The Plug's Daughter

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The Plug's Daughter
Chapter 16: The Date
Houston,Texas

Alazhá's POV:

The next day, Alazhá woke up feeling equal parts excited and nervous. Romani's surprise plans had her stomach flipping, and her dad's vague "we gotta talk" wasn't helping either. She got through the morning doing her usual routine—scrolling her feed, sipping on a bottle of Big Peach, and catching up on all the tea in her group chats—but by the afternoon, her nerves were on ten.

"Girl, relax," Zori said, FaceTiming her while doing her makeup. "You actin' like Romani 'bout to take you to meet the president or somethin'."

"Zori, what if this man tryna take me somewhere I ain't got the right fit for?" Alazhá held up two dresses in front of her phone: one was a body-hugging mini dress, and the other was a flowy, off-shoulder number.

"First of all," Zori said, squinting at the screen, "the tight one. Always the tight one. You gotta give him somethin' to think about when he drop you back off."

"You so extra," Alazhá said, laughing as she tossed the other dress to the side. "But you ain't wrong."

"I know I'm not," Zori said with a wink. "Now, what your daddy wanna talk about? He still ain't say nothin'?"

"Not yet," Alazhá said, glancing toward her bedroom door. "He been real quiet all day. I'on know if that's good or bad."

"Probably bad," Zori said bluntly, then immediately softened. "But not, like, bad bad. You know how he is. He just be thinkin' a lot before he say somethin'."

"Yeah, maybe," Alazhá said, fiddling with her necklace.

Later That Afternoon

By the time her dad finally called her downstairs, Alazhá had run through about a dozen worst-case scenarios in her head. She found him sitting at the dining table, a glass of Hennessy in front of him and his usual serious look on his face.

"Sit down," Demario said, nodding toward the chair across from him.

She sat, trying not to let her nerves show. "What's up, Daddy?"

Demario leaned back in his chair, his eyes steady on hers. "You know I don't like beatin' around the bush, so I'ma just get straight to it. You been hearin' anything else 'bout Kemo?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Keisha told me what she told me, and that's it."

He nodded slowly, his jaw tightening. "Alright. Just know things might get a lil'...tense around here for a minute. But I got it under control. I don't want you worryin' 'bout nothin'."

"I wasn't," she said quickly, but her tone betrayed her concern. "You sure you good, though?"

Demario cracked a small smile. "Girl, I been good. You just focus on keepin' your head straight, aight?"

She nodded, though her curiosity was burning. "Aight."

That Evening

At exactly 6:58 PM, Romani's name popped up on her phone.

"Right on time," she said as she answered, her voice teasing.

"You already know I don't play about bein' late," Romani said, his voice smooth as ever. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," she said, checking herself out in the mirror one last time. The bodycon dress hugged her curves just right, and her lace was laid to perfection.

"Aight, step outside. I'm pullin' up," he said.

She hung up and grabbed her bag, throwing on her heels as she made her way downstairs.