Just wanna say RIP Chadwick Boseman. I was writing this chapter before he died then when I found out I am glad I had this idea but enjoy!
"So, this is where the basketball court used to be. As you can see there is a lot of damage to this property but it can easily be fixed. The owners before didn't take care of it at all and it being left unattended didn't help it very much."
The girls were currently viewing the run-down gym Cindy and Jazmine wanted to buy to create their businesses. The gym was in worse condition than they thought. The neglect was clear to see every turn they took. It was horrible.
"I'm sorry this shit is nasty." Royalty screwed up her face as she looked around the basketball court.
The lines were faded, the hoops were shattered and had no rope. On what used to be bleachers, were now bird nests and poo everywhere.
"If a rat jumps out, I am seriously going to run." Ming announced for future reference.
"I second that..." Jazmine couldn't help but agree.
Cindy was the only one that had a large grin on her face as she looked around the busted down room. You could see in her sapphire eyes the hope and excitement in them. "Guys, don't you see this shit?!" They all shook their head, even the short, round, white guy that was showing them around. "The layout is already here but we're going to make it better. Redo the floors and lines, the bleachers can be knocked down so we can extend the walls, that way when there are games, we can have two bleachers now. One side for each team. Schools came play here and higher. I can hang up my jersey up by the clock because I'm that bitch and the hoops are going to be new and improved. This is amazing. The birds are no problem just kick them homies out and we good. Definitely going to call an exterminator just in case there's rats or something though."
Jazmine slightly gasped. "Cin, you can't just do that to their nest!"
"I can, you want them birds shitting on you while you dance. Or in front of your foot and you slip and break your ankle?" She asked rhetorically. When she saw Jazmine pout, she knew she won. "Exactly."
"Pardon me, I hate to intrude but I don't understand why you have interest in this trash anyway. You should let one of them big rich people buy this place and flip it into a mall or something. That will make so much more money."
"Look here stumpy, I am the big rich people." Cindy told him as she took a step closer, making him step back. "What happened to this place was sad so I'm not just going to let it go to waste. Plus, it's been here for years and no one has touched it so me and my home girls will. Now Mr Adams, I will like to tour the rest of this place if you're fine with that."
Mr Adams cleared his throat as he looked between Cindy and the rest of the girls. He didn't expect her to say something like that. He honestly saw this place as a waste of space and was really looking forward to watch someone rip it down brick by brick but he guessed it was just going to stay up longer. A waste of property in his eyes. He believed the people in the community just destroy everything they get, they didn't deserve what the girls were doing, no one did around here.
"Fine. This way." He held his arms out towards the lockers room and the continued the tour.
45 minutes passed and the girls were all huddled together having a discussion.
"So what do you think Cindy?" Royalty was the first to ask.
"I love it, I want it."
"Jazmine?"
She sighed. "There is a lot of work to do and I'm not even talking about on my part. The gym is going to be hard work let alone building a whole new dance studio but it's not impossible, especially since its us."
Royalty nodded before looking at Ming who had a light smirk on her face. "Ming? You can work with this?"
"This is the perfect first project. There is already a lay out for me, I can definitely get the rest done."
Cindy was happy with the feedback she was getting, that was exactly what she wanted to hear. Everyone was optimistic about this place. For once, she was focusing on building something for herself. She had spent years trying to be the perfect girl for her mother but it just didn't work out. Then she had expectations to take over her parents' company but that was far from her dream. This was her dream. Something she wanted to do and she was actually doing it.
"Let's do this." The girls broke apart and walked towards Mr Adams who was texting away on his phone but hastily put it away when he felt four sets of eyes on him. "We're buying all of this. Asap at that."
He was shocked that they actually wanted this dump of a building. "You sure? There are better properties in a better neighbourhood that you could buy, you wouldn't even need to change much, plus all the damage-"
"Exactly, all the damage." Ming cut him off. "Which is why we want to lower the offering price because there is a lot of damage. The mould, the birds, the floors, everything. Damage. What you're offering doesn't reflect how much work is actually needed to be done here."
"I mean, buying this place was your own risk. The price is fine." He shrugged but they weren't having it.
"Nope. You created a high price so people in the area couldn't even look to buy out this place to get one of the little places they had to hang out. You just want to gentrify the area for your own gain by having a high property price but that's not going to run with us. We want that price lowered and we're getting it lowered." Jazmine put her hands on her hips to show she meant business.
"Run them papers their way." Royalty hyped up with a smirk on her face.
Mr Adams gulped. "We- well I need to go through the papers again and of course there is going to need to be another meeting to discuss the lowered price and all of that."
"Fine, set it up. How long until we get this place?" Cindy asked impatiently.
"About 2 weeks."
"Well you got some prices to drop Mr Adams. Pleasure doing business with you, we'll see you soon."
The girls left a flustered man standing in the middle of the street as he thought about how much paperwork he now had to create. He still thought they were crazy for doing this.
The girls walked towards their car, all pleased with what they were able to achieve.
"You know what you guys did? That." Royalty clapped with delight.
Cindy finally let out the breath she was holding, along with Jazmine. "Bittchhhhh we getting a motherfucking gymmm!"
"Yesss! I am so excited." Jazmine cheered too.
"So am I! I have extra ideas and plans now that I've been inside. We have our work cut out for us girls. This shit is going to be hard work... You think Huey would let us borrow some of his minions to help out?" Ming half joked, making everyone but Jazmine laugh, who just rolled her eyes.
"They're not his minions Ming. They're his people... and yes, yes he most likely would." She couldn't help but agree making her friends laugh again. "But! That doesn't mean I will ask."
"Don't worry, I will." Cindy pattered her on the shoulder while still keeping her eyes on the road. "To celebrate one step closer, we will go out for dinner and some drinks while drunkenly trying to come up for name for both places. Still have no clue so let's goooo!"
The girls were one step closer from not needing to work at a strip club anymore. It was scary but a jump they needed and was excited to take.
It was the day of the birthday party for Cori and Tay Freeman and everything was decorated beautifully at Anthony and Tiana's home. The superhero theme was everywhere and everyone, yes everyone, was dressed up.
"It's our birthday!" Coco and Tay screamed once their eyes set on all the guest that was there. They were so excited to finally have their joint birthday party and seeing that all the adults were involved added to that feeling.
"Yes it is baby, happy birthday my little Bubblebee." Dante smothered kisses all over his now four-year-old who giggled.
"Happy birthday to my baby Tay or should I say Shuri." He smirked as he gave her a fatherly kiss.
"Wakanda forever!" Tay shouted and crossed her arms, making people close by laugh.
The birthday girls looked adorable in their superhero costumes and their family joined in too. Dante was Cyborg from Teen Titans while Anthony was T'Chala. His wife was Storm and his baby girl was Okoye. Anthony decided his little family should go with the Black Panther theme since his daughter picked out her superhero.
Couple by couple, Tay and Coco received their gifts from their guests.
"Happy birthday Tay and Coco. These are for you." Jazmine handed them a present each. "This is from me and Killmonger over here."
"Booooo." Tay playfully stuck her tongue out at Huey who was being her enemy of the day. He wanted to roll his eyes but didn't. He couldn't believe he somewhat dressed up and he had his cousins and Jazmine to blame for it. They convinced her to buy him an outfit to wear. Even if it was simple, he still thought it was unnecessary.
"Girls, what do you say to Jazmine?" Dante told them.
"Thank yoouuu."
"Please, my name is Domino today." She winked at them, playing along with being someone else for the day. She was dressed just like the character in Deadpool since it was easy to find an outfit similar. She even debated if she should put on a black afro wig but decided to just wear her own hair in an afro instead.
"Can't forget the present I got you." Caesar pulled down his hood, showing off his charming smile as he handed the wrapped-up gifts, he got the two girls.
"Thank you... who are you supposed to be?" Tay asked the couple. Caesar wore all black with a cloak while Cindy was wearing all white with some sort of glow stick in her hand.
"We, are Cloak and Dagger."
"That's so cool."
Hiro popped out of nowhere and shoved the two to the side in his version of Eugene Choi aka Shazam! "Happy Birthday Princesses. From me and Miss Jubilee here." Ming lifted her pink glasses at the introduction and winked at them.
Coco looked over at her dad. "You have pretty friends." She told him, making people laugh. Faith came over dressed as Starfire, making Coco smile. "And pretty girlfriend."
"Yeah I know." He smiled. "And pretty daughter."
Just then, Demetrius stepped in as Beastboy and stood between his brother and girlfriend. "Don't forget pretty uncle."
Coco giggled. "You're not pretty uncle Tri."
Riley snickered at his cousins fallen smile. "Haha she got you there nigga."
Royalty backhanded Riley in his chest, right where the spider on his chest was as he was Miles Morals for the day while she was a simplified but still sexy version of Vixen. "No cussing around the kids." She quickly handed their set of presents over before dragging Riley away to give him a talk about his mouth around the children.
Jaliyah and Monique stepped up to their little cousins dressed as Thunder and Lightning to hand over their presents. As they finished, Raven, Robyn and Cairo came up to them dressed as Raven, Robin and Falcon.
"Say hi to Angel Cairo." Raven leaned him forward to try and get the two to interact. Instead, they just stared at each other. "You know I haven't realised that this is the closest he has gotten to someone his age."
"Well that's not good... why don't we get them acquainted with each other and even set up some play dates. It's very good for their development." Tiana smiled at her.
"Sure, that will be fun."
Once they girls received their presents from all their party guests, the party went on with the adults all talking and drinking while the children ran around stuffing their faces with candy and chocolate as well as jumping on the bouncy house they rented.
"Man I never remember getting this many damn presents on my birthday." Riley complained as he saw the table that was full of presents for both girls.
"Yes you did Riley, don't even try to lie." His brother shut him down.
Royalty crossed her arms over her chest. "You seriously cannot be jealous of a 4 and 5-year-old." When she saw his face start to screw up, she burst out in laughter. "You seriously are jealous of a 4 and 5-year-old. Who hurt you?" She joked.
"Nah nah it's not even like that."
"The only present you seemed to get this year was a pregnancy but that didn't last long now did it?" Caesar teased.
"Ohhhhh."
"Low blow dude." Ming shook her head while Caesar just shrugged.
"He knows I'm playing."
Riley kissed his teeth. "Whatever. That shit is over with anyway. That hoe ain't my business no more and I'm free."
"Don't get too comfy now. You ain't that free, remember that." Royalty warned him.
"Guys, we're at a child's birthday party, can we at least try and be nice for a few hours?" Jazmine stepped in and requested. She was meet with grumbles as responses. "Ok, good enough I guess. Now, Huey..." She trailed off with a grin on her face and he knew exactly what she was going to bring up.
"No."
"Yes."
"Jazmine." Huey said her name warningly but she ignored it and faced their friends.
She dodged his hand that was trying to cover her mouth to stop her from talking. He wasn't really trying to cover her mouth while also trying at the same time but there was no stopping Jazmine from saying what she wanted to say. "So, we all know Huey's birthday is very very close and I was thinking of having a little get together at our places for it. Couple of drinks, some music, food. An adult get together."
Hiro couldn't help but laugh. "Um, Miss Jazmine, I hate to burst your bubble but Huey here hasn't had a birthday party since his 10th birthday. He had to force his parents to make that birthday his last birthday party he had."
"Yeah, McHater never knew how to have fun." Riley laughed.
"You did nothing for your 16th, 18th or 21st?" Cindy asked. Huey shook his head. "How did you not want to celebrate milestone birthdays?"
"Because-"
"Birthdays are just a reminder that you're one step closer to death." Hiro, Caesar and Riley cut off Huey from his own signature quote that they heard every year at least 15 times a year whenever it was someone's birthday.
"Damn, he really say it that much?" Ming asked and the boys nodded. "A bit morbid."
Jazmine wrapped her arms around Huey who happily allowed her to snuggle into his side. "Well I believe everyone should celebrate their birthday every year and not just the milestone ones. As Huey said, you're one step closer to death, I understand that so why not make the most of it while you're here right?" She turned to Huey and tip toed to give him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm doing this and you can't say no. I will drag you by your feet if I have to."
He sighed and looked down at the emerald green eyes that were looking back at him. There was no arguing with Jazmine. Knowing her, she already had half the decorations at home and just needed everyone to know the plan. It was going to happen whether he liked it or not. He was about to have his first birthday party in 16 years and Jazmine was the reason as to why. The things this girl could make him do and they have only just started their relationship. "Fine." She let out a big smile on her face and squeezed him harder, happy that he agreed to the birthday party he was going to receive even if he said no.
"Great! You don't have to do anything, I have everything planned."
"I would've guessed that already." Just then, Huey's business phone began to ring. He pulled it out and looked at the number before looking at Caesar, Hiro and Riley. "We'll be back." He nodded to the men in the circle who nodded back in understanding.
"Don't be too long please. It's your cousins birthday, they would want you here." Jazmine slightly frowned at him.
He gave her a reassuring peck on the lips. "I'll try not to be."
"Business is calling it looks like." Cindy commented as she watched her boyfriend and his friends walk out the front door.
"Yeah, that shit doesn't wait for no one." Ming said which they all had to agree on. "Anyway, Jazzy, how much stuff you need to get left for this little get together?"
At the question, she pulled out her phone and went straight to check her notes which had a list of everything she needed for Huey's birthday. She has been thinking of this day for a long time, now she has become sort of paranoid. Everything needed to go as planned otherwise she was going to have a breakdown and she didn't need that happening.
"Girl I got a shit tone of stuff." She sighed. "I need to finalise his cake. He doesn't eat cake like that so I'm just going to get red velvet, everyone loves red velvet. I have ordered balloons, I just have to pick them up on the day. There's a lot so I'm going to need the car for myself. Not just that, the whole day. I know I am going to be running around a lot. I need to go Costco to pick up drinks. A lot of them. I might need one of your help on that part. I don't know what everyone drinks so I need at least one of you to stop me from buying out the whole store." Jazmine rushed out.
"Uh, I gotchu girl. Don't worry." Cindy agreed cautiously, not fully knowing what she was getting herself into.
"Thank you." She breathed out.
Royalty noticed something was missing from her list. "What about food? You know I love a party with food."
Jazmine nervously giggled. "Yeah about that... can you do it for me? Pleeaseeee?"
"Jazmine!" Royalty's eyes grew wide. She didn't expect she would be asked to make food for a whole party, she thought she just needed to show up. Show up as in walk down the stairs when people arrive.
"I'm sorry!"
She sighed, knowing she was going to help her friend no matter what. "What am I even supposed to make? I don't know what he eats or anyone at that."
"Mac and cheese definitely. Um, I will ask Caesar if he has had any Jamaican food from him that you can cook. Wings. Fish. You know just cook a variety."
Ming sympathetically patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll help."
Jazmine looked at her friends proudly. "You guys are the best sisters a girl could ask for. I am deadass right now."
"Well after all this shit, you kinda owe us."
"Owe you what?" Raven asked. She walked over with Faith, Robyn, Jaliyah and Monique with baby Cairo in her arms who was chewing his hand.
"Her soul." Ming smiled jokingly.
Jazmine gasped. "Don't say that! I will never do that."
"Just joking Jazzy."
"Meanie." Jazmine pouted before answering Raven's original question. "I am planning a birthday party for Huey."
The new comers all gasped. "Did the guys tell you he hasn't had a party since he was 10?" Jaliyah wondered.
"Yes but he is letting me do this." She smiled proudly.
"Ohhh he is whipped!" Monique said excitedly. "I never thought I would see the day I see my big cuz get soft for someone. Issa milagro."
"It is not a big deal." Jazmine tried to dismiss but the people that knew him longer gave her a look. "Is it...?"
"Jazmine, girl, hi, I'm Robyn, Raven's better half, aka sister. Yeah we haven't met before so I thought I should give a quick intro but! I just wanted to say for as long as I have known Huey, which was from the moment I was born, getting him to celebrate his birthday with just a cake was a hassle and he's letting you throw him a party? Yeah he's whipped on you girl." Robyn quickly added.
"I know auntie Kenzie is not going to believe this." Jaliyah shook her head.
That's when realisation dawned on Jazmine. She had to invite his parents. One's she hadn't seen since the day she got kidnapped. "Oh my gosh... how could I forget about inviting his parents?!" She began to panic. "Everything needs to be perfect! Even more perfect than how it was going to before. I cannot mess up anything, if I do, they will hate me forever. Mr Freeman, I mean, Christian seemed to like me but Mrs Freeman seemed as if she hated me, right?! I wasn't the only one that felt it. Royalty, you felt the hate for us too right? The idea that their sons are dating a stripper means she must hate us. She definitely hates us for it rig-"
"Girl if you don't calm your fucking ass down." Royalty whispered-yelled at her panicking friend because of how many children were around. They sort of forget they were at an under 5's birthday party for a few minutes. Jazmine took some deep breaths and calmed down, pushing her afro up a little to allow some type of air on her face. "No one hates me anyway, I don't know about you." Royalty teased, making Jazmine's eyes go wide just when she thought she was calming down.
"I'm sure she doesn't hate you. If most, she's just being protective. I know at the time she still kinda hoped Huey and I would get back together but she understands things are different now." Raven started. "But she's a very loving woman once you get to know her, she's just very protective over her boys. The whole thing with Nicki that led to Cairo's death triggered her over protectiveness. She warned them constantly about girls after that, she didn't trust any female with her baby boys. Not only that, she was the mom the school would have warnings about how scary she was and with a child like Riley, the school was seeing her a lot." Raven joked, making Jazmine feel a little better. "As I was saying, she will come around eventually. If I can so can she."
Jazmine smiled at Raven. "Aww. Thank you. I really needed that."
"Don't worry, I got you. I was serious when I apologised. As long as you're around, I will look out for you. A little secret, Mackenzie likes black liquorice. Everyone hates it but her. She gained the craving when she was pregnant with Huey, then Riley but after him it stuck. It's her weakness." Raven winked at her and Jazmine was more than grateful to see she had people routing for her.
"Oh and if you're getting drinks, uncle Chris likes whiskey, if you were inviting my dad and other uncle, they will drink that too. I mean no pressure to invite the whole family but I'm just letting you know." Monique added.
Jazmine slightly shook her head. "No that's perfect thank you. I needed that and I will be inviting the whole Freeman family over. I want Huey to be surrounded by people he loves and cares for."
Jaliayah shook her head. "I cannot believe he managed to get someone like you... I don't like girls but if you ever give up on him, we can give us a try."
Monquie smirked. "I do so I call dibs."
"I'll keep that in mind but Monquie you might be a little too young." Jazmine joked back, making the group of girls laugh.
"It was worth a try."
"He's a Freeman, they're far from easy." Faith commented as she thought about her relationship with Dante. "Wait, where are the older Freeman's anyway?"
"They had to sort some family stuff out but I heard they are doing something for the girls separately anyway." Raven quickly answered.
"Sis, you got the one that has a daughter that adores you, I say you got very lucky." Robyn smirked, going back to what Faith just said.
"I mean I know that but it's hard trying to be a good step mom without trying to act like her mom, even though her mom isn't in her life, you know?"
Royalty snorted. "Well I for one am glad I do not know that feeling." She sighed. "I really dodged a bullet there."
"Barely." Cindy mumbled again her cup as she took a sip.
"I mean, who would've thought the woman would have an abortion after telling Riley she was going to keep it? I certainly didn't." Ming shrugged.
Jazmine shrugged too. "Well, she could always change her mind."
"But she did it for a nigga." Robyn pointed out.
"Ladies, as much as I love talking to you, I do not wanna talk about that hoe. Because of her, I got cut from glass that I am hoping doesn't leave a scar." She lifted her arm to show the bandage on her arm.
"Damn, I thought that was apart of the costume." Jaliyah told her.
"Nah but I don't even really need it. Just milking the moment so Riley can baby me." Royalty grinned.
The girls laughed. "Sneaky, I like that."
"Well now that we're all here, we should talk about our little girls' night." Raven suggested, making them all perk up at the subject.
"Yes! I cannot wait to go to the club with you all. We will drink, dance, get lit, no males around us whatsoever." Jazmine smiled.
"And that's exactly what I need."
Faith raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Raven. Dear friend of mine, you weren't getting dick anyway. Out of all of us here, you are the one that needs to get dicked down the most."
"Oop." Ming, Cindy and Royalty just sipped their drinks as they watched Raven's smile drop.
"So it's like that huh?" Faith nodded at Raven. "Wow. I expected better than that. I don't need dick to have a good time."
Robyn disagreed "Sis, I'm sure that vibrator needs a break. It's probably scared of you now."
Raven gasped at her sister. "You in my business? Don't do that."
"Whatever. I'm just stating the facts."
"It's supposed to be a girl's night, why are you worried about me getting a nigga?"
Royalty raised an eyebrow. "Who says it had to be a nigga?"
"Nope, nope. Not having this convo." Raven tried to switch the attention from her. "Would you girls like to join us on our girl's night?" She directed the question to Jaliyah, Monique and Robyn.
Robyn kissed Cairo on the cheek. "Nah, I'll just babysit my nephew."
"Sorry I can't. It's flu and dumb people seasons. Hospital is about to be crazy so I'm most likely going to be pulling double, maybe triple, shifts." Jaliyah shrugged apologetically.
Raven saw Monique didn't answer. "What about you Monique? I know you're only 19 but we can get you in like we always do."
Monique quickly shook her head. "Uh, no, it's fine. My girlfriend is a bit paranoid about me going out right now. My ex-boyfriend just transferred so she's not too happy about it. He's been a little annoying so I'm doing my best to keep her happy."
Everyone looked at the younger girl with concern. "Is this an issue where you might need your cousin's assistance?" Jaliyah asked, clearly hinting at the cousins that were in a gang.
"No, no. It's fine. I'll handle it. It's just stupid college stuff."
"If you say so..." Jaliyah trailed off, not really trusting Monique's word. This was the second time she has seen her little cousin become closed off about what's happening in college, she felt she should tell her cousins and brothers soon. They would be able to get through to her, or beat someone up. Either one would work.
"College is never easy but I wouldn't really know since I dropped out." Cindy shrugged.
"You guys really dropped out of college and became strippers?" Robyn couldn't help but ask.
They nodded. "Yeah and we don't regret it. This shit is fun." Ming answer first.
"Plus, we would've never met you guys if we never dropped out." Jazmine smiled sweetly.
Royalty snorted. "This is what happens when you're broke with no family in the same country as you. Desperate times call for desperate measure. These rich bitches just followed."
Faith raised an eyebrow. "Rich? You guys are rich?"
Ming, Cindy and Jazmine sent a slight glare at Royalty who brushed it off. They were bound to find out anyway, might as well tell them now.
Ming cleared her throat. "Cindy and I's parents own a company doing architecture. We we're supposed to take over but we never liked it."
Faith's eyes grew wide. "You had a whole company in your lap and you walked away from it?"
"I wish it was as easy as that." Cindy sighed. "We never wanted to do it. When your forced to do something as big as that, you're more likely to walk away from it. Now if it was a different type of company then I wouldn't have minded."
Jaliyah shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that shit... Jazmine couldn't be any worse right?"
Jazmine knew she spoke too soon. "My parents work in a law firm...my dad is an ADA." She confessed nervously.
The amount of jaws Jazmine saw drop was insane but perfectly understandable.
"Girl what the fuck?!" Raven whispered-yelled at her. She knew Jazmine was some type of rich privileged child but not lawyer rich. She didn't want to shout because there were kids around them and she didn't want to startle Cairo who was starting to fall asleep in her arms. "Lawyers?!"
Jazmine slightly nodded.
"Do they know what our cousins do?"
She slightly nodded again. "My stupid ex-boyfriend, who I started sleeping with again, forced us to have a dinner. He told them about what Huey did."
"That's a dickhead move." Faith mumbled.
Monique looked worried. "Wait, doesn't that mean they can get them arrested? Being an ADA is a big fucking deal."
Jazmine quickly shook her head. "He won't do that."
"How do you know?" She couldn't help but be defensive. It was her family she was talking about.
"Because as much as my parents are disappointed in me, they love me more. They're kind of waiting for the relationship to fail but that's not going to happen. I know them, they won't try it. I won't allow them to anyway."
Raven saw the seriousness in her face and heard it in her voice. Jazmine was serious about her man and she respected that. "Ok. Hopefully it stays that way."
"Ok, it's time to cut the cake!" Tiana called out, breaking them away from their conversation.
"Wait, they're no-" Royalty started to say but the ones she was talking about just walked back into the house.
Huey, Hiro, Caesar and Riley strolled back in as if they were there the whole time. They stood around the table were Coco and Tay excitedly waited to dive into their customised cakes, matching their superhero. Their girlfriends walked up to them and stood next to them.
"Everything cool?" Ming inquired.
Hiro nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Nothing for you to worry about."
"We handled it." Caesar finished off.
"Alright..." Cindy trailed off.
"Happy birthday to yoouuu..." The crowd began to sing.
Jazmine watched the little girls try to hold themselves from blowing out the candles prematurely. She could honestly say the Freeman's knew how to produce adorable children. It almost made her wonder what her and Huey's children will look like.
Her eyes widened. 'Woah. Slow down girl.' She had to tell herself. She slowly looked at Huey as the thought of a mini him with a little bit of her popped in her head but she stopped herself from looking at him in trance. She was about to turn away when she noticed something on his jawline.
Blood.
Jazmine pulled out a clean napkin she had in her pocket and wiped it off, all while still singing.
Huey was shocked at the action and looked at Jazmine and then at the tissue. He watched her fold it up and put it away but he caught a glance at what was on it. It was blood and they both knew it wasn't his.
"Thank you." He whispered to her.
She nodded in acknowledgment before joining in with the clapping as the two girls blew out their candles.
"So, who wants some cake?" Anthony asked, making the family and friends cheer before breaking off into their own groups once again. The party went on without a problem. Pictures were taken, the dancers got a chance to know the Freeman family better. The cousins together in one room was very entertaining. Riley and the twins were still childish, Jaliyah and Monique would throw shady and funny remarks every now and then while Anthony and Huey stood to the side and shook their head in disappointment while also adding their two cents as the elders of the lot.
Jazmine would catch herself randomly looking at Huey throughout the party. His biggest soft spot was his family and she knew that. He didn't want anyone to know that but she knew that. He didn't want to dress up but he put in some effort because it was something his little cousins wanted. There were times Tay would run up on Huey and try and fight him because their characters were enemies which he ended just by hanging her upside down by her foot. That's when Anthony would dramatically swoop in and save his daughter. It was such a cute interaction.
She spent most of her time trying to enjoy herself because she knew once the sun rose tomorrow, the countdown to Huey's birthday would become louder and more brutal. She had to be prepared otherwise everything would blow up in her face and she had people to impress. She couldn't let that happen. Everything needed to go smoothly.
"Wakey wakey! We got things to do today people!"
Jazmine shouted as she walked past her friend's rooms. It was Huey's birthday which meant the party was today. The same party Jazmine has been planning for a long time which also had to impress his parents. This was a huge day for her.
"Jazzy. It's 7am. You couldn't at least give us another hour!" Cindy screamed from her room.
"No! Get up! Today's the day!"
Cindy and Royalty dragged themselves out their rooms while Ming walked out casually.
"Do we have to?" Royalty whined with her eyes half closed.
"Yes." Jazmine said firmly. "We need to clean this house top to bottom to make it look presentable for the Freeman's. I want to make a good first impression. This is the first time they are meeting us since the mess and I want to show them that I am the right girl for their son. Royalty, you should feel the same way." Royalty grunted in response, too tired to fully form words. "I need to go Costco so Cin you with me while Ming and Royalty stay and cook. Then we get balloons and cake then come back and set up. Then once everything is ready, we can get ready. Everyone should be arriving at 5, well, poc time, means 6pm. If we start right now, we can be done by 3 which gives us around 2 or 3 hours to get ready so go go go! I already showered so Cin get in the bathroom first so we can leave asap. Ming and Royalty, decide who goes first."
"Royalty needs to wake up more than me so she can go first." Ming laughed at the half-asleep girl who nodded in agreement before walking into the bathroom to shower while the half-asleep Cindy went to the other. Ming stepped closer to Jazmine who took a deep breath. "Relax. Everything is going to go as planned today. You shouldn't stress yourself. It won't help at all."
"I know but I just want everything to be perfect."
"Aww you are stressing. Cute." Ming couldn't help but to tease.
Jazmine straight faced. "Go away."
Ming laughed but walked back into her room to wait for her time to get ready.
The party planner of the day took a couple of deep breaths, trying to collect her thoughts. Today was the day she proved she was serious about her and Huey's relationship. She had to get it right.
The clock started to tick and everyone was on the move.
Jazmine and Cindy were in the drinks aisle and was filling up Jazmine's cart with all the drinks she thought people would like.
"Jazmine, are you sure you need that much stuff?" Cindy questioned as she watched her friend place another crate of Fanta into her cart.
As she not so lightly dropped it into her cart, she breathed out. "Yes." Was all she answered before grabbing a crate of Sprite.
"Let's get something to eat once we're done here, I don't need you passing out on me from dehydration."
"I'm fine, plus, I still have to-"
"-eat, you still have to eat." Cindy cut her off. "Look, I get you want everything to go perfect but if you're not eating or drinking anything, you might as well cancel the whole thing right now and I know you don't want that to happen now do you?"
Jazmine paused her movements as she listened to her friend's little lecture. Cindy was right, she needed to eat something and now that she mentioned it, she was feeling hungry. "Ok, we will, once we're done here. Then we have to pick up the res-"
Cindy couldn't help but cut her off once again. "I know, you've told us a thousand times. We'll get it done in no time."
She nervously smiled. "Sorry." The two continued to walk around the store and pick up everything they needed for the party. It took a while but they eventually got everything into the car and drove to the mall to get some food. Once they found a place to sit, they dug into their food, much to Jazmine's satisfaction.
"I feel like I have asked this so many times but why are you freaking out about meeting the Freemans? You've met them before and even Royalty is cool about it." Cindy questioned.
"Who said I'm freaking out? I'm not freaking out." Jazmine tried to deny but Cindy saw right through it and gave her a look. Jazmine knew better than to lie to the blonde. The two have been friends ever since the 1st grade. She knew everything about Jazmine before Jazmine even knew things about herself. "Fine, I am." She took a sip of her drink before going on to explain. "I know I met them before but that was briefly. In that brief movement his mother walked away once their granddad outed us on what we do. His dad didn't seem to care, he seemed cool but it's always the mother approval people look for. I'm great with parents or at least I thought I was... I guess so much has changed since I was last in a serious relationship." She sighed. "Their dad was also talking about babies... I know I really really like Huey but we haven't even had sex yet." She whispered the last part, frightened that someone would hear.
Cindy couldn't help but laugh. "I still can't believe it. I was the last one to see interest in one of the guys and I've already slept with Caesar. I would've thought you would be all over him like Royalty is with Riley."
"I know, trust me, when I went to his house after the funeral, I wanted him to have me right there and then but he told me to wait a little. I'm not mad but damn I wanted something."
"Maybe you might get a little sum sum tonight." Cindy winked, making her laugh.
"Trust and believe I have something up my sleeve." She winked back. "But as I was saying, I just want his parents to see that I'm not going to mess up his life. I really like him and I don't want things to go wrong this time around. I already have my parents upset with my choice, I don't need his parents upset with me."
"Sis, everyone loves you, I'm sure you're going to be fine. Even if his mother doesn't like you, he does and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. With your parents... that's a little different but out of my mom and Ming's parents, they put in more effort to talk to you when we went back. I've been talking to my dad nearly every day and I never knew how much I missed him until we went back." Cindy told her. Cindy never realised how much she missed her father until she went back to Woodcrest. The feeling of not talking to her first best friend was enough to bring tears to her eyes and it took a lot to make Cindy McPhearson to be brought to tears. Paul McPhearson was the only adult that always looked out for and vouched for Cindy and she wished they didn't spend all them years not speaking. As for her mother, that was a whole 'nother story to be dealt with.
Jazmine knew her parents were just trying to look out for her. She felt guilty for being the spoiled and rebellious child that had everything at her fingertips which she just threw away as if it was nothing. It made her think if she should try and contact her parents again... maybe she should. "Why is life so stressful?"
"Girl I wish I knew." The two laughed and began clearing up their mess. "Come on, let's get this shit done."
It took another two hours before they got home. Their car was full of things so they had to take more than one trip inside. When they did get inside, they walked towards the kitchen were the beautiful aroma of food was coming from.
"It smells good up in this bitch!" Cindy shouted.
"Thanks bitch!" Royalty shouted back.
Her and Ming were relaxing while they waited for the food. The stove was covered in pots and the shelves in the over was full. It was obvious the two have been very busy.
Jazmine's eyes grew wide. "Wow, that's a lot of food."
Ming nodded. "Enough for seconds and takeaways."
"You guys did good... how much you have left to do?"
"Salads, and the rum punch, you did remember the alcohol for it right?" Royalty questioned.
Cindy pulled the bottle out of one of the bags with a grin on her face. "Of course. I need some of that drink."
"Wooi yooii!" Royalty cheered before grabbing the bottle, excited to start her punch.
Jazmine took a deep breath. "I am so happy, everything is right on track. Now, I'm going to start decorating. Cin, wanna help?"
She shrugged. "Sure."
Before Jazmine could unpack the bags, she got a text.
Huey: I hope you're not stressing yourself out about today.
Jazmine: I'm not stressing x
Huey: You've barely text me since you told me happy birthday as soon as the clock struck 12. You're stressing.
Jazmine couldn't help but giggle at how well he knew her already.
Jazmine: Fine, I am a little but don't worry, I have my girls helping me. I'm less stressed now. Everything is nearly ready for your party.
Huey: One I still don't understand why you're doing.
Jazmine: It's too late to take back, I won!
Huey: Yeah yeah. Anyways, I'm at my parents now so I will see you later. Don't get too crazy.
Jazmine: I'll try not to lool, bye x
Huey: Bye x
Jazmine quickly stuffed her phone in her back pocket and sighed. Everything needed to be right. It just had to. "Alright people, let's get started!"
After hours of cooking, cleaning, decorating and organising, the party was finally arriving. Jazmine had calmed down a little since she arrived back home but now she felt a little more stressed once again. It was really crunch time.
"We have 50 minutes until they arrive. Hair up or down?" Jazmine asked Royalty with her hand in her head. Jazmine was in Royalty's room standing behind her as they both looked in her mirror. She came into her room for some hair advice. Royalty was currently curling one of her brown wigs that blended perfectly with her skin tone.
"Up. Let them see that cute ass face of yours."
"You're right."
Royalty smirked. "I know. Hair is going to be my business."
"Well, do you wanna do my hair?" Jazmine suggested with a soft smile.
"Sure. Lemme just finish these last few curls."
Soon, the two swapped positions and Royalty had her hands in Jazmine's hair. "How you feeling now? They will be arriving soon."
"I should be asking you the same thing."
"It's not me whose boyfriend's birthday is today." Royalty laughed.
Jazmine sighed. "Yeah you right... I am nervous. I have no idea what his mom is going to make of me. The rich girl that dropped out of college and became a stripper, who is now dating her son."
"How about the poor girl who dropped out of college and become a stripper?"
"The perfect combo."
"Got that right. Pass me the rubber bands please... you want the coloured ones or black ones?" Royalty asked, thinking about what she could do to her friends' hair.
"Coloured." Jazmine told her and handed them over. "As much as I hate to compare the two, when I met Jayden's parents it was different. It was such a big thing. My parents, his parents, dinner. Ugh. It was all formal and almost professional but cute I guess."
"Yeah I remember you telling us." Royalty lightly laughed.
"Hm. It was... an experience to say the least but it is nothing compared to what we're about to experience. There is no rule book to this one. Before, it was dress appropriately, smile, keep eye contact, talk about your perfect future and the skills you have. Now... I have no clue. Do I talk about work? Or what I'm going to do? How much I like Huey because I really like Huey you know that right?" Jazmine looked up at Royalty who wrapped a rubber band around piece of her hair in the style she envisioned.
"Yes I know. I know how you feel... I- I really like Riley too." She sighed. "I can't believe I'm saying that. Ew feelings." She faked gagged.
Jazmine couldn't help but laugh. "It's not all that bad."
"If it has me panicking to throw a birthday party for a man? No thank you."
"Stop playing. We both know Riley is the only person that can handle your crazy ass. You're different levels of crazy but crazy never the less. You two are kinda the same person."
"But you and Huey are complete opposites but work." Royalty said with a raised eyebrow.
Jazmine went to shake her head but remembered that her hair was being done. "We have some similarities."
"Oh yeah? Tell me 5." Royalty instructed Jazmine to do.
"Fine. We're both very caring." She started off. "He doesn't really show it but he really is caring. He takes care of me, his friends and his family. You can clearly see that he's caring around them. We're both hard workers, protective over the people we love, passionate in what we like and do and stubborn. Very stubborn. Boom, five."
Royalty laughed as she took some gel and applied it to Jazmine's hair. "I stand corrected."
"See. Just for that, tell me similarities between you and Riley."
"Easy. We're crazy, pretty crazy, very crazy, definitely crazy and crazy on crackhead levels." She joked, making the two laugh for a few seconds. "Nah but serious... we look out for people, we know how to have a good time, we don't let other people's opinions get to us, supportive and we're both big softies deep down. Like the date we went on." Royalty sighed blissfully, forgetting what she was doing for a few seconds. "It was so cute. I never thought he would be one to do that but I loved it. I'm sure he enjoyed himself too." She quickly shook her head, breaking herself out of the little trance she trailed off to. "You heard nothing."
Jazmine couldn't stop the giggle she let slip from her smiling lips. "Someone is so whipped. Man what did these Freeman boys do to us? You've gone soft and I've gotten softer."
"I know! Disgusting." Royalty faked gaged in agreement. "Anyway. I'm done." She announced as she finished the last of Jazmine's edges.
Jazmine inspected herself in the mirror and grinned. She had cute rubber band patterns in the middle of her head while the sides were slick with the top of the bun out in its afro state and her edges laid perfectly. "You did good as always."
"I know, I'm amazing." Royalty playfully swung her hair out of her face. "How I look?" She stepped back to show off her purple off shoulder crop jumper with a pair of jeans and sneakers. It was simple but cute.
"Amazing, as always. What about me?" Jazmine had on black thigh high boots with a brown, body con, knit dress. She was the only one of the girls who put more effect in her outfit since it was her boyfriend's birthday. She wanted to look good standing next to him as it was important that this party went right.
"Sexy, as always." Royalty winked. "Now, let's get downstairs and get this party started!"
Jazmine did just that and double checked everything was the way it should be and waited. Hiro and Caesar had arrived first to set up the music.
"I'm not even going to front, I kinda miss being a DJ. I was the one everyone called to host parties." Hiro confessed as he set up his laptop.
Caesar laughed as he sorted out some of the many wires. "Yeah you should've seen how good this guy was! Every time a new song came out, he already downloaded it and had it ready for the next party and every time he played, the crowed went crazy. Then with me on the mic, we were unstoppable."
"You were really that good?" Cindy asked.
"Of course baby."
Hiro laughed. "I think she was talking about me." He pushed Caesar to the side to answer Cindy's question. "And yes, yes I was."
Ming couldn't help but laugh too. "Well this isn't high school anymore, let's see if you can play grown folks music."
Once Hiro set up the music, people started to arrive and before they knew it, the house was filled with Freeman's and close friends of Huey. They all were impressed about how well the girls put things together in their home and the home itself, everything looked great. Jazmine greeted everyone with the biggest smile on her face but her heart was racing in her chest.
Jazmine saw car lights go past the window and quickly peered outside. She saw it was Huey's car. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly got everyone attention. "Everyone, everyone! Huey is here! Get ready!"
Huey had just arrived to the dancers' house with his parents behind him. He had spent the day with them before the party because his original plan with just to be at their house and be forced into whatever birthday celebration they were going to do for him but since Jazmine planned a party, he decided to spend time with them before the party.
"I can't wait to see how this goes." Christian grinned with his arm around his wife's waist.
"I still can't believe she managed to throw him a party when I could never since he was 10." Mackenzie whispered.
He chuckled at his wife's visible annoyance. "Baby, he's young and in love, you have to let him go."
"Whatever. They're still my babies." She said, refereeing to Huey and Riley.
Huey knocked on the door and waited for it to open. Once it opened, he stepped inside.
"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted once he walked in. He didn't expect everyone to be waiting for him, he expected to just be able to walk inside and have people greet him then but they were all waiting for him.
"Uh, thanks." Huey thanked the best way he knew how to. They all cheered before the music played once again and everyone went back to their conversations.
The birthday boy himself couldn't help but to be impressed by how well Jazmine managed to put everything together. Everything was black, his favourite colour, with gold and white details. From the food he could see, he could tell it was good. Jazmine really put a lot of effort to get everything together. It must've taken her hours to do.
"Jazmine did all this?" His mother asked next to him. She was inspecting the house the same way he was.
Huey nodded. "Yeah... she did."
Christian nodded, pleased with the sight. "The girl knows how to decorate."
Speaking of his girlfriend, she popped out of nowhere with a large smile on her face but Huey could see the nervousness seeping through it.
"Good evening Mr and Mrs Freeman. It's lovely to meet you again." She quickly looked over at Huey. Just by looking at him, it calmed her nerves. "Happy birthday Huey."
Huey raised an eyebrow at her. Usually by now, she would be in his arms hugging the lights out of him. It was like she was scared to touch him in front of his parents but he wasn't a child anymore. "Jazmine." He slightly lifted his arms, indicating for her to hug him.
The movement was minimum but his parents saw it. They saw Jazmine almost dive into his arms in a tight hug which was shocking but they held their tongues.
Jazmine moved out of Huey's arms and faced his parents, remembering that they were there. "I hope you enjoy the party I have put together for your son Mr and Mrs Freeman. I know how much he means to you two, not just him, Riley too."
"Please, I told you, call me Christian." He smiled at her before giving a look at his wife.
"I'm good with Mrs Freeman, for now..." Mackenzie trailed off as she looked Jazmine up and down, who swallowed hard. "We'll talk later and the girl Riley is with."
The host held a smile on her lips. "Ok, please, make yourself comfortable. There's food and drinks available for you."
"Thank you." Huey's parents thanked before walking away.
Once they were out of ear shot, Jazmine let out the breath she somehow managed to hold in since she saw Huey's parents and almost collapsed into his arms again. "Oh my gosh, happy birthday Huey! I hope you like everything and have a good time, I was so nervous all day and I thought I was fine but then I saw your parents and now I'm freaking out again because everything needs to be perfect-"
Huey swooped down and planted a kiss on Jazmine's lips to cut off her rambling. He didn't care that his family was around, which was another shock for the older generation to see. He slowly pulled away and looked at one of the first things that caught his eyes about her, her eyes. "It's fine. Thank you. Everything is nice."
"Really?" He nodded. "Good. I was scared you didn't because you don't like parties."
"He doesn't! Ungrateful grandson of mine." Grandad walked past saying with his walking stick in hand.
Jazmine giggled while Huey rolled his eyes. "Grandad..."
Before Huey could hear Robert lecture him about his ungratefulness, Cookie swooped in and pushed her brother, careful to not hurt him too much. "Robert leave them kids alone! You too old to be in their business."
"Cookie why is your ass in my business?!" The siblings went back and forth as they walked towards the couches to sit and continue their pointless argument.
"Your family is something." Jazmine smiled up at him as she stood in his arms.
"Annoying is the word you're looking for."
She slightly nudged him in the side. "No they're not, stop lying."
"I wish I was."
"Huey! Huey!"
"Oh no..." Huey trailed off as he heard his name being called.
Caesar was standing in the middle of the room with a bottle of Wray and Nephew in his hands, calling Huey over. "Birthday boy come here and act like it's your damn birthday! For once can a nigga smile or something!"
"I'm just celebrating-" He started but everyone knew what the end sentence was going to be.
"One year closer to your death, yes nigga fuck!" Riley finished for his brother annoyingly. He had his arm around Royalty and a drink in his hand as he stood around his cousins in conversation before Caesar started calling out Huey's name.
"Riley." Mackenzie gave him a pointed look.
He had to hold himself from kissing his teeth in annoyance. "Mom, he says this stuff every year. It's getting old now."
"Leave your brother and his dark opinions to himself." She joked, making people laugh in agreement.
"Yeah, when was the last time you smiled Huey?" Anthony questioned his cousin.
"Never." He answered with a straight face.
Mackenzie took this as a time to embarrass him a little. "One of the last times was when he was 9 and he got a new bike since his uncle Mario ran over his old one." She looked her brother-in-law up and down, remembering the day he destroyed the whole bike in seconds.
Mario held his arms up in defence. "Hey, it's not my fault he left it in the middle of the street."
"I didn't. Riley did." All eyes turned to Riley.
"What?" Was the first thing that came out of his mouth. "Look, dad didn't adjust my bike yet so it was too small, I wanted his shit so I took it. Not my fault Dante was being a little bitch so I had to fight him." He deflected off of himself, forgetting to filter himself.
"Don't bring me into this." Dante laughed. "Demetrius said you was saying some slick shit behind my back so I had to put a nigga back in his place."
Demetrius smirked. "Yeah that was a good day."
"You're a family full of crazy people." Caesar shook his head. "Now that your petty argument is done, I would quickly like to say, happy birthday to the best bro a nigga could ask for. Jazmine, would you like to say anything?"
Jazmine slightly jumped at her name being called. She didn't expect her name to be brought into anything since they were all reminiscing on younger Huey but she guessed Caesar was dying to get the party started. "Uh, I hope everyone enjoys themselves tonight as we celebrate Huey turning 26, thank you all for coming out on what seemed like a short notice. There is food and drink available curtesy of Ming and Royalty, Cindy helped out today too so thank you three. There are two bathrooms upstairs if anyone needs to use it. Yeah, so have fun!"
Everyone cheered and Hiro began to play the music once again. Everyone was there. All of Huey's first cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, brother, grandfather, great aunt and friends he's had for over 16 years. They all were here for him and having fun, joking and laughing in a place where nothing else mattered.
Jazmine tried not to hover so much around Huey but she couldn't help it. She wanted to make sure he was enjoying himself as much as possible. They said he didn't like celebrating his birthday in ways other people would appreciate so she didn't want him to get bored or annoyed about being there. She really hoped he didn't.
"Hey." Raven smiled as she walked up to Jazmine.
Jazmine smiled back and held her arms out for a friendly hug which Raven accepted. "Hey, you enjoying yourself?"
"Yes I am. It's a nice little get together you have here, giving me ideas on what to do for Cairo's first birthday."
"Right! He's going to be 1 in no time. You must be excited."
Raven screwed up her face. "I still have no clue what I'm doing so I'm going to go with more worried than excited."
"Aww, don't worry you'll figure it out as you go along. Where is baby boy anyway?"
"He's with my sister and no I do not dump my son off at my sisters or parents all the time. Just sometimes." She rolled her eyes. "I know some people would probably be judging me for that. Always dropping him off somewhere but it's not like that."
"Girl, no judgement here. You're doing what you gotta do and you're doing it well. That's admirable." Jazmine told her truthfully.
Raven grinned. It was always a relief when someone reassured her that she was doing right by her child. Sometimes she felt as if she should've let someone else adopt him, someone that knew what they were doing and more prepared than her but every time she looked at his smile, she forgot all about those negative thoughts. "Thanks... oh shit, lemme give this to you now before I forget and Huey's not around to see." She quickly pulled out the item and pushed it into Jazmine's hand in a way no one could see.
Jazmine quickly stuffed it into her boot, relieved to get the item she was waiting on all day for. "Thank you, seriously."
"No problem. Now, I gotta go try some of this food. It looks good and a bitch is hungry!"
She giggled and let Raven go off towards the food table where most people were already. She guessed it was time to eat.
A few hours went by and Mackenzie decided it was time to have a little talk to the girls her sons have been turning upside down for. She had to admit, seeing them tonight, she could tell they cared about each other deeply. Not even with the girls her sons were with, with the other two girls who were with Hiro and Caesar too. Those two were like her other sons but she didn't feel it was necessary to grill them, just not at the level she was about to do with Riley and Huey.
"Find Riley and meet me in the kitchen please, its quiet in there." Mackenzie requested her husband to do.
"You really gonna talk to them still?" He asked. The look she gave him said everything he needed to here. "Alright." He walked over to his youngest child who still had his arm around the dancer as his wife left the room. "Son." He greeted.
"Sup dad."
"Hi Christian." Royalty smiled sweetly at him.
He smiled back at her. "Hey Royalty. I hate to uproot you two from looking a step closer from giving me a planned grandchild but my wife would like to talk to you in the kitchen."
Royalty's eyes grew wide, wondering if what she heard was really what she heard.
"Uh, ok, sure." Was all she could make out. Chrisitan smiled and walked ahead while Royalty clung to Riley. "Wait what if she doesn't like me. Oh no I'm turning into Jazmine. I can't turn into Jazmine!" She now understood why Jazmine was so nervous. She hated herself for not thinking about meeting his mother like Jazmine did, she seemed more prepared.
Riley couldn't help but snicker at how quickly she started to panic when his dad called them over. "Girl if you don't relax your fine ass. Everything is going to be cool, just be calm."
She took a deep breath as they were a couple of steps from their destination. "Cool, calm... ok."
The new couple walked into the kitchen to see Mackenzie sipping on a drink they couldn't see in the black plastic cup. "Hello children, glad you didn't keep me waiting long."
"Never." Riley walked over and kissed her on the cheek like the good son he was, sometimes. "Mom, dad, I want to officially introduce to my girlfriend, Miss Royalty Empress-Kiara Williams." He started off.
She felt herself getting warm as he said her full name. "You didn't need to say the whole birth certificate."
"What? I can't show off my girl?" He smirked at her, making her regret her outfit choice from how hot she was becoming.
"Riley stop teasing the girl before you make her have a heat stroke." His father told him but couldn't help but laugh. "He's slick like his daddy."
"Which is not always a good thing." Mackenzie told him.
"It worked on you didn't it?" He looked her up and down seductively as Riley and Royalty just had to stand and watch. Royalty could see the Freeman trait all in that one flirtatious look.
Mackenzie quickly pushed her husband away to stop him from trying to kiss her. "Boy get away from me, I'm trying to talk to my son here."
He stepped back with his arms in surrender. "Fine, I'll deal with you later." He winked at her.
All she could do was shake her head. Riley and Huey had definitely picked up his charm. "So Royalty, tell me a bit about yourself. Where you're from, your family, what your parents do, that sort of thing."
She nodded. "Well, I am originally from Jamaica, from a parish called St Catherine's." She said and that's when Mackenzie could hear the accent in her speech. "I have three brothers back home, they're all older than me." Riley's eyes slightly widened, he had no clue she had that many brothers. He was just glad that they weren't here to give him a third degree. "My parents are back home too, alive and well. My mom is a teacher while my dad is a manager at a hotel. I moved to Woodcrest when I was 11 with my aunt until she moved back once I graduated from high school. Since then, the girls became my family in the states. We moved to Chicago for college, I was studying medicine but dropped out when I was too broke and stressed and began to dance."
"You mean strip?" Mackenzie corrected.
Royalty raised an eyebrow. "Yes strip."
"I used to be a teacher... A language teacher at that which is why Huey is fluent in multiple languages and Riley in Spanish."
"Told you calling him Escobar was a good idea." Christian grinned but Mackenzie just ignored him.
"So, tell me, what does your parents think about your job?" She questioned, getting back on track. "I assume they were not too happy about that."
"Like any parent yes. In the beginning they were mad but they're fine with it now. They know it's only temporary." She shrugged. "My brothers were madder about what their baby sister is doing but they couldn't stay mad at me." She grinned. Thinking about her family always made her smile.
"What do you plan to do next?"
"Hair. It's always something I have been doing so I decided to make it into a business. Get my own shop and everything then expand to a hair store."
Mackenzie nodded, pleased that she was focusing on herself and not relying on her son for money like how some girls liked to do. "That sounds good. When do you plan on starting?"
"By the end of the year." Royalty answered.
This was when Riley got bored from just standing around. "Mom. What does this have to do with anything? Or being with me or whatever you're doing."
Mackenzie turned to her youngest and crossed her arms over her chest. "I am trying to get an idea of the girl that has got my son tripping over and acting all sweet for because I want to praise her."
That caused a lot of eyebrows to raise. "What, you not trying to humiliate me or something?"
She smirked. "It may seem like it but when I saw how torn up the boys were after what happened, I knew you meant a lot to them. Even with the stupid baby thing, you stood by him. Which by the way, if he ever, I mean ever, do some shit like that outside your relationship, put yourself first."
"Mama." Riley said in shock. "You supposed to be on my side."
Royalty couldn't help but laugh at her boyfriend's face.
"Not if you fuck up." Christian told him. "I can tell she's a good one. The only one that can match you. All the other girls you fooled around with are nothing like her. You can tell she doesn't take shit from anyone and that's the type of person you need to be with, one that puts you back in line when you wanna act out."
"Your father is right... and Royalty, you fully understand what they're doing right? If you want this to be long term, a lifetime thing, just know this is not easy. Riley has ADHD, well it's not as bad as it used to be because he grown but it's just something to mention. Not only that, there are going to be nights you are worried about him and where he is. The wounds and injuries. If or when you have children, them going to school and have them treated differently for their family. Being a Freeman is not easy."
Royalty slightly nodded. "Well, I believe we have a while before things progress that far but I have a positive outlook of it... did he tell you how he asked me to officially be his girlfriend?" She questioned, now wanting to turn the spotlight on her boyfriend.
"Uh, they don't need to know that..." Riley tried to cut her off, getting embarrassed.
Christian smirked at his son. "No he didn't, please, do tell."
"I don't think she needs to-"
"It was on a Ferris wheel." She cut him off. Riley sighed in defeat, knowing the story was going to be told whether he liked it or not. "He took me to a carnival and won me all these prizes. We went on rides and ended up on the wheel. He asked to kiss me before asking for me to be his girlfriend. I have never had a boy or a man, be so sweet to me the way Riley was. I am glad I am one of the only one that gets to see that sweet and caring side of Riley, I really am because when he is like that, I feel safe." She confessed. Her eyes slightly widened. "Wow, I am confessing a lot today aren't I."
Riley smirked and gave her a kiss on the corner of her lips. He could feel how hot her face was from nerves and embarrassment and it was cute to hear what she had to say about him. "Don't worry, feelings are mutual."
Mackenzie chuckled and shook her head. "I guess you got caught in the Freeman charm. I met Chris when I was 16 and he was turning 18. Next thing I know, I was married at 24 with a four- and two-year-old. Just be careful and look after yourselves. I apologies for being so cold in the beginning, it was just a shock when you came to the BBQ and finding out what you do and everything. I had no idea who you girls were so I was a little mean but now that I know more about you, I will not be a cold-hearted bitch no more."
Royalty smiled, glad that they managed to talk through what they were feeling and thinking. "Thank you, Mrs Freeman, I really appreciate it."
"Call me Mackenzie, you've earned that right now." She smiled back.
Christian smirked at the Royalty. "Welcome to the Freemans."
"Thank you." She couldn't stop smiling once she heard that.
Riley grinned at Royalty as the two walked hand in hand back into the living room, already in their own little world once again. "See, it wasn't that bad, I knew she would like you."
She took a deep breath and turned to Riley. "I still couldn't help but be nervous."
"Well, it's all over now baby. Now let's enjoy each other's company." He leaned forward and captured her lips with his own, making her giggle.
"Riley, your family are here." She tried to pull away but his lips were too addictive and he didn't want to let her go.
"Ion care. They can watch if they want to."
After a few more seconds on kissing, Royalty managed to break out of his hold. "Look, why don't we keep a kissing to a PG-13 for now then you can stay over here for the night."
Riley raised an eyebrow. It was the first time she had invited him to stay the night, whenever they stayed the night with each other, it was always at his crib. "Sure, I gotta drop my aunt Cookie and grandad home first then I'll come back once I pick up some clothes."
She nodded. "I mean you don't have to, we won't be able to have sex because I'm on my, uh, period." She told him nervously for some reason.
"You know, I might as well leave a bag here, I might be here more often." Riley said.
Royalty looked at him strangely. "You didn't hear what I said?"
"I did. Remember, you're more than just a girl I was sleeping with. You're my girl now. I can lay in a bed with you and not have sex with you. Have more faith in me baby, what we have is serious, no more childish shit."
She nodded, not expecting Riley to say something like that but then again, she should really cut him some slack. He was seriously putting in effort for this relationship to work and she needed to stop doubting him. She really liked this side of him. "Ok, no more childish shit."
"Now, just for that, I deserve one more kiss." Riley pulled her back into his arms, making her giggle as he tried to steal another kiss from her.
Huey was talking to Anthony once Jazmine left him to talk to his aunt. He was actually enjoying himself. Everyone was having fun and he felt relaxed. He never knew he would enjoy a birthday party for himself past the age of 10.
Half way through their conversation, he felt someone tap his shoulder and looked up at his mother with her hands on her hip. "Find Jazmine and meet in the kitchen." And just like that, she was gone.
"Ohhhh you in trooubbleeee." Anthony teased his younger cousin.
Huey lightly shook his head. "Stop being childish, that's Riley's job."
"Trust me, I know that." The two smirked at each other before Huey turned to go and get his girlfriend.
He walked over to where aunt Cookie and Jazmine were laughing together, fully engaged in each other's company. It was nice to see the two getting along but sadly he had to break up their little moment.
"Jazmine." He called her name, making the two women look up at him.
"Hey Huey, everything okay?" She asked with the sweetest smile on her face.
He nodded and held his hand out which she happily took. "My mom wants to talk to us."
The smile on Jazmine's face slightly flattened. The moment she has been waiting and dreading for had finally came. "Oh, this is happening now?"
He nodded again.
Cookie reached out to hold Jazmine's unoccupied hand. "You'll be finna baby. The whole family already likes you, she'll like you too."
Jazmine took a deep breath after hear those few reassuring words. "Ok. I can do this." She worked on convincing herself. "Let's do this."
The two walked hand and hand though the small crowd and made their way to the kitchen where it was significantly quieter. There, they saw Christian and Mackenzie eating and laughing but stopped once they noticed new people in the kitchen.
"You wanted to see us." Huey was the first to speak.
His mother nodded and put down her half eaten black liquorice in the napkin she took to hold her supply. She gave Jazmine props for adding that. "Yes yes. I already spoke to your brother and Royalty, now it's you two." She sighed. "I can't believe I'm a mother to a 24- and 26-year-old, it was just the other day you were learning to walk."
"That was a long long time ago."
"To me its wasn't... ok Jazmine, where are you from, your family, what do your parents do, that sort of thing." She repeated the same questions she asked Royalty a few minutes ago.
Jazmine took a deep breath and received a reassuring hand squeeze from Huey which helped her open her mouth. "I'm born and raised in Woodcrest, Maryland like my mother. I used to want to be a doctor but dropped out of college when I started stripping because Cindy, Ming and I didn't want Royalty to go through it alone. My parents also stopped talking to me when someone snitched on us, to this day I still don't know you so we were estranged for a few years until we went back to Woodcrest after the incident. We're still on rocky terms but hopefully that changes soon. Now, I'm going to open my own dance studio and I've already started to do that." Jazmine answered with a grin.
Mackenzie nodded at the answers until she remembered that Jazmine didn't answer one of them. "What about your parents' job? Do they work, do they not? What do they do?"
Huey looked down at Jazmine and could see the grin slowly die down in brightness. She looked anxious and he was confused why. Thinking about it, they never discussed what her parents really did, she just knew she was somewhat privileged.
She cleared her throat. "Well, my mother is an assistant to my dad's boss." Was the best she could say.
"Oh, they work in a company?" Christian asked for clarification.
"Well..." Jazmine started to trail off. She really didn't want to say it but she had to and she didn't want to be rude and keep them waiting so she spoke. "My mum works as an assistant to the DA and my dad is the ADA."
The room froze. They couldn't believe what Jazmine said. Huey, aka Ghost, the leader of a well-known gang in Chicago, the man who has killed many and sold drugs was dating the daughter of an ADA and the assistant for the DA? That made no sense at all. The two were such polar opposites, their paths should've never even crossed.
"I'm sorry... DA? ADA?" Christian asked for clarification again. "Your parents are lawyers?"
Jazmine nervously laughed. "I mean, only my father..." She trailed off.
This is when Mackenzie's motherly instincts kicked in. "Huey, did you know?" He shook his head, shocked too. "Who are you and what do you want with my son? You better not be no undercover fed because I will keep my sons safe no matter what bitch I have to get through. Is that why you're here? You want to get him arrested? What business do you really have here?" As much as a lovely girl Jazmine seemed to be, Mackenzie couldn't help but be protective. Her sons could easily get thrown into jail for the rest of their lives for what they do and she didn't want that. She didn't want that for any of her family so having the daughter of parents who work in law was not something she was expecting to hear.
"Mom, Jazmine wouldn't-" Huey tried to defend her but Jazmine cut him off to handle it herself.
"No, no nothing like that!" Jazmine quickly assured the older woman. "My name is Jazmine Aaliyah DuBois, I am 25 years old. My birthday is March 12th which means I'm a Pisces and I am an only child." She started off. "It was years before I spoke to my parents. When I went back to Woodcrest, it was the first time I had seen or spoken to them."
"Well do they know, about Huey? About what he does?" Christian asked, now concerned about his family's safety.
Jazmine nodded and he saw their eyes go wide. "I reconnected with my ex-boyfriend from high school and he sprung my parents on me, it was even more annoying because my parents adored him. He told them about Huey when I didn't want to but I didn't care what they had to say. I really like Huey and I didn't need them putting negative thoughts in my head." When Jazmine told Huey that she officially broke things off with Jayden, she felt so much relief. It wasn't easy to do, since she had to convince Huey not to go and 'pay him a visit' and that was hard to do. She didn't want Huey to be involved in something so trivial as that. Plus, if Huey laid a hand on him, she was more than sure he would get her parents to file legal action against Huey and that was something she did not want to happen. Being the daughters of lawyers and dating a gang leader did not go together, she didn't want the two to cross over at all. That would create a whole bunch of mess in her life and she was just getting it on track. She didn't need it to blow up in her face.
"I still think you're crazy for wanting to be with me." Huey mumbled but everyone in the room still heard.
She looked up at him. "Yes yes, I know, crazy but sometimes a girl gotta be crazy for someone she wants."
"Or loves."
The couple turned to Mackenzie's voice as she looked at the young couple in front of her. "I know you're going to say it's too early but it's written all over your faces. Much like the other two." She sighed and looked directly at Jazmine. "I apologise for my hostilities, I can't help the whole mama bear thing or whatever people call it. These boys are far from easy and I just want the best for them. They can't have no weak ass, half-hearted girl hanging onto their arms."
"Trust me, Jazmine is far from weak." Huey told them.
Jazmine started to turn pink when she heard Huey say that about her. She didn't know why but it sounded so sweet to hear.
"That's good to hear because you're going to need that." Christian nodded. "Now I can speak more for Huey than I can for Riley because I was leader too. That shit is very time consuming. There may be nights he's going to be out handling business while you have a sick baby that won't sleep. I don't speak this into existence but there may be times he's injuries, when he's pissed at everyone, when he's diving head first into the business but just remember it doesn't last. Now, that doesn't mean you have to sit around and take everything, put him in his place. If Kenzie never did, then I would've been dead, straight up. The number of dumb decisions that would've happened if she never did. Then when you have kids... that shit just gets harder. He will go crazy to make everything safe for his kids and get money but you're not alone, I'll knock him upside his head too." He slightly joked making Huey roll his eyes and the women laugh.
"I appreciate the advice Chrisitan and Mrs Freeman, I really do. I will certainly listen to it." Jazmine smiled.
"You can call me Mackenzie now." She smiled back. "If you or any of your friends need advice about what to do, I can help you with that, so is the boys aunties, Naomi and Trinity. They understand too."
The relief Jazmine was indescribable. She was waiting for this moment for so long and she was so happy it was here.
"Thank you so much. I really do appreciate everything."
Huey looked between his mother and girlfriend. He never thought he would see a moment like this but it was nice to see. The first woman he ever loved was on good terms with the woman he was falling in love with. Confessing that to himself was crazy, saying that out loud would make him look like a 4 headed frog. Maybe for now he should just keep that for himself.
"Alright, now that I have finished giving you the third degree, we will go back inside and get some more food. This is good!" Mackenzie smiled as she started to walk away with her husband.
"I'm glad you like it Mackenzie!" Jazmine tested out her new privilege to call the woman by her first name and all she could say was that it felt good to say. As soon as his parents left the room, she let out a little squeal when she felt herself becoming weightless for a few seconds before she realised she was sitting on top of the counter top. "Huey!"
Huey had placed Jazmine on the counter top and stood between her open legs. Without a word, he began to attack her lips with his own and they fell into a steamy make out session while his birthday party went on in the next room. It was crazy how foggy her mind was just from kiss his lips. It was so soft and inviting to her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist and pulled him in as close as she could. Feeling Huey's hand trail up her thigh snapped her out of their moment.
"Wait wait, your family is literally next door." She tried to tell him through the kisses.
"So?" Was all he replied. He moved his lips from her lips and kissed her from her check all the way down to her neck, leaving no space in the trail untouched.
"I-" She tried to say something but it was as if he stole her voice when he kissed her voice box. "Huey..." She could feel her body and soul yelling at her to let him take her upstairs and rip her apart but her mind was the only one telling her no and for once, it was the loudest of them all. "Wait, stop." She told him and he immediately pulled away.
"Is everything ok?" He asked with concern in his voice.
She nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Everything is fine, everything is amazing but I just don't want to get too carried away, we still have a whole party to get through." She half lied.
He rolled his eyes. "If you say I have to blow out candles on a cake, I will walk away right now."
The grin that spread across her face said it all. He turned to walk away but Jazmine pulled him back and engulfed him in a hug as she burst into laughter. "You're such a big baby! Come here!" He stepped backwards so that she was no longer on the counter and instead was in his arms. He jumped up to readjust her and had his hands firmly on one of his favourite muscles on Jazmine. "You just had to grab my ass didn't you?"
"I'll take this as a birthday present." He flirted with a smirk on his face.
"I hate you."
"Sure."
She giggled and kissed Huey again. "Happy birthday Huey... I am so glad your mother likes me now. I was so nervous."
"Don't worry about her. Even if she didn't like you, I like you and that's all that matters, she would've come around eventually. Everyone likes you." At that statement, she couldn't stop grinning.
"Right?! I thought I was the only one that thought that." She joked, making him chuckle.
Their conversation was cut short when they heard Caesar on the mic once again. "Huueeeyyyy! Come out, come out where ever you arreeee!"
Huey shook his head at his childhood friends childish antics. He was the same since they were young, nothing had changed about him. All he did was get taller and grow facial hair.
"What am I being forced into now?" He asked more to himself but Jazmine answered for him.
"Hopefully cake! It looks so good."
"Cake?"
"Cake."
"Huey! Get your ass away from Jazmine and come here!" Caesar shouted and the two could hear laughter from the other room.
"Why did you give him the mic?" Huey asked Jazmine with a straight face but she just laughed.
"I never. He got it himself."
"Should've hide it."
"I'll try better next time. Now let's go before they send a search party." She made her legs relax as she tried to get out his arms but instead, she was left dangling. He still had a hold on her. "You not gonna put me down?" He shook his head stubbornly. Huey had a tight grip on her which was turning her on but she couldn't let her freaky side jump out yet. "Huey, baby. Imma need you to let go of me so we can go back inside. I promise we can finish this soon."
As much as he didn't want to listen to her, he knew he didn't need someone walk in on them in this position. "Fine." He slowly released Jazmine from his arms and she immediately fixed her clothes.
"Alright, let's get back out there." She told him with a sweet smile. She grabbed onto his hand and practically skipped out the kitchen and to where everyone else was.
The party continued with a stroppy faced Huey as they sang happy birthday to him against his will. Food and drink were shared around the room, people were singing and dancing and overall enjoying themselves. Royalty and Jazmine was about to talk more to Riley and Huey's parents, much to the boy's displeasure but they were just ignored. The Freeman's were just as entertaining as they were the last time and Ming and Cindy managed to mingle in even if they weren't dating someone that was biologically related to the Freeman family.
Seeing how Christian and Mackenzie were all over each other as if they were still in their honeymoon stage of life was unbelievable for Jazmine to see. Her parents were never like that. Their honeymoon phrase ended from when she was a child and just because they didn't believe in divorce, they forced the marriage. She still wondered why they were together and if they were still trying to force the marriage. At first, she knew they kept it together for her sake but now she was grown. Either way, it made her miss her parents. When they weren't yelling at each other, it was nice to see them getting along like a married couple should. This encouraged Jazmine to send a quick message to her parents as a way of reaching out to them. She has been thinking it over and she really wanted a relationship with her parents. It would be ignorant of her to think it would go back to what their relationship used to be but she still wanted to try and have something. That situation had to be pushed to the side for at least the rest of the night because she had things to do.
Jazmine looked down at her phone and took a deep sigh which Huey noticed. "You alright?" He asked her.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's just there is an emergency at the club that I need to help out with."
"What kind?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. His mind started thinking about the Russians but there would be more panic if that was the problem.
"Just some dancer stuff. I'm going to go. Raven." She turned and called for the manager of the strip club who walked over. "There's an emergency at the club, we have to go."
She nodded. "Ight, let's go. I'll say bye to everyone and meet you in my car." She gave Huey a quick side hug. "Happy birthday Huey. I'll catch up to you later."
"Later." He then turned his attention back to Jazmine. "You sure Raven can't handle it on her own?" As much as he didn't want to admit it out loud, he didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay with him until the very last guest left and with how his grandfather was snoring away, it wasn't long until they did.
"Nooo, I got asked for help so I am going to see what was happening. I'm sorry I have to leave before the party is finished but I will make up for it, I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." He smirked at her.
She mirrored the smirk. "I only make promises I know I can keep. Now, gimme a kiss so I can get out of here. It looks like your parents may want to leave soon anyway." They took a quick glance at his parents who were now semi drunk. Royalty's rum punch was serious business, she tried to warn people about it. Huey shook his head but gave in to her requested. "Happy birthday."
"It's not even my birthday anymore." He said once he remembered what the time now was.
"Not until this party ends." She winked at him before walking way so she could say goodbye to the guests that were left.
Huey stayed an extra 45 minutes before deciding it was time for him to take his parents, grandfather and aunt home since it was late, grandad fell asleep and Riley was staying with Royalty so he decided to be nice and save him the trouble of driving around. That all took another half hour until he was finally free of drunk and tired passengers. It was just him alone in his car. He only received two text messages from Jazmine and the last one said that she would come over after she finishes with whatever she is dealing with and would come together with Raven. He guessed whatever she was doing was really important, she would tell him about it later so it was fine. He couldn't deny the success of the day. Jazmine really went all out to make him celebrate his birthday. He never expected to have this happen to him. It was actually nice to have. Jazmine was stubborn so she made sure this party was happening and did a damn good job at it too. He knew he got so lucky with her. No other girl he has met is like her. Jazmine is special and she was all his. Her birthday was four months away and he was going to make sure he put as much effort for her birthday as she put in for his, one he didn't want or more importantly deserve.
Putting Jazmine's birthday to the back of his mind, he pulled into the garage to park his car. That's when he saw Raven's car in the usual place. 'She's back already? So where is Jazmine?' He thought as he never got a text from her saying that they left the club. Curious, he pulled out his phone as he walked towards the elevator. He sent a quick text to Jazmine asking where she was. As it touched the top floor, he pulled out his key when he decided that he wanted to call her instead. He dialled her number and pushed open the door and that's when things got weird.
There was trail of candles and roses on the floor from the front door leading to his room. He could hear the faint ringing of a phone, coming from his room. Confused, alert and shocked, Huey followed the trail to the destination. He treaded ever so lightly along the floor, wondering what was happening right now. His bedroom door was slightly open so he pushed it all the way slowly. What he saw in front of him made his mouth hang open and hang up the phone, making the ringing stop.
"Hey birthday boy."
"Jazmine?" Was all he could make out.
Standing in his candle lit and rose covered room was Jazmine but this Jazmine had changed out of her clothes into something much sexier. She had on a complete black set of lingerie. She had the stocking, gown, everything. Huey thought he was drooling.
"Bu- how did you...?" He tried to form a sentence but Jazmine's presence was powerful enough to make him lost for words.
"Raven." Was all she said. The item she slipped into the dancer's hands was the key to Huey's apartment. Everyone that lived in the building had someone that had a key to their place so that they could enter only in emergencies. Raven had Huey's and vice versa. Raven gave Jazmine her emergency key. Jazmine then spent her time rushing around and preparing the apartment to be just like what she envisioned. It was finally coming into play and she couldn't help but be a little paranoid. "Now stop staring at me for a few seconds and look on your bed." She told him. As much as she enjoyed him staring at her, she wanted to get to that moment after he looked at what he got her.
Huey unwillingly tore his eyes away from Jazmine's body and looked on the bed. On there, was a couple of wrapped up gifts and a bag. "Do I have to open it now?"
"Yes, yes you do."
"I just can't open you first?" He lightly flirted.
Jazmine began to blush and giggle, now questioning if she should let him open the presents first. "Nooo gifts first, me later."
As much as he wanted to ignore her wishes, he knew better than to do that because then he wouldn't be able to even graze past her. Sighing, he reached out and grabbed one of the gifts. He unenthusiastically ripped the wrapping paper off and was met with a shoe box with Nike written over it. He opened it to see fresh black sneakers.
"They're good for running for when you're... you know what I mean." This time she blushed from embarrassment. He nodded, understanding what she meant, it was all still new to her. "Ok, the bag next."
He reached into the bag and pulled out different items of clothing, majority of it being black. Hoodies, sweats and t-shirts. All different brands and designed. They were things Huey himself wouldn't look for on his own but he actually liked them.
Jazmine stood nervously in her sexy outfit as she watched Huey look at the gifts. These required a lot of next day delivery just to keep her sane that it would come in time for his birthday. He had opened his basic gift but the last one was the one she was the most nervous for. "Be very careful with this one." She warned him.
What felt like forever, Huey finally got to the last square item and ripped off the paper. Huey was shocked at what he saw. There sat a clear box with gold outlines but inside, was a row of five different size and shaped blades, all matte black on the actually blade while the rest had gold details resting on top of a suede black material. He could even see the engraved 'G' on the handles. The presentation was amazing.
"I didn't buy the blades like that, I got the box and everything else separate and made it look cute so you had somewhere to put them if you're not using them and it's cute." She grinned, clearly proud of herself or so she thought she was. The silence in the room was deafening, Huey wasn't saying anything. She was used to his silence but this was a time she needed to hear words coming out of his mouth. "Uh, if you don't like it-"
Her words were cut off when Huey pressed his lips against hers, like how he did earlier. He not so gently placed the box on the floor as he was eager to kiss her. "I like them, thank you... no one has ever done something like this for me before."
She gave him a peck. "That's because you don't let them but with me, you have no choice but to accept them."
"Fine."
With that, Huey scooped Jazmine up in his arms and guided them onto his bed, barely allowing the other to pull away to breathe. Jazmine easily became drunk on his kisses, it was one of the best type of suffocation she could receive. His lips trailed down her neck, this time purposely leaving marks as he did so. Jazmine could already feel herself being turned all the way on until she remembered it was supposed to be her treating him.
"I'm... supposed to be treating, hmm, you." She tried to hold back her moan but his lips had found its way on her torso.
"You are the treat." He spoke against her skin, making her shiver from his breath on her skin so she just let him continue.
She wanted to stop him so she could take control but he was doing such a good jo- no, she was going to lead. She grabbed onto his face and pulled him back up to her lips. Just as he was about to collapses on top of her, he pulled off the top half of his clothing with lightning speed. Now, she could feel his strong body pressed against her, with only her thin item of lingerie obstructing her. Using her upper body strength, she flipped him onto his back so that she was on top. She looked down at him and saw his eyes were filed with lust, reflecting her own. They both knew what they wanted and they were about to get it.
Now, she copied what he did to her. She kissed her way all the way down his chest all to his waist and wasted no time to take off his jeans, with his help.
"Jaz-" He tried to call her name but cut himself off once he felt her warm hands inside his boxers.
"Oop, someone is excited to see me." She giggled. He had no time to react because next thing he knows, the boxers were long gone and Jazmine's mouth was doing wonders on him. The way her tongue was working was enough for him to release right there and then. He knew he had started to but he didn't want to finish in her mouth because she was really about to suck the soul out of him. He tried not to hold onto her hair but he couldn't stop his hand from reaching out. As she moved her head up and down, his hand rested in her hair. He had a tight grip on it but was at least mindful to not tug on it too hard. She swirled her tongue around his tip and that's when he had to stop her.
"Woah." He breathed out as he slightly separated himself from her mouth. She noticed the movement and lifted her head, wiping the saliva that was on her lips.
"You good?"
He nodded, not able to form proper words. Jazmine knew he felt like he was going to finish but he didn't want it to be in her mouth so she took that as a sign to change positions.
Morning by Teyana Taylor began to play in the back as she took off her lingerie but kept the stockings on. She saw Huey was about to flip them so that he was on top but she pushed him back down. "It may not technically be your birthday but I'm still in charge today." She told him. All he could do was hold eye contact with her as she slowly lowered herself onto him. Both of their mouths formed an o shape as they felt this new adjustment. After a few seconds, Jazmine began to move while Huey hands gripped onto her hips, helping to guide her movements. "Ah!" She had to squeeze something so opted on one hand on the headboard while the other hand at a tight hold on his bicep and that wasn't the only thing that had a tight grip on him.
"Damn you tight as fuck." Huey mumbled but she heard it. His deep and sexy voice was making her head spin. That was something a girl definitely wanted to hear and coming from Huey it made it 10 times better. They both were feeling high but Huey needed to feel Jazmine even more than he already was so without stopping his strokes he sat up as quickly as he could. They were now eye to eye. Green was right in front of maroon. Jazmine moved her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss which he happily accepted as the change in position was going to send her into overdrive but not yet, even if her legs were already shaking. He removed one hand from her hip and made its way towards her throat, making Jazmine moan in his mouth. Wanting to hear her moan out loud, he moved his lips to her breast all while still staying in motion of his strokes.
Jazmine was trying to be in charge but her mind was so cloudy. The sensation that was running through her body left her wondering why did she wait so long to have sex with him. She did manage to regain composure to tell him one simple instruction. "Cum in me." This shocked Huey and moved his head back up to face her. She could feel his movements coming to a halt which she did not want so she quickly explained. "Birth control. Do it."
That's all the confirmation he needed.
So he did just that. He came right inside her and grunted as he did so but didn't stop until Jazmine came too.
Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she let out a loud moan as she finished her orgasm. Her head collapsed on his shoulder as she came down from her high, trying to gain her breathing.
They were both covered in each other's juices and sweat as they held onto each other. It was as if their ears opened up wider because they could now hear the music still playing along with each other's breathing.
"Fuck." Huey groaned once his heart started to relax behind his rib cage.
"Fuck indeed." Jazmine whispered against his shoulder. Her legs were still shaking and she had no idea when it would stop.
It took them another 3 minutes of not saying anything for them to finally peel away from each other and lay down next to each other, naked, sticky and exposed. The apartment was warm so there was no rush to get under the cover.
"Did you enjoy your birthday?" Jazmine was the first to say a full sentence.
Huey didn't answer, instead, he rolled over and grabbed Jazmine's cheeks as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. She followed through with the kissing, knowing this was his way of saying yes.
"I have no idea what you're doing to me." He whispered.
She kissed him again. "Nothing you don't deserve."
"I don't deserve you."
"But you have me and I'm not going anywhere."
Hearing that just made Huey kiss her again. He would be lying if he said he never thought about having sex with Jazmine before but actually doing it was a whole different game. Whatever type of expectation he had, it no longer existed. He refused to let this woman slip away from him. She took the time and effort to make sure his birthday was special even though he didn't even deserve to have one. For a woman to get through to him, to get inside his personal bubble, was really someone Huey couldn't take for granted. Jazmine was the woman.
"Good." Was all he replied with.
She smiled up at him, satisfied that they finally got to this point of their relationship. It was only the beginning, things were going to get easier but also harder.
After a few more moments of silence, Huey decided to be the one to break it. "So about the whole, inside you thing..."
Jazmine giggled. He probably thought she would get mad at him for doing what he did one they finished but she told him to do it. She wanted him to do it. "I told you I'm on birth control, the implant version so it's one I won't need to remember to take every day at the same time. That was just painfully long. It has to come out next month anyway, damn I just remembered that, I should remind the girls... imagine if we forgot and all got pregnant around the same time, that would be hilarious." She laughed but Huey just shook his head.
"Four kids running around at one time is never good."
"What if we have twins?" Jazmine smirked. Huey didn't even say anything to her, instead he just rolled over and faced away from her. Jazmine burst out in laughter even more at his childish antics. "For someone that doesn't want one yet, you sure are acting like a child." She teased and he didn't turn. "Come on Hueeeyyyyy!" She leaned over him to look him in the eyes but didn't expect him to grab her, causing her to yelp in surprise. "No fair!"
"I beg the differ." He went to say something else but got cut off by his business phone ringing. He looked at Jazmine and then back at the phone.
"Take it." She told him.
"No, I'm with you."
"You can take a few seconds to answer it or however long it's going to take." She managed to untangle herself from his arms and stand up. She grabbed her phone and answered it before tossing the phone to Huey.
"Wai-" He tried to call after her as he watched her walk further away from his reach. "Hello." He answered the phone frustrated.
"Hello Ghost?" The person answered.
"Yeah it's me, what do you want?" He asked. Jazmine was just standing in his room naked and it was turning him on, he didn't need this phone call right now.
"Well I just wanted to say-"
"Layla you couldn't have said this to someone else?"
She sighed on the phone, now a little annoyed by him rushing her. "Unless it is some else's birthday today, then no, it's for you."
Jazmine seductively pulled off the only item of clothing she had next, purposely holding eye contact with Huey while doing so. "Huh. Yeah whatever."
"What? Ghost!" She called to try and get his attention again.
"What?!" He shouted at her before cover the phone to talk to Jazmine as he saw her stepping backwards towards one of the doors in his room. As much as she wanted to confidently walk straight, her legs felt like jelly from what she just experienced. Huey thought he did a good job covering the microphone since he completely forgot the mute button existed but Layla could still hear everything. "Where are you going?"
"To shower. It would be a bath but you don't have one. You could join me but you seem busy." With a shrug, she threw her stocking socks at him before turning and strutting inside the bathroom, purposely not shutting the door.
"Ghost?" Layla said again, making him realise that he was still on the phone.
"Look Layla. If you need something, just talk to Mirror or whatever." He heard the shower starting and knew he needed to get in there asap.
"What? But-" She was cut off by the sound of the call ending. She wanted to throw her phone to the floor so badly after that. The disrespect was real.
With that, Huey hung up, flung his phone back onto the bedside table and practically flew into the shower to join Jazmine. There was no way he was passing this opportunity.
"It's about time you joined me." She smirked at him as he stepped inside the shower, glad he was already naked.
He smirked right back at her before kissing her. "I couldn't leave you waiting."
"I'm glad you didn't."
The two started to fight for dominance as they kissed in the shower, not even caring that their hair was getting wet, which was saying a lot. All they cared for in this very moment was trying to please each other and so far, they were doing a great job at it and that was going to continue into the early morning.
'Best birthday ever.'
A nice chapter for you guys to make up for my lack of updates (I hope). Is the sex scene a little cringe? I have no idea how people can go in such details it's just talent I don't seem to have. The ones that can right detailed sex scenes I salute you because they be so hard. (No pun intended).
I am so tired so I am going to reply to the reviews at once lool:
I know you guys have been dying for Huey's birthday and even wanted Jazmine to do a dance for him, I was thinking about it but decided against it. In the future it will definitely come up just not for this chapter. Yeah Riley still dumb af for that pregnancy and I just couldn't let that go on so I had to end it, no way I was going to let him get some random chick pregnant. Sorry not sorry but now you can see he's more serious about his relationship from what he was going through. Dang I didn't know you guys liked the fight scene that bad... let me know if you wanna see more and who you want to see throw down. Jayden, Erica, Layla... hehe. I'm trying to not have the typically, girl/guy tries to steal someone out of their relationship and just persistent and crazy. I wanna do more than that but in due time. I love how you're all into it.
Now that the orange is out the white house I know my American readers (which is the majority) are relieved and the UK has steps to follow too then the world would just be a bit more better. Stay safe people!
Until next time
-TBG
