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“You know that nigga is always dressed like he’s about to run up on somebody and take their shit.” Conner grinned and shoved a small card holder into her front pocket before she lifted her phone.
Cali barked a laugh. “Girl, he does not.”
“Yes he does. Always dark colors. Mostly black but I’m not complaining. It works for his speckled face ass.”
“Don’t you dare let him hear you say that.”
War hated his freckles but Cali was always touching, kissing, and bringing attention to them.
Conner arched a brow and Cali rolled her eyes. Telling her sister what to do was pointless.
“You ready?”
“Yep, hang on, let me schedule the car. Kirsten texted me the address a little while ago.”
Kirsten kept her promise to hang out with Cali, even if it had only been her stopping by Mahogany a few times to check her out. Once she brought lunch and they spent Cali’s break getting more acquainted. Kirsten was the one to invite Cali to the cookout because she mentioned it before War had a chance to.
“Five minutes for our ride. Let’s head downstairs.”
The drive to JB’s house was forty-five minutes with traffic. His house was in Crescent Pointe, but on the outer perimeter, so he wasn’t far from the hood. Only a couple streets over but he had a nice spot and based on the way cars lined both sides of the street, he had a house full.
“Damn, I’m glad you didn’t drive. We would have been circling the block just to find a spot,” Conner mumbled as she slid from the backseat of the Escalade they arrived in. iDrive Black was the only way they traveled. Not that the drivers couldn’t or wouldn’t be on bullshit but the higher end vehicles typically cared more about their ratings and reputations than to put their customers at risk.
“And I hope I can fuck with this crowd,” Conner continued, rattling random thoughts as they approached the house. Instead of going to the front door, Cali pointed to the side entrance she caught a body passing through only seconds before. The music was loud with a steady thump of bass and the loud rumble of voices, male and female, blended as soon as they pulled open the gate and entered the backyard.
“Wow.” Cali did a quick visual round, noticing the plethora of bodies. There had to be no less than fifty to sixty people crammed in the medium-sized yard. Lining the fence on one side were six-foot tables covered with linens, topped with chafing dishes. There was also one which held metal tins full of beer and soda. The last table had bottles of every liquor imaginable. The vibe was hood chic. “He put a lot into a backyard barbecue.”
“It’s usually not this fancy. JB just has a little change now since Kidd is making a name for himself but it’s still the same old hood niggas doing hood shit,” Kirsten said, stepping between Cali and Conner. She pointed to different locations. “Dominos, Spades, Dice, and enough weed to get the entire block lifted.” She grinned and turned her focus to Conner.
“The sister, right?”
“Yep, that’s me, Conner.” She extended a hand to Kirsten but instead of accepting it, Kirsten jerked her into a hug.
“Girl, we’re family. Well that’s if a family bond is cool with you but really it doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t approve, we’ll just be those cousins who talk shit about each other.”
Cali laughed, already used to Kirsten’s personality. She was a lot like Conner.
“Oh, I like you. We can be family, boo.”
“Y’all drinking?” Kirsten asked, pointing to the table.
“Is that safe?” Conner wrinkled her nose, perusing the table of open bottles.
“Girl yes, these folks don’t play about anybody invited. Everybody here had to be on an approved list and a very short one. You can fix whatever you want. If you don’t trust what’s open, then JB will get you something else.” Conner nodded and turned to her sister.
“Cali, you want something?”
“Nope, I’m good for now.” She didn’t want to start too early and have to sit out any part of the night because her veins were flooded in excess.
Conner shrugged and crossed the yard, lifting a sliver solo cup while Cali let her eyes wander. Kirsten peeped what she was doing and leaned into Cali’s side. “He’s inside but knows you’re here. He sent me until he could get to you.”
“I wasn’t…”
“If you weren’t checking for my brother, which you were, he was checking for you. He’s been waiting. I just came to tell you he’ll be out here in a minute but I’m gonna head back over there. I have someone waiting on me too.” She pointed to the table where a game of Dominos was in session. It wasn’t until then that Cali noticed the set of dark, intense eyes that found Kirsten every few seconds. “So if you’re good?”
“I’m fine, go.” Cali gently nudged Kirsten.
“We’ll talk later. Have fun.”
