"You can't see the future. I might have a chance. You don't know for sure." He mumbled, making her expression soften.
"M-my mom used to tell me t-that birds still sing even after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free t-to delight in whatever su...
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Samir sat in a chair that was now uncomfortable after sitting there for a little over four hours now, holding his head up in his left hand while his eyes rested on Nina's perfect makeup free face. It was rare for her to be out with no makeup on, but he loved her fresh face.
There were four ladies standing around her, each contributing to a different section of her hair to finish up the rest of her extra small, thigh length, bohemian knotless braids. They only had a few braids left, and Nina was glad because she was more than ready to go.
To take her mind off of the drama surrounding her name as well as adhere to his promise of getting her hair done, Samir took her to an African braiding salon near his apartment building so that she could get her desired hairstyle without having to sit for a long period of time.
She loved her hair already and one of the ladies even did dramatic edges for her, the same way Nina usually did them herself. She also loved how cheap the salon was compared to her braider who would've charged $395 for the same style the salon charged $160 for. She was definitely going to tip generously.
"You like them?" Nina asked Samir, taking notice of the way he stared at her while the main braider rubbed mousse over all of the braids and human hair curls.
"Mhm. You look so pretty mama." He approached her for a kiss once she stood up, and she smiled at how he kept it brief to avoid another incident like yesterday—though he was sure none of the older ladies were thinking about sending them to any blogs.
"Thank you. Can I have my phone now?" She looked up at him with a smile, making sure to keep her head still as the end of her braids were dipped in hot water.
"No." He kissed her cheek before stepping back, pulling his plain black Coach wallet out of his front pocket.
Nina still had the $300 that he gave her last week and was expecting to pay for the braids with that money, so she was surprised when Samir took out another $280 in cash—$160 for the style and $120 for the tip to be split amongst the four ladies—and paid at the front counter.
That might've seemed small to most but Nina loved that he just 'did' for her, especially without her needing to ask. She knew that she needed to get off of her ass and start providing for herself, but she deeply appreciated the fact that Samir didn't make her.
"No, I'm with my girl so I didn't go in. Mara said she doesn't have a lot of orders anyway." Samir spoke on the phone with his father, opening up the passenger side door for Nina to get inside.
"Stop moving so fast pops. I don't even like kids." He said before closing the door, and she followed him with her eyes as he walked around the front of the Track Hawk to get to the driver's side.
By the time he got inside and cranked up the overwhelmingly loud engine, he was already saying his goodbyes. That wasn't surprising. Samir hated being on the phone while he was behind the wheel. He didn't like calling, texting, and he didn't even use Google Maps while driving. He hated the idea of car accidents.
