His mouth lifted into a half-grin. There were no dimples. No boyish grin. No Burberry shirt.
Pearla, please stop.
“I’m not twenty-one…” I clicked my tongue with a cock of my head.
“Yeah, the liquor stores be discriminating hard! How the fuck do they let the boys buy alcohol and not us?” Bella stated as I smirked at her usual antics.
“That’s cuz y’all lil’ ass don’t need to be drinking no way, unless you with me,” Italian said with a sneer. I hadn’t noticed that he had left the room until he walked back in holding a stack of red cups.
“If that’s the case, give me a Sprite!” Mahzeyah put her wine cooler down on the ground next to her foot.
Italian softened his face and turned to look at her. “Man, here… Take this cup.”
He handed her an empty cup, and she hesitantly took it. He then proceeded to pass out cups to the rest of us.
“This pizza so fye! I loves me some Hunts Brothers!” Bella bit down on a slice, taking her spot back on the sectional.
She passed a plate to Glee, ignoring her protests of not wanting any. We’d all been making sure Glee had what she needed, even though Blayke was always ten steps ahead for her bestie. A broken leg and a newborn baby had to have been tough, but she was handling it well.
Once everyone had a cup, including Glee this time, P cracked the top on the D’Ussé. Taking three strides, bringing his weed and Versace cologne with him, P was in my space before I could blink.
Shit.
“A shot or three?”
“Three?” I asked, dumbfounded.
I’d drunk before but not much. Bella had gotten us drunk once at a college party, but it was cheap punch. This was premium liquor, and I knew one shot would have me on my ass.
“I’ll take a half shot.”
“Nah, you gettin’ a full shot…” He derided and waited for me to lift my cup.
The brown liquor flowed from the neck of the bottle so fast that I had to push it away. “That’s enough!”
Everyone snickered, including P. His voice was mellow-toned but deep. It had a ruggedness to it, and it matched his appearance to a T. Instead of pouring everyone else’s shot, he passed the bottle to Italian, and after Italian poured Mahzeyah and Bella’s shot, the bottle was passed to Ro, who poured Blayke and Glee’s. The bottle went through a few more hands before we all lifted our cups. Once Italian said something I didn’t hear over the pounding of my heart, we all took the shot. The burn in my chest made me slap at it. I wasn’t the only one because all of usgirls, except Bella, were either coughing, had sour expressions, or gagging.
“Another round!” Italian announced.
“Hell no! That shit is nasty!” I hollered.
“Right, I ain’t tryna be sick… Especially being up early with Baby Leader! Hell no,” Blayke all but shouted.
“My baby can come over here with me.” Italian poured himself another shot and took it to the head.
“When you’re not able to sleep, you’ll be knocking on the door and bringing her back. My baby likes to be up playing at three a.m.” Glee smiled.
“When he realize he don’t have a nipple for her, he’ll be knocking!” Mahzeyah chuckled, then chased her shot with her wine cooler.
Italian kissed his teeth. “Man, chill out. Glee pump… I can just make a bottle for my little baby.”
He passed the bottle back to P. I could still feel his eyes on me, but I stared at the TV, watching Usher and R. Kelly cry about the same girl. I zoned everyone out, hearing the murmurs of Mahzeyah and Italian argue while Bella and Blayke discussed celebrity gossip.
“Ohh! Let’s play a game!” Blayke shouted, and Glee and I flinched.
She had made the statement in general, but her sights were on Ro. He was the quieter one of the bunch. Like the last time he was over, his sock-covered feet were stuffed in a pair of Nike slides, and he kept his fit simple in black joggers and a clean white tee. However, he was just as handsome as someone dressed in designer clothes and jewels. As he lifted his cup, he glanced at Blayke over the rim before looking away and pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
“A game? Really, Blayke?” Bella’s mean ass scoffed.
