Page 5 of Blake University HBCU Chronicles: Azari & Chozen

S eeing Azari in so much pain was bothering the hell out of me.

Instead of going to work out, I made a call to RJ.

Their flight didn’t leave until late tonight.

They had to change their flight due to some last-minute shit Noah had to do.

I asked him if he could use his influence to get me a motorized scooter quickly.

I had him rent it, because I didn’t know if she already had one that she was refusing to use.

I just wanted to make things easier for her.

Hell, I wanted to do the most for her for some reason.

When I asked him, he was tripping, saying that I was already whipped.

I didn’t tell him anything to rebut that.

I wouldn’t say that I was whipped, but damn it if she couldn’t have whatever she wanted.

Because of his and Noah’s influence, though, I knew we could skip past all the ridiculous paperwork.

I wanted to have it before her class ended.

Sure enough, it was delivered within thirty minutes.

As they were unloading it, I noticed a blacked- out SUV behind them.

I had to roll my eyes. I knew it was those niggas being nosy.

I walked over to it as RJ lowered the window. “Yo, I need to see this woman that got’chu cutting all kinds of flips for her.”

I rolled my eyes. “The only way you’re going to see her is if you have security with you. These people will maul the two of you over here.”

Noah chuckled. “Meet us at STK Steakhouse after your last class. What time is her last class?”

“Same time as mine. We have our last class together. She’s a hard case though. She may not want to go. She has a son she has to get back to.”

“Well, try. Let us know,” RJ said as he lifted the window.

I went back to the delivery driver and signed some paperwork.

He gave me the details on where it came from and when I would have to have it back.

Checking the time, I saw that I only had fifteen minutes before her class ended and thirty minutes before my class and her next class started.

Going to my car, I got my backpack then hopped on the powerchair and made my way to her class.

I parked outside of the classroom near the bench we were seated on earlier.

Allowing my thoughts to run wild, I could imagine that her son’s father was a whole jackass.

What kind of man could allow a woman in his life to struggle, especially if that woman was the primary care provider for his child?

That was a fuck nigga for sure. I was willing to bet he wasn’t even taking care of his son as he should.

The classroom door swung open, and I watched students file out of the class, knowing that she would be the last one to walk out.

She didn’t want to hold anyone up. I didn’t know where her next class was, but hopefully, this chair would help her.

Plus, I wanted her to see how serious I was about pursuing something with her.

If I could do this without truly knowing her, how much more did she think I would do if she was mine?

That was the path I wanted her mind to take.

When she walked out of class and looked my way, she dropped her cane and bookbag. The tears immediately streamed down her cheeks. “Chozen, oh my God. Where did you get that?”

I grabbed her hand and led her to it, making sure she was seated comfortably, then grabbed her bag and cane from the floor.

When I got back to her, she had her face in her hands.

I stooped to the floor and pulled her hands from her face.

Damn, I wanted to kiss her pouty lips. While her expression looked sad, I knew these had to be tears of relief.

There was a wire basket on the front that I set her book bag in, then slid her cane to the side of her where she didn’t have to hold it while she drove.

“Where’s your next class?”

“Two buildings away.”

“Okay. Go ahead and go, and I’ll see you in our business class. I really wanna take you to lunch. Please let me.”

She nodded as her body quaked. What I wouldn’t give to make love to her at this very moment. She could probably use some tender loving.

“Stop crying, Azari. Go ahead and go so you won’t be late.”

“Thank you.”

I smiled slightly then watched her pull away. After adjusting my bag, I heard a woman’s voice from behind me. “That was so beautiful.”

I turned to see her crying. I gave her a tight smile and continued to class.

I wasn’t looking for attention. Making things easier for Azari was my motive.

That was it. She needed that damn chair.

She also needed to be refitted for another prosthesis.

I felt good about what had transpired though.

The look of relief that flooded her was all the thanks I needed.

“I really can’t be long, Chozen. I have to get to my son.”

“I know. We won’t be long, because my cousins made reservations.”

She trusted me enough to ride with me to STK Steakhouse.

I wasn’t shocked when she said yes to lunch, because she was beyond happy about that powerchair.

We even sat together in class. When I wasn’t taking notes, I found myself reaching for her hand.

A couple of girls that had been watching me looked somewhat disgusted that I was giving Azari all my attention.

They could go on about their business. I could tell they were young anyway.

I looked almost as young as they did, and that was what gave them confidence in thinking they could get next to me.

When we got to the restaurant, there were only two cars in the parking lot. It was twelve thirty and should have been packed for lunch. I knew why it wasn’t, but Azari was totally confused. She frowned as she looked around.

“Did your cousins reserve the entire restaurant, because this place is normally packed?”

I chuckled, refusing to tell her they had. “Girl, come on here.” I got out of my car and walked around to assist her. “Are you okay to walk?” I asked as I helped her up.

“Yeah. We aren’t going that far, since the parking lot is practically empty. This is so strange.”

I gave her the cane and grabbed her other hand, leading her inside.

I wanted to pick her up and run in just to see her reaction to Noah and RJ.

Once I opened the door, I allowed her to walk inside first. When we got to the hostess, she led us to where Noah and RJ were.

Once we were within their view, they both stood as we approached.

Azari stopped walking and turned to me wide-eyed.

“Are they your cousins? The taller one looks like the rapper Noah.” She glanced at them again. “Just like him.”

“Come on, Azari. That’s my cousins,” I said without confirming or denying what she deduced.

After we got to the table, I said, “This is Azari Michaels. Azari, that’s my cousin RJ and that’s my other cousin Noah.”

She looked like she was about to pass out. RJ chuckled. “Why you didn’t tell her who we were ahead of time?”

“Because I wanted to make sure she wanted to go to lunch with me and not because the two of you would be here.”

RJ chuckled, then shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Azari.”

“N-nice to meet you too,” she said with a slight stutter.

Noah extended his hand and said the same as Azari stared at him, completely starstruck. He chuckled, breaking her out of her trance. I pulled her chair out and helped her sit, then went to my seat. Once I sat, I grabbed her trembling hand. She smiled tightly when she glanced at me.

“Azari, you from Cove City or ATL?” Noah asked.

“I’m from Atlanta, but Blake U is the place to be. Although I don’t engage in all of the activities, I enjoy the vibe.”

Noah nodded. “I know what you mean. I went to Howard and was in the band for a minute.”

“I know. I’m a fan.”

Noah smiled. “Well, I’m glad we were able to have lunch together then. I like meeting fans. You and Chozen met in class, huh?”

“Yeah. He helped me by picking up my cane when I dropped it. All the other students were rushing by me and looked irritated that I was in their way. Not him. He walked me all the way to my car.”

Noah smiled. “He’s always been a good guy. His spirit is genuine.”

She smiled and glanced over at me. The waitress came and took our drink orders as well as our food orders. Once she walked away, RJ said, “We know you’re in a hurry, but we had to see the woman that had that nigga doing the most.”

She chuckled and blushed. “Your voice seems way deeper in person.”

I chuckled. RJ’s voice was crazy deep. Nigga sounded like he could imitate a whole bass line in a song.

RJ slowly shook his head. He got that everywhere he went.

Everyone knew how deep his voice was already, especially when he became more vocal in Noah’s career, after Noah wrote a song about him.

It was definitely different in person though.

The waitress brought our drinks and appetizers.

I’d gotten the cheesesteak eggrolls for Azari and me to share, and not long after, she brought out our entrées.

Most of us had gotten some kind of steak, but Azari chose shrimp scampi.

We continued to talk and laugh until Azari needed to get back.

The waitress came and boxed her food for her, then I helped her out of her seat. RJ and Noah stood, and both hugged her.

After we got to my car and I’d helped her in and got in myself, she angled her body to me. “Noah is your cousin? What kind of mess is that? Like for real?”

“Technically, he isn’t, but we look at each other as cousins.

My aunt Candace’s husband, Uncle Carrington, is their uncle.

I look at Carrington as my father. I never knew my bio dad, so him stepping up to help raise me meant a lot to me.

Candace is my mom’s sister. They look at me like their ‘little’ cousin. ”

I slowly shook my head at the thought of that. “I work for RJ’s architectural firm.”

“That’s so cool. Thank you for today. Xavier and my mama already texted to see where I was.”

“So tell me, do you already have a powerchair?”

“I do, but I wasn’t thinking this morning. I was feeling horrible, and I was rushing. It didn’t help I’d gotten into it with Xavier’s father.”

I glanced over at her to see her fidget in her seat. She was playing with her fingers like she was nervous about something.

“Okay. I only rented that one because I wasn’t sure if you already had one.” Grabbing her hand, I took a deep breath. “He isn’t as involved as he should be, is he?”

She didn’t want to mention it earlier, but I knew that was because she had to go to class. That was probably the last thing she wanted on her mind while trying to retain information.

“He’s barely involved at all. He called this morning to say he couldn’t get him this weekend.” She slowly shook her head. “And to think, we were supposed to get married.”

My eyebrows lifted. “Y’all were engaged? What caused things to change?”

“He didn’t want to have to take care of me.

He was already a little salty he was having to chip in a little more.

That was when I lowered my hours at work and went from full-time to part-time in order to go back to school.

When I got the news about my leg and what I had to do, he bailed.

He literally walked out on us. That’s why I’m so hard.

I’ve dealt with heartbreak quite a bit, but that was the one that truly broke me.

Not just because he didn’t want to take care of me, but he had no desire to really take care of his son either. ”

“Damn. That’s fucked up.”

“Tell me about it. I get three hundred and some change a month for child support, but he hasn’t seen him in two months. I filed for an increase the other day. I’m tired of seeing my baby hurting because he misses his dad.”

She had it harder than I thought. “So what do you do for money?”

“I get disability income. It’s enough to pay the bills.”

She shrugged as I turned into the student parking lot where she’d parked.

I had to do something to help her. I didn’t know what I would do that wouldn’t offend her though.

Maybe we could talk tonight, and I could learn more about her, and she could learn more about me.

I didn’t want her to think that I was looking at her as a charity case.

Now that she knew of my connection to Noah, that would probably be the first thing that came to her mind if I tried to move too quickly.

I parked next to her then got out to help her out.

Once she was standing, I leaned over to hug her, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Thank you for today, Chozen. This was everything, but your thoughtfulness was worth even more to me. I nearly lost my shit when I saw you standing next to that scooter. Believe it or not, that meant more to me than lunch.”

Acts of service. That was her love language.

I would definitely keep that in mind. I was pretty sure she liked other things, too, but that was what was important to her right now.

I pulled away from her and met her gaze.

She had to be mine. This stare down was intense.

Friends my ass. If what I was reading was true, she was as attracted to me as I was to her.

I would work hard to show her that I was the real deal.

She cleared her throat and pulled away from me. When she unlocked her car, I opened the door for her. Before she could get in, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I smiled and asked, “Can I call you tonight?”

“Yeah. You can call whenever. If I can’t answer, I’ll call you back when I can.”

“Okay.”

I licked my lips and watched her as she stared at them.

If I thought she would let me, I’d kiss her on those big, beautiful, soft-looking muthafuckas on her face.

I had to get away from her because I could feel my dick getting hard.

She smiled and got into her car, and I closed the door.

Taking a step back, I watched her crank her engine and smile as she did so.

She was happy, and it felt good to know that I had something to do with that.

If I had my way, I would make sure that smile stayed on her beautiful face.

The way her cheeks lifted and nearly caused her eyes to close when she smiled was everything.

She started backing out of her spot, and before she could take off, she waved at me.

I gave her a head nod and smiled then made my way back to my car.

God had put me in this position in life to be a blessing to someone else. That someone else would surely be her.