Laila POV

After what she felt was a stressful interview with the ladies of MAX, she at least felt better that it was over. If she got in or not, she had done all she could do. But she was confident that she would make it in, even as selective as they were.

She was not sure when they would let her know, so she had to go on with her life. Stay on top of her classes, maintain her four-point zero grade point average, and keep up with her extracurricular activities including Black Student Union and Secretary of Residence Hall Association as of last week. But what she really needed was a part-time job.

There was a Job Center for students to visit and find jobs that were on campus and a few off campus. Since she shared a car with her sister, it would be selfish to take a job far off campus in case her sister needed to use the car.  Her sister started her new job working in the Registrar's Office. What she wanted was a part-time job on campus with not too many hours and would not hinder her studies. Or if she made line.

She found the perfect job working at the information desk at the Student Union. She would help students and visitors find things around the building or the campus. It was mostly a lot of sitting there, so between the downtime, she was allowed to study or do school assignments. That plus now she had money in her pocket versus running up her credit cards and not being able to pay them down fast enough.

It was only Wednesday, a few days after her interview with MAX that she got the call.

"Laila, we are inviting you to the intake process into Mu Alpha Chi Sorority, so as stated at RUSH we would need your fees for initiation and membership by the end of business day Friday. Let us know if there are any issues or questions before then," Jameela stated

Her whole body felt numb hearing this news.

"Laila, are you still there?"

"Yes, ummm....thank you, thank you! I can't believe this."

"Oh come on, you knew you were one of the best," Jameela said with a chuckle. "Anika will contact you and the rest of the ladies with further details once the funds are received. See you later."

She wanted to shout and scream. She just left her orientation for her new job and now this news. She wanted to jump up and down and scream, but she was in the middle of campus so all she could do was a little dance in place and hope no one thought she was crazy.

She was going to be a MAX!

It was a good thing she had the money ready to go and she would transfer it to them now, as soon as she got back to her room. What else did she need to do to get ready? Did they have to wear special clothes? New shoes? Buy other things? This was why she was glad she now had a job.

Now if her sister...

Her phone rang in her hand and she smiled when she saw it was her sister. That meant she got the phone call as well.

"Hey Ketta."

"Girl! Did the President of MAX just call you too?"

"Uh...huh?" She decided to play with her sister for a bit.

"What? Wait...maybe they will call you after me, I just assumed-"

"Sis, I'm playing, yes I got the call."

"Aaaaa!" they both screamed. Still, she was in the middle of campus, with a class to get to in thirty minutes. She did not want to run back to her residence hall just to celebrate for a few minutes with her sister and then run off to class.

"I was just trying to get ready for class and then I got the call. I almost didn't answer it because I didn't have Jameela's number saved...but I said stop being silly and answer the phone. OMG! We made it!"

"Yes, I just got a new job and was leaving there."

"Great! We will need more money after paying the dues and stuff."

"True!" She chuckled at her sister. "I'm so excited I cannot wait to start and have-"

Someone walked smack dead into her, causing her to drop her phone and she heard a crack.

"Oh no!" she screamed. She went to pick up her phone, and sure enough, there was a crack on the screen. "Just fucking great!"

"My bad," she heard.

She gave the person a look that crashed into her. A guy, a tall, attractive, dark-skinned guy. He looked familiar but she would not bother trying to remember where she knew him from. Her phone was destroyed mid-conversation with her sister.

"You couldn't look where you were going?" she said to him as she tried to get her phone to do something. "Just fucking great. Now I have to get a new phone."

"My bad, I'm sorry," he said again. "But actually it was you not looking where you were going. You were on the phone and all excited and looking down and I was trying to get your attention when you walked into me."

"Whatever, okay, whatever!" It was true that she was too excited to care about her surroundings, but if he saw her she should have moved out of the way and walked around her, not stand there and let her walk into him and make a fool of herself.

"Let me see your phone, maybe it's not broken."

The guy tried to take the phone out of her hands but she snatched it away. "No, I got it! It's my problem."

"But if it's just a broken screen you can get that fixed and not pay for a new phone. Let me see." He held out his hand to her.

She eyed him for a moment. Where did she know this guy from? He was rather tall, with a full beard and mustache, a low, nicely trimmed haircut, diamond studded earring in each ear. A single platinum chain around his neck he wore a black t-shirt and black jeans. She found him rather attractive but she would not let that show.

"I can go fix my phone myself, but thanks."

"But it's what I do, I can fix it for you. For free," he stated.

"Huh?"

"Where I work," he said. He very gently pried the phone from her hands and looked it over. "Your phone still works, probably needs to be rebooted and replace the screen. I can get this done for you in about an hour when I hit up work."

She needed her phone. As is, her sister probably thought she hung up on her and if she kept trying to call her and not reach her she would think something was wrong.

"I have a class in about twenty minutes," she said to him.

"I can just take your phone now, repair it, and you can come pick it up after class."

He must work at the campus tech support store, part of one of the bookstores that was in the Student  Union building. It was where she bought a used tablet from last year. She never saw him working there, but it was not like she was there often.

"Okay, I guess so."

He gave her a grin. "Relax shorty, your phone is in good hands. Come to the IT Center in the Union after class and it should be done.

"Thank you so much! That would be so awesome. I don't know if I can survive long without my phone."

"Okay, see you then." He gave her a smile and his teeth were so white and straight and she loved that. "Maybe then I will get your name, which is what I was trying to do. I'm Alonzo by the way."

She could not help but blush at him. He was flirting with her. Little old her? A guy like him. Hot enough to have tons of girls.

Then she stopped herself. Exactly. Hot enough to have tons of girls.

"I'll be there after my class. Thanks again." Then she hurried away.

Now she would have to see him again. That actually made her smile. Now she had to make it through her class, thinking about the tall, dark, and handsome guy fixing her phone. What was she going to say to him?

She texted her sister on her tablet while in class that her phone broke mid-conversation and that she was fine. She wanted to tell her sister about the hot guy but left that alone. Maybe she was reading more into it. He was simply being nice and not flirting with her.

Even so, she could not wait to head over to the IT Center and pick up her phone. She even touched up her lip gloss so her lips were not dry and crusty.

As soon as she walked inside the center, she saw this Alonzo guy with a long line of customers waiting to be helped. Now she would have to wait forever and a day to pick up her phone.

She was about to turn to leave when he noticed her and motioned her over. Now she had to skip the long line while they gave her the evil eye. Who knows how long they had to wait while she was called to the front? Alonzo asked a co-worker to cover for him once she made it to the counter.

"I got you," he said as he pulled out a baggy with her phone. He pulled it out of the pouch and it looked brand new. "It's all fixed and working for you."

"You really didn't-"

"I had to, since I kind of caused you to crash into me."

"I have to pay then, that would only be fair." She took her phone from him, her fingers brushing against his giving her chills. Looking up at him, he was giving her that smile again. "How much do I owe?"

"I told you it was on me."

"No, I can't-"

"Then a date."

Oh, he was good. And how could she refuse?

"Okay, but the date's on me," she smiled at him back. "Let me put your number in my phone."

"I still don't have your name."

Just when she thought she did not want to meet a new guy and go on a date, here she was about to do just that. What harm could one date do? Marketta had moved on and was dating a new guy.

"My name is Laila."

A/N: Yes to Laila getting out of her comfort zone with this new, mysterious guy. Let's hope he is a better match for her than Manny.