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Chapter 26
Part 2
Learning themselves
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(The thing about dating people is you learn alot about them but date someone who ask about your childhood and why you are the way you are, they will love you better then anyone else)
Erik was so damn infuriating...but i missed him. I could'nt deny it either. The first two days i didnt care i had still been angry but then when i had to do everything by myself that i grew so use to doing with him is when it hit me, i even missed him calling me noodle head.
Laying in bed, on the velour sheets i stare at the bright blue numbers on my clock that blares 1:53 am before i roll over careful of my hand that was wraped up from the glass shattering and cutting it.
I turn over again trying to get comfortable to fall sleep but i cant i just keep thinking about how i shoulve went out with Luca and Amara but i knew Erik would be with them. I sit up remembering the project thats due in 2 days and how i can finish it up until i fall asleep. Climbing out of bed i begin pulling things from all over my room and slap my hand against my head.
I let out a "fuck" for two reason.
I had used my hand that i hurt to hit my head; and two because i remember where i left my laptop.
Eriks place.
Putting on some leggings, his hoodie and a pair of sneakers i pray to bast that the 3 of them are still out at the club as i ride as fast as possible to his house. The streets where damp and empty most likely due to the rain showers we had earlier but i could still hear music through out the streets. When i get there i dont see his car in the usual parking spot which makes me grin as i turn off my motorcycle and run up to his apartment.
I use the key that he gave me to quietly open the door, yet the last thing i expect when i walk in is to feel a gun against my head the minute i shut the door. Out of instinct i hold my hands up and freeze having no idea what the hell was going on.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He hiccups and i dont miss the slurr in his voice though he doesnt sound angry i know better. He was tipsy and probably having a ptsd episode which right now wasnt the best combination.
"I just came to get my laptop" i whisper turning around to face him and when i see the derranged look in his eye i know hes probably in some flash back and i slowly drop my hands knowing what i was doing was probably about to get me killed.
"Erik hey listen-"
"Killmonger" he says and i feel the breath sucked out of me. He joked about him being the cause of my death i just never expected it to be...surreal.
I take a step closer to him the floor board creaking under my converses which makes him click the safety off. Well, fuck.
"Killmonger..." i start off not knowing how he would react but he doesnt move so i continue speaking.
"i have a mission for you" i say softly and his eyes lock with mine as i take a larger step forward and he nods for me to continue what im saying. I use the moment his eyes flicker to the gun (which is still pointed at my head) to take the last 3 steps to him and pull him into a hug.
"N'jadaka" i humm out swaying running my hands over his markings and his body just freezes up. "phu laphule ilizwi lam" listen to my voice i tell him in our language feeling as his body relaxes.
"Ndilapha kunye nawe" (im right here with you) i add kissing the scar in the middle of his chest listening as the gun drops with a thud onto the ground and his arms wrap around me.
"Malika i-" he begins but i shush him. I just want to hold him nothing needs to be said.
Somehow we ended up on the couch and his head in my lap a bottle of water clutched tightly in his fist that wasnt gripping my thigh. Even though we werent on good terms he needed me right now. He was vulnerable and tipsy and a mess, i know he didnt want to be alone. I run my fingers through his dreads to soothe him before tracing my fingers down his jaw making him snap out of whatever he was thinking about so heavily.
"Why didnt you call me?" I ask slightly upset by how he closed himself off so quickly, just because we had a falling out doesnt erase how close we were or the bond we had with another. I wasnt going to leave him to deal with this alone because he told me how hard it was.
He shrugs. Sighing i move my hands from his jaw and let it rest on his shoulders but he moves it back to his jaw. I cant help the slight grin knowing he liked that so i continue until he falls asleep.
2 days later
Sitting on my bed with my textbooks and study guide spread out infront of me and my laptop playing 90's music that erik put me on to i groan in frustration. I read the same sentence four times and it wasnt making sense...at all. My eyes were tired and my stomach was begining to growl even my legs cramping up from sitting in the same position.
I begin craving the donuts i rejected from Erik earlier and groan. We still werent talking and yes i was still mad but he was trying to sucker me into talking to him by bringing me breakfast and starting conversations about class with me like everything was ok.
"Hey Mal you have a guest" Amara says standing in my door way with her arms crossed and erik walks in looking...nervous. Amara gives him her best 'glare' before looking at me.
"If you need me ill be in the kitchen...where we keep all the sharp knives" she says before bunping his shoulder but because hes so muscular it hurts her more then it hurts him.
"Why are you here?" I ask putting down my textbook and crossing my arms, But he sends me a boyish grin.
"I cant come see you now?" He ask and i roll my eyes picking up my text book and focusing back on that same sentence.
"No. Now you know where the door is, show yourself to it" i sigh casually as i pick up a green highlighter and highlighting the sentence before turning the page.
"Fuck...mal i..." he groans and i ignore him reading the pink highlighted parts again. He walks over pulling the book out my hands and closes it tossing it on the edge of the bed.
"I cant take you not fuckin with me Mal, like this cold shoulder shit is pissing me off baby i get it ok. I know im wrong! I know i shouldnt have came at you like that, dont you think i know i got some shit wrong with me like i get extremely jealous and possessive and it frustrates me cause i never felt that before and i dont know how to express that shit, i never been able to talk about my feelings even before my..my..you know." He begins ranting and i cant even open my mouth to say anything.
"I aint never been close with anybody like this before, nobody took the time to get to know me like you did...and i really like you Malika that was why i asked you to be my girl . So yeah i get jealous and possessive cause i dont want nobody to have you but when all the shit happened i got angry cause i opened up and finally let somebody in and felt...shit whats the word...um hurt...yeah because i thought you was playing me so i had to push you away because i was getting attatched and i wasnt use to all the feelings that came with it." He blurts pacing back and forth giving me eye contact every once in a while to make sure im still listening but how could i not?
He never talked about his feelings honestly he never told me he actually liked me just asked me to be his girl but here he was pouring out his feelings, explaining why he did what he did and even admitting he was wrong which was something i didnt think he was capable of.
"I just...i know im alot but i need you to be patient with me" he finishes clenching his fist not in an angry way but in a nervous manor and im still stuck for words trying to find anything to say.
"Ok so imma take the silence as sexual tension and i really dont want to be here when Erik lays pipe so uh...imma just go" Amara says from the door way and i want to laugh because i knew she was nosy and wasnt going to the kitchen and listening the whole time. When i hear the front door slam and the lock click Erik turns back to me with a expectant look.
"Can you say something...theres alot of new feelings inside me and its making my chest burn" he tells me and i sigh leaning over to get me text book.
"I dont know what you want me to say N'jadaka you stormed in while i was in the middle of studying to give me some half ass apology-" i start but he cuts me off furrowing his eyebrows.
"Half assed?" He ask jerking his head back and i can see the anger brewing in his eyes and i nod flipping through the pages.
"I said what i said. You came with empty hands no food or snacks knowing its finals weak and ive been in my room studying the past few days like im confused as to how...what are you doing?" I ask when he opens my closet and starts pulling stuff out throwing it at me.
"Put that on im taking you to get something to eat if thats what you want" he tells me before pulling out his phone checking something. I pick up the orange long sleeve sweater, the purple highwaisted shorts and thigh high sparkly boots.
"Erik this dont match i cant wear this" i complain with a tiny laugh and he sucks his teeth before agreeing and looking me over taking in the cropped black sweater, white nike shorts and fur slides.
"You right you gon' take to long to get dressed anyway, what you got on is fine even that garbage bag on your head" he mutters picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
Letting out a laugh i beat on his pack trying to get him to put me down "first of all its a bonnet" i tell him but of course, he's not paying me any mind though just takes off the bonnet and replaces it with my nike hat, grabs my keys off the hook and walks out the door locking it. All with me still over his shoulder.
When we get downstairs to where his car is he places me on my feet, grabs my face in his hands and leaves little kisses all over my face making me giggle. "That doesnt mean all my anger is gone erik, you said some messed up shit that hurt" i admitt and his smile drops along with his positive attitude.
"I know...and imma fix it. I wont do that anymore" he says seriously-
-and i just nod as we get in the car and he drives me somewhere far the only reason i dont complain was because of the promise of food. Looking over at erik i can tell hes really focused on driving and i just grin, because as much as i use to deny this boy, fight with him argue and just be flat out mean— i was infatuated with him. He holds my hand in his much larger one kissing the back of my hand before interlocking our fingers and my heart swells with happyness.
He was doing the mushy shit.
Eriks pov
I watch her as she rants happily about the returaunt i brought her to, i knew she was a pescatarian and because D.C. had everything i knew they had a food spot for pescatarians. Until i met her i aint know what the hell it was but she taught me something new and its rare a person could do that.
Malika was a walking paradox, she was patient but also a time bomb, she was kind but had a bad attitude, she was open minded but the most stubborn person i had ever met but everything about that...about her excited me. I never had a girl who could yell at me and it got my dick hard, never met a girl who could outwitt me and had a comeback for everything i said and never met a girl who had a solid right hook like her ill never tell her but that day we was play fighting at the gym i was dizzy as hell after she rocked my damn jaw.
She wasnt one of those girls who didnt know how fine she was cause she knew and she made sure i know and in so many ways her personality was like mine and i loved it.
"Are you even listening" she ask flipping through the menu and i shake my head making her glare. "The waitress came over here and asked what we wanted to drink but you were stairing at me" she tells me with a confused expression.
"What i cant look at you now?" I ask with a scoff licking my lips (because my carmax always magically disappears around her)which makes her grin wider and she covers it with the menu but i can hear her light giggle. I lean forward pulling the menu out her hands watching as she looks away from me biting her lip trying to keep herself from smiling so hard. I loved yet hated when she did that shit.
"Can i have the menu back please im enjoying looking at the menu" she huffs with a fake attitude though shes still smiling goofily while trying to reach over the table for it. Who the hell enjoys looking at a menu?! I think about all the times shes done petty stuff and smirk at her.
"CAn i HaVE tHe MEnu bAcK pLeASe" i mock her before laughing and she glares at me crossing her arms with one of her famous eye rolls.
"You so childish Erik" she complains but the smirk on her face says otherwise. She had her moments where she could play as much as i did and even be more playful then i was. Before i could reply to her the waitress comes back with our drinks before asking what we would like to order and i realize the panic on Malikas face. She hated being unprepared and making people wait on her like they dont get paid to do exactly that.
"Lemme get like 2 pounds of snow crab legs, a basket of fried shrimp, a pound of streamed shrimp, my girlfriend uppity as hell so you could get her a lobster tail too and shes weird she likes shit like asaparagus so a side of that and a order of mashed potatoes with extra butter" i tell the waitress giving her the menu, who nods sending malika that "girl code" look and malika sends the smirk back.
"Erik how much is all that?" She ask shocked and i shrug, but that was a lie of course i knew i had this planned out since i found this resturaunt but the plan was to treat her to it.
"I dont like that look you had when i said 'thats some hoe shit' the other day" i tell her which makes her glare at me and i realize what i said sounded rude though i didnt mean it like that. She shifts in her seat and begins playing with the ends of her braid and if its one thing i know is my girls body language she was using anger to deflect away from the question.
"Its nothing" she finally says and i roll my eyes annoyed that she was just going to lie like that.
"Malika—!" i start but i cant be aggressive thats what she wanted, wanted me to get angry so it could start a petty argument and she wouldnt have to tell me. Moving over to her side of the booth i sit close to her holding her hand in mine. "Talk to me baby" i tell her and she does.
So she starts with the bad relationship with her brother W'kabi, how once their parents died he turned into her biggest bully picking on her, making fun of her and saying the most violating stuff to her. She tells me about her first boyfriend, some gorilla nigga and how he also taught her how to fight and by the time shes halfway done the waitress brings out our food and she automatically goes for the crab legs and begins devouring them. I love a girl who can eat, following her lead i start breaking the crab legs and enjoying until something she says doesnt make sense.
"Wait you said wakabi stole your steak...if you ate steak back then when did you turn into a pescetarian?" I ask her peeling one of the steamed shrimp and throwing it in my mouth. Now i see why she ate seafood all the time, these shrimps were good as hell.
"When i was dating M, i spent alot of time in jabari land to avoid the slander of my brother and the temporary tribe leader, and they are vegatarians...well most of them they have the best rivers and lakes so they have a ample amount of sea life-"
I take note of how when she talks about wakanda her vocabulary changes into broader and more descriptive words and i can tell she misses it, by the way her face brightens like some cartoon character i can tell she loves it. She pushes the crab legs to the side and eyes me before taking the lobster and i smirk cause i knew she wanted it.
"of course they trade with the main lands and stuff but they have alot of people who didnt want just a plant based diet so they were pescetarians, ill never forget ugogo. For the longest she was the only one who accepted me in jabari land she taught me about the diet, the lifestyle, how it clenses my body and also restraint though i dont think she taught me alot about restraint because when it comes to you i question it" she jokes after swallowing her food and i follow before talking.
"Because you cant control yourself when you see my body, i know" i smirk down at her and i expect a eye roll but instead she laughs, a little louder then normal so even though i was joking she was serious.
"Whatever floats your boat" she grins calming down from her laugh pulling the meat out of the lobster dipping it in shrimp juice instead of the butter and taking a bite letting out a moan of appreciation. "Thats how i became a pescetarian, and now that you know a little bit about me tell me about oakland" she demands taking a spoonful of my mashed potatoes. I cant help the grin as i think about the good times in oakland.
"I was the coolest lil nigga you'd ever meet in cali"i smile with pride taking a sip of the blue crush lemonade she got me with a shot of henny. She lets out a scoff and i turn back to her.
"Right 'coolest' you was probably a bad ass child and gave those people the blues" she tells me and i pick up on how she used my lingo and it sounded cute cause she talk so...proper so it was funny.
"Now that i think about it i can picture it: you in school being exactly like kendall being the smartest kid in class but i bet you was a smartass about it probably had your slick comments and thats what got you in trouble, only had a curfew not cause it was a bad neighborhood but because you found trouble and i could almost picture you being a lil thot chasing after all the little girls" she guesses and i laugh wiping my hands off on the napkin. She was real close only one thing she was wrong about.
"Actually i wasnt chasing them, they was chasing me" i smirk cockily until she punches me in the chest. "But of course none of them matter because i have the best girlfriend in the world" i tease kissing her cheek and she send me a wink. Malika had a way with words she always knew the right thing to say and always kept every promise she made so the next thing she says fills me with a different kind of euphoria.
"And as long as im with you my loyalty will ALWAYS be with you N'jadaka"
I was going to drag this out buuuut i couldnt i prefer them together and i promised yall i would talk about Malikas relationship with her brother wakabi more and her relationship with thic daddy M'baku but another one of my lovely readers made some fan art (i always keep yall anonymos unless yall ask to be posted) sis made me like 6 pictures and they all lit like all the fan art ive received recently, aint it lit🔥🔥🔥