Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
AHKEEM
Across the water, I spotted the yacht my guys, Jazzy’s homegirls, Remedy, and Kross were turning up on.
They had music blasting while they danced and popped bottles.
Jazzy and I were set up on a separate yacht with rose petals and champagne.
Since returning from our honeymoon, we had kinda been on go, so I set up something nice for us just to enjoy each other’s company.
She was a little thrown off when I pulled her away from the gang, but once she saw what I had arranged for her, she was smiling ear to ear.
We vibed out to her RnB playlist, which I snuck into her phone to share with myself while she was in the shower.
My baby was a stickler for music, so I knew I had to set the scene perfectly with songs she loved.
With every step she took, her feet graced ruby red rose petals that I had scattered all over the yacht. The wind was blowing just right as she stood on the deck in her Pucci bathing suit looking at the blue waters we were sailing on.
“Pa, it’s so beautiful out here!” she squealed. “Come look!”
“I’m enjoying the view from right here. You’re just as—if not more—beautiful.” I took a drink of champagne straight out the bottle. With her face flushed red from the compliments, she looked over her shoulder at me.
She turned around and made her way to me. Her arms wrapped loosely around my neck before she sprouted up on her tippy toes to kiss my lips. “Thank you for this, Pa.”
“Anything for you.”
When I said that shit, I fucking meant it.
I would go to the ends of the earth to make my baby smile.
She was deserving of it all. Almost losing what we had scared the fuck out of me.
I couldn’t imagine another day of waking up without her by my side.
She was like the missing piece of the puzzle for me.
In my life, Jazzlyn completed the full picture. She was truly the love of my life.
“I’m sorry for chewing you out earlier for making us miss the first yacht.”
Her apology prompted me to chuckle as I thought back to her snapping on me just a few minutes ago.
In order for the plan to go smoothly, I copped a rental and told the crew to take the Sprinter to their yacht so Jaz and I could trail them there.
I stalled like a motherfucka’, and when we finally reached the dock and saw everyone sailing away, my baby was so pissed.
Whenever shit didn’t go her way, she resorted to crossing her arms against her chest with a mean mug on her face.
I got the worst end of her attitude, but she shut all that shit up once she saw what I had set up for her.
“Your spoiled ass good,” I assured her. “But what lesson did you learn?”
She rolled her eyes jokingly. “To not be so quick to throw you attitude,” she muttered.
“Wrong. The lesson was to always trust that Daddy gone take care of you. You think I was gonna bring my sexy-ass wife to Miami and not have her on a yacht?”
Her lips curled into another smile, and this one was so wide that her cheekbones perked up, causing her eyes to squint.
She may have played hard all the time and busted the fuck out of my lip back at the Ritz, but deep down inside, she was soft and just wanted me to handle her with nothing but love.
“I never doubted that, Daddy.”
My hands gripped her ass before I dipped down and smushed my lips against hers.
A lot of people liked to warn me that our happiness would eventually die out once we grew out of the newlywed stage, but I didn’t believe that.
My wife was truly my best friend. Loving each other was one thing, but to actually vibe with each other was a whole other blessing.
I truly believed that even if we didn’t engage in a romantic relationship, we still would’ve been close, and that was amazing.
I helped my baby take all the pictures she could ever ask for. She looked good in each and every one of them, even the off-guard ones.
“This may be the last time I have these abs in a while,” she giggled while zooming in on one of the pictures she took.
“You think I put one in there?” A proud smirk etched my face as I rubbed my hand over her flat stomach.
“Maybe. I don’t know. We’ll find out soon.”
As we cruised the waters, enjoying the gorgeous scenery Miami had to offer, I lifted her up and positioned her so she was straddling me. We were on the deck, waiting for the chef I hired to finish whipping up our dinner.
When looking up at her, my heart always skipped a beat.
She was the epitome of beauty in my eyes.
Even on her bad days, she still looked stunning.
Her beauty came with one hell of a heart as well.
She was a little rough around the edges, and many people would describe her as selfish and entitled, but that wasn’t the case at all.
She’d seen and been through a lot. She was forced to build these walls around herself so she wouldn’t get hurt.
I peeped that a long time ago. She was so defensive in the beginning that I didn’t think I had it in me to deal with her. When she finally showed me an ounce of vulnerability, I realized that my baby was just used to being hurt and disappointed.
She had the mentality that she had to get people before they got her, which was why we bumped heads so much in the beginning. I had to prove to her that I wasn’t out to play her or hurt her. I truly wanted her heart, and through my loyalty and consistency, I managed to get it.
“Your sexy ass used to stress me the fuck out,” I let out, thinking out loud.
She threw her head back in laughter. “Ahk, what the fuck? That was random as hell.”
“I’m just thinking about how we got here, and honestly, the level of patience I had to have with you was unheard of.”
She smacked her lips. “Alright, nigga. I wasn’t that damn bad.”
“Lovey, our first time linking, you got locked up. Our second link was me picking you up from jail and taking you to get a fried fish sandwich from the deli,” I recounted.
“I was in jail for damn near three weeks! I was craving that fish sandwich bad!”
“You inhaled that motherfucka’.”
“No, I didn’t! Even if I did, so what? You thought ‘cause I looked like this I was gonna play pretty with my food?”
“Shit… it was a date, Lovey. That’s the least you could’ve done.”
Laughter aired out of her as she shook her head. “You really consider you picking me up from jail our second date?”
I nodded my head confidently. “Hell yeah. You had me holding you down like I was a hoe or something. Putting money on your books and shit.”
“I knew then that I had to bag you and make you my man.” She smirked as she rubbed her hands up and down my chest.
“Word?”
“Yeah. Aside from Taylor, no one is just outright kind to me unless they know who my brother is. You looked out for me just off the strength of who I am and because you genuinely liked me.”
“I did. You had a lot of shit going on, but I knew you just needed a real nigga to come ground you. I saw your potential beyond all the fucked-up shit you had going on. I saw all this shit for you. The clubs, the boutique, the ring… my last name.”
The more I spoke, the wider the smile on her face grew. Her cheeks tinted red as she blushed.
“Thank you for believing in me, Pa. I know I’m always bragging about how I figured shit out on my own after me and my brother fell out, but honestly, none of this would’ve been possible without you.
You always encouraged me to be all gas, no brakes.
You backed each and every business venture I had and never made me feel crazy for picking the nightlife scene instead of fashion. ”
“I knew the clothing line would come eventually, and it did with Kinza, but I see how happy you are with your clubs. That shit makes you feel like you’re on top of the world. I support whatever makes you happy and gets you a bag.”
She leaned down and kissed my lips. “I love you, Pa.”
“I love you too, Lovey. None of this shit would’ve been possible without you either.
I know I fucked with your trust when I asked you to plug me in with PJ.
I could’ve handled that situation better.
I just want you to know that I’m not with you because of who you’re connected to or what you could do for me.
We could both lose all this shit tomorrow, and I would be satisfied in life as long as I got you in my arms at night.
You got a heart of gold, Lovey. You just misunderstood, that’s all. ”
A look of relief graced her face. I wasn’t saying anything she already didn’t know, but I knew how much she struggled with being understood.
She lived a life where she had it all and fucked up a little bit because she wanted more.
It wasn’t that she was greedy. She just wanted to find her footing and make a life for herself on her own.
She always talked about not knowing if she would have ever been able to attain stability on her own and have her own family.
She was so sheltered and protected all her life that she felt like those things were so far from her reach and unrealistic.
Now, here she was at 26 with multiple businesses that she built off her own hustle, her own family with me, and a life so stable that she never really would have to worry about a thing if she didn’t want to.
“Thank you for understanding me.”
“You’re welcome, Lovey. I was made for you just as much as you were made for me.”
“C’mon.” She tugged on the strings of the linen shorts I had on.
I chuckled. “What you on, Lovey?”
“You keep saying all the right stuff, getting me wet and shit.”
I could see the temptation in her eyes, prompting me to smirk while pulling on my chin hairs. “You trying to ride this dick on the yacht?”
“On my tippy toes.”
“Say less.”
I pulled my shit out, and it was already bricked up from the sight of her alone. I slipped her swimsuit to the side, and she assumed the position on her tippy toes and eased down on my dick.