8-Sadie

"?A qué hora vienen las chicas?" Abuela asks while making tostones.

"The girls will be here in a few minutes," I respond, wiping the food from Sophia's face.

She giggles, rocking back and forth in her booster seat.

After the last few weeks, I am ready for some girl time. I miss my friends and crave normalcy. Javi gave Abuela the clearance to visit Mom, so the girls are on their way over.

I am just about to unfasten Sophia from her seat when loud bass playing from a car rattles the pictures on the walls. Every time a car with obnoxious bass drives past the house, the foundation shakes like an earthquake. It's freaking annoying as hell.

"!Maldita sea!" Abuela curses.

She hates the sound just as much as me.

I chuckle and Sophia laughs when the front door flies open, and a mixture of deep voices bounces off the walls.

My boys.

"Dios a bendiga, Abuelita," Max and Gio say at the same time.

Abuela rolls her eyes and laughs as the boys enter the kitchen like they own the place, kissing her on each cheek. Abuela is the type of grandmother everyone wants in their life. She is affectionate and supportive. What I love most about her, though, is that she isn't afraid to lay your ass down. And trust me, the last thing you want to do is piss off a Puerto Rican grandmother.

"Reina, what's up, girl?" Max grabs my waist and pulls me into a hug. When he lets me go, Gio grabs me from behind and throws me over his shoulder.

Sophia cries excitedly, twisting around in her booster seat to watch Max haul me away.

Abuelas yells in Spanish, threatening to whack Max with a wooden spoon.

"What are you doing?" I screech.

"I'm taking you away!" His booming laugh startles me.

"Gio! Put me down, dammit!" I spank his ass, but that spurs him on.

"Language!" Abuela yells in Spanish.

"Yeah, baby. You know I like it rough." Then he smacks me back.

"Are you serious right now?" I try to wiggle out of his hold, but he is holding me too firmly.

"We could do this all day, baby," Gio sings.

"What the hell is going on?"

Gio suddenly stops and whirls around. I look up to see Lupe in the doorway with her hands on her curvy hips.

"Jesus, Gio, put her ass down," Tia says in a bored tone as she struts further into the house and makes her way to the kitchen.

Gio bounces me up and down, making my tummy rumble. "Would you stop doing that?" I snap. "I'm going to throw up on you."

Gio freezes.

"You better be joking, Reina."

Gio yelps when I pinch his sides, and he almost drops me on my ass.

He finally puts me back on my feet, holding onto me to help me regain my balance. I whip around to glare at Gio.

"Damn, baby. I didn't think you could get any sexier looking like you're about to chop off my dick." Gio smirks, slowly backing away until he's standing beside Seb.

"Yeah, a limp dick." Telle laughs with Tiny as they walk into the living room and make themselves comfortable on the couch.

"What the fuck are you talking about, limp?" Gio gawks at Telle.

I storm toward Gio, ready to kick him in the balls. He flinches and yelps like a girl when I launch at him, but Seb grabs me by the waist.

"Calm down." Seb chuckles against my ear.

"Dude, seriously, when was the last time you got laid?" Max says as he strolls into the room with my daughter in his arms.

"Oh, enough already," Lupe whines, plucking Sophia from Max. "You pendojos are crashing girls' night."

The guys came to pick up Abuela and drop her off at the hospital to visit Mom. Even though several agents are watching us and following our every move, the boys feel more at ease when they act like they are also on guard.

"You doing ok?" Seb murmurs, his tone low.

"She's fine," Gio drawls, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "She just took the ride of her life on the Gio Express."

I glance back at him and shove my elbow into his side.

"Fuuuck," he wheezes and laughs.

Abuela throws her purse over her shoulder and opens the front door. "Vamos." Without waiting for a response, she steps onto the front porch, letting the screen door shut behind her.

Seb kisses the top of my head. "I'll see you later."

I grab his wrist and smile. "Thank you for taking Abuela."

"No need to thank me. She's family." Seb twirls his finger in the air. "Let's go."

The guys hug me goodbye and follow Seb out the front door.

After the boys left, we made popcorn and settled in the living room, watching the newest The Fast and the Furious movie. Excitement shot around the room when Vin Diesel and Jason Momoa finally appeared on the screen.

"If I had to wake up to that face every morning, I'd die a happy girl," Telle sings, filling her mouth with popcorn.

"Give me the yellow one," Tiny says, snapping her fingers at the bowl full of MM's, her gaze never leaving the screen.

"Which one?" Lupe asks.

"The yellow one."

"Which one?"

"What the—the yellow one!" Tiny shouts.

"I'm colorblind, bitch!"

"Would you both shut the hell up!" Tia whisper-yells. "Sophia is sleeping." Tia plops beside me, grabs a handful of popcorn, and shoves it in her mouth.

Deciding to ignore the girls bickering like toddlers, I check my phone and notice a missed call from Donnie. I contemplate calling him back but decide to send him a quick text.

Me: Hey, sorry I missed your call.

A few seconds later, he replies.

Donnie: No worries. I just wanted to hear your voice. ??

Me: Awe. Missing me already?

Donnie: You know it. What are you doing?

Me: Girls' night. Watching a movie… you know, doing girly shit.

Donnie: Pillow fight in your underwear???

Me: Why is that the first thing a guy thinks of when they hear the word girl's night?

Donnie: This sounds like a trick question.

Me: It really isn't. What are you doing?

Donnie: Thinking…

Me: About???

Donnie: Wondering what color bra you're wearing.

Me: That sounds like a risky game.

Donnie: Oh, yeah? If I guess right, what do I win?

I bite my lower lip, contemplating how much dirtier our text messages can get.

Me: A blow job.

Waiting.

No bubbles.

Still waiting.

Oh, shit. Did I go too far?Suddenly, my phone dings.

Donnie: You're killing me.

I giggle.

Me: You're not going to guess?Donnie: No.

Me: ?

Donnie: If I guess wrong, I'll have to suffer another night of blue balls. If I guess right, I'll still have blue balls because I won't be able to cash in on the prize. Unless you're not opposed to me crashing girls' night?

Me: …

Donnie: I didn't think so. ?? I'll let you get back to your movie. I love you.

Me: I love you 2.

Donnie: Sweet dreams. We'll talk tomorrow.

Me: XO

"Girl, you are so whipped." Tia laughs, laying her head against the couch cushion.

I don't disagree. Donnie oozes sex appeal, and it drives me insane!

Lupe gets up from her spot, sits in front of me, and grabs a handful of popcorn. "Who's whipped?"

Tia points in my direction with a huge grin and winks.

Bitch.

"Can you blame her? He's a sexy ass white boy. I'd hit that."

"Me too." Tiny wiggles her eyebrows at me.

Seriously? And these are my ride-or-die bitches?

"Yeah, he is. Don't forget about his brother." Telle fans herself. "That boy is fucking sexy as hell."

"He's off limits," Tia snaps.

"Says who? You?"

Tia leans forward and throws a fistful of popcorn at Telle.

"Oh? No, shit. Tia fell for a rich white boy. Damn." Telle whistles. "I'd never thought I'd see the day."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tia asks in an accusatory tone.

"Nothing, I just always thought you'd end up with one of the guys or, you know, someone who has the balls to put up with your crazy ass." Telle jokes with a chuckle.

"Are you saying he's too good for me?"

"Oh, shit," Lupe and Tiny say simultaneously.

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm just saying that you can be a little… intense sometimes and might be too much of a woman for him." Telle shrugs with nonchalance.

Tia glares at her.

"What? I'm not saying it's a bad thing. He's probably not used to girls like you," Telle tries to explain but she's just making it worse.

Telle scans the room and takes in our facial expressions and comes back to Tia with an incredulous look on her face. "Wait…you got feelings for him? Like real feelings?"

When Tia doesn't respond, Telle's eyes go wide, and a huge grin spreads across her face. "Look at you, all grown up!"

"Fuck off." Tia's comeback is quick and snappy.

Tiny laughs, stuffing her face with popcorn.

"Tia and Ash, sitting in the tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Telle and Tiny's singing turns into full blown laughter.

I shake my head and snatch the bowl of MMs from the coffee table and pop a few in my mouth.

"What are we, five?" Tia grabs the small pillow off the couch and playfully whacks them both on the head. "At least I didn't fuck Max."

My hand stops midair.

"What?!" we all say at once.

Tiny cringes.

"What the hell, Tiny?" Lupe smacks her arm.

"Bitch, why didn't you tell us?" Telle asks.

"First of all" —Tiny holds her hand up— "I didn't tell Tia, she—"

"I overheard them arguing about it," Tia finishes.

"When did this happen?" Telle looks between Tia and Tiny for a response.

Tiny sighs. "It happened after all the shit that went down at the hospital. I was sad and he was comforting me. That's all it was."

There's a brief pause, and then silence.

"So…how was he?" Telle prods.

Before Tiny has the chance to respond, Sophia's little cries are heard through the monitor.

"I'll get her!" Tiny jumps up to her feet and almost trips as she hops down the hall.

We all laugh.

"Do you think it'll get serious between them?" Telle asks.

"Nah." Tia breaks her Kit Kat bar and shoves a piece in her mouth. "Max ain't looking for anything serious, and Tiny was just looking for a release."

I hope that's not true. Max and Tiny are similar in many ways, including easily getting hurt. Max has always been afraid of being in a relationship, and Tiny is afraid of being dismissed because she feels everything. But that's a story for another time.

"Let's talk about something else. What movie should we watch next?" Tia asks as she browses through the movie list.

"Ooh!" Telle plops on the seat beside Tia, making her bounce. "We should watch Evil Dead Rise."

"Fuck, no. I'm not watching that shit," Tia scoffs.

"Why?" Telle asks as she tucks one leg under the other. "You like Halloween."

Tia looks at her with an incredulous look. "What do you mean, why? Movies like that will bring demons and shit in the house."

"No, they don't." Lupe laughs.

"Yes, they do. It's like the Ouija—"

"God damn!" Tiny yells, making Sophia laugh. "Sadie, your girl's ass exploded." She fakes gags. "Oh, God. It stinks so bad."

We all burst out laughing.

Lupe raises her can of soda in a toasting gesture and winks. "Here's to girls' night."