Houston, Texas
"Don't cry, lil baby. I'ma FaceTime you every day. I promise," Meek said, kissing Nicki on the lips.
He wiped her tears and kissed her forehead. She sniffled and wrapped her arms around him.
"I don't want you to leave me," she pouted.
"I know, baby. I'd do anything to stay, but I can't."
She sniffled again and looked at the people from his school getting on their bus. She stepped back and looked at him.
"I guess you have to go now," she said sadly.
"I'll call you as soon as we get to Philly, aight?"
She nodded. She hugged him and kissed him again. Then, handed him a folded pink paper.
"Don't read it yet. Wait until you're driving off."
"Aight. I love you."
She sighed. "I love you too."
He hugged her and then walked off. Getting on the bus, he sat down and sighed.
--
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Walking into the house, my mom instantly hugged me. Na ran up, hugging my legs.
"Meek, you're back!" Na smiled.
"How was it?" My mom asked. "Did you find a college that you like?"
I sighed. "Nah, not really."
"Well, there's plenty of colleges to pick from. I'm sure you'll find one. I just finished dinner, by the way. I'll take your bags up. Na, come help me."
"Okay!"
They took his bags upstairs and Meek sighed, going to the couch. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the pink paper and opened it. There was a red heart at the top and writing in red ink. He started reading it.
"I didn't fall in love with you.
I walked into love with you,
with my eyes wide open,
choosing to take
every step along the way.
I do believe in fate and destiny,
but I also believe
we are only fated
to do the things
that we'd choose anyway.
And I'd choose you;
in a hundred lifetimes,
in a hundred worlds,
in any version of reality,
I'd find you
and I'd choose you."
He smiled, shaking his head. He looked at her signature at the bottom with a heart where the dot on the "i" should be.
"Who's it from?" He heard his mom ask.
He sighed. "Onika."
"You meet her on the trip?"
"Yeah. She so perfect to me."
Kathy laughed. "Explain."
"When I first met her, I liked the vibe she was giving me. She just so intelligent and beautiful. She not boring either. She the type of girl that you can just stay up all night with, having one million conversations. She love poetry too, and I love that. She told me that she wanted to be a model so I made it happen. I got her a photoshoot set up and she actually got signed. She so beautiful, ma. I took her on little dates and we just hung out and shit. She really so perfect. She just adorable too. Her voice so nice and her skin is so soft. She always smell real good. She cried when I had to leave and that broke my heart. I just wanted to stay there and hold her forever. She so perfect."
"You really like her, huh?" Kathy asked.
Meek sighed. "I love her."
"After 5 days?" She asked.
"Yeah. Like she said, love don't got a time frame. I'm sure I love her. 100 percent."
Kathy laughed. "She isn't fast is she?"
"Nah. She was innocent when I met her. She still is, but not so much anymore. I miss her so much."
"I tell you what," Kathy sighed. "I'll try to make some arrangements to drive down to Texas next weekend so that you can see her again. No promises."
Meek's eyes widened. "For real?"
"Yes. As long as her parents are okay with it."
"She lives by herself."
Kathy frowned. "How old is she?"
"Seventeen."
"What's she doing living alone?"
Meek looked at her. "Her pops dead and her mom got cancer, so she in the hospital. Nicki living with her younger brother. She raising him."
"Oh wow. That's very sad," Kathy said.
"I know. Nicki wanna go to college real bad, but she gotta be there for her brother. He only eight. He still in elementary school."
Kathy sighed. "Sometimes that's just how the world works. I'll try to make those arrangements for you, okay? I can see that she makes you happy."
Meek nodded. Kathy got up and started walking towards the kitchen.
"Y'all come eat!"
--
Houston, Texas
"Did you have fun on your trip?" Caiah asked Nicki.
Nicki nodded, not saying much. She put string beans on his plate and put it on the table before pouring him some juice.
"You look different," Caiah said, sitting down.
"How?" She asked.
He shrugged. "I dunno."
"I got a job as a model," she told him, while fixing his own plate.
"Really?" His eyes lit up.
She nodded, laughing a little.
"I'm gonna be making more money. I can save up and get us a big house or a big apartment"
"Yes! I like that you're modeling, Nika. You're pretty for it."
She laughed, sitting down. "Thanks, Caiah."
They prayed over their food then started eating. After a while, they were done, so Nicki made sure Caiah had taken his bath and gone to sleep. She cleaned up the kitchen and took a shower. When she got out, she got dressed and got in the bed.
She couldn't help but miss Meek. She had spoken to him on the phone earlier when he told her that they had arrived in Philly. Grabbing her phone, she called him.
"Baby," he answered.
She pouted. "I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, lil baby, but don't get all sad on me. I got a surprise for you soon. Don't hold me to it, though."
"Meek, I hate surprises."
He chuckled. "Well you gonna love this one."
"I guess. What are you doing?"
"Laying down. Thinking about you."
She giggled. "So corny. I wish you were here. I want to cuddle."
"You love cuddling," he laughed.
"So much."
He licked his lips. "I liked your poem. That shit was real sweet. Made me regret leaving."
"It took a lot of time for me to make that. I didn't know how to word it," she told him.
"It was perfect. Just like you."
She blushed and smiled.
"I miss you so much."
"I miss you too, baby, but listen. I'ma call you in the morning, aight?" He asked.
She sighed. "Okay. I love you."
"I love you too."
They hung up and Nicki pouted, turning over. She didn't know how she had become so attached to him in such little time, but she liked it. She turned over and went to sleep with Meek on her mind.
--
y'all gonna love this NEXT chapter
chay 🍍
