“Here. Wear this” one of my best friends Alicia demanded, directly after tossing a short red dress my way. We were both getting mentally exhausted from searching for the perfect dress to wear to this infamous club on West 16th Street in Manhattan. According to her, celebrities like Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Pharrell were known to make appearances. So I decided to give this whole club thing a shot since it’s my 21st birthday and all. So far, we’ve been through about ten different dresses and this was going to be the eleventh. Somehow, I’ve come to hate everything in my closet. On any other given day, it probably would have taken me just a few seconds to find something I like.

“If I don’t find something within the next thirty minutes, I’m not going out.”, I sighed, leaning against the wall beside my closet door. Alicia lifted herself off of the bed and walked over to where I was standing. “You look amazing in this dress…you just don’t wanna wear it because you think it’s too short.”

“That’s because it is!” I exclaimed. “I refuse to go out somewhere, having to pull my skirt down every two seconds”.

“How the hell are you supposed to find a man with everything covered up, Keyshia?”, she responded while picking up the previously thrown red dress and handing it to me.

“Who said I was going to be searching for a man?” I crossed my hands over my chest, glaring at her and awaiting an answer.

“We’re going to a VIP club in Manhattan. Why wouldn’t you want to find a man?” She looked at me as if she didn’t understand why I thought like that. “Every man up in that place is gonna be stacked.”

My eyes instantly rolled at her. Alicia has always been stuck on finding a man with money. That’s one of the main reasons why she moved from a small town in North Carolina to New York. She’s been hoping to either meet a celebrity or a wealthy businessman that’s a sucker for her so called “moves”. Obviously, she hasn’t had any luck so far. She’s been to this club a few times and makes it a habit to visit all of the well known “celebrity spotting sites”. Who knows? Maybe she’ll get lucky one day.

I tried not to sound irritated. That was not what I wanted to do, run after some rich, stuck up guy that throws money around like it’s toilet paper!

“I’m not going to a club to find a man”, I replied patiently. “And I hope you and Lauran aren’t going there just for that.”

“No, of course not!” Alicia grinned. I know she was being sarcastic and I knew exactly what she had in mind.

“Yeah, right”, I replied. Why was I even arguing with her? We both know I would eventually give in.

“Girl, why would we save up all of this money to leave you alone? Speaking of money, remember…we have to walk in there like we have it”.

I rolled my eyes once again. I mean, really? Why can’t we simply go to have a good time? It always has to be some kind of plan with her.

“I’m not posing as some rich floozy.” I protested.

“Alright, then. Go there and act all ghetto fabulous. See just how far we get. All the men are going to assume we’re these sleazy prostitutes.”

“Since when have I ever acted ghetto?!” I asked, feeling pretty offended by her statement. “And what makes you think we’re going to be looking like prostitutes?”

She replied with a sigh. “Because I’ve been there before and it happened to me. So trust me on this.”

“Okay…whatever. Let’s get this over with”.

“…..Ready to get fucked up?”, she replied with a laugh.

“Sure.”

 

After taking a long hot bath, I stepped out and wrapped a crème colored towel around myself and sat on the edge of my queen sized bed.

Celebrity news was on and I took a second to look at it. All of them are filthy rich. I don’t understand how most of the stars barely do anything and make millions more than people who actually have real jobs.

Both of my parents died in the Iraq War, losing their life for our country. The people on TV basically shake their asses and boom there’s a million dollars waiting in their bank accounts. That makes absolutely no sense to me. Why? Because it seems like they have a false sense of reality.

That is probably the only reason why I have such an issue with going to this club. Most likely, there are going to be quite a few celebrities there. Great.

I stared into the long vertical mirror that is attached to the back of my bedroom door, checking myself out. I had already squeezed myself into the skin tight dress Alicia had picked out for me. The dress had a deep “V” pattern, exposing my chest quite a bit. My hair looked the same as usual, straight and permed. I never really did anything to it because I’m pretty low maintenance and I like to keep things simple. A sudden thought of getting breast implants came up, but I laughed it off as quickly as it came up. My hips made up for the lack of breasts…even though I’m barely a size seven.

An hour later and I was fully dressed, red lipstick and everything. I looked damn good…but ready for this night to be over with.

I called the girls and the three of us met at the closest Metro Station. It took us approximately an hour to reach Grand Central Station.

Walking outside into the night, I was amazed by the city lights of Manhattan. The buildings and advertisements looked so beautiful and bright. Times Square was, without a doubt, simply amazing! Every time I came into the city, my reaction has always been the same.

The only thing that bothers me about coming here is the pushing and shoving. If you stand in the same spot for more than a couple of seconds, you are destined to be pushed out of the way. I was especially irritated because it’s the middle of December and twenty something degrees.

We eventually found the nightclub and stood in the line to get in. Limos began to roll up and there was even a red carpet. I felt pretty special…that was until I noticed we were in line with a bunch of fans and other middle class people.

“What the hell is this?!”, I yelled over the noise, directing my anger at Alicia. She looked at me, with a confused expression.

“What is what?”

“Why are we waiting in the line? I thought we had some sort of pass.”

“This is a cover up….follow me.”, she replied, turning around and walking towards a secluded alley beside the club.

 Lauran and I followed behind her, puzzled. She led us to a side door, completely free of any other people. A security guard was standing there with a walkie talkie in his left hand. I was immediately intimidated by his presence. Standing over 6’5, he looked to weigh about 350 pounds. Something didn’t seem to be right…

“Hey baby.” Alicia spoke first, but I didn’t expect those words to come out of her mouth. How in the hell did she know this man?

“Alicia baby. What are you doing here?” The guard finally said with a deep voice, recognizing her.

“Remember…I told you about my friend’s birthday?”

“Yeah…and?”

“We have our cut of the money.”

The big, burly guard checked each of us out and let out a groan when he looked at me.

“It’s a full house tonight. I might need a little something extra.” he replied, grabbing Alicia and slipping his huge black hand under her tight black dress.

Alicia moaned and looked into his eyes “Is that what you want?”

I lifted my right eyebrow with a shocked expression on my face. Lauran, my other best friend, carried the same expression as me. We both wanted to know what the hell was going on.

“You ladies can go ahead and go in. Me and your friend have to talk.”, the guard grunted, not looking at us but instead, at Alicia with lust in his eyes.

I looked at Alicia, worried. “Are you going to be okay? I’m not leaving you out here with someone we barely know.”

“Yeah. It’s your birthday! Go in and have fun…I’ll be right in.”, she promised with an unconvincing smile spread across her face.

“Okay…we’ll be waiting for you.”

I scowled at the guard and walked in behind Lauran. Alicia was basically having sex with him just so we could get in. Sacrifices.

As soon as we stepped in, the heat hit us. I wanted to take my peacoat off as soon as possible. The guard was right. It was a full house. All I could really see was smoke and lots of unrecognizable bodies. The smell wasn’t all that pleasant; alcohol, cigarette smoke, and sweat. You would think it’d smell a lot cleaner since celebrities were supposed to be here. 

We made our way deeper into the club and noticed that there were different parts to it. There was a dance floor, a lounge, a bar area, and a few private rooms with curtains. I guess we walked in on the midst of the dance floor. No wonder it reeked.

The impact of Lauran’s hand to my shoulder knocked me out of my trance. She was trying to get my attention.

“What?”, I answered, suddenly annoyed.

“Oh my God Keyshia….oh my God!!!”, she screamed.

“What the hell is wrong with you girl?”, I yelled over the music

“There’s…there’s Drake”, she squealed pointing towards the direction in which the rapper was standing, casually conversing with a few people. I grabbed her arm and jerked her back, stopping her from running over to him.

“Get it together girl! Stop it. You’re going to get us kicked out. We’re supposed to act like we know these people.”

“But I don’t! Look at him…he’s so sexy…”, she replied, looking as if she would lose her mind if she didn’t get a chance to meet him.

Immediately after I finished saying what I had to say, she let out yet another loud squeal, unable to control herself.

“Oh my God. He’s coming. Keyshia, he’s coming over!”

“Hello ladies” Drake greeted us with a calm, relaxing voice.

“Hey!!”, Lauran, being the first to speak, looked like she was about to burst.

“I don’t believe I’ve met you before. Names?”

“My name’s Keyshia”, I replied.

“And my name’s Lauran…Lauran Ayers”, Lauran rushed in, nearly interrupting me.

Drake smiled a really wide smiled and kissed the back of our hands. “Nice to meet you. I’m going to be performing a song here. It’s nice to see some black people up in here, ya feel me?” He laughed and walked away.

Lauran, not catching on to the last bit of his sentence, let out all of the screams she held in. “OH MY GOD!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE WE JUST MET DRAKE!!

I ignored her and thought to myself…”What did he mean by that?”

I took a look around and noticed that there were hardly any black people here. I saw Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston, Megan Fox, and a whole bunch of other white celebrities. No wonder Drake came up to us…

Nearly all of the men in the club had business suits on. Me and the girls had on our club dresses. It just didn’t feel right. Something was wrong. What in the world did Alicia get us into?

Speaking of the devil, Alicia came in, pushed through the crowd, and ran up to us. “Hey guys, thanks for waiting for me-“

I interrupted her, ready to smack the shit out of her already “What did you get us into? Huh? What is this?!”

Taken aback, she replied “Keyshia…calm down”. Before we got into an argument, Lauran jumped in and told her that we met Drake. Alicia, knowing that she was in deep shit, tried to talk to Lauran as much as she could so that she didn’t have to explain to me what was going on.

“You didn’t answer my question. Why are we the only black ladies here?!”

“Oh c’mon…we’re not the only ones”, she replied scanning the room.

“The only ones that look like hookers! Know what? I don’t want to be here. Let’s leave” I demanded, making my way towards the door.

Alicia grabbed a hold my arm and pulled me back to where she and Lauran were standing.

“We can’t get our money back…”, she cautioned, before letting go of my arm.

Before I had the chance to respond, a middle aged white man walked up to us with a headset on.

“Hello ladies…I have been informed that you will be our dancers for the night, is this correct?”

“Dancers?”, I responded, totally confused.

“Yes.” Alicia answered quickly, ignoring my inquisition.

“The men are waiting for you”. He began to make is way towards the private rooms. “Follow me please”

I leaned in closer to Alicia and whispered “What the hell is he talking about?”

“All you have to do is give a couple of lap dances. That is all. If you want to stay in here-“

“And be disrespected and looked down upon?! No!”

Lauran finally decided to say something. “Well I’m up for it.”

I rolled my eyes and turned around. “Of course you are”

Alicia grabbed my arm for what seemed like the millionth time tonight. “Trust me on this…please stay.”

“You set me up!!”

“I’m begging you Key. It’s your birthday. Try having fun for once in your life.”

I gave into her request and continued to follow the man towards the private rooms. The one that we were being led to had an exquisite interior. The walls were covered in a pattern of black velvet spades and other different cloths. The benches that the men, who were all under 40, were sitting on were made of what seemed to be fluffy cushions. They were in the shape of half circles, with a long stripper pole in the middle.

Two strippers slid up and down the poles without a care in the world. I stared at one of them and it made me wonder if these men were supposed to be turned on by that. She had a boyish body shape and her face wasn’t all that cute…

The middle aged man that guided us into the room cleared his throat. “Gentleman, I’d like to introduce you to our dancers for the evening.”

The men looked quite surprised at the fact that we are black and voluptuous. So you know, of course they welcomed us with open arms.

Before we had a chance to fully walk into the room, a bodyguard stopped us. “We have to check you first little ladies”

I rolled my eyes. “I have this tight ass dress on. What could I possibly hide in it? Plus, I don’t know these guys. Why the hell would I want to hurt them?”

“Don’t give us a hard time. We still have to check you.”

Alicia, Lauran, and I stood still as they checked us for weapons and shit. After they were done, we walked over to the gentlemen.

As we walked closer to them, I noticed that each of them had Rolex watches wrapped around their wrists.

Alicia, Lauran, and I hesitantly picked a guy to dance with as soon as the music started to play. My guy looked to be around the same age as me and he looked really shy, almost like he didn’t belong here. I really hope I’m not underestimating him though. As soon as I sat on his lap, he instantly pulled me closer to him by placing a hand on the small of my back. I let out an audible gasp. He leaned in and whispered in my ear.

“Don’t worry, I got ya.”

I ignored him and began to grind to the song “Pony” by Ginuwine. I stifled in a giggle because of the song choice. Definitely something I didn’t expect to hear.

The guy gripped my hips and he started to grunt. I tried to keep this as PG-13 as possible because he looked like he was going to wet his pants any second now. Alicia looked like she was having sex with the guy she was dancing with. So did Lauran.

“Why did I have to get stuck dancing with the non-dancing bitch?”, the shy guy mumbled.

I stopped grinding and almost slapped the shit out of him. Suppressing the urge to draw blood, I began to grind again. If I hit him, I would be arrested on my birthday. Those guards looked pretty serious.

“Are you going to do the same as your friend over there?”, my guy questioned after seeing that Alicia had unzipped her dress and exposed her bra. The guy she danced with had the nerve to feel all over her breasts and kiss her neck. I almost threw up in my mouth because I was ashamed and disgusted.

Before I knew it, my “shy guy” began to feel on my breasts and without thinking, I slapped his hand away.

“Oh, I see…you’re playing hard to get, huh?” he stated.

Without any sort of warning, he grabbed me and faced my body towards him. He then bent forward and stuck his tongue down my throat, setting the record for the worst kiss I’ve ever received. Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to remain calm. But I couldn’t take it anymore.

It was while I was sitting at the bar when I noticed a skinny black woman run across the lounge. She looked so out of place and distressed. I felt like it was my obligation to get up and follow her. I wanted to see what was up with her. So I put my Cuba Libre down and ran after her.

 

 

 

Jason

 

When I caught up to her, I noticed that she had tears streaming down her face. “Everything okay miss?”

She looked up at me and my heart suddenly dropped. My God. She was beautiful. Standing at the average height for a woman, she had long thick brown hair and beautiful mocha colored skin. Her mesmerizing brown eyes were slanted and light makeup covered her flawless skin.

“What do you want from me?” she said, knocking me out of my thoughts.

I cleared my throat. “Nothing. I need to know if you’re okay.”

“Need?”

I cautiously brought my hand up to her face and wiped some of the tears away. She looked so vulnerable.

“Yes…wanna tell me why you’re crying?”

She quickly changed the subject with a confused expression on her face. “What kind of club is this?”

“VIP…basically people with loads of money come here to show it off.”

“Oh…hm, does it look like I have a lot of money?”

I looked her up and down. She had on this tight red dress. Her lips that were shaped in a permanent pout had red lipstick smudged across them; like she had just finished kissing someone.

“To be honest?” I questioned.

“Be upfront.”, she said, placing a hand on her right hip.

“No. You don’t look like you belong here. Either you’re a dancer, a stripper…or the bartender who’s shift is coming up.”. I nodded my head over to the bar area.

The beautiful woman smirked. “You’re right. I don’t belong here…and I’m neither.”

“Really?”

 

 

Keyshia

 

If I were into white men, I’d be all over this man. Damn he was fine! He had these gorgeous, mysterious, grey eyes, a five o’clock shadow…and like, a perfectly shaped face. I mean, he looked like a fucking model.

Before I could get away, he gently grabbed my arm. I rolled my eyes mentally. Could I get a break from people grabbing my arm for the night?

“Wait.” He said. “Please don’t leave. May I buy you a drink?”

“Is this a pity drink?”

“Why would I be feeling sorry for you?”

I smiled and followed him towards the bar on the other side of the room. He looked like he had just come from work because he was dressed in a stylish black fitted suit.

Was I surprised that my so-called friends didn’t come after me? Hell to the no.

As soon as we got to the bar, the bartender or mixologist as the like to be called, greeted us. “What can I get for you ma’m?

“Um…I don’t know yet. Can you give me a second?”

She nodded and went on to cater to the other people lined up at the bar.

“I don’t know how to order alcohol.”, I admitted.

“Never drank before?” He raised his right eyebrow, with a half smile on his face.

“No.” I sighed. “Tonight’s supposed to be the first time.”

He pulled out a stool for me and sat down after I took the seat he had offered.

“Oh. Well you should start off with something light. How about a cranberry and vodka?”

I shrugged. “I guess…”

The man with the grey eyes got the bartender’s attention. “May I have a cranberry and vodka on the rocks, baby girl?”

The bartender blushed and immediately started to make my drink.

He then turned to me. “Can I at least get your name?”

“What’s yours?” I said, turning the question back on him.

“Jason…Jason Jameson.”

“Sounds familiar. You must be famous. That’s why you’re in this club with a business suit on, right?”

“You’re not famous and you’re in here. Why can’t I be?” Well, he got me there.

The bartender came over with my drink and placed it in front of me. I stared at it like it was something totally foreign.

Jason looked at me, waiting for me to drink it. “You should take your time drinking it. Just-“

Before he could finish his sentence, I cocked the drink back down my throat and squinted my eyes. A warm and soothing feeling overcame my throat.

“Did you like it?” he asked, smiling and showing his perfectly aligned teeth.

“It wasn’t that bad. So how many tequilas will it take for me to get drunk?”

“Whoa there. Where did tequila come from? I thought we were taking it slow.”

“We are taking it slow. That’s why you still have no idea what my name is.”

Jason smiled once again. Maybe I was trippin, but I thought I saw a blush come over his face. It went away as soon as I noticed it though.

“May I get eight shots of tequila…whichever kind is the special for the night” he requested after getting the bartender’s attention.

“Are all of those for me?” I asked, gazing at him. For some reason, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of this man. He had one of those looks that made you want to stare at him all day.

“Maybe.” he said with a wink. “We’re going to play a little game.”

“A game. Wow, be prepared to get your ass beat.” I teased, half serious.

“We’ll see about that hun.”

It amazed me at how fast I began to feel comfortable around him. How the hell could someone, a complete stranger, cheer me up so quickly?

As soon as the bartender placed the drinks in front of us, he picked up one of the shot glasses. A bowl full of lime slices was sat beside them as well.

“Here are the rules. Each of us tells each other something about ourselves…whether it is true or false. If it false, but we answer true…we have to take a shot. And vice versa.

“Okay cool. I’m game. You go first.”

“Okay…” he took a second to gather up a question. “I’m twenty-two years old.”

“False.” I answered quickly.

He looked at me with amused eyes. “…actually, it’s true.”

“What? No fair!”

“How? No excuses…go ahead and take your poison.”

I shook my head and almost took the shot to the head before he stopped me.

“What?” I asked.

Without saying a single word, he took my hand into his spread my index and thumb finger apart.

“Lick” he said in a demanding kind of way.

“Excuse me?”

“Lick the skin so that I can pour salt on it. You have to do it before you take a shot of tequila”

I did as he said and licked the area. He then poured a little bit of salt on it and looked up at me.

“Now you have to lick the salt off and then take the shot. I’ll give you the lime when you’re done.”

I followed his directions once again and quickly tossed the warm liquid down my throat.

“Shit that’s strong!” I blurted out after biting into the lime.

“I know…your turn.”

I placed the glass on the counter and focused my eyes on him. “Okay…hm, I’m from Manhattan.”

“False.”

I let out a deep sigh. I could already see where this game was headed. “You’re right. I’m from the Bronx.”

Jason let out a heart chuckle. “My turn. I have a wife.”

“True…wait-“

“Nope. False..”

“Fuck!” I said, laughing. After three more shots of tequila, I felt all kinds of tipsy, deeply regretting not eating any food earlier. I don’t think I was thinking straight.

Jason scooted the rest of the shot glasses aside. “Alright. That’s enough for you.”

“I can’t believe you beat me.”

“What can I say? I get pretty competitive.”

I finally lifted myself up from the barstool and pulled my dress down for what seemed like the 100th time tonight.

“Thank you so much for the drinks. I can pay half.” On the menu, I read that each shot of tequila costs ten bucks. So that would be forty plus the eight spent on my vodka and cranberry. I definitely didn’t have the money to be spending forty-eight dollars on alcohol. And I only carried twenty to the club.

“No…that’s not necessary” Jason said.

I ignored him and turned around to dig in my bra. I know, how unladylike? How else was I supposed to get to it? While I was trying to find the twenty I hid in there, I felt his large hand pressed up against my left breast.

“I have it covered.”

I had no choice but to laugh. “I can see you have it covered.”

He quickly removed it as if he had touched fire and blushed.

“I apologize.”

I giggled, turned around, and started walking towards the exit. Jason caught up with me and grabbed my arm.

“Wait. What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

I turned around to face him. “Why?” I had to look up in order to meet his eyes. He had to be at least 6’4”. My face came up to his chest.

“Because…well, hopefully I can change them.”

“Into what?” I questioned.

“I would like to invite you back to my place for a little while. I live right up the street on East 22nd.

“You’re kidding me right?” The only people that I’ve ever heard of that lived on East 22nd Street were filthy rich.

“About what?” Jason said, confused by my reaction.

“Oh um, nothing.”

“Yeah. I own a little condo over there.”

“I’d be delighted.” I’d be more than delighted actually, I thought to myself.

keyshia reynolds

jason jameson

lauran 

alicia

 

 

I woke up from the blinding sunlight that beamed through the French doors and windows of Jason’s room. Through squinted eyes, I quickly took in my surroundings. A thick white comforter was wrapped around me and I had no clothes on. So I draped the cover closer around my body and climbed out of the bed to look for my dress. Confused wasn’t even close to the word to define how I felt at that moment. Where was he? How could he leave me hangin in his own house? What the hell was I thinking?!

A deep raspy voice knocked me out of my thoughts. “Everything okay?”

“Where’s my dress? I have to go.” I should’ve left when it was all over, but he kept waking me up to have sex. The man definitely had the stamina of a horse and he was probably the best sex I’ve ever had, but I needed to get away from him.

“Here” he said, tossing me a shirt. I caught it out of impulse while glaring at him. “Your dress is in the washing machine. Have breakfast with me.” He walked closer to me with only a pair of pajama pants on.

“No thank you.”I replied. “How long do you think it’s going to take for my dress to be finished?”

“Why are you in such a rush to go? I thought you would want to talk about what happened?”Jason put his hands on each side of my face and I nudged them off.

“Do you have a cab’s number?”

“I can call you a cab…after we talk.”

“I don’t want to talk about that.”, I said with a sigh. Was he really going to make this an issue?

“Well I do.”

“That was obviously a one night stand. You got what you wanted. Now it’s time for me to go.”

Jason looked at me like he actually cared if I stayed or not. With those piercing grey eyes, it was beginning to get harder to resist.. “I’m begging you not to leave” he whispered

I smirked and shook my head. “Since when did you have to beg? You’re filthy rich. Rich people don’t beg.”

“You don’t know that…” His face held a half smile

“Yes I do. And I don’t understand why you’re acting like you want me to stay around and eat breakfast like this was some kind of date. How about we forget what happened and go on with our lives?”

“I’m not forgetting anything.”

Without saying a word, I slipped the shirt he gave me on and started to walk out of his bedroom. The comforter fell to the floor.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m leaving.”

He ran a little to catch up with me. “Can you at least wait until you have more clothes on? It’s freezing outside.”

I folded my arms across my chest like a little child and plopped down on the living room couch.

“Damn you’re stubborn” he said, sitting directly beside me.

After crossing my legs into an Indian style formation, I sighed. My mind was full regrets. I slept with a rich white man that I barely know anything about. I felt cheap…and worthless. What have a done? I began to freak out. The girls could never know about this!

“What are you thinking?” Jason asked

“That I can never do this again…do you know where I’m from? What my job is? What kind of living situation I’m in?

“No. But I’d love it if you tell me. I want to know everything about you.”

“I don’t want to share. I don’t want this life.”

“What life?” he questioned, with a confused look on his face. Did he really think I was an idiot?

“I know you’re someone important. No regular person has a man come up to them and ask for an autograph…no regular person lives like this.”

He scooted closer to me and made an attempt to embrace me, once again. This time I let him.

“What do you think I do?” Jason said, placing kisses on my open skin. I allowed myself to get more comfortable in his arms by laying my head on his chest. His chin rested on my disheveled hair.

“Hm. I think you’re this extremely rich lawyer? Maybe some type of entertainment lawyer?”

I could hear him smiling. “Sounds like a cool job.”

A loud smack was heard after I playfully hit him on the arm. “Hey, I’m just guessing…so anyways-“

A fit of giggles escaped my mouth because he was softly drawing circles with his fingers on my inner left thigh.

“Stop…I think that you’re a player. I mean, look at you. You’re young…and you’re gorgeous.”

He stopped drawing circles and gazed into my eyes while I lifted my pointer finger up and gently rubbed one of his cheeks.

“Keyshia…you’re gorgeous also.”

“But not model gorgeous.”

“Honestly, you’re more beautiful than any of the models I’ve seen”

“Really?” I looked up at him with a huge smile on my face.

“Really. And to touch up on this whole thing about me being a player, I’m not. Yes, women throw themselves at me because I have a lot of money, but how the hell am I supposed to know which ones like me for me?”

“How do you know that while you were sleep I didn’t steal money and other expensive things from your house?”

“Well did you?” he said with a blank expression.

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“I don’t think you did.”

I moved his hands from around me and stood up.“Where’s your laundry room? My dress should be done by now, right?”

“My housekeeper is going to bring it.”

“Ah, you’re getting more predictable. First you have a cook, now you say you have a maid. What’s next? Where’s your driver at?”

“Does that matter?”

“Kind of…” I laughed. “I don’t even have a car!”

“No one said I had a driver” he said, biting his lower lip and staring up at me.

A loud shriek came out of my mouth as I tumbled on top of him. Jason wrapped my arms around his neck and laid kisses all over my face. I couldn’t help but to giggle.

“I want to take you out on a date.” He was all a sudden serious.

“Aren’t you doing things a little backwards?”

“Maybe…but that’s not how I planned it. I swear.”

“Mhm. Sure it’s not.”

He smiled one of those perfect smiles. Like one of those smiles you see in a Listerine commercial.

The maid, a short Hispanic woman, came in and held up my dress…which happened to look better than it did when I had it on last night. What the…how was that even possible?

“Your dress is ready, madam” she said.

Jason moved away from me and I leaned up, supporting myself with my elbows.

“Thank you so much Maria” Jason smiled, taking the dress from her and laying across the couch.

Maria nodded her head and walked out of the living room.

After taking the hot…might I add, steamy shower, Jason applied cocoa butter body lotion to my body and helped me to slip the dress back on.

“I’ll drive you back”, he said while putting his head through a v-neck white tee.

“No it’s okay. I’ll take a cab.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I need some time to clear my head…alone.”

“Okay. Well do you want my phone number or something?”

“No” I answered quickly.

“Why?” Jason asked with a lifted right eyebrow.

“Because…I just don’t want it.” That wasn’t even a legit reason. But he didn’t need to know that my phone was going to be cut off at the end of the month because I didn’t have the money to pay the bill.

“Thank you for everything Jason. Really. But I don’t think I want to take whatever this is any further. We should leave it as it is. A one night stand. You’re a nice guy and you’re probably treating me nicely because you don’t want to look like an asshole, but-“

“Keyshia-“

“I meet you, talk to you for less than two hours, and then we have sex. I think I’ve taken enough from you. Now it’s time for me to take my hypothetical walk of shame and get this over with.”

“What are you ashamed of?”

“Myself. I don’t sleep around with guys I just meet! This never happens! And you don’t understand that.”

“Yes I do. You have to know that I’m not judging you.”

“Yeah right!”

“I’m not going to fight with you.”

“Good.” I rolled my eyes, put my peacoat on, and made my way towards his front door.

“Why the fuck are you so stubborn…..fuck!”Jason yelled, making me jump a little.

I swiftly turned around and stomped towards him.

“I’m being stubborn because I know that there is no way I can be with you!”

“Yes there is…” he said in a calmer voice.

“Stop saying that! No there’s not! I only have less than a hundred dollars in my name, I’m three months behind in rent, and I just got fired from my piece of shit job!”

“Let me help you baby…please.”

“I don’t want your help”, I said with a scowl on my face. “I’m not your fucking charity case. And I refuse to live knowing that I owe you.”

“You don’t have to owe me anything.”

“What would you want with a girl like me?” I said in an almost whisper.

“Everything.”

I stared at him and sighed. He clenched his jaw and placed his right hand on my left jaw. His whole hand could probably cover my face.

“I have to go Jason.”

Before he let me know, he gave me one last soul searching kiss and hugged me like he would never see me again.

While sitting in a cab that took ages for me to get, an uncontrollable smile crept upon my face. Last night was un-freakin-believable.

As the cab pulled up to my apartment, I realized that I didn’t have the $45.06 that the mileage meter was asking for. Shit.

I reached inside my purse so that I could get my keys and make a run for it…that’s when I almost fainted. My purse was stacked with a shitload of one hundred dollar bills.

“Oh my God…” I said out loud in shock.

“Is everything okay, ma’m?” the middle-aged taxi driver asked, looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“Yes sir” I replied, with a huge smile on my face. Feeling generous, I handed him one of the many bills and stepped out of the car. “You can keep the change.” I closed the door.

He had that “are you shittin me” face on and then drove off smiling just as hard as he could.

I praised God all the way up to my apartment…until I saw Alicia sitting down outside of my door.

She lifted herself off of the floor as soon as she noticed me and ran up to me. “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You lying bitch!”

“What did I lie about?

“You still have the same dress as last night on…which means you went home with somebody. Didn’t you?!”

“No.” I replied, walking past her and opening the door to my apartment.

“Oh my gosh…stop lying!” She followed me in.

I went to the nearest wall and flipped the light switch up. The lights didn’t come on. So I toggled with it and they still didn’t come on.

“Fuck my life.” I mumbled under my breath.

“…I bet that’s what you were saying last night” She laughed. “Who was it?”

I rolled my eyes and whirled around to face her. “Why did you set me up?”

“I just wanted you to have a good birthday. Sorry for trying to be a good friend.”

I almost anted to laugh at that last sentence. “So let me get this right. You took my money, fucked the bodyguard, and made sure we gave lap dances to those guys so that we could supposedly stay in the club?”

She sighed. “Why do you have to put that way?”

“Because you fucked me over! What do you want? Why are you here?”

“To apologize…and to see if you were “sick”…but obviously you’re not. I don’t see why you’re so upset. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have met whoever you slept with. And speaking of that…I wanna know!!!”

“Alicia, please shut the hell up. Every word that is coming out of your mouth is starting to piss me off even more” I said, walking to my bedroom.

Alicia, of course, followed me. “So he was that bad huh?  Hm, that’s what they say about white men.”

I let out an annoyed sigh and plopped down on my bed, throwing my stilettos off. The apartment was extremely cold because I hadn’t had enough money to pay the heating bill.

“Look, I have to take a shower. You can leave now.”

“Why so much hostility? We’re best friends! I don’t understand why you’re so fucking mad at me.”

I looked at her like she had grown a third eyeball. “Because ‘best friends’ don’t do that to each other. Now get out.”

She mumbled under her breath as she walked out of my bedroom. “Whoever took those panties off had to be drunk…had to be.”

After the front door closed, signaling that she had left, I laid back on my bed and breathed out. All of the events from the past night/morning played back in my head and another smile crept upon my face. I am kind of glad that we went to that club last night. I would have never met Jason if we didn’t.

I pulled my laptop out and went straight to Google. Thank God my neighbors paid their wifi bill because I definitely didn’t have the money to pay for it.; especially if I barely got on the internet.

Time to see about this Jason Jameson.

The first thing I noticed were Google Images of him. There were magazine covers, professional photos, and paparazzi snapshots of him. Was I really that ignorant to celebrities that I was clueless to whom he was?

Wait. Who exactly was he? I clicked the back button and went straight to the Wikipedia link.

Okay. So he really is 22. But how the hell did he get so rich?

It took me about ten minutes to read the whole article and this is what I found:

• He’s 22. Born April 19th
• He’s the hotel heir to Jameson Suites, a five-star hotel chain
• Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. So he’s Brazilian?
• Raised in Manhattan
• His father, grandfather, great-grand etc. were these huge business men and now it’s Jason’s turn to take over.

I scrolled down to the personal life section and propped my chin on the palm of my hand.

·         He had high profile relationships with a few stars dating back to his teenage years

·         Voted Sexiest Man Alive in People’s magazine one time…and in the running for a second time. Wow.

·         His mom supposedly died when he was ten

·         And his family is known for having babies until a son is born. Each family will only have one so that the only son can take control of the business.

·         Rumors are swirling around about him being on the next season of The Bachelor and he’s supposed to be making his first movie within the next year.

 

It took me a few seconds to soak all of that in. So…I slept with this guy last night and he seemed really interested in me. He was the most passionate, caring…and should I even mention attractive guy I’ve ever met.

Why did things have to be like this? I closed the laptop and grabbed my purse. This had to be a dream.

Through all of the money, a little white piece of paper stuck out. It was a note that read:

 

Dear Keyshia,

I know that you don’t want to keep this money, but I’m begging you to. I don’t want you to think that I gave you it because you think that I think you’re a prostitute. I could never disrespect you like that. Pay your bills and buy something nice. Enclosed is my number and I hope and pray that you make use of it, love.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jason

 

P.S:  I’m still thinking about last night. I’ve never met a woman like you Keyshia Reynolds.

 

I kissed the letter and held it to my chest. Can this man be any more perfect?

 

 

Jason

 

After Keyshia left, I took time to think about what happened between the two of us. I’ve never done anything like that before. It’s like I have to have her…but why?

I pondered that question while I sat in my private jet on the way to Philadelphia. Philadelphia is where the original site of Jameson Suites is located. The reason why I needed to go there is because I wanted to introduce my idea of building more hotels around the world, but more specifically in New York City. I wanted one to be in each borough.

Ever since I was school age, I’ve been learning about the hospitality industry and I basically had no choice but to become a business man. I mean, who cared if I wanted to go to school to become a doctor or a lawyer?

I flinched a little when the vibration of my iPhone knocked me out of my thoughts. “Hello?” I answered to the call.

“Jason it’s your father.” Shit, what now? Every time he calls, something’s always up.

“Good afternoon dad.”

He sighed before he began to talk. “When are you going to get a damn publicist?”

“I don’t need one. Why do you have to bring that up every time we speak?”

“Because I saw a picture of you last night…with a…” He paused. “A black woman. I made sure that it was gone by the time you woke up.”

“Wait. What?” When did this happen? From what I remember, there were no photographers or paparazzi around me last night. I made sure to I kept a low profile by not speaking to many people, taking a cab, and leaving out of the back entrance of the club.

My dad continued to speak. “A black woman. Who the hell was she? You had your arms wrapped around her…and then it was shown that you took her up to your condo.”

“Her name is Keyshia, dad. She’s a friend.” I rubbed the back of my neck.

“You fucked her, didn’t you?” I could tell he had a smirk on his face.

Instead of making a big deal out of what he just said, I let out a frustrated sigh and decided to end the call. “I’m about to land. I’ll be sure to call when I finish doing what I have to do.”

“Okay. I Have nothing else to say to you but that I am thoroughly disappointed. And that you better make sure whatever phase you’re going through disappears…or you will be financially cut off.” I didn’t even get a chance to protest before he hung up on me.

I threw my head back, closed my eyes, and smirked. Was he really going to do this to me? Was it really that serious? First of all, there’s no way I could forget about her and move on with my life. Just like that. No way, there’s no way.

But what would that make me look like? A pussy-whipped guy that would give up his family’s business to be with some chick he’s only spent a night with.

My dad obviously wasn’t too fond of the idea of me being with a woman of another race…partially because of his own mistakes.

My mother, Alessandra, is Brazilian. At the tender age of twenty one, also the age in which he started running a part of the business on his own, my dad met her. He was on a business trip, hoping to plant a hotel in Rio de Janeiro. She was an ordinary village woman that bumped into him while he was taking a tour of the city. According to him, he was immediately enamored by her beauty…her being only 19.

Behind his father’s back, he started seeing her and they fell head over heels for each other. He wanted to marry her and bring her back to the states with him. When he finally told my grandfather about his wishes, he said the same thing my dad told me “If you continue to see her, you’ll be cut off.”

Grandfather wasn’t going to allow it. He wanted every person in our family to be 100% white because to him “The white man is what sells. The 100% white man is what brings in all of the money.”

So I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he thought when Dad told him that my mother was pregnant with me. He was probably ready to ring his neck. But all he told my dad was “He’ll be the one who inherits. Drop her. She’s no good for the family.

So that’s what my father did. Somehow, he convinced my mother to give him full custody of me and he left Rio without turning back. Every year when I was little, he would cry on her birthday and on Mother’s Day…thinking that I was nowhere around to hear his sorrow. He never contacted, or made an attempt to contact her after he left. It was hard for him. He said that he had to make a story up about her death so that people wouldn’t “bother” him about it.

And I don’t believe my dad’s ever fallen in love since then. He puts all of his emotions into his job and makes sure that I don’t make the same mistakes as him.

At fifteen, I decided to teach myself Portuguese so that when I finally get the chance to meet my mother, I’ll be able to communicate with her without any problems..

 

Keyshia

 

For nearly half an hour, I stared at Jason’s number and contemplated calling it. I mean, I really wanted to call him as soon as I found his number but he didn’t need to know that I missed him already.

It was so damn hard trying to conceal that perfect night that we shared. I had to tell somebody…but then again, I was at the point in which I could trust no one.

A few weeks passed and I used a small portion of the money to pay all of my bills off. Jason gave me enough to buy a car and then some, but I saved the rest I didn’t use to give it back to him.

So anyways, I took the bus into the city and caught a cab to his condominium complex. It was around two in the afternoon but it was still cold. I think the weatherman said something about it being twenty degrees. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to New York’s harsh winters”, I thought as I wrapped my leather coat tightly around me and walked towards the fancy building.

Now that I’m actually seeing the building in daylight, I’m even more amazed. It wasn’t too flashy, but you could tell that you had to have lots of money to stay here. All types of people came in and out of the entrance, so I followed a small Asian woman and walked through the lobby. A few people gave me a look that said “you don’t belong here”, but I continued to make my way towards the receptionist’s desk.

“Yep. Still at work. I get off in an hour….”The blond haired girl continued to yap on the phone, completely ignoring me while I tried to get her attention.

“Excuse me” I said, losing my patience.

“Hold on Randy. Some lady is at my desk…okay. It’ll be a few seconds.” She put her cell phone down on the table and looked me up in down while smacking on a piece of gum. Judging by the way she acted so far, I could tell she was stuck up.

“May I help you?”

“Yes. I need to get up to Jason Jameson’s apartment.”

After blowing and popping a bubble, she smirked. “Yeah. Right. The orientation for housekeepers is around the corner on 3rd Avenue.”

I smiled, trying not to lose my cool. “Good one. I’m serious though. I need to talk to him.”

“Do you know who you’re asking for? Look at you.” She made a shooing motion with her hand and turned her nose up. “I would say he’s too good for you.”

“Look, nobody asked you all of that. Can you just let me up?”

“Jason has a list of regulars that usually go up to see him…and I’m pretty sure you aren’t up there. I’ve never seen you in my life.”

“I’ve been here. Check.”

“Name?”

“Keyshia Reynolds.”

“Nope. Not up here” she responded, not taking her eyes off me or even attempting to look at this so called “list of regulars”.

“You didn’t even check!”

“I don’t have to check. It’s always the little people like you that come up here trying to see our residents. How did you get in here anyway?”

“Excuse me? People like me? Meaning what?” I said with a little volume to my voice, but not enough to draw attention.

“Hm.” She gave me a blue eyed stare and shook her head. “African –Americans…black, niggers.”

Okay. That made me lose it. “Why the hell are you so fucking ignorant!”

Her face held a half-smile, letting me know that’s exactly what she wanted out of me. “Security!” she screamed.

“Okay. Shit. I’ll leave.” I turned on my heels and made my way towards the entrance before any more people gave me crazy looks. Before I could get out of the door, I ran into something hard.

“Keyshia! My my my…what a surprise. Coming to visit me?” Jason said, with a huge smile on his face.

I backed away from him, enough for me to see his full body. “…something like that” I mumbled, attempting to walk past him. “Now I’m leaving.”

He grabbed my arm and swiftly pulled me back to him. “Is everything okay?”

My eyes stared at the white marble floor while I answered him. “New people need to be hired in this place.”

“And by that you mean?”

I nodded my head to the desk where the blonde girl sat. “Your friend over there wouldn’t let me up to your apartment because of my skin color.”

“What?! Who?!” I looked up at him and his face had turned deep red. Jason was instantly enraged looking around to see where I had pointed my head to.

“Know what? Never mind. Just forget about it. It’s okay. Shit happens.”

“No. Tell me who it was.” He gazed into my eyes, searching them. “Please.”

Jason had a pair of fitted navy blue jeans, a black North Face jacket, and a pair of beige shoes on. The woodsy scent of his cologne made me want to hug him and forget about everything that just happened. Aside from the leather jacket I had on, I wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and black Vans.

“Blondie at the receptionist desk in the middle” I finally responded.

He took my hand in his and we walked over to her desk. I tried to remove my hands from his because I didn’t want people to get the wrong idea about us, but his hold got even stronger.

The previously rude receptionist had to do a double take when she looked up. “Mr. Jameson!”

“What is this about you not letting my friend in?”

“I’ve never seen her before…so-“

“Were you exhibiting racial discrimination?”

“What? No. Of course not!”

“So how come she told me you were?”

She rolled her eyes, speechless. “I’d really hate to fire you over this” Jason said, giving her this intense stare.

“What makes you think I’m a racist? C’mon Jason, you know me better than that. How can you believe her over me!?”

Jason shook his head and guided me over to the elevator. Her sigh of relief from almost getting fired was all loud and exaggerated.

“Oh…” Jason said, letting go of my hand and turning around to face her. “Make sure your belongings are gone by the end of the day.”

We got on the elevator before she could react. I drifted to the back corner and crossed my arms over my chest. Jason followed after pressing the number to his floor and stood in front of me while the doors closed.

“I didn’t mean for her to get fired.”

“She had it coming. I do not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind in my presence. And I will not have people working for me that say such things. It’s disturbing and immature.”

“Oh” was all I could say. Oh was all that I really had on my mind besides the realization that he owned the building.

“You look beautiful” he whispered, pressing his body against mines and softly touching one of my facial dimples.

“Thank you.”

“I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t come back. God knows I’ve been missing you.”

I smiled and embraced him into a hug. My hands wrapped around his back and I let my head rest on his chest. Jason kissed the side of my neck and he ran his hands through my hair.

The sound of the elevator doors opening startled the both of us, making me sort of push Jason away from me. An elderly white man walked in and gave us a look of disgust. What is it with these people?

Jason spoke up. “How are you doing today sir?”

The old man ignored him and stared at the doors. Thank God we got off before him because it was a bit awkward.

I followed Jason into his condominium and the first thing he did was take his shoes off and put his keys down on a coffee table. “Get comfortable” he said, about to walk into the kitchen.

“Um…” I held my purse up. “I just wanted to come by and drop the rest of your money off.”

“It’s yours to keep.”

“I paid my bills off and I don’t need all of this money.” I had to laugh at myself in my head because I was telling a huge lie. Of course I needed that money.

“Keep it. I want you to have it. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for you to receive gifts from other people.”

“Well I don’t like being greedy.”

He smiled a wide smile. “It’s not being greedy. Trust me.”

After Jason hung the both of our jackets up, I shook my head and sat down on the nearest couch. He walked over and took a seat beside me.

“I really want to be in a relationship with you” Jason bluntly stated, removing the purse from my hands and sitting in on the other side of him.

I faced him and looked him in the eyes. His grey eyes always make me swoon for some reason.

“It’ll never work.” I replied.

“Stop saying that” he said in a calm tone. “I like you…and I know you like me too.”

With a smile on my face, I said “How pompous of you.”

“I’m serious.” He held a serious expression.

“Okay…after one night? You barely know me.”

“And that’s just it. I want to get to know you…what makes you smile, what pisses you off, what movies make you cry. Give me a chance.”

“Why do you care about me so much? What is it? I’m nothing special…and..”

“And what?”

“I’m black.”

“Yeah. I know you’re black. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Your family…”

He looked at me like he was actually surprised that I looked him up. “My family?”

I sat silent for a few seconds because I didn’t want to tell him what I learned from Wikipedia; One of the most unreliable sources.

“You looked me up didn’t you?”

“Pft. Uh…no.”

“Yes you did” he said with amusement in his voice.

“…okay. You caught me. I took a little peek.”

“Why’d you do it?”

“Because I was curious. It’s not every day that I’m with a guy that has fans asking for his autograph.”

“You’re not gonna let that go, huh?”

“Nope.” I smiled and stared at his lips.

Jason moved closer to me, backed me up against the edge of the couch and started to lay kisses on my neck. I ran my hand through the back of his thick black hair and moved my face so that our lips could meet. My lips parted in invitation as he slid his tongue inside my mouth. I moaned while he lifted my legs up into a laying position of the couch. Jason wrapped my arms around his neck and proceeded to go deeper into the kiss. It was like his tongue was making passionate love to my mouth. “My God this man can kiss” I thought as he drew my bottom lip into his mouth and sucked on it.

As soon as his large hand crept into my shirt and cupped my left breast, I knew there was no turning back. Things could only escalate from here. But of course, with my bad luck, he dropped a bomb. “We’re not going to have sex.”

“What?” I said, breaking the kiss.

“We should get to know each other.”

“Yeah. Because now’s the best time to say that.”

“I’m serious Keyshia” he said while be both tried to catch our breaths.

After a few seconds, I replied. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll give this whole relationship thing a try…but under one condition.”

“Anything…” he breathed out.

“I don’t want to be famous. I don’t want that life.”

“I’ll make sure that happens…but..”

“But?”

“Nothing” He leaned his forehead against mines and smiled. “I’ll do whatever I need to do in order to protect you.”

His cell phone vibrated, completely ruining the intimate moment we were sharing.

“Hello? Yeah…uh huh…” a frown appeared upon his face before he climbed off of me and sat normally on the couch. “Shit. I’ll be there in thirty…tell her to call me. Bye.”

A confused expression crossed my face as he placed the phone back in his pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Gotta take care of some business.” He stood up and adjusted his clothes. “It should only take an hour or so. I’d like you to stay here.”

Jason gave me a quick peck on the lips, put his coat and shoes back on, grabbed his keys, and left.

After the door closed, I lifted myself up from the couch and walked around. I never really got a good look at his condo. Since none of his cooks, maids, or servants were there, his house seemed more comfortable. When I saw a line of pictures on the wall of the hallway, I almost changed my mind about that. I guess they were pictures of the different generations of the leading men in his family. They must have been taken while they were young because they all looked somewhat alike and had similar features…all except for Jason. There was something different about him.

Geez, I wonder what his mom looked like. The condo had three other rooms aside from his and each of the rooms had their own bathrooms. What did he need them for though?

I walked into his bedroom where we made-I mean, had sex in.

It was so big and luxurious. His room consisted of a fire place, a walk in closet, a huge king-sized bed, a wooden chest at the end of the bed, a patio that looked over the city, and a 100-inch flat screen TV over the fire place.

I walked out onto the patio and looked at the city for a few minutes. After realizing how high I was, I took a few steps back and walked back into the house.

A chaise lounge was placed beside the French doors and I noticed a pile of magazines lying on top of it. I picked up the first one, Men’s Health, and he was on the cover of it. He looked perfect. Why the hell was he so perfect?

While he was gone, I took the time to go through all of the magazines that he was featured in. I still don’t know why I’ve never heard of him. I guess that was a good thing?

Anyways, hours passed and I laid in his bed and watched TV, absolutely bored. I mean, he was taking forever. Good Lord…

At around 10 o’clock, six hours later, I fell asleep. 

 

 

Jason

 

After leaving Keyshia at my apartment, I went over to the Jameson in Manhattan, located a few blocks down from where I live. I received a call saying that my dad’s latest ex-wife was there acting like a fool searching for him. He’s been married at least seven or eight times now. I’ve lost count after the third one.

Olivia, that’s her name, moved all the way from Australia for him and everyone could tell that she was with him for the money. Since my dad has such a shit personality, I find it hard to believe anyone would voluntarily be with him because of it. Livy’s twenty-seven, five years older than me and eighteen years younger than my dad and I can’t stand her.

Before I could fully step into the hotel, she nearly knocked me over by running up to me. Her long lavender acrylic nails dug through my jacket and into my skin. “Jason! Finally, somebody I know!”

I loosened the grip she had on me and shook my head. “What are you doing here?”

“Your father needs to bring his ass to court! I’m a hundred percent sure he’s forgotten about it already!”

I grabbed her by the arm and took her into the manager’s office. The guests were beginning to stare and recognize who the two of us were.

“Why are you yelling? Paparazzi could be flooding in here at any given minute” I asked, leaning against the nearest wall.

“I don’t care! Get him on the phone!!”

“I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but I’ve been through this numerous times…” I placed my hands over my chest and crossed one foot over the other.

“Been through what?” Her green eyes looked thoroughly confused.

“Divorces” I simply said. “I’m gonna go ahead and tell you now, my dad never shows up for court. His lawyer does.”

“Call him!!” she said, stomping her foot. Olivia was basically shouting at this point. If I didn’t know any better, it looked like she was actually about to have a temper tantrum.

I tried to reply in the calmest voice. “He’s not going to go Olivia.”

“Know what? Fuck you and your stupid ass father!” I had to cover my ears from how loud of a squeal she let out before storming out of the office. As soon as she was gone, I dug into my pocket, fished out my phone and gave my father a call.

“Jack Jameson speaking”

“Yeah. It’s me.”

“This better be important. I’m busy.” As always, I thought.

“Your crazy ex-wife just came by the Manhattan.”

“Who?”

“Livy.”

“Okay…and?”It sounded like he was somewhere outside because I could hear the sound of wind blowing into the phone.

“Did you forget that today is you guys’ court date?”

“Oh…that. My lawyer…wait.” Oh no. “I need you to go.”

“What?!” I knew he was going to say it as soon as he said the word wait, but I still felt the need to react.

“Yeah. Go in my place. You don’t have to do or say anything. Just go.”

“Dad, I’m not going to that. I have my own life you know.”

He laughed an arrogant laugh. “My life is so much busier than yours…go.”

“I bet you’re sitting at the golf course now.”

“I’m not sitting. I’m wasting my time with you while I could be getting my hole in one.”

 

The case was being held in Albany because my dad’s publicist didn’t want there to be too much buzz about it and by the time the media hears about it, we’ll be long gone. I was beyond pissed. It took about thirty minutes for them to finish up and another two and a half hours for me to get back home.

She must have been sleep when I came in because everything was quiet. I silently prayed that she didn’t leave.

Turning the corner into the room, a bright smile appeared upon my face. Keyshia laid sprawled out across my bed completely dead to the world. I could even hear a little snore coming out.

Before I sat down on the bed, I took my shoes and coat off. I’m guessing she felt my presence because she woke up and looked up at me.

“So how was Narnia?” she sarcastically asked.

I chuckled. “Sorry for taking forever. Something came up.”

She quickly sat up and yawned. “Well…I have to go.”

“No. You’re staying with me tonight.”

Before she could object, I shut her up with a kiss on the lips. Pushing her back onto the bed, I climbed on top of her and deepened the kiss.

“For somebody who doesn’t want to have sex, you’re not acting like it” Keyshia breathed out, making me smile.

“I can’t help myself around you.” I whispered. She responded by wrapping her long legs around my back and drawing me closer to her.

“I’m hungry” she said, gazing into my eyes.

I kissed her neck and responded “Me too.”

“What do you like to eat?” Keyshia moaned, gripping on to my neck.

“I’m not sure you’re looking for the inappropriate answer I’m about to say…but-“

“As in food!” she cut me off, laughing.

“Well. I consider that food; very pleasurable food at that” I said with a wink, still holding her in my arms. She proceeded to burst out with laughter and pushed me.

“Get away from me” she continued to laugh. “Let’s order something.” I unwrapped her legs from around me, rolled over, and grabbed the house phone.

“What took you so long?” Keyshia said, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind and resting her head on my back.

“I told you. I had to take care of some business.”

“What kind of business?”

“I don’t really want to talk about that right now.”

“You know that you can trust me, right?”

I sighed and turned around to face her. “I’m not big on giving my personal information out.”

“To me specifically.”

“No…I mean to anyone.”

“So what do you call this then?”

“What?”

“If we’re supposed to be in a relationship, why don’t you want to share things about yourself?”

I smiled a little and scratched my head. “Babe, we literally just started dating each other…today.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “I know. Sorry for asking.” My right hand found itself on her cheek, softly caressing a dimple.

“Look, I want us to know about each other…but with me it’s a little different.”

“How?” She looked to be a little offended. “Because you’re famous? You think that I’m gonna go out and tell people all of your business?”

“It’s not that.”

“Well what is it then?” she replied, with added volume. Her neck even did that little roll thing.

“Can we please stop talking about this? I thought I was about to order food.”

“Fine” was all she said.

“Good…so what do you want? Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Italian?

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll be in the bathroom.”

 

Keyshia

 

While I was in the bathroom, I sat on the toilet…which happened to be across from the biggest bathtub I’ve ever seen. I thought about Jason and how secretive he was being. Why did he feel the need to act like that? What was he hiding? Seriously, what’s the point of trying to hide things when you’re a celebrity? After reading that Wikipedia page, I felt like I knew some things about him already.

Jason opened the bathroom door and made his way towards me. “I ordered pizza…is everything okay?”

“What if I were really using the bathroom?”

“I’ve seen everything so I don’t think I’d be too shocked.”

“Why do you have such a huge bathtub?” I said, completely changing the subject.

“Because…hm, because I like taking baths with at least five women at one time.”

“What.” I had this deadpan look on my face.

“I was just kidding girl.”

I got up from being on the toilet and stood directly in front of him. “You know what? I’m fine with you not telling me anything.”

“I’m scared to ask why.”

“Because I already know everything there is to know about you.”

“Oh really?”

“Yep” I replied, feeling pretty confident.

“And where’d you find all of this ‘information’ from? Wikipedia?” he said, almost laughing. I felt a little embarrassed, so I remained silent.

“Just because you read a Wikipedia page about me doesn’t mean you know me.”

“Oh but it does…”

“Oh but it doesn’t. What’s my favorite color?” He got me there.

“I don’t know…but-“

“Point proven.”

“So you’re not a twenty two year old guy, birthday’s on April 19th, who’s heir to the ‘throne’ of Jameson Suites?”

“Everybody knows that. Although, I’m kind of impressed that you remembered my birthday. Anything else?”

“Your mother died.” I don’t know why the hell I said that. Out of all the things I saw, that had to be the one I pointed out.

“My-“

I cut him off and apologized. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that. I know how it feels.”

“Your mother died?”

Why were we having this conversation in the bathroom? Out of all the places…the bathroom. Really?

“Along with my dad. They were both killed in the war.”

“How old were you? I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thirteen…” I paused and started to walk out of the bathroom. “Changing the subject…”

He followed me into his bedroom and brought the subject back up. “So you basically raised yourself?”

“No. My grandmother raised me.”

“And where is she? I’d love to meet her.”

“She died last year.” I turned around and faced him.

The look in his eyes looked as if he was genuinely apologetic for asking that. “Damn. Shit, I’m sorry for asking.”

“Why? You didn’t know. Now can we please change the subject.” I said with a slight smile on my face.

Unexpected tears began to well up in my eyes. Talking about my family was a touchy subject because I’m basically all alone. None of my cousins on either side of my family really talked to me. They thought they were too good for us…with their white picket fences and hybrid cars. Both of my parents were light skinned and I came out with darker skin. Let’s just say that my family had a problem with that. Everyone thought my mother was screwing around with someone else. Even though I look exactly like my dad. But that’s another story within itself.

I was better off alone anyway. I didn’t have to worry about anyone fucking me over.

I quickly wiped my eyes before he noticed anything. “What kind of pizza did you order?”

“I put a little of everything on it. Just pick off whatever you don’t like. Didn’t know if you’re a vegetarian or something.”

“No…I love meat.”

Jason had this dirty look on his face and he began to slowly smile. “Okay then. I’m going to go take a shower” he said, while taking his shirt off. “It won't be long. I promise.”

I cleared my throat and took a step towards him. “Any room for me?”

“Well in that case, I say we take a bath. Hm?”

“Sounds perfect.”

I walked back into the bathroom and took the liberty of taking my clothes off while he went into another room to gather up a few supplies. When he came back in, he nearly dropped the champagne bottle and towel he carried.

“I…I-“ He could barely talk.

“What? You’ve seen everything before, right?” I teased. He smirked and quickly wrapped the towel around me. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not going to torture myself staring at you while we wait for the tub to fill.”

A blush covered my face as I held the crème towel up. Jason walked over to the tub, filled it with bubble bath, and set the items up. Two glasses and a bottle of champagne were set on the edge.

While the tub filled up, he quickly started taking his clothes off. I took a step back and almost fell into the tub when I saw his huge erection spring free. He took in my reaction, grabbed my left hand, and snatched me towards him.

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen it before.” I could feel his breath on my neck. Before I could say anything, he grabbed one of the edges to my towel and tore it away from my body. I instantly felt his hard body pressed against mines. “Get in first” he whispered into my ear.

I nodded my head, stepped into the warm water, and laid down. Jason followed after me and laid between my legs. His head rested between my breasts. It felt nice seeing his vulnerable side. Knowing that he was such a powerful man made me feel all tingly inside.

“What are you thinking about?” Jason said with that sexy raspy voice of his, playing with my fingers.

“You.”

“And?”

“I didn’t know you were so high and mighty.”

“That’s my family. Not me.”

I scooped bubbles up in my hand and rubbed them on his upper right arm. “You’ve done so much with your life already. It’s like the whole world knows who you are.”

“You’re right, but what makes you think that I wanted all of this?”

“Who wouldn’t?” I said with a smirk.

“A person who watched how their father and grandfather turned out.”

“And how is that?”

“They’re assholes.”

“How are they assholes?”

He reached over, grabbed both of the champagne flutes, handed me one, and sat back.

“Because…they don’t give a fuck about anybody about themselves.”

I took a sip of the champagne. “So you’re saying it’s because of the business?”

“Not necessarily. I just don’t want to turn out the way they did.”

“Jason, you’re nothing like them. You’re caring, affectionate…passionate; an amazing person.”

“Thank you sweetheart” he said, kissing my hand. He then picked up the loofah and softly began to rub it up against my leg.

“You have beautiful long legs”

“Thank you” I said, resting my head on his shoulder and watching the way he rubbed it across my leg. A few seconds later, I lifted my loofah up and washed his back. The silence wasn’t awkward, it was actually relaxing and comfortable.

“Let me wash you” Jason turned around and stared at me. I know I always make comments on his eyes but they’re so intoxicating. If I could get a job that included staring into his eyes all day, I’d drop everything to get it. After taking another sip of my champagne, I put it down and sat back as he ran the loofah across my torso. He then cupped the both of my breasts with his large hands. I let out an uncontrollable moan and he grinned. The next thing he did was move the loofah in between my legs. I put my hand on his wrist and stopped him.

“I can’t let you do that” I whimpered.

“Why?” he said, cocking his head to the side like a puppy.

“Because I can't take it. You’re making me extremely horny.”

“K. Sorry” he started to laugh and my lips shaped themselves into a playful pout.

“It’s not funny Jason.” He shrugged and leaned in for a kiss. I gave in and wrapped my hands around his neck. He grunted and let himself go deeper into the kiss. As soon as the kiss started to get out of hand, his doorbell rang.

“Oh man…just when things were getting good.” I smiled and licked my lips.

“I wonder who that could be.”

Jason

 

I stepped out of the tub, wrapped a robe around me, and walked to the door to answer it. It couldn’t have been the pizza guy because I didn’t order it too long ago.

I looked through the peephole and Olivia was standing there. She started to bang on the door so I let her in before my neighbors got annoyed.

“Livy, what are you doing here?”

“I came to visit my stepson” she said, stumbling inside my apartment.

“You’re drunk.”

“No! Of course not!” she giggled “Can I come in?”

“No. I’m busy. Who let you up here?” I looked out of the door both ways before closing it behind her.

“Myself.” She walked past me. I grabbed her arm before she went any further.

“Olivia, you’re gonna have to leave.”

“Why? You don’t have time for your stepmother?”

I was starting to get frustrated. “I don’t want to call security on you. I really don’t.”

 

Keyshia

 

I heard Jason talking to someone. Sounded like a woman. Me, being curious, stepped out of the tub and wrapped the fluffy towel around me. I then peeked around the corner of the wall closest to the hallway.

He was talking, or should I say arguing with a big breasted, no ass, blonde, young white woman.

“Like I said, I’m in the middle of doing something.”

“Taking a shower?” The bitch had the nerve to start toying with the string to his robe.

“Something like that.”

“You know, I’m closer in age to you than your jackass father. You’re much sweeter than him. I should’ve chosen you.”

Jason looked really annoyed. “I’ll let you pass on that one because you’re drunk…”

“Well of course I’m drunk. I couldn’t come on to you when I’m sober”

That’s supposed to be his stepmother?! And she’s trying to come on to him? Hmph. The things gold diggers do for money.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re so sexy” the hoe said, making her way through his robe. He immediately grabbed her wrists and nearly yelled at her.

“Livy, chill out!”

“Oh yeah…that’s the way I like it. Be aggressive all you want.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes! The shit this man had to go through on a daily basis was unbelievable.

Livy, what a weird name, couldn’t keep her gold digging eyes off of the erection Jason was clearly trying to hide under the robe. “I wonder what you have hidden under there…”

Jason yanked her by the hand, opened the door, and pushed her out. “Since you’re no longer a part of my father’s life, there’s no reason why you should be over here.”

“I need a ride home…look at me, I can’t ride a cab or the bus. Jason come on.”

“I’ll call a car for you, but that’s it. Go wait downstairs in the lobby.”

“Oh Jason. You’re such a sweetie pie. Thank you!”

“Yeah yeah…bye Olivia” he said, slamming the door behind her. I sighed and leaned against the wall.

“Keyshia, I know you’re watching.” My heart began to beat fast as he approached me.

“Sorry you had to witness that.”

“I’m sorry for being nosey.”

He bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “It’s alright…shall we get back to our bath?”

I yawned and pulled the towel closer around me. “I’m clean…just a little tired.”

“Tired? I’m the one who should be tired. You already had your little nap.”

He laughed, walked to the bathroom, and drained the tub.

“Where’s your dresser? I need a shirt or something to put on.”

“Hm” he said, walking out of his room. “Follow me.”

I followed him out of his room and into another room. He opened the door and there was his closet. It was literally the size of my little apartment.

“Damn…you have a lounge in your closet…” My mouth was slightly open as I took in the fullness of the room.

Jason casually walked to the back of the closet and searched for pajamas. “Yeah. I guess you can call it that.”

While he looked for something to wear, I noticed that everything was organized and neat. He tossed me a large shirt.

“Is that fine?”

“Yep. It’ll do. Thanks.”

We both changed into our pajamas at the same time and then walked into his bedroom. I silently watched him as he made the call for Olivia ‘s car to come. Even though he didn’t like her, he still looked out for her. That’s how I knew he was a pretty good guy.

After he made the phone call, Jason turned towards me and caught me gazing at him. “What?”

“What?” I said, acting like I didn’t know what he was talking about.

“You’re staring at me.” He walked closer to me and pulled me closer to him.

“Do you have a problem with that?” I teased, smiling up at him.

“Is that an attitude I hear?”

“What are you gonna do about it? Hm? I see your…” I glanced down at the huge bulge pressing up against his boxers. “problem hasn’t disappeared.”

A loud scream escaped my mouth as Jason picked me up and threw me on the bed. My stomach started to cramp from the immense amounts of laughter that came out. He crawled on top of me. “I’ll bite your face off.”

“Do it!”

He pretended to bite my cheeks and chin, then kissed my lips. I gripped the back of his neck and brought him closer to me. For “revenge”, I softly bit his bottom lip.

“Ooo…I like” Jason groaned, nibbling on my neck.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rang. “That better be the pizza” Jason said, climbing off of me and grabbing a 100 dollar bill off of his dresser.

 

Jason

 

When I answered the door, the pizza guy almost had a mini heart attack.

“You’re…you’re. J-Jason Jameson. OH MY GOD!”

I smiled and handed him the bill. “Yes. I’m me. Here you go.”

“And to think that I didn’t wanna deliver this shit!!” He looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years old.

“Nice to meet you, but I have to go.”

He calmed down and looked at the one hundred dollar bill before handing me the box of pizza. “You gave me way too much, dude.”

“Keep the change. Have a nice night and be safe out there.” I closed the door after he took the money. His shout of pure joy made my smile grow even wider. Even though fans came up to me every day, they made me smile every time.

After going into the kitchen and grabbing two plates, I walked back into my bedroom. Keyshia was sitting Indian style while watching the Nanny. Not to mention that she looked absolutely tantalizing in my clothes.

“Hey beautiful…” I said, walking towards her.

“Hey” she kept her eyes on the TV. What the hell happened while I was gone? She looked like she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Pizza?” I held out the pizza, she grabbed it, and opened the box.

“You don’t want to use a plate?”

“Nope” she said, grabbing a slice. I put a slice of pizza on a plate and sat beside her.

“I’ll take a plate. Don’t wanna mess up these clean white covers…is everything okay?”

“I saw the woman that was at your door on TV.”

“Olivia?"

“Yeah. Something about a court case?”

“Uh…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.” I took the remote from her and turned the TV off.

“Look at me Keyshia.” She rolled her eyes like a teenager and looked at me.

“You know that I like you, a lot. All I’m asking from you is patience. In due time, I will open up to you.”

“Why are you saying this?”

“Because I know you’re upset about what I said earlier.”

“I just want you to trust me.” I took the pizza out of her hand, placed it on another plate, and put her hands into mines.”

“I do.” After eating a few slices of pizza, Keyshia fell asleep. I brought the pizza into the kitchen and stored the rest of it into the fridge.

When I came back into the room, I turned the lights off, tucked her in, and climbed into the bed beside her. Pulling her closer to me, I wrapped my arms around her and forced myself to fall asleep.

 

Keyshia

That was probably the best night’s sleep I’ve ever gotten. His bed was so comfortable and it felt like every time I moved I sunk into the mattress just a little more. And to be entwined in his arms made everything better. But of course, when I woke up he wasn’t there.

Jason walked in while I stretched my body out and yawned. He was dressed in a black pin striped fitted three piece suit. A cup of hot steaming coffee was firmly gripped in his left hand. I blinked, taking in all of his beauty. “Good morning sweetheart” he knocked me out of my somewhat trance.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to go to Philadelphia. I’m in the middle of something very important.”

“Oh” I said after throwing my legs over the side of the bed, making a move to get up. Jason put the cup of coffee down and walked over to me.

“I won't be long.”

“You said that yesterday.” I got out of the bed and stood in front of him.

“Well I’m a busy man. You know that.”

“Yep” I mumbled and walked over to the bathroom before he had a chance to give me a morning kiss. Jason waited until I was out of the bathroom to speak.

He pulled me close, so close that I could smell the coffee and toothpaste on his breath. I felt a little embarrassed because I hadn’t had the chance to brush. “I put my number in your phone. Expect a text at some point today.” Before I could say anything, he grabbed my face by the cheeks and planted a soft kiss on my lips. “See you later.”

I sighed as he walked out of the room holding his cup of coffee.

 

Jason

 

While I was on my way to Philly, I called my dad. “Hello.”. He answered the phone sounding like he was annoyed before I even had the chance to utter a word.

“Yeah. I need to talk to you."

“About what?”

“Livy.”

“What about her?”

“She came up to my condo drunk last night…and she tried coming on to me.”

“She’s not my problem anymore son.”

“Well I don’t want her at my place like that. She’s never been my “problem”, but I have a feeling that I treated her with more respect in a few minutes than you’ve ever treated her.”

“You don’t know anything about how I’ve been treating her. And if you don’t want her around your place, tell her that yourself. Like I said before, and what I’ll say every time you call me up with this bullshit…she’s not my problem anymore.”

“Yes she is!” I frowned, immediately frustrated.

“So you’re wasting my valuable time talking about something unimportant?”

I hung up on him before I threw my phone clear across the plane. Another call started to come in. It happened to be my Aunt Katherine. She’s my dad’s younger brother’s wife. Yep. My dad has a brother. Clearly, he was a mistake. This is why my grandparents barely keep in touch with him. I sort of wish he was my own father though. He’s more laid back and since my grandparents basically left him out of everything, he’s not associated with anything having to do with the hotel business. Uncle Brandon, that’s his name, is a cardiologist who lives in Connecticut with his wife and two young kids. I always visit them during my free time.

“Hey sweetheart! How’s everything going?”Auntie Kat beamed into the phone.

“Okay I guess. A little tired of consistently being in the media.”

“Do you know how many times your uncle and I have offered for you to come live in Connecticut and forget about that life?”

“I could never do that, Auntie Kat. I’m too caught up in it. I have to go discuss a part for the script in an upcoming movie, I have all of these photo shoots coming up, not to mention tons of interviews…and I’m still trying to run this hotel. Unfortunately, my life can't stop like that.”

She sighed. “I feel so bad for you. Jack shouldn’t have made you responsible for all of this stuff.”

“Ahh…it’s too late for that. I’m happy where I am. Even though my life was basically predestined, I’m eternally grateful for it”

“Jason, I love seeing you on TV and setting a good example for the young men out there…but you’re so young. Too young to be this stressed out.”

“I don’t know to respond to that” I said with a smile.

“Do you have an assistant?”

“Nope. And I don’t need one.”

“Oh that’s nonsense. You should have a whole entourage by now.”

“I can't see myself having one of those…I like to be alone.”

“Well if that were true, you wouldn’t have been with all of those women. Speaking of that-“

“Uh oh…” I grinned, thinking of Keyshia. My aunt always wanted to know the 411 of my relationship status. But it wasn’t in one of those annoying ways, like the media. She’s like a mother to me, so I don’t mind.

“You know I have to ask. Are you dating anyone at the moment? Anybody caught your eyes?”

For a second, I thought about lying to her, but I couldn’t. I’ve never lied to her and I didn’t plan on starting now over the silliest thing

“Yeah. Someone’s caught my eye.”

“Who is she? I hope she’s not one of those little tramps you’ve been dating.”

“She’s nothing like that.”

“What’s she like then?”

“She’s…I don’t really know how to describe her. Just know that she’s different and that I’m happy.”

“Okay. Bring her to California then.”

“For what?”

“For the family get together. You know we have one every other year.”

“Oh.” I paused to think about the “get togethers” my dad’s family holds. Just thinking about it gave me the shivers. “I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

“You didn’t come the last time. That means you have to come this year, Jason.”

“I don’t like being around the family like that. Everybody shows up to be nosey about what’s going on in each other’s lives. We never have a good time…and I thought that’s what we’re supposed to go there for.”

She giggled a little. “Besides that, it’s a chance to see each other. We’re all so busy and we live in different parts of the country.”

“I understand that. But does it really have to be a week long?’

“Think of it as time away from your crazy life. Like a vacation.”

“That is nowhere near a vacation!” Before I let her start rambling on about other things going on in my life, I told her I was going to call her later and started to prepare myself for this speech I had to present. The mere thought of having to ask a group of very important individuals to allow my dreams to happen makes me extremely nervous. All of the men that I have to propose to are colleagues of my father and if they’re anything like him, there’s only one way this thing could go and that’s downhill.

What I have plans on doing is building a hotel in Brazil, mainly because it’s where my mother lives but also because it’s a place with high tourism rates. I needed to find a reason to get close to her…and possibly find her. I’m still teaching myself Portuguese, but I’m damn near fluent.

Maybe one day my father will give me more information on her whereabouts and what she looks like. Whenever that day is, I can't wait for it. My dad will probably be even happier than I am.

 

Keyshia

 

Approximately thirty minutes after Jason left, I took a shower, put my clothes back on, and went home. I had to browse the internet for a job because I felt like I needed to do something with my life. Since the internet didn’t really give me any help, I picked up the newspaper and saw a story on Jason’s hotel. A new hotel was being built in the Bronx and they are looking for new employees. For a second, I actually considered it, but what the hell would I look like working for my…boyfriend? I don’t know. Is that really what we are? Boyfriend and girlfriend?

The doorbell rang and I tiredly pushed myself up to answer it. Lauran and Alicia stood there smiling these goofy smiles. What the hell. I haven’t talked to them in weeks!

I opened the door just enough so that they wouldn’t enter. My head almost looked as if it were peeking out. “What are you doing here?”

Alicia looked at me with a confused expression. “We’re your best friends…and we love you. Since that night, we haven’t really talked much.”

“Okay…and obviously I’m perfectly fine with that. What you did was grimy.”

“Yeah. We know. And we’re sorry. Mostly me because it was all my idea. I’m soooo sorry Key. Forgive me? Us?”

I looked at them for a few seconds before opening the door wider, allowing them to come in. Why not forgive them? What would I do without them? They’re my only two friends.

Alicia was the first to walk in, pushing past me. Lauran followed behind her with an apologetic look on her face. “Why don’t we put that whole night behind us? It was stupid” Alicia plopped down on the couch.

“How?” I closed the door behind Lauran and walked towards her with my hands folded across my chest. “It was my birthday.”

“Yeah, but if we keep talking about it…then we’ll never get past it.”

“…well I guess you’re right.” Her face held a satisfied smile until Lauran sat beside her and she quickly moved over like she was contagious or something. I crinkled my eyebrows together.

Alicia picked up the newspaper that sat beside her on the couch and began to read it. “I heard about this. Mm, Jason Jameson with his sexy self is hiring a shitload of people to work for his hotel. You down?”

As soon as I heard his name escape her lips, my heart started to beat rapidly. “I-I…um, I’m not about to work at a hotel.”

“Why not? We might even get a chance to meet him.”

“I don’t know or care who this man is. I’m not working at a hotel.” I lied. Of course I know who that man is.

“How in the hell do you not know who he is?”

“Because I don’t.”

“Well this is a good opportunity for the three of us to work together.”

“No.”

“Yes! Please?!”

Lauran spoke for the first time. “Yeah Keyshia. It’ll be cool. Imagine working at Jameson Suites. I’ve heard that a lot of celebrities stay there.”

“Why are you guys so stuck on celebrities?” I said, turning my nose up.

“Because they’re rich…yeah, that’s about it” Alicia said somewhat distracted by looking around my apartment. “I thought you didn’t have enough money to pay your bills.”

“I didn’t.” I had to quickly make up a lie. “The lady gave me an extension.”

“Oh…lucky you. So are you going to apply for the job with us or what?”

I sighed and threw myself onto the couch directly across from them. “I don’t know. Let me think about it.”

“Well they’re having this application fair at the hotel next weekend. We’re going.”

“Okay…whatever.”

“Good Lord, you act like you don’t want a job or something. Every month you’re struggling to pay your bills.”

“I know Alicia and that’s none of your business! Now can we please change the subject?”

Right after I said that, my cell phone vibrated. I took it out of my pocket to check the caller ID. It was Jason. The text read “Hey baby, did you make it home safe?”

I couldn’t help but to smile like an idiot. Just the thought of his voice made me happy. Alicia caught on to my sudden mood change. “Uh oh…I see you have a boo thang.”

“Uh…no” I answered smoothly.

“Yeah right! I see that big stupid smile on your face. Who is it?”

“Nobody.”

“Is it the same guy from the club?”

Lauran looked at me with wide eyes. “What guy?”

“Like I said, it’s nobody!” I started to get frustrated with them. Since when did all of our conversations have to be about grilling every aspect about my life?

“It is the same guy from the club! Uh oh! Keyshia got a white man. Get it girl!”

“You about to leave…”

“I can't believe you’re trying to hide a guy from us. If he’s white, we don’t care. You should let us meet him.”

I don’t know why I caved in, but I did. Something I know I’m going to regret doing. “Okay. There’s a guy…but I’m not telling you anything about him. And I’m not letting you meet him.”

“Why??!” Alicia looked like she was about to jump up off of the couch.

“Because…you know I’m always secretive about my relationships.”

“But you’re not this secretive. Shit, what does he look like? You can at least tell us that!”

“He’s white.”

“Oh my God! I knew it!! And he’s one of the guy’s from the club we went to, isn’t he??”

I sighed and lifted my right brow. “Does it matter Alicia?”

“Yes! Because every fucking guy at that club was filthy rich. If you landed one-“

“No” I answered quickly. “He’s not a guy from the club. Now will you get off my back about it?”

“Not until you let us meet him.”

I ignored her, texted Jason back, and changed the subject. “Getting off of the subject of me for a while…how are you guys doing?”

Lauran started to speak, but Alicia’s rude ass cut her off. “Do you remember my brother?”

“Yes. I remember Eric. You know we used to date. How could I not remember him?”

“He keeps asking me about you.”

“Well if he needs to say anything to me, he needs to say it directly to my face instead of playing this he said she said thing.”

“I know. What happened to ya’ll anyway? He-“

“Pause.” I held my hand up, stopping her from talking. “I thought we were getting off of me.”

“Girl, you know you have the most interesting life out of the three of us.”

I rolled my eyes and focused my attention on Lauran. “What about you Lauran? I know you were about to say something. Anything special happen in the last view weeks?”

“Yeah…I got put out of my apartment.”

“What?!” Now it was my time to have widened eyes. I leaned forward and stared at her until she talked.

“Oh yeah. Her bitch ass boyfriend put her out” Alicia said with a smirk on her face.

“Why?!”

“He didn’t really put me out. Lawrence got laid off and since we couldn’t pay for the rent, we got evicted.”

“Are you still together? Where is he?”

“No…and I don’t know. We haven’t really talked since then.”

“Damn. So where are you staying?”

“With my parents. But I can't stay there any longer. Their house is kind of cluttered and my siblings are so freakin annoying.”

“Aww…” I took a second to think. “How about you come and stay with me until you get back on your feet?”

“Really?!”

“Yeah girl. I’m here alone. You can pull out the bed in that couch you’re sitting on. It’s really comfortable.”

Oh my God. Thank you so much Keyshia. I really appreciate this.”

Alicia just had to ruin the moment with a touch of jealousy. “Hold on. How come when I asked to live with you, you said no?”

“Because you had a steady job and an apartment.”

She sucked her teeth and pressed her lips together. “Nah. It’s because you like Lauran’s ass more than me.”

“Please don’t go there.” I looked at Lauran. “I can come over later on and help you get your stuff.”

“Okay.” She had this wide smile on her face.

“Are you guys hungry? I was just about to grab something to eat.”

“Yeah. What do you have to eat?” Alicia said.

Before I responded to her, my phone began to continuously vibrate letting me know that I had a phone call. I answered it with a smile on my face.

“Hello?”

“Hey. Wish me luck on this proposal. I’m so nervous”

“Good luck! You’re gonna do just fine.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Because…I just know. Don’t let those people intimidate you. As long as you know what you’re talking about, all should be well.”

“You’re right. Damn this is so nerve wrecking. I can't wait to get this over with and see you.”

A blushed burned my cheeks as I held the phone closer to my ear. Alicia was all up in the conversation trying to get hints to who I was talking to. “I can’t wait to see you either.”

“I’ll be back home at around eight. Want me to pick you up?”

“Sounds nice, but I have to help a friend with something.”

“Oh okay. That’s cool. I’ll text you whenever I get out of this thing and let you know how things go. Thanks for the encouragement.”

“Anytime.” After I hung up with him, I shook my head at the look Alicia gave me. She looked so damn serious and interested in my life.

“So how long have you two been dating? Sounds pretty serious.”

“It’s nothing serious…and it’s none of your business.” I got suddenly annoyed. “Damn Alicia. You don’t see me all up on your shit, do you?”

She busted out laughing. “Stop being so dramatic.” I rolled my eyes after she got up and walked to the bathroom. She knew that was one on my biggest pet peeves. Laughing at a person while they’re clearly annoyed and pissed off. Like it was no big deal.

I looked at Lauran. “She is really getting on my nerves today.”

“Maybe she’s being bitchy because you have a man. I don’t know.”

“Whatever it is, I don’t care. But I hate the way she treats you. You should really stand up to her.”

Lauran smirked and leaned back into the couch. “You act like I’m being bullied or something.”

“That’s what it looks like to me” I said, getting up and walking towards the kitchen. Lauran lifted herself up as well and followed me.

“You know that’s how it’s always been with Alicia. It’s not that I don’t wanna stand up to her. It’s that I don’t feel like getting into it with her.”

“You don’t have to fight…or even argue with her. Just put her in her place one good time.” We both got quiet when Alicia walked into the kitchen.

“Put me in my place? Lauran?” Once again, she started laughing. Or should I say cackling. “Wow, funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”

I rolled my eyes and opened the refrigerator. “You are such a bitch.”

“Okay. Wow. See, I expect to hear that from you. You always have shit to say.”

Lauran spoke up and walked up to Alicia. “I’m with Keyshia on this one. You are one self-absorbent, annoying, nosey, talkative….bitch.”

I slammed the fridge door closed, turned around, and looked at Lauran with wide eyes. My mouth hung slightly open. I could tell Alicia was a little embarrassed, but she had this stupid smirk on her face.

“Since I’m such a bitch, who gave your ass a ride over here? Yeah, good luck with finding your way back to Queens. She quickly turned on her heels and stormed out of my apartment.

Me and Lauran laughed in unison as soon as the door slammed shut. “Now who’s being the dramatic one?” I said, still laughing.

“That felt good.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll catch the bus with you to get your stuff. It’ll be cool. I haven’t seen your parents in a while.”

“Thank you so much Keyshia. I love you.” I wrapped my arms around her after she pulled me into this tight hug.

“Love you too girl.”

A few hours after eating grilled cheese sandwiches and broccoli cheddar soup, we caught the city bus to Queens and walked down the street to her parent’s house.

When we walked in, her parents were sitting in the living room watching TV. All six of her younger siblings were running around in the basement. We could hear them as soon as we walked in.

“Hey Mr. and Mrs. Ayers.”

“Oh hey Keyshia! How are you? We haven’t seen you in so long” Mrs. Ayers exclaimed. Both of her parents were a little on the heavy side. Every time I see them they’re always lounging around. I went up to them and gave them hugs so that they didn’t have to get up.

“I’m doing pretty good…um, I’m just here to help Lauran move her things.” I looked at Lauran and she frowned at me, letting me know that she hadn’t told them yet.

“Move out?”

“Yeah…mom, I’m grown. I can't stay with you and dad forever.”

“What do you mean? You’ve only been here for a few weeks” her dad said, with a confused facial expression.

“I know. But I want to do my own thing. Keyshia invited me to live with her for a while.”

Her mom looked at me, needing assurance. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“Yes mam.”

“Okay…well, if you need some sort of transportation, my truck is parked out back”

Lauran kissed his cheek and thanked him. I followed her down the stairs and into the basement. Her noisy siblings sounded like they were having their own party. We passed them and walked into a room.

“Wait. I thought your bedroom was upstairs” I said, looking around the junky basement.

“It was. My little sisters took over after I moved out with Lawrence; another reason why I’m trying to get the hell out of here. I’m practically sleeping on the floor.”

“I don’t see how you’ve been doing it. Those kids are so worrisome.”

“I know right!” We both laughed and walked over to a small dresser.

“I guess we can start packing” I said, opening a drawer.

 

Jason

 

On my way back from Philadelphia, I decided to find out where Keyshia lived so that I could surprise her at her doorstep one night. Before I get into all of that, I guess I should say something about how the proposal went.

It was so convincing that everyone, even the architects couldn’t wait to see it take action. That really made me ecstatic because I was that much closer to seeing my mother. The only problem that stood in my way was my dad. I don’t know if I’m being paranoid but it seemed like he knew what my motive was. He showed up during the middle of my presentation and took a seat. At first it was a little intimidating having to do something so important in front of my extremely judgmental father, but it got easier along the way.

After conversing with a few of his colleagues, he pulled me aside. I was in the middle of packing my briefcase getting ready to leave.

“What the hell is this?” he said through clenched teeth.

“Are you really going to be the only one who disapproves?”

“What good would one of our hotels do in Brazil?”

“I already went over that. All we have to do is double the prices since it’s two Reals to a dollar” My face carried an unamused expression, letting him know that what he was saying didn’t faze me.

He smirked and shook his head. “There’s no way I’m going to allow this to happen.”

“It’s not your proposal. You’re not the one who gets to make the decision…and I’m not intending on using the family’s money. I can raise funds and combine my own with whatever I get.”

“And you plan on using the family’s name. Is that what I heard?”

“Yeah...but-“I paused and caught on to where this was going. “You’re unbelievable.” Before he could say another word to me, I shook my head and walked away from him.

I think my dad would have been better off leaving me with my mother. He makes it so hard to be his son and love him like a son is supposed to. Shit, sometimes I wonder if he even loves me like he’s supposed to.

Anyways, so I called an old friend of the family up to see about Keyshia.

“Jason Jameson! I haven’t heard from you in a while!”

“How are you, man?”

“I’m doing pretty good. How about you?”

“Same here. Look, I actually called for a favor.”

“Yeah, of course. What can I help you with?”

“I need you to find out where someone lives for me.”

“Name?”

“Keyshia Reynolds. She lives somewhere in the Bronx.”

“Okay. Give me a second” He started to type on his keyboard. Tom Gomez never left his laptop. Every time I call him he’s near it. He used to work for the CIA and my family uses him for just about everything. He and I are about ten years apart and since he’s such a computer geek, I feel very lucky to have him around.

“Dude, there are about ten different Keyshia Reynolds in the Bronx. How do you spell her first name? Maybe that’ll help me out some.”

As soon as he said that, I had a mini flashback to when Keyshia had spelled her name out for me.

“K-E-Y-S-H-I-A    R-E-Y-N-O-L-D-S.”

I could hear the faint sound of his fingers quickly moving across the keyboard. “Okay…ah…I think I found her. She’s twenty-one right?”

“Yeah. Good. What’s the address?”

“First, do you want to tell me why you’re looking for an African-American woman that lives in Bronx? Is this one of your charity cases?”

“No. Can you just give me the address?”

“Give me a hint and I will.”

“She’s a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

I sighed and pinched the area between my eyes. “C’mon Tom. It’s none of your business.”

After he gave me the address, I stored it in my phone and continued to make my way back to Manhattan.

Jason

Since Lauran didn’t have that much stuff, it only took us one trip back to my apartment. We went ahead and settled her stuff in so that it wouldn’t be much of a burden on us later on.

“I promise that I’ll move out when I get a job” Lauran tiredly said, plopping down on the crème colored suede couch. 

“You mean the one at that hotel?” I was sitting across from her in my favorite chair, a sphere shaped blue chair.

“Yeah…that’s only if I get hired.”

“You’ll get hired” I assured her with a smile. “It shouldn’t be that difficult to get a job at a hotel.”

“Keyshia, this isn’t just any hotel. This is the Jameson Suites we’re talking about. Everybody wants to work there. They only have a few job openings. Imagine how many people are going to be at that job fair.”

“Pray. It’ll all work out. But for now, just stay calm. We have a week and a few days til then.”

“You just said ‘we’. So that means you’re applying with us?”

“Yeah…I guess.”

A few days later, while Lauran was out with one of her friends, I gave myself a pedicure and a manicure. Jason came up in my mind, but I shook that away real quick. He didn’t need to be invading my thoughts; not this soon at least. I treated myself to a couple of romantic comedies and ordered in Chinese food.

 

While my toes were drying and while the movie was playing, there was a knock on the door. Thinking that it was the delivery guy, I jumped up and swung the door open.

 

A somewhat confused expression crossed my face when I noticed who was standing there.

 

“Hey” he simply said with a huge smile on his face.

 

“W-What are you doing here?” I stuttered, still in shock.

 

“I-“

 

“How did you find out where I live?!”

 

“You don’t seem too happy to see me.”

 

“I am…I just-wow. This is unexpected.”

 

“That’s kind of what I was going for” Jason said with amusement in his voice.

 

My hair was wrapped up in towel and I had an oversized t-shirt on. My underclothes were non-existent at the moment. Let’s just say I looked a hot mess. Even though I wasn’t big on makeup, I always had it on whenever I saw him so that made things worse.

 

“Can I come in?”

 

“Yeah.” I looked both ways out the door to see if any eyes had followed him up here. He walked past me and I closed the door behind him.

 

“Did anyone see you come up?”

 

“Not that I know of.” Jason had on a baggy pair of grey sweatpants and a plain black t-shirt. A fresh pair of Air Jordan 4’s covered feet. For a second, I was amazed that he had them on. They just came out like last week.

 

“You do know that what you did by coming here was pretty careless, right?”

 

He unzipped his hoodie and laid it across the couch. “Yeah. Now can I kiss you already?”

 

I smiled and practically jumped into his arms. He covered my mouth with his and damn near sucked the life out of me.

 

I broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. “You don’t think I look like shit?”

 

“Nope” He started to kiss me again, getting deeper into it this time. I couldn’t help but to smile. “I’ve been missing you” he said through a whisper.

 

“I’ve been missing you too…” I wrapped my arms around his neck and broke the kiss once again. “So are you gonna tell me how you found me?”

 

“I have connections”

 

I released the hold I had on him and plopped down onto the couch. He fell down right beside me.

 

“You’re stalking me now? I mean, you’d think I’d be the one doing the stalking.”

 

He got up, pretending to be offended. “Okay. Well I guess I’ll be leaving then.”

 

“No! Stop…baby, please don’t leave. I was joking around.” I laughed and pulled the edge of his shirt so that he toppled down on top of me.

 

My hands moved up and down his hairy leg. “I like the fact that you found me…but I’m kind of embarrassed. I live in this little shack of an apartment. And the way you live is-“

 

“Forget about the way I live. I happen to like your apartment better. It gives off a more comfortable vibe.”

 

“Really? You think?”

 

“Yeah.” Jason moved his hips into a more relaxing position. I wrapped my arms around his left arm and snuggled up against his shoulder. He didn’t have any cologne on, but his aftershave smelled heavenly. It smelled like he sprayed on nutmeg mixed in with hints of sandalwood.

 

I just had to make a comment on it, of course. “You smell so good.”

 

“So do you.” No matter if I were taking a bath or shower, I always used my favorite fragrance; coconut and lime. “What do you have planned for the night?”

 

“I was having some ‘me time’. Notice I said ‘was’.”

 

“How about I turn that into ‘us’ time?”

 

I smiled up at him. “Cheesy line…but I like it. I ordered Chinese food and I have yet to put underclothes on…so you gotta hold on because-“

 

He grinned a devilish grin, grabbed me, and placed my ass right on top of his lap. I was facing him and his hands gripped my hips.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Shh…” His fingers slowly crept up my thighs while he placed his lips on my neck.

 

“We shouldn’t be doing this Jason…” I said, trying to withhold a moan.

 

“Who says?” I felt his fingers on the upper part of the inside of my thigh.

 

“Me.”

 

Jason ignored me and palmed my butt with his free hand. He scooted me closer to him, making things a lot easier. After scooting me and without much warning, he inserted his index and middle fingers inside me.

 

“Oh God” I gasped with wide eyes.

 

“Still want me to stop?” he asked, working his way in deeper. I looked him in the eyes while I moaned and grabbed his face with both of my hands. He leaned his forehead against mines.

 

“Mmm…please go deeper. Now please” I begged, grinding up against him. Jason followed my directions and pushed his large fingers in a little further. For a few seconds, he toyed with my clit and then he began to thrust his fingers in and out as if they were a dick.

 

I gripped the back of his head and groaned. “Yeah…oh fuck.”

 

He pinched my womanly nub and growled into my ear. “I’m not going to stop until I have you coming all over my hands.”

 

I let out a soft giggle and kissed the side of his neck, where little beads of sweat started to appear. With the same hand he used to scoot me closer, Jason slowly unwrapped the towel from around my damp hair and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

 

“Mm…you’re not supposed to see my hair like this.”

 

He ran his hand through it and gave me a confused look. “I love your hair, why not?”

 

I smiled at him and caressed his right cheek. “This feels so good.”

 

Within the blink of an eye, he had me on my back. I spread my legs, allowing his long burly body to fall between them.

 

“I thought you weren’t gonna stop until-“

 

“Oh trust me, you’re about to.” Before I had time to even make sense out of what he just said, he lowered his face down into my crotch and lifted my shirt up for easier access.

 

“Jason…”

 

He pressed down on my flat belly with one of his free hands while the other hand opened the lips to my pussy, which was dripping wet at the point.

 

I had to prepare myself for what I knew was coming. “What the fuck did I do to deserve this?”

 

He chuckled, sending vibrations up my spine. As soon as he started to guide his tongue into my entrance, the fucking doorbell rung. Why did it have to ring now? WHY.

 

“Shit” Jason muttered, moving away from me and giving me a hand up.

 

“Just when things were getting good, right?”

 

I got up from the couch, pulled down my shirt and walked to the front door. The delivery guy stood there, reminding me that I had ordered food.

 

After paying him, I received my food and closed the door. Jason waited on the couch as I walked towards him. He had taken his shoes off and leaned back.

 

“So…I guess that ruined the mood, huh?”

 

“Not really. But I am hungry.”

 

“House phone’s over there.” I pointed to the coffee table and snickered. “All you have to do is push redial.”

 

“Psh. I’m eating yours.”

 

“No you’re not. This is all for me.” I playfully brought the food closer to my chest and hugged it.

 

Ten minutes later, we were cuddled on the couch eating my food together. Jason was laid back and I laid in his arms. It felt nice to finally have someone to cuddle with.

 

“Are you sleeping over?”

 

I could feel his lips nibbling on my ear. “Only if you want me to.”

 

“It would be nice to be in your arms for the night, so yeah.”

 

“Your wish is my command sweetheart.”

 

Hearing those words sent butterflies all throughout my stomach. I haven’t felt like this in a while. And shit. It’s beginning to scare me.

 

“Oh. I forgot to tell you something.”

 

‘What is it?”

 

“My friend moved in with me.”

 

“Is this a lady friend?” he said, with a hint of jealousy in his voice.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What time are you expecting her back?”

 

“Tomorrow…but knowing my luck, she’ll probably come back tonight.”

 

“Should I leave before she gets here…or do you think she can keep a secret?”

 

“I don’t know. Man, I hate that we have to hide our relationship sometimes.”

 

He rubbed his nose against my neck and gave it a soft peck. “Sometimes? For me it’s all the time. I just wanna say ‘fuck it’ and let everyone know about you…but I can't.”

 

I placed the food container on the table in front of us and then leaned back into his arms.

 

“I really like you Jason” I confessed.

 

“I really like you too” he whispered, placing another kiss on my neck.

 

A few hours later and it was midnight. I was extremely tired and I could tell that he was too. We had talked about how our days went. Jason told me all about how the proposal thing played out a few days ago. Probably not all of the details, but enough to keep me informed. I just love talking to someone that’s passionate about what they do.

 

After putting the leftovers in the refrigerator, I walked into my room and sat on the edge of my bed. Jason followed and laid beside me.

 

“Sorry about the mess. I’ve cleaned everything but my room today.”

 

“It’s okay.” He slipped his shirt over his head and held his arms out for me. “C’mere.”

 

 

The next morning, I woke up alone. Once again. I quickly skimmed the small room to see if he had left a note or something, but he didn’t even have enough decency to leave that. I shook my head and crossed my arms over my chest.

 

A strong whiff of waffles and coffee surpassed my nose. Lauran must’ve been back and started making breakfast. I walked out of my room, through the living room, and towards the kitchen.

 

“Lauran…you-“

 

Jason looked up from the stove with a smile on his face. “Who’s Lauran? Your friend?”

 

“Yeah…” I walked towards him with a growing smile. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

 

As I got closer, my jaw nearly hit the floor. He was cooking completely nude; with an exception of my zebra print apron on.

 

“You thought I left you hangin?”

 

I stared at him, taking in his beautiful (yes Lord this man is beautiful) appearance. “Yeah…hanging, alright.”

 

“What?” He paused for a second, acting like he suddenly forgot that he only had an apron on. ‘Oh.”

 

I walked closer to him and leaned against the dark green marble countertop. “You’re torturing me. I mean, first you give me the best finger fuck that I’ve ever had…then you cuddle with me for the night. And now you’re cooking breakfast for me. I’m still trying to figure out what I did to deserve all of this.”

 

Jason pulled me in closer to him. “You don’t have to do anything. I’m your boyfriend. I’m here to furnish every single one of your needs.” After he said that, he grabbed me by the legs and lifted me up onto the counter.

 

“You’re too good for me” I whispered, placing my hands on each side of his face.

 

“Don’t you ever say that again.” He looked at me with this crazy serious face and clenched his jaw. “Do you hear me?”

 

I don’t know why I began to tear up, maybe it’s because my period’s due anytime soon or something…but of all the bullshit that’s happened to me since my parents died, nothing good has really happened; just one bad thing after another. Yeah, I’ve had boyfriends…and yeah, I’ve been in lust before. But never has a guy done these kinds of things. Never has a guy made me feel this way so fast.

 

“Sorry” I choked out, dropping my hands away from his face and bowing my head. “This has never happened to me.”

 

He softly placed a few pecks on my lips. “Hey, I’m here to make it happen.”

 

God I loved his little cheesy lines.

 

While we were sharing a very intimate moment, I heard the front door open and close.

 

I quickly whispered “Lauran’s here. You have to hide!”

 

Jason ran over to the pantry and hid in there. I put my hand over my mouth to prevent me from laughing at the sight of his cute little toned butt cheeks.

 

“I knew I smelled breakfast” Lauryn sung, walking into the kitchen while taking her coat off.

 

I hopped off of the counter and leaned against it. “Yeah. I cooked.”

 

“What made you want to cook?”

 

“I don’t know. I got hungry and eating cereal is starting to get old real quick.”

 

“Oh…” she gazed at the steaming waffles with her tongue slightly sticking out. “Can I?”

 

“Yeah. Help yourself.”

 

She picked up a waffle, stuck it in her mouth, and began to make her way towards the bathroom. “I’ll tell you all about how my night went when I get out of the shower.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Before she fully made it to the bathroom, she took the food out of her mouth and turned around to face me. “What’s with you? You seem a little jumpy.”

 

“Nothing. I’m fine. Go ahead and take your shower. I want to hear about what went down.”

 

“Okay…” her face held a skeptical look as she turned back around and went into the bathroom.

 

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Jason stepped out of the pantry and walked over to me.

 

“I’m so sorry!” I whispered.

 

“It’s alright. I guess that was my cue to leave.”

 

“I really wish you could stay but-“

 

Almost simultaneously, Lauran opened the bathroom door and Jason ducked behind the counter.

 

“Is there any more soap left?”

 

“Check under the counter.”

 

“Okay…” She stepped up on her tiptoes and acted like she was looking over the counter. “I know you’re hiding someone…and I know how secretive you can be so I’m not gonna be a pest about it.”

 

Lauran closed the door after she said that and I let out a huge sigh. My heart started to beat faster.

 

“Oh my God.”

 

“Wow…talk about unexpected” Jason said, popping back up.

 

We walked back to my room while I tried to catch my breath. I watched him slip his shirt and sweatshirt back on before he prepared to say goodbye to me.

 

“Next time, I’m taking you out.” I followed him into the living room after he said that and thought “How in the world is he going to take me on a date?” We would probably spend the majority of our relationship alternating between each other’s places.

 

Jason pulled me in for a kiss and I wrapped my arms around his neck. Every time he kissed me, I never wanted it to end.

 

“I’d love to spend all day kissing you, but Lauran is going to be out in a few minutes and I’m sure you have something really important to do today.”

 

He pursed his lips together after detaching them from mines. “I do.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Eh, another photo shoot. It’s not until 4:00 though.”

 

He talked about it like it was so casual. “Oh. Want me to walk you downstairs?”

 

“Sure.”

 

He held my hand in his as we walked down the stairs. Parked in front of my building was the newest model of a sleek black S class Mercedes-Benz. It definitely didn’t look like it belonged in this neighborhood.

 

I halted at the exit, almost snatching his body back with me. “I can't walk out any further I have no shoes or underclothes on. I like your car though.”

 

“Thanks…” he took a set of keys out of his pocket and twirled the keyring around his finger. “I hope you enjoy it.”

 

Not fully catching on to what he was saying, I responded by saying “I told you. I can't go any further. I could get sick.”

 

He chuckled and held the keys out to me. “Baby it’s all yours. That’s what I was trying to say.”

 

“Excuse me?” I almost choked on my spit.

 

He started talking really slowly, probably hoping that I’d catch on this time through. “It’s…all…yours…”

 

“Not it’s not” I responded quickly. “I can't take it.”

 

“Yes you can.” He pushed the keys towards me once again and I pushed his hand back.

 

“No I can't. I told you that already. And how the hell are you supposed to be getting home?”

 

“My driver is on the way. Please take the keys.”

 

“No…I can't. I’m not the kind of chick that takes these kinds of gifts from men. No.”

 

Jason placed my head between his hands and gazed into my eyes. “Take. Them.”

 

“I…” a sigh escaped from my mouth “Why are you giving me a car? What is it that you want?”

 

“Just because someone gives you something it doesn’t necessarily mean you owe them something in return.” He dropped his hands away from my face and continued to stare at me. “Now take the damn keys…please.”

 

“Okay. I’ll keep them.”

 

He looked outside and noticed that a black town car had pulled up. “My driver is here. Enjoy your car.”

 

After a few more kisses, I watched as he put his toboggan on and then the hood to his hoodie over it.

 

When I walked back into the apartment, Lauran had a plate of breakfast in her hands while she sat on the couch watching TV.

 

“Where’d you go dressed like that?” She said that while chewing her food. I could see little chunks of waffles fly out of her mouth.

 

I walked towards the kitchen with a slightly disgusted look on my face. “Downstairs to walk him out.”

 

“Oh. So when are you gonna let me meet him?”

 

“I don’t know. Whenever the timing’s right.”

 

“What do you mean by timing?”

 

“I’m not ready for you to meet him yet.”

 

She laughed a little, almost choking on her food. “Geez. You act like he’s famous or something.”

 

“No I’m not” I gulped.

 

The waffles, scrambled eggs, syrup, and fresh coffee smelled so good. It kind of sucked that Jason fixed me this huge meal and couldn’t stay to eat it with me.

 

“These waffles are bangin!” Lauran exclaimed.

 

I took the credit. “Thanks.”

 

“When did you get a car?” She leaned back in the chair and looked at me through the living room.

 

“Huh?”

 

“You have a car key in your hand.”

 

I placed the key on the counter and pulled out a plate from the cupboard. “Oh. Um…I took out a loan to get it.”

 

“Uh oh! What kind? Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“It’s a Benz. Sorry girl. It was one of those spontaneous things.”

 

‘A Benz? I know you ain’t talkin about that Mercedes parked outside!”

 

“…yeah.”

 

“That shit is nice. Oh man. Do you know how long you are gonna be spending trying to pay all of that back?”

 

“Yeah. Please don’t remind me.”

 

“I mean dag. You didn’t want an older model?”

 

“Does it matter?” I got suddenly annoyed with her. Alicia definitely rubbed off on her. Big time. “You’re starting to sound a lot like Alicia.”

 

Her mouth opened a little and then she closed it. I could tell she was offended. “No the hell I’m not.”

 

“Well stop being so nosey. Just because we’re girls, that doesn’t mean you have to know about every little aspect of my life.”

 

She slightly bowed her head and apologized. I started to pile waffles on my plate. While I warmed my food up, Lauran turned the channel so that it was on E!News.

 

“Ooo…did you see this the other day? Jason supposedly has a new girlfriend and everyone think she’s black.”

 

My head shot up and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. I tried to remain calm. “I told you that I don’t care about that man…”

 

“You should. He could be your future boss.”

 

“Might” I said, taking my plate out of the microwave.

 

Lauran muted the TV and turned around on the couch to face me. “Ever since your birthday you’ve had this…attitude.”

 

“No I haven’t. You guys have been all up in my business lately and I don’t appreciate it.”

 

“Well if you don’t like talking about your life, just tell me. I thought we were supposed to be friends.”

 

Lauran was the closest friend that I had; I didn’t want to completely shut her out. And I knew that she could keep a secret.

 

“I’m so sorry about the way I’ve been acting…”

 

She took the TV from off of mute and turned back around to watch it. “It’s okay I guess.”

 

Should I tell her about Jason? It would absolutely suck if she found out through the news. Speaking of the news, I thought that me and Jason were hiding our relationship pretty well. I’m not ready to be in the public eye. I’ll be judged. I’ll probably get hate mail. Oh God. People will probably tell me that I’m not good enough for him…and the list of why I never want to be famous goes on forever…

 

“Hmm…he was here in the BX. Probably checking things out at the site.”

 

“Who?” I was still lost in thought.

 

“Jason Jameson.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Ugh, he is so fine! Even when he’s wearing sweatpants and a hoodie.”

 

I took my plate, brought it into the living room, and sat beside her. “Yeah I guess he’s cute.”

 

“Fine” she pointed her fork at me, attempting to correct me.

“Okay…he’s fine. I’ll give him that.”

On the outside I had a straight poker face. But on the inside? I was thinking that he is more than fine. That man is perfect in so many ways.

“I can't wait to meet him next week.”

“Oh…yeah.” I cut off a piece of the waffle and stuffed it in my mouth. A flavorful taste of apples and cinnamon burst through my mouth, making love to my taste buds. “Mm…damn these waffles are good!”

“Told ya.” Lauran said laughing.

Jason

The weekend after visiting Keyshia, I got prepared to speak at the application fair for the Bronx opening. My dad was supposedly too busy checking up on all of the other hotels so he couldn’t help me out on this. I would have been perfectly fine with that…if and only if this wasn’t my first opening. I’ve been to them and I’ve seen my family do them, but I’ve never had to do one all on my own. Since I didn’t have an assistant, it took me a while to get everything organized and making sure that everything was in place before I officially arrived.

Being that the hotel is right around the corner from Keyshia’s house, I thought about visiting her. The past week, I’ve been too busy to call or see her.

While I’m on the subject of her, my feelings for her are beginning to grow exponentially, but it’s not scaring me. I knew that I wanted to be with her as soon as I laid my eyes on her. I’ve run across hundreds of thousands of beautiful, even exotic, women; but I’m still clueless to what sets her apart from the rest. Maybe it’s because all of the other girls saw “Jason Jameson, heir to Jameson Suites, model, billionaire”. Keyshia just saw “Jason, her boyfriend. The guy that would literally bend over backwards to do anything for her.” I find joy in being there for her…and I think that maybe I’m even falling for her. But since it’s a little too soon, I’ll just keep that to myself. It could be lust.

Anyways, after my driver pulled up to the newly built hotel, I stepped out of the limousine and was immediately met with tons of flashing lights. A few bodyguards stepped up and attempted to protect me from the hundreds of paparazzi. I smiled, waved, and made my way down the red carpet leading me to the entrance.

My heart began to beat faster as I stepped foot inside the luxurious interior. It was utterly beautiful and unlike any of the other buildings we’ve established thus far. I’ve been in here before, but it still amazes me every time; from the polished black marble floors to the sky high columns and spiral staircases set throughout the lobby.

The two of my bodyguards walked directly beside me as I traveled to the main manager’s office.

Two individuals met me at the door.

“Good morning Mr. Jameson” the shy blonde one said, with a shaky voice.

“Call me Jason, please.”

“Jason…um, my name is Ellen McDowell . I am going to be your temporary assistant for the day.”

“Let me guess. My father hired you?”

“Yes” she nervously responded; like I was going to fire her or something.

In my mind I rolled my eyes, but I physically shook her hand and flashed a smile. “Nice to meet you Ellen. Is there any way you can get me a cup of coffee? Black.”

“Right away sir. Is there a specific brand that you’d like?”

“No. I believe there’s some out there for the incoming guests. I would get it myself but I’m a little busy.”

“No problem sir. That’s what I’m here for.”

As soon as she walked out, I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

“I didn’t want to interrupt, but I’m here to get you TV presentable…since we’re going to be live and all” I turned around and face the stylist, who was a skinny white guy with extra tight jeans on.

I mumbled under my breath. “Great.”

“What was that sir?”

“Where should I sit?” I put another fake smile on my face and walked closer to him.

“The office chair is fine sir.” While he set up his kit, I sat down in the chair and pulled my phone out.

Keyshia

“I am not leaving here with you looking like that” Alicia said, already frustrated with me.

“What’s wrong with a sweater and jeans?”

“Oh I don’t know…everything! Take that shit off. You have to dress like you’re going for an interview!” she nearly yelled.

We were getting ready to make our way down the street to the hotel opening. Even though it only took about twenty minutes to walk there, we were already running late on time.

“Who says?” I questioned her, quickly checking the time again.

“Everyone knows that. You have to make a good impression.”

“Like I give two shits about what Jason Jameson and his people think.”

“You should…they’re the ones you’re asking a job from. Here, I’ll help you.”

I sat on the bed while she went to my closet and started to search through my clothes. My phone buzzed and I picked it up. It was Jason. The text read “good morning beautiful”. Before I had a chance to text him back, Alicia held up a black pencil skirt.

“No.”

“Yes. It’s cute and I’ve never seen you wear it.”

“Fine. Whatever. What shirt?” I asked in a defeated tone.

She smiled, tossed the skirt to me, and went back to digging through my closet. Lauran walked in and sat beside me on the bed, crunching on an apple. “You guys should hurry up. We’re going to be late.”

Alicia stepped out of the closet and tossed me a hot pink lace top. “Hurry up and get dressed.”

I sighed, got off of the bed, and slid my white silk robe off.

Jason

After I was finished with hair and makeup, Elle walked back in with my coffee and whipped out her Blackberry.

She handed me the cup and put on what I’d like to think is her serious face. “They told me that you should be on in about thirty minutes.”

“Okay. And the guests are beginning to arrive, right? Not including the paparazzi.” I took a sip of the slightly bitter, hot roasted coffee.

“Yes sir…oh, and your father made it a point to tell me that whenever you’re finished here, you have an interview in Times Square tonight.

“Shit. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.” I gave her a half smile and took in her appearance. She had dirty blonde hair which was cut into a very feminine pixie cut. Ellen was very skinny, probably one of those size one chicks. Her heart shaped face was covered in light makeup . She was dressed in a pair of khaki dress slacks that flared at the bottom and a loose fitting pink pastel blouse. The shirt was tucked in her pants. Nude colored pumps peeked out from under them.

I, on the other hand, had on a fitted grey and black pin striped Armani suit. Equipped with diamond cufflinks and my favorite Rolex watch, I thought I looked pretty good.

Elle knocked me out of my trance by answering her phone. “Yes? He’s right here. Make sure security is tight around this place. A guard at every door, even if there isn’t any traffic going through. Also, please make sure that each guest goes through the metal detector before they enter the premises. They should be thoroughly pat down as well.”

While she continued to talk on the phone, there was a knock on the huge cherry wood office door. I got up and opened it. Standing there was my dad’s publicist, Anna Kim. What the hell was she doing here?

“Hey Jason” She already had on her serious face. I closed the door behind her and walked back to where I was previously sitting.

“Why are you here? I don’t need a publicist.”

“Yes you do. Tell me, do you know exactly what you’re going to say?”

“I was planning on winging it to be honest, but-“

“Ha!” She smirked and took a seat on top of the large desk. “I have something written up for you. Add or take away a few words, but you should definitely use it.”

I sighed and zoned  while she dug into her little briefcase. A headache was on the horizon and I haven’t even started yet. Damn, I just wanted to see my girlfriend.

Keyshia

We finally made it out of the apartment and showed up at the event. The noise coming from it was heard from a block away. The walk wasn’t that long, but with stilettos on it felt like my feet were literally on fire. With Alicia’s constant yapping and my achy feet, I was highly annoyed.

The closer we got to the hotel, the more people we started to see. Thousands of people stood in line waiting to go inside. Lights from cameras were flashing, news reporters stood on the sides, and there was even a red carpet.

A man with a headset wrapped around his ear walked up to us. “Good morning ladies. Wow, you are extremely lucky. We didn’t expect this many people to come today…so you’re going to be the last ones we’re letting through.”

Alicia was the first to yell speak. “Say what?! Oh my God, that’s what’s up!”

The man gave her a weird smile, nodded, and led us over to the gates. We had to stand behind them, waiting for whoever the speaker was to come out.

The speaker, who I’m guessing is supposed to be Jason, had huge bodyguards lined up across the stage. My heart began to beat just a little faster by the simple thought of him. My face lost a little color as I wrapped my coat tighter around me. He had walked out on the stage. People in the crowd started screaming, loud enough to be at some sort of rock concert.

“Oh my God. He looks even better in person!” Lauran squealed, grabbing hold of me. And that he did. It took every ounce of control I had in me to not tell the girls that I’ve been seeing him. He looked scrumptious in his three piece suit with his face freshly shaven.

Two ladies stood by his side as he stepped up to the podium. One was white and the other one was Asian. The crowd quieted down as soon as Jason cleared his throat into the microphone. Before he started his speech, I silently wished that he would hurry the hell up so that I could sit down somewhere. I don’t see how girls wear heels everyday like it’s nothing.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen” Jason said, with a smile. “As you all probably know, my name is Jason Jameson. Today I’m taking my father’s place in the opening of this hotel. Words cannot even begin to describe how I feel right now by the sight of how many of you guys showed up. Since you’re standing in limited space and since it’s really cold, I won’t hold you up out here. I’ll just get right to it.”

He looked pretty nervous. I could tell by the consistent tapping of his fingers on the little stand thing. It wasn’t anything major though. I was probably the only one who could tell.

“All of our managers are set up inside waiting for you. We will be following a detailed schedule. On your way inside, you will be handed a packet. Also, a complimentary breakfast is going to be served.”

Jason went on for the next fifteen minutes talking about the rules and regulations and a little bit of history.  I sort of blocked him out and tuned into some of the girls’ conversations around me. I know my man is fine, but damn…these broads were basically drooling over him.

“See you all inside. Thank you for your time…and most of all, enjoy yourselves.”

While everyone applauded him, he waved and walked back inside.

“I wonder if we get to meet him” Lauran said.

“Probably not. He probably has somewhere else to be” I responded.

“But he seems really nice…”

The line started to move forward and I followed Lauran and Alicia. Since it was such a long line, we didn’t get in until about thirty minutes later.

After going through the golden revolver door, we were stopped and had to individually go through the metal detector. As I was being pat down by one of the officers, I drank in the sight of the beautiful lounge. Everything looked so elegant…and expensive.

I walked into the waiting area and sat between Alicia and Lauran. We all had to sit extremely close to each other since a lot of people were in the room. “It’s nice in here, isn’t it?”

“Yes…very” Lauran said, skimming over her program. “Aw man, we’re the last group to be able to meet Jason.”

I crinkled my eyebrows and looked down at the program sitting on my lap. We were scheduled to eat breakfast, tour the hotel, meet the managers, and then meet Jason.

“Shit, I hope he’s still gonna be here.” Alicia said, speaking for the first time since we got inside.

“At least he’s taking the time out of his day to meet his ‘future employees’. I’m sure if we get the job, we’ll meet him eventually” I replied, taking my shoes halfway off of my feet.

Lauran looked at me like she disagreed with what I said. “Well I wanna meet his fine ass…now. Today. Ahora.”

 I chuckled a little and sat back in my chair. A short black lady with an afro appeared in front of our group. “Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Allison Parker. I’ll be your guide for the rest of the day here at Jameson Suites. The first thing scheduled to take place is for you all to enjoy our complimentary breakfast. At around 12:00, I will be conducting the tour.” She nodded her head, smiled, and then walked away. Alicia, Lauran and I were the first ones to get up and grab a plate of food. They had all kinds of food up there, but the first thing I grabbed was a cup of black coffee. I really wanted to see Jason, but alone.

Jason

“You’re a good man for taking the time to do this” Anna said, standing beside me. I looked up from signing an autograph and smiled. I’ve heard that my dad never really took the time to meet his future employees so the least I could do was stay behind and do that.

After about two hours of writing my name on tons of sheets of papers and cracking my knuckles countless times, I decided to take a much needed break. Before I got up, I was stopped by a sweet sounding warm voice.

“Can you please sign ours before you go, Mr. Jameson?”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be back in about thirty minutes. I-“

When I looked up, I saw three beautiful women. One of them being Keyshia. God she looked amazing with that skirt on. My heart nearly stopped beating at the sight of her.

“Helloooo?” the tall long haired woman drew out, trying to get my attention.

“Oh…uh. What are your names?” I tried to focus my attention on all of them, but my eyes kept leading themselves to Keyshia. She caught my gaze on her blushed a little.

The woman introduced herself with a strong southern accent. “My name’s Alicia.”

“And the rest of you?”

Keyshia stared right into my eyes with a slight smile on her face. “My name’s Keyshia…and this is Lauran.”

Lauran let out a blood curling squeal and reached out to shake my hand. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

“Nice to meet you sweetheart.” I shook her hand in return and took their programs to sign them. “I’ll sign these just for the three of you beautiful ladies.”

“Thank you so much!”

I was probably going to regret doing this later on, but I just had to. I wanted to know why she was here.

“You’re welcome…um.” I looked at Keyshia and put on a faux frown. “May I speak to you in private, ma’m.”

She pointed to herself, confused. “Me?”

“Yes. You. Follow me.”

Her friends gazed in awe at her as she followed me into the manager’s office. Anna ran after me and grabbed my arm. “Jason. What the hell?”

“I have to talk to her about something.”

Anna looked at Keyshia and then back at me. “You know her?”

I ignored her and took Keyshia into the office, closing and locking the door behind the two of us. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“What do you mean ‘what the hell am I doing here?” she asked, taken aback.

“I will not have my girlfriend working for me!”

“I need a job Jason! My life isn’t going to stop just because you came in it.”

“I’ll give you the money…whatever you need. But I cannot and I will not have you working for me!”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I-“ She was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

“What?!” I yelled, nearly growling.

One of the security guards jiggled the doorknob attempting to come in. “Is everything alright in there Mr. Jameson?”

“Yeah. Give me a minute.” I calmed down and paced around the office.

“Yes. Of course sir” he responded. As soon as I noticed that he had walked away from the door, I looked at Keyshia. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

“You don’t have any kind of power over me. I work wherever I want to work at! As you can tell, I like to do things for myself. I don’t need a man to do a damn thing for me.”

With a sigh, I responded with “I understand that. Look, how about you become my personal assistant?”

I don’t know where the hell that came from. I thought I was doing pretty good without an assistant.

“No. I want a normal job” Keyshia said stubbornly.

“Work with me baby…”

It took her a few seconds to think about it. “What about my friends? We’re supposed to be working together.”

“I’ll hire them. As long as everything’s good with them, they can work here too.”

“They’re good. Just let me think about this okay?”

“Yeah…come here” I whispered, taking a step towards her. She smiled and licked her lips. I bent down and captured her luscious lips into a kiss.

“Mm. I can’t stay for too long.”

I slipped my tongue into her inviting mouth and breath out a simple “Yeah.”

Next thing I knew, her ass was cupped in my hands and we both got deeper into what started out as an innocent kiss. She let out a moan and placed her hand around my neck, pulling me even closer to her. The smell of coconut invaded my nose.

“You look incredibly beautiful today baby.”

“Thank you” she smiled against my lips. “S-so do you.”

I took a step away from her, saving the both of us from something that could have escalated very quickly. “Please consider my job offer.”

Keyshia made my move redundant by stepping towards me. She reached out her hand and wiped off a smudge of lipgloss from my face. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

“Good…now.” I put on a serious face and leaned against the desk. “I need for you to act like we were arguing about something. And I’ll kick you out of my office. I don’t want anyone to get any ideas. Yet.”

She nodded her head. I gave her one last kiss and I walked over to the door.

“I’ll call you later on…” I whispered, opening the door. “Ms. Reynolds, I’m going to ask you one more time…get the hell out of my office!”

Keyshia played along, stomping out of the office. “You might be rich and have some sort of authority around here, but I’ll be damned if you tell me what to do!”

“SECURITY!” Before they rushed to my side, Keyshia was bold enough to turn around, slap the shit out of my face, and say “You’re an asshole!”

Right after she said that, she was snatched up by a guard and carried out of the hotel. I rubbed my face as a smile crept upon it.

Keyshia

The big jackass of a guard nearly threw me on the dirty concrete outside of the hotel. “Who the hell do you think you are talking to Mr. Jameson like that?! And then you had the audacity to hit him!? Ha, you better be lucky that he told me to go easy on your ass.”

I smirked a stood up.

“I swear black chicks always gotta have some sort of attitude.”

“Excuse me?” I responded, dusting my skirt off.

“You heard what I said” the guard said, laughing and walking back inside the building. I could have sworn I heard him mutter “stupid bitch” under his breath.

Alicia and Lauran ran out looking worried and of course amused.

“Oh my God! What was that in there?!” Alicia screamed. I already enough people staring at me wondering what the hell was going on.

“Yeah girl! Your ass might be on the news tomorrow” Lauran beamed, adjusting her purse.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now. Let’s go please.”

While we were walking back to my place Alicia, as usual, wouldn’t shut the hell up. “Did you see the way he kept looking at me?”

“Who?” me and Lauran responded at the same time.

“Jason. The man couldn’t keep his eyes off of me. It’s the skirt I have on. I never told ya’ll this, but it’s my lucky one. All the white men love it. They can’t get enough of it.”

I almost wanted to laugh, but I didn’t want to look like a bitch. “I’m pretty sure he was looking at me.”

Alicia looked at me and busted out laughing. “You? Um no offense Key, but you’re a little basic for a man like Jason Jameson.”

I looked at her and had to blink twice. Was this bitch serious? Lauran jumped in before I could say something hurtful back to her. “Even if he was looking at you…Keyshia’s the one he called into his office. So she’s already a step ahead of you. Don’t even go there.”

Later on that night, I took a long hot bath and got comfortable in my pajamas. Me and Lauran decided to have a movie night. I felt a little guilty for not telling them about what happened back there with Jason and I. Actually I just felt guilty for not saying anything to Lauran. Alicia sure as hell didn’t deserve to know anything.

“I need to tell you something” I sighed, tucking my feet under my butt on the couch.

“What is it?” Lauran asked, popping a few pieces of kettle corn into her mouth.

Before I answered her question, I looked up at the TV and saw Jason doing a late night interview.

“Wait. I wanna watch this first.”

“It’s about to go off.”

“So…?”

“My last question before you go…and you know I have to ask this: How are you enjoying the single life?” the interviewer questioned Jason.

I slowly lifted my head up and gazed at the TV.

Jason answered him with a smile on his face. “Uh…I see where you’re going with this. And I’m going to chose not to answer that. Not to be a jerk or anything, but I’d rather not talk about my personal life.”

“That’s understandable. Every woman you’re near is a potential girlfriend according to the media, right?”

“Right!” Jason laughed and crossed one leg over the other.

“Okay…well thank you for coming out here tonight. I know were busy earlier with your hotel opening, so I really appreciate it.”

“No problem man.”

Jazz music started to play as the audience clapped and it went on commercial. I turned the TV to the channel where the DVD player was set up. “Okay. Movie time.”

Lauran faced me with a serious face. “What’s your problem with him?”

“Who?”

“Jason Jameson. You’ve been acting like you despise the man.”

“I don’t. I mean, I barely know him.”

“So why’d you call him an asshole?”

“Because…look, why don’t we discuss this after we watch the movie?”

About an hour into the movie, there was a soft knock on the door. Lauran hopped up and made her way towards it. “I’ll get it.” As soon as she opened it, I looked up and there was Jason.

“Shit”

“Oh my God!!!!” Lauran started to freak out, flaring her arms and everything. “Keyshia, you would not believe who is standing at your front door!!”

Jason looked at her, not knowing how to react. “I-I...uh, I’m just here to apologize for the way I acted earlier-“

I cut him off, stood up, and walked towards them. “It’s alright. I was about to tell her everything.”

Lauran looked at Jason and then at me. “What is going on here? Tell me what?”

I sighed and played with the ponytail that was hanging past my right shoulder. “We…um.”

“We’ve been dating for about two months now” Jason said, taking over.

Lauran’s eyes damn near popped out of their sockets. And I’m sure if she had a drink, she’d have it all over my walls. “WHAT!?!!”

“Yeah.”

“Wh…how…this…this is crazy!” She started to freak out again and ramble on about how she never would have guessed.

“Lauran! Calm down” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“How the hell am I supposed to calm down when I just found out that my best friend is dating one of the most famous people in the world?!!” She turned towards Jason. “So it was you who was hiding behind the counter last week?”

Jason nodded his head and smiled. “Yep.”

“Oh my God...” I could see her beginning to freak out again.

“Lauran…sweetheart, can you promise me something?” Jason asked.

“Yes. Anything” she answered quickly.

“Do not tell anyone at all. I’m not prepared for the media to know about this. Neither is Keyshia.”

Lauran looked at me, still shaking a little. “Even Alicia?”

“Especially Alicia!” I said, raising my voice.

Lauran kept her eyes on us as I grabbed Jason‘s hand and led him into my room. After I closed the door, he let out a deep sigh. “I hope I didn’t just ruin everything.”

“I trust her enough not to say anything for now. But I don’t know about later on.”

“Eh, I’ll figure out something to keep her mouth closed. See, this is one of the reasons why I want you to become my assistant. Classical, cliché story of a boss dating his assistant.”

“Jason, if I become your assistant, I don’t think we should date.” I actually thought long and hard this decision.

“Why?” he crinkled his eyebrows together.

“I could do my job better without having anything other than a business relationship.”

It took him a few seconds to respond back to what I said. I’m guessing he thought about it. “You’re right.”

“I am?”

“Yeah.” He leaned against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. I could tell he was a little upset over my decision. “So are you going to accept the position or not?” Jason suddenly had a cold tone to his voice; real businesslike and serious.

“Yes.” I responded softly, barely audible.

“Speak up. I can’t hear you.” I’m sure he could hear me, he just wanted to be an ass about it.

I stared at him. “Yes Jason…I accept the position.”

“Good.” He uncrossed his arms and took a step towards me, close enough for me to smell his cologne, but not close enough for me to reach out and touch him. “Come to my office tomorrow morning, promptly. At seven. Office is in the Manhattan hotel. What we will be doing is filling out paperwork and if we have enough time, I’ll get Andrew to start training you. Understand?

“Y-yeah.” I stood there slightly intimidated by the way he spoke to me. I guess I felt that way because I was used to his softer side.

Jason began to speak again, but this time he got closer to me and cupped my chin between his index and thumb fingers. His tone was less harsh. “Are you sure you want it to be like this?”

I stared into his eyes, which were begging me to say no. “Yes.”

He held my gaze for a few more seconds before dropping his hand and stepping back. “Alright…I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.”

I grabbed his arm before he turned around to leave. “One last kiss?”

“I’m your boss now…this is inappropriate behavior” he responded jokingly.

“Technically you’re not my boss yet.”

“Mm. You’ve got a point there.”

I smiled as he turned around and gave me a quick peck on the lips. “By the way, I love it when you talk like that?”

“Like what, babe?” he said, continuing to kiss me.

I whispered, taking in his soft kisses. “Business like…bossy.” Jason smirked and took a step back from me.

“I’m going to let you know this now. When I get really caught up in my work, I can be very demanding and sometimes I can be a straight up asshole.”

I smiled and ran my finger down his chest. “I think I can handle that.”

“We’ll see.” He gave me this weird intense stare. After giving me another peck on the lips, Jason walked to my bedroom door, opened it, and strolled out. I followed right behind him.

Lauran still had the look of shock on her face while she sat on the couch. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah…Keyshia’s kicking me out.”

I playfully hit him on his arm and laughed. “Liar!”

Jason laughed back, grabbed my hand, and yanked me towards him. “Hm, that’s the second time you’ve hit me today. Should I be worried?” Before I responded, he covered my mouth with his and gave me a kiss that took my breath away.

After I caught my breath, I playfully pushed him away from me and smiled. “Get out!”

“Alright…see ya tomorrow morning. Bye Lauran.” He winked at her and walked out of my apartment.

I looked back at Lauran and almost busted out laughing. “Lauran…why the hell is your face stuck like that?”

“Because I’m trying not to freak out again. Fuck, I can’t believe that just happened! When were you going to tell me?!”

“Right before he got here actually…”

She let out another loud squeal and fell back onto the couch. “He called me sweetheart…and he winked at me.”

“You’re totally fangirling right now.” I laughed and shook my head.

“Is he a good kisser?”

“Yeah” I said, continuing to laugh. “Best I’ve ever had.”

“You had sex with him??!”

“What? I didn’t say that.”

“Oh my God! You had sex with Jason Jameson! All of the shit that Alicia told me makes sense now.”

“What shit?”

“She said you had a one night stand with a guy from the club that night?”

“Are you really gonna believe everything she says?”

“Not a first, but then you told us that you were dating a white guy. And every time someone mentioned Jason’s name, you started to act weird.”

Yeah, obviously I’m not good with hiding things.

“I just would have never expected you of all people to be with him.”

I placed a hand on my hip and lifted my right eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t seem like his type. Think about this Keesh, millions of women drool over you man every day.”

“Yeah. I know that.”

“……is he a good lover?”

“That is none of your business…and I wouldn’t call it love.”

“Give me a hint. Like let me know if his dick is long or something.”

I widened my eyes and busted out laughing. “Lauran!”

“What? I’m being curious.”

“A bit too curious, don’t you think?”

“No.”

“Well…keep those questions to yourself.”

Before I walked back to my room, she stopped me. “Does this mean we got the job? I know you hooked us up.”

“Yeah. I’ll give you more details tomorrow. I have to wake up early so I’ll talk to you later.”

“But…there are so many questions I have to ask you.”

“Tomorrow. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t say anything about this to Alicia’s crazy ass.”

 

jack jameson

carter mcintyre

Five months later…

I have absolutely no idea why I went in thinking that working for Jameson Suites would be a piece of cake. I mean, I’ve heard plenty of horror stories from various assistants of wealthy men like Jason but he seemed like such a laid back guy.

After going through months of hardcore labor, traveling everywhere with him, and firing a few people, I decided that he was no longer the laid back guy I met. Not to mention the fact that he completely ignored me half the time. It was like our previous relationship never happened.

That’s what I wanted, right? But dammit if it didn’t bother the hell out of me. I would catch him stealing a few glances from time to time, but that was it. Every time I caught him, he nearly broke his neck trying to act like he wasn’t looking.

Everything we had to do together was awkward because we only talked about business. Type this, type that, go here, go there. There were even days where I had to work all alone at the office because he was taking care of business somewhere else. I wouldn’t call him a horrible boss, but I could tell that he definitely was not used to having an assistant. He would forget that I was there half the time and end up doing things all for himself.

Working damn near seventy hours a week and having to basically eat, breathe, and think Jason Jameson without actually dating him was a nightmare. Sometimes I wished that I never took the job, but it had its benefits. I had the opportunity to travel all around the country and getting a salary of $200,000 didn’t hurt the least.

Jason offered Lauran something like ten grand to keep her mouth closed about our relationship. He also made her sign some sort of contract concealing the deal. She graciously took up the offer and did as he said. Alicia knew nothing about what was going on. She knew that I was his assistant and of course she felt bittersweet about it. At first she was jealous and probably still is. She had the nerve to think that I fucked him to get the job. You know, only Alicia’s logic would make that up. And then she felt grateful because me being his assistant guaranteed her a job.

 “Come to my office please.” I read the IM Jason had just sent me out loud in a whisper. What did he want this time? I had just got finished scheduling an event for him. One of those black and white party kind of things.

I closed my laptop, got out of my chair, and pulled my skirt down. His office was directly across from mines so I walked over and knocked on his door. He waved me in while he finished up a phone call. Jason looked extremely tired as he sat at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening” He ended the phone call and gazed at me. “Close the door.”

I nodded my head, closed the door to his office, and walked closer to his desk. Like his condo, he had floor-to-ceiling-windows and you could see nearly all of New York from them.

“Take a seat.”

I sat down in one of the plush leather chairs and crossed my left leg over the right one. “What’s with all of these commands?” I said, with a little humor in my voice.

“…my apologies. I’m a little frustrated.”

“Why? What happened?”

Jason sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I need you to do a huge favor for me.”

“Jason, I’m your assistant. I’ve been doing all kinds of favors for you. What is it?”

“California” was all he said. Like I was supposed to know what the hell he was talking about.

“California? Didn’t you say something about your family being there?”

“Yes. This weekend you are going to be with me and my family in Malibu for the family gathering.”

My eyes involuntarily widened at the thought of having to meet with his family. Also because where did all of this come from? I thought we weren’t even on speaking terms.

“I know this may seem short noticed, but I have to bring someone…and-“

“So I have to meet your family?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to do that.”

“See, it’s not really an option.”

“It sounded like an option about two minutes ago.”

“But it’s not” he said with a serious tone.

I rolled my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Everything is paid for of course. Just think of it as a paid vacation…and please. Don’t roll your eyes at me.” After about ten seconds of me not responding and giving him a blank look, he spoke again.  “I’ll give you more information tomorrow. But for now…you can go back to your office.”

There he goes…treating me like a little kid again. “Asshole” I muttered under my breath and slowly lifted myself out of the chair.

He looked up at me with a smirk on his face. “Thanks for the ‘compliment’. It’s nice to know that I’m not too nice on you.” I could tell if he was being sarcastic or for real.

“Yeah whatever…you know, I really hate the way you’ve been treating me lately. That’s why I’m so confused with this whole thing. You’ve barely spoken to me since I got hired and now you bring this shit up.”

Jason got up from his chair and stalked towards me. He came so dangerously close to me that I had to take a step back. “What would you like for me to do Keyshia? Sweet talk you?” He clenched his jaw and stared straight into my eyes, something I had to get used to because I hated eye contact.

“I didn’t say that. Just stop talking to me like you’re my father and we won't have a problem!”

He smirked and licked his top lip. “I’m your boss…and you’re already getting off easy by saying half of the things you say to me.”

“You can't make me go on this trip. It’s personal and nowhere near business-related.”

“You’ll enjoy yourself.”

Since the trip was on such short notice, I barely had time to prepare for it. I didn’t even know what to wear! We’re supposed to be staying at a ranch. I think that’s what he said. He didn’t really give me as much information as he promised. I had to look online for the weather in Malibu to prepare myself because the weather in New York was way different. It shouldn’t be that hard to find something. I happen to be very fond of my wardrobe; the thing was that it didn’t have any name brand items in it. Some of my clothes had a few rips and tears in them, nothing that would make me look like a bum, but enough to make his family look at me crazy. I wanted to impress these people. Didn’t really care for them, but I’d still like to make a good first impression.

Jason was supposed to pick me up in an hour and I only had the first day of clothes picked out. I was getting hopeless. For a second, I thought about recycling a few of my good outfits and mix matching them? Nooo…oh man. I should have gone shopping.

While I stood in deep thought leaning over my suitcase, a car honked outside. I looked through the living room blinds and sighed. A big black Escalade was parked out front and I saw Jason get out. Even though he was dressed in something that disguised him, I could tell by the way he walked that it was him. Two guards stood outside the car as he walked towards the door to the apartment complex. I ran over to the door and opened it, waiting for him to climb the stairs. Why the hell was he so early?

A pair of pale blue skinny jeans covered my legs and a yellow-green shirt hung off of my right shoulder. My hair was in a messy bun. “Why are you so early?” I said to him as soon as he stepped up to my door.

“Ah, you should know me already. I show up early to everything” he said, walking past me and into the apartment. I closed the door behind him and faced him.

“I’m not ready yet. Give me another hour.”

“No…we’re leaving now. Where’s your bag?”

“We can't leave now! I only have two outfits out.”

“We can buy the rest on the way to the airport. C’mon.”

I walked over to the open suitcase, zipped it up, and handed it to him. “You’re buying everything. That’ll be your gift for rushing me.”

“Of course” he flashed a smiled and got a better grip on the suitcase.

After slipping on a pair of black sandals, we headed out of the door. While we walked to the truck, I stole a little glance at him. Damn how could he pull off that rough out of bed look so easily?

The ride to JFK was a little weird…I felt a bit guilty for spending nearly a thousand bucks on the clothes I needed for Malibu. I knew it was pocket change for him and although he kept pressing me to get whatever I wanted, I still felt some kind of way. Spending other people’s money was not one of my favorite things to do.

“Hey.”

I looked at Jason and lifted my right brow. “Hm?”

“Thank you for coming.”

“I didn’t really have an option, now did I?”

“Nope…but I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself” he said with a chuckle.

“Does everyone know I’m coming?”

“Everyone doesn’t need to know.”

Three hours later and we were halfway to Malibu, flying in his private jet. Furnished with a full bedroom and a luxurious bathroom, living room, and a captain’s cabinet, I was beyond amazed. While he typed away on his Mac computer, I gazed out of the window. On the inside, I praised myself for not getting sick like the first time I rode with him on a plane. That was a disaster and mad embarrassing.

One thing that I did feel was being nervous…exceedingly nervous. Meeting his family is something so huge. Something that I should be looking forward to, right?

“Everything okay?” Jason asked, looking up from his computer.

“What? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You look a little sick.”

“Oh…I’m not. You don’t have to be worried. That was a onetime thing.”

“Nervous?”

“A little…” I waited a few seconds to speak again. “Actually a lot.”

“Why? It’s just my family.”

Yeah, one of the richest families in the world. No big deal. “Are you bringing me as your assistant…or as a date?”

“As my assistant” Jason said, scratching his head and closing his laptop. After placing it beside him, he got up and sat beside me. “I’m just as nervous as you.”

“Keyshia…wake up. Keyshia!”

I groaned and blinked twice, trying to wake myself up from my apparent deep sleep. Jason sat over me shaking me.

“Where are we?”

“Malibu.”

I sat up, wiped my eyes, and looked out of the window. Huge mansions, beautiful palms trees, and expensive cars were lined all up and down the street. From the looks of it, I magically appeared in the car from the jet.

“How did I get in the car?” I faced Jason with a quizzical look on my face.

“I carried you. You were knocked out cold and almost punched me in the face when I tried to wake you up..soo…”

I turned back towards the window, attempting to hide the smile that appeared on my face. Just thinking about his strong arms carrying me made me all hot and bothered.

“We’re about to pull up at the ranch.”

My heart began to pound out of sheer nervousness. What if they don’t like me? Oh God.

Jason touched my shoulder and gave me a reassuring look. “Everything’s going to be okay. You look beautiful.”

“Thanks” I blushed and fixed my hair.

“You’re welcome” He leaned forward and spoke to the driver. “Pull around the back please.”

I sat in absolute shock as we drove up to the place that I would be staying at for the next week. The “ranch” literally looked like a resort. First thing I noticed was the main building. I guess it was the house, but it looked more like a hotel. To the right of the hotel house was a road leading us towards the back.

“Wow…” By this time, my hands were glued to the window while I looked out in amazement.

I could hear Jason smiling behind me. “I see you like it.”

“I love it.”

When we got around to the back of the house, my mouth nearly fell. Not only did the house have many stories, it was also stretched out, making it even bigger; like a castle. I spotted an enormous in-ground pool with a Jacuzzi and waterslide attached to it. Further back was a large field, a horse stable, and a rather large guest house. Fancy, expensive cars were parked consecutively along the driveway. Trees were everywhere and I was in awe from how amazing the landscape was. Everything was so beautiful…shit, if I was put under the circumstances of having to sleep outside, I wouldn’t even mind. That’s how nice it looked.

“This is so amazing.”

“Ready?” Jason asked, opening his door.

“I think so.”

A man dressed in a black and white tuxedo opened my door and offered his hand for me to take. One of the butlers, I thought to myself. I slipped my hands into his and stepped outside of the car. Jason walked over to my side of the car with a bag on his shoulder. The butler silently thanked Jason for helping him out and moved on to grab the rest of the bags.

“C’mon. Let’s go in” Jason said, placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me towards the house. I took a huge gulp and jumped a little from the warmth of his hand.

The first person to greet us was a small white woman with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked to be in her early to mid thirties. I instantly grew a liking for her even though she hadn’t said a word. The way she looked was so warm and open.

“Jason! My baby!” she ran up to him and wrapped her tiny arms around him. Jason smiled one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen and hugged her right on back, making her look like a fragile little human being.

She looked at me and her face immediately held a devilish grin. “Hello. What’s your name sweetheart?”

“This is Keyshia, my assistant...and Keyshia, this is my Aunt Katherine” Jason spoke for me before I had the chance to utter a word.

“It is so nice to finally meet you Keyshia. Jason has told me so much about you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So much!” Before she could go on, Jason interrupted her by clearing his throat.

“Okay. That’s enough Auntie Kat. We have to get settled in.”

“Aw. Okay. Get settled in. We have lots of things to do.”

She stared at me for a second before grabbing me into a tight hug. I laughed and looked at Jason. His cheeks began to tint, revealing a deep blush.

“Make yourself at home, okay?”

“Yes ma’m.”

“Call me Katherine…or Kat. Please. Ma’m makes me seem a little old.”

I laughed and nodded my head. “Okay.”

After touching my right cheek, she smiled and walked out the back door. “I like her. She’s cool.”

“I like her too” Jason said, leading me deeper into the foyer. Out of nowhere he halted, making me slam into his hard back.

“What?”

“Just a quick background. This house has twenty rooms and twenty-five bathrooms. There’s a kitchenette on each floor and the main kitchen is on this floor. We’re actually about to walk into it. After we walk into it, we’ll be in the dining room. That’s where most of our dinners will be held. Since the elevator is before the living room/parlor, I’ll show you that before-

“Good evening son.”

I slowly turned around to the sound of a cold, harsh voice. Jason moved in front of me to face his father, like he was protecting me or something.

“Aren’t you going to speak to your father?”

“Hey dad.”

“Who’s this?” he said, nodding his head at me.

“My assistant, Key-“

“You didn’t say anything about bringing a guest.”

Mr. Jameson looked at me like I was a peasant and scoffed. “Especially this kind of guest.”

“Keyshia, can you excuse us for a second?” Jason looked like he was about to lose it.

I nodded, walked past them into the kitchen, and leaned against the marble countertop.

Jason

Giving my dad a look of pure disappointment, I growled underneath my breath.

“Don’t start with this bullshit.”

My dad smirked and shook his head. “Take her back where she came from. There’s not enough room.”

“What do you mean there isn’t enough room?! How the hell is that even possible?! There’s fucking twenty rooms in this house!”

“Watch your tone with me boy. I’m still your father.”

I laughed one of those crazy hysterical laughs, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and threw him up against the nearest wall.

“She’s staying here. Even if she has to share a room with me! I bet you if I bought a skimpy blonde in here, you’d welcome her ass with open arms!”

“Get your fucking hands off of me” he snatched away from me and pushed me back. “I saw the way you looked at her…” He took a pause before continuing with his sentence. “and I can’t believe you brought her into this house. You’re too good for that ghetto-“

By this time, I was furious. If I let him say anything else about her, he’d be walking out of here with a bloody nose for sure. “Don’t you dare say anything about her! You know nothing! She’s my assistant and that’s it…but I’ll damned if I have to sit here and watch you fucking belittle her.

I gave him one last look of hatred before walking into the kitchen. Keyshia, looking innocent, was walking around the kitchen admiring the costly appliances.

“Everything okay?” she asked, noticing my pissed off facial expression.

“Yeah.”

“Who pissed in your dad’s cornflakes?”” Auntie Kat questioned, walking into the kitchen.

“Do you have the guest list?”

“Yep…” she started to look around the kitchen “It’s somewhere around here.”

She spotted it on top of the island and handed it over to me. “Is everything okay?”

“Hm…” I searched through the list and couldn’t find Keyshia’s name. “Why isn’t there any room for her? I sent in her name months ago. What the hell? Why are so many people coming?”

“Wait. What?”

“This is bullshit. Is the guest house available? We can sleep there.”

“It’s open…but why don’t you just sleep together in your room upstairs? I’m sure there’s plenty of room.”

“Someone else can have it. I’ll be back.”

Keyshia

Jason left me behind with his aunt. For a few seconds we sat in silence.

“I wish I could tell you what’s going on. He looks pretty upset.”

“I think it has something to do with his dad. They were arguing not too long ago.”

She smirked and brushed her long hair behind her ear. “It figures. Excuse my language, but his father is the king of all assholes. Don’t worry about him though.”

“I don’t think he likes me.”

“Honey, that man barely likes anybody. Look, I don’t know much about you but I have to say that you’re the sweetest girl Jason has brought to meet me.”

“Really? Wow thanks!”

“No problem girlie. I’ll get you acquainted with everyone once you’re settled in.”

“Okay. Cool.”

Jason came back in with the butler following closely behind him. He walked past me and Miss Katherine with the same pissed off look he had on before. “Follow me Keyshia.”

I smiled at his aunt and followed him out of the house towards the guest house.

“Jason, what’s going on?” I said, tripping over my feet trying to keep up with him. He ignored me and put the key into the door of the brick house.

“Come inside.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.” I crossed my arms over my chest and put all of my weight on my right leg.

Jason, tired of my shit, grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house.

“What the hell?!”

“We’re staying here.”

“Why can't we stay in the other house? I wanted to see the rest of what it looked like.”

“Make yourself comfortable”

The butler put our bags down and walked back out, closing the door behind him.

“You still haven’t answered my question.”

“There’s two bedrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a living room. Each of the rooms has a bathroom. Choose the one you want-“

“Jason…”

“What?!” he snapped, making me jump. “What do you want to hear? That my dad is a fucking asshole who doesn’t give a fuck about anybody?! Because I believe I’ve already told you that before! I can’t stand him! He took a second to catch his breath. “Actually, I fucking hate him.”

Jason noticed my somewhat scared expression and calmed down a few notches. “Sorry for lashing out on you. I-”

“…he doesn’t want me anywhere near you because I’m black. I know how it works Jason. That’s why I was so nervous about meeting your family.”

“You know how what works?”

“Your dad’s family is stuck on being 100% white…and apparently, he sees me as a threat to that.”

“Even if we were dating, I still wouldn’t give a fuck about that. My dad’s an idiot and so are my grandfathers. It’s 2012. Race shouldn’t be an issue. Love is love, right?”

“Yeah…but-“

“Right?!”

“Yeah.”

“Okay…now go ahead and get settled in. Dinner’s in an hour.”

“Yes sir” I smiled, playfully saluting to him.

He stifled in a laugh as I walked to one of the rooms and sat down on the bed. For the next twenty minutes, I checked the room out and took a shower. The house was completely silent, making my eyes heavy and wanting to fall asleep. A loud knock on the front door quickly sobered me up.

“Jason! Get the door!!” He didn’t answer so I lazily got out of the bed and walked to the door. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at the gorgeous specimen towering over me. A pair of light brown eyes met mines. His face held an arrogant smirk.

“My my my...what do we have here?” He looked me up and down and licked his pale lips.

“Who are you?” I responded, trying my best not to check him out. He and Jason had a strong resemblance. The stranger walked past me and turned around to face me.

“Name’s Carter McIntyre.”

“And what do you want…Carter McIntyre?”

“Says the lady who I’ve never seen before on my family’s property.”

“I’m here with Jason…” I closed the door and kept my distance from him.

“Wow. Jason never told me he-“

“I’m his assistant.” I cut him off before he said something rude.

“Okay…loosen up doll. I was just toying with you. Where’s he at anyway?”

“I have no idea.”

He stared at me for a few seconds, making me uncomfortable. “You can come back later I guess.”

“Why are you rushing me out so quickly? I just got here” Carter said, plopping down on the black leather couch.

“You’re making me a little uncomfortable to be honest.”

“Shit. My apologies for finding you insanely attractive.” I took in his attire and rolled my eyes. With his brown corduroy pants and navy blue cardigan, my brain judged him immediately.

“Thanks…are you his cousin or something?”

“Cousin.”

“You’re Miss Katherine’s son?”

“I wish…but no. My mother is Jack’s sister.”

“Wait. So how is Miss Katherine related to you guys?”

“She’s Uncle Brandon’s wife. Jack has a younger brother.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. How long have you been working for my cousin?”

“A few months.”

“You two ever…you know…”

“What?”

“You know exactly what I’m asking.”

Jason walked in before I could figure out what the hell he was talking about. “I see you’ve met Carter.”

“What’s up cuz?” Carter got up from the couch and greeted Jason with a hug. Jason hugged him back and looked at me.

“He’s not bothering you is he?”

“Nope. Not yet.”

“I can be charming. Let me take you out and show you.”

“No. Not happening.” Jason quickly said, giving Carter a death glare.

“Oh. So you own her now?”

“You’re not taking her out Carter. This is a family gathering and she’s here with me.”

I cut in and cleared my throat. “You can give me a tour of this place if you want to.”

Jason looked at me with his right brow lifted, confused. “I’m giving you a tour.”

“It’s okay Jason. I don’t mind him giving me one. He’s cool.”

“Yeah, I’m cool. You heard the lady.” Carter looked at me and winked.

“Get out of here man.”

Carter laughed before he walked out.

“I love how you have taken it upon yourself to dictate my every move”

“You know nothing about him” Jason calmly said, plopping down on the couch and turning the TV on.

“So?! I knew nothing about you and I slept with you on the first night.”

He looked at me and rested his elbows in his lap, leaning forward. “That was different.”

“How? He’s just going to be showing me around. Stop being so damn protective. We’re not dating anymore.”

He sat in slight shock as I walked back into the room to prepare myself for dinner. I heard his footsteps right behind me so I turned around and face him.

“Please don’t get caught up with him during this trip. Honestly, he only wants one thing from you.”

I smiled, challenging him. “And I only want one thing from him.”

Jason frowned and clenched his jaw. I could tell that he was seething on the inside. I had no plans on doing anything with Carter. Yeah, he’s attractive, but I wasn’t entirely attracted to him. I wanted to mess around with Jason’s feelings since he put me through hell these last few months. This should be fun.

Jason

The whole time during the dinner, my eyes were glued on Keyshia and my obnoxious older cousin Carter. She insisted on sitting beside him. If I had anything to do with it, she’d be right by my side.

By this time, nearly all of my family and their friends were seated at the long dining table. I didn’t recognize some folks, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary. The thing that pissed me off was the fact that I knew someone had tampered with the guest list and erased Keyshia’s name from it.

“Take a walk with me after dinner. We need to talk” Auntie Kat said, leaning over with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. She chose to sit beside me because I didn’t care to sit beside anyone else. Also, I needed some type of motive not to jump across the table and strangle my cousin.

“About what?” I asked, continuing to glare at Carter and Keyshia. At this point, they began flirting.

“You know what.”

I looked back at Keyshia and clenched my jaw, something I tended to do when I was either sexually aroused or angry. If the table wasn’t separating the two of us, my hands would be wrapped around his fucking neck. I knew what he was doing and hell would freeze over first before I could allow that to happen.

After dinner, which happened to be one of the most awkward things I’ve ever had to sit through, I took a walk through the beautifully landscaped garden with my aunt. The reason why the dinner was so awkward was because no one talked to each other. My dad just sat there with his little disapproving look. He shared a few words with his sister, but that was it. No one liked him like that and he knew it.

“You’re in love with her” Auntie Kat simple stated, tearing me away from my trance.

Since that came completely out of nowhere and since I’ve only heard those words in my head, of course I was quite taken aback. “W-what?”

“I don’t need to repeat myself.” She smirked at the sight of me struggling to regain my breath. I had choked on my saliva.

Instead of answering her right away, I took in the striking view of the garden we were walking through. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was rather peaceful.

I took a deep breath and turned down to face her. “…how can you tell?”

“The way you look at her pretty much says it all. You have this possessive look in your eyes. You love her so much that it hurts. It’s physically hurts you because you can’t be with her like you want to.”

“And you assumed all of this from the way I look at her?”

“It’s not just an assumption. I know for sure that I am right.”

I sighed and began to walk slower. “Auntie Kat, I don’t want to be in love with her. Not like this. Not under these circumstances.”

“What circumstances?” she asked, wrapping her gray cardigan tighter around herself.

“We both agreed to stop dating once she started working for me.”

My aunt smiled up at me, showing a few teeth. “So she’s the one you told me about a while ago?”

“Yeah.”

“Aww…she’s so perfect for you. I really like her. Now if you could just get her away from that slimeball named Carter.”

“If I could, I would snatch her little ass up and lock her in the guest house until it’s time to go back to New York.”

“That wouldn’t be fair, now would it? Does she know how you feel about her?”

“Nope…and I don’t plan on telling her any time soon. This is solely between you and I, okay?”

“Yes. Of course!”

“In order to keep my mind off of her, I’ll have to find a girlfriend when I get back home. Shouldn’t be that hard.”

“Don’t do that to yourself…wait for her.”

I laughed a sarcastic laugh and shook my head. “It’s not that easy…and I’m not saying this to sound like I’m cocky or full of myself, but with hundreds of women throwing themselves at me every day and not making a pass at any of them…it makes me look like a douche for one, a fag, or someone’s who definitely screwing their assistant.”

“Well you know you’re neither one of those.”

“I know…and I know just the right person for this.”

“Who?”

“Alyssa Cambridge. She models for Victoria’s Secret. She’s interested, trust me.”

“She’s cute…but you know who I really want you with.”

I wrapped an arm around her and kissed her right temple. “It’s not the right time.”

Keyshia

After we ate dinner, Carter insisted on walking me back to the guesthouse. Jason had walked off with his aunt somewhere.

I closed the door behind Carter and faced him. “May I ask you a question?”

“Of course darling” he said, with an egotistical smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “Cut it out with the names…what do you really want from me?”

“A date.”

“I’m not as gullible as you think” I stated with a half-smile planted on my face.

“….okay...uh” Carter combed his fingers through his hair and sighed. “I’ve never been with a black woman before.”

My eyes immediately widened and I felt like I had no choice but to burst out with laughter. Was he serious?

“Oh my God…what?” I asked, sputtering out a few smirks.

He sat down on the nearest couch and blushed “I know…laughter is expected.”

“Okay. Now what do you mean by that? Like, what do you mean you’ve never been with a black woman before?” I had to pinch myself so that I wouldn't start laughing again.

“I mean it in every way that you can think of.”

“You’ve never spoken to one…or what? Because I don't get it. Your life couldn't have been so sheltered that you never had the chance to speak to a black woman.”

“Yeah, I’ve held conversations with them…but you know, it’s never been intimate. It has always been strictly business.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is that an open invitation for me to be your guinea pig or something?”

Carter looked at me with amused eyes. “I wouldn't call it that. You see, the way I was raised was pretty conservative. I went to an all white private school in Los Angeles, the only friends my mom cared to have around were rich stuck up white women with their heads stuck up their asses, and there were hardly any black people in the neighborhood I grew up in. You’re not something I want to “try out” just for the hell of it, trust me.”

“Sounds like it to me.”

He reached his hand out and grabbed mines. A loud shriek was heard all throughout the apartment as he pulled me down to sit next to him.

“Just let me take you out tomorrow. I bet Jason isn’t planning on taking you anywhere off of this property. He wants you all for himself.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re resisting me because you two have something going on. He’s not big on his private life, but I can tell.”

“There’s nothing going on between us. He’s not dating anyone at the moment and he brought me because apparently, you guys always nag him about bringing a woman. Also, I’m “resisting” you because you’re not my type.”

Carter turned towards me with an offended look on his face. “But Jason is? Oh…what am I saying? Jason Jameson is everyone’s type. Dude is rich as hell, handsome, philanthropic, and has the perfect personality. What woman wouldn’t want him?”

I don't know why I did this, maybe because I felt sorry for him or that I thought he was quite attractive, or the fact that I was severely sexually frustrated, but I kissed him. I leaned into him and pressed my lips against his. They were soft and full. His breath smelled minty with hints of the previous dinner we had. Before I knew it, he had me on my back as he deepened the kiss.

“Mm…your skin is so soft” he breathed out laying soft kisses on my collarbone.

I grabbed on to his shirt and simply thanked him. Carter began to gently nibble on my neck and my immediate thought was “Oh Lord. This man is going to leave a hickey.” In order to prevent that from happening, I moved my lips so that his came back in contact with mines.

All of a sudden, I felt the button to my jeans loosen up. My eyes widened and I pushed away his curious fingers. “Umm…no.”

Jason

After taking the walk with Auntie Kat, I bent down and gave her a quick gentle squeeze.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning?” She looked up me with a look on her face, daring me to say no to her.

“I don't know about the morning…I-“

“You’re going to breakfast. Even if I have to drag you there myself.”

“Okay okay. I’ll be there” I chuckled out.

She kissed my cheek, wished me a good night, and made her way back towards the mansion.

As soon as I opened the door to the guesthouse, I heard the faint sound of muffled voices. It sounded as if they were coming from the living room.

My first reaction to the image I saw was to snatch Carter up by the collar and throw him clear across the room. Keyshia jumped off of the couch and screamed out in horror. “JASON!”

I ignored her and walked up to my older cousin. He looked to be in pain as he tried to lift himself up off of the floor. Wanting to dislocate his jaw would be an understatement.

“Bro, she kissed me” Carter said, recognizing the murderous look in my eyes. “Ahh!” he yelled in discomfort as I threw him up against the wall, shaking the mounted flat screen TV.

“Get...the…hell out of here before I do something that’ll get me arrested” I threatened, through clenched teeth. Keyshia ran up behind me and tugged on my shirt.

“Let him go Jason! Right now! What the fuck are you doing?”

Carter hit the floor with a loud thud after I released him from my tight grasp. “Get the fuck out of here” I said, resisting the urge to kick him.

He nodded and nearly tripped as he scrambled out of the guesthouse. A few seconds passed before Keyshia spoke. “What the hell was that about?”

“I don't want you seeing him” I faced her, obviously still pissed off.

“Okay dad. Anything else you want to tell your dear old daughter?”

Not wanting to deal with anything else she had to say, I attempted to turn around and walk towards the kitchen, but she grabbed my arm. “No. Listen to me! Since we’ve been here, you’ve been acting really weird…and I get it. You hate your family. But that does not give you the right to treat me like I’m your fucking daughter!”

“I’m not treating you like that.”

“Yes you are! Do you not realize what you just did? You almost fought your own cousin over the stupidest thing! You don't own me! So stop acting like it!” She pushed me enough to make me stumble and then tried to walk away. Before she could get any further, I snatched her back towards me and practically threw her up against the wall that Carter was thrown up against. Being that I was so dangerously close to her face, I gazed into her eyes, still panting from all of the built up adrenaline.

“Keyshia…” I started to speak in an unreasonably calm voice. “I am your boss. You are my assistant. I pay you good money to do everything that I want you to do.

Her beautiful brown orbs started to tear up as she struggled to get loose. “Let me go” Keyshia said through a whisper.

I ignored her request and continued to lecture her. “If I tell you not to makeout with my asshole excuse of a cousin, that means don't fucking makeout with my asshole excuse of a cousin. Do you understand that there are hundreds of thousands of women that would kill to have your job? Hundreds of thousands of ones that are more qualified.”

All of this was coming out of anger and obviously I could have chosen a better choice of words. No doubt that I was going to eventually regret this.

She looked up at me with tears begging to flow down her face. “Well I’ll make it easier for them…because I quit. Now get your hands off of…” she broke free and pushed me away from her. “me.”

Keyshia ran into her designated room and slammed the door before giving me a chance to go after her. I had to give her time to come back to her senses and time to let myself calm down. My hands were shaking and my breathing pattern was harsh.

I slid down the wall and sat down on the floor with my hands resting on the top of my head. What just happened scared the shit out of me. Having reoccurring thoughts about seriously wanting to injure my cousin over a girl made me realize that there was a problem. Is this really what love does to you?

Keyshia

I stared at the ceiling, attempting to make sense out of what went down. I’ve never seen Jason act like that before, even when we were dating. Where did this overly possessive behavior come from?

The rest of the night went by pretty smoothly and I was surprised that Jason wasn't banging on my door trying to get me to talk to him. I don't know why I told him that I quit because I wasn't too sure about that. Working for him reaped many benefits and he was a great boss for the most part. Before today, I was convinced that he didn't have any feelings for me. That our relationship was something we both sort of put behind us.

The plan that we mutually agreed on obviously didn't turn out like we’d hoped it would. Work kept us so busy that we never really had time for a personal life. I slowly began to understand why Jason rarely mentioned hanging out with his friends or going out to have fun. The man didn't have the time. The last time we talked about our “relationship” was when we made that stupid ass agreement.

 

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of a soft knock on my bedroom door. “Keyshia, I know you’re in there.”

“I don't want to talk” I responded with a stubborn tone.

“We’ll have to talk eventually.”

I ignored him and rolled my eyes. ”You either open the door willingly or I unlock the door and let myself in.”

Continuing to ignore him, I switched the position I was laying and fluffed my pillow up. The next thing I heard was Jason wiggling the keys into the socket. I just aid there and waited until he walked in.

He had this fresh out of the bed look going on which in turn gave me a free glance at his perfectly sculpted abs. Jason must have swam in a past life because he had the body of a swimmer.

“Still mad at me?”

“I told you I didn't want to talk. What don't you understand about that?”

“I think I deserve a conversation after I had to go all night thinking about what the hell I’m going to do with my life since my favorite employee quit on me last night.”

I sat up in the bed and stared at him. “I didn't mean that.”

“So why did you say it?” Jason asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“The same reason why you think that I’m not worthy of this job.”

“I didn't say that.”

“Well that’s how I interpreted it.”

“You know I didn't mean that. It was out of anger.”

“Okay then. Same for me.”

“Let’s keep the fighting to a minimum, okay? I don't like fighting with you.”

It was hard staying mad at him when he looked at me with those beautiful steel gray eyes. I know I looked pretty shitty because I had just woken up, but he looked fantastic. How is that even possible?

“Yeah” I finally replied, hugging a pillow.

“So are we cool?”

“…for now.”

Jason stood up and stretched. “Good. Now join me for breakfast.”

“Wow. That sounded more like a demand than a request” I smiled through a yawn.

“Please?”

“After I take a shower. Now get out. That’s a demand.”

He smiled, kissed my cheek, and left out of the room. As soon as the door closed, a wide smile took over my face.

 

 

Jason

Since I liked to show up early for everything and since Keyshia still wasn't ready, I told her to meet me over there.

Breakfast was being served in the formal dining room. The cooks had just about every type of breakfast food you could imagine. My mouth began to water by simply looking at the broad selection. Auntie Kat, being the kind woman she is, helped the butlers and maids set the table. I think she also accompanied them in making the food. She was the only person there, besides me of course.

“Good morning early bird. Glad to see you decided to show up” she beamed, after noticing me.

“Morning.”

“How did the rest of your night go?”

I looked at her with a somewhat confused facial expression. I’m surprised Carter hadn’t said anything to her about what happened. With my family, things spread faster than a blazing wildfire. So I just answered with “fine”. Not a lie, and not the complete truth.

“Great. Now help me finish setting the table.”

“Isn’t that what the maids are for?”

“Yes…but the process will go a lot faster if two people who are perfectly capable of setting a table…you know, actually help.”

 I smiled at her and gave him. This was one of those many times when Auntie Kat made me help her with these kinds of things. According to her, it’s her way of “making me humble.” I silently thanked her for that though. I never want the fame to get to me.

About twenty minutes later, everyone was in the dining room seated. Everyone except Keyshia. Right when I was about to get up and check on her, she walked in.

Literally everyone in the room looked up from their plates and glued their eyes on her. I must admit. I had to stare too.

Keyshia sported a pair of navy blue shorts and a tight white camisole. Her long beautiful legs were showing and her smooth chocolate skin glowed. Jesus Christ. It took some sort of superhuman strength not to slap the shit out of every man at the table who looked at her with a foam at the mouth type of lust; especially Carter’s ass.

Keyshia walked further inside the room and took a seat beside me, one that I saved for her as soon as people started to pour in.

“Did you have to wear that?” I whispered, leaning over to her as soon as she sat down.

“What’s wrong with what I have on?”

“Look around. I’m surprised we’re not drowning in drool right now.”

She took a quick look around at the lingering gazes and blushed. I laughed a little and gave her right thigh a comforting rub. Her blushing continued when she realized what I had just did.

“Stop making me blush” Keyshia quietly demanded as she grabbed a plate full of breakfast sausages.

“You look beautiful.”

She gave me a death glare and nudged her elbow against mines. “Stop it.”

My smile vanished just as soon as I caught Carter staring at her. He looked and me and immediately looked down towards his lap as if he were intimidated. Did he not learn his lesson last night?

“I saw that” Keyshia said while chewing her food.

“He knows what the deal is.”

“Remember. No fighting.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She looked up and waved at Auntie Kat. It’s funny how most of the relatives on my dad’s side actually showed up and the only ones to acknowledge Keyshia were Auntie Kat and Carter. All my dad did was continue to look at her like she was a piece of shit.

“Mm, this food is so delicious” Keyshia moaned, savoring her food.

Another thing I love about this woman is that she isn’t afraid to eat in front of me. I mean she can really throw down. Models I’ve previously dated would only eat a leaf of lettuce and call it day. That’s one thing I don't understand about women. How could you be in a successful relationship when you’re scared to eat in front of your man?

“What are we doing after this?” she asked, still chowing down.

“Horseback riding.”

Keyshia nearly spit out her food and widened her eyes. “Horse what?”

“It’ll be fun. Trust me.”

I gave her a quick wink and continued to eat my breakfast. She had a nervous/worried look going on. And I loved it.

 

Keyshia

An hour after eating breakfast, I told Jason that I was going to meet him at the barn because I had to go back to the guesthouse for something. I actually found Carter and pulled him into the main kitchen to talk.

“Did you tell your boyfriend that you’re talking to me?”

I rolled my eyes and sucked my teeth, annoyed that he started off the conversation with that. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

“I ought to beat his ass for what he did to me last night. I was caught of guard.”

“Carter, you don't have to prove anything. Really. I just want to make it clear that that kiss meant absolutely nothing.”

“Yeah. I understand that. You two belong together.”

“Seriously, please stop.”

He lightly chuckled and continued to stare at me. I cleared my throat and pushed myself away from the counter. “Are you joining us out back?”

“Of course. Come on. Let’s get to walking before someone suspects something.”

I smirked and followed him outside. We walked into the barn where some of Jason’s family members were tending to their horses and conversing with one another. Jason was brushing an all black horse and talking to it. A smile appeared upon my face as I left Carter’s side and walked over to him.

“What are you doing with him?” Jason asked, staring past me at Carter.

“We had a little talk.” Changing the subject, I nodded my head to the horse and asked “Is it a he or a she?”

Jason softly caressed the animal and smoothed its coat back and forth. “Her name is Allison. She’s my baby. I’ve had her since she was born.”

“She’s so beautiful. May I pet her?”

“Yeah. Feel free.”

I hesitatingly reached up, rubbed Allison’s thick black mane, and made my way down her smooth back. “You’re gonna ride her?”

“We’re going to ride her, yeah. Now. Ready?”

I answered quickly with a “no”.

“Why?”

“I have to change right?”

“There’s some boots in the cabinet over there. There should be a pair in your size. Socks are in a cupboard…and I think that’s all you need.”

I nodded and walked towards the cabinet. After finding a pair in my size, I took my sandals off and slipped them on. Lord knows I was scared out of my mind to get on that horse. Since I’m from New York City, I’ve only seen the huge beast of an animal in Central Park or on TV. I’ve never seen them up close.

When I looked up, Jason was already situated on top of the horse. They were making their way out of the barn.

“I’ll be outside. Ready when you are” Jason stated before riding out. Carter was right behind him with a gigantic brown horse. He looked down at me and gave me this dark intense gaze. I have absolutely no idea why a deep blush took over my face. Before his horse trotted after Jason, I noticed that he held an arrogant smirk. I rubbed my cheeks and ran out of the barn in order to catch up with Jason.

I stopped in front of the horse and looked up at him. How the hell was I supposed to get up there?

“Ready?”

“…I’m scared. I’ve never done anything like this before.”

Jason held his hand out for me to take. “C’mon. I’ll help you up.”

I tightly gripped his right hand and he effortlessly lifted me up onto Allison. My hands immediately wrapped themselves around his waist. Carter’s horse walked up behind us and he continued to stare at me.

“Try to keep up” Jason mumbled, catching Carter’s gaze.

Before I had time to even realize what he meant by that, Allison took off running. My head flew back while my arms held a tighter grip around his waist. I couldn’t help but to scream “OH MY GOD!”

Jason laughed as if he were actually amused by my screams of horror. “Are you okay back there?”

“I hate you!”

He let out a hearty laugh as he forced the stallion to accelerate her speed. I looked behind us and Carter was close, but still behind.

“Hold on tight baby.”

Baby?

Jason took a spur of the moment left turn towards an open field. “He’s not going to catch up. I’ll show you my secret hiding spot.”

I hugged him a little tighter and laid my head on his strong back. In a few minutes, the horse slowed down in front of a rather secluded shed. The shed itself was kept in nice shape and it had a grayish color to it.

Allison stopped right in front of the shed and Jason hopped off of her like it was nothing. I almost started to freak out because of the sudden absence of his muscular body.’

“Just step on the foot holder thing and you’ll get off fine” Jason said, looking up at me struggling to maintain my balance.

“It doesn’t look that simple. I don’t wanna fall.”

“Put your right foot in the holder and sling your left foot over.”

I slowly nodded my head and attempted to do exactly what he said. I felt the holder with my foot, slipped my foot into it, and swung my leg over Allison’s back. Right when I was about to make the next move, I felt myself falling. A loud screamed echoed through the field as I prepared myself for the oncoming impact.

A pair of strong arms caught me midair, bridal style. Jason looked down at me with worried eyes and proceeded to brush the loose hairs out of my face. “Are you okay?”

“…yeah. I am now.”

We continued to stare at each other for a few seconds before he put me down. “Let me tie her up and uh…I’ll show you what it looks like inside.”

After Jason tied the horse up to the barn, he took out a set of keys and opened the door to the shed. I grabbed the hand he held out for me and followed him in.

The first thing I noticed was the California king sized bed on the floor…and that was the only thing in there, beside a few candles and a huge map of the world stationed over the bed.

Jason lit all of the candles and closed the door to the shed, setting the perfect atmosphere. There was one window and he opened it to let air in, but put the shade down. I stood there in a semi state of shock. It warmed my heart to see this powerful rich man have such a simple, random, intimate, average spot that he obviously loved.

“Make yourself comfortable. The bed is really cozy” Jason suggested while he took off his riding boots.

I fell back onto the fluffy bed and sighed. “Ah…this is amazing. Tell me all about this spot.”

He smiled and crouched down at the end of the bed near my feet. ”Well…” Jason started, slipping one of my boots off. “Ever since I was little, we’ve had to come here for this “get together”. I was always the black sheep of the family, even though they knew what I was going to be when I got older. It was always a running joke about my mixture. The word ‘mutt’ seemed like it would never leave their vocabulary.” After he finished that sentence, he took my other boot off for me.

I leaned up on my elbows and gazed directly at him. “You know they’re jealous of you.”

“That’s not how I saw it. My Aunt Mary, Carter’s mother, tried her fucking hardest to convince my father that Carter was supposed to be in my position. He’s 100% white, why not? He’s also older.”

“So what happened?”

“The family contract states that it’s supposed to be the firstborn son of the inheritor who takes over the company.”

“One of the many reason to why he hates you, huh?”

“I guess…but anyways, every time I’ve felt the need to get away from my family I come here. I thought that it was going to be temporary, but over the years things have gotten nothing but worse.”

Jason gently climbed into the bed after me and laid right beside me, even though there was plenty of room for him to have a spot on the other side of the bed.

“How did you discover it?” I asked, genuinely interested.

“Riding around.”

“It doesn’t look like it belongs on you guys’ property. Sorta seems out of place to be honest.”

“It doesn’t belong. We purchased the land from a farmer and this was the only thing that wasn’t destroyed. None of my family members know about it.”

Simultaneously, we faced each other. I rested my hand on the side of my head in order to give it some support.

“Do you like it?” Jason asked.

I smiled a nodded my head. “I love everything about this place. It’s so cozy and simple. Something I never would have expected to see from you.”

“You’re actually the first person I’m showing this to.”

“Really? So you mean to tell me that you’ve never bought any special girls here?” I inquired with a playful tone in my voice.

“Nope. The girls I’ve brought to meet my family would have hated it here. They expect so much out of me. Everything that I have to show them would need to be either luxurious or painfully expensive. You’re also the only one to ride Allison.”

“Well…your ex-girlfriends, besides me, sucked” I said through a yawn.

Jason chuckled “You’re right about that.”

 

Jason

I couldn’t help but to watch her as she let out another yawn. Her tight little body stretched out like a kitten preparing herself to fall asleep. Keyshia look ravishing in the candlelight. All I really wanted to do was grab her into my arms and never let go. If I had the opportunity to make love to her again, I would kiss every inch of her beautiful mocha skin, savoring the always-present coconut scent and the silky smooth texture.

Her fascination with my secret spot added to the list of why I love her ass. I knew it was genuine and sincere…and I loved it.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” I asked, noticing her yawn for the fourth time.

Keyshia yawned again with her hand over her mouth. “A few hours. Sorry for the yawning.”

“We should be leaving for Los Angeles in approximately…” I glanced at my wristwatch to check the time. “three hours. You can take a nap if you want. I’d hate for you to experience LA while you’re tired.”

She got more comfortable and laid on her stomach. “Thank you Jason…for everything.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart.”

“Before I fall asleep, let me ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Tell me what’s really going on with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“The possessive behavior, the pet names, the…the…um…you know, the affection.”

 So it was that obvious, huh? She was catching on. How was I supposed to get out of this?

“Oh…well, I care about you for one. I don’t want to see you get hurt so I protect you.”

“I don’t need protection Jason. And if you’re jealous about that whole Carter thing, nothing is going to ever happen between us again.”

“I’m not jealous.”

In a sleepy voice Keyshia responded with “Whatever your say…just stop with the shenanigans.”

Directly after she said that, her eyelids fluttered shut and she fell asleep.

 

Keyshia

 

I have no idea how long I was asleep, but when I woke up, I was in a very compromising position. I could barely move because Jason’s arms were tightly wrapped around me.

He was lying on his back and I was lying right on top of him. Each time I made an attempt to get out of his arms, the hold he had on me got even tighter; like a boa constrictor.

“Jason” I whispered. “Please let me go.”

He let out a low groan and changed his position in the bed so that we were facing each other another way on our sides.

“Jason!” I whispered a little louder.

He blinked his eyes open and realized that we were literally closer than two peas in a pod. In a groggy, slow tone, he said “Oh…shit…”

“Yeah. Sooo not boss/assistant behavior. Let me go.”

I felt the synchronized feeling of relief and sadness as he loosened the tight grip he had on me. For a short second, I craved for them to be back around me. Before any other words were said, I scrambled to the other side of the bed.

“I apologize. I guess I let myself get too comfortable.”

“It’s alright” I yawned, stretching myself out.

Jason sat up and stepped out of the bed. “What time is it? I hope we didn’t oversleep.”

“We have thirty minutes” I said after checking my phone.

 

Jason

When we got back to the guesthouse, I changed into a pair of jeans and a striped scoop neck tank top. Keyshia walked out of her bedroom with yet another pair of tantalizing shorts and a loose fitting peach racerback tank top. The shorts were khaki. Her long hair was pulled back into a cute ponytail.

“Is this outfit fine? I put on a pair of Vans because I don’t want my feet to be hurting.”

“….y-yeah” I began to stumble on my words. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks” she said, adjusting the purse that slung across her shoulder.

“No problem. Let’s get going. The car is probably waiting for us.”

She nodded and made her way towards the door. I followed behind her and closed it.

Aunt Katherine was the first person we saw and she was headed our way. “She’s coming with us” she said with a no nonsense tone.

“What?”

“You heard what I said son. You’ve been hogging her up the whole time since you’ve been here. It’s time you give her a rest from yourself.”

“I want her to be with me in case something happens.”

“What could possibly go wrong? I promise you that she’ll be safe with us.”

I sighed and looked down at Keyshia. “Are you fine with this?”

“Hm, I thought you’d never ask. Yeah, of course I’m fine with it” she answered with a smile.

Auntie Kat wrapped her arm around Keyshia’s and brought her closer to her. “See?” She noticed the concerned look in my eyes and a half smile appeared on her face.” Um…Keyshia. Sweetheart, the car is the third one in the driveway. Mary’s in the passenger seat and my daughter is in the backseat. You can sit beside her. “

I started at her for a while as she walked towards the cars. The need to hug her before she left overwhelmed me.

“You’re such a dead giveaway.”

“If anything happens to her Auntie Kat…I swear to God…”

“Nothing’s going to happen to her. We’re just going shopping. She needs to have some girl time.”

“Okay. When you’re out, take her to the most expensive spa there is. I’ll pay for everything she buys. Make sure she gets whatever her heart desires. Okay?”

Auntie Kat smiled, touched my cheek, and cocked her head to the side. “I’ll make sure she’s taken good care of. So what are you and the other men doing?”

“Taking care of some business as far as I know. Is your phone on? I’ll be calling to check up.”

“Yes Jason” she grinned, pretending to act annoyed by rolling her eyes.

I bent down and kissed her soft cheek. “Okay. See you later.”

 

Keyshia

It was beyond awkward having to sit in the black Range Rover with Jason’s other aunt and Ms. Katherine’s daughter. Mary just stared straight forward, completely ignoring me and the daughter couldn’t keep her eyes off of me. Thank God Ms. Katherine came back when she did because I would have had to step out.

She started the engine and looked at her daughter through the rearview mirror. “Anna, did you introduce yourself to Keyshia?”

“I didn’t know I had to.”

“Keyshia, this is Anna, my oldest child. And Anna, this is Keyshia, Jason’s friend.”

The young girl looked to be at least thirteen years old. I couldn’t figure out if she was going through that ‘I hate everyone’ teenage phase or if she just didn’t like me.

“It’s nice to meet you Anna.”

Anna mumbled under her breath and looked out the car window. “Nice to meet you too.”

She looked like the typical bratty teenager. Taking after her mom, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. A tight pair of white skinny jeans covered her willowy legs and she wore a hot pink cropped top. Her long hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.

“Mary…” Katherine started to say, looking at her sister-in-law.

“What?” Mary snapped, still gazing out of her window.

“Introduce yourself please.”

“I’m pretty sure she heard you say my name. It would be unnecessary to repeat.”

Before Katherine could chew her out, I interrupted. “It’s really nice to meet you Miss Mary.”

She smirked as Katherine drove off. I wonder how she would have reacted if I had told her about what happened between her son and I. She’d pass out. I’m sure.

 

During the car ride, everyone but Mary talked to me. She still carried that hideous constipated facial expression.

An hour later, I saw the Los Angeles welcome sign. Gazing out of the window with wide eyes and a huge grin, I know I looked like all of the annoying tourists who came to New York.

“We’re here!” Katherine shouted in a sing songy voice. “Are there any places in particular you’d like to go ladies?”

Anna leaned her body towards the front of the car, close to her mom’s ear. “Ooo…mom. Can we please go shopping on Rodeo Drive? Oh! Or the fashion district? Please please please!?!”

Rodeo drive…fashion district…isn’t that where people spend thousands of dollars on a pair of shoes? Where would I get that kind of money?

“What about you Keyshia? Anywhere in particular?” Miss Katherine asked as she stopped at a red light.

“Um…uh…”

I’m the thrift store type of person and usually, in big cities like this one, people put the best stuff in there. But damn, I’m almost too embarrassed to ask.

“A-are there any good…uh, thrift stores here?”

Mary, the first to react, shot her head around and busted out laughing, right in my face. Anna followed in her footsteps.

“What’s so funny?” I asked, with a cocked eyebrow.

“Thrift store? You seriously want to go to a thrift store?” Mary questioned, as if what I said was a joke.

“What’s a thrift store?” Anna chimed in, looking thoroughly perplexed. That made me even more confused because why the hell was she laughing earlier if she didn’t know what the fuck a thrift store was in the first place?

Miss Katherine barged in and stuck up for me. “Leave her alone. I like to go to them also. Some people’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

Anna stuck her nose up and frowned. “Trash? So what is it? You buy other people’s…trash?”

“In a sense. But you can find really good things in there” Katherine responded, driving through the green light.

Mary pursed her ugly red stained lips together and shook her head. “I refuse to be seen in one. Drop me off in Hollywood. Please.”

“Me too!” Anna shouted. “I want to do some real shopping.”

I slipped down in my seat, feeling like I was being ridiculed.  “Okay...um…we can go to wherever. But um, this is kind of embarrassing. I only bought six hundred dollars with me. It’s my fault for assuming that it was enough.”

“Yeah, enough to buy a good quality shirt” Mary mumbled under her breath.

Auntie Kat looked at me through the mirror and smiled. “Keyshia, honey…do you really think Jason’s going to leave you hanging?”

I held in a smirk at her choice of vocabulary.

“Just get whatever you want. Everything’s taken care of.”

“No…I can’t do that to him.”

“I can’t force you to spend his money. But trust me, that man brings in so much money a year that this will only be a dent in his pocket.”

“I don’t like using him…”

Anna looked at me through slanted eyes and softly touched my arm. “If I had a boyfriend like Jason, I would soooo keep him! He’d have to take me shopping everyday!”

“But he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Oh…psh, I know that. I was just saying-“

I gave her a curious, yet offended expression. “How are you so sure?”

“Because the guys in this family aren’t allowed to date girls like you.”

“Anna Michelle Jameson! You better apologize right now!!” Katherine yelled, turning bright red.

“But mom! C’mon…you know it’s true!”

All I heard for the next few seconds were muffled voices because I sort of tuned them out. I mean, what she said was true, right? And I already knew that. So why the hell was I so butt hurt about it? This time it really hit home.

“You’re not getting a single thing while we’re out!”

Miss Katherine seemed to be more offended than I was. Her face was red as an apple and I could tell she was fuming.

“…sorry Keyshia. I should have thought about it before I said it.”

“It’s-“

Before I could fully accept her apology, Mary cut me off. “Katherine. Don’t make the girl apologize. What she said is the truth. Apparently, she’s the only one who has the balls to say anything. Jack Senior is absolutely disgusted with the idea of mixed breed kids. Why piss him off by reproducing with someone of another race? How hard is it to keep your little ‘fetishes’ to yourself? It’s always good to stay on his good side, trust me.”

An elongated silence filled the car as soon as she finished her little monologue. This family seriously has some issues.

Katherine put the car in park and turned around to face me. “Keyshia, I am terribly sorry on behalf of the way my family has been treating you. They can be extremely rude.” She stopped talking for a second and looked at Mary as if she were calling her rude. “Why don’t we forget about everything and shop until our feet fall off?”

I smiled at her and nodded my head. “I’m perfectly fine with that.”

 

Three hours later and my feet were on fire. I had bags from just about all of the stores in one of the high-end malls we visited. 99% of the clerks gave me a hard time because they couldn’t believe that I was using Jason’s black American Express Card.

The six pairs of Louboutins I purchased were already my most prized possession. Along with those, I bought loads of new work outfits, jeans, blouses, and accessories. So basically, a new wardrobe. Miss Katherine stayed true to her word by not buying Anna anything…and Miss Mary only purchased a few items. The way she dressed and looked was so dull. She wore all black and gray. Her tall slender body was hidden under such baggy clothes. What a shame.

We made our way into another mall for our final shopping trip. All after passing by the Hollywood sign, seeing the Walk of Fame, and riding past the Kodak Theater.

Since I was through with shopping for the day, I followed Mary into a store and noticed her walk straight towards a rack full of black slacks. I walked up to her and leaned against the rack. “You should try brighter outfits…or mix and match light with dark.”

“What’s wrong with what I wear?” Mary asked, looking at me with a blank expression.

“I know you have an amazing body under all of those clothes. You should flaunt it.”

“….flaunt? What does that even mean? Flaunt for who?”

“Don’t you want to impress your husband?”

“There’s nothing to impress. Our marriage has been dead for years.”

I looked at her and observed that her face seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown. She just looked so unhappy about life.

“Do you think he’s still in love with you?”

“I’m sure he’s never loved me in the first place.”

“What makes you think that?”

“He’s only with me because of my family.”

In a way, I felt bad for her. I couldn’t imagine being stuck in a marriage for so long with a person who isn’t in love with me.

“I’m so sorry” I sighed.

“It’s alright. You did nothing. No need to apologize.”

For the next hour or so, I helped her find outfits and shoes to make up a whole new wardrobe. She had to be in her mid forties and she had long straight hair. Mary kept it in a tight ponytail at the back of her head. I made it my goal to return her to her “husband” as a brand new woman.

After checking out at the cash register, we left and the next place we pulled up to was a spa. But not just any spa, probably the most luxurious spa I’ve ever laid my eyes on.

“This is the best spa in Los Angeles. I make sure that I come here every time we come to California,”

I looked at the intricate details of the beautiful exterior and my mouth fell slightly open. “Looks expensive.”

“My feet hurt. Let’s go in” Mary complained.

Anna wrapped her arms around Katherine’s and hugged her. “Mom, can we eat something. Please?”

“Keyshia, dear, it’s extremely expensive. But it’s all worth it. And Anna, we’ll find something to eat inside.”

At the entrance, Katherine showed them her membership card and guided the rest of us in after her card was cleared.

The first thing I noticed about the place was the exquisite choice of marble. The floors, the tables, and the chairs were all made from some type of marble. All of the employees were Asian and the atmosphere was so relaxing. One of the employees walked up to us with an all black outfit on.

“Hello, welcome to Seoul Day Spa. Is there anything in particular you’d like us to help you with? We offer many services.”

“Everything. Pedicures, manicures, whole body massages, waxing, makeovers, hair styling….you name it. Oh, and we’re hungry. So whatever food you have to offer sounds great. “

The small Asian women smiled a huge bright smile and guided us towards the back of the spa. Katherine leaned over to whisper to me. “You’ll have to give my nephew a big kiss for paying for all of this.”

I stopped in my tracks as they made their way deeper into the spa. Before, I had noticed the price of a full body massage at $500. Hm, I might have to give him more than a kiss because this shit is fucking expensive.

 

We ate delicious Caesar salads, received massages, had our toes and nails done, got a few body parts waxed, and sat in the sauna before we got our “makeovers”.

Katherine got a simple hair washing and conditioning and made sure her wavy hair was pin straight, knocking a few years off of her appearance.

Mary was the one who got the most drastic change. I convinced her to cut her hair into a layered bob and to wear a better shade of lipstick. With such a small change, she looked absolutely beautiful. I could tell that she was content with her makeover because she smiled for the first time today. A real genuine smile.

While I was getting layers added to my hair, my phone began to buzz. The caller ID read ‘Jason’. I rolled my eyes and placed it back into my pocket. He called every five minutes. I had already answered most of his calls, but this was getting pretty ridiculous.

Katherine noticed that I had a phone call and smiled. I guess she knew who it was. “Who’s that? My nephew again?”

“Yep.”

“He’s just worried about you.”

“There’s a difference between being worried and straight up annoying.”

As soon as I finished my sentence, her phone started to ring. Damn you Jason Jameson.

“I’m guessing that’s him?” I looked at her, shaking my head.

“Yep…” she answered it and beamed into the phone. “Hello? Oh hey! She’s with me…and everything is going great. The same thing is happening. You know, since you called a few minutes ago…don’t worry honey. I’ll bring her back to you safe and sound. Okay. Bye. Love you.”

I started to speak to her after she hung her phone up. “Why in the world is he being so protective now? I mean, he’s always been a little protective, but this thing now…oh no. It has to stop.”

“Maybe it’s because you guys are in a totally different state and he feels responsible for you.”

“I’m not a child Miss Katherine.”

Anna jumped into our conversation with a ‘joke’. “Maybe he’s in love with you.”

“No! He’s not. I swear we don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“You don’t have to try and prove that to us. Even a blind man can tell that the two of you have something going on” Mary added in.

A blush burned my cheeks and I placed my hand over my mouth in an attempt to cover it up. “Okay, we used to date…and I guess the chemistry is still there.”

“I knew it!” Anna boasted. “Didn’t I tell you mom?”

“I’ve known for a little while” Katherine responded, with a proud expression.

Mary looked at me and leaned back into her chair. “Why did you two break up?”

“Because I’m working for him now and we didn’t want things to get complicated.”

“Did Jack know about this?”

“Nope…and if he did, Jason never told me.”

“So are you in love with him?” she asked, without blinking.

“Mary!!” Katherine shouted, face turning red all over again.

“What? I want to know.”

“It’s none of your business!”

If I had been drinking a cup of something, I would have surely spit that shit out. I’ve never had to run into this question. I’ve never had to think about it. Am I in love with Jason?

“Look, I’m only saying this because I care about my nephew and because you’re such a lovely girl. If the two of you get together, get married, and have a baby, my brother will lose all of his shit. I hate to say this to you hun, but Jason’s inheritance is quite fragile and it can be taken away within the blink of an eye.”

Hmph. Just when I thought I was warming up to this woman…

“Mary, please be quiet. Keyshia didn’t come all the way to California to hear this” Miss Katherine said with a sigh.

In a quiet voice, I responded. “It’s okay. She’s just trying to save me from getting hurt.”

“So…” Anna began to say, totally jumping into a conversation she should have stayed out of. “Is this one of those forbidden love kinda things? Because if it is, I want to be updated on everything that happens.”

By this time, I hadn’t yet noticed that my bottom lip started to tremble. “Um, is everyone finished up here?” I lifted myself out of the chair and nervously tugged on my shirt. “I’m ready to go.”

Before Katherine had the chance to give me comforting words, I ran out of the spa and to the car. Panic attacks have never happened to me, but I felt one coming on.

 

Jason

During the time the ladies were in Los Angeles, me, my father, my grandfather, and Carter were there doing business with a few gentlemen in East LA.

We don’t usually do business on vacation, but it was all my idea to start building more hotels on the west coast since we’ve been successful. Surprisingly, they agreed with one of my ideas. The Brazilian hotel idea is on the backburner for now and that’s the only thing I really want to put into action.

So anyways, I made it my mission to call Keyshia as much as I could. It may have been annoying through her eyes, but she needed to know that I was honestly worried about her.

She didn’t know this and probably never will, but I’ve received all sorts of anonymous emails and fan letters about wanting to kill her. Crazy females and a few males really want it out for her because they think we’re together. I hired bodyguards to follow her around without her knowing so that she could never encounter any sort of danger. I’d never forgive myself if something bad happens to her.

Since we’re in another state and my bodyguards aren’t with us, I felt like I needed to take their place and be around her at all times. Auntie Kat is trustworthy, but still. Anything could happen. Mary’s around her. Crazy Aunt Mary. The woman who wanted me to die just so her “all-deserving” son could be next in line. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did something to hurt Keyshia…but then I’d have to kill her.

Keyshia belongs to me and anybody who feels the need to hurt her will have to come through me first.

 

We got back to the house at around midnight and the ladies arrived shortly after. I ran out to their car and opened the door to the backseats. Keyshia’s head rested on the window to the other door while Anna’s head laid in her lap. The both of them were knocked out cold. When did they get so close?

Auntie Kat stepped out of the car and walked over to me. “You may need some help. There are lots of bags in the back and I don’t want to wake these two.”

“Carter’s on the way…and I’ll take Keyshia.”

She tried to hide her obvious smile as I slid Keyshia from under Anna’s head and held her in my arms. She moaned and unconsciously wrapped her arms around my neck.

“I’ll be right back” I whispered to my aunt.

When I got back inside the guesthouse, I walked to her room and gently placed her on the bed. I tried my hardest not to stare at her. She didn’t need to have all of that makeup caked on her face or plastic surgery to be beautiful; that shit came natural for her.

I fought back the urge to reach out and caress her smooth face. Keyshia fluttered her slanted eyes open and let out a low moan. Fuck.

My cock twitched at the seductive sound, making me have to adjust my stance.

“Where am I? What’s going on?” she asked, slightly confused.

I took a seat on the bed and struggled to deal with my sudden erection. “You fell asleep in the car and I carried you in.”

“If you woke me up, I could’ve walked myself.”

It wasn’t a problem, really.”

Before she said anything else, I slid the sneakers off of her feet and exposed her perfectly manicured toes. “How was the spa trip?”

Keyshia yawned and watched me as I took her shoes off. “Amazing…thank you so much for everything. I’ll pay you back eventually.”

“No that’s cool. Think of it as a gift.”

If she were to really pay me back, judging by the amount of bags I saw, she’d be spending the rest of her life doing so.

“Okay…I’m too tired to fuss about this…and your aunt told me to give you something.”

“What?”

Keyshia leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. It took everything in me not to snatch her back and steal a few more kisses from her. I need to get rid of this painful hard on and if she said the right word, I would jump on her so fast that she wouldn’t even have time to think.

I cleared my throat and got off of her bed. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

“Pass me a some pajamas before you leave.”

I spotted the nearest t-shirt and tossed it to her. “Is this fine?”

“…thanks…” Keyshia tiredly said, slowly falling back to sleep.

“No problem.”

I tried to get out of the room as fast as I could, but she just had to call me back. “…please help me. I’m too tired to change.”

“Keyshia, I’m not helping you take your clothes off” I stated, swallowing a huge gulp.

“Why not?”

“It’s inappropriate.”

“You’ve already seen me naked, so what’s the problem?”

I took a step towards her, trying to control myself with a calm and collected tone to my voice. “Baby, I’m your boss….” I paused and shook my head. “That’s the fucking problem.”

Of course that sentence had multiple meanings.

Keyshia rolled her eyes and sighed. “Okay…whatever.”

“I’m going to bring your bags in in a few. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“…mmhm…”

Before I had the chance to fully get out of the room, she had fallen back to sleep. I frowned and quietly shut the door. Fuck.

 

About two months later…

 

Keyshia

 

“Who is that?” I whispered to myself as I looked through the glass of my office window. One of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen strutted up to the receptionist’s desk with a beautiful pair of black suede Louboutins on. My jaw almost dropped by how gorgeous she was with her long raven black hair.

Just about every man that worked on my floor basically flew out of their offices in order to greet her. Who the hell is this chick? And what is she doing here?

Right as I was lifting myself out of my chair to see what was going on, Jason walked out of his office and made his way towards her. With a bright smile on his face, he straightened out his burgundy tie and brought her tiny body into a tight hug. My heart started to beat extra fast. I had to sit back down in order to catch my breath.

I took a sip of water to cool myself down, but spit it out as soon I captured the image of his lips pressed against hers. I hadn’t even noticed that the water from the water bottle was gushing out from the pressure of me squeezing it so hard.

WHAT.THE. FUCK?

 

Jason

 

After giving Alyssa Cambridge a quick kiss on the lips, I grabbed her small hand and guided her into my office. Before the door even had a chance to shut all the way, she pounced on me like a tiger on its prey. I grabbed ahold of my desk, attempting to keep myself from falling backwards.

“I’m so happy to see you. It’s been a week…with all the traveling, I can’t see you like I want to” Alyssa whispered through a load of consecutive kisses on my face.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Well it’s a surprise! I have today off and I was hoping we could do something together.”

I looked over her shoulder, trying to avoid contact with her greyish blue eyes. “I’m really busy today, perhaps we can do this another day?”

“Are you really saying this? How many times are you going to blow me off?” she asked, with a sign of frustration in her eyes.

“I’m not blowing you off, I just-“

“Yes you are!” she yelled, backing away from me. “You never make enough time for me. Shit, I have a busy schedule too, but I always come to see you whenever I’m free. I’ve been with you for two months and we haven’t even had sex yet!”

I sighed and squeezed my eyes together. A headache was soon to come. “So you have a problem with that now?”

“Of course I do! Especially with you being my ‘boyfriend’. Women come up to you everyday wanting you to fuck them. Men come up to me everyday hoping to get lucky…and neither one of us are getting laid. Seriously, there’s something wrong with that picture.”

“Did you come here to argue? Because you can save that shit for another day. I told you I’m busy and my plans are not going to change because you want them to.”

“You’re being an asshole, Jason, and I don’t appreciate it. All I want is answers. I know you had a girlfriend before me…and I can tell that you’re still in love with her, but please…please give me a chance. Clearly, I can’t compete with her, but-“

I gulped and immediately thought of Keyshia. Since the family gathering took place, we went back to the stage of barely speaking to each other. When I got back to my condo after landing at the airport that day, I called Alyssa up and planned a date with her. Soon after, the media caught on to our relationship and boom we’re an “official” couple.

It surprised me to know that Keyshia didn’t realize that I was in a relationship. If she did, she did a hell of a job covering it up…and if she didn’t, I plan on telling her eventually. I should have told her as soon as this whole thing started, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“Jason…helloooo? Did you hear any word that I just said?”

“What? No…sorry. I sort of zoned for a second. Go ahead.”

She smirked and shook her head. “Jason, if you don’t want to be with me, just let me know. I really like you and I think you’re an amazing person, but I think you picked the wrong time to be in a relationship.”

“No…babe, look.” I grabbed her and brought her closer to me. “I apologize...okay? Sometimes I can be a real douchebag. Days like this to be more exact.”

Alyssa looked at me with a cocked up right brow. “Uh, yeah” I continued. “So anyways, I finally hired a publicist and she just called to let me know that we need to be seen out together more often. After I finish this paperwork up, I’ll take you out for a nice candlelit dinner.”

She stared at me for a few seconds, contemplating my offer. “Fine. I want to go to Masa.” Of course she’d choose the most expensive restaurant in New York City.

“I’ll take you wherever you want to go…oh and by the way, you look so fucking sexy in those jeans.” Hell, she looked sexy in everything she wore, except for a bare face. Seeing Alyssa without makeup made me feel like I was looking at a totally different person. Let’s just say that she didn’t look like a twenty-six year old woman.

“I know” she boasted, with a sly smile on her face. “I wore them just for you…and guess what?”

“Hm?”

“I’m going commando” she whispered with a lick to the side of my neck and placing a soft kiss on it. My cock immediately stood at attention, therefore making it extremely hard for me to resist throwing her up against the desk and fucking the living shit out of her. Alyssa smiled at the effect she had on me. “Ah, that’s what I like to see. Save it for tonight.” She leaned forward and placed her lips on top of mines. “I want you to fuck me good.”

“We’ll see” I simply replied with beads of sweat forming on my forehead.

She took a step away from me and started to walk towards the door. “I expect to be picked up in a limo at around eight. Don’t be late. I’m sure it won’t be difficult for you to make reservations. You are Jason Jameson after all.”

“I’ll see you later Alyssa.”

She winked at me, opened the door, and walked out. I didn’t even bother to walk her to the elevator. Not too long after she left, there was a soft knock on the door.

“Come in” I called out, walking back to my desk while adjusting my pants to a more comfortable fit.

I had to do a quick double take as Keyshia hesitantly stepped inside my office. She closed the door behind her and stayed put in the same spot. The way she looked in that fitted navy blue pencil dress made my dick jump up once again. Little buddy couldn’t get a break, could he?

“What’s up?” I asked, a little concerned and hoping that I wouldn’t have to leave my desk.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Keyshia breathed out a deep sigh and shook her head. I could tell she having some sort of internal conflict. “No…um, it’s none of my business. Never mind.”

“Are you talking about Alyssa and I?”

“Jason-“

“Is that what you’re talking about?” I pressed on.

“Yeah, it’s weird that I didn’t know. You know, you’d think I’d know…being your assistant and all.”

“I was going to tell you.”

“When?” she quickly asked. “Were you scared or something?”

“Scared?” I scoffed. “Hardly.”

“Well what was it then? It couldn’t be that you forgot to bring it up because I know everything that goes on in your life. Every. Single. Thing. Which means you were meaning to hide this whole thing from me, weren’t you?”

“I couldn’t bring myself to do it, okay?” I said, adding volume to my voice.

“It’s okay.” Keyshia paused and started to finger the pearls wrapped around her neck. “She’s perfect…and it must be nice knowing that you don’t have to hide your girlfriend from everyone.”

“Keyshia…”

“How long have you guys been together?”

“For about two months.”

She smiled a beautiful smile and brushed her wavy hair behind her right ear. “I should pay more attention to TV, huh?”

“Come here” I whispered. Keyshia slowly walked closer to my desk and sat down in one of the chairs situated in front of it. “Look, I miss talking to you. You’re shying away from me like you did before and I don’t like it. What’s going on?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Which are?”

“We never talked about it.”

I gave her a confused look and sat back in the leather chair. “About what?”

“About our relationship. We just broke up and left it at that. I thought we had a plan Jason.”

“You can’t completely hold me accountable for that. I wasn’t the one who wanted to break up…and if we’re being fair here, I gave you an ample amount of time to come to your senses.”

Shit, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.

“Come to my senses?” she asked with a frown and furrowed eyebrows.

“You know what I mean.”

“No. I’m gonna need for you to elaborate on that. It kind of sounded like I was inevitably supposed to come to you.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“Whatever Jason” Keyshia said, lifting herself out of the chair. “Is there anything else you need for me to do? I’m about to leave for lunch.”

“Let me join you. I need to take a break as well. And we can finish up this conversation.”

“I don’t want to finish it up. It’s over. You’re dating someone now…and I’m-well…I’m doing the same.”

“You’re dating someone?” I asked, feeling immediately jealous of whoever it was that got to see the intimate side of her.

“Sort of. But it’s none of your business, right?”

“You’re right. It’s none of my business.”

“K. Cool…so there’s nothing you need for me to do?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure? I don’t need to make dinner reservations or call your driver? Nothing like that?” she questioned, sarcastically.

“I can do that for myself. Just because you found out about Alyssa does not necessarily mean I’ll have you doing shit for her.”

“Right…”

Before I could say another word to her, she walked out of my office with a semi-slam to the door.

Keyshia

 

I needed to get out of that hotel as soon as possible. I suddenly felt suffocated and unable to breathe. Tears were welling up in my eyes and begging to be free. All I could think about was how wrong I was for feeling this way. Seeing him with that goddess of a woman made me physically ill.

But shit, it’s my entire fault. I had my chance with him and I blew it. What was I thinking? I put me and Jason in my own little world, forcing myself to believe that it was just the two of us. Now that I’m stuck in reality, I’ve noticed that my competition is hundreds of thousands of women. If Jason were a player, I’d be the last person on his waiting list.

I wiped the stray tears away from my face as soon as I was hit with the hot humid heat of New York City. It’s the middle of July and outside feels like death. Having to deal with the heat and what just happened wasn’t the way I wanted to spend the rest of my afternoon.

My stomach wasn’t really yearning for hunger, but I felt the need to feed it anyway. I hadn’t eaten the whole day.

Right as I opened the door to the nearest Starbucks, I slammed into a hard chest that almost sent me flying back.

“Keyshia?”

I took a step back to see if I could recognize the familiar voice that said my name. It was exactly who I thought it was, Alicia’s brother, Eric. And damn it if he didn’t look fine as hell. He actually looked better than when we used to date. With his beautiful caramel colored skin, six foot stature, and perfectly sculpted facial features, I started to wonder why the hell I broke up with him in the first place.

“Eric? Hey! What are you doing in Manhattan? I thought you lived in the Bronx?”

“I can ask the same for you” he said with a laugh, moving out of the way for an older lady to get past him.

“Oh. No I work here on East 57th Street.”

“Really? Making good money I see.”

“Ha, something like that. You work here as well...or?”

“Yeah, I just got a job working for a marketing firm. Nothing special, but I plan on working my way up. Hey, I see you’re just coming in. Why don’t you let me buy you coffee or something?”

I took a second to think about his offer. It was always good talking to Eric and catching up. Unlike his sister, he was a kind, selfless person.

“Uh, yeah sure. That sounds nice. But I’d like anything but coffee. It’s hot as hell outside.”

He let out a soft chuckle and guided me over to a free table. Right as we sat down, he looked at me and smiled.

“What?” I asked, hoping there wasn’t something on my face.

“You look absolutely beautiful, Keyshia. It’s really nice seeing you after all of this time. I’ve been asking Alicia about you but she never says anything.”

“Thanks…but you have my number, you should have just called me up. It’s always nice catching up with and talking to you.”

“Yeah. I apologize for being so distant. Remember when Alicia tried her hardest to get us together?”

“Mhm. She succeeded, didn’t she?” I said, smiling at him.

“Sort of. What happened with us? I feel like we ended without any real explanation.”

“You were graduating high school and going to college while I was going to the tenth grade. There’s no way that would have worked.”

“I’m not going to college anymore Keyshia. We’re adults now…and to be honest, I’ve missed you so much.”

“What is that supposed to mean, Eric? You don’t speak to me for about two years and now you’re saying you want to get back together? I don’t think so.”

“You have a boyfriend or something?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I didn’t say it was.” He sighed as if he were getting frustrated with me. “Let me take you out to dinner tonight; if you’re not busy. I’m not saying it’s a date. It doesn’t have to be. Just old friends catching up.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes. So what do you say?”

“Do I still get a free pass for this lemonade I’m about to order?”

Eric laughed in relief as he nodded his head. “Yeah, as long as that’s a yes to what I asked you.”

“Hm…” I rubbed my chin and acted as if I were pondering on something serious. “Sure.”

“Cool.” After he said that, he got up and stood in the long line. I sat back in my chair and smiled internally. I’m surprised he remembered exactly what I used to order from Starbucks.

Maybe this “date” will get my mind off of Jason and I’ll have a chance at having a real relationship.

 

Jason

 

Approximately four hours after that conversation with  Keyshia, I headed straight home in order to prepare myself for this dreaded date. Taking Alyssa out always ended with a migraine headache. But I needed to tolerate her this one night so that I could get a good fuck in. The last woman I had sex with was Keyshia and in five months, that would make a year without it. What she said today validated our “relationship”. We’re probably never going to get back together, and although I’m not completely okay with that decision, I would have to move on.

Alyssa would just have to do. My dad approves of her and so does the rest of the world. Only after the two months of us dating, various people have been pestering me about proposing to her. Not gonna happen. She’s not a bad person-she’s actually pretty adorable-but not my type. I can’t see myself spending the rest of my life with her. Why spend the rest of your life with someone you don’t exactly click with?

 On the way over to her condo, right outside of Central Park, I called up Chef Masa himself to let him know that I was on my way. I have no problem with spending over two thousand bucks on food when he’s the chef. The food is most likely the best food I’ve ever had the experience of tasting.

Right when I stepped foot out of the black town car, I was bombarded with paparazzi. Now how in the hell did they know I was coming to her place?

“Jason, are you two going on a date tonight?” “You two are so perfect together?” “What happened to the black woman?” “Is she pregnant?” “I heard you’re proposing!” “Are you in love?”

I tried to smile as I walked closer to the entrance of the complex. It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard those questions, and as long as I’m dating Alyssa Cambridge, it damn sure won’t be the last.

When I reached the door to her apartment, she opened it without me having to knock. “You’re right on time!” she beamed. I drank in the stunning sight of her. The tight hot pink dress that hugged her taut, toned body already had me wanting to rip it off of her. Alyssa’s luscious lips were covered with the matching colored lipstick. Her tall heels made her only a few inches shorter than me, since she was already 5’10 without them. “Do you like what you see?”

“Yeah, you look gorgeous.”

“Thank you. So do you. Did you call to let them know that we’re coming?”

“Yep. Uh, did you know that there’s a shitload of paparazzi hanging outside of your building?” I motioned towards the direction of outside.

“Mhm” she responded by closing her front door and walking past me towards the elevator. “I called them.”

“Why?!” I followed her and placed my hands into my pockets.

“Because people need to know that we’re happy. What better way to show them to invite paparazzi over and give them a show?” she said, pressing the down button.

“So now we’re acting?”

“You don’t look happy with me any other time…unless you’re forced, so what’s the difference?”

“Alyssa, sweetheart, I am happy with you” I strained out.

“Show it then.” And that was all she said until we arrived at the bottom floor, through the lobby, and outside into the pool of vultures.

I placed her hand in mines and led her into the growing crowd. Right as we got into a good position, where every single one of them could get a good quality shot, I bent down and started out with a peck on the lips. Alyssa got into it and wrapped her long arms around my neck, turning it into a full on makeout session. I tried to pull away, but she drew me in closer and stuck her tongue inside of my mouth.

“Sometimes you need a push” Alyssa smiled through the kiss. “They love it.”

I groaned and slightly pushed her away from me. “Let’s go. I don’t want to be late.”

 

Keyshia

Eric picked me up from my apartment and we drove back into Manhattan to try out this Shake Shack place he’s been raving about. We grabbed ourselves a burger and a shake and enjoyed the sight of Madison Square Park.

“I don’t see how you can eat all of this junk food without gaining a single pound” Eric joked, breaking the silence.

“It’s a skill” I joked back. I flashed a flirtatious smile and dug into my burger.

“Sure it is…” He bumped me and continued to slurp on his chocolate milkshake. “Keyshia, how have you been? Have you been speaking to your family?”

That question caught me completely off guard. Even though I think about them everyday, no one has asked me about them (except Jason that one time). “I’ve been doing good. And you know they don’t want to talk to me. If I were to die, they wouldn’t even know.”

“Don’t say that. I’m sure they’re worried about you but too proud to say anything. You should check up on them.”

“I don’t want to talk about that Eric. Please.”

“Ah, okay. I apologize.”

“Don’t be nosy like your sister. You know how she can get.”

He smirked and shook his head. “Yeah. Annoying.”

“When was the last time you spoke to her? I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

“Yesterday actually. She’s doing well.”

“That’s great. Ever since I told her about this job I got, she stopped speaking to me.”

“You’re working with Jason Jameson, right?”

“Yep.”

“I don’t know what her problem is. Let’s get off of the subject of her though.”

“And talk about what?”

“Us.”

“Eric…”

“What?”

“I thought this wasn’t a date.”

“It’s not like I said that just to get you to go out with me. Of course not” he replied in a humorous tone.

“…you think you’re slick, huh?”

“Oh come on Keyshia. You’re the first girl I dated when I came to New York. You were the first girl I fell in love with. Did you expect me to not want you?”

“You were in love with me?”

“Hell yeah. Who wouldn’t fall in love with you?”

Jason Jameson.

“I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship.”

“We can take it slow. We don’t have to rush into things.”

“…okay. I’d like that.”

“Really?”

“Yes Eric.”

I felt like I was agreeing to something I had no choice but to agree on. Truthfully, I was not ready to be in a relationship unless it was with Jason. I didn’t want anyone else but him. Why not try this thing out with Eric though? He’s a nice guy and I would eventually regret not getting to know him better. I had no chance with Jason especially if he was with Little Miss Perfect.

 

Alyssa Cambridge

eric 

 

A whole month later and I was well into my relationship with Eric. We’ve been on countless dates attempting to get to know each other. Too bad I made a mental boundary inside of my head forbidding myself to fall for him. He did everything right by treating me like a lady, giving me his undivided attention, and going out of his way to make me laugh. But I felt as if he didn’t really get me. Or maybe it was me? I don’t know. All I know is that he doesn’t make me feel the same way I feel around Jason. And that’s the problem. I compare every single thing he does to fucking Jason Jameson. What a miserable thing to go through? Realizing you’re in love with someone when they’ve already moved on.

Ever since I came to realization that he was dating that…woman, everything came clear to me. They were all over the news, she always showed up at the office, and I have to sit through an endless amount of conversations dealing with the two of them. It made me want to literally ball up into a shell and stay in my apartment all day. Having to work for the source of all of my headaches made things so much worse. Seeing him kiss her induced vomit.

Now, after I said all of that, you would think that I’m not glad for Jason…but I am. I’m happy that he’s with someone that he has the potential to be happy with. He can show her off to the world and take her wherever he wants to take her. Considering the fact that he never had the opportunity to do that with me, I don’t understand why he wouldn’t be perfectly content with his life right now.

“Keyshia, babe, did you hear anything I just said?” Eric asked, knocking me out of my thoughts.

“What? Sorry, I sort of dozed off.”

“I was saying that the train is going to take longer than expected, so we might have to take your car into the city if you want to be to work on time.”

“Parking is way too expensive and it takes forever to ride through Times Square.”

He sighed and leaned back onto the rusty green bench. We were patiently waiting for the Metro to show up at the station. Eric insisted that we start riding to work together, counting that as time spent together. Both of our jobs are demanding so whatever time we could spare, we definitely made use of it. “You have that nice ass Benz and you never drive it. What’s that all about?”

“There’s no point in driving into the city. It’s a waste of gas.”

“Yeah. I guess I know what you mean…but if I were you, I’d just ask my boss for gas money. I’m sure he won’t mind giving you some type of raise.”

“He already gives me so much. I don’t want to ask for anything else from him.”

After a few seconds, Eric looked over at me and shook his head. “Let’s just take my car. I’ll pick you up when you get off. I don’t like being late.”

And with that, he stood up and started making his way back towards his apartment. I had to break out in a slight jog in order to catch up with him.

 

Jason

“We have enough time, Jason. Please.”

“No” I calmly denied Alyssa’s obscene request. She wanted to have a little morning quickie before I left for work and I didn’t have time. I was already late.

“Why are you trying to get to work ‘on time’ and you’re the boss? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It makes perfect sense. Why should I expect my employees to show up on time when I can’t even do it?”

“Ugh. It’ll only take like five minutes. Let me suck your dick or something.”

I gave her a look of disbelief and lifted myself out of the bed. “As appealing as that sounds…I have to get ready. And you mentioned something about a photo shoot, right? My driver will drive you to wherever you need to go.”

“You suck.”

I wanted to say something sarcastic, or maybe even rude back to her, but I hated arguing. That’s all we seemed to do: have sex and argue. And the sex was, quite frankly, mediocre so it definitely wasn’t worth it.

For the next thirty minutes, I quietly resumed to getting ready. Alyssa got fed up and decided to leave. It wasn’t like her company was much needed. Honestly, the woman feels like a dead weight that I don’t have to carry. I’m forcing myself to move on and out of all of the choices I’ve had to make, this definitely fell into the “unwise” category.

When I arrived to the office, Keyshia met me first hand with a piping hot cup of black coffee. She looked absolutely beautiful in her form fitting navy blue pantsuit. Her soft plump breasts were peeking out of the opening of the jacket. It was obvious that she had no undershirt on. “Jason?”

“Hm? What?” I took the cup out of her hand and adjusted my stance.

“You have to call your dad back, some guy from France called, and you have about three news reporters on hold.”

“Okay. Take the reporters off of hold and tell them I’m not answering any questions. I’ll call the guy from France back first…and I’ll handle my dad. Thanks.”

“No problem” she said, scattering away back to her office. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was trying to avoid any type of contact with me. As if she suddenly remembered something, she turned back around and continued with the list of things I had to do today. “The tree expert man called up asking about a tree you were looking at the other day and wants to know if you still want to purchase it. You have to call the Georgia contractor back and there’s a stack of invitations I found in the mail today. They’re on your desk.”

I sighed and nodded my head. And to think that this is what my usual day consists of. “Gotcha. Anything else?”

“Nope. I think that covers everything. Although, you might want to make a call up to your publicist. She didn’t seem too happy when she called earlier.”

“She’s never happy…but thanks darling. I’ll see what I can do about all of this stuff.”

Keyshia flashed a weak smile and started to make her way back to her office. This uncomfortable relationship just can’t do. It’s actually really frustrating. “Hey!” I called back to her.

“Yeah?”

“What are you doing for lunch?”

“Um. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll order something.”

“We can order something together.”

“No that’s fine…you-“

“Keyshia…”

“What?”

“You’re avoiding me and I don’t like it.”

“I’m not avoiding you.”

“Looks that way to me.”

She gave me a frustrated look and shifted all of her weight unto her left leg. “I’m not avoiding you Jason. I promise.” And with that, she left me alone and went inside her office.

Halfway into the extremely busy workday, rain began to pour down outside. I think we even had some type of flash flood warning going on. The downpour brought in an unwelcome gloominess to the workplace. Everyone kept to themselves and I guess since they knew that I had a shitload of things to complete, no one wanted to bother me. The hours flew by so fast that I missed lunch and the next thing I knew, it was dark outside and all of my employees started to leave. I didn’t have anything else left for Keyshia to do today, so I let her go home an hour before she was scheduled to get off.

After finishing up a phone call with a prominent hotel owner from Paris, I grabbed my umbrella and headed out of the hotel. Pleased to not be bothered by Alyssa all day, relaxation was much needed. When I rounded the front of the hotel at around ten o’clock, I noticed the image of a small woman crying on the bench. The rain poured down on top of her as she wept. As I stepped closer to her, I noticed that it was Keyshia.

“Keyshia?”

Her head immediately shot up with a surprised look on her face. All sorts of questions popped up in my head to why the hell she was allowing herself to get soaked and why the hell was she sitting out here when I let her go home nearly two hours ago. “Jason” she responded through shivers. Without second thinking myself, I came to her side and provided her shelter with the umbrella. At this point, I was getting soaked as well.

“What the hell are you doing out here? I let you go home a while ago.”

“My boyfriend’s supposed to be on the way.”

“I’ll give you a ride. Come on. My car’s right there.”

“No…he’s supposed to be here. I have to wait for him.”

“Keyshia, listen to me. You’re shivering and I don’t want you to catch a cold. I need to get you out of this rain.”

She started to cry harder than she was before. “I have a ride. He’ll be here any minute.”

“He’s not coming” I whispered. As each second passed, I grew even more pissed off. What fucktard would leave their girlfriend out in the rain like this? If I knew what this idiot looked like, I would find him and give him a good ole crack to the neck.

“You’re practically convincing yourself this. Here, let me help you up.” I got up and reached down to accompany her.

“Jason no!” she screamed. “I don’t fucking need your help, okay? I don’t need you!”

Taken aback by her sudden outburst, I pressed my lips together. “Keyshia if you don’t get up right this second, I will throw you over my shoulder and leave you with no options. Now get the fuck up!”

She ignored me and shook her head. “I don’t need you” she softly murmured.

“You might not need me, but I need you” I bent down and held her chin between my index and thumb fingers. “Now I’m going to tell you one more time…come with me.”

Without putting up a fight, she slowly lifted herself up and leaned against me. I held her closer to my chest and supported the both of us as I made my way to my car. Luckily, there weren’t any paparazzi out due to the heavy rain. Even if there were, that wouldn’t faze me. The only thing I had on my mind was getting Keyshia to a warm dry place.

 

Keyshia

I tried my hardest not to accept a ride from him, but I gave in because I knew Eric’s stupid ass wasn’t going to show up. When he dropped me off, he promised to take me to a nice, candlelit dinner and a movie, now look what happened. He left me hangin on probably one of the worst days. I was vulnerable. He wasn’t there when I needed him, but Jason was. Jason’s always there when I need him.

As we traveled through Manhattan, I remained silent and tried to call Eric for the fourteenth time. There could be many reasons to why this fool didn’t pick me up, but the only one I could think about was the probability of him ignoring me. Did he get tired of me that fast that he had to leave me out in the pouring rain?

I cried because everything seemed to be falling apart at this moment in my life. I lost the chance at love, my family wants nothing to do with me, and my new boyfriend is a jackass. I know that’s not the worst thing that could happen to an individual, but having to deal with such a stressful job and basically having a nonexistent social life, it’s pretty bad.

I blinked back into reality when we pulled into the parking garage of Jason’s condominium complex. “What are we doing here?” I asked, taking in the heat of his car.

“I told you that you’re coming with me. I’m going to take care of you.”

I opened my mouth and quickly shut it. Shit, if he wanted to take care of me, why not?

We pulled into a parking space and Jason got out of the car in order to open the door to my side. Being the perfect gentleman, he grabbed my hand and assisted me out of the car. I whispered a short “thanks”.

Approximately ten minutes later and we were walking through the door of his luxurious apartment. Jason was the first to speak.

“I’ll make your favorite tea. Go ahead and get comfortable.”

I nodded my head and walked further into the living room. Since I was wet, I didn’t want to ruin his pricey furniture by “getting comfortable”, so I just stood there with my arms crossed over my chest. For a few seconds, I watched Jason take off his suit jacket and move around the kitchen. He looked damn sexy with his wet hair and slightly damp shirt. I could feel my body beginning to respond to his stimulating appearance.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, looking ssomewhat concerned.

“Nothing. I don’t want to mess your furniture up because I’m wet. I’ll just stand here.”

“Follow me” he simply said before starting to walk through the hallways and into the huge closet.

I followed him and waited as he pulled out a grey t-shirt and a pink pair of shorts. They looked too small (and girly) for him and then I remembered that I used to leave my clothes at his house while we were dating.

“And you still have these because…?” I joked.

“Hey, you never know what could happen.”

I took the clothes out of his hands and smiled. “Well thank you. I really appreciate all that you’re doing for me.”

“No problem.”

Jason

I took a few seconds to acknowledge her vulnerable aura and how fucking beautiful she looked. Biting my bottom lip came as an involuntary action. She noticed what I did and I could tell she was blushing. We were like two hormonal teenagers. If I didn’t know the risks, I would push her up against the wall and claim what’s mine…but now would be the wrong time. Both of us are a bit confused to what’s going on between us and kissing her would only create more problems.

I broke the silence and grabbed a pair of comfortable clothes for myself. “If you want to take a shower, feel free.” Just the mere thought of putting her and shower in the same sentence made me hard as a rock. Damn.

“Yeah...I’ll take one. I feel gross” Keyshia responded, hurriedly rushing out of the closet and into the closest bathroom.

Keyshia

“Oh shit!” I shouted as I barely caught myself from falling in the shower. Catching Jason gaze at me with that look in his eyes sent me over the edge. I know this sounds immature, but this man did all kinds of things to my body. Things I’ve never experienced before. If he stared at me any longer, I probably would have came right on the spot. So in the shower, I made the impulsive decision to free my body of the long overdue built up sexual frustration. As soon as I was about to hit my climax, my foot decided to slip and sent me flying backwards. Fortunately for me, there was a shower bar there for me to grab.

Jason busted into the bathroom seconds later and pulled back the shower curtain, revealing my naked body. “What happened? Is everything okay?!”

“Jason!” I screamed with wide eyes, snatching the curtain back and wrapping it around my body. “What the hell?!”

“Did you almost fall?” he smirked.

“Yeah. But I caught myself. Now will you get out!” My eyes instantly shot down to the enormous bulge in his basketball shorts. The Lord is testing me.

“Sorry. I uh…I just wanted to see if you were okay.”

“I’m fine.” He needs to get out of here because if so much as utters the right word, I will be all over him. “Please get out so I can get dressed” I said, breathless.

Jason nodded and walked to the door. “I made tea and ordered some food. Let me know when you’re finished, okay?”

“Yeah.”

I tried to hold in a fit of laughter when he uncomfortably walked out of the bathroom in slight pain. Men.

Jason

I looked up from drinking my tea and almost choked on the hot liquid. Keyshia walked into the living room with the tight pair of shorts and t-shirt that I gave her. I don’t remember them being that tight before…

“Either I gained weight or something’s up with your washing machine” she said, vocalizing my exact thoughts.

“You look good. I don’t see a problem with them.”

“Of course you’d say that” she smirked and stepped deeper into the living from. I had to occupy my eyes with something else that didn’t involve staring at her cute, perky breasts.

“We need to talk” I said after placing the black coffee cup beside me on the table.

“Uh oh. Sounds serious” she joked.

“Somewhat. Please, take a seat.”

She gave me a skeptical look and sat down on the plush leather chair directly across from me. “What’s up?”

“First thing’s first. Why were you crying out there?”

“I’m not obligated to answer that. Next question.”

“Keyshia, this isn’t an interview. I’m speaking to you as a friend.”

“Friend?” she began to laugh. “Ha!”

“I don’t see what’s so funny. Just answer the question.”

“How would you feel if your boyfriend left you hangin like that? I felt like a piece of shit. Like I amounted to nothing. I thought me and Eric had something good going on…he won’t even answer his damn phone so I guess I was crying out of frustration.”

“I would never do that to you.”

“Yeah, well it’s not about you…stop saying shit like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like what you would do if we were together or how much you care about me. Where is all of this even coming from?

 “What do mean where is it coming from? Why is it so hard for you to understand that I care about you? Do you know how much shit I would do for you if you allow me?”

“Jason, seriously. Please stop.”

“Stop what?! Since we’re pointing things out now. That’s all you say to me. Stop this, stop that. I’m not going to hold back my tongue!

“You have a girlfriend!”

“So?!”

“I didn’t come over for this and if I knew that we were going to start arguing, I would have walked home.”

I stared at her for a few seconds and pinched the bridge of my nose. Keyshia is the one and only person that I will tolerate when it comes to fighting. With Alyssa, things are different. “You’re acting as f I’m asking for your hand in marriage. All I did was say that I care about you. And that’s true. I don’t really care for many people so-“

“What? Am I not supposed to take your ‘caring’ for granted?”

“I’m not saying that. Listen to me, I care about you more than anyone I’ve ever cared about…and to be honest“ I paused for a moment. “you’re my best friend.”

I looked up to see her reaction. All she did was slightly part her lips and raise her perfectly arched eyebrows. “How?”

“You know everything about me. Literally everything. You’re the only person that makes me feel all sorts of emotions…and this is going to sound gay as hell, but you understand me.”

She looked a tad emotionally overwhelmed so I continued to speak. “If I lose you… I honestly don’t think I could go on with life because you’re the greatest person I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

“Jason…” she started, choked up with tears that she obviously tried to hold back. I lifted myself out of my seat, walked over to her, and knelt down to meet her gaze.

“You’re my life Keyshia Renee Reynolds” I whispered. She allowed my hands to rest on her knees as I rubbed them up and down in a continuous motion. Just like old times, she placed her hands on each side of my face and leaned her forehead against mines.

“I miss us” she simply said, with teardrops creeping down her soft face. “You made me so happy.”

That’s it, I thought. I’m going in. There’s nothing she can do or say that will keep me from getting a taste of those luscious lips.

Keyshia prepared herself for the incoming kiss by licking her lips and moving in closer to me. As soon as I tilted my head and felt the softness of her lips, there was a loud knock on the door.

“They can wait” I groaned.

“Get the door” Keyshia said, leaning back in the chair away from me.

“Whoever the fuck that is better be important.”

I swiftly rushed to the front door and swung it open without checking through the peephole.  

“Surprise!” Alyssa shouted, pushing past me and walking into my condo. I slammed the door behind her and looked her over. Before I could say anything, she ripped the crème colored trench coat off and let it hit the floor. Next thing you know, I’m staring at a naked tall, size double zero, no-ass-having, supermodel with crazy heels on. “Enough with the staring. Fuck me already.”

I shook my head, picked her coat up, and tried to put it back on her. As I was slipping it back on her, Alyssa grabbed me and began to lay kisses all over my face. “Alyssa stop! What are you doing?”

“No…what are you doing? No one rejects me, okay? So tell me now. Be honest Jason. Are you gay? You have to be. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Right as I was about to answer her question, Keyshia rounded the corner and noticed Alyssa’s half naked physique. “What the hell is your assistant doing here?”

“She-“

“I’m actually about to leave” Keyshia replied, acting as if she were searching for her shoes.

“That didn’t answer my question. What the fuck is she doing here?”

“Because I asked her to come over and help me with something I didn’t finish at work” I quickly replied.

“Well she looks mighty comfortable here to just be your assistant. What’s going on?” Alyssa actually looked a little hurt with that last sentence.

“Nothing is going on. You know I’ve been busy these past few weeks and Keyshia, being a saint, decided to do overtime and I didn’t feel right with her being at the office alone.”

“Oh” was all she responded with. “So I guess I should come back at a later time?”

“Yes!” I nearly shouted, content that she finally came up with a reasonable suggestion.

Keyshia jumped in and stood between Alyssa and I. “You can stay. Like I said before, I was about to leave, so-“

“Keyshia, I need to talk to you for a second.”

Without protesting, she allowed me to guide her into the kitchen. I backed her up against the marble countertop and blocked her in with my arms.

“You’re staying the night. I don’t want you going back into that storm and plus, all of your clothes and shoes are wet.”

“I can manage.”

“You’re staying here” I repeated, gazing down into her beautiful brown orbs. “We have a lot of shit to talk about.”

“Okay. Whatever.”

I moved away from her and went back to the door to dismiss Alyssa but she had already left. I’ll handle that tomorrow.

“She’s gone?” Keyshia asked, walking up behind me.

“Yes. Finally. Come here.”

She walked closer to me and stood about two inches from my body. “What?”

“Would it make things weird if I kissed you right now?”

“Very. You’re still my boss and you have a girlfriend. I think we’re both a little confused and it’s probably for the best of us that we’re seeing other people.”

“Having Alyssa as my girlfriend does not reap any benefits.”

“I can name three.”

“Really?”

“Your dad loves her, you can take her wherever you want to, and she’s freakishly gorgeous.”

“None of that makes me happy. I still feel empty when I’m with her…but when I’m with you…-“

“Don’t start with that Jason. Look, I have an idea.”

“What?”

Before she could share said idea, her phone began to vibrate. I took a peek at her caller ID and the name “Eric” popped up on the screen.

“I have to take this.”

Keyshia

“Where were you?” I said into the phone, once again on the verge of tears. “You left me out there for two hours.”

“Sorry baby. My car broke down and as soon as I was about to call you, my phone died on me.”

“You could have at least taken the bus to my job. I can’t believe you let that happen to me!”

“I will never forgive myself for this, babe. I can only imagine how you felt. Where are you now? I need to see you.”

“I’m still in Manhattan. I’ll be home tomorrow. I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

“And that’s understandable. But-“

“Bye” I hung up on him and sighed. “I don’t believe him and I don’t know why.”

Jason came closer to me and pulled me into his arms. “Why don’t we forget about them for just this one night? We can ignore the fact that we work together….and ignore everything that prevents us from saying what’s on our minds. I need to say some things and I know you have some things you need to tell me. Sooo….what do you say?”

“I’m all in.”

 

Keyshia

 

Tick tock. I sarcastically voiced inside my head. Jason and I were sitting across from each other completely mute. I guess neither one of us had the balls to start this “much needed” conversation off.

“Am I supposed to start this thing off or…” I asked out loud.

Jason lifted his head up from the palms of his hands and slowly smiled. “Ladies first.”

“Okay…”

I paused for a couple of seconds to gather up the courage to say what I needed to say. “I quit.”

Just as soon as that came out of my mouth, his smirk immediately transformed into a deep frown; eyebrows crinkled up and everything. “What the hell did you just say?”

“I said…I quit. I quit everything having to do with you: this job, me knowing you…just everything. I can’t take this anymore.”

I didn’t think his frown could get any more extreme, but it did. “You’re not quitting on me Keyshia. I forbid it.”

“Forbid?” I scoffed in a sort of mocking way. “Seriously? What is that supposed to mean?” I almost wanted to laugh, but that would’ve been straight up rude.

“It means that we’ve been through way too much for you to up and quit without good reason.”

“Oh trust me. I have plenty of valid reasons. “

“Name one” Jason challenged.

“Our previous relationship and your suggestive comments. The whole situation is inappropriate.”

“So that’s it? You want me to stop supposedly ‘coming on’ to you? Keyshia, I don’t know if you realize this or not, but I have a girlfriend…and you have a boyfriend. I’m a little perplexed.”

“You know what I’m talking about. Our relationship…you don’t treat me like a boss is supposed to-“

“Key-“

 “be treating his assistant. If I’m going to be working for you-“

“Keyshia…”

“then you need-“

“KEYSHIA SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!”

 I leaned forward and cocked up my right brow. “What?”

“You’re delusional. I’ve been trying to cooperate with you by being as nice and understanding as I can…but you’re going too far. Obviously we have feelings for each other. Everyone can see it and it sickens me that I have to act like nothing is going on. I feel like an asshole leading Alyssa on when I know that I want absolutely nothing to do with her!”

My face carried a shocked expression as I stared at him. “I need to go. I thought that I could talk to you about these things, but…” I shook my head and lifted myself out of the chair. “I can’t.”

Before I could begin the search for my shoes, Jason swiftly got up and blocked my path. “I’m not letting you leave before we sort this thing out! That’s all you do, Keyshia. You run away from your problems instead of facing them…and I refuse to let you do that tonight.”

He cautiously wrapped his hand around the upper part of my arm and guided me back over to the couch. “So sit down and spit whatever you have to say out. Do that or I’ll uncomfortably stare at you until you cave in.”

I began to speak as soon as Jason sat back down. “I-I don’t know what to say”.

“Tell me how you feel.”

“About what?”

“Everything.”

“Okay…well, um” I gulped and nervously rubbed my hand over my right thigh. “When I see you-and this is every time, Jason-my stomach gets all queasy and…-“

“…and?” Jason impatiently pushed.

“And I regret making that stupid ass deal. There, I said it. I regret forcing you to agree with me.”

“You didn’t force me to do anything. I wanted you to be happy and if that ‘deal’ made you happy, then I was willing to let you go.”

“You could have talked me out of it”” I responded in a playful tone.

“Believe me, I wanted to…but I didn’t want to be selfish with you. And in a way, I sort of agreed with you.”

I pushed my head back and crinkled my eyebrows together. “Really?”

“To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I have the required amount of self control. I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you if you were my assistant by day…and my woman by night.”

“And that’s your only reason?”

“It’s one of the main reasons, but no. There’s also this annoying thing called my family.”

“I figured.”

“From a business perspective, I’d have to keep on doing what I’m doing by dating Alyssa and keeping the company’s name in good standing…”

“What about your other perspective?”

“It’s telling me to say fuck everything and go with my heart.”

“And what is your heart telling you to do?”

Before he spoke, Jason moved away from the couch and rounded the table over to where I was sitting. He knelt down in front of me and wrapped his hands around my calves, slowly moving them up towards my thighs. “It’s telling me to move to the other side of the world and be with someone who makes me vulnerable, weak…and quite frankly, insane. It’s telling me to forget anything having to do with Jameson Suites and start over. Go somewhere where not a single soul knows of my existence.

I gazed down into his intoxicating eyes. They had hints of moisture in them. “I can’t let you do that”, I whispered. “I’m not going to let you throw your life away over…over whatever this is. You need to think rationally.”

“I did think about it. I think about this everyday. I don’t want this life.”

 

Jason

 

A single teardrop from Keyshia’s eye splashed onto my arm.  “Your family loves you so much. I’d be a selfish idiot to allow you to drop everything for me. Me. Like damn, I’m just an ordinary girl from the Bronx. Do you know how many things could go into jeopardy all because of me? Your aunt-“

I cut her off and smirked. “My aunt?”

“Yes” she said. “Your Aunt Mary. She really cares about you and she was telling me that-“

“You shouldn’t have listened to anything she said. Why didn’t you tell me before that the two of you talked about this?”

“Because after we left California, we acted as if the trip never happened in the first place.”

“What did she say? Tell me everything she said to you.”

Keyshia sighed and pushed my lingering hands away from her bare skin. “She said something about your inheritance being fragile and that your grandfather will basically go apeshit if you and I were to have a baby. Nothing that I didn’t know.”

“I don’t understand why everyone is so interested in what I do with my so-called ‘inheritance’. I am a grown ass man and I can handle things on my own.”

“Can we talk about this at another time? I wanted to say something else.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

“Since you won’t let me quit. I want to go to school for business.”

“What would you need to go to school for? The whole point of going to school is to get a solid job when you graduate.”

“I know, but I would like to have a degree. I’m not going to be working for you for eternity. I want to branch out and in order to do that, I have to build up my resume’.”

“Where is all of this coming from? It seems so random.”

“It’s not random.”

“You really want to go to school?”

“Yes.”

I stood up a little and sat on the living room table, still facing her. “Okay. I’ll pay for it…as long as you still work for me.”

“Of course. I’ll only go part time.”

“Anything else you want or need?”

“Yeah. For you to tell me the things you were planning on telling me. I told you everything so now it’s your turn.”

Inside my head, I contemplated on whether or not I should tell her about the death threats that she used to get before I began to date Alyssa. It was old news so she didn’t have to know. But then again, I didn’t want to keep any secrets from her since she almost knew everything about my life.

“Uh…damn, I don’t know how to tell you this but…” I paused and looked over to see her reaction to where I was going with this. All she did was nod her head.

“But…?” she pressed.

“Before Alyssa and I began to date, I hired bodyguards to follow you around for about four or five months.”

“What?!” Keyshia exclaimed with a set of wide eyes.

“Yeah…I kept receiving a lot of death threats and…just know that it is all taken care of.”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Because I didn’t want you to freak out. I hope you know that I will never allow anything bad to happen to you.”

“Yeah…but shit. People wanted to kill me?” Keyshia placed her hand over her forehead and bowed down.

“It’s not that serious…and I stopped receiving them.”

“Ha! All because you started dating that tramp!”

“How about we not go there? I’m not exactly loving your choice of a significant other at the moment either. It’s taking everything in me not to find this joker and strangle him. Too bad I don’t know what he looks like.”

I wasn’t intending on making her smile, but she cracked one. A beautiful one I might add.

The sound of the doorbell ringing made her jump a little. I almost forgot that I had ordered takeout not to long ago.

 

Keyshia

 

I brought my knees up to my chest and watched as Jason went to answer the door. In a way, I was relieved that he left for a few seconds. I needed to get my self together and take in what we had just talked about. He admitted that he had feelings for me but for some reason I wasn’t shocked. I guess I already knew that somewhere in the back of my mind. The way he looked at me told me even more about the way he felt but I didn’t need to be jumping to any conclusions.

A few minutes later, Jason walked back into the living room and placed the bag of food on the table. Without saying anything, he walked to the kitchen and brought back a hot cup of liquid. He placed it in front of me and smiled. I smiled right along with him because it was my favorite type of black tea.

I picked the mug up and took a small sip. A sudden burst of honey shot through my taste buds, making me moan a little. I forgot that Jason made tea so good. Before he offered it to me for the first time, I didn’t even know that I had a thing for tea.

He gave me a satisfied expression. “Is it good?”

“It’s delicious. I love it” I smiled at him and continued to drink.

Jason began to take the food out of the bag and started setting it up on the table. “How about we go back to old times?”

“Meaning?”

“Come here and I’ll show you” he glared at me, eyes full of lust.

“Hm, I don’t know…”

“Just come here. Stop being so scary. I told you to forget that we were dating other people for the night and you agreed.”

“That actually makes everything sound worse.”

“Keyshia…”

I put the ceramic glass cup back on the table, got up, and walked over to his side of the couch with my arms crossed over my chest. “What?”

Jason grabbed me by the knees and caught my body as it fell on top of his. For a second, everything felt familiar and right. I didn’t want to get up, but then I thought about Eric and Alyssa. My body instantly stiffened. Jason brushed my hair aside and whispered into my ear. “What’s wrong? Relax.”

“I don’t think I can do this…”

He lifted up his left wrist to take a peek at his watch. “It’s 10:36 right now…we have an hour and twenty four minutes to lay everything out on the table. Please do not back out on me now. I’m not forcing you to do anything…” Jason paused for a few seconds and loosened the grip he had on me. “You know what? Uh…sorry for forcing you to stay and making you talk to me. If you want to leave know, by all means, leave. Please. I would hate for you to think I’m making you do something you’re not comf-“

“I’m staying Jason. Shut up” I said with a smirk. He breathed out a sigh of relief as I got more relaxed.

“Yeah” Jason kissed the side of my forehead and laughed. “You’re the only one that can get away with telling me to shut up.”

“I’d still tell you to shut up even if I couldn’t get away with it” I teased. “Now let’s eat. I’m hungry.”

 

Jason

 

After eating most of the food, Keyshia rubbed her stomach and yawned. “Ah man. I think I have ‘The Itis’.”

I cocked my eyebrow up and asked “What the hell is an itis?” Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this condition before.

She looked up and smiled. Her eyes blinked a few times to conceal an oncoming fit of laughter. “It means nothing. Never mind.”

“No, tell me. I’m intrigued.”

“You know how you get sleepy after you eat a big meal? That’s what some people call it.”

“Oh…did you make that up or…?”

“I got it from a show.”

“Sweet.”

“Yeah…we have thirty minutes. What now?”

I positioned her chin between my index finger and thumb. Keyshia’s beautiful slanted eyes innocently gazed up at me. Between the sound of the heavy rain pouring down outside and the cozy silence of the room, everything felt perfect. Sitting in close proximity to one another made the both of us a little flustered, but I loved the smell of her coconut fragrance mixed in with her natural heat. Keyshia focused her stare to a random place behind me, attempting to suppress her bashfulness. The way she twitched her lips, signaling for me to make the move, had me about to completely lose it.

“I thought we were going to prevent this from happening” she whispered.

“How naïve of you to believe that” I said before swooping down and covering her mouth with mines. The kiss started out with a sweet and innocent peck but as soon as I tasted her, it turned into something hot and full of fiery passion. I half expected Keyshia to play along, but she did. She had just as much desire in her eyes as I did.

She moaned slowly as I grabbed her by the waist and flipped her into the position below me. Before continuing to grace her body with soft kisses, I wrapped her long legs around my lower back and leaned down to meet her face. With each second that passed, I could feel the shorts I had on tightening around my girth and my erection lengthening. Damn this woman.

For the next couple of minutes, I was determined to mark my territory on the side of her neck. She had no idea what I was doing until she felt me nibbling. “Jason, stop” Keyshia faintly whimpered, hardly able to speak. “You’ll leave a mark.”

I fell into her request, moved on to lifting her t-shirt over her head, and revealing her sexy black-laced bra. Just as quick as I made that movement, she removed mines and bit her lip. I couldn’t get over how perfect she looked. That’s when I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t.

I couldn’t do this with her.

Not right here, in the living room. So I pushed myself away from her and stood up.. She leaned back on her elbows, looking thoroughly confused, probably thinking that it was over. I held my hand out and she cautiously placed hers into it. “Follow me.”

Keyshia quickly nodded and obeyed. When we finally reached my bedroom, she let go of my hand and walked closer to the bed. I remained in the same place and watched her. Next thing I knew, her grey shorts were balled up in my hands. She had thrown them. I looked up and caught her grinning devilishly back at me. Her long brown hair was swung over one shoulder, the ends grazing right below her breast; her perfect, perky breasts.

Right as I took a step towards her, she held up her hand, making me freeze. Keyshia shook her head and pressed her lips together. I immediately caught on to her ‘hint’ and snatched my shorts off. The only thing that stood between us were my boxers, her thin lingerie…and of course, a little bit of distance. I wanted her so fucking bad.

As soon as she put her hand down, I took three huge steps towards her and picked her up. By instinct, my baby wrapped her legs around me and relaxed in my arms. She then placed her hands on either side of my face and gave me a soft peck on the lips. The kisses came slow and quick but suddenly transformed into long and thorough.  I backed up until I felt the comforter against my calf muscles and sat down. Keyshia moved her sweet kisses to the side of my neck as my hands crept towards the middle of her back, carefully unhooking her bra. I slowly slid each of the straps down and tenderly kissed her collarbone. She leaned back, gave me sly smile, and swiftly tossed the bra to the floor. My eyes widened at the sight of the most gorgeous, delicate, pair of breasts I’ve ever seen.

Without putting much thought to it, I leaned in and laid my head in the space between them. Keyshia placed her hand behind my neck, holding me closer to her. She let her chin rest on the top of my head. For the next minute or so, I stayed there soaking in just her presence alone. I heard her sniffle a little, but I didn’t dare look up.

Before she could call this thing off, I took her left breast into my mouth and licked around the dark chocolate nipple. Keyshia pulled me in closer as her breaths became shorter and more frequent. She began to squirm while I nibbled and licked. I knew our time was growing short, but I didn’t want to rush. I switched over to her right breast, satisfied with the image of the other swollen nipple.

After giving her right breast an ample amount of attention, I looked up at her and drew in her bottom lip. Our foreheads touched as we caught our breaths. Between her thighs stood one of the biggest hard-ons I’ve ever experienced. If I had moved one inch and if her panties were gone, I’d be buried inside of her. I couldn’t think of anything in the world that would be better.

I lifted up slightly and turned her over on her back. I crawled on top of her. There we were on my king-sized bed, everything quiet except the sound of my heart furiously pounding inside of my chest. Keyshia stared up at me with glossy eyes. As if my heart hadn’t had enough action, it dropped. “Keyshia…baby.”

“Hm?”

“You mean the world to me” I murmured, all the while reaching down between my thighs and pulling out my dick. I could feel her fluids seeping down onto the blanket. Baby was ready for me and dammit if I wasn’t ready for her.

Before I slid in, I decided to inform her of my feelings. She needed to know how much I loved her. “I um…I’m in lo-“

“Times up” Keyshia quickly intervened with tears pouring down her cheeks.

“What?” I nearly exclaimed. It was like a timer went off, completely ruining the moment.

“It’s midnight. Time’s up.” Keyshia pushed me away from her and damn near jumped off of my bed. I sat in shock as she searched the floor looking for her bra. She could barely put it on while because she was shaking. I climbed over the bed and stood up.

“Need help?”

“No I’m fine. Don’t touch.”

If I didn’t know any better, I think she would have slapped my hand away if I did, in fact, touch her.

“Keyshia…sweetheart, come here” I said with a hoarse voice. She allowed me to reach out and bring her into my arms.

“It’s after midnight…Mr. Jameson. My stay has been long overdue. I have to go.”

Did she just call me Mr. Jameson? “What the hell? No, you’re staying. Fuck. I didn’t literally mean 12:00. I need you here with me. Stay” I practically begged.

She gave me a nonchalant look and pried my hands off of her. After slipping on her shorts, she speed walked into the living room. I followed behind her and helplessly continued to watch her put the rest of her clothes on. 

 

Keyshia

 

I tried to keep myself together as Jason watched me get dressed. My tears were begging to be set free. He didn’t need to see me like this and if I didn’t get out of there within five minutes, the dam would break.

Jason didn’t make anything better by coming towards me and getting on his knees. He pushed his forehead into my thighs and exhaled deeply. Soon after, he rubbed his hands up both of my thighs and grabbed my ass. “Stay” was all he said.

“I can’t. Let me go.” I know I sounded like a bitch, but I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t ready to show him how vulnerable I was to him. Not yet.

About five seconds passed before he loosened his grip and took ahold of my hand. He laid three kisses on the inside of my wrist before letting go and standing up.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow” Jason formally said before turning around and walking back to his room. He sported a slight limp due to his erection, making smile a little.

I gathered up the rest of my clothes and the pair of pumps I wore to work, walked to the front door, and left his condo.

Right when I stepped inside of the elevator, I began to cry. Emotions overwhelmed me as I slid down the brass colored walls.

 

 

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of loud banging. Someone was at my front door. I groaned and groggily swung my legs around the side of the bed. Whoever it was was going to get a mouthful as soon I as opened that door. The clock read 8:00 and since I had a horrible night trying to fall asleep, I was not in the best of moods.

When I finally reached the door, I simultaneously swung it open while I wiped the eye boogers out of my eyes. Eric flew past me and started to speak but I could barely comprehend what they hell he was saying. I closed the door behind him and yawned. “What?”

“I called you thousands of times, Keyshia. Why didn’t you pick up? I was worried about you!”

“Can we talk about this later? I didn’t just got in not too long ago…and-“

“What the fuck is that on your neck?” Eric interrupted, squinting his eyes and scoping out my neck.

“What is wh-“ I stopped myself and slapped my hand over the right side of my neck. Oh shit. Jason left a hickey.

Eric grabbed me by the arm and snatched my body close to his face. My hand was still covering the hickey as I thought of an excuse. “That better not be a hickey…so help me God” he said through clenched teeth.

“It’s not. It-it’s nothing” I stuttered and snatched away the grip he had on me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keyshia

 

“I’m not letting you go anywhere until you tell me what the hell that is on your neck” Eric growled through clenched teeth.

I blinked my eyes a few times hoping that an excuse would suddenly appear into my mind. “Like I said before, it’s nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready for work. I’m already running late.” Before I had the chance to move past him, he grabbed my arm and quickly yanked me back towards him.

“If that is a hickey I swear to God-“

“It’s not!” I snapped, prying my arm out of his tight grip. “You don’t trust me now or something? You think I’m cheating on you?”

“I do trust you, but damn...that shit looks like a legit hickey.”

“Well it’s not and this is the last time I’m going to say it. If you don’t believe me, break up with me. And if you do, I suggest you drop it.”

Eric stared at me for a couple of seconds and then sighed and shook his head. “I apologize.”

“It’s cool” I said after giving his cheek a soft peck.

“I can drive you to work if you want.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

I rushed into my room and closed the door behind me. Eric’s apology didn’t convince me into believing that he thought I was telling the truth. He probably said that to let it go for a little while. One thing he knows about me is that I am absolutely horrible at telling lies.

 

Eric

 

On the way into Manhattan, I constantly stole a few glances at Keyshia. She knew I was looking at her, but instead, she kept her focus on the view ahead…avoiding any form of eye contact. I looked at the spot on her neck where the hickey was and gulped. She had covered it up with makeup, making it invisible to the naked eye.  She’s definitely not off the hook, but since she has to go to work, I’ll give her a temporary pass.

We pulled up to her job, which happened to be at one of the tallest buildings in New York City.  She quickly picked her purse up and opened the door.

“No kiss?” I asked with a slight smirk on my face.

Keyshia leaned in and brought her face closer to mines. “Make it quick. I have to go.”

Having to hear that statement made me no longer desire a kiss from her. Kisses were not something that you wanted to rush or feel like it was your duty to do. She made it seem as if we were a boring, old couple that barely had time to do these kinds of things.

“Go ahead and go. Just know this. We need to talk about some serious shit when you get off. I will be picking you up.”

She ducked out of the car and slipped the handle to her purse over her arm and onto her shoulder. “You said you were going to pick me up last night and guess what never happened?”

“My car broke down. I already told you that. Why you gotta bring that back up?”

“Because you were lying.”

“Just like you’re lying about that damn hickey? You think I’m stupid?! I know you let some random ass nigga do that to you. What else you let him suck? Huh?”

Keyshia shook her head, slammed the car door shut, and marched into the building. I knew she was pissed off, but it gave me conformation.

 

Keyshia

 

As soon as I got up to the top floor, I made my way straight into Jason’s office. Without knocking or giving him any type of warning, I swung his door open and slammed it shut. By this time, I was beyond heated. 

Jason, sporting a fitted black suit, looked up from his phone call and raised his eyebrows. “Look, you’ll have to speak with my publicist about that. You’re wasting my time talking about shit that is completely irrelevant.”

He hung up the phone and continued to gaze at me. “Hey, what’s going on? You don’t look too happy to be here. Speaking of that, you’re late.”

I stomped over to his desk and bent down to get closer to his face. I don’t know why I was thinking he’d be intimidated and lean back, but he didn’t. All he did was lean closer in to me. “You knew what you were doing, didn’t you?”

“Keyshia, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Care to explain?” he asked with a lifted brow.

I rubbed the palm of my hand onto my neck until I felt as if the makeup was completely removed. “This.”

“Shit…” he drew out, examining the bruise. “I don’t recall doing that.”

“Liar!” I shouted.

Jason gave me an arrogant smirk and tenderly caressed my cheek. “I’m guessing your boyfriend saw? Now he’s pissed off and demanding answers?”

“What am I supposed to tell him?”

“Break it off. You’re not happy with him. I can see it. No need in being in a relationship that makes your life shitty.”

I looked at him and nearly laughed out loud. Did he really have the nerve to say that to me? “You should really take your own advice, you know.”

I moved away from him and smoothed my form-fitting black pencil skirt down. “Changing the subject…what do you have for me to do today?”

Jason lifted himself out of the brown leather chair and walked over to where I was standing. For the first time in a long time, I had begun to take notice of how powerful he looked. With his expensive Rolex watch, towering physique, and perfectly tailored suits, I felt like a peasant standing there in front of him. As these thoughts raced through my mind, Jason cupped my chin between his fingers and looked down at me.

“You’re not going to be working in this office today. I don’t really need you, but my general manager over in the Bronx needs a great deal of assistance. You’ll be accompanying him.”

“Okay…you can get your hands off of me now” I whispered.

Jason resumed to placing his hands on the sides of my torso and rubbing them in an up/down motion. My body responded to the heat radiating off of his hands immediately. “What?” he said with a deeper voice than I was accustomed to hearing. “You don’t like this?’

“Jason…”

“Oh, that’s right. You only like it when I touch you at certain times. Is this time not convenient enough for you?”

“Will you stop?” I pulled his hands away from me and backed away. “You’re being an asshole.”

“I’m not being an asshole. I’m just being honest, Keyshia. A quality you happen to lack severely.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, offended.

“You know what I mean.” He paused and waited for me to react. All I could really do was stand there like an idiot. “I called a car for you. The driver is outside waiting. Do everything Thompson has you to do and you’ll do fine. Call me up if you have any issues. Other than that, I’ll see you on Monday.”

Lucky for me, I was close enough to the door to make a quick exit. Everyone that worked within the office looked like they were up to no good. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that every single one of them was listening to the conversation Jason and I just had. All of their beady, meddlesome, eyes followed me until I was out of sight. Nosy-ass co-workers.

 

Eric

 

Later into the evening, I drove Keyshia’s car into the city to pick her up as promised. She didn’t respond to any of my phone calls, so I decided to walk up there to get her. Totally forgetting that she worked for Jason Jameson, I was stopped by a few guards. They wanted me to go through a metal detector and to empty my pockets out. After going through their security procedures, I walked through the lobby and caught a ride on the elevator. When I finally reached the floor she told me she worked on, a few more guards stopped me.

“ID please?” one of them said with a nonchalant tone to his voice.

“I uh…I don’t have one.”

“You cannot cross this line without an ID, sir.”

“My girlfriend, Keyshia Reynolds, is Jameson’s assistant. I came to pick her up.”

“We’ll go get her for you” the other one said.

After a few moments of waiting, the guard came back and told me that she wasn’t here. “Yes she is” I responded, thoroughly confused. “I dropped her off earlier.”

“Well she’s not here. That’s all Mr. Jameson told us.”

“Is there any way I can see him then?”

One of the overly large men smirked and nodded his head towards the elevator. “Save yourself the trouble and make your way out of here.”

“It’s alright gentlemen. Let him in” said a short white lady who peeked her head out of a set of brass doors.

The two men nodded and allowed me to walk past them. Walking deeper into the corridor of the exquisite lobby, I took notice of all of the workers in their fancy suits and outfits. You know, I never actually questioned Keyshia about how the hell she landed this job. She definitely wasn’t qualified and I know for sure that she loathes these kinds of people. So…how?

“Mr. Jameson would like to see you in his office…Mr…?”

“Williams”

“Yeah. Follow me please.”

I followed the woman down the long aisle which was a thick hallway aligned with a few leather couches and nothing but one door. The sound of the lady’s high heels were clicking and echoing off of the walls. Other than that, the short walk to his office was awkwardly silent.  She held her arm out towards the open door and twitched her mouth upwards. I smiled back at her and passed her into Jameson’s office.

No more than ten feet from me sat one of the richest men in the world. I guess you could say I was a bit starstruck. Jason Jameson motioned the woman to shut the door to his office and asked for me to take a seat.

Trying not to reveal my fascination with this current situation, I cleared my throat and sat back into a relaxed position.

“Who did you say you were again?” he asked, crinkling his eyebrows together.

“Eric Williams. My girlfriend works for you.”

Right after the last part of that sentence came out of my mouth, the man’s whole demeanor changed. He shifted in his chair and clenched his fist together. Being a complete idiot, I held out my hand hoping he’d at least be decent enough to shake it. All he did was look at it and smirk. Rude ass.

“What are you here for?”

“To pick my girl up…where she at?”

“I told my guards to tell you that she’s not here. Did you not understand?”

“But she is here. I dropped her off this morning.”

“I have her working somewhere else for the day.”

“And where is that?”

“I’m not inclined to tell you that information. If she wanted you to know, I’m sure she would have told you.”

I looked at him incredulously. Was he serious?

“You’ve got to be kidding me, man. I told her I was going to pick her up. She probably forgot to tell me or something.”

“Have a good evening Mr. Williams. My secretary will lead-“

“I knew it!” I shouted.

“I’m sorry?”

“You covering for her?”

Jason continued to look at me like I had gone temporarily insane, so I continued. “She’s cheating on me. I found this big ass hickey on her neck this morning and she tried to act like it was nothing.”

“Well…to be quite honest, Mr. Williams, would you really be shocked to find out that she has a significant other on the side? As long as Keyshia has been working for me, the mention of a boyfriend has never came up. Before a few minutes ago, you were non-existent to me.”

“She’s never mentioned me?”

“Not that I can recall, no.”

“Damn. I got her when I see her later on” I said with a vindictive tone to my voice.

“You got her? What is that supposed to mean?”

“She’ll know not to cheat on me again. Just know that.”

Jameson rapidly got up from his desk and circled around to where I was sitting. “I hope you’re not insinuating that you’re going to lay your hands on her.”

For some odd reason, I began to stutter. “I…I. What happens between me and my woman is between me and my woman. Not you.”

“Anything that involves Keyshia Reynolds automatically affects me. If I so much think you’re laying your hands on her the wrong way, you’ll know what pain is.”

I wanted to laugh and brush what he was saying off, but he looked so damn intimidating that I felt like I was losing a tiny bit of my manhood with each second that passed.

Reassuring myself, I stood up and faced him. Didn’t make me feel any better. This dude had me by at least half a foot. “Why you sticking up for her? Let me handle my business.  Ain’t nobody scared of your rich ass.”

Jason condescendingly smirked and shook his head as if he were trying to suppress his anger. “You know what? I lied about being clueless to who you are. I know exactly who you are. You’re the man who she always complains about. You’re the ‘man’ who left her out in the fucking rain last night because you had better things to do.”

“Get out my face, man. You don’t know me” I responded with my fists clenched to each side of my body. This nigga had the nerve. If he wanted a fight, I had no problem with dropping his ass.

“I recommend you get the hell out of my office before-“

“What? Like I said, I’m not scared of you. Why the hell you so mad anyway? You fuckin my girl or something?”

“Eric!” a familiar voice loudly called. I twirled around and sure enough, Keyshia stood in the doorway of the office. Her nostrils were flared and her breathing pattern was fierce.

“Baby.”

“What’s going on in here?!”

“Keyshia, get this man out of my office. Now” Jason growled.

She looked between the two of us for a split second, walked towards me, took ahold of my arm, and pulled me out of his office. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you here?”

“You’re cheating on me with that son of a bitch?”

“What?! No! Is that what all of that was about? Do you have any idea who that man is?!”

“I don’t care who he is. If someone’s disrespectful to me, I’m gonna let their ass know.”

“Wait for me downstairs” she demanded before pushing past me and storming into her boss’ office.

Right as I was about to follow her, one of the guards gave me a demeaning look and nodded his head towards the elevator once again.

 

Keyshia

 

“What did you do to him?” I questioned Jason with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Nothing. He’s lucky you walked in” he said, clenching his jaw consecutively.

I had completely forgotten that Eric was supposed to pick me up and I knew I had to get back to Manhattan in time so these two wouldn’t meet each other. Especially after Jason wanted to ring his neck.

“What does he know?”

“Break up with him” Jason replied harshly.

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Keyshia, listen to me. I will fucking kill that bastard if you’re still with him. He doesn’t deserve you.”

“And you do?!” I exclaimed.

Immediately after I said that, I turned on my heels and marched out his office.

 

 

A month passed. During the month, I had signed up for classes at a community college near the hotel and slowly begun to learn how to be efficient at work and at school. It was a little difficult, but it got my mind off of the personal issues. Eric still had much hostility towards Jason, but I made sure they never got to see each other again. I didn’t know what was going on with Jason and Alyssa but she didn’t come by the office as much and she stopped calling to ask for him.

Jason knew that school was already getting to me so he eased up on the workload and asked me to hire myself an assistant. My pride didn’t allow me to do such a thing. I could handle things on my own. I didn’t need some sleazy assistant coming in to take things over.  Just the thought of that made me scowl.

One day in particular, sometime in the middle of September, I had a crapload of paperwork to complete, things to mail, and homework to do. By this time, I was pretty pissed off with Jason and if he gave me one more thing to do, I would punch him in the face.

“Hey” Jason softly knocked on my door, peeking into my office. Speak of the devil.

I continued to pay attention to the paperwork in front of me. “Come in.”

The scent of his expensive Clive Christian cologne became stronger as he walked closer to me. I turned around in my chair and looked up at him. God this man is beautiful. Jason sported a soft gray tweed three-piece suit. His hair was perfectly combed back and he had this delicious looking five o clock shadow going on.

“”I need to ask another favor from you.”

“What is it?”

“I just wrote up this report and I need you to type it out.”

I sighed and leaned back into the black mesh chair. “How long is it?”

“Is there a problem?”

“I didn’t say there was a problem…all I did was ask you how long it is.”

“Five pages. Single-spaced. Twelve point font. I may have left out a few words, there may be some grammatical errors, and you’ll have to stretch it out a bit…but I need it done by tomorrow at noon.”

I widened my eyes and slightly opened my mouth. “Jason, there’s no way I can finish that on time. You gave me all of this other stuff to do and I have homework.”

“Nothing is impossible. Make sure it’s done on time” he said before he turning around to leave my office.

“Why can’t you type your own paper up?” I unconsciously blurted out.

Jason whirled around and looked at me as if I had lost my mind. “Oh shit. My bad for assuming that I have an assistant to do this. Didn’t cross me mind.”

“Just because you have an assistant doesn’t mean you’re allowed to treat them like a fucking slave.” I lifted out of my chair and walked over to where he was standing.

“I told you to hire an assistant, you didn’t, and now you’re complaining. Whose fault is it? Not mines.”

“I’m not hiring an assistant.”

“Fine. I will.”

“No!” I quickly said.

“Why? You’re obviously struggling trying to do what I need you to do. Hiring an assistant will only benefit you.”

“Yeah, it’ll benefit you too” I murmured beneath my breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you jealous?” he asked with amusement in his eyes.

“No…” I responded unconvincingly.

“It’s okay if you’re jealous, Keyshia.”

“I’m not!”

“You shouldn’t be. You’re my priority.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

Jason closed the door and sat down in my chair. “I’m breaking up with Alyssa. I just got off of the phone with my publicist. I told her to start getting the statement ready.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. All I need to do is call Alyssa up and tell her. We haven’t talked in weeks. She knew it’s been over for a while.”

“And you’re telling me this for?”

“Because I’ll be one step closer to being with you.”

“Don’t start with this again…please.”

He placed my hand into his and began to stroke it. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t have feelings for me.”

“I thought I was supposed to be writing you a report. It’ll never get done if-“

“Do it.”

I sighed and focused on the way his large thumb rubbed across my thin fingers. It was as if the words couldn’t come out. I had way more than feelings for him. “Yeah…um, I have feelings for you.”

Jason instantly smiled and kissed the back of my hand. “Break up with him. I need you Keyshia.”

“What about-“

“I can figure all of that out later. I just need you. Now.”

Next thing I knew, the bottom of burnt orange sheath dress was slowly rolling up towards my thighs. “Jason, what are you…we’re at work.”

“Shh…”

I snapped my mouth shut as he tugged me closer to him and rolled the chair towards my desk. Jason placed me on top of it and lowered his head down into my crotch. “Lift your legs up for me” Jason whispered in a demanding way, sending a vibrating sensation up my spine.

I followed his directions and placed my legs on either side of his shoulders. He used his teeth as a tool to remove my tiny floral panties. Jason clutched the sides of my waist tightly and got right down to business. The feeling of his tongue on my pussy was absolutely sensational. As soon as Jason’s tongue entered into my hole, I let out a loud gasp and clutched his thick black hair. He began to swirl and suck as if my juices were something he couldn’t get enough of. The sound of his masculine grunts made me moan uncontrollably. His tongue slid in deeper and his swirling became more rapid, making me lose all kinds of control.

“Holy shit” I whimpered, struggling to speak.

Jason lowered both of his hands and made a move to open me up a little more with his thumbs. I laid back on my desk while he scooted the chair up as close as he could get. “You’re so sweet” he whispered, sucking on my throbbing clit. “Cum for me.”

Unable to withhold my orgasm any longer, I freed myself and let it take over my body. The lower regions of my body began to shake with great force as I wailed out Jason’s name. He slowly started to place soft kisses along my covered torso until he reached my awaiting lips. I gave him a dazed, drained expression. He chuckled and swooped my mouth into a soul-searching French kiss.

“Fuck” I breathed out, gripping on to his neck.

“You?”

“What?”

“Is that what you want? For me to fuck you?”

“I didn’t say that…”

We both remained silent for the next few seconds while gazing into each other’s eyes. I was the first to break the silence, as usual. “Shit. We can’t keep doing this. We have to figure something out.”

“What do you want from me? You know I’ll give you anything.”

“I’m not a material girl. I don’t need anything from you. Just-“

“Just what? Let me know.”

“…I have to go” I said, tears once again welling up in my eyes. He was right. I made a habit out of running away from situations.

Jason pinned my shoulders down and continued to stare at me. “You’re not going anywhere. I’m not letting you go again.”

“Okay…well here it is, Jason.” I sighed in preparation of the oncoming monologue.

I care about you more than I’ve…cared about anyone in my whole entire life. I know that I’ll never care about a person as much as I care about you. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing on my mind when I fall asleep. Every little thing in my every day life has me thinking about you. I can associate the shirts I wear, the fucking newspaper I read, and the music I listen to with you. Crazy right? I’m always wondering where you are and what you’re doing when I’m not with you. There’s literally nothing on this earth that will stop me from…caring about you. I will always support you and be right there by your side. You’re my Jason, my sunshine…my drug. You might not think that I give two shits about you, but you mean the world to me. When I think about you, my heart beats faster every single time. My thoughts get fuzzy and my hands start getting sweaty. The way you smile…the way you laugh. Your stupid arrogant smirk…” I giggled a little, letting the tears flow freely down my cheeks. “Everything about you is perfect and I feel like the world’s biggest idiot for running away from you.”

Jason continued to stare at me with wet eyes. “Continue…”

“I didn’t exactly imagine myself confessing my feelings for you in such a compromising position…” I joked.

He reached down and rolled my undergarments up for me. He then sat down in the chair and pulled me on top of his lap. “Better?”

“Much better” I replied after wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on the crown of his.

“Now continue. I like where you’re going with this.”

I smiled and mentally gathered up the strength to spit out my next few words. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Say what?” he asked, wiping the tears away from my face.

“That I’m in love with you.”

 

 

“What should I do?” I asked as I walked in an ambiguous path around my living room. Lauran quietly sat in the blue circle chair watching me freak out. A few minutes ago, I told her all about what went down a few days ago between Jason and I. Someone needed to know because I was sick of trying to hold every little thing in.

“I don’t see why you’re being so difficult and weird about this. The man told you that he loves you back. Why are you not having hot passionate sex with him as we speak? I just don’t understand…” she responded.

“I’m with Eric. I can’t break it off with him over something I’m not sure about.”

“Oh my God Keyshia…seriously? What the hell is wrong with you?”

I sat down across from her and brought my knees up to my chest. “What?”

“First of all, after what you told me about Eric, I don’t like his ass anymore. Secondly, it’s pretty obvious that Jason is the best choice here.”

“Why? Because he’s rich?”

“I’m not Alicia. I don’t think like that. It’s not because he’s rich, girl. It’s because he’s not a douchebag who treats you like shit. He loves you so much and it’s sad that you can’t see that. Jason wants to be with you. He treasures you. If everything were up to him, he’d have you on his arm at every event he’s got you scheduling him for. And I’m pretty damn sure he’d tell the world that you’re his woman.”

“Lauran…”

“You’re making it really hard. I don’t see how he puts up with you. I’m just being real.”

“And I appreciate that…but you know how I am. I hate the life he lives with a burning passion. There’s no way I’m going to be put on the spot like that. And it really sucks that I fell in love with someone…well, someone like him.”

“Listen to yourself. Do you know how crazy you sound? Sure we don’t get to choose who we fall in love with, but your reason for not wanting to be with him is absolutely ridiculous. Do you know how many women pray for a man like Jason Jameson? I’m certain those same exact woman would not even hesitate to be with him if he was at their knees begging like he is to you.”

“I don’t see him like that though. To me, he’s just a regular man. I forget about all of that famous stuff and I guess that’s one of the main reasons why I fell so hard, but then there’s that other side I would have to deal with.”

Lauran sighed as if she was ready to give up on me. “I don’t see how this ‘other side’ is any hindrance to you. That man is literally perfect and you’re giving up on something good because he’s famous?”

“Sounds like you’re making me out to be the bad person in all of this.”

“No I’m not. What you need some sort of reality check.”

The sound of loud, sequential knocks on the door caught the both of our attentions. I instantly got up and looked out of the peephole. Alicia’s face popped up with an unusually wide smile planted on it. I looked back at Lauran, rolled my eyes, and opened the door.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming over.”

Alicia walked past me and into the living room. I closed the door behind her and followed. “Yeah…what the hell is up with you and my brother?” she blurted out, with a total 360 behavior change.

“What?” I asked. I know this hefa didn’t come over here with this bullshit.

“He thinks you’re cheating and I have no choice but to believe him, so tell me what the hell is up.”

“Alicia-“

“You better not be cheating on him!” she basically yelled. Her southern accent deepened whenever she got loud.  “He’s already to good for you” Alicia continued. “Why on earth would you want to mess that up?”

“Look, I’m trying my hardest to remain calm because you’ve got the nerve to come up in my apartment trying to get buck; especially for no reason. Your brother is a grown ass man. If he has something to say to me, he can say it to my face. And before you go yelling, you need to check the facts on this supposed “perfect” brother of yours. Ask him how many times he’s had the audacity to put his hands on me. Go ahead. Ask. Him.”

She looked at me as if she were at a lost for words. “He doesn’t do that.”

“You must not know your brother then…now, is that all you came over here for?”

“I also came to visit you” she said in a softer tone. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

I gave her a weak smile and sat back down. “You can stay as long as you leave the drama for the birds.”

“Fine” Alicia sat down beside Lauran and put her handbag on the floor beside her feet. “Hey Lauran.”

“Hey” Lauran responded with the same weak ass smile I had.

“What were ya’ll talking about?”

“Nothing really” I said. “I was telling Lauran that it’s hard trying to go to school while withholding a job.”

“Oh. You’ve never talked to me about your job.”

“Says the person who flipped their shit when I told them who I was working for.”

“Keyshia…Lauran…ya’ll, I’m trying my hardest to change. I really am.”

Lauran and I simultaneously scoffed. “You just came in here and accused me of shit literally two minutes ago. So when actually did you decide to ‘change’?” I said.

“I’m sorry for that…see? I never apologize.”

“Yeah, right.”

For the next hour or so, the three of us held a long conversation about any and everything but my personal life. It was really refreshing and for a moment, I felt like we were back to the old days.

Later on into the night, I decided to get some schoolwork done. I had cases to brief, a marketing plan to complete, and a paper to write all before the upcoming Monday. Alicia took Lauran back to her place so I had the apartment all to myself. What a relief.

In the midst of me briefing a case for my business law class, sudden thoughts of Jason popped up in my head. It was as if my body had craved him in that exact moment. Memories of the way his rough hands traveled across my body began replaying in my mind. Hell, the thoughts alone were orgasmic within themselves. He touched me as if I was the only woman in the world and I loved that.

The unexpected sound of someone knocking on the door made me jump. “I’ll be right there” I yelled as I leaped out of my desk chair and jogged towards the door.

Jason stood on the other side smiling just as hard as he could. I returned the gesture and allowed him to come inside. “What brings you by?”

“You left your planner at the office the other day. I’ve been meaning to get it back to you, but you know how busy I’ve been.” Jason held the little notebook out and I grabbed it.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. What are you up to?” He watched as I placed it on the nightstand table.

“Homework. A lot of it, might I add.”

“How long have you been doing it?” he asked, showcasing a devilish grin.

I looked at him through squinted eyes. “Why?”

“Answer the question.”

“Okay…hm, I’d have say about three and a half hours.”

“I say you take a break.”

“I can’t. This stuff has got to get done.”

“I wasn’t asking…”

“Bossy much?” I jokingly replied.

Jason took a large step towards me and darkened his gaze. He spoke the next sentence with a raspy, deep voice. “Take your clothes off for me.”

“W-what?” I stumbled over my words.

“I suggest you listen to me. I’d hate to take it upon myself and rip them off. So either way, your clothes better be off within the next ten seconds….TEN…NINE..” he quickly began to count down.

As if my hands had a mind of their own, they started to yank my clothes off with a speedy haste. If this was a new thing he was trying, I could totally get used to it. It was certainly a huge turn on. The whole time I was taking my clothes off, Jason intimidatingly stared down at me. No less than ten seconds later, I stood in the middle of my living room floor with just a hot pink Victoria’s Secret bra and panty set on.

“Did I fail to mention your undergarments as well?” Jason asked as he bit the bottom corner of his lip, checking me out.

I started to take small steps backwards, preparing to run the other way. The look he had in his eyes was not something to play with. “You’re gonna have to take them off yourself, pretty boy.” As soon as he took another step towards me, I made a run towards my bedroom. Jason quickly caught up with me and carefully threw me over his right shoulder. He then slammed me on top of the plush unmade bed.

I sat up on my elbows as he quickly undressed. “What make you think we’re having sex? You can’t show up out of the blue and call the shots.”

Without any sort of response, other than his usual overconfident smirk, Jason climbed on top of me and laid a few soft pecks on my awaiting lips. “I’m the boss, remember?” He had already taken my panties off by this time. Sneaky bastard.

“Yeah…well” I paused and traced my index finger along his jawline. “I’m calling the shots from now on.”

Before Jason could even begin to comprehend my statement, I flipped him over onto his back and assembled myself on top of him. His face carried a somewhat shocked expression. “What are you doing?”

“Shh…” I smiled and slowly ran my tongue across the palm of my right hand all the way up to the middle finger. Jason’s cock slowly rose to erection and imprinted itself on the lower regions of my stomach. I rolled his boxers down and took ahold of his manhood right as it sprang free. My hands slowly pumped up and down his shaft, gripping it tighter with each second that surpassed.

“Shit Keyshia…” Jason whispered, already unable to control himself. I grinned in satisfaction as I lowered my mouth over his beautiful cock and took him in completely. An uncontrollable moan became audible as his length filled every corner of my oral gateway. Jason wrapped his hand around a wad of my hair and gently tugged on it. Right as I felt like he was going to cum, I gradually pushed my head back and let his dick fall back into place.

He made a move to reach for me, but I playfully slapped his hand away. Jason watched, eyes full of lust and desire, as I positioned myself on top of his erection and guided his throbbing cock directly into me. “Mmm” I moaned as his thickness gradually made its way in, stretching my insides inch by inch. He wrapped his arms around my back and pulled me in for a long, thorough kiss.

A loud shriek echoed throughout the apartment after Jason made the impulsive decision to flip me onto my back. He then skillfully unhooked my bra and discarded it. My fingers dug into his back, responding to the way his mouth felt on my hardened nipples. He grunted loudly as he pushed his length further inside of me.

“Jason, please…why are you going so slow? Harder” I brashly demanded with a light smack to his ass.

 

Jason

 

Unable to fully control myself, I slammed my hips into her tight pussy with all of my might. She let out a loud gasp followed by a continuous flow of harmonious moans. They were like music to my ears. Her long legs wrapped around my lower back, forcing me to get even deeper. Balls and all.

“Oh yes. Oh God. Jason, please…” Keyshia whimpered. “Fuck!”

My tongue found its way leaving a long trail of kisses from the top of her forehead all the way down to the middle of her torso. Keyshia cupped my chin between two of her fingers and turned my face so that I was staring straight into her eyes. “I’m so in love with you, Jason. So…” she moaned “so in love with you.”

Hearing her say that made my heart swell. Seeing her about to reach her climax did all kinds of things to me. Hell, if there were any way possible for me to stay buried deep inside of her like this for the rest of my life, I’d gladly take it up. She felt so fucking tight and good. It was almost as if we were made for each other. “And I love you more than you’ll ever imagine” I whispered. “Now…cum for me. Don’t hold back baby.”

Keyshia abruptly grabbed the leopard print sheets with one hand and dug her catlike fingertips into my back as she rode her climax out. I held her body still as it convulsed and as she screamed out my name with a blood curdling volume.

The feeling of her walls pulsating around me sent me over the edge. Before I knew it, my seed guzzled out and flooded into her like a dam that had been broken. I couldn’t stop myself. Keyshia held me closer to her as I nuzzled my face into her neck, attempting to muffle the sounds of my overzealous groans. “Keyshia…” I breathed out, trying to catch my breath.

“Hmm?”

“You’re mine. All mine. No one else is to have you, but me.”

“Ja-“

“Understood?”

“Yes” she slowly nodded her head and fluttered her eyes shut.

 

At around three or four in the morning, I woke up and cautiously moved Keyshia’s naked body from on top of me. Quietly tiptoeing towards the bathroom, I glanced back to make sure that she was sound asleep.

While sitting on the toilet, I dug into the pocket of my sweatpants and pulled out the small black velvet box that I’ve been holding on to for quite some time.

I ran my thumb across the shiny exquisite 17-carat diamond ring. “Slow your roll, man” I murmured to myself. If I weren’t aware of the consequences, I would have slipped it on her finger a few hours ago, but something was telling me to wait. As far as I know, she hasn’t even broken up with her boyfriend yet.

 

Keyshia

 

I jolted up the next morning with a strong urge to release my bladder, but my body was screaming ‘no’. Literally every inch of my body from my chin down to my toes was sore. It felt as if I had just ran twenty miles nonstop with fifty pound weights attached to my shins.

Jason leaned over and laid a soft kiss on my collarbone. “Sore?” he asked.

“Very” I winced and tried to lie back down.

“Aw.” Jason poked his bottom lip out rubbed my thigh. “Sorry. I might have gotten a bit carried away last night.”

And indeed he did. He took me in all of these different positions after he woke me up three times to make love. No wonder I was sore. The man had me doing shit that I didn’t even know existed. Someone studied their Kama Sutra.

“You did this too me!” I faced him and gave him a disapproving look. “Apology not accepted.”

Jason chuckled and nuzzled his head into the crook of my neck. “Good morning to you too.”

Right as I opened my mouth to speak, his phone started to buzz. I’m guessing he turned it back on because he had turned it off a few hours ago, annoyed from all of the various calls he kept receiving.

Jason unlocked it and answered the call. “Jason Jameson speaking…si. Buenos días. Como estas?” He scratched his head and sat himself up into an upright position. “Uh hm. Podemos hablar sobre esta mañana?”

 I looked at him with widened eyes, impressed with his fluency of yet another language. As long as I’ve worked for him, I don’t think I’ve ever heard speak Spanish. According to him, he spoke five languages fluently, including English of course: Spanish (now that I just heard him), French, Brazilian Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.

“Hasta luego man…hey! llamar a mi padre. Por favor….gracias. Okay, adiós.” Jason hung the phone up and placed it on the nightstand. “Looks like we’re building another hotel…in Mexico City.”

“You don’t look too happy about that.”

“I mean, it’s amazing that we’re spreading out…but how long has it been since I submitted my proposal about Rio?”

“It’s been almost a year…are you sure they haven’t thrown it out?”

“It’s still in the records, so I guess they’re still thinking about it” he sighed and wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. “You’re the only person who knows how bad I want this proposal to go through and you have no idea why.”

“You never told me actually” I looked up at him and rested my head on his chest.

“I’m doing this all for my mom.”

“Your mom?”

“She’s still alive and I’ve been trying to find her. I haven’t had any luck so I’m hoping that if I can build a hotel there, she’ll recognize me and come to me instead.”

“Wait…what?”

“’I have architects awaiting my approval to start planning the layout and I pre-hired construction workers. They’re ready to start digging. All I need is approval, Keyshia. That’s all I need. I need to see her.”

“I’m sorry baby. I can’t wrap my head around this. Why did I think your mom was dead?”

“My dad told the media that she died. He didn’t want anyone to bother him with questions pertaining to her, so he sort of faked her death.”

“Wow…what an asshole move.”

“I know right. But what I’m trying to get at is…once that hotel starts being built and once I’m able to be able to meet my mother, I want you to go with me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. That’s way in the future though. We need to talk about what’s going on now.”

“Okay…”

“I have something to show you. Nancy said it should be on TV around this time…”

I raised my right brow and watched as he picked up the remote, turned TV on, and surfed through the channels. He finally ended up on E! News and sat back. “Just watch.”

For the next few minutes I had to sit through a bunch of shit that I didn’t care about. Like, who even cares that Beyoncé bought her daughter a new pair of shoes?

Jason saw the amusement suddenly draining from my face and kissed my temple. “Bear with me. I promise you something you’ll like is going to come up.”

Right after he said that, a paparazzi picture of him and Alyssa popped up on the screen. “Billionaire playboy, Jason Jameson and Victoria’s secret model call it quits. After five months of-“

“Playboy?” I joked, laughing out loud.

“They like to exaggerate…but see? I told you I’d do it.”

I turned the TV off and faced him. “How did she take it?”

“You wanna know exactly what she told me?”

“Yeah.”

“She said…’I don’t know why I was expecting you to fall for me when you were already in love with someone else’.”

“She knew about us?”

“Yep. But it’s weird because she’s not upset. She just wants me to be happy.”

“Hm, I feel bad for thinking she was a money-hungry whore.”

“She was and still is” Jason joked.

I laughed as I tried to make a move to get out of the bed. Didn’t want to embarrass myself by pissing all over it.

“Please don’t tell me you’re still with that man…”

“I’ll call him after I finish taking a bath. Is that fine with you?”

“I guess I can compromise” he shrugged. I smiled at him and placed a few soft kisses on his lips.

“Gotta pee.”

“Need help getting up?”

“No! I got this…”

He chuckled in amusement as he watched me struggle to get out of the bed. While I was sitting on the toilet, I blushed from the events that transpired last night. This man really wants to give his life up to be with me. I haven’t experienced this type of love since before my parents died. That’s one of the reasons why I was reluctant to being with him in the first place.

Now, I’m ready to fall hard and lose myself in him. Jason is seriously the sweetest man I’ve ever met and I can tell that when he falls, he falls hard.

After brushing my teeth, I twisted the knob to the bathtub and started my bathwater. A few purplish colored bruises came into sight as I lifted Jason’s t-shirt over my head. They were dotted all over the inside of my thighs and the sides of my stomach.

“Shit” Jason whispered, suddenly appearing at the entrance of the bathroom.

“Baby…”

“I did that to you?”

“It’s not that bad. I swear.”

He rushed over to me and kneeled down at my feet. “You can barely walk, bruises are everywhere…it’ll never happen again. I promise.” Jason looked up at me with regret in his smoky grey eyes.

“I liked it.”

“What was that?”

“I liked it. Really, it’s no big deal. You were perfect last night.”

“Okay…you know that I will never intentionally hurt you, right?”

“Of course…now get off of the floor”

He kissed my left leg where one of the bruises were and stood up. I rubbed his chest and then wrapped my arms around his neck. “So you’re into S&M, huh?” he teased.

“What? No!”

“Sounds like it to me.”

“There’s a difference between that and rough sex babe.”

“A very thin line”

I shook my head, unwrapped my hands from around him, and stepped into my awaiting bathwater. “Maybe next time you can go just a little bit softer?”

“Don’t even try to act like you were a complete angel last night” he smiled.

I started to speak in my best rendition of a southern belle’s accent. “By golly…what on God’s green earth do you mean?”

Jason turned around and pointed to his bare back. I noticed a bunch of long cat-like marks. Most of them were red and a few of them started to bleed.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and widened my eyes. “Oh my God.”

“Yep” he smiled and faced towards me.

“Oh My God” I repeated. “I did that!”

“Yep.”

“Whoa…sorry man. Join me…I put Epsom salt in here.”

“It’s a tempting offer, but I’m 100% sure I cannot fit in that tub. I’ll just take a shower when you’re finished” he leaned down, gave me a quick kiss, and walked back out of the bathroom.

********

20 minutes later, I was dressed in a pair of black leggings and a teal t-shirt. My hair was styled up into a messy bun. Jason was in the bathroom taking a shower.

Someone had started to bang on the front door as soon as I went into the kitchen to start up breakfast. Half thinking it was Lauran, I swung the door open with a smile, ready to get on her for not having her key…but it wasn’t Lauran.

It was Eric. Cue panic attack. My facial expression dropped as I stared at him with enlarged eyes.

“Hey!” I was finally able to say.

Eric pushed past me, just like his sister usually does, and walked into my place. “Hey babe. What are we doing today?”

“Um......I was actually about to go out to run some errands.”

“Where? I’ll go with you.”

“Just to pay some bills…nothing fun” I said, trying my hardest not to sound suspicious.

“Oh. I was hoping we’d go out to breakfast or something.”

“Just ate breakfast. Not really hungry.”

Eric gave me a skeptical look and started to walk around my apartment. I followed right behind him, hoping and praying he wouldn’t find something to argue about.

“Who’s in the shower?”

“Lauran” I quickly responded.

He smirked and turned around to face me. “Couldn’t be…I just left my sister’s house and since Lauran was over there, I went ahead and asked her to give you and I some alone time.”

“Oh…um…”

“So…who’s in the shower?” he asked, pointing towards the bathroom.

“Eric, we need to talk.”

“Who’s the fuck is in the damn shower, Keyshia?!” he shouted, making me jump.

“This is my apartment! You don’t need to know who’s in the shower!”

“I’m you boyfriend…if I ask you who the fuck is in the shower, you better tell me. Especially if I think you’re cheating!”

In a low voice, I took a huge gulp and shook my head. “…this isn’t going to work…”

Eric started laughing as if he were a crazy man. “And when did you come to that conclusion? Before or after you fucked this guy’s brains out?!”

Out of pure reaction, I slapped him in the face. “Get out! Get the hell out of my apartment!”

“Bitch” he spat out before grabbing me by the neck and throwing me up against the nearest wall, causing it to shake.

Before I had the chance to break free of him, Eric flew backwards onto the floor. Jason had ran out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around him and punched the shit out of him. For a second, I thought he was unconscious because the only body part that moved was one of his fingers. It started to twitch.

I looked over at Jason with my hands wrapped around my neck, trying to kick my normal breathing pattern back in. “Don’t hurt him!”

“I won’t. Make sure he gets the hell out of here before I do more than hurt him” Jason barked.

Eric suddenly came back to life and stood up. He saw the sight of Jason and I together and started to laugh…just like Alicia. “So this is who you’re fucking? Your boss!? Was I not good enough for you?”

Jason stepped in front of me and balled his fists up. “I suggest you leave now before you get yourself into a hell of a lot more trouble”

“Nah man. I got mad respect for you.” Eric’s nose started to bleed, making him look even crazier. “If she cheated on me, don’t think for a second that she won’t do the same to you. She a hoe. You better watch out man. She might stick around with you cause you rich as hell, but don’t get mad when she leaves yo ass and comes running back to me.”

I smirked. “Yeah, right.”

“Can I at least get an explanation? Don’t you think I deserve that?” He reached up and wiped a portion of blood away his nose.

“You don’t deserve a damn thing” Jason replied, still seething.

I wrapped my arms around his back and looked at Eric. “I’m in love with him.”

“And you actually think this dude loves you back?” he laughed again as if what I said was a joke.

Jason pulled me into a tight possessive hug and kissed my cheek. “I do.”

Completely out of nowhere, Eric took his iPhone out and snapped a quick picture of the two of us. “I think the press is going to have a field day with this, don’t you?”

Before Jason could get ahold of him, Eric bolted out of my apartment.

I looked up at Jason with worried eyes. “That picture doesn’t prove anything, right?”

“Right. But it has the potential to blow up into something huge.”

 

Alicia

 

After dropping Lauran off at work, I parked and made my way down the street to my favorite bakery. The buzzing of my phone startled me.

“Hello?” I answered, waiting to cross the street.

My older brother’s voice filled my ears. “She cheated on me with Jason Jameson. Fucking Jason Jameson of all people, Alicia!”

“Whoa whoa whoa…what are you talking about?”

“Keyshia. She cheated on me with Jason Jameson…oh God. I can’t believe this.”

“My Keyshia…as in your girlfriend?”

“Yes.”

“And Jason Jameson?” I scoffed. “Yeah right. She hates that man.”

“If hate means love…then yeah, she absolutely despises him. Alicia, you have to believe me. I saw him in her apartment half naked. I’ll send you a picture.”

“Send it! Now! I wanna see this shit.”

About a minute later, I received a picture of Jason Jameson with his arms wrapped around my supposed best friend.

“Oh my fucking goodness. Holy shh….is this even real?!”

“Yeah man…how the hell am I supposed to compete with this dude?”

“I hate to break the news to you big bro, but you can’t” I giggled.

“Stop laughing. I’m about to sell this picture to a magazine or some shit. You down?”

“Hell yeah I’m down! I can’t believe that bitch didn’t tell me about this!”

“Where you at?”

“About to be at Artuso’s on East 187th.”

“On my way.”

I hung the phone up and grinned a wicked grin. Let the money roll in…

 

Keyshia

 

Jason watched me pace back and forth across the floor. “Shit shit shit shit shit…” I repeated.

“Calm down. I have my people handling it.  They’ll track him down and they’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

He grabbed me into his arms and caressed my cheek. “While you were taking your bath, I scheduled a trip to the spa, everything included.”

“You didn’t have to do that…” I said, gazing into his eyes.

“I didn’t, but I did and you need to relax and enjoy yourself. I need you to forget about everything that just happened and get yourself pampered, okay?”

I nodded my head and kissed his chest. “Yeah. Thank you for everything, Jason.”

“You’re welcome…but before you go…”

I caught on to what he was getting at and shook my head. “Hell no”

“Yes” he simply replied, lifting me up into his arms.

“But…I’m still sore!” I whined.

“I’ll go easy this time.”

 

Alicia

 

“How much do you think we’ll get for it?” I looked at my big brother with a wide smile plastered on my face. We were in the middle of eating a couple of tasty treats at my favorite bakery.

Eric sat back in his chair and continued to stare at the picture on his phone. “I don’t know. A lot probably.”

“Don’t tell me you’re second guessing this” I sighed after examining his face which was full of regret.

“Maybe I’m taking this too far, sis.”

I scrunched my face up and scoffed. “Are you serious? Your girlfriend fucking cheats on you and you have the nerve to feel sorry?”

“I had it coming for me. I didn’t treat her right-“

“Seriously? Stop right there! I can’t believe you’re saying this…” Just as he was about to react, I snatched the smartphone out of his hand and started to stalk towards the exit. He immediately shot up out of his chair and ran after me.

The door to the bakery flew open before I had the chance to put my hand on the handle. “Excuse you!” I shouted, almost being knocked down by whoever’s rude ass that was coming in.

A tall Hispanic man with a dark pair of shades and a black suit towered over me. “Are you Eric Williams?” he asked, looking over my head at my brother. What the hell?

“Who wants to know?” Eric asked as he pulled me behind him in a defensive manner.

The man guided us to the nearest table and motioned for us to take a seat. “Doesn’t matter. Give me the picture you took earlier and you will not have to suffer the consequences.”

“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” I snapped.

Mr. Chulo (the name I decided to give him in my head), who happened to be extra handsome, frowned at me. “Ma’m, this has nothing to do with you and I would appreciate it if you stay out of it for your own good.”

“Hmph. This is my brother and whatever ‘concerns’ him…concerns me. We’re not giving you anything without a deal. So what’ll it be…sir?”

Eric slapped his hand over my mouth and shook his head. “Sorry about her. Did Jason Jameson send you? If so, tell him to go fuck himself” He grabbed my arm and snatched me up away from the table.  Eric’s hand fell away from my mouth as we made our way towards the exit for the second time. Mr. Chulo was on our tails within seconds.

Right as I thought we were going to get away, a few more men in black suits met us outside on the sidewalk. Eric’s facial expression transformed into a half smile. “Alicia, go home. I can deal with this.”

I nodded my head and gingerly slipped away. My legs broke out in a light jog as soon as I was out of range.

 

Keyshia

 

“Mmm…” I moaned, dwelling in the last part of my spa treatment where the little Asian lady rubbed lotion all over my body to rehydrate it.

I could totally get used to this spa thing. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this relaxed before. It was as if the previous night never happened. The therapist worked out every little kink I had.

Jason had already gone back to work to get some important business straightened out and promised that a car would come to pick me up.

The whole situation with Eric almost became forgotten about until every possible reason to why Jason’s people could not stop him from selling the picture to the press popped up in my head.

What if.

What if he got to one of the many magazine companies in Manhattan and managed to avoid all of the people looking for him? My life could change instantly. I only saw one good thing coming from this and that would be the fact that we don’t have to hide our relationship anymore. But then Jason would probably lose all of his ownership with his family’s company, his family would hate him, and my face would literally be everywhere.

Yeah, he’s constantly talking about moving to a remote place, but I couldn’t allow him to go through with such an absurd idea. See? This is exactly what love does to a person. It makes you do shit that makes absolutely no sense.

 

A couple of minutes after I closed the door to my dressing room, the sound of a few soft knocks bounced off the walls. I was in the midst of pulling my black t-shirt over my head.

“Who is it?” I asked, struggling to get my arms through the sleeves.

Jason’s raspy voice filled my ears. “Babe, it’s me. Open up.”

“What are you doing here?” I loudly whispered with wide eyes. “Did anyone see you?” He walked past me after I unlocked and opened the door.

I took a quick second to admire his laid back attire. The way he looked in that half undone suit did all kinds of things to me. Ever since I was a teenager, a man with his sleeves rolled up set me off. Every time. I couldn’t help but to smile along with the huge grin he had spread across his face.

“What are we smiling for?”

“It passed.”

I narrowed my eyes and gave him a confused expression. “What passed?”

“We’re going to Brazil.”

“WHAT?!”

After a full-blown year of trying to push this thing through, it finally passed! Jason looked to be on the verge of tears. He wanted to meet his mother so bad. And I’m sure he’d do whatever it takes to make that happen. Besides his Aunt Katherine, I’m 100% sure his mom is the only good thing about his family. Hell, maybe even her whole side of the family.

I let out an excited gasp followed by a loud squeal to show him that I was on the same level of happiness. I then jumped into his arms. Jason instantly wrapped my legs around his waist and pushed me up against the large mirror.

“I’m so happy for you” I started to whisper, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What made them change their minds?”

“I don’t know. I got to the office this morning and my dad called me up. He didn’t sound entirely happy about the board’s decision, but shit Keyshia…this thing is actually going to happen. It’s passed.”

My thumbs rubbed his cheeks as the rest of my fingers combed through the thickness of his hair. “Aw, you’re tearing up.”

“I don’t cry” he smiled.

“Mmhm. Sure.”

Jason smiled again and gave me a short sweet peck on the lips. “I love you so much” he began rubbing up and down the length of my legs while simultaneously placing kisses on the side of my neck.

I gripped on tighter to his neck, trying not to enjoy this too much. “Is this your way of initiating celebratory sex?”

“In some ways, yes” he shrugged and chuckled at my squinted eyes.

“We’re not having sex in here. I just recovered from last night.”

“But-“

“Nope.”

Right as Jason let me down, his phone started to buzz. He took a step away from me and held it up to his right ear.

“Hello?.....wait, speak slower. Hey, calm down.”

I grew concerned as I tuned in to his various facial expressions.

“Find it. I don’t give a damn about whatever lengths you have to go through. Find it” he brashly demanded before pressing the END button.

“What the hell was that all about?”

“Your friend supposedly lost his phone.”

“Eric?”

“Yeah. I suppose that’s his name. That picture could be anywhere right now.”

“Was he with anyone when they found him?”

“His sister was with him but I don’t see how that has anything to-“

“Alicia” My stomach instantly turned on me. “I bet she took it.” Jason looked down at me as I took a seat on the dressing room’s brown bench. “She could be selling it as we speak.”

He started to pace. “Call her.”

“She’s probably not gonna answer” I murmured, bowing my head.

Jason clenched his jaw and lowered his voice. “Call her, Keyshia. Now.” I nodded my head and pulled my phone out.

“If she answers, the first thing you do is name a price. That’s all she wants.”

After pressing the button that stated her name, I looked up at him. “How much?”

“100 million. It’ll draw her to us and we can go from there.”

With each ring that passed, I became more and more nervous. All of the “what ifs” started to reappear in my mind. My body’s temperature rose.

“Keyshia…” Alicia beamed into the phone. “Something was telling me to expect a call from you.”

Jason looked down at me reassuringly. “100 million” I gulped.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You want a price? There you go. Meet us at my apartment.”

I hung up the phone and loudly breathed out. “What if-“

“No what ifs…c’mon” he said after tugging me up.

 

Alicia

 

“You’re not going to accept our offer?” asked one of the editors of People Magazine. By this time, she was impatiently teetering on the edge of her seat.

I sneered at her, knowing that I had suddenly became the head bitch in charge. “A better offer just came in.”

“But…but-“ she began stammering. “We need this picture. Do you have any idea how important this is to us?”

“Maybe…hm. Look, Crystal? Is that your name? Yeah…do you have over 100 million to offer me?”

The lady stared at me with her mouth slightly agape; almost as if she thought I had lost my damn mind. “Of course not” she laughed off.

“That’s what I thought.” Before I made my exit, I turned back around and flipped my hair over my shoulder. “If you realize that you do have the amount before…let’s say…thirty minutes, give me a call.”

I pranced out of that building like I was the queen of New York fucking City. In the next hour, I’d be 100 million bucks richer.

Ten years of living in this god-awful city and I finally have a breakthrough. FINALLY. And what better feeling to have the money coming from Jason Jameson’s fine ass?

 

Keyshia

 

The silence emitting from my apartment consumed Jason and I as I laid on top of him on the loveseat. His fingers danced across my back while my head remained tucked into the crook of his neck.

“What are we going to do?” I muttered. “I really hope you’re not planning on giving her all of that money.”

“Hell no. I’ll figure something out, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it.”

“Like what? She’s practically been waiting her whole life for something like this to happen.”

Jason softly kissed my left temple. “Like I said, don’t worry about it.”

For the next couple of minutes, I stayed still until there was a loud bang on the door. Jason carefully slid from underneath me and started to make his way towards the door. I sat up on the couch and nervously tapped my foot against the carpet. Alicia, in all of her rudeness, busted through the door as soon as Jason opened it. Then the bitch had the audacity to check my man out.

“Damn…shit, I forgot how fine you are.” She attempted to seductively lick her lips.

Jason heard the low predatory growl come from my lips and smirked. Alicia caught on to the sudden hostility and dropped the act.

“So where’s my money? Cash would be absolutely perfect-even though I highly doubt someone would carry that much around-checks and money orders are fine too” she lit up, clasping her hands together.

I rolled my eyes and crossed my right leg over the left. “You’ll be lucky if you leave here with a dime.”

“What was that? Oh I’m sorry. Are you talking to the one person that could fuck your whole entire life up? Show some damn respect” she spat.

“Bitch-“ I started to say.

Jason rushed to the space between us and threw his hands up like a referee. “Ladies!”

The both of us shot our heads towards him and instantaneously snapped our mouths shut.

“Please” he calmly continued, motioning towards the couch. “Alicia, take a seat.”

Alicia listened to him and plopped down on the nearest sofa. “Look, I don’t have all day to do this.”

“Where’s the picture?” Jason asked.

“Where’s my money?”

“Let’s see the picture first.”

She sighed as she drew Eric’s phone out of her coat pocket and pulled up the scandalous picture. Jason, with great speed, snatched it out of her hand and sat down right beside me.

“Alicia…” he began to say, staring deeply at the photo. “You’re doing the worst possible thing to me and that is putting the most important person in my life…in danger.”

I tried to hold back the silly little immature smile that crept upon my face as I laid my head on his broad shoulder. Staring at that picture forced me to have immediate flashbacks from the previous night.

Jason pressed the delete option and looked back up at my supposed best friend. “And for that, you will not be receiving any type of stipend. You will also be terminated from your position at Jameson Suites.”

Alicia’s eyes damn near fell out of their sockets. “What the fuck?! Oh hell no. I should sue-“

“No need for the outburst” Jason blinked. “You signed a contract to be an employee-at-will…and if you need a little reminder to what that is, it basically means I can fire you whenever I feel like it. And just so you know that I’m being fair, it also allows you to quit in the same manner.”

That’s when she started to panic. Her whole mood and confidence fell through the floor.

“But…but…you-you can’t do this!”

Jason crinkled his eyebrows together. “How come? Please enlighten me.”

“Because…shit. Uh, I can tell them! I can tell them that you two are fucking!” she basically screamed. And she had the nerve to call me basic…pft.

“Who’s going to believe such an unreliable source?” Jason challenged her. I could tell he was truly enjoying this.

Alicia dug into her pocket, obviously reaching for her phone. I quickly jumped up and unconsciously socked her in her right jaw. Just that move alone knocked her clean out. For maybe half a second, I regretted what I had just did…but like I said, it was only for that half of a second.

“Shit babe” Jason whistled, looking thoroughly impressed. I ignored him and pried the phone out of her tight grasp.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for years. She better be glad I didn’t clock her ass as soon as she tried to flirt with you.”

His looked at me like he was amused. “Were you jealous?”

“Of her? Ha, of course not” I smirked, climbing on top of his lap and straddling him. “Not after you repeatedly screamed my name out last night. I think I’ve got a hold on you.”

“Well you’re right about that” he whispered.

Alicia’s phone abruptly lit up and started to vibrate in my clutched hand. I checked the caller ID to see who it was. “It’s an anonymous number. What are the chances that it’s Eric calling to make sure everything ran smoothly?”

“I say it’s a very high chance. Answer it.”

I held the phone up to my ear and pressed the “answer” button. “Hello?”

“Alicia?”

“Nope. Try again.”

“Who the hell is this?”

“Hm, that’s sad. You don’t recognize the voice of someone you used to date. I’m not sure if I should be offended or not.”

“Keyshia” he sighed. “What are you doing with my sister’s phone? Where is she?”

“Never mind that. Look, you had a great plan. Really, it could have worked. But it didn’t.”

“And by this you mean…?”

“Don’t play stupid with me. You’re not getting a single thing from that lame stunt you pulled.”

“Key-“

“It’s ridiculous how much you and your sister are alike, ya know? That’s all I have to say to you. OH! And I’m sure by now you’ve figured out that that picture is totally gone.”

Before he could retaliate with a response, I quickly disconnected the call. “So what are we going to do with her?”

Jason looked at me and started to chuckle. “My people are on the way. They can handle the rest.”

 

The next couple of weeks remained free of drama. Jason and I continued to keep working together. Everything was working out perfectly. We acted professional around our colleagues and did the whole relationship thing behind closed doors.

Granted, there were times where we slipped up in the office and almost got caught, but to my knowledge no one knew what was going on between the two of us.

Alicia and Eric never contacted me after what happened. Knowing them, they probably had some sort of revenge plan brewing in the works. No matter what they could potentially throw at us, I’m sure Jason and I could handle it. Shit, if Jason really wanted to, he could get rid of them. But he wasn’t like that. The situation wasn’t even that serious. Unless Alicia put her dirty little hands on my man. That would change everything.

“Hey.”

I popped my head up from looking at the computer screen and gave Jason my undivided attention. “What’s up?”

“As you know…there’s a charity ball this up and coming Saturday. You’re my date.”

“I don’t remember telling-”

“You didn’t. I’m telling you that you’re my date.”

“But-“

“Wear something nice.” He winked before stepping out of my office.

What the hell was that all about? Since when did I ever go to these stupid events with him? And since when did I agree to publicize out relationship?

I ran out to catch him before he got back to his office. “I’m not ready to do that Jason. Not yet.”

“Calm down woman. I’ll just tell them you’re my assistant, which you are. A lot of people drag their assistants along. It won’t be a problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah…” he stopped himself from calling me an endearing name. A couple of people had stopped what they were doing and decided to be nosy. “We’ll talk later about this.”

I nodded and went back into my office.

WHAT AM I GOING TO WEAR?!

 

Jason

 

“Boss, you okay?” My driver, Tony, waved his hand in front of my face attempting to knock me out of the trance I seemed to be stuck in. Keyshia has just walked out of her apartment building looking like something straight out of a magazine.

“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine”

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Yes. She’s perfect…I’m-I’m at a lost for words” I stammered over my sentence as I took in her drool worthy appearance. The woman truly looked like a goddess.

The way the long white gown clung to her smooth chocolate skin made me want to throw her over my shoulder and cancel the evening altogether. I had never seen her long brown hair braided to the side like that before.

“Jason…helloooo?” she snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Are you in there?”

“You look so sexy baby. Damn.”

She bowed her head in order to hide her apparent blush. “Thanks. So do you.”

“You’re lucky we’re running late. I would take you right here in the car.” I kissed her hand as she reached up and adjusted the bowtie to my tuxedo.

“Jason…” she drew out, acting like she was embarrassed. “Not in front of Tony….”

I shut her up with a thorough kiss on the lips. “He doesn’t care.”

“Mm, I have nosy neighbors.”

“Looks like they’re getting a show tonight” I continued to kiss her while pulling her closer to me.

Keyshia softly pushed me away and shook her head. “We have to go” she whispered.

 

During the whole ride over to the convention center, I couldn’t keep my eyes off of her. And it took everything in me not to take things too fast. The engagement ring was literally burning a hole in my pocket. She looked up at me and flashed a gorgeous smile.

“Ready to get this over with?”

“Can we leave early?”

“We haven’t even arrived and you’re already ready to leave?”

“Yep.”

“As much as I want to get you back to my place and make love to you all night long, I have to stick around for a while at this one. I donated a few million to Warm Blankets and the CEO wants to meet me.

“Aw, sorry. I’m being selfish. I’d love to meet him with you.”

I squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek. “Thanks baby.”

 

Keyshia

 

Halfway into the event, my feet started to deliver excruciating pain to my body. I knew I shouldn’t have chose to wear these six-inch heels.

A lot of celebrities and politicians showed up to come to this thing. I really didn’t see how anyone found it enjoyable. From my point-of-view, it looked like some sort of competition to see who had the most money.

I told Jason to go ahead and mingle with people while I sat at the bar. Within the first ten minutes of walking in, we had our picture taken at least twenty times, Jason was asked countless times about who I was to him, and I had been introduced to at least thirty new people. Multiply that by ten and you can only imagine how I felt.

Tired. I just wanted to get home and lay down on my comfy bed.

“Excuse me miss?”

I turned my head and faced a familiar looking actor. I couldn’t put my hand on who exactly he was… “Yes?” I smiled.

“I apologize if this is too straightforward…but you are honestly the most beautiful woman in this room.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate your compliment.”

He was a handsome man, not gonna lie…but the only man I had eyes for was Jason. Speaking of Jason…

“Ready to go?” he barged into our conversation and possessively wrapped his arm around my waist.

“Um-“

“Mr. Jameson? This stunning woman is your date?” The actor asked, never taking his eyes off of me.

“Yes Mr. Short. Sorry to cut this conversation short-no pun intended-but I think it’s time that we leave.”

I hopped off of the barstool and held my hand out to shake Columbus’. “It was nice meeting you. Really.”

Columbus took my hand and placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. “I hope to see you again beautiful.”

Jason cleared his throat and pulled me away before I could say anything back to him.

“Jesus can you chill out? I was actually very flattered by that” I joked.

He groaned and continued to weave me through the crowd. “Men have been hitting on you all night. I refuse to keep watching it happen”

“Okay…well did you talk to the CEO guy?” I held on tighter to his hand and tried not to stumble over my heels.

The closer we got to the exit, the more cameras that flashed into our faces. “Yeah.” He sped his pace up as the paparazzi started to ask all kinds of questions. I learned to ignore them and focused my attention on getting the hell out of there.

Words couldn’t even begin to describe how relieved I was to leave. Never again would I want to experience another event such as this one.

 

Reynold’s Household

 

Bernice Reynolds, grandmother of our main character, Keyshia Reynolds, flipped to the E! News channel to enjoy her nightly routine of catching up on her favorite celebrities.

She rolled her eyes at the many scandals being discussed. “Some people just can’t keep their legs closed” she laughed. Bernice had yet to believe that her “grandchild” had any relation to her. She’d remind her son everyday to stop giving it to every girl he met and for some reason, he never took her advice.

She sighed.

There was no way her family could produce a dark skinned child. No way. That cheating heifer Travis called a wife had to have been cheating on him. There was no other possible conclusion.

One of her favorite celebrities, Jason Jameson, popped up on her TV screen. “That is one fine young man…” she stated before adjusting her hefty figure’s position on the small worn out leather couch.

That’s when her heart suddenly stopped. She thought she was seeing things. It couldn’t be.

“Jasmine!”

“Yes nana?!’ her favorite grandchild, also her caretaker, yelled from the kitchen.

“Get in here!” she shouted back, eyes still glued to the TV.

Jasmine, who could easily be compared to Zoe Saldana, darted into the living room just as fast as she could. Poor girl probably thought something was wrong with her grandmother. “Yes nana?” she answered again.

“Please tell me that’s not who I think it is on my TV” Bernice quietly said as she held her old wrinkly hand to her chest.

“Nana, that’s Keyshia.”

Both her and her grandmother sat in silence for a couple of seconds. “Oh my God! That’s Keyshia!”

Bernice looked at her now soon-to-be-next-favorite granddaughter and let a wide smile take over her face. “Time for a family reunion.”

 

Jason

I glared up at my egotistical father and pressed my lips together. He had just stormed into my office and slammed a magazine article onto my desk.

“What hell is this?” he barked.

With a calm and collected voice, I continued to stare up at him and responded by saying, “What is what?”

“Look at it, Jason.” He paused and actually waited for me to look down at the cover of the implausible source of a magazine. “Do you need a quick reminder to what I told you about seeing this woman?”

“I think you’re confused. First of all, that woman is my assistant…-“ I began to say, attempting  to save my ass. But then I quickly thought about it. I claimed to be in love with her. And I also claimed to do anything for her so why was I sitting here practically lying to my dad’s face about seeing her? Honestly, I don’t understand how he hasn’t quite figured it out yet.

 “And I uh…I love her. She’s amazing.”

His immediate reaction was camera worthy. “Love? Son, you know nothing about love! Especially with her kind! They’re all nothing but gold-diggers looking for an idiot like you to ball up at their knees! You’re not in love with her. You don’t love her-“

“As if I haven’t already lost all respect for you…” I started after standing up to get face to face with him. “You come into my office with even more of your idiotic racist bullshit and expect me to listen to you and follow behind you like I’m some naive little sheep. I love her, I love her, I love her. And I will continue to repeat it as many times as I feel necessary until you get it locked inside your head that I am not going to be a pussy like you and risk the chance at being with the love of my life because of something my dad says.”

Jack Jameson stared at me as if he had just realized that he has completely lost his one and only son. For a second, I saw a glimpse of sadness cross his eyes. “You’re not to talk to me like this” was all he could sputter out.

“You think I’m not supposed to stand up to you? It’s 2012. You have hundreds of people of color working for you, yet you continue to act like you give no fucks about them. I see right behind that stupid façade of yours. You’re afraid that I’m going to make the same mistake you made with my mother. And I refuse to keep acting like this shit is okay…”

A couple of seconds passed before the either of us made a sound. I knew what was inevitable though. “I’m keeping my promise, son. This ‘relationship’ is unacceptable and in my eyes it will always be unacceptable. Until you come to your senses that I’m only trying to do what’s for the best of you, I’ll have to essentially…-“

“Fire me from the business?” I cut him off and finished the sentence he seemed to be having a little trouble with.

If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn the man looked a little pained to do what he was doing. “Jason, believe me. It’s not something I take pride in doing. You’re outstanding at what you do and you’re carrying the family name well, but…this. This is just unacceptable. I cannot allow this. Your grandfather will not allow this. If I let this happen, I could potentially get cut off as well and-“

“Alright. I get it. Please. Leave. I’ll have my shit out of this office by the end of the month” I responded with a nonchalant demeanor. He needed to know that I was in no way fazed by the mess he was pulling.

Jack nodded his head and slowly ambled towards the door.

“By the way…dad?”

He turned around slightly so that only his head was facing me.

“You’re a shitty father. You do know that, right?”

All I got in response was a crooked smile and a “You did just fine without me, son. And I’m sure you’ll do even better outside of this business.”

Before I had the opportunity to ask him a certain question that sprang to my mind, he closed the door and proceeded to leave the building.

Keyshia knocked on the door seconds later. “Come in” I answered, sitting down in my chair.

“Everything okay? Your dad left here looking pretty upset. Did you tell him off?” she beamed.

I took a moment to admire the sheer beauty of my nosey girlfriend. She was dressed in a form fitting teal knee-length dress with the diamonds I recently purchased for her wrapped around her neck. Ever since the night of the ball we went to, she started to wear her hair all different types of ways. Today, she had her long brown locks styled into a sexy updo with loose strands falling past the front of her ears.

“Jason…babe, snap out of it. I think I just saw drool” she giggled flirtatiously.

Just to make sure, I pressed my thumb against the corner of my mouth and smudged off any sign of saliva. “You might wanna sit down.”

“Okay…” Keyshia muttered before sitting down and crossing her left leg over the right.

I sighed and looked lovingly into her brown eyes. “My dad ‘fired’ me-“

“Is it because of me?” She started to panic with a pair of wide eyes. “He found out about us? I told you not to take me to that stupid event!!”

“Keyshia!  Sweetheart. Calm down!” I leaped out the chair and sat on the large desk, directly across from her. “Never mind that, okay? I get to have the chance at a new beginning. I have a five-star top notch hotel being built, hundreds of millions saved up, and numerous endorsements that will keep me living comfortably. I’m free from the pressure of having to be perfect in my family’s eyes. Don’t you see? I’m going to be doing so much better than I previously was.”

She stared up at me still showing signs of feeling guilty. “C’mere” I whispered, holding my arms out for her. Keyshia lifted herself out of the seat and positioned herself between my legs. I wrapped her smooth chocolate arms around my neck and pressed my forehead against hers.

“I would give everything up for you, you know that. I’m begging you not to feel guilty about this. My dad has no idea how much this will backfire on him. Hear me out, alright?”

She responded by pulling herself closer to me and placing soft pecks on my lips. Taking complete control, I drew her bottom lip in and started to slowly devour the sweet taste of her mouth. Keyshia let out a soft low moan and hesitatingly ended the kiss. “I love you Jason. I mean it.”

“I know.”

 

Keyshia

Two weeks after Jason was fired from his family’s company, my life got exponentially busier. I had to single-handedly send emails to every employee of Jameson Suites about what happened. Some of them-okay, actually hundreds of them-up and quit right on the spot. It seemed as if people were only working for Jameson Suites because Jason was running it. Even though it wouldn’t be much of a change (since there were tons of managers that did their jobs extremely well) people took it hard. I also had to start helping to clean his office out.

Nancy, his publicist, put out a solid press release about him leaving the company and of course everyone had something to say about it. No one could believe it. After the press release, the office got flooded with tons of more resignation letters asking to work for Jason wherever he was going to next.

There were two parts to the news coverage. The part that was strictly based on the future of Jameson Suites and the other part which was focused on what scandal made him want to leave. I tried my hardest not to pay attention to the different ideas each magazine came up with…but I soon found out that every single one of them was wrong about what could have happened. Even People Magazine. You would not believe who was actually right.

The dumbass editors at Enquiror.

But since they’re notorious for being completely and utterly wrong, I thanked God that it turned out like that.

 

At around four in the morning on a Saturday, the sound of some idiot knocking on my door had the audacity to disrupt my much needed sleep. Instead of waking all the way up, I groaned, slapped my arm across Jason’s bare chest, and told him to get it.

“Are you expecting anyone?” I could feel his breath on my neck. He was tired as well and I felt a little bad for asking him to get the door. This was his way of trying to get out of doing it.

I turned to look at him and gave him the irresistible puppy dog face. “Pleeease? I don’t have any clothes on and it’ll take less time if you just hop up and see who it is” I stuck my bottom lip out and blinked a few times.

“Alright” he sighed, giving in. “Don’t be alarmed if I wake you up to make love…” he trailed off before removing the covers and hopping out of the warm bed.

I sat up with the cover remaining loosely wrapped around me. “Promise?”

“Cute” Jason replied. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Jason

As I yawned and stretched, I prepared myself to cuss out whoever was on the other side of that door. Who the hell would make a trip to someone’s house at the crack of dawn?

Without taking precautions-looking into the peephole-I swung the wooden door open. Two pairs of hazel eyes greeted me with a look of pure shock.

“Oh gracious god…” the elderly lady breathed out, with a hand on her chest. Her mouth remained agape at my bare chest, making me feel suddenly uncomfortable. “I’ll be damned…” she continued to say.

“May I help you?” I asked, noticing the strong resemblance between them and Keyshia.

“Yes, Mr. Jason Jameson…by the way, you’re my favorite celebrity…my granddaughter lives here and we just got in town. Is she here?”

I stared down at her and a short flashback came to my memory. Keyshia had said something about her family basically disowning her because of her skin tone.

“Babe!”

“What?!” she loudly moaned back. “Who is it?”

“Your family.”

 

Keyshia

Everything in my body froze at Jason’s last sentence. If this was a cruel joke he was playing, I would cut his balls straight off. If it wasn’t a cruel joke…

Damn.

Shit.

Motherfuckers.

How many people decided to come? Which ones? Why the hell were they here?!

I tossed the covers off of me, rolled out of the bed, and slipped on my lavender silk robe. Before leaving the room, I grabbed Jason’s shirt. None of their grimy asses needed to be looking at him with lustful eyes.

My heart raced as I turned the corner into my living room. And sure enough, two of my so called family members were standing there. Jason let them in and closed the door behind him.

He didn’t know how much I hated them, but if he did and still let them in, I would choke the shit out of him for doing this to me.

My eyes met his and he immediately took notice of the fire burning in them. “Cynthia, what the hell are you doing here? Jasmine, I can't believe you let her come knocking on my door at this time of night!” I all but yelled, handing Jason his shirt. 

“Tomorrow’s the 10th anniversary of your parents’ death…”

“Yeah. And?” I said with maybe a little too much attitude. “You haven’t come by in the past ten years. So what makes this one special?”

“We saw you on TV and-“

“Hold up.” Everything in the room instantly got quiet. You could probably hear someone blink. “Are you fucking serious? Really?”

Jason looked at me, eyes full of confusion. “I’m guessing I wasn’t supposed to let them in?”

I ignored him and stepped closer to my grandmother and lameass follower of a cousin. “You used my parents’ death as a reason to get closer to him?!” I started to cry, pointing at Jason. “How low? Seriously. How fucking low of you? How DARE you?!”

“Keyshia…” Jasmine finally started to speak in a soft tone. “Calm down. We just-“

“Oh shut the hell up! You don’t know what it feels like to be kicked out of your biological family because of some type of racist bullshit! You’re literally perfect for Cynthia! She adores you. So please shut. up!”

The two of them glared at me with their mouths damn near touching my hardwood floor, so I continued on with my rant. “You probably thought I was the same nice little girl you left ten years ago. Well think again…granny. I’m not an idiot and I am not going to welcome you with open arms. I despise you. If Grandma Alice didn’t take me in, I would have been homeless! You promised my dad that you were going to take care of me and let me tell you…I bet he’s turning in his grave right now because the one person he thought would take care of his only little girl turned out to be the biggest…most heartless…bitch that ever stepped foot on the face of this earth.”

Cynthia’s eyes began to water but I didn’t feel an ounce of pity for her old ass. “Keyshia…I’m begging you for your forgiveness. Please.”

I had the sudden urge to burst out in laughter, but I bit it back. “It’s not that easy. I don’t think I can ever forgive you for treating me like I wasn’t my father’s daughter. He loved me more than anything, maybe even my own mother. I was his little angel” The last part of my sentence came out as no more than a whisper.

All of the flashbacks, even the hurt and pain I felt, stabbed me like a sharp knife. By this time, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn’t speak. I was choked up. My eyes were burning from the lack of sleep combined with the tears flowing down my checks. I hadn’t noticed that Jason’s arms were wrapped tightly around me until he whispered in my ear.

“Should I tell them to leave?”

“It’s alright. We’ll let ourselves out”

Moments passed before I heard the door open. “By the way, I didn’t actually want your forgiveness. We already got what we came for” she spat.

She looked up at Jason and smiled. “It was nice meeting you.”

 

The rest of the night was spent practically wailing in Jason’s arms. As he rocked me back and forth, I couldn’t help but to think about how dirty my family treated me. My stomach turned every time I thought about the actual reason she came to my apartment. In the back of my mind, I knew it was possible…but for some odd reason, I thought the woman still had an ounce of dignity left in her.

How much more fucked up in the mind could she get?

What real woman would leave their thirteen year old granddaughter hangin? Yes, there is a fine line between love and hate…but I know for sure that I absolutely detest that woman.

“Hey” Jason softly whispered, still caressing my hair. “Try to get some rest. I’ll have a cup of tea waiting for you when you get up and you can tell me everything that’s on your mind. Okay?”

I nodded my head and fluttered my puffy red eyes shut.

 

Over the last two weeks of the month, I struggled to push what happened to the back of mind and allowed myself to focus on cleaning out the rest of Jason’s office and looking for another job behind his back. I knew he had plans on me being his assistant at the hotel in Rio, but that’s almost like asking me to move with him there and I wasn’t ready for that type of commitment.

Commitment meaning living together without knowing exactly where or relationship was headed. Sure, I know the man’s head over heels for me, but did he want to marry me? He’s considered one of “America’s Top Most Wanted Bachelors”. Why would he want to change that over me? Some hooker look-a-like he met in a club who’s from the poorest borough in New York City.

“You alright?” Jason asked, tearing me out of my thoughts. We were on a commercial flight halfway to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. I had already gotten sick three times and we hadn’t even reached South America yet.

“Yeah. I’m good. I'm sure it’s just motion sickness.”

I knew it was much more to it though. He had no idea about my sore boobs or me throwing up way before we caught the flight.

And sometimes during the night, I would have to get up and pee like ten times before the sun rose. Good thing I scheduled a doctor’s appointment as soon as I got back to the states. Jason would have my head if he found out something was going on with me before I actually let him know what was up.

 

Keyshia

 

“Baby…are you sure you’re okay?” Jason asked for what seemed like the fiftieth time this morning.

I looked up at him from the white porcelain toilet and managed to croak out a sentence. “Yes…for the thousandth time…!”

“I’m just making sure. This is the fourth time you’ve gotten sick since we landed. You would tell me if something’s up, right?”

“Of course. That flight was hella long and I’m a little disoriented. Give me some time.”

He nodded with a worried expression before getting ready to step out of the bathroom. “Want me to run you some bathwater?”

“I can do it. Go ahead and get settled in.”

Jason bent down, gave my forehead an endearing kiss, and then exited the room.

I leaned against the toilet and sighed. I had a little idea to what was going on with my body but I let it stay right in the back of my mind. I really didn’t want to think about that word.

If it is in fact what I think it is…I’ll hold off on telling him until we get back home. This trip is all about him. Why would I ruin it by surprising him with something this huge?

An hour after taking a long hot bath, I guzzled down a liter of ginger ale and cuddled up with Jason. We were staying in what I guessed to be the most expensive hotel in Rio. Our room had a luxurious vibe to it. From the stainless steel kitchen appliances to the nearly perfect staff, I thought I was in heaven. They welcomed Jason with open arms. Not only because he contributed a hefty amount of revenue to their hotel, but they recognized him from being internationally famous.

The good thing about being here was that we could act like a couple and no one would question it. There were no paparazzi around and all of the citizens are overwhelmingly nice. From my point of view, I had no idea what Jason was doing. I was too busy throwing up. My guess is that he was performing “my job” by setting up meetings with the contractors and hiring a private investigator to locate his mother.

It sucked that I couldn’t express my immeasurable excitement for him. Every move that I made felt like it would trigger my already upset stomach, so I didn’t want to risk it.

“A doctor’s coming to check you out tomorrow” Jason whispered in my ear while his lips were pressed against the side of my neck. “I hate seeing you so miserable.”

“I’ll be fine. Just worry about your mom. You’ve waited forever to see her and I don’t want to ruin it.”

“You’re not ruining anything. You didn’t plan on getting sick. I’d rather stay here and take care of you than spend all day searching for my mom. And I know that sounds bad, but since I’ve been waiting so many years to see her…I don’t think a day will make any difference. “

I slowly turned my head and smiled up at him. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Now get some rest. I have a few phone calls to make.”

He placed a quick kiss on my lips and gingerly rolled out of the bed. Even if I wanted to stay up and be nosy, the medicine I took knocked me the hell out.

**********

The next morning, I woke up to a short tan man in a white lab coat staring down at me. Before I started to flip the fuck out, Jason emerged from behind him calmly sipping on a cup of coffee. “Good morning sleeping beauty. This is Doctor Ribeiro. He’ll be checking you out in a few.”

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and blinked a few times to wake myself up. “Can I at least take a shower first?”

The doctor looked at Jason as if he didn’t understand what I was saying.

“Ela quer tomar um banho. Dar-lhe trinta minutos por favor.” 

I looked between the two of them in confusion. What a scene to wake up to. “Okay…I’ll be back.”

Jason followed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind us. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yep.” I turned on the tub’s faucet and started to pull his t-shirt over my head.

He cocked his head to the side and stared at my body like he had never seen it before. “Great.” Moments passed before he spoke again. “I apologize for bringing him here so early, but I’ve got an urgent meeting in a few and I wanted to translate for a while.”

“Go to your meeting. I can find someone at the front desk to do it.”

Jason scrunched his eyebrows together. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Alright. Let me know what’s going on. Call me.”

He softly kissed my forehead before leaving the bathroom. I stepped into the tub and sunk down into it.

Shortly after taking the bath, I slipped on some undergarments and a turquoise colored sundress. The little doctor was having a conversation on the phone while staring out the window. Right as he noticed me, he walked over and handed me a piece of paper.

It was a note in Jason’s handwriting.

“Babe, a translator should be on their way up to accompany you. I will be back within the next hour or so. He wants for you to go ahead and get comfortable on the bed. Don’t let his tools frighten you. He’s considered to be one of the best gynecologists in South America so let him do what he needs to do. I love you and I’ll see you later on.”

Directly after skimming my eyes over the letter, there was a soft knock on the door. The doctor took the initiative of answering it for me. A young woman who looked to be in her teens, with long curly hair and olive colored, skin walked over to me.

She began speaking with a thick Brazilian accent. “My name is Jackeline. Jason sent me up here to help translate. Is this okay with you?”

“Yeah. Make sure whatever happens in here never leaves this room. Okay? Not even Jason can know unless I tell him.”

“Yes. Of course.”

I smiled at the sight of her deep cheek dimples. She must have been nervous due to her antsy gestures.

“Alright. We should go ahead and get this over with” I suggested.

Jackeline nodded in agreement and quickly greeted the doctor. Minutes later, they were engaged in a full-blown conversation. I followed her directions by lying back on the bed and relaxing my body. Dr. Ribeiro pressed his chunky little fingers into my lower abdomen, causing me to yelp out in pain.

“Fuck! That hurt!” I screamed.

“Perguntar a ela sobre seus sintomas por favor.”

“He wants to know if you’ve been experiencing fatigue, sore breasts, vomiting, and/or a missed period.”

“So he’s basically asking me if I’m pregnant?”

“Ela quer saber se você acha que está grávida?”

“Sim. Muito óbvio. Diga-lhe para fazer o teste de gravidez. Ele é muito preciso.” The doctor handed Jackeline something wrapped in plastic.

“He says you should take this pregnancy test. For assurance, he also says that it’s very accurate.”

Without putting up much of a fight, I took the test out of her hands and slipped into the bathroom. As I peed onto the skinny stick, all I could think about was the future and what was in store for Jason and I.

 

Jason

 

“Everything’s looking great Mr. Jameson. President Rousseff has notified us and she thinks this will be an excellent boost for tourism. It will bring in a lot of capital and a wide variety of travelers. She’s thrilled.”

“Ah. Great. I wish I could put into words how amazing this is turning out. By this time, next year, everything will be together, and I will be opening the first hotel of my new franchise” I said, turning to one of the contractors I hired to get this thing together.  He was one of the many people who followed me to Brazil. A lot of my old employees were willing to relocate, which made things significantly easier and even more perfect.

“I’m proud of you, man. How’s your dad taking it?”

“I don’t really care, to be honest. He’ll see how much he’s missing out when-“

“Mr. Jameson?”

I looked up from the cherry wood desk in order to focus my attention on the dark-haired middle-aged man standing at the entrance of the conference room. I instantly recognized him as the private investigator I hired before we landed. His face was holding a giddy smile, letting me know that he had nothing but good news for me.

“Have you located her?”

“I’ve done more than located her.”

My heart began racing at the sound of his last sentence. My body started to heat up in anticipation of me having a long overdue meeting with the woman who gave birth to me.

“She’s here?” I barely whispered. Dammit, I’m already choking up.

Seconds later, a beautiful woman slowly emerged from behind him.

It didn’t take long for me to begin tearing up. All we could do was stare at each other. I couldn’t believe that my mother…my actual mother…was standing just six feet away from me.

As soon as she brought her hands to her mouth and busted out in tears, everyone evacuated the room to give us some alone time. I finally got out of the chair and rushed over to her.

“My baby” she wept. “I finally get to hold you in my arms. Finally. Such a handsome young man you’ve become.”

I brought her petite body into my arms and hugged her as if I were never going to let her go. “You speak English.”

Alessandra lifted her arm up and placed her hand on my right cheek. “I had to learn it. I knew you were going to find me one of these days.”

“ Eu te amo.” I hugged her tighter and lifted her into the air. “Sem palavras.”

“Também.”

For the next few minutes, we continued to embrace and bask in each other’s presence. I never wanted the moment to pass.

She was much prettier than any of the pictures my dad showed me. With her long wavy black hair, bronze colored skin, and steel grey eyes, she was stunning.

“I have someone I want you to meet.”

 

 

Keyshia

 

“I’m pregnant. No, we’re going to have a baby!” I threw my hands up in faux excitement, trying to go over how I was going to break the news to Jason. “There’s a bun in my oven…because you put it there…”

UGH.

How the hell am I supposed to tell him this? It was already hard enough thinking about the shit I was going to get for getting pregnant by him in the first place!

Oh gosh, I can already hear it. The racial remarks and constant degrading. Pregnancy is supposed to be nice and happy. But I’m definitely not looking forward to this. 

I felt overwhelmed with this information and I wish I didn’t have to tell him. Lord only knows how he’ll react.

There’s a freaking baby growing in my uterus…

“Is there any particular reason to why you’re staring into the mirror with your shirt up?”

I jumped around and quickly pulled my shirt down at the sound of Jason’s deep voice. “Hey! When did you get back? I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Just now.” He gave me a look full of skeptic before smiling and pulling me towards him. “I want you to meet my mom.”

“Your mom?!” I exclaimed, with huge eyes. “You found her?!!”

“Yep.” Jason nodded before tugging me along with him to the door. “Mama! Pode Entrar!”

I don’t know why I was nervous, but my heart felt like it was about to leap out my chest. First impressions were not my forte.

The petite little woman strolled into the room with a bright contagious smile planted on her face. As if it came by instinct to her, she grabbed me into a soft warm hug. I wrapped my arms around her and returned the welcoming gesture. When she looked back up at me to give my cheeks a few pecks, I noticed the resemblance between her and Jason.

The woman was absolutely, without a doubt, gorgeous. What on earth did she see in Jack “The Asshole” Jameson?

“I see my son is very happy with you, Keyshia. You’re so…linda. Beautiful. Pretty girl.”

“Thank you. He’s been talking about you nonstop! I’m so glad he’s finally got the chance to meet you.”

All of a sudden, I became nauseous. Not now!!!!!

Jason caught on to my expression and started to grow worried. The queasiness went away right as I took a step towards the bathroom. I think it had something to do with his mom’s perfume.

 

 

For the next hour or so, the three of us were engaged in a long chat; I learned that she had never gotten married or had any more children because she didn’t really want to move on. It was almost like she was forced to put her child up for adoption.

She must have really been in love with Jack for agreeing to give her child up…and then having to go twenty-three years without seeing said child. I can only imagine how emotionally overwhelmed she felt when she laid eyes on him again.

Alessandra told us that Jack sent her three pictures of Jason and that was when he was fourteen. Apparently, to him, those were the only pictures she needed to see. He told her through a letter that she shouldn’t need anymore since he was basically going to look like that for the rest of his life.

Seriously, the man could make a book on how to make people hate you. What bothered me was every time either me or Jason mentioned him, her eyes would light up with quickness. She probably didn’t think we’d notice, but we did. She was still in love with that son of a bitch.

 

Jason

 

After dropping my mother off at her house, Keyshia and I drove over to the nearest beach and decided to have a mini-date. I had my mind set on buying a new house for Alessandra and compensating for all of the years we had between us, but it looked as if my dad had somewhat taken care of her. He brought her a house, paid her bills, and gave her enough “support” to live comfortably; and then some.  I assumed he also gave her the money to keep her mouth shut about their relationship.

Since I didn’t come here to interrogate her about what was going on between her and Jack, I left all of that alone and tried to focus my attention on getting to know her better.

“What are you thinking about?” Keyshia softly asked, staring up at me. She was lying across my lap while snacking on a chunk of pineapple.

I looked down at her and smiled. “My mom. I still can’t believe I saw her today. It’s so surreal.”

“I’m glad you’re happy. You’ve been trying to make this happen for years. I feel so honored to be here.”

I gave her a chance to swallow the rest the fruit before I had her on her back. “I couldn’t imagine doing this with anyone else.”

“What? Making out in a public beach?” she joked.

“Of course” I whispered before swooping down and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Keyshia wrapped her arms around the back of my neck and pulled me closer to her. It didn’t take long for things to start heating up. I cunningly reached under her peach colored bikini top and groped her left breast, hoping to turn her on. I never knew why, but that was her hot spot; her left breast.

But this time she didn’t moan. She let out a loud yelp and winced in pain.

I jerked my arm back and remained hovering over her. “What happened? Did I do something wrong?”

“That hurt” Keyshia sighed. She gently pushed me off of her and sat straight up. I stared at her as she adjusted her top.

“Did the doctor tell you what’s wrong? You never talked to me about it.”

“Can we talk about this when we get back home?”

I reached out and rubbed my hands up and down her long legs. “No…I’d like to know now. Babe, I’m worried about you.”

“I can’t tell you right now.”

“We’re not leaving until you tell me…” I pressed.

Completely out of nowhere, Keyshia jumped up and started walking towards the way we came in with her arms crossed over her chest.  “Oh, so you’re holding me hostage now?”

“What the hell?” I shouted as I leaped up and ran after her.

I grabbed her arm and twirled her around to face me as soon as I was close enough. “What the fuck is going on with you?”

“Why am I here with you? Why didn’t you just leave me back in New York?! And don’t give me that bullshit ‘cover up” about having to take your assistant everywhere you go!”

“What? What are you talking about? You know I wanted you to meet my mother. All of sudden you have this bipolar attitude.”

She looked down at the grip I had on her and snatched away. “You’re going to be living here, right? You know, when everything’s built and finished?”

“Yes. We talked about this already. I know you haven’t made your decision on whether or not you want to move here yet, but-“

“I want to move here. I want to be with you, Jason. But I can’t help but think about where the hell this relationship is going. Moving to Brazil is a huge change. New York was my life and you’re asking me to leave it. Just like that.”

“It’s a huge change for me too, but you know I can’t be without you…”

“Jesus, will you stop saying sappy shit like that? It’s making it so hard not to fall deeper into this stupid thing! I need some room to be able to survive if this relationship ever ends.”

I looked deep into her brown orbs and crinkled my brows together in confusion. “Ends?”

“Yeah” she paused, bowing her head. Tears started rolling down her makeup-free face. “There are mornings where I wake up so happy that I don’t even know what to do with myself. These are the mornings where I know, deep down in my heart, that you love me. You love me so much. And you will literally do anything to make me happy. I see a future between us on these mornings. I see us having the perfect American dream: with the white picket fence and the two-story house. I wake up wanting to be in your arms and holding on to you; never letting you go.”

I found myself pulling her towards me one more time. This time, she gave in and allowed me to hug her while running my fingers through her hair. “What about the other mornings?”

“I see black. There’s this negative vibe. Nothing good ever comes out of these mornings. I wake up thinking every phone call I receive will either be you saying you no longer want me or you saying you can’t do this anymore.  It literally scares the shit out of me because it fucks my mind up so bad. Sometimes I find myself breaking out in tears because what if we ended...like, permanently?”

Kissing the top of her head, I said: “We’re not going to end, sweetheart. I promise.”

“And how are you so sure of that? Huh? Anything could happen. You’re too good for me. I don’t deserve you...” By this time, she was quietly sobbing into my chest.

“Marry me” I gulped, instantly mad at myself for blurting that out. Her head shot up and looked at me with a set of surprised eyes.

“W-what did you just say?”

“I was planning on doing one of those crazy proposals where you hire a shitload of people to go along with it, but I know you like to keep things simple so-“

“I think you just asked me to marry you…” she whispered in disbelief.

I chuckled at how cute she looked. “Yes. I asked you to marry me.”

“Holy shit…” Keyshia shook her head and started pacing. “Are you sure?”

“I’m more than sure. I can’t see my life without you and I refuse to let you go like I did that one time. I need you in my life. Don’t you understand? I’ve been trying to find the right time to ask you this…” Before continuing on with my sentence, I pulled out the ring I’d been carrying around and opened the little velvet box.

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head at the sight of the rather large engagement ring. She even looked like she was going to faint. “That’s for me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh God…”

“I can’t help but to think this is slowly turning into a no…so look at me.”

Keyshia stopped pacing and looked me in the eyes. I continued. “I have those mornings too, okay? But for me, I constantly think about how you’re the one who’s too good for me. You’re so perfect. The woman I’ve always dreamed of marrying is right here with me. Every day…every fucking day that went by after buying this ring was full of doubts. I honestly don’t know what I would do if you say no. I can’t relive those horrible months again. That was torture. And you’re right. I love you very much and I will do anything to make you happy.”

I brought my hand up and wiped away her tears. “Here’s our future, Keyshia. I’m offering it to you…” To make things more “official”, I bent down on one knee and delicately placed her hand into mines. “Say yes and we can have your American Dream. Let me have the honor of getting to wake up to your sweet, angelic face every morning.”

“Jason…” she sniffed.

“Say yes.”

“I’m pregnant.”

 

 

Keyshia

 

Jason glared up me with glistening eyes, full of tears, and a shock-ridden face. He started to speak but he was too choked up to begin conveying his message. I gave him time to get it together because I wasn’t sure what I needed to say either.

“I…I…I’m at a lost for words” was all he could say.

My hand reached down and affectionately wiped the tears away from his eyes. “I think I’ve known for a while…and I’m so sorry…-”

“Did you think I was going to take back my proposal by admitting this?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking to be honest. I just thought you should know before this got out of hand.”

“Out of hand, huh? Keyshia, honey, I still want you to be my wife. You telling me you’re pregnant only magnifies my desire to have you with me for the long term. I got to see my mom for the first time, the love of my life is pregnant with my child…I mean, the only way this day will end up being the best day of my existence is if you accept my proposal.”

“This is all moving so fast…” I whispered.

“You’re right…but you know we’re good for each other. You complete me.”

In that moment, I felt so lost and unsure. My heart was pounding furiously within my chest, screaming at me to say yes; while my mind was full of negative thoughts and anxiety. I couldn’t help but to think about how everyone will react to this and that was the problem. I shouldn’t be caring about what the fuck people have to say about our relationship. Jason wasn’t proposing to his fans and the media, he was proposing to me.

On bended knee and with a humble mentality, the man wanted nothing more than for me to take his hand in marriage.

“Yes” I finally responded. My body tumbled down to his level and I fell into his arms. Jason pulled me closer to him and adjusted his body so that we were sitting in a more comfortable position. He rocked me back and forth while smoothing my hair down.

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I swear I will treat you and our baby like royalty.  And I know this is a huge change for you, but I will be with you every step of the way.”

All I could do was nod my head and hold him as tight as my body would allow me to. This seemed way to good to be true. It was as if my own fairytale was unfolding right in front of my eyes.

*************

Later on into the evening, towards the end of the very eventful day, I laid sprawled across our bed gazing at the huge ring Jason slid onto my finger. If it reflected off of the right amount of sunlight or something else shiny, I’d go blind for sure. The thing was massive. I tried my hardest not to think about how much he spent on it.

“You’ve been staring at that thing for the past hour. Do you not like it?” Jason asked. He was coming out of the bathroom with a towel hanging low on his waist. 

“It’s gorgeous and I love it…but…-“

“Uh oh.”

“Never mind. I’m not going to complain. I love my new ring and I love you.”

Jason smiled as I got out of the bed and stood directly in front of him. “I love you too. Thank you for making me the happiest man in the world.”

“Aw, stop that! You’re making me feel so…special.” I blushed while I reached out and started to toy with his white towel.

He looked down and gently bit down on his bottom lip. “I hope you plan on finishing what you’re about to start…”

“Yeah, I owe you a little something…you know, payback for this gigantic rock I have on my finger.”

“Mm…” Jason moaned as he pulled me into his arms and began placing soft, tender kisses on my skin. “I love you more than your mind can ever begin to fathom…”

“Yeah, I know that. Now stop being all mushy gooey and start making hot passionate love to me right this second, mister.”

 

 

********************

We spent the rest of that enchanting night tangled up in each other’s arms and taking turns to satisfy one another. Everything felt nice and perfect.  That’s the only way I can describe it. My morning sickness seemed to have temporarily disappeared after I told him the news about our future child.

Future child.

I was beginning to like the thought of it; the thought of Jason and I finally having a future together. A few months prior to this, I would have never thought I would be in this situation. I thought we were done. And I thought I would never be able to wake up to him in the morning anymore.

Now he’s here with me, forever. The person I love the most. The man that will father my child. The man that has been there for me since the first day we met. The love of my life, Jason Jameson.

Could life get any better than this? What the hell was I so afraid of?

“What are you doing up so early?” Jason groaned as he looked up at me through tired eyes. I took my reading glasses off and gave him a dimpled smile.

“Writing in my journal. At the beginning of this year, I had the feeling that a lot of memorable things were going to take place, so I decided to document everything that’s been happening.”

He kissed the closest piece of my skin he could find and slowly closed his eyes. “That’s cute. Real cute. But…sleep”

I let out a short giggle as I watched him quickly go back into a deep slumber. Watching him sleep may have been creepy, but it was definitely number one on my never-ending list of “enjoyable things to do.”

The following morning, I was awaken by the scent of a strong fresh pot of coffee and what I could only describe as a bakery. Jason rushed over to my side, probably after noticing the confusion detailed on my face. He climbed into the bed and gently settled on top of me.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

I placed my hands on both sides of his cheeks and struggled to withhold a yawn. “Hey.”

“Hungry?”

“For you? Any day” I replied with a cheesy smirk on my face.

Jason chuckled and placed a quick peck on my forehead. “That’s good to know. Make sure you fill up. You’re eating for two now.”

“Oh trust me. I plan on taking full advantage of this pregnancy. So what’s on the menu? Everything smells delicious.”

He rolled off of me and the bed then proceeded to push the room service cart over to where I laid. “A traditional Brazilian breakfast awaits for your consumption, my beautiful fiancée.”

The sound of those words coming from his lips brought a smile to my face. The platter in front of me consisted of a fresh loaf of French bread, a few slices of cold cuts, some type of exotic cheese, strawberry jam, and honey pecan butter. A rose rested on the side as a type of garnish I’m guessing.

“And this is traditional?”

“One-hundred percent” he nodded.

“Hm. Weird. Never would have thought…” I trailed off before completely devouring everything in sight.

 

Shortly after eating, Jason took me over to his mother’s house. Alessandra’s house looked different than I imagined. I was thinking she was living the high life. But of course Jack the Asshole was her baby’s father. He seemed to not give a fuck about where she lived because the “house” was essentially a shack in the middle of nowhere.

“Not saying there’s anything wrong with this place, but I sort of expected your mom to live in nothing less than a mansion” I stated as I followed behind Jason up the concrete steps and towards the front door.

He took ahold of my hand and knocked on the hard wooden door. “She didn’t want anything from Jack unless it included getting me back. She’s a humble woman with an incredible personality and I look up to her in more ways than one.”

So that’s where he gets it from…

Alessandra opened the door with a bright smile on her face. The woman looked to be no older than someone in their early thirties. Her beautiful olive colored skin glistened and her grey eyes sparkled with joy. Unexpectedly, she reached out and pulled me into a tight hug before hugging her own son.

Letting go of Jason’s hand, I walked past her and into the house while they embraced one another. I turned around and caught Alessandra whispering something in his ear. For a second, I was extremely curious. Jason looked at me with this huge grin on his face after receiving her message.

I looked between the two through squinted eyes. What? I wanted to say.

The short tanned woman made her way over to me and softly pressed her hands on my lower abdomen.  “I was asking him if you’ve came to terms with the knowledge of your pregnancy.”

I gasped. “You told her?!”

“Nope. She’s known all along. I guess she sensed it.”

“So you knew before I told you?!” I all but shouted.

He chuckled. “No, of course not. She’s just now saying it.”

“I’m happy for the both of you. I finally have a chance to have a family.” Before tears began welling up in her eyes, she moved her hand away from my stomach and motioned for us to follow her into the kitchen.

Although the house looked to be falling apart, I loved the homey vibe it gave off. A refreshing splash of sea colored green covered every wall in the small place and a deep chocolate brown was the color of choice for the floors. A small bedroom hid in the back towards the back exit. All of the windows were open with yellow curtains waving in the wind. The kitchen looked to be where Alessandra spent most of her time in. I was surprised by the condition of her appliances. They were all brand new and top notch. Nothing too fancy, but the perfect quality for a person who clearly loves to cook.

The counter was aligned with an assortment of delicious looking baked goods. I noticed something that looked tremendously similar to a Swiss roll but the pastry was really thin and it looked to be coated in brown sugar or something.

“That right there is bolo de rolo and beside it is what we like to call bolo de fubá, sort of what you all call cornbread.” I nodded my head and attempted to copy her by sounding out the names of the desserts. She must have saw invisible drool rolling down the corner of my mouth. These damn things had my mind instantly craving for them. “Help yourself out if you’d like. I’ve prepared many things for you darlings to enjoy.”

I hesitatingly reached my hand out for a piece of one of the tasty looking treats and quickly stopped myself. Jason took notice of my hesitation and prepared a slice of the cornbread like stuff for me. His mother smiled and started to move around her kitchen, grabbing different ingredients from out of the cabinets.

“Thanks babe” I whispered before taking a seat on one of the wooden barstools. “So what are some of the traditional dishes served here in Brazil, Alessandra?”

While she dug through her spice cabinet, she spoke. “The most popular side dish, which is essential for nearly all meals is arroz com feijão, or rice and beans. We really enjoy eating fresh fruits and a variety of different meats. I could go on for days about what we eat here. There are so many options, yeah? My personal favorite, something I could eat for days and days, if it’s made right, is feijoada. It is closely related to your beef stew if I am not mistaken. “

“Sounds delicious.” I took a large bite into the warm cake. My taste buds were more than pleased at what I was feeding them. It tasted like something I’ve never tasted before. Sharing the appearance of cornbread and the taste of sweet moist pound cake, the bolo de fubá was absolutely magnificent. The wonderful powdered sugar coated on the top gave my mouth yet another sensation. “Mmm…this is amazing! Thank you so much!”

“No problem, beleza.”

Seeing her move around the kitchen like that reminded me a lot of Jason. He loved to cook for me whenever he had the chance. He seemed to be able to cook everything under the sun extremely well; from fried chicken and collard greens to beef wellington and crème brûlée. It made me think about what qualities he actually inherited from Jack besides his height and hair color. He obviously got his perfection from his sweetheart of a mother.

 

Jason had to leave us alone for a few hours in order to get some work knocked out at his temporary office. I didn’t mind staying behind because Alessandra and I were so engaged in this intriguing conversation that we barely even noticed that he left.

That’s when the deep topics sprouted above ground. We were talking to each other like we were long lost friends and it made me never wanted to leave this place.

“Tell me about you and my son’s relationship? It would be nice to hear your side of the story” she said, propping her elbows up on the table. Her cheeks rested in her palms.

“Oh gosh. What did he tell you?” .

“Something about a…a um…how do you say…uma boate…? A club?”

I let out a gasp and covered my face in embarrassment. “He told you about that?!”

“Yes, but no judgments here. If you weren’t there, you wouldn’t have met him and you would not be here drinking café with me. I have no right to judge you on your past especially since mines is no picture perfect.”

I nodded my head and took a sip of the crazy strong blend of coffee. “Do you mind me asking about you and Mr. Jameson? Or am I stepping way out of my boundaries?”

She paused for a few seconds and squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

“You don’t have to tell me or anything, I just-“

“You’re fine. This is a little difficult for me to talk about because I have not talked to anyone about him in years. I was almost forced to erase him from my memory.”

“Mmhm.”

“Where shall I begin?”

“From the beginning. Tell me everything.”

“Okay. Well, it all started when I was eighteen going on nineteen years of age. At this age, I am practically a grown woman. I loved to go into the marketplace and search for fresh comestíveis-groceries. All of the time, I would take a break from life and enjoy the atmosphere, you know? So, one day…a bunch of businessmen visited Brasil and we were being told that they were considering building some type of large tourist attraction.”

“A hotel? It’s weird that they were thinking about it so long ago and it’s just now being built. Why is that?”

“I’ll get to that” she kindly smiled and continued on with her story. “A few days after hearing about this news, I ran into the most interesting looking person, an American man.”

“Jack?”

“Sim. I had only seen what they looked like on the television and at this time I only knew a few words from the English language. Luckily, he was fluent and immediately sparked up a conversation. I did not initially know what he wanted from me. I just knew that I wanted him to be a part of my life. I guess you could say it was love at first sight.”

Her eyes immediately transformed from bright and sparkly to dark and gloomy. Her whole mood changed just thinking about the man and the memories they shared together.

“During the few weeks we had to get to know each other, we fell madly in love. I had never met a person that treated me the way Jack had treated me. From his soft kisses to the way he laughed, I fell in love with every part of him. He made me feel wanted and desirable. It could have been that I was naïve and gullible. Whatever you want to call it, but I knew he was the one for me and I was the one for him. Everyday we would teach each other something new. I would get lessons in English and he would brush up on his Portuguese. An hour without him seemed like a whole day and you can only imagine how it felt to have all of those feelings taken away from me so abruptly.”

By the end of her sentence, she was on the verge of tears. I looked her deep into the eyes and placed her soft hands into mines. “Although this story is really interesting, I’m not going to pressure you into narrating the rest. You’re right. I can only imagine the pain…-“

“His father could not look past my skin color and heritage…” she whispered, finally bursting into a frenzy of tears. “He could not understand how much in love I was. He did not care about my baby or anything having to do with my family. All he could think about was money and his ego.”

Looking at her in this distressed state made me almost lose it right along with her. My damn hormones were acting up and the story was so heartbreaking. “Oh Alessandra…” was all I could say.

“I had to give the only piece of what I had left of me to the man who was going to leave me forever. I didn’t even get to name him…”

Damn. This was getting way intense for me. My hatred for Jack Jameson was at an all-time high, but it was Jack Senior who needed to burn in hell for the close-minded, disgusting, fucked up mentality he possessed.

“Jack told me that he would always be there for me and he still has not redeemed himself. And you know what the most horrible part about this whole thing is…?”

“You’re still in love with him” I gulped, taking a wild guess.

Once again, Alessandra was overcome with sorrow. Tears came flowing out of her eyes like a water fountain. I let go of her hand and searched the kitchen for napkins or anything to help clean her face up. I spotted a rack of towels and quickly grabbed one. She accepted it and began wiping her tears away while trying to get herself together.

“I shouldn’t be” she took a deep swallow. “Not after twenty-three years, Keyshia. I should have a family of my own and I should not be thinking about the first time we made love and the sweet kisses we shared. I’m so pathetic.”

“No you’re not. You’re amazing and strong. Jason looks up to you. He loves you. And Jack, although he should never be forgiven for what he’s done to you, is very impacted by you guys’ previous relationship.” 

She lifted her head up and her eyes slowly started to go back to their normal. appearance Her mood began to lighten almost immediately after I said that. “How so?”

“From what I’ve observed, he’s been dating all of these sleazy young women. Every year it seems like he gets married to someone new. It’s ridiculous because you can tell he’s never fallen in love with any of them. They’re all a complete waste of his time, but he needs someone there for him to temporarily relieve the pain he has resulting from your absence.”

“Do you think he misses me?” she sniffed.

My lips curved into a reassuring smile. “There’s no doubt about it. I’m in no way taking up for him, but he was brainwashed by his father into believing that he was doing the best for you.”

“I know.”

“You do?”

“Yes” she frowned. “He said it in the letters. The first few were what you call love letters. He would tell me about how much he missed me and what he would do to me when he saw me. Then, after the first eight years of my son’s life…the letters became short and frequent. I stopped getting pictures of my baby boy’s face. The letters turned cold, short, and vague.”

“Oh man…”

“That’s when I should have known that he would never come back to me. All of the talk about the hotel had stopped years before and I was left with my imagination.”

“What about your family?”

“I’m the only child and my mother died long before I got into my teenage years. My father was never around and my grandmother was too old to defend for me. I had no one. Jack wanted to marry me and bring me back to America. What an opportunity, right?”

Before she could start crying again, I reached over and brought her into a comforting hug. She gently sobbed into my shirt. “I miss him so much. So much.”

I pulled her small body closer to me and decided not to speak; mostly because I didn’t know what to say and also because silence cured a great deal of things.  

 

Jason

 

When I got back to my mother’s house, my nostrils were hit with the tantalizing scent of a full-blown Brazilian jantar-dinner. I found my two best ladies dancing around the kitchen and having a good ole time. They didn’t notice that I had walked in yet, so I took a few seconds to enjoy the amusing sight. It looked like Keyshia was getting a few lessons on how to cook something.

Keyshia had a long salmon colored sundress on and my mother was dressed in a pair of jean shorts with a beautiful butterfly top. They both looked equally stunning. I loved seeing them enjoying one another’s company. Apparently, they became besties during the time I was gone? A song from a popular Brazilian singer loudly roared through the speakers from radio, which sat on the countertop.

I cleared my throat and flashed a half-grin. “Having fun ladies?”

The two of them simultaneously screamed and jolted around to face me. When they noticed that I wasn’t a stranger, they broke out in laugher. I laughed along with them and waited for Keyshia to turn the radio down in order to speak. 

“You scared the daylights out of us!” she exclaimed before coming over to me and laying a gentle peck on my lips. “Now that you’re back, you can help us make the last dish.”

I drew her closer to me and stared at her perfectly shaped lips. From the corner of my eye, I could see Alessandra playfully shaking her head and attempting to stay in her own little world. “Does this dish include my fiancée?” I whispered in my lowest voice.

“Not in front of your mom…” she blushed.

I continued to tease her. “But later?”

“Jason!”

“Fine” I loosened the grip I had on her. “What do you guys have left for me to do? Looks like everything’s done.”

Alessandra stepped beside Keyshia and looked up at me. “Keyshia mentioned to me that you make an excellent cheesecake?”

“Eh, it could be better” I replied with a shrug.

“I am going to teach you how to make Bolo de queijo.”

“…..the same thing?”

“Sim. With a Brazilian twist. Are you okay with this?”

“Oh yes. I’m perfectly fine. I’m interested in the final product.”

 

Without going into too much detail, the rest of the night was spent savoring the delicious homemade food from my home country and sharing a few stories about my childhood. I was a little envious of Keyshia because I had the feeling they had a deep “girl’s talk” conversation while I was gone earlier. The way they shared certain looks had me thinking that way.

Leaving my mother there in Brazil was harder than I thought it’d be even though I was soon to return. She hugged Keyshia and I for about five minutes each. We left with all types of goodies and memorabilia.

The sight of her waving to us as the plane lifted off caused a few tears to roll down my face. Keyshia detected them and wrapped her arms around my waist. She then placed her legs across my lap and snuggled closer to me. I palmed her butt and breathed in the scent of her hair. “I’m gonna miss her.”

“We’ll be back soon.”

“I know, but that doesn’t comfort me. I feel like I should be there with her right now.”

“In a few months, you’ll have all the time in the world to see her. We have to get things settled in New York first.”

“Yeah”

A long silence filled the plane after I placed a kiss on her forehead. Right as I was about to fall asleep, Keyshia adjusted herself and glanced up at me.

“What’s up?” I said with a hint of drowsiness in my voice.

“I’m going to talk to your father as soon as the plane lands.”

My eyes widened at the sound of that. “About what exactly?”

“Us. I’m going to tell him everything. About how madly in love I am with you, about how we’re having a baby…and about how we’re going to get married. He needs to know how serious we are.”

“Sweetheart, this is all on me. I plan on telling him all of this. He’s my father although I don’t have to tell him shit. I can’t let you do this…”

“But I want to. I have a lot to say and I can’t keep allowing you to shelter me from him and his entirety. He doesn’t scare me, Jason. Let me talk to him.”

I sighed and combed my fingers through my hair. It started to grow a bit longer than usual. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes!”

“I’ll have to be somewhere close because I do not trust that man around you.”

“Fine with me.”

“Okay…let me think about this some more? It’s not sitting too well with me right now.”

Deep down inside, I knew she was strong enough to handle anything Jack had to say to her…but as her man, I had a hard time putting her in a such a hostile situation. I would do anything to protect her from the harsh reality we had to face as a couple.

“Hey?”

“Hm?”

“What did you and my mom talk about while I was gone?”

Keyshia took a few seconds to answer. “Just some girly stuff. Nothing you’d want to hear.”

“Nothing I’d want to hear, huh?”

 

 

 

 

I knocked on the door to Jack Jameson’s office nervous as hell. Jason practically begged me not to talk to the man, but something inside of me felt as if it was only necessary. Sure, Jason could talk to him but it wouldn’t be the same. Knowing Jack’s crazy persuasive ass, he’d probably leave on good terms with his father. We never discussed the obvious influence his dad had on him because I could tell it was a sensitive subject for him. Hell, any aspect of his personal life was taboo to talk about. It will always surprise me that Jason wears his heart on his sleeve like this. That’s where we weren’t one in the same. Granted, we both have crazy families, we share the same passion for a variety of things, and we like to have our alone time…but amongst the things that make us completely opposite is the fact that Jason is an optimistic romantic while I was a pessimistic Debbie Downer.

He hasn’t completely changed my outlook on life but he has most definitely changed the way I view love. He makes me believe in silly shit like fairy tales and Disney princess stories. I never wanted to get caught up into believing such impossible happy endings, but it basically happened to me. I think a soul mate is someone that can make you become the happiest person you can be and I am that.

Ever since the tragic death of the two people who loved me the most, my parents, I never thought I would be blessed with another chance to open my heart up and allow another person to consume every part me. I was scared and I kept thinking that if I ever loved someone….cared for someone with all of my heart, God would take them away from me just like he did with my parents. It might have taken us a while to realize that we are nothing without each other, but in the end it paid off. I am happier than I have ever been and I am loving harder than I’ve ever loved. It feels good to not have that negative voice in the back of my head telling me that it’s all going to end soon.

Before I had walked up, his two security guards greeted me. Over time, I became good friends with them due to having to run an endless amount of errands to this particular office.

“Hey Keyshia! Long time, no see, girl” one of the burly guards, Richard, shouted out. He somewhat resembled Vin Diesel, very handsome. And his deep voice reminded me of roaring thunder. I was a bit intimidated by him when I had first encountered Jack’s guards. After learning that they had a soft spot for dimples (I know, weird right?) I flashed mines every chance I got. They ate that shit up.

“For real. How are you guys doing? How are my sweet little girls?”

The other one, Thomas, spoke before Richard could utter a word. “Amanda’s doing okay and Rachel is just now recovering from the flu.”

“Aw man. I’m glad she’s feeling better. But hey, I wish I could hold a conversation with my favorite men…but is it okay if I go see Jack? I have to tell him something.”

“Baby girl, you know we just can’t let anybody walk up in there without an appointment” said Richard.

“But it’s important. It’s about Jason.” I tried my best to give off a pouty expression. “I’ll be quick! I promise!”

Before the men could protest, Jason randomly showed up and stood beside me. “Let her through.”

I sucked my teeth and rolled my eyes like a teenage girl. He knew that I could handle this alone, but he still had to make an appearance. The guards said “yes sir” in unison and stepped aside.

“I told you I could do this without your help.”

“Yeah? Well, I told you that I had to be somewhere near. Go ahead and knock on his door. I’ll be waiting out here.”

Jason kissed my cheek before watching me walk up to his father’s office. The look he had on his face was the look that caused me to start feeling nervous. Walking up to the building was a walk full of confidence and self-assurance. Now I felt like I needed to throw up right on the spot.

Pride wouldn’t allow me to turn around and ask Jason to accompany me so I continued to knock, even though I began to sweat like crazy. I knew there was no turning back when Jack’s personal assistant answered the door.

Clearly, the man had a thing for blonde-haired women with gigantic balloons attached to their chests. It seemed like every time I came to his office, there was a different lady answering the door.

“May I help you?” she asked with a strong southern accent. Almost sounded like Alicia, but more annoying.

“Is Mr. Jameson in?”

“He is, but-“

“Can I see him?”

She had the door cracked so that I could only see her and only her. “He’s not seeing anyone who doesn’t have an appointment.”

“Yes. I know that, but this is very important. It’s about his son.”

For a second, her face went from a fake smile to a look of concern. I thought that was going to be my leeway in, but she quickly reverted back to that sickening expression. “How are you in any relation to Jason?”

Jesus Christ, how many times to I have to go over this? Like, how many times do I have to tell these people that I am his assistant? When will Jack learn to accept it, I guess that’s the question?

“I’m his assistant. Now will you let me in?-“

“Crystal, who’s at the door giving you problems?”

Before she could answer, I shoved her aside and forced myself into the massive room. Jack’s head shot up and he crinkled his thick eyebrows together. Crystal started rambling on and shouting about how I wasn’t supposed to be in here. Jack quieted her as soon as she started threatening to call the cops.

“I’m sure she’s here for a valid reason if she got past my guards. Unless she killed them. You didn’t kill them did you?” he smirked.

Horrible joke.

I gave Jack a disgusted look and crossed my arms over my chest. “No, you idiot.”

“Whoa. Wait, who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Jack calmly asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice. “You obviously have the slightest clue to who I am and the amount of power I possess.”

“Oh please” I almost wanted to shout. “Will you let this act go? It’s pitiful, even for you. You know who I am and I think it’s about time that you stop refusing to acknowledge the position I hold in your life and start accepting it.”

“Mr. Jameson I can call the police if you want me-“

“Crystal, please. Get out.”

“But-“

“Now…” he sighed, showing signs of frustration.

She nodded her head, gave me one last look, and scurried out of the office. It took him a few seconds to recollect his thoughts and figure out what he was going to say next.

“What gives you the right to storm in my office and start acting foolish like this?”

“Who am I, Jack?”

“That was not the answer to my question.”

“Who am I?!” I demanded, with a little volume added to my voice.

He leaned forward at his desk and scoffed. “You’re my son’s assistant.”

“Great, you don’t have short-term memory. I was worried for a second.”

“What do you want?”

“For you to come to terms with how shitty of a person you are.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I mean, I’m sure you know how much your personal life is screwed up because of the idiotic, assholish, decisions you’ve made.”

“I hear this everyday almost and you actually expect me to be fazed by your words.”

“You will be.”

“How are you so sure?” Jack challenged.

Here it is. Here’s my window to tell him. Just spit it out Keyshia…

“Because…well, because I’m about to give you a second chance. An ultimatum.”

“I don’t need a second chance, sweetheart, believe me.” The expression on his face told me otherwise. I could see a glimpse of hope. “Especially not from you.”

“Yeah, if it helps you sleep at night, keep telling yourself that.”

Jack looked up at me like he was getting annoyed with my presence. “What is it that you want? I do not have time to converse with you about such a silly matter.”

“I’m nine weeks pregnant” I blurted out.

Just as I expected, his eyes widened. So big that I thought they were literally going to plop out of his sockets. He looked overwhelmed. His lips began to move but nothing came out.

So I continued to speak.

“As you already know, but…once again, refuse to accept, your son and I are in a relationship and it’s obviously deeper than what you think it is.”

“How much do you want?”

“What?” He’s kidding right? He HAS to be…

“You heard me” he gulped. There was this huge vein in the middle of his forehead that began to throb. “How much is it going to take for you get the hell out Jason’s life? You’re doing nothing but fucking it up and as his father, I can’t just sit back and watch his life fall apart.”

Those words took a blow to my heart. They hurt. I knew coming here to talk to him would be a pain in the ass and deep down I knew he was capable of saying some hurtful shit…but damn. I was not prepared to hear something like this.

He spoke again before I could. “So how much is it going to be? Name a price and I’ll give it to you.” I stood speechless as he dug into his drawer and fished out what looked to be a checkbook. “There will be a few conditions. The main one being that you leave New York and never speak to him again. You and that thing you’re carrying in your belly.”

Tears started to flow down my cheeks like they had a mind of their own. A huge wave of pain crossed over me, making me physically cringe. I wanted to scream, slap the hell out of him, and cry all at once.

He just referred to my precious baby as a thing.

Trying to remain calm, I wiped the tears away and took a few steps closer to his cherry wood desk. “I don’t want your fucking money, you imbecile. What I want is for you to realize that I love your son more than anyone I’ve ever met...anything in this world! And I hope you know that nothing you do is going to tear us apart. Nothing!”

“Not even ten million dollars?” he pressed.

“Stop! Just stop with that. Stop trying to pay your way out of stuff you don’t want. There isn’t a price you can possibly name that will make me leave the love of my life.”

“If you say you love him, you will do this for him. You want to see him happy? Get the hell out of his life and stop ruining it.”

“Ugh” I frustratingly spat out. “You’re so disgusting and brainwashed. Why on earth would you try to repeat history like this?”

“Meaning?”

“You’re doing everything your father did to you.”

Jack squirmed in his seat and blinked. “You know nothing about my father you insignificant little-“

“All of these words are insignificant to me so I suggest you stop trying to break me. I’m stronger than you think I am. And I will not leave this place until I get what I have to say out.”

He remained silent and almost looked defeated.

“I feel so sorry for you sometimes. Your father forced you to leave the woman you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and you were too weak to fight him and stand up for yourself.”

“You-!”

“Alessandra is the nicest woman I have ever met. Absolutely wonderful! How could you do that to her? You broke her, Jack…”

“You met my Allie?” he barely whispered after moments passed by, as if he felt a sudden wave of emotion.

My heart clenched at the sight of his sudden change in mood. He went from this emotionless, cruel, asshole to what I imagined to be his twenty-two year old self.

With his head bowed, he asked “How is she?”

“Still hurt, but she’s doing great…now that’s she’s finally met her long lost son and all.”

Jack leaned back in his chair and slowly ran his hand down his face. “I uh…I just don’t want my son to have a bad life and end up regretting it” he finally admitted.

“He’s not you. And you are not your father. I see some good in you and that’s mainly why I have yet to truly cuss your ass out. What I don’t understand is how you put this racist front on and act like you don’t like the color of my skin. The mother of your child…the woman you fell in love with for God’s sake is of another race. What kind of logic do you even have?”

“Anything that reminds me of her is something that I automatically hate because she’s my weakness and I cannot afford to have any weaknesses! She was my downfall!! I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with someone outside of my race. How could I allow myself to do that when I already knew the consequences?!”

“It’s true that you don’t have a choice in the matter of who you fall in love with and by the looks of it, you loved her…but why didn’t you fight for her?”

“Because, like you said before…and this is my first time openly admitting this…I was brainwashed. It’s taken me years to realize it, but I know I was. I’d do anything to get my Allie back.”

“You took the only thing she had to live for away from her and expected her to get over it.”

The room was engulfed in an uncomfortable silence for a while. Judging by his stressed out expressions and glistening eyes, my job was done…well, partially done.

“Before I leave, I want you to know two more things: we’re engaged and I will not allow you to take away Jason’s happiness because of your own mistakes. He’s the exact opposite of you with his mother’s heart. There’s no reason to why he would deserve a miserable life.”

Jack nodded his head and did a quick sniffle. “I appreciate you for making me face my past, Keyshia. I really do.”

“You’re welcome. And like I said before, I came to give you a second chance. I don’t want my child to be grandparentless so I’m asking you now. Do you want to be in their life now or what?”

“I...you have to give me time to think about this.”

“You shouldn’t need time, but whatever. I’m glad we could get through this conversation without needing to call the police.”

He chuckled and stood up out of his chair for the first time. “I have gained a new respect for you…and deep down, I know that you will make my boy happy.”

I gave him a light-hearted smile as I turned around and made my way towards the door.

“And Jack?”

“Yes?”

“You should have thought about the future of your business before letting the person who brought in the highest revenue go over the silliest thing…”

When I got to the other side of the door, I giggled to myself at his expression (which was full of regret and guilt). Jason rushed to my side hoping that I would regurgitate everything that happened.

“It went better than I thought it would.”

********************************

A week after confronting Jack, I felt like a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. The only thing I had to worry about was letting everyone else know. Jason wanted so desperately to tell the media, but I didn’t want my life all out in the open like that. I also wanted our kid to live a normal life.

“We’ll have to figure something out before you start showing, baby” Jason said. We were sitting on the bed in his apartment while he painted this beautiful sea green color onto my fingers. He was such a sweetheart for taking care of my left hand because God knows it would have looked a hot mess if I did it myself.

“I know. I think I have an idea but I’m not entirely sure if it’ll work out in my best interest.”

“What is it?”

“You can tell spill the news on your favorite late night talk show. Or Ellen. I love that woman. Whatever you decide. Once you announce the pregnancy and engagement, we need to get the hell out of here and move to Brazil.”

“Sounds like a plan. Although, we’ll still get some buzz about it in Rio.”

“Will it be the same as New York?”

“No, definitely not.”

“Okay then. Do what you have to do.”

“Are you sure about this? I’ve been itching to get on Ellen’s show but I keep having to deny her for scheduling reasons. Now would be the perfect time.”

“I’m one-hundred percent sure. It’d be nice get it over with so we can move on with our lives. And people need to know that you’re spoken for.”

He looked up from painting my ring finger and blushed heavily. “It’s adorable when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous. Isn’t it obvious that I’ve got you tightly wrapped around my finger?”

“That, my darling, is a true fact.” It didn’t take me long to burst out in a fit of giggles as he put the polish down and started to kiss me in my most ticklish places. I held my hands in the air for surrender.

“Stop! You’re gonna get polish over these nice white expensive sheets” I mocked.   

He spread my legs apart and positioned his body in between my legs. “Yeah, that and something else…”

“Ew, you’re so nasty” I joked as I cautiously wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

 

Jason

 

The next two months were spent moving all of our stuff to Brazil, announcing the big news, and of course planning the wedding. It was all so hectic, but absolutely worth it.

It was a little embarrassing to see that I had double that amount of stuff that she had. With all of my shit, we had to make at least three trips to Rio. For the moment, we decided to settle in a nice little condominium off of the coast. It was temporary, but very comfortable. For the future, I intend on purchasing my first house and asking my mother to come live with us.

It’ll be perfect. I can see it now.

The interview with Ellen went seamlessly smooth. Although the producers had forewarned me about what questions she was going to throw at me, she still surprised me. She’s definitely a sweetheart though. The whole audience erupted with applause and hoots and hollers when I announced it. Almost immediately after that happened, Nancy (my publicist) had began to receive an endless amount of phone calls. All of the major talk shows and magazines wanted to interview me and get more information about my sudden revelation.

Instead of getting into all of that, we packed up the rest of our stuff and headed to our new home for the last time. Before we left, Keyshia told her closest friend (Lauran) about everything and invited her to the wedding. We scheduled it to be on her birthday, the day we first met. An easy memory.

The list of people invited to our private wedding was very short, but it was perfect to say the least. If they were coming from the States, their travel fare and accommodation was taken care of.

It was a beach wedding on a breezy day in the middle of December. Everything from the bachelor’s party up to the wedding cake design was flawless. Keyshia didn’t have much family. In fact, she had no one, so I made sure the people she loved and cared for the most who weren’t exactly biologically related to her got to see her on her special day.

I stood at the front of the faux pulpit directly beside the minister, awaiting the arrival of my future wife. My heart began to beat furiously in anticipation of seeing her beautiful face. Right as the bridal song began to play through the strings of the melodious harp, my hands began to shake.

The fitted tuxedo I wore felt like it was getting tighter due to my extreme nervousness. My body was suddenly becoming aware of Brazil’s year-round sweltering heat. All of that went away when Keyshia rounded the corner and started walking down the isle.

My eyes flew past the sight of our guests and straight to her. She had on this white delicate gown that looked like it could easily be ripped off. What seemed to be lace was wrapped tightly around her gorgeous physique. Her cute little baby bump showcased itself from under the dress. Keyshia’s long brown hair was pulled up into a loose updo with a few strands hanging down the sides of her face. A precious white orchid rested on the side of her hair.

She looked breathtaking. There weren’t enough words in the English language that could describe how I felt in that moment.

Since both of her parents were deceased, my mother took the honor of walking her down the isle. Alessandra, as well, looked stunning. I admired the way she looked in her crème colored dress. It flowed in the wind like curtains did to an open window.

I looked at Keyshia and our eyes instantly connected. My body reacted to her as if it were our first time meeting. A blush burned my cheeks. What was this? Eighth grade all over again?

Each of us had one person who represented our bridesmaids and groomsmen. Keyshia had Lauran and I had Tom, my ex-CIA buddy that never let me down. He had been trying to calm me down all morning because I was full of anxiety. The bachelor party we had the previous night was barely in my memory because of all the drinks we threw back. A few of my colleagues that followed me to Rio surprised me. They invited strippers, of course, but I had to pass. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to have a good time; it was that I couldn’t stop relating their presence to when I had first met Keyshia. She had told me about what her friends put her through and how she never wanted to be treated like that ever again. She felt low and disrespected.

How could I look past that and play around with these women? I did have a good time during my last night as a “free man”. The guys kept pressuring me to drink like I was at a frat party. Of course that turned out badly. I barely woke up in time to get ready and I saw that I sent a few drunken texts to Keyshia. They were nothing too embarrassing, just a bunch of words that probably took away a small piece of my manhood.

Yeah, so back to the wedding.

When she and my mother finally approached the minister and I, Alessandra gave Keyshia kisses on both of her cheeks and then cupped my left cheek in her right hand.

“Cuide dela” was all she said, meaning: “Take care of her.”

I nodded my head and gave her an endearing kiss on her right cheek. “I will.”

She must have noticed how anxious I was to get to my future bride because she quickly stepped aside and allowed Keyshia to stand in front of me.

Slowly moving a lock of her hair that blew into her face away, I looked down and grinned. “You look ravishing, enchanting, breathtaking…perfect.”

“Thank you” she whispered, already choked up. “Don’t make me cry. I worked really hard on this makeup and my emotions are acting all kinds of funny right now.”

“Sorry” I quickly whispered.

“You look so nervous, bay. It’s just me” she giggled. “Guess what? I have no shoes on because my feet are starting to get swollen and icky.”

I chuckled at her ridiculous statement. “What?”

“Ladies and Gentleman” the preacher began to speak. “We are gathered here in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to join this man and woman in holy matrimony. Marriage is a solemn institution to be held in honor by all, it is the cornerstone of the family and of the community. It requires of those who undertake it a complete and unreserved giving of one's self. It is not to be entered into lightly, as marriage is a sincere and mutual commitment to love one another. This commitment symbolizes the intimate sharing of two lives and still enhances the individuality of each of you.”

I took Keyshia’s soft hands into mines and began to caress them. We both gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes as the Man of God gave us the chance to recite our self-written vows.

Keyshia took the initiative of going first...

“Ah…what can I say? I feel like I’ve been confessing my love for you for forever…geez” The audience laughed along with us. “Um, I promise that I will love and care for you, and I will try in everyway to be worthy of your love. You are my lover, my teacher, my accomplice, and my true counterpart. I will always be honest with you, kind, patient, and forgiving. You have made me a better person and I know that this is the best decision I will ever make because you’re the perfect man for me. And you will be more than the perfect father. I love you, Jason.” 

Damn. I was allowed to cry at my own wedding right? Ever since she came out looking like an angel that fell from the high heavens, tears kept springing to my eyes. I didn’t care if it wasn’t masculine. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for years.

“How am I supposed to top that?” I joked and once again, the audience laughed. “I love you for your beauty, your intelligence, your strength...and for the way you always know how to make me perform everything to the best of my ability. So on top of all the other vows that I will make to you, I also vow to always appreciate how lucky I am to have someone who makes me feel the way you do and to continue to try as hard as I can to make you feel as special as you make me feel, forever and ever. I believe in you, the person you will grow to be and the couple we will be together. With my whole heart, I take you as my wife, acknowledging and accepting your faults and strengths, as you do mine. I promise to be faithful and supportive and to always make our family’s love and happiness my priority. I will be yours in plenty and in want and in failure and in triumph. I will dream with you, celebrate with you, and walk beside you through whatever our lives may bring. You are my person -- my love and my life, today and always.”

The tears pouring down her face almost made me lose it. Behind her, Lauran had her hand pressed against her chest. She had tears streaming from her face as well. Matter of fact, all of the women in the audience were crying.

“I told you not to make me cry you bastard” Keyshia whispered as she tried to carefully wipe her tears away. I reached out with a smile on my face and helped her.

“Jason, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Keyshia, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him in sickness and in health, remaining faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

“I do” she nodded, still trying to recollect herself.

The minister clasped his hands together and flashed a charismatic smile. “It is my pleasure to pronounce you husband and wife. Mr. Jameson you may now share the first kiss with your new bride, Keyshia Jameson.”

I like the sound to that.

“You don’t even have to tell me twice.” Keyshia gasped as I swiftly pulled her into my arms and dipped her backwards to give her a soul-searching kiss. She placed her hands on both sides of my face and deepened the kiss as the crowd cheered and roared with whistles.

It was the happiest moment of my life.

 

*********************************

During the reception, things got a little weird.

While I danced with my new bride, I caught Alessandra looking to be in a state of shock. My eyes crossed the room and over to the where she was gazing.

Jack.

He was standing in a dark corner looking oddly mysterious. I would be dramatic and say “who invited him” but I couldn’t do that because I was the one who invited him. Who would have thought that he’d actually show up though?

“What’s wrong?” Keyshia asked, looking up at me.

I continued to sway her back and forth as the song picked up. “My dad’s here.”

“Really?! That’s awesome. I’m glad he decided to show up. Has Alessandra seen him yet?”

“She’s looking at him now. They’re making this weird eye contact.”

She gave me a worried expression. “Should we intervene?”

“No, not yet. Let’s see what happens.”

 

Jack and Alessandra

 

Jack couldn’t help but to stare at the beautiful woman he left twenty-three years ago. At first he didn’t want to go to his son’s wedding, but he knew Alessandra would be there. That Reynolds girl had mentioned something about getting a second chance and he felt as if it was a sign. He knew that he needed a start over and this could be his first step to true happiness.

During the long plane ride to Rio, he kept rehearsing what he was going to say to her, but nothing seemed to fit. Nothing he could say would make up for how sorry he felt for leaving such a horrible imprint on her life. Jack Jameson was responsible for ruining a lot of people’s lives, but this was the only situation in which he could never forgive himself for. He felt empty because of the lack of closure.

So here he was, finally getting a chance to speak to the lady who carried his child and encompassed so much pain inside. She looked more beautiful with age. With her long, light brown, way hair and the way she looked with that form-fitting crème colored dress on, all he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder and make love to her as if time never passed between them.

But of course he couldn’t do that. Judging by the overwhelmed-with-emotion look she carried in her eyes, he knew that he’d have to take baby steps. And for the first time in a long time, he was willing to do that. So he put one foot in front of the other and began to amble across the room and towards the dance floor.

Alessandra began to back away slowly. Almost like she was scared of him. Before she could get away, Jack carefully wrapped his hand around her thin arm and pulled her close to him.

“I do not want to talk to you” were her first words to him. Fuck, he missed that sweet accented voice of hers.

Instead of walking away like the coward he wanted to be, Jack slid her hand into his and began moving their bodies along with the beat to the jazz music.  “You don’t have to, my angel, let me do the talking.”

“You’re not smooth, Jack. I am not the weak, brainless, little girl that you left all those years ago.”

“You were never weak. You were strong, stronger than I was and still am. And you weren’t brainless. You were intelligent and smart and perfect. It was me who was fucked up, not you. I didn’t mean to manipulate you and I know that there are not enough sorries in the world that will ever make up for the years of heartache I put you through…but…I just need to get this off of my chest.”

Alessandra, still refusing to make direct eye contact, wiped away a few tears. “I will not fall for this again…”

“Listen....” There was a long pause before Jack said the next part. “Te amo”

“Stop…” she whispered, immediately trying to squirm away from him.

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. Jack’s heart dropped when they came in contact with her mezmorizing steel gray eyes that he missed so very much. Dammit.

“Você é o amor da minha vida. I’ve been thinking about you everyday for the past twenty-three years. “

His thumbs wiped her tears away as she stared at him blankly. “You can’t do this to me” she cried. “Please, stop.”

“I’m not saying we have to get back together and forget about everything that happened, but I want you to know that I will fight for you until the day I die. Yes, Allie, I’ve made mistakes. I know that…but you have a pure heart and I know you are capable of forgiveness. You’re the only woman I will ever love…”

“Dad? Mom? Is everything alright over here?” Jason interrupted. A grin crept upon his face after saying those words. “Wow, I thought I’d never say that.”

That was Alessandra’s window to flee. She scuttled away as quickly as her little feet could go. Jack didn’t bother to run after her because he knew she needed time to get her thoughts together.

“Yes, son. Everything is perfect. Change is hard ya know…”

“Yeah, but it’s all worth it in the end.”

 

Keyshia

While sipping on a cold refreshing glass of sparkling white grape juice, I sat in amusement at the sight of the ladies attacking each other over the bouquet I had previously thrown behind my head. They were like wild animals over there. I could practically here them growling!

Lauran finally busted out of the crowd jumping up and screaming with the bouquet of roses tightly gripped in her hands. She had won and was obviously ecstatic about it. I veered my eyes over to her handsome plus one and beamed. She told me during my bachelorette party that she was in love with him and that he was her perfect man. Avery, that was his name, had a certain way he carried himself. I liked it. He was quiet, but every word he spoke was full of something meaningful. With his flawless dark brown skin, 6-foot stature, full lips, and slanted brown eyes, Avery could compete and easily win in a Lance Gross look-a-like contest. The man was gorgeous, but wasn’t too arrogant about it.

It warmed my heart to see Lauran happy like this and with someone who brought out the best in her. She was no longer the follower we knew her to be. She learned how to stand up for herself and have more confidence. Her and Avery have been living together in a nice apartment right outside of Harlem for a while. It’d be nice to see them get married someday.

“Girls are so vicious” Jason teased. He stood behind me with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist, gently caressing my growing bump.

I placed my free hand on top of his and continued to stare straightforward. “Well, sir…I say you get as many books you can and read up on how to deal with one because that’s exactly what we’re having.”

Jason swirled be around, making spill some of the juice and gave me a wide-eyed expression. “You found out?! Without me?!”

“Calm your tits, babe. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“Well fuck. I’m more than surprised. I’m so happy.”

I laughed and put the glass down on the nearest table. “I can see…”

“Hey, what happened to your friend and her idiot brother?”

“Alicia?”

“Yeah.”

“I have no idea. Lauran mentioned something about how she moved back to North Carolina because she got fired from her job and her brother will no longer let her stay with him.”

“Talk about karma…”

“Right? I can’t wish anything bad on her though. What happens, happens…So what’s going on with your parents?”

“My dad has just realized that he’s not a good person and now he’s trying to get my mom back. It’s like a demon attempting to go on a date with an angel, ya know?”

“I’d really love to see how that plays out”

“Me too. Love is so crazy. It can make you forgive even the foulest type of person”