Chapter 9 Slightly Different

ANONYMOUS

What better way than to spend your free summer Wednesday in your apartment with your roommate, watching Netflix and eating popcorn.

"Hey, don't eat all the popcorn," She said as she dropped on the chair, "morning. What movie is this?" She asked, dipping her hands into the bucket filled with popcorn on my laps.

"Uhh--Riverdale." I said with a mouth filled with popcorn.

She looked at me and laughed. "Aren't you supposed to mind what you eat--hmm?" She said, raising her brows.

"You know, I don't really understand this show." I said, throwing more into my mouth.

"Okay, have it your way girl. I better go have my bath, I'm meeting with a nice handsome white man today." She said when she stood up.

Immediately, I looked up at her with furrowed brows. "Aleema--- you said today it was going to be just you, and I."

"I'm sorry, he was just so handsome, okay. And he has menii (money)." She said, showing me her hands and rubbing her thumbs against the other fingers rapidly.

Sigh. "You're annoying." I said dropping the popcorn.

"Where are you going?" She held my hand. "You're coming with me, hope you know."

"No, you didn't---" I said turning to face her.

Aleema and I had been friends for four year. She and I modelled for St. Louis fashion house, downtown Ottawa.

"Yes I did babe. I'm sorry, like okay---when was the last time you had a man in your life?" She asked.

"Well, I---"

"Exactly. Two years ago when we went to London for the Victoria runway show---and if I'm accurate it was just a week, a week of penis, you know what I'm saying."

Arguing with Aleema was very frustrating, we would never want to lose an argument. So I took a deep breath in then out. "Okay. What of ever, I'll tag along." I said, frowning.

She smiled. "Who's my fine model baby? C'mon smile." She held my cheeks and drew them up, "smileeee." Anytime she did that I always turnout to cheer up.

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London.

During the East London fashion week, I met a tall handsome black French man. Although before coming to London, I had promised myself to stay away from men for a while. I mean, that wasn't my reason for being there and besides, I thought I had had all the fun I wanted with men and I was looking for something real. But yet I found him so attractive, his light skin, his big arms and chest, his pointed nose and his bright smile anytime he saw me.

"Wow!" I found myself swallowing each time I saw him, "who's that?" I asked Aleema.

She looked at the direction I was also looking at. "Josue Alexandre, modelling for L'oréal Paris. Stay away from him. Black...handsome...French men like them..."

Later that night while in the hotel's restaurant we lodged, I sat alone drinking red wine when he approached me. "Bonjour belle; hello beautiful," He said taking a bow, "it means: hello, gorgeous." His smile alone made me feel hot all over.

"H--h--heyy." I stuttered.

"Hmm I see you're English or American?" He asked standing in front of me.

"Nah, Canadian. Canadian." I said swallowing.

"May I have a table with such black beauty as yourself."

Every word that came out of his lips, his beautiful slim pink lips, left me speechless. I just wanted him immediately.

"You know what?" I asked him.

"Uh--non belle." His voice so masculine.

"I want to have sex with you, in your room." With no delay he did as I requested, and all through the week, whenever I wanted him, that black stallion came along.

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"Wow! Is this you?" Aleema said when I came out of my room, " You look so--so beautiful baby." She always loved to whine me.

"You too girl." I said, smiling.

I wore a knee length white dress with black spots all over it, flat sandals and a sky blue hand purse. While Aleema wore a beautiful crop top, short skirt with a small handbag.

"Our dates are waiting, shall we go?" She asked with a smile.

"Uhh suree, but aren't you forgetting something?" I asked, smiling.

She gasped. "Perfume!" She immediately ran into her room and came out a few seconds later. "Alright let's go."

Sigh. "I was actually talking about your hijab." I said and burst into laughter as we made our way out.

Aleema called to find out which restaurant they were, so the uber driver could drive us down there. "Beckta dining and wine." I could hear the voice over the phone.

"Okay." She said before hanging up.

When we got there, he told us he ordered a private dining, so we both went in there to have our seat. Few seconds later, a tall bearded white man came in, he wore a black shirt and black trousers.

"Hey ladies," he said when he came in, "uh hello Aleema."

"Ouu--hello Marcus." She said standing up to hug him.

"Um --is this--is this your friend?" He asked.

"Yeah she." She said smiling at me.

"Heyy--" I said with a shaky voice.

He waved at me and smiled. "Hello," then he turned round to take a seat. He had ordered a table of four but his friend was not to be found.

Aleema looked at me, then at him and asked. "Where's your friend?"

"He couldn't come, said he had some business to run." He said.

"Okayyy," she looked at me, "so what are we ordering?" She asked, facing Marcus.

"Umm, I gotta go---I have this--this bookstore meeting." I said then gave Aleema a kiss on her temple, shook Marcus and left.

AIDEN

I asked Laurence my boss if I could work from home since my home desktop was better than that at work. He said he was fine with it, so I got myself a two weeks break from the office. If I was able to perfect the software properly, it would be a big turn around for the company and myself as well.

On this day while working, I received a call from Suz, I ignored the first call thinking she might have made a mistake. She called again which I don't know why surprised me.

"Hey Suz! What a surprise." I said when I picked up.

"Really?...well since you called the other day, I decided to return the favor."

"Ahem." I cleared my throat, "thank you. Uhh--comment se passe ta journée?; how's your day?" I asked.

"Très bien; very good." She replied. I could feel she smiled when she replied. "Et le tien?; how's yours?"

"Umm--travaillant réellement à domicile Suz;actually working from home. Got a software I'm supposed to finish in two weeks." Wow I was actually enjoying conversing with Susan, and I even smiled in between.

"Okay Aid, it was-- a pleasure. I hope someday we'll see."

I took a deep breath in then out. "We'll see, take care."

"Au revoir, Aid. Bye." She said then hung up.

Immediately she hung up, I took another deep breath in then out. I knew what she wanted, and I know she knows I hadn't gotten over her. Maybe I should let her in again I thought. Maybe she's ready.

SUSAN

I laid in my bed listening to Tanerella's 'boys like you' play after I hung up. I really wanted to see Aiden, smell his perfume like I did at his mom's birthday. As I dropped my phone beside me, it vibrated. I picked it up to check the notification that got in and it was a message from Aid, it read; "Will you be free this coming Friday?"

Seeing the message made me smile, I swiped my phone screen up to reply to him. I told him I would and asked him why.

"I was thinking we could see, I could come down to your side so we could have dinner. You and I." He texted as his reply.

Seeing it made my heart skip. "He's asking for a date." I said to myself, I smiled and texted; "I'll see you (with a heart next to it.)

I dropped my phone back on the bed and I could feel my smile almost reaching my eyebrow. I was extremely happy. I couldn't wait for the week to end, I couldn't wait for Friday to get here.

Again my phone vibrated, another text but not from Aid. It was from an unknown number, that number that called me once in the beginning of the week.

"I know where you are Zu, you can't hide." The person wrote. Seeing the message made my heart skip. There was only one person who called me Zu. I didn't want to panic so I took a deep breath in then out.

"She possibly can't know where I am." I said to myself. Then my phone started ringing and it was the number that just texted me, without delay I picked the call.

"Zu, you know I'm watching you." The person said.

This is surly her voice, I thought to myself. "Hello---what do want from me---listen, I--"

"Zu! Don't give me that crap! When the time is right, I'll take everything away from you, bitch." She said then hung up.

Aid, I thought. I can't put him at risk.