Lethal

Chapter Fifteen.

Regret consumed me almost as soon Aisha left; my sister had reminded me of the most important thing- I didn't want to be that person and I was sure that I would lose Jibri if I retaliated. Without giving it more thought, I picked myself up off of the floor, head spinning from all of the alcohol that I'd ingested and headed to my bedroom. Much to my sister's dismay, I was drunk enough that sleep came easy for me, it was a much needed escape from my current reality.

My alarm woke me much too soon, and there was no chance that I could sleep for another five minutes. As a part of my mission to gain more clientele, Jericho had signed me up for several networking events around the city; the first of which was a breakfast meeting with other young people in the fashion world. Not only would it be a good way to get my name out to more potential clients, but it was a welcome distraction while I bided my time in the dog house. I looked through my clothes, settling on an outfit in under thirty minutes, then proceeded to get ready. Jibri called me halfway through my makeup routine, my heartbeat sped up for a split second when I saw his name flash across my screen.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked him as soon as I answered, putting him on speaker and continuing to do my makeup.

"I'm good, talked to Yanise last night." Jibri sighed, "You can't go off on me like that, Za. I'm not about to let you act all crazy over some bullshit again. You hear me?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, "I miss you pa, I'm sorry again for going off on you like that. What did she say when you talked to her?"

"She basically said that you deserved to know what you were getting into, my moms told her that she was wrong for it." Jibri replied.

I immediately stopped what I was doing, "Your mom? She was with your mom?" I counted to five in my head, trying to understand that he grew up with Yanise and that she knew his family,

"Shit, yeah. My mom had to corner her because she's been avoiding me." He explained. "They're close Zana, it can't be helped. Don't get crazy again."

I nodded, checking the time. "I'm not even going to touch that one right now because I have to go pa, can we get lunch or something today though? I haven't seen you in forever."

Though it was an obvious exaggeration, it felt like I'd gone through a rollercoaster of emotions since our fight the day before.

"Got you mama, come by the shop when you're free." Jibri said, "See you soon Za."

We ended the call and I quickly put my shoes on and grabbed my bag, the last thing I wanted was to be late to my first networking event.

On my way to the venue, I sent Aisha a text asking her to disregard the conversation that we'd had the night before. Whatever happened with Yanise, I decided that I'd much prefer to look like the good guy when everything was said and done; stooping to her level would've cost me way more than it cost her. I arrived at the event, both nervous and excited for it, politely greeting people as I looked for my seat. Part of me wished that I'd brought someone with me as backup when I noticed that several people had branched off into little groups.

Instead of keeping to myself, I introduced myself to a few people, collecting business cards while distributing my freshly made ones; courtesy of Jericho. It was incredibly refreshing to speak to likeminded people, they understood the struggles of trying to make it in the industry that we barely had our feet in.

"Believe me, the hardest thing about being in this world is that you can't make a single misstep." Rebecca, an upcoming model commented when a group discussion on the topic had begun.

Another girl whose name I didn't know agreed with her, "Can I be honest for a minute? I miss being able to go off on people if they pissed me off; nowadays I have to think about how it'll affect my brand."

I nodded, the words hitting close to home in my present predicament. I hadn't even stopped to think about how fighting Yanise would affect my career or Aisha's for that matter.

"How do you balance your personal feelings and your public image?" I asked the girls.

Henri, an aspiring designer answered me while taking a seat with the rest of us. "What works for me is imagining my career in five years, it may not exist if I'm known for one stupid mistake or if there are any negative connotations with my name." He shrugged.

"Exactly!" Rebecca agreed, "If I'm known for anything in the industry, I want it to be my talent; not my attitude."

They both made good points, the Zana who wanted to drag Yanise through the city by her hair wouldn't be known as anything but the aspiring stylist who had anger issues. They'd given me a lot to think about with regards to my attitude; a definite adjustment was needed if I was going to progress, easier said than done.

I left the networking event with a feeling of accomplishment; I'd made new connections and even made the first steps in forming a few friendships with some of the people that I'd talked to. Aisha had responded to my message, letting me know that she was there if I needed to talk about the situation. In any other instance I would've called her right away, however, I wanted to hear Jibri's story before I went to my sister.

My Uber stopped outside of Jibri's tattoo shop half an hour later and I was nervous, for the first time in my life, I was embarrassed of how I handled a situation. I was also interested in how the entire scenario with Yanise had played out, when I walked in, I waved to the receptionist who let me know that it was okay for me to go to the back.

I knocked on the door before opening it, Jibri was seated on his couch while scrolling through his phone; our eyes met, and he beckoned me further into the room. "Hey." I smiled sheepishly, taking a seat next to him.

"Why are you all the way over there?" Jibri asked, referring to the space that I'd left between us.

I shrugged, "I don't know, I still feel bad for going off on you." I scanned his face, checking to see if my phone had left a bruise. "So, tell me what happened with your friend."

"She got gassed up by some homegirls and decided to act a fool, I'll leave it at that. I don't know Za, I never expected her to act out like in that way, but just know that I'm not a cheater." Jibri pulled me closer to him, "I understand what it looked like though."

I shook my head at him, leaning against his chest. "I should've listened to you; I just saw red after I watched the videos." I traced the tattoos on his arm. "I wanted to beat her up."

"For what? It's not gonna change anything, she's not my favorite person right now, but that's still my best friend. I talked to her and let her know not to fuck with us, I'm sure that'll hit harder than any punch." Jibri murmured, playing with the ends of my braids. "As much as I'm down to bail you out of jail, it would be a stupid move on your part."

My heart unexpectedly hurt for him in that moment, "I'm sorry papa." I lied through my teeth.

"No, you're not." He chuckled, kissing the side of my head. "I love you Za."

I looked at him, in shock. "Isn't it too soon to love me?" I tried to hide the smile on my face.

"Don't give a fuck, I said what I said." Jibri grinned while pulling me onto his lap.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Well I love you too pa, no one is gonna fuck this up for us."

We stared at each other intently, letting our eyes do the talking until my lips descended upon his; capturing them in a passionate kiss. My body started to move, grinding into his lap as the hunger of the kiss intensified, until I pulled away.

"Mine." I kissed on of the tattoos on his face, "Mine." Then another, "Not hers." I kissed his lips again.

Jibri bit my bottom lip before releasing it, "For right now, fuck her. I don't have time for her childish antics at the moment."

"No." I got off of his lap and walked over to the door, locking it before looking at him. "Fuck me."

He chuckled, already unbuckling his belt.