Page 55 of Some Like It Spicy

Anika didn’t even look at her this time. She turned to Justine. “You should’ve run up and tapped their shoulder or something.”

“And ruin our girl’s chance of getting her cheeks clapped?” Justine laughed. “I don’t think so.”

Anika scolded, “Language, Justine.”

“Saying ‘cheeks clapped’ is not cussing,” Justine protested. When all she got from Anika was a ‘mom’ look, she sighed. “Fine, I’ll correct myself. I would never ever interrupt my friend, Xolani, while she was trying to get some.”

Anika flashed her teeth. “That’s better.” She turned to Xolani. “And you… who is this dude?”

Xolani huffed in frustration. “I told you_”

“Who is he?” Justine taunted.

Clearly, her friends weren’t going to let it go. So Xolani reluctantly revealed, “Okay, fine. There’s a dude. It’s just someone I know. No one special.”

“Do we know him too?” Anika asked.

At the same time, Justine asked, “What’s his name?”

Xolani didn’t want to reveal Barry’s name but didn’t want to lie any more than she already had. So, she hedged, “I told you he’s no one special. His name is not important.”

“Oh, this is sus as fuck.” Justine’s eyes narrowed. “You keep emphasizing how he’s not special or important. That tells me that you don’t want questions. Why don’t you want questions, Xo? What are you hiding?”

Xolani gasped with fake outrage. “I’m not hiding anything.”

Anika, who was studying her too, lifted a hand. “Wait. Wait. Wait. I just had a thought.”

Justine asked, “What thought?”

Anika’s lips lifted in a slow smile. That slow smile was enough to make Xolani’s insides tighten in nervousness. Anika asked, “Perchance might our mystery man be Barry Hale?”

Xolani’s breath rushed out in a sharp gasp.

And it was answer enough for her best-friends.

“Oh my word!” Anika gasped. “It is Barry Hale.”

“Barry? For real?” Justine stared at Xolani in goggle-eyed shock. “I thought you said he was too nice to date.”

“He’s still too nice to date.” Now that she’d been caught, Xolani had no way out other than the truth. “We’re not dating. Just… you know_”

Justine’s eyes lit up. “Fucking?”

“Justine!” Anika exclaimed while clutching her imaginary pearls.

“Ugh!” Justine rolled her eyes. “Making love? Getting intimate? Bumping Uglies? Fornicating? What bougie term do you prefer?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xolani interrupted before it could turn into a tiff. “We’re just doing the horizontal mambo.”

Wide-eyed, Anika asked, “But you’re not dating?”

Xolani shook her head. “No, we’re not.”

“Grown folks do that sometimes,” Justine teased Anika.

“But not Xo.” Anika reminded Xolani, “You don’t do one-night stands. You always say that you want to form an emotional connection first before you take your clothes off.”

Xo explained, “Well, there’s certainly a connection with Barry, and it isn’t a one-night stand.”

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