CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
point of view | zayne ali
...
"do you wanna go to foot locker?" yasmine asked me. i furrowed my brows at her for a moment before nodding my head yes, "what kind of shoes do you like?"
"i mean i like most shoes honestly," i told her, her and i now walking into the store, "basic as hell but mainly jordans."
"hi, welcome to foot locker," a guy greeted. his eyes fixated on the girl holding my hand, "need any help today?"
she looked at him then at me. she completely ignored him and tugged on my arm gently walking quicker towards the nike mens section.
"we need to expand your fashion," she announced standing in front of the shoe display, picking up a pair of orange and white jordans, "would you mind if i did some shopping for you?"
"my card isnt working right now." i told her and she glared at me.
"mine works jus fine." she told me handing me the shoe.
i inspected it looking up at her with a small smile saying, "i dont remember asking."
she scoffed laughing, "you're impossible! let me buy you clothes."
"what?" i scoffed shaking my head no, "how about once my card starts working ill buy new clothes. hows that?"
"with me!" she added, "dont forget me!"
"yes. with you," i agreed, "hows that?"
"perfect!" she said smiling as i handed her back the shoe, "when do you think your card will start working?"
"you finding everything you're looking for?" a voice asked from behind me. i looked over my shoulder to see the guy that said welcome to us. i looked at yasmine who had her lips thinned.
"yeah," she told him, "we're finding everything alright."
"if you need anything let me know?" he added.
his gaze going up and down. i felt a twinge of annoyance flourish through me.
"im good." she said stepping closer to me.
she attached to my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder. he nodded rubbing his hands and turning away. i didnt realize i was furrowing my brows until yasmine rubbed her thumb between my eye brows.
i met her gaze and she smiled at me, "when do you think your card will start working?"
"uhhh," i thought out loud for a moment, "i dunno. i think they said friday."
"so you and i can hang out again this weekend." she stated with a smile.
she backed away from me. i let out a breath i didnt even realize i was holding. i smiled slowly watching her carefully. her hand brushed against mine as we both silently decided to leave the store.
"that guy was weird," yasmine whispered as we walked down the malls floors, "i dont like him. ew."
i looked at her carefully realizing she was being completely serious. i didnt respond to what she was saying as she continued talking.
"i mean im clearly on a date and he had the audacity to ... breathe!" she said casually.
annoyance lingering after each word she spoke. normally i would have laughed, but her words caught me off guard.
"a date? what did she mean by that? " i thought to myself, "im not complaining, but what did that mean to her? did that mean saturday would be another date? "
"do your parents know you're hanging out with me?" i questioned as it was lingering in the back of my brain.
she nodded with a smile, "usually i would never dare hang out with a boy, but my parents love you so it was okay with them."
"they love me?" i repeated confused.
she giggled quietly, "yeah. i mean of course they do. why wouldnt they?"
i stayed silent for a long moment. her hand found mine which she held carefully. i interlocked our fingers to which she smiled.
"they do, zayne," she said quietly, "they care about you a lot. they were very happy hearing that i wanted to hang out with you. seriously, zanye."
i gave her a long look and continued not to respond.
"i really, really wanted to believe her words." i thought embarrassed, "but i dont know if i can. i mean why would they care about me? they met me once."
...
we were at a red light. i didnt even realize her and i hadnt spoken in at least 20 minutes until her voice broke the silence, "you really need to stop doubting your worth."
my tongue rolled, poking my cheek for a moment before i slowly glanced at yasmine. she was looking at me concerned.
"dont worry about me." i told her calmly looking back out the windshield at the honda accord in front of my car.
"but i do. and i will," she countered, "really. i really enjoyed hanging out with you. i cant wait for this week to be over so it can be saturday."
"i cant wait too." i thought defeated.
"really, yasmine," i told her shaking my head, "i dont doubt myself."
"i know you do, because i used to do the same," she argued, "please jus talk to me."
i slowly removed my gaze from the windshield to her. my tongue brushed against my bottom lip before i found myself getting lost in her eyes. they were the perfect shade of brown. dark when they needed to be, but lit up alluringly when any light shone against them. her jaw lit up green and i turned away from her and stepped on the gas.
"would i ever tell her how i am feeling? " i questioned myself, "would i ever tell her how insecure i was? how much i like her. how badly i wish she would stay in my life. or how much happier ive been in the past few weeks simply conversating with her. what if she gets sick of trying to get me to open up. what if she leaves before i ever got the chance to tell her she means more to me than she'll ever know. is it normal to like someone this much in such a short amount of time? "
...
authors note: poor, zayne \:
