17. Lee
Lee
Afew days later, Anika made good on that shooting-range plan. The place smelled like hot metal and strong cleaner. The second one of those loud gunshots went off somewhere behind the wall, my chest tightened, and I immediately regretted letting Anika talk me into coming.
Anika, of course, was having the time of her life. She strutted toward the counter holding our signed waivers like she had organized a middle school field trip.
“Come on, y’all. We about to get right.”
“Speak for yourself,” I muttered.
Nina laughed behind me while Wren looked around like she was just as unsure about being there as I was.
The instructor was a big, no-nonsense dude with a serious face. He handed us ear protection and safety glasses, then looked directly at me.
“First time?”
“Yeah.” I shoved the heavy muffs over my ears.
“Rule number one,” he said loud enough for me to hear him. “Finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot.”
I nodded way too fast and pressed the earmuffs tighter against my head like that was gon’ make them loud shots disappear.
When it was finally my turn, I stepped up to the lane and stared at the paper target hanging in front of me. It had a black outline of a man with circles all around his chest, and my arms went stiff as soon as I held the gun out.
The instructor stepped closer and tapped my shoulder. “Relax your shoulders, ma’am. Breathe.”
I let out a shaky breath, loosened up a little, and lined up the sights before squeezing the trigger.
Pop!
I flinched so hard I damn near threw my back out. The gun kicked in my hand and down the line Anika was already laughing.
“Damn, Lee! Did you hit the target at all?”
“Shut up.” I tried not to smile, but my mouth had other plans.
Anika stepped up next and ain’t hesitate at all. The way she held that gun told me real quick this was not her first time.
I looked over at her. “Bitch, when the hell you learn how to shoot?”
She grinned. “You don’t know everything about me.”
Apparently not.
Nina took it serious too, just like she did everything else. Feet planted, face calm, taking her time with every shot. Wren hung back near the bench with her arms crossed, laughing at the rest of us.
“Y’all go ahead. I’ll try later.”
Translation: not today and probably not ever.
The instructor came back over to me. “All right, try it again. Loosen up. Stop fighting the gun.”
“I’m not fighting it.”
He gave me a look.
“Okay, maybe a little.”
The second time went better. I still flinched, but I ain’t nearly jump out my skin, and when I lowered the gun, I looked down the lane and saw that I had actually hit the target.
Once my turn was over, I still ain’t like all that noise, but I wasn’t scared of the gun anymore.
When we finally walked out, my ears still felt like they were ringing even with them big earmuffs they gave us.
“I don’t give a damn what none of y’all say. I did good.” I bragged.
Anika busted out laughing. “You hit that man in his shoulder, stomach, thigh.”
“But I hit him.”
“Barely.”
“A hit is a hit.”
Wren laughed. “I’m just glad we made it out without Lee shooting one of us.”
“Fuck y’all.”
That started them laughing all over again, and somewhere between picking at me and walking toward the cars, Nina looked over at Anika.
“So, Nika, you ready for your bachelorette trip?”
Anika’s whole face lit up. “Girl, yes. You still coming, right?”
“Hell yeah. Me and Lee riding down to New Orleans together.”
“I still should’ve been your maid of honor,” I said. “I would’ve had your trip in Vegas.”
Anika rolled her eyes. “Girl, here you go.”
“I’m just saying. Melissa got us driving to New Orleans. My ass would’ve had you on a flight.”
“First of all, Melissa planned some good stuff. Second, I didn’t even know when you was getting out when we started planning everything.”
“Excuses.”
Anika stopped walking and looked at me. “Lee, when I found out your release date, I told you I was gonna tell Melissa she couldn’t be my maid of honor no more. You told me not to.”
I held my face straight for about two seconds before I started laughing. “I’m messing with you.”
“You better be.”
Nina shook her head. “So what we doing anyway?”
Anika started counting on her fingers. “We got the Airbnb, dinner Friday night, drag brunch Saturday, then Melissa got some other stuff planned she won’t tell me about.”
“As she shouldn’t,” Nina said. “It’s your bachelorette party.”
Wren sucked her teeth. “I hate I can’t go.”
“Girl, come,” Anika told her.
“I can’t. My man taking me on vacation that weekend.”
“And you complaining?” I asked.
“Yes! I’m finna miss all the fun.”
“Poor baby,” Nina said.
“Whatever.” Wren laughed before looking around at us. “Matter fact, we need to go out tonight. Since I’m missing New Orleans, y’all can at least get drunk with me before y’all leave.”
“Where?” Anika asked.
“The Daiquiri Trap.”
I shrugged. “I’m down.”
And just like that, shooting practice turned into girls’ night. That night we were posted up at the daiquiri spot with food all over the table and drinks in our hands. The place was packed and loud, the DJ running through old-school R&B and Southern rap while everybody tried to talk over the music.
We had fried shrimp, wings, fries, some loaded nachos Anika swore she wasn’t sharing even though everybody kept eating them, and enough daiquiris between us that I had stopped keeping track of whose cup was whose.
For the first time since the pumpkin patch, I was actually having a good time without having to force it. We sat around talking and laughing about some of the dumb stuff we used to do in our early twenties until my stomach hurt.
At some point, Anika pulled out her phone.
“Come on. We need pictures.”
“Of what?” I asked.
“Us, girl. Come on.”
“You been taking pictures all day.”
“And I’m finna take some more.”
That turned into a whole photoshoot. We took some at the table, some by the little neon sign on the wall, then made some random woman walking past take a few of all four of us.
When I started back toward the table, Nina caught my arm.
“Hold on, Lee. Let me get some of you by yourself.”
“Girl, for what?”
“Just stand over there.”
I laughed but did it anyway. Nina started taking pictures while Anika stood behind her directing like somebody was paying her.
“Turn a little bit. Yeah, like that. Now smile.”
“Girl, I know how to take a picture.”
“Clearly you don’t, because your ass ain’t posted one since you got home.”
“Here we go.”
When we finally sat back down, Nina had sent me enough pictures to fill my camera roll. I was flipping through them when Anika leaned over my shoulder and tapped one.
“That one.”
“This one?”
“Yes. Post it.”
I looked at her. “Why?”
“Because your ass been home how long and still ain’t posted yourself? People probably don’t even know you out.”
Nina leaned across the table to look. “And you look good. That black jumpsuit got your shape looking right.”
I looked at the picture again. She wasn’t lying. The jumpsuit hugged me everywhere it was supposed to, and the little burnt-orange jacket looked good with my brown Coach bag and sneakers. My gold jewelry popped against all that black too.
Anika pointed at my mouth. “Plus JB spent all that money on them teeth. Show them off.”
I busted out laughing. “You stupid.”
“Am I lying?”
“No.”
I looked at the picture again. “Okay. What I should caption it?”
“Single again,” Nina said.
Wren damn near spit out her drink. “Girl, Lee ain’t posting that.”
I looked at her. “Why not?”
“Because JB gon’ have a heart attack.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Watch me.”
“Oh, shit.” Anika scooted closer.
I typed:
Free & single again.
Then hit post.
“BITCH!” Wren screamed.
We all fell out laughing, and my phone started buzzing against the table almost immediately.
“Oh, shit, Lee,” Nina said, leaning toward my screen. “You already got…”
Whatever she was about to say got lost when I looked toward the front door and saw Van walk in.
Of all damn nights. I hadn’t even answered his text checking on me after the pumpkin patch, and now here he was, walking into the same place I was sitting in like the universe was being messy on purpose. I almost looked away before he caught me staring, but then I noticed the woman beside him.
She was light-skinned and pretty, hair laid, cute outfit, everything together.
I gave her the quick once-over before I could stop myself, taking in the whole situation while they made their way farther inside.
Then she slipped her arm through Van’s like it belonged there, and my eyes went straight to it.
I picked up my daiquiri and took another sip, watching them head toward a table. This nigga was on a date.
“Who you looking at?” Anika asked.
I turned back toward the table. “Nobody.”
That nosy girl immediately twisted around in her seat.
“Why you ask me who I’m looking at if you just gon’ turn around?”
“Because you was looking too hard.”
Her eyes moved through the crowd before landing on Van.
“Ohhh.”
I cut my eyes at her. “Don’t start.”
“That’s pumpkin patch.”
Nina frowned. “Who?”
“The man she was with when everything popped off with JB.”
Wren immediately started looking too.
“Can all y’all stop looking?”
“Which one?” Wren asked.
“The tall one,” Anika told her.
“Anika!”
“Damn.”
Nina finally spotted him. “He cute.”
“Thank you,” Anika said like somebody had complimented her man.
“Why you saying thank you?”
“Because I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“Tell me what? That’s my friend.”
Wren looked from me to Van, then back at me. “Mhm.”
I pointed a fry at her. “Don’t.”
She grinned.
“And quit looking over there before he see y’all.”
“Too late,” Nina said.
My hand stopped halfway to my mouth.
“He looking over here.”
I should’ve kept my eyes on my food, but I didn’t. Van was standing near the counter with the girl beside him, looking straight at our table. Our eyes met, and for a second neither one of us smiled. His gaze moved over Anika, Nina, and Wren before coming back to me.
Then he gave me a little nod and I nodded back.
Wren leaned toward me. “Oh, y’all got a little nod.”
I kicked her under the table.
“Ow! Lee!”
“Leave me alone.”
“I ain’t said nothing.”
“You was finna.”
Anika laughed into her straw.
About twenty minutes later, I saw Van get up from his table and head toward the back where the restrooms were. I told myself I wasn’t going to watch him go, but apparently my neck ain’t get the message.
Sure enough, on his way back, he looped around past our table. He ain’t make a big production out of it. He just slowed down beside me with his hands in his pockets and looked down.
“You good?”
I knew exactly what he meant. He wasn’t talking about right now. He meant the text I left hanging, the pumpkin patch, JB, all that mess.
“I’m good,” I told him.
Anika was staring at him like she was inspecting a used car, her eyes moving from him to me with that little half-smile she got whenever she thought she was figuring something out.
Van caught her looking and gave her a polite nod before turning back to me.
“All right. Have a good night, y’all.”
“You too,” Nina said before I could even open my mouth.
Van gave me one last look, then went right back to his table and sat down across from the woman he came with. I watched him for a second longer than I needed to. He had checked on me. I answered. That was it.
Meanwhile, that pretty light-skinned girl was sitting across from him looking like she belonged there. An annoying little knot tightened in the middle of my chest.
“Well,” Anika said, leaning across the table and whispering loud as hell. “He got some manners. And he fine. What’s his name again?”
“Leave it alone, Nika.”
I grabbed my cup and finished the rest of my drink in one long swallow.
Right about then, the DJ switched songs, and the opening of “Put It On Da Floor Again” by Latto came through the speakers.
“Ooh, this my song!” Anika said, already pushing her chair back. She grabbed my hand and pulled me up from the table. “Come on.”
“Nika, I ain’t trying to…”
“Girl, get up!”
The daiquiris were finally doing their job, so it ain’t take much more than another tug before I gave up and let her pull me into the open space near our table.
Anika was already rapping along, acting a fool like she had been waiting all night for this exact song. I started off laughing at her, but once the beat got going and Nina started screaming behind us, that liquor kicked all the way in.
“Ayeeee!” Nina yelled.
I turned around and started throwing my ass, one hand braced against my thigh while Anika hyped me up from behind.
“THAT’S MY SISTER!”
Wren was hollering. Nina was damn near beating on the table. I came back up laughing, and when I turned around, Anika already had her phone in my face.
“Y’all see my sis?!” she yelled into her Live. “She home! She outside! Ain’t she fine?!”
“Get that camera out my face!”
“Nope!”
I knocked her hand away, but that only made her turn the camera on herself and keep acting a fool.
After that, the DJ kept the same kind of music going, and the drunker I got, the less I cared. I was rapping, dancing, throwing my ass when the right song came on, having a good time with my girls.
But every now and then, my eyes still found Van’s table, and every time, he was already watching me. At first he’d turn away like he hadn’t been staring, but after a while, he quit pretending.
The next time I caught him while I was dancing, he just smiled. I smiled back before turning around and getting right back to it.
I wasn’t finna lie to myself. I liked knowing he was watching me, especially with that pretty woman sitting across from him. Was it a little petty? Probably, but after the week I’d had and the drinks in me, I wasn’t too worried about it.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
You can stop cutting up. I see you.
I bit back a smile. This nigga.
I typed back.
I see you too with your little girlfriend.
His reply came quick.
She's not my girlfriend.
I stared at the message, trying to figure out what the hell she was then, and had just started typing when the front door opened. I looked up, and my whole mood died.
JB.