The distinction mattered.
She’d spent an entire year trying to prove to herself that achievement could replace intimacy. Every promotion, interview and the standing ovations after a keynote speech filled her for a moment before the feeling quietly slipped away on the drive home. She finally understood why.
Accomplishments celebratedwhatshe did. Love celebratedwhoshe was, and that’s where Jio came in.
Nina turned on the faucet and splashed cold water across her face.
Her stomach turned and she was tired of the sickly coming out of nowhere.
“No….” she whined and cried at once.
The nausea came fast enough that she barely made it to the toilet. She hurled loudly, resulting in the sound of hurried footsteps echoing down the hallway.
“Baby?”
“I'm okay!” she yelled before another wave interrupted her sentence.
Jio appeared in the doorway wearing basketball shorts and absolutely nothing else. A kitchen towel rested over one shoulder as concern replaced the lazy smile he’d probably been wearing moments earlier.
“You throwing up again.”
She flushed the toilet before looking over her shoulder. “I had wine last night.”
“You had two glasses.”
“I had champagne too,” she reminded him.
“I promise I’m fine.”
Jio wasn't convinced but he didn’t say anything else. Instead, he grabbed a fresh washcloth from beneath the sink, soaked it with cool water and gently pressed it against the back of her neck.
“You feel hot?”
“I feel embarrassed.”
“Why?”
“You’ve officially seen me at my worst.”
He looked at her like she’d said the dumbest thing he’d ever heard.
“Bookie, I’ve held you while you cried for hours and you done threw up on my sneakers before.”
Her eyes widened. “When was this?”
Jio chortled, “Oh, now you don’t remember when you had food poisoning?”
“Yeahhhhhh…. that old ass pizza in Jersey.” She nodded.
“You went and copped me three pairs of sneakers. I was like dang okay suga mama,” he teased her, putting a smile back on his baby’s face like only he could do.
Nina laughed. “I felt terrible.”
His thumb brushed beneath her eye. “The point I’m making is that you don't gotta impress me.”
The words landed deep in a place where she didn’t expect them to reach. He was telling her verbally that her worth was solidified.
“I love the way you love me….it feels good to be myself,” she shared.
