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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor (Chapters 13 + 14)

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5 + 6][Chapter 7 + 8][Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11][Chapter 12]

As you all can tell, I goofed about the rest of the story coming out all at once. I’m bad, y’all. The chapters are coming lol

As always, thankyoux1000 for the likes, comments, repost, follows. Y’all had me dying when I came back from my fast. If you would like to be added to the taglist, let me know. Peace and love!

Ciara’s chest grows hot with anticipation at the thought of performing a petty act or two at the expense of Trevante’s feelings. Watching as Yahya saunters into the last empty seat at the bar makes her eyes light up, more bright than her phone screen, Trevante texting her incessantly since she returned that gift.

Trevante instantly felt sick when gym manager strutted her way into the living room as Ciara stood looking like a mix of anger and confusion. He knew his blunder but also knew to face the consequences of choosing to postpone dinner for a dalliance. Gym manager wasn’t there much longer after that. Lying about friends coming over, he quickly moved to get her out of his apartment. With even faster speed, he texted Ciara.

I’m sorry.

She’s gone. Can we talk?

Really, Ciara?

Can I come over and talk to you?

Let me make it up to you.

He desperately wanted to make it up to her. Trevante’s feelings for Ciara were a tad bit more complex than he could understand. He remembers their dinner at Sugarhouse vividly, this moment where they talked about their lives in such a transparent way. He remembers when she told him about how it’s hard for her to date because of her celibacy. Must men don’t get it, she quipped. Trevante thought of himself to be one of those men. But yet he felt this undercurrent of sexual energy from Ciara that pierced through him that entire night. It made him curious but also in awe that she kept those waves bottled up inside of her. He wondered if he could ever do that same. Sex became empty for Trevante the more and more he had it. But a necessary evil in his life because without that interaction, he’d feel the loneliness.

So as he continued to find himself around this unicorn that was Ciara, he felt emotions that were all-too-new. He wanted to pick her brain, spend more time with her, be around her energy, be a part of her space. But he found trouble reconciling with the idea that she wouldn’t want to consummate that energy. That was enough for him to lean on the side of not pursuing a relationship with her. He wanted the all that but needed the more. The more being sex.

Sex cascades Ciara’s thoughts as she stares at Yahya. His tall, milk chocolate complexion and long limbs push her mind into a very dangerous place that Mahalia sniffs out as soon as he walked through the door.

“Hey, Ash. You can close me out but can you put his drink on my tab?” Ciara points at Yahya’s tired body barely hanging on at the bar. Ashley closes Ciara’s tab, her left eyebrow perched in Ciara’s direction.

Ashley walks over to Yahya, a glass full of non distinct cognac in her hand. As she places the glass in front of Yahya, she turns to point at Ciara. Yahya’s face grows inquisitive. He bites his lower lip in approval once he lays eyes on who bought it for him.

He picks up his limber yet built frame and walks over to the now-empty bar seat next to Ciara. Ciara avoids eye contact for as long as she could, staring at the texts from Trevante. And deleting them as fast as she could.

“You made my night with this drink.” Yahya’s torso towers over Ciara. “Thank you…”

“You can call me C.”

“Well, thank you C. I think you need something too.”

“No, it’s late. I can’t…”

“Ashley. Whatever she’s been drinking on tonight.”

Ashley gives Ciara a look. Ciara shoots one back.

“Long day at work, huh?”

“Yeah. I’m an litigations attorney. Long day of work for you too?” Yahya scans Ciara’s frame with every long sip of his drink.

“No. I got stood up on a date. Shit happens.”

“He’s an idiot.”

Ciara leans back slightly in her chair. “Why you say that?”

“I’m looking at you. He’s an idiot.”

Ciara touches the broadest spot of Yahya’s left shoulder as a response to his sweetness. As she casually looks down, she notices a shiny object slightly blinding her right eye: a wedding band. In that moment, she felt the conviction that Mahalia and Ashley hoped she would find in this moment. She readjusts her body, moving the bar stool far away from Yahya. He’s too drunk on lust and Crown Royal to notice.

“I don’t think I can finish this drink. I should get home.” Ciara throws her phone into her purse, her body jumping off the seat.

“Where’s home?” Yahya gulps down the rest of his drink and gets up to stand alongside Ciara. His height made him even more daunting.

“Why? You can’t take me home.”

“You can take me to yours though.”

Yahya’s boldness catches Ciara off-guard. As her body and spirit beg her to leave, she decides to level a parting blow to his ego.

“You should probably text your wife that you’re on your way home. Have a great night.”

Chapter 14

Ciara wants to sweat last night out of her system. As she ran on the treadmill, she completely forgets about Trevante’s five a.m. gym routine. The longer at it, the more endurance she gains. When she first started to work out, she could barely last thirty seconds. Now, she crushes two minutes of running under her feet. Working out relieves a ton of stress -- sexual and otherwise.

As “Roll Some Mo” by Lucky Daye plays in his headphones, Trevante ignores the gym manager with a vengeance quite unseen. Feeling some type of way about Ciara’s ignorance of his texts, he barrels himself into the locker room. He heard Ciara’s door slam late the night before. He heard silence after that. He didn't want to admit to trying to hear on the other side of his wall where Ciara slept. He wondered if he’d get a repeat of the other night after their date, where he heard sounds so sweet coming out of a woman who hadn’t been touched by a man in a while.

So surprise cascades his face when he sees Ciara running on the treadmill. He picks up his pace to grab the treadmill right next to her. Ciara doesn’t notice Trevante to the left of her, so hellbent to melt last night away that the Big K.R.I.T. in her headphones helps her tune everything out. It wasn’t until she slows down her pace on the treadmill that she notices Trevante standing right next to her, looking at her trying to catch her attention. She tries to ignore him. His shirtless body makes it so hard.

Despite that, Ciara keeps her gingerly pace. Growing annoyed, Trevante hits the emergency stop button on Ciara’s treadmill.

“Negro... what…”

“Can we talk, please?”

“Nah, Tre. I think we’re good.”

They weren’t good. At least in Ciara’s mind. Although she’s still mad at Trevante’s lack of common sense, she still wants him to prove her anger wrong.

“We’re not good, Ciara. Come on…”

“Trevante. I’m not about to argue with you on a damn treadmill.”

“Let me drive you to school this morning, then. So we can talk. Please?”

Trevante’s face looks overly sincere and Ciara relents. She grabs her water bottle and leaves Trevante to run.

Ciara notices the NPR playing softly in the background as Trevante drives down South Broad Street. It was nice to know that she wasn’t upset that an airhead wanted nothing to do with her.

“Thank you for driving me to school. You didn’t have to do this…”

“Whatever I had to do to get you to talk to me, shit.”

“So what’s up.” Ciara turns in the passenger seat to look at Trevante. His button up shirt and slacks barely contain his body. Super snug to his frame, Ciara quickly notes that Trevante knows how to get attention. You can also count Ciara too.

“First, I want to apologize to you for last night. That’s my bad. I should have said something to you.”

“Yep.” Ciara feels the need to keep things short and sweet especially since she wanted to yell every emotion from inside of her.

“I promise you I’m not that type of dude.”

“What type of dude?”

“A dude who sleeps around like that, I swear.”

“Whatever, Tre. Don’t apologize for how you live your life.” Trevante feels bullied by Ciara’s words. Dismissed too. He wants to show her that he was a stand-up man, a man that could admit when he’s wrong. And that he’s not the worst of what Ciara may be thinking. Trevante is hoping for laughs, maybe giggles. He is met with silence. They both sit in that soundless space for the next few minutes of their car ride.

“What you getting into tonight?” Trevante asks, hoping Ciara would be free.

“I’m probably going to that Proverbs event you told me about with a few co-workers.”

“Oh, cool.” Wrong answer, he thinks. More silence follows.

“Tre. What are we doing? What is this?” Ciara broke the silence with the one question Trevante dreaded the most. He could never answer it in the way that left the one asking in a good mood.

“I think you’re a dope person. But I’m not looking for anything serious right now. It’s timing, it’s not you.”

“Nah, Tre. I’m not one of these girls you sleep with. I think you can be honest with me.” Honesty means telling Ciara that he would love to know what it would be like to belong to a woman like her but the no sex thing gets in the way of him committing full-stop. But since she wants honesty, Trevante feels called to deliver. Somewhat.

“I’m being honest. You’re dope as hell to me but I don’t think we’d work out.”

“It’s the celibacy thing, ain’t it…”

Trevante responds with silence. Ciara feels embarrassed. “There’s a El stop on the next corner, I’ll just take the train to campus.” Ciara grabs her book bag and gym bag and exits Trevante’s car. He wants to yell at her to get back in the car but the stop light is green. Ciara currently sees red.

taglist: @blackpinup22 @voyagetoadinas9

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #thy neighbor #fanfic

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