Heavy On Love

It was now 3 in the afternoon on a Friday, and Kiana was finishing up her last images. She was laser-focused. The room was quiet except for the low hum of the machines and soft clicking of the mouse beneath her fingers. The lights were dim, just enough to keep her eyes on the screens in front of her. She leaned back slightly in her chair, scanning over the images for the third time, making sure she didn't miss anything.

"Everything good?" one of the techs asked from behind her. She didn't turn right away, just nodded once. "Yeah, I'm about to send it over now." He lingered for a second like he wanted to say something else, then left it alone and walked off. That was one thing she appreciated about work. It was work. She didn't gossip with other workers or follow them on social media. She came in, did her job, and went home.

Except when she met her best friend Xoana, she was a nurse. When she began working there two years ago, they instantly clicked. She was funny, charismatic, and very outgoing. She was the friend who would drag her out of the house, do pop-up road trips, and impromptu sleepovers. Everyone liked her.

She clicked a few more times, finalized her report, and exhaled quietly once it was sent off. Another one sent off, and another day almost over. Her phone buzzed against the desk, pulling her attention away from the screen. She glanced down at it, already knowing who it was before she even picked it up.

Xoana (3 messages)

She unlocked the phone and opened the group chat.

Xoana💋: Drinks tonight.

Xoana💋 : Opening night at Zaire's new lounge

Xoana💋: Meet at 9.

She stared at the messages for a second, then let out a small sigh, shaking her head. Of course. She typed back: I'm not going.

She pressed send without hesitation, and before she could even set the phone back down. "And why the hell not?" Xoana asked, walking in, startling her a little. "Oh shit, girl. You scared the fuck outta me," Kiana said, turning around in her chair as she laughed.

"So why you not going?" Xoana asked again. She exhaled. "I'm tired, it's been a long ass week," She responded. "It's just tonight, for a few hours. Then you can rest from the hangover for two days," Xoana told her. Kiana rolled her eyes. "Come on," Xoana tried to convince her. "Plus, Zaire has a friend who just moved out here, and he wants us to welcome him with open arms."

Kiana thought about it for a minute. Maybe a few drinks wouldn't hurt. "Okay, I'll be there," Xoana squealed, wrapping her arms around Kiana's neck. "This is why you're the best."

"Okay, okay, okay. That's enough," Kiana joked. "Come on, girl, let's go before they try to squeeze someone in."

After clocking out, Kiana didn't waste any time heading home. By the time she pulled into the driveway, the sun had begun setting. She lived in a gated community. Very high-maintenance neighborhood, everything was picture-perfect, not a flower out of place.

She trusted her neighbors enough to leave her door unlocked (even though she never did that shit). And she drove a silver RangeRover. This was the life Kiana always wanted for herself. The house had floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in natural lighting.

She unlocked the door and stepped in, slipping off her sneakers by the entrance. She put her purse and keys down on the island. In the kitchen, she took her meal-prepped salmon, broccoli, and rice out of the fridge and put it in the oven. By the time she reached her room, she was already stepping out of her scrubs, tossing them aside on her way into the bathroom. She tied her hair up, took off her makeup, then put on her shower cap and started the water.

After her shower, Kiana rubbed her vanilla body oil into her skin, then grabbed an oversized tee and walked to the kitchen. She took her food out of the oven, set it on a plate, then grabbed a Sprite Zero from the fridge and headed to her room to eat. Once she was done, she set an alarm on her phone for 7:30 pm so that she could get at least two hours of sleep before going out tonight.

When the alarm went off, she grabbed her phone, still half asleep, and swiped it off. She took a deep breath before pushing herself up, sitting at the edge of the bed for a second. For a moment, she almost reconsidered.

Kiana was a homebody and didn't like bringing a lot of attention to herself. But she knew that if she didn't show up at the lounge, Xoana and Jess were going to show up there. Kiana finally stood up slowly, walked over, and opened the closet door. She stood there and looked at the clothes, not knowing where to start because there were so many.

The lounge they were going to was pretty chill and casual, but she didn't dress up much already. Her normal clothes were sneakers, a graphic tee, and jeans or leggings. Kiana wanted to switch it up tonight. She grabbed a black off-the-shoulder sundress, hesitating before pulling it off the hanger. She then grabbed her black lace heel sandals. Afterwards, she sat at her vanity and reapplied her makeup and touched up her soft curls.

Kiana put on the dress and stared at herself in the mirror for a minute. She thought her stomach looked too big, her thighs were too exposed, but she genuinely looked really good. Her mind raced back and forth on whether she should wear it tonight. She decided just to wear it.

When she finally looked at her phone again, it was 8:30. She walked out of the room and grabbed her purse before heading out.

The lounge was about thirty minutes away from her home. When she got there, there were people wrapped around the building. While she drove around, looking for a spot, she called Xoana.

"Girl, it's packed as fuck out here. How I'mma get in?" She asked.

"Girl, Zaire put you on the list. You good, just come in," she responded. "Aight, I'mma see you in there," Kiana said.

"Okay, bye," Xoana replied before hanging up.

Kiana finally drove around to the front, handed her keys to the valet, and began walking up to the front. People were staring at her, and she became a little self-conscious. "Damn, ma, you thick!" A random guy said to her. She ignored him and walked to the front. When she got there, Zaire was standing next to the security guard. "She's good," he said to him, motioning Kiana to come in.

When she got in, the lounge was packed, the music was bumpin, and everyone was dancing around and having a good time. Zaire led her over to the section where Jess and Xo were.

"Hey!" Xoana and Jessica greeted her.

"I'm glad you came out," Xoana said. "You look good! I love this dress."

"You must be hoping to meet someone tonight," Jessica said jokingly.

"Nah, I just wanted to switch it up for a bit," Kiana replied, sitting down. "Y'all ordered yet?"

"Nah, we're waiting on the waitress," Xoana replied. "You know what you want to order?"

"Do'

They have pina coladas?" Kiana asked.

Right on cue, a waitress appeared at the table, smiling as she pulled out her tablet to take orders. "What can I get you, ladies?"

"Two lemon drops," Jessica said immediately.

"Casamigos margarita," Xoana added.

Kiana glanced up. "And a pina colada, please."

The waitress nodded, tapping her tablet before walking off.

Kiana sat back against the booth, eyes wandering all over the lounge. The place was really nice and put together. "You see what he did with this place, though? After months of stressing about everything. The vision finally came to life," Xoana said, looking around. "I'm so proud of my baby."

"Yeah, this place is amazing," Jessica added.

Kiana smiled softly. "Yeah, this might be my new hangout spot if I get in free every time." Before she could say anything else, Xoana's attention shifted, and her eyes lit up. "Oh, there he is."

Kiana looked up, spotting Zaire making his way through the crowd, but he wasn't alone. A guy was walking behind him.

Zaire reached the section first, hugging Jessica and Kiana, and then kissing Xoana. "What's up, baby? Y'all good?" he asked. True stood on the side of him, looking around at the crowd. He was wearing a grey One Punch Man t-shirt, army green cargo pants, and black and grey Nike dunks.

"Yeah, it's a great turnout," she responded. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh! This my boy True," he said casually. "He's gon be doing a lil deejay set tonight. This is Jessica, my baby, Xo, and that is Kiana." True leaned in, giving Jessica and Xoana a handshake. But then he reached out for Kiana's hand, and he was instantly drawn to her. "Nice to meet you, Kiana."

Kiana smiled softly. "Same to you, True."

Jessica smirked, already picking up the energy. "So this is the friend you've been telling us about?" Zaire laughed. "Yeah, he just moved out here a week ago."

"From Denver, right?" Xoana added. True nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, I hope you like it out here," she said.

"Aight, bro, let me show you where you can set up," Zaire said to him. "Aight, it was nice meeting you ladies," True said with a smile before walking off with Zaire.

The drinks arrived just in time, breaking whatever tension that was in the air. Kiana reached for her pina colada, taking a small sip. It was sweet, and she could barely taste the liquor, just like she liked it.

Xoana motioned for the waitress again. "Can we get a hookah?" The waitress tapped it into the tablet. "Yeah, give it about five minutes," she responded. "Thank you so much," Xoana replied, then sat back down beside Kiana.

Jessican leaned in slightly, "Okay, so we not gon' talk about that?"

Kiana blinked. "Talk about what?"

Jessica gave her a look. "Girl."

Xoana laughed. "Um, girl, True was definitely checking for you."

"He was just being friendly," Kiana said, taking another sip. "Y'all get on my damn nerves." She said, blushing a bit. Her eyes then began to drift away, across the room where she spotted True setting up near the DJ booth. He looked focused as he set up his laptop. For a second, he glanced up and caught her looking at him. She quickly looked away and sipped her drink.

Jessica smirked again. "Exactly."

"Aight, how y'all doing tonight, Houston?" he said through the microphone. The crowd cheered, welcoming him. "I'm True, and I'll be your DJ tonight." He started playing "Goosebumps" by Travis Scott, and everyone started dancing and vibing. Jessica, Kiana, and Xoana passed the hookah back and forth as they danced in their seats.

His set list went something like this.

Gunna - fukumean

Megan Thee Stallion - Hot Girl

Monaleo - Puttin Ya Dine

Migos - Handsome and Wealthy

Future - Mask Off

Glorilla - FNF

And when he played "Mo City Don" by Z-Ro, the whole lounge rapped it bar for bar. The rest of his set consisted of Paul Wall, Drake, Beyonce, Latto, and more. He really got the crowd hype and dancing. Everyone was really feeling him, and he played great song choices. As time went on, Xoana went to dance with Zaire, and Jessica found a random girl.

Kiana was left sitting in the booth in her element, on her second drink and smoking the hookah. "Aight, that's my time. Thank you, Houston, I appreciate y'all for some me love," True said into the mic. He then packed up his equipment while the next DJ started setting up behind him.

Kiana was now in a relaxed state, scrolling on Twitter. When she looked up, there he was. "What did you think?" he asked her, catching her off guard a bit, and sitting beside her. She smiled softly. "You did great. I love your music taste," She responded. "Thank you," he responded, eyes wandering all over her body.

She noticed it but didn't say anything.

"They left you over here by yourself?" he asked.

"Oh, no. My feet started hurting, so I needed to sit down," She responded, sipping her drink.

He thought for a minute before saying, "It's a lil loud in here. You wanna go somewhere quieter?" He asked.

Kiana frowned jokingly. "I'm ain't goin no where with you by myself. You're a stranger."

He chuckled. "My bad. You right," he said, looking at her. "I just wanted to get to know you a little bit more. She noticed his smile, and his teeth were perfect. Kiana went back and forth in her head, thinking maybe she needs to be spontaneous sometimes. And if he did step out of line, she did have her pepper spray in her purse.

"Okay. We can go somewhere quiet," she told him. She put her drink down and grabbed her purse. He stood up and extended his hand to her. She took it, and he guided her through the crowd. Xoana and Zaire peeped it and stopped her. "Where y'all going?" Xoana asked.

"Somewhere we can talk. It's too loud in here," Kiana responded. "Mhm. Don't be over there being fast," Xoana said. "Girl, bye," Kiana laughed and continued following True without looking back. She felt a slight adrenaline rush through her body, and her grip tightened around his hand without even realizing it.