Birds in the trees

Fallbacks

Imans pov

It was 7:45 pm when my door bell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone so I decided not to get it but the ringing didn't stop so I went to the door and looked into the spyhole. A hand holding up a heart? Huh?

I opened the door and instantly sighed when my eyes met joey.

"Hey you." He said, smiling.

"Hey." I said, sounding colder than I intended to but I wasn't complaining.

"How's it going?"

"Good."

"I can see that." He growled, his eyes going down my legs.

"What do you want?"

"You." He said sounding serious at first before laughing again as he looked at the empty hall of my apartment complex. "I wanted to see you."

"Alright, then."

"You not gonna do a 360 for me?" He asked, swirling his finger in a circular motion.

Don't laugh, don't laugh. "Funny." I managed to say straight faced. Yes.

"So..." he began, looking over my head into the living room "you're gonna let me in or what?"

"Joey..."

"Come on Iman." He said, eying me as he leaned against the frame of the door. His deep, raspy voice took me back... the way he even pronounced my name made me feel drowsy... Iman, elongating the a...  "Don't be like that." He pled lowly whilst his eyes wandered over my body.

I clenched my jaw as I made way, letting him in. He cracked a smile, entered and  started to look around.  "So this is your new place, huh?" He said, picking up one of my pictures on my table. "It's... nice."

"Thanks." I murmured, still standing by the door, signaling him that he was not about to stay long.

He seemed to have gotten the memo because he sighed.
"What you standing at the door for? Relax ma, I'm not gonna kill you or something, damn." He joked, still hoovering through the apartment.  When he got to the Polaroid wall in the kitchen section of the hall, he pulled a picture of one of the clips and examined it.

"I see you got yourself a new squad." He said, turning back as he held a picture of me, Neely, friends and a couple of other people up. It was taken at vics house, we'd just found out about chance's grammy nomination... "You and homeboy on the right looking real comfortable..."

-

Don's pov

"Jhene? Really? You just gonna call me Jhene and expect me to be cool with it? Are you freaking kidding me right now? Answer me Donald!"

That's exactly what Fam warned me about. Hoes get attached. I sighed as I looked at my reflection in the bathroom. What are you doing? Why are you doing this?

"You think you can just call me Jhene and it's gonna be cool? Donald? Donald!"

I eyed Eikos barely clothed self through the mirror. "What do you want me to do huh? It slipped out, get over it."

-

Iman's pov

"What are you insinuating?"

"Nothing, I'm just saying, y'all look..." Joey pulled a face. "...tight."

"I'm really not in the mood for this..."

"Chill baby, no need to get all defensive, I'm just playin'' he said under a chuckle as he hung the picture back up. "Oh what's this...?" He pulled another analouge picture off the wall.

It was a picture of me and Joey standing between Ak and Issa, my lips on joeys grinning face. It was taken in Japan, their first Concert there. That was one and a half years ago.

"You were so little back then, look." He joked sounding like an old man.

I made my way towards him and looked at the picture, chuckling. "You had the worst running stomach." I remembered, picturing the several times joey locked himself in that hotel bathroom.

He laughed. "Oh yeah... you remember that?"

"Of course I do." I said, sounding a bit too lost in cogitations.

"It's weird not having you around..." joey murmured. "We miss you."

I sighed, brushed my hair back and reminisced until I felt a long, warm arm over my shoulders, making my skin tingle.

"I miss you"

I looked up at his genuinely sad looking face. "Joey..." I breathed.

"Iman." He said gently, turning my body towards him. "Please..."
He put his hands on my face tilted it up, brushed a couple of strands back.

I placed my hands over his wrists and glared back at him.

He came closer, closer and pecked me once, twice, then smiled, making me also smirk. Then he went in for an actual kiss which quickly escalated into more.

"No."

"Why not?" He asked quietly, his face still close to mine.

"Because-"

"Baby..." He interrupted as he pulled my waist closer but I stepped back again.

"Is this what you came here for?"

-

Don's pov

"Listen, I'm sor-" The door almost hitting my face silenced me. She always had to do the most... "Come on Eiko, don't be like that." She wasn't going to open the door, I knew that meaning my standing there was redundant. I sighed, stuffed my hands into the pockets of my khaki coloured pants and walked out of the apartment complex. It was a cool summer night in los Angeles, the street was vitalized, bright, happy. Why did you say her name dude? She's not your girl, never was and never will be so why you actin as if? This thing is messing your stuff up man look now Erika, Suomi, whatever  is done witcho lame self. I contemplated wether to go home, to my empty, cold home which would only summon my unsolicited late night thoughts or just roam around town in hopes of running into another groupie chick that would make me forget her predecessor or I could still just-

Bzzzzzz bzzzzzz

I pulled out my phone.

Unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Donald?" a pillowy voice quired.  It's not her, quit dreaming man.

"Yeah uhhm who is this?"

"It's me, iman."

"Oh hey, how's it going?"

"Good uhmm I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah, sure go ahead."

"About the walking offer, is that still up?"

"Uhm yeah, totally, why?"