Chapter 20 #5
“Nah, Pearla. But I’m sure Bella will share the news.” He matched my smirk before his eyes shifted to another handsome boy. “Ro, yo’ go.”
Ro walked up, slides flopping underneath his feet. Blayke did a cute little dance in her spot on the couch. She was feeling Ro hard, and although I’d seen him eye her a few times, it was hard to tell whether he was interested or his mind was just elsewhere. I knew mine was.
Ro released the dice, and Blayke was the first one to sit up. A nine and a two showed, making another odd number.
“Dare!” Blayke clapped her hands.
Ro licked his lips and grabbed the bottle from the tray. Blayke’s body stiffened, and my stomach sank. I could tell from the way the room had gone silent that everyone had felt bad for her.
“Hey… Let’s go in the kitchen and get more pizza,” Glee recommended.
Blinking, Blayke nodded and pushed herself from the couch.
“What’s the dare?” he asked, his voice deep enough to make my stomach sink again in another way. Italian had too many fine friends.
“Hunh?” Blayke’s head reared while stopping mid-stride.
Ro took a sip from his red plastic cup. “What’s the dare?”
“But you drinking.”
“Oh, shit. I’m just drinking. I ain’t rejecting the dare. What is it?”
Blayke’s body relaxed as she sat back into the sectional, and Ro’s face morphed into a seductive smirk.
“Come to the back, and I’ll tell you…” she said, crossing her arms.
All of our eyes were bouncing back and forth between the two just as they were when Bella and Gal were going back and forth. Ro took another sip and glanced over at Italian. When he nodded, he took the rest of his liquor to the head and set his cup on the ottoman.
“Don’t come to the back with all that playin’.” His voice went lower, and even though we shouldn’t be in their business, we still were since it was unfolding in front of all of us.
“Boy, you don’t know me at all if you think I play games.” She turned to Glee. “You good best friend?”
Glee nodded, and Blayke stood. “Cool. Let’s go.”
She walked around the ottoman, grabbed Ro’s arm, and dragged him out of the living room. When we heard the door shut, we all fell out laughing.
“See! That could have been us, ZeyZey, but you made me do that weak-ass dare.”
“Boy, in your fucking dreams. I’ll never ever.”
Italian pulled his pants up and smirked. “I know.”
I watched Mahzeyah roll her eyes for the fifth time today before she turned to Glee, asking her if she was okay again.
“Aite, Pearla. You up,” Bella said with the biggest smirk I’d seen today.
P picked up the dice, and for a minute, I forgot he and I were assigned to each other.
All of a sudden, I wasn’t into the game anymore.
The air in my lungs evaporated as P drilled a hole through me with his eyes.
His hair brushed his shoulders as he shook the dice in his hands.
He had a look as if he were a lion stalking his prey.
Please, let it not be a dare. Please. Please.
He was cute—no, scratch that—he was fine, but I didn’t know him.
Italian had given Gal a warning not to do anything weird, but he hadn’t given P the same rules when it came to me.
I could easily take the shot, but I was already buzzing.
My sister and mama didn’t really trip about anything I did, but I didn’t want to go to either of their houses smelling like liquor.
I could spend the night here, but as soon as my brother caught wind, he’d be here wreaking havoc on everyone.
Matteo had never even raised his voice at me, but he was stern.
I hadn’t given him a reason to either, but being sloppy drunk would more than likely bring it out of him.
Demise had even pulled up on me a few times.
As a cousin, he was cool as ever. He wasn’t as intimidating when he was playing Don.
I had too many people who could randomly pop up on me, and their seeing me intoxicated wasn’t what I wanted.
I’d gone from only having my sister, mama, and nephew to now having a whole family with overprotective men.
Did they spoil me rotten? Yes, but I didn’t want to take advantage of their trust. Another shot wasn’t going to happen.
Plus, a small part of me was intrigued and wanted to comply.
I was eager to feel something yet scared to feel something.
“Don’t we gotta check on that downstairs?” I turned to Italian.
“Nope. It’s already handled.” He jutted his chin to P. “Roll the dice, Pearla.”
P opened his hand where the dice sat about two inches apart.
Swallowing, I leaned over and grabbed them.
There were no sparks, no butterflies, no thudding heart as my fingers grazed his palm.
The attraction was there, but that was about it.
Breaking our eye contact, I shook the cubes in my hand and prayed that whatever it was, it wasn’t bizarre enough for me to take another shot.
Letting the dice go, they slammed against the liquor bottle and then the walls of the tray before coming to a stop.
Nine.
My breath solidified in my chest as Italian called out the obvious. I’d rolled a dare. There was nothing stopping him from asking me to go to the back like Blayke had done with Ro. I was so tired of sitting in hurt and pain that I probably wouldn’t take a shot if he had. I needed to feel.
To feel wanted.
To feel accepted.
To feel lusted after.
Grind had pulled me up on a cloud top where I felt so good that nothing could convince me that the cloud could evaporate at any moment. Because I was not prepared and didn’t open my eyes to what he’d been preaching to me all along, I fell. The cloud had completely disappeared on my ass.
I had these rich men who cared about me.
They cared about me and wanted nothing from me other than to love me and spoil me, but it had been hard for me to bask in it because I was heartbroken.
I couldn’t be excited about my family because I was sick.
I was literally sick to my fucking stomach.
I was hurt to my core. It was hard to eat, hard to sleep, and hard to fucking breathe knowing that the boy I loved had played me like a fiddle, and instead of letting nature take its course, I was holding on to him.
And for what?
“I accept.”
P glared at me, intrigued.
“Friend, he didn’t say what the dare was just yet.” Mahzeyah touched my arm as if she thought I’d zoned out again.
“I don’t care… I’m not drinking no more liquor. So… I accept whatever the dare is.”
P rubbed his hand down his hairy chin. “You sure ’bout that?”
“Positive,” I assured with a slight head nod.
“Awl, shit!” Italian pulled a blunt from behind his ear and sparked it. “This gone be good.”
Widening his stance, P crossed his chest with one arm, resting the elbow of his other arm on it as he cuffed his chin. He looked immaculate doing the subtle move. There was something sexy about it.
“Pull down on yo’ nigga right now and tell him it’s a wrap. Tell him you’re with me now.”
“Ohhhhh weeeeee!” Bella fanned herself while tucking her lips into her mouth.
“Oh, Lord…” Glee sighed, grabbing at her side for the first time today.
“Friiiiiieeeend. Why didn’t you take the shots?”
“I’m cool… It’s fine,” I said to Mahzeyah while still watching P.
We were in a stare-off, and although I’d rather he asked me anything else other than this, I was game.
“I’ve been drinking. I’m not driving my brand-new truck.”
“That pretty-ass Beamer out there?” he asked with raised eyebrows.
I nodded. “That’s me.”
“And that’s one of three! My bitch got whips!” Mahzeyah bragged as if almost everyone in the room didn’t have some type of access to money.
My people had blessed me. The car Nel had bought me was riddled with bullet holes, but I appreciated my baby.
He’d bought me another since the insurance paid him, and my father had purchased me one, too, while Rio had purchased the other.
I rarely went anywhere, so I didn’t need three cars, but I was grateful.
A year ago, I didn’t have even one car and was living in an apartment in the hood.
“Oh, yeah? You lit, huh? I can take you in my car, though. That way I can know you really ’bout it.” He challenged.
“Unh, unh!” Bella sang.
“This shit crazy…” Italian blew smoke in the air. He’d have to open all the windows and clear it out before Baby Leader came back over. “Pearla, I’ll just take you. Y’all ain’t ’bout to have them niggas barking at me over her,” Italian stated.
“No…” I stood, stuffing my feet in the Ugg Tasman slides I’d worn today.
My outfit was simple with jean Aeropostale shorts, a white graphic tee, and a jean jacket that I’d left in my car.
My hair was braided in small stitch braids that fell to the side of my shoulders with boho pieces added.
I’d gone to the black-owned shop that Glow had recommended, and they hadn’t disappointed.
“You have to stay here. P can take me.” I turned to P, scanning him from head to toe before walking past him.
“Fuck it! I’m going too,” I heard Bella say.
“Me too—”
“Nawl. Sit y’all asses down. It don’t take all y’all to go.”
“Boy, fuck you!” I heard Mahzeyah yell.
“The baby on the way back. Don’t you want to get some time with her before you have to go home?”
That must’ve been enough to convince Mahzeyah to stay because, as I walked out of the townhome, I heard her say, “Open the windows.”
I hit the locks on my truck and heard the front door close.
“I’ma get my truck,” P called out.
Keeping my back to him, I opened the driver’s door and grabbed my jacket and my Gucci coin purse. “I’m just getting my jacket.”
“Looka all dat assssss!” Bella slapped me on the butt just as I was lifting out of my car.
“Now, what if I had pooted?” I joked, even though my heart was beating like an African drum.
“Then, I’ll just be a pooted-handed hoe.”