Let it Happen *unedited sneak peek*

Jess

“If you wit’ me ain’t no worryin’ ’bout nothin’.”

I swayed my hips to the beat as I rapped the lyrics to With Me, one of my favorite songs by Unique. The DJ played it at just the right time because I was feeling nice.

We had been at my party for about two hours, and I couldn’t have been happier about how everything turned out, from the emerald carpet rolled out in front of the building to the amazing decorations and food. It was all perfect, and I had been having a ball since I walked through the door.

The song faded out, and the next voice I heard was my best friend’s. She was standing beside the cake table, holding the microphone and wearing a grin. I wanted to laugh because I knew she was drunk, but I couldn’t really talk—I was right there with her.

“Gather around, everyone!” she yelled into the microphone. Joseph, standing a few inches behind her, shook his head and laughed. Everyone in the room headed over and crowded around the table while Davi beckoned me to her. Once I was front and center, she spoke up again.

“Thank y’all so much for coming and helping to make my bestie’s birthday just as special as she is. Let’s go ahead and sing Happy Birthday so she can cut her cake.”

Vi started the song off, and everyone in the room started singing. Grinning, I closed my eyes and sang to myself right along with them. Presents were my favorite part of my birthday, but the song and cake ran a close second.

I opened my eyes, and my smile grew as I surveyed everyone around me. I had really built some close friendships since being in New York, and although I was excited about moving home, I’d miss everyone in the room dearly. I turned my head toward the cake table. When I did, I caught a whiff of something that made me freeze and inhale a little deeper. The buzz I felt from the liquor intensified as I consumed one of my favorite scents on Earth, and it was followed up by a sound that made me feel lightheaded.

“Happy birthday, dear Jessica.”

 That line of the song was sung extremely close to my ear by a voice I hadn’t heard in quite some time. His deep and silky tone sent chills through me, but I trembled when his chest pressed against my back. On its own accord, my body melted into him.

Julian.

I turned to face him as the song ended. Everyone began to clap and cheer, but I couldn’t bring myself to care about anything other than the sexy man in front of me. He was here.

Usually, when he and I went a while without seeing each other, we would pretend not to be happy to see each other, or I’d start up an argument about nothing. The love-hate vibe had kind of become our thing, but I couldn’t think of one smart thing to say. He had been on my mind all day, and I felt giddy to finally be in his presence.

“You’re here,” I said. I wanted to grab his hand and drag him out of the club, but I knew my best friend wasn’t having that.

As if she were reading my mind, Vi cleared her throat in the mic and said, “Girl, get your fast behind over here and cut this cake.”

I kissed my teeth, but my eyes never left Ali’s. He smirked and said, “I am. I ain’t goin’ nowhere, either, so go cut your cake, Jet.”

My cheeks warmed on cue. I loved the way he said my name.

Both Julian and I were from Georgia. I knew I was country, but his Southern accent was on a whole other level. He swore he called me Jess like everyone else, but because he cut almost every word in existence short, it came out as Jet.

“Come help me,” I said softly. I couldn’t even try to play hard with this man today. I hadn’t seen him in months and was excited to have him standing in front of me. He completely entranced me, and I wasn’t ready to be out of his space yet.

With a chuckle, Julian grabbed my hand and led me behind the cake table.

When I made it beside Vi, she smirked. Moving the mic away from her lips, she looked from Julian to me and said, “Mhmm.”

I rolled my eyes and lifted the cake knife. “Y’all better have taken a picture of it first, Vi,” I said. It was beautiful, and I hoped the photographers got nice pictures.

“Girl, don’t try me. Cut the darn cake.”

The music started again, and I just laughed while doing as I was told. Once I had a couple of pieces on some of the plates she had laid out, I handed her the knife and picked up one of the plates.

“Okay, I’m done, Vi. You can take care of the rest.

Now, it was her turn to roll her eyes.

“Y’all need to quit doin’ that. When ya eyes get stuck up there, you gon’ be pissed, and I am too, ’cause I ain’t gon’ wanna be around neither one of y’all funny lookin’ asses no more,” Julian said from behind me.

Davi cut her eyes at him.

“Don’t make me slap you in front of all these people, Tate,” she said, making him laugh.

He reached around me and picked up a piece of cake, then grabbed my free hand with his.

“My bad, sis,” he said to Davi before whisking me away. We didn’t stop moving until we reached an empty loveseat in the back corner of the room. He sat first and brought me down on his lap.

I held my breath for a second before inhaling through my nose deeply and letting it out. I hoped I was being subtle, but the smirk on his face told a different story. I rolled my eyes. This man missed nothing, and it aggravated me.

I didn’t need him thinking I was pressed about being this close to him—even if it was true. Everything in me had been buzzing since he wrapped his arm around me, and now that I was on his lap, that had amplified. I was sure he felt me shivering, and I hated that I couldn’t seem to calm myself down. He licked his lips.

“Happy birthday, pretty,” he said, his eyes penetrating mine.

“Thank you,” I said and rolled my eyes at the delivery. My words came out barely above a whisper, and there was no confidence in them.

I had to get it together.

Clearing my throat, I kissed my teeth and glared at him.

“Where is my gift, Ali?” I asked with an attitude I didn’t possess. As far as I was concerned, his fine ass was the gift.

Still staring into my soul, he chuckled.

“I’m Ali tonight?” he asked with a smirk.

My cheeks warmed as I admired his sexy smile. I loved Julian’s entire name, but I preferred to use Ali. I only called him that when we were playing nice, and that was usually only in the bedroom. I was happy to see him, so he was Ali tonight.

Instead of acknowledging his statement, I said, “You didn’t get me a gift. You know better than that.”

“Nah, you know better than that. I ain’t get you a damn gift. I got three.”

I bit my lip to hide my smile.

“Well?” I asked, holding a hand out. He reached into his pocket just as one of the floating bartenders approached us with her rolling cart in tow.

Smiling, she said, “Happy birthday, Miss Westin. Can I get you anything?”

I was about to answer her when my exact response fell from Julian’s lips.

“A Lemon Drop with top-shelf tequila. Sugar on the rim.”

“You’re so aggravating.” I cut my eyes in his direction, and he chuckled and pulled his wallet from his pocket.

“Gotta be quicker than that, pretty.”

Shaking my head, I smiled at the bartender. “Thanks, Fascia,” I said, reading her name tag.

“Got it. And for you, sir?”

Wearing a smirk, I answered for him. “An old-fashioned, stirred, with the best bourbon you got.”

I stuck my tongue out at Julian, and he sat up a little. He positioned his lips less than an inch away from my ear before his deep, silky voice flowed into it, inspiring a different type of flow in my lower region.

“Don’t think you’re upsettin’ me, girl. You know I like that.”

Fascia began pulling things from her cart and making our drinks, and I focused on her, trying to ignore the heat of Ali’s gaze. The man had me ready to explode, while he sat as cool as a cucumber. I hated how much I loved it.

She finished my drink first, so I lifted off Julian to take it from her cart, but his strong hand gripped my waist and brought me back down onto him. Holding me in place, he leaned forward and got it for me. I grabbed it and sipped silently, then a few minutes later, she handed him his glass. 

After pulling out a crisp twenty-dollar bill, he handed it to Fascia.

“It’s an open bar, so drinks are free tonight,” she said.

“I still want you to have this, baby girl,” he said, making me roll my eyes.

Fascia smiled and took the money before heading to another section.

He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times before turning it so I could see. At first glance, I knew I was looking at tickets to something, but my tipsy state had me reading slower than usual. I frowned and squinted my eyes, really trying to focus on what he was showing me, and after a few minutes, I gasped and looked at Julian with wide eyes.

“Those are for me?” I asked, feeling my excitement build. They were VIP tickets to Unique’s Atlanta concert. Unique was the best rapper alive, in my opinion, and to know me is to understand how much I loved him. I had never seen him in concert because he rarely toured. When the tickets went live, I tried to purchase them but was too late. They sold out quickly, and I had been stuck on the waiting list for weeks. The tickets on Julian’s phone had my name on them, so I knew the answer to my question already, but I was in disbelief. It was the best gift ever.

He kissed his teeth and smirked. “Hell nah. They’re for us, ’cause you ain’t goin’ with nobody but me.”

I laughed and shook my head. “I guess that’s aight with me.”

He smirked. “Girl, stop it. Securin’ a date wit’ me just made your whole night.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response. He was right, though. When Julian and I spent real time together, we always vibed. We liked a lot of the same things, and both loved having fun, so sharing company was easy for us. It just worked.

I watched as he sipped from his glass and casually surveyed the room. We sat that way for quite some time until, without warning, he glanced at me and asked, “So, you wanna kiss a nigga, huh?”

My eyes widened, and I immediately covered my steadily heating face with my free hand. I tried to stand when he started laughing, but he held me in place.

“Where you goin’, pretty?” he asked, amusement evident.

I dropped my hand and kissed my teeth. “Forget I sent that text, Julian.”

He shook his head and smiled. That one gesture made me want to grab his face and claim the kiss I texted him about. His smile always made my insides do somersaults because of what it did to his face. His smile was bright and childlike. It put all thirty-two of his perfectly white teeth on display and always reached his eyes. He was a ten without it, but when he wore that smile, he broke the scale.

“I’on want to,” he said and grabbed my chin. Then, he placed his lips on mine lightly. I moaned into his mouth instantly. Our kiss tasted like bourbon and lemons, and it had me more faded than every drink I had consumed that day. Unable to help myself, I draped my arms around his neck and deepened our kiss by slipping my tongue between his lips.

Julian’s hand moved from my waist to my backside, and when he squeezed it firmly, I was done for. I wanted him—bad. Just as I was about to break away from our kiss and tell him that, he beat me to it. His next words were nowhere near what I was going to say, though.

“My bad, Jet. We need to chill.” He set his drink on the table in front of us before lifting me off his lap and placing me beside him.

“Chill for what? I’m just getting warmed up,” I said, trying to make my way back into his lap.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Prolly ’cause we in a room full of nosy people.”

I shrugged as I looked around. The fact that we were in a room full of people and making out like teenagers didn’t concern me. Besides the fact that I was feening for Julian something serious, I was sure none of them cared about what was going on in this small corner of the large room anyway. Everyone in attendance was either someone I trusted or another celebrity who had nothing to gain from minding my business.

“Nobody in here is worried ’bout us, Ali.”

He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Maybe not us, but they’re damn shole worried about you. You the reason they here, Jet.”

I huffed and crossed my arms. “Whatever, goofy.”

That caused him to laugh, making me roll my eyes harder. Everything he did was sexy to me, and the fact that he loved denying me of him was frustrating.

“And here I thought we were doin’ good. You ain’t called me that shit all night.”

I wanted to laugh but resisted. The first time we met, I saw him as the enemy because he was the best friend of the man who had hurt my best friend. He was riding for Joseph the same way I was for Vi, so I called him out of his name a few times that day. Goofy was the one that stuck, and I pulled it out whenever we were beefing.

Rolling my neck, I said, “You haven’t pissed me off all night either. Not until now. Give me my other two gifts, goofy.”

“I already gave you two. Here’s the last one,” he said, reaching into his pocket. A second later, he handed me a small black box with a gold engraving I knew all too well.

With my eyes glued to the velvet box, I said, “You gave me the tickets. What was the second…” My voice trailed off as I realized what the second “gift” was. I snapped my gaze up to him, and he was smirking, just as I knew he would be.

“Don’t flatter yourself. That kiss wasn’t a gift, and it wasn’t even that serious.”

He laughed arrogantly. “Tell yourself what you need to, pretty.” He placed the box in my hand, and I opened it slowly.

My eyes bucked when I saw it. I was staring at a princess-cut emerald ring with a fourteen-karat gold band. Because of the box, I knew this ring was quite expensive.

I didn’t own an authentic emerald, which was crazy since green was my favorite color. Gold was the other. I worked one or both of them into my ensemble almost every day, making this ring perfect for a girl like me.

Just like the man who gifted it to me.

I shook that thought, not in the mood to get down about the reasons we could never be together, and looked up.

“Ali, this is too—”

“Don’t start wit’ me. I saw it, thought of you, and wanted it to be yours. Now it is, so put it on, and don’t say nothin’ ’bout it bein’ too much, Jessica Brielle.”

He and my father were the only two people who referred to me as Jessica Brielle. Ironically, they both only did that when they were trying to put their foot down with me. Any other time, I was Jet or pretty. Not wanting to kill the vibe, I did as he asked and put it on my right ring finger.

“’Preciate ya, now let’s go dance. I ain’t about to be cooped up in this corner wit’ you all night.” He smirked and stood before reaching for my hand. I simply placed it in his and allowed him to lead the way.

Tate

“I’on like it when you deny me of your time, Julian.” I glanced at Jess, and she was pouting next to me.

Pretty ass.

We had just sat down after at least an hour of dancing and rapping along to every song that played. She also had me taking shots, which I rarely did. Now I was lit and needed a minute to chill, which was why we were back in our corner on the loveseat.

I had been enjoying my time with her, but I always did when she wasn’t running from me. Our ability to bond over anything, no matter where we were, was the reason I fell in love with her in the first place. I never thought I would desire one woman for the rest of my life, but Jess was who my heart wanted. I found it ironic that the one woman I wanted to lock in with was running from commitment at high speed. Jess refused to let us happen.

She knew that was the reason I stayed away, but if she wanted to go there tonight, I was just tipsy enough to tell her somethin’ she needed to hear.

“I’on like it when you play wit’ my time, Jessica,” I said, mocking her voice.

She cut her eyes at me.

“Don’t call me that.”

“Did you not just Julian me? I’m just matchin’ your energy, pretty.”

I chuckled and sat back before closing my eyes. For a minute, she was silent, and I figured she would drop the subject, but just as I opened my eyes again, she spoke up.

“Me telling you I don’t want to settle down isn’t playing with your time, and it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be around you.”

This really wasn’t a conversation we needed to have while I was drunk, because I felt myself getting a lil too pissed at her words.

I laughed arrogantly. “Girl, I know you wanna be around me. I know you wanna settle down wit’ me too. You’re just scary, and you like to stay on that bullshit. I’m straight on that.”

I glared at her, daring her to say I wasn’t telling the truth, but she didn’t. She sighed and leaned back also. She rested her body against my chest, and that had me bricked up immediately. Jess wasn’t the most affectionate person, but she had been showing me plenty of that tonight. She almost always had something slick to say or dumb to argue about. I didn’t know if it was because we hadn’t seen each other in a minute or if it was the liquor, but she hadn’t been on that.

Her touch always tested my control, but I wasn’t about to give in. Our little cycle always left me wanting something she wasn’t willing to give, and I promised myself I was done with that.

“I don’t wanna argue with you,” she said softly. She lifted her head and looked at me. As bad as I wanted to turn away, those eyes had me stuck. For a long time, we stayed like that—staring at each other with our faces inches apart.

Our closeness was breaking me down with every second that passed, and if she didn’t back up, she was going to be in my bed sooner than later.

“Move,” I said, making no attempt to remove her from my personal space.

Biting her lip, she shook her head before pressing her mouth against mine.

This fuckin’ girl.

My intentions before coming to Jessica’s party were to give her the gifts I purchased and the kiss she was feening for. I was supposed to wish her a happy birthday and dip. The problem with that plan was I forgot just how defenseless I was in her company. My inability to reject her was the reason I resolved to stay away from her in the first place.

I had cut Jess off plenty of times in the past, but I slipped up plenty of times, too. This last year was the longest I had gone without touching her, but it looked like that was changing tonight.

Now, we were in the back of this club, engaging in what I knew was foreplay because, with the way she had me feeling, there was no way I wasn’t laying up with her before the night was out. That was exactly what she wanted too. It was all she ever wanted from me, and that was why I didn’t wanna give it to her. She broke our kiss but remained close when she asked, “Can we leave?”

With my eyes on hers, I sighed, already knowing my answer. If I kept messing up with her the way I was about to, it wouldn’t end well. The last thing I wanted was to consent to Jess playing with my feelings for the rest of my life. At some point, I was going to have to cut her off and mean it. Not tonight, though.

“Come on,” I finally said. Her eyes widened in surprise, but only for a second before she hopped up and grabbed my hand. Without another word, we slipped out of the back of the building without saying goodbye to any of our people.

This is the last time.