Page 34 of Reckless Forever
The steam slowly filled the bathroom, letting me know that the water was nice and hot. So, after swishing the mouthwash and gargling, I stepped inside. I splashed some water on my face to wake up, then grabbed the sponge and body wash and started showering. Through the glass, I could see that Judah had also come inside and started his morning routine.
I tried to focus on showering, but we had both fallen asleep naked, and his “morning wood” was on full display as he stood in the mirror. Then he came over to the shower, pulled the door open, and stepped behind me, pulling me back to him.
“Good morning,” His voice cracked as he nestled into the crook of my neck and planted soft kisses on it.
“Good morning, handsome,” I stepped out of his embrace, only to place two kisses on his lips and then resume my shower.
We showered for the most part in silence. I know that we were both running on fumes and motivation because neither of us had the energy to do anything. When I last looked at the clock, it was just after 3 a.m., and now we were back up at 7 a.m., attempting to be productive. It wasn’t going to be a good day.
Stepping onto the mat, I grabbed the towel and dried off, then went in the direction of the closet space that he had given me. I took a step back, and I was almost knocked off my feet when I opened it. When he told me about it earlier, I had never gone inside, but now as I stood here, tears just fell from my eyes before I could stop them. He had me an entire closet space, fully loaded in his home, and coordinated by color. I scoffed as I wiped the tears that fell down my face rapidly. It wasn’t about the materialistic things; it was about the intention and the effort that he was making. I felt like he was integrating me into his life, and it was overwhelming in the best way.
I hadn’t even been able to take a step into it and look at everything. I was so emotional, but I managed to pull myself together and try to find something to wear. A teal blazer and matching slacks immediately caught my attention. I loved all shades of blue, so that one would be my choice for the day. I found my makeup bag, which he had unpacked, and sat at the vanity against the wall, quickly applying a light face of makeup. I also curled my hair as best I could, given the time crunch, beforegetting dressed. I walked back into the room with a pair of heels in my hand, and I saw Judah in the mirror, fixing his shirt.
I know black was a “boring” color in a sense, but it was my favorite color on him. And the way he kept switching up ways to wear it just elevated it. He turned to me when I walked back into the room, and the way he stared at me through the glass made me feel so exposed.
“You look good as fuck,” He complimented.
“Thank you, so do you,” I said as I fixed the button that he had been struggling with and then smoothed his collar.
He threw on some jewelry and then took his phone from his pocket to check the time.
“It’s twenty minutes to the hotel, in this traffic, that could be an hour, Ma. We need to go if you’re going to be on time,” he said as he stuffed it back into his pants.
“I nodded and went to sit on the chair in the corner of the room to put on my shoes.”
“Nah, get up.” He said as he grabbed my hand and stood me up. I hopped up quickly, thinking I may have sat on something.
Then he took the shoes from my hand and knelt down and put them on my feet. As I stepped into each one, I was confused. Because who was this man? He had told me that this isn’t what he does, yet he did it so effortlessly.
“Thank you,” I said lowly.
He didn’t acknowledge it, just kissed me on the forehead and walked over to a smaller room that I assumed might have been a linen closet. I took a step over, and my eyes widened. It definitely wasn’t linen. Unless you want to reference the type of suits people wear at funerals. It was an artillery closet, and he grabbed not one but two guns and tucked them underneath his jacket.
“Let’s go,” he said as he grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs.
There was a black truck waiting for us, and a man stood outside it. His face was blank, and his jaw was tight.
“Ma, this is going to be your security detail, Hollow. This is my girl, Ivy.”
“What’s up, Mrs. Jennings?” the man spoke. He made my chest tighten, both by the reference and the fact that Judah was handing me over to a man named after ammunition.
He felt me tense, “Get it in, baby, my truck is going to tail us to the hotel. I’m riding with you right now, but when we make it, I’m getting out and leaving. I got a lot of shit to handle before you finish here. Hollow is going to stay with you; he’ll be your security, and he’ll bring you back to me.”
“I can’t have security at the conference,” I countered. Still trying to process everything.
“They made accommodations for you. I’ve been speaking to them for weeks. You said yourself this is Jennings’ territory. Hollow will be your wingman today, aight?” He doubled down.
I nodded. Maybe I had underestimated Judah and his actual reach. Once he spoke, it was easy to mistake him for just being fun. I can’t say that I didn’t like this business side. His covering all bases so I didn’t even have to think was something that I didn’t know I would like, but I did.
Grabbing his hand, I laced our fingers together and rubbed the back of his hand. He switched his phone from one hand to the other so that I could hold it. The entire time, I just stared out the window. It was so different here than back home, and I couldn’t wait to explore it all.
We pulled around a back alley behind a large building that I assumed was the hotel, and both trucks came to a slow stop.
I almost jumped out of my damn skin when I realized that there were two people at the back waiting for me. My favorite meteorologist and the CEO of SkyWatch.
“Judah! You didn’t!”
He chuckled, “When you’re with a Jennings, your life changes. Give me a kiss so I can go give the niggas at the office hell.” He leaned over, and I put two quick pecks on his lips, so I didn’t smear too much of my lip combo.
