Page 8 of So This Is Love

“And I understand that, you know I do but working with Essence can be the first step to that,” Morgan says. “Allow you to come back slowly before diving in.”

I shake my head. “No. I want to do it on my own, on my own terms.”

Morgan stares at my face. I’m not sure what she’s trying to see but she must find it because she looks back down at her iPad and continues on with the next thing on her agenda for us to discuss. We continue on, talking through each item on Morgan’s list until we reach the real thing that brought me back to Chicago to begin with.

“Have you talked with Tristan about Oasis?” Morgan asks.

“Yeah we talked before I got on the plane today. He said that everything went as expected, we have all the inspections done and the liquor license. The contractors are finishing up the last few things, but we’re still set to open in two weeks.”

“Perfect,” Morgan replies, scribbling notes into her iPad. “I’ll coordinate with his assistant about all the finer details.”

I nod in agreement.

“Aye y’all almost done over there? A nigga gettin hungry,” Xavier says from the other end of the table.

Morgan and I both burst out laughing at Xavier’s interruption. X loves him some food and is always down for a meal.

“You can’t go two hours without food Xavier,” Morgan says, rolling her eyes.

Xavier dramatically rubs his belly and grins at her. “I’m a big boy Morgan.”

Morgan rolls her eyes again and picks up her bag to pack up her things. “I don’t have anything else to discuss, I have your flight set for after the opening of Oasis but let me know if you want to change the date to spend more time with your family.”

“I don’t think I’m going back to LA.”

Morgan pauses packing her bag and looks up at me. “So you really just came here to make my life difficult today, huh?”

I crack a smile at her comment. “Nah never that, Mo. I haven’t spent more than a few days or weeks here since I was 19. Maybe it’s time for me to come home.”

“And when did you decide this?”

“Right now,” I reply with a sheepish smile.

Morgan picks up her phone and starts typing away. “Okay, I will cancel your flight but I’m assuming you would need to go back at least once to get some of your stuff. And I will also get started on finding you a long term rental.”

“Thank you, Mo. You’re a lifesaver.”

“Mmhmm,” she replies, waving me off. “Just remember all the life saving I do when you wanna swipe that black card on something. I like handbags and I wear a size 8.”

We both laugh but I silently make a note in my head to send her something nice once all of this is done. Morgan takes good care of me so I don’t mind going the extra mile for her.

4

Laila

I only make ita few steps into the loft before I pull off my heels and leave them right there by the front door. I hang my purse on the hook and pad into the kitchen, turning on lights as I go since Zara isn’t home yet. Zara and I have lived together since we were freshmen in college, first in the dorms and then in some really shitty off campus apartments. Now we live in a gorgeous loft that has everything we were looking for: modern updates, open floor plan, close to the train, and floor to ceiling windows with a pretty view.

In my room, I take off the clothes I wore to work in favor of something more comfortable. I pull on a pair of pajama pants and go into my closet in search of a hoodie. With work being so busy, I haven’t kept up with laundry so a lot of the hangers are empty. I shuffle through my remaining hoodies until my eyes land on the one that’s been in the back of my closet unworn for the past three years. Impulsively, I slide the hoodie off the velvet hanger and pull it over my head to put it on. It doesn’t smell like him anymore but the buttery softness of the fabric is still the same.

I’m not sure why I even kept it for so long since seeing Sonny again was never something I even thought would happen. Hell, seeing Sonny the first time was something that wasn’t supposed to have happened.

My stomach grumbles, bringing me out of my thoughts and reminding me that I haven’t eaten since the late lunch I took at work. I leave my bedroom and go to the kitchen in search of food. I take a quick glance through the fridge and cabinets and come up empty for anything that wouldn’t require way more effort than I’m willing to put in right now.

Looks like I’m definitely ordering something.

I grab a handful of Oreos to snack on as I lean against the counter and scroll through my food delivery apps. Tacos from a local restaurant is ultimately what I decide on and I start to place my order when I hear the jingling of Zara’s keys at our front door.

“Heyyy!” Zara calls out as she walks into the kitchen.

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