August 12th, 2023 | Saturday

        "Ahhh!" Josiah squealed as Dayvoni and Sariyah tried to make room for the three of them to get past. Unfortunately, the stampede was too chaotic and someone pushed through the group breaking the hold Josiah had on Dayvoni.

The two of them looked back for her and Sariyah stopped. "No, we have to go back and find her!" She shouted over the crowd, yelling directly at Dayvoni so that he could stop. The shots were still ringing, and she needed to make sure that her friend was alright.

Dayvoni could hear the panic in her voice, and he felt the same way but he had to remain calm so that she wouldn't completely freak out. "Riyah, ain't no way we gonna be able to go against the current, we can wait outside for her. She gon' have to pass us." He convinced her, and she quickly nodded allowing him to pull her along with the rest of them.

Bodies were dropping, and people began stumbling over the dead or injured people, creating a more troublesome exit for the ones who hadn't been hurt. Josiah gasped and whipped her head when she felt someone grab ahold of her wrist pulling her to the side instead of with the current.

Going with them was the most dangerous option considering people were still dying and falling. She swore she saw her entire future flash before her eyes, pushing her to wonder if this was the end of her life . "Aye chill out, I got you." The deep voice instantly caused her to relax.

Her body relaxed as he held her under the staircase hugging her body as she trembled. The familiar scent intoxicated her, and although there was chaos occurring beyond them, she felt an immense amount of safety with who she knew was Paris. "What are you doing here?" She rushed out.

He pulled her head back into him, holding her closely so that she wouldn't move. The shots had long ago stopped but the club hadn't been cleared out yet, and there were dead bodies everywhere which he was sure would traumatize an innocent soul like hers.

His mind was racing trying to figure out which way to take. Tre had rode with him, therefore he didn't know if Tre would leave with him or not. "Let's go out the side way," He spoke loud enough for her to hear while holding her into his chest. When she nodded he finally let her go, just long enough to grip on her wrist pulling her out.

Once they made it out of the building they could easily see how the parking lot had gotten jammed up, and Paris instantly pulled his phone out seeing the several missed calls from both his best friend and his cousin. Calling Treyvon back, hearing it ring once before he answered. "Nigga where the fuck you at?!" He felt a weight relieved from his chest. "You seen my sister? They sayin' people died bruh. I couldn't get to her fast enough." He started panicking again.

"Aye, aye, calm down..." He cut the boy off hearing the panic in his voice rise again. "She wit me, I got her." He informed his friend instantly calming him down.

"Fuck," Tre finally let out a breath feeling like he could breathe. "Aight look, it was a jam in the parking lot, so me and Jordan ended up running down the street. I can go get my car tomorrow, where you wanna meet?" Tre quizzed, and Josiah could hear him even without being on speaker phone.

Paris licked his lips quickly. "Imma get us a uber, back to yo house." He suggested and Tre blew out a breath.

"Aight, I will too, see you there." He agreed, before they finally hung up the phone. Paris looked to see her texting quickly on her phone and figured it was probably her friend so he gave her a few seconds.

"You okay?" He broke their silence and she nodded her head. He stared at her for a few more moments before removing his black hoodie, and passing it over to her to cover her body. "You hungry?" He continued, watching her slip the piece of clothing on her body.

She gulped, fixing the hood to the hoodie. "What can we eat? Its late." She muttered softly, and her delicate voice danced between his ears bringing him solace.

Dropping his arm around her shoulders she leaned her head into him out of instinct and he happily accepted her. He began walking with her to the side of him, making sure to keep slow so that they could remain side by side. "You even know that nigga who party you was at?" He questioned as they walked into the dark.

Shaking her head she answered, "No, my friends did though. Why? Do you know the people who were shooting?" She tilted her head upward to look at the lower side of his profile.

He rolled her lips into his mouth before opening it to speak. "Nah,"

"What were you guys even doing there, didn't even make your presence known cause I definitely did not know you guys were here." Her voice sounded like something he couldn't detect, but it warmed his heart in a way. "What if you got hurt?"

He shook his head. "Im forever straight so don't 'een worry bout me, as long as you good." His answer was short but it made her smile. "Yo brother was worried 'bout you that's why we was there in the first place." He briefly explained as cars passed by them on the somewhat busy road.

"Aww you guys should've come up to me." She replied softly, laying her head back on him.

Paris then scoffed, "So who was that nigga you was all up on, I thought you was loyal to yo nigga back in chicago." He remarked, and her smile never dropped, hearing the tiny bit of jealousy, but he was able to mask it well. He was more confident in himself than anything.

"Thats just Dayvoni." She waved it off but that didn't answer what he wanted to know. The way she dismissed it led him to believe it wasn't what he thought it was, but he wanted to hear it from her mouth specifically.

Shaking his head, they continued to walk all the way up until they arrived at the waffle house opened 24/7, it was either that or Ihop but Paris personally loved Waffle house. "I've never been to one of these, what do they have?" Shne quizzed curiosity as he ushered her inside, looking over his shoulder.

"Just see, lil one—I mean Siah." He corrected himself when she glared at him with squinted eyes. Taking her to a free table she sat down, he wanted her to calm down before they ordered anything.

Five minutes later, both had decided what they wanted and ordered before taking seat to wait on their things. He studied her closely observing the way she nervously fiddled with the cuffs of his hoodie as a distraction from the real world. "You alright?" He broke the tension with his smooth voice.

Her eyes snapped back up to him, holding eye contact for a second. "My future flashed before my eyes, I thought my life was over." She admitted, noticing how he never broke contact giving her his full attention. "Has that ever happened to you before?" She needed someone with the experience to help her better understand what she had went through.

He nodded his head willingly giving her the answer she craved for. "Couple times."

"It didn't scare you, Paris?' The way she tilted her head and she said his name caused his breath to hitch.

He held the silence between them before letting out a breath, "No ma'am." He simply responded, leaving her to ponder about the way his mind worked.

Nibbling on the inside of her lip, she reached across the table. "Why not? You're so young, too young to not value your life and the outcome of death." The innocence in her voice somehow softened his heart.

"It ain't about being scared of dyin' fa' me, more so...being scared of the grief others would have to endure due to my absence. If that make sense" The way he softened his voice it soothed, comforted her.

He allowed her to grab ahold of his hand, and she twisted the ring around the fourth finger on his right hand. "Class ring." He spit out once he saw her admiring the piece of jewelry. He didn't want it, but his father got it for him so he wore it out of respect for him.

"Its so beautiful." She complimented, continuing to twirl it around his finger. "When I graduated, so much stuff was going on I didnt even think about the small things like this." She admitted, and he stared at her waiting for her to elaborate.

"Stuff like what."

Clearing her throat she pulled her hand back avoiding the eye contact they were just sharing. He looked at her hand before reaching over to pull it back into his hands. "Youn ever gotta worry 'bout tellin' me no shit,"

The way his eyes began to bore into hers with his words caused her heart rate to pick up. "Why do you make me feel like that?" She heard what he said, but she could only focus on how the inside of her stomach felt fuzzy.

His head tilted in true confusion. "What do I make you feel like, Siah?" He muttered, intertwining his fingers with hers, turning their hands to the side.

Her words got caught up in her throat, and she wasn't able to push them out like she wanted. She was too nervous to tell him the truth, because saying it out loud would be confirmation that her relationship with Micah was coming to an end. "My mom got sentenced for her 1st degree murder charge last month." She desperately changed the conversation before she could pour her heart out.

His face didn't falter nor did he show any signs of surprise, he just sat there waiting for the rest. "It would have been 2nd degree, but it looked planned due to overkill." Her voice remained low since they weren't the only ones in the establishment. "Everybody I knew, somehow knew every single detail, even stuff from the trial." She was stressed.

"That was the most stressful time period of my life, and it sucks to say but now that she's been charged it feels like I'm free. I just wanna live, but living almost led to dying, I can't win."

"You prolly don't want to, but you gotta see the brighter side of shit in order to, lil one."

She ignored the nickname, since it actually made her feel better. "I hear what you're saying, but I really don't think I can." She admitted, "My whole life has just been me coloring inside the lines, and I've tried to adjust but it feels impossible, you know?"

"It take time to adjust, lil mama." His voice grew raspier. "Give dat shit more time, it ain't even been a month." He reached to adjust her head forward. "Why you keep lookin' down? I'm right here." It was his way of demanding her attention.

"You are so demanding." She moved her hand from his, and trailed it along the lines on the table.

"Im barely in your presence, so when I am, of course I want yo attention." His reply was slick, and it made her smirk.

Raising her eyebrows, she looked amused, "So you're an attention seeker."

"When it come to your attention, yeah." His tone was serious, letting her know he meant it.

She smiled and shook her head at his bluntness. "Why do you insist on flirting with me, when you know I have a man." She bit down on her bottom lip.

"Do you know you got a man? Had niggas all up on you tonight, lil one. Ian even like dat shit, so imagine yo nigga and his feelings." His eyes followed her every move.

"Answer my question."

"Ion give a fuck bout yo man, you young baby, a whole future ahead of us—I'm in dat bitch somewhere even if it's for a little bit." He spoke confidently, pulling a slight blush from how sure he sounded. "Matta of fact...you said yo future flashed before yo eyes, you seen me?"

Her face flushed at how forward he was with her. "Gotta let me know if I made it and we got the two kids I conjured up in my head or if I gotta work harder." His pearly white teeth made her swoon, dropping her eyes so he wouldn't be able to see.

"You barely even know me to be feeling this way, this is probably just based on my physical attraction." She guessed.

"Damn, you is pretty as hell too." He added as if he hadn't even been thinking about it that way, since he hadn't even been thinking about that part.

"Maybe it's just because I'm new in your life. What about when I finish college?" She inquired, digging deep to find an excuse for his provocative behavior towards her.

"You plan on going back to Chicago after?" His question threw her off because she had no idea and hadn't thought that far ahead of her situation yet.

"I haven't thought about that yet. So many things can happen in the next two years, but I don't plan on being long distance with my man for ever." She felt like she sounded stupid once she said it out loud.

"Yo man this, yo man that. Fuck dat nigga." There wasn't an ounce of regret or remorse for what he had said. "Ain't no point in going back there, ain't shit for you there." He retorted, watching her face morph , knowing he was correct. She just didn't want to accept that just yet.

"Stoppp," She looked away from him.

"What?"

"You making me like you, and I can't, Paris ." She admitted truthfully since it was only the two of them together by themselves. She could feel herself gravitating towards him, falling into the trance she was trying to fight.

"You can't but you want to." His words were simple, making her feel as if she was going insane. "You pretty yeah, but when I be seeing that look on yo face...like you lost—" He paused.

"I just wanna do anything to make you feel betta. Like you a kid asking' me to kiss yo boo boo's." He expressed lowly.

"So you wanna kiss them to make me feel better?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Whenever, and wherever you want." His words sent a pulse to her center with little to no effort.

"Order for Josiah!" The voice burst their bubble, pushing Paris to stand to his feet.

"I got it ma ma."

        Although promised, Paris hadn't fallen through with what he told Tre just yet, about getting an Uber home. His main priority was focusing on her, and when they got something to eat and starting delving deep into one another—it became something that could wait.

Unfortunately he knew Tre wouldn't feel the same way for long if they didn't arrive back to the house any time soon. Realistically they were way over the time limit, an Uber didn't take that long and they were only about twenty-five minutes away. They had long ago left Waffle House after eating, and they were gravitating towards the beach.

"So what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies or stuff that interests you besides your music stuff?" She questioned , looking up at him. She was still wearing his hoodie, making it appear as if it was the only thing she was wearing due to the length of her dress.

As they walked along the sand of the beach, as much as he didn't want to, Paris shedded his shoes and socks so the sand would ruin them. Josiah was happy to shed her strapped heels though, which Paris happily volunteered to carry as they traveled. "I like cars—fast cars." He spoke quickly. "I got two cars, da Benz, and my all red wide body Redeye. My hellcat my baby for real." He spoke.

Triggering another question Josiah went on. "Why don't you drive it often then, if you love it so much." Her question was a good one, but a loaded one as well.

"Mmmm," He poked his lip out, "I only use it to race. May bring it out if I wanna show it off, but my Benz cool fa' doinnat too." He explained. He loved cars a lot and planned on getting more in his future. Right now he was cool with the two he owned.

Looking down at her as she studied the sand between her toes. "What about you ma ma," His tone had dropped since he was looking down at her, "You got hobbies—oh wait you like taking pictures and shit." He recalled. A subtle smile grew on her face.

"You remember me saying that?" She recalled the question about college.

He nodded looking ahead wishing he could stuff his antsy hands in his pockets. He had the urge to touch her, and let his finger pads grow familiar with her body, but without his hoodie to distract him he had to suffer and keep his hands to his sides. "Can we sit?" She quizzed, stopping in her spot resulting in an abrupt stop by him as well.

Shaking his head slowly, he watched her drop down. "You lucky I like you, lil one," he warned her taking a knee before fully changing to a sitting position with his elbows propped on his knees. "Yo brother gon' be mad as fuck at me." He let out a breath, staring out at the water.

They weren't the only ones at the beach, but not many people were around them on a random August night. "Why?" She found herself leaning her head to the side until it met his shoulder which he allowed.

"Supposed to have yo pretty ass home by now," He uttered.

Responding in a hum, she laughed lowly. "If that's what you think he's going to kill you about, you have much more to be worried about, handsome." She remarked, bringing a smile to his face. "You were doing fine with boundaries, so what pushed you to cross them now?"

He looked as if he was going into a deep thought. Pulling his lip between his teeth. "Somebody reminded me that...I'm grown—my own person, therefore he can't dictate what I do. I do, and continue to respect him, that's my nigga man. But some things just not negotiable after a while." He repeated the words True spoke, only in her favor.

She had no idea he would take that advice and apply it to someone else, and he was sure she wouldn't be happy about it. He valued his best friend, and he listened to what he said, but he felt that since enough time had passed and his feelings hadn't subsided he would deal with the consequences of pursuing her.

"Well who in the world reminded you something that you should've known from the get-go..." She pondered.

He laughed, "Man I love the way yo pretty ass talk."

Turning his head with her hand, forcing her to look at him, she spoke, "Why do you keep calling me that?"

He licked his lips looking deep into her eyes. "I say what I see." His response was short and sweet. "Yo lips so pretty and nice too, now that I look at em for real." He pointed out.

She blushed and looked down at his tattooed hand.

"Yo nigga must love kissin' you huh." His eyes flicked between her eyes and her lips.

"You always bring him up at the wrong time. But no we don't kiss much, I mean we've only had sex like one—" She paused realizing she had spoke too much, and she could tell by the amusement dancing across his face. He was enjoying this.

He watched in amusement as she shied away. "Nah what was you sayin, yall only fucked once." He reiterated, "So you only had sex one time , or you had a nigga before him?" He inquired, and admittedly was really interested.

"No Micah is my only previous boyfriend." She gasped when she realized that she told on herself by mistake. "Wait no!" She threw her hands up and he cackled the loudest he had ever in his life.

"Damn so youn even bust dat bitch open." His added commentary wasn't helping.

"So you like kissing...I mean your girlfriends of course..." She redirected back to him after realizing he was going to continue to laugh at her.

His face slowly began to straighten up, "Not much unless she been my girl fa' a while , but I would kiss yo pretty ass." He humored her, and she smacked her teeth at how he always found a way to redirect her points.

"This water is so nice..." She looked out to the ocean, basking in the natural sound of the soft waves. There weren't many at the moment, and the ones occurring were small.

Twisting his lips to the side, he watched as she tried to grab his hand again in order to fiddle with it. He allowed her to for only a second before pulling her entire arm closer to him, forcing the girl to come across his legs. "Why you keep playing with his hands," They found her hips holding her in place.

She blinked, distraught from the action. Considering the fact she had on a dress her thin pair of panties were the only barrier between her and his own clothes. He could feel the heat radiating from her center , and she hoped he couldn't feel the pulse being produced. "Y-you have nice hands..." She stuttered, noticing how he was bringing his face closer to her neck.

He was close enough that she could feel his warm breath grazing her skin. "That't it?" He seemed to be taunting her, finding her state amusing to him. He found it cute how nervous she was getting, but he knew it was only because of how much pressure he was placing on her.

"And they're big," She whispered softly, feeling as if she would lose her voice if she spoke at her normal tone.

"I can show you what else big," He humored followed by a laugh, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Using his right hand, he adjusted the angle her head was at, and softly pressed his lips against hers. It didn't take long for her to engage, and she turned her head for better access.

He began using his large hands to grow familiar with her body. Her arms found their way around his neck holding him closely. His fingers trailed up and under his hoodie she was wearing bringing a tingle sensation to her back—triggering a deep arch.

Her stomach pressed against his, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth using his other hand to trail down where he squeezed her ass. She moaned in a state of bliss, almost feeling as if she were on top of the world.

His tongue swirled around hers as they deeply connected with each other through intimacy, forgetting everything and everyone around them. Their issues and the line they were crossing was floating away. Wrapping his lips around her tongue he sucked it softly, arousing her.

The feeling of his erection poking her made everything real, reminding her of what was occurring. He pulled back using his thumb to pull her bottom lip down where he began placing soft kisses. He was handling her so delicately, like the fragile person he seen.

It shocked her, never thinking he had such a soft side to him. All rough exterior men did for the right women though.

His hands trailed up her body until he stuck his face in the crook of her neck and began sucking leisurely. He could taste the shea butter she'd rubbed on her body but it didn't deter him nor turn him off as he inhaled her scent.

She tucked her bottom lip to suppress her whimpers being brought by pleasure. He licked in a circle, before softly pecking the spot he had just left a light mark on.

"Did you just give me a hickey?" She seemed out of breath, speaking in a low voice as her chest heaved.

Smirking, he didn't find the need in denying it. "Don't act like you ain't like it, I feel dat pussy thumpin'." His words made her gasp as she moved quickly and he observed her. It seemed like her guilt was creeping it.

"What did you just do, Paris?" She felt bad about what she had just participated in.

She was confused because what she felt wasn't regret, but only guilt due to her circumstances. She was in between a rock and a hard place, and Paris somehow had the power to make her fold.

"We ain't do shit you ain't want to." He told her seriously, reminding her that if she didn't want to, she wouldn't have. "Let me get you home though ma." He sighed, beginning to stand up.

Nobody got shot crybabies...yet🙄 yall acted so extra over them votes I cannot😂

He has such a way with words, I woulda been dropped my drawls. Next chapter tho I guess🤗

Predictions?

Get to 250 and I got one more chapter for yall this weekend 😘

MYA OUT🫡