Under the Tree

Friday - February 7

 Devon, Jaylen, Shay and Dana all cackled in the elevator as they marveled at being able to sneak past the security guard and RA's at the front desk of Annex. Devon checked her phone to double check the floor that Elena had told them to meet her on. Elena and her friend sat in the kitchen, a few bottles on the table between them. Seeing them, Elena pulled cups out of the plastic bag.

"Shot time!"

The six girls each grabbed cups, each pouring out their own measurements of what a shot should be. They tapped their plastic cups together, taking their shots to the head. This continued for a while, Jaylen and Shay cutting themselves off after two and a half shots, Devon and Dana three shots. After getting a call from one of their fellow promoters, Elena's friend called an Uber, the girls headed into the lobby.

"Here finish this," Elena said as she handed Devon her cup, "I can't finish it". Devon opened her mouth to protest. What's the worst that could happen? She downed the cup, coughing slightly as the tequila burned her lungs.

The line outside of Eden was decent, but beginning to grow as the girls pulled up. Getting out, Elena ran behind the building to pee, while the rest got in line. A few promoters were handing out the red, yellow, and green bracelets, it was a stoplight party afterall. The girls all grabbed green, except for Dana who chose yellow. The girls looked at her bracelet, choosing not to say anything.

Inside, the hip hop floor was packed, seeing as the other floors weren't open at the moment. Shay's phone buzzed, Roman Snapchatting her. He was pregaming with his brothers, but they'd be there soon enough. Jaylen searched the crowd for Caleb, since he'd asked her about her being there. She spotted him in a pink floral shirt, the top button undone. Fuck, he looks good. He was smiling at somebody, Jaylen nearly blinded by his bright smile. They locked eyes across the room, Caleb headed for her. While she'd been staring him down, she got separated from the group.

"Hey Jaylen," he said hugging her, "how are you?" Damn, he smells good too. He looked Jaylen up and down, he was searching for her glow bracelet, wanting to know the color. Upon seeing the color, another big smile on his face although he tried to hide it.

"Where's your partner in crime?" he asked.

"Oh you know, somewhere throwing ass." they both laughed. They both looked around, Jaylen noticing the gold chain around his neck. This is Dominic's influence. Somebody yelled Caleb's name, his head snapping in that direction. He turned back, grabbing Jaylen's hand. Her eyes went to their hands, going up to his wrist. Green. There was no surprise there, he had offered his "services" just a few months ago.

"I'll see you around hun."

Jaylen searched the crowd for her friends, spotting Devon throwing ass just as she'd predicted. The DJ announced that they'd opened the Afrobeats floor, a crowd of people headed for the stairs. The girls rushed ahead of the crowd, nearly taking the stairs two by two. The space on the second floor was a bit smaller, people standing on the couches. Dana headed in first, stopping short as she spotted Israel. Shay groaned, walking smack into her.

"Wheels is here!" Dana said, her tone breathless as it always was when she saw him. They pushed her forward in his direction, Dana stopping herself. They stayed close to him, it was so crowded that niggas were catching waistlines even if they hadn't intended to. A dancehall song came on, exciting the girls. They were slightly confused however, this was the afrobeats floor. Dana found herself moving her waistline to the music, not realizing that Israel was behind her. The girls however, did notice and encouraged her as she did her thing.

Israel bit his lip in concentration, Dana's face showed exactly what she was feeling. Her smile let everyone know that she was fucking it up, and he was matching the energy. Israel had a camera in his hand, but the other was holding Dana steady. He had no visible glow bracelet, but the girls hadn't expected to see him with one. Finally they separated, Israel spinning her around. He pressed his entire body against her in a hug, his hips wiggling against hers. Her heart was beating rapidly and not because it matched the music, but because Israel made her soft. He whispered in her ear, but she couldn't hear him over the music. All she knew was that he was going to get her pregnant, and soon. Israel disappeared into the crowd, resuming his filming duties.