Page 18 of Still Forever

Kenn

The smell of Jaxon clung to my sheets, leaving me with the only proof that his visit the other night wasn’t just a delusion.

Jaxon had sworn me to secrecy, so I hadn’t told anyone about him coming to see me, not even Storm.

That gave me a little time to process things for myself, but I knew I would break and tell her sooner or later.

Jax coming here and dropping the bomb about the reason why he had distanced himself blew my mind.

That, coupled with the fact that he was set to be married, was overwhelming.

We had all seen what an arranged situation had done for Trouble and Storm.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t skeptical about him saying he wasn’t interested in who I now knew as Remy.

I had seen her at the birthday party; she was a pretty girl with brown skin, long hair, and a pretty smile.

On paper, she was his type, and their interaction didn’t seem to be forced.

But to his credit, I had never caught Jaxon in a lie that didn’t involve whether he’d be home by dinnertime.

So I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Still, I never wanted to be the woman who sat around and hoped that a man would show up and choose her.

It was July 25th, which means that he had a little less than thirty days to prove to me that he wanted to be here.

If all else fails, and he walked down that aisle with her, then I was going to have to move on with my life and let him go once and for all.

If he committed himself to another woman, contract or not, there would be nothing left for us to discuss.

I picked up my phone from the nightstand to check my emails.

As soon as I unlocked the phone, I saw that I had several messages from Taj.

Granted, I felt bad about what happened the other night.

Taj was a nice guy, and I never wanted him to get caught up in my mess.

But when I tried to end things with him, he was convinced that I was a victim and that Jax had made the decision for me.

Things that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Since then, he had been contacting me around the clock, and at first, his attempt to talk about it was flattering. Intentional even. But the more he made contact, it felt like he wasn’t respecting my decision to take a step back, and that was starting to concern me a bit.

Putting my feet in my slippers, I went to the bathroom to take my morning shower and tried to figure out how I was going to spend my day.

Another day dealing with the traumas of everyone else, while I just barely navigated my own, wasn’t on my agenda.

As soon as I thought about it, I went back to my phone and set my status to out of office . That was one perk about being the boss.

Sitting in the warmth of the tub relaxed my body, but did nothing for my mind.

As I lay back against the marble with my eyes closed, my mind raced a thousand miles a minute.

Flashbacks of Jaxon and me the other night crept into my conscience.

Visions of him fucking me until I soaked the mattress caused me to groan at just the thought of him.

If I had to describe it as anything, loving that man was like a drug.

I thought that I was okay without him, but once I had him again, I was craving my next high.

I lay there for a second before I stood to take a shower and tried to clear my mind. If I didn’t want to spiral today like I did yesterday, I needed sunlight and a distraction. Hell, maybe even a smile that didn’t come from a forced interaction or a memory.

My phone buzzed just as I stood from the tub and put the towel around me.

Bad and Bougie: Good morning, daughter. I love you and I miss you. Your father and I are on our way to the country club. Stop by if you get a moment to take a breather.

My mother and I hadn’t really spoken since she caused me to walk out of our breakfast date.

I wasn’t mad at her; Karen had always been Karen.

But I wanted her to respect my boundaries, so if that meant distancing myself until it was painfully clear to her, then that’s what I would do.

But I’m sure she knew that dangling the fact that my father would be there was going to win me over.

Me: Good morning, mother. I’ll be there.

I kept it short and sweet before putting my towel in the hamper, grabbing my body butter, and choosing an outfit for the day.

As much as my mother invited me there, I had so many pieces to choose from.

I opted for a navy blue polo shirt, the matching shorts, and a burgundy sweater that I tied loosely around my neck.

I slipped on some Christian Louboutin sneakers, layered two of my favorite scents, and then headed toward the door.

I arrived at the country club twenty minutes later and drove straight toward the valet, handing him my keys. Then I went to the 19th hole to find my parents.

No sooner than I walked onto the terrace than I bumped into my father. A smile spread on both our faces at the same time.

“Daddyyy!” I said as I damn near jumped on my father, Leon Davenport.

“What’s up, baby?” He asked as he tried to hold the drinks that he had just purchased and me.

“I missed you,” I admitted. My father worked a lot, so it wasn’t often that he was able to just be free. In many ways, he reminded me of Jaxon. Always moving, always providing, but never still enough to be caught.

“I missed you, too,” he said as we parted, and he pulled out a hundred-dollar bill to tip the bartender.

I grabbed a couple of drinks from him as we walked through the grassy area until we reached my mother. She was sitting there underneath the umbrella, looking like she’d rather die than break a sweat. Golf clubs made by Bentley were sitting near her.

“Good morning, Kennedy,” she said as she stood from her chair and kissed me on both cheeks before she sat again.

“Morning,” I said dryly, forcing a smile. It was hard to hide how I was feeling about her at the moment, but I was going to enjoy my day, nonetheless.

Before I could even ask my father about how business was going and how long he would be home, my mother jumped right into the motive for her invitation.

“So, Kennedy, Taj was telling me that you all were having some sort of an issue, and he wanted me to step in. I thought that since I played matchmaker once, I could also play therapist. I may not have a degree, but I do have experience.” She laughed.

“Daddy, please get your wife.” I pleaded as I walked over to him and put my head on his shoulder. His eyebrow rose in suspicion as his eyes shot from his phone to her.

“Karen, leave my baby alone. Don’t invite her out to ambush her. It seems like she doesn’t want to be bothered, to me.” He scoffed. He immediately came to my defense without knowing the backstory. It caused me to give her a look that made me feel like a kid. That’s what you get.

“Honey, I was just-”

“Karen.” He gave her a final warning. My father was the only person who my mother gave soft girl energy. Everyone else got the version of her that nobody liked.

When he was done sending his email, he pulled me away to talk to me.

Her face changed as soon as he did because she knew I was going to sing like a canary.

No sooner than he asked the question, I let the floodgates open.

I told him everything. The breakup with Jaxon, the breakfast, Taj, Jaxon’s return, everything minus the fact that Jaxon was now engaged, and the reason why we hadn’t reconciled just yet.

“You know how I feel about Jaxon,” he said.

I nodded. My father and Jax had the best relationship.

Over the years, their bond was no longer about me.

They hung out together, made plans with each other, and included me later if they chose to.

To my father, Jaxon was the son he never had.

Despite whatever Jax did in the streets, he knew the Jaxon Jennings that I had fallen in love with, and that was enough for him.

“I know.”

“I like Taj too, but that’s because I supervise him.

Karen didn’t tell me she tried to get you to date him.

Truthfully, I want you and Jax to work it out and see it through.

I’m different from your mother. I don’t care who you love as long as he loves you harder, treats you like a princess, and would take a bullet for you.

Jaxon would give one and take one. You don’t come across that every day.

Lack of time isn’t unforgivable; work through it if it’s worth fighting for.

” He said as he placed a kiss on my forehead and, without giving me a chance to respond, pulled me back in the direction of my mother.

As soon as I took a sip of the Transfusion, and the vodka entered my body, the awkwardness of seeing my mother died down.

Then my father tried to teach me for the hundredth time how to play golf.

I missed every swing, and I hadn’t laughed this much in weeks.

By the time I had finished making a fool of myself, I had ten people surrounding me, encouraging me, and laughing.

“Daughter, you have many talents, my dear, but golf is not one of them,” My mother said as she picked up her drink and wiped a tear from her eye. She had been laughing so hard she cried. We gathered our things and prepared to leave.

My father loaded her bag of clubs onto the golf cart, and we rode to the front entrance. We both gave the valet attendants our tickets.

“We need to do lunch soon. Next time, don’t sneak back home without calling your only child.” I scolded him as he embraced me while we waited for the cars to be brought to us.

“You going to the office later?” He asked.

“No, I think I’m going to have a self-care day,”

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a stack of cash, and handed it to me without counting it.