Preseason Love Read Free Page B

We both wanted a drastic change. She found a job and moved into temporary housing a month before my arrival, so naturally she did all of the research in finding a suitable apartment for us to share. Althoughour plan was to live in Manhattan, it was crazy expensive, so she found what she described as the best place she’d seen in her hunt for an apartment…right across the river…in New Jersey.
    My Los Angeles apartment was a spacious studio in Beverly Hills that I lucked up on through a friend. I had not lived with a roommate in years. It was going to be interesting to see how things would work since past roommate situations had always ended in drama. My fingers were crossed. Regardless, I was about to embark on the biggest journey of my life, and I was quickly approaching Dev and our new place.
    The cab driver zoomed down a street lined with apartments and homes on one side and the Hudson River flanked by the Manhattan skyline on the other side. I had a sudden urge to squeal with excitement. This was hot! I felt like I was in Sex in the City except on the other side of the river. I was going to be living in an apartment with a view of Manhattan. It couldn’t get much better.
    While I was busy daydreaming out the window, the driver hit a sharp left turn, then a quick right, causing me to slide to the right of the backseat along with the vision of my fantasy apartment. We were no longer on the skyline street. He pulled up to a new-looking building with a top-to-bottom brick finish. I glanced down at my paper— 1721 , it had to be my new home. I got out of the yellow cab and pushed the buzzer. I heard Dev’s voice. “Who is it?”
    Like she was expecting a ton of people at that time of night.
    â€œIt’s me.”
    â€œHey, girl! Do you need help?” Dev yelled through the intercom.
    â€œUh yeah, that would be nice, boo!”
    While waiting for Dev, I paid the cabby and he swiftly took off,leaving me standing on the curb with all of my belongings. I felt like Eddie Murphy in Coming to America.
    Dev finally made her way outside, and we dragged my body bags into our new apartment.
    The building had an inviting atmosphere. Neutral-colored, tile floors in the entryway, a fresh coat of warm, yellow paint on the walls and black iron accents along the corridor leading to our apartment door. From the looks of things, Dev had made a good selection—not that I ever doubted her taste.
    Once inside, I realized that we really had lucked up. The apartment had stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and it even included a finished basement with a private patio and an additional bathroom. The spot was sick. I roamed around in awe. I quickly began to take mental notes in preparation for the sassy decor of my new boudoir.
    A brand-new city, brand-new apartment, brand-new furniture—at that moment standing in my new space, my completely empty oasis, I decided that this would be the start of a brand-new me.
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    â€œWhat’s in the pile over there?” Dev asked, as I flipped through clothes that were still in a suitcase.
    â€œNothing cute enough,” I said. I was in search of a jazzy outfit for the evening.
    â€œYou’re trippin’.” Dev rolled her eyes and left me sitting on my bedroom floor surrounded by clothes.
    Lucky for me, I had been blessed by the gods with the best-of-both-worlds: nice, firm breasts and a well-proportioned derrière. However, picking out the clothes that would hug my curves could sometimes cause a dilemma because I was indecisive when it cameto fashions. But once they hit my five-foot-eight frame, they would always fit like a glove.
    I glanced at the pile that Dev had pointed to. It was steadily growing in height next to my window. There wasn’t a single thing that caught my eye. We were on our way to a cover party for Vibe magazine and I needed to make a statement with my outfit. After all, this