“When she goes out with her cousins, I don’t go out with them anymore. Nobody wanna listen to them sayayeeeea thousand times with loud music playing. No thanks. They know how to swim, and I trust my captain with my life, so he takes them out alone all the time,” my dad explained.
“Oh hell naw, see this why she be wanting to spend the summers down here. Y’all let her do what the fuck ever.”
“Boy hush. They want to be young and carefree. Twerk to some music, take pictures, and stuff,” my mother replied, making my chest tighter.
“She is not even answering her phone,” I complained.
“I’m sure they are fine,” my dad stated, tapping around on his phone for a few seconds until loud music blasted from his speakers, followed by a chorus of girls yelling, “I’m talking about in itttttttttttttt!” followed shortly after.
“See, twerking and having a good time,” my mother snickered, turning the phone around so I could see the security footage. After a brief glimpse, I looked away and turned back around in my seat to relax.
When we got to the restaurant, we secured a table, discussed a few business matters, and enjoyed our meals until my eyes landed on her. Marissa was glowing more than she was the last two times I saw her, and jealousy coursed through me at the thought of another man being the reason for that extra glow. I sat my fork down and sat up straight in my chair, watching her skin and grin in the next nigga’s face. I thought I made my intentions clear earlier, but maybe something got lost in translation.
Since we were in such a public place and I recognized that my earlier actions could seem a little nutty, I didn’t want to go full scorched earth like I normally would. The man Marissa was sitting with passed their waiter the checkbook without taking his eyes off of her. She was mesmerizing, so I couldn’t be mad at him for seeing the same shit I saw in her. His experience was coming to an end, though. Smiling, I stood from my seat.
“Is everything okay?” my mother queried.
“Oh yeah, I’m good. I’ll be right back. Have the waiter bring me another drink if he comes back before I return,” I requested.
The waiter was walking in my direction, and I followed him past the row of tables until he went to the waiter station behind the bar.
“Hello Carl, how are you?” I greeted him after reading his name tag.
“Ugghhhh, how can I help you?” He inquired, confusion flashing across his face.
“You wanna make some money?” I pulled a small knot of hundreds out of my pocket.
His blue eyes lit up at my words, and he brushed his blonde curls out of his face and scanned the restaurant that was now packed to the brim. “If you are trying to secure a table without a wait, that isn’t possible. We just had a rush and every table is occupied.”
“Nah, something a little different. I’m going to cover the bill you just took from that table, but first, I need you to take the card back to the table and tell them that his card declined. Of course, he’s going to say it’s a mistake, but you gotta sell this shit. Tell him you ran in three times and ask for another card. He’ll probably produce another card, and you run that scheme until he runs out of cards.”
“Nah man, I can’t do that.”
“I got five racks for you right here,” I discreetly flashed the money in front of him.
“Alright, but I need the money upfront,” he requested. “And I can’t run your card. Just in case he gets rowdy and asks to speak with a manager, they’ll try to run his card.”
“Shit, you ain’t said nothing.” I passed him the money and firmly held onto his hand. “Please know if you don’t do what you are paid to do, I’ll make sure you don’t make it home tonight.”
“Naw man, I got you,” he smiled, sliding the money into his pocket.
I returned to my table as Carl strolled over to Marissa’s like he was ready to put on the performance of a lifetime. He cleared his throat and leaned in slightly, just loud enough for nearby tables to overhear.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said with a frown. “But the card declined.”
I could see the shift in both of their energy. Marissa was embarrassed to be on a date with a nigga whose card declined, and he was shocked at the card declining. The dude blinked like his soul had just tried to leave his body. Marissa froze mid-sip, slowly placing her wine glass down.
“Nah, that can’t be. Run it again,” he urged. “Yeah, I ran it three times. Even wiped it off on my pants because it’s rare that we have this happen here.”
Carl handed the card back like it was diseased. Dude pulled out another card trying to remain confident. He quickly passed it to Carl, and he scurried off, smiling at me as he walked past our table. A few minutes later, Carl returned again, lips pursed like he was annoyed. Our waitress returned with a new drink for me, and I sipped, enjoying the show.
“Unfortunately, that one declined too.”
“Do you know them?” My mom whispered to me because they were watching the show too.
“Wait, that’s the young lady that slapped you last night,” my dad noticed.
“Shhhhh, she is going to be my wife one day, and y’all are ruining the show.”
