Baby Mama Series {Samples Only}

Zeke and Sydney: Lovers or Friends Chapter 1

Sydney Adams stood in her store and observed the crowd picking and choosing different bouquets of flowers for their loved ones. It was Valentine's Day, one of the busiest days of the year for her. When she started her small business during her freshman year of college, she didn't expect it to be such a success. Her original goal was to make extra money. The goal changed after a productive summer of selling flowers from her home garden to classmates. At 19, she made the decision to leave college to open her store in a strip mall.

Her father was disappointed at first but four years later, he was now proud of his daughter, the business owner. Samuel Adams took the money he saved for her tuition and assisted her with the store. Sydney's store didn't only have flowers; she also sold gifts, merchandise, and gardening supplies to the community of Austin. Situated between a hair salon and a closed coffee shop, Sydney's Flowers and Gifts was a place that people often frequented.

On a typical day, Sydney was usually in her office, but today she was out on the floor assisting her crew and helping with the large amount of customers. Love was in the air, and she couldn't wait to leave work to spend time with her boyfriend Davis. They had a dinner date planned.

"Sydney!"

It was her older sister, Sierra. Sydney went over to where she was working on the cash register. "You called." Sierra thought she was the boss and ordered everyone around, including Sydney. She only worked at the store part time because she was in graduate school finishing her Master's degree. Her older brother Jonathan also pitched in on occasion.

"There's a customer that needs help selecting flowers for his date," she sassed while still cashing out other customers.

"Where is he?" Sydney asked, already looking around the store.

Sierra shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I told him to stay here by the register until I could get help, but he left." She stopped talking when another customer walked up. Sierra took the teenager's money and gave him the change. "You can't miss him, Syd. He's a sexy piece of chocolate dressed in a black suit," Sierra finished when the young teen left with his purchases.

Sydney walked away in search of the customer. There weren't many African Americans in the store and even fewer that were men. She knew that she'd located him when she saw a young man standing in front a selection of roses. Sydney agreed with Sierra; he was good looking. From a distance, she estimated that he was 6'1", maybe a little taller. He was medium built and carried a sense of power as he stood amongst the flowers in her store. She had never seen him before and wondered if he was a local or tourist.

She continued to watch as he grabbed a bouquet of roses. "Don't get those," she blurted out.

His head whipped around towards her direction. Brown eyes focused on her. "Why not?"

Sydney took a few steps to bridge the gap between them and removed the flowers from his hands. "Red roses symbolize love," she informed him. "If you're just trying to get a quick romp in the sheets, I think you should pick another bouquet."

The expression of surprise was plastered across his face. She realized that she shocked him with her honesty. "I didn't mean to get into your business, but I wanted to lend some advice. Women don't play around when it comes to Valentine's Day."

He slid his hands into his pockets and glanced at the arrangements of roses through the display case. "I thought roses were the perfect flowers for V-day," he stated, looking back towards her.

Sydney shrugged her shoulders. "They are if you're in love. My dad has given my mom roses for the last 30 years, but he's in love. Are you in love?" she asked directly.