Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
JAZZLYN
I was no chef, and I for damn sure didn’t know my way around the kitchen, but best believe, I could throw down some breakfast. Mornings in our new house were peaceful and quiet compared to the penthouse.
Even though we were the highest in the building, we still heard the noise of the busy traffic underneath us.
We were used to it, and it quickly blended into white noise for us.
Now, living in Staten Island had introduced us to a new, quiet one we didn’t know we actually needed until we got.
“It smells good in here, Lovey.” Ahkeem smacked my ass before setting his keys on the counter. He dropped a kiss on my cheek before Saphir came running behind him.
“Lovey!”
I squatted down and opened my arms up to him. “Hey, Blue. How was your trip to California with Mommy?”
Brooke went to visit some family out on the west coast and took him with her. Even though it cut into our time with Saphir, Ahkeem was trying to be as flexible as possible with her just to keep the peace. Things had been calm between the two, and that was a blessing.
“It was so fun! We went to Disney Land with Mommy’s boyfriend!” he gushed in excitement.
Upon him mentioning Brooke got herself a man, Ahk and I exchanged glances with each other before he silently lifted his hands up behind Saphir, thanking the Lord. We trusted her to make the right decisions regarding Saphir, so we didn’t have any concerns about her man.
“Word? I’m glad you had fun, twin.” Ahk ruffled his curly tresses that were unbraided, which meant I was gonna have to braid it sometime this week.
“Is my room finished?” He looked up at both of us.
“Almost. But we put it together as much as we could so you can at least sleep in there for now. We still wanna get all the cool art on your walls, so we have to wait another week for the artist to come do your mural,” I explained to him.
“Yes!” He pumped his fist in the air, prompting us to laugh.
“I was thinking about my room the whole time I was in California. My mommy told me to send her pictures when it’s done. If that’s okay.”
“Of course, Blue. We’ll send her pictures.”
I continued with breakfast while he and Ahk broke off running through the house to his room.
Finding out I was pregnant last night had Ahkeem and me on a high.
We were excited and ready for what was to come.
He was already going on and on about these crazy names he came up with by combining our names together.
I already told him I wasn’t naming my child Ahklynn or Jazkeem, but he kept pushing for it.
It was cute seeing him all excited. Fatherhood came easy for him, and he always said he wanted a full house.
I was excited, but my excitement came with a shit ton of nerves.
I wanted to do everything right, be everything to my child that Sylvia wasn’t to me.
As much as I hated to admit it, I inherited Sylvia’s selfishness.
A lot of the time, I was always thinking about me and only me.
Bringing a child into the world meant no more of that.
I was going to be fully responsible for a whole human being.
It was up to me how good of a person my child was gonna grow up to be.
I prayed that I lived up to the standards of all the great mothers around me.
The doorbell rang while I was putting out the eggs on a platter. “We got it!” Ahk advised while jogging down the steps with Blue behind him.
Soon as he opened the door, Eden blessed our home with her little cries. I chuckled because I knew Priest wasn’t going to let her cries last for long. She had him wrapped around her finger and couldn’t make a peep before he swooped in and soothed her.
“Calm down, Super Dad. Her pacifier just slipped,” I heard Britain say to him.
I could hear Ahkeem laughing as he led them to the kitchen. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite family.”
“What’s up? You made bacon? I need something greasy for this hangover.” Priest shook his head. He walked around the kitchen island, dropping a kiss on the top of my head before swiping some bacon off the spread I put out.
“Help yourself. Y’all went a little too hard last night?”
“I’m good. Gramps can’t hang,” Brit teased her husband with a cackle.
I hugged her before squatting down to hug and kiss Genesis’ cheeks. “Hey, Gen. What’s the matter? Why the long face?” I poked my bottom lip out once I noticed he wasn’t bouncing off the walls like usual.
Priest chuckled. “Somebody can’t handle Mommy splitting her attention. He still wants to be a baby.”
Britain cut her eyes at Priest before pulling Genesis closer while she carried Eden with one arm. “Priest, leave him alone. He’ll always be my baby.”
Realizing that Genesis really was a little hurt about not having his mother’s undivided attention, Priest sighed. He made his way over and lifted Genesis into his arms.
“My fault, little man. We talked about this. Your sister E is just a little younger than you so she needs a little more attention than you do. You our first born. Ain’t nothing as special as being the first. You hear me?
” Priest encouraged him with a smirk. “I need you to be the big brother we been training for before E got here.”
“Okay,” Genesis let out in his little voice. Priest kissed his forehead before setting him back down. There was a change instantly, and he no longer carried a long face.
“I love you and Eden equally. I’m just her personal cow right now, so she’s glued to my hip like you were when you were a baby,” Brit offered him some much-needed reassurance.
“Aye, Gen, we all got enough love to go around. We can’t forget about Big G!” Ahk hyped him up, prompting him to giggle.
There was another knock on the door, and this time, I went to go get.
“Girl, don’t ever make breakfast and not invite my family of four.
” Jadey jokingly rolled her neck while pushing her double stroller with the twins right on inside.
Kaymen had shades on as he trudged behind her, just as hung over as PJ.
“It was an open invite. First breakfast of many in the new house with y’all hungry asses as my neighbors. Hope y’all know I only know how to cook like three things.”
“We know,” they all said collectively while they dug into the breakfast spread I made.
I smacked my lips at them. I made Ahkeem, Blue, and Genesis’ plates while Britain and Jadey made their and their husband’s plates. I skipped out on breakfast because I had this weird thing where I never really ate my own cooking unless I was starving. I settled for a protein shake from the fridge.
We all gathered around the grand kitchen island, enjoying spending time together. I was so enamored by the twins and was hoping that they could rub some of their twin magic off on my pregnancy. Maybe if I had twins, Ahk wouldn’t be so pressed to knock me up again and I would have time to breathe.
Ahk had Onyx in his arms while I held Jade in mine.
Every so often, we would exchange glances at each other and smile.
We were holding off on announcing our pregnancy just to be on the safe side.
I would’ve hated to get everyone excited just for something to go wrong.
Plus, we hadn’t even had our first appointment yet.
“Y’all wanna babysit? Y’all looking really natural with the twins,” Kaymen half-joked; however, we all could hear the seriousness in it.
“If anybody get to use them to babysit, it’s me first. Ain’t that right, baby sis?” Priest raised a brow at me.
“I don’t know about all that. Maybe when they can sleep through the night, we can make some arrangements.”
Eventually, the twins got fussy, prompting Ahk and me to pass them up to their parents like two hot potatoes. We needed practice, but it was still early.
I stood at the sink, washing the dishes while sunlight poured into the wide paned windows. Ahk came up behind me, his arms sliding around my waist, chin resting on my shoulder. His hand rubbed my still flat stomach, prompting me to giggle.
“You look at peace,” he said into my ear.
“I feel at peace,” I replied. And for once, it wasn’t something I had to convince myself of.
He kissed the side of my face. “Told you. This house gonna change everything.”
“As painful as it is to admit, you were right.”
Dramatically, he gasped before clutching his chest. “My fault. I couldn’t hear you. Run that by me again.”
“You were right,” I muttered. I let him bask in his victory while I rolled my eyes. “I feel like we can finally breathe.”
He kissed the side of my face two more times before snuggling his head back onto my shoulder. “I’m happy I could give that to you. That’s always been the goal, Lovey.”
“You made it happen.”
There was another knock on the door, prompting him to smack his lips. “Damn, that better not be J’Ru’s hungry ass. He gone be pissed when he finds out we ain’t save him a plate.” He looked over his shoulder at them. “Damn, so nobody can’t get the door after me and my wife fed y’all?”
“Nigga, this yo house,” Kaymen reminded him, prompting us to bust out laughing.
“J’Ru went to go visit Moms. I don’t think he would be back this early.” Priest shook his head.
I turned to face Ahkeem as another series of knocks were applied on our front door. “You expecting anybody?” I tilted my head to the side questioningly.
“Nah. I’ll get it.” He pecked my lips before dropping his arms from around me. I watched as he navigated through the kitchen before stopping right at the bookshelf underneath the staircase. He grabbed his gun from the top shelf before clutching it at his side.