Sweetener

one | cocoa butter

Years went by and before Drew knew it, it was the second semester of his freshman year in college. He was no longer the same cheerful boy that he once was. After Imani had left, friends came and went and none of them ever stuck around long enough. He became sort of a loner. Never really talking to anyone on campus and making sure to sit at the back of the class. It wasn't like he didn't want to make friends- he honestly had tried to during his first semester. But everyone on campus avoided him like the plague because they were afraid of him and the only time he had any real human interaction was when people hit him up for weed. To everyone on campus, Drew was their personal plug and no one ever took the time to get to know him.

So it didn't really surprise him when on a quiet Wednesday morning, his phone pinged loudly with a notification in his quiet dorm room. Drew sat up on his bed with a sigh, reaching over to grab his phone on the nightstand. The home screen lit up and almost blinded him before he saw an iMessage notification. The message was from a Jade Kim. Her name didn't ring a bell so he just chalked it up to her being a new customer. In the text, Jade asked for about a gram of weed and that he deliver it to her dorm. Room 217.

Drew decided to deliver it then and there since the girls dorm was on his way. He had a bit of time before his classes started for the day. He quickly hopped out of bed, threw on some jeans, his battered up converses, and a hoodie. He looked back at his dark room, his clothes all over his bed and floor. It was a mess. He was sure today would end up the way it always did- him coming back to his empty cold room and sitting in the darkness all by himself. With downcast eyes, he locked the door behind him.

Ten minutes later, Drew walked through the hallway of the girls dorm. He ignored the lingering stares of a couple girls in the hallway and the hushed whispers between some of the RAs. He was only here to deliver some weed. As soon as he was done, he would leave and be out of everyone's way. That was his plan. That's how things had grown to be.

He walked through the hallway and finally found room 217. He opened his phone and shot a quick text to Jade that he was outside her dorm.

When she didn't respond two minutes later, Drew felt himself grow impatient. The fuck did he look like? He wasn't about to wait around for her. If she didn't want the weed, that was her business, she had already paid him beforehand. He contemplated ditching her but he didn't want her blowing up his phone if he left. So instead, he decided to do the nice thing and actually knock on the door.

One knock became five loud rasps and his face contorted into one of anger. He was about two seconds from leaving when he heard a faint, "Coming!" from behind the door. He stood there, fuming, and waited for the door to open.

And when it did, he felt like all the wind had been knocked right out of him. He almost couldn't believe his eyes.

There, right in front of him stood the girl that he thought he would never see again. He didn't even know her name but he was certain it was her. It was Imani Odo.

Her hair was still in those braids that framed her face but instead of beads at the end, they went straight down to her waist. Her big dark brown eyes were staring right into his. Even after all these years, he could never forget her face and the immediate sight of her sent a tremor through his heart. The last time he saw her was right before spring break in the second grade. He thought he would never see her again. But, it seemed that fate had a funny way of bringing her back to him. The sunlight from the window behind her melted into her dark brown skin. She still smelled like cocoa butter and something about that made him smile. She was still as beautiful to him as she had been when they were younger and he felt his heart beat irregularly against his chest as she parted her lips.

"You okay? Can I help you with something?" Her voice rang so soft and sultry that he longed to hear it again.

He cleared his throat. "Um...yeah. I'm here for, um... Jade?" He had to remember to breathe even if he felt like passing out right in front of her.