Page 50 of Where Is the Love

“I closed the gym and put it for sale. There have been a couple of potential buyers. I’ve had all my things moved into a storage in Beaumont, and I sold my house. They are supposed to be closing on it next week. Depending on what the gym sells for, I may have to get the equipment out of it. That would save me a lot of money, since I will be building a gym in Nome.”

Her eyes widened. “Really? That’s great!”

“Yeah, it is. Your uncles went to the bank with me, and while you were showering, I read an email saying that I’d been approved for a million-dollar loan. I won’t need all of it. Once the gym in Austin sells, I’ll apply that to the loan. That Henderson name carries weight. Thank you for wanting what was best for me, baby. Thank you for introducing me to your family. They’ve been a blessing to me and my mama. And a huge congratulations to you on landing a video with Noah! You about to blow up!”

Jessica blushed and giggled as she washed her hands. When she stared up at me again, she said, “Thank you! Congratulations to you too, Brix, and you’re welcome.”

She turned away, and I could tell she was taking deep breaths. “You good?”

She nodded and smiled slightly. I brushed my fingertips across her cheek. “I’m gonna go get my bag from the car. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

I left the bathroom, trying to figure out what was bothering her that quickly. She almost looked like she was on the verge of an anxiety attack. I quickly made my way to my car and hurried back, just in case something was indeed wrong with her. When I got back inside, I locked the door and practically power walked to the bathroom. I walked inside to find Jess naked as the day she was born. “Damn, baby. What’chu doing? You showering with me?”

She shook her head. “I’m waiting for you to get out, so hurry.”

She slid her hand across my cheek as she walked out. That was when I noticed she had heels on. I bit my bottom lip as I peeked out of the bathroom to see her walking up the stairs.Fuck!She didn’t have to worry about me taking too long. Watching her beautiful body going up those stairs was luring me to her. The way her ponytail slid side to side across her back had me in a trance.

Breaking me from it, she said, “You’re wasting time that you could be making love to all this body, Brix.”

I blinked rapidly then licked my lips. Taking one last look, I went back inside the bathroom, showering in record time. Within fifteen minutes, I was done. That included washing my dick and pelvic area at least three times and moisturizing my body. I grabbed my bag and headed up the stairs in search of her.

Glancing in a couple of rooms as I passed them, I finally found her in the third one, sprawled out on the bed, her legs wide open, and her rose toy on her clit. I dropped my bag to the floor and got to her at the speed of light. I snatched the rose from her. “You starting without me?”

“Just getting warmed up.”

“Let me warm you up, Jess. That’s my job. This is an alternative for when we wanna play or I’m not here.”

I tossed it to the bed and slid over her body. I closed my eyes, not believing that I was given this chance to prove to her all the things I told her… all the ways I planned to love her. She slid her hands up my chest to my shoulders, then to my face. She again took a deep breath as I hovered over her. I frowned slightly.

“Don’t worry, Brix. I’m just trying to gather the nerve to say what I need to say to you.”

“Damn. It’s that serious?”

“Yeah. You know I’ve always been so closed off regarding my feelings, but for the past three weeks, I’ve been working on myself. Don’t be alarmed, but Nate and I talked. I saw him when I left Nome. Somehow, he could tell that I was feeling someone else… thinking about someone else. That was when I knew how serious my feelings were for you. Nate was wining and dining me, being romantic as hell, and my mind was on you. I’m so scared of being hurt until it has had me crippled in my love life. I feel like all this time, I’ve been manifesting hurt.”

That was deep what she said. We did that shit by giving it too much power. Half the time, we didn’t even realize we were doing it. I maintained my position, hovering over her, as she turned her head away from me. I gently grabbed her chin and turned her back to me. “Keep going, Jess.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m always anticipating being hurt, so I keep my wall up and keep my true feelings to myself. I don’t want to do that shit anymore, Brix. I don’t want to be shut off from the world. I want you to know that I love you, Brix. I’m in love with you, and I want to be all yours,” she said as she stroked my beard.

I slid right into her paradise without a second thought. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I allowed my heart to soak up her admission. “Jess, I love you too, and I plan to spend the rest of my life making sure you feel it.”

I lifted her leg to my waist and stared into her slanted eyes as I made love to her, glad that she was finally mine.

EPILOGUE

JESSICA

Three months later…

“As the mayor of Big City Nome, Texas, I want to declare today as Phillip ‘Vegas’ Turner Day, where we all promise Jordans to kids and never give them to them.”

Everybody chuckled. “Storm, you ain’t even been elected yet! Election day is three months away!” Uncle Jasper said.

“Jasper, you gon’ be the first person I abuse my power on. Ain’t nobody running against me! Abney hadn’t been serving in his office because he’s been sick. I was serving in his spot! So nigga, from now on, you address me as Mr. Mayor! The fuck you on.”

I lowered my head and slowly shook it. This nigga was gonna be a whole problem. They were gonna kick his ass out of office before he even got there. “As I was saying, may Vegas rest in peace. The streets of Nome won’t be the same without him.”