22. DIRTY HANDS
ALIYAH'S ASS IS CRAMPING.
She'd been sitting for the better part of forty-five minutes before she started to shift around on the cushion she put on the floor. This is the first time Elijah has been to her apartment and he barely had a chance to explore it before Aliyah dragged him to her couch where she had all her tools laid out.
Two fine-teeth combs, two plastic bags to put the hair into, and some snacks which Elijah had already started munching on.
While Aliyah is seated on the floor right in front of the coffee table, Elijah is sat behind her, her arms thrown over his knees as she tries to keep them from getting tired.
Aliyah shifts for the sixth time, lifting her ass from the cushion that had molded into the shape of it, getting a small chuckle from Elijah in return.
"What is wrong with you?" He questions, moving his fingers quickly as he takes out yet another braid.
Aliyah groans, "My ass hurts."
"We haven't even been sitting for that long," Elijah retorts, massaging her scalp with some oil.
"That's easy for you to say, dude. You're on the couch." Aliyah rolls her eyes before throwing her head back to meet an upside down Elijah, "Feed me."
"My hands are dirty."
She narrows her eyes, skeptically, "Mine too. And they can't be that dirty if you been eating deadass this whole time."
Teasingly, he reaches into an open bag of pretzels and throws one into his mouth, smacking his lips loudly. He receives her middle finger in return.
"Should we take a break?" Elijah asks after a moment, flashing his hand out.
Rolling her eyes, the woman drops her head back down and shakes it, "We gotta do this quick. I wanna to wash my hair before nightfall."
The man behind her laughs, "I'll wash it for you, just relax. Try not to think about your ass too much. My patients complain less than you."
Aliyah gasps dramatically as she hits his knee, "Take that ba━ oh."
She's cut off by the feeling of Elijah's magical fingers scratching an itch that Aliyah didn't even know was there. A moan escapes her as euphoria washes over her. That, however, doesn't last long before Elijah pauses his actions.
"Why'd you stop?" Aliyah whines like a child.
Elijah narrows his eyes at the back of the woman's head, "You okay?"
"Shhh," She reaches her hand back to put his hands that are frozen in her hair into motion, "Keep going. It feels amazing."
Elijah chuckles at her words before complying to her request, "As you wish, madam."
"And feed me," She emphasizes, "My starving body doesn't give a fuck about your dirty hands, Dr. Bone Man."
He rolls his eyes at her demand before giving in, one hand moving away to grab a handful of pretzels and pop them into her mouth. She thanks him by throwing her head back and giving him a closed mouth smile.
Three hours and two and a half movies later, two rows of braids are left and Elijah and Aliyah have spent most of their time yelling at the flat screen about a bad decision that one of the characters is making.
That quickly died down when the movie ended and the two were left in silence.
Suddenly, "I have a question."
Elijah's eyes don't leave the blank television as he removes another braid, "Shoot."
"Do you regret us sleeping together?"
His eyes avert to the remaining layer of braids. Not a second is wasted before Elijah tells the chocolate-skinned woman his answer, "I don't regret it."
As taken aback as Aliyah was, she doesn't display that in her voice as she asks another question, "Why not?"
"I don't regret being the first person you've slept with in ten years ━ I'm actually honored. And while I wish we could've done it in a different order, us sleeping together brought us to where we are today ━"
"Removing braids and babysitting together?" Aliyah snickers, allowing herself to close her eyes, comfortably.
Elijah chuckles, "Don't forget being bitter together."
"We should get a patent for that," Aliyah jokes as she removes the final braid from the front of her head. Her fingers had been moving with alacrity, barely taking breaks even when she was being fed and massaged.
She runs her hand through the strands of hair by her line, a sigh of relief escaping her as she spots the new growth.
"Damn, your hair is pretty," Elijah breathes out, receiving a childlike giggle from the woman in front of him.
Aliyah holds a certain pride about her hair ━ she loves all the 3c/4a curls that usually takes hours to wash and cure especially after having her braids in for a month and a half. It's thick and lush and she loves it.
She wouldn't have it any other way.
"You should see it after it's washed and moisturized," Aliyah boasts with a proud smile on her face, "Which reminds me, hurry up."
Elijah chuckles as he removes the final braid, throwing it in the plastic bag beside him, "All done."
Aliyah turns to him with a smile before flinging herself on him in a hug, ignoring the soreness that shoots up her entire body from her legs to her shoulders. With her arms wrapped around his neck, she straddles him, "Thank you, Eli." She waits until he hugs her back before she moves her legs to wrap around his waist, "Now, to the bathroom we go!"
Elijah throws his head back with laughter, "You're so annoying."
"So are you," She laughs as he pokes her side.
He releases an exaggerated groan before standing with Aliyah hanging off of him, her arms and legs tightening around him like her life depends on it.
With his bare strength, he takes her to the bathroom with only one arm wrapped around her.
Just friends.
just so y'all know i have a mixture of 4b/4c hair and I LOVE IT. i love all hair types ━ but idk, type 4 be hitting different 👀!!! drop yours in the comments if you know it.
but like no cap, shit be having me breathing heavy after moisturizing the first half of my hair 😭
also im IN LOVE W ELIJAH AND ALIYAH