Chapter 20 Jahlil
“Shout out to muhfukin’ Jahlil Savage in the place tonight!” The deejay shouted out over the music, prompting Jahlil to throw up a subtle hand gesture representing his old hood in the heart of Los Oceania. “I see you, E.”
Emani had indulged in the liquor and was completely enthralled in Jahlil’s arm hooked around her shoulders, their bodies pressed against one another and her hips rocking against his hardness.
For the last twenty minutes, Jahlil had been looking for a way to get her out of here so he could have his way.
Every time he thought he had an out, fans would come up asking for pictures, their organizations wanted to stroll or the deejay played something that sent Emani and Donnée into a twerking frenzy.
Emani waved at the deejay, bobbing her head to the music.
“You ready to head back?” Jahlil mused, trying not to touch her the way he wanted to.
“We can go after you answer your phone. Someone has been calling you for five minutes straight,” Emani spoke back, moving out of his hold so he could answer his vibrating phone.
“Shit whole time I swore that was your ass shaking on me,” he joked, sneaking a tap to her ass. He nipped his lip finding twenty-seven missed calls from Sanaa and another coming through. “This is Babygirl. Let me take this.”
Emani didn’t hesitate to hurry him off. He appreciated that. “Go.”
He nodded at her and roamed off to find a quiet spot to answer the call. Far enough away from the party, he answered the facetime call. No hi daddy, how are you just Sanaa with a scowl on her tiny face.
“For why do I have to call your ass twenty-eight times? I’m mean really daddy? Really?” Sanaa questioned. “Where the hell you been? When you coming home? Do you know what time it is, my guy?”
Jahlil scratched his chin through his beard and focused on her. “First of all. That mouth is going to get you put in time out.”
“Psshhh what’s time out to a real nigga like me?” Sanaa shot back.
“She’s been in time out like ten times today. Been talkin’ spicy,” Andrew spoke from the other side of her room making Sanaa sit up and look at him. Her pink bonnet on her head and her eyes squinted.
“You know what? You’re a snitch ass nigga,” Sanaa spoke through clenched teeth.
“SANAA,” Jahlil called snapping her head back to the camera. Sanaa flashed him and innocent smile and batted her eyes. “You can’t play me. Watch your mouth. What’s up?”
“Well I called you because Andrew won’t read my story the way you read it. He keeps whining like a baby. Auntie told him to tuck me in and he’s being a little b-”
“Watch it,” Jahlil warned.
“Nah say it so you can get in trouble and I can go back in my room,” Andrew huffed.
“Ain’t like you got shit to do in there. You don’t have a phone, Andrew. You don’t have a game, Andrew. You don’t have a TV, Andrew. You don’t have a girlfriend, Andrew. You don’t have no friends, Andrew.”
Jahlil attempted to muffle his laughter but it broke through.
“I have a girlfriend and I have friends,” Andrew defended. “You don’t have friends. And I can see why.”
“I’m not even in school yet, dummy,” Sanaah shot back sticking her tongue out.
“You’re the dummy,” Andrew grumbled allowing Sanaa to bait him.
“Aight that’s enough. Both of y’all ease up. Shit is getting ridiculous,” Jahlil parented.
“Tell him to ease up and read me my book,” Sanaa huffed before stomping over to Andrew snatching the book from him and coming back to her iPad. “I don’t need you.”
“Girl, if you don’t apologize to him and get some damn sense,” Jahlil shot. “You too, Drew.”
Sanaa’s entire facial expression changed as she looked at Andrew. “Sorry. Ugly.”
Andrew mushed her on his way out of her room. “Sorry. Ugly.”
Jahlil shook his head. “Open the book up, Babygirl.”
Sanaa opened it and showed him the first page. Jahlil didn’t need to read it word for word. He knew it like the back of his hands. “You see it?”
“Yep, get your blanket and your lovie,” he directed. She did. “The Toad and the Princess.”
“Like me. I’m the princess and Andrew is a toad,” Sanaa mumbled, rolling her eyes.
“Ready?” Jahlil chuckled. “One day, Jane was jumping through puddles.”
“Splish, splash,” Sanaa added.
“Mud was everywhere. It covered her boots and her princess dress. She jumped and skipped. And hopped and dipped. Twirled and whistled. Perfectly content and then something went, “hey little princess, look down here.” Jane froze and scrunched her nose. She looked down and said, “I don’t talk to toads.” She skipped away, continuing to dilly and dally.
Jumping and skipping, hopping and dipping, twirling and whistling.
Almost content and then something went, “ hey little princess, look down here.” She huffed, scrunched her nose and said, “I don’t talk to toads.
” “But I’m alone and you are too. Can I hop, skip, and jump with you?
” Jane groaned and moaned and went away on her own.
This time, the toad hopped up on top of her boot!
Jane scrunched her face and shook him off.
“Go do what toads do and leave me alone, you!” “But I have no friends, and you don’t either.
” Jane looked around and frowned. It was true, she had no friends, no brother or sister.
She was alone and always played on her own.
“One game, and I’ll go on my way. I don’t have all day.
” “I promise it won’t take long. I’ll hop and sing my song.
So the two jumped and skipped, hopped and dipped.
Splished and splashed all day long until at last, “Jane, it’s time for supper!
” her mother called. Jane looked at the toad and scrunched her nose.
“Since your my friend, can we do this tomorrow?” “I’m alone and you are too.
I will always hop along and skip with you.
” Jahlil retold the story word for word, although Sanaa had only flipped to the third page before falling asleep. “I love you, baby girl.”
Andrew roamed back in and covered her up with her blanket and kissed her forehead. “Thanks, Aunt Violet and I tried.”
“Don’t sweat the small stuff. You good?” Jahlil questioned.
Andrew nodded. “I’m cool. Bored and my legs are sore. You said you’re coming home Sunday?”
“Let me find out you miss me,” Jahlil stated with a chuckled.
Andrew smiled enough to let his braces show. “Aight, aight cool out.”
“Get your ass in bed, you got to be up early.”
“I don’t get no days off?” Andrew asked.
“No, not at all. Enjoy this baby ass training because when the season starts, I’m putting you on my schedule.”
“Damn, if losing sleep is the punishment just say that,” Andrew huffed. “I’m going to sleep.”
“Aight, bro. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Jahlil hung up not realizing that Emani had been standing there to experience the tail end of his story telling and his check in with Andrew. She wore an expression he hadn’t seen in what felt like ages. He licked his lips and sat back. “What’s that look?”
“Fatherhood looks so good on you,” she stated. “I didn’t mean to impede. The deejay started playing that song and I had to wander off.”
Jahlil furrowed his brow. “What song?”
Emani tilted her head in a telling notion.
“Ohh that song.” Jahlil snapped his fingers and began to recite the lyrics he used to hum into her hair. Words she remixed on his tough days. “My pretty lady. My baby. My girl. For her I’ll give the world.”
“Don’t start. I’m drunk,” she warned as he stood. “And my feet hurt.”
“Whatever she wants she’ll get it. Whatever she’s on, I’m with it. She got me wrapped up and I’m down. I got to keep her around,” Jahlil continued, closing the space between and hooking her chin. “She got my heart. Don’t matter how long we’ve been apart. My pretty lady. My baby. My girl.”
His kiss to her lips was slow, further intoxicating her. Slow sensual swipes of his tongue over hers. Gentle nips and sucks to her lips, enticing a moan from Emani’s depths. He had her suspended.
“Can we,” Emani started breathlessly. “Get out of here? Please.”
“You know that shit with him is over right?” Jahlil questioned more like a statement. A cocky smirk making his words sink in further than they had throughout the night.
Emani nodded, a spark in her eye, excited by his confidence. No other man on earth could claim or reclaim her without worry of the backlash. “Yeah, I know.”
“Aight.”
“Let me get on your back, though,” Emani directed, her arms ready to hoist herself on his back. “My feet are on fire. The liquor was taking my mind off of it but shit.”
“Oh you don’t care about the cameras?”
“Don’t give a fuck actually. Do you?”
“You know me better than that,” Jahlil replied.
Once on his back, Emani wrapped her arms around his neck and inhaled the mixture of cologne and sweat off of his skin.
She groaned softly into his ear. That seemed to be the encouragement Jahlil needed to carry her from the party to the rented house.
When inside, he placed her on the foyer table and removed the heels from her feet.
“Thank you.”
“For the ride or taking those heels off?”
Emani smirked seductively. “The heels. For the ride, a ride for payment?”
There was a way Emani had always requested sex from him that had him tripping over himself to get to her. Now wasn’t any different. The proof that they were still tied to each other was evident.
Emani’s wiggle off of the table was accompanied by a graze of her round ass against him. “I’m going to take a shower, you coming?”
Jahlil didn’t bother verbalizing his agreement.
His response was in the pep in his step as he took the stairs behind her.
With each anticipated step, Jahlil remembered every intimate moment he shared with Emani.
That first time buried inside of her without protection and he prayed to the moon and stars not to bust quick or alter their futures.