City Love (NEW 2024 - Black Love Story)

Seven

At the rooftop party:

Tanya's phone buzzed with a text from Daniel:

Daniel: Hey Tan, I'm on my way to the rooftop. Heard Alesha's going on holiday. Imma stop by to say bye to Alesha. See you soon!😉

Tanya's heart raced. She needed to handle this carefully. She glanced over at Alesha, who was chatting away, oblivious to the impending complication. Tanya quickly turned to Shanay, who was chatting with one of Leon's friends at the bar.

"Shanay, Alesha, can you come with me for a sec? Ladies room please!," Tanya said, trying to sound casual but failing to hide her anxiety.

Shanay raised an eyebrow.. without question, the girls followed her to the ladies' room. Tanya's voice dropped to a whisper. "Daniel's on his way. He's coming to say 'bye' to Alesha, but if he sees me with Leon, things could get messy."

Shanay frowned, understanding the dilemma. "So what's the plan? You want to duck out before he gets here, or..."

"We definitely gotta bounce." Alesha replied as she thought of Tanya's sticky situation.

Tanya sighed. "I think we should tell Leon and his boys that Al needs help packing. That way, we can leave before Daniel arrives. It's better than trying to explain things on the spot."

Shanay nodded in agreement. "Alright, let's do it."
They returned to the party, and Tanya approached Leon and his friends with a forced smile. "Hey guys, Alesha's got a lot of packing to do, and we need to head out to help her."

Alesha nodded

Leon, curious, raised an eyebrow. "Oh, that sucks. You sure you don't want to stay for another 10mins?"
"I wish. But my sis here has an early flight and her boyfriend is coming to pick her up, in the morning." Tanya pointed to her best friend. Technically, it was the truth.

"Well it was great bumping in to you, Hopefully I get to see you again" Leon smiled flashing his one dimple. Tanya and Leon hugged for a long 5 seconds.
"Text me." Tanya winked.
"Aight, pretty." Leon released from the hug.
Shanay and Trey shared a hug saying goodbye. "Bye Leon, bye yall!" Alesha waved as the girls collected their bags and hurried out. 

Before they could leave, Alesha needed to say goodbye to her boyfriend and let him know she needed to pack for their holiday. Her boyfriend reminded her that their flight was at 11am. He he hugged her letting her know he was going to stay an hour longer since he was already packed for his birthday trip. The rooftop party was for him as an early birthday surprise from his friends.

As Tanya and Shanay waited by the exit, Daniel and his friends arrived. They spotted Tanya and Shanay at the door.

Daniel called out, "Hey, you leaving? I was just stopping by to see you and the girls. Heard Alesha's going on holiday. Where's she at?"

Alesha joined them, ready to head out. She noticed Daniel with his crew by the door.

Daniel said to Alesha, "Enjoy your trip, have a drink for me!"

Alesha responded with a smile, "Thanks, I will," and gave him a friendly hug.

Daniel then hugged Shanay and Tanya before entering the rooftop. As the girls headed out, Daniel shouted, "I'mma text you!" and added, "Ladies, get home safe, aight!"

The girls responded in unison, shouting back, "Bye, Daniel!"

Luckily for LaTanya, Daniel and Leon didn't cross paths, sparing her from an awkward situation. As she walked away, she felt her heart racing at the thought of what might have happened if they had seen each other. The night could've taken a very different ooturn, and she knew it was only a matter of time before things got even more complicated."

....

As the morning light slid through Alesha's curtains, the room was straight chaos—clothes everywhere, shoes tossed around, a half empty hand luggage and 1  over-packed open suitcase spilling over. Alesha was in the middle of deciding between two swimsuits when Tanya's phone dinged loud enough to grab everyone's attention.

"Who hittin' you up this early?" Shanay asked, side-eyeing the phone. Whilst sat on the suitcase she struggled to close.

Tanya peeked at the screen and saw Leon's name. "It's Leon."

Leon: Good morning 😉... are you free later today to grab a bite?

Shanay's eyebrows shot up. "Okaaay, Miss Tanya! What's he talkin' 'bout?"
"He wants to grab a bite later," Tanya said, feeling a little shy.

Alesha dropped her jewellery and turned around, grinning like she just heard the juiciest tea. "Girl, you better text him back right now! Ain't no time to play."

But Tanya hesitated, her mind drifting back to last night. " I mean, last night was cool and all, but yo... Daniel just popping up like that? It could've been a whole mess. What if things get messy?"

Alesha wasn't having it. She plopped down next to Tanya, her voice full of sisterly advice. "Listen, Tan, Daniel's old news. You deserve to have some fun, and Leon? He's got potential..."

Shanay jumped in, nodding like she was dropping wisdom. "Facts. You can't let Daniel mess up your headspace. If you like Leon, give him a shot. Ain't nobody rushing you into anything serious, just see where it goes."

Tanya let out a deep breath, the truth in their words starting to hit. She started typing a reply to Leon but paused, thinking about what could go wrong.

"But what if Daniel finds out and starts acting a fool? Y'all know how he is." Tanya sighed.
Alesha rolled her eyes. "Daniel's gotta grow up, sis. He's still in party mode, and you can see whoever the hell you want. Period."

"Exactly!" Shanay agreed, her tone all serious. "This ain't even that deep. Y'all just grabbing some food, no biggie. You'll never know what's up if you don't try."

Tanya thought about it for a sec, then took a deep breath ans started typing. 

Tanya: Good morning to you too, I'm down. What time you thinkin?😋

Leon: 3pm 😉. @LeGratin. Hope you like French food!

Instantly, Tanya felt a mix of excitement and nerves bubbled up inside.

"Yaaas, that's what I'm talking about!" Alesha cheered, hopping up to dive back into her packing. "Now let's finish up before my man gets here! We got 10mins... and youuu need to hurry home and get cute for your little date."

"It's not a date, Alesha." Tanya corrected her.

Shanay and Alesha couldn't help but laugh "Mhmm." They replied in unison.

Tanya felt a weight lift off her shoulders. Maybe this was the start of something fresh, something that wasn't tangled up in Daniel's random adventures. And for once, she felt ready to see where it might take her.