Page 85 of Serenity
“She sure didn’t. Miss Ma’am has been tight-lipped and out of touch,” Blair fussed.
My friends pulled me into a hug, promising to interrogate me further over dinner. Scanning Robyn’s place, I noted the intricate details of an elegant setup at an elongated dinner table. Candles lit the entire table, along with chargers and custom acrylic nameplates. Toasted orange and burgundy comprised the color scheme. A devil for details, she’d done her thing. The aesthetics for our evening further heightened the vibe.
“Robyn, this is really cute!” I squealed.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s head downstairs to see this new car before big-belly Sae arrives.”
Victoria and Sadie were both on their way. Timing our entrance into the parking garage perfectly, we anticipated their arrival once we made it downstairs. My trio of friends headed back in the direction I’d recently come from as I followed behind them. In the parking garage, I chirped the AMG, directing their attention to the beautiful silver vehicle.
“Damn, sis! This had to have cost at least a hundred racks. It’s brand new, right?” Blair asked.
“It is brand new, and I didn’t buy it.”
“Early birthday present from the bros?” Robyn asked, which I ignored. It wasn’t that I was hiding Duke from them. I just didn’t want them bitches in my business. Duke and I were happy. Most of my friends couldn’t say the same romantically. I didn’t need their misery spilling over into my bliss.
Barbie opened the driver’s side door and peered around the interior. “This shit niiiiice Reni!”
Spotting our group in the garage, Victoria and Sadie pulled up and parked nearby. After heaving Sadie from the front seat, they maneuvered in our direction, with a wobbling Sadie following behind Tori.
“What y’all over here fussing about?”
“Serenity’s new car,” Robyn chimed, opening the trunk. “I want one of these.”
“Maybe you can tell Gray, and he’ll get you one,” I smirked.
Robyn didn’t respond to that.
“Did Duke buy this?” Sadie asked, forcing me to shoot her a look. How the hell did she know?
“My bad,” she shrugged while palming her belly. “You know Pre doesn’t keep secrets from me.”
At the mention of Duke, three sets of eyes fell on me expectantly. Robyn, Barbie, and Blair were all waiting for an explanation.
“Mmh hmm. I knew I noticed some coziness at the auction,” Victoria teased.
Resembling a jack-in-the-box, Robyn popped her head from the trunk. “Duke? As in Stepford? Uh uh! Upstairs now,” she pointed. “It’s time for us to get cozy at the table and talk.”
Empanadas started our Friendsgiving along with ropa vieja over rice with maduros. With Thanksgiving a mere week away, our band of ladies was grateful the chosen dish wasn’t a traditional one. After filling our bellies with an array of Cuban food, everyone was laid out in Robyn’s living room. She had the type of place that made you feel like you should live there. Peace and comfort reigned in her home. Wholly stuffed and content, no one wanted to leave.
At some point, our conversation floated along the lines of available men.
“Hook me up with Sin. I’ll hit,” Blair confessed. Her ass had been drooling over Sincere’s ass since we were younger. She’d never approached him because of his reputation as a lady’s man in the city. Too late now.
“Girl, Sincere is far from available. He’s busy running behind loony Luna.”
“Don’t bad mouth my friend,” Tori clipped. “Luna has some sour history with Sin.”
“Where is Luna anyway?” Barbie asked. “After redoing her silk press, she just disappeared.”
I hadn’t seen Luna in a while, either. “Where is she, Tori?”
“Still in town. I think she’s just laying low. She hasn’t really been outside since that incident between them.”
“In other news, somebody landed Duke Stepford!” Blair called out. “That nigga is disgustingly rich, Reni. You got you one.”
“I wasn’t trying to get one. I just wanted someone authentic and unlike these weird niggas, and I found it in him.”
Awws erupted around the room. It wasn’t the response I was expecting from Blair, Barbie, or Robyn, considering that they were either single or miserably married like Barbie.