Girlz In Da Hood

It’s Crazy James’s birthday so Vagina Jane and I head out…again. We tuck ourselves into a corner table and let people come to us, which they do. They always do. We watch people dance. We watch them play pool. We drink and laugh. I’m feeling better. Still confused but I think I know what I have to do at this point. MOB and I will just be friends, as much as exes can be. I need to figure out how I feel about FB. DG I will play by ear and see if the sex can match up to the first time.

Jas finds me in the corner. He wishes I would’ve called. I promise him I will. He asks for my number again and I finally give it to him. Why not? He's totally cute and he looks at me as if I'm a Goddess. Just as I do, in walks a familiar face. MOB. He walks by the table, giving me his best smile, about to pass me by. Then stops and comes back towards me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. It’s a little weird. We both smile at each other. “How was your day, friend?” He can be such a shithead sometimes. “It was fine, friend. How was yours?” He’s had better. At least he’s being honest, unlike myself. We stare at each other for a moment, both knowing how much this is going to suck, but knowing it’s for the best. We have to be strong. If it’s meant to be down the road, it will be. The night flies by with the two of us exchanging glances and smiles across the bar, never taking our eyes off each other for very long. Luckily FB doesn’t make it out tonight.

1 AM

MOB and I stand at the bar, ordering our last call drinks. He wonders what I’m doing afterwards. Maybe he and his friends would come over and we could party at our house? I’m not at all opposed to the idea. His “old friend” approaches and steals his hat off his head shooting daggers at me but sending him flirty eyes that dare him to come get it back. He ignores her and part of me cheers inside. Ha! Take that wench. He doesn’t want to be with you. It takes her a minute to figure this out but when he puts his arm around me and turns his back to her, she slams the hat back on his head and walks away in a huff. He doesn’t turn to watch her go. He tells me he’s going to go round up some friends to bring over. I tell him to make sure she isn’t one of them. He thinks I’m funny.

Jas approaches at the same time as Vagina Jane. He’s trying to find out when he can see me again. She’s talking in my other ear at the same time telling me how much she wants to go to the after hours club with everyone. I, of course, would rather sit at my house with MOB and company but I can tell Vagina Jane isn’t going to let that happen. Once she gets something in her head, it’s hard to convince her otherwise. Jas continues to sit next to me and talk. MOB walks by a couple of times, watching carefully. I smile to reassure him that there is nothing to fear, even though we’re “just friends”. Jas asks again where we are going now and I tell him, “I guess we’re going to the club.” He smiles. “Well, if that’s where you’re going, that’s where I’ll be.” I’m hoping I can still talk Vagina Jane out of it in the car.

We head to my house for a quick pit stop. MOB shows up, alone. And I know that he’s hoping for the same thing as me. But Vagina Jane is not having it so we jump in the car to head to after hours. Only on the way out of the garage, Vagina Jane (who is slightly less inebriated then me and is therefore driving) accidentally slams the side of the car into the garage wall. I watch in horror as the passenger side mirror of my brand new “look at me, I’m such a pimp” car splits off and hangs by electrical wires. Holy shit…

But does a little accident like that stop party girls from hitting the town? Hell, no. Soon, we’re off again. We arrive at the club in a shady area of town. We’ve been there before and it was fine but I’m still glad MOB is with us. Jas is already there and he smiles the minute I walk in the door. And then he of course notices MOB is with me. We take a seat at the bar. Vagina Jane, myself, MOB. There are three people on the other side of MOB and then Jas stands watching. I feel very uncomfortable. People find their way to us and we small talk. MOB and I stay close and exchange sarcastic remarks about the boundaries of being friends. A great song comes on and people head out to the dance floor. I ask MOB if he wants to dance. He says we can’t. I tell him that friends can dance. And he says not friends like us, it will only cause trouble. When I get slightly irritated he reminds me, “You’re the one who wanted this.” As if he had nothing to do with the decision.

3 AM

A few drinks and a couple dances later…

MOB and I can’t stop throwing jabs back and forth. Vagina Jane tells us to knock it off and kiss and make up or just shut up. Jas continues to walk by and watch me, trying to catch my eye. I can’t take the way MOB is looking at me. I’m drunk and I’m sick of the tension. “This is stupid. I didn’t mean the friends thing. Can we just go back and be okay now?” He shakes his head with an evil smile on his face. “Nope. I’m giving you what you want.” I can’t believe this. He’s trying to punish me. What an assface! I call him on it. “So you’re punishing me for saying we should be friends?” He shakes his head. “Yep.” Then he heads to the dance floor without me. I sit in my chair and watch. And people have the nerve to say that I’m an emotional terrorist? Please! MOB is the king of guilt trips. Look at him out there, grinding with that ugly chick, never taking his eyes off of me the whole time. He’s playing a sick game with me and I can’t take it. I stand to leave but am grabbed by some of my friends. They force me to dance and it’s fun but I can still see MOB in my line of vision. He makes sure of it. I walk out the back door to get some fresh air. I’ll find Jas, I think to myself. And we’ll go dance. Screw MOB.

As I light my cigarette I see Jas running through the parking lot towards the backdoor where I’m standing. But security is running up to him and before I realize what is going on Jas screams “I’ve been shot!” He rushes past me and falls to the ground. I look to see a spot of blood rapidly gaining size in his chest. I rush into the club to find Vagina Jane and MOB. People begin to scramble for the exits. I hear people yelling that someone is dead outside. Someone is dead in back. I lose MOB in the crowd as Vagina Jane and I rush out the back door. Jas is on a chair, barely able to sit up, blood now staining his white t-shirt directly below his heart. His forehead is glistening with sweat. He begins to split blood. I freeze. I can’t move. I don’t know what to do. People around me are moving fast. I hear conversations with 9-1-1, security, friends looking for each other. One person is telling me to stay put. Vagina Jane and Pac are yelling at me to follow them. I can’t take my eyes off of Jas. As Vagina Jane and Pac begin to drag me away I scan the crowd for MOB. I don’t see him anywhere. I want to find him. Pac yells at me as he yanks me down the driveway. “We gotta push. I’m sure he split. We’ll find him later.” I tried telling Pac that all I wanted to do was find him and make sure he was safe. Pac assured me that the last thing MOB was thinking about right now was me and Vagina Jane and it was everyman for himself. We needed to save our own asses.

As we round the corner and come to the front of the club I see him. MOB is standing there, scanning the crowd, searching for me. We run to each other. “Are you okay?” we ask at the same time. He’s fine. I’m just in shock. He and Pac usher Vagina Jane and I towards our car. In the middle of the sidewalk is the dead body of Jas’s friend. This is so unfucking real to me I can’t even process. I stop for just a second and stare. MOB puts his hand on my back, urging me forward. I step around the dead body and sprint to the car.

This is not at all what I had in mind for tonight.

Vagina Jane and MOB leave my house around 4:30 am. My phone rings until six in the morning. All my friends from the club calling to make sure we’re home safely. Did we know what happened? Is Jas alive? Did you see anything? What were they involved in? My head is spinning.