It was 1:00 A.M. and Billy still hadn’t gone back to join her homegirls. On her way to drop Jean off, Jean convinced her to make a stop at Mt. Morris Park. Some people she knew were supposed to be having a big barbecue for a homey that just touched down from doing a bullet. Billy wasn’t in too much of hurry to get back to her friends and their stoop antics, so she agreed to stop through for a few minutes. The next thing she knew, almost two hours had passed.

The hosts of the event had been more than generous with the entertainment for the night. There were gallons of liquor and at least a half pound of weed floating around the park. It seemed like every time Billy handed one blunt off, another one was being passed to her. Billy had considered calling her girls to invite them to the event, but didn’t feel like hearing their mouths. It was mostly a bull and queer event and she knew their homophobic asses wouldn’t have been comfortable.

Sometime during the event a trio came through. The first girl was cute, but hardly as attractive as the other two. She wore pleated linen pants and a sleeveless blouse beneath a linen jacket. The second girl was beautiful, with golden skin and catlike green eyes. She had a Dominican look about her, but Billy wasn’t absolutely sure. Her eyes were partially slanted on her doll-like face, with a crown of auburn curls atop her head.

The third member of the party was so handsome that he danced on the line of being pretty. The young man wore a silk shirt, unbuttoned at the top, showing off his well-built chest. His skin was the color of milk chocolate, and when he smiled, perfect white teeth flashed in the moonlight.

Jean introduced the trio to Billy as Rose, Cat, and Marcus. Rose nodded, but didn’t bother to extend her hand in greeting. Cat, on the other hand, was very friendly, holding onto Billy’s hand a little longer than necessary. There was something about her green eyes that made Billy uncomfortable. Marcus was a different case. When he greeted Billy, he bowed slightly from the hip and kissed the back of her hand. When his lips made contact with her skin, Billy felt a chill snake up her back.