"Let me get this straight—four kids, three boys, one baby girl ?" Jessica looked up from her steaming latte, certain that I had finally gone completely crazy.

"That's right." I gave her a smug look while I placed my hair in a bun. I was her younger sister, but only by ten months and ten days. The age gap didn't make much of a difference between us. We were so close in age and so closely resembled each other that we were often mistaken for twins even though Jessica and I thought we looked nothing alike.

True, we both had thick kinky curly hair and dark eyes but Jessica was curvy while I was slender. Jessica had to sometimes jump to put her jeans on, whereas my bony ass could easily slip jeans up to my waist.

While in college, I tried to do everything to get the 'black woman curves'. I was eating eighty grams of protein every day, which was twice my recommended value for my weight of 120 pounds. But the curves and the booty never came, what I did gain though was a few inches of belly fat.

I must have gotten all the skinny genes in the family while Jessica got all the booty and curves. Sometimes I wished we could trade, even for a day, just so I could know what it felt like to have a fat and juicy booty.

Don't get me wrong, I love my body but sometimes I just wished I had a little more of everything.

"Do you even know what you're getting into?" Jess pushed her long curly hair out of her face and took another sip of her latte. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"Sure, I know what I'm getting into. I've been teaching for two years. I'm used to handling kids." I answered honestly. I wasn't the least bit worried about how my interactions with the kids will be. "Plus, he's paying ten thousands a month. How can I pass on that?" I grinned, my eyes flashing with excitement. We needed the money to renovate the house and ten thousand dollars is half of what we needed to get it done.

She shrugged. "I'm not talking about the kids or the money. I'm talking the uncle and the parents. You said their parents are in jail. What did they do? How do you know you're not mixing yourself with a crime family?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Jess, do you hear yourself? Of course Phin isn't in the mafia, don't be ridiculous Jess. He's way too prim and proper. His brother and his sister are another question. I didn't ask him what happened. Frankly, it's none of my business."

"Phin? You're already calling him Phin?" she rolled her eyes and hissed her teeth. "You should make it your business. You're going to be living with them for the entire summer." Jess cautioned.

"Babe, I'm gonna be okay. Trust me." I assured her.

She frowned and murmured. "Hmmm..at least tell me what he looks like so I know how to kill if the situation arises."

I laughed. "Gurl.... He's sexy." I chuckled. "He has dark hair, grey eyes, olive skin, defined jawline, tall, muscles..oh la la...very handsome."

Jess raised her brows at me and smirked. "Are you sure you accepted the job for the kids and the money because he's sounding like a whole snack."

I chuckled. "YES! He's my boss. I'd never. Plus, I'm sure I'm not his type."

She frowned. "And what exactly is his type?"

"He doesn't look like the type to date black girls, that's for sure."

"And what type of woman does he look like he dates?" Jess asked, seemingly interested.

"White, blond, never ending legs, botox." I answered.

Jess chuckled. "Yes, at least you won't have a creepy boss who lusts after you."

I laughed, "Oh yeah..That would be terrible. I definitely don't want that but still." I paused and took a sip of my coffee. "If he's the creepy job then I wouldn't mind at all."

Jess slapped me on my arms and chuckled. "Girl, oh mama taught us better. Leave that white man alone."

I lifted my hand in surrender smiling. "I'm kidding. This house means a lot to me. I wouldn't jeopardise it for the world." Winter was terrible this year and it didn't do our parent's house any justice. The entire basement was flooded, the ceiling needs changing and the wall lost most of its strength. The insurance wasn't enough to fix all the damages. Thus, Jess and I decided to get jobs for the summer to pay for the additional cost of the damages.

"Yes, it means the world to me too and that's why I got a job at a bar..." she whispered the last part of her statement.

My eyes widened and my eyebrows raised. "A bar?" I chuckled.

"You went and got yourself a job at a bar!!" I laughed. "I'm not judging you or anything but what do you know about alcohol? Do you know the difference between vodka and whiskey?" I joked.

She rolled her eyes and smiled. "Babe, I'm a fast learner. By August I'll be a certified bartender."

I laughed. "Oh girl, you're crazy," I paused and looked over at my big sister. "Do you even know what you're getting into? Bars can be dangerous."

She reached out for my right hand and squeezed. "I'll be okay. I've worked in a bar before."

I frowned. "No, you haven't." If Jessica worked in a bar before, I would know. We're not only sisters but we're also best friends.

"Yes, I have. I worked in a bar all through college." She answered then looked sighly at her latte cup.

"What? I thought you worked in a library?"

"Hahaha.." she cleared her throat then glanced at me sighly. "I lied."

"What?" I exclaimed in shock.

"I didn't want Mom and Dad to know." she shrugged.

"But I wouldn't have told them..." She raised a brow at me, unbelieving. I chuckled. "I really wouldn't. I'm good at keeping secrets..."

She glanced to the side. "You're good at being a good daughter. You're a terrible liar. I'm the one who's always keeping secrets."

I nodded. "That's true."

At age five, I bit the neighbor's cat because she clawed me. At age ten, I stole four cookies from the jar and blamed it on our older brother, Coleson. At age twelve I'd picked a fight with our neighbour's daughter, Macy, starting a feud that lasted for years. At sixteen, I had my first kiss behind the grandstands at school and At eighteen, I lost my virginity on prom night in the back of Jericho Lyon's old pick up truck.

I was always in the thick of things. And Jessica was always the one who had to clean up after me or keep my secrets.

Jess was the one who told my neighbour that it was their dog who bit their cat. Jess was the one who told Dad that Coleson ate the cookies. Jess was the one who broke Macy's nose, Jess was the one who kept my kiss a secret and Jess was the one who didn't laugh when I told her about the awkward way I lost my virginity.

Jess was my superman and best friend.

"Don't feel bad." she squeezed my fingers.

I smiled up at her. "No, I don't feel bad. I just wish you had told me."

"Considering that I shouldn't have worked there in the first place, it had to be my secret. I couldn't have my little sister showing up and telling everyone that I'm nineteen. I needed the mommy. I didn't want to depend on mom and dad too much. You understand, don't you?'' She looked at me with gloomy eyes.

I smiled. "Yes, I understand" I chuckled, changing the mood. "You're definitely telling me about this bar that you're gonna be working in so I can fix you."

"It's called Moonies and you can come all you want. Just don't act too weird okay?"

I chuckled. "I won't act too weird. Pinky promise." I pushed out my pinky finger and she placed hers on my own.

"You can bring your boss for a drink too.." she laughed.

"Oh yeah. Definitely and we'll leave the kids with the dogs." I said sarcastically.

She laughed and tapped my shoulders. "That's a great plan. Just remember to feed the dogs before you leave."

I chuckled and shook my head, "You're crazy."

She told her chest, "I'm crazy? Nah, baby. I'm freaking comical."

I nodded, agreeing. "That you are."

She glanced at me with a smile. "I really hope this job doesn't take too much of a toll on you. Taking care of four kids isn't going to be easy. Living with them is going to be even more difficult. Do you honestly you can take care of this man's nephews and niece?"

I nodded firmly. "Yes, I think so. I'm a teacher. How hard can it be?"