Page 21 of A Little Kissing Between Friends

Pasting a smile onto my face, I reached over and grabbed Mercedes’s arm, nodding toward the end of the hallway as I took a step in that direction before I turned to face the woman. I didn’t want to be rude, but the moment had dragged on long enough and now it was time to go.

“Yeah. We were.”

Hiking the short strap of the silver bag she carried higher onto her shoulder, she nodded and took a couple of steps closer to us.

What the hell?

“Oh, okay. I thought so.” Her eyes bounced from me to Mercedes and then back to me. “So, are y’all on a double date or something?”

My eyebrows shot up while Mercedes continued giggling next to me. That was a really personal question for someone you’d just met in the bathroom. Groupies didn’t care about shit like privacy, evident in her accosting us right outside the bathroom of all places and then attempting to follow us.

Tilting my head to the side, I eyed her. “Since it’s clear you only complimented my dress to start a conversation, just tell me what you want to know so I can get out of this hallway.”

The woman giggled but didn’t even have the decency to look remorseful for her recon mission.

“Is the stud with the waves your girlfriend? Y’all were dancing kinda close and I don’t want to step on any toes.”

Mercedes shrieked, and this time I joined in, laughing heartily at the question. Whatever brand of audacity that men consumed on a regular, baby girl must’ve taken a shot of it before following us down the hallway. “Girl, if you truly thought she was my girlfriend, you wouldn’t even be asking me this. But to answer your question, no. That’s my bestie. And just in case you want to ask another question that isn’t really any of your business, I don’t fuck my friends.” I might’ve had a bit of an attitude, but it was warranted. It wasn’t like I’d planned to give her a chance anyway, but the way she went about trying to holla was all wrong and now I was just annoyed.

“She’s telling the truth,” Mercedes insisted. Clucking her tongue, she finally started moving, pulling me with her away from the stall since I still had my hand on her arm. “I tried to throw some pussy her way when we first met, but she said she don’t fuck single moms.” She tossed the last part over her shoulder, making the other women in the hallway who were waiting on a free stall break out into laughter.

I hollered, slapping her arm once we were clear of the entrance. “If you don’t shut your lyin’ ass up! Now you gon’ have that girl telling lies about me on social media.”

My friend rolled her eyes. “Trust me, talking about you online is probably the very last thing that’s on that woman’s mind.”

I shot her a side-eye. “How you figure?”

Pursing her lips, Mercedes gave me a dumb look. “Girl, duh. She pressed you for information about Cyn ’cause that’s who she’s after. Lil mama is on the hunt and you were just the chum she used to reel in her catch.”

Frowning, I released Mercedes’s arm and grasped her hand, holding tight as we trudged through the now incredibly crowded dance floor to reach the stairs for VIP. Calling me chum was rude as hell but, more importantly, how had I read the situation so wrong? I’d instantly assumed baby girl was coming for me, but thinking the conversation over, she hadn’t even flirted that hard. I shook my head in disappointment, hoping that my long-term singledom hadn’t destroyed my ability to recognize real interest.

There was a twinge in my brain that whispered how I’d seen very real and clear interest in Poppa’s eyes not even twenty minutes ago, but I blinked it away. That was...well, I couldn’t blame it on the alcohol, since Poppa didn’t drink. None of the Thomases drank, not since Carissa started on a path to sobriety ten years ago.

Thinking about the support of loved ones brought Poppa right back to the forefront of my mind. Lil Miss Afro Puffs was just her type, and I hoped I hadn’t just set Poppa up for some bullshit by giving that girl more information than she deserved. Despite how attractive the unknown woman was, she could’ve been a crazed fan with ulterior motives. You could never tell these days. I felt another twinge as we trekked back across the dance floor, this time in my gut instead of my brain. The last thing I wanted to do was send yet another good-for-nothing woman in Poppa’s direction.

When we arrived back up to Xeno’s section, Poppa was missing and Trisha announced that we were going to do a round of shots. I talked her out of ordering tequila, which made Juleesa a Very Horny Girl, and convinced her that whiskey was the better option. The shots arrived quickly, but Poppa still hadn’t returned. After tossing the shots back and placing the glasses on the tray, I went to Xeno, who was hugged up with Trisha, kissing on her neck. I hated to interrupt their super sweet moment, but I needed to know where Poppa was.

Just to be safe.

“Where’d Cyn go?” I asked, leaning toward them to help project my voice over the music.

Trisha met my eye and tapped Xeno’s arm.

“Bae, she’s looking for Cyn.”

Blinking out of lovey-dovey bliss, Xeno looked over at me for a minute, as if she was processing the question.

“Oh,” she said after a moment. “She went to speak to the DJ.” With her finger, she pointed toward the dance floor.

Turning, I looked in the direction she indicated, squinting to see in the dim lights, sweeping my eyes over the crowd right in front of the DJ booth. I felt a thud in my gut when I spotted her. Trying to get a closer look, I walked over to the railing, both hands on top as I willed my sight to zoom in like those goggles in the spy movies. I didn’t need to zoom in though, because the club wasn’t so massive that I couldn’t make out the image down on the dance floor.

Poppa was standing near the stairs to the DJ booth, a glass in one hand, while the other was on the back of a woman who stood in front of her, speaking into her ear. The woman in question?

Lil Miss Afro Puffs.

“Well, well, well,” cooed Mercedes into my ear as she came to stand right next to me at the railing. “What do we have here?”

Rolling my eyes, I shot her a quick glare before returning my gaze to the dance floor. That proved to be a mistake, and I watched as Poppa threw her head back and laughed at something that girl said to her. Jaw clenched, I spun around, putting the image to my back as I leaned against the rail. Mercedes smirked at me.