𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 | 𝐣𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭.

38.

"Left side paddle! Right side paddle! Forward! Backward! Left back! Right forward!" Neezy's commands echoed through the air as we navigated through the twists of the river. "Hold on tight, everyone! We're about to tackle the biggest rapid of the course!" Neezy yelled.

We all braced ourselves as the raft dipped and plunged down the steep rapid. Water splashed onto our faces, drenching us completely. But instead of feeling scared, I was laughing.

"I'm definitely taking this wig off today."

Ja started laughing, his voice mixing with the sound of rushing water. "Ion blame you. Yo wig starting to look like it's taking a adventure it's self." He joked and my jaw dropped.

I playfully swatted his arm, pretending to be offended. "Boy bye cause you ain't funny."

Ja immediately raised his hands in surrender, a wide grin on his face. "Aight Aight, my fault. Ima behave." He tried to suppress his laughter.

I couldn't help but laugh along with Ja, "That's what I thought," I replied, still playfully swatting at him. "Now focus on paddling, Mr. I got jokes."

As we approached the end of the course, Neezy shouted out one last command. "Everyone, get ready to jump out and swim to shore!"

"Swim? I'm not dressed in swimming attire bae." I frowned looking down at the sundress I was wearing.

Ja chuckled and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me close. "Baby we gon figure it out."

Neezy noticed my concern and approached us with a reassuring smile. "No worries, we've got you covered. We have towels and a clothing shop available for situations like these. You can change into something dry after we swim to shore."

Relieved, I nodded and gave a grateful smile to Neezy. "Thank you." Ja grabbed my hand and together we jumped out of the raft into the cool water. The laughter and cheers of the others echoed in the air and after we reached the shore, Neezy and the other guides were there to greet us, offering towels and guiding us towards the clothing shop. I quickly dried off and changed into a comfortable set of clothes provided.

"Whew, that was fun." I exclaimed.

"You see yourself doing it again?"

"Yeah. I could still feel myself swimming in the water." I moved my arms around.

______

I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, comb in hand, I gently worked through my natural hair. It felt good to finally have removed my wig and let my own hair breathe freely. I carefully detangled each strand, taking my time to ensure that I didn't cause any unnecessary breakage.

"That shit feels too good." I mumbled to myself, savoring the sensation of my fingers gliding through my hair. As I finished the detangling process, I gently fluffed my hair, allowing it to spring back into its fullness "I know that's right."

As I finished tending to my hair, I put away my comb and turned my attention to the bathroom counter. I grabbed a cleaning spray and a cloth and began to wipe away any hairs and debris.

"You're staring at me like you're in love or something." I turned to face Jamel, who was standing at the bathroom door. He had been there the whole time, silently observing me.