five years later

Josiah

"Alright, run to Henry," I said, closing the door of my Escalade.

"Henry!" Hero yelled, a broad smile on his face.

"I brought my soccer ball!" Henry yelled.

I shot Fred a wave and walked around to the other side of my truck, opening the other door.

"Come on, sweetheart," I grunted, pulling Francesca out of her car seat.

"I don't know how Mommy does that with her nails," I muttered, kicking the door closed.

I pressed a kiss to her cheek and began walking across the open field, nearly getting taken out by the soccer ball coming towards me.

"Henny, chill it, dude," I said, rubbing the top of his head.

"Sorry!" He yelled, running to grab his ball.

"Hi, my little Josie," I said, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Hi, uncle Jo," she greeted, "hi, Francesca!"

I chuckled and Francesca smiled, hopping down from my arms. "What are you drawing?" She asked, barely understandable, but somehow, Josephine understood her word for word.

"I'm drawing Daddy," she said, patting the spot on the bench next to her.

"Hero!" I yelled, "you've got to be easier, man, your leg's going to go out from underneath you."

"Got it, Dad," he yelled.

"What's up, Pops?" Fred greeted, sitting on the table behind us.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Hero's a little too aggressive."

"Well, at least he's not sliding down the staircase railing," Fred said, looking down at Josephine.

"I only did that once," she muttered, her eyes fixated on her drawing.

I sat next to Fred and we both watched the boys like hawks. They were carbon copies of us when we were their age.

"Henry," Fred yelled, "watch out for the people walking by. You can't be kicking it twenty feet in the air and expect it to not hit somebody."

"Got it," Henry said, obviously not having it.

"I don't think you do, but okay," Fred yelled back, getting off of the picnic table.

"Why don't you go play with the boys, Jo?" Fred asked, looking down at Josephine.

"I'm almost done with this drawing of you," she said, "I've just got to color your eyes green."

I smiled, earning Francesca's big, brown eyes.

"Can I go play?" She asked, smiling up at me.

"No ma'am," I said, scooping her up into my arms, "that's an accident waiting to happen."

She sighed, resting her head on my shoulder. I smiled and rubbed her back, looking over at Fred.

"Hey, Josie, remember those days?" Fred asked, "when you could stay in one place for more than five seconds?"

She giggled, shaking her head.

"Come to uncle Freddy," he said, holding out his hands. He grabbed Fran and pressed a kiss to her cheek, resting her on his side.

"You look more and more like your mom every day," I said, sitting next to Jo.

"You think so?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Yep," I said, "that's a beautiful picture."

"Yeah," she said, "I love drawing."

"I know you do," I said, "you're always drawing when I see you."

"Do you think it's weird?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Do I think what's weird?" I asked, folding my arms on the table.

"That I like to draw?"

"I think it's cool," I shrugged, looking down at her.

"I think you're pretty cool," she muttered, sticking her tongue out as she focused on shading in Fred's eyes.

I pressed a kiss to her head. "Yeah, you, too, kid."

~*~

Fred

"Why are you so dirty?" Alexis asked, kneeling down in front of Henry.

"Hero and I were playing soccer."

"It looks like you went swimming in mud."

Henry shrugged out of his jacket, holding it up to me. "Thanks for taking us to the park!"

I smiled and watched as he ran off, making Alexis stand up.

"Hi, beauty," she greeted, pressing a kiss to Josephine's head.

"Hi, Mommy," she said, "you look beautiful today!"

"As do you," Alexis said, gently rubbing her cheek.

"Alright, run upstairs for your bath," I said, rubbing her head.

"Okay," Jo said, running past Alexis.

"Walk upstairs," Alexis said, turning around.

I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her neck from behind, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Hi, mi amor."

"Hello," she greeted, "how were they?"

"Very good, actually," I said.

"Ugh, I hate that it's a surprise," she muttered, leaning her head back against my chest.

I chuckled, smothering her with kisses. "They're just busy five year olds."

"They're me and you combined," she said, "dangerous."

I rubbed her belly, looking down at her. "Maybe we should make one more."

She giggled, stepping away from me. "You're funny."

"Why, thank you," I said, gripping my hips with a smile.

She looked back at me, tilting her head over. "You don't actually mean that, do you?"

"We could have sex and find out."

"Fred," she giggled, slapping my shoulder, "you're just horny."

"Why don't we lay out a plan," I muttered, pulling her close to me, "we supervise the kids while they get their baths, we put them to bed, and then I can run you a bath."

She smiled, looking up at me. "More."

I slipped my fingers in the belt loops of her trousers, looking down at her body. "I could rub you down in some massage oil before said bath."

She lifted an eyebrow. "You'd rub my neck?"

I frowned. "That's all you took from that?"

"My neck is killing me, Fred," she groaned.

"Yeah, from carrying that big ass head around."

She fell into a fit of laughter, nodding. "And Josie got it from me."

"You said it," I chuckled, following her upstairs.

"Do you really think I've got a big head?" She asked, looking down at me.

"I do know what you do have that's big," I grinned, looking up at her.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" She asked.

"Walk up the rest of the stairs and I'll tell you. From this angle, of course," I said, smirking up at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Why so flirty?"

"Mommy!" Josie yelled, "come look!"

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, bracing her hand on the railing of the staircase. I chuckled, lifting an eyebrow. "Bracing yourself for what's about to come next?"

She nodded, sighing as she looked down at me. "Absolutely."

I gave her backside a slap and jogged up the rest of the stairs, walking into the bathroom.

"What is it, Jo?" I asked, running her bath water.

"Look," she giggled, pointing to Henry.

He let out a loud, booming laugh as he ran around the bathroom in his underwear.

"Henry, what is on your stomach?" I asked, chasing him around the bathroom.

"You know those bath markers?" He asked, turning around to look at me as he continued to run around the perimeter of the bathroom.

"Can you slow down?" I asked, "and yes."

"It's those!" He fell into a fit of laughter, but his laughter quickly stopped when he slipped on the marble floor.

"That hurted, didn't it?" I asked, gripping my hips as I looked down at him.

He shrugged, jumping back up. "Nope."

"Henry!" I groaned, letting out a loud sigh.

"Henry," Alexis said, making him stop in his tracks.

I frowned, looking at her. "Why you?"

Henry stood up on the side of the bathtub, turning around to shoot me a smile before jumping in.

"Henry!" Alexis yelled, "you just soaked the entire bathroom."

He giggled, resting his chin on the side of the tub. "You thought it was cool, didn't you?"

"Absolutely," I began, my eyes meeting Alexis's, "not. Absolutely not."

"Yeah, you did," he laughed, making me smile and rest my hands on my hips.

~*~

Jo

"For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams of the beautiful Annabel Lee," I softly said, gently rubbing Francesca's hair, "and the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes of the beautiful Annabel Lee."

I shot her a glance, smiling when I noticed she was now asleep. Her lips were parted, and her long eyelashes were brushing against her cheeks.

"And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride, in the sepulchre there by the sea, in her tomb by the sounding sea."

I smiled and closed her book of poems, placing it on her nightstand. I gently pulled my arm out from beneath her head, tucking her in tightly.

I pressed a soft kiss to her cheek before turning off her lamp and turning towards the door, where I saw Lena standing with a warm smile on her face.

I walked out of Francesca's room, cracking the door. "Hi," I whispered, smiling as we walked next to each other down the short hallway.

"What did you read her?" She asked, looking up at me as I walked into our bedroom.

"Annabel Lee," I said, "what did you read Hero?"

"He's obsessed with Gatsby right now," she said, smiling up at me.

"Yeah?" I asked, stripping out of my shirt.

"Yeah," she said, "he says that Mr. Gatsby reminds him of you."

"Really?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yeah," she said, nodding with a soft smile.

"Are you tired?" I asked, looking back at her.

"I was thinking about getting a bath," she said, looking up at me.

"I need a shower," I said, "I'll run your water."

I walked into the bathroom and let out a sigh, leaning against the counter for a split second before leaning down to run her bath water.

I walked out of the bathroom and gave her a double take as she undressed, grinning. She looked over at me and giggled, shaking her head. "You've seen this a billion times before."

"And it gets better every time," I muttered, placing my hands on her bare hips. I pulled her into me and she laughed, leaning her head back against my chest.

I heard Hero's cry from across the hall, letting go of her. I ran into his room and smiled, seeing him sitting upright.

"Hey, Hero," I greeted, smiling.

"Is that you, Mr. Gatsby?"

I chuckled, walking over to his bed. "Sure."

"Cool!" He exclaimed, and just as quick as I could blink, he fell back asleep.

I chuckled and pressed a kiss to his head, tucking him in tighter. I left his door cracked and walked back into the bedroom, the strong scent of vanilla filling my nostrils.

"Vanilla bubble bath?" I asked, standing in the threshold of the bathroom.

"Yes," she said, "I used lavender last night, so vanilla it is."

"Can I be honest?" I said, walking over to the shower. I turned on the water and shot her a glance as she stepped into the tub.

"Sure," she said, looking at me through the glass separating the tub and shower.

"Lavender isn't my favorite."

She gasped, sitting down. I watched the bubbles cover her entire body, her jaw still nearly unhinged.

"Who doesn't like lavender?" She asked, sinking down further into the water. I could only see her eyes above the bubbles, but I could see her smile through her eyes.

I stripped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower, letting out a contented sigh as the waterfall shower head soaked my body.

"I will never get tired of this view," she said.

"You mean my ass?" I asked, grabbing my soap from the wall.

"Yes," she softly said, making me look over my shoulder at her.

She smiled and I couldn't help but to smile, shaking my head. I lathered myself up in soap, rinsing it off shortly after. I let the water drench me for a few more relaxing seconds.

"Hope I didn't scare you."

I wiped my eyes, turning around to face Lena. "Nothing scares me."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips against mine, pulling me closer to her.

I lifted my eyebrows, relaxing into her extremely needy kiss soon enough. We didn't really have time to have these out-of-the-blue steamy sessions anymore.

"Let's just hope the kids aren't restless," she whispered, pulling away from me.

I nodded erratically, lifting her into my arms. She giggled and braced her hand against the wall. "Don't fall, please."

I thought my choice through carefully, biting down on my lip.

"Maybe we should take it to the bed."

"Jo," she giggled, leaning her head back.

"I'm serious, I'm not as agile as I once was," I said.

She nodded, laughing as she buried her face in my neck. "Yeah, let's take it to the bed."

~*~

hello 🥺

WELCOME TO PART TWOOOO 💖💖💖💖

im so mf excited for this book y'all LITERALLY have no idea

fr

HOW IS EVERYONE THOUGH? did i make you guys wait too long?? was the wait worth it???

so, give a warm welcome to josephine fleur, henry alejandro, HERO RAMIREZ AND FRANCESCA ROSALIA 💖💖💖💖

dude... y'all WERE NOT EXPECTING TWO JO AND LENA BABIES. I JUST KNOW YOU WERENT

BUT I FUCKING DID THAT BRO

I DID IT

dude these kids have MY HEART AND IM SURE THEY WILL HAVE EVERYONE ELSE'S SOON ENOUGH

also!! ask me ANY QUESTIONS u have about this book! im gonna be responding to comments all day today hopefully! 🥰

all my love <3

i hope you guys are as ready for this as i am.

oh- black lives matter <3

xo,
jay