Free The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love) by Oliva Gaines Page A

strength and weaknesses of each member of the group.
    “Hey you,” a sweet voice said. Toshi looked up and saw Jayne standing there. A huge grin covered his face as he rose to greet the woman who was costing him a few sleepless nights. He embraced her as if he had not seen her in a year. He closed his eyes as he inhaled her subtle fragrance; something his friends easily noticed. With his arm still about her shoulders, he turned Jayne to face his friends.
    “Jayne,” he said as he looked down at her upturned face. “This is Raheem, P hở , and Felix.  Guys, this is Jayne.”
    She was surprised when each man rose and shook her hand. A bigger surprise was the diversity of the group.  Toshi asked, “are you here alone? You are more than welcome to join us.”
    Jayne was about to turn and point to the table where her friends were sitting, but her hand came into contact with RaShunda’s boobs. Her friends were all standing behind her. They were scrutinizing Toshi, who had yet to remove his arm from around her shoulders. Jayne cleared her throat. “These are my friends.”
    “This is Rashunda,” who added an “hmmmnnhhn,” with a sister girl neck roll. “Tamika,” who instantly asked what Toshi did for a living. And Brionna, who spontaneously felt the need to say, “look at you with your own little Rainbow Coalition over here.”
    Jayne let out a large swoosh of air followed by laughter as she introduced Toshi’s friends to the group. Brionna’s eyes first went to Raheem, then to Felix, and eventually settled on P h ở , who looked over his shoulder to see who she was staring at. When his eyes came back front, he realized that Brionna was eyeing him. Just to be certain, he looked over the other shoulder.  Nope. No one was behind him.
    Jayne sensed P hở ’s discomfort. “Well, it was nice to meet you all.”  She patted Toshi on the chest, but his arm tightened about her shoulders. He had kissed her in front of his sister. He needed to know if Jayne would acknowledge him in front of all of their friends. He looked down at her, as she leaned upward and placed a feathery kiss upon his lips. “See you tomorrow night. Don’t forget the Champagne.”
    There.
    It was tangible.
    It was in the open.
    Toshi sat down at the table with three sets of eyes affixed on him. “What?”
    P hở was the first to say something. “He’s smiling.”
    This remark was followed by Felix. “He closed his eyes when he hugged her.”
    Raheem was the last to weigh in. “She seems so nice and normal Toshi. What is she doing with you?
    Toshi was offended . “What do you mean Raheem?” He also addressed the other comments. “I smile all the time.” He paused. “What do you mean, I closed my eyes?”
    All three men were shaking their heads in unison, telling him no, but Toshi was not hearing it. “I don’t like the implications here fellas.”
    Raheem spoke up . “Let’s see. There was Cindy, Candy, Karla, Mandy Rae, Jaqueeda, Gloria, Bronetta, Jonqueeta, Melissa Ann….”
    “What are you trying to say Raheem ? That I am some kind of dog?”
    P hở spoke up. “No Toshi. You are a wolf. An insatiable wolf that stalks and hunts all the time. Women are not safe around you. You go through them and toss the scraps aside.”
    Toshi was getting angry . “That is not true.”
    “Dude, I was your college roommate. Th ere was always different women in and out of your bed. At one point, I thought your dick was going to go on strike for being overworked,” P hở said with a straight face.
    Felix added his two cents . “She seems like a really sweet woman Toshi.”
    “She is . I really like her,” Toshi said in his defense. “I don’t just toss women aside!”  He needed his friends to understand. “There is a red hot fire burning inside of me. I need the right woman to make it burn blue. You know what I am saying?”
    Raheem would not let it go . “Do you like her, like her?” Which was a running joke in high school.