Kashmere’s grin stretched ear to ear. “Oh my God. You let him pop your cherry?”
I groaned. “No. I told him I was a virgin.”
Her eyes widened even more. “And? What he say?”
I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “He ain’t trip. He still let me stay the night. He just… held me.”
Kashmere blinked. “Held you?”
“Yeah.”
I didn’t tell her how safe it felt. How he wrapped me up like he was protecting something fragile and valuable at the same time. I didn’t say how I’d laid there wondering how many other women got to see that side of him or if it was just me.
“I don’t know,” I said after a minute. “It felt… real.”
Kashmere leaned her head against the wall, smiling. “You look happy.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t wanna admit that I was already imagining what it would feel like to wake up to him every morning, or how easy it was to feel something for a man I was basically competing for.
A knock hit the open door, and me and Kashmere both looked up.
It was Imani Blaze.
Her arms were folded, her lip curled like she smelled something nasty, and her wig looked like she hadn’t adjusted itsince last night. She leaned against the doorway like she’d been standing there for a while.
“I knew I heard you in here runnin’ your mouth,” she said, her eyes locked on me. “So you really spent the night in that man’s bed?”
The heat that shot up my spine made me sit up straighter. I didn’t even blink before answering.
“Yeah. I did. What’s the problem?”
Imani walked in slow, her slides slapping the floor like she needed everybody to hear her make an entrance.
“The problem,” she said, “is bitches thinking they can suck dick and get special treatment.”
Kashmere looked at me then back at Imani. “Now, hold the fuck up.”
I stood up. “I don’t gotta suck dick to make a nigga like me. That’s what insecure bitches like you do when they ain’t got nothin’ else to offer.”
Imani rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. “Girl, ain’t nobody buying that virgin act. You probably take more dick than the bitches who sell pussy full-time.”
I stepped up close. “Say that shit again, bitch.”
Imani stepped in closer. The bitch was just a little taller than me, and her body language was loud as hell even though her voice stayed calm. She had that look—the look bitches get when they’re used to bullying other bitches into silence.
“I said you a fake little goody two-shoes actin’ all soft and sweet, but I see straight through you. And I wish you would swing. I’ll lay your ass out and smile while I drag you all over this house.
We were damn near chest to chest now, and neither one of us was backing up. She stared down at me like she thought I was about to fold, but I just squared up and met her stare like I been waiting on this moment.
“Well bitch, you swing first, and let’s find out what happens together” I said, my voice calm but burning. “I will drag you by that crooked-ass wig and beat the fake lashes off your face. You better get your bug-eyed ass out my fuckin’ face.”
Other girls had started gathering by now, standing in the hallway like they were front row at a live show. A couple were whispering, their eyes bouncing back and forth between me and Imani, hungry for a reason to scream or gasp. Somebody even mouthed “Oh shit,” like they were waiting for somebody to swing.
Toni Roc came in next, her arms out. “Yo, chill. This ain’t the time.”
Kashmere grabbed my wrist. “Pluto, don’t even waste it. You already winning, and that’s why she pressed. The bitch mad ‘cause she want your spot.”
Imani laughed. “Winning? Girl please. He just trying to see which bitch he can fuck first. Once he hit, you outta here.”
