What's Meant For You
She loved him when he let her in his home during the chicken epidemic at 10. She loved him at 16, when he swallowed his hatred and took her to homecoming. She loved him on the night of their graduation, when he spent all night worshiping her. She loved him when he left without a trace. She loved him when he didn't call, text, or email for five years.
And, fuck her, she loved him when he turned up out of nowhere, asking for her forgiveness.
Huey P. Freeman x Jazmine DuBois
Romance. Hurt/Comfort. Friendship. Family. Humor.
Rated M
Chapter Four: Sense of Normalcy
JAZMINE FOUND IT INCREDIBLY HARD TO BREATH WITH CINDY'S ARMS WRAPPED TIGHTLY AROUND HER NECK.
"She's turning blue, Cindy," Huey said, turning a page in his book.
When Cindy finally released her, Jazmine took a deep breath, feeling lightheaded.
"I'm sorry," Cindy said coyly.
They currently sat in Sarah's living room with the Freeman men, Sarah, Alicia, and Regina. They had a much needed conversation to help Jazmine move forward. Tomorrow rang in the new year, after all, and she wanted to begin on a positive note.
"What's the move?" Riley asked. Though he had a hard time watching Jazmine in Huey's absence, her anger didn't impact him the same. He didn't want her to be upset with him. She was his sister - not that he would ever in a million years tell her this - but that only meant that he had to double down in his protection. He did what he knew was right. And he knew she'd see the good in them for it.
She always did.
"I'm not sure," Sarah said. "Maybe we can have a little gathering here? I have some drinks and I can cook something up."
"I have some bottles at my house too," Regina offered.
"Okay, so we have drinks. What about food?" Cindy asked.
"Leave it to me!" Jazmine says, standing. "I went grocery shopping the other day so I have a lot to cook."
"You want me to come help?" Sarah offers.
"I got it. Get the house together. I'll be right back."
Excitedly, she made her way out of the door and to her car. A lot had transpired in the last week. And she still needed more time. But having her family with her, an old face she missed so intensely, and a new friend... she had a feeling it would all be worth it in the end.
"Jazmine!"
She whirled around and found Huey making his way over to her. He glanced at her eyes before averting his gaze elsewhere.
"Yes, Huey?"
"I was sent as a helper," he said. His grumble was so childlike that she laughed.
"You don't have to help out if you don't want to, Huey."
He didn't respond right away. "I have some new recipes I want to try out."
She gave him a warm smile. "Come on."
"Okay, so what recipes do you have? I'm not sure how much we should make. It'll just be us... so maybe not too much?"
"Finger food is best," he said, pulling out food for them to begin cooking.
Huey planned to make pretzel bites with cheese dip, dark and milk chocolate covered fruit, and spinach puffs.
Jazmine is making honey garlic meatballs, fried party wings, prosciutto caprese bites, mini tacos, fried shrimp, and small sub sandwiches.
They worked in relative silence, focusing on the task at hand. It wasn't until they neared the end that they began talking.
"I'm surprised you're celebrating with us this year," Jazmine mused. They took a seat at the island in her kitchen.
"It's exciting for Alicia," he said. "I'm also not opposed to beginning something new."
She hummed her understanding. "What do you hope to have this year?"
"A normal life," he said without thought. "A house. A job. A family. Nothing crazy or life threatening."
"I'm not sure that's even possible for Freeman men," Jazmine said with a giggle. A small smile touched his lips.
"Here's to hoping, I guess," he said. "What about you?"
"Travel more," she said. "Dance more. Try new things. Be happy."
"Sounds nice," he said.
"It is. And, now that the gang's all here again, I think that maybe we can find our way back to normal. Or as normal as we can get."
"Hopefully a bit more normal than we've ever been before."
"I imagine having Alicia now will help," she reasoned. "It's hard to agree to crazy things when you have a child to consider; even if it's just your niece or great grandchild."
"Don't put all your faith in them," Huey grumbled. Jazmine laughed.
"I've known you all for far too long to do that."
"Where do you plan on going this year?"
Jazmine took a deep breath, thinking. "I want to go a lot of places this year. I know for sure I'm going back to Italy this summer. I was thinking of making it a family trip, if you think Alicia would be interested in seeing it. I know she was too young to remember but I used to love hearing old stories like that."
"I'm sure she'd like that," he replied.
"I also want to go to Greece. And Tokyo. Bali. Paris."
"You have quite the year ahead, I see."
"I do," she said. "Travelling was so incredible. It really forced me to open my mind and my heart to the world around me. It also forced me to sit with myself and learn about the person I'm capable of being in any given situation. Waking up in different cities was one of the most amazing feelings. But I am happy now that I have a starter home here."
"You think you'll stay?"
She shrugged, giving him a small smile. "I suppose only time will tell. While it would be nice, we never really know what the future holds for us."
They finished cooking and put the food away until later.
"We don't have to be back for a little while," Jazmine began, "did you want to sit and watch a movie?"
"Sure."
She led him into her family room and they settled beside one another on the couch. After a moment of browsing, they settled on a thriller that Jazmine's been wanting to see but has been much too afraid to watch on her own.
It didn't take long for her to hold fast to Huey's arm and hide in his sleeve.
"The point of a movie is to watch it, Jazmine."
"Shut up, Huey," she said, peaking over his arm before quickly ducking away again. He rolled his eyes before raising his arm and pulling Jazmine into his side. Despite her fear, she felt heat overcome her skin.
He'd done this a million times before. Whenever she was scared, he'd let her curl into his side and draw lazy, mindless circled on her hip.
But that was before he left.
Before he...
She ignored her thoughts and forced herself to focus on the movie before her, which made her just as tense. She did her best to keep her eyes trained ahead of her and to keep her mind on the movie. But his scent, his warmth, the weight of him was willing her mind to wander elsewhere.
And then he began tracing, as he always had. And her mind couldn't seem to focus on anything other than the hypnotic motion of his hand against her skin.
She missed it. She missed him - so much it still hurt to think about it.
So she closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, right above his heart, and let herself give in to the feeling of him touching her.
He must have noticed because his low chuckle rumbled against her. He leaned down an rested his lips against the top of her head.
"I missed you," he said.
"I missed you too, Huey."
She shifted enough for him to rest his lips against the skin of her forehead. His fingers pressed a bit harder against her, skimming the line of her shirt. She sighed, giving in.
Because it was easy to get lost in his scent, his touch, his warmth, his presence. She felt untouchable. Comfortable. And, after all this time, free.
But it wasn't meant to last. Her phone startled her from her peace.
She looked and found Mr. Form, the owner of the firm her father worked for. Her brows knit together as they answered.
"Mr. Form?"
'Jazmine,' he said, sounding anxious. 'Have you heard from your father?'
Just then, she heard a pounding at the door.
Sorry for the short chapter guys and the cliffhanger. I have something more coming. I will be travelling a lot over the coming weeks so I will not be seeing you next Saturday, but I will be back on Saturday, March 30th, 2019. Thank you so much for your patience. Have a nice St. Patrick's day if you celebrate it or live somewhere that it is celebrated. Please be safe guys.
Review if you can! I love hearing from you guys.
Much love, Q. I.