Grace

9

His house smelled of feminine perfume mixed with incense, and it was very neat. The furniture was very nice and he had modern electronics. She saw that his game was hooked up, playing an action movie. He hopped on the couch, taking the movie off of pause.

She stood, awkwardly, beside the sofa. After realising he wasn't going to show her around, she walked through herself. His bedroom was towards the back. It was clean and spacious, and the huge bed made it even better. The black sheets were paired with black pillows. She removed her shoes then climbed inside of the bed, sighing in relief.

"For real?" Dominic asked, stopping into his bedroom on the way to the bathroom. He groaned after realising she was asleep. Her black tresses were spread across the pillows, and her drool were creating a puddle by her cheek. He stifled a laugh, pulling his phone from the pocket of his sweats.

She stirred after hearing the shutter of the camera. He turned his lip up once her drool began to fall again. He walked out, turning the lights off then going into the living room. He sighed heavily, laying back down on the sofa. It wasn't the best or where he preferred to be, but he wasn't going to take advantage of her being drunk. He quickly fell asleep.

The lightning lit up the room, clapping quickly then followed by rumbling sounds. Grace opened her eyes to see that it was daylight. Miami was having yet another one of its notorious thunderstorms, which were seldom. She texted Destinny to make sure she was safe, then laid back down. Her sleeping was interrupted by arguing.

Grace slid from the bed, then walked to the door. She could make out Dominic's voice, talking to a female. She wanted to let herself be known. There was no way she was about to be hidden from his ho. She walked out, not even caring about her smeared eyeliner. She emerged from the bedroom, revealing herself.

Michigan rolled her eyes once she seen her, looking the other way. Grace turned to go back to the bedroom. Instead, Dominic called out to her. She decided to let bygones be bygones. Michigan was just angry that she didn't get her way, and she was only looking out for Grace. Still, Grace didn't like how she left her there.

"Michigan, apologise to Grace. You left her for no reason last night. You supposed to be a friend. I don't do that to none of my boys unless they got a guaranteed ride."

Michigan bit the inside of her cheek. She glared at Grace, who had won again. "Cool. Grace, I'm sorry for leaving you last night. I wasn't trying to be mean but something cane up and I couldn't find you fast enough. Next time I will tell you when I'm about to leave, cool?"

Grace nodded. "Thanks, and it's cool. I understand. I apologise to you for my text, and for- you know."

Dominic wasn't even listening any more. He was intrigued by a text message in his phone, which Grace couldn't make out. Michigan was watching him, skeptically. She stood up then beckoned for Grace to follow her. They walked into his bedroom to talk in private.

"You know, just because I was acting last night didn't mean you had to treat me like that." Grace fussed.

"You insulted me, how you expect me to be cool with you saying that I fuck a lot of boys? You crossed the line last night, and now I know what you really think of me. A drunk mind speaks a sober tongue. I'm glad you told me, though. I was beginning to think you didn't care about me."

"Michigan, you know I always care. You do have sex a lot but I was always afraid of you not listening. You're my friend. Although, I can't stand you sometimes, I'll still look after you. And last might, even though I said some hurtful things, you left me. What if they would've raped me?"

"Then, I would've felt guilty. I wouldn't have been able to live with that on my chest. You my bitch, my only friend. We're inseparable. I love you and I can admit my fault last night. I'm truly sorry."

Grace's insides fluttered at the mention of the word, love. She liked to hear that being said to her.

"I'm sorry for how harsh I was, but I'm not sorry for what I said. You do need to slow down. I love you back which means I need to tell you how you act with boys isn't cute."

"All right, thanks. I'll work on me." Michigan chuckled. They smiled at one another, already knowing what was coming next.

Grace shook her head. "He slept on the couch, I slept in here."

Michigan rolled her eyes. "Again. You're being boring." Then, Grace stared at her. Michigan caught the knowing look, sighing.

"I'm sorry. It's just that back in my hometown, all my girls acted like me. We all had sex, then talked about it. It was always something new with us but you and me aren't the same. Don't get me wrong, I like you much more because they were fake, but I do miss having something in common. We're two different people."

Grace nodded. She was a straight A student, Michigan couldn't focus. She got disciplined from Destinny, Michigan's mother sent her on her way. Michigan was wilder, Grace had fun but she knew her limits- sometimes. It just proved that opposites did indeed attract.

"But I'm not pressuring you. You'll be ready when you are."

Dominic burst inside of his bedroom, kissing his teeth. "Now, y'all back on good terms, y'all can go. I got company coming over."

Michigan and Grace got off of the bed then Grace grabbed her stuff. Michigan went to retrieve her keys from the living room. Grace gathered her belongings into her bag, ignoring his heavy sighs. She knew she was taking a long time but she couldn't find her other shoe.

The shoe peeked at her from underneath the bed, and she bent down to grab it. Dominic's eyes wandered but he straightened up, clearing his throat. Michigan called for Grace. She quickly slipped her foot into the shoe, then stood up straight.

They met in the living room, Dominic following them to the door. Grace was slightly upset he was making them leave. If she had it her way, she would have wanted to stay. His apartment gave off a warm vibe. She didn't want to go back to her place, nor Michigan's. She didn't want to admit it but she wanted to hang around Dominic.

Finally, Grace swallowed her pride yet again, turning towards Dominic. He leaned against the door panel, staring dead at her. Grace felt a nervous knot forming in the center of her belly. How was she supposed to get this across?

"Thank you for getting me last night." she said, "And I'm sorry for getting smart with you, we cool?"

"I guess," Dominic replied, uninterested.

She took a deep breath. Michigan was in the car, watching her best friend put her foot in her mouth. She knew Grace was only making things worse. Dominic didn't take apologies. You had to give him time to cool down and think, then he would come around to you. Pushing him to forgive you only made him angry. She had done it many times before until Sharon warned her that he took it on from his father.

Grace sighed, sensing his refusal to converse. The car horn sounded, and she took another deep breath. "I broke up with Sammy. We-"

"Man, Grace, go on. I don't want to hear about your childish relationship. I got stuff to do, I'll catch you in traffic." The door sounded and Grace tucked her bottom lip in. She turned and walked away from the door. Her feelings were hurt. He was definitely still mad at her for lying. And she only wanted to be on his good side again.

Michigan assured her, "Nic is going to come around, just don't stress him. Girl, I promise you that he still like you. His little, big-headed self just being stubborn."

"OK," Grace forced a smile. Michigan looked the other way, unsure.

She was unsure if Dominic was ever going to trust Grace again. She had always been his little baby, and now thing a were looking rough for her. Dominic got angry but he never treated Grace bad, except once. He had changed now, and she had gotten his trust back. Now, she was working to get it again. Michigan shook her head because Grace needed lessons.

She needed to be taught how to stop putting love before the money, and getting her hopes up for some fairytale story. They were from the slums. No such thing existed as a happy ending.