''Everything you own in the box to the left

In the closet that's my stuff

Yes, If I bought it, please don't touch

And keep talking that mess that's fine

But could you walk and talk at the same time

And, it's my name that's on that jag

So come move your bags, let call you a cab

Standing in the front yard

Tellin' me, how I'm such a fool

Talkin' 'bout, I'll never ever find a man like you

You got me twisted''

Eb sang along as she finished making breakfast. It was Sunday morning, her favorite day in the week because it was always chill for her; and as usual on that particular day, she was in the mood to cook. Most of the time, that was the last thing she wanted to do on earth.

"Good morning, pretty ! " Kat greeted her. She was also in a good mood. She was loving this break from her job because she was finally able to sleep properly, and the fact that the bed in Ebony's guest was so comfortable played a huge part in her enjoyment.

"Morning, beautiful ! How was your sleep ? " She turned everything off, then started setting their plates.

Kat sat at the counter across from her as she watched her best friend do her thing. "You'll be such a good wifey one day. Mark my words. Jerome doesn't know what he's losing, that's a fool. And my sleep was phenomenal. I need to steal this bed you have in this guest room of yours."

Eb playfully rolled her eyes at her friend. "Please ! Don't talk about this bastard in the freaking morning. I don't want my day to be ruined. And how are you gonna travel with an entire bed ? "

Unfortunately, Kat had to cut her vacation short because she was offered an amazing opportunity that she couldn't miss. So she had to travel back home to New York to grab some stuff, then she would be on her way to LA.

She fanned her off. "Oh, don't worry hun. I'll find a way. I always find one," she answered, causing Ebony to chuckle. She paid attention to the music that was playing and couldn't help but smile. "Okay, girl, I see you. Getchu Beyoncé on, auntie ! " She snapped her fingers, moving her neck as if she were a snake.

"You're annoying. Here, bae." She handed her her plate, and they settled around the dining table. They blessed the food and started eating.

Kat made dramatic noises, dancing on her chair. "This food is giving me an orgasm. Oh my God ! "

She chuckled more. "Now ! Girl, you need to calm down. When was the last time you got some ? "

"Excuse you ? "

"Well, you're over here orgasming over food. Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with food too, but I don't moan like that when I'm eating. And...I kind of heard you yesterday and I know you didn't bring some random in my apartment." She eyed her best friend, smirking.

Her mouth opened widely as she let out a big gasp, "no ! You're lying, right ? Tell me you're lying."

"I'm not. But listen, if you don't want to talk about it, it's just fine." She raised her hands up in surrender.

Kat groaned, feeling embarrassed. She made sure to not be too loud so she could have her little moment of pleasure without disturbing her host. Or so she thought.

"Don't worry, girl. It's natural. We're all grown here," Eb reassured her.

"I need to find someone."

"Someone like ? "

"Like I don't even want to be in a relationship at this point. I just want a sex boo." Kat pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Then she grabbed a strawberry and drenched it in the chocolate sauce before bringing it to her mouth. This was her favorite.

"A sex boo ? Are you sure about this ? "

"Uh...yes ! " she answered, shrugging.

Eb hummed. "Don't catch feelings now."

"I won't. Well...I hope. I've never done this before."

"I know ! That's why I asked you if you were sure about this. Knowing you, I say just play with your toys until the right one shows up at your door."

Kat uncrossed her arms and continued to eat her pancakes. The two didn't speak for a few minutes as they enjoyed their food, then she eventually broke the silence. "How do you know though ? "

Eb looked at her a bit confused. "Know what ? "

"That he's the one."

She sighed. "I think that's something you can't really explain. The answer I always hear for this question is, you'll feel it. You'll know when you'll know."

"So, actually nobody knows."

"Exactly."

"Aw, I hope I'll find this one day though. I hope I'll find my soulmate."

"Same. I want that special connection with my Mr. Perfect. Can you just imagine ? Finding someone who complements you and fits so well with your personality. Someone who accepted you exactly as you are, and who admires your flaws as much as your qualities. Someone you never stop falling in love with. Like the romance is not there just at the beginning, but throughout the whole relationship. I don't mean like an everyday thing, but we should never let the flame extinguish, no matter what." She paused, thinking about Jerome. She truly thought he was the one at first, but her little fantasy vanished pretty fast.

"Wow..." Kat commented, in her thoughts as well.

Eb smacked her teeth. "Let me stop dreaming before I play myself."

They shared a look, then sighed heavily. They'd never been lucky when it came to love, so they didn't know why they let their imagination trick them with illusions that will surely never become a reality. But deep down, they still had a little bit of hope for it to happen one day, to find their soulmate.

They finished eating, then cleaned the kitchen.

An hour later, an esthetician and her team rang the bell. Kat decided that today they were going to be spoiled with some facial treatments and massages. Ebony had no idea of this until they arrived, and she was happy her best friend took this initiative because she actually needed it. So for the next four hours, they were taken care of. Their favorite part was the foot massage, which they didn't want to stop.

After this, they felt refreshed and very good about themselves. They posted some pictures on Instagram and Snapchat, getting a lot of likes almost immediately, mainly on Kat's account since she was the super model. To see all the love on her page made Ebony even prouder of her sister. Katlego's journey wasn't an easy one and she was so happy to see her doing so good right now. She deserved all the success and happiness.

"Oh, shit ! " Kat expressed as she scrolled down her timeline. "Eb, you need to see this. This is some bullshit. I'm gonna kill this dumbass."

"What happened ? " she asked confusingly. She took the phone and looked at the screen, immediately getting angry. She wanted to take the first flight and beat the stupid guy she called her boyfriend. Well, he won't be for too long, and this video just reassured her more in her decision. She couldn't continue like that.

She had had enough with Jerome. He had embarrassed and disrespected her way too many times throughout their whole relationship. It was more than what she should have tolerated. She had given him too many chances to prove himself. He wasn't shit and he would never be.

He said that he was leaving the state to take care of some business, but here he was partying with his dumbass friends and a lot of groupies were surrounding them. This alone was aggravating because he clearly lied.

Then here he was being the shittiest boyfriend by letting some random bitch twerk on him. His hands were rubbing her ass and everything. It looked like they were about to fuck in the club. And he was getting hyped up for this. All his friends knew he had a girlfriend at home, but here they were cheering him on to be an idiot.

They kept watching the video. "Oh hell naw ! Did he really kiss her ? "

Ebony didn't answer. She wasn't hurt nor jealous. For all she knew they could actually sleep together; she didn't care that much. She was more mad at herself than at him to be honest. This foolishness had been going on for more than half of their relationship; she should have left sooner, but she decided to tolerate him and give him passes after passes because she wanted it to work so badly. But it couldn't, not the way it was going.

She couldn't believe that after all her mother, aunt and grandma told her, she still let a fuck boy disrespect her as if she was nothing. She agreed to settle for less than what she deserved, and for what ? For nothing because you never get a reward for that.

"I can't wait for him to come back tomorrow."

CHRESANTO

"Wassup, bro ! " Santo greeted his second best friend, Elin as they did their handshake. They were at Wildberry Pancakes and Cafe to eat breakfast together with Kofi, who was still not there. But it wasn't really a surprise because the man couldn't be on time even if his life depended on it.

"Hey ! How you doing ? "

"Fine. What about you ? "

It'd always been Chresanto and Kofi against the world, until Elin joined their little group in their freshman year in high school. Since then, they became the three musketeers.

Elin Gorja was the only white boy in an all-black school, and was bullied a lot. He was the only white person, a fat boy; his hair was always a mess, he wore glasses that were too big for his face and couldn't dress to save his life, making him a complete outsider.

Almost everybody was bullying him, mainly the football team. If they weren't on the field, fucking girls left and right or at the gym training, they were spending the rest of their time terrorizing Elin and making his life a living hell. Every day they came after him with something new to ruin his day.

One day, they decided to steal his clothes after gym class, while he was taking a shower. Elin had to walk through the school dressed only in his underwear, that they nicely let him have. He had had enough and his only focus was to confront them, which didn't turn out really good for him as he ended up fighting five guys by himself.

And he got his ass beaten.

He was on the ground, crying for help and nobody came to his rescue. People were surrounding and cheering the abusers. Kofi and Chresanto were passing by and asked someone what was going on as they watched the scene in front of them.

They'd witnessed all the bad things the team did to Elin and they couldn't stand it anymore. They were also disgusted at all the kids that were just watching them practically kill the boy. They jumped in and fought the guys that were beating on Elin, who was then taken to the nearest hospital.

Kofi and Santo went to visit him and actually got to know him. They found out that he was actually a cool person and by the beginning of sophomore year, the three teens had become best friends. They were always together and they helped Elin improve his image and also to defend himself. After that, nobody ever tried to mess with him again. Hell, the three even reached the popular status before their senior year.

"Better than ever. I can't wait to have my shit running. I'm so ready to make this money. I'm gonna be on a whole new level."

Elin had been a real estate agent for the past four years and he was moving forward by opening his own real estate brokerage, which he'd been working on for the past three years and a half. He'd always wanted to have his own business.

"Oh, and I'm working things out with Silvia," he added, causing Santo to raise his brow.

"Say what now ? I thought y'all were done for good. Did she not steal money from you ? " he asked, looking at his friend as if he grew four additional arms.

"She didn't, it was a misunderstanding. I actually lost my wallet in my apartment."

"And did she not cheat ? Oh, no ! Let me guess, it was another misunderstanding too. Right ? "

He rolled his eyes. "It was a mistake. I cheated too."

"After you found out about her little business."

"Listen, nobody is perfect. Relationships are filled with a lot of ups and downs, that's life."

"Mutual respect, communication and trust. Y'all lacking all of this, so it can't work."

"Man, you're just a hater." He fanned him off, opening one of the menus.

"No, I'm not. You're not happy with her, so stop trying to work on this already dead relationship. She hurt you too many times, you need to let go, bro. This is not healthy."

Elin smacked his teeth, knowing that his friend was right but he didn't want to admit it. Silvia was his first everything. He'd never been lucky with girls, and she was the first one to give him love and attention. It changed a lot because the only woman who ever showed him love was his mother.

He couldn't see himself letting go because it would be as if he was letting his very last breath go. He couldn't see himself live his life without her, but truth was that this girl didn't really care about him. She played him constantly throughout their relationship, if you could even call that.

"You can't understand, so leave me alone. You're never trying to put yourself in my shoes." It wasn't a secret that Chresanto had never been rooting for this so-called relationship. Since day one he could feel the bad vibes emanating from Silvia. She wasn't good news since the very beginning.

"I don't want to be in your shoes. She's gonna ruin you if she didn't already do it. By staying with her, you're blocking your blessings, my brother. You could be with someone else right now. Someone who would treat you way better than that. Silvia is not for you and you need to accept this."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Where's Kofi ? "

"I don't know. Let me call his ass." He took his phone out to dial his number. He waited six rings, then Kofi finally answered the phone, groaning in pain. "Are you okay ? "

"No. I have diarrhea. Oh, Lord ! My stomach hurts so badly right now. I've been travelling back and forth between my room and bathroom for the past four hours. And my booty stinks, bro."

"Ew ! I didn't ask for all that. Wait, I'm gonna put you on speaker so Elin can hear you too. Oh, and don't scream, we're in a public space."

"Man, you better put on some headphones. Oh ! I'm gonna die."

"What's wrong with him ? " asked Elin.

"He has diarrhea," he answered, whispering. He didn't need people in their business and he also didn't want to risk ruining somebody's appetite and missing on some good food.

"Ew ! Are you okay, Kof ? "

"No ! I'm about to die ! Fuck this ! Aw...my stomach."

"Do you need us to come by ? Or buy you something ? Do you need to see a doctor ? Like, do you have fever ? "

"No, no fever. And yeah, I need some things. Can y'all buy me some bananas, rice, water, lemon juice, chamomile and ginger tea. Oh, and underwear too, I ruined some."

"Ew ! " the two expressed in unison, scrunching up their faces.

"I hope you threw them away, or at least washed them."

"How ? I can't stand right now."

"Oh my God, Kofi."

"Shut up, E ! So ? Can y'all buy those things for me ? Pretty please. I'll repay you, I swear. Oh, Lord ! I need to go, bye. OH, SHIIIT ! " He hung up, not waiting for their byes as he ran to his bathroom.

Elin and Santo burst out laughing at his last words. "We're so childish." Santo said.

"We're not. It was funny."

"We're childish, " Chresanto repeated.

Elin thought about it for a few seconds. "Okay, yeah." He finally agreed, laughing a bit more. "Man...I didn't plan to buy groceries for this fool and I can't miss work, so I'm giving you money. He better not say that I'm a bad friend."

Santo chuckled, shaking his head at Kofi's antics. He was something else. "Alright. Well, let's eat."

"Miss, please. We're ready to order."

After running Kofi's errands, Chresanto finally pulled up in front of his best friend's building, coming to his rescue.

"Damn ! I thought you were never going to show up." He let him come in as he continued to spray some Febreze all over his condo. Sad thing was that it wasn't covering 100 percent of the funky smell.

Santo closed the door behind him, then put his scarf over his nose. "Damn ! What did you eat ? And why you use those toilets when you have a whole bathroom for yourself upstairs ? It fucking stinks ! "

"I know that ! Thank you so much, Sherlock ! "

"I ain't staying any longer. Call me when you feel better." He put the grocery bags on the kitchen counter, then proceeded to leave.

"Thanks, brother ! "

He threw the deuces. "Get well."

Arriving outside, he took a moment to appreciate the fresh air before going to his car shop, At Santo's.

Chresanto had been obsessed with cars before he could even talk or walk. It was his passion. He just liked all the details, the sound of a good motor, the different sheet metal designs, the rims, interior designs, just everything about a car.

He dreamt of his shop since he was eleven. Back then he knew exactly what he wanted to do and already had a vision; there was no turning back. Since then, he worked hard and put all his energy, time and soul to make this dream come true.

Today, he was proud to say that he did it.

At At Santo's you could have your car repaired and/or customized; your old car could be completely restored and there were so many other accessory services. Recently, he re-located at another part of the city, where he opened up a way bigger shop, which looked like a dealership from the outside. Inside, he made it very welcoming for the customers to almost feel at home, which got him more clientele.

If the business increased ten times more than it was right now in the near future, Santo was envisaging opening a new shop in another state, like Florida. His little fame got him to get partnerships with car dealerships like the new Toyota that opened a few months ago, and he also got opportunities to work on movie projects such as the two new Fast And Furious movies, and another movie that wasn't as popular, but nonetheless he was still getting money for it.

"Hey, boss. How are you today ? " greeted Monica, one of the receptionists.

"Hey, Mo. I'm good. What about you ? Still pimping ? " he asked, making her laugh.

"Still I am. Pimping is forever. And everything is good in my hood. And business is booming."

"That's what I like to hear. But tell me, if business is booming, how comes I only have a receptionist right now ? Where's Felicia ? "

"She had a little family emergency. Her brother's in the hospital, he got shot, three times."

"Damn ! I hope he's okay."

"Me too. My prayers are with their family. But don't worry, I called Travis. He should be here in ten minutes."

"Okay, great. If somebody is looking for me, I'm in my office."

"Sure, boss." She nodded at him before getting back to work, even though she didn't have big things to do right now. But a few seconds after he left the reception desk, three families walked in, getting her busy.

Santo pulled his keys out and took the private elevator that got him to his office. He just had time to kick off his shoes and sit down when his desk phone started ringing. He pressed two, answering. "Wassup ? "