Capri, p.1
Capri, page 1
capri
In A Perfect World…
jahquel j.
Copyright © 2024
Published by Jahquel J.
www.Jahquel.com
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Any unauthorized reprint or use of the material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage without express permission by the publisher. This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Contains explicit languages and adult themes.
suitable for ages 16+
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synopsis:
She’s a homie hopper. She’s confused. She doesn’t take accountability for anything. She’s f*cking her way through all her brothers’ friends.
I’ve heard more than a few of those when people talk about me, and I have even felt the same way my damn self. I didn’t know what I wanted. I mean, I knew what I wanted.
I wanted marriage, love, and the commitment that I made to my husband – ex-husband. I’ve found myself confused after my divorce to Naheim. It would have been easier to stay and forgive him for something that broke me. It would have been easier for him to stay and forgive me for sleeping with one of his friends.
Nothing worth ever having is easy.
My personal life aside – Let’s also remember:
I’m THAT girl.
The girl who let that shit go with one hand, popping my shoulder out of place. I’m that same girl that protected both of my sister-in-law’s. I’m also that girl that rides with the Inferno Gods and can hold my own on a bike.
*nose swipe and spit included*
hey there
This is Capri’s story, and we all know sis’ has gone through the ringer in both her brothers’ books. Like I said about Cappadonna’s book after wrapping up Capone’s book: this is Capri’s book… don’t compare her book to her brothers.
Like both her brothers are different, her story will be, too. There’s ground that needs to be covered, so consider this a slow burn – kinda.
We’re introducing new characters and Capri again, as her healed self. Remember how we set the scene for Capone before we tore shit up?
Like my teen says…. Lemme cook. *wink*
I haven’t had a birthday release in about four years. This one in particular is very special to me.
By now, we know why the books are split up. For those who keep saying sHe DRaGgiNg It… the books are full novels, split in half because I am contractually obligated.
stop!
STOP: If you haven’t read the following, please go read those before starting this book.
SEASON ONE: CAPONE
SEASON TWO: CAPPADONA
To every woman who has ever lost herself and had to fight to find her again.
translations:
Cabeça nas nuvens – Head in the clouds
o tempo todo hoje em dia – all the time these days
é sobre aquela mulher? seu amor? – is it about that woman? Your love?
Não entre aqui meu amor.. estou fumando - don’t come in here my love… I’m smoking.
Eu não vou - I won’t
Aceite isso como uma boa menina, meu amor – take it like a good girl, my love
meu tudo – my everything
playlist:
Playlist:
Apple
Spotify
If you enjoy Pinterest boards, check out the one made for Capri
prologue
. . .
I stared at my sisters and wanted to cry, but the both of them had already beat me to the punch. Alaia was wiping her eyes on Cappy’s shirt, while Erin held her stomach and stared at me. She was due any day now and should have been sitting her butt down and resting. Instead, she insisted on bringing me to the airport with my brothers.
“I’m going to cry so hard on the plane… because you two have beat me to it.” I pulled my bag up on my arm.
Capp looked at Capone, and they both looked at me. I knew they both were keeping it together because both of their wives were acting a whole fool. “Then don’t go… why the fuck you wanna travel anyway?”
“I never had time for myself, Capone. During law school, I settled into being a wife, and then life happened. I never got the chance to be alone… I have to learn how to be alone.”
“Keep that fucking necklace around your neck, Capri,” Cappadonna looked down at me, and I stepped into his arms.
“Gonna miss you the most, Cappy.”
I was close with both my brothers, but me and Cappadonna’s bond was that much tighter. He was the oldest and had always protected us, even from the inside of prison walls. He squeezed me so tight as he kissed the top of my head a few times.
“Just fuck me then,” Capone pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead before wrapping his arms around me. “Be safe out there.”
“I will… I promise.”
My parents were in Barbados, so I planned to stop there for a week before truly continuing my travel journey. Cappadonna held my chin and looked me in the eyes. “We’re proud of you, Capri. You doing what you need to do for you… nobody can take that from you.”
“Thank you.” I gulped down the knot in my throat that was threatening the tears that were going to come.
I looked at the security line and then smiled at them. “Love you, Capri… call me soon as you land, okay?” Erin sniffled while Capone rubbed her stomach and kissed her.
Alaia settled by her husband’s side, hugging him around the stomach while crying. He held her tightly while he stared me in the eyes. “Love you the most, Baby Doll.”
“A year isn’t that bad, right?” I shrugged, knowing that a year would feel like a decade away from my family.
“Will breeze right on by,” Capp lied through his teeth to make Alaia feel better. “Big Pri over and out,” he saluted and smiled at me as I rolled my carry on beside me.
Capone and Capp had already helped me check in all of my bags. I breezed through security and found my gate, propping my feet up on the suitcase and scrolling my phone. A year would breeze right on through, and I would be able to mark this off my bucket list. I had finally done something for me, and not a man.
I looked at everyone getting up and ready to board. It never mattered when I traveled, I was always going to get here right before boarding because of my lack of time management on travel days.
Even though I had first class tickets, I never rushed to board first. It’s not like I had to work through the aisles like everyone else. My seat was right in the front, and I never had to worry about shoving by people.
“Damn, Suga, all I got was a text message.” I turned my head and Quameer sat in the empty seat beside me.
“Quamee…Quameer, what are you doing here?” I stammered.
He smirked. “I bought a cheap little flight so I can see you walk through the gate. One year without my homie is gonna suck.”
“You’re the one who told me to travel.”
“Didn’t think you would do it… or that it would hurt to see you go.” He shrugged and looked at me.
I stood up. “Did you come for a hug, Meer?”
He stood up, towering over me. I watched as he patted his jeans and then pulled out a lighter. “Take this with you.”
“A lighter?” I held it in my hand, confused.
“My favorite lighter, Suga… hold it when you miss home. Do a little flick when you’re thinking about me.”
The tears I had successfully been holding at bay came crawling down my face. He held his arms open, and I stepped into them, hugging him. “Thank you, Meer.”
“Take this time and fall in love with Capri. Get to know you, and when you come back, be ready for whatever is to happen.”
I looked up into his eyes and he smiled, as I ran my hand across the burns on his face. “I will. Can I facetime you if the lighter trick doesn’t work?”
“Anytime you want to… you got the number.”
“Meer?”
“Yeah.”
I looked up at him. “You still have to be celibate… you not slick,” I giggled, while wiping my tears.
He laughed. “Ain’t shit out there I wanna slide into… you the one that need to keep that shit on lock.”
They made the call for last boarding, and I slowly rolled my suitcase over toward the door and looked back at him for once. He held his index and middle finger together and instead of sliding it under his nose, he kissed them and winked at me.
“I’ll be here when you get back… bestie,” he teased.
I smiled, wiping my tears. “I never learned that one.”
“It’s only for you.” He winked.
& nbsp; I swiped my tears, returning the gesture. “Later, Meer.”
“Until you return, Suga.”
capri
. . .
Flying had always intrigued me. I loved how a plane could go full force down a runway and up into the sky holding thousands of pounds of people, luggage, and equipment. Alaia hated when I pointed out the obvious because she was a bad flyer, but I always found comfort in being up in the clouds.
As I started reading Forever My Lady by C. Wilson, I peeped the man looking at me. The only reason I noticed is because I looked up after I had finished reading Finding My Way Out Of Darkness by Briyanna Michelle. He was trying to be discreet, and he had been failing horribly. He had to have had some money because he was sitting up in business class with me on an Emirates flight.
I was so excited to be back home. After traveling for a few months, I decided the backpacker life wasn’t for me and settled in Singapore for the remainder of my time abroad. After my tearful goodbye at the airport, I refused to return home after only a few months, so I settled there and enjoyed being somewhere without my family. I wasn’t Capri Delgato in Singapore, nobody gave a hell about who I was. I didn’t have to watch my back, carry a gun, or worry about someone walking up on me.
I needed to stand on my own as a woman, a single woman. One who needed to find herself. I was so used to being Capone and Cappadonna’s little sister, Naheim’s wife, and Kincaid’s shorty that I forgot what it was like to just be Capri.
The woman who loved law, even though I broke it often. I was also a woman who loved being in love. For a while, I pretended like I didn’t need love, and the truth was that everyone needed love. We all needed that person that ignited us. You saw them, and then your entire world lit up. This year taught me how to be comfortable with being alone. Being alone used to hurt so bad because I was afraid of it. When you had no choice but to be alone, you learned to become comfortable in it. I remember when I first moved into my place in Singapore, the first night I sat there crying because I missed home.
I missed having someone.
I remember calling Cappadonna and crying to him, and he had bought a flight to bring me home. I called him the next morning and told him to stay home. He couldn’t come and save me, even though I knew he would.
When Alaia texted to ask what she should pack him for the weather there, I knew I needed to stand on my own. Cappadonna had his own family and shouldn’t have been rushing across the world because I called him crying.
I would sit on my balcony, crying because I didn’t know how I ended up in this head space. I wasn’t supposed to return back until next month, right before my birthday, and I was coming home early without telling anyone.
I turned my location off on my phone and prayed that nobody was tracking my necklace. The pilot made the announcement that we were about to land in New York, and I was excited. Too excited to be back home, and right in time for the good weather.
As I struggled to grab my carry on, I felt a strong hand reach above me. “Let me help you with that.”
I backed away because he was too damn close. “Um, thanks.” I smiled, realizing that I was grilling the hell out of him.
He was tall, dark, and handsome with a short fade. I noticed the suit he was wearing, and the typical businessman suitcase. It was like every man that was in business bought the same suitcase. I noticed the vintage Rolex watch sitting on his wrist, so I could tell that he had some taste.
“You’re welcome. I hate to see a woman struggling.”
I folded my arms offended. “I was not struggling.”
He smirked, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth. “You right. My apologies.”
I looked him up and down and clocked his designer suit and shoes. When he reached to grab my bag, I could see the tattoo on the inside of his wrist, too. He wasn’t totally a square, I guess.
“Enjoy, New York,” I tossed over my shoulder and rushed off the plane.
Whenever it was an international flight, everyone damn near rushed to customs because the line was always long. I was lucky that I had global entry, so I didn’t have to worry about a long line. I hadn’t even left the airport, and I was already excited to be back home. I missed my family and knew they would be excited to see me home early.
My driver was already waiting when I finished with customs. He held a sign up and I paused when I saw my brother walk in behind him. Cappadonna looked around, and then smiled when he spotted me.
I was so excited to see him that I didn’t bother to ask him how or why he was here. Rushing into his arms, he picked me up and spun me around. “Hey Baby Doll. You didn’t think you could sneak back in the country without me knowing?”
“Cappy, I was trying to surprise you!” He put me down on the floor and held my face, kissing me a bunch of times on the forehead before squeezing me again.
“Felt like hell not being able to do that for the past year.” He paused and looked at the driver. “My man, put those suitcases in my whip, she ain’t riding with yo’ weird looking ass.”
I shook my head and looked at the driver who rushed to grab my suitcases and do exactly what my brother said. Cappadonna didn’t lie, he did look weird, and I was glad that he had come. I held onto my brother’s arm as we walked out the airport and he held the door open for me.
“I love the smell of pollution, ahhh,” I took a big whiff of the air, and closed my eyes while leaning back in the seat.
“Missed you, Baby Doll,” he said as soon as he got in the car, pulling right off while putting his seatbelt on.
“Missed you, too. Does anybody know that I am back home?”
“Nah, I told Alaia that I was going to handle something.”
I smiled. “Good. I want to surprise everyone at Jaiden’s tournament this weekend.” Jaiden was home from college, and he was playing in a tournament at Rucker Park in Harlem. It was all over social media since there was a lot of talk about Jaiden being drafted. He was a first-round pick, or whatever that meant. He was going to the pros, and because everyone wanted to be close to Jaiden Cooper, he was playing in this tournament that was benefiting underserved youth in New York City.
The entire family had been chatting about it in the group chat and everyone was going. I decided after the six hundredth message that I was going to come home and surprise everyone.
“I got you. I can keep a secret.”
I side-eyed you. “Cappadonna, you better keep it a secret because Alaia will get it out of you. Neither of you stand on business when it comes to each other,” I called him out.
He looked over at me. “How the fuck I’m supposed to stand on business when my wife looks like that, Baby Doll.”
I laughed because they both made me sick. “You would think going into year two of marriage you both would be sick of each other.”
“When you marry your soul mate you could never be sick of them… me and my baby locked the fuck in.”
I shook my head because both he and Capone were so lovesick. Erin and Alaia had both my brothers whipped. All they had to say is jump and both of them would be jumping up and down. The same applied to Alaia and Erin, too. Those bitches didn’t know how to stand on business even if the business was standing on them. I wanted that for myself one day, and it was something I spent the last year praying for.
“How are the babies? Is the surrogate doing alright.”
I could never grow tired of seeing my brother smile whenever his family was mentioned. It was the only thing I dreamed about when he was locked up. I knew Capp pretended on visits for us, so we never felt down about him being there. With him being home and seeing how happy he was with his family; it was something I had always imagined.
“My boys are straight… we on countdown now. three month until we holding them in our arms… if she don’t have them early.”
Alaia and Cappadonna were having twin boys, and we were so excited for them. Adding more babies to the family was always a blessing. I loved being an auntie, even to my overly grown nephew who hated for me to call him Sugar Plum.
