Page 10 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)

A Welcome Distraction

I sat on the balcony with my phone in my hand.

Jacob had called and even texted since I saw him the night of the fashion show.

An empty feeling was in the pit of my stomach as I looked at his contact information on my phone.

My nerves were stopping me from calling him back.

It wasn’t fair of him to get this version of me that was in the midst of a potentially messy divorce.

Every time I thought of my divorce, my blood boiled. I decided to stop allowing Mason and his shenanigans to stop me from connecting with Jacob. As I dialed his number, I listened as the phone rang. There was a flutter in my stomach when he finally answered.

“You finally decided to call me back,” Jacob teased as he answered.

Just hearing his voice caused my nerves to subside. I suddenly felt silly that I had been nervous to call him back in the first place.

“Sorry, Jakey. My life has gotten a little crazy over the past few days,” I admitted.

“Jakey? Wow, I haven’t been called that in forever. I kind of miss hearing it. I understand how crazy life can get. It was great catching up the other night. Are you free this evening?” he asked.

I paused as I contemplated his offer. All I wanted to do was wallow out here on this patio area. I could hear Imani and Milani now telling me not to let Mason stop me from living.

“Are you still there?” he inquired.

“Yes, sorry. I got lost in my thoughts. We can get into something for sure. If you don’t mind, I don’t really feel like going out. There is a courtyard in my building where we can chill,” I offered.

“Bet. Send me your address, and I’ll see you around 8:00 p.m.,” he replied.

I sent him my address and checked the time.

It was currently six in the evening, so I had two hours to get ready before he arrived.

For some reason, I felt myself smile at the idea of seeing Jacob again.

Maybe it was the idea of some company, or perhaps, it was the company of an articulate man who cared about my thoughts that sparked the sudden excitement.

After another hour or so on the balcony, I finally went to get dressed.

As I approached the walk-in closet in the bedroom, I was reminded of the limited clothing options.

I didn’t even have anything decent to go out in.

The reminder that I needed to head over to my condo or storage unit to grab some clothes hit me hard.

Mason had threatened to burn my stuff during our last conversation, but I hoped it was an empty threat.

The things I collected over the years had sentimental value.

When I initially packed, I thought I would be back home once the fashion show was over.

Now, here I was with the reminder that I needed to find somewhere to live.

I shook my head to fight back the feeling of sadness that attempted to consume me again.

Tonight, I planned to enjoy Jacob’s company and forget about the divorce.

I’d deal with whatever curve life decided to throw at me next tomorrow.

Just as I finished putting on my leggings, there was a knock at the door.

I checked the time on my phone, and it was 8:00 p.m. on the dot.

I went to open the door for Jacob. As I opened the door, I took in the sight of him.

I still couldn’t believe how his muscles filled out.

He wasn’t buff, but his body was very toned.

Jacob had on gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt.

I tried not to focus on the slight print in his pants.

“I was just thinking about the times you used to drag me to class. You were always lecturing me about being on time.” I laughed as he entered the condo.

“You were always late, no matter what. Always trying to blame it on being an Aquarius, talking about an Aquarius has to make an entrance. Please tell me you finally learned how to be punctual for things,” he inquired.

“I can’t lie and say I’m always on time. Let’s just say there has been some improvement, but some things never change,” I replied through laughter.

Jacob shook his head and laughed at me. He was holding two bags, which he placed down on the island. I assisted him in unpacking while taking the opportunity to see what goodies he bought.

“You got the good stuff—gummy worms, sour cream and onion potato chips, and cookies and cream ice cream,” I excitedly said.

Jacob pulled two bottles out of the bag he unpacked. There was a bottle of tequila and a bottle of white wine. “You sounded kind of sad, so I grabbed a few pick me ups. I figured we could enjoy a good drink and junk food while you tell me what’s got you so down,” he stated.

Jacob had no idea how much his words meant to me. The gesture of junk food and alcohol was touching. His thoughtfulness was exactly what I needed right now. I walked over to him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you for all of this. Now I feel even worse that I didn’t answer when you initially reached out,” I whispered in his ear.

Jacob’s nearness allowed me to take in his cologne. As I inhaled the powdery notes, I didn’t want to let him go. Jacob pulled me in tighter, which caused me to relax in his arms fully. I didn’t want to let go, but the feeling of his toned body pressed against mine caused my honeypot to throb.

“Why don’t I give you a tour of the place?” I asked as an excuse to end our embrace.

As I slowly backed away from him, I stared into his deep brown eyes. I couldn’t read the expression on his face, but the bulge in his pants told me all I needed to know.

I walked toward the back of the apartment. We went through each room one by one. Jacob’s cologne lingered in my nose and on my clothes. When we reached the balcony, I allowed him to walk around freely to fully take in the view.

“I know you mentioned a courtyard, but we can sit out here if you want. I’m sure there is no better view of the water than this,” he mentioned.

“You’re probably right. I’ll get the drinks, and you grab the snacks,” I stated.

As we both made our way back inside, there was hesitation as we stared into each other’s eyes.

Jacob’s handsome features were illuminated by the moonlight that bounced off the river.

His almond-shaped eyes caused me to scurry inside to halt his gaze.

My temperature had risen, so my first stop was the freezer to grab some ice.

I needed to cool off before this friendly evening turned into something totally different.

I felt his eyes on me as I moved throughout the kitchen. The lust in Jacob’s eyes matched what I felt. I grabbed a serving tray off the counter for our glasses and the bucket of ice.

It was quiet as we settled everything in the bar area. While I made our drinks, Jacob started the fire pit that was in the center of the patio chairs. We took seats on opposite sides of the fire pit.

Although a number of years had passed, everything about Jacob felt very familiar. I knew we had both matured, but he was still my Jakey.

“Do you want to talk about why you’ve been dodging my calls?” he asked.

I blew out a deep breath. “Mason served me with divorce papers, so I spent all morning Friday looking for a divorce attorney. Thankfully, I found someone that I’m confident in, but he’s trying to challenge the prenup.

I always thought that if our marriage ever ended, it would be amicable.

Now I see there’s no such thing as amicable with this man,” I blurted out.

“I’m sorry you have to go through this. Just think of this as a bump in your life. Sometimes the thing we want to work out the most simply doesn’t. We never know the reason, but I’ve found that there’s always something better on the other side,” he offered.

I sipped my drink as I took in Jacob’s words. It sounded very similar to what Imani said. I knew they meant well, but until the better came, this would still hurt.

“The end of our marriage feels like a death. I know it sounds dramatic, but my idea of the perfect life came crashing down. Listen to me complaining about a man who is alive and well, when you really did lose someone you loved. How do you deal with the loss of Jada’s mom?” I asked.

“Losing the love of my life was one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced.

The experience was worse because she died during childbirth.

She left me with the child we made in love, but she isn’t around to raise her.

It sounds awful, but I resented her at first. Thankfully, my mother was with me every step of the way.

She prayed over me and reminded me that someone in this world needed me,” he answered through teary eyes.

I wiped my eyes because they started to water as he spoke. Jacob’s vulnerability was appreciated. I couldn’t imagine bringing life into the world and dying in the process.

“It doesn’t matter how hard things get. I have the best of her here on Earth. I know right now you can’t see the potential of this painful situation, but one day, you’ll understand,” he advised.

“Did you figure out why you had to lose the love of your life?” I asked.

“That part I’m still figuring out. I like to think that Jada was meant to live life this way. As she grows, I hope I learn the why, but it’s not as important to me anymore. Life moves on, so for all I know, her death was meant to make me evolve into a better human for Jada,” he expressed.

The sounds of nature filled the silence between us.

Jacob had a solemn look on his face. He gave me a new perspective on my situation.

I kept looking at my divorce as a failure.

This divorce could be the thing that propels me to be the best version of myself.

I got up from my side of the couch to sit next to Jacob and gave him a hug.

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I could never have imagined you would pop up in my life at such a challenging time. My Jakey has grown up, and now, he’s dropping life gems on me,” I teased.

“Your boy knows a little something, something about this thing called life. Stick with me. I’ll teach you a thing or two,” he joked.

We shared a much-needed laugh after the seriousness of our conversation.

I may have lost Mason, but Jacob was the perfect person to take my mind off things.

We stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking about everything.

I hated for him to leave, but I was exhausted.

Before Jacob left, he made me promise to answer the phone the next time he called.