~•~
"It's cold as fuck!"
Mekhi just smiled, trying not to laugh at Aliya while they stood in line for the ice skating rink. It was a Friday night, but it wasn't as busy as she expected. Although it was still enough to make her nervous.
She didn't want to fall, nor did she want to fall in front of random people, nor did she want to look stupid in front of Mekhi. He had already said he'd teach her and make sure she was fine, but...still. Aliya was one of those people who didn't like not knowing what they were doing, so honestly, she expected to be an expert on her first try. All the time.
While Mekhi paid to get in, Aliya stared at everyone who was in the rink. There were people of all ages, especially teens and little kids who were already masters at this point. She spotted one spinning like she was in the Olympics, doing a little jump and landing on one of her feet.
Aliya gulped.
"Don't do that."
She looked to the side at Mekhi. He shook his head and put his arm around her. He was so warm. "But—"
"Fuck them kids—"
"Stop—"
"—It's about you," he ignored her and she pouted, "don't be nervous, it's not that bad. And it helps because you kinda know how to roller skate."
"Yeah," they sat outside the rink, "sorry."
"You're fine, Liya." They each put their shoes in, Aliya a little slower because she was stalling, but Mekhi knew her tricks already, so he tied her shoes extra tight and made her stand up. "That's not so bad huh?" he said, holding her hands so she could steady herself.
"It's not," she said in surprise, "but we're not on the ice yet."
"So pessimistic," he rolled his pretty eyes, "a'ight, come on. We can start off slow, okay?"
"Please," she followed him and stood at the edge. It was as if the ice was taunting her, like...she was almost scared.
But Mekhi pulled her into the rink with no warning. Aliya let out a little squeal and almost tripped, but as he had stated previously—multiple times—he'd catch her. "You got it?"
"No," she admitted, standing up a little better, "now what?"
"Skate, dummy," once again, he held her hands in his and slowly began skating backwards, pulling her with him, "stop focusing too hard or you're going to fall. That's guaranteed."
"Then what do I focus on, since you're so smart?"
"Um..." he bit his lip and looked around, then let out a small huff, "me."
"You?" she repeated in confusion.
"Me," he smiled, "my momma taught me how to skate, and she told me to not focus on how your feet are moving. If you notice people that try to teach you how to skate they aren't that great at explaining. But I can tell you what I was told."
"Okay," she was about to look down but he tapped her forehead, "what?"
"Me," was all he said, looking around so he didn't bump into anyone. It wasn't difficult to focus on him, because he made it easy and not awkward. Aliya liked him a lot—already—she didn't get in touch with her feelings all the time but she knew this much. She knew when to and when not to waste anyone's time, especially her own, but she didn't feel that way with him. She liked getting to know him, it was like a breath of fresh air because he wasn't trying too hard.
Although, Mekhi was reserved in some aspects, he was very funny and great overall.
"Liya." Mekhi spoke up after a few minutes of her just concentrating on a small freckle near his brown eye. No funny shit, but that was her favorite eye, like, the blue one was cute and different, but there was something about that chocolate brown eye.
"Huh?"
"You good?"
"Yes," she replied with a smile.
"Okay, so don't freak out, but look down."
She looked at him in confusion before looking down. Her jaw dropped because she was no longer holding his hands. She didn't even notice him letting go, but here she was, skating by herself, and quite effortlessly. "Oh my God."
"See, I told you—"
And then—of course—Aliya got all antsy at this revelation and her legs gave out. She landed on her bottom first, then her back. "Ow."
Mekhi, as expected, stopped skating and laughed at her when she fell. "Liya, get up."
"I'll just stay here," she curled up on the freezing cold ice and closed her eyes. Embarrassment began to settle in; sure, plenty of people fell all the time everywhere, but that was different. None of them were her. She put the beanie she was wearing over her eyes and held her knee, which hurt terribly.
"Lemme help you up," he grabbed her hand, and tried pulling her up, but she was dead weight, "nigga, I'm not gonna drag you."
"My knee actually hurts," she groaned, sitting up and stretching her legs out on the ice, "fuck."
"Which one?"
"The left one," she bent her leg a few times to get rid of the pain, and it worked for the most part, "Okay, help me."
"A'ight," Mekhi helped Aliya to her feet, "does it feel okay?"
"Mhm," she nodded.
"Okay, so you can stop being dramatic," they held hands again, only this time they were side by side and skating around the rink. It was easier for Aliya to move because of course Mekhi was right; it helped not think about how she was skating, but what felt right when she did. Aliya oftentimes focused on things logistically instead of just going with the flow.
"Are you hungry?" Mekhi asked after almost an hour of just skating together. They talked about the classes they shared and more about grad school, something Aliya was kind of excited for.
"I am," she replied, "where are we going?"
"There's a pretty good place not far from here if you wanna go."
"I'm down."
It was approximately nine o'clock at night when they arrived at a local restaurant. The establishment served classic American foods, along with Hispanic foods they tried to recreate, but it was family owned so it wasn't as generic as most would assume. They had secret recipes and sauces like any other local business.
While Aliya and Mekhi waited for their food, they talked. It was so great talking to someone with the same major who expressed the same interests as her. He also gave different perspectives on certain topics. He was just...different, she couldn't put her finger on it.
"...So because of that, my dad's been helping her out and she has like...I think four job interviews next week," Mekhi was explaining how his aunt was trying to make ends meet due to the government shutdown. She relied heavily on food stamps for herself and her three smaller kids. His parents were helping her get by and were now trying to get her a job so she could stop living check to check.
"Have you guys tried substitute teaching?" Aliya asked, "you don't even need a degree for that nowadays."
"I think they did, but since she's licensed to be an actual teacher they're going for permanent positions, but they also want her to move away from where she is."
"That's good then. I'm glad she's getting help she needs."
"Yeah. I think they're moving in but I'm not sure," he leaned back in the booth, "there's room since me and my brother are gone. I'm going to grad school so I'm pretty sure I'm gone gone."
"Same. I think I am too. Especially if they fund me. I'm really gone then," she chuckled.
"Exactly. Housing and everything. I'm not going back to that house. I'm grown."
"As hell."
He laughed, taking a sip of his water and clasping his hands on the table. "So, I have a question."
"Is it a hard question? Or math? I'm not that good at math—"
"Aliya," he laughed, "you're so cute."
"Thank you, Mekhi," she smiled, her cheeks and ears feeling warm.
"You're welcome," he absentmindedly twiddled a sugar packet between his fingers, "so, I know I ask a lot about you but if you wanted to ask anything about me I'm open."
"Really?" she furrowed her brows, "have I been talking about myself a lot? I'm sorry. I just get really excited talking about my future."
"Nah," he waved a hand, "it's cool, I don't think you have. But I know I probably don't say enough about myself."
"I thought you were just reserved."
"Um..." he twisted his mouth to the side, "Yeah, but not really, for real. I'm just calm as fuck I guess. I'm not that expressive."
"See, I just thought I wasn't interesting enough," she admitted sheepishly, "that's good to know."
"Nah, you're plenty interesting. I don't waste my time. I just...feel compelled to tell you everything and anything."
She grinned widely, "I'm glad you feel the same way. So, what would you say is most important to you? Like, in life. In general."
"Um," Mekhi looked up in thought, "I'd say family and fulfillment."
"Why?"
"I'm pretty family-oriented and I see myself down that path a lot, honestly. Fulfillment because I also need shit for myself. I wanna feel like I got shit done and it wasn't all to please anyone, you know? So, from the jump I've always said what I wanted and put it in the atmosphere so it can manifest. I think that's one of my favorite things about myself. I set goals and reach 'em, but I'm realistic."
"You're very self-aware, Mekhi," Aliya told him, putting a hand under her chin, "I like that."
"Yeah?"
"Mhm. I find people who are aware of themself and goal-oriented very attractive."
"Mhm," he put a leg up on the booth and leaned against the wall, "tell me more."
"Uh, uh! You keep talking about you."
"A'ight then. Just don't want you to get too aroused—"
"Shut the fuck up!" she groaned, closing her eyes and giggling, her hand over her mouth, "too late."
"Pardon?" he said a little too loudly, his eyes wide. Aliya just laughed harder, folding over in laughter. Tears formed at the brim of her lids due to how hard she was shaking. "Excuse me—"
"Check, please!"
"We ain't got no damn food—"
"Leave me alone!" she whispered, gasping because it was kind of hard to breathe from laughing so hard. Mekhi was laughing too, but of course not as hard because he was serious. Aliya just wasn't used to him being this out of pocket. "I really hate niggas."
~•~
hey yawl/yee/haw
is there anything y'all would like to see from this book? thx in advance