“Don’t even start. You know that secretive ass nigga won’t tell us shit else.”
They both laughed before dapping each other up and pulling Ramel over to where they were sitting. Hearing that he was also secretive with his friends made me feel a little bit better about not completely knowing everything about the man I was spending so much time with. It told me that it wasn’t just something he did with me, but instead, it was who he was.
“Never mind them. I’m Alexis. This is my sister Anissa.”
The thicker sister spoke as she grabbed me into a side hug. They were both gorgeous girls, but I could tell Anissa was the more reserved one. She wasn’t standoffish at all, but she also wasn’t as open as Alexis.
“Nice to meet y’all.”
“I never thought I would see the day Method introduced us to a woman,” Anissa finally spoke, calling Ramel by his last name. “I already know you have to be someone pretty special.”
“Thank you.” I smiled shyly, still not quite sure how to take either of them. I’d experienced catty girls before, and if this was going to be that, I’d rather not even try to build anything there. I wanted friends, but not at the cost of my own mental health.
“Y’all ready to get beat?” Cap asked, grabbing his girl from behind.
“Trust me. You ain’t winning shit tonight.”
“Maybe not this game, but trust me. I’m winning something.” He bit his lip, causing everyone to laugh as Anissa pushed him away.
“So damn nasty.” She laughed as we all took our spots and prepared for the game.
They had set it up with men versus women, and I was actually happy they did it that way. Bowling just happened to be a hidden talent of mine, and I loved beating men at anything, especially ones that assumed they would win just because they were playing women.
It didn’t take me long to warm up to the girls, especially since we were on our third game and hadn’t lost yet. I wasn’t the only one with a hidden talent for bowling; both Alexis and Anissa played like it was their favorite sport. Every time one of us got a strike, the others took our time rubbing it in the men’s faces. They’d started out talking a lot of shit, but now that they were dragging behind us in the third game, not too much was being said.
“I know that’s right, Gina. Show Method how it is done!” Anissa cheered, and I collected another strike.
“I don’t need no tips. Just wait until it’s my turn.”
Ramel mugged me as he stood between his boys. I could tell they were all competitive as hell because they weren’t taking tookindly to being beaten by a group of women, especially not their women, but that didn’t stop us from doing everything we needed to do to win.
“I’m sorry, baby.” I kissed Ramel on the cheek before he moved to take his position in the lane next to ours. “That’s for good luck.”
“I’ll take it,” he said, still a little salty, before reaching for his ball.
Competition aside, they all made me feel so welcome. I couldn’t believe how well I fit in with everyone and how welcoming even the men were. Outside of boarding school, I’d never had a real friend group. I honestly believed being so far away from home and family was the only thing that bonded me with any of the people I met there. Here, with Ramel’s friends, I felt safe.
Chapter
Twelve
Ramel
“I bet they wasn’t expecting that one. They thought they had us,” Cap said as he dapped me up.
I’d just rolled my third strike in a row, sealing the girl’s fate. Their winning streak had ended, and I was the cause. I usually wouldn’t celebrate beating women, but the way they had been showing out tonight needed to be shut down.
“Stay on they ass, young blood.” Top came over and dapped me up.
“I had to. They were getting a little too confident.”
My baby Gina was standing across from me, faking a pout, so as soon as I was done dapping up the guys, I walked over and pulled her into a hug. She tried to turn her head to avoid eye contact, but I turned it right back before grabbing hold of her lips with mine. She tasted so good.
“No, stop kissing me since you want to show out for your friends.”
Gina playfully pushed me away and turned her body to the side just enough for me to see that lil’ butt stick out. I let my eyes travel down her frame as I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth. Gina was slim but thick in all the right places.
“I didn’t say that when you were showing out with your friends that you literally just met. How you gon’ betray me for some strangers?”
