The shop was crowded on Monday morning, all I could think about while walking into my office was the time that I spent with Zana and the conversation that needed to happen between Yanise and I. The way I felt about Zana wasn't something that I wanted to fuck up; especially before it even properly started. Yanise and I would never be more than friends, she needed to understand that our dynamic would be different; if she was my best friend like she was supposed to be, she had no reason to object.
Yanise was waiting in my office, I'd asked her to meet me there before my first appointment so that we could talk.
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She stood up from the couch, making her way towards me so that she could give me a hug. Instead of a full-on embrace, I wrapped one arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick hug from the side before sitting on the edge of my desk. She looked visibly confused by my brief greeting.
"I gotta tell you something Nise." I sighed, getting right to the point.
Yanise's arms folded, face morphing into one of confusion. "What's up? You're being weird."
"It's about Zana, I really like her. She's not comfortable with how close we are; not the friend shit, just the up in each other's faces shit." I clarified. "We need some physical boundaries so that I don't lose out on something with her."
She scoffed, moving back as though I'd slapped her. "You're letting her run you already? Just fuck me, huh?" She fumed; fists clenched.
"We're friends Nise, I want to date her; I want to make her mine eventually." I admitted to not only her but myself, Zana was the first woman that I ever wanted to invest time and emotions into. "I just want to be respectful; you understand that, right?"
I tried to show Zana that I was serious about getting to know her by letting her get to know me and the thing that bothered me the most; my parents' relationship. The phone call from Yanise had disrupted our vibe and I didn't want it to happen again; I didn't have much free time and wanted to spend it properly. Yanise was special to me in her own way and the familiarity and depth of our bond often led to lines becoming blurred, all I wanted was for Yanise to understand that we needed some boundaries in our relationship since I'd met a potential partner.
Yanise nodded slowly, "I don't understand shit, I mean since when were you even talking to someone? You always talk about how relationships aren't for you! It's the whole reason you banished me to the friend zone!"
"You know that's not true Yanise, I don't see you like that and you know it." I defended myself, her words made it seem like she'd been waiting for me to change my mind about her. "You've always been on the same level as Raquel and Olivia in my heart." I told her, referring to my two younger sisters.
She snorted. "That is not what I want to hear right now Jibri. When did you meet her? Shit, WHERE did you meet her? I'm not understanding how you can flip a switch just like that."
