Page 21 of Same Girl
“Mya, you can’t have us both,” Fyve stated.
“I need—” A flash of lightning struck, startling me and interrupting my sentence. The power went out within a second. But when a clap of thunder roared a few seconds later and shook the house, I screamed.
“Let me go outside and grab my generator,” Fyve stated as he stood.
“It’s too bad for you to go out there like this.” I disputed.
“I’m fine. Be right back.”
I watched as he ran out of the house.
“You got some candles around here?” Chosen asked.
“Yes, in the kitchen drawer beside the sink. Don’t leave me. You know I’m terrified of storms.”
“Baby, I’m right here. You can see me and hear me moving around,” Chosen replied, waving his phone around in the kitchen opposite me so that the light coming from his flashlight app bounced around.
Chosen had been with me through a few storms. Some of them, he had been working or at home. But he had driven to me as soon as it started up because he knew I was scared of them.
Chosen returned within a couple of minutes with the candles, my candle lighter, and a bottle of wine. He left again and returned with three glasses.
“What’s this for?”
“I thought we’d play a game like we usually do to get your mind off things,” Chosen answered.
“Okay,” I mumbled, trying to calm down.
The candles were lit, and the wine was poured by the time the generator kicked in and the power came back on. Chosen had given me a piece of paper and a pen to write some questions down. I had already ripped the paper into strips and placed them into a large bowl. While I had been doing that, he’d also made some mixed drinks by candlelight.
“Everybody good?” Fyve asked, walking back into the house.
“Yeah, we’re fine. We’re gonna play a game to get Mya’s mind off the storms. She’s terrified of them.”
“Oh yeah? I didn’t know that,” Fyve quipped, looking at me curiously.
“Because you’re always out of town,” I responded lightly.
“Let me guess. He comes through to save the day,” he replied without any bitterness in his tone as he removed his wet T-shirt.
“Something like that,” Chosen replied.
“So what’s the game?” Fyve asked.
“Never Have I Ever.”
“That bullshit they play on social media?”
“It soothes her nerves,” Chosen countered.
“A’ight,” he replied, sitting on the loveseat. I occupied the armchair, and Chosen was on the couch.
“There’s a twist though. Mya’s written the questions down, so we will pull from the bowl. Read your question and answer it truthfully. You take a sip of wine with every question. If you’ve done it, own it. If not, do the shit if you can. If you can’t, take a shot to the head and lose one article of clothing,” Chosen explained, pointing to the shots that were available for us.
“The fuck?” Fyve asked.
“That’s the way we play the game.”
“Oh, y’all played this shit before?” Fyve asked.
