Still Waters

Chapter 11

RECAP:

He suddenly swooped me up in his arms. "By the way...happy birthday."

"Aw!" I was thoroughly impressed, having only told him when my birthday was once when we first met, and hugged him back. "Thanks Bud. You remembered!" Then I pushed him away. "Chump!"

"Hell's wrong witchyou?" he moved away from me.

"How come you didn't say anything earlier? I thought you forgot."

"Ah," he nodded and placed a hand to his heart. "I apologize. Alright..." he nodded again. "From now on I'm calling you at midnight on every birthday for the rest of your life."

"Oh...so...now I'm gonna know you for the rest of my life?"

"Yeah darlin', I told you. Me and you, ride or die to the end...we was meant to be."

I smiled and looked away. For some reason I brought Collin up again.

"Collin gave me this for my birthday."

"Hmm..."

"He bought me this butt ugly bracelet back in high school. But then I saw this other bitch wearing the same p.o.s. charmless bracelet one day and, well, you know the rest."

He chuckled humorlessly and went along with the subject change. "So he never bought you any charms for it?"

"Well..." I held out the Cupid/heart.

We both laughed.

"So what did you say when he apologized?"

"That I'm over it." We both chuckled again and then he was serious.

"Want to get together later on? I'm having a little set in my room tonight. Well, me and my roommate. You should come and bring your roommate."

"Ok, Bud...but if we get there and it's just us, we're outta there."

He chuckled again and kissed me on the cheek. I wished he would kiss me on the lips. "Happy birthday, baby. See you later."

                                                                                     CHAPTER 11

My roommate and I arrived at Kenney's dorm just before sunset. The party was already jumping. Shayna and I could hear the music from all the way down the hall. Word must have gotten out about his little "set," or maybe they just did this every Friday and I never knew about it.

When we got to the room it was nothing but dudes. They all stopped to look us over as soon as we walked in. I knew we were cute and all, Shayna being the tall glamorous Iman type and me being the stacked, cutesy SWV type. But that didn't explain why all the guys stopped and grinned at us when we walked through the door.

I heard someone in the back say "Damn, they both fine. Which one is she?" but Kenney hurriedly stopped his blender and rushed over to us before anyone could say anything else.

"Ladies!" he called grandly with open arms. "You're the first to arrive. Please," he handed us plastic cups. Mine said "Birthday Girl" on it. I grinned at him. He winked. "Help yourselves to a drink and make yourselves comfortable. I just have to finish setting up." He gestured to a tall, gorgeous, brown skinned, hip-hop Tims-wearing type dude with flawless skin and post-dreadlock Lenny Kravitz hair. "Tashi, you remember my roommate, Drama?"