Moments before Ava arrived
Tasha and Mareba were seated side by side on lounge chairs, the cool breeze washing over them. Tasha lifted her cocktail glass and took a sip before breaking the silence.
"It's a great setting out here; I fck with it" she said as she placed the glass down on the small table beside her.
Mareba sighed, her sunglasses resting on the bridge of her nose. "I'm glad you do. This will be the spot for most of our meetings"
Tasha chuckled lightly, with curiosity sparking in her eyes. "Why this spot exactly?"
Mareba took a moment to consider her answer. "It's remote. Besides, the vibe is great like you said"
"So it ain't your crib," Tasha asked, sounding overly sure.
Mareba released a deep sigh, but before she could respond, Tasha chimed in "Or not your main crib"
Mareba breathed out a soft laugh, "You strike me as a girl who's done her research"
"Not really. Beauty ain't all that I got. I be thinking too, boo" Tasha's voice dripped with confidence.
"Oh..." mareba slid her shades down slightly, eyeing Tasha with a mix of amusement and intrigue.
Tasha nodded, "My intuition tells me we could be similar. I mean, I also wouldn't have strangers in my crib to talk business, especially when the whole world doesn't know the sh*t I do to keep the crown on my head"
Mareba pushed her shades back up, clearly unfazed. "Sounds like you did some digging. I thought you said you didn't do any research, darling"
Tasha said nothing. She simply leaned back in her seat before taking another sip of her drink.
"Beauty with brains?" Mareba laughed lightly as if it were a joke. "I'd say beauty with...mined information"
"And you ain't denying any of it" Tasha shot back.
"I won't," Mareba replied with a steady tone.
Tasha's eyes widened, and her face washed with surprise and realization.
"Because we're the same, as your intuition said," Mareba continued.
Tasha swallowed hard, unsure if Mareba was joking or serious. She expected her to be more...defensive.
"I mean, you pulled some strings to become the face of the music video modeling campaign for your agency. Tough strings, I might say"
Tasha clenched her jaw, caught between defeat and shock.
"I don't know what's worse; fcking over your friend or... going down on your knees to-"
"Stop," Tasha cut her off sharply.
"-pray?" Mareba finished with a playful smirk.
Tasha rolled her eyes in annoyance, and gulped the rest of the cocktail. Almost immediately, a waitress appeared, bringing another glass as if she had been watching the whole time.
Mareba continued, "No need to feel bad about it when you sitting beside someone you relate to. Not that I sucked a man's dck for what I have, but clearly, we ain't really what our fans think we are," she said, "And friends"
Tasha paused and contemplated whether to clap back at Mareba. The fact that Mareba had run an accurate background check on her and pointed out facts made her feel belittled.
