ATLANTA

Chapter Nineteen

She thinks for a second, "I was looking for an outlet. I was kind of spiraling with the end of high school coming and me not wanting to go to college. I needed something that was going to allow me to make money but not punch a clock. I saw a YouTube video on nails and it looked kinda easy so I tried it."

I love the ambition Kehlani has. She was the type to go out and get it no matter what. Lani worked sun up to sun down doing what she loved and before complained about anything other than back pain. I loved seeing her work towards her goal but if she asked me I would buy her a shop and stop her from working so much.

I've done something similar with India. When she told me she wanted a business so I funded her fully and helped her make business connections that would grow her business. That's what I thought I was supposed to do but I now see that maybe I shouldn't have intervened.

Don't get me wrong I'm proud of India and everything she's done but I think I should've let her have it all to herself and not have my hands in it so much.

"Was it? Was it easy?" I can't help but ask.

Her head lifts and she shakes it vigorously, "Hell fuck no it wasn't. I struggled for months to get it right and when I did I couldn't get clients in Ohio. Honestly I was expecting the same thing down here."

"What made you stick with it if it wasn't working?"

"I knew it was going to because it had to fucking work. What made you wanna do music?" She changes the subject.

"It was a way to get my voice out there. And I used it to level up my whole way of life. I got more money than I know what to do with now." I tell her laughing.

She giggles with me as she dips her paint brush in yellow paint. I watch as she places the brush on the canvas and uses it for whatever she was making.

I was basically done with mine since it was a simple design but I could tell by the amount of colors she has on the little paint dish thing that she was designing something far more advanced than whatever I was doing.

While she was focusing on her work I dip my finger into the dark blue paint and swipe it across her cheek. Kehlani giggles then takes some of her paint on the brush and touches the tip of my nose.

"Aww baby you look cute with a yellow nose." She jokes making me shake my head.

I put some more blue paint on her face and that's how a full on paint fight starts. We throw paint back and forth at each other to the point her once white shirt is covered in blue and black paint while my black one is covered in a bunch of different colors.

"Okay! Stop for real Durk. I'm covered in paint." Lani screams laughing.

She puts a little bit of white on my cheek then kissed my lips quickly. She pulls away biting my lower lip.

Yea she was horny. I can tell it's getting to her that we haven't done anything in almost two weeks but these were her rules so we all agreed to abide by them.

Besides there was something big coming.

"Are you done? I wanna see what you was over there creating." I was genuinely excited to see what she was making besides the mess that's all over my body.

Kehlani nods then carefully picks up her canvas. I do the same with mine. We count down to the reveal,

"Three." We say in unison. I look down at mine one last time then back at her to see her doing the same.

"Two." I count down for us when I notice the nervous look on Lani's face.

"One." Kehlani announces then in almost perfect sync we turn aloud wet canvases to face one another.