“Yes. Please behave.” Mia sucked her teeth.
As he walked closer, Cierra gave him a quick hug before turning to introduce him to the group. “Where’s Nadine? Is she still coming?”
“She got tied up with work. Just me today, unfortunately.”
Erik waved to the small group of interested faces, and everyone took turns introducing themselves. The group then purchased ice-cold Gatorades from a nearby stand and bravely ventured into the labyrinth of food stalls, each one showcasing unique global culinary creations. Erik trailed behind Mia and Cierra as they made their way toward the Viet-fusion food stand, while Lisa and Jess headed toward the Korean corn dogs.
“So, you’retheMia,” Erik said, eliciting a skeptical glance from the woman herself. “Nice to finally meet you. I heard you’re the reason behind Cierra’s social media fame.”
“I hope she wasn’t spreading rumors about me,” Mia teased, which made Cierra roll her eyes, but she was happy to see her friends getting along. “Have you been to Queens before?” Mia asked.
“Not this part, no, but I’ve always wanted to. This event is insane. Too bad Julian couldn’t make it. He’s seriously missing out,” he said.
“I’m starting to doubt this guy exists,” Mia added, taking another drag from her weed pen (she insisted it was to help her appetite).
Cierra shook her head in exasperation. “Mia! You’ve met him before. Remember the tiki bar?”
“Oh, God.” Mia face-palmed, shaking her head. “Sorry, it’s this thing,” she said, looking at the slim vape in her hand. “I’m trying to drink less.”
“Besides, we’re not that serious yet. Just enjoying each other’s company and seeing where things go.”
“Ohh, so it’s more of a situationship. Gotcha,” Mia said absent-mindedly.
Something about that word stung, but at this stage, Cierra didn’t know if she had any evidence to the contrary. “Yeah, I guess so,” she replied weakly.
“Is that what you want?” Erik asked.
“What an excellent question, Erik,” Mia chimed in. Cierra shot her a dirty look. “Sorry,” Mia muttered.
“Because you definitely deserve something more, if that’s what you’re looking for. Just saying.”
“Ah-greed,” Mia replied.
“Mind if I get a hit?” Erik asked her.
“By all means,” she said, slipping the slim metallic vape into his hands.
“Oh, shit,” Cierra remarked, surprised at how easily he got along with her friend.
“Right now, I’m just a simple man who wants to eat his body weight inbánh mìtacos,” he said, exhaling a thin cloud into the heat.
Fair enough,she thought.
“You need to bring him around more often,” Mia said, eyes focused on Erik.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DAYS LATER, MIA was sipping flamingo-pink sparkling rosé from a skinny flute on the patio of Lucien, a popular bar in SoHo, when Cierra spotted her from across the street and waved; they were meeting up before heading to a movie with some other mutual friends. A sea of fashionable young New Yorkers littered the bar’s patio, which was packed for happy hour. The two friends exchanged a hug, and a radiant smile of pride bloomed across Mia’s face.
Before heading to Mexico City, Mia put together a video strategy — a three-part series documenting the trip — that had recently propelled Cierra’s social media presence to new heights.
“Congratulations, hun,” Mia said.
“Are you kidding me? It was literally all you.”
Cierra sat down and looked sincerely at Mia. “Seriously, you’ve been amazing. I don’t even know how to thank you for all the help you’ve given me.”
The first video hooked interest with images of her first-class travel, the second part showed off her recipes and meals, and the third showcased the event and walked viewers through the prep, like parasocial sous chefs. Despite her initial skepticism, Cierra trusted Mia’s instincts, and it had paid off. The video had shot Cierra’s following well above the 10k mark, and several potential new clients had reached out, inquiring about events; even a few brands had contacted her about potential collaborations. Thiswas only a positive ahead of submitting herPlatedapplication — followings were a huge component in who got selected.
