burst out laughing. “He was on the blackjack table and he said we were bad luck. We were still drinking at that point, so I don’t know what we said but he was irritated with us!”
“What did you guys do?” I asked, shaking my head.
Giggling, they looked at each other.
“We have no idea,” Tisha answered, lifting her shoulders in confusion.
Maria swallowed her food. “But when we saw Tyler and Eli, they told us that Omar wasn’t feeling us right now. Then the four of us met Dom and Kingston at the club. A song we knew came on and your cousins started a Soul Train line and then we pretty much stayed on the dance floor the rest of the night.”
“Yeah, we’re not tired and hungover from drinking. We’re tired from shaking our ass to Spanish hip-hop,” Tisha added. “And then some older men tried teaching us the merengue, so we’ll be busting out those moves at the reception tonight.”
“If I remember the moves,” Maria snickered. “It was a lot going on. But yeah, it was a good time. Dom’s aunt Vivian is the MVP of the night.”
“Yoooooooo!” Tisha threw her arms up. “Vivian looks like she’s living her best life and honestly it’s inspiring. She’s fifty and looks forty and acts thirty. She had men of all ages trying to get with her—including Tyler.”
“Tyler?!” Chloe coughed, choking on her pineapples. “Was Dom still there when this happened?”
“Dom had left way before that,” Maria answered. “This was when she was showing us up on the dance floor with her merengue. And Dom left maybe twenty minutes after Kingston left. They weren’t at the club long.”
“When Dom called me, Mom and Corrine were still in my room,” Chloe said. “It was about one o’clock.”
That’s about right because Kingston got to my room around a quarter to one and he smelled like he was fresh from a shower…
I touched my neck as my mind wandered to how it felt when he kissed me. His body was pressed up against me and his hand gripped my throat. He applied the perfect amount of pressure that even the thought of it stirred my body.
“Earth to Simone,” Chloe called out, waving her hand.
I blinked rapidly. “Hey!”
She eyed me suspiciously. “What are you thinking about over there?”
My eyes inadvertently went to Tisha. “I don’t know. Just lost in random thought, I guess,” I said, averting the truth. “What did I miss? I’m sorry.”
“We were asking what you did after dinner last night,” Chloe restated.
“Oh, I took a shower and then moisturized and took care of my body,” I said carefully. I popped a melon ball in my mouth. “When I went to sleep, I slept like a rock.”
“That must be why you look so refreshed and energized,” Maria pointed out.
Tisha smirked. “That tracks.”
I stared at Latisha Marshall and tried not to smile at her slick comment. “It’s a—”
“I have a question,” Corrine interrupted.
Although it was a little rude, it saved me from an interrogation from my best friends that would ultimately end with me telling them the truth. So, I let it slide.
Corrine didn’t even acknowledge I was talking. “Who is singing tonight?”
Chloe looked at me and then at her sister. “Tanzania and Omar.”
“Kenny isn’t singing?” Maria asked.
“He’s playing the violin.” Chloe put her fingers to her lips. “But it’s a surprise!”
“I didn’t even know he played the violin,” Tisha commented. “He went to college with us for the last two years and I never once saw him with a violin.”
“I remember him saying he played as a kid. I never saw him play either though,” I mused. “This should be cool to see.”
“Am I horny or does Kenny look good?” Maria wondered aloud, staring off into the distance.
“He’s cute,” I agreed with a laugh.
“He’s got those juicy lips.” Tisha bit into her pineapple and shimmied her shoulders. “You might be horny but it’s a solid assessment.”
“You know who else looks good?” Maria chirped, eyes widening as she chewed.
“All of them,” I answered, only partially joking.
“Of course,” Corrine muttered.
My eyebrows furrowed at her snide remark. “What?”
She didn’t respond to me.
“Corrine!” Chloe’s face was a mixture of shock and confusion. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” Corrine looked at me. “Nothing at all.”
What the hell is her problem?
“To answer your question, Maria,” Tisha replied with an edge to her voice. “If I had to pick, I’m going to rock with my boy Eli.”
“Of course,” Maria giggled with a roll of her eyes. “Eli came here single for you. You’re hooking