Page 45 of The Dating Prohibition
“The gentleman next to the DJ booth decided that you needed a little bit more.”
“What are they?”
“He kept it clear, so they’re tequila blanco.”
“More tequila...” Kendra groaned and shook her head.
Shonda grinned knowingly. “I’m glad we took a Lyft because...” She stopped and turned to Lani.
“We ’bout to get fucked up!” Lani said, reaching for two shots, doling them out in front of each of them. The small glasseswere rimmed with flaky salt on one side, and lime wedges split on the lip of each glass.
“Well, let’s get these shots down and then finish our drinks and then we should probably go because these are definitely gonnabe it for me,” Shonda said.
“I don’t even know how I’m gonna get out of bed tomorrow.” Lani jutted her chin at Kendra. “Can I stay with you tonight, Keke?”
“Of course.” She nodded. “Well...”
They each raised a shot glass toward the gentleman at the edge of the booth. He nodded before leaning his ear toward the serverwho had returned to him.
The ladies grinned at each other.
“To girls’ night.” Lani raised her glass and the others followed suit.
“Girls’ night!”
Kendra shifted in her bed and felt a flood of light beaming through her eyelids. She groaned. “Oh my god, no more shots forme.”
Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting at the light comingin from the windows. Her mouth was dry and she licked her lips, looking to her nightstand to see if she’d brought a glass of water with her, but there was none. Her phone also wasn’t on the charger. Her bedroom door was open and light flooded into the living room as well. For an English basement, the windows had been strategically placed for a surprising amount of natural light.
She lifted her head to see if Lani was on the couch, but there was no sign of her. “Cuz,” she called.
No response.
Kendra threw the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed, shoving her feet into her favorite fuzzy slippersas she padded her way into the living room. “Cuz,” she called again, her voice dull, her throat scratchy.
She made it a few steps out of her door before she saw the soles of a pair of feet protruding from the floor in front of thecouch. “Lani?”
A quiet grunt emanated from the floor. Lani was on her stomach, her arms extended as if she’d face-planted with half of herbody on the thick rug and the other half pressed against the hard floors.
“Lani?”
One arm was sprawled to the side of her while the other was stretched out above her head. She lay with her cheek on the coolwooden floor tiles. A small trash can was next to her head.
“No talking,” she whispered, her eyes still closed. Her hands clawed at the ground as if the room was spinning and she washolding on for dear life.
Kendra shrugged and went to the bathroom to pee. After, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was still on and herhair stood sideways because she hadn’t bothered to wear her bonnet to bed.
“Oh, this is gonna suck.” She ran water over her face and started her skincare ritual, cleaning off all of her makeup with a cleansing balm and a gentle cleanser. Patting her face dry, she turned on the shower, tugged on a shower cap, stripped herself bare, and stepped into the water. She sighed contently as the warm stream kneaded her shoulders.
Kendra removed her cap and let the water run over her hair, deciding to wash it even though she hadn’t made an appointmentfor her next silk press. After shampooing and a hair mask, she coated her hair in conditioner and piled it on top of her headas she went about cleansing and exfoliating her body. She unhooked her detangling comb from her shower caddy and ran it throughher hair before rinsing.
She towel-dried her hair and body as she stepped out of the shower, moving to put leave-in conditioner and a curl custardinto her hair. She ran her fingers through it, wrapped different sections around her fingers for definition, and scrunchedthe ends, her coils beginning to drink in the moisture. She heard slow movement upstairs and assumed it was Shonda movingaround.
Kendra threw a robe around her shoulders, cinching it at the waist as she stepped back out of the bathroom. Lani was stillface down on the floor, so Kendra nudged her cousin’s leg with her foot. “You good?”
Lani grumbled something unintelligibly.
“Where’s my phone?” Kendra muttered. She searched every surface—coffee table, kitchen counters, her desk—before finding itunder a heap of clothes on the floor in her bedroom.
