Page 107 of The Wright Man

I smiled so fast it hurt.

I opened our thread and immediately wheezed. That bastard had sent screenshots from our FaceTime call—chaotic, blurry captures of the three of us in full drunk auntie mode. One had Tina mid-scream with her hands up like she was praising the Lord. Another had Bella upside down on the couch, her bonnet barely hanging on, singing completely off-key. And then there was me—eyes half-closed, smiling like a goofball with a wine-stained lip, mid-verse on who even knows what.

Then came the pièce de résistance: a screen recording of us serenading him. Three different songs. At the same time. We looked so confident. So committed. So wrong.

I covered my face with my hand, snorting into my palm as I typed:

Me: delete all of these right now or we're not best friends anymore.

Maleek : lol not a chance. this is blackmail material. our children's children will see these. this is generational wealth.

I was still giggling when I hit play on the video again. The screeching harmony of chaos rang out through the open-concept kitchen.

"Who is skinning a cat, and why are they doing it so damn loudly?" Bella groaned, her voice raspy as she stirred on the loveseat.

Tina made a muffled noise under her blanket that sounded like it came from the pits of hell.

"Rise and shine, bitches," I called cheerfully, grabbing two more water bottles and tiptoeing through the wreckage like the fairy godmother of hangovers. I handed one to Bella, who grabbed it with one eye open and didn't lift her head. I held the other out toward Tina, who responded by sticking her hand out from under the blanket like a cartoon character.

I flopped onto the couch and propped my bare feet in Bella's lap.

"Only we would damn near drink ourselves to death trying to out-petty somebody," Bella muttered.

"Thankfully, I think we got the point across." I winced as I stretched. "Never again."

"Speak for yourselves," Tina croaked from the recliner. "If I'm going out, it's with a drink in my hand and my middle finger in somebody's face."

Bella and I laughed—then immediately groaned in sync, clutching our heads.

"Ugh, I need carbs. Is there any food left?" Bella stumbled to her feet and zombie-shuffled toward the Indian food containers.

"Oh shit," Tina said suddenly, voice sharp with dread. She sat up slowly, holding her phone like it had just bitten her. "I drunk texted Rico's ass last night."

"Of course you did," I laughed, laying back against the arm of the couch. "So y'all are back together now?"

Bella smirked as she poked through the containers. "She probably sent the classic 'I miss you' with a kissy face pic attached. Rico's outside her loft with condoms and a Bluetooth speaker right now."

"Worse," Tina muttered. "I sent titty pics. He’s probably camped out in my parking lot like a possum."

I couldn't stop laughing. It felt so good to laugh.

I sighed contentedly. "This was exactly what I needed. I forgot what it felt like to just... exist. Without being picked apart."

Bella returned with a piece of cold naan. "You forgot who you are, that's what."

Tina raised her water bottle like a toast. "To evil Angie. May she never get soft again."

I grinned. "Y'all are the worst and I love you for it."

They plopped down on either side of me, and I lifted my phone again. "Speaking of embarrassing decisions... I may have some texts of my own."

Both their heads snapped toward me.

"With who?" they said in unison.

"Maleek," I admitted.

They howled.