Page 40 of Happy Is On Hiatus
“He might,” Jemel said and slapped a hand to her leg. “I can’t believe this shit! Can you? Like who would’ve ever thought to have a guy and a girl at their shower?”
Sharae took another gulp from her glass and shook her head this time. “I heard one of the girls at the bar saying Wendy wanted to make all her friends comfortable, and since there were women here of different sexual orientations, she figured this was the best way to go about it.”
“Speaking strictly as someone who’s planned a lot of events, that was a good idea,” Rita admitted. “It’s not an idea I would’ve come up with, or that I probably would’ve approved. But it’s inclusive and definitely interesting.”
“It’s making me horny,” Jemel admitted.
“I was already horny,” Sharae added.
They both looked at Rita. She picked up her glass and mumbled, “No comment,” before taking another sip.
Half an hour and another round of drinks later, the couple had been replaced by two male strippers who’d already taken it all off and were now dancing their way from one table to the next, waiting expectantly for the dollars to flow. Jemel already had her ones and fives out, but Sharae and Rita were holding out.
“I don’t know how he looks close up. I gotta see it and touch it for myself before I put out any of my money. You know, to make sure it’s real.” Sharae spoke like she was talking about buying a car, not touching a man’s dick.
Rita frowned. She wasn’t touching anybody.
The guy was at the table next to theirs, and Jemel jumped down off her stool, money in hand. She was shaking her body as if she couldn’t wait until he came closer. Rita couldn’t help but laugh at her. Jemel hadalways been the party cousin. Once she’d been old enough to get into clubs on her own, she’d spent more time in them than Rita and Sharae combined. And during the first five years after she’d graduated from high school, all she’d ever done was hair during the day and partying at night. It drove Aunt Ceil nuts and had the Aunts as a collective both praying hard for her salvation and wanting to smack some sense into her.
“You really gonna be an old church biddy all night?” Jemel yelled over to her as if she could hear Rita’s thoughts.
Rita crossed one leg over the other. “What I’m not gonna be is some stripper groupie like you. And aren’t you and Marc together? What would he say if he saw you acting like this?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. He’s not here. Get a life, Rita.” Jemel was sashaying her way over to the guy clad in just a G-string.
Sharae jumped down off her stool and pushed Jemel to the side, cupping the guy’s erection without hesitation or comment. Rita sucked in a breath because she was certain that was some form of sexual assault, and Sharae was a cop. But the guy only grinned before leaning in and whispering something in Sharae’s ear.
Sharae afforded him the barest grin, before stepping back and releasing him. “Not bad,” she said and then reached down into the top of her dress to pull out a twenty-dollar bill. The guy put his hands on his hips, standing so that his dick escaped the G-string and now jutted forward in expectation. Sharae tucked the bill into the G-string and ran her finger along his length one more time. When she sat on her stool again, she looked over to Rita and said, “It’s real.”
Rita laughed for a good ten minutes after that. Shock mixed with mojitos was having a strange effect on her. When the entertainment was over and the music played even louder for those who jumped on and off the floor to dance, Rita started to yawn, and Sharae ordered another round of drinks for her and Jemel.
“So when are we going upstairs?” she asked.
“That’s like the fifth time you’ve asked that question, Grandma,” Jemel said. “You really gonna act this dry all weekend? I mean, damn, you’re about to be a single woman. You can let your hair down and do some dirt for a change.”
Jemel motioned to Rita’s hair, pulled up in a messy bun because it was hotter than Hades outside tonight and she’d been sweating like she’d been running miles on the treadmill. Which reminded her she wanted to check out the hotel gym before she went upstairs for the night. She needed to know if it was worth her coming down early tomorrow morning to get a little workout in.
“My marital status has nothing to do with me not caring for this type of setting. And before you say it”—she paused and held up a hand to stop Jemel’s next comment—“I know Wendy’s only twenty-seven and that this is really her crowd. That’s fine. We’re here to represent Ivan’s side of the family, and I’m not in my twenties anymore.”
“You’re not in your sixties, either, Rita,” Sharae said and once again hopped down off the stool. “Come on, let’s go to the hotel bar. It’ll be quieter out there and less booty thumpin’.”
“You mean boring,” Jemel said and climbed down too.
Rita didn’t say another word, just followed them out of the room. If she’d known part one of the celebration was just going to be a party, she might’ve avoided going altogether. As a teen, getting into clubs and going to house parties had been something she, Jemel, and Sharae had done on the regular. But after she was married, the appeal of being in dimly lit places with strange men dancing too close and looking for someone they could take home for the night had lost its appeal. There was a luncheon on the beach tomorrow and then another party in the evening. She’d have to look on that little itinerary they’d sent via text in the morning to see which one they had to bring their gifts to. And she prayed this was the last stripper event.
She was so busy turning over all those things in her mind that she’d walked into the bar and nearly bumped into Sharae and Jemel, who’d suddenly stopped walking.
“What in the world—” Whatever else she was about to say stalled as her gaze followed theirs to a table across from the bar.
A table where Nate sat smiling at a girl who didn’t look much older than Taryn.
“This bastard,” Jemel whispered. She took a step toward the table, and Rita grabbed her by the arm.
“No,” she said, the word scratchy in her throat.
“You’ve been separated what? Three whole weeks? And he’s already out in public with his side chick?” Sharae asked, her voice just a little louder than Rita thought was prudent.
“She’s not a side chick if we’re no longer together,” she said.
