Page 109 of Search My Soul
“Hey, P? How much longer are y’all gonna be?” Murk knocked, then peered his head into the room.
“We’re almost done, baby. I’m gonna put my jewelry on and then my shoes. We should be ready to leave in the next twenty minutes or less,” she informed him. Murk gave her a skeptical look that had us all laughing.
“Don’t look at us like that, bro. We are not that bad.” Normandee tittered.
“Mannnn, sis, you could have saved that lie for someone who doesn’t know y’all. We were supposed to be at the club at nine and it’s a quarter after ten. I already knew how this was gonna go,” Murk grumbled.
“We deserve a little grace here. This is our first time stepping out in a long time. We have to make sure that we’re shitting on everybody,” I retorted.
“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care about none of that shit. Y’all have fifteen minutes to finish up in here, or we’re leaving y’all asses here. I’m already tipsy from waiting for y’all to finish. I’mma fuck around and be passed out in a minute,” he warned.
“Naw. Go drink some water, big daddy. I’m tryna fuck tonight, and I don’t have time for you to be giving me three pumps and a swivel.”
“Man, fuck you. I bet they would be the best three pumps of your life. Now hurry your ass up.” He gave us one last judgmental stare and then headed out of the room.
“All right, ladies, you heard the man. I’m gonna call my kids one last time and add some more lip gloss, then I’m ready.”Normandee whipped out her phone before heading out of the room. Her kids were spending the weekend with her parents. It was crazy to see how much their relationship had changed over the years. Normandee never had a close relationship with her parents, but since her children were born, her mother has been one of her biggest supporters. It was the same way for Puma as well. She and Barbie were damn near best friends now and I thought I would never see the day.
I can admit it made me jealous for a while because I would never have that kind of relationship with Rochelle. There wasn’t enough therapy or heart-to-hearts that would make up for all of the pain I went through at her hands. To be honest, she wasn’t remorseful about any of it, and I doubt she would ever admit that she failed me. My father reached out to me a few times to check in and let me know he loved me. While I appreciated the sentiment, I was no longer willing to overextend myself for the sake of our relationship.
“All right, I’m ready. Damn, you are fine as fuck, bestie.” Puma gassed me up as I adjusted the strap on my heels. I decided to wear a two-piece shorts outfit because I wanted to be able to bounce my ass. The shorts looked like there was space when I bought them, but my ass looked super fat now that they were actually on my body. Darion wasn’t in town, but I sent him a picture, and he couldn’t stop complimenting me. I thought he would trip, but DJ was a very laidback person. He never felt threatened by what I wore, especially when I was with him.
“Thank you, bestie. You look amazing. Happiness looks good on you, and I’m so excited to see what this year brings your way. You deserve all the good things in life.”
“Thank you, baby. I’m so grateful for another year of life. Especially when I get to spend it with the people who mean the most to me. I love you, Nee-nee.”
“I love you more.”
Puma, Normandee, and I have been through so much in life, and it made me happy to see my girls get the love they deserved. I wasn’t envious in any way because I believed my turn would come.
“Aye, get your ass off that table before I embarrass you.” Murk hissed. Puma was on her sixth shot of the night, and we were all feeling good. We had been dancing for the last thirty minutes, and I was sure my knees would be cussing me out in the morning.
“I’m sorry, daddy. I thought you wanted to see what my career would have been if things didn’t work out at the shop.” The glare on Murk’s face was hilarious, and the liquor made it damn near impossible for us to take anything seriously.
“Yeah, all right. Keep playing with me and watch what happens. That ass should only be bouncing like that for me. I don’t want to have to fight my niggas for drooling over my wife. Stop playing on my top.”
“Aww, I like it when you get possessive. Let them know who I belong to.” Puma pushed him on the couch and started wobbling her ass in his face. Murk’s mood instantly shifted as he admired his wife’s backside.
“I need to drink some water. I’m so glad I pumped enough milk for Lynx because I’m gonna have to pump and dump once I get home.”
“Damn right. You ain’t about to have my baby girl lit off that Don Julio.”
I giggled as the two of them went back and forth. The song changed, and I decided to rest for a while before I started dancing again. As soon as I took my seat, in walked Soul. I tried not to stare at him, but it was damn near impossible. He looked so good and, in a way, was in better condition than he was the last time I saw him. There was a pretty, brown-skinned woman standing next to him, so I assumed she was his new girlfriend.
Patience and Lovely mentioned that he was seeing someone, but they said he hadn’t brought her around the family. It made me sick to my stomach to think about him moving on with someone else, but he had every right to do so. She was a pretty woman with box braids. She was what we would call slim-thick, but she had a little booty on her.
“What’s good, bro? Happy Birthday, sis.” Soul greeted Murk and Puma before handing her a large gift bag.
“I see Chanel, Pucci, and Louie V. You must really love me, huh?” Puma squealed, pulling Soul in for another hug.
“You know it’s only the best for you. Are you enjoying your night out?” The two of them indulged in small talk, and I noticed his guest standing there looking uncomfortable.
Soul walked around greeting everyone in the section while she followed him like a puppy. He never bothered to introduce her to anyone which struck me as odd. However, I decided to mind my business since he wasn’t my man. ’Cause I would have walked away before I ever let a man play in my face.
“How you been, Jui—Nee-nee?” I cut my eye over to Soul when he spoke to me.
“I’m good. How about yourself?” Him and his guest took a seat next to me and I wanted to scream. The last thing I wanted to do was sit next to my ex for the rest of the night.
“I can’t complain. You look good. I haven’t seen you out in a while.” His eyes roamed my body, and I started to get nervous.
