Forever and a Day

chapter 15

“Who the hell is she?” -Danielle

Girl’s night in sleepover turned into a full weekend sleepover between the girls. Friday night they ended up talking about their relationships and work while watching movies. The conversation ended up with Sabriya telling the girls all about her wedding day and showing them the pictures that the random photographer took on the island. Brielle started telling them about her relationship with Kristopher and Shanice couldn’t help but laugh. Shanice explained to Brielle that she thought it was funny because she felt like Brielle was just settling for Kris. That comment made Brielle think and she didn’t know if the statement made by Shanice was true or not.

Saturday, Danielle and Brielle ended up sleeping until noontime, leaving Chloe, Sabriya and Shanice to hang around at Sabriya’s store for the day.

Chloe was leaving out of the bathroom when she saw a girl with dark blue Levi skinny jeans, a knitted red sweater and a pair of closed toe heels.

“I love your shoes. Where did you get them from?” Chloe said to the girl looking through the racks in Sabriya’s boutique.

“Oh, thank you. I got them from Macy’s. On sale for one hundred and five dollars.” The girl said looking at her 5-inch Tomato red Jessica Simpson shoes.

“What! I need to go check Macy’s out. I haven’t been there in so long.”

“Yes girl, when it comes to shoes, I can shop. I wish I could say the same about dresses,” the girl sighed while picking up one of Sabriya’s summer release dresses.

“Do you want help? I’m great when it comes to dressing and if you don’t like my style, my girl Shanice can always help.”

“Thank you. That should be good because I don’t know where to start,” the girl smiled.

“First off, summer time already passed so we need to get out of this section unless you’re trying to shop for next summer.”

“That is so true.”

“So what’s the occasion? Anything special?”

“My boyfriend is taking me to his friend’s birthday party.”

“Well I have some good choices for you, let me introduce you to my friends.

Chloe walked the unknown girl over to the counter where Shanice and Sabriya stood laughing. Shanice seen Chloe walking with the girl first and then tapped Sabriya to announce their arrival.

“Briya and Sha, I want y’all to meet somebody.”

“Hey, my name is Samara.”

“I’m Shanice, nice to meet you.”

“Sabriya. I love the shoes.”

“Thank you, nice to meet you too,” Samara said to Shanice and Chloe.

“Samara is looking for a dress to wear to her boyfriend’s friend party.”

“Do you know what kind of dress you want?”

“Nothing too fancy, nothing simple. Get where I’m going?” Sabriya asked.

“I’m not sure. I think he said next Saturday or Sunday.”

“Well I just got a shipment of my new designs if you want to try it out,” Sabriya offered.

“Oh my god. You’re the owner of Styles by S,” Samara said putting two and two together.

“Last time I checked,” Sabriya laughed.

“I love your clothes. I would love to try it out,” Samara smiled.

“Okay, give me a second to go in the back. Sha come help me pick out some options.”

Sabriya and Sha came back out with a handful of clothes after spending time looking in the back for some options for Samara to try on. There were around nine dresses each with different styles. Samara chose her favorite three dresses out of the bunch that Sabriya showed her. She instantly fell in love with the unique black dress that was long in the back and short in the front. Right in the middle of the back of the dress, there was a heart shape cut out surrounded by diamonds. She also loved the long sleeve plain blue dress. She figured either one of them dresses could be the perfect dress to wear on her outing with Kiyan until she seen a typical short turquoise party dress with three-fourth quarter sleeves. She knew she had the perfect shoes to go with each of the dresses but she just bought the cutest black bootie heels to go with the turquoise dress.

After spending around two hours in Styles by S boutique with the girls, Samara was satisfied with her purchases but she secretly wished she had friends like Shanice, Chloe and Sabriya. She wasted no time telling the girls how she felt.

“Y’all were cool to hang around,” Samara turned back to the girls.

“You were cool too because to be honest I can’t stand too many females,” Chloe spoke up.

“You look really familiar. Like I seen you somewhere before,” Samara said to Shanice.

“Really? I know I haven’t seen you before because I never forget a face.” Shanice responded.

“Yeah, I don’t know right now but you do look familiar.”

“I don’t get that too much unless it’s from a dude trying to spit game,” Sha laughed.

“I don’t know where I’ve seen you before but I’ll probably figure it out.”

Here take down my number just in case you need more dresses sometimes. I style people too.” Sabriya said before reciting her number for Samara.

“That’s awesome. I will definitely give you a call. I would love to hang out with y’all again.” Samara said.

“That’s cool. It’s two more people included in this crazy bunch, but they slept in this morning so you’ll get to meet them whenever we decide to go out.” Chloe said.

“Okay. Y’all can get my number from Sabriya and we can set something up. It was really nice to meet y’all.” Samara said.

“It was nice meeting you too. Come again.” Sabriya said as Samara walked out of the shop.

“So do you think Bri & Danni will like her?” Shanice spit out.

“Bri definitely, but Danni nobody will ever know until its time for them to meet,” Sabriya laughed.

~~~~~

One Week Later



Zo was running around for three weeks straight trying to get Shanice the perfect gift for her birthday. It was definitely hard because Shanice basically had everything she wanted. He promised her months ago that he would make her birthday one to remember if she helped him get Brielle and Kiyan together. Even though that never happened, he still had every intention on making this birthday a special one. Hiding stuff from Shanice was hard for Zo because he knew if he stopped coming around she would assume he was making surprise plans for her birthday and she would make sure she was always around him, so he got Brielle involved to help him.

Today was finally the day before Shanice’s birthday and he had something special up his sleeve. He was giving her a surprise dinner and he was going to make sure that all the couples attended and were prepared to be out all night to eat and then party for his girl’s birthday. Shanice was one of those people who put everybody before she put herself and Zo was going to make sure he returned the same feelings she had. He knew at this point in their relationship he wanted to make sure she was happy before he was happy. Shanice snuck in his life and captured his heart, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Zo was ready to take the next step in their relationship. He just hoped that Shanice wouldn’t think he was moving to fast. He put a lot of thought into her biggest gift and he hoped he wouldn’t have to return it. Brielle told him that she thought Shanice would love it but he wasn’t too sure because although Brielle and Shanice were best friends they both reacted to certain things differently.

While checking to make sure everything was perfect, Zo texted to make sure everything was on schedule with Brielle and the girls.

Zo: Is everything good on your end?

Brielle: Everything is good. We are all at my house getting ready to go out for the night.

Zo: Good! Does she suspect anything?

Brielle: Nothing at all. She just thinks it’s a normal night out with the girls.

Zo: Perfect. Her nosey ass done called me like four times asking what I was doing tonight.

Brielle: I know, lol. She was pissed that you weren’t answering your phone earlier.

Zo: I know she was. But I was making sure everything was in order and I had my phone in my jeans.

Brielle: It’s cool, we calmed her down. Lol.

Zo: Iight cool. What time is your boy getting here?

Brielle: I don’t even know. If he’s coming he should be there around 8.

Zo: If? But okay. I’ll be here. My boys are getting here around the same time.

Brielle: Cool.

Zo: Iight. Remember text me when y’all are leaving your house. That lets me know y’all are like 20 mins away from the place.

Brielle: Kk. I’ll text you.

Now that Brielle confirmed everything, Zo finally exhaled. He didn’t want anything to go wrong for her birthday because he knew that Shanice was working overtime to make sure his birthday was nothing less than perfect. He looked at his iced out Luxurman watch that Shanice helped him picked out and noticed that he only had about an hour before everything would start and was waiting for his boys and Kris to show up. He pulled out his ringing phone and saw that he had two unread text messages.

#1 Supporter: Hey babe. Just wanted you to know I’m going out with the girls tonight, but I’m coming to spend the night at your house when we leave. Wait up for me.

Ty: Aye brah, I know your going to kill me but something came up that I can’t get out of so I’m not going to make it to Sha’s party. I’ll explain everything when I see y’all. Give Sha a kiss for me and tell her I got her gift when I see her.

He smiled at Sha’s text and sighed at Ty’s text, then texted them both back.

Zo: Ok ma. I’ll be at the studio tonight, but I’ll be at my house way before you get there. Be safe and don’t get nobody hurt.

Zo: Ite man. You got some explaining to do and I’ll tell Sha when she gets here.



Just as Zo was about to walk out to his car, Cam, Kiyan and Samara walked in.

“Wassup boy,” Cam said.

“Supp man,” Zo said dapping Cam up.

“My boy,” Kiy smiled.

“Wassup man,” Zo responded back to Kiy.

“Hi you doing Alonzo,” Samara smiled.

“I’m good, wassup Samara,” Zo said answered while giving her a hug.

“Nothing much. Your boy here done rushed me to get dressed and then gone realize we were early when we got outside,” Samara said giving Kiyan the eye.

“I said my bad ma. I thought the text said get here at 7. I thought we were late,” Kiyan laughed.

“That’s good tho. I’m going to text and tell Bri that they could bring her early. Ty can’t make it, so we not waiting on anyone special. Kris should be here any minute if he’s coming but Bri wasn’t too sure.”

“Sayless, do you need help setting up anything?” Cam asked.

“Yeah man. Can you check and make sure they have the cake ready?” Zo said to Cam.

“Kiy, can you make sure they got the V.I.P. section at the club reserved for us? You got the number right?” Zo asked Kiyan.

“I got you.” Kiyan responded to Zo. “I’ll be back ma. Let me make this phone call outside.” He turned to Samara and said.

“Do your thing.” Samara answered back.

“Do you need me to help with anything Zo?” Samara smiled.

“Yeah, I want to show you something and tell what you think about it?” Zo said walking towards the front table.

Once Zo got to the front table he sent a quick text to Brielle telling her to meet him at the restaurant in about twenty minutes if they could. As Zo began to pull out the gifts that he bought Shanice, Hakeem walked in with a handful of gifts that he picked up from his house.

“You know these girls was gonna go crazy,” Hakeem said laughing at Zo.

“I knew they were gonna go crazy but damn. Did they leave anything at the mall for other people.”

“You think this is bad, there’s more. Kiy and Cam bringing the rest in,” Hakeem reveled to Zo.

“Damn, why would you let them go crazy?” Zo laughed.

“I didn’t they’ve been shopping for Shanice’s birthday for weeks now. Everyday something new was being delivered.”

“Oh my bad, Keem this is Samara. Samara this is Keem. Samara is Kiy’s girl.” Zo introduced the two.

“Nice to meet you. Has anybody ever told you that you look like quarterback Hakeem Jones?”

“I’ve heard that a lot seeing as how I am Hakeem Jones. Nice meeting you too.” Keem smiled.

“Oh my god! I love you man. Your like one of the best quarterbacks ever. My nephew makes sure I watch every game you play. You’re his role model.” Samara said.

“That’s wassup. Before the night is over, I’ll give you an autograph for your nephew.”

“That’s great.” Samara smiled.

“I love my fans, it’s not a problem. Just remind me before I leave.” Hakeem said before walking out to help Kiyan and Cam bring in the rest of the gifts.

Zo was finishing up with Samara when he got a text from Brielle.



Brielle: We are leaving my house, we’ll be there in 10 mins. Danni’s driving so I’ll text you when we’re outside.

Zo: Sayless. Come through the front side, all of our cars are in the back.

Brielle: Okay, cool. We’ll be there in a min.

Zo told Samara that she could go inside the bathroom and finish putting her make up on before his girlfriend and her friends came. He was going outside to help Hakeem, Kiy and Cam with the rest of Shanice’s gifts. Before they knew it, Zo was getting a text from Brielle telling him that they were about to pull up and come upstairs.

“Where Mara go?” Kiy asked.

“She’s in the bathroom. She said she had to finish getting ready.” Zo answered.

“She’s going to be in there for a while.” Kiyan laughed.

“Aren’t they always.” Hakeem joked.

“Who you telling?” Cam cosigned.

“Iight, they’re coming upstairs with her.” Zo said.

Thirty seconds later Brielle, Danni, Sabriya, Chloe came in first with Shanice complaining about the quietness in the restaurant. Before she knew it she heard someone say, “Damn, you just love to hear noise in a restaurant.”

She knew that voice anywhere and she smiled as Brielle and the girls stepped to the side so she could see her man.

“Surprise!” Zo, Cam, Keem, and Kiy smiled.

“Oh my god! Y’all set me up.” Shanice started crying.

“No, we surprised you,” Zo walked to her and kissed her.

“Thank y’all so much.” Shanice started hugging all of her friends.

“Anytime. Let me go get you some tissues.” Brielle said walking towards the bathroom.

As Brielle walked in, she saw the hottest bootie heels ever. She looked up and seen that the girl wearing the booties obviously had a lot of fashion sense because her turquoise dress was hot.

“I love your shoe,” Brielle said.

“Thank you. I just bought them.”

“Where did you get them from? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Girl no, I got them from Bakers.”

“Wow. I have to try them out. Those are hot.”

“Thank you.” Samara smiled.

“I love your dress too.” Brielle smiled.

“Thank you. I know the woman who designed it. She picked this out for me to wear.”

“She is obviously amazing. I love it.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Well it was nice meeting you. I only came in here for napkins,” Brielle said grabbing the napkins and walking out.

“Nice meeting you as well,” Samara went back to putting on her makeup.

Brielle walked out and handed Shanice the napkins. Shanice smiled and thanked her.

“Girl I just seen some chick in the bathroom with the baddest shoes and dress. We need to go to Bakers,” Brielle said the group of friends.

“Damn, could we get through tonight before y’all start talking about buying some more damn shoes.” Zo joked.

“Hush it. But thank you babe, I really appreciate you doing this for me.” Shanice said kissing Zo again.

Just as Brielle was about to respond, Kris walked through the door with his slacks, button up, and tie.

“This nigga could never dress regular,” Zo mumbled.

“Be nice,” Shanice said laughing.

“I guess man,” Zo said.

“Happy Birthday Shanice.” Kris said handing Shanice a card.

“Thank you Kris,” Shanice said hugging him loosely.

“Well let’s sit.” Zo said.

“Okay.” Shanice and the crew said walking over towards the table.

“Zo did you do this by yourself?” Shanice asked amazed.

“Yeah man. Brielle helped me set some stuff up.” Zo answered.

“Awe! I love it.”

Everyone sat coupled up, when everybody heard heels clicking behind them. Nobody paid it any attention until Samara sat down next to Kiyan.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” Samara said not making eye contact to anybody.

“Who the hell is she?” Danielle asked first.

“Oh my bad. Everybody this is,” Kiyan started.

“Samara!” Chloe, Shanice and Sabriya said at the same time.

“How do y’all know her?” Kiy asked.

“Yeah how do y’all know her and why is she here? I thought this was a private affair and everybody else wasn’t coming until we went to the club later,” Danielle said.

“Hi. I’m Samara. I’m Kiyan’s girlfriend.”

When Samara broke the news to everyone, all the girls dropped their forks and looked from Samara to Kiyan. Then from Kiyan and Brielle.

“Well, this is awkward.” Brielle said.

“Who are you telling,” Zo added.

“Mara, well you know Chloe, Shanice and Sabriya. This is Brielle, her boyfriend Kris, and Danielle.” Kiyan said while pointing to each person.

“Nice to meet y’all” Samara smiled.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Kris answered.

“Nice meeting you,” Brielle spoke up.

“Yeah, hello. How do y’all know her?” Danielle asked her friends.

“We met her last week at Styles by S?” Shanice spoke up.

“Last week when?” Kiyan asked.

“When she was obviously looking for a dress to wear tonight.” Chloe answered.

“What they said. I helped her pick out her dress.” Sabriya added.

“Well damn. Since when we don’t tell each other about new friends?” Danielle asked.

“Not now.” Brielle said.

“Why not? They know this girl by face and name, but didn’t even mention it,” Danielle responded.

“Danielle stop yo,” Cam said.

“Okay damn, I just wanted to know. Don’t shoot me for wanting answers about her. I was just asking.” Danielle rolled her eyes at Cam.

“Don’t start your shit Danielle. I mean it.” Cam said.

“I said I was done. Damn. Move on,” Danielle yelled.

“Well, maybe we should move on to gifts.” Zo said.

“Yeah, why don’t we start with that,” Hakeem smirked.

Zo got up from the table, grabbed Shanice and put her into the chair that Brielle decorated for her to open gifts. Shanice began opening up the gifts that her friends gave her. She received everything, bags from next season, shoes that were not being advertised, and money from the boys. Shanice was nearly in tears after opening all of her gifts.

“Thank y’all so much for my gifts. I really wasn’t expecting anything from anyone, but I ended up with everything. I really love y’all.” Shanice smiled.

“I got one more thing for you.” Zo said handing her three envelopes.

“What are these?” Shanice asked.

“Open them and find out. These are your gifts from me,” Zo smiled.

Shanice opened the first one and smiled when she seen that Zo gave her a couples spa day for them for the next day.

“Thank you! I can’t wait,” Shanice smiled.

She gave Zo the open envelope as she started opening the next one. She screamed, “Oh my god! Zo, you didn’t!”

“Yes I did.”

“He got me my 2012 Range Rover.” Shanice stood up and did her happy dance. She went over to Zo and gave him the biggest smile and kiss ever.

“Thank you baby,” Shanice said.

“Don’t thank me! Open your last gift.” Zo smiled.

Shanice gave Zo the open envelope and grabbed the last envelope from off the floor. She noticed that this envelope was thicker than each of the other envelopes. Zo was nervous because this was the gift that he was unsure of. This would determine the next step in their relationship. There were three cards stuck in one envelope.

“Can I read it out loud?” Shanice asked.

“Yeah, you can.” Zo smiled.

“First of all, Happy birthday ma! I love you more than I loved any female I’ve ever met. I know we’ve only been dating for five going on six months, but I feel like we’ve known each other for life. You proved to be more loyal than half of the dudes I surround myself with. You know that’s saying a lot since I trust everybody in my circle with my life. I would like to take our relationship to the next level, and if you’re with me than that’s all I’ll ever need.” Shanice read out loud.

“I’m with you,” Shanice said standing up and hugging Zo.

“Iight. If you’re with me then open the second envelope,” Zo responded.

When Shanice opened the second envelope she had the shock of her life. Then she dropped that envelope and grabbed the other one and ripped that open and began shuffling threw papers. When she got to the last page, she had nothing but tears in her eyes.

“Yes Zo! I will.” Shanice jumped in Zo’s arms.

“You will what?” Danielle gave them the side eye.

“Zo and I are moving in together. He bought us a huge house and I said yes.” Shanice smiled.

Everybody was happy for them. Shanice and Zo’s relationship went by fast and they knew that the love that Shanice and Zo had for each other was genuine and it could survive through anything but it was true love. Everyone was glad to see the two so happy and couldn’t wait to witness the journey between the two lovers.