We got cleaned up together in the shower. Once we stepped out, I noticed she was standing in the mirror with her towel down. She had bruises and cuts all over her. I wouldn’t say my baby was vain, but she was really in tune with her looks, so the aftermath of the crash and kidnapping was fucking with her. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her.
“You know what I’m looking at right now?”
“What?”
“The most beautiful woman in this world. The one who makes my heart skip beats. Whenever she steps in the room, heads fucking turn. Not because of the Birkin bag she rocks or the ten-carat diamond ring her man put on her finger. It’s her energy, the light she possesses. It ain’t on her… it’sinher. She’s Jazzlyn-fucking-Hendrix. My wife.”
Speaking life into her was so fucking important. She had some fucked-up shit happen to her back-to-back, so she was in this headspace where she didn’t feel like herself, only a shell of herself. I wanted to assure her that no matter what she went through—the cuts, the bruises, the loss of the baby—she was still the same Jazzy I first laid my eyes on at the storage unit.
“Even with this big-ass scar on my forehead and this bruise on my side?”
“I don’t see that shit. I see you whooping that nutty bitch’s ass after you were in a wreck. I see you standing in strength and choosing to put your best foot forward after we lost our baby we made with love. You’re more than what meets the eye, Lovey. I told you that shit in my vows.”
“Thank you for always seeing me. You make me feel so loved, it feels surreal.” She smiled as I nestled my head into the crook of her neck.
I kissed her neck, trailing my kisses up to her jawline. “You make me feel like that day in and day out. Only right I make you feel the same.” Her face tinted red as her cheek bones rose higher. “I got a surprise for you. You gotta promise you gone take it easy, though.”
I eyed her through the mirror with my brow raised since I knew she was gonna test me no matter what promise she made. Excitement sparked within her eyes as she turned around to face me. “What is it?”
“Kross coming out here, and he wants to look at a few potential spots for Bar Remedy. Now the timing ain’t the best, but I figured you ain’t wanna miss out on the opportunity.”
“Baby! You for real?”
“Dead ass. He touch down tomorrow. I told him I’ll run it by you to see if you ready for it.”
“What? Of course I’m ready for it,” she scoffed as if she couldn’t believe I was questioning her. “I had my eye on a spotdown in Manhattan, but it was just too close to Reign, so I passed up on it. It’ll be perfect for Bar Remedy. I’ll give the realtor a call.”
She grabbed up her towel, quickly wrapping it around her so she could go get dressed and make her phone call. I stopped her with a sigh. “Don’t get carried away, Lovey, please.”
“Ahkeem, I won’t. I promise.”
I dropped a kiss on her forehead next to her stitches before letting her go.
The next day, as promised, Kross touched down, and it was only right I welcomed them into the city. He brought Remedy with him, and she was excited to get with Jazzlyn and do some shopping. My baby needed some girl time, so I wasn’t against it.
“I ain’t been in New York in a little minute.” Kross dapped me up.
“Shit, welcome back, son. Whatever you need. I got you.”
Remedy pulled Jazzlyn into a hug, rocking side to side. Despite them not knowing each other for long, they hit it off well, and their friendship was budding.
“Girl, you alright? I heard about what happened.”
“I’m fine, Rem. I swear.”
“Small shit to a giant, right?” Kross smirked as he asked Jazzy.
She nodded confidently. “Exactly!”
“These cuts and bruises are gonna heal fast. I have some fade cream that I used, and now you can’t even see mine.”
Kross told me about what happened to his wife. She went missing for a few months because her pussy-ass ex held her captive up in Chicago. Kross gave me some pointers on how to navigate things with Jazzlyn, which I appreciated. I couldn’t imagine being without Jazzlyn for months and not knowingwhere she was. Kross was strong as fuck for holding shit together ‘cause I would’ve definitely dived off the deep end. Just those couple of hours of not knowing where she was and how to get to her had me ready to lose it all.
“Thank you, girl, ‘cause I can’t keep walking around like this fucked-up arts and crafts project.”
“Jazzlyn, stop. You look good. Better than the motherfucka’ who did it to you.”
“More alive too,” Kross added after his wife, prompting us all to laugh.
