Page 21 of All She Ever Wanted Was a Real One
“Here, drink up, birthday girl,” Lex encouraged my sister. “Go on and apologize to your liver now because I’m gettin’ you fucked up tonight.”
I glanced up to see her passing Liv an airplane bottle of tequila. My head swung from left to right as they clinked their tiny bottles together in a toast before tossing their heads back and guzzling them down.
“Wanna know the difference between a nigga and a shot of tequila?” Liv jested.
“What?”
“That tequila gon’ get you right every time, bitch.”
The back seat erupted in laughter, and I turned up the speaker volume in an attempt to drown them out with the sounds of Juvenile’s “B.B.B.” But no matter how much the song slapped, it was no match in drowning them out. If anything, it made them get louder as they twerked in their seats.
The rest of the ride consisted of more pregaming and them singing backseat karaoke to whatever songs that played through the speakers. When we pulled into the parking lot inside thelarge shopping center near the club, I killed the engine before getting out.
The back door popped open, revealing Lex as she downed another airplane bottle before reapplying her lip gloss and getting out. She tugged at the hem of her short ass dress. “I swear I fucking suck at casual drinking because I always end up drunk as a skunk, but I promise I’m not gettin’ that fucked up tonight.”
“I thought you said you didn’t wanna feel your face tonight,” I reminded her.
Her brows creased. “When did I say that?”
I chuckled. “Ah, hell.”
Always on alert, my eyes scanned the parking lot before spotting the line formed outside of the club bathed in neon lights. The three of us walked over and joined it, waiting to be let in. It didn’t take long for us to make it past the bouncers with more brawn than brains, checking IDs at the door. I paid the cover charge for everyone before we got our hands stamped with the club’s logo. Upon entering, it glowed under the blue light.
The potent aroma of sweat, liquor, and marijuana wafted past my nose. My eyes scanned the entire first floor as I braced myself for a night of reminding niggas I would break their fuckin’ hands if they touched my sister or Lex. I didn’t care how old they were. I didn’t play that shit.
Neon-colored strobe lights pulsed throughout the club as the DJ spun a mix of Kendrick Lamar’s controversial verse on “Like That” over the “Snap Yo Fingers” beat and then blended in the “Int’l Players Anthem (I Choose You)” by UGK. I bobbed my head to the beat while scrunching up my expression as if I smelled something foul, but in reality, I was thoroughly impressed with the music mashup. The bass rattled through the speakers as women dressed in next to nothing, from wall-to-wall, twerked and popped their asses so hard on the dance floorthat I could’ve sworn I felt the floor vibrating underfoot as we approached the bar.
I waved down the bartender to buy the first round of drinks. “Let me know what y’all want.”
“Shit, anything you buy, I’ma drink. I can’t even focus on anything else but dancing right now. This DJ got me ready to be on myCoyote Uglyshit. I’m ready to climb on top of this bar and twerk, twerk, twerk!” Liv’s tipsy ass squealed while swaying her hips to the pulsing beat.
My brows crushed together in disapproval. “Don’t do no shit that’s gon’ make me catch a fuckin’ charge tonight, Liv. I’m serious.”
“I won’t, Oak, damn,” she said playfully, still openly swaying her petite frame to the music.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, aight. Don’t get fucked up on your birthday. That goes for you too,” I called out to Lex over the loud music.
Lex’s brows creased. “Me? How’d I catch a stray?”
“I’m just lettin’ you know wassup.”
Lex sucked her teeth. “We ain’t kids no more.”
“So what? If you think I’ma sit here and let one of these broke-ass, dusty-ass niggas put his hands all over my sister or you, y’all drunk asses got another thing coming.”
“Yeah, yeah. Can we get a round of tequila shots?” she challenged, changing the subject.
“I gotchu.”
Two hours and several drinks later, I felt like I’d been in the club too fuckin’ long, and the only woman I was interested in—the only one I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off all damn night—still had a fuck nigga in the way. I was still 90 percent sober, but I had enough liquor in my system to tell her pretty ass a thing or two. But I’d been holding my tongue out of respect for her bruised heart. I knew she was in a weird place emotionally, and I didn’t want to make things worse.
I was posted up at the bar, watching other niggas watch Liv and Lex let loose and twerk on the dance floor.
A chuckle slipped past my lips as I watched Lex. I loved a multifaceted woman who could do hood shit and could go back to being classy and articulate in the blink of an eye. Plus, I never missed an opportunity to watch the way her ass moved in that short ass dress. With that liquor in her system, she was the type of goofy drunk that would bust out in the Electric Slide to a random ass song in the middle of the dance floor and be so charismatic about it, she’d actually get people to join in on her shenanigans. Still, I stayed ready to bark on any nigga in here if his hands wrote a check his ass couldn’t cash. But all that mattered was that they were having fun, which was exactly what they’d set out to do to celebrate my sister’s special day. I wasn’t trying to ruin it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to shut shit down if I had to.
My head bobbed to the music as my eyes scanned the room. I paused when my gaze locked onto Lex’s. She was making her way through the crowd on the dance floor to come over to me. She approached me with a wide grin and a sheen of sweat across her forehead.
Out of nowhere, she reached out to hug me and moaned a little in my grasp. “Heyyyy, Oak.” She slurred her greeting. “Damn, you smell good.”
