a peck, but it made my lips tingle.
“I’ve liked you since I met you,” Omar blurted out.
I giggled. “I know.”
Everyone else laughed.
“Will you be my girlfriend?” he asked, not taking his eyes off me.
I nodded. “Yes, I’ll be your girlfriend.”
Everyone clapped, hooted and hollered.
“Is this going to happen every time we play?” Maria asked. “Because Kingston, Tyler, and Eli are cute and all, but I don’t want us to make it a thing that we do. We don’t all have to be together just because we’re best friends.”
Laughter filled the room.
“You want to sit next to me?” Omar offered again.
I shook my head. “Still no. But you’re cute though.”
“Oh, this is good,” Tisha said as I climbed back on the bed between her and Kingston. “Now when someone asks who Omar is, we can say Omar of Simone and Omar.”
I covered my face as my body quaked with laughter.
“Omar of Simone and Omar,” Kingston and Tyler yelled hilariously.
My stomach hurt from laughing so hard.
God, I love them.
“Okay, okay, okay…” I tried to calm everyone down. “It’s my turn. I looked around the room and then turned to Kingston. “Truth or dare?”
He tapped his chin. “Dare.”
I smiled devilishly. “I dare you to dance to the song of my choice.”
“If you want to see me dance, just say so,” he responded in a dramatic tone.
One
I was within that perfect time period where my waist-length box braids were still fresh and new, but my head no longer throbbed in pain. My face had finally healed from the chemical peel that I was sure was mixed with acid at the time and I was glowing. My ass was looking extra plump from the months of squats I’d started incorporating. Donning a short, white dress that complemented my rich mahogany complexion, I emerged from my hotel room looking and feeling like a goddess.
“Simone is that you?” a deep male voice called out.
Peering over my shoulder, I saw a brown-skinned man who was about six feet tall with a muscular build. He had a curly, low-top fade and a goatee, but it wasn’t until he smiled that the dots started to connect. I spun around. The face I recognized, but the body was brand new. “Kingston Wright?!”
Jogging up to me, he grinned. “Simone Jefferies...” Behind his sunglasses, his eyes skated over my body. “In the flesh.”
I rolled my eyes before opening my arms to embrace him. “Kingston, you look so good!” I exclaimed when we pulled apart. “When did you get here?”
“Maybe thirty-five minutes ago. I checked in, took a shower, and threw this on.”
“Well you look good, my friend,” I told him again, giving him a once-over.
To be completely honest, he looked sexy as hell, but I didn’t want to blow his head up too much.
Kingston took a step back and posed. “You know I do what I can do when I can do it.” He lifted his white t-shirt to show off a six-pack of abs. “I’ve been doing a little something since turning thirty.”
“Okay, okay, I see you,” I complimented him, reaching my hand out, I paused. “Can I touch it?”
He laughed. “Yes.”
I felt his abs and nodded in approval. “I think the last time I saw you you were a scrawny little thing.”
He pushed my hand away playfully. “I might’ve been scrawny, but there’s nothing little about my thing. Let’s get that straight right now.”
I laughed loudly. “Okay, okay, okay… My apologies.” I lifted my hands up. “The last time I saw you you were scrawny with a big thing.” I quirked an eyebrow. “Better?”
“Yeah, I guess,” he grumbled good-naturedly. He flashed his pretty smile and gestured to my outfit. “You look good in white. You look good in anything, but you look really good in white.”
I took the moment to twirl around in a circle and pose. “Thank you, thank you. You’re far too kind.”
“I see you’re still dramatic as hell,” he joked.
I giggled, holding my thumb and pointer finger close together. “A little bit.”
“And don’t get me wrong, you’ve always been gorgeous,” he started. “Hands down one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever laid eyes on. And I think you’re damn near perfect—”
“Shut up,” I interjected while shaking my head. I knew exactly where he was about to go.
“—but your ass was always a little underdeveloped,” he continued, ignoring the fact that I was swatting his arms. “Yet here you are today with more than a handful of ass behind you.”
I laughed so hard I snorted. “Shut up! Little