"Tener cuidado, chica," the man warned kindly, "It's slippery out here. You could've fallen in."
Kori hummed in response and tried to quickly move around him, keeping her head down.
But, the man's hands remained firmly on her shoulders. "I can't get a thank you, cariño?" he inquired.
Kori shook her head in response. She had already been near him for too long. If she spoke, she was definitely done for. She tried to push past him again, but the man wasn't letting up.
"Can't even look at my eyes, huh?" the man hummed. A pause. "Don't tell me you've gotten shy since the last time I saw you, little red."
'Damn it', Kori mumbled, 'Alright, Kori, it's alright. He was your friend. Is your friend. Just open your mouth and…' She reluctantly lifted her head to speak to the man she hadn't seen or spoken to in five years. "Hey, Xavier," she greeted with a faux easy smile.
She was surprised to find that it almost felt real. Almost.
"Red," Xavier returned with a grin, "Long time, no see. Te extrañé." I missed you.
Kori nearly flinched at that. She missed him right back and she knew that. But, the words felt too intimate.
Especially with the way his accent curled around them.
Kori took the forced lapse in conversation as an opportunity to survey the tall Latino-American man that she had once… well, now was not the time to dwell on that. She didn't think there ever would be a time for that
Still, it wasn't a crime to observe that he'd changed since the last time she'd seen him.
Once lean with hair that brushed his shoulders, Xavier had bulked up slightly and opted for what looked like a textured fringe fade.
'Looks good on him', Kori mused.
She was brought out of her thoughts by Xavier's voice.
"See something you like?" he teased.
Kori only focused her eyes on his face, unable to find it in herself to even act embarrassed. "You look different," she shrugged, "Good. The muscle suits you." A pause. "The hair does, too."
Xavier stared at her for a moment before breaking out into a fit of laughter.
"What?" Kori inquired confusedly, "What'd I say?"
"Nothing," Xavier replied dismissively.
Kori narrowed her eyes at him.
"Nothing," Xavier defended with a chuckle, "It's just that, the Kori I knew would blush at getting caught staring."
Kori smiled at that. He was right. But, he also had to know that, after, five years, she wouldn't be that same girl anymore. "Black people don't blush," she sang, prompting laughter from both of them.
Okay, so, some things were the same.
"And you can't catch me doing something if I'm not hiding it," she added. She paused as something caught her eye. "New tattoo, huh?"
"Tattoos," Xavier corrected, wiggling his fingers over his chest to showcase the ink on his chest and his middle finger.
There were three rings in the form of a triangle over his heart and a black band with the letters 'X.R.C' across it. The 'X' was in pink, the 'R' was in gold, and the 'C' was in dark blue.
"Pretty," Kori complimented with a chuckle.
"Uh huh," Xavier mumbled, distracted by some ink on Kori that caught his attention, "Yours too." His eyes flickered pointedly at the image on Kori's upper thigh as he spoke.
Her tattoo was one of a compass with a bullet in the center.
'Shit', Kori cursed, 'Suit must've ridden up and I was walking.' She paused, internally laughing at herself. 'Let's be real, Kor, with how revealing this thing is, it wasn't staying covered anyway.' She shook her amusement off and opted to answer Xavier. "New me," she shrugged, hoping he took the response without asking any questions.
Xavier simply smiled at her. "It looks good on you," he told her, "This…-"
"Muchness?" Kori supplemented with a chuckle, "Yeah, I've heard that a lot. It feels good, too. Insecurities are at an all time low."
Xavier smiled even wider at that. "And the scars?" he asked, "How's that going for you?"
Kori pursed her lips slightly, but she never lost her smile. "I actually went to therapy for that," she informed, "And the consensus seems to be that my strong dislike for my scar stems from PTSD, not some internalized beauty standard. So, I'll never be fully comfortable with them. Probably."
Xavier nodded his understanding. "Well, still," he began, "You've come a long way. I'm proud of you."
Kori smiled brightly at that, bowing her head in thanks.
There was a drawn out silence between them before Xavier spoke again.
"Still mad at you for ditching me in Cali, by the way," he told her, fighting the upward twitch of his mouth.
Kori let out a loud snort at that. "Oh, please," she dismissed with a chuckle, "I did not ditch you. I was on business-"
"With Roy in the Bahamas," Xavier finished, "Yeah, I remember."
Kori laughed once more.
"What?" Xavier asked confusedly, "What's funny?"
Kori laughed even harder at that. "Your pouting is still hilarious," she answered, shaking her head in amusement.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Xavier mumbled, though he could help the smile on his face.
There was a peaceful silence between the two of them as they smiled at each other. Just when it seemed time to strike up another conversation or say goodbye, the peace was shattered as someone came over and clapped their hand over Xavier's shoulder.
Cole.
"See, X, you two are fine," he beamed, "You were worried over noth-"
"How much have you had to drink, Cole?" Kori interrupted, a potentially useless attempt at sparing Xavier, and herself, from whatever mischief her twin brother was up to.
"It's my party, so not enough," Cole laughed, "Not nearly enough."
Kori glared at him.
"What?" Cole questioned defensively, "We had a shot."
"Uh huh, and what about what Astrid gave you?" Kori inquired expectantly.
Cole tried his hand at feigning confusion but Kori wasn't going for it. "...Two brownies," he admitted with a sigh.
Kori's glare intensified.
"They were weak doses," Cole assured, "They'll probably wear off in an hour."
"Much to your chagrin, I'm sure," Kori muttered, "Get out of here, Cole. And stay out of trouble."
"I'm not a baby, Kori," Cole sighed.
"Yeah, you're 26 which is even better," Kori told him, "Means I can legally kick your ass.:
"It's still not-," Cole began.
"Get out of here, Cole," Kori said again, "Don't leave this backyard, I mean it."
"Well, what if-," Cole tried.
"Take a chaperone," Kori instructed dismissively, "A sober one. Even if it's just to go to the bathroom. You remember what happened last time."
Cole couldn't help the laughter that burst out of him as he walked away, turning to give his sister a big, wet kiss on the cheek as he went. "That's for good luck when Cashmere sees you," he called over his shoulder.
Kori grimaced, both at his words and at the slobber on her cheek, scrubbing her face with the back of her hand. "Just gross," she muttered.
Xavier chuckled at that.
"But, he's not completely loopy when he's high," Kori continued, "He said you were worried?"
Xavier winced at that. "Well… we haven't seen each other in five years. Kori," he shrugged helplessly, "And our last meeting wasn't exactly-"
"You told him about that?" Kori questioned.
"No, no, what are you, nuts?" Xavier whisper yelled, "I would never-"
"What the hell are you wearing?!"
Cashmere.
Kori stiffened at the sound of the voice, eyes going wide. 'Shit', she cursed. "Hey, big brother," she greeted the older man sheepishly.
"Don't 'hey, big brother', me," Cashmere scolded, "Are you trying to give me an aneurysm? Heart arrhythmia maybe?"
Kori couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. "I'm sorry," she snickered. She cleared her throat when Cashmere gave her the same glare she'd given Cole moments before. "I really am sorry about the jumpscare, Cash," she promised, "I didn't even pick the suit, Nova made me-"
"Nova," Cashmere growled, "Of course."
"Cashmere, let's avoid popping blood vessels, okay?" Kori chuckled, "I'm a big girl, the suit is fine. More skin than I'd like, but there are people out here wearing more scandalous things."
"Those people aren't my little siblings," Cashmere argued.
"Younger, not little," Kori reminded, much to Cashmere's dismay.
"May I-?" Xavier began.
"No," Cashmere and Kori dismissed in unison.
"Kori," Cashmere began, "Please, just go put on-"
"No," Kori interrupted, "I'm an adult, Cashmere, and this is a pool party filled with people we know. For the most part, at least. No one's gonna try anything. And, if they do, I know self defense, alright?"
Cashmere opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted.
"¿Qué pasa mis amigos? ¿Mi amor? What's all the commotion?"
Carmen.
'Fuck', Kori cursed irritatedly.
This was the last thing she needed.
"Just talking about how we haven't hung out in so long," Xavier lied easily.
Carmen had no problem buying it. "Oh, you should've come to Cali, Kori," she pouted, wrapping her arms around one of Xavier's, "We missed you."
"I was on business," Kori smiled tightly, "But, I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves."
"I don't know about Xavier, but I enjoyed myself way more on that trip to Dubai," Carmen grinned, "It was so beautiful. The beaches, the elephants, the-"
"I've been there before Carm," Kori interjected, trying to maintain a calm tone, "It's definitely an insane place to visit."
"Quite the baecation," Carmen agreed, "Right, X."
Kori felt like the air had been punched out of her lungs. 'Baecation?', she echoed. She shook her shock off, forcing a smile onto her face. "So, the rumors are true?" she hummed, "You two are dating."
Xavier opened his mouth to speak but Carmen beat him to it. "For a year, now," she confirmed with a smile.
Kori let out a short, quiet chuckle. "Looks like congratulations are in order, then," she replied, "A lot can happen in five years, huh?"
Cashmere eyed her concernedly but dutifully stayed quiet, hoping to get a clue as to what exactly was going on.
"... A lot," Xavier agreed quietly.
Especially in their case.