Page 104 of Roman Blake
Then another one came through, Truce, Trend, Roman, and me at the last lil’ get-together, all lookin’ like we had too much on our minds.
She added:
I want both of these rooms together before the wedding.
I stared at the two pictures for a long second.
I thought about how we’d done everything separate.
And for the first time, that didn’t feel right no more.
So when she brought up her bachelorette plans one night, talkin’ about maybe a spa day with the girls and dinner after, I cut in.
“What if we don’t split it?” I asked.
She looked up from her notebook. “Huh?”
“I’m sayin’… instead of you havin’ your thing and me havin’ mine,” I said, scratchin’ my beard, “what if we do one big pre-wedding party? All our people. One room.”
She blinked. “Like… co-ed?”
“Yeah,” I said. “No randoms. No strippers. Just family and friends. Food, music, drinks. We celebrate together.”
A slow smile spread across her face.
“I like that,” she said. “A lot.”
“You sure you don’t want a night with just your girls?” I asked. “I don’t wanna take nothin’ from you.”
“I got a thousand nights with just my girls comin’,” she said. “There’s only gon’ be one ‘right before we get married’ night. I’d rather spend that with you.”
My chest did that little flip.
“Aight then,” I said, grinnin’. “Say less.”
We decided to do it at the smaller Club 4 Play over Philly.
Closed to the public. Just us.
I had them clear out the center, set up tables on the sides, dim the lights a little lower than usual. No poles, no wild shit. Just a clean, sexy vibe.
The night of, I stood near the DJ booth, watchin’ people trickle in.
Nana came early, of course, sittin’ in her little throne near the front with a drink I knew was mostly tea even if she lied and said it was wine.
Charlie Mac strolled in with his wife, shakin’ hands like a politician.
Trend and Fee showed up next, Fee walkin’ slow, belly sittin’ high, Trend carryin’ two bags like a pack mule.
“You good?” I asked her, huggin’ her gentle.
“As good as I can be,” she said. “These babies actin’ like they tryna dance they way out.”
Trend kissed her cheek. “They excited for the party.”
“Mhmm,” she said, but she was smilin’.
Charlee and Truce came in right after, she had that new shine on her, even if she was tryna pretend she wasn’t glowin’. He walked behind her like he was guardin’ the crown jewels.
