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I smiled at him and went inside to hug him while Whitney greeted Jungle. “Thank you, Jericho. You never cease to amaze me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Two things. The first one is this,” I said, then turned to Jungle and grabbed his hand. “This man is everything I needed, just like I told you months ago. Thank you for being cool with it.” Jungle kissed my hand as I continued. “Secondly, for the Seneca shit Saturday.”
I’d obviously changed my mind about my previous plans of keeping what I knew to myself. Jericho looked over at Jungle. “Oh, you one of those pillow-talking niggas.”
I laughed so loud as Jungle shoved Jericho playfully. “I just told her y’all had words that seemed pretty intense. If you wanna tell her what was said, that’s on you.”
Jericho twisted his mouth to the side then shook his head as I laughed. “Y’all come on into the kitchen! I’m sure you’re hungry,” Whitney said. “I cooked spaghetti. Honestly, I didn’t feel like cooking anything more involved than that.”
“Spaghetti is just fine. I’m sure it’s delicious,” Manman said as she headed to the kitchen behind Whitney.
“So are you nervous?” I asked my brother.
“Not at all. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. We’re only moving this fast because I won the bet though. She was talking about getting married sometime next year.”
I frowned. “What was the bet?”
“That I got her pregnant. If she was pregnant, she had to marry me ASAP. If not, then we would wait until next year. I didn’t know why we had to wait until next year. She doesn’t have any family, and all my family is here.”
“Lawd have mercy. I don’t know if I’m more bothered that Whitney actually accepted that deal or that you got her pregnant when you said you would!” I said through my laughter.
“And while I was on birth control!” Whitney added.
“That’s those Haitian juices and berries. They don’t fuck around.”
Jungle laughed so hard. I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen with Manman and Whitney. When I joined them, she smiled and said, “You finally got your man.”
“Hell yeah. He was meant to be with me. I’ve known it since day one. I’m just glad he knows it too. Although I want him, I almost sent his ass packing.”
Manman frowned and so did Whitney. “Why?” my mama asked. “Don’t be doing my son like that.”
I rolled my eyes again. “He’d just gotten embarrassed by that bitch at the wedding. Now all of a sudden, he wanted me. I’d been trying to convince him for months that I was the woman he needed. Had she not been involved, I wouldn’t have questioned his motives.”
“So what made you know he was sincere?”
“He a fucking smooth operator, like Paul Wall. He said I wasn’t his second choice… she was. He was hesitant because of my age, trauma, and that I’m Jericho’s sister. He’s afraid of heartbreak. Shit, I am too. I’ve never been in love until now, so it’s a first for both of us.”
“What?” Whitney yelled, then covered her mouth. “He told you he loved you?” she whispered.
I smiled as I remembered the moment. “Yeah. He did.”
I closed my eyes as I remembered how he made love to me last night. “He must have said it during sex. Look at her,” Manman said with a frown.
I brought my hand to my forehead. “It wasn’t just sex. He took my body places it has never gone. Although I tried to have a boyfriend in high school, we never had sex. I realized that I had issues and wanted to zone out like I used to. He was so tender. He helped me through it, and I experienced something I thought I never would.” Glancing toward the front room, I added, “I orgasmed for the first time.”
Whitney was fanning herself with her hand. “I never saw Jungle as being able to be tender.”
“My first day in Texas at his house, he held me for hours. So I was introduced to his tenderness right away. I think it had a lot to do with what his sister went through and him not being able to be there for her, but the only times he’s rough with me is when I push him to be.”
“Chelsea, I’m so happy for you. I hate what you went through, but I feel like God was rewarding you for your suffering by bringing Jungle to your life. He may not be perfect, but I feel like he’s perfect for you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. I hate that I was weak concerning Jonas. He ruled with an iron fist and didn’t hesitate to punish me with it. Bringing you into that was never my intent. I would have never dreamed that he would do those horrific things to you.”
“Mama, you don’t have to keep apologizing,” I said as I watched the tears fall down her cheeks.
“Yes, I do. I could never apologize enough for everything you’ve gone through.”
I went to her and hugged her tightly, noticing Whitney was crying as much as she was. Jericho and Jungle entered the kitchen, and they both froze, I assumed trying to figure out what was going on. Jericho went straight to Whitney, and Jungle came to me. “Everything okay?”
