Page 1
Chapter One
“Oh, hell no,” Niko says, shaking his head from his spot on the couch. “Go change.”
I purse my lips at my big brother before looking down at my freakum dress. “I’m going to the club. Not to church.”
“Don’t let the pastuh hear you say that, String Bean,” he teases, calling me by my childhood nickname.
Reverend Elijah Clark would definitely have something to say about my freakum dress. It’s a far cry from my usual girly tomboy style. But the iridescent gold dress looks amazing against my dark chocolate skin.
When I was seven years old, Tina Livingston relinquished custody of all three of her children, sending me to live with my father in New York while Niko and our little sister, Skylar, remained in Houston with their fathers. Up until that point, Elijah Clark didn’t know he had a daughter. I assume my mother didn’t tell him because he had a wife back home when he and my mother conceived me.
“Babe, leave your sister alone,” Jordyn says, plopping down on the couch beside him with a bowl of popcorn in her hand.
I grin at my brother’s girlfriend. “Thank you, Jordyn.”
Niko takes a handful of popcorn from the bowl and shoves it into his mouth. “Whatever,” he mumbles. “What’s Skylar wearing?”
I squint one eye, tilting my head. “Umm …”
Niko cocks a brow. Jordyn cuts her hazel eyes to me before grabbing the remote from the coffee table. She’s seen Skylar’s outfit—a skimpy pair of shorts and a bustier half-top. She looks incredible in it, but I had to convince her to wear one of her roommate’s outfits. It’s polar opposite from the cardigans and ballet flats she usually wears. Skylar drew the line when said roommate tried to talk her into wearing contacts instead of her glasses.
“Sky!” I call out loudly enough so that my voice carries throughout Niko’s townhouse. “Are you ready?”
“Almost! Can you come in here?”
I walk to the bathroom and knock before I open the door. Skylar’s leaning over the sink, running a flat iron through the last of her loose waves. “You look fine,” I say, leaning in the doorway.
“I thought about trying barrel curls, but I don’t have the patience for all of that. Does it look okay? You know my go-to is a bun.”
“You look beautiful, Sky-Sky.”
A smile touches her nude lips. “Thanks, Yazzy.” Skylar and I are wearing a pound of Fenty on our faces tonight, which is not the norm for either of us. But when in Rome and all that. “Your body is banging in that dress. I wish I had your Michelle Obama arms.”
“Aww.” Confidence swells in me at Skylar’s words. I’ll never have the curves God gave my little sister unless I pay for them. But I love working out, so I have some pretty sweet muscle definition.
I step closer to the vanity, sharing the space with Skylar to check my hair, which I flat-ironed stick-straight an hour ago. “Over the shoulder?” I ask, fidgeting with my hair.
Skylar shifts my hair behind my left shoulder. “Definitely.”
We give ourselves and each other a final once-over. “Esme and Liv are meeting us there,” Skylar says, applying another coat of lipstick on her lips. I check the tape on my dress that’s keeping my breasts from slipping out. “Stop messing with it.”
“Sorry. I’m not used to hanging out like this.”
“It was your idea.” Skylar shrugs before swiping her long lashes with mascara. It makes her blue eyes pop.
“True.” A smirk tugs at my lips. “Aria says I’m far overdue for a ho phase.” My bestie is very sex positive. I tend to live vicariously through her.
“And you think what you’re wearing will help channel that?”
“Well, yeah.” I massage some body oil onto my exposed skin, paying extra attention to my half-sleeve tattoo. My dad says my tattoo reminds him of the one my mother had. He didn’t mean it as a compliment, though, but as a cautionary tale. Elijah Clark wants me to be nothing like Tina Livingston.
Skylar’s blue eyes pin me with a curious stare. “Are you planning on having sex with someone tonight?”
“I’ve never had a one-night stand. Have you?”
“No,” she huffs, her fair skin tinting pink.
I turn halfway, parking my hip against the vanity. “Are you a virgin?”
