TRIALS&TRIBULATIONS|TUPAC.

ONE.

ADRIENNE.

'girl hang that phone up.' i spoke loudly over the music that played in my shop. my receptionist and one of my best friends, trina rolled her eyes at me.

'adri, i am trying to get the spill about what happened on sally lastnight.' she shoo'd me off, continuing on with her conversation.

the other women in the shop greeted me as i passed through and made my way to my own special booth. even though this is my shop & some people feel the owner should just be giving out orders, i enjoy opening my books from time to time and catching up with some of my day one clients.

'how many heads i have today?' i asked naomi, whom sat in the chair next to me, looking exhausted.

'just about three. one comes in, in a few minutes.' she began before yawning. 'adr, i am so tired. darius kept me up all night trying to start an argument with me. then my first client was a no call no show.' she rambled on. 'tuh, i could have been home in my bed right now.' she complained.

'look at the bright side, naomi.' i spoke, as i prepped my station. 'you get to come in and see my beautiful face.' i smiled, looking down at her as she slumped in her seat.

she smacked her lips causing me to laugh. 'anyways, what's going on with darius?' i questioned, my eyes looked over at the clock, seeing i had about ten minutes to spare before my first head of the day came walking through the doors.

'he was trying to start with me because he thinks i was flirting with the cashier at the gas station.' a laugh escaped my lips as she continued on. 'like girl what the fuck can i do with a cashier ? not a damn thing!' she spoke loudly.

'y'all are just so bad for each other it doesn't make any sense.' i told her, shaking my head.

'i know, but adrienne...the sex is just so good and when things are going good between us, it's perfect.' she spoke, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

before i could comment, trina made her way over to us. 'damn, you need to hire somebody to sweep all this hair up. braiding hair stuck to my shoes and shit.' she spoke, rolling her eyes .

'that's all y'all have to offer each other is what? sex?' i asked naomi, who looked at me with saddened eyes.

'atleast she getting some consistently.' trina commented, causing me to throw my hand up. 'look, y'all be setting me up on these weak ass blind dates. y'all know i hate those. all those guys aren't even my type.' i said, defending myself.

'you're just picky.' naomi said, before sticking her tongue out at me.

'you can never be too picky when it comes to your love life.' i sighed, putting my hair into a ponytail to prepare for my client.

'shit, says the person with a non existent one.' trina mumbled, causing me to side eye her.

//

i unlocked the front door to my loft & tossed my duffle bag onto the floor. i quickly slid my shoes off, sighing loudly. the house was quiet and dimly lit, the air smelled of my favorite scent, my ocean breeze aerosol spray.

sometimes coming home to an empty and dark house can be upsetting. i am fulfilled in every other aspect of my life, except for that one. i just can't seem the find the right guy for me.

there was one guy though. we dated for about six months before i found out that he was secretly married and had an entire family back home in some chicago suburb. after that relationship, i couldn't bring myself to talk to another man. that's the ultimate betrayal, being married with kids, tuh.

my bestfriends have been there for me every step of the way, even if i haven't liked how they approached the situation at times. like the terrible and reckless blind dates they'd often set up for me. i was beginning to lose hope for love and my chances of finding love were looking very slim.

i ran myself a hot bath and soaked in it for about thirty minutes as sat in my own thoughts. a glass of wine wasn't far from my side as my chest began to fill heavy. before i knew it, my eyes filled with tears and i couldn't get them to stop.

when will i be able to share my life and love with somebody who deserves it ?

//

naomi walked from around the island of my kitchen and made her way into the living room. she sat down on the couch next to trina and i and handed up the bowl of popcorn. we sat up watching waiting to exhale on dvd.

'hold on, this the best part!' trina shouted as troy turned around and faced robin as she stood on the patio. 'you raggedy bitch!' she shouted at the same time as him.

naomi and i bursted out laughing, almost knocking the bowl of popcorn over onto the living room rug.

'of course that would be your favorite part.' the laughter died down as i wiped my eyes.

'hell yes.' she began, grabbing a handful of popcorn. 'i like his character, he was unapologetically himself!'

'you just like his character because he's a wild one.' naomi joked, shaking her head.

'maybe that too.' trina smirked. she reached for the remote and paused the movie.

'no, whatchu' doing?!' i asked, eyebrows furrowed together.

she licked her lips and looked at me. 'okay so i know you hate blind dates and everything so i've decided to give up and let you find a man on your own.'

'oh wow.' i smiled. 'thank you for letting me have that liberty.' i spoke sarcastically causing for naomi to snicker.

'no, seriously...' trina began. 'it's an all white party and they're going to be a lot of eligible men there and you can just have your pick, girl.'

'yes, just have at it. plus darius and rico gon' be there.' naomi commented, winking at trina.

trina stuck her finger in her mouth, making a gagging noise.

my face scrunched up at the action. 'please, rico and darius? if they're in attendance i know for a fact there won't be any men my type there.' i scoffed, rolling my eyes.

'please, just come with us! even if you don't find a man it can be a break from work.' trina begged, placing both of her hands together.

i stared at her with out an expression until she started to bat her big eyes at me.

'ugh fine!' i gave in, causing for her and naomi to clap and squeal loudly.

i laughed softly before speaking. 'y'all are like some big babies. can we turn the movie back on now?!'