Whodunit

Chapter 5

"Amahd, my data isn't working," Zaria huffed and puffed and tapped on her iPad screen over and over, trying to make the Internet work. "I'm trying to record a TikTok, and it's moving slow."

"Let me put the Wi-Fi password in for you, Shawty." Nubia held her hand out from her spot on the floor near the couch since the little girl's brother was too busy ignoring her and bobbing his head to the music.

They were all hanging in the den area that was adorned with an 85-inch Roku T.V. plastered on the wall, a Bluetooth speaker with speakers on the ceiling, a mini arcade in the corner, and a Mac desktop computer that lit up the room. A chill vibe settled over the air as they relaxed and snapped selfies to post on social media. Everyone's eyes were glued to a screen. Well, everyone, except Dmitri. He was phone-less, so his attention drifted back and forth between the house he dreamed to own one day and the girl he hoped to buy it for.

"It's still not working," Zaria moped moments after Nubia entered the passcode.

"Yeah, the connection is getting weak for me, too," Nubia said as she gave up on her phone and picked up the television remote.

"Damn," Jordan said. His Wi-Fi failed him next. "My data not even working. This night bout to be hella boring. No Wi-Fi. No weed—thanks to Dmitri. No—"

"How many times I gotta say I forgot it was on the roof?" Dmitri defended himself. "It wasn't on purpose."

"Either way, we're messed up. Getting high is my minimum requirement for staying here, especially with her," Jordan said, glaring at Ximena with his last word.

Dmitri held his breath. Was Jordan ever pleased? He loved Jordan, but sometimes he could really work his nerves. "Let's just Netflix and chill."

Jordan snorted, mischief in his eyes. "I bet you'd love to Netflix and chill, huh?"

Anisa's cheeks flushed hot, chili pepper red. It's not that she hadn't thought about Netflix-and-chilling with him. Her groin throbbed and tingled at the memory of straddling Dmitri in the passenger side of her car or the memory of his deep, rich skin caressing the top of her as they manifested ecstasy with the friction of their conjoined bodies. His acceptance of her body and insecurities gave her the push needed to embrace the sexuality that'd she grown ashamed of through her years in church and being christened the good girl. She had buried it deep as a curious child who sometimes stayed up too late and caught the late-night adult films that made her explore her own body and immediately made her feel wrong. Dmitri's love and lack of judgment made her feel like she could do no wrong in being herself.

Then, he snatched it away from her. Leaving her for someone who was the complete opposite of her in every way uprooted the self-worth he planted in her. For months, she doubted he ever loved or accepted her in the first place. She didn't know if she could bring herself back down to his level after months of fighting to learn and comprehend that self-worth could only be found within the self. Why should she give herself up to him again when he's the one who chose to give her up?

"Let's go to the parade. We still got enough time to get there and park." Nubia hunched her shoulder.

"Yeah, I mean that's why we're here in the first place, right?" Ximena chimed in and flipped her waist length hair away from her décolleté. "I'm tryna get drunk-drunk. We don't have to wait till Tuesday."

"Y'all up for it?" Anisa asked. Everyone nodded and shrugged. Zaria clapped her hands, grinning from sideburn to sideburn. "Let's go."

#

Dmitri loathed Mardi Gras season. Mostly because he despised crowds. Drunken ones even more. The claustrophobia made his social anxiety act up and reminded him of days in the 'hood where you knew something was about to pop off because too much was going on. Chaos caused chaos which caused chaos and led to a never-ending cycle of bullshit.