Chapter 5
The softness pressed against my chest as the morning sun greeted me, making what went down yesterday worth the backlash.
I had the love of my life wrapped in my arms after rounds of sex and conversation.
There was no more tension amongst us, but I knew she was still a little worried about what had happened.
It was why I shut her phone off.
This week was all about us. I didn’t need anybody or anyone distracting her—just us vibing and getting back in tune with each other.
I pressed my lips to her shoulder and rubbed on her hip and ass, then slowly got up from the bed to take care of my hygiene. The chef was on his way to set up breakfast, and I had a few calls to make before I shut my phone off and ignored the world.
I exited the bathroom after my shower, seeing Jordin still fast asleep. I smiled, then went over to my luggage and pulled out my attire for the day. I dressed down in some linen shorts and a shirt, slid on my TAG Heuer watch, platinum chain, and Versace slides, then headed out of the room.
When I entered the kitchen, Alden, the chef, was inside, setting everything up. Meeko had made the introduction over Zoom. Alden was a world-renowned chef who cooked for many celebs and politicians. How Meek knew him, I didn’t know, but he had come highly recommended by my guy, so I fucked with it.
“Grand rising, Al,” I greeted. He looked over from heating the skillet and smiled.
“Greetings, Mr. Sullivan. Breakfast should be complete in a moment.”
“Take your time,” I told him, then slid out of the patio doors from the kitchen.
The scenery was breathtaking.
Being on a private island with the beach as our backdrop was truly amazing.
I took a moment to just breathe in the air as the scent of fresh saltwater invaded my nostrils.
After breakfast, I planned for us to go into town to do some shopping or whatever else she wanted to do.
I wanted to show her a good time while we got back into the groove of things.
I’d only been out of prison for forty-eight hours, and within that time, I’d only spoken to Meeko, Killa, and my barber.
Both Meeko and Killa had been super supportive these last fifteen years, and I appreciated them more than they knew.
They had become my unofficial assistants when it came to handling business.
It was a struggle at first because I couldn’t talk to them the way I wanted to, so a lot of the deals they made had to happen without me, but they always made the best decisions on my behalf.
My only stipulation for them was that they get out of the streets. I didn’t want any illegal shit going on around my businesses, so they respectfully bowed out of the streets, and I made sure to keep the money flowing their way.
I opened my phone, trying to figure out this video shit to call Meeko, but the shit was frustrating. I was used to Nextel flip phones, so this iPhone shit was annoying.
The phone rang with a video call from Meeko. I hit the green button, and he connected the call with him and Killa as their faces popped up on the screen.
“What up, my G! You looking good, fam,” Killa said.
“Appreciate it, fam. I don’t like this damn phone, Meek. Give me a damn Android, some shit I’m used to.”
They both laughed.
“Nah, nigga. It’s 2018. Time to get into the present,” Killa jested.
“He’s right, Zi. I mean, I can get you an Android as your secondary phone if you want, but everybody is in the iPhone era now.”
“I’ll choose the flip phone era every time.” We all laughed, then got down to business. “So, what’s the word?” I asked.
“The designer for the watches finally reached out. He said he’ll be back in town next month, and we can set up a meeting then to go over the contract and designs,” Killa said.
I nodded. “Cool. What else?”
“As far as business, that’s all,” Meeko replied. “Now, on to other things. There’s a video going around of you busting up the wedding. It’s all over the internet.”
I rubbed my beard and looked out at the water.
I figured it would be some backlash behind what happened, so it didn’t surprise me.
I wasn’t too in tune with any social media sites.
Meeko had set me up with a Facebook and Instagram business page, but he ran it while I was away.
So, hearing that bullshit hit the airwaves made me feel two percent bad because I knew it was what Dinny feared would happen.
I wasn’t trying to ruin anything for her, but I couldn’t let my woman marry another man.
“Oh yeah?” I asked.
“Yeah. How is she holding up? Y’all good?” Killa asked.
I nodded. “More than good. See what y’all can do about getting any videos taken down. I know y’all know some tech niggas that can erase that shit.”
“I’m on it,” Meek said.
“A’ight. I gotta go. If I need anything else, I’ll hit y’all. If y’all need me, y’all know what to do.”
“Fa sho. Tell Dinny we said what up,” Killa said. I nodded and ended the call. I continued to look out at the ocean's beautiful blue water and reveled in it. I’d always had dreams of visiting exotic places to escape what had become my reality.
Being a descendant of Yarina and Landon Sullivan, I was born to hustle. My pops always taught me never to be lazy and showed me how to build shit and make money to get the things I wanted in life.
Before I met Jordin and my brothers in junior high, my parents and I lived well.
Pops worked for the city, and Mom owned a bar called Taste. They brought in a lot of money that allowed us to live comfortably.
It wasn’t until Pops lost his gig working for the city that shit changed drastically.
I was in my sophomore year at Henry Ford High School when my people sat me down and told me Pops had lost his job, and Ma had to sell her bar. From that point on, shit just went downhill. Pops got on drugs, and Ma followed.
All throughout my junior year, I had to endure them selling all of our shit out of the house until, eventually, we were homeless.
I refused to live that way, so I linked up with a dude named Drip, and he put me on as his runner.
I made just enough to feed and clothe myself while staying with Kasey and his mom.
Dinny was my escape. The love she gave me during my trials and tribulations made me fall deeply in love with her. She listened, she cared, and she encouraged me when I had no one who gave a damn about me.
No family was ever around, so there was no one else I could run to, to find solace. Dinny and I started off as best friends until that senior year when I asked her to the prom. From then on, we had been inseparable.
Unfortunately, Yarina and Landon both died of an overdose, and since I was eighteen at the time, I was able to cop myself a studio apartment in the Westfield Projects. It wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods, but I kept my shit tight, and the homies looked out for me while I did the same for them.
Jordin wanted me to continue my education and go to college with her, but I had moved up in the streets, and the streets were what provided me with the means to live comfortably.
She never left my side, though, even when I knew she didn’t approve of my lifestyle.
By the age of twenty-one, I was on kingpin status, copped us a luxury apartment in Sterling Heights, bought her a whip, and gave her anything she ever wanted from me.
Her parents and sisters loved me, and I loved her. I kept the hood happy and made moves to ensure I wouldn’t sell drugs forever because even when she didn’t say it, I knew Jordin worried.
That night that fuck nigga tried to rob her was the night I regretted not listening to her when she asked me to stop.
The very thought of someone bringing her harm made me black out, and I made a bad decision that took me away from her prematurely.
Now, I had plans to do all I could to get her to fall in love with me all over again.
“Good morning.” The sweet voice behind me caused me to smile, and I turned to greet her.
She had on one of my shirts and pajama pants that swallowed her slim-thick frame. Her morning face was fresh and looked even more beautiful in the daylight.
“Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep good?” I asked. I stood and pulled her into my arms, dropping a kiss on her lips.
“I did. I see you ordered a chef. I could have made us breakfast.”
“Nah. We’re relaxing this week. I’m a free man and have the love of my life here with me. No interruptions and no manual labor.”
“I have to call my parents, Zi. I know they’re worried.”
“Why would they be worried? They know who you’re with.”
She tittered lightly. “You know damn well how Jasmine and Carlos are. Even at my big age, they want me to check in.”
I smiled. “You’re right.”
“I’ll call them after breakfast.”
“It should be done in a minute.” I guided her to the table, pulled out her chair, and took a seat beside her. Al brought out a tray with mimosas and fruit, setting it in front of us.
“So what are the plans for today?” she asked.
“I thought we’d do a little bit of shopping and probably go sightseeing.”
“That sounds fun. What made you choose to whisk me off to a private island?”
“I knew when I made the decision to crash the bullshit wedding, it was going to be a little chaotic. So, before I even left that house, I made arrangements to take you where you always wanted to go so we could start over.”
A soft smile adorned her lips. “You remembered.”
“I remember everything about you—about us. It’s why I did what I did, and I don’t regret it.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you, Zi. I guess I didn’t think you’d still want me when you came home.
So many things had changed, and I knew when I agreed to marry Akeem, it didn’t feel quite right.
I know what happens is going to be all over social media since he is a high-profile actor.
But, sadly, I don’t even care. Seeing your face after all these years feels nostalgic, and I realize that I never really stopped loving you. ”
“That’s all that matters, baby. Were you living with him?”
She nodded. “Only because he suggested it since my lease was up on my condo. It only made sense for me to move in with him since we were set to get married.”
I didn’t like the thought of her being with anyone else, but I couldn’t be too upset. She was right. Fifteen years was a long time, and people did change.
“You don’t have anything to worry about, though. I got you. Always.”
She smiled at me and kissed my lips. We talked for a little bit more before Al brought the food out. French toast, eggs Benedict, beef sausage, and beef bacon were what he whipped up.
“Gosh. Everything looks so good,” Dinny said.
“Thank you, ma’am. I hope you both enjoy it. Let me know when you’re ready for lunch, Mr. Sullivan.”
I gave him a curt nod and bid him adieu.
Dinny said grace, then we dug into our meal, enjoying the comfort of silence between us.
My thoughts went to last night when she told me she lost our baby.
That shit stung deep because I just knew our kid would have brought us both so much joy.
It was made out of pure love and would have been an amazing kid, considering who their mother was.
But I understood what she meant when she said she didn’t want the baby to be without a father.
I would have taken care of them from behind the wall, but she was raised in a two-parent home, and I knew she would have wanted the same for our baby.
It didn’t hurt any less, though. He or she would have been a beautiful thing to come home to.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, cutting through my thoughts.
“You,” I replied. “How are you mentally?”
She chewed slowly before swallowing and giving me her attention. “Before or after you kidnapped me?” She laughed.
“Both.”
“Before, I was . . . okay. I found peace when I finally found something I was good at and interested in. It distracted me from mourning my losses. Now, I feel as if something has been restored inside of me.”
“How do you feel about having a baby?”
She smirked. “I haven’t thought about having kids after losing our baby. It was something I couldn’t get over, and I blame myself for not taking care of myself after you left.”
“It’s not your fault, Dinny. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. If I didn’t do what I did, we would have a fifteen-year-old, spoiled-ass kid, and possibly two younger ones that followed.” We laughed.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I want to try again. I’m hoping you’re pregnant right now after last night.”
She shook her head. “I’m on birth control.”
“You ’bout to stop taking them, right?”
“I could, but it’s going to take time to get out of my system.”
“That’s cool, as long as you stop. I want the life I promised you. I know losing the baby may have been hard on you, but I’m here now, and I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon. All you gotta do is say yes, and I’ll handle the rest.”
The blush that settled on her face gave me chills. This woman who sat before me now was everything I knew she would and could be.
A dream.
My dream.
God knew what He was doing when he created her for me. After losing my people, Jordin and her family, along with my best friends’ people, filled the void left by their absence.
I took her hand and kissed the back of it.
“You ready to start living out your happily ever after?” I asked, smiling over at her.
That beautiful smile lifted on her face. “I am.”