Pretty Girls in the Vip (9781617730283) by Daaimah S. Poole Read Free Book Online

of champagne that I stopped counting. Ian made me breakfast, and I couldn’t even look at the food without feeling sick. I couldn’t find my purse. My cell kept vibrating and beeping from messages and texts. When I finally found it, there were text messages from Angelique thanking me for such a good time and apologizing for arguing with Ian. I looked over at him as everything started to come back. We’d told him about the bottle the guy had sent us and how we’d laughed, and Ian called us immature and a bunch of other things. I know Angelique’s mouth got a little slick and they were going back and forth before we left. Just as the details of last night floated in my head.
    â€œGood morning.”
    â€œYeah. Good morning,” Ian mumbled.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with you?”
    â€œNothing, I just don’t like the way you waste money, Adrienne. And your friend was so out of line last night.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about, Ian?”
    â€œAngelique and your big bills. Last night when I commented on the bill being too high and that you two shouldn’t be laughing at that guy, she told me that I needed to get used to dealing with a boss chick.”
    â€œIan, she didn’t mean it. I apologize for her. But you know, people talk reckless when they’ve been drinking.”
    â€œNo, people say what they actually mean when they are drunk.”
    â€œAnd what was the problem with the bill?”
    â€œThis is the problem.” Ian forcefully placed my receipt from the night before in front of me. I looked down at the receipt and said a quiet wow to myself. I knew bottle service was expensive, but not two-thousand-and-forty-six-dollar expensive. The pricey tab included a 20 percent gratuity that our server received for just opening our bottle and pouring our drinks.
    â€œThat’s a mortgage payment, Adrienne. You know what you could buy with that kind of money? I guess it doesn’t matter when you didn’t have to work hard for it. But that’s what happens when you hang out with your high-class friends.” It was too early for him to be hitting below the belt.
    â€œIan, look, I already apologized for whatever Angelique said, but I do not need you to lecture me on my spending habits. I’ll spend my money however I feel like it.”
    â€œYou’re right. Spend your money the way you see fit. I just hate to see people waste it.”
    I stood up. I was now very agitated and needed something to drink. I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. I twisted the cap and poured the hydration down my throat. I needed a tactful response for Ian. Something that would reasonably explain why I’d spent thousands on drinks that I probably had already peed out. Ian was still staring at me, and the only thing I could think to say was, “I like to have a good time when I go out. I like to treat myself and whoever I’m with. I won’t apologize for that.”
    â€œI’m not asking you to,” Ian snapped back at me.
    This was the other thing he did that I didn’t like. Ian was sometimes bitchy and jealous like a woman and on occasion he would count my money. He always said that I shouldn’t have hundreds of thousands just sitting in the bank and that I needed to find something to invest in.
    I wasn’t about to go back and forth with him. Instead I drank the remainder of my water and went to take a shower.
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    By the time I was out of the shower, he was gone and I was happy I didn’t have to argue with him anymore. However, I did have to get to the bottom of everything. I dialed Angelique’s phone.
    â€œAngelique, did you know our drinks and bottles came to three thousand dollars last night?”
    â€œYeah, it didn’t seem like a big deal last night. But that’s a pair of shoes. I’ll bring you my half before I leave.”
    â€œNo, I’m not worried about that. I’m just