“Who?” I enquired.
“I never got to know them. They joined the chapter not so long ago.” Palo stopped short of saying anything else.
“What?” I probed.
“Nothing, except have a good time and call me if you need anything.” He kissed my cheek and hurried down the other end of the house. I caught the Uber to Shauna’s place and knocked on the door.
“Ayyy.” She grabbed both my shoulders and looked at my dress. “Now that’s a killer dress! You are smoking, mama. I’m loving that lipstick. We ready to rip it up or what?” I grinned back at her. She was wearing a bright yellow dress with strappy silver heels. Shauna loved her flamboyant colors.
“You know it!” I clicked my fingers with attitude and walked in. Celine came around the corner from the living room.
“You look amazing! I haven’t seen you in forever.” She beamed. Celine was a cute redhead with pale Irish skin, studying to be a nurse at the University of California. She had on an emerald dress that suited her creamy skin along with red lipstick.
“So do you, look at you!” She did a little spin and Rob stepped to the front as well.
“Hey, Rob, you look handsome.” He did. Rob was in his first year already of his residency and kept us in the loop of what to expect. It was rare to catch him. He was tall with dark hair, blue eyes and pale skin that made him stand out.
“Why, thank you. You look sexy. On the prowl tonight?” His eyes danced with mischief and his lips threatened to curl into a smile.
“I mean, maybe. Depends,” I replied saucily with a wiggle of my hips. Truth was I wasn’t. My interest was firmly focused on Diego. I gave Shauna a high-five and we all burst into spontaneous fits of laughter.
“Please don’t ever change.” Rob shook his head and bent to kiss my cheek.
We all packed into another Uber and arrived at The Partition a few minutes later. I loved the buzz of this bar. The music thumped through my chest as we entered. It was a sleek bar, contemporary with class. Low-key lighting and a plethora of alcoholic beverages to choose from. I let my eyes scan the crowd. Not overrun, but enough people to feel like it was a vibe. R n’ B played in the background and a few people were already on the small dance floor toward the back.
“I got the first round, guys!” Rob put his hand up. Shauna bounced next to me at the bar and her curly locks came bouncing right along with her.
“I’m going with a mimosa. How ‘bout you?” she said.
I scanned the menu. “Midnight in Paris. That’s my pick.”
“Ooo la la! I like, mamacita.” I giggled and hugged her to me. Shauna was one of my dearest friends from campus and there was nobody I would rather party with. The music turned to a song by Pitbull. Rob started shaking his hips, which was a sight to see. He did have a little rhythm. Just funny, the way he spontaneously broke out like that.
“This is my jam! Come on, Celine, let’s go bust a move on the dance floor,” he yelled. He yanked Celine’s hand and some of her drink spilled over. She just laughed. I shook my head at my friends. I needed to get warmed up first. Our exquisite drinks were prepared, and I dived into the first sip.
“Mmm, this is so good! Here, do you wanna do a swap?” I asked.
“Uh, no. I want all of my mimosa. Besides, you only took one sip. Damn!” she playfully retorted.
“Okay, girlfriend. I will have a Midnight in Paris all by myself.” I clicked my fingers at her.
“I betcha you will be having one of those tomorrow after your date,” she whispered cheekily. I raised my eyebrows at her.
“I’m not that easy. He’s got to work for it. But he is one I would consider giving it up for a little quicker.” I scrunched my nose and giggled. She sipped her cocktail and closed her eyes.
“Girl, he is finer than fine. You did good. So bold going up to him like that. I would never!”
“Had to. I couldn’t let all that man just sit there without me saying anything. That’s loco!” I said loudly. She slapped my leg in jest and drank.
“You right about that.” We clinked our glasses together. Shauna slapped her hand on the bar.
“I knew it. Right in the middle of my drink. I gotta go pee. Are you okay here for a minute or do you want to go to the dance floor with the others?” she asked. We always looked out for one another when we were out. I eyed the bathroom. It was about ten steps away and I could see her and where everything was. Nobody that looked like a threat was around. People were low-key, chill.
“No. Go ahead. I’ll be fine here. Don’t worry. I can see you.” I waved her to the bathroom.
“Scream if anything happens.” We laughed together. It would give me time to see what was up. Nice beats. I could see Rob’s head bobbing on the dance floor and they’d hit the strobe lighting. The DJ looked like he was setting up in the dance floor section. It was about to be lit.
“Hello, mamacita. You looking real good.” An energy of darkness swam around me as a guy with dark eyes, a long nose and leather jacket rolled up on the right of me at the bar. My pace of breathing shot up instantly. His eyes put me off. His smile was sleazy. I froze for a minute.
