Janelle
“Lemme get a frozen margarita with sugar, not salt,” Janelle told the bartender. The club was packed, as it normally was for First Fridays, and she and Nivea were sitting at the bar, enjoying the scene. Looking across the bar, she saw Kenny walk in, and she waved.
“He is so fine,” Nivea whispered.
“If you say so.” Janelle laughed.
Kenny was a nice-looking guy. He was tall with a slender build, skin the color of dark chocolate, and a smooth bald head. Born and raised in North Carolina, Kenny still talked with a Southern drawl and used it as part of his charm to attract women, which he had plenty of. The fact that Nivea was gushing over him came as no surprise to her. Janelle had to admit he looked nice in the blue Polo shirt and jeans he wore.
“OMG, he’s coming over here!” Nivea squealed.
“What’s up, ladies?” Kenny said, hugging them both.
“Hey, Kenny,” Janelle said.
“Hi.” Nivea smiled.
“You’re looking sexy as ever, Nivea. When are you gonna let me take you out?”
“You know that means when are you gonna let him hit that, right?” Janelle leaned over and said.
“Stop hating, Nelle. I’m sure you don’t believe that, do you?”
“Of course not,” Nivea told him. “I know better than that.”
“I also hope you know that he is a man-whore.” Janelle laughed.
“Whoa, how you gonna call me that?” Kenny pretended he was appalled by what Janelle said.
“The truth hurts, huh?” Janelle laughed. The bartender put her drink in front of her, and before she could touch it, Kenny picked it up and took a sip.
“What the hell? You need to be paying for that too, asshole.”
“Again, why I gotta be all that?”
“Do real men even drink margaritas? I didn’t think you were the ‘fruity drink’ type, Kenny.” Janelle winked.
“Girl, please, you know ain’t nothing fruity about me. Don’t even try it. Ask your girl.” He pointed in Nivea’s direction.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Now, that I don’t know nothing about,” Nivea corrected him.
“Yet,” Kenny said. “Give me a couple more minutes.”
“You are such a jerk,” Janelle said.
They ordered another round of drinks, making sure they were on Kenny’s tab. A few minutes later, Janelle noticed another woman at the end of the bar staring in their direction.
“Do you know her?”
Kenny looked over to see who Janelle was talking about. He smiled at the woman, who smiled back at him. “Not yet I don’t,” he said then told the bartender to send a drink over to her.
“You are such a pig. How are you gonna try and holler at my girl while buying another chick a drink? Who does that?”
“Is your friend gonna give me some ass tonight?” Kenny asked.
“Ewwww, no!” Janelle told him.
“That woman down there probably will.” Kenny smiled and walked away.
“Where is he going?” Nivea whined, peeking through the crowd.
“Who cares? Again, he’s a man-whore,” Janelle told her. She reached into her purse and took out her phone. She had texted Jarvis earlier to see if he would be up for company later, but he hadn’t responded.
“Aren’t all men?” Nivea asked.
“You do have a point.” Janelle laughed. “Where’s Natalie? Isn’t she supposed to be here?”
“She has to work until eleven. Hey, isn’t that Jarvis?”
Janelle looked up, and sure enough, Jarvis was walking through the crowd, surrounded by three women.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Did you know he was gonna be here?”
“Nope.”
“Are you gonna go over there and say something?”
“Nope, why? He’s not my man. He can go wherever he wants to with whomever he wants to,” Janelle told her. She finished her second margarita and ordered another one. “Can I get a double shot in this one?” At least now she knew why Jarvis hadn’t responded to her message. He was too busy being entertained by someone else.
“Hey, isn’t that your boy over there?” Kenny walked over and asked. “Jamie?”
“Jarvis,” Janelle corrected him. “And yeah, that’s him.”
“Are you gonna speak to him?”
“I asked that same question,” Nivea told him.
Janelle cut her eyes at her friend and said, “Nope, no need.”
“Why not? I thought Sylvia said y’all were a thing.” Kenny leaned back on the bar.
“No, we’re not a thing. We’re just cool.”
“They just hang out, meaning she’s letting him hit that.” Nivea giggled.
As if he could sense them, Janelle looked over and saw Jarvis looking at them. She smiled and raised her glass. Jarvis walked over and gave her a hug, then kissed her cheek.
“Hey, Janelle, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he told her.
Janelle inhaled his scent, and he smelled divine. “I can say the same thing.” She shrugged and smiled.
“Yeah, it was a last-minute thing. It’s one of my coworkers’ birthday, and we came out to have a few drinks to celebrate.”
“You remember my friend Nivea and my sister’s business partner, Kenny.” Janelle smiled.
“Hey, how are you guys?” Jarvis nodded.
They made small talk for a few minutes until the shortest of the three women that Jarvis was with walked over and grabbed his arm.
“Jarvis, can you get another round while you’re over here? Our waitress is slow.”
Janelle looked the woman up and down. She was an average build with an asymmetric haircut. There was nothing really special about her other than the glasses on her face, which Janelle thought were cute. Compared to Janelle, who was wearing fitted jeans, red corset-style top, and stiletto pumps, the lady seemed casual in the simple black shirt and pants she wore.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. No problem. Um, Janelle, this is Sade. She’s the IT specialist at our school.” Jarvis introduced her.
“Nice to meet you,” Janelle said.
“Same here,” Sade said. An Usher song began blasting from the speakers, and she pulled Jarvis away, saying, “I love this song. The drinks can wait. We have to dance.”
Jarvis gave Janelle an uncomfortable look, and she just smirked as he went with Sade onto the dance floor. Janelle turned back around to the bar.
“Wow, that wasn’t as awkward as I thought it was gonna be,” Kenny commented.
“Why would you think it was gonna be awkward?” Janelle frowned at him.
“Because he’s smashing you, and by the other chick’s behavior, he’s smashing her too,” Kenny said. “Well, I take that back. He may not be, but he could if he wanted to, because she would give him some ass in a Mississippi minute.”
“And how is a Mississippi minute different from um, let’s say, a Tennessee minute? Please tell me.” Janelle laughed.
“It’s way faster. If it makes you feel any better, she would probably let me smash too if I wanted her,” Kenny told her.
“You think any female would let you smash, Kenny.”
“Not true. I know you wouldn’t.”
“I’m glad you realize that.” Janelle shook her head. “Because you are so right. But I don’t care if he’s smashing her. He’s not my man. He can do what he wants to, and so can I.”
“Then why are you mad?” Kenny asked.
“I would be mad too,” Nivea said. “That’s an asshole move.”
“I’m not mad,” Janelle told him.
“You a damn lie, and you ain’t gotta lie to me. How long have you been letting him smash?” Kenny asked.
“Six months,” Nivea answered.
“Yeah, you mad,” Kenny said, still watching Jarvis and Sade on the dance floor. “You wanna dance and make him mad?”
“No, I don’t,” Janelle told him.
“I do.” Nivea hopped off the barstool.
“I bet you do.” Kenny laughed then turned to Janelle and said, “You sure you don’t wanna join us? I can handle both of y’all.”
“I’m sure,” Janelle told him.
She watched as her friends went onto the dance floor next to Jarvis and Sade, who were swaying to the music. Again, her eyes met Jarvis’s, and she forced a smile. Sade reached and pulled his head down so that she could say something to him. Janelle ordered another drink. She knew her limit was normally three, but she needed another one. She was telling the truth when she said that she wasn’t mad about Jarvis being at the club with another chick. What she was feeling wasn’t anger; it was disappointment. She had actually thought that maybe there could be something between her and Jarvis. Now, once again, she was wrong. If she did have any feelings for Jarvis, they were now gone. She hoped he and Sade would be happy together.
Janelle reached into her purse and took out her phone. There was one person she knew she loved and who loved her back. She typed the words I Love You into a text message and sent it. Within minutes, she received a message back confirming, I love you too, Nelly. She smiled and decided that it wasn’t another drink that she needed at all. The only thing she needed was to see Titus.