Page 137 of Plus Size Player

She lifted her shoulders and giggled. “I’m sorry. But you look like a woman in love.”

My eyes widened as I looked at her in disbelief. “Hello, pot. I’m kettle.”

Aaliyah and Tamara were weak.

Russ and the others strolled up, looking amused.

“What’s so funny?” Tamara’s wife asked.

“These three,” Tamara answered in a rush before giving her a quick kiss. Turning toward the rest of us, she lifted her cup. “I want to toast my cousin. For turning thirty. For having this dope-ass party. For constantly proving that the cousins on the father’s side are the best.” After our snickering, she continued. “Tonight has been amazing and I pray this is the kickoff to more amazingness in your life. May your thirtieth year be your best year yet. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” we cheered in unison.

Just as Tamara and her wife walked off, Mecca, another of Aaliyah’s cousins, approached us.

“Can you get together for a picture?” Mecca asked.

The six of us huddled together and posed. Someone called her name, and she ran toward the edge of the lake.

I watched her scurry off. “I can’t remember if she’s the nosey one or if—”

“It’s her,” Aaliyah interrupted me to clarify.

We all laughed.

Conversation flowed for a few minutes, but when a song from our college days pulsed through the air, we darted to the dance floor.

Between the drinks and the nonstop hits the DJ was spinning,I couldn’t stop dancing. It had been a long time since I’d danced that hard.

“I love seeing that smile on your face,” Russ said with a grin.

“I can’t help it. Tonight has been… perfect,” I admitted.

“I’m glad you invited me. Seeing you with your people, seeing you in this dress, seeing this smile on your face…” He licked his lips. “You’re right. Tonightisperfect.You’reperfect.”

I squealed after Russ spun me around and then brought me back into his arms.

When the DJ slowed the music down, things heated up between me and Russ. Our bodies moved in sync as slow jam after slow jam rang through the air.

“I don’t know if it’s the drinks or what, but damn…” Russ let out a low groan as I continued to grind on him. “This is new.”

I had my hands on my knees, and I was throwing my ass in a circle. “We’ve danced before.” I turned around to face him and then dropped it low in front of him. “And you’ve definitely seen my ass move like this before.”

As I slowly slid my body up his to rise to my feet, he said, “Yeah, but never on a crowded dance floor…” Russ leaned down to whisper in my ear. “It’s almost like you want me to lift this dress up and slid right in it.”

Biting my bottom lip, I pressed myself against him. “Yes.”

“Nina…”

The way he dragged the second syllable of my name was so sexy that a chill ran down my spine. I clasped my hands behind his neck and rolled my body against him. “You want to lift my dress up, baby?”

He grabbed my hips, making sure I felt how hard his dick was with each dance move. “You better stop playing with me,” he warned.

“You betterstartplaying with me.”

He let out a low chuckle that almost felt like a warning just as Aaliyah got on the mic to thank us for coming and to wish us a good night. We wished her a happy birthday again and then went back to dancing to the last song of the night.

Wrapping my arms around Russ’s neck, I pulled him until our foreheads touched. “I think it’s time for us to call it a night.”

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