"Come to me, my love." Rico opened his arms wide and pulled me onto his lap when I stepped near enough. "Let's talk."

I peered cautiously at him, afraid of what his "eyes" may have seen, and afraid of what his "eyes" – Rah and Chris – may have told him.

It had been a few days since Christian had tried to get me to leave with him, and I had been dreading Rico's return ever since.

"My love," Rico pulled me to him and kissed my face. "I missed you." I peered into his eyes.

He really did.

"I missed you, too," I whispered quickly, trying with everything I had to control my face and mind. Sometimes Rico could even read my mind. I wanted to tell him that he was away too much, and that I hated when he was gone, but if he was already angry, I didn't want to risk making him even angrier by sounding like I was telling him what to do.

"The other night," he explained out of nowhere, "wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to go like that."

I froze up and waited to see if he was mad at me for going all the way with Frank.

He hugged me to him and kissed my face again.

"I'm sorry, my love. I didn't want that to happen." I looked into his eyes and knew he was lying. That was exactly the way he wanted it to happen, I just didn't understand why. He ran his thumb across my bottom lip. "You know I don't like nobody touching what's mine."

I did know that.

That's why I was so confused.

"To see another man inside my woman..." Rico's eyes flashed, and he looked past me, then back at me. "I don't like that, Jazz." I nodded obediently. "Nobody," he slipped his hand up my miniskirt, "should be touching you like I do but me."

I dropped my eyes.

"Jazz." Rico waited until I looked back up at him. "I know Remmey still fuck you sometimes." I shook my head no. Anger passed across Rico's face and quickly disappeared. "Don't ever lie to me, Jazz. Understand?" I nodded, eyes huge. He rubbed his hand up and down my arm reassuringly. "It's ok. I know you still love him."

Rico paused and waited a long time for me to respond to that.

I didn't.

I couldn't.

"Remmey...not what I'm takin' 'bout." I was confused, but nodded anyway. I hoped that he wasn't talking about the doctor. "Remmey and you...he was your first. I know how that is, Jazz. It's ok." The understanding in his eyes was more than I could have ever expected. He wasn't mad about me and Remmey at all.

That could only mean one thing.

He still hadn't found out about the baby...or the doctor.

I tried to hold in my sigh of relief.

"But Jazz...I thought..." Rico sounded like he was getting choked up and I focused back in on him. "Jazz...you know how it was for me growing up." I put my hand gently to his cheek and nodded. "There wasn't much love for me..."

I nodded again.

I understood.

Completely.

And he knew that I did.

He knew my story just as well as I knew his.

"My mama, she just...was hard. And tough. She was mean. Life was cruel to her. So there just...was no room for me in her heart." I nodded understandingly and placed my other hand softly against his face. I understood. Rico hugged my hips and held me tighter. "I used to pray for a woman who wasn't so hard. A woman who..." his gaze got lost in mine for a minute and then he looked away. "You the only thing I ever prayed for that came true, Jazz.

I blinked in surprise and didn't know what to say.

"I didn't know anyone could be as soft as you. As open..." He stared at me like he was fascinated. "You wide open, Jazz. All the time. Not just sometime wit' some people. All the time. Wit' everyone. It makes me want to protect you. But it also makes me insecure..."

I pulled my hands away from his face when I felt him tense up.

I didn't know what was about to happen.

I became nervous and probably looked even more guilty.

"Rico..." it was the only word that I could get out.

"My love," Rico seemed to read my body with his own. "Stay open for me. I ain't mad. And I ain't finna hurt you. I just...want to talk to you." he stroked his fingers up and down my arm. "Ok, my love?"

I nodded, but I couldn't get my body to relax. My heart refused to slow down.

"I just want to be in here." Rico placed his hand over my breast and looked into my eyes. He could feel how hard my heart was beating. "This is my home." He caressed me. "My home. In here, and..." he moved his hand back down to my lap, "...in here..." He ran his hand up my skirt and stroked me between my legs. "This is where I live. The safe, quiet home that I always prayed for is in you. And I just..."

He dropped his eyes.

I had never seen him do that before.

"I just don't want you to take that away from me." He looked back into me. I shivered at the intensity of his gaze and gave in even more to his touch. My heart finally slowed down, and he felt it. Rico slipped his finger inside of me and breathed in as I breathed out. Without breaking eye contact, he whispered, "This spot right here is mine." I shook. "What we're doing right now..." he breathed in again when I breathed out, "is mine. Don't share that."

I knew what he meant and nodded.

Rico did know.

He knew exactly what I tried to do with Remmey, and it didn't make him angry.

It hurt him.

I started crying out of nowhere.

Rico's strokes became softer and even more gentle.

It was the way that he knew I liked to be touched.

"Jazz, whatever I did to you...to make you want to give this part of me away..."

"I'm sorry, Rico. I'm so sorry..." I didn't even let him finish. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to pull him closer to me. No matter how close I tried to get to him, it wasn't close enough. I wanted all of him to be in all of me. I was so grateful that he thought of me as his home, and I wouldn't have intentionally given that away for anything in the world.

Rico watched my face as my tears of remorse transformed easily into tears of extacy.

"Come for me, my love," he whispered.

And I did.

I wasn't going anywhere.

Rico was my home, too.