“For convincing her to come out yet again so you could have another shot.”
“Who are you, my matchmaker?”
“I’m just a former faux sister-in-law with a soft spot for you.”
“Well Danessa and I are just friends now so?—”
“Okay, sure sparky.” She patted my shoulder like I was pathetic.
When it came to Danessa, my radar was always active and it started pulsing erratically when she entered the backyard in a scoop neck tank top and cutoff jeans. She was dripping in gold. Her ears, her neck, her wrist and her fingers. Her hair had that just styled bounce to it. A group of women nearby were throwing frosty looks in her direction with the realization tonight’s competition for baddest of them all had crowned Danessa as the winner. Danessa’s head was on a swivel clearly searching for her sister. She was probably regretting being here and already ready to leave. When she spotted me next to Anika, she shuffled back a step or two as if she wanted to retreat but thought better of it.
“You’re here?” she said on approach.
“I mean it is a basketball party and I’m … checks notes … a basketball player.”
“Per usual you missed all the action,” Anika said.
“There was action?”
“Yeah, yourfriendalmost came to blows with Colin.” Dante gripped my shoulder.
“Colin?”
“Colin Pratt the point guard for the Ramblers.” Dante’s clarification caused me to roll my eyes.
“You need a drink.” Anika pointed to me.
“No, I’m good.”
Anika ignored my protest. “I’m gonna get you a drink.” Dante followed behind her, apparently they were now attached at the hip.
“I don’t drink,” I called out after her.
“It’ll be a light pour,” she said before heading inside.
Danessa took a sip from her cup, her silky hair framed her face before cascading over her shoulders. The party was loud between the music, buzz of conversation and guest carousing all around us. I’d never been a fan of big crowds and was often posted up in the corner. Danessa and I had that in common. We’d be in our own little world, laughing at inside jokes or singing songs word for word. Too caught up in one another to care what anyone else was doing. Anika was the life of the party, but Danessa was better in smaller settings. That’s when she let her guard down and when she locked eyes with you, you felt like the only one.
People made assumptions about who I was but very few took the time to get to know me. And I’d let the surface shit slide because I wasn’t trying to go that deep with most people. But with Danessa I trusted that no matter how vulnerable I got, she’d still get me. Or at least that’s how it used to work.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You know Anika, she begged me to come. Actually, she and Dante teamed up on me.”
“Are they a couple now?”
“Uhm, I think they’re still just having fun.”
“I wish I could turn my brain off and just say fuck it every once in a while.”
“Anika’s ability to ignore responsibility is both a marvel and a source of frustration.”
Another Ying Yang song came on. The DJ clearly had a preference. “Did you know the Ying Yang Twins aren’t twins?”
“Yeah, they’re not even fucking brothers or related. Neither is Omarion and Marcus Houston.”
“Yeah, just a bunch of fucking phonies.” Fuck Persephone. She didn’t get it. “Are you having fun?” I was so bad at this. I never expected I’d have to make small talk with the woman I once thought I’d marry.
“It’s crowded and I think I interrupted a group of people doing drugs in one of the bedrooms.”
