Only a few chapters left!!

At the end of the chapter let me know how you guys are feeling about it.

Vote and comment!!!! ♥️
__________________

Joe's POV

Her vulnerability exposes the pain she has endured, and it breaks my heart to think of the hardships she has faced. I understand the weight of her past experiences and the impact they have had on her self-worth. It becomes even more apparent how important it is for me to continue being her rock, to support and uplift her in every way I can.

"I do too, baby." I say and she smiles. "I love you. I've been able to see deep within you, something I don't think anyone has ever done. I love your flaws, your attitude, your bougieness, and how open you are with me. You know I love you with no makeup or the pounds of hair on your head, but I also love that part of you too because that's you."

She laughs and I just sit there admiring her.

"But wait! Go back and repeat that part you know I want to hear." She says

"What? The part when I said I love you?" I ask

"Yes." She says. "I love you Joseph Anoai."

"I love you, Shawnie." I smile. "No one has gotten through to me the way you have. I believe this shit is real. I need us to stay on this path."

"I can do that." She says.

"I've come to realize that I love the shit out of your ass and you will probably be the death of me as I will defend you against any person who threatens your wellbeing. You mean so much to me, I don't think you understand."

"Good. Because I feel the same way." She runs her hands around my neck and I just look at her.

"I'll kill for you..." I say with a serious face. "...but you know that, don't you?"

"I know. And I'll hide the evidence." She smiles

I smile but it turns into a laugh. "That's shit was crazy. I can't believe you did that. that made me love you even more." I say with a serious face. "I wanted to discuss something with you."

"Okay... you want some head?" She says and we both burst out laughing.

"No, but you gonna get some in a minute." I say licking my lips. "Yo ass sexy as fuck right now."

She smiles.

"Anyway, I'm your man, right?" I ask with a smirk

"Mmmmm, I like the sound of that. Yes, you're my sexy ass man." She says

"As your man, I wanted to know what you thought about us moving out of California."

"....Out of California? Um.... Out?"

"Yes. The life you want can't be accomplished living here. We want peaceful surroundings and that's not here. So I've put some things together, information about a couple of locations, and houses. We can talk about it later, I just wanted to run it by you. Does that sound good?"

"Okay....."

"Is there anything you wanna say?" I ask

"Are you making an executive decision to move us out of here and you're only asking for my opinion or are we moving out of state?"

"I wanna move." I say

"You're my man, and I'll let you lead. If this is what you think is best for us then okay. I just wonder what Chris and Aubrey would have to say."

"We can talk to them together. Although, Drake will be okay with it." I say. "So I did put together some places for you to look at. Everything is totally up to you. From the location to the residence. I picked out some homes that's within my price range, not Drake's." I laugh and she laughs along with me. "I have all of that in my bag and we can go over everything later. I wanted to make some permanent decisions on this trip, so that's kind of why I wanted to make it a weekend because when we get back I want things to be moving forward for us."

"I'm completely down with that. I love it!" She says. "Permanent decisions...." She smiles. She knows I was against it for so long and now I'm the one bringing it up. "We're making progress."

"Yes...and I'm happy." I say

"I want you to know that I trust you to make decisions for the both of us, and the kids......AND if we move, we are going to have to come back for business purposes."

"Why?" I ask. For some reason I just got super nervous.

"Before we left the house I got a call from Amanda. She said that companies have been reaching out to her about wanting to work with me. She said she's pretty much declined everything but one offer that came in was too good to be true and she said she couldn't pass it up. So she told me about it..."

"What is it?" This must have something to do with Drake, I'm going to kill him.

"I might have an offer to film a movie, and promote some products."

"Really? That's good! I'm happy for you!"

"But guess who it is..." she says and I get a wave of nervousness again.

"As long as it's not Drake, tell me."

"Wait for it.... Jason Momoa." She smiles, excessively.

I roll my eyes. "...are you serious?"

She laughs. "Yes."

I sigh, "Well it was fun why it lasted. I guess I gotta get ready for you to be all on him now."

She puts her arms around my neck. "Absolutely not. I would never do that to you." She says. "I don't think you understand when I say I don't want anyone else. I don't even want him."

"I don't believe you." I say. I'm only half serious. I don't think she would but you never know. She's almost obsessed with that man.

She kisses me passionately and I swear I can feel she's being honest.

"Aight... I believe you for now. But, I'll give you a pass.....once." I say. I pull away from her.

She shakes her head. "I don't need it."

"It's funny you say that about the opportunity though... I've been sitting on some news for the last couple of days that I didn't know if I wanted to follow through with, but since we're talking about business decisions, I guess it's a good thing that we talk about this."

"What?"

"I got a modeling offer." I say

"Really! You should!"

"I don't know about that. I ain't no model."

"I guarantee all your fine ass has to do it stand there and look. I think you should meet with them. Just to see what they're talking about."

"As long as you come with me. I don't know nothing about this type of shit. Contracts and agencies, not my thing."

"Um, hell yeah I'll go." She says

"You gonna play my manag—." I pause. That's a good idea. "If this works out, you wanna be my manager? You know about that stuff and I know you're not gonna fuck me over."

"Of course. I would love to. You think we can have all of this business here and still move out of the state."

"We'll make it work. Leave all of the craziness here and come home to a peaceful neighborhood and house. Which leads me to the second thing I wanted to talk about. Remember I asked you what you wanted to do? Well, I have been contemplating for a while and I was going to buy space for you if you wanted to continue with your journey but now that I think back to the conversation you also said maybe you wanted to do some acting so I guess this is a good start to what you wanna do."

"Yeah... I didn't think it would happen as fast though I wanted to take classes and go from there but I guess I'm gonna start with him and see where this takes me. I appreciate you trying to invest in me."

"Yeah..." I removed her feet from my lap. I sit up and take her glass and pour more dom in it. "I want you to relax and enjoy the sun." I hand the glass to her then I get on my knees.

"Oh you're going to do this out in the open like this?" She says

"Yes."

"No pun intended, but in the middle of the ocean?"

Can't believe she just referenced her ex-husband. I look at her like really and she laughs.

"Yes..." I slide both my hands up her thighs, opening them as I move up. One goes between her legs, and I rub my thumb over her clit a couple of times.

"Are you sure no one can see us?"

"No, but that's okay." I say slowly rubbing circles.

She bites her bottom lip while looking down at me. "Are you going to keep playing?"

I laugh and reach under her for her panties and slide them off. I pull her to your edge of the seat then push her legs back and I go to work.

Shawnie's POV

After a few minutes I was moaning like crazy. This must've been some special birthday head or something because it was feeling extra good today. I came once and he kept going. Joe wasn't letting up. I felt myself about to cum again. I looked down at him and put my hands on his head.

"I'm about to cum!" I said, laying my head back on the back of the seat.

He acknowledged me by humming okay, then he quickened his pace, sucking harder on only my clit and his finger stroking my gspot faster.

"Fuck! Joe! I'm cumming!" I say, as I'm releasing into his mouth. "Shit!" I whisper, rubbing his head.

Joe licks up all my juices then comes up and kisses my stomach then also kisses the middle of my chest. He stands up, takes my glass that I almost dropped into the ocean and drinks up the rest of the champagne.

He smiles and extends his hand to me. I take it and he pulls me up, bringing me into a hug. His arms embraced me and his hands caressed my back, making me feel that comfort I always love to feel from him. One of his hands then ventured down my back and to my butt. He squeezed my ass and my lips found their way to his.

We made out for a few minutes. Lost in our own little world, not worrying about what's going on around us. We were in the middle of the pacific, sitting idle. It was really just us and this is exactly what I had imagined and wanted for my birthday. That's all I want. Just us.

Joe and I finally pulled apart for the most intense kiss we'd had in a while. I could tell something was up with Joe. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something was different about his overall demeanor. He seemed a bit calmer and that's not an everyday Joe trait. I noticed while he was eating my pussy that he didn't even have his gun in him. You know something had to have been up if he didn't have his gun on him. But I liked this Joe.

Joe gazed at me with an expression I had never witnessed before. His eyes lingered on every detail of my face, from my hair down to my lips. It was as if he was seeing me in a completely new light, and the intensity of his gaze sent shivers down my spine.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you too..." he whispered, and a warmth spread throughout my entire body.

I simply smiled, appreciating the newfound realization in his eyes.

"I know you want marriage and more kids, and we can make that happen, but I just need a little more time... Please." he said, his eyes filled with sincerity as he seemingly pleaded with me.

Joe's plea tugged at my heartstrings. I nodded gently and spoke softly, "We've got time."

He smiles and kisses the tip of my nose, which makes both of us laugh.

As the time passed, we shared stories about our childhoods and talked about our dreams for the future. It was a peaceful and intimate moment, just the two of us. He had me changing into my little bikini, which just happened to be wet as well and I was able to relax, and tan. Joe did the same. I loved it. Besides the fuck session we had in the cabin where I was bent over the table, we laughed, we talked, and we cherished each other's company. The bond between us grew stronger, and we both knew it. I couldn't help but feel content and hopeful for the life we were building together.

*******

After the four hours Joe and I spent together, it was time for us to head to what he referred to as the "big boat." I had no idea what to expect, but my excitement was building. He had me change into my dress for the night. It was a short, white, iridescent sequence, mini dress. Yes, white was the theme for my birthday.

This little mysterious adventure was starting to intrigue me, and I couldn't wait to see what else Joe had planned for me. He's done so well so far and surprised at how much detail and work he put into this.

For us to get on the other big boat we had to dock then have staff take us on a smaller boat to get to the main one. Approaching the boat, it was beautiful. It was lit up in neon green colors.

Joe helps me on and we walk upstairs to the main floor.

"This is nice, babe. We should do sex in here, it's giving fuck me vibes." I say, looking around.

Joe laughs, "I agree..." he says looking around.

We get up to the main deck, and as soon as I come up the stairs, a bunch of people jump out and yell SURPRISE. They scared the shit out of me because I definitely wasn't expecting it.

"Oh my goodness!" I say instantly getting emotional. "You threw me a surprise party?" I say to Joe.

He smiles and I hug him, eyes swelling up with tears. "This is so sweet..." I say looking at everyone here.

I see Amanda, Olivia, Dori, Mercedes, Trey, Jon, Josh, Trinity, Chris, Karrueche, all of Chris' people that I know and some I didn't. I also see Odell and Christian. What?

Seeing Christian sends me over the edge because I know for a fact that Joe doesn't like him but he's here so that means he put his feelings for him aside for him to be here for me. That was so sweet. And Odell, Joe never really said he didn't like him, but he was my most recent situationship. It's pretty big of him to invite him.

"This is so sweet you guys." I wipe my tears away. "I've never had a surprise anything, so this means a lot to me." I take a few seconds to compose myself.

"She's been super emotional lately." Mercedes says as if she's hinting at something.

"I swear I'm not pregnant y'all." We all laugh. "I don't know what you want me to say...Thank you for coming. Just give me some time to process..."

This is overwhelming he would throw a surprise party for me like this. I'm completely surprised.

I found out that they were taking phones as they boarded, for Chris' sake. I mean Odell was here too but I don't really think he cares much. I think it was for Chris. I thought that was nice though. Let me start by saying I'm surprised that Chris is even here. Like what? The fact that Joe invited him says a lot about Joe's character. It's not like he hates him or anything, I just didn't think he would invite him. I'm very proud of him. So Chris brought his girlfriend, karrueche. We have finally met. I think she's really cool. She's very sweet and I guess I'm happy they have rekindled what they had in the past. I helped him through that time and got him through that. Kinda like what Drake did for me but we all know that story. I'm happy for them.

What shocked me the most and I thought I was seeing things was Christian was there. Joe literally cannot stand Christian, but he was here. Wow. He was there by himself though. I would've loved to see her and I wondered what was going on with that, but I decided to leave it alone. But once again, the fact that Joe extended the invitation just says so much about him.

I was shocked again when I saw that Odell was there too. This one I'm kinda, not surprised about but then again, I am because he was my most recent emotional relationship-ish. Joe knows we're friends but things were getting a little serious between us so it's a little odd seeing him here but I'm happy he's here because we really are friends and I care about him. And it looked like he bought me a really nice gift!

"What's up?" Odell said, slowly walking over to me, holding a small box in his hand.

I just smile at him. It's been a while since I've seen him. We've spoken that last time but that's it.

"I'm so surprised to see you. I know how the last conversation went but I didn't think we would talk again. I thought you were mad at me." I say

"Of course we were gonna talk. I can never be mad at you." He says

"How did this happen?" I say referring to him being here.

"Well, he called me. He said he'd like for me to be a part of it and said "no hard feelings". I was shocked as hell. But he seems like he's a cool dude."

"Yeah, he is." I say.

He hands me the box. "Happy Birthday!"

"You didn't have to get anything."

"I did. You're welcome." He laughs

I take the box. "Thank you, Odell." He leans in and hugs me. "I wasn't playing when I told you I wished you the best. I really do."

"Thank you." He smiles and walks away.

That was really nice of him but what's so crazy is I thought the phone conversation we had was the last time I talked to him. Now I really feel like this conversation is really gonna be the last time we speak.

I was walking in Joe's direction to give him my gift from Odell when I felt the hand wrapped around my wrist. My heart kinda skips a beat as soon as I felt it. I turn around and my eyes met with Christian's.

We don't say anything, we just embrace each other. The hug only lasted a few seconds then we pulled apart. He has the biggest smile on his face, I believe I did too.

Ever since we got back in touch, he tells me happy birthday and although this is only the second time he celebrated with me since we've been back in contact, both times have been very special and this means a lot to me that he's here.

Smiling, "Happy Birthday, Beautiful!" He says

"Thank you! I'm so surprised you're here."

He laughs. "Me too. My mom says hi and happy birthday."

"I keep meaning to call her..."

"It's all good, she'll live." He says. "You look good. How have things been?"

"Good." I say. "I'm literally taking everything day by day."

"No drama with the ex?"

"It's always drama with Drake but I think Joe might have that in check."

He laughs. "Joe.... Yeah about him...yall together now? I hear all the rumors and everything but I told myself I wouldn't believe anything if it didn't come from your mouth."

I look over at Joe and see him talking to one of his cousins. Like he knew I was looking for him he turns his head and looks at me.

"We're together. He's my boyfriend." I say, looking back at Christian.

"Oh...that's cool." He says. His face has a hint of disappointment on it. "I guess I missed my opportunity." He says

"What happened with what's her name..."

"Shelby." He laughs. He knows I remember her name. I'm just being petty. "She left me."

"Really?" I'm totally surprised because they seemed so into each other. Well, for the most part they did. I'm almost positive she felt threatened with me being around him. That's why I tried to keep my distance.

"Yeah, we had other issues besides you. You just made things worse." He says.

"I wasn't trying to make anything bad. I'm sorry. I was really trying to let it be known that I only wanted us to be strictly friends. I wanted to be friends with her as well just to keep the threat at a minimum." I explain

"I know but she was still in contact with her ex-boyfriend. On top of that, we had issues within our relationship that I thought we could fix. We tried to make it work but in the end we couldn't so we decided to call it quits."

"But you said she left you."

He shrugs. "If it was up to me, I would still be trying to figure things out with her."

"I feel like you're leaving some parts of the story out." I say

"I am because it doesn't matter." He says. "I've only ever loved you and her in my life so I'm a little heartbroken, but I know I'll get over it, eventually."

"I'm sorry, Christian." I genuinely feel so bad for him.

"It's cool. I still have your friendship, right?" He asks

"Of course." I smile. "It's nice that you text me every now and then to keep in contact but when we came back into each other's lives, I had a lot going on. Now that it seems like everything is kind of calming down and I'm in a better position mentally, I would like to spend more time with you. You think that could be possible?" I ask

"I would like that." He says, gently grabbing my hand, holding out. Before I could react I felt my hand forcefully being pulled away from his.

"Don't touch her." Joe interrupted. "I invited you here to be here because I felt she would want this but don't push it."

Christian doesn't say anything. I don't even think he took his eyes off of me.

"Babe, it's okay." I say

"No, it's not." He had the most serious look on his face that I've seen in a while. I knew not to say anything else.

I smile. "Okay, baby." I turn my attention back to Christian. "We'll talk later, okay?"

He nods his head and walks away.

"No you won't." Joe says

"Why can't I talk to him?"

"He's in the same box as Chris and Drake." He says

"I think Christian is the last person you need to be worried about." I say. I still think Christian is harmless. He hasn't done anything for me to think otherwise.

"Really? Because I think he's at the top of the list."

"Okay. I don't want to argue on my birthday. You know no one can come between us, so I don't even know why this is an issue right now." I say

He smiles and kisses me on my forehead. "You're absolutely correct. I threw this nice ass party for you and I'm trippin." He laughs. "Let me go get you a glass of Dom." he says as he walks away.

I dodged a huge bullet that could've been a horrible ending. Joe could've thrown Christian off the boat.

Conflict avoided.

To be continued...

What's did you guys think about this chapter?
What do you think is going to happen next?