a couple of minutes of squeezing through the crowd, Remedie’s suspicions were confirmed.
The kitchen was a little quieter and a whole lot less crowded than the other parts of the home.
On the counter was an array of bottles and plastic cups.
While Isla made a beeline to inspect the bottles, Remedie’s eyes landed on a couple in the corner of the room in a hushed discussion.
Remedie’s mouth instantly turned up when she laid eyes on the tall girl with the fucked-up weave.
Some people really just didn’t luck up in the looks department, .
. . and some people definitely did. That point was proven when her eyes landed on the man little ugly was talking to.
God definitely took his time sculpting that man out of the finest dark chocolate the world had to offer.
His muscles were defined and covered in tattoos Remedie couldn’t quite make out.
She noticed his bruised hands right away, and even the slight swelling on the side of his face didn’t take away from his good looks.
Apparently, it didn’t take away from his charm either.
As soon as their eyes connected, a lopsided grin took over the scowl on his face, and it looked like he had cartoon hearts in his eyes.
He used his strong arm to swipe the tall woman to the side before he swaggered over to Remedie.
Out of nowhere, a toothpick seemed to appear in his hand.
He slid it into his mouth. His juicy lips closed around it, and had she been any other woman, she probably would have swooned.
She eyed his crisp cut with hair that sat close to his head as he propped his elbow on the counter.
“I couldn’t help but notice you checking me out, baby. You like what you see?”
Remedie’s frown turned into a smile, which then turned into a laugh.
Not a cute giggle, but a downright laugh.
She laughed in the man’s face uncontrollably as she thought about the astronomical confidence it must have taken to deliver a line like that.
The man frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but the woman behind him spoke first.
“Really, Nico? We were in the middle of a conversation.”
Nico grinned once again at Remedie. “One second, sweetheart.” He stood straight and turned to face the woman. “The conversation is over. You ain’t tryna do what I need, and I ain’t tryna entertain you any longer. Nice meeting ya.”