“Babe, you should try dancing. You’d make a killing. Your body look good as hell now since you dropped those extra pounds. I wouldn’t mind it.”
Being the bitch I was, I listened to him because I would do anything to make my man happy. I found a club, submitted a few photos, and was called in to work within a week of us deciding it should be my next venture.
On my first night at the club, I brought home two bands easily, so I planned to dance every night after that. Even when I wanted a night off because my feet were hurting or I had blisters on my hands, Josaiah would tell me to wrap them up and go make that money. I often joked that he thought he was my pimp. I just wish he’d grind as hard as I did for things that are reachable. Josiah was always trying to get rich quickly, but the only way to do that these days is to go viral on social media, or climb your ass up a stripping pole, which I know he was not doing.
“Cyn, yo ass is walking slow like my grandma. Come on, girl,” Tania complained to Cyn, who was a few steps behind us.
“Sorry, y’all. I had a long night, and my coochie is tired,” Cyn laughed, adjusting the seat of her swimsuit.
“Bitch, I can’t believe that nigga left your lips swollen like Jay-Z's. I’m jealous as hell. They do look like they hurt, but I know that big ass dick was worth it.”
“Tania, you saw her coochie?” I wrinkled up my nose.
“That’s my friend. And just because she’s lesbian now doesn’t mean I am too. I was just being nosey.”
“Tania, I am not a lesbian,” Cyn groaned. “I told you; I didn’t touch that girl. The most we did was kiss. The niggadid everything else to both of us, and well, I may add.”
Cyn shook her shoulders like she had the chills.
“Damn man, I wish y’all had recorded it. Well, only if he was as fine as you said he was. I don’t want to see you fucking no old fat man.”
“Oh, he was fine. Too fine for a one-night stand to be honest.” Cyn looked like she was still replaying the whole night in her head.
“That’s how I know bitches are different from me. Josiah is fucking no other bitch while I watch. I would end up beating both of them up before the first nut happened.”
We burst out laughing as we entered the hotel that the pool party was inside. This hotel smelled like cucumber water, fresh linen, and money. The kind of place where rich people pretended to be humble and poor people pretended to be rich. The elevator ride up to the rooftop felt slow as hell, the three of us chatting while my thoughts drifted toward my phone in my hand.
I was checking my messages again and again, hoping that Josiah had finally responded, but still nothing. His ass must’ve really had a long night last night after I told him not to be out doing the most.
The only reason I was really worried about him was that he was on his own for the day, until his family flies in for the wedding. Their cheap asses could only afford one night in a hotel and not even one on the Strip, either. His brothers and cousins were all staying at some off-brand hotel where I’m sure the carpet probably smelled of cigarettes and feet. To be honest, I was relieved that they weren’t here yet. Josiah’s family and friends didn’t know how to act, and every event there was always some drama with them.
When we pushed through the doors to the pool area, the party was already lit, even though it was only 11:30 AM. Music thumped from speakers hidden in palm trees, the sun glared off the water, and the bars had lines wrapped around them. There were people wearing bikinis so tiny I felt like a church mother in my one piece, so I slipped off my cover-up and tossed it over my forearm because what was the point of me hiding my body if no one else was? I don’t care that I was getting married.
“Ari,” Tania said, eyeing me up and down.
“If Josiah walks in and sees his little piece of ass hanging out that swimsuit, he's gonna have a fit.”
“Don’t worry, Tee. He’s not coming to this party,” I said confidently, slipping on my sunglasses. “It’s too early for him, and I think his ass is still asleep. I haven’t heard from him all morning.”
Tania rolled her eyes, and Cyn shrugged.
They didn’t care for Josiah like that. Not after all our drama, cheating scandals, baby scares, and him giving me the damn itch that one time. It took antibiotics, distance, and his begging for my forgiveness for months and giving “his life to God” to move past that shit. Now I make him get tested routinely just to make sure he wasn’t out fucking around on me.
The DJ switched to some loud techno beat music with heavy bass. It didn’t bother me. Tania and I used to sneak into techno clubs in high school to avoid running into anybody from our families in the hood clubs. That’s how a lot of my first boyfriends ended up being white boys. I even slept with a couple. The only weird part was the whole pink meat situation, but if you closed your eyes, it all felt the same as long as the size was right.
“Come on, Tania. Let’s get drinks. Ari, you go hold down that corner by the pool. We will grab you a drink.”
“Okay, Gin and cranberry, please,” I reminded them.
“Yes, Gin and cranberry. We know.”
They repeated the order in unison.
“Of course. We got you, Snoop Dogg.”
I playfully rolled my eyes and walked to the corner of the pool. The water was cool as I dipped my feet in, sunlight bouncing off the surface like glitter. I sat my purse beside me along with my cover-up folded neatly. I only got five seconds of peace before someone tapped my shoulder.
When I glanced back, a man in tight swim trunks and a Santa hat was grinning down at me like he expected a smile back.
