...
When Zen, Samara, and Lovie arrived at the house Samara had to take a quick deep breath. She told herself that everything was going to be fine. If she was going to get through this week in one piece she had to believe that. Samara grabbed her luggage out of the trunk and followed Zen up the path to the house with Lovie close on her heels. Zen eagerly unlocked the door and yelled out that she was home as she stepped inside. When the Adams walked out to the foyer they were both equally shocked to see Lovie and excited to see Samara. They didn't know who to greet first.
"Oh my goodness! Lovie!" Imani beamed as she rushed over to hug her.
"Hi Mrs. Adams!" she said hugging her back.
"What are you doing here?! How long has it been?"
"Five years if you can believe it," she grinned.
"Really? That long?" Lovie nodded her head yes. Imani took a step back to look at her. "You look amazing!"
Mr. Zayne smiled at Samara and embraced her lovingly. "Hey baby girl. It's always so good to see you."
"Hey Mr. Zayne!" she said in a cheery tone. "How you doing?" she asked sweetly.
"Oh, I'm doing good," he smiled. "How was your flight?"
"It was quick," Samara laughed. "You know I was happy about that!"
"Oh yeah," he chuckled, "I know how you get on planes. I still remember that story you told us," he laughed.
Imani walked over to Samara and cut in the conversation like she always did, though it never seemed to bother Zayne or Samara. "Daughter!" she said in a sing-song voice. "I'm so happy that you're here. Zay is gonna be so excited to see you," she hugged.
"Aw. Thanks ma," Samara grinned. Lovie sort of raised her brow in question of Samara's familiarity with the Adams. How'd they get to be so close? she wondered.
Imani looked over at Zayne. "Hey, baby. Can you take Sam's bags up to her room?"
"Yeah babe," he said without question, but before he did he made sure to greet Lovie as well. "It's so good to see you Lovie! How's your parents? We haven't spoken to them in a while."
"They're doing really well. They're in town too. We'll be at my grandparents house all week. I'll tell them you asked for them."
"Thank you. They're more than welcome to stop by. Your grandparents too!"
"Great! I'll be sure to let them know," Lovie beamed.
"Sounds good," Zayne said as he grabbed Samara's bag.
"So, ladies," Imani interjected, "Zay stepped out for a little bit. He should be back shortly. He's somewhere with Diem and nem. Y'all can just make yourself comfortable." Imani looked around the room. "I don't know where that daughter of mine ran off too," she mumbled, "but anyway I have some fresh baked cookies on the stove. Y'all're more than welcome to help yourself to those or whatever else is in the kitchen. I gotta make a quick run to the supermarket, so we'll catch up a little later on."
"Thank you Mrs. Adams."
"Thanks Ma. You know I'm bouta to go grab me one," Samara smiled.
"Girl grab a couple. I'll probably make some more later," Imani said grabbing up her things. "Y'all I'm headed out!" she yelled out to Zayne and Zen. "I should be back in about an hour. Text me if y'all need anything from the store!" The word okay was heard shouted out from two different parts of the house. "I'll see y'all later," Imani said to the girls, her voice now lowered. She gently tapped Lovie and Samara's arm and headed out the door.
When Mrs. Imani was gone Samara was the first to head off to the kitchen and Lovie was the first to speak up.
"So," Lovie said entering into the kitchen after Samara, "Zay doesn't know that you're here?"
"No. I'm here as a surprise. Zen and their parents set this up for him," she smiled.
"Well. That was nice. Did they fly you out too?" she asked sarcastically.
"Actually, they did," Samara said biting into a cookie. Her face lit up. "Damn these cookies are good. Girl, you gotta try these," she said to Lovie.
"I'm good," she said quickly dismissing her. "So that was awfully nice of them to pay for your flight. I know tickets can get really expensive around the holiday depending on where you're from or where you're traveling to. So, where are you from?" she pried.
Samara almost laughed at Lovie's ignorance. She didn't know her from a can of paint, but was blatantly trying to suggest that she couldn't afford to pay for her own plane ticket. In the midst of this it seemed that Lovie was trying to wrap her head around why the Adams would take the liberty of doing something nice for Samara. God forbid she came to the conclusion that they actually liked her. "I'm from McLean, Virginia," she smiled, "and you'd be pleased to know that I never had to "get it" out the mud as my two, very black ass, parents are affluent in their community and do quite well for themselves."
"Oh. How nice for you," she said looking Samara over. "You seem really proud about that. That must be a big accomplishment for your parents."
"My money doesn't need to be flashy in order to prove that it exist, so cut the shit," she said reading the look of disbelief on Lovie's face. Samara sat down on the stool behind her and checked the time on her phone. She did not want to spend another second with Lovie.
"Sweetie, why are you so hostile? I was just asking you a question. Trynna make conversation."
"No you weren't. You've been silently judging me from the moment you saw me. I'm not blind. I caught all the side-eyes and the shade. It's clear that you feel threatened by me."
"Girl please. Threatened where? You ain't got nothing I want."
"Oh, on the contrary, boo. I think I do and we both know what or should I say who it is. So woman up and stop acting like you clueless. Your bougie ass trynna put on this good girl act when baby I already sniffed you out. So what's up?"
Lovie looked at her and smiled. "I knew it. I knew it'd be just a matter of time before you revealed that you had feelings for Zay," she laughed. "Listen. You may think you got him with that best friend shit because you see him more than I do, but I already had him. I was his first and he was mine. Nothing can break our bond."
Samara laughed. "You would think, but it's funny what distance can do."
"Well to your point," Lovie smiled, "he hasn't seen me in five years. One look at me and he'll remember what he had to give up. You're right. It is funny what distance can do."
Samara gave a light chuckle. "You know what," she said standing up. "This is ridiculous. I'm not about to do this with you. I'm not your competition—" Lovie cut her off.
"—Uh, what about me gives you the idea that you could ever compete with me?" she smiled. "Zay is meant to be with me and it'll only take him two seconds to realize that, not three years. That is how long y'all've been friends right?" she smirked. Lovie brushed past her and walked out of the kitchen. Conveniently for her, when she reached the foyer Zay was just coming in with a few of his friends.
"Hey handsome," she said greeting him at the front door. "Long time no see!" From the kitchen Samara rolled her eyes.
"Yooo! Lovie?! Oh my goodness. What are you doing here!" From what Samara could tell he sounded thrilled to see her. She sat back down on the stool feeling completely unprepared for where this Christmas week was headed. While Zay caught up with Lovie in the foyer, Zay's friends started heading towards the kitchen. Samara could hear their footfalls from where she sat. When they walked in they were surprised to see a new face, as they already knew Lovie from high school. Since Diem was the only one who knew her he spoke up first.
"Sam? Oh snap," he grinned. "What are you doing here?" he questioned. "Did Zay know you were coming?" He smiled and hugged her.
"Hey D! I got flewed out," she laughed. "He has no idea."
"Wow," he grinned. "He gon' be so siked to see you." He looked around the kitchen. "Let me introduce you to everybody real quick. "This is Tre, Mark, Adam, Shawn, and Jay." He pointed to each one. "Everybody this is Sam," Diem said pointing to her.
"Hey y'all. What's up?" she waved. Each guy greeted her from around the kitchen and in a matter of seconds started to make friendly conversation with her. In the foyer Zen made an appearance.
"Hey Zay," she greeted, as she joined Lovie and Zay at the front entrance.
"What's up Zenobia?" he said playfully jabbing her arm. Zen playfully rolled her eyes and shoved him.
"Anyway," she laughed, "Sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but me and the parentals did a thing for you a few weeks ago," she started.
"For me? Really?" Zay smiled.
"Mmhm," Zen said nodding her head, "and I believe your surprise is in the kitchen. Right Lovie," Zen said turning to her. Lovie tried to hide her annoyance. She did not want to be a part of this.
"I believe so," she said giving a quick smile in Zen's direction.
Zay grinned. "Dang. Y'all really trynna spoil me. Y'all don't think Lovie was surprise enough?" he laughed.
"Boy please. She was a surprise, but she wasn't your surprise," she said walking towards the kitchen. "I ran into her at the mall earlier and invited her over so we could catch up." Lovie tried to hide her disappointment at Zen's comment. Even though she knew Zen was right she thought it would've been nice for Zen to go along with it. After all, what made her less qualified to be Zay's Christmas surprise? She was the one he hadn't seen in five years, not Samara. He just saw her two weeks ago.
"I mean, but I am still pretty shocked," Zay laughed as he playfully nudged Lovie. Lovie blushed and nudged him back. Now that's more like it, she thought. When Zay walked into the kitchen after Zen he stopped in his tracks with the biggest grin on his face. Seeing Samara sitting on the bar stool caused his whole world to stop so much so, that as he looked at her he found himself mesmerized by her brown beauty. Before his eyes could reveal his true feelings for her, he snapped out of the trance she had him in. He walked over to her prepared to hug his friend, but in all of his excitement, pulled her up into his arms. It caught Samara off guard, prompting her to squeal his name. "Zaaay!" she giggled as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hugged his neck. Being so close to him made Samara's heart flutter, but the eyes watching her brought her back to reality. She wished that she could fully relish in their intimate embrace, but knew that while in his arms she had to push her feelings aside.
"Oh my goodness. Mar," he mumbled into her neck. "What're you doin' here girl?" For a brief second he gingerly inhaled the faint smell of her perfume. She was wearing the scent he loved: Versace Bright Crystal. "I just talked to you this morning," he said lifting his head, "Why you ain't tell me you was coming," he said as he looked at her. Samara's legs began to unwrap themselves from Zay's waist and in a matter of seconds she was standing in front of him looking up at those sweet brown eyes.
"Because it was a surprise dufus." Samara laughed causing Zay to laugh too. "So. Are you surprised?" she asked him.
"Hell yeah!" he said huskily with a smile that would not go away. He looked around the kitchen. "Have you met everybody yet?"
"Yeah. Diem introduced me while you were talking to Lovie," she said smiling in her direction.
"Dang forreal," he smiled. "Thanks D!" His friends shook their heads and laughed at his excitement. "Y'all. I'm sorry," Zay said addressing them. He couldn't stop smiling. "I had to go crazy for my girl. This is my best friend Samara, but all the cool people just call her Sam."
"Except you," Diem teased.
"Well that's because I have best friend privileges. I can call her Mar or Sammy like her family do, but y'all can't," he laughed. "I 'ont wantchy'all gettin' too comfortable." He looked at Samara again and cheesed at her. "So how long you staying?"
"How long do you want me to stay?" she smiled.
"You didn't book a flight back yet?" he grinned.
Samara smiled and shook her head. "No." Zay was so excited that he walked over to Zen and hugged her.
"I know this was all your idea. Thank you," he said sincerely.
"You're welcome," she smiled back. "I figured she'd be just what you needed to get you in the Christmas spirit." Zen looked over at Samara and winked.
