𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐢'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

i woke up tired and with a banging headache the moment i opened my eyes. as i started to gain consciousness, the steamy memories of last night rushed to me and i stretched my arms to feel for her but felt an empty space instead.

i sat up abruptly as i stared at the empty space next to me, the sheets still ruffled from where skai had lain just hours before. frustration clawed at my insides, making it hard to breathe. 

it wasn't just that she'd left without a word, though that was enough to mess with my head. it was everything that had led up to this moment—the months of silence, the missed chances to explain myself, the way everything had spiralled out of control because of one damn misunderstanding.

"for fucks sake skai." i muttered to myself as i threw off the covers and stood up, pacing the room.

the anger simmering beneath my skin wasn't just about last night. it was about the night that changed everything, the night i'd told skai i was going to break up with jasmine. i'd meant every word. i was ready to end things with jasmine for good, to finally be honest about how i felt, about who i really wanted.

i know how the whole situation must have looked like for her and i couldn't help but understand why she blocked me and distanced herself. but damn at least say goodbye after eating me out, you know to be polite?

i couldn't help but roll my eyes at the messy breakup between jasmine and i.  jasmine had posted those stupid birthday pictures—pictures that made it look like we were still together, like nothing had changed between us. 

she'd planned it all so perfectly, knowing exactly how to play the game, how to manipulate the narrative to her advantage. i hadn't even realized what she'd done until skai saw them, and by then, it was too late.

i wanted to scream, to hit something, to do anything to release the pent-up frustration that had been building inside me for months. i never got the chance to explain to skai what really happened, why those pictures didn't mean what she thought they did. 

she never gave me that chance. instead, she blocked me, cut me off completely. it was like she'd slammed a door in my face and thrown away the key.

and now, after all these months, after the tension and the hurt and the missed connections, she'd finally come back into my life—last night was no kidding, the best sex i have ever had since, well our relationship really. the energy, the tension, she still remembered my body. only to disappear again without so much as a goodbye.

my phone buzzed on the nightstand, breaking the silence that filled my room. i walked over to the device, foolishly half-expecting it to be skai, but of course, it wasn't. instead, the caller ID flashed ralphy. i groaned, already knowing what was coming.

"what?" i grumbled, pressing the phone to my ear.

"dani, open the door!" ralphy's voice blared through the phone, loud enough to make me wince.

"yeah, we know you're in there," trenice added, her tone all singsongy. "you're not getting out of this."

"y'all don't got someone else's mornin' to ruin?" i mumbled, still feeling sleepy and agitated.

"nope, you're our most famous and richest friend with the dope house," ralphy said. "open. the. door."

i hung up, dragging myself to the door which as soon as i cracked the door open, they both pushed their way in like they owned the place, ralphy nearly knocking me over in his rush.

"good morning to you too," i muttered, shutting the door behind them and trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

ralphy made a beeline for the kitchen, rifling through my cabinets like he was searching for buried treasure. boxes clattered, bags crinkled, and soon enough, he was triumphantly holding up a bag of caramel popcorn. trenice, on the other hand, had already plopped down on the couch, curling up and switching on hulu like she paid the bills.

"uh, help yourselves, i guess," i said, watching as ralphy grabbed a handful of popcorn and tossed them into his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days.

"thank you, we will," he said, munching away,  i swept a palm over my face as i looked at them, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep.

"and why are you looking like you've been run over by a truck?" trenice asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "you seriously need to tame them curls, girl. you looking like you lost a fight with your pillow."

i sighed, running a hand through my hair, trying to smooth down the mess of curls. "it's... complicated."

ralphy snorted, plopping down beside trenice, still clutching the bag of popcorn. "isn't it always with you?"

"seriously, dani," trenice said, leaning forward with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "don't make us spell it out—who did you leave with yesterday?"

"since y'all are so fuckin' nosy," i started, rolling my eyes as i sat on the armchair of my sofa, "i left with skai. but you already know that." ralphy and trenice exchanged excited looks, like kids who just found out it was a snow day. they settled in, clearly ready for the details. "the rest is none of your business."

"OMG, dani got laid!" ralphy shouted, raising his hand for a high-five. trenice fell into fits of laughter, practically doubling over on the couch. ralphy's hand hovered there in the air, waiting for me, but i just stared at him, half amused, half annoyed.

"wait," trenice said abruptly, sitting up straight. "did we ruin your motion? is she upstairs? is that why you're acting like you got a stick up your ass?"

"no, she left," i said, my voice flat as i stared down at the floor, looking emotionless. the room fell into a brief silence, the only sound being the crunch of ralphy's popcorn.

"let me guess," ralphy said, whispering like it was a secret, "she left without saying goodbye... ouch."

"did you even explain to her what jasmine did?" trenice asked, her tone shifting to concern, like she was slowly piecing the puzzle together.

"uh... we didn't exactly get to that point," i admitted, feeling sheepish as our drunken act filled my head disobediently. "i was plannin' to, but i should've known with that girl and her damn pride that she would leave before i got the chance to."

"damn, jasmine that nutcase. let's run back for a second on how crazy she was," trenice said, her eyes narrowing as she remembered, and ralphy nodded.

"honestly, now that we've broken up, i can really see how she was manipulative as hell. i'm so happy i got out of that. with or without skai, it was a mess," i said, taking a deep breath of relief, like i could finally exhale that part of my life.

"so what are you gonna do about skai?" trenice asked, curiosity and a hint of amusement in her voice.

"i don't know," i said slowly, contemplating my options. "i do want to explain what happened, but shawty got me blocked, so..."

"skai makes me laugh. she really is standing on business right now," trenice said, shaking her head with a small smile.

"nah, the business is standin' on her. watch, these two will get back together, give it two weeks," ralphy laughed, his voice full of mischief. 

despite his teasing, i couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope. one thing i knew for sure was that we still had feelings for each other. my mind immediately drifted back to last night, to the way she felt, the way she—i shivered from the memory, a blush creeping up my neck.

"you cold?" trenice asked, holding up a blanket with an innocent expression, trying to stifle her laugh. i rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the smile that tugged at my lips.

"yeah, yeah," i muttered, snatching the blanket and throwing it over myself, settling back into the armchair as they continued to tease and laugh.

𓏲𝄢 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝!