Turning A New Leaf

Thirteen

"I can't believe you're going to be Mr. Atira," She teased, as she slid into a dusty pink, off-the-shoulders frill hemmed dress. She looked sexy as hell, the dress hugged her curves perfectly.

"I don't know if I want you wearing that around some male strippers," Krist told her in a joking, not joking manner.

Atira laughed, tousling her hair, "You know those men have nothing on you," she purred, "And besides, I'm pretty sure they're batting for the same team as me."

Krist hugged her from behind and kissed the nape of her neck, "Let's just skip these stupid ass parties and stay home."

Atira reached back, stroking his face, "I would rather do that but people made plans for us," she laughed.

"Man, I can't believe you and my mom are gonna be looking at a bunch of floppy dicks together," Krist gave an exaggerated cringe.

"When you put it like that, it sounds weird as heck," Atira said, her cheeks reddening. "Anyway, the drag show is supposed to be good."

Krist held her tighter, pressing his pelvis against her ass, and kissed her neck, "You better give me a lap dance when we get home tonight."

"Only if I get one back," Atira grinned.

Krist busted up laughing, "Trust me, baby, you don't want to see me try that even."

Atira turned around to face him, her arms over his shoulders, "Now I have to."

****

The couple parted ways after dinner at a local Mexican spot. Krist took an Uber to the strip club while Atira met Jillian at her Airbnb for some pre-party drinks.

Krist received a warm welcome from Latrell and Dominik when he arrived.

"Thought we were gonna lose you there for a minute," Latrell told him in reference to the brutal stabbing Krist had endured not even two months prior. Latrell's big ass stepped in to save him and had literally grabbed him up off the ground like he was a small child.

"Fuck, I prolly wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you and Bryana," Krist said with a genuine smile.

"Did they ever catch the dude?" Dominik asked, popping a piece of gum into his mouth.

Krist spit out the side of his mouth, "Not that I know of. I haven't heard shit about it if they did."

"You think you are gonna come back at all?"

Krist's eyes scanned the parking lot, looking for familiar cars, "Naw, bro. I'd like to but after all that, my girl ain't cool with me working here," he replied.

Atira had never explicitly told him to quit working at the club though she did tell him she had concerns about his safety. Krist just felt like a bitch admitting to his friends that he, himself, was scared to come back. Getting stabbed had made him think of his mortality and how fragile life really was. He could have been killed that night and the way shit had been popping off in Portland the last few years, it could happen to him eventually.

"I get it," Latrell nodded, "As soon as I get a little more money in savings, I'm going to be calling it quits myself."

"You and your lady find a house?" Krist asked.

"Not yet, we want to wait until we have more to put down on a place and then we will start looking. The way the housing market is, we want to have all of our ducks in a row before we start. You gonna start looking for a house now that y'all gonna be married?"

"I'd like to, we haven't really talked about it. I know I need to find an actual job and not just Instacart," Krist replied. 

Jeordie's car pulled into the parking lot, he'd brought a few of their mutual friends from high school with him, though they were more Jeordie's friends and not Krist's.