Have you ever traveled with 16 people? Let me tell you, it's a little stress and a lot of turn up (and I’m not just talkin about the drinks)!
DAY 1
I decided to fly in to get some quiet time before being surrounded by such big personalities. When I arrived, it was GO TIME.
For whatever reason, the room that Mo, Rachel and I were staying in hadn’t been checked into yet. So by the time we got into our room, 3 females had less than an hour to get ready for dinner... 😅
Mo had to shower, I had to brush the dreads out of my wig and by the time Rachel was done with her makeup, everyone else was already at the restaurant.
The group had to split up for dinner, and my table was the only one being filmed (which had others understandably annoyed).
Mo & I got into this "call girl" convo. Apparently, Sev approached her saying that SHE was the one that told me about it... when
1. I told Sev it was Joel who told me while at dinner in Burbank 🤨
2. I didn’t even have Monique’s cell number at the time of all this.
So this stirred up confusion all over again. After dinner, the team aired their concerns about better organization for the trip and then it was time to party!
Kasi's friend invited us to a beautiful penthouse suite to pregame, then head to a hookah lounge after. During the walk there, Mo and Sev were chatting. It seemed everyone was on the same accord, but when we arrived to the suite, it was literally just us and Kasi's 3 friends (the hookah lounges were closed). So they decided to host us!
I thought this was pretty awesome, but Sev and Marlene left as quickly as they came. Joel (a producer), Mo and her fam turned in for the night too. This left me, Roberto, Cliff, Demetre, Kasi and Rachel to get our shimmy shake on! About an hour into dancing, Cliff received a call from Sev saying that he and Joel had gotten into it outside, but by the time the suite gang got the news, both Sev and Joel were already back at their hotel rooms. LAWD... Cliff left after that, but I wasn't about to trade the rest of my night for drama, so the suite gang ended on a good note of moonwalking, lap dances, a long drunk walk back to our hotel and pizza (which Roberto doesn't remember getting!)
THAT WAS ONLY NIGHT ONE
DAY 2
The squad decided to enjoy some pool time and chat about the previous night's events.
BUT FIRST, off camera, I pulled Sev aside to set things straight and recap our relationship thus far. He explained what led him to assume that I was a "call girl." Backtracking months ago, Sev, Cliff and I had a PRIVATE convo about being the "side chick" when dating. I was reaching to relate to Cliff, explaining that sometimes, you end up being in a love triangle on accident. But if that's the type of relationship you want, then you have to be cool with being on the back burner. Fast forward to the night of the Justin's bday party, Clif and Sev entered a room where I was FaceTiming with one of my guy friends, which Cliff jokingly called him "daddy."
After that, I explained I had to leave early because the next day, I had to drive to San Diego to meet a "client." Sev was under the impression that I was hurting for money. Never that! My budget is STRICT and you got to follow the money to get paid! So from these cryptic bits of info, he gathered that I was out here being a city girl.
Laugh. Out. Loud. An event client booked me to decorate a 1st communion table scape - which you can view on IG @steerproevents.
So, finally putting this to rest, I expressed to him why I've been indifferent and hesitant to build a stronger relationship with him. He has poor emotional communication, made up rumors, and has been constantly on the defensive, which he acknowledged and apologized for. But let me add, I also apologized for any time he's ever felt undermined by me (because, you're not going to be perceived by everyone the same). We moved forward.
The booty shaking commenced and we got into some much needed convos at the pool. Cliff about his relationship and Mo, Rachel and I about taking apologies at face value, after all, words need to be matched with ACTION.
The evening was concluded with a wonderful dinner followed by karaoke... an awesome way for all of us to bond. My fave part was when Kasi sang Listen by Beyonce (talking about a not so special someone) and those neck veins were POPPIN BOY!!!
DAY 3
Kasi woke everyone up for a morning workout. I was already out and about; got to keep up your good habits, even while on vacay!
Afterward, Sev and I went to the store to grab some things for Kasi's surprise bday party later that evening. The day was really set around distracting Kasi. While Mo, Cliff and I set up Kasi's surprise, the distraction team went axe throwing! What a way to decompress!
The surprise was a success! Kasi was greeted by all of us, Brandon and her bestie, Ian. Brandon and Ian were the cherries on top that gave her much deserved happiness! After singing happy b-day, I excused myself from the party for a while. Honestly, I hit my social interaction cap & needed a few moments alone.
I then joined Cliff and Joel who were chilling in the back room and not soon after, we heard Mo yelling "BITCH" from the living room. WTF. Her and Sev were having a chat where apparently, more words had been mixed and Mo stormed out. When I went to check on her, I learned from her that Sev wanted to bring me up during their convo. I learned from other friends that Sev had mentioned questionable things about me in the past. I don't care about what was said, the point was learning that more had been said about me behind my back and it wasn't brought up during our private convo... just exhausting.
The rest of the squad did another round of karaoke, but Mo & I decided to head back to the hotel together. We were both just mentally drained at that point.
RECAP
Overall, I'm happy we were all able to experience each other in different surroundings - both sober and lit. The majority of the trip was spent laughing and dancing, but you can't get this many people together without drama!
At times, learning information from this group is like a game of telephone. If it doesn't come from the source's mouth, I don't want to hear it... but in the case that I do, I like to allow that person to explain themselves. I'm a '3 strikes you're out' kind of person, and from what I've learned after Kasi's party, I still find Sev's words and actions contradictory. An apology without the intent to do better is manipulation and I don't have the energy for it. I'm hoping this isn't the case. I just want the current truth and for us all to put the misunderstandings, delayed info and rumors to bed.
We definitely need to have another convo, this time on camera to air things out and figure out the future of our relationship.
I'm looking forward to our next get together, Marlene is planning a Halloween fiesta, can't wait to get into some ghoulish shit with the gang!