Also bring gum. I been drinking and my breath hot as shit!
Sabine laughed out loud, shaking her head.
SABINE (texting back):
En route. Calm down before I tell the DJ to cut your birthday twerk off short.
Try me and see. I’ll throw my cake at you.
Another buzz.
You look cute, right? Tell me you look cute.
Sabine angled her phone, snapped a quick selfie—glossy lips, sequined shimmer and all—then sent it off.
SABINE:
You tell me.
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Seconds later, a flurry of heart emojis and a voice note:
“BITCHHHHHHHHHH!”
Sabine laughed again, clutching the phone to her chest for a moment.She looked out the window, watching the city stretch itself out for the night. Lights. Music. Everything waiting.
The Uber slowed in front of the venue—an event space that used to be an old gym but had been flipped into something more profitable. Neon lights bathed the sidewalk in pink and purple,and the bass from inside pulsed hard enough to make Sabine’s chest vibrate before she even opened the door.
“Here we are,” the driver said, glancing in the rearview. “Have a good night.”
“Thanks,” she said, pushing the door open. He stepped out to help her as she adjusted her heels and smoothed her coat. Her dress caught in the light, sequins flashing just enough to make heads turn. She gave the driver a soft smile and slipped him a twenty. “And five stars.” He tipped his head in thanks and pulled off.
Sabine turned toward the venue.
A massive silver banner was strung across the entrance with glittery pink lettering:Reeka’s Bad Bitch Birthday Bash. The font screamed “extra” in the best way. Outside, a few men stood smoking, their laughter loud and posture lazy, chains glinting in the glow of the signage. The sidewalk smelled like shea butter, weed, and ego.
And the minute she stepped up, all eyes turned.
Sabine didn’t flinch under the attention, just adjusted her purse and kept walking until one voice cut through the noise.
“Damn. Adair really let that walk away?”
She looked up. Geechie.
Adair’s cousin. Tall, brown-skinned, with gold teeth and too much charm. He stood against the wall, arms folded, one sneaker propped behind him. He always looked like he was somewhere between plotting and flirting.
Sabine raised a brow, not stopping. “Don’t start.”
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’,” he said, grinning slow. “Just sayin’ if I had you, I wouldn’t be lettin’ you walk past me lookin’ like that witall that.”
She paused, just for a second. “That’s why you watching so hard?”
“Can you blame me?”
Sabine smirked, then kept walking, heels clacking against the pavement, head high but her pulse kicked a little harder. Not for Geechie. But for the building she was walking into. For what was waiting inside.
Reeka. The music. The family. The noise.