A few days later

"You like my hair?" Skai asked as Kareem got in her car.

After the last incident with Kalani, Skai found someone else to do her hair.

He nodded and picked up a braid "What these is?"

"Knotless hoe" he mugged her and got ready to say something until she started laughing. "It's a joke"

"Where we going?" He asked as she just drove.

"It's a surprise" she smiled.

He nodded then reclined his seat "Why the seat was like that?"

She scrunched up her face as she stopped at a red light.

"Kareem what?"

"I always have my seat back, why was it like that?" He repeated. "Who been in this car?"

"Ummm this week only you and Maya, she must've fixed it. No one like having they seat pushed all the way back like your weird ass" she told him.

He chuckled then relaxed into the seat "I'm so tired" he complained.

"What's wrong with you today?" She asked noticing a difference in his attitude.

"Nothing" he said eyeing her.

"No somethings wrong" she replied pulling up to a random building.

"Aiza" he sighed.

"Kareem" she said.

"Ight so I get to the office and my assistant got all

my shit messed up. Once I fixed that the people I was meeting with were late, so that then made me late for every other appointment I had today." he said.

"I'm sorry baby, but did you get everything figured out?" She asked.

"Yea"

"Okay then, so even tho it was frustrating you still got everything done. You can't let it dictate the rest of your day." she told him.

He nodded "I know but it's still so irritating"

"Smileeeee" Skai said climbing into his lap.

He chuckled then pulled her into his chest. "How was your day?" He asked.

"It was good, my professors are chill. Ohh I made a friend too, her name is Dyme she helped me find my first class and then we started talking" she told him.

He nodded "You still ain tell me where we going" he said as she moved back into her seat.

"It's a surprise Kareem" she smiled and sped off.

______________

They pulled into an empty Cascade parking lot.

"We're going skatingggg, that's the surprise" she told him.

He smiled, skating was something he did back In high school. Then he got locked up and recently he's been busy.

Once they got their skates Skai held onto the wall "Aiza why you take me here if you can't skate?" Kareem laughed looking at her face.

"Because this is something you enjoy, teach me?"

He nodded and grabbed her hand.

Soon she started to get the hang of it and let go of his hand "Wait don't skate away" she told him as he moved to skate off.

He skated beside her for a while until she said he could go.

.....................

After two hours they were both done skating and decided to leave.

"I appreciated that bae" Kareem said as Skai drove to get them food.

She smiled "I'm so happy that you liked it"

"You ready for this tattoo?" He asked causing her to nod.

"Kareem I'm so serious you better not have me looking crazy" she told him.

He chuckled "I got you mama"

They soon got their food then headed to Kareem's tattoo studio.

"This is nice Kareem" this was Skai's first time in here.

"Thank you" he said leading her up the stairs and to a door.

"You don't work downstairs?" She asked, he shook his head no.

"The other artist work down there, I like being in here" he told her.

She nodded and sat down on the table "Take your shirt and bra off"

"Ouuu what you tryna do?" Skai said winking, but ended up blinking because she didn't know how to wink.

They both laughed as she took her stuff off.

"Wait Kareem where you doing this at?" She asked.

"Your back" he answered.

"I'm so scared that's the worst one" she said turning over.

He laughed then started to prep.

"Ight baby I'm not gon lie, this gonna hurt real bad. But you'll like it afterwards" he told her.

She nodded and turned to the TV, he had Princess and the Frog playing for her along with her favorite scented candle burning.

................

After a few hours Kareem let her take a break, she cried a little but for the most part pushed through the pain.

"I can't wait to see it" Skai said once they started back again.

Kareem smiled "How long you been doing tattoos?" She asked.

"I was doing them illegally in 8th grade when I first started, then in 9th grade I started an apprenticeship with my uncle" he told her.

Her body was going numb so the pain started to lessen and she was able to talk to him more. "Do you paint too?"

"Yea, that room by my kitchen is a little art room" he said.

"Why you never took me in there?" She asked.

"Cause I'm working on sum, I don't really like people in there when I'm working" he explained.

"But I plan on taking you in there soon" he added on.

She hummed and went back to watching Grey's Anatomy. "Baby?" He called.

"Yea?" Skai answered

"This gone be the best when I'm hitting it from the back" he told her causing her to laugh.

"Kareem stop I'm trying not to move"

"Sorry, but I just thought about it" he said.

Kareem turned the machine off and did the aftercare.

idk what it is specifically chile

"You done baby" he said helping her up.

He took a few pictures of it then took her to a mirror so she could see.

"Kareem this is sooo nice" she said as her smile widened each time she looked.

The tattoo was Arabic words down her spine along with a cherry blossom tree.

Once Kareem translated she liked it even more.

she is golden

she is strong

she is

"How much?" Skai asked smiling at him.

He mugged her "You not paying me Aiza"

"You gon be my lil canvas now?" He asked as they walked out the studio.

"Yea, I want something behind my ear like yours" she told him.

The whole way to his house, they discussed tattoos and things of the sort.