Chapter 7
Fatima
“Best friend! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.” I pulled Isabella into a hug.
She hugged me back but not with the same excitement I had just given her. “What’s wrong?” I instantly picked up that something was wrong.
She rolled her eyes and released a big breath. “I think Charles is cheating on me.” Sadness dripped from her voice.
I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and stared at her. I didn’t want to seem inconsiderate, so I tried to choose my words carefully.
“Why?”
Her shoulders dropped. “He barely makes time to see me anymore. Whenever I try to plan a date night, he’s always busy. I can barely get a damn phone call or text back from him, not to mention we haven’t had sex in over a month. Maybe he’s not attracted to me anymore.”
My heart broke for my best friend. I hated Charles.
Even though she wanted to model, Isabella suffered from many self-esteem issues.
She went through some rough patches while growing up, and instead of helping her feel secure, Charles did the opposite.
She was already battling the issues that came with her wanting to model.
Charles only multiplied the insecurities she fought.
“Aht, aht, that’s not what we’re going to do Bella. There is nothing wrong with you and you know that. Charles is a damn idiot and selfish as hell! I know you get tired of me saying it, but you need to leave him. He doesn’t do anything but stress you out.”
I hated to be harsh, but it was the truth. Charles was one of the reasons why Isabella felt like she would never make it in the modeling industry. He was always making her feel like she wasn’t good enough or pretty enough. It made me sick that Isabella allowed him to constantly put her down.
“I know, I know, but I love him Fatima. I just can’t turn that off.” Tears clouded her vision.
I sighed and decided to pull back some. “Bella, you’re my best friend. My sister. I hate seeing you so down because of someone who doesn’t even deserve to be in your presence.”
She wiped her eyes. “I know. I need to leave him alone,” she said lowly. There wasn’t a lot of confidence in her words.
“I have someone that wants to hire us,” I changed the subject, hoping to put her in a better mood.
“Hire us?”
I nodded. “My neighbor. She owns a boutique and saw my pictures of you. She wants you to model some of the clothes and me to capture you in them for an advertisement campaign.”
“Really? Are you down for it?”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m being booked to shoot anything else.”
Even with Autumn’s encouraging words and offer, I was still kind of in my feelings about being looked over by Galaxy Photography. I took a few days away from the shop to get my mind right.
When Ahmad came in and basically read my ass, it helped me snap out of the funk I was temporarily in. For some reason, his words were what I needed to not give up. They were sincere and genuine. He didn’t know me, so he didn’t have any reason to lie or gas me up.
So, after I left the coffee shop, I submitted some of my pictures to small photography companies hoping someone would get back to me.
“First of all, fuck that company. That man was crazy not to hire you.”
“Maybe,” I shrugged. “Regardless if he was right or not, I have to take what I can get. Autumn liked my work and offered me a job, so I’m not going to turn her down.”
“Good, then I’m down. I’m on a new diet though, so tell her I need to get my body right first.” I groaned.
That was another thing. Isabella was so body conscious that it was crazy.
“Your body is fine.”
“Yeah, but I can afford to shed a few pounds.” There was no use in trying to convince her differently, so I let it go. As long as she was eating and not throwing shit up, I would let her have at it.
“When are you going to see your mom again?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I know I have to make it soon though.”
“Same here. My mom called complaining to me yesterday,” she sighed.
“I guess we can make a trip next weekend. I’m off from the shop.”
“Works for me.”
Isabella stayed at my house for a little longer, and by the time it was time for her to go, she seemed to be in a better mood. I only hoped it would last. I knew how she could get when things with her and Charles weren’t good, and it wasn’t pretty.
Isabella was naturally a fun and vibrant person, but she suffered from depression and would sometimes let it win. She was on medication, and from what I knew, she kept up with it, but I still worried about her sometimes.
“I’ll call you later!” Isabella said, getting in her car.
“Okay!” I waved.
Just as I was about to close the door, I noticed Autumn pull into her driveway. I was about to step outside to speak when another car pulled up behind her.
My heart stopped when I saw Ahmad step out of the second car. He said something to Autumn, making her frown. He laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and they walked into the house. The two looked familiar with each other.
My stomach clenched when he stepped into her house after her. Were they together? Autumn said she was casually dating. Could Ahmad be one of the guys she was seeing? My chest grew tight and my heart ached.
I had to blink a few times. Ahmad wasn’t even my boyfriend or anything close to one. I’ve hardly had a full conversation with him, but yet, I felt like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest.
Envy filled my body thinking about him touching Autumn, kissing her like he did me in the dream I had about him.
My eyes stayed trained on his car that was in her driveway. I felt betrayed that Ahmad was currently at Autumn’s house, that he was in her space.
Shaking my head and laughing under my breath, I closed my door. I was being crazy. That man owed me nothing. Hell, I didn’t even know anything about him outside his first name.
For a brief second, I entertained the thought of me and him, but that quickly went away. Now seeing that he was with Autumn, I knew all thoughts that were in my head about him needed to vanish, ASAP.
____
I gave Autumn a blank look staring at her.
It had been two days since I saw Ahmad at her house. Those two days I closed at the coffee shop so I didn’t have to see him.
Autumn, of course, didn’t know that I had been lusting over her boyfriend for the past month and I kind of felt bad.
She had been so nice to me, and here I was thinking about riding her fine ass man until his toes curled.
Still, Ahmad didn’t give off the vibe that he was taken.
Not that we had much interaction, but still.
He was flirtatious whenever he came into the coffee shop, wasn’t he?
Had I just mistaken him being nice for him being flirty?
Either way, I was highly annoyed and didn’t want to see him until I stopped getting butterflies every time I thought about him.
“So, do you want to go?” Autumn asked.
“Go where?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“With me to get my tattoo. My friend Robyn was supposed to go, but she got called into work. I’m a huge baby when it comes to needles, but my brother talked me into getting my back finished.”
I stared at her, ready to tell her hell no, but then I thought Autumn didn’t know her boyfriend made my heart race and pussy jump anytime I thought about or saw him.
“I don’t know, Autumn. I’m kind of busy.”
Honestly, I didn’t have shit going on. I was laid up on my couch with snacks binge watching some show on Netflix.
“Come on, Fatima, please! I want you to meet my brother, too. I think you two will hit it off.”
I frowned.
“You know my stance on guys.”
She rolled her eyes. “And he feels the same way, but I’m sure you two won’t feel like that when you meet.
” Sighing, I thought about it. Autumn hadn’t done anything to me.
In fact, she had been so nice since I first met her.
Being that she tried to help me get out of the funk that Mr. Jacobs caused me had me agreeing to go.
“Fine,” I groaned.
Autumn smiled widely. “I’ll be waiting in the car!” I nodded and shut my door.
So much for my peaceful day laying around.
____
“Okay, I should have warned you before we got here, but sometimes my brother comes off as an asshole. He doesn’t mean anything by it, but he was burned by someone he loved and has been kind of standoffish since then,” Autumn explained.
“Trust me, I have no intentions with your brother, so I’m good. I’m just here to hold your hand,” I joked.
She laughed. “Girl, you playing but I may really need you to.” She reached for the door handle and pulled it open.
We walked inside the shop and the smell of cinnamon filled my nose instantly.
“Hey Laci!” Autumn said to the receptionist.
“Hey boo!” Laci waved at her.
“Where’s my big-headed brother?”
“In the room waiting on you.”
“Come on, the room he tattoos in is in the back.” I nodded and followed behind her, taking in the building.
The lobby was a decent size and clean. The light gray walls were filled with pictures of various tattoos. I noticed four rooms, not including the room that Autumn’s brother occupied. Those must be the other tattoo artists’ rooms.
Autumn pushed open the door in the back of the lobby. Her brother stood with his back to us, talking on the phone. I had to admit, from behind her brother was nice to look at, and I hadn’t seen his face yet.
He was wearing a black muscle tee showing off his broad shoulders. You could tell he worked out by how cut his back was.
Autumn’s brother laughed, and for some reason, it caused me to clench my stomach. Something about his laugh was familiar.
“Alright, man, I’ll hit you up later.” My breath got caught. That voice.
Autumn’s brother hung the phone up then turned around. He looked at Autumn and then at me, mirroring my shocked expression.
Goosebumps filled my arms as Ahmad stared at me. I was not expecting to see him right now and it was obvious the feeling was mutual.
“About time you got off the phone!” She fussed.
Ahmad ignored her and kept his eyes on me. Slowly blinking, I attempted to speak.
“This is your brother?” I asked Autumn, tearing my eyes away from Ahmad. “Not your boyfriend?” I said more so to myself.
“Boyfriend? Girl, this is my older brother.” She balled her face up. “Fatima, this is my brother, Ahmad. Ahmad, this is my friend, Fatima. She’s my neighbor.”
“We’ve met already,” Ahmad finally spoke.
Autumn gazed from me to her brother. “How?”
“He comes into my job every morning.”
“You haven’t been there the last two days either.
” My eyes fell back on Ahmad. I had to tell myself to remain still.
He was looking really good. The muscle tank he had on gripped his chest just like the first day he entered the coffee shop.
His dreads looked like he had just had them re-twisted and were braided back.
When he licked his lips, my body shivered. The memories of my dream popped up in my head, causing me to look down. He was wearing some basketball shorts. Bringing my bottom lip between my teeth, I damn near drooled at the print on display.
Shit.
Why the hell was he so damn sexy?
“Yeah, I had to cover some closing shifts,” I said, snatching my eyes from his dick print back to his face. He had a smirk on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest, making his muscles flex.
“I can’t believe this is your brother.” I rubbed my arm and giggled. Here I was irritated and upset thinking that Ahmad and Autumn were seeing each other, and they were related. Now it made sense why she looked so familiar when she first knocked on my door. They looked just alike.
“Wait, you thought he was my boyfriend for real? When did you see us?”
“Uh, the other day. You both pulled into your driveway. When he wrapped his arm around your shoulders, I thought….” I stopped talking and shook my head, giggling again. “Wow, I read that wrong.”
“No worries! I’m shocked you two already know each other. Ahmad, remember the neighbor I was telling you about? The one I wanted to hook you up with. It’s Fatima!”
My mouth dropped. I could feel heat rushing to my cheeks. Autumn putting me on the spot like that caused me to grow nervous. My heart started racing in my chest. My hands grew clammy. Suddenly, the room grew hot.
“Autumn, we already talked about this. You know I’m not interested in dating.” Even though I had the same feelings, hearing Ahmad say that stung. It wasn’t a direct jab at me, but I still took it personally. Maybe I had imagined him flirting with me after all.
“Autumn, I told you I came here to support you through your tattoo, not for you to hook me up with your brother.” I narrowed my eyes at her.
“You both have sworn off relationships. Him because of a stupid hoe and you for whatever reason. Two damaged people could repair each other. I think you two would look good together.”
I glanced at Ahmad and he was staring directly at me.
He looked at me like he was staring into my soul or something.
His eyes were cut into slits, but not in a menacing way.
It was like he was trying to figure me out.
My body started feeling tingly all over.
I wanted to break my eyes from him, but I couldn’t.
His mouth suddenly turned up and he smiled, displaying his panty wetting smile. “Fatima is a very attractive girl, Autumn. She seems really talented, too.” His eyes roamed my body.
“See, you’re attracted to her! I can tell by how you're looking at her. You guys should at least do one date.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but Ahmad cut me off. “Autumn, are you here to get your tattoo finished or to play matchmaker?”
She smacked her lips and sat down in the chair.
“I’m just trying to help the both of you not be lonely for the rest of your lives,” she mumbled.
“Who said I was lonely?” I defended.
“Do you have a boyfriend or anyone fucking you consistently?” My eyes widened.
“I…” I looked at Ahmad. Ahmad stared at me, amused like he wanted to know. “That doesn’t mean I’m lonely. I told you I don’t do relationships.”
Autumn sighed. “Whatever. You two are just going to be lonely forever, I guess.” She tossed her hands up in defeat.
I shook my head.
Ahmad gave my body one more once over, running his tongue over his bottom lip. Damn, I would love for him to do that someplace else.
“Alright, let’s get started,” he finally said, taking his eyes off me.
I sighed in relief. The more he watched me like he wanted to devour me, the more I wanted him to.