Page 1 of Ready or Not
1 /SOLÈNE
“It’s too fuckinghot outside for anyone to be smelling like a can of bounce that ass,” Penelope said as she approached the rest of us with a stank look on her face. “This place is too packed for that.”
“Who pissed you off?” Naomi asked. The sunshine brought out the warmth in her walnut skin tone as she lowered her Loewe square sunglasses to peek around the sea of people, searching for the root of Penelope's foul mood.
“Homeboy over there in the sky blue shirt sweating like hell done its big one on him.” Using her lips, she motioned in the perpetrator’s direction as she took a seat next to me on the rooftop’s faux-leather grey couch. “I could smell him before he tried to talk to me.”
“The one with that weird ass orangey-brown drink in his hand?” Naomi kept looking around. I followed her gaze and immediately spotted a burly, short Black man leaning against the bar that Penelope had been talking about—his shirt drenched in so much sweat that it practically clung to his skin. His dark hair clung to his forehead, and he seemed totally unaware of the damp patches spreading across his chest from his armpits. As if drawn by our side-eyes, he turned his head inour direction, revealing a patchy beard that even Jesus couldn’t revive from the dead and we all shrieked.
“Oh my.” My body shuddered again. “That man’s marinating, and it’s not eventhathot.”
Naomi let out a loud cackle, causing a couple of heads to turn in our direction. “He needs a fan.”
“And a shower.” Penelope rolled her eyes, taking a sip of the fruity cocktail she ordered for Naomi and me.
Having just finished my set for EverydayPPL, we decided to stop at a rooftop party at Elsie Rooftop to celebrate my biggest gig as a DJ. The pounding bass of an amapiano beat from the makeshift music booth reverberated as we settled into some VIP seating that Penelope had secured for us. The party was in full swing, with people mingling, dancing, and laughing like they had no worries in the world—saturated by the scents of sweat, sunscreen, over-priced perfume, and alcohol. Even as the sun began to set, the heat clung to the scene.
It was another beautiful New York summer, the kind that should’ve made anyone forget their troubles—at least temporarily.
“Onto other things… Cheers to Sol for a beautiful set and for getting another big DJ check!” Naomi raised her glass, and Penelope and I clinked our drinks against hers.
I took a sip of my drink. The flavors of passionfruit and rum dance on my tongue. “I still can’t believe they reached out to me for it.”
“I can!” Penelope continued, her sepia colored hands squeezing my shoulder. “You’re picking up traction now that you’re doing bigger gigs, so it only makes sense.”
“First, it was Black House Radio performances,” Naomi listed as she sipped her drink, “then Soulection Radio, now EverydayPPL?—”
“Don’t forget her Boiler Room gig that’s happening in London next month,” Penelope added.
“I haven’t,” Naomi nodded, continuing. “I just wanna know if we can even afford to be her friends anymore since she’s making it big time.”
“Oh, please! I don’t think the celebrity aesthetician has a right to make that comment,” our friend Elizabeth said as she took a seat by us, looking at Naomi. “Last time I checked, you were busy doing people’s faces for the Met Gala.”
Her tawny finger pushed Naomi's oversized sunglasses up the bridge of her nose. Then, taking a seat between Naomi and me, Elizabeth chuckled.
“The shade.” Naomi playfully swatted her arm before turning back to me. “But seriously, Sol, we’re so proud of you. You killed it out there once again.”
“I tried my best.” I smiled gratefully at my friends, a warmth blooming in my chest at their words of encouragement.
“You didn’t just try your best,” Elizabeth said as she embraced me. “You killed that shit and everyone’s been talking about it like they always do. Shiiiit… it makes me proud that you stepped out of your comfort zone to explore this DJ-ing full time.”
DJ-ing was something I never imagined I’d have the courage to pursue full time—with my original day job as a game designer and all. I had gotten comfortable keeping it as a hobby—despite my love for music, posting videos here and there online and playing at small events for fun. However, thanks to a crappy relationship ending and the need for a new creative outlet that wasn’t in the corporate world, the realization for some change in my life was needed.
And music came to the rescue.
The feeling of control over a crowd as they danced and vibed to the music mixed was intoxicating, addicting—like I was riding a high that I never wanted to come down from.
“Yeah, I still can’t believe it myself.” I sipped on my drink, relaxing further into the seat as I watched the party unfold… only to see a familiar face in the crowd.
Great.
Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I turned to see Penelope with her eyes squinting at me.
"You okay, girl?" she asked, her voice cutting through a mix of This Is How We Celebrate and Bhebha blasting through the speakers.
I forced a smile. “I’m good. Just… enjoying the view.”
Her brows furrowed as she looked over to where I was gazing. She sighed upon seeing my ex-boyfriend lip-locked with some dark-skinned brunette I vaguely recognized from junior high—the same girl he once insisted wasjust a friend. The sight was like a sucker punch to my gut, knocking the wind out of me even though I knew it was coming.
