Kelli was next to Sha’Nelle, and them two had they own lil’ vibe goin’ on, laughin’, talkin’ and clinkin’ they glasses together like they been locked in for years.
Reni was on me heavy…
I had my arm around her, my hand slidin’ over her hip while she leaned into me. Every now and then I’d pull her in and kiss her, lettin’ her feel me right here with her so shit couldn’t get twisted.
She smelled good, felt good against me, and she had been drinkin’, so she was loose, laughin’ more, touchin’ on me more and pressin’ into me like she ain’t wanna be nowhere else.
I kissed down her neck while she tilted her head back, and she let out a soft laugh, her fingers curlin’ into my shirt while the music bounced through the section.
“That’s my baby,” I murmured against her skin, my hand slidin’ lower to her thigh while she shifted on me.
She turned her head and kissed me, deep and slow, and I let her have that, kissin’ her right back while my hand stayed on her, keepin’ her grounded to me.
At the same time, I wasn’t blind.
Every time Sha’Nelle got up, whether it was to grab another drink or just move with the music, my eyes caught it before I could even stop it. It wasn’t even on purpose, but just instinct kickin’ in before I checked myself and brought my attention right back where it belonged.
She’d throw her hands up when a song she liked came on, her body movin’ with it, hair fallin’ down her back, and she wasn’t lookin’ at nobody but herself in that moment. She was just vibin’ how she vibed.
And every time I caught it for a second, I pulled myself right back to what I was doin’, keepin’ my hands on Reni and my attention where it needed to be, ’cause at the end of the day this was my woman. I loved her, and I wasn’t about to let nothin’ shift me outta that.
I poured her another drink, held the cup to her lips while she took a sip, then set it down and pulled her back into me.
“You good?” I asked low, brushin’ my thumb over her cheek.
“I’m real good,” she said, smilin’ up at me, her eyes a lil’ glossy from the liquor.
I smirked and kissed her again, lettin’ the moment sit between us while everything else kept movin’ around us.
Across from us, Kelli said somethin’ that made Sha’Nelle laugh, and I heard it over the music, even if I ain’t catch what he said.
Her laugh cut through everything, and that shit hit me for a second before I shook it off and brought my focus right back to my woman. I kept my hands on her while the night kept movin’ how it always do in a club.
Drink after drink, song after song, bodies kept movin’, lights was flashin’, and at some point, the DJ started windin’ it down.
That’s when I knew it was about that time.
I grabbed Reni’s hand and stood up, pullin’ her with me while she leaned into me, laughin’ about somethin’ I ain’t even hear.
“Come on, baby,” I said, leadin’ her toward the exit while Kelli and Sha’Nelle moved with us.
The club was crowded, with everybody tryna leave at the same time, bodies pressin’ in from all sides while we pushed through it.
That’s when me and Sha’Nelle ended up side by side in the crowd, close enough for our arms to brush more than once as everybody pushed toward the exit. It wasn’t nothin’ planned or intentional, but just how the space tightened around us. Then her hand slid against mine for a brief second, and it was just enough for both of us to feel it before we kept movin’ with everybody else.
We looked at each other at the same time, quick and sharp, like we both felt it but wasn’t about to make it nothin’.
Her eyes met mine for that quick second like we both felt it at the same time, and then she looked forward again and kept walkin’ with the crowd like nothin’ even happened. I did the same, stayin’ right in my lane and keepin’ it movin’ without makin’ it more than what it was.
By the time we made it outside, the air hit cooler and quieter after all that noise, and everything settled back into what it was supposed to be.
I dapped Kelli up. “A’ight, bro.”
He nodded. “I’mma catch you.”
Sha’Nelle was already movin’ toward the passenger side of the car, not lookin’ back, just openin’ the door and slidin’ in like everything was normal.
And maybe it was. Maybe it needed to be…
