be my guest

Skeptical

Ana laughed hard, adjusting her baby Leonard as he sucked on her n*****s. You could tell he was enjoying the pat and comfort of his mom's hands, he squeezed her breast harder with his cute tiny fingers and closed his eyes unbothered about his garrulous and inquisitive mother. I told her about what had happened at Tony's and all she had to do was laugh.

"Girl you know. . . He knows you were gonna say no"

"Right? He cannot have been that dumb to misunderstand what I said. . . Right?"

"Well, what I know is. . . You are engaged. . . Let me see your ring, it better not be cheap 'cause we gon' take it back. That’d be a damn good excuse” Ana Said, laughing hard again as she gestured. I show her the ring.

I walked closer to her and sat beside her on the couch. I placed my fingers on her palm, rolling my eyes. I didn't pay attention to the ring before, all I was thinking about was just how to get home and sleep and probably wake up realizing all of this is just a facade.

Ana's eyes bulged out when she saw the ring, then looked up at me saying "Girl, you sure he got you this ring?. . . Cause this looks expensive to me"

"I don't know, he was going on about being at an auction."

"An auction?!. . ." Ana squeals, making her baby jolt awake. He starts crying. The yell probably scared him, Ana ignored him patting his back more as he fixed her breast in his mouth without looking down at him. "Where he got the money to buy a damn ring from an auction, Nadia?"

"Ana stops scaring Leonard, and I don't know. . . Tony's parents are rich, but he hardly talks about them and says he doesn't need them or anything, he just gets weird when it comes to his family, but he gets his allowance."

"Allowance?"

"They still treat him like a child. . . One of the reasons why he can't stand them"

"And you've met his family?"

"No. . . Why would I do that Ana. . . It's a s relationship"

"Girl it's 2024. . . Folks get married after a three-month relationship. . . That ain't an excuse, you just don't like the nigga"

"Doesn't change the fact that it'd be stupid to get married early without knowing your partners so well, that's exactly why six months of marriage leads to divorce."

"True that" Ana Said, turning to Leonard who was now asleep, she kissed his forehead and gently stood up placing him inside his crib bumper gently and quietly.

"I still want that out of my apartment, Tony thought I had a baby the first time he came here and so will an if I have another guest"

"Girl you only have, Tony, me, Larry, and your coffee girl, which other guest be coming in here" she said stressing the word "guest". "And I always be at your place, you subscribe every month and you know I work at home, Joel goes to school, and Bryan's never home. . . You just gotta get it that we are roommates and I need your wifi for work".

"Your apartment is way better than mine. . . Ana, how did we even get here? I can't remember" Ana chuckled sauntering into my kitchen to fix herself her weight loss smoothie with my fruits.

And I was lying, I do remember how we became friends, I was in my apartment, enjoying my favorite series on Netflix when she knocked on my door, she smiled at me as I opened my door and said "O my God. . . You is so damn beautiful", I smiled remembering how that had made me laugh hard.

She asked me if she could connect to my wifi and that it was urgent she would lose her contract, her payment had elapsed, and she was at a meeting and couldn't cut it off. Ana finished her meeting at my place uncannily and then started talking to me about her son Joel as at that time Leonard was still in her belly.

It became a habit and here we are. "I was captivated by your divine beauty". Ana yelled from the kitchen.

I laughed, that's definitely why I hardly allowed her in my house. She was the best joker I had ever met. We became so close it was as though we had been best friends since high school.

I reached for my TV remote on my center table and turned it on. My living room is like an empty hallway with paintings. I love art. I have a few paintings on my wall, I have my cushion chair opposite my TV and the center table in the middle, Leonard's crib bumper disrupting my living room at the other end and my room is right behind the kitchen. My apartment is set with a Brown and white theme which I admire so much.

I heard Ana squeal in the kitchen, it startled me so much that it seemed like I had been sleeping and not watching the movie that was on. I rushed over to the kitchen and saw her staring into an open cupboard.

"What?" I snapped at her and then she turned to me frowning hard.

"I don't get you and your damn black cat, what the hell is it doing in there?" Ana berated. My shoulders fell as I rolled my eyes and sauntered closer to her whilst shaking my head. I saw Chase crouched by the side of my plates in the cupboard and staring with his rage eyes at Ana, I smiled and reached for him as he let out a cry, it's a habit, and that's his best spot.

"I don't get you two really. . . One time you're close and the next you guys are enemies"

"That cat stole my food yesterday"

"No he didn't Ana stop being dramatic, and call him Chase," I said after walking out of the kitchen with Chase in my hands while he played with my clothes, scratching on them.

I sat back on the couch and while doing that I heard a notification sound come from my phone and reached for it, it was Tony texting to check up on me whilst asking about Chase, I wanted to reply to him when Larry's call came in.

"Nadia I'm in deep s**t!" Larry yelled out frustratingly.

"Hey well hello to you Larry. . . What happened?" I replied to him, he seemed to be outside as it was quite noisy at his end.

"I'm gonna lose my dream, Nadia, they're gonna sell the building for the company and the buyer wants us to evacuate"

"What?!".