“Maaaaaaan,”I laughed.“I told you to get them when I did but you swore them bitches was ugly. Talked about me like a dog when I told Gina to grab me a pair.”
“They grew on me,”she cackled.“Plus, we went into this rare sneaker store, and they had a pair in my size, so I felt like it was meant to be.”
“See, you gotta start listening to me. I won’t steer you wrong. I know you let them hit you over the head for ‘em. How much you paid?”
Amill started laughing even harder and I shook my head, face frowned up.
“None of your business. But can you send me some more money because we went shopping yesterday and I spent all the money I had? I didn’t bring enough bathing suits to last me. You know we live in our bathing suits when I come down here.”
“Which is why I can’t understand how you didn’t pack enough. You don’t need to be showing all that skin anyways,”I grumbled.“Throw on a sundress for the day.”
“Daddddddyyyyyyy!”Amill whined.
I rubbed my temples and took a deep breath. The last thing I wanted to do was buy her anymore fucking bikinis.
“Please, we are about to head to the mall now, Daddy.”
“Alright, I’ll drop some more money into your account. Get something that comes with a coverup please,”I requested as I maneuvered through my banking app to send her more money.“Oh, and make sure you take your stuff with you when you go to your Grandpa Freddy’s house because you need to stay over there or come back to the hotel with me. I’m not in the mood to be blowing up your phone or trying to talk to your other peopleto find you when ten a.m. rolls around. We have a flight to catch in the morning, and you are going to school for half the day tomorrow.”
“Dang, I can’t have the rest of the day to decompress after a weekend away?”
“Not at all. It’s your senior year and you can’t slack off now.”
“Okay,”she took a deep breath.“Thanks for the money, Dad. I love you. See you later. I’ll just stay at Grandpa Freddy’s house tonight.”
“I love you too. Don’t forget the damn coverup.”
“Bye daddy.”
We ended the call, and there was a knock on my door again. I checked the peephole and it was Gina and Zay. They were both dressed for the pool, and I opened the door to tell them that I wasn’t interested in third wheeling, but Gina placed a room key in my hand and gave me a side eye.
“See, I knew you would come through for me,” I smiled.
“You know I don’t like being involved in any underhanded BS you decide to get into,” Gina complained. “I had to lie and pretend she was supposed to be under our bill, so you are going to be paying for her stay too.”
“Shit, what’s one more?” I looked down at the room key and the hotel number. “I need one more thing.”
“Nah nigga, that’s it. She mine for the day,” Zay cut in, pulling Gina closer to him.
“Hating ass nigga,” I cut my eyes at him. “But you know what. I got it.”
They turned and walked down the hallway while I went into the room and cracked open my MacBook.
Two hours later, I approached the door two floors below me and knocked twice, giving ample time for Marissa Bentley to answer if she was inside. Once I was confident that the room was empty, I used the illegally secured key to open the door.
Entering the room, it smelled fruity, and everything was neat and in order. A major green flag. I couldn’t stand a nasty or cluttered space. Marissa was staying in a room with an ocean view and balcony. Perfect.
I went over to her bed to see what she had on her nightstand. A few pieces of jewelry, a bottle of Dior L’Or de J’adore that explained the heavenly scent in the room, and a handful of mail addressed to a home in Miami. I took a picture of the address and placed the mail back on the nightstand.
The closet was open and there was a lilac dress with mint green swirls hanging alone with a pair of shoes underneath it. I went to examine them next, the dress was different, but it matched the same pair of mint green Rene Caovilla heels she had on last night. I noted the sizes for both and went to answer the knock at the door.
“Hello, I’m Salena, you must be Mr. Haynes.”
“Yes, nice to meet you and thank you for coming out on such a short notice,” I offered her a handshake.
“Oh, it’s no problem. Where do you want me to get set up?”
“Maybe near the balcony doors. That way she can see the water but still be in the AC.”
