“Nothing much, just came to check on you, make sure you're straight.”
“Yeah, I’m good. Just trying to walk so I won’t be sore, but come on in. You look nice tonight. Finally going back to work?”
Cyn invited me in with a smile, but she was the only one who seemed to be welcoming a nigga. Ari tried not to look at me, and Tania looked scared, like a lost puppy.
I sat down, spreading my arms across the back of the couch, feeling the tension thick in the room.
“I came to invite y’all out tonight, but it looks like y’all are stuck in the house.”
“Yeah, I am now. My stomach is still hurting. I think it was from that food I ate earlier,” Tania said, her voice clearly broken and upset, but I see she was sticking to the script.
“Really, I eat there all the time, and it never made me sick. You sure it was the food?”
I played with her, and she gave me a look like she couldn’t believe that I wasn’t playing along.
“But you should take some medicine and come to the club. Cyn, you got a medical excuse, but Tania, Ari, y’all don’t. Come out and enjoy your favorite couple’s night club tonight. Cyn, you’ll be straight without them, right?”
“Of course I will. You guys should really go out tonight. I know they’ll take care of y’all, and there’s no need for y’all to sit in the house watching me. I’m okay. Plus, there’s a chance that Hawk will be released early in the morning, and when he gets here, y’all know I’m going to be up under my man.”
Cyn replied, and I looked to them for their next excuse.
“I don’t know, you guys. I’m still kind of tired,” Tania said and an alarm started ringing from the kitchen.
“Oh, that’s the alarm for my beef pot pie. Let me get up and get it.”
“No, Cyn, I got it. You just got up and opened the door.”
“It’s okay, Ari. I told you I need to walk so I don’t get too stiff.”
She got up and slowly disappeared around the corner into the kitchen, and I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees,
“So, y’all are really going to act like some lame ass bitches tonight?”
They both scoffed.
“Excuse you?”
“Y’all heard me. You're getting invited out VIP by one of the top club promoters in the city.”
“So, you're a promoter now? Thought you were security.” Ari smacked her lips
“I’m everything, baby. You should know that.”
She broke eye contact with me like it was too much for her ass.
“Look, get dressed. Come out and have a good time. If you don’t like it, you can leave.”
“Shit!” We heard Cyn scream from the kitchen.
“I fucked up, y’all. I might need some help with this, actually.”
Ari jumped up before anybody else could move and ran toward the kitchen.
“I just dropped my food. Sorry y’all,” Cyn yelled, her voice traveling back into the living room.
Once Ari disappeared around the corner, it was just me and Tania sitting on the couch.
“You know your friend told me that you came home feeling kind of sick earlier.”
