'Jules' mind went back under the moonlight and night air of Baldwin's Fine Arts Center Garden, where intense anger shifted into an intimate moment of curiosity with a blow of the wind.
Maybe two flames weren't supposed to be that close when raging...
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"Ice melts into rain, love turns into pain. Here I go again, falling in love again."
— Wale
THE FEELING OF THE MARBLE floor against Raheem's feet was jarring. He ventured from across the foyer to the kitchen, his stomach rumbled with morning cravings.
The warmth from the inside of the McDaniels' home allowed him the comfort to shed his shirt in his slumber, leaving him with black sweats and the gold chain that never left him lonely.
Sheila was in the kitchen, hard at work. Her fingers dusted in flour from her attempt of making blueberry lemon rolls. She was to set the finished deliverables in the glass baked-goods display Blade gifted her with for Christmas.
"Morning Baby," Sheila called out as he entered the kitchen, "You sleep good?"
"Yes ma'am," He informed her with a kiss to the cheek before entering the white wooden door of the pantry.
While it wasn't completely normal, Raheem wasn't his usual restless self. Nightmares had become less of a frequent occurrence as he resided in the dark for slumber.
Most of the thoughts that occupied his mind no longer belong to him, they belonged to Jules too -- subconsciously. He wasn't too mad about it either.
If it aided him, so be it.
Since dancing on the cabin rooftop with her and kissing her body in the darkest hour, there'd been a new fondness that erupted from his stomach when the slightest utter of her name tugged on his ears.
It was a bit boyish, making him feel younger than he had in years.
He'd never admit it to her though. Not in a million years would he let her know she made him feel --- young again.
A cloud of sighs became a clear pathway for effortless breathing. It was refreshing to catch a few seconds of her smile before she hid it, or the way she curled next to him as she slept -- unknowingly wrapping herself into his arms until it was time to recoil when the sun rose.
The soft little moments were worthwhile, something he hadn't even felt with Melanie. Jules was rarely delicate, so when it did happen, he knew it meant something.
And that meant everything.
Raheem knew that Jules admitting that his absence bothered her was new -- something big for her. Even more, her promising to make an honest effort was even bigger.
He thought it called for more than just a spin on a wooden roof.
"Hey ma," Raheem called from inside of the pantry as he searched for cereal.
"Yes Rah?"
"What's that train you and pops went on for your anniversary, I think two years ago?"
