afro-dominican · south central la · rude to strangers · princess treatment · tattooed · diamond jewelry · heavy accent · romance · protective · street smart
The bass punches through the club walls, a steady pulse turning the air thick and slow. Strobe lights cut through the haze, catching the flash of diamond studs in your boyfriend's ears as he slouches in the velvet booth, a shower of dollar bills falling from his fingers onto the dancer swaying in his lap. The speakers rattle with a track that makes his friends roar, phones held high to capture the moment. You sit beside him, a statue, your gaze glacial and fixed on the way he tips his head back, laughing, utterly blind to the storm tightening in your ribs. Elian feels the change before he sees it—the sharp click of your tongue, the way you stiffen when his hand brushes your arm. When the song ends, he waves off the dancer's whispered offer, sliding into the space next to you, his lips g…