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“I was until Gideon brought his irksome ass over here.”
“Woof. Okay. That’s on me.” She held out her hand. “Let’s dance.”
“No.”
“La’Belle, I know you see all these paid niggas while you’re sitting here like a stuck-up aunty. Get up and let’s shake some ass. Please and thank you.”
She pulled me off the couch before I could argue. It was obvious she had a few drinks with Tariq and it was pointless to fight her when she was tipsy. The DJ was transitioning into turn-up music territory in an attempt to take advantage of how drunk everyone was getting. Siani bent over and started throwing ass like she’d been waiting for this moment all day. Between the sticky heat and the prosecco working through me, I said fuck it when Party Animal by Charly Black came on and joined her. Stuck up aunty, my ass. My knees weren’t Megan Thee Stallion worthy, but I could still pop, lock, and drop it a lil’ bit.
When the set ended, my hair was stuck to the back of my neck and my throat was dry.
“I’m about to get some water,” I told Siani.
“Bring me back one.”
I made her promise to stay put before heading to the bar. Thankfully, the crowd had thinned out—most people were dancing or paired off somewhere.
“Can I get two waters, please?”1 I asked the bartender.
“You having a good time?” I knew it was that fine ass man from earlier and was annoyed that I didn’t notice him appear beside me. Whatever he was wearing, something warm and expensive mixed with his natural scent, made my skin tingle.
I kept my eyes on the bartender.
“I am.”
“I’m Dez.”
I looked at him now. Up close? This nigga was a problem. Tattoos trailed up his arms all the way up to his neck.
“That’s nice.”
He pulled his bottom lip with his teeth, flashing the grills on his fangs, and chuckled.
“‘That’s nice,’ huh? You gon’ make me work for your name?”
“If you wanna know it so badly.”
“I’ll get it eventually.”
I snorted. “You’re cocky.”
“I prefer confident.”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the waters as the bartender set them down.
“It’s Belle.”
Shit. I’d given him my real name. That was my number one rule, and I’d broken it like some silly amateur, but it came out before I could stop myself.
“Belle,” he said. Lord, the way my name rolled off his tongue made my nipples hard. I needed to get the fuck away from him immediately.
“How you know Riq?”
“I don’t. My friend is talking to him.”
“That’s my little cousin.”
“Good for you,” I said, turning to head back to Siani.
