"Girl ! I'm so happy to see you ! " Eb tightly hugged her best and only friend, who took a break from work and decided to visit her best friend for a whole week, so they could spend some quality time together and catch up on each other's life.

Since Katlego lost her father three years ago, she hadn't been the same and submerged herself in a lot of work to get her mind and heart off the pain and sorrow. At one point, she was working so much that she ended up in the hospital, after passing out on the runway at the fashion week.

While she was on bed rest, she got time to think and finally dealt with her emotional turmoil. She then decided to slow down because she actually cared about her health and wanted to make sure to take care of herself. So whenever she felt like she was doing too much, she would call her manager and pause everything to get her mind and herself in order.

After her father's death, she wasn't as close to her mother as she used to be. For a few months, Kat detached herself from everybody, scared to get hurt again if she happened to lose someone else that was precious to her heart. About a year ago, she and her mother started talking again and were working on their relationship, so when Kat had breaks, she usually made it a priority to see her mother, but sometimes she missed her best friend a little bit more and so would make time for her.

"Me too ! You're so gorgeous ! I like this hair on you. And this lipstick...isn't it the one I left here ? " She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Eb acted clueless. "I have no idea. I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's okay, I have a stock of this one, plus you're my best friend, so I don't care."

"God bless your heart, child." They chuckled and got her luggages in the truck before driving to Eb's place.

After arriving, Ebony helped her friend settle down, then she let Kat rest for a bit since she just got off the plane. While Kat was taking her nap, Ebony busied herself with some work, even though she was technically still on vacation.

But being in the interior design field is like always being in a competition, a fierce one at that. The key to success is getting yourself noticed and having an amazing portfolio, so Ebony was always making sure that it looked more than great.

Another thing she always had to work on was her education. She couldn't just be educated on colors, fabrics and furniture, even though those three play a huge role in interior design; but her job also required other things, which didn't all seem like a fun time.

Her education had to be extended on the history of design, the structural integrity of buildings, building codes/laws, ergonomics, spatial concepts, ethics, psychology, computer-aided drawing, architecture and so much more. It was never ending to be honest.

When competition is high, you must work hard and stay on top of your game in order to get noticed and keep rising higher.

She was currently working on her website, where she posted some of her ideas to inspire people and to get work in other countries also. It happened more than once for Eb to get clients in Australia, Switzerland, France and other countries, and thanks to that she got some very elegant clients who introduced her to many more elites.

She was usually not a big fan of vacation, but she had been on a year of intense stress as she was expanding more of her clientele, so she had to stop herself for a bit before she ended up in a grave. It was way too early for that.

Two hours later, Kat woke up and had all her energy back. The girl couldn't stay still, so the two girls got ready and went on a shopping spree at the Woodfield mall.

"I don't know why you like to go to the stores so much. I'd rather shop online, it's not so annoying." Eb began to complain. She contained herself for the first thirty minutes, but she got tired of the mall real quick, as always. She couldn't stand people in the mall.

"Well, we needed to get out and get some fresh air. And don't get it twisted boo, I do not do this all the time. I actually prefer online shopping too." She smacked her teeth. "If those mothers don't get these badass kids, I'm gonna fight one," she said after a little boy abruptly pushed her out of his way instead of asking her politely to let him pass by.

"I'll gladly help you. Are you hungry ? I'm starving."

"Same. I feel like eating Mexican food though."

"Let's go to Uncle Julio's then."

They walked to the restaurant with all their bags because they didn't feel like going to the car and then coming back. They only had six bags in total, so it wasn't a lot anyways. Fortunately for them, they didn't wait for too long before getting a table. As they looked through the menus, they only got hungrier. Everything seemed delicious; they both wanted to order the whole menu.

"So you know, I'm inviting you, bestie. And you don't have to worry about the prices," Kat let her know, causing Eb to look at her with big eyes.

"You got it like that now ? Be careful, those words didn't get in the ears of a deaf woman."

"Girl, go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Ebony gasped as her mouth watered more. "Don't play with me, K."

"I'm not. I repeat, enjoy yourself." She smiled, happy to be able to spoil her sister from another set of parents. "Plus, I do owe you. You helped me a lot financially back in college, so now let me show you my gratitude."

"Aw, you don't have to do all that. It was a pleasure to help you. I wasn't letting you go through your problems by yourself. You owe me absolutely nothing, honestly."

"No matter what you say, I will spend my money on you. You can't say no now. That's it."

Eb playfully rolled her eyes. "Well...since you insisted so much."

When they were ready and made their choices, they ordered. They started with their first round of alcoholic drinks, frozen margarita. Last time they actually turned up was months ago, so they were going to have joy today. With their drinks, they got appetizers, the Mama Julio's nachos, which they asked to be covered with cheddar, homemade guacamole and sour cream.

As they ate, they also shared a conversation, remembering their college years and the few funny and crazy experiences they had there. Somehow, the discussion topic became Jerome and their relationship.

"I think I'm going to break up with him."

"Oh, really ? I thought things were getting better between you two."

"No, they never got better. To be honest, it only got worse. I don't know why we're still together because the relationship is so dead. We barely spend time together and when we do, we do not enjoy our time together. We're always arguing about some stupid shit. I'm tired of this. I tried to work things out so many times, but it seems like I'm the only one who really wants it to keep going. Jerome doesn't care. He's not as sweet and caring as he was in the beginning. I don't feel appreciated at all."

Kat started singing Unappreciated by Cherish and Eb almost instantly joined her, shaking her head.

"Well, if you're not happy, then break up with him. Y'all just wasting your time if you stay in this relationship, just to stay, you know."

Eb nodded, agreeing with her friend. "Exactly. This relationship is stressing me out more than anything else. I know it's not supposed to be perfect, but a relationship shouldn't feel like a burden. Plus, I think he's cheating on me."

"Again ? "

She chewed on her bottom lip, feeling ashamed. Ebony wanted her relationship with Jerome to work so badly that when she found out he was sleeping with another girl, she decided to close her eyes on it and acted like it never happened. Eventually, Jerome stopped cheating by himself, but never came forward about this. He never knew that his girlfriend knew about his betrayal.

Ebony always preached that she would never take back a cheater, but she made an exception for Jerome because she convinced herself that he was worth it. Turned out that he wasn't, at all.

"You definitely need to break up with him. You deserve so much better, Ivory. You're an amazing woman and will make any man happy. Now, if this bastard can't see that and appreciate your greatness, he needs to go. You need to be with someone that will treat you like the Queen you are."

"Thank you. My mother always told me to never settle for less, and that's exactly what I did. Where was I ? " She asked, sipping on her margarita.

"It's okay, girl. We all make mistakes. As long as you learned from this, you'll be alright. How about we get out tonight to celebrate your freedom ? Even though it's a Thursday night."

Eb chuckled. "Calm down, sis. I didn't even do it yet."

"Well, call him now and tell his ass, fuck you."

"No. This is some coward's move. I want to do this face to face. He's out of town until Monday, so I'm still taken, kind of."

"He deserves the coward's move. But I see where you're coming from, and I respect that. But we're still going out tonight. You look stressed as fuck."

"Well, thank you."

"CASPER ! "

Chresanto looked towards the door of his office, where his best friend stood with a bag from Dunkin' Donuts. He sighed, closing his laptop, knowing that he wouldn't be able to work anymore.

"Why are you so loud ? "

"Cause I'm Kofi. You know how I am. Want some donuts ? " He plopped on the couch, not far from the desk.

"No, I'm not hungry right now. What are you doing here ? I thought you had a job. Are you not supposed to be auditioning somewhere ? "

"No ! I just got off a project. I'm tired as hell. I need a break and I also want to do something new. But we'll talk about it later. I came here to get some tea."

"About ? "

"You, nigga ! What happened at the party ? "

He shrugged. "Nothing. I met a crazy girl and ran out as soon as I found out."

"Man, you need to have more fun. You're low-key, but high-key boring. I need the funny Santo to come back in action."

"Sorry, but he grew up. You should do the same."

"See, that's why I never wanted to get a regular job, this ruins people."

"As if Hollywood isn't doing exactly that. Please, don't do drugs."

He fanned him off, "you don't have to worry about all that. I don't hang out with those people, they're weird. But I will appreciate it if my first and best friend comes to this premiere with me."

"Why you always want us to look like a gay couple, bruh ? "

Kofi smacked his teeth. "You sound dumb as fuck, with your lame ass. Elin and you are the worst friends ever. I sent you like three messages about this, and none of your fake asses replied."

"Well, we're busy."

"Y'all not that busy, don't lie to me. What ? Y'all want me to beg ? "

Santo playfully shook his head. "Please, don't do this. You look so pathetic when you beg. Remember when you begged your father to let you come to Mario's kickback ? Shit was hilarious, mainly your face after he said no." He laughed, throwing his head back.

"Fuck this nigga. You know what ? He wants Kareem's bad ass to come live with me."

"Cool. You'll have a roommate."

"Oh hell nah ! This lil' thug ain't coming to my house."

"First off, you don't even have a house, it's a condo."

"Man, fuck you too. How 'bout that ? But no, this guy will not live with me. It's their child, not mine. I didn't get out of this crazy household for them to invade my home."

Growing up in an house occupied by ten kids, two parents and a grandmother, Kofi loved his solitude more than anything else. He enjoyed his silence and he knew that if his little brother moved in with him, he wouldn't have this luxury anymore. He couldn't see himself losing this advantage.

"What did he do this time for them to choose to send him here ? "

"I don't know and I don't want to know. He's always getting in trouble."

"Take him in for a few months. Who knows ? Maybe you can put some sense into his big head."

"I don't think so. I just don't have the patience for this. Why do you think I don't have kids yet ? And why I'm actually not planning on having some ? Seriously, I will shoot his ass three days after his move. And I'm not going to jail because of his ass."

"Damn ! " Santo couldn't help but chuckle.

Although Kofi was repeating himself and saying that he'll never have his own children, it didn't prevent him from being very good with kids. He was so good, you would think he was a father already. But since he grew up with nine other kids, it wasn't that surprising. However, Santo was strongly convinced that his best friend will end up creating his own family one of these days. He just knew it.

"Yup. Anyways, are you coming ? "

"When is it ? "

Kofi kissed his teeth. "You're the worst friend ever ! I sent you a message with all the details. Elin at least read it, but this bastard still didn't answer. But you ! You must think you're too good to read my messages. And let me tell you something, I'm really hurt." He put his head in his hands, and seconds later he screamed as if someone actually hurt him.

Chresanto rolled his eyes. "Always so dramatic," he commented, picking up his phone to see the message. He looked through their messages thread, even going back to two weeks ago and he couldn't find it. "Are you sure you sent it to me ? I can't find it."

"Man, give me that ! " He snatched the phone and looked through it. Once he realized the message was nowhere to be found, a frown appeared on his forehead as confusion set in. "What in the motherfuckin' hell ? Did you delete it ? You delete me now ? "

"No. Maybe you sent it to the wrong number."

"Hm, let me see." He got his own phone out and searched for the message. "Oops."

"Oops. Fuck you ! Calling me all type of names when all I've been to you was an excellent friend. Get out my Caucasian office. And give me my phone." He stood up, then grabbed his phone out his grip.

"No, fuck you ! You changed your fucking number like two thousands times. Stop doing it." They both sat back down.

"You know why I changed it so many times."

Kofi shook his head. "You need to tell me what you do to those bitches," he said, making Santo cringe.

"Kof, we already talked about it. Stop calling them out of their names, damn ! "

"Oh, sorry. Anyways, I have to go. I have a meeting with my--"

"I don't care," he cut him off on purpose, smirking. They started this childish game when they were eleven and were still doing it at twenty-five years old.

"Rot in the oven."

"I love you too, bro."

"Yeah, yeah, make sure to check out this message now and don't be late. See you."

Chresanto chuckled, thinking about what his life would've been like if he had never met Kofi. They were eleven years old; Santo had just moved in with his father from North Carolina. Mr. Harris was great friends with Kofi's parents and they all thought it'd be good for their sons to become friends themselves. It didn't take much for the two kids to quickly get along. Their first conversation started with Kofi asking Chresanto if he liked Scooby-Doo. And from there, they spent hours watching cartoons and playing together.

Since that day, they'd been best friends.

"As long as you're living in my fucking house, you better follow my fucking rules, Chad ! " He heard his father raising his voice, making him roll his eyes.

"Not again," he mumbled under his breath, shaking his head. It was one of those days where his father and brother weren't really getting along, and were most likely arguing about his brother's career choice and all the other things he was doing that were getting on their father's last nerves.

"Man, relax ! Why you're in my ears early in the effing morning ? Let me wake up, damn." Chad said, then let out an irritated sigh as he opened the refrigerator.

"You better get that bitch out my fucking house, right now." His tone was a warning one this time, indicating that he was losing his patience and wasn't playing with his youngest son. Santo knew the man would throw hands or do something of this caliber in a few minutes. He wondered why his little brother couldn't just listen because it wasn't that hard to do.

For this argument to not get out of hands, Santo decided to intervene. "Why she gotta be a bitch though ? " he asked, stepping in the kitchen and causing the conversation to ease a little bit.

Chresanto didn't like when girls and women were called out of their names for no reason; he found it super disrespectful and except if you were looking for it, he didn't see why people couldn't have simple respect.

"Hey, bro." The brothers dapped, finishing it with a brotherly hug. After that, Santo greeted his father, doing the same thing.

"You didn't tell me you were coming by today," Mr. Harris said, sitting on the counter and opening his bottle of orange juice, which he directly drank from since it was his personal bottle.

"Oh, it wasn't planned actually. So, what's going on ? "

"Dad is trippin', as always," his brother answered, eyeing their father.

"I'm not trippin'. You have hoes all up in my fucking house when I told you multiple times to not disrespect my house. I don't need those girls in here, not knowing what are their motives. Next thing you know, we're being stolen. What I told y'all about this ? Be careful with those females out there."

"Dad, I've been knowing Orlea for years now, she's not like that. Stop calling her all types of names."

"Yeah, she's not like that, yet I have this girl half naked in my fucking kitchen. A classy one wouldn't do that."

"I already told you, it was my fault, I told her she could come down here like this because I thought you weren't there."

"And who are you to say that ? "

"If--"

"You're not paying bills here. So if you want to wild out, go find your own place, Chadwick Chance Harris."

"Calling me by my full name was so unnecessary." Chad rolled his eyes, deciding to start on the breakfast for him and Orlea. "And once I get my money right, don't worry I'll be out of here."

"You know what the deal is..." he reminded his son.

Chadwick or Chance as his big brother preferred to call him, was nineteen years old and as you can see, still living in the family house; what turned out to not be the best solution for him and their father on some days.

Chance didn't want to go to college, a decision that wasn't sitting well with Mr. Harris, mostly because his son told him that he wanted to be a singer and be in the entertainment industry. Nonetheless, Mr. Harris was still supporting his son --kind of-- and gave him an ultimatum after he graduated from high school: Chad had three years to start his singing career and get it popping, and if it didn't work out, the young man will go to college and get a real career.

Chad accepted, mainly for his father to leave him alone, but he didn't know that the man would be on his back for just everything most of the time. On the other hand though, it was good because it was only motivation for him to go harder and chase his dreams like his life depended on it. Well, in a way, it did.