Chapter 33 Renza Mensah
Even though ‘Lo and Toni had dipped out, the reception was still goin’ strong as a muthafucka, and I ain’t even gon’ lie, the energy ain’t drop not one bit when they left.
If anything, that shit went into somethin’ looser, louder, and a whole lot more reckless, ’cause the main event was over and now everybody was just livin’ in the moment.
I was posted up with Pressure, Pluto, Sha’Nelle, and a couple of our girl cousins with drinks in our hands while the music kept hittin’, and it felt like one of them nights where nobody was keepin’ track of nothin’.
Blaqson had already dipped out early, sayin’ some shit about gettin’ some shit situated or whatever excuse he came up with, and Kelli had slipped off at some point too, but I ain’t even catch when he left.
One minute that nigga was here, the next minute he wasn’t, and I figured he had his own plans.
That left me right where I was supposed to be… In the mix.
Pressure had a drink in one hand and his other arm around Pluto, and every now and then he’d pull her in, kissin’ her like he ain’t care who was watchin’, and she’d laugh the shit off, but you could tell she loved that shit.
My cousins was hypin’ everything up, singin’ along to whatever song came on, and at some point, we all ended up yellin’ lyrics at each other like we was in our own section of the world.
Sha’Nelle was right there in it too, and that shit ain’t even surprise me no more.
She matched energy without tryin’, laughin’ loud, throwin’ her head back when somethin’ hit her funny, and crackin’ jokes that had me lookin’ at her like, what the fuck you just say?
At one point, I said some slick shit under my breath, and before I could even finish what I was sayin’, she beat me to it.
“Nah, that ain’t even what happened,” she shot back, lookin’ dead at me while she took a sip of her drink.
I let out a laugh, shakin’ my head. “See, that’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout right there. You be too ready.”
She looked at me sideways, smirkin’. “And you be too slow.”
That got everybody laughin’, and I pointed at her. “A’ight girl, don’t get beside yourself now.”
“Boy, please,” she muttered, but she was still smilin’.
The drinks kept comin’, one after another, and after a while, everything started blendin’ together in that way it do when you done had too much but you still feel good enough not to give a fuck.
The music got louder, the lights felt brighter, and every joke hit harder than it probably should’ve, but that’s how it go when you surrounded by your people and nobody tryna ruin the vibe.
I ain’t even keep track of how much I drank, and I wasn’t thinkin’ about the shit either, ’cause the night ain’t feel like it owed me nothin’ else.
It had already gave me everything it was supposed to.
At some point, Pluto pulled Sha’Nelle with her toward the dance floor, and I watched them for a second without even realizin’ I was doin’ it. I was catchin’ how she moved, how she laughed, and how she wasn’t worried about nothin’ but that moment she was in.
Pressure bumped my shoulder. “You locked in or what?” he said, grinnin’.
I looked at him, then shook my head. “Man, get the fuck out my face.”
He laughed and took another drink, already knowin’ he wasn’t wrong about shit.
The rest of the night moved how it always do when you deep in it, fast. One minute we was jokin’, the next minute we was somewhere else in the night, and I ain’t even remember how we got there.
When I opened my eyes, it felt like somebody had cracked me upside my fuckin’ head and left me here to deal with it.
My head was poundin’, my mouth dry as hell, and for a second, I just laid here starin’ at the ceilin’, tryna figure out what the fuck was goin’ on.
The first thing that hit me was the silence.
It wasn’t that quiet shit you get when you at home, but that quiet that don’t feel familiar, like you somewhere you ain’t meant to be wakin’ up at.
I blinked a couple times, then shifted a lil’, and that’s when my body reminded me I had been drinkin’ like I lost my damn mind.
“Damn…” I muttered, draggin’ my hand over my face.
I tried to piece shit together, but everything after a certain point was just… gone.
I remembered the reception…
I remembered ‘Lo and Toni leavin’…
I remembered bein’ with Pressure…
After that…
Nothin’ was comin’ back clear.
I pushed myself up slow, sittin’ on the edge of the bed while I looked around, lettin’ my eyes adjust as the room started comin’ into focus, and it ain’t take long for me to realize I was in a hotel.
That much was obvious.
But it wasn’t my room, and it damn sure wasn’t nowhere I remembered comin’ to.
I frowned, runnin’ my hand over my head while I tried to think, and that’s when I felt it. Somebody else in the bed.
I turned my head slowly, my eyes landin’ on the figure beside me. For a second, my brain ain’t even register what I was lookin’ at until it finally clicked, and I realized it was Sha’Nelle.
She was layin’ here, close enough to where I knew we ain’t just end up in this bed on no random shit. Her body was turned toward me, and her hair spread out across the pillow while she slept like she ain’t give a damn.
I just sat here for a second, starin’, not sayin’ shit’, not movin’, but just… lookin’.
My head was still poundin’, but that wasn’t even what had me stuck. What really had me sittin’ here was wakin’ up and seein’ her next to me outta everything that could’ve happened last night.
I let out a slow breath, leanin’ back a lil’ while my eyes stayed on her, tryna figure out what the hell I missed and how the fuck we even got here.
And the crazy part was…
I ain’t remember nothin’ that could explain it.