Juke Jam | ✍︎

𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊

𝖏𝖚𝖐𝖊 𝖏𝖆𝖒
❝ 𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐒 ❞
𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔

        𝐀𝐙𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐇 smiled with her ice-breaking comment. Still being as overt as what had earned her the nickname "drunk-mouth" a decade ago, she didn't shy away from making this situation even more awkward. As a journalist, her outward confidence worked in her favor majorly. Remaining in Chicago after studying at the state university, she began working closely with podcasters in her hometown to bring change to the Pullman district.

"This is swell," Naomi clasped her hands together with a rigid smile, "the crew is really sitting back where we started, y'all. Aren't y'all excited to see all of us together again?"

Silence ensued, causing Reggie to snort. "Some more than others, clearly." Naomi shushed him.

"Renee, girl, how's abroad treating you? You really ghosted the lot of us." Naomi chuckled, she was trying her hardest for everything to feel normal. She knew that everyone had something going on in their couples; and if anything, her and Reggie were actually the best of the terrible bunch.

Renee grinned, revealing a glowing beam of beauty that frankly had Amari mesmerized. She briefly met his eyes, as she spoke, "Business is great. Yo' girl got flewed out to Europe and was touring like crazy. Never really feel like I sit down, if I'm being for real. What about this scholar?" she nodded to Amari. He cleared his throat nervously.

"Uh, just a lot of work for my class action." he shortly replied. He was shocked, to put it simply, at how sexy her demeanor was. Renee was now invigorating, confident and absolutely gorgeous. His heart was racing, so much that it unleashed the cage of butterflies that fluttered around in his stomach.

"That's dope, I'm routing for you, Mars." she returned, and he lost all of his internal composure, as a wide grin spread across his lips. Despite their uncomfortable interaction upon arrival, a decade didn't seem to affect their old feelings—even then, Amari had been waiting until he could see her again, and tell her that he'd missed her... a lot.

"Shontelle don't still work here, do she?" James spoke up, allowing himself to take a deep breath, as he quickly soaked in every ounce of Azryah across from him.

"I sure hope not," Reggie scoffed, looking over the booth at the bar not too far away.

"I'd have hoped she'd have bigger aspirations than a part-timer." James hummed, causing Azryah to laugh gently.

"Coming from the luck-struck, Championship billionaire." she commented, gaining laughs from the group once James reacted just as dramatically as he used to.

"Luck-struck? You made that word up, Walts. I'll have you know, I worked real hard for my lifestyle." he squinted his eyes at her, as he grinned. "Thirteen years and you still ain't thought about getting the screws in yo' jaw fixed?"

"For what?" she deviously retorted with furrowed brows.

"For that loose ass mouth of yours." The booth was sent into uproar, beginning to feel exactly like their hangouts after school.

Conversations soon broke off into small topics about the weather in everyone's separate living destination to Amari's recent sighting of their former, hobo-looking Physics teacher, Mr. Holmes. Whilst chatting though, he struggled to even bat an eyelid at anything other than Renee. She laughed as James recalled a memory of lessons, squeezing the bridge of her nose like she always did to hide her large smile.

He wondered what she thought about him. After over a decade of no contact, would she even still look at him in the same way she did when they were teenagers? Nonsense, he told himself, considering that so much had changed.