Page 35 of Tap In

A small hand hit his leg. “Now me, Unc Ton!” It was CJ’s turn to be tossed in the air. He had yet to learn how to properly say Joston’s name, so CJ deemed him Unc Ton. Joston picked him up with just as much vigor and threw him in the air.

It was the weekend after Chelly and CJ’s third birthday, and the family was in full party mode. The two were best friends and wanted to have a Supergirl and Superboy party. Apparently, the two were cousins and best friends like Chelly and CJ. At least that was the narrative that was given to all the adults by the two three-year-olds that ran everyone who interacted with them.

“I know y’all not having fun without me.” Chance poked his head into the door opening of the bouncy house. When he climbed in, Chelly rushed over to him.

“Uncie Chance! Daddy throw us. You throw us too,” she demanded. She would not be denied.

Chance chuckled before he picked his niece up and threw her. The men took turns throwing the kids. Before they knew it, more kids had joined the fun.

“Alright, who wants cake? Where are all the kids?” Lark yelled from outside of the bouncy house.

The kids abandoned Joston and Chance at the mention of cake. Toddlers were so unloyal. The party, as usual, was in Christianson Circle. There was never a need to pay for space when the circle had enough space and outside activities to have the best parties. When Jacob and Galiana had their son, Jacob Junior, years ago, they built a massive playground. When he got a little older, they built an even more massive treehouse.

Since it had been years since all of that was built, Jacobia’s father determined it all needed to be upgraded. Now the kids’ play areas looked like a discovery zone that included an indoor portion. Between the Washingtons, Christiansons, and Smiths there were so many children that they could have their own co-ed football team.

Joston moved behind his wife, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her neck. He inhaled the scent of his favorite perfume that she wore. “You good, baby?” After she confirmed that she was, he kissed her neck again before he put his lips to her ear. “You got me wanting to eat that sweet pussy. What did I tell you about wearing that perfume around company?”

Her blushing cheeks couldn’t be hidden. She knew exactly what she was doing when she sprayed the fragrance on herself this morning. It was a calculated move because she knew that she would need some kind of relief in the midst of dealing with a yard full of toddlers. “No one is stopping you.”

Joston and Jacobia were married when Chelly was two years old. She was the little flower girl, which was a comical thing to see. She threw the flowers down on the aisle like she should have until she looked up and saw her daddy. The basket was dropped, and she ran to him. He thought she wanted to be picked up, but no. She wanted him to help her throw down the flowers. To his daughter’s delight, he walked with her back to her basket and helped her throw flowers.

The “Happy Birthday” song took over the sound of the yard. Granny Chelle was smart enough to buy cupcakes for the party. No one had the time or patience to cut cake for impatient three-, four-, and five-year-olds. The kids busied themselves with their cupcakes, and the adults lounged in the area that was set up for them.

“Joston, I know you’re happy to get from up under that bullshit ole girl put you through. That bitch was on some trifling shit. She should have known that she wasn’t a good criminal the first time when she got caught up for that extortion,” Jacob said. He chuckled, then added, “I know she was sick when she got that punitive damage number.”

Noelle went off a cliff after she realized that she really might get jail time for the stupid extortion scheme that she conjured up. She decided that she needed to be more of an idiot and claim that Joston had sexually assaulted her multiple times while in his club. When that accusation came out, it was a hard time in his and his wife’s lives. The accusation naturally affected the club, which Chance and Joston closed until the ordeal was over. They lost millions on refunds, but they did what they had to do.

There was a slew of support for Joston, which was heartfelt. It wasn’t difficult to disprove Noelle’s claim. In the NDA that every person signed before they stepped into the club, it stated that the club was under video surveillance. Those videos would be stored confidentially and only reviewed in the presence of law enforcement in the case of a potential criminal act. Based on the story that Noelle told, Joston only assaulted her in his private room so that no one knew. His room as well as Chance’s room were also under surveillance.

When it was brought to Noelle’s attention that there was surveillance in all the private rooms, including Joston’s, she then cried about invasion of privacy. Dumb bitch! Her lawyer quickly let her know that her defense wouldn’t fly because she signed the NDA. After the tapes were reviewed, it was shown that no sexual assault occurred. In fact, she was the aggressor in most of the videos reviewed. While it was a weight off Joston’s shoulders to be proven innocent, it still left a dark cloud over him. Noelle would have to pay for that as well.

On top of the civil lawsuit that was already filed against her on behalf of the club, Noelle was hit with an additional suit for lost earnings and a personal lawsuit from Joston for defamation of character and emotional distress. She would have to come out of her pocket. Noelle wasn’t a broke bitch. She was a trust-fund baby who had deeper pockets than Joston. The difference between the two was that he worked for every dime that he had. Noelle never worked a day in her life, which caused her to have an entitlement issue that was ugly.

“Yeah, I’m happy that shit is over, more for my baby than me. That money wasn’t a bad consolation prize.” Joston shook his head at the thought of all the stress the situation put on Jacobia.

Hurried footsteps walked in the direction of Joston and Jacobia. Chelle was about to fight her own grandchild. “Here! Take this fucking boy before I push his little ass down. I popped his ass for writing on my wall, and his ass popped me the hell back.”

There was a beat of silence before the entire deck erupted in laughter. Jerimiah was a lot to deal with. When everything exploded with Noelle and the false allegations, Jacobia found out that she was three months pregnant. Her pregnancy was filled with stress and complications, hence the emotional distress portion of the lawsuit.

“Hand me my baby, Mama. You act like it’s hard to get it off the wall,” Jacobia fussed. Her one-and-a-half-year-old son was his father’s twin. All she did was carry him.

Chelle crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh, is that so? Well, I’ll expect to see you or your husband’s ass in there when this party is over, cleaning that.” She put her finger up. “Lark, easy on the laughing with your wannabe pregnant with my best friend ass. Patton’s little ass is bad as fuck too. You’re lucky your mama snatched his little ass up.”

Yep, Lark and Jacobia ended up pregnant around the same time the second time too. The men thought the women planned it, but neither cared because they loved their wives pregnant. Unlike Jacobia, Lark wanted at least one more child.

Chance and Lark’s real estate firm still dominated the industry. Lark still acted as her husband’s personal assistant because they still had yet to find anyone that could tolerate him. As quiet as it was kept, Chance didn’t want to work with any other person when it came to his personal needs. His wife was the only one that could satisfy them to the point of perfection.

“Mama Chelle, why does my baby have to catch a stray?” Lark couldn’t stop laughing. She knew her son was bad, just like his little best friend. Jerimiah was a month and a half older than Patton.

Chelle glared at every person on the deck, which was packed with all her nieces, nephews, her children, and their spouses. “Fuck all y’all and y’all bad ass kids. See when the next time I babysit for any of y’all.”

“Damn, Mama, I ain’t even say nothing. Why we all get lumped together?” Jacob feigned hurt for a split second before he doubled over in laughter.

Chelle didn’t have time for their asses, so she waved them off, then walked off. She cursed under her breath the entire time. Between her and her husband, she was the disciplinarian. Justin Christianson was as soft as marshmallows when it came to his grandbabies and grand nieces and nephews.

There was a few more titters on the deck before the previous conversation was brought back up. “How much were you awarded total?” Perc, Jacobia’s cousin, asked.

With a smile, Joston responded, “With the club and personal lawsuits, the total settlement was one hundred and thirty-two million dollars. She was also sentenced seven years on that extortion shit.”

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