Six Years Later.

"Number twenty seven!" Jayda called out, taking a player bag from the warmer and sitting it on the counter.

"Twenty s-oh, are you twenty seven?" She asked a customer that had approached her.

"Yeah, that's me. Two sourdough jacks and a large onion ring." He confirmed his order, and she passed the bag to him, grabbing a large sized cup to go with his order.

"Anything else I can get you? Sauces or more napkins?" She asked, dusting her gloves down her apron.

"Yeah, what time you get off?" He smirked at her, and she refrained from looking at him in disgust.

"I'm sixteen." She fake laughed, and he laughed with her.

"Well-I won't tell if you don't." He winked at her, and she fake laughed once more, turning to go occupy herself with anything to get him out of her face.

She hated men that still made advances at her even after finding out her age. Plus, she didn't even look grown, at least she didn't think she did. She stood at 4'11, and she had a naturally small build. If anything she looked way younger than she actually was.

The men at Jack in the Box didn't care though. They flirted with her non stop, not even caring about her very obvious uncomfortable, fake laughs.

"Jayda! Clock out!" Her manager called from the back office, and she sighed in relief, walking over to the cash register.

She ignored the customer that stood there, typing 179 on the keypad, then hitting clock out. Once her shift was over, she didn't care if the lobby was full to it's entirety, she was going the hell home.

"Somebody will be with you in a minute." She said to the woman, before walking off, heading towards the back.

"Tasha, do you have my check?" She asked, peeking her head in the office.

"Direct deposit hit an hour ago miss mamas. Be safe." Tasha told her without looking up from her computer, and Jayda smiled big, walking away from the door.

She popped open her locker, grabbing her iPhone 5, and her earbuds, as well as her purse, then shutting it.

She made herself a cup of Rootbeer, finally leaving the restaurant after another couple of minutes.

Looking down at her phone, she could see the notification of a direct deposit for $729.91 loaded to her card, and her smile widened.

She'd pulled doubles all this week to make sure her check was past what she needed so that she could do some other things with the extra money.

The first thing she wanted to do was go and buy groceries, so that's exactly what she did. It took her about two hours to walk from her job to the store, and then the store to the apartment, carrying all of the groceries on her own.

"Dayvon?" She called once she walked inside, dropping the bags on the ground. She sighed after not getting a response, knowing that he was probably still at work.

She locked the door behind her, and spent a few minutes putting up all of the groceries that she'd just bought. She ended up spending $52 from her card, and then another $300 from her and Dayvon's food stamp card.

She bought enough groceries to last them two to three weeks, and that would be enough to cover them until her next paycheck.

Jayda took a shower, afterwards getting dressed in a pair of boxers and a tank top, now sitting at the dining room table doing homework.

She mindlessly looked up from her notebook, her face frowning in disgust at a baby roach that crawled up the wall in the hallway.

"Oh my fucking god we need to move." She face palmed herself, feeling as if she was about to throw up. She hated bugs. She had Von bomb their apartment every week to try to get rid of them, but they were just naturally infested in the entire apartment complex, not just their specific unit.

She turned her head, her face lighting up hearing Von entering their apartment. Hopping up from her seat, she tackled him in a hug, and he groaned a bit, his back sore.

"Wassup fat mama?" He returned the hug, pulling his hat off, and she smiled.

"Hey. How was work? You look tired." She said, pulling away from him as he locked the door back.

"Bra I beat this nigga ass today for getting mad at me cause his fucking food stamp card declined. Like bitch you knew you couldn't pay for Arby's with EBT. Yelling at me like it was my fault." He ranted, following her to the table, and she laughed.

"But today was payday. That's good, right?" She sat back down in her seat as he did the same, nodding.

"I got 422. How much you get?" He asked, moving his short, black dreads from his face.

"729. I worked a hundred hours this pay period. 7 hours everyday, no days off." She shook her head, and Von did the same.

Both of them worked minimum wage fast food jobs, only making $7.25 an hour. Almost all of their money went towards bills, so Jayda picked up more hours the last two weeks so that they could have some extra money.

"You gotta start taking breaks fats. Yo lil ass gone pass out." He told her, and she shook her head again.

"I can't. Your birthday is coming up, finna be the big nineteen." She said, and a smile graced his face, chuckling.

"Thank you JJ. You went grocery shopping?" He asked, seeing their kitchen stocked as he placed their mail on the table.

"Yeah. I got more snacks this time too. And I spent money from my card to get you more shirts and boxers. You outgrowing your other ones, you getting bigger." She referred to his muscles that were bulging out of his tight work shirt, and he cockily dusted his shoulders, making her laugh.

"Bills, bills, bills. Do you have your half?" She asked, looking at their rent papers, the notice telling her that rent was due in four days.

"Yeah." He pulled some cash from his pocket, sitting three hundred dollar bills on the table.

"You only have 122 left from your check?" She met his eyes, and he nodded, shrugging.

"I'm good baby. Ima go shower and shit, you cooking dinner?" He kissed her cheek, standing up from the table.

"Yeah. Yeah-I'll cook." She told him, and he nodded, walking towards the back, ready to get in the shower.

Jayda put the cash he'd given her in her phone wallet that was on the table, using her card to pay their rent online.

Rent was $627 every month-give it take, so they usually split it in half. Almost all of Von's money usually went towards the bills, but Jayda always worked over time so that they'd have extra money left over.

She paid the rest of the rent, seeing $348.78 left on her card. She wanted so badly to put the rest in her savings account, the account that she didn't touch unless it was for an emergency; such as being short on rent or desperately low on food or hygiene products.

She sighed, running her fingers through her natural hair that she'd let out of the bun it was previously in, becoming stressed as she drifted off into her own thoughts.

She was so tired of living paycheck to paycheck. She rarely ever had any extra money left over from her checks. Well she did, but even that money would be used for something.

She wished she'd made enough so that she'd have some on the side to get her hair done, or buy new clothes and shoes. She knew that one day she would though, and that's what kept her going-along with Von.

"Cyn?" She called, no longer hearing water running. A few seconds later, Von walked out of the room, now dressed in a pair of Nike shorts, not wearing a shirt-his usual attire if he wasn't wearing sweats.

"We good on rent?" He asked, returning to his seat next to her.

"Yeah, we're good. Did you ever talk to Simone about those studio sessions?" She inquired, writing down her notes for the quiz she had to take at school tomorrow.

"Yeah. It's $89 a session. I'a book one the next time I get paid. Why you ask?"

"How about I get you some now with the money that I have left over? For your bir-." She started, and he cut her off, shaking his head.

"Nah fats. Save yo money ma. Studio sessions ain't a necessity." He waved it off, and she sat her pencil down, looking at him.

"Your dreams are always a necessity." She replied, and he chuckled, shaking his head once more at her.

"We can use that money for something we actually need Jayda. Save it." He told her, and she chuckled at his stubbornness.

"Well, it's my money, so I can do what I want with it. I have enough to get you three sessions, four if I take a few dollars from my savings. I'ma transfer it to your account, okay?" She picked her pencil back up, and he reached over, wrapping his arms around her.

"Thank you fat mama." He mumbled, and she rubbed his back, returning the hug.

"You're welcome. Do you wanna head over there now?" She asked, her tone soft as he scanned his eyes over her face.

"Yeah, we can." He agreed, and she tilted her head, chuckling after meeting his eyes.

"Why you looking at me like that?" She tapped the tip of his nose with her pencil, making him smile.

"One day we won't have to budget out our money. I just need a lil more time to get us a come up, aight? When I blow, you going straight to the top wit' me. He told her, wrapping his arms back around her, and she smiled, holding his face.

"I believe you. I always have and I always will." She moved his dreads back, her eyes closing once he slowly leaned in, his lips pressing against hers.

She held his face, following his lead and opening her mouth a bit so that his tongue could slide inside. Von grabbed her neck, and she let out a low gasp, pulling away.

"I'm sorry. Shit, I'm sorry Jayda." He let her go, and before he could react any further, she grabbed his hand.

"It's okay. Why would I be upset?" She asked, her eyes searching over his face that was sort of expressionless.

"I ain't mean to kiss you. Fuck, man." He stood up from the seat, and a curious frown etched across her face.

"Is it bad that you did?" She questioned, following him with her eyes. He didn't answer, making her frown deepen as he walked back to the room that they shared-the only room in the unit since it was a one bedroom-and she got up to follow him.

"Dayvon what's wrong with kissing me?" She asked, entering the room with him.

"I'm not supposed to see you that way fats."

"Is it bad that I've always seen you that way?" She mumbled, and he turned his head to face her, his eyebrows furrowed.

"You're the only man I know Von. It doesn't take a genius to see that I like you." She sat next to him on their bed, her hands in her lap.

"Why didn't you tell me that Jayda?" He frowned, tilting her head to look at him.

"Because I know that you only see me as a sister or something. And the other girls that you be with when you be with Dee and them, don't look like me. All of those girls are older and more-I don't know, bigger. I didn't think I was your type." She chuckled, avoiding his gaze.

"You think I give a fuck about you not looking like random bitches that can't even tell me my favorite color?" He asked, and she smiled, looking down at her hands.

"I love you." He told her, and she finally looked up to meet his eyes.

"Show me then." She mumbled, and he stared at her a few more seconds, before grabbing her neck to pull her in for a kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, icing to straddle his lap, lowly moaning once his hand came down on her ass.

"Shit. Wait. Jayda h-."

"It's just me Von. I trust you. I'm okay and we're okay." She reassured, her voice soft, and he searched her eyes.

"Why you doing this to me right now?" He mumbled, laying back on the bed, and she leaned over to kiss him once more.

"I don't know. I trust you though." She told him, grabbing his hand and placing it in her shorts. He groaned under his breath, his thumb rubbing down her slit, making her quietly moan at the new feeling.

He flipped her over so that she laid on her back, sliding her shorts off of her, her panties coming off next.

"You so pretty Jayda." He placed his thumb underneath her clit, and she moaned, anticipating his next move.

A small frown placed on her face once she watched him hesitate. He removed his eyes from her lower half, trailing them up her body to meet hers.

"I can't JJ. This feels wrong." He told her, and she avoided his gaze, sitting up and closing her legs.

"Jayda baby I-." He started, and she cut him off, pulling her shorts back on.

"It's fine. I'm okay, and that's okay. I'm fine." She mumbled, an embarrassed look flashing across her face as she uncomfortably rushed to their bathroom, closing the door and then sitting against it.

She put her face in her hands, sighing as she ran her fingers through her hair. She'd never been more embarrassed in her life.

"Jayda, come outta here." He knocked twice on the door, and she kept her face in her hands.

"That was so embarrassing Von. I'm sorry, I should've have took it that far. I'm sorry." She mumbled, removing herself from in front of the door.

He opened it, sitting down next to her, and grabbed ahold of her wrists to remove her hands from her face.

"I'm sorry." She held a small pout on her face, meeting his gaze once again.

"What you embarrassed for? It's just me fats."

"I just tried to throw myself on you like a hoe. Oh my gosh." She covered her face again, getting second hand embarrassment from her own actions. He chuckled, picking her up and placing her in his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I don't think I can be wit' you in that way Jayda. It feel like I'm taking advantage of you or something." He told her, and she sighed, placing her head on his shoulder.

"It's because I'm young, or because we've known each other our whole life?"

"Both." He mumbled, rubbing her back, and she nodded, signaling that she understood.

"I just wish I looked like the other girls that you like. Seems like those are the only girls that get chosen nowadays." She told him, and he frowned.

"Jayda I don't be with them bitches foreal. They hang with Dee and them, I ain't never touched none of them. You don't need to look like anybody else. I like you the way that you are. I just don't wanna seem like I'm taking advantage of you." He replied, laying his head on the side of hers.

"You a virgin?" She asked, a hint of surprise in her tone.

"Yeah. Still, I don't want them hoes that be on the block. Me and you been best friends our whole life, but don't feel as if you're obligated to let me touch you 'cause I'm the only man you know, ok? That don't give me the right and I just don't think we ready for that yet. But I'm not mad at you, so don't be embarrassed about anything." He expressed, and she nodded, wiping her face.

"I shouldn't have crossed those boundaries. I'm sorry grandson. I don't know what I was thinking." She spoke, now feeling even worse.

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to embarrass you or nothin'. You my baby Jay, I raised you. I can't touch on you like that." He pulled her face from his neck, meeting her eyes.

"Okay. That's okay." She nervously rubbed over her arm, now shy under his gaze.

"I love you." He told her, tilting her head so that she continued to look at him.

"I love you too Cyn."

y'all right. i can never last two chapters without some type of sex scene. im so sorry man. plz forgive me fr 😢😢😢😢😢