Chapter 9

Tip-toeing through the room, Candi tried to be as quiet as she could. She didn't want to wake Jay since he seemed to be sleeping well. Her body must've had its alarm since she tended to wake up at the same time each morning. That and she heard faint music. It was neo-soul and soothing—nothing she was used to listening to. It sounded like the music was coming from outside, so she was going to investigate.

It didn't matter how much Jay spent on remolding the home, its old bones still creaked. The sunlight that shined through the windows kissed her skin and added joy to her step.

Candi pushed the sliding back door open and the sound of music became more clear.

There will be no crying.

The unknown songstress sang, pulling her further and further into the gardens. Candi had never heard the song but it spoke to her soul.

The backyard was immaculate. Sculpted plants and colorful flowers were strategically positioned around the concrete walkway. She ran her hands over a bush of flowers with her eyes closed.

The music was still in the distance but clear as day. Candi's eyes connected to a lush patch of grass nestled between two rose bushes. The sun seemed to guide her to that spot. Making her way to the area, she lay down in the grass and allowed the sun to drink her in. The music was still going and adding to a peaceful moment.

In nothing but one of Jay's shirts that came below her ass, she didn't care about bugs crawling up her legs. Something led her to the backyard and Candi never wanted to leave. Her life had never been so serene or quiet. Inhaling the fresh greenery and hot air, she allowed her tears to fall.

There will be no crying. The song continued as if it were talking to her directly. She knew the song was saying to not cry but her body needed to cleanse itself. There will be no fighting. Candi's stomach shook from her emotions. She kept her eyes closed but the tears still seemed to break the wall her lids had built. 'Cause I can't give in.

Like she was making an angel in the snow, Candi spread her arms and legs. If a plane flew over her, they'd witness a woman shedding all the things that broke her. She'd been carrying around years' worth of men, drugs, and sex. In Jay's garden, probably fertilized by the blood of his ancestors in shackles, she freed herself.

The warmth of a body hugged hers. Weed and fruit mixed in her nose. A woman's voice pulled even more from her already shedding body. "Know that you are loved. Even if you don't love yourself," Meechie sang with the music in the distance. She had been out in the greenhouse, tending to the marijuana plants when she saw Candi on the camera system. She was going to mind her business until she saw her lay in the grass. Her senses told her to go to her.

With love, Meechie hugged Candi's shaking body.

"I feel stupid." Candi finally spoke once the song started to fade out. "Like, how dumb do I look? You don't even know me and I'm dumping my emotions on you."

"Girl, please. I live for shit like this. I'm an empath so I already felt you when I hugged you last night." Meechie, like Jay, was a healer. Her family had claimed the gift centuries ago. "I felt your love for my brother too."

Candi's eyes stretched.

"It"s okay, Magic," she teased, calling her by the name Jay had given her. "He needs someone like you."

"If you knew my story, you wouldn't be saying that Meechie," Candi huffed. Every time she wanted to picture a future with Jay she was reminded he almost married Luna, a girl from the opposite side of the tracks. She didn't know Luna personally but knew she didn't have a history like the one Candi carried around. Her life was messy and needed to be sorted out.

"She never came here," Meechie confessed, allowing the sun to warm her skin as well.

Adjusting her body, Candi faced Meechie. "Who?"

"Her. The girl you keep allowing space in your mind. She ain't never been here. I met her once and that was when I visited Sapphire City. He brought you here for a reason."

"What's the reason?"

"You gotta ask him." Meechie cheesed with low eyes. She was high on most days. Getting up, she wiped her denim overalls off ready to get back to work. Jay paid her well for her role in his illegal weed business that he hoped to make legal.

Candi smiled at how eclectic Meechie seemed to be. It was inspiring and she thought about letting go and being free just like Jay's baby sister. "What's the name of that song?" she called out before Meechie could get too far.

"Cleo Sol, ‘There Will Be No Crying'," Meechie said. "Oh, and, Magic?"

"Mhm?" Candi answered. Her eyes were back closed as the sun cast a yellow glow on her lids.

"Jayshun is a healer but sometimes the healer needs to be healed. The lover needs to be loved… and the giver needs to be filled." Allowing her words to settle for a few seconds, Meechie smiled before getting lost in the bushes.

Candi received everything Jay's baby sister said to her. She knew she was a lot to deal with and only prayed she'd be able to love Jay as much as he loved her. Her soul settled when she realized she could.

Laying out in the grass, it was easy to get lost. Especially when you didn't mind not being found. While baking in the sun, Candi did a rewind of her life. So many people had failed her but she had to take some accountability for how she'd failed others. Her sister and best friend to name the most important. If she was going to hold resentment toward Jazze, she shouldn't have given Drama her blessing to fuck her sister. Then with Navee, although they all used to partake in threesomes with Navee's boyfriend, she should have told her best friend about her pregnancy, instead, Candi found the best resolution in hiding things or pretending they never happened. So far, that way of handling shit didn't get her anywhere. If there were lessons to be learned, Candi had a ton of them—a school year"s worth of lessons.

Fixing things had been on her mind for the last year but she didn't know when or where to start. The one thing she wanted to do was find her twins. Candi had no intention of taking them from their adoptive parents but she wanted to see them, smell them, and hug them.

His spicy scent found her before she laid eyes on him. When he dropped to his knees, she sucked in a deep breath. Whatever she had been thinking about was pushed to the back of her mind.

"Jayshun," Candi greeted him.

With lust in his eyes, Jay looked from her bare legs to her pretty face. Every time she spoke his name, his dick jumped. Candi had no idea how sensual her voice was. Probably didn't even know how sensual she was without trying. Beautiful brown skin, almond eyes, full lips, and the perfect little bell pepper nose. Candi was a walking fantasy. Lord forbid you got to watch her walk away. The way her hips naturally swayed, women practiced it for years before they could make it look half as good as hers.

A strong and sexy energy passed between the two of them. Jay's low eyes heated her skin more than the sun had. So many words and emotions were exchanged between them without either of them uttering a word.

Deep desires forced his hands to slide up her bare legs. Jay sucked his lip into his mouth when he watched her spread her legs open for him. Looking down, he delighted in her naked bottom half. The way she went to sleep was how she'd woken up. Nothing but his shirt on. No bra, panties, nothing but black skin that looked perfect against his sand-colored melanin.

After Jay woke up, he smoked a blunt, waiting for Candi to come back to bed. When she didn't, he searched for her on the camera system, finding her in the garden with Meechie. High and horny, he made his way to her prepared to make his little sister leave. Thankfully, she was gone by the time he got to Candi. Now, all he wanted to do was put out the fire to their sexual desires.

Leaning forward, Jay attacked her neck—sucking and licking, he was sure to leave a purple mark on her that would be faint due to her skin color. He would know it was there and that was all that mattered.

Candi had her lips puckered ready for him to attack her lips next. She was shocked when he didn't. Instead, Jay had her foot in his hands, massaging them. "Your feet so fuckin' pretty, Magic."

The—" Her mouth clamped shut at the sensation of his mouth on her feet. Jay licked and sucked her toes not caring about her having walked barefoot from the house to the greenery. His thick brows bunched hard with concentration. He watched her every move to make sure he learned what she liked, loved, and didn't care for. So far, licking her toes was a winner.

One hand slid up her thigh again, this time he didn't stop until the warmth of her pussy got hotter. Like a skilled typewriter, his finger entered her wet hole, finding the right button to have her ready to unwind.

Candi's head pushed into the ground under her. "Oh, shit." Her voice vibrated from the bliss his mouth and finger had her in.

Jay was just getting started. Kissing up her leg, once he made it to her pussy, his flat tongue swiped up every drop of lubricate her body leaked. He was a greedy nigga when it came to eating pussy. He vowed to never leave a drop behind. His tongue snaked in an S motion, twirling around her sensitive bud.

Candi's legs snapped together, locking his head in place.

A light tap played on her hip when he silently demanded that she open up for him. "You been begging for this shit, act like you want it," he mumbled.

Slowly, her legs opened back up giving him access. "I do want it."

"Then fuckin' act like it." Jay dove back in, feasting on her like she'd never been feasted on before.

Her finger gripped his head as her release spilled out. "Fuck," she whispered, not wanting Meechie to hear her.

Jay didn't give her time to recover before he was pushing his mushroomed dick into her. Tightness encompassed him. "This pussy good. She ready too." He slowly stroked her center, making sure he got well acquainted with her insides.

"Yes, babe." Candi pushed her body toward him making sure she matched his thrusts. She was never one to just lay there. She wanted the experience to be good for both of them. It was a challenge with how thick he was, but she was going to stretch her pussy as much as he needed it to be stretched.

Getting lost in her, his pace picked up. His body slammed into hers making sure he went balls deep inside of her. "You're taking this dick, baby. You feel me in there?"

Frantically, her head nodded. "You feel so good, Jayshun."

Kissing her deep, he fucked her harder. So hard it felt like the earth under them was shifting. Jay cupped his hand under her juicy brown ass forcing her to take all of him without barriers. "Keep feeding this dick that pussy. She's hungry… fuckin' greedy."

"Ugh," Candi grunted, hating the sound of her voice. Her breathing picked up as his long dick hit her spot over and over again. "Jayshun, fuck."

He slapped her hand down when she placed it on his forearm trying to get him to ease up. "Stop that shit," he fussed through gritted teeth. "You gon' stop holding back on me. If you want to love me, love me. Do you understand?"

His gaze into her eyes was so intense, adding to the overwhelming feeling she felt being under such a fine specimen. Without skipping a beat, he removed his shirt, showing her his coloring book of a chest.

Her fingers dug into his back as she yelled, "I'm cummin', babe!"

"Cum all over this dick. It's yours, ain't it?"

"Yes! It"s mine."

"Forever?" Jay's voice was hoarse. He was in bliss as blood rushed to the head of his dick. "Say it, Magic. Tell me it"s yours for-fuckin'-ever."

"It's mine forever!"

"And you mine forever. Say it, babe, so I can take us to ecstasy. You want to go to the garden, baby?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" she screamed. Her stomach tightened before her whole body tingled all over.

Jay was right there with her releasing himself so far in her, symbolically planting his seeds while they fucked in the garden.

After their intense outside sex,Jay was in the boot shop, watching Candi try on boots like he'd promised. Even with the limp in her walk, she strutted around the hundred-year-old shop like a model.

"You like these?" She looked over to him for his approval.

"Just like I liked the last three pairs. Just get all of them," Jay spoke before looking down at his phone. He had just emailed his potential business partners and had ventured over to social media. It had been days since he'd logged on and as soon as he did, he regretted it. His name had been tagged in so many posts. Clicking on one, he held his breath when his eyes landed on a picture of him and Luna. Going back to his mentions, he clicked on a few more and saw more pictures of them. They were all old but were tied to sources saying Luna was finally doing an entire album titled Journey to The Moon. Sources were also saying he was a muse for a few of the songs on the album.

As he went to the comments, people speculated he must've still been in love with her since he had yet to remove any photos of the two from his page. Jay kissed his teeth, deep-diving more into what he had just stumbled upon.

"Yes, I'm going to get there." Candi smiled at the middle-aged black woman who had been helping her the whole hour they'd been in the boot shop.

It was a small black-owned store but the associate had been treating her experience like she was in Hermes or some other high-end designer store. The treatment wasn't new to Candi, it just felt different now that she was finding her true simple life self. Things she got wowed by before no longer held any weight in her life. Good and friendly people were feeling like gold.

The chime on the door went off as a very pregnant woman walked in with her nose in the air. Candi didn't think too much about the girl when she caught her eyeing her up and down. Candi was new in town and knew that didn't always sit right with the locals. Especially when she showed up on the arm of one of their own.

"Hey, Nobi, it's almost time for you to have that baby, ain't it?" The sales associate smiled big, reaching out to touch the girl"s belly.

Performatively, Nobi rubbed all over her stomach, which had dropped in the last few days. The elders said it was a sign of the baby getting into position and that it was almost time. "Yes, he ready." The girl kept her eyes on Candi. Her friends didn't wait for a second to tell her about Jay showboating some girl on his arm.

Candi smiled at the girl, thinking about her stomach when she carried twins. A sadness washed over her that she was quick to shake off.

The girl got close to Candi, the ill intent was all over her face. "I don't think we've met. Let me introduce myself. I'm Nobi, Jay's baby mama. This little boy I'm carrying is a Black." Nobi was snide with her words.

Thickness lodged in her throat. "What?" Candi asked, needing to understand how they were there. How the hell did she get to the place of admiring the pretty yellow bone's belly and the ugly yellow bone disrupting her peace? "What did you just say to me, Nobi, is it?"

"Yes, get familiar with my name. You may be on his arm now but one thing about our Jayshun is he will always run back to me. After Luna, he was between my legs. After you, he'll be at home with me and his son. Don't get too comfortable."

Jay was so engrossed with his phone that he had no idea what was happening around him. It all happened so fast. His eyes shot to the sound of Candi hollering his name. Jumping up, his hand rested on the handle of his gun.

"Jayshun!" Candi's voice shook from the pain she was experiencing. Her happiness being temporary should've been expected. Nothing in her life had ever been as easy as meeting a fine man and falling in love at first sight. No, her life had never been set up like that. Silly her.

"The fuck you do, Nobi?" Jay sneered at the girl whose legs he'd been between more times than he cared to admit.

Nobi was beautiful—had always been beautiful but her insides were rotten. Jay knew he should've never slid back with her but he was just a nigga sometimes and made decisions with his dick. She was good for what she was good for. A good nut. One thing he never did was run up in her raw. He knew she was looking to trap any nigga dumb enough to fall victim to her pretty face and good pussy.

Circling her neck, Nobi rested her hand on her belly for emphasis. "I'm just telling her how you always find yourself back in my bed and now we're starting a family."

"Man." He dragged his hand down his face. Had his mama not taught him better, Nobi would've been everything in the book besides a child of God. "Come on, you out here telling people that shit. We both know what it is and what it ain't."

"Then tell me something." Candi crossed her arms over her chest. On the outside, she looked ready for whatever but inside, she cried, feeling like yet again she had to share a man. No man had ever fully belonged to her. "Jayshun." She said his name because he wasn't talking fast enough.

Jay faced Candi. When he looked at her, he saw something that belonged to him. "I need you to trust what I'm saying because this back and forth she wants to do, I ain't with that… I don't do this."

"Sho'll don't," the sales associate agreed. She knew his family and knew they didn't raise him up for the back and forth—especially not with a woman. "Nobi, I like you but I don't think this is the time or the place for this. How ‘bout you catch him when you have the baby." The woman's Southern accent was deeper than Jay's.

"Oh, because he's y'all little golden boy you want me to move around? Huh?" Nobi tsked. "The way I see it, she needs to know what she's getting herself into."

"You are so right," Candi agreed, stomping to take the boots off, put her shoes on, and get the fuck from Alabama. "I ain't beat to be nobody's step mama."

"The fuck?" Jay cocked his head to the side, watching Candi walk away from him. "Aye, don't do that, baby."

"Do what?" She hoped he didn't notice her eyes getting wet. "What am I doing to you, Jayshun?"

Smooth, sexy, and with all the confidence in the world, Jay strolled over to his Magic. He wasn't trying to hear what Nobi had to say and couldn't fathom his Magic walking away from him before they even made it to the good parts. "Best years of my life, right? Ain't that what you said last night?"

Candi was desperate to swallow the tears threatening to fall because allowing them to run down her face wasn't an option. "I'm tired." Her voice shook. "I can't give you room to break something that ain't even fixed yet."

"Aww," Nobi instigated. "And look, it's clear he's still not over little Ms. Married Luna." She pushed her phone out hoping Candi saw what was happening on social media in real time. "Nigga ain't even took her pictures down. Looks like I'm coming at the wrong bitch."

Candi tried to charge at Nobi but was caught by Jay. "Let me go!" She fought against him. "I'm not going to touch her because I will be in jail for killing that hoe."

"Calm down, Magic." Jay was desperate to soothe her aching heart. He could feel her shaking in his arms. "Let me take you home and talk to you."

"If I was you, I would—"

"Pin a baby on a man that doesn't want you. That's what you would do if you were me. But you see, if I told Jayshun I was pregnant right now, he wouldn't second guess it because he nuts in this pussy on purpose—with pleasure." Candi's words came out raw and harsh. If words hurt, the ones she spoke had been an assault rifle and Nobi would be lying in her blood.

Swallowing hard, Nobi inhaled deeply before storming out of the shop.

"Come on." Jay tried to lock his fingers between Candi's.

She snatched away. "Don't fuckin' touch me. Take me to the house so I can get the fuck out of country ass Alabama."