hi my babies. 💕

"Good morning," Lei spoke as she got into Raj's car the following morning. She sat her backpack down on the floor, reaching her free hand back to grab the seatbelt.

"Good morning, ma." Raj greeted her, reversing out of the driveway once she was settled in. Lei relaxed back in the seat, tucking her hands into the pocket of her hoodie.

Since last night, there was still tension between the pair. Raj felt as if Lei still felt a way towards him, despite sharing a kiss, she kept her distance from him the rest of the night, keeping her focus on her friends. It didn't bother him much, however, what did bother him was Lei paying too much attention to Isidro.

Though it seemed to be friendly between the two, he couldn't help but notice at times Isidro flirting with her. Again though, he didn't want to create false scenarios, aware that Lei only saw him as a friend and nothing more. But he needed to make sure that they were on the same page and that Isidro knew his place.

"Can I ask you something?" he finally broke the silence that filled the car, Lei hummed in response, continuing to stare ahead out of the window. "Isidro know you dealing wit' someone?"

"He's under the impression that I'm single, but he knows who you are. What we have is a strictly platonic relationship, so you do not have to worry about him." she spoke in a mellow tone.

"Are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow, sneaking a glance over at her.

"Yes, because unlike you, when I tell someone I'm interested in, they don't have to worry about a particular person, I mean it."

Raj's eyes slightly widened, as he glanced over at her once again. "Okay, ouch, that's a li'l harsh." he said, switching his focus between her and the road. "So, you're still upset?"

"Yes...I am." she said, grabbing her phone out of the pocket of her hoodie as it vibrated. She checked it, seeing that her sister texted her, wishing her luck on her exams.

Selah was aware that Xahir helped Soleil study for her exams, giving her pep talks and advice for when exam week rolled around. Now that he was gone, she had to rely on herself to keep a positive attitude for her exams.

She did voice her concerns to Selah about it, her sister assuring her that she would do what she could to help in any way. Soleil was thankful for the gesture, especially knowing that Selah was a busy person — splitting her time between being a journalist, a wife and a mom, they rarely had time to catch up.

Soleil never took it to heart though, she was proud of how successful her sister was, and cherished any moment that they were able to speak.

There are times when Soleil do miss her presence heavily, saddened by the thought she wasn't able to physically able to hang out with neither of her siblings.

However, Joziah and Keia did their best to make sure Soleil never felt alone, but eventually, their efforts will only go so far as the holidays were quickly approaching. The pair would be going back home and it would be the first time in months, where Soleil would be alone again.

She didn't look forward to it, but she tried her best not to think too much about it. Instead wanting to focus on enjoying her best friends company until then.

Raj kept quiet until he made it to campus, he wanted to give her his full attention, and put the issue to rest for good. Of course he was glad his suspicions were confirmed, but it still made him wonder — why did she kiss him back last night if she was still upset?

Had she thought about the issue a little deeper and decided that it wasn't the best idea forgiving him so soon?

He reversed into an empty parking space, and shifted the gears into park, before turning his attention onto Soleil. "Talk to me, tell me what's on your mind." he finally spoke.

Soleil finished sending off her reply to her sister, before she slid her phone back into the pocket of her hoodie. She didn't bother to look his way, instead keeping her attention forward. "I asked you a question last night, and you deflected from it by kissing me — and the only reason I kissed you back, is because I missed your lips on mine — but that's besides the point. Siraj, you think I'm playin' wit' you and I'm not, I will dead this shit between us and move on." she started to say, Raj intently eyeing her, his eyes focusing between her concentrated facial expression and her hand movements.

"What was the question, ma?" he asked her, his memory a little foggy from being tipsy the night before.

"Are you really over her?" she finally turned to give him eye contact. Raj slowly licked over his lips, as they stared at each other for a minute.

"I am, Soleil. I have no remaining feelings for her — yes, I will always have love for her because she's the mother of my child but that's it, that's all it will be." he explained, Soleil keeping the same blank expression on her face.

"I'm tryin' to move on, I made it clear to her the day she pulled that shit, she need to respect my boundaries. I won't sit here and tell you that you don't have to worry about her, because you probably don't want to hear that, rather instead see for yourself that you don't. You're the only person that I want, Soleil and I'm not letting anyone get in the way of that."

Soleil cleared her throat, unbuckling her seatbelt. "Right, if you say that you're over her, then I have no choice but to take your word for it." she replied, reaching down to grab her backpack. "I'll see you later, I'll let you know if I catch a ride wit' Keia instead."

Raj watched in defeat as Lei got out of the car, he deeply sighed, slouching down in the seat.

Lunchtime rolled around, and Soleil was in the café with her best friends. She texted Raj, letting him know that she would just catch a ride back with Keia and Joziah since the pair rode together.

He texted her back a simple 'ok', Soleil leaving him read afterwards. It was obvious there was awkward tension between the two, she wasn't trying to come off as a bitch, but she refused to have her feelings played with a second time around.

She really did like Raj, and the time that they spent together for the past few months were pure bliss; but getting into it with his baby mama, was something she didn't have the patience to deal with. Even though the two women haven't had a real conversation since the night she called Raj at the party, Soleil knew that the reason for that was solely because she had been hanging out with Raj heavily.

However, she just didn't expect Ximena to act that way towards her. Especially since Ximena knew how she was, knowing that she didn't tolerate anyone trying her.

Soleil would eventually let the situation go, but for now, she needed to make sure Raj felt her.

"Are you nervous?" Lei asked Joziah, dipping her chicken tender in the small container of hot sauce, before she took a bite.

"I am, because I have never got the chance to meet any of my exes families. Plus, I'm not sure how his dad is going to act around me." Joziah explained, grabbing his cup of sprite soda.

Eventually, Joziah's boyfriend finally came out to his father about his sexuality. Surprisingly for him, his dad took the news well, letting his son know that that his sexuality wasn't enough to stop him from loving his own son — even despite the ignorant comments he made in the past about doing so.

Joziah was ecstatic to hear the news, given the fact that he really liked, Carson. As their relationship blossomed, Carson wanted Joziah to meet his family over the weekend.

Nonetheless, the girls were happy for him and hoped for the best during his visit.

"Right, I have high hopes everything will go smoothly. If it turns out that you and his dad don't get along, that's fine. His mom and his sisters like you, but either way, he's the one that has to date you — not them." Keia chimed in, before taking a bite out of her bacon cheeseburger.

"Speak on it," Lei said, quickly throwing a praised hand up in the air. She grabbed a french fry and dipped it into the ketchup, bringing it to her mouth. However, she dropped the fry onto her jeans, ketchup now staining it.

"Fuck," Lei cursed, swiftly picking up the fry and stuffing it into her mouth. She grabbed a napkin and wiped off the excess ketchup, annoyed that she already stained her new pair jeans.

She looked up, glancing around the café. Whenever Lei dropped something, she took it as someone watching her. Just as she was about to return back to eating her food, she finally made eye contact with the person who had been staring at her the whole time.

Jaelyn.

Lei rolled her eyes, glancing away. "Now why the fuck is she looking over here?" she sported a frown, her two friends seeming to be confused by her change of attitude. They looked around until they caught onto who she was talking about.

"Fuck you lookin' at bitch!?" Keia shouted across the room, a few other people glancing in their direction with wide eyes.

Joziah tried stifling his laughter, playfully tapping Keia's arm. "Keia!" he gasped.

"What? Fuck that hoe, she lucky I still haven't put hands on her yet. Lei is the only reason why she hasn't been touched. Fake ass bitch," Keia shot Jaelyn a distasteful look, who was now gazing at her with a frown. "All in my bitch face like she wasn't fuckin' on that hoe ass nigga the whole time, I swea' I don't like hoes like her."

"Who you talkin' to?" Jaelyn raised an eyebrow, as she approached their table. All three friends now mugging her.

"Bitch you walkin' up like you tryna fight, wassup?" Keia stood to her feet, Lei grabbed her arm and tried forcing her back into her seat. The chatter in the café was beginning to die down as people started to direct their attention onto what was unfolding at their table.

"Stop tryna fight other people's battles, cause that shit has nothing to even do wit' you!" Jaelyn stepped closer, balling up her fist. "This is strictly between me and Soleil,"

"There's nothing between you and I, I don't care about that situation anymore. I've moved on, so should you. Now walk away, because nobody is fighting anybody." Lei said, continuing to hold Keia's arm, keeping her in place.

"Lei don't spare this bitch, what the fuck?" Keia quickly redirected her attention from Jaelyn to Soleil. "She was pose to be your friend and she snaked you."

"Keia..." Joziah sternly called out her name, standing up. Keia glanced over at him, seeing the rigid expression on his face. She sighed in frustration and sat down, Lei letting go of her arm as she did.

The trio then returned their focus onto Jaelyn, who stood there for another minute, sizing up Keia. "I didn't snake Lei, she snaked me. She took the nigga that I been wanting," she gestured her hands towards a now confused, Lei.

"Excuse me? So because you didn't jump at the opportunity to date him, it's my fault? Bitch, I didn't even know you liked him. Swore up and down, that was just your best friend — girl, get the fuck outta my face before you really piss me off." Lei frowned, growing irritated by the fact women were trying her over a guy.

"Yes I did, Soleil! I came to you for advice about a guy that I had been friends wit' for a while, and wanted to take it to the next level—" Jaelyn started to explain, until Lei got up out of her seat, resting one hand on the table.

"You never even said his fuckin' name! How the fuck was I supposed to know you were talking about Elias? Am I supposed to use context clues? Why the fuck would you even go out of your way to get us back together in the first place if you knew you wanted him from the start? You weirdo ass bitch," Lei started mugging her heavily, feeling the anger rise in her by the second.

"You the weird bitch, how you go fuck on another nigga not even hours after your break-up? You probably wanted Kelz the whole time," Jaelyn took another step closer to her, Keia getting up out of her seat once again as she took notice.

"Jaelyn, I'm not about to go back and forth wit' you—" Lei paused as it dawned on her. She scoffed a laugh, tilting her head. "So, it was you? You went back and told Elias what you saw, huh?"

A brief silence falling over them, the café now almost dead silent as everyone continued to watch. A few chattering amongst themselves about the information.

"So, what did you gain? Did he fuck you? Did he ask you to be his girlfriend — are y'all even still best friends? Or did he just toss you to the side, and now you're taking your anger out on me to make yourself feel better?" Lei started laughing, Jaelyn seeming to grow even angrier by her finding the situation humorous.

Lei sat down, still casually laughing. "Stepping to me about a trash ass nigga who cheats, if he cheated on me, what makes you think, he won't cheat on you? Smooth brain ass — logical thinking obviously isn't your forte, mama." she insulted her, Joziah and Keia trying to muffle their laughs.

A couple of girls finally walked over to their table, grabbing Jaelyn by the arms and pulling her away.

"Y'all shoulda been did that, how y'all let her embarrass herself for that long?" Joziah shook his head, stuffing a fry into his mouth.

Soon afterwards, the students in the café returned their attention back onto their own conversations, once they realized that the two girls weren't going to fight after all.

"You still should've beat her ass," Keia told Lei, grabbing her drink as she sat back down.

"What would that have done for me, Keia? Quickly," Lei folded her hands on the table, giving her a smug look.

"I'm sick of hoes trying you behind these niggas, they're taking your kindness for weakness." Keia shrugged, sipping from her cup, Joziah nodding in agreement. "They think because you're this nice person, that they can try you and get away wit' it. So, if I have to beat a hoe ass for you to let them know, you're not the one, then I will."

"Keia, I appreciate it, I do. But it's no use, I'm not putting my hands on anyone who doesn't put their hands on me first. And I don't want you to do it either," Lei pushed her empty plate towards Joziah, who was gathering their trash.

"Fine, but if I catch that hoe by myself, I can't promise you that I won't beat her ass." Keia stood to her feet, grabbing her backpack. Lei simply shook her head as she did the same, linking one arm with Keia's.

Siraj sat back in the booth, placing one of his hands on top of the table. Soleil sat across from him, sipping on the strawberry lemonade that the waiter had brought to their table not even five minutes ago.

Much earlier after Soleil arrived home, Siraj called her on his break and asked her on a date. It caught her by surprise, given that she hadn't been on a date since she dated Elias. Nonetheless, she gracefully accepted the invitation, figuring that he wanted to clear any other issues between them.

He arrived at her house around eight, after dropping Semaj off to Ximena's place. When he did, he surprised Soleil with a flower arrangement. In their earlier conversations from months ago, she mentioned that she liked tulips. As much as she hated that he was slightly winning her over already again, she couldn't help but to be flattered by the sweet gesture.

"I have to get used to seeing you wit' glasses." Lei laughed, a smirk now plastered on his face.

"I know man, I haven't wore these hoes in forever. It feels weird having them on my face, my contacts needa hurry up and get here." he replied, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"I mean you're still cute though," Lei shrugged, taking another sip of her drink.

"Preciate it," he grinned, she hummed in response as she started to move around in her seat, her eyes darting around the restaurant at other people as they passed by. Once again, he found himself in awe of how beautiful she was. The strands of curls fell in her face, the top of her hair was neatly wrapped into a bun as the bottom half fell behind and over her shoulders. Her braids complimented by the small, gold filigree tubes.

"Soleil?"

"Mhm,"

"What's the name of this hairstyle you got in?" he asked her.

She ripped her attention away from the bar and focused on him. "Boho braids," she told him, watching as he slowly nodded his head, licking over his lips.

"I like it, you look fire wit' it." he complimented her, the usual giddy smile stretching across her face.

"Thanks," she said looking away, beginning to shift in her seat as she could feel her cheeks flustering with heat. "So, how's Semaj?" she questioned him, wanting to change the subject.

"He straight, we talked to his teacher about what happened. She talked to the boy's parents and he apologized to Semaj." Raj explained, Lei nodding her head as she listened, continuing to slightly rock side to side.

"That's good, cause honestly I don't wanna have to put hands on any li'l bad ass kids bout my Dooda," Lei rolled her neck as Raj chuckled. "But nah, I'm glad that got straightened out."

"Yea'...he misses you. He was mad at me because I made you mad."

Lei turned her head to look him again, before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Really? I miss him, you can bring him by tomorrow," she said, seeing that their waiter was heading towards their table again, this time carrying their food.

"Bring him by?" Raj raised an eyebrow, wondering if she didn't need him to pick her up tomorrow. "Thank you," he thanked the waiter as he sat their food down in front of them.

"Did you guys shake the bag already?" Lei asked the waiter, wanting to make sure all of the sauce was on her seafood.

"No ma'am, would you like me to?" he tucked the tray under his arm, pointing at her seafood boil. She nodded her head, before he picked it up and began to shake it.

"Thank you," she smiled, undoing the loose knot on the plastic bag.

"Would you like me to shake yours as well?" The waiter turned towards Siraj, who had already opened his.

"Nah, I'm good, thanks." he said, grabbing the plastic gloves that the waiter had also put down on the table for them.

"Alright, enjoy your meal. Let me know if you need anything else."