Once Upon A Time In London

On a quiet Friday evening in the Tower Hill area of London as the rain poured outside Club Ruby, a popular nightclub in the area with lit up neon red lights and full of life as several patrons, dancing, flirting or talking amongst each other in the various booths, tables or dancefloor on both floors while the DJ played an upbeat song that blasted through the speakers.

Amongst the patrons, stood behind the bar was Malik Khan, a twenty-five year old young adult with short, messy black hair, hazel eyes and a short beard with a lean, muscular-body hinted at by the tight fit white shirt, waistcoat and trousers he was wearing who looked on in annoyance at the woman who was stood behind the bar with him.

The woman with him was Freya Levesque, a tall woman who had long blonde hair, crystal-blue eyes with a stunning hourglass body with large, round breasts barely contained by the white blouse she was wearing as part of the uniform and a curvy ass highlighted by the knee-length skirt she was wearing, topped off with a pair of high-heels.

Her looks however was not the reason why Malik was annoyed with her, that was in fact due to her focus being on her phone as she scrolled through the comments and likes on the latest post she had made on The Pulse, a global social-media platform that had become wildly popular especially to would-be models and influencers like Freya whom Malik knew had dreams of being a world-famous supermodel from the conversations they shared both at work and the home they lived in together.

"Malik, I'm fuckable, right?" Freya asked as she stared at her phone.

"What?" Malik responded in surprise at the sudden question that briefly made him forget how annoyed he was at the blonde for leaving him to deal with the patrons while she scrolled through social-media.

"I said, I'm fuckable, right?" Freya repeated, not looking up from her phone.

"I'm not answering that question." Malik replied as he shook his head as he handed one of the patrons the beer he ordered.

"Why not? I got great tits, a perfect ass and I look incredible in this uniform, I'm totally fuckable right?" Freya said as she finally looked up from her phone, her eyes meeting his.

"Why are you even asking?" Malik curiously asked.

"I'm down a thousand likes. My last post nearly hit two-fifty" Freya said as her eyes returned to her phone.

"So, you're looking for a compliment to boost your ego?" Malik chuckled.

"Isn't that what everyone does?" Freya commented as she put down her phone and leaned closer. "Come on, Malik. Humour me. Just tell me how much you want to fuck me and I'll be satisfied."

"I don't know Freya,” Malik said, his eyes drifting to her chest before he could stop them, then back to her eyes. “This is starting to sound very ****, Freya."

"****? Me?" Freya said, feigning hurt. "You should consider yourself lucky, I'm even asking you. I mean look at that haircut. Have you ever seen a mirror."

"What's wrong with my hair?” Malik said as he looked at his reflection on the countertop of the bar.

"It's a crime against humanity," Freya said with a smirk.

"You mean like your Pulse page?" Malik fired back.

"Hey," Freya shot back. "My followers can't get enough of my perfection."

"Well, I'm not the one complaining about a drop in likes." Malik responded back with a smile.

"Likes I'll get back but you'll still be the one with the sad, lonely heart," Freya told him. "After all your girlfriend left you, you work nights with perfection like moi,” Freya pointed to herself. “And you bring whatever sad, or **** drunk girl you pick up at night to bed..."

"That was a low blow,” Malik said as he briefly thought about his now ex-girlfriend. “And I assume you're counting yourself there." Malik added, recalling their last few casual hook-ups. "Sad, ****..."

"Sad or ****? Me? You must be mistaken," Freya said as rolled her eyes at him before noticing a newcomer who just entered the bar. "That's not me unlike her. She's exactly your type." Freya added, indicating towards the newcomer.

Malik looked over and saw the woman, recognising her immediately as a twenty-one year old young adult who was tall and had dark chocolate brown skin with long black hair, wet from the rain she had just come from and hazel eyes. The woman also had a slender body with medium-sized breasts and a curvy ass accentuated by the red dress she was wearing.

"That's my sister, actually," Malik revealed.

"Your what?" Freya said in surprise.

"My sister, Katrina." Malik informed her as his sister made her way over to the bar upon noticing him.

"Hey bro,” Katrina Khan greeted her older brother. “Can we talk?”

After convincing Freya to hold the fort at the bar, Malik took two glasses of drinks and made his way over to the corner booth where he had Katrina sitting and waiting for him. Handing her one of them as he sat down opposite her, Malik and Katrina sat in silence for a few seconds, nursing their drinks until finally Katrina broke the silence.

"You look well, Malik," Kat sighed. "I know we've talked over the phone but it's good to see you in person after all this time."

"Thanks and you too but you look like you've seen better days," Malik softly said. "What's going on?"

"They... They kicked me out," Kat slowly revealed. "Mom and Dad. They found me... With Cindy Matthews."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Malik commented.

"It's not what you think," Kat clarified. "I was kissing her."

"Oh," Malik said in realisation. "Wait, isn't she like sixteen?"

"You can tell you haven't been home in a while,” Kat shook her head and smiled. “She's nineteen and smoking hot and has an insane crush on me which is funny cos I always thought she liked you,"

"So you're telling me, you got kicked out because Dad and your Mom caught you kissing another girl?" Malik summarised as he leaned back in his seat.

"They said it was against their beliefs. That they couldn't have me living in sin under their roof." Kat said, small tears running down her eyes as she recalled her parents' words.

"Do you have anywhere to go?" Malik asked in concern of his younger sister.

"Not really," Kat admitted as she wiped her tears. "That's why I came to you. I don't have anyone else."

"Look, Kat," Malik began, not wanting to leave his sister by herself especially when she was clearly so emotional and ****. "I've got a place, but it's a bit of a tight squeeze. There's five of us in a four bedroom place," Malik paused. "But, you can take my room. I can crash on the couch for a bit." Malik paused again as he took a sip of his drink and continued. "But, you're going to have to get a job and pay rent. I can't cover for you. I'm barely keeping up with my share as it is."

"I understand. I'll find something," Kat said with a happy smile. "Thank you, Malik. You're the best.”

Finally, leaving Club Ruby at the end of his shift, much later than he planned having to make up the time he had spent talking with his sister, Malik met with his sister after work and together the pair walked across the Tower Hill area of the city until they finally arrived on Victoria Street, stopping outside a two-storey townhouse with a white brick exterior and stairs leading to the front door of Number 7.

Immediately, Malik made his way up the familiar steps and used his keys to unlock the front door and Kat followed him into the house where upon entering they could hear the sounds of conversation and fresh scent of pizza. Leaving the hallway and walking past the living room and into the dining room, Malik and Katrina found the source of the commotion as Malik's housemates sat around the dining room, eating pizza, talking and drinking wine.

"There you are, Malik," Malik's best friend, Dexter Decker, a twenty-five year old adult with short blonde hair, brown eyes and a lean, athletic-body commented. "We were wondering where you got to. Freya got home an hour ago,"

"Yeah," Chantelle Miller, Dexter's girlfriend and one of the newest additions to the house nodded in agreement. Chantelle was a black woman with black hair in dreadlocks, dark brown eyes, a curvaceous body with medium-large breasts and a toned ass wrapped in a t-shirt with a faded logo and a pair of ripped jeans. "Freya said something about some girl showing up at the club."

"Well, she wasn't wrong," Malik announced, indicating to his sister next to him. "Guys, this is my little sister, Katrina. Katrina, that's Chantelle Miller and Dexter Decker, our resident couple,” Malik said pointing out the couple. “You might recognise Freya Levesque from the club,” Malik continued as he indicated towards the blonde. “Her Dad actually owns this place,” Malik informed her before indicating to the final housemate sitting closest to them. “And last but not least, this is Ashlyn Munroe.”

Ashlyn, a fairly tall woman with medium-length blonde hair, light-green eyes, a slender, petite body with medium-sized breasts, an incredibly curvy ass and lean, long legs dressed in a tank-top and a pair of jeans stood up from her seat upon her introduction.

"Hi, Katrina," Ashlyn said warmly, extending her hand. "You never mentioned a sister before Malk."

"That's because I'm the cool one," Kat jokingly responded, taking Ashlyn's hand. "And just so you know everyone just calls me Kat."

"How delightful," Freya said, sarcastically whilst taking a sip of her wine.

"Kat's had a bit of a situation with our folks. She needs a place to stay for a while so I offered her my room." Malik quickly informed them all.

"Everything okay?" Dexter asked in concern.

"Let's just say they didn't take too kindly to her... Life choices." Malik shrugged.

"They're a bit old-fashioned," Kat mumbled.

"Well, you're more than welcome here," Ashlyn reassured her. "We're all like a family in this house."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it,” Kat smiled. “And don't worry, Malik made it clear. I'm definitely going to pull my own weight..."

"Good," Freya said, setting her wine glass down with a clink. "Because if you're staying here it's only fair you pay your share of the rent."

"Yeah, no freeloaders allowed," Chantelle jokingly said in an attempt to make Freya's words seem ****. "But seriously, as long as you're cool with the rules and help out around here, you're more than welcome to crash with us."

"I will. I promise I won't be any trouble." Kat nodded and Malik felt a weight lift from his shoulders, no longer worried about how his friends would react to Kat's sudden arrival, but it seemed they were going to be okay.

"Want a slice?" Dexter said, gesturing towards the pizza boxes on the table. "You guys must be starving."

Sitting down at the table, Malik and Kat joined the others, eating and talking amongst themselves as they got to know Kat even better and Malik was relieved to see them being very welcome to his little sister. It wasn't long after dinner that Malik took Kat’s bag and brought her upstairs to his bedroom.

"This is my room," Malik told her. "I'll be okay on the couch."

"Thanks, Malik," Kat said as her eyes scanned the room.

"No problem, sis," Malik responded, placing her bag on the bed. "Make yourself at home. And remember, this isn't a hotel, so try not to trash the place."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kat said as she sat herself down onto the bed.

Once Kat was settled in the room, Malik stepped out into the hallway, intending to head back downstairs and maybe watch some T.V. when to his surprise he found Ashlyn waiting for him, standing outside her bedroom door, a small smile on her face as she did so.

"You okay?" Ashlyn asked softly.

"Yeah, she'll be fine here," Malik said, leaning against the bannister. "Thanks for being so welcoming."

"It's what friends do," Ashlyn smiled. "Plus, she seems pretty cool for someone you don't talk about."

"I've talked about her," Malik defended.

"Not really," Ashlyn softly said. "You're always so closed off about your family."

"It's complicated," Malik admitted, running a hand through his hair. "But she's my sister, and she needs me."

"Well, you know you can talk to me if you ever need to," Ashlyn said softly.

"I know," Malik murmured. "Thank you, Ashlyn."

"Anytime,” Ashlyn smiled. “Good night, Malik."

Upon those words, Malik watched as Ashlyn turned around and entered her bedroom, closing the door behind her and Malik found himself staring at her door for a few seconds until he heard the creak of the floorboard and he turned his head to find Freya leaning against her door, a smirk on her face.

"How long were you standing there?" Malik questioned the blonde.

"Long enough," Freya smiled as she sauntered closer to him. "To see you making goo-goo eyes at Ashlyn."

"She's just a friend and we were just talking," Malik shook his head.

"Mmhmm," Freya said mischievously. "Keep telling yourself that. Speaking of telling, you didn't think it was worth telling or asking me before you invited your sister to live here with us."

"Look, I know it's a surprise but she had nowhere else to go and she's my little sister,” Malik sighed. “I couldn't leave her out on the streets."

"Oh, I'm not complaining," Freya purred. "In fact, I think it'll be quite interesting having another female in the house,’ Freya paused before adding. "And I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up to me," Freya softly added as she made her way back to her bedroom door. "Besides, you know my bed is a lot more comfortable than that couch."

With a knowing smile, Freya slipped into her room, closing the door but leaving it just a crack open, something he knew from previous encounters was an open invitation to follow. And it was in the silence of the hallway, Malik contemplated going downstairs or following through with her temptatious offer.