Jasmine's POV.
Chapter 12: Tap.
Sliding on my black distressed pantyhose, I ride it up under my short skirt before I put my boots on. I have to be at Chanel's party in about fifteen minutes. My Uber is on its way, all I need to do is stuff my phone and keys in my purse. Zipping up my knee-high boots, I stare at myself in the full-length mirror in the corner and I smile. I am wearing my natural hair out in the open for the first time in two years. Like I mentioned before he wasn't a fan of it and always wanted me to wear wigs. But I'm done living by his rules. And if he thinks he can blackmail me, I'll blackmail him twice as hard. I fluff my huge afro as I smile at my reflection. My phone rings on the bed and I answer it.
"Hello?" I say, wondering who it was since I didn't have the number saved.
"Hi, it's your Uber driver." The man on the other side says. "I'm outside."
"I'll be right out." I tell him before I hand up.
I pick up my black purse from the little rack that held three of my little purses. I shove my phone inside my purse and turn off my bedroom light as I walk out. Can't risk running up that light bill. I make sure all the lights are turned off before I walk out of the house, locking the door behind me. I see a red Fiat parked across the street. I cross to the other side of the road and get in.
"Good evening." I say, staring at the driver's face through the rearview mirror. He doesn't reply he just nods as he starts the car.
After driving for what feels like five minutes he finally speaks.
"Would you like some gum?" He asks me.
"Yeah, sure." I shrug.
"There's some in the box on the floor back there." He tells me. My hands search for the box in the dark backseat. My hands finally grab onto something down there and I pull it out. I am appalled when I see a pink dildo in my hands. I throw it at the driver and let out a loud scream.
"Oh, so that's where that went." He says, nervously. "Did you find the gum?" He asks.
At this point, I don't even want the gum. I just want to get the hell out of this car.
There's an awkward silence in the car until the driver speaks again.
"So, Beverly hills, huh? What are you going to do there at this time. You must be an escort. You have to be. Judging from the place I picked you up from and where you're headed, you're definitely an escort. You're probably just doing it to pay your rent in that dump." He says and I scoff.
The nerve of people these days.
"Shut the fuck up and drive." I want to get out of this car so bad, but I'm already late. And the wait time to get an Uber in LA is just unbelievable.
We finally get to Chanel's house. I get down from the car and I stand beside it.
"How much do I owe you?" I ask the driver.
"45." He says and I pull out the cash from my purse. I hand it to him and he smiles at me.
"Hey, rate me five stars okay? And good luck in there." He says, nodding towards Chanel's house. I don't respond to him I just walk up the huge ass driveway. I knock on the front door and immediately someone opens it.
It's a tall black guy.
"Name?" He asks me and I gulp.
"Jasmine Prentice." I tell him as he scans through the list. He opens the door wider and lets me come inside. My ears meet the loud music immediately. From the outside, you wouldn't think there was a rave going on in here. I bet they had soundproof everything. Walls, doors, windows, etcetera. I adjust my left boob in the corset I have on and I walk into the living room and no one is there. I notice that the tall black dude has been following me and I turn around.
"Where's everyone?" I ask him.
"In the party room." He points out.
"And where's the party room?" I ask him, confused.
"Is this your first Chanel Graham party?" He asks me and I roll my eyes.
"No. I attended one of her parties freshman year, but back then she lived in a normal house, not this huge mansion." I tell him.
"Follow me." He says as he starts walking. He doesn't even wait for me. His long legs just keep moving while my short ones try to keep up. Eventually, we end up in the basement and he signals for me to go through a black curtain.
"Is the party in there?" I ask him, confused.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" He says, gesturing for me to go through the curtain.
I pull the curtain sideways and I walk in. Immediately my ears feel like they're bleeding. There's a huge speaker right in front of the entrance. I keep moving to get away from it, pushing past the people that are standing and smoking beside the speaker. I keep walking until I see Chanel vaping with Christian. They both wore pink. They are the elite twins. I walk over to her and her face brightens up as she sees me. She pulls me into a warm hug. Her strawberry-scented perfume filling my nostrils.
"You made it." She says, excitedly.
"Hi." I say, rubbing her back.
"I was getting worried. I thought you got lost." She says, pulling away.
"Nah. The house was easy to find. The huge sign that says Graham at the gate is hard to miss." I tell her.
"I'm glad you're finally here. Aaron hasn't come yet, so I'm just so bored." She tells me.
As much as I like to talk shit about Aaron when it comes to his friends, he's a pretty good one. I mean, Chanel and Aaron met each other when they were in middle school and have been inseparable ever since. Christian hates it though, says Aaron is a people pleaser. He's right. Aaron is a kissass except when it comes to me. I'm where his charisma wanes.
"They're some wine coolers. Want some?" She asks me.
"Not now. How many have you had?" I ask her as I watch her finding it her to stand still.
"One." She says and I stare at her, raising a brow at her.
"Fine, five." She says and I chuckled.
"You're drunk." I tell her and she shakes her head.
"I can't be, it wasn't even alcoholic." She defends, slurring.
"Mhm, sure. Come one now. Let's go wash that pretty face of yours. Your face looks puffy and you have mascara running down your cheek." I tell her, pulling her with me towards the entrance. I cover my ears as we pass the speaker and she does the same too. She leads me to the nearest bathroom and I walk in after her. I turn on the tap and she walks towards the sink and washes her face. I hand her a paper towel and she wipes her face with it. She has makeup on, but it doesn't come off as she wipes her face.
"Ah, I needed that." She tells me.
"I know that's why I brought you here." I tell her.
"You're such a good friend, do you know that?" She asks me and I shake my head.
"I didn't even think we were friends. You're closer with Aaron than you are with me." I tell her.
"I know that, but I thought we had our own thing going on." She says, placing her hands on both of my shoulders.
"You're way too drunk right now." I tell her and she shuts me up with a kiss.
"Sorry." She says, taking a step back.
"Whoa." I say, totally shocked.
"Yup." She says, giggling.
Okay, Drunk Chanel is weird as fuck.
"Let's get you back to your party." I say, wiping her pink lipstick off my lips.
We step out of the bathroom and start walking down the hallway. We hear shuffling coming from the living room and Chanel gets out of my grip and rushes to the living room. I trail behind her and freeze when I hear her scream.
What's happening?
I catch up to her and I see why she was screaming. Aaliyah is on her knees giving Aaron head in the living room.
"What the fuck are you doing Aaron? You're cheating on Jasmine with her best friend?" Chanel asks, sounding pissed.
Aaliyah gets off her knees and puts on her shirt, turning around to avoid my gaze.
"Look, Chanel, it's not what it looks like." Aaron says, trying to calm her down.
"I looked up to your sorry ass and this whole time you've been a fraud. What happened to "the first woman I'll be with, will be my wife" and that speech you bore me and Christian about chivalry when you first started dating Jasmine." Chanel says, sounding hurt. She's acting like she's the one that's being cheated on. And I gotta say, she's good in my books after this. She's going so hard for me right now.
"It's complicated, Chanel. Love is complicated." He says, pulling his trousers up.
"You are disgusting. And how are you not freaking out about this?" Chanel asks me.
"I already knew." I tell her and Aaliyah stares at me in shock.
"Brandon!!!" Chanel calls out and the tall black guy rushes into the living room.
"Yup." He says, causally.
"Please, get these people off my property and they are banned for life." Chanel says before she hooks her arm around mine.
"Ooh, banned for life. That doesn't sound too good." I tease.
"It's not. Come on kids." Brandon says as he walks towards them.
"Let's get back to the party." Chanel tells me and I nod, turning around with her as we head to the basement.