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CHAPTER 14

Jourdan

S tephon drove through the streets of Cypress like he owned the roads. I glanced out deeply tinted windows as we hit the interstate and approached the city's center. We’d been driving for about ten minutes and hadn’t reached our destination. He was quiet, too quiet. I studied his profile to see the creases form on his forehead. He seemed to be in deep thought. I understood his demeanor if he was thinking about anything I was.

I’d decided that I was going to marry this man. Was it arranged? Maybe. Convenient? Most definitely. Neither of those was why I was doing it. I felt something whenever we were in each other’s presence. Something that I wanted to swallow me whole. The question lingering in my mind was, could I trust it?

Outside of the thoughts that spoke loudly in my head, Steph had The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill playing in the background. I took a break from my thoughts, letting her melodic voice fill the void. Until Steph finally spoke .

“There’s a kids’ football league that I coach for. We have practice this afternoon. I figured we could grab lunch and then head there. It starts at three. You down?”

“Yeah, I’m down. It’s not like you left me much of a choice, Stephon, since you’re just now telling me where we’re going.” I said in a teasing voice.

“That may have been intentional,” he said, smiling. Those damn dimples and those perfectly straight teeth. I wanted to kill him like Brandi tried to kill Darnell in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate for messing with my emotions like this. Except I would succeed.

Yeah, ok JoJo, talk your shit because that’s all you’re doing is talking. He has to be fucking with me, right?

I sank further into the seat, fighting between love and hate. I loved how Stephon made me feel, but I also hated it. Then, the song When It Hurts So Bad started to play further, toying with my emotions. Now, I was the one with wrinkled lines marring my forehead.

“What’s wrong, Baby?” His flexing muscles transfixed me as he guided the truck into Two’s parking lot. He whipped into the spot and cut the engine.

“Just thinking about love. Being in love means that I will eventually give up my power. I don’t want to be hurt. My heart has been broken enough to last me a million lifetimes. I don’t want to go through it again.” Stephon opened his door, got out, and walked around to open mine. He unbuckled my seat belt and then turned me to face him. Regardless of my inner turmoil, I couldn’t ignore that being with Stephon felt right; he felt like home.

“Jourdan, I don’t want to take your power. I want to amplify that shit. I want you to feel more powerful than you’ve ever felt before,” he said, then leaned in, kissing me deeply. It was possessive and full of promise. I pulled him into me, taking all that he was willing to give before he stopped, pecking my lips a few more times before he spoke.

“Come on, I’m starving. We skipped breakfast. I’m too big to miss meals,” he said as he helped me down.

“You could always eat me,” I whispered.

“What was that?” He asked.

“I didn’t say anything,” I responded while shaking my head.

He held my hand as we crossed the lot and headed inside. The hostess greeted us at the door.

“Welcome to Two’s. Oh, hey, Stephon. It’s nice to see you again so soon,” she said, her smile eager. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, opening them to find hers glued to Stephon.

“Will you and your guest be...?

“Wife.” I bluntly spoke.

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused. You said guest, but that would be incorrect because I’m Stephon’s wife. I felt Stephon behind me. His arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his body, where I felt his erection.

“You better tell her my usual booth because if she takes us to private dining, I’m not just going to eat you, Jourdan. I will spread you across the table, say my grace, and devour you. We don’t have that kind of time. Like I said, I’m a big man, Baby,” he whispered. Then, he leaned further down to peck the side of my neck. My eyes closed again involuntarily. I found the hostess flustered and uncomfortable when I opened them this time.

Mine!

“We’ll be sitting at his normal booth.”

“Ahem, my apologies, Mrs. Rockwell. If you two will follow me,” she said after clearing her throat. After we were seated, a waiter promptly came, and we both placed our orders. Steph ordered the chicken marsala without even looking over the menu. He did it so quickly that I figured it had to be good, so I ordered the same. We both sat silently as the other guests' conversation sounded around us. Since it was Sunday, the restaurant was brightly lit by the open shades that let it all in. It was a stark difference from the night ambiance that it held. I could see Stephon studying me out of the corner of my eye. I finally gave him my attention.

“Who broke your heart, Jourdan?” Stephon asked after we sat for a moment in silence.

“I’ve been in love before. However, the loss of their love could never compare to the heartbreak of losing both parents. I thought that maybe if I could just find out who murdered my father, it would help me mend some of this brokenness.” I said, flailing my hands around, trying to emphasize how I felt on the inside. He grabbed them, placing them in his. His calmness flowed through me instantly as his fingers threaded mine .

“I get that. I threw myself into football heavily afterward. Although it never felt the same. When my father was rooting for me from the stands, I felt bigger than life. I was gutted after my injury when I realized that I couldn't accomplish the dream I told my father I would. I didn’t stay there in that darkness, though. I talked that shit out with my mother, and D. You can’t hold on to that hurt, Baby. As long as you’re with me, and if you’ll allow it, I will do everything possible so you do not stay there,” he said and paused, examining my face to make sure I understood.

“You can talk to me. I know we’re new, but our backgrounds put me in a position to understand exactly what you’re going through. I know you’re not rocking with him right now, but you can also talk to your brother. You also have a best friend, right? Don’t let that shit consume you Jourdan. You’ll miss everything important even when it’s staring you right in the face. Trust me!” I took in his words and could tell he meant them the same as he’d told me before.

The waitress came, and Steph let go of my hands. She set our meals before us, and we said grace before I took my first bite.

Damn!

That thought must have shown on my face because Steph smiled at me.

“I’ll never steer you wrong, Baby.”

“Um, Huh,” I hummed and smirked before pinning him with a hardened stare.

“Since we’re being honest and open. Did you fuck that hostess? ”

“Why? Are you going to kill her?”

“Maybe or you. It depends on your answer.” I said as he laughed.

“Your brother asked me the same thing; you two are funny as hell. No, Mrs. Rockwell,” he said with emphasis, then continued.

“I don’t know why y’all think I go around slanging dick to every beautiful woman I see.”

“Oh, so you think she’s beautiful?”

“Come here,” he said, pinning me with a hardened gaze of his own. I placed my fork down and slid into the booth beside him. He spread his legs, pressing his closest against mine. I looked down to see the bulge in his sweats.

“Touch it,” he ordered. I glanced around, making sure no one could see before I followed his command. It was hard and seemed to get harder when I gripped it.

“Your jealous threats only make my dick hard. I wouldn’t handle threats from you like I do all the others,” he said as he traced his hand down my face before grabbing my chin.

“Your threats will end with you bent over, maybe this table, if you keep trying me,” he said, bringing his face to mine and pausing.

“Now eat before I show you by making good on it.” He pecked my lips and slid my plate over. Then he lifted my fork and sliced a piece of the chicken, ensuring it had enough sauce before he lifted it to my mouth.

“Open up for me, Baby,” he said, nodding, directing me to do as he said. I crossed my legs and squeezed them together, trying to stop the throb that he’d just put there. I wrapped my lips around the fork with the chicken, which tasted even better than it had a few moments ago.

“Good girl,” I heard him groan under his breath before he released the fork back into my hands. After a few moments, just like before, his hand gravitated between my legs, where it rested. I glanced over to see him eating his Chicken Marsala like he didn’t have a care in the world.

He has to know what he’s doing, right?

We spent the next twenty minutes eating, laughing, and getting to know one another before heading to his team’s practice.

“Coach Steph, Coach Steph!” The kids yelled and crowded around Stephon the moment he entered the indoor field. There were around forty kids, all of whom appeared to be in fourth or fifth grade. Five minutes earlier, we’d arrived at Sports Plex, an indoor sports arena. The area of the venue we were in housed the turf field, where the kids were suited up and running around. It was warehouse-sized and outfitted with white walls, bright lights, and skylight roofing.

“Coach, Coach, is that your girl?” One of the pre-teens asked. Before Steph could answer, the kid had stepped up to me with his most confident swagger .

“Do you know magic? Because you just made everyone disappear,” he said as he took my hand. Stephon smacked the kid’s hand away and tackled him to the ground.

“Canon, you must be trying to run the whole practice by coming after my woman like that,” Steph said. The kid erupted in laughter as he tried and failed to get up numerous times.

“Aye, Shay, you better get your kid,” he yelled across the field. Shay, who I now knew to be Canon’s mother, smiled back as if she’d won a damn prize.

“Hmph.” While I watched nearly all the kids try to help their downed teammate off the ground, Justin finally spoke.

“We meet again, Ms. Washington,” he said, lifting my hand to kiss. Kids flew as Steph lifted off the ground, running over to smack Justin’s hand as he’d done Canon’s.

“I see both you and Canon trying to get dropped today.”

“I’m just fuc..messing with you, man,” Justin said, catching his slip of the tongue in front of the kids. I found a seat as Steph and Justin quickly started their practice. I’d been so busy focusing on Steph and how he interacted with the kids that I hadn’t even seen him come in.

JoJo, you weren’t worried about whether he was good with kids the other day.

Across the field, on another set of bleachers, I could see a group of the kids' mothers huddled around, watching Steph and Justin more than they watched their kids. Hell, I didn’t blame them. They were moving with as much agility and speed as the kids. At this point, I was sure that Steph was putting on a show to impress me because they were going so hard. Evidence of how in shape they were, neither of them had broken a sweat.

Before the next play, Steph took a phone from his pocket and frowned at whatever appeared on the screen before responding. It was a different phone than the one they used to handle business. It also wasn’t his primary phone. My brother carried three, but I knew one of his was for the hospital. As the lioness, I was keen on things that felt out of place. That phone was raising my haunches.

While his attention was on the phone, Justin split the kids into two groups of ten, leaving him and Justin as the eleventh man. He was running the defensive side while Steph ran the offense. Steph huddled up with the quarterback, giving him the play they would run. The ball was hiked, and Steph took off from his starting point, heading to his designated spot on the field as a receiver. Before he reached his place, I saw his stride stutter, but he recovered. He reached his spot and caught the ball. He was hiding it well, but I could see the slight limp that appeared; he was favoring his left knee.

Whatever was on that phone distracted Steph enough to throw him off his game. He’d been sure of all his movements before then. The kids ran the play that Steph had demonstrated while he stood off to the side. I stood, heading in his direction to see if he was ok. Secondly, I wanted to know what was on that phone. Before I could move, I was stopped by a hand placed on my arm. I looked down at the hand of the man who was touching me without permission. I’d seen him come in with the other group of kids who were to practice after. Shouts from the kids filtered back in, reminding me I should play along for now.

Hmm, one of my favorite games.

I smiled at the man, giving him my consideration to see why he’d thought to be so bold. Once I gave him my full attention, he began to speak.

“My apologies. I’ve never seen you here before. One of your kids plays for this team?” The stranger asked.

“Nah, our kid is playing hide and seek right now, but they both play for Team Steph,” he said in a deadly tone, causing the man to snatch his hand away quickly. It was like he had teleported to where we were because he appeared so fast.

“So, do you want to end up in Jeopardy or the Wheel of Misfortune? Since you want to play games by asking all these damn questions,” Steph said with his head cocked to the side and standing in a wide stance with his hands low in front of his groin. The guy held his hands palms forward, backing away. It was almost as if he were trying to decide if the conflict was worth it or if I was worth it. However, Steph didn’t back down; his presence seemed to magnify. We both watched as the guy turned and walked away.

Damn, I didn’t even get to play.

“Ok, now I’m wet,” I said, eliciting a loud laugh from Steph.

“I bet you are. Baby, fuck these kids. If a nigga puts his hand on you break that shit,” he said before pecking me on the lips.

“Coach Steph, come dance with us.” One of the kids asked, breaking up the intensity .

“They do this at the end of every practice. Let me get back over here,” Steph said, kissing me again.

“Can we dance to that 21 Savage bonnet song?” Canon asked.

“No!” Both Steph and Justin shouted out immediately. I laughed because he was among the youngest in the group. That boy was going to be something else.

“Boy, what your lil’ ass know about that song? You know what? Don’t answer that. I need to speak to your mother. You’re too fresh today for me,” Steph said as he left my side to go over with the kids and fell in line with the crowd of dancing boys.

Speak with his mother over my dead body . Why am I all of a sudden so damn territorial?

I uncomfortably lifted my hand to swipe down my ponytail. I couldn’t believe that I’d only had the dick once, and his ass had turned me into Jackie Christie from Basketball Wives. She’d once said that if her man needed CPR to survive and a woman was the only one who was capable, then she’d let him die.

It's a good thing I know CPR.

After stewing in my revelation, I tuned back into the kids. They were laughing, jumping around, and performing their best moves. They were also laser-focused, teaching Steph and Justin the latest dance moves they’d learned online. They’d chosen another popular song to dance to that wasn’t as raunchy. They were currently tipping out and doing the sturdy.

I should have known that he could dance, especially after the moves he put on me.

Focus Jourdan !

I couldn’t stop the warmth that spread over me before the goosebumps appeared. I didn’t understand the magnetic pull that Stephon and I had on each other. It was like we were meant to be. My visceral reaction was to run from it, but I wouldn’t this time. This man was going to ruin me.

Damn you ovaries! It’s all these kids’ fault.