Lourdes finished putting on her earrings, bobbing her head to the song that was currently playing through her speaker. She swiped on some lip gloss and stood up, dusting her lap off. She checked her outfit in the mirror and nodded, satisfied. She wore a brown Nike crew neck underneath a brown puffer coat, brown corduroy flared jeans, and Doc Martens. She put in gold chunky earrings and a couple of rings on her finger to accessorize. She had a mini purse to hold some of her belongings but she knew she would probably end up asking someone to hold some of her things for her because the purse didn't fit that much.
"Lourdes! Hurry up!" She heard Nala yell from the living room.
"Coming!" She yelled back and grabbed her phone to turn the music off. Nala and Lourdes still hadn't fully made up, they were just acting cordial around each other, much to Aaliyah's dismay. Since last night's argument, they hadn't spoken more than a few words to each other and neither of them wanted to be the first to apologize.
She closed her bedroom door and headed to the living room. As soon as she entered the living room, Nala saw that she was there and exited the room, slamming the front door behind her. Lourdes rolled her eyes and turned to Aaliyah who was waiting for her on the couch.
"Can't you just apologize already? This is stupid." She grumbled.
"No."
"Please? For me." Aaliyah smiled, guilt-tripping her with her dimples.
"Fine, I will later. Let's go." She held the door open for her and Aaliyah did a little happy dance.
"Yay!"
Lourdes chuckled and closed the door behind her, locking up. "Whose car are we taking?"
"Nala's, she's warming it up right now."
"I call shotgun." Lourdes abruptly yelled, resulting in a few weird looks from strangers.
"Really? You always get shotgun." Aaliyah whined as they entered the parking garage.
"Snooze you lose," Lourdes shrugged.
They speed walked to the car, it was freezing outside and both of them were shivering. Lourdes quickly regretted her decision of calling shotgun, she forgot she would be spending the 30-minute drive next to Nala who was giving her the cold shoulder.
She occupied herself for half of the ride on her phone, but she didn't want to waste her battery so she set it aside. She thought about turning the music up to avoid the awkward silence they were enduring but decided against it.
"I'm sorry." She randomly blurted out, startling everyone in the car, including herself.
Nala quickly eyed her in the driver's seat and skeptically asked, "For what?"
"I went off on you for no reason so, I'm sorry."
Nala was silent for a moment before she quickly murmured, "Forgiven."
"Thank god!" Aaliyah shouted from the backseat causing them both to laugh, "That was torture, both of you need to stop fighting so much before I get wrinkles." She dramatically sighed and Lourdes rolled her eyes.
"Shut up,"
"Make me," Aaliyah sassed.
"Are we almost there?" Lourdes turned to ask Nala and she nodded.
"We'll be there in 10 minutes."
"Gianna is meeting us there right?" Aaliyah asked.
"Yeah, she's coming a little later than us, she just didn't say when,"
"Good, I can't be left alone for too long." Aaliyah dramatically wiped imaginary sweat off of her forehead.
"Will you stop, I told you, you're not gonna be left alone," Lourdes assured her, waving her off.
"And I told you, you're gonna be busy with Rashir, Nala is gonna be too busy sticking her tongue down Nico's throat to notice-"
"No, I won't," Nala interrupted.
"Anyway, both of you are gonna be busy and I'll just be pretending to go on my phone the entire night," Aaliyah exclaimed. Lourdes could tell that Aaliyah was nervous, they were hanging out with the most popular boys at the university and to any outsider, they would look intimidating as hell, but Lourdes knew that once everyone got to know each other they would have fun.
"You need to relax, this is going to be fun! And for the last time, we're not going to leave you alone."
"If you say so," Aaliyah replied, doubtful.
5 minutes later they pulled into the TopGolf parking lot and the girls grabbed their things from the car and entered the building to check-in. Lourdes had never been to TopGolf before and didn't know if she had to check-in under the boy's name, so she texted Rashir they had arrived and told him to come to the entrance so he could escort them to their reserved area.
"Where is he?" Nala asked for the 3rd time in a minute. "I'm hungry." She grumbled resulting in Lourdes and Aaliyah giving her an annoyed look.
"Shut up he's coming." Lourdes elbowed her in her side and Nala doubled over.
"Hey," Rashir greeted her and she smiled, "I like your fit," He complimented
Lourdes was glad that she was black, and that the lights were dimmed in the building, or else everyone would have been able to see her cheeks heat up. "Thanks," She looked at his outfit, he wore a black 'Atlanta Hawks' hoodie, black jeans, and green Jordan 1's. "I like yours too," She replied and he smiled back at her.
"Okay, can we go to our section now? I'm fucking hungry." Nala complained from next to them, breaking the silence. Rashir looked at her, amused and Lourdes glared at her.
"Sorry about her, she's extra rude today," She elbowed Nala in the side for the second time, making her whimper.
"It's aight, follow me." Rashir gestured his hand and the girls fell in step behind him. They passed the bar, which was filled with people, and had a football game on the huge flat screens. They walked past a couple of groups in their sections before they stopped at a pretty big section that had a couple of couches, a table in the middle of them, and some TV's on the sides.
Mateo was sitting on one of the couches, scrolling on his phone, looking bored as usual and Nico was next to him watching the game on one of the TVs. Upon hearing footsteps, both of them looked up and acknowledged the girls. They made a move to sit down on the couches and got comfortable since they were waiting for Gianna before they could start. Lourdes sat in between Rashir and Aaliyah, Nala sat on Nico's lap and Mateo sat across from them. Lourdes texted Gianna what section they were in, so she wouldn't have to go find her at the entrance like Rashir had to do with them.
"Okay," She put her phone down and clapped her hands together excitedly to gather everyone's attention, "Rashir this is Aaliyah, Aaliyah this is Rashir." Lourdes introduced them and they both nodded at each other. "Rashir this is Nala, Nala this is-"
"I know who he is," Nala cut her off, clearly still hangry.
"Okay, damn." Lourdes scoffed, "Anyways Aaliyah, this is Mateo and Mateo this is Aaliyah." She introduced them to each other and she caught Mateo staring at Aaliyah for a moment longer than necessary.
"Nice to meet you," Mateo spoke up, surprising Lourdes and Aaliyah. Lourdes wasn't expecting him to socialize with either of the girls, so it was a shock that he had spoken up to greet Aaliyah.
"You too." Aaliyah gave him a nervous smile.
"And Nala this is Mateo-"
"I know who he is too," Nala snapped.
"Okay grumpy pants, we need to get you some food," Lourdes announced. "Go with Nico and get something at the bar." She shooed them away. Nala huffed and stood up, waiting for Nico to do the same. She wrapped herself around his arm and began walking in the direction of the bar.
"Bring me back a water!" Aaliyah yelled after them. "Please!" She added sheepishly.
"You ready for me to kick your ass in golf?" Lourdes nudged Rashir and he threw his head back to laugh.
"You might be good at 8-ball, but I'm beating you in golf bruh, no bullshit."
"I'm good at everything, so try again."
"You cocky as hell."
"And is!" She quipped, flicking her hair back. "What about it?"
"You not about to be this cocky in a couple of minutes, watch." He brought his tongue out to lick his bottom lip, distracting her momentarily. Luckily, Gianna seemed to have impeccable timing, interrupting their little moment.
"I'm here! Did you guys start yet?" She rushed out, seeming to be out of breath.
"No, we were waiting for you. Nala and Nico are getting food at the bar." Lourdes answered her and Gianna looked relieved.
"Good, I tried to get here as fast as I could." She took a seat next to Mateo, crossing her legs and setting her purse down. Lourdes felt a strange pang of jealousy when Rashir's gaze lingered on Gianna for a moment but she quickly dismissed it. She knew that Gianna was a beautiful girl and she had momentarily forgotten about Rashir's reputation, so it was no surprise that he would be interested in her. That didn't mean that it didn't hurt.
"Gianna, this is Mateo and Rashir. Boys, this is Gianna." She introduced them with a tight smile on her face.
"Nice to meet y'all." Gianna turned to greet both of the boys.
"Yo dad is Brandon Adams right?" Rashir asked Gianna and she looked puzzled for a moment.
"You know my dad?" She cocked her head to the side, confused.
"He sponsors the basketball team, I think I've seen you at a game before." He explained and she nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, he forces me to go sometimes, even though I don't know what's going on half of the time," She let out a laugh and Rashir joined, resulting in Lourdes receiving another pang to the chest. She turned to talk to Aaliyah, who was already in a conversation with Mateo. When did that happen? She asked herself.
Lourdes slumped in her seat, slightly beginning to regret inviting Gianna.
"Ha! I told you I'd beat your ass!" Lourdes cheered in Rashir's face after looking at their scores. Mateo scored highest in the group, with Gianna following but Lourdes was in third place while Rashir was in fifth place behind Nico.
"Whatever man," Rashir rolled his eyes at her antics, "Let's go," He rushed her as he grabbed her bag for her. The rest of the group was at the entrance since the place was closing. Lourdes stayed back to ask for another copy of the results printed out so she could 'document the moment' and Rashir stayed with her.
"You're just mad, and that's okay," She fakely reassured him and he laughed.
"Hurry up bruh, everyone's waiting."
"Alright, alright I'm coming," She checked the time on her phone and winced when she realized they had been going back and forth for 10 minutes, meaning they had left everyone waiting for a while. She surveyed the area to make sure she didn't leave anything and nodded when she was satisfied. "Okay let's go," She took her bag from his hands and began marching to the entrance.
"You coming to my game next week?" He asked her as they walked side by side.
"Yeah, what time is it again?"
"7:30,"
"I'll be there then,"
"Good," Their eyes connected for a moment but Lourdes snapped out of it, going back to staring straight ahead. They caught up with the rest of the group and Nala let out a dramatic sigh of relief when she noticed them.
"Finally! Are you two done flirting? Some of us want to go home." She drawled.
"You need to relax baby," Nico shook his head at his girlfriend's attitude.
"No I don't," She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest "You need to relax," She mocked him.
Lourdes turned back to Rashir, "I guess I'll see you on Monday right?" She questions but he shook his head, putting his hands in his pockets. "Why not?"
"I have to go back home on Sunday night, I'll be back on Tuesday." He explained.
"Oh,"
"I'll see you Wednesday though," He nudged her on the shoulder, "We can play GTA again."
"I don't wanna play GTA with you anymore, you keep getting us killed," She pointed her finger at him.
"That was one-time bruh, leave me alone,"
"I don't trust you anymore,"
"Whatever Lourdes, you can do the mission on your own this time," He caved and she grinned.
"Lo, we'll meet you in the car," Aaliyah called out as the rest of the group exited the building.
"Okay I'll be out in a sec," She yelled back. "I'll see you on Wednesday," She looked up at him and he nodded. "Bye Rashir," She giggled and waved as she walked backward.
"Bye Lourdes,"
Sunday morning, Gianna came by to pick up Lourdes at the apartment for their weekly gym visit. They were both on the treadmills, working out and Lourdes was listening to music in her AirPods while Gianna was watching TV on the little screen they had on the treadmill. Lourdes was still a little annoyed with her, even though she didn't have a reason to be. It got frustrating sometimes whenever they all went out as a group and Gianna sucked up all of the male attention, but Lourdes knew she couldn't say anything about it. Gianna didn't force anyone to like her or be attracted to her, so there wasn't an actual reason to be annoyed with her but Lourdes couldn't help but feel a little irritated.
Lourdes felt someone tap her shoulder and took her Airpod out of her ear, "Hey, you ready to hit the showers? I'm getting tired." Gianna turned off her treadmill and stepped back onto the floor. Lourdes silently nodded and turned her's off as well, taking a step down and fanning herself. They had been working out for 2 hours now and she was ready to go. She grabbed her water bottle off of the floor and took a large swig, falling in step with Gianna.
"What are you getting at Busboys and Poets?" Gianna questioned from next to her as they entered the locker room.
Busboys and Poets was a restaurant/bookstore that was a good 20-minute drive from the gym, but the food was amazing. They ate there every Sunday after the gym and Lourdes liked to try new things on the menu each time they went. Gianna insisted on paying for each meal even though Lourdes argued with her about it every time. "French Toast," Lourdes answered as she unlocked her locker. She had been craving it since Wednesday and had been looking forward to it since then. She grabbed her shower caddy and made her way to the shower stalls, leaving Gianna behind.
"O-kay," Gianna speed-walked to catch up to her, "Are you okay? You've been quiet today." She watched her with concern in her eyes.
"Yeah I'm good, I'll be ready in 20 minutes." Lourdes gave her a tight smile and entered a shower stall, locking the door behind her. She hung her caddy on one of the hooks and began undressing, putting her clothes on the wooden bench behind her. She turned the water on and blissfully sighed at the feeling of the hot water against her tight muscles. She reached for her soap bar and began massaging the soap into her skin, scrubbing to get rid of the sweat she gathered from working out. She washed her face with a facial wash and scrubbed her face with a scrub she had bought. She had a frontal installed the week before so she didn't need to wash her hair, but she stood under the showerhead, trying to stall for a little longer.
After a couple more minutes, she turned the water off and dried off, putting her things back in the caddy and unlocking the stall. She scurried back to the changing area, shivering at the cold air hitting her skin. She quickly applied her lotion and slipped on her clothes, which were just some sweats, and tied her hair into a bun. She grabbed her gym bag, which was badly stuffed into the locker, and walked to the mirrors they had in the bathroom. She set her things down and got out her moisturizer, rubbing it into her face. She applied her lipgloss and looked in the mirror, satisfied with herself.
She exited the bathroom, walking to the entrance of the gym, where Gianna was waiting for her on her phone. She looked up upon her arrival, "Ready?" She asked.
"Yeah, let's go I'm hungry." Lourdes rushed her and Gianna laughed.
"Okay, okay I'm going." She quickly stood up and hurried to the parking lot. They both shivered as they stepped out of the gym and jogged to Gianna's BMW. They yanked the car doors open, speedily turning on the heat, and fired up the seat warmers. Gianna plugged her phone into the aux cord and "Gravity" by Brent Faiyaz softly played through the car's speakers. Gianna hummed the song under her breath as she pulled out of the parking lot and got onto the main road, honking at someone who cut her off.
Lourdes stayed silent and looked out of the window, admiring the D.C streets as they drove through a wealthy area. "So what's up? I feel like we haven't talked in a while." Gianna chattered from next to her.
"Nothing much," Lourdes responded, picking at her nails. She was in desperate need of a fill. She reminded herself to ask Nala to come with her since she had a friend who was a nail tech and she gave them discounts.
"I saw you and Rashir getting close last night," Gianna playfully nudged her side. She abruptly slammed on the breaks, causing Lourdes's body to jerk forward. "Sorry," She sheepishly avoided eye contact. "Stupid pedestrian." She grumbled under her breath.
"How did you get your license? You're a terrible driver sis." Lourdes adjusted herself in her seat, looking at her seatbelt trying to figure out how to make it tighter.
"You're so dramatic, I'm a great driver," Gianna insisted.
"No you're not, you've hit the curb so many times while we're in a car together bruh, it's ridiculous."
"So? It's not like I hit a person."
"You almost did once." Lourdes pointed out.
"That was one time! And he wasn't watching his fucking surroundings like he should have been doing."
"O-kay, whatever you say," Lourdes raised her arms in a surrendering motion but she was laughing.
"Anyway, do you mind if we go to the store after we eat? There's a Whole Foods close to here." Gianna asked her as they pulled into the parking lot for Busboys and Poets.
"Yeah that's fine, I need to get some stuff too, it's my turn to get groceries anyway."
They stepped out of the car and strolled into the restaurant, greeting the hostess Lola, who they basically knew personally at this point. They were regulars and the staff knew most of them by their first names.
"Hey, guys! Table for two by the window?" Lola greeted them and they both nodded. "Great! Follow me." She grabbed 2 menu's from her stand and walked them to their table that faced the street. Lourdes enjoyed watching people as they walked by, wondering where they were hurrying to go to. D.C. was a busy place, that never really seemed to sleep and had people walking the streets at every hour.
They sat down and put their menus to the side, already knowing what they want to order. "So are you excited about your birthday? Big 21 is gonna be here soon." Gianna excitedly clapped her hands.
"It's in a month." She retorted, giving her a blank look.
Lourdes's birthday was November 18th, and she was pretty excited to turn 21. Since she had a late birthday, everyone else in the friend group was already 21 except for Aaliyah who turned 21 in December.
She was starting to feel like a baby compared to everyone else, Rashir, Nico, and Mateo were all seniors so they were 22 and most of the people in her class were already 21. Nala constantly teased her, calling her a fetus and telling her to "Respect her elders," whenever they got into a debate.
"And that's soon! What do you want to do?"
"I dunno, go to a club or something? I can legally drink now." She thought out loud, "I don't want to throw a party, I don't feel like cleaning up afterward." Nala had thrown a small party at their apartment for her 21st in March and the apartment was a mess when they woke up the next day. She forced Lourdes and Aaliyah to help her clean everything up and they hadn't finished until 5 pm, even though they started at 9 in the morning.
"You right, I know a couple of clubs we can go to, I'll send them to you." Gianna took her phone out of her purse. "Are you inviting Rashir?" She raised her eyebrows up and down in a playful manner.
"Yeah probably, he's my friend. I'll invite Mateo too, and of course, Nico or else Nala would kill me."
"She really does love that boy," Gianna shook her head, "What a simp."
Lourdes let out a genuine laugh, "Leave her alone,"
Their server came up to them a couple of minutes later and they placed their order. Gianna ordered an omelet while Lourdes ordered her french toast. After their server left, Gianna asked her about how the project with Mateo was going.
"It's going good I guess, we're still researching and we have a while before we have to present." She explained. She looked to the side at someone who she swore she recognized. The girl was ordering at one of the to-go stations, waiting for an employee, and typing on her phone. Lourdes stared at her for a moment, trying to figure out where she knew her from, but when the girl turned around she let out a curse.
It was the girl from the basketball game.
lourdes's and rashir's outfits at topgolf:
long update 🕺🏿🕺🏿lol what do we think? sorry for the late night update i got a late start today butttt i hope you enjoyed this chapter 😁 don't forget to vote and comment!