IMANI’s POV

The universe was especially cruel to me. Always bringing to my mind the parts of my past that hurt me the most, that haunted me terribly.

But that part I craved to remember, was never revealed to me.

“Imani?”

I turned away from the window to face him, “Hm?”

“I said New York Times is requesting an interview this afternoon.” Justin repeated.

“They can send a representative in two days, after I’ve settled in.”

My phone buzzed with a message. I ignored it.

“I’m sure you’d love the penthouse, I made sure it was designed to our taste.” He spoke with pride.

I raised a brow, “Our?”

“You think you’d live in a penthouse and I won’t crash??”

“Get your own place.”

“What happened to best friends forever?” He said, his tone mock wounded.

“It doesn’t equate to turning my house to a whore house.” I deadpanned.

He gasped exaggeratedly, clutching his chest dramatically, “I would never!… when you’re home.” He giggled, breaking through his act.

I rolled my eyes, “You should stay with one of your ‘man’ friends. I’m sure they’d be happy to take you in.”

“Living with a partner is off limits. I’d rather not walk in on him sleeping with his ‘cousin’ in the middle of the night.” His voice carried a hint of bitterness.

“I doubt Peter has any cousins, or siblings; so incest is definitely off the table.”

His eyes saddened, “I don’t think hes interested in me.”

“Really? That’s odd.”

He shrugged, “He dropped me off at the hotel, and when I tried to kiss him, he turned away.”

“Maybe he was just nervous?”

“Nah… Ive experienced a lot of men in my life, and he’s one of those ‘straight’ men.”

“So you’re not meeting with him again?”

“Only when you’re in the picture.” He gave a small sad smile.

“And here I thought you’d fall in love and move to Paris–far away from me.”

He chuckled, “Unfortunately, you’re stuck with my phat ass for a while.”

My phone buzzed again in my hands. A notification popped in.

His eyes glanced at my screen and back to me, “Speaking of love, you’re seeing someone aren’t you?” His eyes danced with excitement.

I scoffed, “I don’t do love.”

“Well someone seems to want to do love with you.” He gestured to my phone.

“If that’s the case, then I feel sorry for him.” I deadpanned, my voice as cold as my heart.

“Since I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you admire any man, not to talk of having an emotional attachment to one.”

All my life, I’d only loved one person… and look where that got me. Look what it cost me.

“I’m too busy for that nonsense.” I said, my tone dismissive.

“If not for me, your life would be so boring.” He drawled.

“Your relationship drama is more than enough to satisfy me.” I retorted.

He cackled, “It could be a Netflix series at this point.”

“Maam, we’ve arrived.” The driver announced as we pulled up to the apartment building.

When we entered the building, a woman rushed towards us with wide eyes.

“Miss Rodriguez! It’s such an honor to meet you in person!!” She said excitedly, shaking my hand more aggressively than I had preferred.

“Cheryl… you can let go now.” Justin said, and her face flushed and she let go of my hand.

“I apologize… I’m just really excited.” She said nervously.

I gave her a small smile, “it’s okay, I hope the apartment would make me as excited.”

“Yes, ofcourse! Only the best of the best for you! Right this way.” She said, leading us to the elevator eagerly.

“I know it would be a long walk, but we could take the stairs if you’d like.” He whispered as we approached the elevator.

“I can handle a couple seconds in the elevator, don’t worry.” I smiled at him reassuringly.

As she opened the elevator, my heart beat quickened and my hands started to sweat.

“Cheryl, Miss Rodriguez has to take an important call right now, so we’ll meet you in a jiffy.” He said to her cordially.

“Oh, of course, I’ll check and make sure it’s spotless!” She rushed into the elevator.

Once the door closed, he spoke, “We’ll do it together, like old times.”

I couldn’t be more grateful for a friend like Justin.

I remembered when he first found out I was claustrophobic. It was my first year at Oxford, and I had accidentally locked myself in the store room.

I yelled and screamed, but it was after hours, I didn’t expect anyone to come to my aid.

But he broke in, and wrapped his arms around my trembling body huddled up in the corner.

And at that time, he didn’t even know me.

And since then, we’ve been inseparable.

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?”

“Yeah, like once every six months.” He murmured.

I snickered, as we walked into the elevator.

As the doors shut, his hand held mine tighter, like it was a way to show me that he was still here by my side.

I closed my eyes shut, and began to hum.

He hummed along, he knew the song by heart now. I sang his ear off every night in our dorm room.

He used to hate jazz. He still hates it, but this particular song stuck in his mind as much as it did in mine.

Another reason I loved him dearly.

Then the door opened, and we rushed out.

I took a deep breath to calm myself. “See? That was easy.” He said.

“Miss Rodriguez!!” Cheryl called out and hurried towards us.

“Someone would think she's the one getting the penthouse.” Justin muttered under his breath.

I chuckled, “Can you blame her though?”

“You would love the place!! It was carefully designed to your taste!” She gushed as she led us into the penthouse.

And she was right.

As she opened the dark wood tall double doors, I was impressed.

The walls were painted a melancholic shade of gray, and on the walls hung paintings I had shipped from Europe, adding a dash of color to the space.

The floor was tiled with dark onyx with accents of silver. A silver chandelier hung from the middle of the white ceiling, adding more sparkle to the tiles.

Across the living room was a wide balcony overlooking the chaotic New York City, I wondered how beautiful the sight would be at night.

“It’s beautiful Cheryl.” I complimented, pleased with the sight before me.

She squeeled, but composed herself quickly, “Only the best for you Miss Rodriguez.”

Then her phone rang, “I’d have to leave now, unfortunately. But if you have any complaints, don’t hesitate to call.”

I nodded, “Of course.”

She blushed and rushed out of the penthouse.

Once she shut the door, Justin collapsed into the dark velvet couch and stretched. “I’m definitely crashing here for a week.”

“You outdid yourself, Jay.” I said as I walked to the balcony, opening the sliding doors.

“Told you you’d like it.” He called out from the couch.

As I leaned against the balcony, my phone buzzed in my pocket again.

But when I saw the name on the screen, I could not ignore it.