Fooling yourself

 “How about you watch where you are going?”

“I wouldn’t have to watch where I am going if your high bright ass was not standing in the way.”

“Whatever, just get out of my face.”

“Gladly!”

“Dumb broad.”

“Asshole.”

It had been like this between Drake and Nicki since the first time they met 3 years ago. Nicki was moving the last remaining pieces of her furniture into her new apartment when she bumped into Drake. She had been carrying a very special vase that was given to her by her grandmother before she passed. She was not looking where she was going when she crashed into him sending the vase plummeting to the ground smashing into a million different pieces. Neither of them saw themselves at fault and therefore neither of them apologized leaving Nicki enough room to resent him for the rest of her days.

Nicki

“Urgh I cannot stand light bright’s self-righteous ass any longer Max, he thinks he is too good to move out the fucken way, I know he sees me too because I see him, see me try to walk pass him but does he move? NO! Then he has the audacity to tell me I must watch where I am going? He makes me so angry!” Nicki huffed as she scooped down to pick her English bulldog puppy

“And now he has me ranting my problems to you my baby, but you don’t mind right?” she completed as she muzzled the dog’s neck, “let’s get you your breakfast so that mommy can get ready for work”

Nicki set the dog down and prepared both their breakfast to get them ready for the day, she would usually leave Max with her mom in the mornings so that he wouldn’t be alone and also ruin her apartment but she was running late today and figured that he was house broken enough to not completely destroy the place. After eating she left Max downstairs to finish dressing, today she kept it simple with a black pencil skirt, a white blouse and black peep toe pumps with a white detail. She decided on nude make-up and had her hair up in a ponytail. Once she had checked that she needed for the day in her purse she ran downstairs to gather her laptop and its essentials, Max was still eating so she let him be.

As she was walking out of her apartment, Drake was leaving his which was directly opposite hers. He did not even acknowledge her presence, just groaned at the sight of her, locked his apartment and left. “One day I will knee his balls Max and he won’t see it coming, you approve don’t you?” Nicki asked her dog, the dog tilted its head to the left while looking at her and paused before continuing its meal “Yeah you approve” Nicki smiled before she finally closed her door and left for work.

Her day at work was nothing out of the ordinary for a personal assistant. She made it to work on time with 30 minutes to prepare her boss’s notes for the weekly Monday Morning staff meeting. Her schedule for the day was pretty clear as all she had to do was some filing of last week’s work and to prepare new files for the week ahead. That was her system and it was what made her stand out from the rest of pack. She would categorize all her files for the week from most important to least important and by weeks end she will would only have what would be necessary for the following week. One would call her an old lady for the mere fact that she still used filing cabinets instead of storing all her documents in a computer drive but she loved her paper, something about the feel and smell of it comforted her besides it was her system and it worked for her so why change it?

She was in the middle of typing the meeting minutes from earlier when she heard her boss call out for her. She made her way to her door to hear her out. “Yes Mrs Johnson”

“Onika, would you please be a dear and pencil in a Mr A. Graham for a meeting at 14h00pm this afternoon?”

“No problem Ma’am, May I ask what is the meeting for so that I can prepare?”

“He is here is to advise on what to do to better our IT department, you do not need to prepare anything we will just be going over our website to make it easier for the customers”

“But we do not have an IT department Sarah? Nicki asked puzzled

“Oh thank God! What was that ‘Mrs Johnson’ mess earlier? Did you forget my name? I told you not to call me that as it reminds me of that ghastly woman of a mother-in-law” they both laughed at this

“I just wanted to mess with you a little bit” Nicki giggled

“Well mess with me you did, it brought back such terrible flashbacks” Mrs Johnson was a sweet middle-aged lady that headed her own clothing company, some clothes where made in-house and most were bought to be sold at her boutique. She had a taste for the theatrics and it only made sense that she would be into fashion and design, her flare for the dramatics also helped a bunch. “I know we do not have an IT department, I am hoping he will be able to assist in that regard too”

“OK, do I need to call his assistant to let them know of the time or have you handled that already?”

“No, it’s already handled, I was hoping for a 16h00pm meeting but his assistant told me that he would only be able to fit me in at 14h00pm”

“You do remember that 16h00pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays is reserved for couples therapy right? Why would you deliberately want to book at meeting at that time?”

“Because I don’t want to attend and that assistant wouldn’t let me?”

“It’s good she didn’t let you, next time you try to skip on therapy I am telling Dr Shawarma”

“You are a killjoy” Sarah responded displeased

“I know and you love me” Nicki laughed as she left her boss’s office to tend to her diary.

The day quickly went by and Nicki found her way back from her lunch hour. She ran a few errands for Sarah while she was in a meeting. When she finally made it back to her desk it was 13h45pm and she had just received a call from reception that A. Graham and an associate where in the foyer. She quickly ended the call to not keep them waiting and advised that she would be on her way down to escort them to the boardroom.

She hastily made her way to the bank of elevators and one was already waiting for her, she quickly checked her appearance and it traveled to the ground floor “Oh well, this will do for now” her outfit was not out of place but she was not counting on meeting a potential client for the business and therefore she felt was not dressed up to the standard.

The elevator binged signaling that she had reached the ground floor, she got out and made her way to her colleague Emma who was manning the reception area.

“Hey Girl, which one is he?”

“Hey Oni-bunny, you cannot miss him. He is the caramel God in the navy tailored suit in the waiting area” As Emma said this Nicki followed her hand to look through the frosted glass, she couldn’t see much, only a silhouette and it was a fine silhouette at that.

“Do you need to go change your panties?” Nicki laughed “lemme go check out this ‘caramel God’ of yours” with that she left for the waiting area, a smile on her face as she wondered what A. Graham looked like. Emma had a tendency to exaggerate but when it came to men and their ‘Godliness’ she never lied.

Nicki smoothed the invisible wrinkles on her outfit and drew a breath before opening the door to see who awaited her boss. When her body was fully in the waiting area her smile dropped immediately and disgust took over her entire being, before she could think about what she was about to say, it had already left her mouth.

“What the HELL are you doing here?!”

Drake.

Drake and his business partner Noah where seated going over their notes when a familiar voice caught his attention. In front of him stood the girl who made him more often than not want to punch walls. He was not expecting to see her here and it instantly irritated him because knowing her she would go on and on in her high pitch voice complaining about everything. He took a deep breath because he was in no mood to entertain her crazy this afternoon and responded nonchalantly “I could ask you the same and hello to you too by the way” as he predicted she rolled his eyes at him

“I work here, what is your excuse” she asked cocking her hip to the side and folding her arms

“Not that it is any of your business but I have a meeting now at 14h00pm with Mrs Johnson, which you’re making me late for by the way” he completed after checking the time on his watch.

“A. Graham? The IT guy?”

“No hey, I am here to hunt livestock, I am looking at a cow right now” Drake didn’t want to entertain her at the beginning but he just couldn’t help the fact she always brought out the cranky that resided within him.

“You know what, I do not have the time and patience to deal with your shit today and since this is a place of work I am going to try and keep it clean and ignore your existence. Follow me to the boardroom, your meeting will be there” she completed as she lead the way unintentionally adding an extra sway to her step to show that she was beyond pissed.

Noah looked at Drake questionably as they walked behind her towards the elevator, Drake returned the look as to not ask any questions but he did add the hand signal to show that she was crazy and Noah snickered at this. As they waited for the elevator to reach the level they were going to, both he and Noah were speaking in sign language to avoid Nicki over hearing them, well it was mostly Noah annoying Drake by pointing out that Nicki had a nice body and all Drake could do was roll his eyes just like her.

“Here is the boardroom, I am going to go get Mrs Johnson in the meantime make yourselves comfortable or drop dead, whichever tickles your fanny” She gave a sugary smile as she left them. Drake shook his head at her comment.

“Ask Noah, I know you are bubbling inside” Drake turned to look at his friend who had been eyeing him for the last 5 minutes, he wasn’t even sure why but he knew his friend had a lot to ask about all that just happened. “Ok, where do you know big booty from and why y’all so mean to each other?”

Drake took a deep breath before answering trying to gather the correct answer to 40’s question, the where he knew her from was easy, it was the why they acted towards each other like they did that he drew a blank with. He too was not sure but he knew that for the longest he couldn’t stand her short ass and he was very vocal about it to her. “Don’t call her that, we live in the same building, you could call her my neighbour since her flat is opposite mine and as for why we are mean to each other I don’t really know the real reason but what I do know is that her attitude is stank and it has always been that way for the last 3 years now.”

“Damn you telling me that you two have been at it for the last 3 years now and you don’t know why? That’s messed up.” Noah completed trying to figure out what was going on between Drake and ‘big booty’.

“All I know that since the first day I met her, when SHE bumped into me and broke some ugly ass vase she was carrying, she has been nothing but a nightmare to be around.” Drake stated annoyed at this topic

“YO, but you have to admit, she is a fine ass nightmare though,” Noah complimented while smirking at his friend because even though this woman annoyed his friend there was no way he would deny her beauty. Drake just shook that off, he didn’t need to be thinking about her that way as it would only complicate their already complicated relationship. “Enough about her man, we need to finalize this pitch and that is not going to happen when you are in crazy land”

The meeting went well in Drake’s opinion, Mrs Johnson was very welcoming and she was open to all their ideas. Her main concern was getting an online interaction between the customer and her business which was going to help provide a better service.  Drake and his company could easily achieve that and the job was as good as his.

He was now outside his door when he saw Max standing outside Nicki’s door, how he got there he had no idea but he looked so pitiful just staring at the door. He knew it was Nicki’s dog only because he had seen her carry him out in the mornings. “Hey buddy, what you doing here by yourself” Drake asked the dog not expecting a response he just went on his knee and ruffled the dog’s fur while checking his dog tag “Max is it, the mighty Maximus, that is a cool name sir but don’t tell her I said that” He smiled at the dog. Drake had always wanted a dog but he never got around to getting one for reasons unknown to him. He put the dog back down and against his better judgment he decided to leave him out on the hallway as he opened his door. Max wouldn’t let him though because as soon as Drake went inside his house, he was at his door scratching and trying to get in and no matter how many times Drake told him to go away he kept at it determined to get inside. Drake finally gave in and let him inside and Max seemed so happy since he ran around the whole house.

When Nicki finally made it home after work she couldn’t wait to shower and change into her pjs but most importantly she couldn’t wait to cuddle her dog. “Maxie!!!” she shouted immediately as she opened her door expecting him to run to her. Nothing. She called for him again and still nothing. She was starting to panic as she stood in the hallway and shouted his name again expecting him to turn up somewhere. Drake meanwhile was chilling and watching the movie “Hotel for Dogs” with Max, don’t ask him why he had it, he just did. He could hear her shouting for her dog but he thought to let her suffer for a little bit for leaving the dog alone during the day.

Once Nicki’s shouting seemed to stop he scooped up Max and made his way to Nicki’s door, knocked and waited for her response. When she opened she was on the phone with someone talking frantically about losing her Maxie as she called him. She immediately ended her call and grabbed her dog from Drake’s arms “OH MY GOD! There you are baby, you almost gave mommy a heart attack! Where have you been and how did you even get out?” She questioned the dog not paying any mind to the person that brought it to her door. She was about to close the door in Drake’s face when his foot caught the door.

“Um a Thank you would be nice since I found him outside hungry.” Drake stated condescendingly, Nicki looked back at him with no emotions in her being and dryly responded “Thank you” as she put the dog down. “Now leave” she said as she put the dog down. Drake huffed and as he was about to turn on his heel Max made his way passed him and towards his flat and waited for Drake to open the door.

“Max come back here” Nicki instructed, “Come on baby, you do not want to go in the bad man’s house” Max just looked back at her and towards the TV that was still playing the movie in Drake’s house and made the decision to go finish its movie leaving Nicki dumbfounded and Drake on the verge of laughter.

“Calm down Grinch, we are just watching a movie. I will bring him back once it is done.” Drake explained once his laughter subsided. “Whatever, just get out of my face dognapper” She said angrily as she slammed her door. Drake shut his door peacefully and went back to his movie date with Max, he was oddly enjoying that and didn’t mind the fact that he was a dog. “No wonder she was throwing a fit, you are great company Maximus” Drake said to the dog and resumed their movie

Nicki just decided on taking a shower and changing into her pjs to calm her nerves, it was twice today that Drake pissed her off and he was clearly going to get punched if he didn’t watch what he said to her next. She also couldn’t believe that Max would just willingly, she thought that Dogs were programmed to sniff out bad people but just figured that was not the case with Max yet as he was still a puppy. While she was in the shower the power went out unexpectedly and she was in a frenzy. She luckily had lit two candles in the bathroom to help her relax but now all she could do was panic. She quickly made her way out of the shower and into her pjs which consisted of silk shorts, a t-shirt and some uggs as slippers, so that she could search for more candles. She grabbed her phone and headed for her hallway cupboard to search for her extra supplies. “Fuck my life” she groaned when she found none. She sat on the floor rocking back and forth while staring at her phone, switching it back on once it seemed to go dim. To say she was terrified of the dark was an understatement, she still went to bed with a lamp on. The candles in the bathroom were only going to provide her with light for another estimated 30 minutes before going out and her phone was already telling her about ‘Low battery’. “Shit” she groaned.

She was still in her position on the floor when a tree branch made her jump and head straight for her door, she was not staying in that dark apartment any longer. She didn’t have anywhere to go but leaving her apartment she was. She was in the hallway wondering if it was worth being taunted by Drake when the reflection of the tree scared her into an almost scream, she quickly knocked on his door and waited for a response.

“Yes” he stood in front of her. He was about to return her dog when she came knocking. “Umm…I came to fetch Max, I am assuming y’all are done with the movie with the power out and everything” she stuttered ad he didn’t know why. She wasn’t her usual rude self and it bothered Drake for some reason “OK, just a sec, I will be right back” Drake turned around to go pick up the dog where it slept. 

On his way back he could see how shaken up Nicki was, she kept looking behind her like she was anticipating an attack. He wanted to ask but he just opted not to, they didn’t like each other remember. Drake handed the dog back at her and she happily accepted him engulfing him in a hug. Then the strangest thing happened, she didn’t walk away immediately. She stood there holding the dog spaced out looking at her door, she then turned her head slowly and looked into his well-lit apartment longingly. Drake could tell she scared but he didn’t know of what, she then slowly backed away from him towards her house and opened the door slowly and wide to see if anything was awaiting her. “Nicki, are you ok?” Drake asked her. She took a while to respond but she nodded her head afraid that if she were to open her mouth she would cry out.

“No you are not, why is your apartment so dark? Don’t you have candles?” Drake inquired further. Nicki turned around slowly taking note of her surroundings before answering in a childlike voice “I had two but they were the small bathroom ones and they are finished” This version of Nicki was new to Drake and he liked her. She had become a whole new person right in front of his eyes, she no longer had an attitude that irritated him. She was vulnerable and it made him wonder where she had been hiding this person this whole time. She turned to reluctantly head into her house when he stopped.

“Nicki wait, come stay here at least until when the power is back…I have hot cocoa” Drake tried to comfort. She stared at him and then her line of vision went into his apartment, it seemed cosy and safe. The two things she needed to feel at that moment, she closed her door and made her way towards him. “This does not make us friends” she said as she walked in. Drake chuckled and closed the door behind himself “Of course” he answered.

They were sat on the floor opposite each other in Drake’s living room, Nicki was wrapped snugly in one of drake’s throws and a hot cup of steaming cocoa was in her hands while Drake was on his phone with Max on his lap. She looked around her apartment though it was dark she could tell that it was pretty nice but she wasn’t going to let him know that, they didn’t like each other and they were not going to start now.

“Why don’t you like me?” Drake asked randomly, he had had enough of the silence and thought that if he would be forced to spend the next few hours with her, she should at least talk to him to show her gratitude. The question caught Nicki off guard but she figured she would answer truthfully.

“You broke a vase that my grandmother gave me and didn’t apologize for it?”

“I broke it? You are the one who ran into me, how does that make it my fault?”

“That doesn’t matter what matters is that you never apologized”

“I did you a favor that was one ugly ass vase anyway” Drake chuckled

“MY GRANDMOTHER gave me that vase before she passed away asshole! This is another reason why I don’t like you. You never think before you speak, you are rude!” Nicki half yelled. She was getting angry again

“HA! The pot calling the kettle black, how does it feel to be a hypocrite?”

“Apologize”

“What for? If I remember correctly, you ran into me that day same way as you ran into me this morning. If your midget ass was looking were you were going we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but no, Nicki never wants to take responsibility of her actions and it is easier for her to blame other people, no wonder Jerome didn’t last. I was wondering how long he would put up with your controlling ass”

“Oh so you are going to bring up that fuck nigga and talk about people’s relationships? OK where is your girlfriend? Don’t worry I will wait. Oh wait, all I ever see come in and out of this flat is men...does that mean…”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, you know good and damn well that I am not gay or do you want me to show you?” at this point they were standing in front of each other exchanging verbal blows, Nicki knew she didn’t stand a chance against him in a physical fight. He was towering over her and she had never felt smaller in her life but she wasn’t backing down, not for nothing. “Nigga please your gay ass ain't showing nobody shit,”

“Gay ass?!” he took a step closer to her, she still didn’t back away making them even closer, she could feel his breathing on her face and his breath smelt great, she didn’t let that distract her and break her resolve. “I didn’t stutter, ain't nobody scared of you boo boo” she continued to make her stand. Drake couldn’t believe it, here she was defying him in his own house and all he could think about was how soft her lips could be against his, as the yelling continued he couldn’t help but be aroused by her all of a sudden, with all the years he had known he has never felt like this for her, he didn’t know if it was the setting of the room or the barely there clothes she was wearing that revealed everything but at this moment all he wanted was to bend her over and show her that he was no homosexual.

They were both breathing heavy and staring daggers into each other and the fact that they were in such close proximity didn’t help Drake’s arousal. His last thought was “Fuck it” before he hungrily attacked her with a passionate kiss that she happily accepted.

A/N: Here is the entry for the DrickiEverlasting fortnight. I am a full five days late but i really wanted to finish and post this, hope you all enjoy it. XOXO