Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
MEKAYLA
W hen I got to Jacob’s house, I was nervous as hell. Cars were everywhere. There were never more than one or two cars at his home. There had to be at least fifteen cars here. I quickly got out of my car, grabbed my bag, and headed to the door. Something had to have happened to him for all these people to be at his house.
The minute I got to the door, I could smell the faint scent of marijuana. That was weird as hell. Jacob had never even insinuated that he was a smoker. Before I could ring the doorbell, a man opened it with a blunt between his lips. That was why I smelled it. He was close to the door.
“What’s up? You must be Mekayla. I’m Uncle Jasper,” he said, taking the blunt from his lips and chuckling.
I frowned slightly and shook his outstretched hand. “Umm… nice to meet you.”
“Nephew in there high as shit… just like me. That should make him easier to work with. Just be careful, niece. You may get a contact high, ’cause this shit is potent!”
He laughed and walked past me like he knew something I didn’t. The nigga called me niece. What had Jacob been telling him? We had gotten nowhere close to even having a relationship, let alone marriage.
I walked inside and saw so many people moving around. They were cooking, talking, and a couple of people were cleaning. My spirit eased when I saw him sitting on the sofa talking to somebody with a blunt between his fingers. He lifted it to his lips and took a long ass pull from it then passed it to the guy next to him.
His eyes met mine, and he smiled. Damn, he was gorgeous. I swallowed hard as he stood. A couple of people looked my way and gave me a slight nod. I made my way to him, and he made his way to me. When we met in the middle of the floor, he said, “I’m sorry. My family had a really rough night last night. When I came home to put my leg up, a few of them followed me to make sure I was okay. Then it turned into an all-night party. Well, not party, but a long ass bud smoking session. You met the supplier, Uncle Jasper, on your way in.”
He chuckled then grabbed my hand. I only nodded at his explanation as I looked around at everyone. “Hey, Mekayla!”
I turned to see Jess headed my way with a pretty little doll tagging along. “Hey, Jess. How have you been?” I asked as she hugged me.
She was high as fuck too. I didn’t know what had happened, but I could imagine it was pretty bad for everybody to be high. “Girl, I’m okay, considering. This is Jacey. Say hi, baby.”
“Hi!”
I waved at the little princess with a big smile on my face. She reminded me of when LaTee was a baby. Jacob gently pulled me away from them and led me to an open area of his house. There was nowhere for him to sit in here, so I wasn’t sure what he was doing. He turned to me and asked, “Would you even be comfortable going in one of my bedrooms, or would you prefer going to my brother-in-law’s gym on the main highway?”
I gave him a soft smile, thankful that he was considering how I felt. “We can go in a bedroom. Can we leave the door open though?”
“Yeah, of course.”
He continued down the hallway to a bedroom with double doors. I had to assume it would be the master suite. He opened the doors, and I was wowed. From the chandelier to the white fur rug, the room was beautiful. It definitely had a woman’s touch. It looked like it had never been inhabited.
As I looked around, he confirmed my suspicion. “I’ve never slept in here. I want the first time I sleep in here to be with someone I love. My mama decorated it for me, and I asked her to give it a feminine touch without going over the top.”
“She did a beautiful job. This is gorgeous, Jacob.”
“Thanks. Umm… I owe you a huge apology, baby. I felt like you were just about to let the wall come down and give me everything I was wanting when I first saw you, and I fucked that shit up. I’m working hard to get a handle on my emotions when it concerns Joseph Monroe. I normally talk to Karima about things, but our entire family needs her at this point. A lot of shit was revealed to us last night about the guy’s family I killed, and it affected some members of my family deeply. I still want to get to know you more. I still want to be your man. I still want a future with you.”
I turned away from him and walked around the spacious room, admiring the crown molding and the rustic wood flooring. Everything about this room said Mekayla, and it was overwhelming as hell. It felt like God had prepared this place specifically for me. I loved furs paired with rustic wood. Even the window treatments looked like something I would have done. This room was supposed to be mine.
After taking a deep breath, I said, “Yesterday, my father told me he was dying. At first, I got angry, feeling like he only wanted to reconnect with me to clear his conscience. But then I realized that life was short. He said he genuinely wanted to reconnect with me and learn who I was as an adult and his baby girl.”
A tear fell down my cheek, and I was so engrossed with what I was saying, I didn’t even realize Jacob had approached me from behind. He circled his arms around me, and I couldn’t help but rest against his chest. It felt just as amazing as it did the last time he hugged me. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath then turned to face him.
His arms were hanging from my shoulders as I stared into his gorgeous eyes. When I saw something sparkle, I knew he had that bottom platinum grill in his mouth. Whew, chile! He swiped the tears that had continued falling down my cheeks as I gathered myself.
“I also realized that it wasn’t just our professional relationship that was keeping me away from you in a personal space. It was fear. I haven’t really felt loved by a man in a really long time, and I feel like I don’t even remember what that’s supposed to feel like. However, I have an overwhelming haunch that you will be the one to make me remember. I’m tired of fighting my attraction to you because of fear. Again, life is too short for me to behave that way. I had come to this realization a while ago and was about to reveal it to you, but you’re right. When you withdrew from me, I took it as a sign to continue holding back.”
I lowered my head and rested my forehead on his chest as he rubbed my back in silence. He wasn’t a man of many words, but his consolation came through his actions. The way he soothed me simply from his touch said so much. I had never felt that relaxed with any man.
After lifting my head again, I said, “You’re dealing with a lot internally, and that scared me away, because I am too. I felt like your issues would drag me down to drown in the issues I just recently overcame. I dealt with being raped, child neglect and abandonment, poverty… just so much. My mother was horrible. But with God’s grace, I was able to overcome it. But then I met a nigga in Nashville that fucked me up. After I got pregnant, he left me. So, honestly, I don’t even know what the love of a man is supposed to feel like.”
He pulled me in his arms and hugged me tightly. I closed my eyes and slid my arms around his waist. This felt so damn right. He leaned over to where his mouth was hovering over my ear and said, “This is what it’s supposed to feel like, Mekayla. You supposed to feel safe to bare your most intimate feelings. You should feel free to express your emotions… all of them. You should also feel heated beyond reason every time I’m near.”
He was right about that shit. I was at the point of combustion. He had me so hot I wanted to strip for him right now. I pulled away from him and saw him standing there with his chain hanging from his mouth. Fuck! I wanted to pull him back to me by his goatee and slide my tongue to his. It wasn’t good to be in this bedroom. Without the right amount of restraint, the old Mekayla would reemerge and fuck his life up.
I cleared my throat and said, “Lay down so I can see how much damage you’ve done.”
He released his chain and smiled at me then walked to the bed. When he laid his long ass in the bed, I swore I wanted to slide in with him. Jesus! His thighs were thick, just like I liked them, and those basketball shorts weren’t hiding his massive erection. Turning away from him, I went to the door and closed it a little. No one needed to see his shit aimed at the sky nor me drooling over it.
When I went back to him, he had a slight smirk on his soft-looking lips. “Why you close the door?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to keep my eyes from wandering. “Because your dick is hard. I don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression.”
“What impression is that?”
“That I’m giving happy endings in here.”
“Do you want to though?”
I rolled my eyes. “What I want and what I do are two different things. I admit that I’m curious, but that’s where it will stay. I always jump in too soon. I want to know you more, no matter how short or long of a time that takes. I feel a knot here,” I said as I rubbed his knee.
He winced slightly. “Jacob, you have got to start taking care of this before you end up in a wheelchair.”
He nodded as he clinched his teeth while I worked that shit out of there. I probably could have gotten a license to be a massage therapist as well. I had strong fingers and was known to work out a knot or two. It had been too long since Jacob’s surgery for him not to be in better shape.
“So you saying I can call you and talk shit to you? I mean, am I in the friend zone, or am I on track to be your man?”
I glanced at him as I lightly massaged his knee. “I think we should take this one day at a time. However, I don’t entertain men without purpose anymore. Actually, that used to be my thing.” I slowly shook my head. “But yeah, we’re working toward something.”
“I have a lot to get to know about you, huh?”
“Yeah. I just hope you can be understanding of who I am as a woman. My past has shaped who I am.”
“I feel you. When will I get to meet the infamous LaTee?”
“See, that’s one of my things. I’m extremely protective of her because of the shit I went through. My mama’s boyfriend was who raped me. I was a kid… six when he started touching me.” I swallowed hard, not believing I was telling him all this. “It will be a while, Jacob.”
He sat up and grabbed my hand. “I get it. I’m gonna move at your pace, baby. I wish I could feel your lips though. Those shits look soft as fuck.”
I gave him a one-sided smile and moved to his ankle, doing my best to ignore him. Just my luck, I would bend over to kiss him and one of his relatives would come in the room and witness it. He smirked and lay back down while I worked his ankle. My mind drifted for a moment. I couldn’t help but think about what a relationship would be like with him. I knew the sex would probably be on some next level shit, but I wondered if he could be as understanding as he let on.
I knew I had some shit to me, and I was working on becoming a better person. I was the type to go through phones and shit because I didn’t trust niggas. Savage threatened to break my neck if I ever went through his phone again. His threat didn’t stop me. Him changing his password and adding facial recognition was what stopped me. Before I left Nashville, I fucked his car up. I keyed the fuck out of that shit, slashed his tires, and broke windows. I even had the audacity to spray paint the words ‘dick riding ass nigga’ on the hood of it.
He would probably kill my ass on sight. I was hurt, emotional, and my hormones were going crazy. He played me, and he played me well. I never suspected that he would be the type of nigga that wouldn’t accept his flesh and blood, especially since he had two kids already. Those kids stayed draped in the hottest gear and didn’t want for a thing. He spent a lot of time with them like they meant the world to him. I thought my baby would get the same treatment, but I was terribly wrong.
“Hey, you good?”
I blinked rapidly. “Yeah, I’m sorry. My mind was somewhere else.”
I’d stopped what I was doing and was just staring off into space. When I finally finished, Jacob went to a sitting position. I began gathering my things and putting them in my bag. I glanced his direction to see he was watching me. “Mekayla, come here, baby.”
I walked over to him, and he pulled me between his legs by placing his hands at my waist. “Jacob, you really need to have your leg elevated. Let me get you some ice.”
“I’ll ice it, but not in here. There’s a reason I brought you in this room. I just feel in my soul that you are the woman this room was meant for.”
My emotions were bubbling up in my chest, and I did my best to get away from him, but he gripped me at my hips, forcing me to stay put. I felt like I was hyperventilating. He gently slid his hand up my arm. “Try to relax, baby. Take deep breaths. Look at me.”
I lifted my eyes to his and watched him take deep breaths. I emulated what he was doing, and I felt calm almost immediately. Swallowing hard, I said, “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t ever have to apologize for no shit like that. You have anxiety?”
“No. It was just that what you said were my very thoughts from earlier. I wasn’t going to tell you, because I thought it may have sounded weird to you. This room is decorated like it was meant for me. If I could afford to, I would decorate my room this same way. I have the fur rug, but it was cheap.”
He slid his thumb over my cheek. “You are so beautiful. I want to give you the world. Real shit. I can’t imagine you’ve overcome the things you have. You don’t look like what you’ve been through.”
My cheeks heated up as he stared at me. “Neither do you,” I said in a whisper.
He stood from the bed and pulled me in his arms again. This was a place I could stay all day. His hugs were so heartfelt. Nothing about them felt pretentious or put on. When I pulled away, I stared up at him, daring him to kiss me. Once my lips parted, that was it. Jacob leaned over and laid his soft lips on mine. I nearly got carried away, and I knew that was what would happen if he kissed me.
There was so much heat behind that shit, it would have been easy to go all the way. I pulled away and watched him bite his bottom lip. Shit! I cleared my throat as his eyes narrowed to slits. My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head as if he was stroking my pussy. I was so damn hot it felt like sweat was rolling down my skin between my breasts.
I stepped away from him before I couldn’t. As I was about to head to the door, it opened all the way for me to see Jacob’s uncle Storm standing there. “Nigga, you serious as fuck. Mekayla, I hope you ready. You gon’ be that nigga wife.”
Jacob glanced at me and said, “Unc, chill.”
He gave him the cutthroat symbol, but his uncle only frowned. “What? You always talking about her like she was the last woman God made.”
I glanced at Jacob, and his face was red. It was like he didn’t want me to know how deeply he felt for me already. He’d been talking to his uncles about me. I didn’t take offense to that. I knew he was trying to filter them so I wouldn’t feel like we were on the fast track, but if the fast track happened naturally, it wouldn’t bother me.
“I don’t know about all of that just yet, but I do know that I want to see just how far we will go,” I said as Jacob pulled me to him by my waist.
His touch was going to send me over the edge. I loved his touch. It was like the man was touching my soul, my heart, and my pussy all at the same time. It was at that point that I knew he would get away with whatever. He was already somewhat aggressive, but he didn’t even have to be with me. I would give him whatever he wanted simply because of how he made me feel.
“Well, it’s about damn time. The nigga been talking about you for weeks now, since he was still laid up in the hospital, looking pitiful.” I chuckled as he turned to Jacob. “I’m about to head out. I need a nap. Just in case we don’t talk tomorrow, don’t forget about the family meeting about the Nome business.”
“I’m not gon’ forget.”
“Shiiiid, I don’t know,” he said as he looked at me. “She give you everything you want, you ain’t gon’ see or hear nobody but her ass. That’s a good thing, though.”
I smiled slightly as I listened to them talk. They didn’t seem like uncle and nephew. They sounded more like friends. I admired that. My mama had siblings, but I’d never met them. When they slapped hands, I left my thoughts and mentally joined them. “A’ight, Miss Mekayla. I’ll probably see you whenever you come back.”
“Yes, sir. Enjoy your nap.”
“I promise I will. I plan to be damn near dead in just a little bit.”
Jacob rolled his eyes, shoeing him out of his bedroom, then grabbed my hand, leading me out of his bedroom as well. Once we got up front, I noticed the crowd had dwindled some. I went straight for the door and turned to him. “Don’t forget to ice your knee and ankle.”
“I won’t. I’m happy you’re giving us a chance. I’m gonna prove to you that your decision wasn’t a mistake.”
“I’m happy too. I can’t wait to see how far we go from here. You’re a very handsome man, and I just hope your heart matches. I have to go, Jacob. See you in a couple of days.”
Before I could back away, he pecked my lips but still managed to grab ahold of my bottom lip with his teeth. This man was gonna fuck up my celibacy, and I was looking forward to that shit.