Texas

Chapter 13

"You can sleep on it, or think about it. But, if you don't wanna do it, I'll just cut out the nail salon." He ignored my question. I didn't respond to him, I just sat in silence. 

I wanted to do it but something was always telling me that it would go wrong. Every time I have an opportunity, I turn it down because something tells me that it's a bad idea. I wouldn't want to miss out on this opportunity because of that. Plus, I'd been looking to expand my business.

Koffi parallel parked across the street from the club. There was a long line but we were here for the birthday party. Luckily, we wouldn't have to wait.

We spotted Zani And Dezi as we got at the car.

"Tizani!" I called out , making her turn back to see who was calling her name.

"Hey, boo!" She came over to us. 

"You look nice! Happy birthday, Zan!" I exclaimed. 

"Thanks." She shifted her attention to a Koffi who was leaning against his car. "Burgundy? Maroon?" She frowned.

"I didn't have any clothes of that color. Happy birthday, though." He gave her a smile and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever." She waved him off and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the club. Before we could get any closer, Koffi grabbed me by my arm, making the both of us stop in our tracks. I turned back to look at him.

"Don't get drunk, Texas. Zani, don't let her have more than two drinks." He told us seriously. But, his speech went through one ear and out the other.

"Okay." We agreed. 

He wasn't gonna mess up my plans. Tizani and I planned to take as many shots as we could. I didn't care how drunk I got tonight. Koffi couldn't possibly think I'd listen to his request.

Oh well.

Tizani continued to pull me to the club until we were stopped by the bouncer.

"Hello, ladies. You here for a birthday party?" He asked knowingly.

"Yeah, Tizani is the name. Do you need our IDs?" Zani voiced and he nodded, opening his hand. We handed him our IDs and he inspected them for a minute before letting us in.

"Wait, Zan. Where's Dezi?" I asked her.

"Out there with Koffi. They'll be fine." She waved me off before dragging me to the bar. She ordered 10 shots for us and when they came, we downed them easily. My throat burned after every shot but I loved it.

Soon enough, Mel and Vanny joined us. Ash and her boyfriend, Latrell, met us at the bar as well.

"Hey, Texas." Ash smiled at me.

"Hey, girl." I downed another shot.

"Better not let my brother catch you. He specifically told me to come check on you and make sure you weren't getting drunk." She chuckled  little and I laughed with her.

"I'm a grown ass woman, Koffi can not tell me shit." I ordered two more shots.

Only Mel took shots because Vanny wanted to make sure one of them could drive home. Zani and I talked about everything under the sun. She was egging me on about Koffi and me. I was starting to lie when I said I had no feelings for him. At some point, we saw Koffi and Dezi enter but they went straight to the area that was reserved for us. I'm not sure if he noticed us but I downed about 6 more shots before Koffi came over to us. I was damn near gone by this point.

"What did I tell you?" He looked down at me and I smiled innocently. The bartender passed us more shots and I tried to take one but Koffi stopped me.

"Yeah, no more." He pushed the shots away from me.

"Koffi," I whined. He shook his head, still standing behind me. I checked the time and it was now 1:30 in the morning.  We'd been here for almost 3 hours.

I turned my stool around to get up. Koffi raised his eyebrows at me and I frowned a little. 

"I need to pee, Kof."  I told him and he moved out my way. I tried to walk properly but I was losing my balance. I finally made it to the bathroom and squatted over the toilet and released all liquid I had drank in the last 3 hours.

I walked out of the bathroom and tried to push through the crowd. I looked for Koffi but I couldn't see him. It felt like my eyes were getting blurry and I didn't see anyone I knew. I started to feel overwhelmed and I just wanted to find Koffi.

I bumped into someone's hard chest and I looked up to see Koffi.  I let out a sigh of relief and he looked at me worried.

"You good?" He pulled me to him.

"Now, I am." I looked up at him and he flashed me a smile. 

Maybe I did like him...just a little bit.

"You was in there for a while." 

Time seemed to be moving in slow motion for me. I checked the time on my phone, it was now 1:48. 

"Let me get you home."

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING 🦃