Book 2: What Happens Here - Chicago (What Happens Here Series)

Chapter 32 - Jasmine

The next morning Jasmine awoke to an empty bed, and to the smell of breakfast wafting in the air, which caused her stomach to growl at the delicious aroma. The night before, and into the early morning hours, Ethan had made love to her. Images of their lovemaking flashed through her mind, and Jasmine smiled as she snuggled deeper into the sheets of Ethan's large bed and pulled his pillow against her body as she inhaled his scent. Falling asleep and waking up with Ethan over these past few days had been amazing, and something that she could definitely get used to. The time that they'd spent together in Vegas had been somewhat hectic, and while they'd spent time making love throughout the night, they really hadn't had the time to simply lounge in bed together the following morning due to their individual pre-set plans. But since she'd been in Chicago, the time that she'd spent with Ethan, and the memories that they were making were ones that she'd lock away and hold onto forever.

Although they'd met almost a week ago, Jasmine felt more at ease and safe with Ethan than with any other man that she'd known from her past because things felt natural with him. On occasion, Jasmine would notice the way that Ethan would often sit and stare at her, and appear to be deep in thought, and she found herself wondering what he was thinking. When they had been in the shower the night before, Ethan had mentioned that being with her felt surreal, and that is when she'd finally realized what those moments of deep contemplation that she'd noticed meant. Ethan was clearly feeling the same way about her that she felt about him.

With her thoughts still centered on Ethan, Jasmine slid out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. Pulling her hair into a bun on top of her head, Jasmine stepped into the massive walk-in shower and closed her eyes as the hot water flowed over her body. As she moved the washcloth over her skin, she reminisced over her time with Ethan. Thoughts flashed through her mind of that first moment when she'd bumped into Ethan in the airport restroom hallway, to when she'd raced through the airport several days ago when she'd feared losing him. That final memory caused an ache in her chest, and feeling the lump that tried to form in her throat, Jasmine immediately pushed the memory from her mind. She smiled at the memory of the dinner that she'd shared with his family on the day that they'd arrived in Chicago. Everything with Ethan had felt right from the start, and as she closed her eyes and allowed herself to recall how he'd shown her more love than any man that she'd ever known, outside of her father, and how he'd made her feel cherished and protected, she found herself thinking of a conversation that she'd had with her parents after the heartbreak that she'd suffered with Marcus.

Her parents had stopped by to check on her several times after she'd called her mom and shared what had happened with Marcus. Her father had wanted to kick Marcus's ass, and being a retired District Court Judge, Nathaniel Ellis, had tons of connections, which would've allowed him to escape any charges that Marcus may have wanted to bring against him. He'd even made the comment that he could "get the bastard missing", which Jasmine had no doubts was far beyond an idle threat. Her dad had some serious connections, especially with the connections that he still had from the Marine Corps when he was a Raider. He never spoke about his time in the Marines, but Jasmine knew that her dad could have easily made good on his threat to cause Marcus to "disappear." Hell, even Ethan had made the comment that he wanted to kick Marcus's ass on her behalf, and the thought that he wanted to defend her honor made her fall in love with him that much more.

Jasmine was excited about a future with Ethan, and the more time that she spent with him, and got to see his city, she couldn't help but to imagine spending the rest of her life with him and making a life with him in Chicago. Ethan was all of the things that both of her parents had told her that she deserved to have in the man that she would spend the rest of her life with. Her mother had told her that she should never settle for less than she deserved. She'd told Jasmine that she should be treated like a queen, and that the man that loved her would naturally want to cherish her, and put her feelings and concerns above his own, because of the love that he had for her. Her mother had said that his love "should feel like a hug that would wrap around her even when he wasn't there", and that his love should feel "effortless". Her father told her that she should always know that the man that she was with had her best interest at heart, at all times, and in all situations. In addition to providing for her financially, and physically protecting her, he should also take care of her mentally, and emotionally as well. He should be her rock, and she should be able to trust him, because he was a man of his word. Her father had told Jasmine that a man that did not keep his word, wasn't a man that she needed to be with, and after spending time with and getting to know Ethan better, Jasmine had no doubts that her parents would love him. Her parents weren't prejudiced people by any means, so the fact that Ethan was white would not matter to them at all, because their only concern would be that he loved their daughter and made her happy.