From the balcony, they stood in amazement watching the wave runners, jet skis and windsurfers navigate the ocean’s choppy waters. A little bit farther out they saw yachts gliding on the waters. It all looked like money, the likes of which they’d never seen before.

“Okay, I hada nuff of watchin’ da fuckin’ water,” Kat said sarcastically. “It’s time fa some action … Let’s go shoppin’ or sumthin’. I needa bathin’ suit.”

“So, we rollin’ or what?” Tender said, to nobody in particular. “I’m wit whateva.”

Goldie’s response was slower. She couldn’t think so easily about hanging out and having fun. She was still rattled and still coming off of her high, and the trauma of the night before.

“Y’all go ’head,” Goldie urged them. “I’ma lay my ass down.”

“Goldie, don’t play yaself!” Kat called out. “C’mon now, ain’t no time ta be tired. You ain’t neva even been ta Miami and all you wanna do iz sleep? Dis iz da spot ta see and be seen. Man, you fuckin’ up our whole day. You coulda stayed ya ass right in Philly, fa all dat …”

Goldie couldn’t believe that Kat could be so business as usual. “Goldie, she’s right. You should be too hyped ta sleep,” Tender said. “It’s on and poppin’ down here. We might as well take in da sights and da sounds of Miami. You don’t know when you’ll be back? Or if you’ll even be back? Goldie, c’mon now.”

Tender was actually trying to hype herself as much as she was Goldie. She was trying to be in the present and not worry about things she could do nothing about.

“Aiight, Aiight!! I’m fuckin’ comin’,” Goldie said, caving in to their peer pressure. “You bitches talked me into it.”

“Dat’s whut’z up!” Tender cheered.

THEY HIT THE ARMANI EXCHANGE, Burberry, Prada, Ver-sace and Todd Oldham stores. They would go back to Philly with some gear that nobody else had. They would turn heads and make jaws drop when they got home.

For now, they would head onto South Beach rocking the skimpiest suits they could find. Par for the course here where rarely would anyone be arrested for indecent exposure.

After getting their bikini lines and legs waxed back at the hotel, Kat, Goldie and Tender hit the strip. Kat wore a fire-red string bikini, a see-through sarong, matching Prada sandals, and a pair of lightly tinted Cartier frames, while Goldie wore a green one-piece, dark oval Christian Dior shades, a gold ankle bracelet, and high-heeled sneakers. Tender wore a two-piece Burberry swimsuit, matching tote bag and high-heeled flip-flops. A showcase that said, “What you see is what you can get, if the price is right.”