Preseason Love by Ahyiana Angel Page B

Rivington on the Lower East Side. She was hanging out with some peeps at a dive bar close to her hotel. I wasn’t exactly sure where the bar was, so I instructed the driver to drop me off at the corner closest to the hotel.
    Slick had to get out of the car in order to let me out. As I climbed out of the farthest backseat, I said good night to Pink Dress. I bid Slick a good night as well. When I pulled away from the hug, he whispered, “Can I call you sometime?”
    I laughed and shook my head. This guy was pure comedy. He already had my number from coordinating arrivals earlier in the night, but now he wanted to see if he could use it for purposes other than business. I thought not.

Chapter 10
Baller Times One
    T he holiday weekend had arrived and Nikki was flying in from Los Angeles. I hadn’t seen her since the day she’d dropped me off at the airport in Los Angeles, but it was nothing for Nikki to book a last-minute trip for a visit. She consistently had a plethora of guys in rotation to occupy her time and finance the collection of her frequent flyer miles, luxurious hair enhancements, and designer handbags.
    To join in the fun, Sydney extended her work trip through the long Memorial Day weekend. That meant the majority of The Clique was assembled. It was bound to be a weekend of major fun.
    The girls arrived at the apartment Saturday evening. Dev and I were ready and waiting to start the weekend festivities with a few cocktails at our place. Nikki and all of her luxurious hair came right in and made herself at home in the kitchen mixing up some specialty drinks while Sydney, Dev, and I all sat around the kitchen’s bar sipping on lime-colored, salt-rimmed glasses.
    Sydney did not waste any time. “So everyone knows about Ivan calling Scottie, right?”
    I looked up from my glass and shook my head. I knew where this was going.
    â€œShe’s happy with her new boo. Do we really even care that Ivan wants to come crying back now?” Nikki asked.
    â€œMaybe he really realizes that he messed up,” Sydney said.
    Dev set her glass down and held her hand up. “He wasn’t all bad. I definitely liked him as a person. But will Scottie or should Scottie entertain him, that’s totally up to her.”
    â€œWell, Scottie?” Sydney asked.
    â€œI haven’t even called him back yet. I really don’t have much to say. I cared deeply for him at one point, but now I feel like he is trying to get me back because I’m trying to move on. It’s like he can sense that I have someone else.”
    â€œThat’s probably true,” Nikki said.
    â€œI don’t want whatever he has to say tainting my relationship with Kari. He is a great guy.”
    â€œThen don’t call him. Move on,” Nikki said, making the conversation final.
    Once we were all feeling nice, it was time to head into the city. Before we hit the streets, I tipsy-texted Kari to say hi and to let him know that I was thinking about him. I wouldn’t really have time to see him throughout the weekend, but I wanted to show him a little attention. He liked that sort of thing.
    It was already after midnight, so the group consensus was to keep it low-key. We headed to Pop Burger where we could get food, drinks, and even mix in a little scene.
    Surprisingly, Dev did not arrange to have us meeting up with Mel. She seemed to be getting a little annoyed with him. Maybe it was his lack of effort to incorporate her into his real life. Although he’d said that it was for her own good, she expressed how she felt disconnected from him after the whole arrest ordeal. My advice was to simply let her gut be her guide and only do what felt right when it came to Mel. He seemed to have some dangerous secrets and that wasn’t cool.
    Dev’s phone rang as we walked out of the train station, and she jumped before scrambling to grab it out of her purse. We all watched her answer. She had just told us on