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“From Anika,” Justine teased.
“I heard,” the younger man determinedly continued, “that Barry and his friend are coming with you guys. That’s two men and three women. You need one more man to even your group.” He gave a toothy smile. “So here I am.”
“First of all, don’t group yourself with grown men. You’re a boy. A child. Second, since when did you start caring if my group is even?” Xolani pressed a fist to her hip and scowled at him. “What’s your agenda?”
“There is no agenda.” Camryn gave her a sugary sweet smile. “I just want to spend time with my sister.”
“Lies on lies on lies.” Xolani kissed her teeth. “You never want to spend time with me unless you want something.”
“Xo, let the child come with us if he wants to. He’s not the worst company.” Justine came to his defense. “Besides, Anika will need someone to hang out with. I plan on monopolizing all of Nigel’s attention.”
Xolani did a double-take. “You don’t even know Nigel.”
“That’s why he’ll get all my attention.” Justine grinned and waggled her eyebrows. “By the end of the night, I’ll know know him.”
“Oh God!” Feeling a headache coming on, Xolani pressed two fingers to her temple and rubbed. “This will be a disaster.”
Justine grinned. “Disasters are fun.”
Half an hour later, the trio set off in Justine’s car. Barry and Nigel had already arrived at the shopping center and met the trio with smiles. As soon as the greetings and introductions were done, Justine attached herself to Nigel. The man’s stodgy expression and stiff body said that he wasn’t used to this kind of flirty attention. But he didn’t do anything when Justine looped her arm into his, so Xolani assumed that it wasn’t her place to intervene.
Anika arrived a few minutes later than everyone. She apologized for her lateness and for blabbing to Camryn about their plans. Camryn, on the other, was just as annoying as Xolani expected him to be.
“I’m not paying for you,” Xolani refused when he asked… no, demanded… that she buy his ticket.
Camryn said, “But I’m your guest.”
“You invited yourself,” Xolani reminded him.
“I’ll pay for you,” Anika offered the younger man quietly.
“No, no, no. I can’t let you do that.” Camryn shook his head vigorously and took her hand. “I’ll pay for you.”
And then they went off to get their tickets, leaving Xolani watching in open-mouthed shock.
So Camryn expected her to pay for his ticket but had no problems buying one for Anika? The audacity!
Barry laughed. “Your brother is a trip.”
“Now you know why I’m always plotting his murder.” Xolani scowled. “When they come and get me for fratricide, please tell them it was self-defense.”
“I will,” Barry agreed with a chuckle. He put an arm around her waist and led her to the ticketing booth.
In the end, Justine paid for everyone’s tickets. As she put it, that meant they now owed her, and she could collect when she wanted. All this was said while she was looking at Nigel as if to let him know that he was her primary debtor.
Nigel tried to shut her down with. “I’ll Venmo you.”
But Justine wasn’t someone who could be shut down. Grinning, she said, “I only do cash, and it has to be given in person, and on a weekday. But don’t worry. I’ll come and get it myself.”
What could one say to that?
Looking trapped, Nigel gave Barry a look as if silently pleading for help. Barry muttered, ‘who’s the social butterfly now?’ under his breath before decidedly ignoring his friend. Xolani would’ve loved to know what that meant, but by then they were filing into the theater with other movie goers.
The movie was just as bloody and horrifying as advertized. Xolani had never seen so many limbs getting lopped off or bullets being put into people’s heads. She spent almost the whole movie in Barry’s arms, hiding from the screen.
Barry didn’t mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it.
His whispered words of comfort into her ear turned to little nips of her earlobe and kisses to the side of her face. The arm around her shoulder kept moving lower until his hand was on her arm. He soothed her with lingering strokes on her upper arm, then slowly inched down to her waist. His hand dipped between her waist and arm to move up.
