Hot and Humid (Laurmani)

Chapter 1

I was in Austin, TX during Spring Break with my friend Brandee. We were attending SXSW and decided to hit up one of the clubs.

"Normani, pleeease," pleaded Brandee.

I responded, "Why do we have to go to a gay club?"

"Gay clubs are fun. You don't have to worry about horny men bumping and grinding on you."

"So this club is for gay men?" I asked.

"No. It's for gay men and women," Brandee answered.

I was skeptical. "So I'm going to have to worry about women hitting on me?"

Brandee replied, "Just be flattered and tell them you're taken."

"Allllriiiight."

We went inside, paid the cover, and got our wristbands because we're not old enough to drink. We sat at a table and ordered two cokes from a server. There was someone on stage doing covers of Christina Aguilera songs. She was fair-skinned and had long, dark hair. I was enjoying her performance; she was really good.

"Let's dance," Brandee demanded.

"No thank you. I'm going to just sit here."

Brandee whined, "You're no fun."

"I'm watching our drinks," I said. Brandee frowned at me and headed out to the dance floor.

I was just chilling, but not really enjoying myself because the woman doing Christina Aguilera covers ended her set, and the DJ put on EDM. It's not really my thing. I prefer R&B and hip hop. Then, all of a sudden, this chick plopped down in a seat at our table. It was the chick who was just singing.

"Hi. I'm Lauren." Lauren held out her hand for me to shake it.

"Uh. I'm Normani," I responded shaking her hand.

"That's different."

I needed to put a stop to this early. "I'm taken."

"No you're not," she replied.

I could not believe she just told me that. "Excuse you? Who are you to tell me if I'm in a relationship or not?"

Lauren leaned toward me as if she wanted to make sure I would hear her. "I can tell you're lying."

"Whatever. I'm not a lesbian or bisexual, so you can keep on moving."

She gave me a confused look. "Who said I was gay or bisexual?"

"Well, this is a gay club," I replied.

"Yes, it is," agreed Lauren. "We are BOTH in a gay club."

"Oh. I guess I shouldn't have assumed you were hitting on me. Then, why did you come to my table?"

Lauren answered, "You seemed to be really into my performance, so I thought I'd come over and make a friend. I don't know many people in Texas."

"Are you attending SXSW by yourself?" I asked.

"Yeah. My friends back home always go to the beach during Spring Break, but I wanted to do something different. Good thing too because I saw a sign outside of this club saying that they were looking for a singer during SXSW and got a chance to make some extra money."

"Where are you from?"

"Miami, but I moved to Texas to attend Rice."

I inquired, "Rice? Rice University in Houston?"

"Is there any other Rice?" Lauren smirked.

"It's just that I'm from.....um."

She laughed at me. "Houston? What do you think I'm going to do? Track you down and stalk you?"

I just rolled my eyes at her. "So why Rice?"

"It's a good school, and they offered me a full-ride."

"Impressive," I said. "What are you studying?"

"I'm double majoring in English and Psychology and minoring in business."

"That's a lot to take on," I opined.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "I couldn't make up my mind. Are you in school?"

"Yeah, but it's not as fancy as Rice. I'm studying dental hygiene at Houston Community College."

"Hey. Dental hygienists make more than English majors just after two years of schooling," admitted Lauren.

"Yeah. You're right."

Lauren pulled her phone out of her pocket. "We should exchange phone numbers."

"Ummm...."

"Oh, come on," she begged. "I'm just trying to make friends here."

"Okay." I pulled out my phone, and we added each other to our contacts.

Lauren yawned and stretched out her arms. "Man, it's been a long day hitting up all these events. I'm going to go crash at my hotel. It was nice meeting you."

"It was nice meeting you too."

Lauren got up from the table, but before she left, she bent over to be close to my ear. "By the way, I am bisexual."

I gasped, "You said you weren't."

"No I didn't." She winked at me and headed toward the exit.

"That green-eyed devil," I mumbled to myself.

"Hey!" Brandee shouted while making her way to our table.

"You must have had fun. You were out there for awhile"

"I was only going to dance to one song, but I saw you talking to that singer and didn't want to be a cock-blocker. So, I waited until you two were done flirting."

I scowled at her. "She was looking to make a friend and just happens to live in Houston."

Brandee had a sneaky grin on her face. "Whatever you say."

I huffed, "Let's go. I'm not feeling this music."