4 - kiss of death

Amina

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Saturday

I woke up to the sound of obnoxiously loud music and groaned into my pillow, stupid Dominic. I look over at the time, 1 pm. I guess it's an acceptable time to wake up.

Surprisingly I already had a lot of assignments due this weekend despite it only being the first week of school. I stayed up until 3 am finishing them up so I could go to the party stress-free.

I get out of bed and rub my eyes tiredly. I hope I don't look too tired. I walk to the bathroom and look in the mirror. My hair was in a knotted mess thanks to my bonnet falling off in the middle of the night. My eyes had slight dark smudges under them, and I felt drained.

I decided a trip to the gym would help me out. I secretly loved the gym, the refreshing feeling after working out was worth the pain you experience during the workout. I put my hair into a lazy low bun, throw on a sports bra and some leggings, and wash off my face. I fill up my water bottle and head downstairs to our building's workout studio.

After an hour or so in the gym, I was finally done and felt much better. My stomach growled and I realized I was way overdue for breakfast. When I reached the door of my apartment, Dominic coincidentally was stepping out from his. He looked at me distastefully before walking past me back down the stairs.

What did I do to make him hate me so badly?

Besides breaking his smart speaker.

I shrugged and entered my apartment where Kendra was in the kitchen wearing her pajamas. "Hey girl." She greeted.

"Did you just wake up?" She nods as I look over at the time, almost 3 pm. "How do you always sleep through Dominic's loud music?" I ask.

She shrugs, "I once slept through an earthquake." I shake my head at her before grabbing a pack of oatmeal from the cabinet and prepping it. "You ready for tonight?" She asks.

I nod, "As ready as I can be, what are you wearing?"

"White ripped jeans and a black crop top, nothing special."

"I'll have to look through what I have. I don't go out that often."

Kendra's eyes widen, "You should let me help you pick something out! I'll be in your room by 5. Bye!" She rushed back to her room with a teacup in her hand before I could answer.

"Well okay then." I chuckle before heading back to my room for a shower and throwing my garbage away.

-

By the time the clock hit 10:30 pm Kendra, Stephanie, and I were all heading to the party. I decided to wear some black ripped jeans that Kendra suggested with a nude fitted off-the-shoulder body suit. I added some hoops and had some tasteful makeup. Kendra's friend Stephanie wore a T-shirt dress with some sneakers and we were on our way. It was my second time meeting Stephanie, she was a nice girl from what I knew since we hadn't talked so much. She had light brown hair that had been slick back into a ponytail and had very light skin.

We finally arrived at the address and it was a huge mansion. Two guys were talking outside and I recognized one of them to be my cousin Caleb. "Ami, what are you doing here?" He questions after greeting Stephanie and Kendra.

"Well hello to you too cousin." I chuckle.

"Why are you here?" He urges again.

"I was invited clearly." I respond, but the lively scene behind him catches my attention. "I'd love to stay out here and chat but I have a party to attend. Bye!" I wave him off ignoring his protests as I follow the girls into the packed mansion.

The place was truly packed, bodies were grinding against each other on the dance floor outside, people were hanging out in corners and on the steps, while others were chilling by the DJ. I couldn't believe I was at my first college party, it looked exactly how I always pictured them. Beer pong was being played in the kitchen while others were skinny dipping in the pool. If you've seen Katy Perry's music video for Last Friday Night, that's what I was seeing.

I followed behind Stephanie and Kendra timidly, the amount of people here felt very overwhelming. Suddenly I feel an arm on my shoulder and I'm immediately spun around, "Ami!" Isaiah cheers as he pulls me into a hug. After letting go his face looks rather confused. "Wait, what are you doing here?" He asks over the loud music.

I groan, "Why do you two keep asking me that? I'm a student too you know?" I turned around and realized Kendra and Stephanie had disappeared. "Look! Now you've made me lose my friends."

He chuckles before placing his arm around my shoulder and leading me away, "Let's play a game!"

He leads me over to a group of people in the kitchen, "This is my cousin Ami guys, go easy on her." A few people around the table waved at me while others spoke amongst themselves. A game of beer pong was set up in the kitchen and it looked like they hadn't started playing yet. My cousin hands me a ball, "All you have to do is make it in the cup. If you make it you drink it. If you don't make it it's their turn." He points to the two guys on the other side of the table. I nod and take a shot, instantly missing.

Isaiah chuckles, "It's okay."

The game goes on and I do eventually make some shots, emptying the contents of about 4 cups. I wasn't drunk yet but I was feeling rather woozy. "Let's get you seated." Isaiah leads me over to a couch with some people playing a game of truth or dear. "I'll get you some water." Before I could protest he was gone.

I listened in on the game that was happening in front of me, classic truth or dare. The girl next to me taps on my shoulder, "Want to play?"

I shrug, "Sure." I sat up and continued watching until it got to my turn.

"You're new huh?" The guy hosting the game asks.

I nod, "Yeah I just transferred."

He smirks, "I have the perfect dare for you. But go ahead and pick truth. I don't think you can handle it." His tone was condescending and it pissed me off.

Isaiah had returned by now and was seated next to me. I glare at the guy, was every guy in this city a jerk? "Oh? I can handle a dare."

"Alright, I dare you to make out with the person of my choice."

I scoff playfully, "If you wanted to kiss me that bad you should've just asked."

He shakes his head, "Not me sweet cheeks, but after you fail this dare we can talk about it." I roll my eyes. He points over to a guy leaning against the wall talking to some dark-haired dude. "That's who, Dominic Taylor. This is the first time he's come to one of these parties. Why don't you make it memorable for him?"

Everyone gasps and stares at me wide-eyed. "What kind of dare is that? She's not doing it." My cousin interjects.

The guy chuckles, "And who are you? Her boyfriend?"

Isaiah gags, "Her cousin!" He looks over at me, "You don't have to do this."

I wore a confused expression on my face. Why was everyone acting like I was about to jump off of a cliff? I get that Dominic wasn't a nice guy, like at all. But the worst thing that could happen is he would say no. Although Dominic and I had a deal and I wasn't supposed to talk to him, I couldn't let this smirking jock get his way. I look at the jock with a smirk of my own, "Game on."

I stand up ignoring my cousin's protest and walk over to Dominic before tapping on his shoulder. He turns around to face me and groans, "Didn't I tell you not to talk to me?" He says looking at me distastefully. He was dressed simply in a black t-shirt that fit his body fairly well and jeans. The gold chain around his neck twinkled lightly as it hung against his chest. He looked to have gotten a fresh haircut, his lineup looking newly done as well as the trim on his beard.

I couldn't lie, he looked good.

I sigh, "Yes I know but I need a quick favor. I was playing truth or dare with the group over there." I say pointing behind me. The onlookers quickly turned away as Dominic peered a gaze over my shoulder. "And they dared me to make out with you so if you could just help me out real quick?"

He chuckles darkly, "Make out with me? Maybe in your dreams."

I scoff, "My dreams? I'll have you know you would never be in my dreams. I didn't want to make out with you anyway. I'm relieved you said no, now I don't have to kiss a disrespectful big-headed- "

He grabs me by my neck suddenly and pulls me closer to him as he brings his lips to mine for an aggressive kiss. One arm held his drink while the other cradled my face possessively. His lips felt soft against mine, and his aggressive nature felt good. The kiss was beginning to get hot and I was just beginning to feel turned on when he suddenly pulled away. "Now leave me alone." Was all he said before turning back to his friend.

I stood there feeling both shocked and surprisingly turned on. He was a very good kisser. When I finally gained my composure, I made my way back over to the people on the couch. They cheered for me as I sat down, but I was still too shocked to acknowledge them. The jock was clearly disappointed that I successfully completed my task and Isaiah hit me on the arm. "Why would you do that?"

"Ow!" I hit him back, "It was a game!"

He shakes his head at me disapprovingly.

"I'm going to find Stephanie and Kendra." I tell him as I get up from the couch. I head over to the dance floor where I see Kendra dancing with some guys and Stephanie outside by the pool. I decided to take a seat near the mini bar and drink my water. My lips still felt warm from the kiss and I blushed at the thought of it.

I looked at my phone to check the time, midnight already. "Hey." A voice says above me. I look up to see a cute guy with a red durag, "Would you like to dance?"

Might as well right? The nights still young.

I nod at his request and he reaches out to grab my hand. He leads me to the dance floor as One Dance by Drake pours through the speakers. His hands slide around my waist as I turn around and start dancing against him. I whine my waist to the beat of the music as his hip movements mimic mine. I felt eyes beside his watching, making me look into the crowd and notice Dominic watching me from a distance. I shrug it off and continue dancing as the durag guy's hands stay on my waist.

When the song finally ends durag guy lets go of my waist. "You've got moves." He comments with a chuckle.

I smile, "Thanks, you weren't bad yourself."

"I was just trying to keep up. What's your name?"

"Ami, and yours?"

"Aaron." He leaves a kiss on my hand, "Nice to meet you, Ami."

I blush, "The feeling is mutual."

He grins back at me, he had a really beautiful smile and beautifully brown skin. "How about I get your number?" He asks.

I think for a moment. I had no intention of giving my number out tonight. Boyfriends, sneaky links, and situationships were nowhere in my plans for this school year. So instead I said, "If we're lucky enough to meet again, I promise I'll give it to you."

He smirks, "Alright then. I hope to see your pretty face again soon Ami."

I giggled as he walked away. Kendra comes up to me from out of nowhere, "You crazy girl!" She cheers.

"What are you talking about?" I laugh as she takes a seat next to me.

"I saw you locking lips with Dominic Taylor! I did not know you were this wild."

I burst out laughing, "I'm not wild! I was doing a dare."

She smirks, "Mhmm. Anyway, you ready to go? Steph is sloppy drunk by the pool and will soon get herself into trouble."

I nod, "I've had enough for one night."

Kendra and I collect Stephanie from the pool as she begs us not to take her away from her friends. By friend, she was referring to the guys who decided to prey on her while she was out of her proper state of mind.

Kendra hadn't had any drinks since she was the designated driver. We arrive back at the apartment after the 20-minute drive and Kendra brings Steph with her to her bedroom. "Night wild girl!"

I shake my head, "Good night you guys."

I wash off my makeup and strip off my clothes before brushing my teeth and crashing into bed.

-

The next day I had to wake up early. I had gotten the job at the diner and training began today. I took an Uber to get there since I still didn't have a car of my own. When I finally got there I thanked the driver before going inside.

"Hey doll! Right on time." The waitress I've come to know as Melanie greets me as I come inside. Although it was called Mel's Diner, she wasn't the Mel that owned it. Pure coincidence I guess. "Alright so the manager is back here, let me introduce y'all."

She leads me to the back room where a Hispanic man in his early 30s sat behind a computer. He turned around to face me and I blushed, he was extremely handsome. His dark hair was styled upward and his beard was of a medium stubble. He had pearly white teeth that carved into an amazing smile. He reaches his large hand out to shake mine, "Hi I'm Jimmy Perez, the manager. You can just call me Jimmy."

I smile and shake his hand, "I'm Amina, nice to meet you."

He looks over at Melanie, "You're training her right? Or am I?"

"There are some pre-orders that need prepping, I can go over that with her."

He nods, "Perfect. I'll check in with you guys later." Damn it. I wanted to work with the hunky manager.

Melanie leads me over to the kitchen, "These are our chefs, Paul and Tina." An older woman and man wave at me as I enter the room. "So today we'll be prepping orders, Sundays are usually busy around noon so we have till then."

She continues to explain to me the task and shows me how to do it. It was fairly simple, read the tag, grab the food, and put it in the bag. After 30 minutes of doing that, Melanie comes in to check on me."

"Perfect!" She grabs some of the bags, "They're ready for pick up now. I'm going to show you the basics of waitressing before our other waitress gets here. You'll mainly be working with her."

"Is someone talking about moi?" A red-headed girl enters the kitchen.

"Halle you're early?" Melanie asks.

Halle looks at me, "Hey it's you!"

I smile, "You work here?"

"You two know each other?" Melanie asks.

"Yes, we have class together. And to answer your question I'm here early to talk to Jimmy. We'll talk in a bit Ami!" She calls out as she heads to the back office.

Melanie turns to me, "Anyway back to your training."

"How many other employees are there?" I ask.

She thinks for a moment, "Two other cooks, and three more waitresses. They don't all come at the same time though of course."

Training continues and Melanie shows me how to wait on and bust tables. After that, I'm finally left alone to work with Halle.

"So how was your weekend?" She asks after the lunch rush goes down.

"I went to that welcome back party, how was yours?"

She gasps, "Dude I was there too! The house is so big. I wonder how many times we passed each other."

I laugh, "It was massive!"

We continue to talk until Jimmy comes out from the back. "Good to see you two getting along, but we have a group that called in ahead of time, a party of 12. I need a table set up." He looks up at the clock and then over at me, "And you're off in 3 minutes so go grab your stuff. You took a break right?" I nod, "Good, I don't want to get in trouble for that kind of stuff." He reaches out to shake my hand, "Good work today, the work schedule is posted in the back if you wanna check on your way out."

I shake his hand, "Thank you sir."

He laughs, "Please just call me Jimmy."

Before I went home I took a picture of my schedule and said goodbye to my new coworkers. It was evening by the time I got home and I decided to take a shower after the long day. My phone began ringing showing a call from Caleb. "Hello?"

"You kissed Dominic Taylor!"

I yawn, "Correction, he kissed me."

"You asked him!"

I shrug, "What's the big deal? He's just a guy, everyone keeps acting like he's a serial killer." Caleb remains silent for a moment and I gulp, "He's not a serial killer is he?"

"I don't know Ami, nobody knows anything about him. So rumors spread and I don't know which are fact or fiction, so it's just best to keep your distance."

"What kind of rumors?" I ask curiously.

"Well the most popular one is that he's a drug dealer, that's how he can afford to live the way he does. I've also heard that he killed his whole family and is living off of the life insurance, but I'm pretty sure that one isn't true."

I roll my eyes, "No duh Caleb, then he'd be in jail not living next door to me."

"He's your neighbor?" He asks in surprise.

"Yeah, I thought you knew that. Kendra said he was already here when she moved in."

Caleb sighs, "Look, just keep your distance alright? I'd prefer you not get involved with him."

I scrunch up my brows, "Look Caleb, I love you and all but I came here to get away from having parents breathing down my neck. I don't need you doing the same."

"Ami it's a simple request, there are plenty of guys on campus. Just please don't pick him."

I let out an irritated sigh, "Whatever, good night."

He says goodnight before I throw my phone onto my bed. I wasn't even interested in that asshole. I just don't want my cousins to think they can tell me what to do.

Well, tomorrow is the start of a new week, let's see what's to come.

———

Hehe, they kissed!

Time to spice things up!

Don't forget to vote and comment.

AuggiePooh_