The Last Dance

014

6 months later

Practice was hard today, only because in two days they were hitting the road. The tour was set to begin and Mariah honestly could not wait. She was excited. She was about to be seen doing something she loved nationally.

As they gathered their things, Mariah found herself surrounded by her coworkers. "We going clubbing tonight." Ashley announced in excitement. "And you're going,"

Ashley Cruz was one of Mariahs favorites to turn up with. The woman always matched her energy and didn't mind stepping out of character if need be. Her and Mariah had a weird vibe since they tended to be opposite sometimes. She was the peacemaker of the group and everyone knew it.

"Who going?" Mariah asked them with an eyebrow raised. "I'm going back to my room and sleep."

"What did we say?" Kendra Jae was next to ask.

Kendra and Mariah tended to be oil and water unless it was work related. Kendra got sloppy drunk and the other women tended to have to take care of her most times. She was always yelling and never knew how to quiet down. That didn't work for Mariah saying she was a quiet soul in general. They'd argued more than once since practice began but they learned how to let it be strictly business.

The dancer rolled her eyes. "Girl, what did I say?"

"Please bestie?" The last voice broke in and Mariah knew that she would find herself at a club tonight.

Turning to Cierra, she frowned. "Bestie, I don't want to go.."

Cierra Nichols was Mariah's best friend on this tour. They were thick as thieves and everyone could see why. Cierra minded her business and wasn't as loud as everyone else. She was mature and danced with a story behind her movements. It wasn't a surprise when her and Mariah joined ranks and grew immensely tight.

Mariah's best friend pouted. "Come on, you need this. You've been in that hotel buried for too long. It's LA, let's hit the club. You need to find someone to distract you tonight anyways."

The dancer disagreed with her best friend. "I need a distraction like I need a hole in my head."

"Holes are nice." Kendra mumbled.

"We're getting you laid tonight. You deserve it." Ashley added.

Mariah wore a face of confusion. "I'm sorry but why do I deserve it? I haven't done anything but work."

"Exactly!" They all yelled back.

"Look bestie, you're single. You don't have a girlfriend. A boyfriend. Nothing. So therefore, you're going to go out tonight and you're going to get laid." CiCi told her. "So say yes. You'll come."

Three pairs of eyes hit her suddenly and slowly she agreed. "Fine. I'll go." The women around here began squealing with excitement as she threw in her condition. "But drinks are on you three."

"Cool. Cool. We can handle that." Kendra agreed.

"Yeah," Ashley seconded. "You a light weight anyways. You don't do a whole lot of drinking."

Mariah shook her head at her these women knew her and it was definitely vice versa. Diamonté made sure they'd had a couple getting to know you sessions before the group started rehearsal.

"D coming?" Cierra asked the other girls.

They all shrugged before Kendra spoke. "Knowing Saweetie, no. The way she left so quickly means she's stressing about something. And you all know what to do when she gets to stressing..."