Page 5 of Reckless Forever
But it wasn’t that deep, so I was chilling for now. I rolled over and put the pillow over my head. They had better hurry up and get me out of this house.
CHAPTER 2
Ivy Montana
I sat outside on the balcony with my knees to my chest and gazed at the sky. It was 2 a.m., and while most would just think that it was dark and quiet, I saw the sky in a deeper way. At this hour, the atmosphere is the calmest, and the sky reveals its sharpest details. Every star is clear, and every constellation is sharp. It’s almost like the universe waits until this time to show its true beauty. The rain hitting hard against the panel of the house sounded like the most beautiful song that I had ever heard.
Well, only second to the voice that changed my body temperature. Judah’s. His voice was low and deep, but it rumbled like thunder outside the house. My godfather warned me that we would be having guests until the storm passed, but when I came downstairs, I didn’t expect to see a man so fine sitting at the dinner table.
He was tall, brown, with eyes that looked like they had no end, a fresh line up, and a neatly trimmed beard. At first glance, he looked a little intimidating. With those tattoos covering his arm and up to his neck. But that’s where things stopped being so put together with him. Because as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, his humor made him warm and welcoming. He genuinely had me laughing the entire time that we were at thetable, especially when it came to the banter between him and his brother. They seemed like they loved each other and couldn’t get along all at once, and it was the funniest thing to witness.
Just as the lightning flashed, I saw a silhouette on the ground. Then I heard the door handle turn and the door creak. Normally, I would think it was one of the maids, but tonight I knew better.
“Why are you always up at this time of the morning, Shorty?” The human thunder cut my thoughts, as I turned around and saw Judah standing there. Because I was sitting and he was standing, the first thing that my eyes landed on was the pole sitting along his thigh, in those pajama pants. I know for a fact the designer of those pants didn’t intend for them to be able to carry his pet snake. I turned and closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths.Damn.My mind scolded me for looking, but now it was going to be seared in my memory. I cleared my throat and my mind before responding.
“I come out every day around 2 a.m., because that’s when the stars are the clearest and the sky is full of dreams,” I answered as I looked back up at the stars. Refocusing on the reason why I had actually been out here in the first place.
“Damn, you see all that? Cause I don’t see shit,” He chuckled, and it made me holler out in laughter.
“I’m sure you don’t. Maybe I just have an eye for it.”
“Could be, but my moms always said you’re not supposed to stare at stars, Shorty, or you’ll wake up with one on your eye. And no offense, Meena might not have a degree in that shit, but she doesn’t lie,” He laughed.
“Is that a superstition in the States?”
“I don’t even know. My moms got a superstition for everything.”
“We have one similar here, too. That you can’t point at them. There’s no truth in it, I promise. My grandma used to slap myhand down every time I did it. I’m twenty-six now, and I still hesitate.” We laughed as he took a seat next to me on the chair.
There was only one chair out there, and it was long enough so that we weren’t that close, but I could still feel the heat between us.
Before he could sit on the chair good, the conversation between us started. It was natural, and it flowed so well. Once you got past his menacing poker face, you uncovered the humor. Then, underneath that, was the smartest man I had ever conversed with. Especially when he started talking about security and tech. It was crazy that he was so layered. If I had to be honest, I never would have guessed.
“So I take it, you’re very close with your mom?”
“Yeah, both my parents. They’ve been together for almost forty years. I call them for everything. Aside from my brothers and sisters-in-law, my moms is my best friend. I ask my pops for advice on everything. I call him before I make any moves in business, because that’s how much I trust his opinion. If you ever see me doing some dumb shit, that’s all me. Cause they raised me right.”
I swooned at the pride in his voice when he spoke about his parents. It was sweet to see how openly he expressed his love for them. It was heartwarming.
“That’s beautiful. I can tell that you and your brother are close.”
“Who, Jaxon? I hate that nigga.” He said, making me almost fall out of the chair.
He caught me before I slipped, “Nah, I’m bullshitting. We’re all close. We don’t have a choice; Pops would kill us any other way.”
The sounds of the sky drowned out some of our conversation, and the flashes of the lightning lit up the town with a pale shade of blue. I threw my hands around myself and rubbed myforearms. The wind was colder than it had been the night before. I was enjoying the conversation, but I didn’t know how long I would last outside.
“You cold?” He asked but didn’t let me respond before he took off his shirt and gave it to me. Instead of putting it on, I wrapped it around my body like a blanket. He was like 6’4”, so the shirt would definitely serve its purpose of keeping me warm.
“You only have on an undershirt; you’re going to be cold now.”
“I’m good.” He said as he stared at me. He did that a lot, and not in a way that made me uncomfortable. It was actually quite the opposite. It flattered me and made me want to know what he was thinking. I didn’t have to wait for long because he said it almost immediately.
“You gone give me your number now? We’re housemates, I need to know how to reach you in case of an emergency,” He asked as he tucked his lip between his teeth.
The fact that he didn’t laugh when I did let me know that this was just who he was without even trying.
I exhaled deeply. I wanted to give him my number, but I didn’t want to blur the lines. We were just acquaintances at the time. We only conversed on the balcony or in passing in the kitchen. Giving him my number would only strengthen what I wanted to suppress.
