The Single Life with Zola Patterson - Danielle Allen Page 0,2

tired of the tall, lanky man who lived next door. It wasn’t that we didn’t get along. He just always had something extra to say.

“Zola, Zola, Zola,” Darius greeted me.

“Hello,” I sighed, walking toward my end unit.

“I have a question.” He fell into step with me. “At the open house, you said you were a writer?”

“I am.”

“Well, Ciara looked you up after you told us we were being too loud last week.” He shook his head, letting out an amused sound under his breath.

“Why was your girlfriend looking me up?” I wondered, my lip curling slightly.

I hated nosey neighbors.

He continued as though I hadn’t asked him a question. “First thing she clicked on was a dick sucking article.” He shook his head, working hard to stay in my peripheral vision. “So, you write about sucking dick?!”

I stopped in my tracks and looked directly at him. He was loud, purposely trying to embarrass me.

What he didn’t know was that I didn’t embarrass easily.

And the way the thin walls were set up, I could hear Darius and his girlfriend fighting all the time. He didn’t want to start with me.

“Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it, Darius,” I warned as I turned my key to unlock my loft.

He chuckled lightly as he stood a few steps behind me. “Am I wrong? Was that not you giving dick sucking tips? Are you not the slob on my knob queen?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” I told him.

“Your mom probably stayed praying in church that you wouldn’t be for the streets. And your dad—”

I spun around and my eyes narrowed. “We can go back and forth all day,” I interrupted through clenched teeth. “But if you ever bring up my father, for any reason, under any circumstances, I will make sure you regret it. Do I make myself clear?”

The amusement drained from his face as he took a step back. “Yo… I didn’t mean no harm—”

I slammed the door.

With my eyes closed, I took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly. I lived my life openly and honestly, but I didn’t talk about my father—not to anyone outside of my family and closest friends. I definitely didn’t talk to random nosey neighbors that I’d known for all of a month about him. Just hearing Darius mention my father made my blood boil.

Clearing my head, I walked further into my new space. My heels clicked on the concrete floors as I headed to the back of my home. Walking into my office, I envisioned how it would look when it was done. The glass desk, the writing chair, the floating bookshelves were modern. The black leather chairs with matching chaise lounge were old school. But once my artwork adorned the walls, my writing cave would be complete.

It was impossible for me to work in an incomplete office.

Grabbing my planner from my desk, I jotted down the thoughts I had while I was driving. In ten days, surrounded by friends and family, I was going to be celebrating the fact that I was publishing my first book.

“This party is going to be insane,” I sang to myself as I left the spacious office and headed to my bedroom.

I stripped out of my clothes and put on the most comfortable pair of sweatpants. With my laptop positioned on my lap, and my feet kicked up on the coffee table, I started going through the emails I’d received for my blog. I had only gotten through four emails when my phone rang.

“Hello?” I answered in a sing-song voice.

“He apologized,” Kia started, jumping back into the conversation.

I reclined back on the couch. “What did he say?”

“The normal bullshit,” she sighed. “He’s sorry. They aren’t happy. He’s leaving her. Blah blah blah.”

“And what did you say?”

“I told him that he should leave her… because like me, she deserves better than some lying asshole for a boyfriend. And then I hung up.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Nice! What happened next?”

“He called back four times before I answered again. He wanted to talk in person. He said he would come over with my favorite food and after I ate, he would eat me until I forgave him. Said I wouldn’t have to do anything but sit back and be serviced.” She scoffed. “I told him that he should’ve been doing that from the beginning anyway and hung up! Now he’s blocked!”

I laughed. “Well, good! He deserves it.” I paused for a second. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. A little disappointed, but