Chapter Eleven #3
I’m bombarded with hugs and kisses from my four cousins, including Nova and Mina.
I’m overwhelmed by greetings from Ri’s college friends, her cycling friends, one of the agents who works for Arnold, and a few other women I don’t know.
Dani tells me where to put my garment bag and leads me to my makeup station so I can join in on the festivities.
Evie hands me a shot that I down in seconds.
Her brows furrow. “You good?”
I glance over at Ri, laughing with Dani and her college friend Crystal.
I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen Ri truly smile during this trip.
My head is spinning, trying to find the right balance between what’s right and what’s best for everyone.
The last thing I want to do is ruin a rare moment of happiness for Ri by telling her about Arnold, but I can’t in good conscience let her walk down the aisle to him without her knowing.
“Uh, ask me again in five minutes.” I march over to Ri and try to put as much pep into my voice as I can. “Hey, Ri, could I talk to you for a second?”
She peers up at me through her false lashes.
Her makeup is stunning. Her eyeshadow is a bold orange and brown ombré that makes the chocolate of her eyes stand out.
Her cheekbones are perfectly enhanced by the gold blush she’s sporting and her lips are a glossy orange-reddish color, giving her a summer glow look.
She gets up without a fuss and joins me in the hallway outside of Dani’s room.
“Listen, I don’t know how to say this so…”
She puts her palm up, stopping my sentence short. “Hold up, if this is about you and Mom I really don’t wanna hear it right now. Tonight is all about fun so let’s just focus on that, okay?”
I wish our biggest problem was Mom right now. “No, it’s not that.”
“Nelly, you still gotta do your makeup and I wanna get dressed and get fucked up with my girls. Whatever you have to say can wait. I don’t want any drama tonight.
Can you do that for me?” I love how she says this like I’m the one causing the drama.
I didn’t ask for this shit to be brought to my door.
“I really think I should just tell you.”
She plugs her ears with her fingers, singing to block me out. “No drama! Love you, bye!” She kisses me on the cheek and skips back into the room.
Great.
It only takes us forty-five minutes to get ready and another twenty to get to the club.
We walk in as JayO’s “22” is playing and Crystal, Nova, and Ri’s other friend Melinda run off to the dance floor.
Ri intertwines our fingers and shimmies us through the crowd to join them.
I try to let the music wash away my worries.
The guilt of not telling Ri about Arnold continues to needle my mind like a gnat so I drown it with alcohol. I’ve been throwing shots back like water since we got here. I’m not even sure how long we’ve been here, but I know I’ve heard about twenty different songs.
Evie pulls me off the dance floor to our now empty VIP section. “What’s up? You don’t get this drunk this quickly.”
I dance by her side, whining my hips to the music. “What ol’ boy say? I’m gonna dance my pain away, I got problems,” I sing.
“You miss your man or something?” Evie pokes fun at me, bumping my hip with hers.
Maybe a dose of Rome is what I need right now but I don’t want to interrupt his fun.
My mind shifts to panic when I remember that he’s with Arnold.
What if he confesses what he did to Rome?
Will Rome be upset that I didn’t tell him first?
Will Arnold spin it to seem like I came on to him?
Matter of fact, what if he does the same thing with Ri and tells her what happened tonight but spins it in his favor?
Evie shoves a bottle of ice-cold water in my face and I chug the whole thing, ignoring the brain freeze. I tell her what happened with Arnold and her eyes widen in surprise.
“You have to tell her now.”
“She didn’t wanna hear it. She asked for a night of peace.”
“Who gives a fuck? She hasn’t given us a moment’s peace since we landed.”
“Damn, tell me how you really feel.”
“Waiting is only gonna make it worse. She’ll be more pissed that you didn’t tell her immediately even though it’s her fault you didn’t. And I don’t trust Arnold not to try to beat you to the punch.”
She doesn’t give me a chance to protest, grabbing my hand and dragging me to find Ri on the dance floor. Our cousins stare at us like we’ve lost our minds before tuning us out in favor of whatever song is playing now. I clutch Ri’s hand and take her with me to the restrooms.
“What the hell is going on?” she asks, watching me check the stalls to see if we’re alone.
“Arnold tried to kiss me,” I blurt.
Her mouth falls open and I catch her right eye twitch slightly. “What did you say?”
“I said that Arnold tried to kiss me. I slapped him before it happened, but he did try.”
“When?”
“Tonight. Right before I met up with you guys. He showed up to my room drunk, talking nonsense, and made a move.” I know I should tell her the things he said too but she looks like she’s about to go into shock from hearing about the kiss alone. I need to build up to that.
Ri braces her hands against the edge of the sink, dropping her head to her chest. She looks up and meets my eyes in the mirror, her face furious.
“I don’t believe you.”
Hold the fuck up. That is not at all how I thought she’d react. I thought there was a possibility she’d get mad at me because I’m the messenger, but I didn’t think she wouldn’t believe me.
“You don’t believe me?”
“No.”
“Why would I lie about this, Ri?”
“I don’t know! You seem to want to ruin my wedding by any means necessary, but I didn’t think you’d stoop this low.”
“Ruin your wedding?” I screech. “I’ve been doing everything in my power to make this wedding perfect for you.”
“If this is your idea of perfect, I feel bad for your patients.”
I rear back as if slapped. She spins around leaning against the sink with her arms folded over her chest. “You know what it is?” she continues. “You’re jealous.”
“Jealous?” My heart starts racing, making me dizzy. “The floor is yours, Amerie. Please explain how I’m jealous and what the fuck I’m jealous of.”
“You’re jealous of me. You’re jealous of my relationship with Arnold.
You’re jealous of this wedding. You’re jealous of my relationship with Mom.
You want my life and I’m so sorry that you can’t have it, but you can’t.
Arnold doesn’t want you. He wouldn’t try to kiss you so stop trying to come between us and just be happy for me! ” She stomps her foot like a child.
“You sound so stupid right now.”
“You’re the one making up shit for attention.”
I clasp my hands together in front of me. Warning bells go off in my head telling me to pull back, but I’ve allowed myself to be silenced for too long.
“No, you’re the one too focused on me to even enjoy your own fucking wedding vacation.
You’ve been up everyone’s ass making everyone miserable because you’re miserable.
And even though you’ve treated me like shit the past two weeks, longer if I’m being real, I still defended you when your fiancé came to my room telling me he chose the wrong sister and how he wanted to run away with me.
I came to you to try to save you some heartache, but you know what?
You two clowns deserve each other. So fuck you, fuck him, fuck this whole fucking wedding. ”
Her breaths come out in harsh pants. She tries to process what’s happening, but I can see it’s killing her. She’s fighting the truth I’ve given her, determined to twist it to work in her favor.
“You can’t say fuck the wedding. You’re the maid of honor.”
I huff out a humorless laugh. That’s what she took from everything I said? The optics of losing a member of her bridal party? She’s delusional.
“Now’s your chance to make Dani the maid of honor like you wanted, remember?”
“You’re really gonna change your flight and leave?”
“Oh no, I’m not leaving. I’m gonna enjoy the last few days of my vacation, free from your bullshit.
But you will not see me at that God damn wedding.
” I don’t give a fuck that she and Arnold paid for everything.
I won’t even offer to pay them back for it.
It’s the least they can do for my pain and suffering.
“I hope you two are very fucking happy together.”
I snatch the door to the restroom open, running right into Dani. “Where the hell have you two been?! You don’t have your phones?”
“Mine’s in my pocket, why?”
“We have to go.” Her voice is frantic. I immediately go on alert, preparing to hear terrible news.
“What happened?”
“Rome and the guys got into a bar fight!”