Mosaic gets off the elevator, getting his keys out of his duffel bag and walking to the door. While he sticks his keys in, Bronze comes out but he doesn't see her. His head was below the pits of hell and his mind was surely not on planet earth. Bronze greeted him but he says nothing which makes her frown.

She walked past him and he gets a whiff of her perfume and it instantly make him think of her. She loved Vanilla too. That's all Kamara wore was that damn Vanilla. He makes it into the house and does his normal routine which consist of dropping his work bag onto the floor, snatching his shoes off by his bed and plopping on his bed with his work clothes on.

He had no energy, he had no get up, and he definitely didn't have time for anything. He had a horrible day at work. They ran a call for a child who has asthma. Moe did the best he could and the child ended up dying.

Even after that, Moe couldn't accept that. He tried to do chest compressions but midway, one of his co-workers stopped him. Because the child was so small, he could've broken his sternum and they didn't want him to do anymore damage than what was already done.

At the scene, Moe cried. Losing a child was never easy. He cried even harder for his parents. After that, his Sergeant suggested that he take a few days off work. Because he works 24 hours straight through within the span of three days, it would appear that he'll be off work for a week. He didn't think taking off work would be good. He needed a distraction.

He wished he could call his mother, just to hear her voice again. She'll know exactly what to say and how to make him feel better. His father on the other hand was a different story. His father was alive and well and was in his life, but he was merely a figure; a shadow if you will.

He buried himself in his blankets and tossed his phone to the side. Out of nowhere his phone began to ring and it was his close friend and co-worker Mayson. He knew that Mayson was just calling to check on him but he didn't feel like talking. But Mayson kept calling.

"I really don't feel like talking bruh," He said into the phone.

"Look there's a party tonight and since we both had a hard week and shit, I figured that we should release some of our bad energy into a liquor bottle and some good music," He suggested.

"I think I'ma just skip out on this one. I really don't feel like it," Moe was tired and emotionally, he was weak right now.

"Alright bro, you don't even have to party. You can just be there. You and I both know that you're sitting in your house right now acting depressed and shit. You need a different type of scenery. Getcho ass out that funky ass house," Mayson was laying it on thick.

He did need a distraction but he wasn't ready to leave his bed. It wouldn't be long before his thoughts consumed him. He wanted to stay in his bed but he didn't want to feel the effects of his weak emotional posture.

He caved. "Who's party?"

"Janese's party. Its her annual firehouse party. She invited a couple of Engine's too. The only one's I remember are Engine 32, Engine 25, and Engine 15," He says and Moe nods his head.

"What time it start?" He asks, pushing his face into his blanket.

"It starts at 9. Oh and while we're on the topic of the party, my other man's and his girl is coming too but..." Mayson proceeded to tell him who's coming to the party and he nods his head.

"Ard bet. I'll see you there bro," Moe said, nodding his head.

"Oh wait! So me and my other mans was talking and shit and we thought about a carpool. Janese lives out Silver Spring and you know its a lil hike from the city. He taking his dad's Suburban so we can all fit and he's the DD so you can get drunk if you want," Mayson explained and suddenly he wants to back out.

Moe was friendly but he wasn't a people person. He didn't like being around a bunch of people but he'd mingle just for the sake of common decency. Just hearing Mayson talk about carpool with other people just makes him want to tell him no. But he already gave him his word.

"Where's the meet up spot?"

"I opted for your apartment because you're like 2 minutes away from everything," Everything included a grocery store, landmarks, and churches. His area had a distinct look to it so you'll pretty much know you're in a specific area because of the surroundings. Moe's surroundings are places you can't forget or miss.

Moe does an inward inhale before he agreed with Mayson. Before they ended the conversation, Mayson told him that he loved him and he hung up before Moe attempted to say it back. Mayson knew that he wasn't going to say it back, not after what he encountered today.

——

"Brodie! God is good, boy I tell ya'," Mayson exclaimed, truly surprised to see Mosaic out the house. Even though he said he would, he still felt like Moe would've canceled on him last minute.

Moe walked further into his garage, greeting Mayson's friend with some dap. He then greets Mayson, who was leaning on the large truck.

"Sup slim. I'm Sparrow, but you can call me Ro," He says.

"I'm Moe," He says with a nod.

Soon after, the boys began to chop it up with one another for quite a while until they realized that they'd been standing there for 10 minutes.

"I know girls need their time and everything but where they at? I heard she ordered some food up in there," Mayson said.

"Boots you just hungry," Sparrow says with a chuckle before looking in the opposite direction. "And here they come," He nodded towards them, smirking at his girlfriend.

Moe was in his phone, pretending to text someone to distract him from the nervousness that he was beginning to feel. He was nice and all but he ain't really like new people like that. He hated the 'introduction' process.

"My bad y'all. My dog was being an ass," She said and the voice made Moe freeze in place. He knows that voice. Slowly he looks up and sees Bronze.

"Girl, your dog is just like you. Ol' spoiled ass," Said Bluey as she walked to her boyfriend.

"Okay now that the gangs here, let's do a quick introduction. I'm Mayson, he's Moe, that's Ro, and she's Bluey. And who might you be pretty lady?" Mayson pretended to bat his eyelashes at her and it makes the group laugh.

"Bronnie," She says with a smile. In between the brief introduction, Moe and Bronnie made eye contact. While she had a smirk on her face, Moe had a lil drool on his. He tightened up though.

She already knew Sparrow and Bluey and Moe but she rolled with it. He was trying to make everyone comfortable.

"Aight bet. It's five of us and we only have one DD. We at least need two. I volunteer somebody else as a tribute because I plan on drinking and don't wanna put no one in danger," Mayson speaks up, throwing his hands in surrender.

It was quiet amongst the five and Bronnie analyzed their faces. Moe appeared to be in a daze, Bluey already warned her she's getting fucked up, and Mayson made it plain for them.

"I guess I'd volunteer as a tribute," She chuckled a bit, raising her hand.

Mayson makes a goofy face. "You a good driver? I'm too handsome to die,"

"She's an excellent driver. She drives the speed limit too," Bluey chimes in.

"Show me what you drive," He requested.

"Which one? My car or my motorcycle?" She smirked, making him look at her like she was crazy.

"Motorcycle? You sure that you'on got training wheels attached?" Moe joked, making the boys laugh while Bluey and Bronnie smirk.

"Shit, are you sure you can even ride?" Mayson jested with a laugh.

"Oh, I can ride. But can you keep up?" She gives off a flirtatious smirk towards him and Mayson returns it back. "I ride even better without training wheels," She looks at Moe who wears an invisible smirk.

Thank you, Casamigos Bluey thought.

She was inwardly rejoicing because the shot that they took before leaving her apartment was settling in. 15 minutes ago, Bronnie was a ball of nerves, but now she was talking.

After their short banter, they all piled into the truck. Sparrow and Bluey were sitting in front, Bronnie and Moe were sitting in the middle and Mayson was sitting in the back. He needed to sit in the back though.

He had to get his blunt together, he had to stretch out, and apparently, he needed to take a nap before he enters the party. Basically he wanted to be on 10,000.

About 30 minutes into the drive, they stop at the gas station. Sparrow was kind enough to ask Bronnie if she wanted anything and she said no. He extended the same courtesy to Moe and he declined also. Mayson was asleep snoring in the back so he wasn't available right now. Going with Sparrow was his girlfriend.

That left Moe and Bronnie nearly alone in the truck. Neither one of them were on their phones so they were just aimlessly staring out the window. Finally building the courage, she turns to him.

"So Marcus," She smirked, still choosing violence by the name choice. "How you know Ro?" She asked.

"I don't. But judging by your question I'm assuming you know him?" He pointed to him through the window.

"Jhi like..." She did the 'so-so' sign with her hand.

"So Briana, heard you had a dog. What's his name?" He asked, making conversation.

"I am a dog mom and her name is Nutmeg," She smiled. She pulled out her phone and showed him her Rottweiler. He personally thought the dog was huge as hell but he didn't say anything.

Instead he says, "Nice dog. I always wanted a dog—something fun and odd,"

"Like?" She raised a brow.

"Something like a Pitbull or an English Bulldog. But I'm not home that often so I feel like if I get a dog, it's gonna be neglected like a motherfucka," He spoke honestly and Bronnie nodded her head.

Bronnie listened intently and as she was about to pose a question about his interest in dogs, Sparrow and Bluey were back in the car. After that, both Bronnie and Moe were mute. They remained that way for the second half of the ride.

When they make it to the house, they all decided to give each other their number just in case they get lost or something. They only did this because people within the group plan to get twisted so it was only fair if they exchange numbers for safety, plus they were all riding back home together.

Everyone had saved each other's numbers and laid down some friendly warnings.

"Look'a here. If I see that you're doing some off the wall shit, I'ma slow ya down. If I see you doing some shit that I know you ain't gon' never do in yo' regular life: I'ma slow you down. If I see you bout to walk into a room wit a whole lotta niggas, and if I see y'all walking in with a whole lotta bitches, I'm intercepting that motherfucka. Remember, we Black and we're gonna die Black. Ya heard me?" Bluey warned, and they all nodded their heads in understanding.

"I gotcho' wings Blue," Bronnie adds and she nods. Having a girls wings meant that she was looking out for her, just in case if she decided to get wild at this party. That also means one of them can't be drunk out they ass. Again, Bronnie volunteered as tribute.

She only took two shots of Casamigos to take the edge off and right about now, she can successfully say that the edge has been taken off. She just wants to go the party, chill, and vibe out.

"Girls are so elaborate," Mayson said as they all began walking towards Janese's house.

"That's because their protection is always at risk," Moe says quietly and Mayson and Sparrow nodded their heads in agreement.

Lowkey, Moe's eyes were going to be watching too, just in case. He had sisters and they confide in him so he's already knowing what be going on and how they feel. His sisters went to plenty of parties where they'd get drunk and almost sexually assaulted because they were either cornered or coerced.

They also spoke on the fact that there were other black guys in there who knew what was going on but didn't say or do anything, which ultimately made them feel like they don't feel protected by a Black man or a man period.

Again, his eyes were gonna be watching.

They enter Janese's party and they laughed at her sign at the door. Drink to enter, the sign says, and it also said, Pick Your Poison. There was a tray of shots at the door and they were grouped in a category. D'Usse, Henny, Patron, Casamigos.

Bluey grabbed two shots of Hennessy, Moe gets two shots of D'Usse, Sparrow gets a shot of Patron just to be different, Boots got two shots of Hennessy, and Bronnie got a shot of Casamigos since she already had 2 shots in her system from home. Now that they were saturated, it was time to party.

——

"Fuck up friend! Fuck it up friend!" Bronnie hyped Bluey as she twerked on her. Bluey was a beautiful plus size girl which meant she had a plus size ass and that thang be thangin'.

Bronnie slapped her ass, hyping her up even more before Sparrow walked over and grabbed her by the waist. It was too many eyes on her and since he's a dude, he already knew that niggas was plottin'. Hell, plottin' was how he got her.

"Damn Ro," Bronnie chuckled as he pulled her best friend in the corner, so she can twerk on him.

Bronnie ended up dancing her way through the house and into the kitchen. Her mouth was dry from all that talking she was doing with Bluey. She found the refrigerator and grabbed a water and took a huge gulp from it. She then goes to grab a plate.

Janese knew that she was going to have a big turn out because she had hella food and Bronnie's hungry ass was most definitely gonna eat. She had wings, chips, baked mac and cheese, and some other stuff to soak up that alcohol. Janese was smart. Bronnie made her plate and her way back to her regular spot and sat down.

When she looked up midchew, she noticed that none of the people she came in with was not around or near her. The AirBnB was a 3 story house and she knew that majority of the niggas were in the last level which was the basement. From other people talking, its nice and chill and hotbox'd out.

Before she panics and start calling people, she decided to look for everyone. She was on the second floor and she searched high and low so now she knows that neither of the people she rolled in with was on this particular floor.

She decided to go upstairs to check, just to be sure. Upstairs were bedrooms and just by the first room, she already knew what type of time these people were on. Luckily the doors were cracked and all she needed was to put one eye in the door to know that it was nobody she recognized.

When she made it to the last door, she did the same thing and was about to pull back until she recognized Bluey's spine tattoo. She also recognized the shirt that Sparrow was wearing.

From there, she got the gist. So now that she located half of her group, she went down to the last level to find Moe and Boots. She was walking down the hallway from the rooms until one of the rooms opened and her head went down. She didn't want to look like a creep towards no one.

"You can go 'head," A girl says, making Bronnie's head lift up.

"Thanks," She looked at the girl and offered a smile and then her smile drops when she sees who was coming out of the room shirtless. None other than Tomas Banks. She briefly looked at Tomas and smirked, walking off. Tomas on the other hand looked like he was about to shit his pants.

With a blank face, she made it to the last level and it was hotbox'd for sure. The fog was so thick that she could barely see. She for sure caught a contact from where she was standing. It was nothing but fog and lights and it felt like she was bumping into everybody. Someone had to open a window just so everybody can see. When she was finally able to see, she found a seat and sat in it.

When We by Tank was playing lowly in the background as she watched them pass the weed around in rotation and trade firehouse stories. After the first few crazy ass stories she heard, she immediately knew that this circle was for Firefighters and EMT's only. They were all talking about the different engines they were at, and which ward they liked the best, and even the craziest things they've seen, heard, or encountered.

Bronnie was able to locate Boots drunk ass while a girl dance on him slowly. He was throwing one's at her like she was a stripper and all she could do was laugh. It seemed as if he and her were enjoying one another. From the moment she walked in, Moe had his eyes on her.

He can admit that she looked divine in the outfit she wore. Those black leather pants made her ass sit up, and the crop top she wore made her boobs look juicy. Since her shirt was backless, he was able to see her creasing rolls in which he thought was so sexy. He loved a natural body. He loved natural bodies period but he can admit that he always dated the petite type of girls.

Bronnie wasn't petite at all. She was thick in the body and tall in stature. She had a sexy spread on her hips, and a thickness in her thighs, and her ass was just enough. It wasn't too big to wear it was in people's way but she had enough to work with. He thought she was gorgeous.

He seen her sitting down by herself in a corner and he decided to get up and sit next to her.

"You know firefighter stories are confidential," He joked half seriously.

"This ain't nothing. My cousin be telling me horror stories at OUC," She chuckled, shaking her head.

Moe makes a face. "OUC? She's a dispatcher?" He grew intrigued.

"Yes indeedy," She smiled a bit.

"Now you gotta tell me some horror stories, wherever you work at," He scooted up close to her and grabbed a wing and bit into it. She looked at him like he was crazy.

"I know your crusty ass didn't get a wing and eat it," She gave him the side eye.

Once he ate it, he stood up and grabbed her hand and led them out of the basement and into a well lit corner. He pulled out some weed from his pocket and she watched him fixed up his jay. The entire time she smirked and the entire time he trained his eyes on her.

"Whatchu' smirkin' at?" He took a deep inhale.

"Firefighters aren't supposed to smoke," Her smirk hasn't left her face.

After taking another inhale and then blowing it out, he offered the jay to her and she declined. She actually wanted to try it because she haven't smoked before but she was too scared. She felt like one of these days where she decided to smoke, it might be laced and its going to have her sitting on her ass in the worse way possible.

"Had a bad day today. I jus' wanna let that shit escape my mind for awhile," He admits.

"What happened at work today?" She took a step towards him, fully intrigued in this conversation.

"A child died. Tried ta' save him and I couldn't. Its fucking with me," He replied and her face dropped.

"I am absolutely sorry that you're going through that. Sometimes I get nervous seeing ambulances and firetrucks spread throughout the city. It makes me wonder if its truly that bad," She sighed with a shrug.

"All that wondering gonna have me up at night," He shakes his head.

"Yeah, I bet," She frowned a bit. "Where was the address for the boy?" She was curious. She was tryna see if the incident happened in her area or if it was someone she knows.

"I don't exactly remember the address but it was in Southeast, in the Anacostia area," He says and immediately she nodded his head. She didn't live in Southeast but her brothers did. She just hoped that it wasn't someone she didn't know.

"Shit,