December 26th 2022
Roosevelt Island, New York
2:38 pm
"I don't know bout this Mina." Rashad calmly spoke, Amina turned around and kissed her teeth. "Come on." She pleaded in a sing song tone. The two were scheduled for a ride on the Roosevelt island tram and as time neared, Amina could tell Rashad was having second thoughts.
"It's something about facing my fears that I love—it gives me a thrill rush." Amina enthusiastically spoke as she adjusted his beanie on his head. "I'm not scared...I just don't know nobody that got on there before, niggas from Harlem don't do that." He replied, causing Amina to lightly chuckle. She could tell that underneath the facade, he was scared.
"Niggas from Harlem don't have fun?" Amina questioned, "No." Rashad replied, shaking his head causing Amina to kiss her teeth.
"Well, let's change the pattern with you." Amina spoke as she grabbed his large hand and pulled him away. Since it was the day after Christmas, the streets were pretty empty. Thankfully, because of this the duo was able to have a tram to theirselves. They stepped on and grabbed two seats by the window to ensure they got a perfect view.
"You nervous? You needa hold my hand?" Amina jibbed with a slight chuckle, Rashad kissed his teeth before playfully waving her off. "Fuck outta here." He spoke with his thick accent on full display. The tram started out a bit shaky but quickly resumed smoothly. Amina's eyes were glued to the window, in the midst of watching she grabbed her phone out of her purse and began to record.
"Tourist ass." Rashad spoke, catching Amina's attention. She looked over at him before focusing her attention back on the window. She gave him a small eye roll and smile. "You like New York?" He questioned.
"Yeah—Manhattan always makes me feel like I'm in my own episode of gossip girl." Amina lightly chuckled, "You like Harlem?" Rashad questioned, Amina nodded her head yes.
"I do...it's a lil dirty, but the culture behind it is nice." Amina explained, "Don't forget about my chopped cheese." She added as soon as the thought crossed her mind.
"I got you—we can go after this." Rashad replied. Once Amina felt like she had a good amount of video footage, she stopped recording and stuck her phone in her purse. "You ever think about moving back?" Amina asked as she looked over at him, Rashad immediately shook his head no while scrunching up his face. His answer sorta gave Amina a sense of security and relief.
"Besides my family, it ain't really shit for me here...and I like the man that Dallas is making me. I'm on some different shit now." Rashad explained, Amina nodded her head as she listened. He was dressed in the Pelle Pelle Amina got him, along with a pair of jeans, and a pair of wheat timberlands. That was something Amina loved about him—he always looked good, this played a major part in his persona as well.
"So, since I showed you my city, when you gon' show me yours?" Rashad questioned, Amina pursed her lips together to rub in her Fenty lip gloss. "You've been around Dallas." She finally replied.
Rashad shook his head no, "I'm talking about where you grew up, highland hills." He expounded, causing Amina to instantly scoff.
"It ain't nothing to see over there and there's no reason for me to be over there either." Amina announced, she took her attention away from him and placed it on the window once he did the same. "I can show you around Plano, east Dallas, or Frisco." Amina reasoned.
Rashad let out a small brief chuckle, "You can show me—but that's not you. Whether you like it or not, you're from the hood Mi. It ain't nothing to be ashamed of, you didn't stay in that predicament." He spoke.
"I'm not ashamed, I just choose not to be associated with it." Amina replied, Rashad slightly threw his hands up in surrender. "I got it—I ain't trynna force your hand." Rashad gave in.
Truth of the matter is, Amina wasn't ashamed of where she grew up. She just didn't fancy the memories that were attached to it. She also felt as if it wasn't anything to be proud of, being from the hood wasn't a badge of honor to her. She turned over a new leaf, and wasn't interested in turning back.
"You know people got stuck on one of these for like 11 hours in 06?" Rashad randomly announced, breaking the silence that fell upon the two. "Really? How'd they get down?" Amina questioned, hearing that news kinda spooked her, but she didn't want Rashad to sense it.
He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't remember—everybody was good though." He explained.
"Oh shit." Rashad laughed, "I ain't seen that building in mad long." He added, still laughing a bit. Amina searched for the building he was talking about, she assumed he was talking about the large brown building that appeared to be apartments.
"You lived there?" Amina asked, Rashad shook his head no. His light chuckle interrupted him as he attempted to explain, "I stole my pops car one time to see a girl that lived over there when I was 15." He spoke.
Amina's eyes slightly widened before she laughed, "It's never that serious—did you get in trouble?"
"Hell yeah, nigga sent me to Gabon for the whole summer." Rashad replied, Amina lightly smiled at the mention of Gabon. "I didn't know you were Gabonese—do you speak French?" She questioned.
"A lil bit..my moms is American and my pops is Gabonese, I stayed with my moms most of the time so I didn't fully catch on." Rashad explained. Amina noticed that the ride was coming to an end, they were back in the area that they started in. "Say something—or say whatever you know how to I'm French." Amina demanded.
Rashad licked his lips as he pondered on it, "tu es magnifique." He spoke. "What does that mean?" She questioned. She had the option to take French in high school, but often for Spanish once the counselor harshly told them they'd never get the chance to be amongst French speaking people, so Spanish was their best bet.
"Google it." He coolly chuckled as he stood up, Amina kissed her teeth as she did the same. "Just tell me." She spoke as they walked out the tram.
"That wasn't a part of the request—you only asked me to say something, not translate." Rashad teased, he stopped and eyed her. Amina held a faint smile on her face as she rolled her eyes, "you're annoying, you must be talking shit or something." She spoke.
Rashad opened her car door and watched her get in before traveling to the other side, he got in and instructed the driver to take them to a specific deli in east Harlem. Suddenly, Amina's phone began to ring. She grabbed the ringing phone from her purse and looked at the caller ID. To her surprise, it was Malik. She eyed the phone as she pondered on answering or not, by the time she decided on not answering—the call stopped. Making her missed notifications on her Lock Screen visible.
Missed Call
Malik
iMessage
Chalyn
You ain't posted nothing on your story in two days...is somebody holding you for ransom? Lol👀
iMessage
Melo
Still in Houston
Definitely trynna see you soon as I touch down
iMessage
Michelle
I better be seeing you for new years dinner!!
Amina replied to the messages before locking her phone, but this time deciding to keep it in her hand. She fleetingly wondered what Malik wanted, especially after their last encounter. On her end, there wasn't anything to discuss.
"You addicted to your phone." Rashad announced, Amina furrowed her eyebrows before kissing her teeth. "Please—this my first time pulling my phone out and being on it the whole day." She combatted.
"And don't talk to me until you translate." She added, Rashad waved her off. In little to no time, they arrived at the Deli. They hopped out the truck and migrated inside. Amina could closely compare the Deli to the one they visited yesterday, she figured they were all the generally the same. Amina stood beside Rashad while he ordered, well, that was until she slipped away to get them some drinks. She grabbed them each an Arizona before joining Rashad's side again.
"Rashad!" A child like voice called out, causing Amina to look over. She saw Rashad smiling as big as she'd ever seen before. He picked the little girl up and kissed her forehead. "Wassup Plum." He smiled.
"Hey Rashad." A more mature voice called out, based off looks, Amina assumed it was the little girl's mother. They shared the same butterscotch skin tone and loose curly hair. Amina noticed some type of static between them, because Rashad didn't reply.
"I'm surprised you're still here?" She voiced as she adjusted the silver MCM tote bag on her shoulder, "Yeah." Rashad replied, the girl nodded tucked her bottom lip into her mouth as her eyes switched between Amina and Rashad.
"I'm Drea—that's my daughter Sahara." Drea announced to Amina as she closely eyed her. "I'm Amina." Amina shortly replied, she could sense Drea thought she was romantically involved with Rashad.
"This is my niece, Plummie." Rashad proudly announced, Amina smiled at the little girl. She knew how it felt to have an uncle that adored you. The little girl sent Amina a smile and wave before sliding out of Rashad's arms and running over to the candy.
"But I'll see you Shad—happy new year if I don't see you again before then." She spoke, Rashad didn't bother to speak, only nod his head. Drea gave Amina one last look before turning around and walking away.
December 27th 2022
Manhattan, New York
4:27 pm
All the while, Rashad continued to be a gracious host. The duo ventured away from Harlem and visited New York's Burroughs. Currently in the Tribeca area, there wasn't a stop they made that Rashad didn't explain the importance or history of the specific area. You could tell Rashad had a profound love for New York, for Amina—it was nice to see him in that element. The saying "there's no place like home" was very true for Rashad, she could tell that he liked Dallas but he loved his city.
In the midst of Rashad talking, Amina turned her head to get a glimpse out of her window. She did a double take before turning back to Rashad. "Isn't that where A tribe called quest filmed the video for electric relaxation?" Amina questioned, square diner was the name of the landmark. 30 years later, and it looked extremely different.
Rashad looked over, the corners of his mouth went opposite ways exposing his white teeth. "Yeah, it is—how you know?" He questioned.
Amina shrugged before lightly chuckling, "I guess I watched the video a lot."
"I gotta take you over to the old Apollo—I think you'd like that." Rashad spoke, "I don't fuck with them, especially how they did my girl Lauryn." Amina joked, followed by a laugh.
"She ain't let it stop her—aye, that's some real shit though. You can't let niggas opinions detour you from your passion." Rashad spoke, Amina nodded her head in agreement.
"Thank you for inviting me, I didn't know how this was gonna go but I'm glad I'm came." Amina announced. These were her raw feelings, she was really growing to love to be around Rashad. It almost made her sad to know that her own biased feelings almost made her miss out on such a kind soul with both a beautiful interior and exterior. "Of course, thank you for coming and not being on that I'm not going no where with a drug dealer bullshit." He replied before lightly chuckling, causing Amina to do the same. She kissed her teeth before playfully waving him off.
After leaving the car, they began to walk. Amina was adamant about sight seeing, so Rashad scheduled that in for her. They walked side by side with their hands stuffed into the pockets of their coats. "Oh and thank you." Amina voiced, causing Rashad to look over. His thick eyebrows were furrowed, indicating that he was confused.
"I took your advice and used google...thank you for the compliment." She smiled. Her light case of insomnia last night led to her googling the phrase, Rashad was out like a light so she made a mental note to bring it up in the morning. "I got one for you." She pursed her lips together, in attempt to mask her smile.
"Let me hear it." Rashad instructed. "j'aime être près de toi." Amina voiced the best way she could, Rashad licked his lips before chuckling.
"Was that good?" She questioned, "It was perfect." He replied.
After sight seeing, the duo headed back to the hotel. Amina moved around the room, gathering her things since today was their last full day. They'd be heading back to Dallas tomorrow evening. Amina was starting to understand Rashad's fascination with night flights, although she was packing her things up now, she loved how much procrastination time she had.
"You coming to Blue's for new years?" Rashad questioned. While Amina gathered her belongings, Rashad sat on the bed drinking one of the iced matcha lattes they picked up on the way back to the hotel. "I'm not sure yet—I told my auntie I'd bring in the new year with my family." Amina replied.
"The count down only 10 seconds long, you can still slide by after being with your family." Rashad replied, Amina looked up and shot him a grin. "I'll see." Amina assured. She thought about how she was going to divide her time, she knew for a fact she wasn't going to be anywhere but with her family when the new year struck and that was undebatable.
"Can I ask you something?" Amina questioned as she zipped her duffel bag and sat it on the floor, Rashad nodded his head yes. In a split second, Amina changed her mind. "It's okay—it might be too personal." She replied.
Rashad kissed his teeth, "That's mad annoying, just say it." His voice was full of irritation, so Amina figured her backing out of asking the question would annoy him more than asking the question. He was pretty transparent for the most part anyway.
"Are you gonna see your mom before we leave?" Amina questioned. She found herself pressing those around her who had living mother's to maintain relationships with them. She knew Rashad went to visit his niece, but wondered if he'd do the same to his mother. "Nah—I sent her a merry Christmas text and she'll get another on new years." Rashad replied.
Amina sulked a bit but didn't want to press an issue, she understood that family being family wasn't an excuse to let them ill treat you. She sensed that this was an iffy subject for Rashad, so she dropped it. She wasn't going to suggest any actions, not wanting to add salt to his burn. She did have one more harmless question though.
"What about your dad?" She asked, "He live in Gabon now—he moved like two years ago." Rashad answered, Amina nodded her head.
"Was Mr. Blue your mom's brother or dad's?" She asked as soon as the question crossed her mind. "My dad's." Rashad answered. She grabbed her phone and laid against the headboard, she wanted to lay on his chest but didn't want to cross any boundaries. Amina scrolled through Twitter, all while deciding if it was appropriate or not to lay on him.
"How I do this?" He questioned, sticking his phone in Amina's face. On the screen was Amina's booking website, she lightly chuckled as she gently pushed his phone away. "You can't book a retwist on my site, it's not an offered service." Amina replied.
"So how I'm posed to book my appointment?" Rashad asked, "Just text me when you wanna come, I'll let you know if I'm available." Amina explained.
He nodded his head, "Aight—can I come when we land?" He asked, Amina nodded her head yes.
"And how much I owe you?" He questioned, Amina shrugged nothing. "Nothing, I'm not that good to be charging." Amina replied.
Rashad kissed his teeth, "Here you go with that shit—and you are good, if you wasn't I wouldn't have came back."
Amina chuckled, "If it was ugly, would you have told me it was ugly?" She questioned.
"Hell yeah." Rashad replied, making Amina laugh even harder. Something about the seriousness on his face made it funnier. "Rashad—that's mean." Amina chuckled.
"Nah, that's honest. That's like me telling you if your screen door was lifting or something—I rather tell you than a stranger." Rashad explained, Amina furrowed her eyebrows together. "Screen door?" She questioned.
"The top piece." Rashad replied in a duh tone, Amina paused trying to figure out what he was talking about. Once it came to her she let out a short laugh, "Nigga you mean a frontal?" Amina chuckled.
"Same thing, they both got the lil dots." Rashad replied, right before Amina could reply her phone began to ring. She eyed Chalyn's contact name before pressing the lime green button at the top of her phone. Amina didn't get the chance to say hello due to the crying on the other side of the phone.
"Cha—What's wrong?" Amina questioned, instinctively she got off the bed and began to pace around. Her friend's cry was loud and distraught, Amina could feel in her gut that something wasn't right. "It's Dell, this man sent my nudes to my family—my mom, my brothers, my grandparents—Fuckin everybody." Chalyn cried. Amina couldn't say this action was out of character for Dell, one his energy was off putting, and two he was a man. No one was more vindictive than a man that was upset with you.
"How he mad that he's married? That's not something he can take out on you." Amina fussed, Rashad was fully engaged in the conversation. He mouthed "Who's that?" Only for Amina to wave him off.
"Is he mad that you don't wanna be with him or something?" Amina questioned as she continued to pace around the room, "He said I ruined his marriage—I swear to God Amina, I didn't know he was married." Chalyn bawled out.
"His old ass trynna play mind games, he very well knew he was married. Don't let him do that to you." Amina spoke, her heart was torn for her friend. Chalyn was a sweet girl and didn't deserve this—any of it.
"Shit just keep piling up. First I found out he's married and now my family got my nudes emailed to them." Chalyn sniffled, Amina's mouth fell into a pout. "How you know he sent them? It could've been Mariah—you think?" Amina questioned.
"It was him. He did it right after we argued, I let his ass have it. Hung up in face and went to sleep and woke up to my whole family texting and calling me." Chalyn explained.
"Can you come over Mimi? I'm scared he might pop up over here." Chalyn asked, her tone was shaky indicating that she was nervous. "I—I'm not in Dallas right now." Amina replied. She figured Chalyn wouldn't have too many questions given her current state of mind.
Chalyn sighed before sniffling, "Can you stay on the phone with me then?" Amina sat down on the bed before sticking her phone on the charger, "Of course." She replied.
December 29th 2022
Dallas, Texas
2:53 am
Amina pulled her key out of her pocket before inserting it into the lock, once her front door was unlocked she stepped aside so Rashad could come in. She watched Rashad step into her home before walking in as well and closing the door behind her. Everything was exactly how she left it, even the water bottle she was sipping from before leaving. Amina stepped out of her Uggs before removing her Burberry coat and sitting it on the back of her middle barstool.
She noticed Rashad had carried her bag to her room, so she followed. "You might as well stay—it's too late for you to drive back home." Amina announced. Rashad nodded his head as he pulled off his hoodie, revealing his chiseled and fully tattooed chest. She took her eyes off of him and walked over to her dresser to retrieve a pair of pajamas.
Since she did it before, she decided to do it again and change in front of him. Once the outfits were swapped, Amina walked into her bathroom to discard of the soil clothing.
"Damn, I wish you had a TV in here." Rashad announced as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and sat it on Amina's dresser before digging into his suitcase. Soon, he pulled out a pair of fresh Ralph Lauren pajama bottoms and slipped them on. "Why?" Amina questioned.
"Cause, it's weird falling asleep to silence—maybe I think too loud or something." He explained, once Amina was in the bed she realized she forgot to put her bonnet on, but she didn't feel like getting back up. "What you thinking bout?" Amina questioned.
"Nothing in particular, I'm just saying. The silence be too loud." He spoke. Amina was looking at him, but she wasn't listening. The natural moonlight from the window beamed on him, giving her a good glimpse of him in the dark room. The duo looked at each other without saying a word, as if they were in a daze.
Time seemed to stop as they slowly moved in toward each other, soon their lips collided onto each other's. Amina's body underwent a shocking sensation as their lips touched, his lips were soft, just as she imagined. The kissed deepened once Amina parted her lips, allowing Rashad's tongue entry into her mouth. Her womanhood throbbed as his hands roamed her body, the slight pleasure was almost enough to make her moan.
As the kiss continued, Rashad found himself in between Amina's legs. Their bodies were heatedly pressed together, she could feel his fully erected member against her wetness, which made her want him even more. She tugged at his pants, causing him to pull away and look at her.
"You sure?" He questioned, Amina shyly nodded her head yes. Although she was oddly nervous, she was still eager. Rashad kissed her forehead before kissing her lips once more. "You got a condom?" He asked.
"We don't need one." Amina replied as she used his chain to gently pull him closer. They helped each other out of their clothing, leaving them both fully naked. Rashad rubbed his member against Amina's slit before entering, causing them both to moan. Rashad gyrated in and out of Amina, all while keeping eye contact.
The feeling of him thrusting in and out of her sent pleasure through her body, Rashad crashed his lips into hers as his pace sped up. Bliss filled Amina's body making her feel euphoric, she broke the kiss to moan out once Rashad started to hit her spot.
"Ugh." She moaned out as she dug her nails into his forearms, "Fuck." Rashad grunted, his eyes never left hers.
"Rashad—uhh." Amina moaned as she placed her hand on his stomach, this only made him press his body against hers. "Stop running." His deep voice spoke into her ear, sending chills through her body. Instantly making her reach her climax. Her body jolted, causing her mouth to form an O shape. She never had an orgasm so intense, so intense that she could feel an energy shift in the room. His love felt like all four seasons growing inside of her.
"You look so pretty while you cummin on me." Rashad spoke, as he finished her off with long hard strokes. "Shit." He moaned, biting his bottom lip. Amina let out a loud yelp as reached the peak of her waterfall. Rashad continued to stroke, all while reaching his climax as well. He grabbed her by her throat and pulled her into a kiss.
"Come here." He instructed as he laid back and guided Amina to sit on his face. Amina threw her head back as Rashad's warm tongue rubbed on her clit, she sat on his face slightly grinding back as forth as pleasure took over her body. He put his hands to use by caressing her fully hardened nipples.
"Ouuu yesss." Amina moaned. The stimulation from both the nipple play and Rashad licking her clit had her body in a frenzy. She stopped and silently chuckled, she would've never though Rashad's quiet ass could fuck and munch like this. Despite this being his first time touching her, he knew her body.
Amina's stomach began to cave in as she reached yet another climax, she attempted to hop off but Rashad locked his arms around her legs while continuing to kiss her now sensitive clit. Once she was free, she moved off of his face and to his lap. Amina grabbed his goatee to initiate a sloppy kiss. She got up from his lap and assumed back shot position by getting on all 4s, her ass was perfectly tooted in the air as she awaited Rashad's entry.
Rashad smacked her ass before sliding in, his strokes were full of rhythm, making a sound as their bodies slapped together. Tears ran from Amina's eyes due to the good feeling of him inside of her, she was on cloud 9 while taking every inch of his long and thick member.
"Mhm." Rashad moaned before grabbing a handful of her hair, Amina caught the rhythm and started to throw it back. "Damn you throwing that shit back." He spoke before giving her ass a firm spank. It wasn't long before Amina's walls started to pulsate, indicating that she'd be climaxing soon. Rashad pulled out and flipped her over, wanting to finish in missionary.
Their lips locked as they reached their climaxes together, they breathlessly eyed each other after their final orgasm of the night. Rashad collapsed on Amina, attempting to catch his breath.
"Hold on—I gotta pee." Amina announced as she tapped his arm, Rashad got up, giving Amina the space to scurry into the bathroom. Peeing after sex was mandatory, no matter what pleasure high she was on—she was gonna get up to pee afterwards. She did her business before returning to the bed, Rashad pulled Amina into his arms before drifting asleep.