Sabine
The thing about being married was—if you did it right—you didn’t just get a partner.
You got a whole extended family. Cousins that became yours, aunties who claimed you louder than your own, holiday group chats, Sunday plates fixed before you even walked in the door.
That was the case with Adair’s family. Still was.
Reeka’s Bad Bitch Birthday Bash! Dress Code: Ghetto glam, ho. Think fur, rhinestones but make it classy. Y’all know what the fuck I mean.
You betta show up or lose ya cousin card. And I’m deadass, Bine.
And maybe nothing had. At least not for them.
Sabine didn’t mind getting Ade ready and sending him off with Adair to family gatherings. He was a Dayne through and through, and he deserved to know all the people who loved him. But her being invited? Expected? That still caught her off guard.
Adair’s family didn’t do breakups. If they loved you, they kept loving you. No expiration. No questions. No lines drawn in the sand.
But sometimes Sabine wondered if showing up made things harder. For Adair. For herself. For that quiet, hollow space between them that hadn’t closed no matter how much time passed.
Sabine stared at the invite again. Reeka’s big day and she took birthdays seriously. And if she didn’t go? She already knew the answer. Reeka would be at her door cussing her out in love because that’s what family did.
Sighing, Sabine pulled down a sequined mini from the hanger before tossing it onto the bed.
Too much—just like Reeka loved it. She wasn’t in the mood to scream for attention but showing up too lowkey would only make her stand out in the wrong way and Reeka would only get on her ass.
Her parties were always a damn event. Somebody was guaranteed to twerk on a table and drunk call a baby daddy.
Sabine turned toward the mirror and pulled her hair sloppily into a loose clip, letting a few curls fall along her cheekbones. She hadn’t worn real makeup in days but tonight called for effort.
Her phone buzzed on the counter. Narri.
“Girl, what you wearing?” was the first thing out her mouth.
Sabine laughed softly, pressing the phone between her cheek and shoulder while smoothing her brows. “I don’t know. I had a mini dress out but it felt like too much.”
“It ain’t never too much for Reeka’s ass,” Narri snorted. “I’m over here tryna tape these titties up so they sit like they used to before Tate and his damn kids ruined me.”
Sabine smiled, grabbing her mascara wand. “What color you wearing?”
“Red. Tight. With a little mesh cutout. Gotta remind Tate what he missing when I walk in the room.”
“He gonna be there?”
“Girl, you know he ain’t never miss one of Reeka’s parties…which means…Adair will be there.”
“Most likely, it’s Reeka. She’ll want everybody she loves there.”
“You good with that?”
“I’m always good,” she said, and meant it but maybe not all the way.
“Okay miss strong. Just remember, you not invisible. You still fine as hell and worthy of joy. Let somebody see you tonight.”
“I’m not looking for nobody.”
“You don’t have to be. Just don’t block the blessing if it start lookin’ like 6’4” with nice teeth.”
Sabine rolled her eyes but smiled. “I’ll see you there.”
Standing in front of the mirror, she ran her fingers along the hem of her dress.
It clung just right—fitted, tasteful, with a shimmer that caught the light when she moved.
She’d thrown on a cropped fur over her shoulders and touched up her lipstick twice already.
Still, something in her chest wouldn’t settle.
She wasn’t nervous about Reeka’s party—hell, she knew Reeka would drown her in shots and hugs the second she walked through the door. It wasn’t even the crowd or the chaos she expected from a “ghetto glam” celebration.
It was him.
Adair.
Sabine didn’t like being around him outside of the structure they’d built. Sunday exchanges, quick updates about Ade, calls about pickup times. That was their lane now. Safe. Clean. Contained. But tonight, it wouldn’t be that. No time limit. No buffer. Just shared air and too many memories.
She sighed, grabbing her clutch. Her ride was already out front.
Ade had gone hours ago—Pam insisted on keeping him overnight with all the smaller cousins so the grown folks could party freely.
Sabine appreciated the space. She wasn’t ready to see her son’s father until she had at least one drink in her hand and trap music.
The Uber black pulled away from the curb, Sabine settled in the backseat, her neighborhood fading behind her.
City lights slipped past the windows as her driver hummed along to a 90s R&B playlist, low enough to let her thoughts wander.
The closer she got to the venue, the tighter her stomach clenched.
Not because she still loved him but because part of her still remembered how it felt to. And that, on nights like this, was dangerous.
Incoming FaceTime: REEKA
Sabine stared at it. Rolled her eyes. Declined.
Two seconds later: a text.
REEKA:
YOU ON THE WAY OR NAH?!
Send your location hoe. I need to know you not pulling a slick disappear.
Also bring gum. I been drinking and my breath hot as shit!
Sabine laughed out loud, shaking her head.
SABINE (texting back):
En route. Calm down before I tell the DJ to cut your birthday twerk off short.
Try me and see. I’ll throw my cake at you.
Another buzz.
You look cute, right? Tell me you look cute.
Sabine angled her phone, snapped a quick selfie—glossy lips, sequined shimmer and all—then sent it off.
SABINE:
You tell me.
1 Image Attached
Seconds later, a flurry of heart emojis and a voice note:
“BITCHHHHHHHHHH!”
Sabine laughed again, clutching the phone to her chest for a moment. She looked out the window, watching the city stretch itself out for the night. Lights. Music. Everything waiting.
The Uber slowed in front of the venue—an event space that used to be an old gym but had been flipped into something more profitable. Neon lights bathed the sidewalk in pink and purple, and the bass from inside pulsed hard enough to make Sabine’s chest vibrate before she even opened the door.
“Here we are,” the driver said, glancing in the rearview. “Have a good night.”
“Thanks,” she said, pushing the door open.
He stepped out to help her as she adjusted her heels and smoothed her coat.
Her dress caught in the light, sequins flashing just enough to make heads turn.
She gave the driver a soft smile and slipped him a twenty.
“And five stars.” He tipped his head in thanks and pulled off.
Sabine turned toward the venue.
A massive silver banner was strung across the entrance with glittery pink lettering: Reeka’s Bad Bitch Birthday Bash.
The font screamed “extra” in the best way.
Outside, a few men stood smoking, their laughter loud and posture lazy, chains glinting in the glow of the signage.
The sidewalk smelled like shea butter, weed, and ego.
And the minute she stepped up, all eyes turned.
Sabine didn’t flinch under the attention, just adjusted her purse and kept walking until one voice cut through the noise.
“Damn. Adair really let that walk away?”
She looked up. Geechie.
Adair’s cousin. Tall, brown-skinned, with gold teeth and too much charm. He stood against the wall, arms folded, one sneaker propped behind him. He always looked like he was somewhere between plotting and flirting.
Sabine raised a brow, not stopping. “Don’t start.”
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’,” he said, grinning slow. “Just sayin’ if I had you, I wouldn’t be lettin’ you walk past me lookin’ like that wit all that.”
She paused, just for a second. “That’s why you watching so hard?”
“Can you blame me?”
Sabine smirked, then kept walking, heels clacking against the pavement, head high but her pulse kicked a little harder. Not for Geechie. But for the building she was walking into. For what was waiting inside.
Reeka. The music. The family. The noise.
And Adair.
The double doors swung open with a thud of bass and perfume.
Inside, the venue was a riot of rhinestones, faux fur, and body glitter. Purple LED lights cast everything in a sultry glow, bouncing off sequined dresses and gold nameplates.
Balloons arched across the ceiling like royalty had arrived, and in the center of it all was a massive throne-style chair covered in velvet and feathers with a sign behind it in LED cursive:
Reeka: Born Bad. Still Badder.
The DJ was already deep in his set, spinning early 2000s bangers. Women lined the bar sipping something bright and bubbling, every outfit louder than the last. Bedazzled nails, thigh-high boots, Chanel-inspired clutches, lashes that could fan fire—all of it. Ghetto glam royalty.
Sabine scanned the room, exhaling slowly as she unbuttoned her coat and slipped it from her shoulders.
Her dress shimmered under the lights, a deep sapphire blue that hugged her figure just enough to command attention without begging for it.
She could feel eyes again. Not just from strangers. Familiar ones.
Family.
A few cousins waved. One auntie grinned wide and mouthed, Yesss, Bine!
Sabine gave a small wave and kept it moving, walking with that careful blend of confidence and tension that always settled over her when she was in a room Adair might be in.
“Bineeeeeeeeee!” Reeka’s voice sliced through the music.
She came stomping through the crowd in a hot pink fur, high ponytail snatched to the sky, and rhinestones covering just enough but nothing at all.
Her heels sparkled. Her lashes fluttered.
Sabine laughed and braced herself as Reeka flew into her arms.
“Girl you fine as hell,” Reeka said, pulling back and grabbing Sabine by the wrist. “You was tryna outshine the birthday bitch?”
“I would never.”
“You doin’ it though. Turn around—no, for real. Let me see.”
Sabine did a half-spin, cheeks warm.
Reeka clapped her hands then Sabine’s cakes. “Yup. I knew it. You better act like you still part of this family. Don’t play.”
“I almost didn’t come.”
“You always say that,” Reeka rolled her eyes.
“Then you show up lookin’ like a baddie and steal all my uncles old asses attention,” Reeka said, making Sabine laugh, but her smile faltered for a second which she caught, and her eyes softened.
“If he comes, you just sip your drink, dance with me, and let him sit with his feelings. He gonna look but that’s good wit his bitch ass. Show him why he shouldn’t fuckin lie!”
Reeka tugged her further into the room as the next song dropped—Lil’ Kim this time, and the whole party screamed the lyrics. Sabine took a breath and let herself be pulled in, just for tonight.