12. August

TWELVE

Life with Jay had been the greatest high Candi had ever experienced. She woke up every day feeling like all the frogs she'd kissed had led her to him. The way he loved her was low-key scary because she'd felt nothing close to it.

The bubble Alabama had them in was popped once they set foot back in Sapphire City. Still, Jay didn't fold on her. Knowing that, was all the confirmation she needed to know he was her person.

After Candi watered the plants, she sat at the kitchen island with her phone in her hand. She needed to make sure everything was on track for the surprise she had for Jay. He had given so much of himself and she was ready to pour back into him. And, to top it off, he had no idea.

Just thinking about how her night would end sent a coldness down Candi's spine. But first, she needed to take Dr. Joy's advice and have a conversation with her sister. Jay left the house earlier to give her some privacy. Since their time in Bama, Candi hadn't slept in her old apartment. All she did was get some clothes and her car. Jay told her she didn't have to officially move in since she seemed to toy with the idea and didn't want to move in so quickly. Even though she technically had.

Candi laughed at how ridiculous she could be. Jay had told her time and time again, there was no time frame for love.

Light taps echoed through the loft.

Inhaling deeply, Candi stood from the island, making her way to the door. She knew who it was since she had to give the doorman permission to let them up.

"You are loved… You love your sister," Candi affirmed herself.

Pulling the heavy door open, her eyes misted at the sight of her big sister.

Bashfully, Jazze stood with her hands in front of her, twiddling her thumbs. "Um, you gonna let me in?"

"Oh, yes." Candi stepped to the side, granting her access.

Jazze's eyes roamed the woody scented, well-designed home. "This is nice. I always saw you in some lavish shit like this.

"Really?" Candi's brows rose. "I could always see you in some shit like this. Like you were going to meet a wealthy king from another country. This would just be your home in Sapphire City while your palace in his country would be as big as a city."

Laughter sputtered from Jazze. Her tawny skin flamed red. "Girl! Be for real right now. You had all the men with money."

Candi shook her head. "I had their desires; you had their attention." She pushed her hand down her arm. "Let's sit down before we get into what we need to get into. You want to sit in the kitchen or the couch?" Her hands pointed to the living room area that hosted the curved sectional in front of the big, beautiful windows.

Jazze's eyes were full of love as she took the time to take her baby sister in. There were no questions about her love for her. One look at her baby and she saw Candi was different. Her evolution was on the cusp of something really great. The way her hair wasn't styled to perfection like she remembered of her little sister was all the confirmation Jazze needed. "The kitchen is good."

Nodding, Candi's bare feet padded across the beautiful floors. If you really want that breakthrough you've been feeling, you gotta rip the band-aid off. The wound needs some of the fresh Alabama air you can't stop bragging about. Dr. Joy's words from their session earlier that week replayed in her head.

"I'm so happy for you and Drama," Candi blurted, needing to be the one to pop off the much-needed conversation.

"Thank you."

"I won't hold it against you for loving him. I just need more time to process how I really feel about that." Candi paused to gauge her sister's mood. "When I talked to my therapist about it, she made me realize that it's not because I loved him or anything. I resent you when it comes to that because it reminds me that the horrible things that happened to me skipped you. Like, when he used to touch me." Candi licked her drying lips, unwilling to say her stepdad's name. "He never touched you. How men would look at me as an object, they looked at you like you were a goddess."

"That's not true, Candi," Jazze cut her off. She sat up in the beautiful wicker barstools Candi added last week when Jay gave her his card to shop. "I've always been the fat girl. The girl who is pretty to be fat. I've been ignored in public but slutted out in private." Jazze wasn't on the defense. Drama had coached her on not doing that because, contrary to what anyone believed, he wanted the best for Candi.

"No." Candi shook her head. "They didn't ignore you in public, they just thought you were out of their league. You always had a bangin' body and pretty ass yellow skin. I was around the niggas; I heard what they said about you."

Well, shit, I didn't know that."

Candi nodded. "I wanted to be you. Not just like you but be you because you didn't have to go through what I went through. The shit with Drama only intensified that. I was never in love with him. That was why I gave him my blessing to fuck with you. Then when he really pursued you, it was just a reminder and slap in the face that I would never be good enough. A nigga would never choose me because I was used. I was garbage." Reluctantly, she wiped her face. It felt good getting that out. Her heart hurt a little because the one person on the planet she wanted to love was her sister.

Getting up from her seat, Jazze went to her baby sister. She was just a child when he would do those awful things to Candi. She didn't know what to do or how to stop it. It didn't make her lack of actions right, but she'd never try to justify it, either. "You are not trash, Candi. Look at you," Jazze said, smoothing her sister's edges back. "You have always been so beautiful and I will never stop loving you. I'm sorry about Drama."

"Don't be, Jazze. He is yours to love. I've found my person and I'm going to love him as much as my healing heart will allow. You know, the heart is muscle. I can build its strength because the way that man loves me, I need to be able to reciprocate."

Jazze wiped her sister's tears before swiping at her own. "You're not coming to my wedding, are you?"

With glossy eyes full of sisterly love, Candi shook her head. "But I want us to work on our relationship. I want to be in my nieces' lives."

"I would love that… I love you!" Jazze kissed her head, allowing it to sit there. "Now, let me wash your hair like I used to."

Jazze's body stiffened with thoughts of her sister washing her hair because her stepdaddy did foul things to it. Take back your memories, and rewrite them. Dr. Joy's words were back in her head. "Okay," she whispered. "Let me play some music first."

"Do you, boo. This your house. Get the shampoo too." Jazze reclaimed her seat in the chairs that felt luxurious.

Candi took off to the bathroom where she had shampoo and conditioner. As she watched herself in the mirror, a wide and genuine smile stretched across her angled face. Happiness brimmed at her bottom lids when her vision caught the gold scissors sitting on the counter. Grabbing them, she trekked back into the kitchen. She tapped away on her phone before Cleo Sol crooned through the home's surround sound.

Passing Jazze the scissors, Candi stuck out her chest. "Let"s cut off all the dead hair."

"Aww, man,"Jay exclaimed with intense pleasure. He even walked with happiness.

Dressed in a custom blue designer suit, he was just coming back from a business meeting in Emerald City. Candi convinced him to pair his suit with a navy cowboy hat and he looked sexy enough for her to eat.

Licking her lips, Candi waited for him to get closer so she could melt in his arms. After her time with her sister, she spent the rest of her day getting his surprise ready. It was home, but she did her best to recreate the garden from back in Alabama.

With his arms outstretched, Jay engulfed Candi's thick body into his. "Damn, I missed you."

"I talked to you more than enough times today, Jayshun." Candi rolled her eyes, pretending not to love how needy he could be. "Let me go so I can show you what I did."

Once he was satisfied with the amount of kisses she gave him, Jay placed her back on the ground. They were in an abandoned building in downtown Sapphire City. Candi had artificial turf laid out in the shape of a heart and flowers filled the room. There were so many flowers that it made the once-empty space look like an urban garden—like the flowers grew there organically. And it smelled amazing.

"You did all this?" Jay asked, eyeing the romantic space lustfully.

Candi's head bounced up and down. "I paid people, but it was my idea."

"This some shit you want to get into?" Jay asked, removing his suit jacket, and laying it on the ground next to the Blanton that chilled in a gold antique bucket of ice.

Sitting on the ground with her legs crossed, Candi shrugged. "I don't know."

"Tell me what you want. Remember, I'll lay the world at your feet." Jay adjusted his body to sit behind her where he preferred her to be. "What is it that my Magic wants to do?"

"This night is supposed to be about you, Jayshun." Candi pouted, hating how hard it was to give him all the love he'd been giving to others. "How was your meeting?"

His fingers started to ease up her thighs, under the dress that fit her like a glove. It was red and popped against her moisturized and shimmery skin. A small moan of satisfaction sent a tingle down her back. "No panties?" His thick brows rose in anticipation.

Candi uncrossed her legs, spreading them out. Her natural scent hit his senses, signaling his dick. "Answer me."

"Answer me," he challenged. She was already ready for him; he could tell by the way she fed her pussy to his hand, hunching forward. The heat he felt the closer he got to her purring pussy told him to go further. Without resistance, he slipped two of his fingers into her wetness. "What does my Magic want?"

Her head fell back, resting on his shoulder. "Oh shit, babe."

Jay's tongue swiped across her ear. He was hungry for her. "Un uh. Tell me what you want."

"I wa-want to nut all over your dick," she panted. Candi would never get enough of his sexual deviance. Her body shook and she released all over his long fingers. A sheen of sweat broke out, coating her forehead.

Smoothly, Jay removed his finger from her pussy that still pulsed. Licking her juices off, he kissed her head once again. He knew she loved his touch and kisses just as much as he liked giving them to her. "I love your hair too."

Candi smiled. She was blissfully happy, feeling fully alive. "You like it, for real? Jazze cut the dead ends for me. She washed it too."

"I love this shit, baby. You so pretty that a bald head wouldn't take away from that. Now, tell me what you want, Magic." Jay had to pull her back in. Remind her, that his world revolved around her.

"How was your meeting?"

Sighing, he grabbed the bottle of Blanton to pour himself a glass. "I see Meechie been here, ain"t it?" He took notice of the pink baked good wrapper.

"You know my sis keeps me laced with the best weed… Don't change the subject, though, Jayshun."

Giving in to her, Jay grinned big before gulping the flavorful whisky. "You're looking at a dispensary partner."

Candi spun around to face him. "Babe, I'm so happy for you. You deserve this."

"Thank you, Magic. Now, tell me what dreams I can make come true for you. Anything?"

"I want to move to the garden. I want some horses and chickens, and pigs and—"

"So, you want a homestead?"

Her face bunched. "What"s that?"

"Living in a house on land that's used for crops and animals. You want to be a country girl?" He grabbed her hands, needing to touch her.

"Mhm. But I don't want to eat the animals. We can still go to the grocery store for that. Alabama was just so peaceful and I think it'll be—"

His tanned lips pushed into her juicy ones, taking her words away. "I said I'll lay the world at your feet if you let me love you. I keep my promises, Magic. Whatever you want, I will always give it to you."

"And what about what I can give you?" Her thick lashes fluttered. "I want to pour into you like you do me. I want to love you so much that you never feel exhausted from loving me so much. Tell me how I can give you my heart and make your world better like you did for me, Jayshun." Her eyes bounced between his eyes. Candi wanted to be for him what he was to her. She wanted to be his to have and his to love, too.

"You're doing it now. This setup is the most thoughtful thing any woman has ever done for me. Magic, you pour into me every day when you allow me to steal kisses late at night when you're exhausted but you know I'm a night owl and you're an early bird. You pour into me when you let me pour into you." Jay unbuckled his belt and slacks. His double entendre didn't go over her head. Releasing his dick, he moved toward her, making her lay back. He hovered over her as he pushed into her willing pussy. "Yes," he hissed. "You see how good you take this dick? This shit keeps me empty and full."

Facial spasms made her face cramp. "Ugh."

His hands dug into her meaty thighs. "You're so soft, baby. You fill me up when you don't mind my hands on you at all times. I love how soft your skin feels when my hard dick is knocking down your walls." Jay's teeth sunk into his lip.

His thick and long dick inside of her mixed with his deep southern voice she loved so much had Candi exploding. "I love you, Jayshun Black."

"I love you, too, but you see how happy you make me by just being you—by just taking all of this love and dick I have to give you?" He rounded his hips, making sure he was felt all over her body. He felt another orgasm creeping up on her. "There you go, Magic. Wet me up… Make a fuckin' mess because I'm gonna love you when you clean and when you're a fuckin' mess."

Candi screamed so loud, she knew her voice would be gone in the morning. How did a special night for Jay turn into a magical night for her? She wouldn't complain too much though.