08

𝙰𝚁𝙼𝙰𝙽𝙸 𝙽𝙴'𝚉𝙸𝙰𝙷 𝙶𝙸𝙱𝚂𝙾𝙽

𝙱𝚁𝙾𝙾𝙺𝙻𝚈𝙽, 𝙽𝚈

"Miss mani! Miss mani! Can you read   Junie B Jones!" Said Azaiya, a little girl who she had been reading too for years.

"No read the cat in the hat!" Yelled Anthony, a bad ass little boy who joined a year ago.

"No Ant! We read that last timeee!" She yelled at him.

"Shut up AZAIYA!" He yelled.

"Y'all calm down, we'll read 3 books today since y'all seem excited today." Armani said. "Pick one more book."

"GREEN EGGS AND HAM!"

"GREEN EGGS AND HAM!" Yelled 6 kids.

"Okay calm down, calm down, how many of y'all like the cat and the hat?" Armani asked.

About 6 kids raised their hand.

There were a total of twenty five kids that came every week when they knew Armani would be the one to read to them. The ages Armani read to ranged from 3 to 7 years old and Armani had been the volunteer reader for almost five years.

"Okay so since that is the least liked book, we'll read it first so that it can be out of the way okay?" Armani asked.

"Okay!" The kids all agreed and she began to read. She read to them for almost 2 hours because Azaiya,Anthony, and another little boy named Ryan had insisted she read all 3 of the books again.

"Okay guys, I'll see you all when I'm here again." She said waving at them as they left.

"Bye Miss Mani!" Said Azaiya.

"Bye love." Armani said as she put the books up and the bean bags back where they were found.

"Thanks baby for the help."  Said Cynthia, a senior that had been working at the little library since Armani was just 8 years young.

"No problem, have a blessed day." Armani smiled, waving goodbye before she left.

The second she had arrived home, she laid down on her bed face down with the intention of being as dramatic as possible. She was beyond tired and had done a lot of volunteering with her dad--from going to homeless shelters to food drives, then toys drives to the library, and from there everywhere else. She didn't mind volunteering at the library because she loved being there with the kids, but the other volunteering she did had taken a lot of energy from her at times.

She turned to her blank canvas she had bought four nights ago and contemplated with herself on what she wanted to paint. Getting up, she grabbed her phone and tapped the app Apple Music--She scrolled through her long playlist and tapped one of her favorite songs once she found it--While We're Young by Jhene Aiko. She grabbed her canvas and placed it on the easel then grabbed her cup full of water and placed it on the stool beside her paint.  She rolled her sleeves up before she took a deep breath and began to do her thing. She painted her art as she listened to her chill playlist and smoked her newly rolled blunt.

Her music went low signaling that she had gotten a notification so she grabbed her phone. She read the name and it was Nasir asking her about her day and her plans for it. She  responded telling him that she had nothing planned and he asked for permission to come over. She looked at her contemplating what it would mean if she let him in her space. Would he expect something else? Would he expect to be coming over often? She decided she was overthinking and responded telling him he could and proceeded to send her address.

She had put her phone back down and continued painting up until she had gotten another notification. She checked and saw that it was Nasir notifying her that he was there. She put her paintbrushes down and grabbed her phone and key she used for the elevator.  She went down and put in the code for the elevator and told him to go to the 5th floor where visitor parking was. After he went up he came into the lobby after being granted access and the two went upstairs.

"This place looks nice." He said looking around at all the paintings on the wall. "You painted these?"

She looked  at the wall he was looking at and admired all 10 of her paintings she organized on that one wall. "Yeah I did most of them."

"Yo you real talented." He said taking off his shoes after noticing she didn't have hers on any more.  She blushed a little bit still staring up at the wall--she wasn't used to getting compliments in real life about her art, she was even surprised in herself for allowing him to come into her space and see it.

"Thank you." Armani smiled.

He looked at her smile and somehow it made him smile a little bit. "I know I said before, but you are really beautiful inside and out."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Stopp now you're just gassing me,"

"Nah I'm being real." He said.

"Well thank you." She looked up at him with her deep brown eyes. Something about them had him stuck.

"What were you doing before I got here?" He asked as he sat down on the couch. She went into the kitchen and grabbed two Sprites she hardly drank unless visitors were over. "Painting." She answered.

"Oh really? I won't distract you, can I watch?" He asked.

"You'd get bored I think." She answered.

"Nah, not if I'm interested and I am." He said looking at her.

"I'll be back." She says and leaves the room. As she walked  he observed every curve on her body and every detail from how toned her thighs were seeing that she had on shorts and a crop top.

Armani came back a few minutes later with her canvas placing it on the easel she also had in her living room. She sighed not used to people watching while she did her craft. She rolled up her sleeves and took a puff of her blunt feeling herself relax a little more. She bit her lip in contemplation before deciding to go wild and do whatever came to mind. She painted for almost 4  hours and a half looking back often to see if Nasir was still awake. He was quiet and watching her intently with interest all in his eyes. She continued painting and finished in the next thirty minutes.

"Watched you do this whole thang and I still don't know shit you did." He shook his head, making her laugh.

"Have you eaten?" He asked and she shook her head. "Gone get dressed and lets go out to eat somewhere."

She raised her eyebrow at him. "Where we goin?"

He blankly looked at her until she rolled her eyes heading back to her room and into her closet to find something to wear. She closed the door and got dressed after she had found something cute to wear--

"Fine ass." Nasir complimented making her blush once again.

"Come take me wherever you're taking me." She said and the two left.

"I noticed you tryna match me." He said as they followed after the water. She looked at him and noticed they were close to matching.

"Boy wasn't nobody thinking about you." Armani playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yeah aight." He said as they got seated. He had pulled her chair out for her and pushed her in before he proceeded to sit down himself.

The two ordered their food and conversed with each other and took notice of changes in Armani's behavior. Nasir had noticed that the more they talked, the more Armani seemed a little less shy and Armani noticed it too.

"I had an amazing night with you ma." He said as he embraced her. "Have a good rest of your night."

"I did too, good night Nasir." Armani says embracing him before she buzzes herself in.

He watched her even though he knew where she lived was extremely safe and left off to his own home once she texted him she was safe and inside.

ORIGINALLY WRITTEN: DEC 11 2020

REVISED AND REWRITTEN: JULY 28 2022