From My Best Friend.

Self Care

She repulsed as the beams from the window struck her eyes, shielding them with her palm as she sat herself up. She groaned, letting out a deep sigh before picking up her phone.

"The meeting went well.", "I hope you get better sleep than I do, I am pooped.", texts from Eden read.

"I know you're home today, I hope you locked all the doors last night, this lazy girl.", "I am having fun here actually.", "A package is coming in for you this morning, I don't know what it is either, so don't bother asking. Love you and take care.", Katherine's texts read.

Kara dropped her phone, mind noting to reply later.

~

"I am beat, " Kara said as she closed her laptop and left it to charge after five hours of work. She kicked her legs off the bed, placing her feet in her slippers. She stood, letting out a loud grunt as she stretched her legs and back, hearing her stomach rumble, wondering where this delivery man was as she made her way downstairs to whip up something to eat that wasn't fruit. She decided on eggs, toast, and bacon with a cup of tea, always the best option for a lazy lunch, breakfast technically.

It was 3 pm and the delivery man had still not gotten there, she sighed. As she was on her phone answering a few messages, the doorbell rang twice. She let out a loud groan, annoyed, getting up to answer the door, luckily she was still downstairs to answer.

"Kara Taylor?" the young-looking delivery man asked as she opened the door.

She leaned on the door frame, analyzing him with a puzzled look on her face as she squinted her eyes because of the sun.

She nodded, "Of course," He handed the very big gift bag to her before walking back to his motorcycle.

She used her ass to close the door behind her with the bag in both her arms, trying not to drop it because of how heavy it was, "I wonder what this is."

She sat on the couch and analyzed the bag. Inside contained a few boxes with a note that read 'I hope you like it' taking a wild guess who it might have been, a wide smile appeared across her face.

The boxes contained sets of both silver and gold jewelry of two different designs each including watches and anklets, the most beautiful pair of silver heels she had ever laid her eyes on, and the best quality of a well-tailored black elegant mini dress.

"Let's test this baby out!" she said as she tried on the dress and heels together. She posed, admiring her reflection, she loved how everything looked on her, it was the perfect look with a very wonderful texture on her skin. She took it all off, not wanting to get sweat or anything on it, glancing over at her ringing phone as she arranged everything back into their respective boxes.

"You are indeed something," she said, supporting the phone with her shoulder as she wore her clothes and arranged the gifts.

"It's the least I could do. I'm sorry I couldn't give you in person, I actually just got back in town."

"You left yesterday, how are you back already?"

"I only had meetings there yesterday, I have things to do here of course. No rest for a man like me."

"How about you come over tonight, I could treat you to dinner, casually of course," Kara said, not thinking of her actions.

"I mean if you insist and if it won't be much trouble for you. I could use some homemade food of course."

"Of course not, you have my address already. Actually, Katherine's address but still. You can be here by 9 if possible," she said, twirling her hair with her back on the couch like a brainwashed teenager.

"I'll be over by 9, Kara. See you then."

"I'll see you then," Kara said before she hung up.

She buried her face in her hands in the realization of what she had just done and the consequences that might come with it. The cooking of a full-course meal wasn't exactly what she planned for her free day. She ran her palms over her face, knowing there was absolutely nothing she could do about it anyway, it was uncourteous to cancel a busy man's plans after you already made them, or anyone's plans at all.

"This should be fun," she murmured to herself, taking deep breaths as she stood to start her preparations.

~

Fresh out of the shower, the house filled with the amazing scent of hot, freshly made food. Kara sat with her back leaned against the couch with her glass of wine just getting a few things done before the time Eden was to arrive. She had her ears peeled for when he would arrive but then again it was only 8:40 pm so there was still enough time for him to make his way over.

At 9 o'clock on the dot, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the empty house. She closed her laptop and placed it back to charge, taking steady deep breaths before standing to answer the door.

Eden stood there with hands behind his back and fully clothed in casuals, a simple black shirt with black sweats, his features were prominent under the not-so-free shirt making her mouth water. Although she knew he hadn't been getting enough sleep, he didn't look even the slightest bit tired or sleep-deprived. He looked dashing even in casuals, obviously tired or a bit jet-lagged.

"9 on the dot," he smiled before revealing the little bouquet of roses that were behind him and gave a little bow, handing them to Kara who had a wide smile on her face already. She blushed as she took them in her hands, "I take punctuality very seriously, I've been told I take it too seriously."

"You shouldn't have, thank you. As much as I appreciate all these un-due actions, why are you doing all this, sir?" she asked sarcastically.

"I will explain everything when you finally invite me in to sit down," she felt her cheeks heat up with embarrassment, realizing were still at the doorstep. She stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in, closing the door behind her.

"Please, let's proceed to the food. I hope you didn't eat before coming, Mr. I spent a lot of time on this," Kara said, placing the roses on the table.

"Of course not, I'm starving. The house smells lovely and you look even better," he stared at her, a soft smile formed on his face as she stared at his Amber's, mesmerized. She blushed, breaking the stare.

"Oh please, I'm only in a nightgown and it's kimono, nothing special. Shall we eat?" she walked to the dining area. he smiled, following right behind her.

~

"In general, this week has been a very interesting one a very interesting one if I must say," Eden said holding his laughter as he took a long sip of his orange juice to wash down the pasta. Kara's laughter echoed through the house because of all of Eden's bizarre stories from his offices.

"I see you're usually entertained by your young employees."

"Well they could be annoying sometimes but when they aren't doing their jobs extremely well past my expectations, they are alright people," he wiped his mouth taking yet another serving of the pasta, "you make some mean pasta, Ms. Taylor."

"Thank you," she said, adjusting the invisible hair on her face behind her ear, his compliment making her stomach flutter, "So Eden, what exactly was the whole dress and the rest for? I of course have to thank you again for that, they were extremely beautiful," Kara said.

"There is this restaurant, baleines violettes. That's where we are going on Saturday, ma'am. I just felt you'd like it."

"I own a boutique, if I didn't have what to wear I would have just gotten something from my place," she stated arrogantly.

"I was just trying to be sweet, you know? Don't ruin the moment please."

"Okay, sorry. Thank you so much, " she said with her hands in the air gesturing in yield.

~

The night went on as they talked it away over dinner. After several portions of food, Eden finally surrendered.

"Ma'am, you have officially killed me, I'm way too full now," he said, leaning back on the chair with a sigh.

"Go and sit, I'll be there after the dishes."

"I'll assist," he said struggling, clearly too full to even move.

Kara gave him a puzzled look, raising her eyebrow with a hand on her waist, "What kind of host would I be if I let you wash the dishes with me? Besides, you're too full to move."

"And who's fault is that, hm?" he said, holding on to the chair's head and trying to mimic Kara, "I'm helping, I'm more than capable."

"Okay, Eden. Do as you please."

"Okay, how about you wash and I rinse and dry?" Eden said, pouting his lips blinking multiple times.

She let out a sigh, "Just because I don't have the energy to argue."

A suspicious smile formed on Eden's face, joining Kara at the sink, "A multi-billionaire acting like a child is what I never thought I'll ever see," she rolled her eyes, and his smile only grew beside her, waiting for her to drop a plate for him.

She watched as his arms flexed with every movement, her mouth watering as she watched the seriousness on his face. It was captivating, trying to discard the dirty thoughts in her mind to focus on the plates.

~

"I don't remember the last time I washed dishes if I'm being frank with you, Kara," Eden said while they both dried their hands before sitting down across each other.

"You of course have people to do it for you with the kind of money you have. What do you even do?" she asked.

Eden itched the back of his head, looking like he didn't know how to explain, "How do I explain this? Alright, I'm an entrepreneur, of course, I own many shares, businesses, and enterprises all over the world if I must," Eden said.

"How do you manage all of them yourself?"

"You should be asking how I managed them all when I was still in college starting up," he whistled, laughing sarcastically.

"Self-made or inherited?" Kara asked.

"Very few, like two or three were inherited, from my uncle that my sister and I share, all the others are self-made. But of course, the companies that were already passed down to my sister and they helped me to build my own, of course."

"I see," she nodded.

Eden shot her an awkward smile as they both giggled like children. They say in silence, staring at each other from across till Eden stood from his sofa, Kara seeing the intention behind his eyes as he sat down beside her, bare inches away from her.

"May I kiss you, Ms. Taylor?" the same familiar feeling erupted through her body, leaving her speechless as her core tightened.

"Okay," Kara forced out her mouth. He smiled, closing the gap between them with a kiss, he started slow, pulling her closer by her waist, sending current through her body. She cupped his face with her palms as she deepened the kiss. She felt the heat and chemistry between them as the kiss deepened, his hands around her face. Her eyebrows raised, surprised as he lifted her onto his lap, feeling his hard-on against her opening, he probably felt how aroused she was, smiling in the kiss. She grinded her opening against his member, letting subtle moans fill the room. He removed her kimono, letting it fall to the floor, running her arms as she grinded against him. He groped her puckered breasts, making sure he didn't break the kiss as she moaned. Even if she wanted this, it had only been two days since they met, her body stiffened as the thought crossed her mind, stopping everything that was happening, and immediately getting off him.

"You're right, it's too early. I haven't even taken you on a proper date, I'm sorry for my lack of decency," Eden said, trying to cover his disappointed look with a smile.

"No no, it was in the moment, it wasn't your fault."

"I think I should go though, I have things to do tomorrow morning."

Kara's heart dropped to her stomach, feeling the disappointment. She tried to stay focused but she couldn't lie to herself, she was still very aroused and his sweats didn't make it any better. As he stood, it was obvious that both of them were still aroused by the bulge in his pants. Focus, she mind noted.

He stretched out his hands to Kara, taking them, she stood with him, "You didn't want it, I respect that. It's too early for that and I know, nothing is wrong," he reassured her.

"Okay, Eden," she smiled, embracing him in a calm long hug with her eyes closed, almost sinking into his skin. They both smiled as they let go of each other and headed towards the door after Kara got her Kimono, "I hope you didn't forget anything?"

"I don't think I did. Even if I did, I'll be here again on Saturday," he gave her a very cheeky smile with his hands in his pockets.

Kara let out a soft giggle, rolling her eyes, "For sure. Safe drive home, Eden," she got on the tip of her toes and gave him a small kiss on his lips. He smiled, waving at her as he walked towards his car. She closed the door behind herself, letting out a deep sigh.

"It can never be too early to do it yourself, that's what I say, " she murmured to y, skipping back up to her room.

~

Friday Morning.

The sun was shining through the closed curtains, distracting Kara from her slumber. She groaned, stretching and turning under her covers but then she thought, why is the sun hitting her face so early in the morning? With her eyes still closed, she struggled to turn over and get her eyes even slightly open to check the time. 8:25 am, the time read, "f**k," she was immediately charged up and ready to get off the bed with the realization of how much she had to do today. She had her hair appointment, her nails appointment, and other things to get herself ready for her date tomorrow, all by 10 am.

Rushing out of bed, she didn't bother taking the sluggish route and hopped straight into the shower after using the toilet and brushing her teeth. Of course, she didn't bother doing so much because one, she was going to come back covered in hair, and two, she'll save all the extra pampering for tomorrow so she'll look even more stunning than she normally is. The place where she gets herself done is very strict about timing so she needs to be there at least 2 minutes before the actual time. That has never been a problem for her but seeing as she and Eden have been having a lot of all-day calls and late-night calls especially, sleep has been the last thing she's been getting.

After her shower, she rushed on a pair of sweats with a simple shirt and a pair of Crocs, quickly combing out her hair. Luckily she already washed and put in all the necessary products to make her hair softer and easier to comb out the night before. Although her hair wasn't very thick black hair because of her somewhat white ancestry, the person that does her hair is black and could handle her hair perfectly with no extra charge, she prefers to get her hair ready herself to avoid going there and spending extra time trying to de-tangle and all of that extra work.

Finally ready to go, Kara locked everything and turned off everything before confirming she wasn't forgetting anything. The weather was oddly very calm, putting aside the very bright sun that woke her up this morning, it was a very cool and windy day.

As she got into her car, a phone call from her lovely best friend came in, "I want to start driving, woman."

"I give you 2 nanoseconds to find your Bluetooth and use it, then start driving because I have a lot to say."

She grunted, shuffling through her bag for her earpiece. She reluctantly put it on as Katherine on the other end hummed louder than a hummingbird in the morning having an orgasm. She started her car and started her journey, "I am on the road now, can you stop your obnoxious sounding humming?"

"I know you miss me so much darling that's why you're being extra salty this morning. Take a chill pill or something."

Kara let out a loud sigh that left Katherine cackling at the other end of the phone with someone that sounded like her lover boy in the background, "When are you coming home?"

"I knew you missed me OMG-,"

"You know I have a goddamn earpiece on, are you f*****g high? Why the hell are you shouting?" Kara shouted with a stern voice, holding her laughter while Katherine was practically rolling on the floor, enjoying the torture she was inflicting on Kara, "Gabe, what the hell did you give this woman you drug addicts?"

"Hey, it wasn't me. We didn't even take anything, she just woke up hyper as f**k. As far as I know, she hasn't taken anything this morning except the smoothie I made," Gabriel's voice was faint but quite audible in the background.

Kara let out a deep sigh before face-palming herself, "Katherine, I am driving. I will call you when I'm off the road, I think you would be sober by then. People would think I'm crazy laughing to myself in the car."

"We are coming back on Tuesday, Pookie," Katherine shouted on the other end.

"Okay then, rest some more. Gabe please handle her, I'll call later."

"Okay okay, bye," Gabriel was saying something but Katherine's voice dominated his as she dragged her words.

Kara let out a sigh as she finally got to the salon, parking after she ended the call, "That girl was definitely high. It is going to be an interesting rest of his life for Gabe," she muttered to herself, locking the car door behind her.

The plaza was quite empty for one of the best places in this city, probably because she was here by 9:55, people that had earlier appointments are just leaving and others hardly had 10 am appointments on Fridays, it's mostly around afternoons for a crazy Friday night. Her nose was filled with the sweet smell of the salon as she walked in. She sat down in the waiting room, virtually the only one there with two other women that looked like they had even finished their hair and were going for a massage or some other service after.

"You're early. That's good, we should be ready for you in the next few minutes, you also booked a spa treatment and massage with a beforehand p*****t right?" her usual friend walked up to her with a cheerful look on her face.

Kara gave her a confused look and she looked just as confused as her, "I don't remember booking a spa treatment or massage. You of all people should know I never pay beforehand at least," Kara said, furrowing her brows.

"I was wondering but it was paid for under your name, the wax and every other appointment we talked about has been paid for, plus some extra treatment," she said, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"I wonder-," before she could complete her statement, Eden's call came in, "Excuse me," she gestured with her index finger.

"Good morning, Kara," he said with a cheerful voice. She wondered why everyone was so cheerful this morning, was there something she wasn't aware of or they were sharing free perks at midnight?

"How did you even know where I do all my lady things?"

"First off, calling them lady things, is absurd. Secondly, I have my ways. I just called to let you know to not be generous with the refreshments. I'll call you later, I have a business call soon," Eden said, hanging up before she could speak.

Her cheeks lit up bright red, avoiding her friend's suspicious gaze while placing her phone back in her bag. Her friend Dami, her waxer and owner of the plaza entirely, stared at her with a wide grin not even uttering a word.

"Not a word about this," Kara said to Dami while trying to calm her smile. Dami had her hands up in yield.

~

"I'm exhausted, my God," she stretched as she stood from the chair with her aching butt cheeks.

"A snack to go?" one of the workers asked.

Kara sighed and held her stomach, "I am beyond overfed. Thank you all for the wonderful service, as per usual. Have a great rest of your day," Kara said before waving and exiting the building.

Her phone rang and lo and behold, it was Katherine, again. She rolled her eyes, taking her time to find her earpiece and start her journey before returning her call.

"So if I was dying-"

"Save the drama for your bedroom. This is the fourteenth call within eight hours, not like they were short calls even after I told you I would call you when I'm home."

The phone went dead silent for a few seconds, "Doesn't warrant your shouting, Kara," Katherine said in a sober tone trying to make Kara feel sorry for her. She grunted, giving up the act

"Aren't you meant to be working, woman? thought you're booked on Fridays?" she said, blowing her horn at a driver before she drove past him showing him her middle finger, ignoring the curses he rained through her closed window.

"Roughest driver in the game," Katherine said, laughing on the other end, "anyway, how has your day been?"

"Are you on coke? We were on calls throughout the day and you're still asking? Which drug did you take?" she said, trying to control her laughter with one hand as she drove.

"I am a sober woman, I promise," she went silent for a second before the both of them burst into uncontrollable laughter, receiving dirty looks from the other drivers, "okay, but seriously, I'm actually sober I just got a big deal, the biggest deal I ever have gotten yesterday, so I'm a little excited."

"Oh my, congratulations love," her voice filled with excitement before she entered into a roadblock, f**k, she mouthed.

"Thank you. Plus I'm packing and I needed a little company since Gabriel is too busy to bend me over right now," she shouted the last part, she heard Gabe saying something inaudible, but the way these two were s*x-craved wolverines for each other, she's glad she didn't hear it.

"Well, good luck. I'm somehow in a roadblock now," the rain tapped on her windshield as she took a sip of her water and waited for the slow-moving traffic.

"I'll talk to you later sweetheart, I have a business call soon."

"Of all times to leave it's when I'm in slow movement and alone. Strike two hundred and three."

Katherine laughed, "No way you're actually counting, that is even far from the actual amount. Love you," she blew a kiss before hanging up.

"f*****g sly," she said to herself before turning up the volume to at least have some sound in the traffic.

~

By the time Kara got home, the time read 8 pm on the dot. Clearly, she was exhausted but luckily she already had enough to eat at the salon so she didn't need to bother about food. She locked all the doors before retiring to her room to unwind and get ready for bed.

"I am beat," she whispered to herself, crashing on the bed with her pajamas ready to fall asleep, groaning as she remembered she had to call before she crashed.

The phone rang only twice before Eden picked up, "Hello," Eden said as he picked up the phone.

"How are you, Eden?" Kara asked in a calm voice. She laid on her stomach while kicking her legs and curling her newly installed hair with her fingers.

"I am more than fine, just tired. How are you feeling? I hope they treated you well?"

"They did, thank you."

"I told you to stop thanking me, didn't I?" he said in a calm but quite demanding tone.

Wide-eyed, she was taken aback by the sudden change of tone, "Sorry" Kara said bluntly.

"It's okay. It was all my pleasure," she let out a sigh, choosing to stay silent, "I wouldn't know what to answer that either, don't worry. Get some rest for tomorrow. Remember, 7 pm I'll be at your door."

"I am actually very tired indeed. Goodnight, Eden," she said, getting under her covers already.

"I'm still up doing some work, so you can call me or text me if you're still up. Remember, you can call me anytime for anything."

"Thank you, Eden. I will try my best, goodnight," she smiled before ending the call and drifting into a dreamless slumber.