Page 26 of Divine II

As long as Bishop was going to be there, I knew I would be all right. He would never let anyone do anything or even talk crazy to me in his presence. Bishop wasn’t a wild card like Syre or overprotective like Maven, but he knew how to get his point across. It was still early, so that meant I had time to find a cute swimsuit for the party.

I stood in front of my mirror, giving myself a once over. I looked good as hell in the nude string bikini I’d picked up at the mall. If Zane thought me wearing shorts was offensive, he was about to have a stroke. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face once I removed my sarong and let his guests get a load of this ass.

I used a big plastic clip to pull my hair up on top of my head. I didn’t plan on getting in the water, but you never knew when somebody would start acting the fool and splashing water everywhere. It was supposed to be sort of an upscale vibe, so I planned on things to be very chill.

I’d even invited my girl Candice to come along with me. I needed a little extra reinforcement outside of Bishop to make sure I stayed on my best behavior. If Candice was there to keepme distracted, maybe I wouldn’t even have to talk to Zane’s obnoxious ass.

As I headed out, I grabbed my phone off the bed. I reached inside the cute little beach bag I’d bought while I was out bathing suit shopping and pulled my phone out. I called Candice to let her know that I was on my way.

“Hey, girl,” Candice answered, sounding somber and dry.

“Uh uh, Candice. I don’t want to hear it. I’m on my way to you.”

“I’m sorry, D. My head is killing me, girl. I haven’t even been out of bed today.”

“You need anything? You know I want an excuse to ditch this freaking party anyway.”

“Nah, I’m not letting you do that. Bishop already don’t like me. He’ll swear I got you to bail.”

“Forget Bishop. He doesn’t like anybody. You’re my girl. You took something for your headache?” I asked as I slid into my car.

“I thought I had some Tylenol around here, but I didn’t see it last night. I can’t be rifling through drawers and shit. My head feels like it’s about to explode every time I hold my head down.”

“Sounds like a sinus headache.”

“That’s what I was thinking too,” she confirmed. “My allergies have been acting up a little bit. As much as I love the warm weather, the pollen just does not agree with me.”

“I’m about to send over a care package. Open the door when they get there,” I said, opening my delivery application and searching sinus headache medicines.

“I’ll try.”

“Well, you know they’ll leave it on the doorstep, but eventually, I need you to go out and get it.”

“I will,” she said with a yawn.

“Get some rest. I’ll check on you after the party.”

“OK.”

Candice ended the call, and I continued adding things to my basket that I thought would help her to feel better. After making sure to change the delivery address to her home address, I placed the order. Once I was done, I looked up and rolled my eyes at the pair of black trucks sitting at the end of the driveway.

Leave it to Syre to be extra as hell. If I was going to this pool party where Bishop would be, I didn’t see the need for extra security. If that’s what he wanted to do with his money, that was on him. It wasn’t my money being flushed down the toilet.

As I pulled out of my yard with the trucks in tow, I smiled to myself. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Zane’s smug ass face when he saw me in my bathing suit. Not even the beefed-up security could wipe the smile off my face.

I didn’t know who the hell he thought he was, but as soon as I figured out a way to get those tapes out of his possession, I was going to show him exactly who I was. I didn’t take too kindly to threats, and I knew my cousins didn’t either. Usually, they would have gone in and wiped out his whole family and taken the tapes.

Marriage had made them soft. I didn’t know if I liked the change in their demeanors or not, but I could definitely respect it. Having something to lose other than each other seemed to mature them in unexpected ways. I just wished that having wives and children would get them off my back a little more.

I played my “get up” mix from my phone’s automated playlist and vibed out all the way to the party. Something about music always improved my mood. Before I knew it, I was pulling into the community where Zane’s house was and actually in the mood to party.

As I navigated through the winding streets, I found myself impressed by the houses. I had never wanted to live in a gated community because, like the guys, I liked a little space and privacy. Still, I found the neighborhood charming. The houses were massive and every one of them had huge, manicured lawns.

When I finally made it to Zane’s address, I was surprised at the number of cars in his driveway and parked out front. I hadn’t expected such a large turnout. I wasn’t sure if I was pleasantly surprised or annoyed. I guess I would decide once I was among the crowd. I giggled at Oneal as he climbed out of his truck dressed in a pair of black trunks and a matching wife beater.

“You swimming today?” I asked as he fell in step with me.

“You never know. Gotta be ready for whatever.” He grinned. “I see you’re ready to dive in.”

---