“Enough of that, how bout we get this party started!” Oriana squealed as she clasped her hands together in enthusiasm before jumping to her feet to storm the luxurious bar loaded with drinks.
“What would you guys have?” she asked as she looked expectantly at all of them, including the two men seated beside Amari and Aubrey respectively. Emerald hadn’t taken proper notice of them before now, so in question, she raised an eyebrow at the two ladies whose eyes widened in remembrance.
They hadn’t introduced their boyfriends to Emerald!
“Sorry. It kinda skipped our mind to introduce y’all to each other,” Amari passed her a sheepish smile.
“Here’s Darren Rodriguez, my boyfriend,” Amari introduced as she snuggled closer to him, making him wrap an arm around her instinctively. He gave Emerald a small smile with a little nod, which she reciprocated.
“And here, unfortunately, is my own boyfriend, Zander Fleece,” Aubrey introduced with her usual sarcastic tone as she passed her signature smirk to her boyfriend who gave her a playful glare before turning to smile at Emerald.
“Boys, meet the last and final piece to complete the puzzle of the Blue Belles, Emerald Pearce,” Ori announced dramatically.
“Nice to meet you,” Emerald said to the two men seated closely to their girlfriends, almost protectively. She smiled at that.
“Nice to meet you too, Miss Pearce,” they echoed. She nodded and looked away from them to Oriana who had an amused look on her face. She raised her eyebrow at that as her eyes went to Ari and Bree who were sporting the same look. She only shrugged them off.
Darren and Zander hadn’t expected Emerald to just accept to be called Miss Pearce. They had expected her to have replied with the typical ‘Oh you can just call me Emerald’ like most women would’ve done but nope, she had them stunned into silence.
“Uhm, how bout we go get the drinks for you ladies instead,” Darren, who looked like he was from an Hispanic descent, offered as he stood up.
“Yeah. Let’s do that,” Zander, the dark chocolate skinned man with rather bulging muscles and tattoos covering both his arms, also stood up.
“What would you ladies have?” Darren asked.
Amari and Aubrey momentarily passed each other mischievous looks before replying. “Scorpion bowl. Two bowls. The ladies will be sharing,” they grinned.
Darren and Zander only groaned in disapproval before walking towards the bar and soon enough, a full blown conversation sprang up between the ladies as they filled each other in on what had happened in their lives during the period they hadn’t seen each other.
Well, it was more of Amari and Aubrey filling Emerald in since unlike her, Oriana frequently met with both ladies so she pretty much knew what was going on with them.
Aubrey had opened Brey Cooks, a chain of restaurants in some places in America but she was still hoping to expand even more and she had somehow ended up with Zander Fleece, a world’s famous basketball player while Amari worked as a personal assistant to Dylan Rodriguez, the CEO of the New York branch of Rodrico., a. k. a Darren’s cousin. Plus, Dylan had also aided Darren and Amari’s relationship.
Conclusively, these ladies were independent and self accomplished with their successful and decent jobs. Emerald also told them about how well her therapy place had been doing but she kept her responses vague for confidential reasons, or so she told herself.
Emerald was scrolling through her phone after having enough sips of the strong, volcanic tiki punch when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up a bit groggy as her eyes tried to focus on the culprit’s face which looked really familiar.
She let out a frustrated groan as she could feel the appearance of an impending migraine stirring round her head. She had adamantly objected to taking more than three sips but her friend’s coercion had gotten her to take many sips from two bowls out of three and now the effects were starting to show.
“Looks like you’re already slightly drunk,” the voice chuckled. “Well, you have always been a lightweight,” the culprit plopped down into the seat that had been previously occupied by Oriana who had run off to God knows where, saying she had her prince charming to hunt down right after Amari, Aubrey and their boyfriends had gone to the dance floor. They had invited Emerald but she had only declined, saying she needed to calm her head and body that seemed to be on fire.
Her vision finally cleared and the person’s face immediately came into focus. A really wide grin spread across her lips and she let out a happy squeal as she lunged forward and squeezed the life out of the man seated beside her. The drink was making her act weird but she was indeed happy to see him.
“I see you’ve missed me then?” He chuckled as he hugged her back just as tight but he made sure not to suffocate her.
“More than you could imagine,” she mumbled into his shoulder as she breathed in his familiar scent; blackcurrant, bergamot, french apples and a burst of pineapple mixed perfectly to give an amazingly fruity yet manly fragrance. He smelled so good she could eat him up in an instant.
He pulled away and she stared right into his blue eyes. Even in the almost dark room, she could make out the grey speckles as his eyes glistened like always. She took in his blonde hair which had formerly looked like a bird’s nest but tonight, it looked equivalent to a sexy bed hair; a bit disheveled but just to perfection.
They continued to stare at each other, both drinking each other in after staying apart for almost a year. To him, she looked even more beautiful and better than before. He could make out the familiar sparkle in her green eyes that held something akin to satisfaction and happiness.
He grinned and grabbed her face in his soft, warm hands, pulling her closer to him as they did their usual greetings. It had been their routine since high school and it had grown on them over the years.
They pulled back and grinned at each other again. “I’ve missed you so much, Eme,” he said to which she replied with a small ‘me too.’
“How have you been?” He asked seriously. He had been gone for so long, he couldn’t help but worry about her.
“I’m good, Lolo. No need to worry about me,” she passed him a small smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes.
He let out a breath, dropping the topic for her sake as he let his eyes linger on her face before looking round the table which was littered with empty shot glasses and three bowls of Scorpion bowl. He could see the flaming 151 right in the middle of the bowl and he turned to Emerald with a surprised yet amused smirk on his face.
“You actually drank this?” He asked amusedly.
“Oh shut it,” she rolled her eyes, earning a chuckle from him.
They continued to stare at each other with the same smile; they had missed each other so much that they could spend the entire night hugging.
“How come you’re here?” She asked and before he could reply, a particular song, Best Friend by Saweetie ft Doja Cat came blasting through the speakers.
Logan’s eyes immediately went wide with joy and she watched as his blue-grey eyes glistened with excitement. He was already bouncing impatiently in his seat.
“Ahhh! I love this song!” Emerald laughed at her friend’s antics as he immediately jumped to his feet.
“Wanna dance?” he asked as he stretched out his hand to her.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think I ca-”
“Oh shush! Live a little, Miss Uptight!” He cut her off as he swept her off her seat, carrying her bridal style as he literally ran to the stage, making her cling to him as she burst into laughter.
“Whooo!”
And together, the two friends enjoyed the night dancing to different varieties of songs with huge smiles on their faces, oblivious to the raging storm, the erupting volcano seated at the bar, watching their every move.