"This is nice," I held onto Derek as we walked through the door of the Airbnb that Penny rented for two nights. Of course, we all chipped in, which didn't cost much when split multiple ways. It was a four bedroom three bathroom guesthouse that had a eight-person hot tub out back and a game room on the top floor. The pictures definitely didn't do the place justice. It kinda reminded me of a nice getaway spot within the city.
"April, isn't this nice!?" I looked over at her and she was on the other side of Derek, slumped against him. He let me go and placed her on the couch. Damn lightweight.
"This is nice," Briana said as she came through the door with Brandon and Penny. Brandon handed me my keys since he drove my car. I guess I didn't get the hint because Penny and Briana took a Lyft to the club. Cairo, Derek, and Brandon all rode together in Cairo's car, while April and I were the only ones that drove two separate cars.
On the way here we had to split up since half of us were drunk. I rode with Derek and April. Briana, Penny, and Brandon were in my car, and Cairo drove his own car by default. I did my absolute best to avoid getting in the car with him alone. It would have been one awkward ass ride.
But, I guess it all worked out because we all wouldn't have fit in his car anyway.
"Let's go change and get into the hot tub," Briana said.
"My stuff is still in my car. Where y'all bags at?" I didn't see them carry a single bag in.
"We dropped our bags off earlier. That's why I left so early," Penny said, referring to when she left me to get dressed at her apartment.
"Well, it's dark. Can someone come with me," I pouted.
"I'll go get it. I wish a nigga would try to run up on me," Penny took a sip from the drink she stole from the club.
"Naw, I got it," Cairo said walking through the door. I slowly handed him my keys and told him my bag was in the trunk.
We tried waking up April, but she was knocked out. So, we decided to just leave her where she was.
When Cairo came back with my bag, me, Penny, and Briana went to go change in the room that they were sharing. They started changing as I pulled out this two-piece swimsuit that I never wore. On any other day I would've considered it to be too revealing, but since I had some liquid courage in my system, I was more than willing to put it on. I did pack a thin short robe to cover up with just in case.
"Where you get that shit from?" Penny asked looking me up and down. I did a tiny twirl and turned to the back giving them the full view.
"I don't remember," I chuckled. "I ordered it off of this website. At first I didn't like it, but now that I have it on it's kinda cute." I shook my ass a bit, just for the effect.
"It's giving," Briana said.
I slipped on my robe and tied the strings loosely around my waist.
"No, keep it open," Penny untied it.
"Yes, make a statement," Briana tapped my chin and we all left the room. They showed me to another room—the room I'm sharing with April. Since there were only a total of four bedrooms, me and April were sharing a room while Penny and Briana were sharing one. Brandon, Cairo, and Derek had yet to decide who was either bunking together or sleeping on the couch.
I quickly eyed the room before dropping my bag on the floor by the door. We headed back towards the kitchen and then out the back door. We spotted the hot tub to the left of the deck. It took all three of us to remove the cover.
"Now how you work this shit?" Penny bent down towards the back of the hot tub. It was definitely the biggest one I've seen in person. She started pressing buttons and eventually it turned on. The LED lights in the water came to life, and the jets started pumping out bubbles. The sound itself was soothing as hell.
"Y'all got a hair tie or something? I paid too much money to ruin my hair on the first night," I said.
"I might have one in my bag but it's in the room," Briana said.
"That's fine. I'll go get it."
"Don't get lost, especially looking like that," Penny teased and I stuck my middle finger up at her. She just loves messing with me unprovoked.
I went through the sliding doors that connected to the kitchen. I was shocked at who I saw because I didn't know that she was coming back to the Airbnb as well.
"Oh hey," I said to the girl that was talking to Brandon at the club, aka Briana's friend. Her and Brandon were in the kitchen looking all cozy and shit.
"Hey," she waved back. At least she was one of the ones that I actually liked. It was her, plus the other one. I didn't care for the girl that was flirting with Cairo...and not because she was flirting with Cairo. She can talk to Cairo all she wants, I just didn't like how standoffish she was.
"I didn't catch your name even though we danced together and everything," I said walking up to her. She extended her hand.
"Sky," she said, and I shook her hand. "I'm Asha."
"I like your bathing suit. You look great."
"Thanks. You can join us if you want. I don't think Briana and P would mind."
"I'm not staying too long and I didn't bring anything with me," she shrugged.
"No it's cool. Is your friend here too? The one that danced with us?" I asked.
"Yea, her name is Aniya."
"She's upstairs playing 2k with Cairo and Derek. She's actually pretty good," Brandon spoke up. I nodded and walked off. I didn't plan on going to the game room, so I kept to my destination of finding a hair tie. I got to Briana and Penny's room. Both of their bags were flipped upside down on the bed like they just flung them shits without a care in the world. Their clothes were still on the floor from when we changed.
I looked through Briana's duffle bag but I didn't see a hair tie. I zipped her stuff back up and left the room. I went back down to the first floor and tiptoed around Brandon and Sky.
When I got back out to the hot tub, Penny and Briana had their tongues down each other's throats. Ugh, just my luck. My feet padded the floor boards as I scurried across the deck and over to them.
"I'm gone for two seconds," I bent down to their level, placing my elbows on the side of the hot tub. Briana was the first to pull away.
"Sorry," she laughed.
"It's cool. I get it. Y'all a thing now. You don't have to hide it from me since I already know," I rolled my eyes. "But anyway, y'all have fun."
"Aren't you getting in?"
"No. I couldn't find the hair tie. Plus, I'm not about to watch y'all eye fuck each other, no thanks. I'll pass."
"Oh, and your friends are here—Sky and Aniya. Sky got the hots for your brother and Aniya is upstairs playing 2k. Shit, I'd rather go hang with them than to sit here with y'all," I waved them off.
"Asha, let's make it a threesome!" Penny tried to get my attention but I was already halfway through the door. I made sure to close it behind me. The kitchen was now empty so I went around the island and into the fridge. All that was in the fridge were packs of beer and bottles of water. I weighed my options, beer or water? I pulled a beer out just as Derek came jogging down the stairs.
"Wassup Asha. Where Briana at?"
"In the hot tub with Penny. But I wouldn't go out there if I was you," I laughed to myself.
"Where you going?" I asked him.
"To Waffle House. Text me what y'all want." He eyed the beer in my hand and shook his head. He was headed towards the front door when I stopped him.
"Wait, can you open this for me?" I held the bottle up. He walked over to me and took it from my hand. He did some shit where he used the end of the counter, and the top popped right off.
"Thanks," I said.
"Take it easy," he smirked down at me.
"Mmhmm." He laughed, leaving out the door.
I poked my head out back and asked them what they wanted from Waffle House. They said the basic shit—waffles, bacon, and hash browns. I went back upstairs to get my phone from the charger. I texted Derek and he replied back with a simple thumbs up. I then threw on some shorts and made my way to the game room. I could already hear the music. They had that shit all the way up. I pushed open the door and heads turned my way. I waved before plopping down in the nearest seat. I noticed that the same girl that was flirting with Cairo at the club was also here. She looked me up and down, and I just barely caught the end of a frown. Oh, she got a problem. I laughed to myself and took a sip of my beer.
Cairo and Brandon were now on the game. Meanwhile, Sky and her friend Aniya were deep in conversation. The girl I didn't like was so busy watching me that she couldn't pay attention to anything else. I ignored her and turned my attention to the game. It seemed like they were having fun. And if the music wasn't so loud, I could actually hear what the hell they were saying. I bet they were making some good ass commentary.
After a few minutes, Sky waved me over.
I sauntered over to them and sat my ass right in the middle. The bitchy girl made some type of noise and stood up to move away.
"Does she have a problem?" I frowned.
"I don't know. She acts like that sometimes. I think she's just jealous of the attention you get," Aniya said. I scoffed.
"It's not a competition."
"For her it is, especially when the guy she wants has his eyes set on another girl," Sky stated.
"That's not my problem. Maybe if she fixed that attitude Cairo would look at her," I shrugged.
"Oh, that's his name? Cairo?" Sky asked, and I nodded.
"Well, Cairo wants to fuck you," Aniya blurted out. I almost spit out my drink.
"Isn't it obvious? Y'all must have history or something because the tension is thick. That's why Kennedy is so threatened by you."
Wait, hold up.
"You said Kennedy? Her name is Kennedy?" My lip curled up in distaste.
"Yeah. She can be fun to hang with sometimes when she's not obsessing over a guy, but she's definitely an acquired taste."
I said nothing in response. That just put a nasty taste in my mouth. And now that I know her name is Kennedy, everything just makes so much more sense. I'm convinced that every single Kennedy I meet is the devil incarnate. They can all kiss my ass.
"Trust me, she's all bark, no bite," Aniya said. I just shrugged. I did my best to mind my business, and I succeeded in doing so until Kennedy fixed her mouth to say something to me. She called herself trying to squeeze between both the table and my legs without saying excuse me. I swear she whispered something under her breath.
"What did you say?" I asked her. She just rolled her eyes and kept walking. I should've kicked her ass into the table, but then I would've been in the wrong.
"Ignore her," Sky said.
Not long after, Penny and Briana came upstairs still wet. They took a shower and changed. By the time they were done, Derek had arrived with the food. Cairo and Brandon went out to help, and eventually we all migrated down to the kitchen. Kennedy was still mean muggin. I smacked my teeth in annoyance and pulled Briana off to the side. Briana's smile quickly faded at seeing the look on my face.
"Get your friend. I'm serious Briana. You know me, I try to stay to myself, but she keeps sending me dirty looks and it's pissing me off," I whispered in her ear. Briana turned to Kennedy and Kennedy looked away hella fast.
"Okay. I got it. Relax." She left and I watched as she approached Kennedy. I was on my third beer now. I sipped and watched their interaction. They both glanced at me and Kennedy started getting upset. I rolled my eyes at how stupid she looked. When they were done talking, Briana came back over to me.
"I told her to leave. She's not happy, but she gotta go," Briana said. My eyes followed Kennedy as she stomped over to Aniya and Sky. They said something that Kennedy didn't like, and she visibly got even more upset. She grabbed her keys, her purse, and her heels.
"Kennedy, I'll call you a ride or something," Briana said.
"I don't need a goddamn thing from you."
As soon as that sentence left her mouth, I stepped up to Kennedy so fast. "What the fuck is your problem?" The whole room went silent. You could hear a pin drop.
"Ain't nobody was talking to you," she said.
"Well, I'm talking to you now. Do we have a problem?" She tried walking past me, but all she did was succeed in making me drop my drink. The glass bottle shattered on the floor and it's contents splattered everywhere. By now, my patience had completely ran out and I was two seconds away from putting my hands on this girl. Like, how old are we? Luckily for her, Cairo came out of nowhere and grabbed me, pulling me away from the sharp glass. I was so heated. If she wanna go there, I'm more than willing to.
"You dumb bitch. Made me drop my drink."
"Who you callin a dumb bitch?"
"You. The fuck. I didn't stutter. Bitches like you make me sick."
"And bitches like you just insecure," she countered.
"Insecure!? Really!" I tried to pry Cairo's hands from around me.
"What do I look like being insecure around some bitch I don't even know? That's that silly shit. You the goofy one, chasing after a nigga that clearly don't want you. Cairo hasn't said two fucking words to you all night yet you followed him back here for what?"
"And you think he want you? You ain't got no respect for yourself, walking around half naked tryna get some attention."
"Bitch fuck you. You don't know shit about me. Just go home with that funky ass attitude."
"Make me," she said, and I side-eyed the hell out of her. This bitch is really stupid.
"Right, you ain't gone do shit." I tried yanking myself out of Cairo's grip, and I almost did, but he pulled me back.
"Girl, you ain't nothing but talk. I'll beat the silly right off you, disrespectful ass hoe," Penny jumped in and got all up in her face. Both Derek and Brandon were quick to grab her. Penny don't play that shit at all.
"Briana, you gone let these sluts talk to me like that!"
"Man, get her ass out," Cairo said. Briana stormed up to Kennedy, pushing her towards the door. They started arguing, causing Penny to get even more riled up.
"Let me go make sure that hoe leaves. I'll keep my hands to myself," Penny said. Brandon and Derek had no choice but to let her go. She immediately stormed outside, and they followed behind her.
Cairo had me caged against the counter so I couldn't move at all.
"I-I think we should leave too. I'm so sorry Asha. We didn't mean to cause trouble." Sky and Aniya grabbed their stuff and headed to the door as well. I said nothing to them as they left. It wasn't their fault, but I just didn't trust my voice to express that I didn't want them to go. On the outside I was very much pissed, but on the inside, frustration had took over. And when I get too frustrated, my emotions tend to build up until I explode.
"Relax," Cairo whispered in my ear as he gently caressed my exposed stomach. I did my best to ignore the tingles.
"I need to clean up the glass." I pulled myself from out of his arms, and he let me go with little hesitation. I walked over to the glass, not caring that I was barefoot. I bent down and started picking up the pieces.
"Asha, not with your hands," he said. I felt him walk up behind me, and I tensed. I cursed as the sharp glass sliced into the palm of my hand.
"I said not with your hands."
"Cairo, I'm fine." He tugged me up off the floor and pulled me to the nearest bathroom. My damn hand left a trail of blood behind us. But, good thing this place was mostly hardwood floors. It'll make my life easier when I go to clean it up.
.....
Sheesh, this chapter is long. I think there's some spicy content up ahead 😉