People were dancing and mingling in the packed restaurant/night club. The music was incredible although Shane had never heard the song before. It was a dancehall/reggae number that had everyone who wasn’t making conversation, grinding on the dance floor.

She searched high and low through the crowds for Carmen and spotted her over by the DJ booth… hugging the DJ. A nauseous wave of jealousy coursed through her veins before she could think of any excuses for the affectionate exchange. She began to regret not listening to Alice’s information, maybe that would explain what she was seeing.

‘Friend, just a friend.’ she tried to reason with herself as she made her way over to the booth.

Carmen moved away from the hug in time to find Shane standing next to her. “Hey baby!” she said as she rapped her arms around Shane’s neck and pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss itself was hungry and deep and full of desire but something was different to the Latina. When she broke away she found Shane staring at her friend with cold eyes.

‘Does Shane know her? There’s no way… then what… oh. The hug.’ Carmen understood just what the look in Shane’s eye was, it was the green tint of jealousy. She smiled to herself slightly at the thought that someone would be jealous over her. It bothered her that her girlfriend would think of anything that might imply infidelity and yet it also made her feel even more loved if that made any sense.

She gestured to the DJ and introduced her. “Shane, this is my good friend DJ Bones also known as Casey Young. Casey this is my girlfriend Shane.”

But Shane did know her, not personally at least. She looked at the woman, she was tall with corn-row braids in her hair and light mocha colored skin. She was maybe an inch taller than Shane and wore a baggy white t-shirt with baggy blue-jeans but you could tell even through those clothes that this woman was a powerhouse with broad shoulders and muscled forearms. Her most telling feature though was a scar that ran from an inch above her right eyebrow down to the middle of her cheek.