In Champagne & Butterflies, Kyla and Kimari Fontaine are sisters who are young, gorgeous, and quite privileged. Setting off to finish their wild college years at Penn State before moving on to the real world, they find themselves facing obstacles they never could have imagined. Ready to shake her small town 'It Girl' status and conquer the globe, the sharptongued firecracker, Kimari, surprises herself when she finds her usually 'single and lovin' it' self has fallen for Sean Korrell, a fun and sexy jock. She finds herself trying to hold onto a relationship with a semi-famous, soon-to-be pro player while working to get her own star to rise. Kyla, usually the calm, collected and reserved of the two, finds herself in a great relationship with Vince, a safe and loving resident doctor. The problem is that she can't seem to shake her smoldering feelings for an enticing old flame. Ever the overachiever, Kyla buries herself in work to try to shake her lingering feelings. Seen through the eyes of designer-clad glasses, both privileged sisters are about to discover who they truly are while experiencing growing pains like never before.

Champagne & Butterflies

Maybe some girls do have it all ...By S. J. Foster

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2009 S. J. Foster
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4401-3959-8

Chapter One

- Kyla knew her life at Penn State would change once Kimari and Jeanette enrolled, but she had no idea how much.

"So, how does my hair look?" Kimari asked before swallowing the last of her champagne.

"Short." Jeanette answered while fishing through her purse for her compact.

"Thanks a lot Jeanette, so helpful." Kimari said with a glance. "What do you think, Kyla?" she asked, turning her head to model it for her.

"Short." Kyla said in a disinterested tone equal to Jeannette's.

"To hell with the both of you," Kimari said while glancing around the elegant Victorian ballroom, giving the crowd a once over.

"Nobody told you to go chopping all of your long, beautiful hair off like an idiot. It was beautiful the way it was," Jeanette responded, while looking into the compact she'd finally found.

"I'm an artist, I have to explore all facets of myself to ignite my talents," Kimari responded matter of factly.

"Whatever," Kyla retorted.

"Once again, we're stuck at one of these boring events for daddy and I can't find a single cute, young executive to flirt with ..." Kimari said, continuing to survey the room, looking as far as the crowded outdoor terrace.

"Indeed. I'd settle for a cute bus boy to flirt with ..." Jeanette added. "I wouldn't even have come to this thing for your father if the thought of staying on campus by myself for the weekend hadn't repulsed me. How many times a year must they honor your dad?" she asked, dabbing on lip-gloss.

"Who knows? What time is this thing over?" Kimari asked looking down at her diamond-encrusted watch.

"Nine." Kyla said.

Kyla and Kimari's father was Benjamin Fontaine, CEO of Grubman LT Industries, the nation's largest brokerage firm. He had worked with the company for nearly thirty years and after his annual salary combined with his major investments, was one of the richest African American men in the country. Their mother, Farrah was a picture perfect, retired, semi-famous model who at one point had a brief singing career. Electric Lovin' was her most famous ballad and the biggest hit off of her one and only album, Come See Me, which had made it past gold status. She was twenty-three when she recorded it. Then she was known simply as Farrah, a sexy crooner that vividly worked the party circuit and sang lyrics that would have rivaled Vanity 6 who emerged on the scene shortly after.

"Traffic driving back to school should be light," Kyla said.

"Speaking of which, you're driving back, Kyla," Kimari stated while twirling her fork around in her shrimp scampi.

"No I'm not, Kimari! It's your turn to take that long drive. You always try to pull this-I'm not your personal driver." Kyla said in a frustrated tone.

"But I'm sooo tired!" Kimari whined.

"We'll stop and get you some coffee, but you're taking that drive!"

Jeanette just sat there and watched the two sisters do their usual back and forth banter. Kyla spoke rationally and calm while Kimari always had more attitude and whininess, and was usually wrong. Equally beautiful and less than a year apart in age, each sister possessed a bronzed complexion and wavy black hair. They both had shapely legs and had inherited their former-model mothers' C cups and striking good looks.

Kyla was twenty-two and slightly shorter than Kimari. She was the logical thinker and was always very practical. She knew how to party, but paled in comparison to her sister. Kimari was twenty-one and forever the rebellious, wild child. She was as scatterbrained and careless, as she was beautiful.

Jeanette Donahue had been their friend since middle school. She was slightly closer with Kimari having been the exact same age; they'd shared a lot of their high school classes together. A beauty herself, she had a cocoa complexion and shoulder length hair that was dyed blonde. She sometimes struggled with her weight, always dieting and at the gym, but was currently content with her toned medium build. She could be as wild and crazy as Kimari when they all were together. The three of them together had ruled Penn State's main campus for the last four years. They were all looking forward to graduating this upcoming May, Kimari with her Bachelor of Art in English, Jeannette with her Bachelor of Art in Communications and Kyla with her Master of Science in Marketing. Kyla had entered an accelerated program during her freshman year that enabled her to get her Bachelors and Masters all in 1 five-year program. She had completed her freshman year alone while Kimari and Jeanette finished high school. Kyla knew her life at Penn State would change once Kimari and Jeanette enrolled but she had no idea how much.

Often dragging her out to parties, they tended to steal the show, making grand entrances, and flirting with any guy they wished. Then, when they didn't want to 'make an appearance' at a campus party, they'd sometimes throw their own private parties at the off campus, two bedroom, luxury apartment that Kyla and Kimari shared together on Beaver Avenue, one of the busiest streets in the area. They discriminated heavily against who they would allow to come into their parties, only the coolest and most popular were allowed admittance. They always drew a heavy crowd and weren't afraid to turn away anyone that didn't meet their criteria. By Kimari's second year, it had become a symbol of status to be invited to a 'Kyla and Kimari' event.

The girls had a knack for being rich and spoiled, yet cool and approachable when walking around campus in their PSU paraphernalia just like everybody else. But when urged, usually on party nights, they weren't afraid to dress up and get wild. Kimari lived for these nights while Kyla just kind of went with the flow of her wild sister. She liked to have fun but would have been equally happy as one of the commoners, one of the regular party goers that could dance, laugh and go home with out everything short of a column in the paper buzzing about them the following morning. Their actions combined with fellow students watching them cruise the campus in their fancy cars, Kyla in her Range Rover and Kimari in her convertible Lexus had earned them the unshakable nickname 'The Black Hilton Sisters'.

Kyla and Kimari knew they had wanted to attend college together, but which school they would attend had been up for debate for almost a year and had all but split their household apart. Kyla and Farrah thought an academically distinguished school like Yale or Brown would be best, but Kimari had fallen just short with her GPA. This didn't bother Kimari at all since she wanted to attend an HBCU and their father, was behind her. Benjamin wanted them to enjoy their college experience in addition to obtaining their education but neither Kyla nor Farrah would hear of it. They believed attending a historically black college would hinder their adaptability in the 'real' world and preferred them to be exposed to all races and cultures.

This angered Kimari because she felt they'd received all of the exposure they'd needed at the private schools they'd attended since pre-school. Most of the time, they'd been the only brown faces in these schools and Kimari couldn't stand it. They grew up in Drexel Hill, a subdued suburb outside of Philadelphia. So when they were among the rest of their inner city relatives in Philadelphia,...