Hey... it's me FINALLY AAHH 😩 I really do apologize for making yall wait. School has taken over my entire life this semester, which sucks because I can barely find the time to write.
I appreciate yall checking up on me and sending me sweet messages. Yall are always so patient with me, which is why I love you guys sm🩷🩷🩷🩷
How are you guys doing though? Y'all good?
Ok, let's read 😈😈😈
5 MONTHS LATER
Chicago, IL📍
Saturday, December 10th
3pm
"Well Ms. Ross- this building here has been on sale for about 2 months now. The sellers have been going back and forth with potential buyers for the property."
Keeping her hands stuffed into her coat pockets, Kaliyah found herself standing in front of a huge commercial building downtown. She was with a real estate agent, about to get a quick tour.
"This was built recently back in 2020. The owners originally wanted to do something with it, but they ended up having to relocate to a different city unexpectedly- which is why the property is up for sale now."
The real estate agent went on while motioning for Kaliyah to follow her inside. The two walked through the huge double glass doors, before being met with a beautiful interior. It was like a big warehouse with a loft-style type space. The walls were tall and wide, with large windows that let in a lot of natural lighting.
Walking further in, Kaliyah admired the wide floor plan with no walls dividing the area. The ceilings were high, giving the whole place a sense of openness and freedom. She couldn't help but think how this spot would be perfect for renting out to different hair techs who could utilize this space for their clients.
The ideas in her head were running wild.
"The building size is about 2,180 square feet. Everything as far as the design of the building is fairly up to date-"
"How much is this going for again?"
Kaliyah spoke up, interrupting her. She chewed the inside of her cheek, anticipating hearing the price. These past 5 months, Kaliyah had to dip into her savings account to help fund her father's kidney transplant, which he was finally able to get after being wait-listed.
Although the long awaited procedure did set her back financially, Kaliyah was just happy that Lorenzo was out of the hospital and back to his normal health. Of course, she knew that she had to work extra hard now to come up with the money for whatever price she was about to hear-
"This property is going for $700k flat. It was originally $1,400,000- but the sellers did cut that original number in half as an attempt to sell the place quicker."
Kaliyah breathed in deeply, hearing that number ringing in her head. She was nowhere near 700k quite yet in her savings, but she felt like it was possible for her to get that money. It would probably take her a while, where she would have to either pick up a few more shifts at the clinic downtown, or the strip club.
Thinking about that began to discourage her.
"Okay... are there any potential offers from other buyers right now?"
She questioned.
"Not at the moment. A lot of our buyers dropped out due to the pricing. So far, you're the only one that has toured and expressed interest in this place."
*15 minutes later*
Finding herself in the drivers seat of her car, Kaliyah had her foot on the gas while cruising down the busy street. Her fingers tapped against the wheel as she was deep in thought about everything.
These last few months seemed to have flown by so fast. She was already done with the fall semester, which meant she would be graduating in a few days. Getting her business degree was all she ever wanted, and Kaliyah was proud of herself on how hard she had worked.
She was also proud of the fact that Lorenzo was finally out of the hospital after spending all those months waiting for a kidney transplant. She couldn't help but feel like things were slowly falling into place. Even with the financial set backs, Kaliyah knew that she would eventually figure something out.
Her phone began to buzz on her lap catching her attention. She glanced down at it, seeing Dayvon's contact name pop up. Kaliyah's lips curled into a smile, switching her focus back onto the road as she pulled the car into her apartment complex. She reached over with her free hand, sliding her finger across the screen to answer his call.
"Heyyyyyy Von."
She cheesed.
"Watchu on beautiful."
His voice spoke, sounding like music to her ears. Kaliyah could already feel her cheeks turning warm, just off of his sweet compliments alone. She knew she had to contain herself though, only because at this time Dayvon and Kaliyah were just friends. Nothing more.
"How did tha tour go? You like tha building?"
He questioned.
Even though they both agreed to keep things platonic, that didn't stop them from talking to each other practically every single day. There was no denying the great chemistry the two had.
"It was amazing. That building has so much potential Von. It's everything I dreamed about."
Kaliyah gushed. She made sure to kill the engine of her car before hopping out. Her bag slung heavily over her shoulders, just as she strolled through the parking lot.
"Everything you dreamed about huh? Sounds like you really love it."
He chuckled.
"I do. Im hoping nobody else buys it before I can. I asked the sellers if they could hold it for me just for a little while--"
"Watchu mean hold it fa you? How much is it?"
"Unt unt, Von. Don't even start with that."
Kaliyah playfully rolled her eyes. She could hear him sucking his teeth through the phone as she entered inside her apartment building. Von has always known about Kaliyah's dreams of starting her own business. He knew how much she wanted to become her own boss and make her own money. He also knew how she wanted to do everything on her own without any help at all- and that frustrated him.
Von knew he had the money, and that he could speed up the process of making her dreams come true. He just wanted to see Kaliyah happy. He cared about her deeply; even though they were just friends, he still loved her.
"Ion understand why you can't tell me how much it is..."
He pressed. She just giggled a little, making her way up towards the elevators.
"That's none of your business Von."
She teased.
"How it's none of my business? Ain't we friends n shit? Don't friends tell each other everything?"
Kaliyah could only feel herself laughing as the sarcasm oozed off his words. It was clear that Von did not want to be just friends with her at all. He wanted to be more than that. But he also knew that Kaliyah didn't trust him all the way. With that being said, Von had been trying his best to prove to her that he could change and be better just for her.
"Friends don't always share everything with each other. Besides, its nothing you need to worry about."
Kaliyah finally made it to her floor, walking down the long hallway that lead to her apartment door. In the distance, her eyes spotted something sitting neatly at her doorstep- which only made her frown. These last 5 months, Leilani ended up finally moving out of Kaliyah's place, and getting her own apartment. So whatever this was couldn't have been hers.
Did I order something?
She thought quietly to herself.
"You know sum, I could easily get you that building. That way youn' gotta worry about working extra shifts at tha club, or tha clinic. In fact, I ca' have you quit yo job right nie and kick start yo business plan-"
Von kept going, just as Kaliyah got closer to her door. She could see the mysterious item that was sitting at her doorstep was actually a huge bouquet of roses. There was also a single balloon attached to the roses which swayed side to side lightly.
"But yo ass wanna be so stubborn n' get shit on yo own. Ion understand you sometimes Kaliyah."
She kneeled down, picking up the flowers. There was a small note tucked neatly inside the bouquet, with the letter D on the front. Seeing that letter just made Kaliyah inwardly roll her eyes.
"Duke..."
She mumbled, right before entering inside her apartment.
"Is you even listening ta' me, Kaliyah?"
Von questioned. Kaliyah made sure to lock the door behind her before strolling her way in.
"Uhh, you said something about me being stubborn?"
She let her bag hit the ground before entering into the kitchen. She placed the flowers onto the counter, picking out the card so she could read it. She hadn't physically seen Duke in a while, but that didn't mean he left her alone completely. Here and there she would receive all types of roses, flowers, boxes of chocolate or small gifts from him.
To be quite honest, Kaliyah didn't like it at all. If anything, she viewed this as some form of harassment from her ex. She didn't know how many times she needed to tell Duke that she was completely done with him; although Duke simply did not care. He was clearly trying to do everything in his power to win Kaliyah back.
And Kaliyah wanted no parts of this at all.
"Yeah, you stubborn as hell. Shit be driving me crazy."
Dayvon pointed.
"Not it drives you crazy."
She giggled. She still had the phone to her ears as she made the short distance to her room.
"Yeah Kaliyah, you be driving me crazy. You already know this though."
He playfully snickered.
"You been good though? How's yo day been? Did you eat? Do I gotta send you sum uber eats a'sum?"
He went on with his usual slew of questions. Kaliyah just couldn't stop smiling as she crashed onto her bed.
"You ask a lot of questions, Vonnn."
She giggled.
"Yeah, Im jus' tryna make sure you good lil folks."
Kaliyah could feel a warm sensation just taking over her body as she laid down on her back. She put her phone to rest on her chest, switching the call to speaker. Kaliyah couldn't deny that she was still very much in love with Von. These last few months, her feelings for him had done nothing but grown even more.
The only thing she did struggle with was trusting him. That seemed to be the only thing holding her back from fully being with him. She knew that Von had a lot of work to do when it came to himself. So for now, keeping him in the friend zone just seemed to be better this way, at least according to her.
"Well enough about me, Von. How's your day been out there in Atlanta?"
She let her finger twirl around a single strand of her locs, listening as he talked.
"Its been aiight. I been in the studio all day, working on a few songs fa this album."
"Oh yeah? Let me hear some."
She snickered, nibbling at her bottom lip.
"Funny you say that. You got any plans tonight?"
He suddenly questioned.
"Plans? I don't think so. But why does that matter?"
She curiously raised her eyebrows. She could hear him shuffling through the phone a bit.
"Because, Im finna come see you tonight."
He revealed. Kaliyah could feel herself getting excited, yet she didn't want to show it too much. She hadn't physically seen Von in weeks, since they both had been so busy with their lives.
"No way are you flying in from Atlanta tonight, just to see me."
She pointed.
"I feel like you be forgetting who you dealing wit, Kali."
He stated.
"Well maybe I did forget who I'm dealing with. You might just need to remind me, Von."
Kaliyah slickly spoke, with a hint of lust in her tone. She truly didn't mean to be flirting with him like this, but she just couldn't help herself. She could hear him let out a deep laugh, her mind imagining the smirk probably plastered all over his handsome face right about now.
"Aw yeah?"
He cooed.
"Don't test me Ma. You know how this will end."
"Hmm, I don't think I know what you're talking about, Von."
She continued to play with him.
Closing the knob to the shower head off, Kaliyah grabbed a fresh towel, wrapping it around her wet body. She stepped out the tub, her feet padding against the floor as she exited the bathroom. She treaded her way back into her room, making it straight to her makeup desk. There, she began shuffling through her products, getting through her nightly routine.
Usually Kaliyah would do a simple lotion, deodorant, with a few pimple patches all over her face to call it a night. But since Von was coming over, she found herself going all out.
She took out her body oil, which smelled nothing short of sweet vanilla. She also grabbed her Miss Dior perfume, making sure to spray it in all the sweet spots of her body.
Am I planning on fucking this man tonight??? No!
She scoffed quietly to herself. Yet, she still kept going. She took a seat right in front of the mirror, trying to decide what she wanted to do with her locs. She chewed at her bottom lip, picking up the edge brush to tame down her edges.
Her hair had grown a few inches these past few months. They were nearly reaching the ends of her back. Loving the look of how long they were, Kaliyah decided to just keep them that way. Besides, Von loved it whenever she had her locs out like this.
Ugh. Me and him are just friends, remember?!
Kaliyah couldn't deny the constant battle she kept having within herself about her feelings towards Von. Deep down, she wanted him to be all hers. She wanted to be his one and only; but she felt like he wasn't capable of commitment.
These last fews months, Kaliyah couldn't help but wonder if Von was still messing around with other women or not. Part of her didn't want to care about that. I mean, it's his life. He's single, which means he can do whatever he pleases.
But he did say that he was in love with you. Remember that, Kaliyah?
The voice in her head kept going. Kaliyah had made herself believe that there was no way Von could still possibly love her, let alone if he really ever did at all. She kept viewing him to be this womanizer that knew how to talk his way into some pussy.
Plus, even if he did love me, I probably ruined it all by friend zoning him.
She let out a slight sigh, feeling satisfied with how she looked. Hopping up from the chair, Kaliyah made her way to the closet to look for some cute pajamas to wear. Even after all those feelings of doubting and not trusting Von, she still found herself wanting to impress him. There was no denying the feelings that she had for this man. He was the only guy she saw in her eyes, and nobody else.
Maybe I should start back dating other men, just to get my mind off Von.
She thought.
The idea of dating right now seemed exhausting. The dating pool wasn't necessarily the best thing these days, especially here in Chicago. In fact, it was actually so bad, some may even say you are better off being single. Save yourself the heartbreak, and just love yourself.
But Kaliyah knew it was way more complicated than that, simply because she was already in love with Dayvon...
Later that night
Sinking deeply into the couch with her legs tucked up against her chest, Kaliyah found herself occupied with a movie she was watching on Netflix. It was called Waves. The movie was very melancholy, making her feel slightly sad as her eyes were glued to the screen. She was so engulfed with what she was watching, she hadn't even realized her phone buzzing on the coffee table in front of her.
It flashed a few times, catching her attention finally. She leaned over, Von immediately flooding her brain before picking up the phone. He had sent her a text, telling her that he was right outside her door. She scrunched her face slightly, wondering why he didn't just use the spare key that she had given him months ago when they were messing with each other.
Maybe he got rid of it, seeing as though I did friend zone him.
Hopping up from the couch, Kaliyah slipped her feet into a pair of fuzzy plane house slippers before trudging her way down the hall. She could feel her heart racing as she got closer to the door. Just the thought of Von being here right now after not physically seeing him as much was driving her insane. She was nervous.
They had seen each other a couple of times after their mini break up a few months back, but never did they hang out like this. She didn't blame him for falling back from her at all though, only because this is technically what she wanted. Just a simple platonic relationship between me and him.
Is this really what I want though?
Brushing her thoughts away, she reached over, twisting the lock before opening up the door. Her eyes immediately landed on Von, who was standing right in front of her. His sweet cologne scent which she desperately missed all these months came running through her nose. He always smelled so expensive and good. Her eyes boarded into those familiar brown ones as she looked up at him.
She could feel her own heart skipping a beat with the way he was gazing down at her. He had a small grin, his tongue rubbing against his bottom lip slightly. His locs hung perfectly, decorating the sides of his handsome face. Everything about this man just screamed perfect.
Kaliyah was just hoping that she didn't fold tonight.
______________________
Everyone in the last chapter was saying that Kaliyah should date other men, and have Von feeling sick to his stomach lol.
We'll see about that.