27

pushing rayana's head to the side, sierra parts her hair slowly, dividing it in half to section it for the fourth cornrow. her sister came over slightly unannounced—an hour late from the time she said she was gonna be over—with nothing that sierra had asked for her to be done, done. like having her hair washed.

"quit moving, rayana!" sierra says, purposefully yanking on her hair harshly.

"ow!" her sister yelps, slapping her leg.

"hold still, girl!" sierra says, pulling her head back to the position she needs it in. rayana mumbles something and sierra rolls her eyes.

they sit in silence as sierra finishes the fourth cornrow and starts on the fifth of six. "how was miami?" rayana asks. sierra hopes her sister doesn't catch her hesitation when she momentarily stops braiding.

"it was fine," sierra lies, clearing her throat. she'd rather not tell her sister all of the detail of the trip and make her hate jack even more, because sierra doesn't even care about the situation even more, and actually misses him. the moment he came back to the hotel, she knew that she'd regret leaving and she did, but she felt less suffocated when she came home so it did some good.

rayana snorts. "you ain't gotta lie, craig. what did he do?" she asks. sierra rolls her eyes and shakes her head, even though her sister can't see her. "sierra, lying won't make me dislike him less, so just tell the truth. i don't even care like that anymore, because you don't listen to me anyway, so my opinion really shouldn't matter that much if you're just gonna do what you want."  rayana adds when sierra doesn't say anything. she has a point, but sierra still cares about her family's opinion on him, even if she continues to date them knowing they all care less. at the end of the day, she's gonna date who she wants, but the approval would be nice.

"i don't know, we just kept arguing, and maybe i was overreacting, but how would you feel if rakim was shooting a music video, and you walked in and some random bi- girl was dancing on him?" sierra asks. she feels kind of crazy for how she acted when people kept telling her it meant nothing. she understands that jack is a rapper and that girls are always going to be around, but she could have lived without seeing that in front of her face.

"i'd be mad," rayana says simply. sierra lets out a breath and nods. "but also, like, it's kind of apart of the job, right?" she adds.

sierra frowns. "um, disrespect? not really, no," she says. it was embarrassing for her to come all the way to his video and see that. she knows it wasn't on purpose, and that it doesn't matter anymore because the video is done, but it felt big in the moment. maybe it was a moment of insecurity, but her feelings were valid.

"whatever. so you guys were arguing—whats new?" rayana jokes.

"fuck you, but we just couldn't stop. and then... you remember cole?" sierra asks, unsure if she really wants to tell her sister this part.

"he's white?"

"obviously."

"you hang out with a lot of whiteboys, but no, i don't remember him," her sister replies.

"okay, never mind. but basically, he called me drunk and jack answered. to make a long story short, jack thought it was cheating on him, which basically makes no sense because jack and i weren't dating until a few weeks ago, and cole was befo— wait, you're dating jack?" rayana asks, cutting her off.

sierra drops her hands from rayanas hair and her sister spins around to face her, her face serious. "yeah," sierra answers, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. rayana scoffs and shakes her head.

"you really don't learn," rayana says, turning back around and shaking her head. "you're willingly putting yourself in a position to get fucked over again, that's crazy." her sister says, still shaking her head. sierra sucks her teeth and continues braiding her hair, going faster so she can get rayana out of her house.

"that's all you got from my story?" sierra asks, slightly irritated. there's a reason she doesn't tell her sister in everything.

"did you cheat on him?"

"no! but he didn't believe me, so we argued some more and then i came home," and now i miss him is what sierra doesn't say, to spare herself of her sisters entitled opinions. saying it out loud, it sounds dumb of her to run from her problems instead of facing them. guess all of that 'growth' from their first split was bullshit.

rayana snorts once more and doesn't say anything. it'll be nothing she hasn't already said, so there's not point in wasting her breath when she knows her sister is stubborn and can make her own decisions.

just as sierra finishes the last braid, her phone rings on the couch cushion next to her. she picks it up and can't help but smile as she reads his name across the screen. "hello?" the smile makes its way into her voice, and she knows he can hear it.

"hey, baby. you busy?" jack asks. sierra has always loved how his voice sounded over the phone even through she prefers to speak to him face to face. it's warm and deep, like it's coming from the depths of his chest.

"mhm. my sisters over, but i should be done with her hair soon," sierra replies.

"alright. just text me when you're done and i'll come over," he says. they say their goodbyes and hang up, sierra quickly getting up to retrieve the wig her sister brought over for her to install—it's a brown piece with honey blonde highlights.

"you bet' not rush my shit for some dick, sierra!" rayana warns as sierra pulls the wigcap on her head.

she ignores her sister and works quickly anyway on her craft. whether she goes slow or quick installing this wig, the result would be the same. she could probably do this blindfolded or in her sleep.

about forty minutes later, sierra is finally finished. she gently runs a brush through her sisters hair to fluff out the curls she just did. "you like?" sierra asks, grabbing her handheld mirror and showing her sister her work. rayana twists her head side to side, her smile growing as she admires her sisters job.

"you did that!" rayana says. sierra nods and stands up, prompting her sister to do the same.

"don't take this the wrong way, but you need to leave," sierra tells rayana, unsure of a nicer way to put it. rayana scoffs and shakes her head, grabbing her purse off of the coffee table.

"can i put my shoes on? damn!" sierra trails rayana all the way to the door, rushing her out of her apartment so she can give herself more time to get cleaned up before seeing jack.

rayana glares at her sister over her shoulder as she walks outside and to her car. "love you!" sierra yells from the doorway, waving goodbye at her. rayana flips her off and gets in her car and checks her hair in the visor mirror.

sierra retreats inside, closing the door and running back into the living room to grab her phone.

sierra: come over

jack: bet

running into her bedroom, sierra quickly throws off her scrubs and grabs a matching black shirt and jacket set. she'd shower, but she doesn't know how close he is and doesn't want him waiting outside all night for her.

sierra puts on deodorant and then sprays her body with perfume. she then goes into her bathroom and pulls her hair out of the high bun it's in and rakes her fingers through it. she's left her hair natural since she got back from miami, to let it breathe from all of the wigs she's been wearing.

she finishes fixing her hair just as a knock sounds at her door and sierra quickly runs out, feeling kind of anxious to see him. she hopes that the short time apart mended whatever needed repairing.

looking through the peephole before opening the door, she sees jack standing outside with a bag in one hand, and the other arm behind his back. sierra bites her bottom lip and pulls the door open. "hey, baby," he says softly, ducking into her house.

"hi," she says, closing the door behind him. she turns around and jack stands in front of her with a dopey smile on her face, and flowers in front of him. sierra smiles and takes the bouquet from his outstretched hands. "whats the occasion?" she teases.

"you," jack says, pulling her close to him by the hips with his free hand. he dips his head down and presses his lips to hers gently, and both of them hope the other doesn't notice their trembling. "i missed you." he mumbles against her lips, moving his head and kissing her neck.

"i missed you too," sierra replies. "thank you for the flowers." she adds, pulling away from him and gently squeezing his arm.

sierra passes him and jack slaps her ass. "mhm, you're welcome," she rolls her eyes even though he can't see, and walks into the kitchen and grabs a vase. "you walk around like this all the time when i'm gone?" jack asks, leaning against the counter as she preps the flowers. she might have picked a smaller pair of shorts on purpose. maybe.

she only shrugs, a small smile on her face. "whatd you get?" sierra asks, nodding at the grocery bag with her chin. jack pulls out a few snack items: sour candy, chips, and two arizona peach teas. sierra places the vase of flowers behind the sink and walls over to jack, putting her arms on either side of him and trapping him between herself and the counter.

sierra stands up on her toes and kisses him and his hands move to her ass, rubbing circles on the soft flesh. "you look pretty," jack compliments, momentarily pulling away from her to admire her. he's always liked when she wears her natural hair out so they can 'twin' as he used to say. shed argue that it makes her look younger, but all he thinks is that she looks beautiful.

"thanks," sierra says shyly, looking away from him. her anxieties have left her mind, but she has always felt this way with compliments from jack, especially when he's this close to her.

"quit acting shy," he teases, lightly tickling her side. sierra jerks away from him and buries her face in his chest.

"stop!" she whines, causing him to chuckle. she feels the rumble in his chest against her cheek and pushes herself closer to him. jack kisses the top of her head and wraps an arm around her waist. "cmon." he grabs the bag of snacks and leads them over to the living room.

he sets the food on the table and pulls sierra down onto the couch with him, tucking her into his side. sierra lays her head on his chest and he rubs the outside of her thigh with his thumb. "you wanna watch something?" he asks, looking down at her. sierra shrugs and he puts on netflix, searching through their catalog before settling on a movie they've both seen before.

they sit quietly for about ten minutes, just happy to be in each other's presence again. he gave her the space that she claimed they needed—he felt differently, but wasn't going to fight her on it because he was tired of arguing. they only talked on the phone briefly, just check ins. he missed her like hell, and even though he was tired of arguing too, he'd rather do it with her than with anybody else.

jacks hand moves south, fully rubbing her ass now. he slowly keeps moving his hand lower, down the backs of her thighs before creeping in between her legs. sierra pushes her knees together when his fingertips graze the center of her shorts, and she plucks his wrist from behind her and drops it in his lap. "you not slick," she mutters.

"i'm not?" he asks, a smile on his face. sierra shakes her head and looks up at him, her eyes flicking down to his lips and lingering their for a moment. jack slides his hand that was toying with her up her body, hooking his arm around her neck and tilting her chin up with his fingertips. he leans down and kisses her slowly, slipping his tongue into her mouth when he gets the chance.

sierra sits up straighter, putting a hand on the side of his face. jack pushes sierra down onto the couch, hovering over her and putting one knee in between her leg while the other rests on the floor for support and balance. sierra threads her fingers through his hair, pulling at the roots as he kisses down to her jaw and then neck. he unzips her jacket, pulling back to view her exposed chest, covered only by a black bra. "damn," he mumbles, slightly shaking his head.

jack kisses her chest and down to her stomach. he gets to her bellybutton and sierra takes her hands out of his hair and puts them on his shoulders. "jack, wait," sierra says, propping herself up on her elbows.

"what," he asks, lifting his head to look up at her.

"i didnt get the chance to shower," she says embarrassedly. jack shrugs.

"so?"

he hooks two fingers in the waistband of her shorts and she grabs ahold of his wrist. "jack..." she trails off, pulling her knees close to her chest.

"what? i don't care, i want to taste your day," he says, giving her a big smile.

"jack!" sierra shrieks, kicking him softly in the chest. he laughs and grabs her ankle, kissing the inside of her calf. sierra lets out a breath and relaxes on her elbows, holding his eye contact as he kisses up her legs.

"you really won't let me eat it?" he asks as he gets closer to her thighs. sierra shakes her head. "alright." jack replies, as if to say your loss. he crawls off of he and retakes his seat on the couch, putting her legs in his lap and watching the TV like nothing happened.

lifting herself up slightly, sierra says, "that's it?" she licks her lips and pushes her hair out of her face.

"hmm?" he asks, looking over at her and trying to hold back a smile. his eyes rake down her figure and sierra quickly sits up and jumps into his lap, blocking his view of the tv and forcing him to pay attention to her. "what you tryna do?" jack asks.

minutes later, their clothes are strewn across the living room and the only audible sounds are sierras soft whimpers as she rolls her hips on top of jack. "just like that—shit," jack pants, throwing his head back and gripping onto her right hip tightly.

sierra leans her head down and kisses his neck, never slowing her movements. she peppers kisses all along his neck and jawline before lifting up and kissing his lips. jack moves both hands to her ass and starts lifting her up and pulling her back down, and she gets the hint and starts doing it on her own, sinking down on him all of the way and lifting back up to do it over again.

"fuck, jack," sierra moans, gripping onto his shoulders tightly and hanging her head down, her eyes squeezed shut.

he grabs the back of her neck and lifts her head up. "cmon, look at me, baby," he coos, holding onto her tightly. "open your eyes, sierra." she opens them and holds his gaze, her jaw dropping open but no sound coming out.

"you love me?" jack grunts as she changes her pace and movement. her chest heaves up and down and her stomach coils, that familiar feeling telling her that she's close.

"i-i'm close!" she cries, going to put her head on his shoulder, but he moves his hold to the front of her neck, grabbing her jaw as well, and lifts her head up.

"i asked you a question," jack says through gritted teeth as his stomach muscles tighten.

"fuck! yes, i love you, jack!" sierra whines, rolling her hips again. jack pulls her face toward him and kisses her sloppily, letting go of her jaw and holding onto her hips. he thrusts up into her to help reach their climaxes faster.

"shit, i-i'm-" jack stutters as he releases into the condom, his thrusts stopping completely as he shoots his seed. sierra comes shortly after him, arching into his chest and holding onto his shoulders tightly as her body shakes.

she collapses against him, her breathing heavy. sweat visibly glistens on her brown skin, and they lie their in sticky silence as he gently strokes up and down her back with his fingertips.

-

sierra wakes up earlier than her alarm and jack because she wakes up sweaty after being in his arms all night. she manages to pry herself out of his arms without waking him and reaches for her phone to turn off her alarm before it can wake him up.

she settles against her head board and looks down at jack sleeping peacefully. thoughts of last night flood her brain as she runs a hand through his hair gently.

she stills her movements when she remembers the question jack asked her; you love me? and when she answered yes, she meant it. it's always been yes—for her, at least. he never said it back last night.

as if he can sense her thinking about him, jack's eyes flutter open. he blinks a few times before looking up at her and giving her a lazy smile. "how long have you been up?" he asks, his voice thick with sleep.

"only a few minutes," she says, stroking the side of his face with the back of her hand. jack grabs her wrist and flips her hand over, placing a kiss on the heel or her hand.

"you wanna get breakfast?" he asks. sierra nods and jacks rolls onto his back and yawns, stretching his arms. "tell your job you're gonna be late." jack says, sitting up and throwing the blanket off of him to go to the bathroom.

so sierra does just that. she lies to her supervisor and tell her something came up, and that she'll be about an hour late. thirty minutes later, jack is speeding out of her neighborhood and towards the restaurant.

they hold hands the entire ride, listening to brent faiyaz on a low volume. jack rubs his bottom lip with his thumb and focuses on the road.

they get to the restaurant and are immediately sat down at a table because there's no wait. jack grabs holds her hand across the table as they look over the menus. sierra pretends to take extra time looking at the menu to avoid looking at jack, but she already knows what she's gonna have to eat.

"you alright? youre quiet," he comments, tugging at her hand. sierra lifts her eyes from her menu and shakes her head. jack tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes at her. "talk to me."

she shrugs. "do you love me?" she asks. jack smiles at her.

"you know i do," he says. she raises her eyebrows as if to say do i? "you wanna hear me say it?" jack teases.

"of course," sierra replies, slightly nodding her head.

"sierra marie williams," jack uses her middle name for dramatic effect. "i love you, and i mean that from the bottom of my heart." he finishes, kissing the back of her hand. sierra smirks at him and downcasts her eyes. she knew, but she just wanted to hear it out loud.

——

AHHH SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. BEEN BUSY HIPE THE HOLIDAYS WERE GOOD TO YALL!

I think we also all know this book needs to get wrapped up. i never truly thought out an ending for it, but it has to be done because it's kind of been resolved so it just needs to get finished

hope u enjoyed this. ily!

also i forgot sierras last name in the book yikes

excuse any mistakes.