Lauryn’s coppery-brown skin blushed a beet shade of red. “Thank you! After I drop this baby and lose all this baby weight, we plan on renewing our vows in a real intimate ceremony with our friends and family. I’ll be able to drink then, so you already know we gon’ be lit!”
“Yassss!” Brielle hailed before making her long, honey blonde box braids pop against her ass as she did a quick twerk.
“So what has been going on in your life, Cass?” Shauna asked, putting the spotlight on me.
“Yeah, what’s up with you and Hendrix? Have you spoken to him?” Brielle inquired.
I shook my head with a huff. “Not really since Christmas. You know he told me his side of the story and then he told me to take some time and think about what I wanted, so that’s what I’m doing. Now with this new job promotion on the table…I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“Pause! Job promotion?” Shauna asked, folding her arms across her size DD chest.
“See! I ain’t the only one that’s been keepin’ secrets!” Lauryn called out.
I rolled my eyes. “I literally just found out I got the job a few days ago. You kept your shit tight for months. It’s not the same!”
Lauryn sucked her pearly white teeth. “Whatever.”
“Keep going. What about the job?” Brielle urged.
“Okay, so it’s a really good opportunity, but uh, it’s in New York…”
“New York? You know what, you bitches got me feelin’ like I went to sleep and woke up in the Middle East with all these bombs you’re droppin’ today!” Brielle gasped while throwing her hands up in the air.
“Shut your ass up!” I said before tossing my neck back with laughter. “But yeah, I’d be the director of operations at a new office they are opening up in New York.”
Brielle shot me a warm smile before turning the champagne bottle back up to her lips. “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with new beginnings.”
“I know, I know.”
“How soon would you have to go?” Shauna asked.
“They are giving me ninety days to find a place and relocate.”
“You nervous?” Lauryn jumped in.
“Extremely! Cali is my home, you know? But at the same time, like Bri already said, it’s a new beginning.”
“All I wanna know is if New York is closer to Kansas than Cali is, or further away?” Shauna asked. “Y’all know I barely passed geography back in middle school.”
We all burst out into tears of laughter, falling back against the soft pink, plush pillows under the cabana. “I’m not sure, but why does that matter exactly? It’s not like things are really anything between us right now.”
“So you gon’ sit here and tell me you haven’t already calculated the air miles? Oh, aight,” Lauryn said, calling my bluff.
I rolled my eyes for the millionth time. “There you go! What more do y’all want from me? I told the man I loved him, and he basically told me to work on myself.”
“He ain’t wrong. Sometimes, we all need somebody else to hold up the mirror for us to realize our own missteps,” Lauryn replied.
“So wait, youarein love with him?” Brielle asked, cocking her head to the side. “I mean, I knew you were a fan of the D, but I didn’t know things had gotten deeper.”
I sighed. “I am, but to be honest, seeing those photos and hearing what y’all had to say on top of what complete strangers had to say, sent me spiraling into survival mode. I just feel like I need to proceed with caution with my heart right now, okay? Can y’all just be okay with that?”
“We’re fine with it. The question is, are you okay with that?” Shauna questioned.
“Yeah, and you do know it’s okay to fall in love with the wrong people sometimes, right? We’ve all done it. And I’m not saying falling in love with Hendrix was a bad thing or that he’s the wrong person, but you gotta learn to be gentle with yourself,” Lauryn added.
“Nah. Fool me once shame on you. That’s it. You don’t get to fool me twice. I’m good,” I told them all.
Shauna frowned. “So what do you do with all the feelings you accumulate, besides tuck them under the pillow of the next nigga you hop on?”
