Reaper

24

Azias' POV
Sapphire threw her head back and held her stomach as she laughed aloud, and I found myself smiling widely in awe.

She looked crazy, and the sound that escaped her pretty lips were anything but pleasant. Horrific, even, was her laugh, but I found it cute coming from her. I enjoyed even more that I was the one that had her this weak.

"Enough of our childhood," I chuckled. I had told her about a childhood memory I had of Ace and me pranking Ariela.

Sapphire chuckled, "What do we talk about then?"

"What's something you're passionate about?" I questioned, wanting to get to know her better.

She shrugged, "When I was younger, I used to be passionate about many things. Now, I just feel like I'm existing with absolutely no purpose or care."

"What's something you were passionate about that you wish you were still passionate about today?" I asked.

She smiled, "Dancing."

I cracked a smile while asking, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Getting tired of hearing 'Much better.'"

"What you trynna hear then?" I played along.

"En core," she joked. "Wonderful! Bravo!" I laughed at her cheers, and she giggled before sipping the wine in her glass. "Don't worry, mentally, I got a choreography that's gonna blow your mind. It's just a matter of whether I could physically do it." She smiled goofily, and I found myself smiling again.

I wasn't usually this happy. In fact, I hadn't smiled this much in a minute, and I felt no need to ruin the vibe. I actually missed Sapphire when she left, even though we hadn't been interacting much before her departure. I felt the loss of her presence everyday, and I had found myself wondering if she was actually going to come back. Part of me felt a little hurt when she said that she needed space, but I understood because I had put her in that predicament.

That whole week when she left, I was angry at myself for letting her walk away like that, but even more angry that I had pushed her away in the first place. I told myself that I'd test the waters with her, even though I still didn't want any distractions. What I realized, however, was that I was already distracted by her and that by pushing her away, I was just punishing the two of us.

I wanted to get to know her and let her get to know me. If it turned out that we weren't what we wanted, then at least I'd know that instead of me moping around wondering what could have been.

"Guess I'm in for a surprise," I teased, and she smiled while nodding her head.

My mind decided to ruin the moment when I began wondering if she had gotten over whatever she was feeling for me, and I felt my face going back to its stony expression.

"You okay?" she frowned, noticing the change in my mood, and I gave a nod. I didn't want to ask about it because she had already said that seeing her mom helped clear her mind. "You're not going cold on me again, right? I like how you are tonight."

"Why?"

"Why would I like when you're cold to me?"

"Fair," I nodded. I decided to just be upfront and asked, "Did you get over whatever feelings you were catching?"

"Why?" she asked, trying to pull the stunt I pulled. I gave her a look and she sighed while looking away. "No, but I won't let it get in the way of-"

"It's okay," I cut her off. "I haven't either." She connected eyes with me, and I could've sworn I saw a little sparkle in them. "I wanna take you out."

"Like kill me or like a date?" she frowned, and I chuckled. She be saying some outlandish shit.

I clarified, "A date, if you'd allow me."

"You're not joking around, right," she cautiously asked, and I shook my head. "How do I know you're serious?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, but I am."

"That's comforting," she sarcastically smiled, bringing a smile to my face once again.

"If you have any idea of how I should prove it, say the word and I will," I shrugged.

She twisted her lips to the side as she thought to herself. Then, she asked, "If you're being honest, what's your real name?"

"How would you know if I'm telling the truth about my name though?" I asked, playing devils advocate.

"I'll check with Ace," she shrugged.

My counter argument was, "He'll say yes to any name you tell him because he knows I don't let anyone use my name unless they're family."

"Okay, then you'll have to show me an ID with your name on it," she suggested.

I countered, "I can show you a fake and you wouldn't be able to tell if it's real or not."

"Fine, if you're lying, then I get to dance downstairs with the other girls in front of all your men, and you have to watch my entire performance from the sideline," she negotiated.

"Oh, you foul for that one," I frowned.

I had no intentions in defaulting on the date, but the thought of her dancing in front of other niggas was enough to irk my nerves. Put on top of that, she wanted me to watch as she'd turn them on, as if that night when I caught her dancing for other niggas didn't piss me off enough.

Ariela was right. The thought of Sapphire with other guys didn't sit right at all. I liked her too much to want to share her.

Sapphire shrugged, "If you're being honest, you won't have to worry about that. You can just say you're lying right now and we can pretend like your prank never happened, but if you agree to this deal just to be an ass, the deal holds up."

"Okay," I nodded. "It's a deal. 8:00 tomorrow night I'm taking you out on a date."

"Okay," she half smiled with a nod.

I added, "Azias."

"What?" she frowned.

I clarified, "You first request was for my name. It's Azias, and I'm serious about this date."

"I'll have that checked out with Ace, Azias," she smiled, and I found myself liking how my name sounded from her voice. "You'll be there as well."

"Do what you must," I shrugged.

A/N: Finally 🙄 Thought these two would never get here! 🥴 How do you think the date is gonna go? Do you think they'll find out stuff about each other that causes them to realize they might not be meant for each other? 👀 Or will they bond some more? Who do you think is gonna make another reappearance? Will...someone...make a reappearance? Just questions, of course 🙃 See you 04/09/22 to find out!