Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
I sat there speechless.
Nika picked up her fork, looked at it, and twisted the fork from side to side. “Girl, this is some nice dinnerware too. Rich shit. It’s giving take-a-dump-on-a-gold-toilet-and-wipe-my-ass-with-hundreds.”
At that moment, Reo stopped eating his cheese and grits, tilted his head to the side, and watched Nika. I wasn’t sure if he was stunned or curious.
With her fork, Nika pointed at the flowers in front of her. “And these centerpieces are dope as fuck. I’ve got dibs on these two in front of me. Nobody take them.”
She pointed her fork at Hiro and then Kenji who both stared at her in shock. “They’re mine and I’m serious about that shit.”
I blinked. “First of all, you’re not taking the centerpieces—”
“Why not?” She snapped her view to me. “You can take them at weddings. This party is sort of like that—”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to do that at weddings either.”
“Shit, Nyomi. Every time I go to weddings I take a couple centerpieces, bring them home, take the flowers out of it, wash any glitter and whatnot off the petals, air them out, and then the next day sell the flowers to the flower shop for a little something. I get a couple coins but every cent counts.”
“They probably think you’re homeless and are being nice by giving you a couple quarters here and there.”
“Nyomi is right.” Zo jumped in. “No reputable florist is reusing old wedding centerpiece flowers and selling them.”
“Shit. Whatever.” Nika shrugged. “Don’t sleep though. Once I got a whole dollar.”
“All that work for a dollar?” Zo shook his head. “This is what Deja means by the whole poverty mindset thing—”
“Deja just be reading bullshit on the internet and spouting it out.” Nika picked up Zo’s fork and appeared to be appraising its worth too. “Every dollar counts. When it’s time for me to retire. Bay-be, I will not be broke or living out a cardboard box.”
“Nika, what are you doing here?” I raised my eyebrows. “I thought you were on the plane heading to New York.”
“On the plane? No way. I wouldn’t leave Deja here by herself. That’s my cousin. We don’t rock like that.”
I shrieked. “Deja is here too?!”
Kenji uncomfortably shifted in his chair.
“Hell yes. Deja is here. Girl, where have you been?” Nika scrunched her face up in annoyance and then whistled. “That new dick must be good because you’re usually on point and know everything. Now your whole head is dick-matized.”
Hiro had been munching on his chicken and waffles. Instantly, he began to chuckle and ended up coughing to not choke on his food.
I was still not done with all of this new information. “Why is Deja still here?”
“Girl. . .” Nika placed Zo’s fork next to hers. “Naruto didn’t tell you that dude kidnapped her?”
I looked around the table for this new person. “Who the fuck is Naruto?”
“Girl. Naruto. You know him.”
“Nika, I promise you I don’t know a Naruto.”
“You do. That motherfucker over there with the pink hair.” She pointed down at Kaoru as his girlfriends fed him pieces of the honey-butter cornbread.
“That’s not Naruto. That’s Kaoru.”
“Close.”
“Whatever. Who kidnapped Deja?”
“Dude with the long braid.”
“Rin?”
“Probably.”
Terror hit me and my heart slammed in my chest.
I quickly turned to Kenji. “Oh my God. Did you hear that? Rin kidnapped my friend.”
“Oh. Yeah. . .that’s not good.” Kenji shifted in his seat again. Which was odd for him. I was definitely not used to Kenji of all people appearing uncomfortable, especially in a space that he dominated.
The other shock came when his dragon-shadow suddenly disappeared like it was in trouble.
I leaned my head to the side. “Did you know that Rin kidnapped Deja?”
Hiro’s coughing shifted to laughing.
I scowled at him too. “So you both knew that Rin kidnapped her?”
“Hey, don’t look at me that way.” Hiro held up his hands. “Define kidnapping?”
“You know what the hell kidnapping is.”
Hiro shrugged. “I would say that all I know is that Rin invited her to a date she didn’t know she was going to while she was asleep.”
“Asleep?” I shrieked. “What the fuck do you mean asleep?”
“Tora, you shouldn’t worry.”
I glared at Kenji. “But I am worried. Rin kidnapped her. What are you going to do about it?”
Kenji looked like he absolutely didn’t want to have this conversation in front of everyone. “Tora, we should stay out of it.”
“He kidnapped her.”
“Stay out of it.”
Hiro snickered. “Guess I’ll be the only one marrying our Tiger now.”
“And me.” Reo winked.
I crossed my arms over my chest, not willing to let it go. “Kenji—”
“Tora, your hairstylist is no damsel in distress.” Kenji pointed to the door.
I looked that way.
What?!
I parted my lips.
And I thought Kaoru and Zo were going to be the big shock of tonight.
Chapter seventeen
Little Doggie
Nyomi
Deja entered the ballroom.
Not as a guest, nor captor.
She entered as the event.
The whole reason why we came together this evening.