#BLACK WOMAN

[blackbeautyappreciation]

♡ Black Girl Summer ♡

[godblessmeitssumma]

👑

🪮🪮

[feloire]

[ebonihunnies]

@top-noir

[wiloveblack]

[dreams-in-blk]

[mrsoulstice]

Jill Scott

A long walk-2000

Soulful Sunday

[mymyarchives]

[theblvcksupreme]

BEYONCÉ, BLUE IVY & RUMI during the COWBOY CARTER Tour

[feloire]

[wiloveblack]

[xoxorealitygalore]

Look What You Did 2

Jey Uso x Black OC

Summary: After meeting Joshua, Jalisa embarks on an emotional journey, navigating the vulnerability and joy of an unexpected connection.

Jalisa had not expected the day to unfold the way it had. She hadn’t planned on falling asleep in a stranger’s bed, well, not a stranger anymore, but still strange enough.

Joshua’s house smelled like sandalwood and clove, a thick, earthy scent that clung to the soft fibers of his dark gray sheets and the heavy air of his bedroom. The blinds were half-drawn when she awoke, casting muted light across her bare legs and the rumpled tangle of linen beneath her.

For a moment, she was still, hovering between dream and reality, caught in that brief space where nothing felt permanent or binding.

She blinked away the haze of sleep, the faint pressure of last night’s kisses still ghosting along her collarbone. There was a faint chill in the room. The shirt she had thrown on before falling asleep, his oversized, worn-soft tee smelled faintly of his cologne, musky and intoxicating.

When she sat up, stretching the stiffness from her limbs, she heard it. Voices. Not Joshua’s alone. A woman’s laugh rang out that was light, melodic, and unmistakably confident. Another voice, deeper and smooth with an unmistakable echo of Joshua’s own, followed. Jalisa’s heart gave a quiet flutter. That wasn’t just a friend. That was family. And not just any family. That was the sound of belonging, of familiarity, of history.

She hadn’t known what to expect when she tiptoed down the hallway barefoot, pausing briefly to tie her hair into a loose bun. The house was warm and inviting, with dark wood floors and soft lighting that gave everything a golden hue. The living room opened before her like a stage, and there they were.

Joshua sat on the couch, relaxed, his arm draped along the back of the cushions. Beside him sat a man who could have been his reflection, only softer around the edges. His twin, unmistakably. Jonathan. His build was similar but his energy was different, less predatory, more measured. Beside Jonathan sat a woman with eyes that were alert and warm as she sipped from a cup of tea. Trinity, Jalisa would later learn.

The moment Joshua’s eyes met hers, something in them shifted into possessive, proud, and maybe a little smug.

“There she is,” he said, with the easy authority of someone completely in control of his world. “Come here, babe.”

And just like that without a conversation, without a warning, he introduced her. “This is Jalisa,” he said, that slow smile spreading across his face like a promise. “My girlfriend.”

Jalisa froze for half a second. Girlfriend. The word echoed in her chest like an old song she wasn’t sure she remembered how to sing. The room seemed to still, the soft hum of the air conditioning the only sound as her mind scrambled to catch up.

Girlfriend.

It wasn’t the word that startled her, it was how easily he said it. As though it had already been decided.

She glanced at Trinity, who offered a slow, knowing smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Jonathan merely nodded, polite and unreadable.

Jalisa stepped fully into the room, suddenly aware of how out of place she felt. She looked good, sure, barefaced, yes, but still glowing in the way a woman sometimes does after a night spent in arms that know exactly how to hold her. But there was an intimacy here that she wasn’t sure she had earned. She felt like an intruder.

Joshua reached for her hand as she approached and guided her down to sit beside him, his touch firm and warm.

“This is my twin brother, Jonathan,” he said. “And that’s Trinity, his wife. They dropped in while you were knocked out.”

“Nice to meet you,” Jalisa murmured, forcing a small smile as she folded her legs beneath her on the couch, conscious of how close she sat to Joshua. His thigh brushed against hers, anchoring her.

Jonathan offered a hand and a polite smile. “So you’re the one who’s got my brother acting like a teenager.”

“Is that what I’m doing?” she replied, her voice even, though her heart pounded in her chest.

He chuckled. “You tell me.”

Trinity leaned forward, her gaze curious but not unkind. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

That caught Jalisa off guard. “You have?”

“Mmhmm. All good things,” Trinity said, sipping her tea again. “Though, from the way Joshua talks, I was half-expecting someone ten years younger.”

There was an edge to her voice, subtle but there. Jalisa caught it and tucked it away.

Joshua shifted beside her. “She’s exactly my type,” he said simply, his hand slipping onto her thigh with casual intimacy. “No filters. Real. That’s what I need.”

Jalisa swallowed her response, not entirely sure what to say. Her gaze flickered toward Jonathan again. He was watching her carefully, thoughtfully.

She wondered what they saw when they looked at her. A middle-aged woman who’d just stepped out of a twenty-five-year marriage? A phase? A rebound? Did they know about Charles?

Of course they did. Joshua didn’t keep much to himself, she was learning. After she’d mentioned that her ex-husband had been reaching out, trying to stir the ashes of something long since burned, Joshua had shifted become more attentive, more territorial. It was like a switch had flipped inside him. And now here she was, a few days later, seated across from his closest people, suddenly someone he claimed.

“I didn’t know anyone would be here,” she said, finally, quietly.

Jonathan gave her a half-smile. “We didn’t either. Joshua tends to do things on impulse.”

Joshua shrugged. “You know how it is.”

Trinity tilted her head, a small smile playing at her lips. “You from around here, Jalisa?”

“Miami,” she replied. “Born and raised.”

“And your family?” Trinity asked, casual.

“Mostly still there. My sisters, my daughter, well, my oldest, she’s in college now. University of Miami.”

Joshua looked at her then, something soft flashing across his expression. “She’s got grown kids,” he added, proud, as though that fact added to her mystique. “And she still looks like that.”

Jalisa laughed, a short, disbelieving sound, more from nerves than amusement. She wasn’t used to being talked about like a prize, like a conquest. She wasn’t used to being talked about at all.

Trinity noticed.

“Well,” she said, setting her tea down. “It’s nice to see Joshua serious about someone. It's been a while since he brought a woman around, let alone introduced her.”

Joshua smirked. “Didn’t have the right one.”

Jonathan glanced at Jalisa. “So what about you? You serious about him?”

The question hung in the air like smoke.

Jalisa looked at Joshua. He looked back, unreadable for once.

“I’m… figuring things out,” she said honestly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done this.”

“That’s fair,” Trinity said with a nod. “It’s a lot, starting over. Especially at your age.”

Jalisa looked at her, surprised. “You don’t look a day over thirty,” Jonathan told Jalisa.

Jalisa grinned. “I’m forty-six. Black don’t crack.”

They shared a brief laugh, and for a moment, some of the tension dissolved.

Still, the question lingered: Are you serious about him?

Was she?

She didn’t know. She hadn’t even planned to stay the night when she came over. But Joshua had a way of making the world feel suspended, like nothing outside of him really mattered. And maybe that was dangerous.

After a few minutes of idle conversation, Jonathan stood, brushing his hands on his jeans. “Well, we should head out. Didn’t mean to crash anything.”

Joshua stood too, clasping his brother’s shoulder. “You’re good, man. Always.”

Trinity reached out to hug Jalisa, surprising her. “It was good to meet you. I hope we see more of you.”

Jalisa returned the embrace, a little stiffly. “You too.”

When they were gone, the silence left in their wake felt heavy.

Joshua turned to her, his gaze sharp and unreadable. “You okay?”

She hesitated. “Why’d you call me your girlfriend?”

He shrugged. “Because you are.”

“Joshua…”

“What? You’re here. You came back. You could’ve stayed with Charles. You didn’t.”

She looked away. “That doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing.”

He cupped her chin, turning her face toward him. “You don’t have to know. You just have to be here.”

The intensity in his eyes made her stomach twist. She didn’t know if it was fear or desire. Maybe both.

“I don’t like being backed into things,” she whispered.

He kissed her then, slow and deliberate. “Then walk out if you want to,” he murmured against her lips. “But you won’t.”

And God help her, she didn’t.

Next: Look What You Did 3