ISABELLA

      I strolled through Bal Harbour and went from store to store buying things that I didn't need but had the desire to own. In less than two hours I'd earned a name for myself in the exclusive shopping area and I was quite sure that the stores were working together seeing as after the third store, the sales associates greeted me by name and a smile. The guy who'd waited on me in Graff all but walked me out of the store as he thought about the commission he'd be getting off of my sale. Diamonds were a girl's best friend and with the assistance of the centurion American Express card my parents gifted me with on my sixteenth birthday, I'd done some serious damage at Graff, Harry Winston, and Tiffany's and bought myself quite a few best friends.

      I clutched my bags securely, I had several million dollars worth of gems on me and I wasn't trying to get robbed, before heading in Giuseppe Zanotti to upgrade my shoe collection. It was well after six o'clock by the time I got back home and I was feeling a lot better. A quick stop at the Bal Harbour Bistro to pick up some dinner was made before I headed home.

      I was in the process of hanging my new clothes in the closet when the house phone rang. This time I checked the caller-id before answering. I didn't recognize the number but it was a 305 area code so I picked up with a polite hello.

      "Isabella?" a female voice asked.

      "Speaking," I replied simply wondering who it was. Not too many people I knew had my home number "And you are?"

      "It's Ciara; I met you a couple of weeks ago remember?" the female voice said over the line.

      "Yeah," I replied with recognition. "What's up?"

      "I've seen you around campus a couple of times and wanted to invite you to the AKA party my sisters and I are throwing tonight," she replied.

      "Isn't that usually just for sorority members?" I asked her.

      "Normally but I'm sponsoring you," she replied.

      "Um sure. When do I have to be ready?" I asked her.

      "Is an hour good for you?" she asked me.

      "Perfect," I replied before ending the call and heading into the shower to cleanse myself.

CIARA

      I slid out of the driver's seat of my car, careful as to not expose myself courtesy of the black and white mini dress I'd decided to wear. The platformed pumps encasing my feet elevated me an extra four and a half inches and I was feeling like a million bucks. The doorman gave me an appreciative look and I gave him a small smile as I walked into Omari's apartment building and headed over to the bank of elevators so I could make the ride to his floor. When I arrived at the correct floor, I made my way out of the elevator and promptly rang the doorbell. Shortly after the door opened and Isabella ushered me inside before closing and locking the door behind me.

      Isabella stood across from me with her dark hair pulled back into a neat low ponytail that was a serious contrast to her white fitted v-neck top and low riding white jeans. A beautiful white pearl and diamond encrusted chain belt fell loosely around her hips while a pair of silver reptile print ankle boots I'd just ordered from Neiman Marcus covered her feet. The red-ish bronze and silver flecked eye shadow along with her metallic blue liner was done perfectly and made her blue eyes pop while the semi sheer caramel colored gloss added a luxe shine to her lips.

      "It took me a little longer than expected to get ready," she started, "give me about five more minutes and I'll be ready to go. Help yourself to something to drink."

      I told her I was fine and would be waiting for her in the living room when she was ready. While she was off in, what I assumed was her bedroom, I turned on the TV and flicked through the channels to find something that would occupy my time. As luck would have it my favorite video, 50 Cent's Candy Shop, was playing as I stopped on Much Music and I watched it as I waited for Isabella to rejoin me.

      As soon as the video went off Isabella reemerged from the back with a pair of amazing diamond double tear drop shaped earrings falling from her ears while a heart shaped black and white diamond pendant graced her neck and fell in the space of her plunging neckline. She shrugged on her light silver jacket, causing the precious stones on her wrist and right ring finger to flash in the light before ushering me over to the door.

      "Those earrings are beautiful girl," I told her honestly as we rode the elevator down to the lobby.

      "Thank you. I just bought them today," she replied with a smile before asking me if she was a little underdressed.

      "No you're perfectly fine," I told her before leading her over to my car.

      It was a twenty minute drive to get to the sorority house and you could hear the loud music blasting as soon as you pulled up to the street. I parked in an empty spot three houses down before walking aside Isabella to the house. Once we were inside of the house, I made quick introductions with some of my friends and made sure she was comfortable before mingling a bit.

OMARI

      I was at Charlie's waiting for my order when I heard someone call me. I turned around to see Mario, a guy I'd went to college with, walking over with a pretty female on his arm. Once he was close enough we gave each other a pound and he went about giving introductions.

      "O this is my girl Trish. Trish this is my boy Omari," he started.

      "It's nice to meet you," she replied with a smile and offered me her hand. I took it and shook it before asking Mario what he'd been up to.

      "Working man. You know my company was commissioned to build the new Hard Rock hotel and it's been hell getting everything done in the time they allotted," he replied simply. "So what brings you to Nevada?"

      "Business. I'm trying to get everything done so I can get back home," I mentioned honestly as I sipped on the beer I'd ordered when I first entered the restaurant.

      "Why the rush? You should stay for a while. We can hit a couple hot spots...make it a real visit," Mario started.

      "Nah, I can't. I promised my wife-"

      "Wife?" Mario asked shocked. "You're married?"

      "Why you gotta say it like that?" I asked.

      "You were the dude always spouting how you weren't even going to start thinking about marriage until you hit your thirties. What happened?"

      "Things change," I replied simply as my order was called. "I got to go but hit me up the next time you're in Miami." I exchanged small pleasantries with his girl as to not make her feel uncomfortable before I went to pick up my order and head back to the hotel.

ISABELLA

      It was a little after two in the morning when Ciara drove me home. When she'd first left me to my own devices I 'd been a little uncomfortable but after a couple of shots of tequila I got comfortable and just began to have fun. The DJ that had been hired had been on his job and had been spinning hit after hit all night.

      "Did you have fun?" Ciara asked me as she sped a bit and switched lanes.

      "Yes, thanks for inviting me," I told her sincerely as I leaned back against the soft leather of her seats.

      "No problem. Linda really likes you," she mentioned.

      "She was the one with the short haircut and purple highlights?" I asked. I remembered because Linda was really working the color and, oddly enough, it didn't look crazy on her.

      "Yeah," Ciara replied.

      "Well she was nice," I replied with a shrug as I thought over the small conversation I'd had with the woman.

      "Let me know if you ever decide to pledge," Ciara replied as she parked in front of my building.

      "I will," I told her with a smile before climbing out of her car and entered the building.

OMARI

      It was around six o'clock in the evening and I paused the motion of unlocking the door when I heard the light sound of music coming from the apartment. I knew that it was blasting throughout the house if I could hear it outside. I shook my head and pushed the door open to hear Ray Lavender and Fabolous's remix to My Girl Got a Girlfriend playing loudly over my sound system while Isabella was dancing in the middle of the living room and singing loudly...and off key.

      I quietly locked the door, placed my bags off to the side, and leaned back to watch her. It took everything in me not to laugh loudly when she stopped dancing, looked straight, and then leaned back and snapped hard. When the song morphed into Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing I realized that it was a personal mix. Isabella began to slowly wind her hips while she waved her hands in the air and tried to scat like the woman on the record. When she mimicked Young Jeezy's hah-hahs I couldn't hold my amusement in and fell out laughing.

      She spun around and her mouth dropped in shock. When realization hit she sucked her teeth and pouted while she grabbed the remote and turned the music down so that I could hear her when she told me I sucked.

      "Don't be mad baby," I told her as I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her.

      "Don't touch me," she replied still pouting.

      "You mad at me baby?" I asked her before swirling my tongue around the sensitive spot behind her ear.

      "Yes..." she hissed.

      "Why? It's not my fault you can't sing," I told her with a giggle as she slapped my chest.

      "Aight, remember that when you want me to cook."

      "Don't be like that," I told her and she gave me an amused look before plopping down the couch and patting the seat beside her.

      "How was your trip?" she asked me as she began to run her fingers lightly through my scalp once I placed my head in her lap.

      "Work. I ran into an old friend of mine though. How was your little Omari vacation?" I asked.

      She shrugged and said, "It was alright. I got some work done, went shopping, and went out with Ciara."

      "Ciara? I didn't know the two of you spoke like that," I started, not that I minded, I was just surprised.

      "We don't but she called and asked me if I wanted to go out. I wasn't doing anything so I figured I might as well," was her response.

      "How was that Econ test?" I asked her when I remembered that she'd been studying extra hard for that.

      "I got an eighty-nine so I'm happy," she replied with a giggle.

      "You hungry baby?" I asked her after a moment of comfortable silence.

      "I can eat," she replied simply.

      "Aight, why don't you go put something on so we can go?" I asked her.

      She nodded and gently lifted my head so she could get up and headed to our bedroom so she could put on something she'd actually be able to wear outside because those small cotton boy shorts and white tank wasn't doing it.

ISABELLA

      It was the last week of classes and because the semester was coming to a close all of the professors were giving out finals. I'd completed my microeconomics final earlier on in the day and had already submitted my ten pages of brilliance on the parallels of poetry in medicine for my last English paper. It was an hour before my accounting final so I was in the library doing some last minute studying when my phone rang. A couple of students snapped their head at me and I mouthed sorry as I quickly made my way to the stairwell so that I could answer the phone without disturbing anyone.

      "Hello?" I asked lightly as I took a seat on one of the stairs.

      "Bella," the masculine voice belonging to my father started. My stomach tied in knots and anything I thought to say froze in my throat. "Bella?"

      "Yes?" I finally got out.

      "Listen, I know that you're angry at your mother and I but we'd really like to see you."

      "I hadn't planned to fly to New York and it is the holiday season so-"

      "We're already in Miami," he said interrupting me.

      "So what would you have done if I told you I didn't want to see you?" I asked him a bit put out.

      "We'd stop by anyway. We really need to talk to you," was his response.

      I shook my head at his honest response and sighed before saying, "I can meet you at your hotel around four."

      "Great," was his energetic response. "Your mother and I are at the Four Seasons. We're in suite 1402."

      "I have to go daddy. I have a final to take," I replied before ending the call and thinking over what I'd just agreed to. After a moment I left the stairwell and headed back into the library, this time with my phone on vibrate, and hoped that I'd made the right decision.