P lacing a Perc on my tongue, I tossed it back with a shot of Hennessy, never missing the beat I was popping my ass to. It was my twenty-first birthday, and tonight, I was showing my whole ass. Since Miami had to go out of town to pick up some work, I was left to party with my homegirls, Deja and Nookie. Deja was fucking with Miami’s right hand, South, real heavy. We were always around each other, so after a while, we just started kicking it. Nookie was a chick I met in cosmetology school. When it was time to pair up for an assignment, we linked, and couldn’t be separated since. The moment I graduated, we both landed a job at her sister’s nail shop.

“Turn the fuck up then!” Deja hyped me up while smacking my exposed booty cheeks that hung from the bottom of my black, leather shorts.

At twenty-one, life was good as fuck. I was finally away from my coke head ass mama, I had a job doing something I enjoyed, and I had a great man by my side. Picking up another shot of Hennessy, I raised the glass in the air, toasting to life before gulping it down.

“Henny, baby, that’s you?” Dre asked, making his way to our section.

“Damn, Dre, they let you out?” I smiled and reached in to hug him.

The way his strong arms swallowed my frame sent chills down my spine. Memories of that fuck session we had five years ago still gave me goosebumps.

A few days after we fucked, Dre got knocked on an attempted murder charge on the same day we were supposed to link up. After Dre got locked up, I would spend sleepless nights fantasizing about what would have happened had Dre not gotten arrested.

“I just got out yesterday.” He smiled, looking me over. “Damn, Henny, you done grew the fuck up. Look at you.” Spinning me around, Dre’s eyes were glued to my frame as he gulped me down as if I was a tall glass of ice-cold water.

“Tonight is actually my twenty-first birthday,” I beamed, pouring two shots of Hennessy. I gulped one down before handing him one.

“Damn, that’s right. I forgot your ass is a kid.” Taking the shot to the head, Dre smirked at me.

“Nah, baby. I’m a grown woman now.” I winked.

“I see that.” He whistled. “Them pounds you put on did your body well… damn!”

My once slim frame was now thick and curvy, thanks to the forty pounds I gained on birth control.

“Like milk, baby,” I joked. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” I acknowledge how amazing he looked.

Dre looked like he hadn’t aged at all. He basically looked the same with the exception of the bald head and full beard he now sported. The fifty pounds that he gained over the years had turned into pure muscle. The fitted Gucci shirt he wore lay against his broad shoulders with perfection, displaying his huge arms.

“Close your mouth before I put something in it.” Dre chuckled, snapping me back to reality.

“Stop playing.” I playfully pushed him. “I got a man.”

“Oh, that’s right. You fucking with that lil’ nigga Miami now. I heard he the one who got next.” Dre nodded. “Lil’ nigga doing his thing.”

“Yup, that’s my baby.” Gripping the chain that hung around my neck, I ran my fingers across the gold pendant that had Miami written in cute, cursive lettering and smiled. I was really in love with the kid; Miami was truly my everything.

“You trying to kick it with us?” I asked Dre.

“Nah, my peoples got a lil section for me to celebrate me coming home.” Opening his arms, Dre pulled me in for a hug. I could feel his breath tickling my flesh as he inhaled my perfume. His hands then traveled down my exposed back before cuffing my ass.

“Damn, that thang got so fat, and it’s soft as fuck.” He groaned against my ear.

I was frozen in place as he felt on my ass. Part of me wanted to push him off, but the hoe in me wanted him to keep feeling on my booty.

“Happy birthday again, ma.” After kissing me on the cheek, Dre pulled himself away from me before walking off.

“Girl, who the fuck was that fine ass nigga?” Nookie asked.

“Somebody from the hood. He just jumped.” Taking a seat on the plush couch, I poured myself another drink before chugging it down.

“Well, that nigga from the hood got your ass hot and bothered.” She side eyed me.

“Who, Dre? Nah, it ain’t even like that,” I lied.

“Girl, bye.” Deja waved me off. “You should have gotten a piece of that dick. Shit, our niggas probably over there in Jacksonville getting their dick sucked as we speak.

Deja and South were known for the game of ‘tit for tat’ they like to play. If Deja found out South was cheating on her, in return, she would fuck another nigga. In retaliation, South would find him a bitch to fuck on. Shit would go on and on. I didn’t even think there was a time in their relationship when they were actually faithful to each other. At this point, I wasn’t sure why they even stayed together.

“Just because your nigga cheats doesn’t mean mine does,” I spat.

“How the fuck would you know? You ain’t with that nigga all the time.” Deja sucked her teeth.

“I trust my nigga, bitch, and that’s all that matters. Bitches stay at your front door, calling your phone, sending you pictures of South laid up in their bed… Not nan bitch did that shit to me! What me and Miami have is too deep for you to comprehend. No bitch out here knows my nigga better than I do,” I slurred, beating on my chest.

Had I been sober, I would have laughed at Deja’s silly remarks. I didn’t have to defend Miami’s actions. What’s understood didn’t need to be explained.

“Come on, girls. We came out here to have some fun. Fuck all the bullshit. Let’s drink these bottles and shake our asses,” Nookie added.

“Long as that bitch know.” Shooting Deja a warning glare, I reached for my cup and began to sip my mixed drink.

“Bitch! Hurry the fuck up. I gotta pee so damn bad,” Nookie whined as she bounced around like a toddler.

“I can’t find the damn key.” I chuckled while I fished through my purse.

“Give me this shit.” Snatching my purse from my hand, Nookie dumped all the contents on the floor.

Like two fools, we were on our hands and knees, rummaging through all the miscellaneous items that were scattered on the floor until we located my house keys.

“I don’t understand why you carry all this shit around anyway,” Nookie fussed.

Using the wall for support, she stood to her feet and made her way over to my door.

“Leave my shit alone.” Tossing my items back into my purse, I crawled into the house. “I feel so damn sick.” I groaned with my back against the door.

“Nobody told your ass to down all them fucking shots. A hoe turns twenty-one and acts like she ain’t never guzzle a bottle of Henny,” Nookie joked.

“Girl, this was my first time being able to buy a bottle in the club, so you know I had to show the fuck out!” Kicking my heels off, I pushed the pink and gold throw pillows off the navy-blue couch before plopping down.

“This shit is cute!” Nookie noted, inspecting my new living room set.

The brand new, two-piece, navy blue couch set was something a fiend gave to Miami in exchange for drugs. Hell, half the shit we owned came from powder heads.

“Thank you. My baby got it for me.” I beamed.

“I can’t believe Deja hoe ass is really about to fuck that security guard. That motherfucker looks like Debo from the movie Friday .” Nookie shook her head in disgust.

“Girl, Deja will fuck anything with a dick.” I wasn’t the least bit surprised about Deja’s hoeish ways.

“I bet her and South just over there playing ping pong with STDs, just passing that shit back and forth to each other.”

“Shit, if they like it, I love it.” Unfolding the pink throw blanket that rested against the back of the couch, I covered my body and closed my eyes. Despite all her flaws, I considered Deja my bitch. I was not about to talk shit about her ass while she wasn’t around to defend herself.

“Lock the door behind you after you leave,” I mumbled before drifting off into a drunken slumber.