CHAPTER FIFTEEN
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After the pageant, the Zoo planned to meet up the next day to celebrate with Alyse before the crew headed back to the city. At first, I was going to decline, but since Phoebe was on her bullshit, I told them I would slide through.
Tonight was the Chi party that couldn’t be missed.
Since my baby brother was here, I decided to take him.
I wanted him to experience some college life, and what better way than to start with a party?
I needed to get my mind off Phoebe because the shit that happened earlier was still fresh on my mind.
It wasn’t that I was angry, but rather disappointed.
Although I said I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, being with her changed those feelings.
It was possible I felt left out knowing all my niggas were locked down but me.
I was already going through this school shit, and having someone I could vent to, lay up with, and ride out my last year and a half with sounded good.
Relationships had never been a scare for me because although my father was an alcoholic, he wasn’t like that at first. He and my mother had a great relationship, displaying what natural Black love looked like.
However, after my mom died, shit went downhill, and the optimistic person I used to be died with everything else special in my life.
The only thing that gave me hope was basketball.
Ultimately, I knew it wasn’t the end of my career, but I also wanted something to fall back on.
Everything Chev said was true. A nigga had not one excuse, and I knew I had used my brother, and that form of guilt sitting on my back was heavy.
The frat party was jumping. They did something different this time, and we all had to wear some kind of mask.
It was interesting because some niggas had on full masks while others wore small masquerade masks.
Jalen and I wore our motorcycle helmets.
I watched through the tinted visor as more people came into the Chi house, crunching people together.
Even though Jalen had come, I knew he was probably ready to shake because of Alyse.
My eyes scanned the party, looking for Dio, but I couldn’t tell which one was him, since there were so many dudes the same height and weight.
My eyes zoned in on every wolf, werewolf, bear, scary clown, Scream mask, and even shiesties.
There was no way I was going to point him out.
I bobbed my head to the music. Then Jesaiah came over to me.
I flipped up my visor for a quick second as he rolled the Black shiesty over his face.
He looked me up and down like he was ready to shake and move.
He never said much to me on campus, and now he was all in my face.
Maybe it was because he knew Dio and I were friends.
Jesaiah had never moved me. He was a nigga who thought his shit didn’t stink because his auntie worked in the dean’s office, but to me, he was just another broken Black soul trying to find his place at TSU just like the rest of us. I shooed him away.
“Better move around, nigga.” My eyes lowered on him.
Jalen stepped on the side of me while looking him up and down.
He glanced back at Jalen before he walked off.
I flipped my visor back down when I noticed the girls coming into the party.
I only knew it was them because they all had on orange shiesties, except Morgan, who wore a blue one.
Paige stepped in first, Morgan came next after Alyse while pulling on Samara’s arm, and to my surprise, Phoebe was with them.
However, her mask was sitting on her head, allowing her fluffy hair to stick out.
They reminded me of a younger version of the OGs girls.
As they came through the tight crowd, Jalen grabbed Alyse’s wrist, pulling her close to him. They were cute together. It was nice to see my brother with someone who understood him and cared for him with no judgment. Meanwhile, I was out here being played by a pretty face.
The music selection changed, and the crowd grew rowdy.
I spotted Anika, who wore a masquerade mask, heading toward the kitchen.
That was when I saw niggas standing there with Disney masks on, and I knew Dio was one of them.
They were all Disney Villains: Hades, Jafar, Scar, Gaston, Shere Khan, and Captain Hook.
I laughed because I knew my nigga was under one of those masks hot as fuck.
Samara awkwardly stood there searching the room, and as bad as I wanted to say something, I didn’t.
I knew she was looking for his ass. When I glanced back toward the kitchen, Jesaiah was tapping their shoulders, sending them off.
I could see the disappointment in Anika’s face, and that was what she got because I tried warning her, and she wouldn’t listen.
My attention was drawn back to the crowd until a tug at my shirt made me look down.
Her eyes gazed at my tinted visor, but I wasn’t with it.
“Xavier!” she yelled.
Eyes on her.
I had now given Phoebe my attention by flipping my visor up.
Can we talk? she mouthed.
No, I mouthed back.
To me, there wasn’t anything to talk about.
It was clear she was doing her, and now I was going to do me.
Phoebe and I were different, yet the same.
Even though she was the only girl I was fucking on, I could have easily had a roster just as she did.
I went to move around her when she pulled at my shirt, which made me stop. I leaned down to meet Phoebe’s ear.
“Chill with that shit. You don’t have to explain. It’s a party full of niggas. Go have fun.”
“Dance with me?” she asked.
I let out a sharp breath. I wanted to say no, but I knew if I did that, she wouldn’t stop asking. “Fuck it. Come on,” I muttered.
Her smile was pretty as hell, and I tried not to focus on it because it was probably how that nigga Percy had gotten caught up in her rapture.
However, the shit was hard to ignore, so to avoid getting lost in it or seeming lost, I flipped my visor down.
Phoebe turned around, bent forward, and slowly rolled her ass all over me.
My hands slid up and down her thighs as my eyes became fixed on her movement.
Each grind and roll was intentional as she hit every single beat.
When she turned her head to look at me, it was as if everything else faded away, leaving only us in a bubble.
Despite the tinted visor, our eyes connected, and I felt she could see my face even if she couldn't. It was as if we shared the same understanding. Her sensual movements reminded me of moments I’d known behind closed doors, and her smile was similar to the one I saw when I woke up from recovery naps after our sessions.
Phoebe was like a sad love song; there were hidden messages behind her.
I just hadn’t figured them out yet. Then my mind shifted.
I began to think about her and Percy, then the nigga from Hoodoo’s.
Had I only been a number on her list? I came out of the trance that she had me in, pulled away from her, and left her standing there in confusion.
To be honest, the party was a vibe, but being in the same space as Phoebe wasn’t it.
I knew there was something brewing between us, but the way she moved would turn me into a toxic nigga, and I wasn’t trying to be that.
I limped through the party, trying to move to the other side when I realized my shirt was being pulled from the front by a pretty-ass girl.
She immediately began dancing with me. I felt a hard yank on my sweater from the back.
I turned to see Phoebe pulling at me. I grabbed her wrist, shoving it off me.
She went to grab me again when Paige came dancing between us.
I could see it in her face—she wanted me to give her my attention, and I tried that, but shit was dead.
I liked Phoebe, and she played in my face.
While the attention was on us, I noticed Alyse and Samara going back and forth. I wasn’t sure what was being said, but suddenly, Samara rushed out of the space we were in. Peanut glanced over at me and nodded. He was going after her, while I, stuck here with Phoebe, wasn’t budging.