Aeipathy ➳ Normani ✓

fourteen

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Two hours and half a bottle of sweet wine later, the two best friends were sprawled out on the couch beside each other and continued with the conversation that had been interrupted earlier on.

"How did you meet Faye?" Normani asked.

Anika crossed her ankles and turned her head to her best friend.

"At a grocery store. She bumped into me and sent all my tinned cans flying all over the aisle floor," Anika replied with a dopey smile.

"Ooh, romantic," Normani said.

"Whatever," Anika said while waving her off.

"Anyway, so she knocked all my tins from my hands and she felt really bad about it, obviously and helped me pick them up. She wore this cute yellow sweater and high waist jeans and as she handed me those tins, I thought 'damn, she's cute. I got her to give me her number'and the rest is history."

"You finessed her? Wow, damn, I didn't know you had it in you. I'm actually proud."

"Thank you."

"Are you happy with her?"

Anika nodded, "very. She's special."

Her cheeks tinged pink and Normani couldn't help but be endeared.

"What was it like when you met her for the first time?"

"Nerve-wrecking," Anika replied with a shuddery breath. "We'd planned it for weeks and stuff right, but the day it arrived I could barely even eat. I drove to her house and for the entire two-and-a-half hour ride from Houston to Texas my leg was twitching. I made it to her family home and she was waiting for me on the curb and when I got out of the car and saw her for the first time – I don't know, Mani, it felt like I'd found the gold at the end of the rainbow. She just held on to me for a long time and my heart just started beating really fast. She makes me so happy, I can't describe it. I only have to wait a few more weeks until she moves here. I can't wait."

Anika hadn't even realised it, but her smile was so wide and genuine and Normani couldn't remember the last time her best friend had been this happy.

"So when she moves here, where's she going to live?"

"She's moving into an apartment complex not far from here."

"You told me she's going to community college right? What does she want to be?"

"She wants to be a social worker. She wants to help children especially, isn't that great?"

Normani could almost see the stars shining in Anika's deep brown eyes.

"And she's so pretty, like, super pretty. She's got these big brown eyes that sparkle in the sun and these freckles across her cheeks. You know how I feel about freckles. It's like God spent extra time making her, her beauty is unbelievable."

"Wow, you are so far into this rabbit hole," Normani said.

"I was in too deep from the moment I met her. I can't explain it Mani, she's just so... she's, yeah."

"Lovesick looks so cute on you. On a real note, I am so happy for you, Nika. You deserve this."

"Thank you Mani, I can't remember the last time I was this happy."

"So when will I get to meet your future wife?"

"Soon," Anika replied and then added, "but now that we're done with me I want to know about you and that fine man of yours."