Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
AHKEEM
I thanked God for a safe landing into Miami.
Lately, I had been on auto pilot and letting life take its course.
A few days ago, my sisters and I respected my father’s wishes and got him cremated.
Quanni told us that while he was drunk, they ended up getting into a deep conversation, and he told her that he found out that the plots surrounding my mother’s grave were all taken.
He had plans of being buried next to her and figured when he did die, I would be able to figure some shit out to make it happen.
He explicitly told Quanni that if he couldn’t get buried next to his wife, he wanted his urn built into her headstone. It took a lot of phone calls and money, but I made that shit happen for him. Mama got a new headstone that was customized with a spot for Pops’ ashes.
Niema and Khadijah held me up while we ensured our parents were together for eternity.
As of today, it was officially just us now.
My sisters promised to never stay away as much as they had.
They wanted to be active in my life and be a part of the family I built for myself.
I wanted to be a part of theirs too. I was ready to build a bond with my nieces and nephews.
Hell, I even wanted to haze my sisters’ husbands just like Priest, J’Ru, and Kaymen did me when I got with Jazzy.
I was just ready for my family to feel whole again.
“Back in the 305. I think I might move out here,” Jersey chuckled.
“You a New York nigga through and through. You won’t survive a month here.”
“Nigga, you right. Ain’t no place like home.”
We all deplaned from the jet and were met by Kross and Ezekiel.
“Good to have you back.” Zeek dapped me up.
“Trying to be in and out.”
“Bet. We got everything set up for you.”
I shifted and dapped Kross up as well. He shot me a nod, confirming everything was a go.
For the sake of this trip, it was just Jersey, Javi, and me.
Moe and Diamond stayed back in the city and kept eyes on my wife.
After all the shit that happened with the kidnapping, I ain’t feel right leaving her behind, but Diamond and Moe assured me they would look out for her alongside Cyro and his security detail.
At this point, my wife was guarded like she was the First Lady of the United States.
While Jersey, Javi, Zeek, and Kross were chopping it up in the backyard of the AirBNB we copped, I remained upstairs ducked off in my room.
Lately, my social battery had been short as hell.
It was nothing personal against anyone. I just didn’t have much to say.
There was just so much shit going on that I desperately needed a break.
I was doing my best carrying everything; however, it was starting to feel like it was one thing after the next.
My phone went off, and a light smile graced my face at the sight of the contact name that appeared on the screen.
Lovey Hendrix
“Hey, handsome.” Her smile took up my screen.
We had a late flight to Florida, so by the time we arrived, she was gearing up to call it a night.
“What’s up, beautiful?”
“Missing you. I don’t like going to bed alone. Might sleep in Blue’s bed with him tonight.”
“I miss you too, Lovey. I’ll be back soon. In and out.”
“Working for ya boy is stressful as fuck. He really thinks I can make anything happen. He wants to open in two months, Ahkeem. Two! Can you believe that?”
She and Kross made a good team. The minute she presented the spot in Manhattan to him, he understood her vision immediately.
He put in an offer on the building. He said something about his gut telling him that it was the spot for Bar Remedy.
He wanted to take her on as a partner, but she knew that eventually she would find the spark to resurrect Club Reign in New York again, so she declined.
She did, however, accept the role as manager of operations.
He lived down south, so he needed someone who could run his spot as if he were still there.
She was excited to oversee the construction, interior decorating, and eventually, the full-time operation of Bar Remedy.
She did let Kross know that eventually there would be a time when she would part ways to focus on Reign, and he was cool with it as long as she found him someone who was just as good as her to take her place.
The game plan was to mold someone in her likeness so she wouldn’t be scrambling when the time did come.
Aside from listening to my wife vent, I stayed the fuck out of their business. I knew Kross would never cross the line to disrespect her, so I let them do them.
“You can do anything,” I gassed her up. “You’ve been faced with bigger obstacles than a two-month deadline.”
“You sold that nigga a dream and told him I can make it happen… didn’t you?”
To conceal my guilt, I laughed while shaking my head.
“I don’t know what you talking about, Mrs. Hendrix.
” I may have gassed my baby up too much to Kross, and now he was handing her a challenge.
To me, everything I said was straight facts.
My wife was the best club owner in the city, and she understood the business better than anybody. I knew she would be able to deliver.
She sensed my bullshit and smacked her lips. “Ahkeem!”
“What?! I ain’t lie. You gone handle that shit, and Bar Remedy gonna be open in no time.”
“Sometimes you have too much faith in me.”
“Never. You live up to everything I say and more.”
Even though she wanted to act salty, her lips curled into a smile she couldn’t contain. “Thank you.”
“You welcome. Now drop the robe.” She had her silk robe wrapped loosely around her. Based off the fact that she didn’t have a night gown underneath, I knew she had just wrapped up her night routine, which meant Blue was sound asleep.
She snorted in the midst of her laughter at how quickly I managed to shift the conversation. “Ahkeem, you just left not even six hours ago.”
“Still too long,” I scoffed. “Go to that drawer in the closet.”
She narrowed her eyes at me since she knew the exact drawer I was referring to. “Ahkeem, no.”
“Why you playing like you not freaked out?”
Our sex life was nothing short of amazing.
We kept shit fresh and would fuck anywhere if the opportunity was presented to us.
She had a drawer of toys she would pull out on occasion.
Whenever I was on business in Italy or Columbia, she would FaceTime me with her pussy right in the camera.
I never felt the need to fall into anyone else when my lady kept me on my toes.
She smirked while eyeing me. As soon as she picked up the phone and began walking to her side of the closet, I knew she was down.
I laid back on the bed with my hand tucked behind my head like my favorite show was about to come on.
I mean, that was exactly what was about to happen. I loved watching my wife.
She had her phone positioned to offer me a perfect view of her on our king-sized bed. She dropped her robe, and her naked body was on full display. Gracefully, her legs went up in the air, and my eyes marveled at her waxed pussy.
“Lovey?”
“Hm?”
“Take your time and enjoy yourself. I like that shit.”
She giggled softly while nodding her head. “Alright, baby.”
We had mirrors installed on the ceiling of our bedroom just so she could look at herself whenever I was making love to her, or whenever she was pleasuring herself.
Her hands roamed her body as she kept her eyes up at the ceiling.
Right when she was about to drift her hands below her waist, there was a knock on our bedroom door.
“Yes, Blue?!” She quickly sprang up, tossing the rose toy into the nightstand beside her.
I was dying laughing on the other side of the call, seeing the sheer panic that masked her face. ”Jazzy, can I sleep with you? I heard something in my room.”
She tightened her robe around her before flipping me the middle finger now that I was hysterically laughing. “Yeah, baby. No problem. Give me a second.”
She snatched her phone up before giving the bedroom a once over to make sure nothing was out of place before she let him in. Luckily, she didn’t get in the motion of things because my son was a grade-A player hater. His timing was fucking impeccable.
“Ahkeem, it’s not funny. I feel dirty.” She washed her hands at the bathroom sink, which only made me laugh harder. By now, tears were coming from my eyes.
“Aye, welcome to the life of having kids, Lovey. It’s like his ass know whenever we about to get shit cracking.”
She smacked her lips while drying her hands. “This is all your fault.”
She went ahead and let Blue in, and he crawled into the bed. I remained on the phone while she threw on some pajamas before snuggling into bed right behind him.
“Daddy, when are you coming back? I heard something in my room.”
“Soon as I finish up out here, I’m coming straight home. You been watching them scary videos on YouTube again?” The guilty look on his face told me all I needed to know.
“It’s alright, Blue. I’m right here. I won’t let nothing happen to you.” Watching her wrap her arms around him and kiss his cheek warmed my heart. They were the reasons I went so hard. I wanted to give them the world.
Eventually, he fell fast asleep in her arms. She got to yawning soon after, which let me know she was ready to call it a night.
“Stay safe and make it back to us.”
“Forever, Lovey. I love you.”
“I love you more.”
“Not possible.”
She blew me a kiss before we ended the call, and like clockwork, I got a text from Jersey.
Jerz: We out.
It was time to put shit in motion. We met outside of the AirBNB, where Ezekiel and Kross’ boy Serge pulled up on us with a work van. It was branded with the company logo for Linen King Express, the laundry company that was commissioned to do all the cleaning for the hospital Silas was holed up in.
“Ghost tags, clean title just like you wanted.” Serge dapped up Kross.