Fortitude

22-Flirty

"Uhm... hey... are you Riziki's brother?" The question clearly aimed at Taji.

"Yeah , why?" He answered shooting them his million dollar smile. The girl actually blushed at that and Riziki just stood there completely amused.

"We... I... we just wanted to ask you if you could... uhm... if we could check out your car, like inside it," she went on with her head held down to hide her blush. I rolled my lips into my mouth to conceal the laughter that was threatening to burst out but my dear sister just broke out into a loud hysterical laugh.

Taji shook his head then smirked at her then said, "I'm giving Riziki the keys, be back in ten minutes okay?" He handed the keys to Riziki and they skipped away following Riz who amplified her laughter, intentionally making them feel even more embarrassed.

"Well isn't that something," I said when I eventually laughed. Taji immediately stopped smiling and stared dead into my eyes then said, "Just a client."

"Hate to break it to you, but it is what it is,"

"So," he began as he took one step closer to me making me take one step back, "Are you going to tell me that you don't feel a thing," he continued taking another step forward then lowering his voice as he brought his face closer to mine,"at all?" He finished with a smirk.

I put my hands on his chest and gently pushed him away and said,"Taji... there's children around." My voice came out choked as I nervously darted my eyes everywhere else but his face. This was absolutely not the time to get lost in those hazel eyes.

"So?" He asked his voice getting lower. I stepped to the side then got as far as I possibly could in the desk filled classroom. "You just declared that you're our brother so this is completely inappropriate." I said crossing my arms on my chest. He then just started laughing, like really loudly, then asked,"What did I do? We were just talking,"

This man is difficult.

I rolled my eyes then headed straight for the door. "Strawberry," he called put in a childish voice. I chuckled a bit then turned. He caught up with me and continued, "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable-" his apology was cut short as his eyes darted behind me and a shadow appeared behind me.

"Strawberry?" Jabari's voice roared in the almost empty classroom as he laughed. I don't know why, but I wanted to break his face for making fun of Taji, who actually looked completely irked.

I sighed then turned to say hi with my most genuine plastic smile,"Hey Jab."

"Hey hey!" He said back then pulled me into a warm hug. Normally, I'd get weak in the knees as I took in his scent but this time, I wanted to barf. Probably because his little red head was right behind him. He let me go and I took the opportunity to survey her outfit. She was more covered up than I saw her last time, with a plaid cami dress that reached a little above the knee. She came up to me with a grin and hugged me.

"Who's your chubby friend, strawberry,"Jabari asked, still mocking the nickname. What I didn't understand is how he had the audacity to call him chubby. He was, but no one in their right sense of mind mentions it on day one jeez! If someone poked Taji with a needle at that moment, he would burst out all the rage he was trying so hard to mask behind his plastic smile. His genuine smiles usually made his eyes seem like they were glowing as little wrinkles formed on the sides. What he had on his face was anything but. However, if you didn't know him well enough, you'd fall for it.

Why do I actually know that.
And where did Lily go?
Sigh.
Say he's your boyfriend.
Say he's your boyfriend.
Say he's your boyfriend.