Make Me Yours

This would be a good time to have the hot tub to herself for a while. Pleased by this thought, she began to mindlessly hum “Can’t Stop Falling in Love With You” as she undressed.

Soon, she was in her birthday suit, save for the satin bonnet that secured her hair. Gleefully she found her way to the hot tub. A giggle escaped her lips as she slipped in and the hot warm instantly began to work on her muscles. She had asked that the hotel prepared the tub and a midnight snack for her earlier. As always, they had done just that.

White wine. Check. Berries. Check. Parfait. Check. Cheese. Check.

Goodness, she thought to herself as she filled her lips with berries, sinking deeper into the water, this hotel sure knows how to treat their customers like royalty. Customer service was a solid 100. She was impressed.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, because a while later, she was rudely awakened by water splashing all over her and loud shrieks from her crazy friends.

It took her a moment for the grogginess to wear off.

“What the hell?”

“Wake up sleepy head! Girl! You know how dangerous it is to fall asleep alone in a tub. What if you slip and drown?” That was Mariah; as black as Zoey’s behind, and just as crazy.

“She can’t drown asleep, doofus. Her body would wake her up,” Carrie replied. The reasonable one. Although, Zoey sometimes felt guilty that they had corrupted sweet white Carrie with their ‘hoodness’. She had come a long way from the timid girl that could barely hold her own all those years ago. She was now bold, very outspoken and fierce. As a teacher, now she helplessly “mommied” all of them. Not that they needed any mothering – Carrie simply had difficulty remembering that she was no longer in the classroom, sometimes.

“Thanks, Carrie. Let her know. It’s not even logically possible.”

Mariah’s eyes widened as though she had just the most ridiculous statement ever.

“You said what now? I’d have you know that it happens. See one time, I saw this movie. This guy was hit on the head with a stick, yeah? Knocked out.” She sliced her throat with her hand, brought out her tongue and rolled her eyes backward, just to emphasize her point. It made Zoey shake her head.

Mariah could be so dramatic.

“They tied him up,” she continued, “And I kid you not, sh*t is real. They dropped him into the sea and left him for dead. Best believe ni**a drowned. Why his body didn’t wake him up?”

“Mariah, stop trolling. We all know you’re smarter than that. You said it yourself; he was unconscious. Knocked out. That’s different from being asleep.” That was Jennifer who was already helping herself to Zoey’s parfait. Jenny was Italian.

“Oh Jenny, ignore her. She’s just deliberately being a pain in the ass.”

The girl in question began to giggle sheepishly and the rest of them simply shook their heads, unable to help the smiles that creased their faces.

 “I didn’t order that parfait for you, Jenny.”

“It doesn’t have your name on it, does it?” Jenny asked sweetly as she licked up the last piece.

Not knowing how to feel about the loss of her favourite dessert, Zoey settled into a mock pout.

“Oh c’mon… just look at you. I already ordered plenty of parfait, and it’d be here any moment from now.”

As if on cue, the doorbell dinged in that moment.

“Ooh. Looks like they already are. I’d be back in a jiffy. Y’all get comfortable but don’t start any gisting until I return. I don’t wanna miss even the slightest bit of how y’all nights went.”

Jenny slipped out of the tub, got into her robe and left a trail of water behind her as she went to get the door.

“So, how was the casino?” asked Mariah, the moment Jenny was out of sight, her eyes beaming with mischief.

“Myah!” Carrie scolded.

 Zoey laughed. “Are you even surprised? She is quite predictable.”

“I’m so not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Not.”

“Yes, you are.” Carrie joined, making it a chorus.

Defeated, Mariah simply sniffed her nose at them, and went back to sipping her wine.

Satisfied with the silence, Zoey reached for her own glass too, the sleepiness fully washed away. Jenny returned in no time, her hands filled with a tray of assorted goodies.

“Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! Let the night begin!” Mariah’s exclamation had the rest nodding in agreement. They all had a sweet tooth; desserts were their guilty pleasures and they bore no shame over that.

 As soon as Jenny slipped back into the tub, the chit-chat began.

Zoey listened as the girls recounted their dates, one by one. Mariah and Jenny got laid. Carrie had almost, but she’d changed her mind last minute. All in all, the dates had gone well and they were going to meet with the guys one last time before leaving Singapore.

“Sounds like y’all had fun,” Zoey commented, as Jenny who had been the last to speak, finished her story.

“You know it.” Jenny replied.

“So, what about you? Any wins tonight?”

Zoey began to smile. She shrugged her shoulders flippantly to give her words the “no big deal” effect.

“Oh well, you know me. I was born a winner. While y’all were moaning and panting, I was cashing in my chips. If you check out my dresser, you’d find a check of over 30,000.”

“What?! Girl! You haven’t won that big in a while!”

“Well, Carrie… it’s because I haven’t played that big in a while. You can’t win big if you don’t play big. It’s the rule of the game.”

“Damn, girl! You’ve got some magic fingers. I cannot believe that every time, you always manage to win back the money for the trip, on the trip.”

Feeling smug and rightfully so, Zoey raised her glass against Jenny’s. “Well, you know me, my friend. I’m all about closing deals and making money.”

It was more of the snotty British accent that she had tried to impersonate, rather than her words, that made them all burst into laughter. Zoey herself soon joined them, glad that she had friends who understood her so effortlessly and got her jokes, all the time.

“Why do I feel like there’s something else you’re not saying? Your eyes are, though.” That was Mariah.

“Oh what? You are the psychic now too? I thought your job was making people look pretty?”

“Oh shut up, bi*ch. Who’s the guy?”

Feigning ignorance, Zoey widened her eyes and looked around at her friends. They were all staring at her expectantly.

“Who said anything about any guy?” The moment those words left her lips, she knew she was sold out. Those words sounded guilty as fu*k. She groaned inwardly. She really did need to learn how to lie better.

Crossing her arms, Mariah stared down at her.

“Uh-huh. Spill, now.”

Aware that she would never win this round, she chuckled, then began to tell them of the arrogant, snobbish Mr Li, and how she had taught him a grand lesson she hoped he would never forget. At least not anytime soon.

Her girls had just the response she had expected. They cheered her on and even toasted to teaching more Mr Lis much needed lessons in humility.

As she crawled to sleep around three that morning, she could not get rid of the nagging feeling that there was something she was missing, and that it had to do with Mr Li.