please do not complain at the end of this chapter, or so help me, I'll fight you and won't update until October. 💙

'HERE' when you're here.

"Wow, this is nice," Soleil admired the hotel suite as she stepped inside with her luggage. She walked further into the suite, staring in awe as Siraj walked in behind her, shutting the door.

Soleil walked over to the glass doors, unlocking it before she pulled the door back. "Oh my gosh, look at this view," she gasped, stepping onto the balcony.

Siraj grabbed Soleil's luggage and walked into the room, placing it to the side. He walked out of the room and joined Soleil on the balcony, seeing that she was taking a video of the scenic view. "I can imagine what it looks like at night," she said, saving the video to her gallery and then locking her phone.

"You like it?" Siraj asked her, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Soleil hummed in response, sitting down on his lap. "Good, I know how you like sitting outside on the balcony at my house, so I kept it in mind when I was booking the suite,"

He watched a sly smile grow across her face, as she looked at him. Soleil watched as his facial expression dropped a bit, while he looked out at the ocean. "What's the matter?" Soleil tilted her head, running her hand over his temple fade.

"Are you still mad at me?" he questioned her, making eye contact with her again. "I can kind of feel the tension between us still. You haven't said much to me, so that's why I'm asking. I just don't want you have any ill feelings toward me,"

Soleil cleared her throat and got up from his lap, so she could sit in the chair next to him. She sighed, crossing her leg over the other. "I am," she answered truthfully.

"Okay, talk to me," Siraj replied, leaning back into the chair.

"My question still stands, Siraj, why didn't you tell me? The fact that you didn't want to tell me, let's me know you understood how wrong it was. I didn't expect you to cancel the session because of me, because that'd make you look unprofessional—trust me, I'm very understanding of that part. By all means, make your money, but why didn't you tell me after the fact?"

"I guess, I just...I don't know, I was just trying to avoid any drama. I'm tired of folks bothering you, Soleil, and I don't like when folks make you upset. You deal wit' a lot, I wanted this to be one less thing you had to worry about," Siraj told her, gesturing his hand toward her.

"I will admit, I acted very naïve in this situation. When I found out it was Jaelyn, I pulled Aria to the side and explained that I wasn't too comfortable wit' the situation because of what happened wit' y'all. Aria explained that she booked the shoot because her birthday was approaching, so, I figured okay, maybe she isn't on bullshit,"

"But then Aria told me she wanted to do the shoot naked, I'm not gone lie, I started to end the session and tell her to find someone else. Aria told me that she'll handle the set up and how she poses—shit, Aria might as well been the one who did the shoot cause I all I did was snap the photos. I didn't see her fully naked, Soleil—I never do wit' any of my clients who want to do a naked shoot, it's a respect thing for them and for my significant other,"

"So, when you say you didn't see her fully naked, what do you mean?" Soleil narrowed her eyes at him, still a little skeptical of his side of the story.

"I never saw her chest, or her bottom half. She was in the tub, with flowers and shit—have you even seen the photos? Cause she made it seem like the shoot was me snapping photos of her completely naked with nothing covering her," Siraj rolled his eyes, a little annoyed that Jaelyn was trying to sabotage their relationship.

"No, and I don't care to," Soleil waved him off, shaking her head. "Did she try to flirt wit' you? Did y'all have any conversation other than about the shoot?"

"No, it was strictly professional,"

Soleil stared at him with a hardened expression, before slightly nodding her head. "Alright then," she finally gave in, satisfied enough with his answers.

"I'm sorry, Soleil. I should've told you about the shoot, then all of this could have been avoided—"

"Nah, she still would've gotten her ass beat but continue," Soleil briefly interjected, scoffing a laugh.

"Well, still, I should've said something. I had another bitch out here trying to embarrass you and spin a narrative that wasn't even half as true. It won't happen again," Siraj said, Soleil slightly rolling her eyes as she sported an unconvinced expression.

"Riiight," Soleil drawled out, looking down at her nails.

Siraj furrowed his brows, reaching over to gently grab Soleil's chin, to make her look at him. "You...don't believe me?"

"Unfortunately, I don't," Soleil replied, shrugging. "Another situation is going to occur where a girl is going to feel comfortable enough to disrespect me because of you. Had the roles been reversed, I think that you would've lost your cool like the situation with Isidro,"

"Even then, you voiced your concerns to me about him, told me you wouldn't be comfortable wit' us remaining friends after he did what he did. I didn't argue wit' you about it, didn't try to excuse his actions—nothing, I ended the friendship wit' no hesitation. However, in your case, I don't appreciate you continuing to speak to women that you had relations wit',"

"Ximena? That situation has been taken care of, I'm no longer worried about that. Raegan? There's no reason why she should have been able to pull you aside and was comfortable enough to ask you for a favor—she shouldn't have any type of access to you anymore, period. The whole night we were at the club, her and her friends kept eyeballing me like they had an issue,"

"Do you understand how that makes me feel? She didn't fall back, because you never told her to. She was still calling and texting your phone—and you let her, not only is that disrespectful towards me, but it's disrespectful towards our relationship. I know you aren't paying attention to any of your old flings, but I would still like you to enforce those boundaries when it's clear that they're being crossed. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"

Soleil finally paused, waiting for his response. He nodded, holding his hand out for hers. Without hesitation, Soleil placed her hand in his, Siraj caressing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I do and you're right. I should've made it clear to her that we were dating, especially after we became official. I kinda was hoping that she would take the hint once I stopped responding to her overall, but I still should've set boundaries," Siraj responded, beckoning her to him.

Soleil obliged and got up from the chair, to sit in his lap. "You know I will never have intentions of embarrassing you or to have you out here looking stupid. I'm sorry, love, I'll do better, okay?" he apologized, Soleil trying her hardest to hold back a smile.

"You make it hard to stay mad at you sometimes," Soleil playfully rolled her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I forgive you though, now can we enjoy our vacation, please?"

"Yes ma'am," Siraj got up, carrying Soleil. "We have a couple's massage at three, then after that I'm leaving you to enjoy yourself at the spa,"

Soleil narrowed her eyes at him, studying him closely. "Why book a couple's massage when we could just give each other one?" she teased him.

"Because you and I both know, I don't know how to give one, five minutes in and I'll have you folded up like a pretzel," he half joked, as Soleil started snickering, nodding in agreement.

"What are you going to be doing after you leave me though? What are you up to, Siraj?" she continued to cut her eyes at him, he simply grinned and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Remember, curiosity killed the cat," he said, passing by her to go to the bathroom.

"That's so romantic, Boop!" Selah cooed, while her and Keia watched her get ready in the mirror. Soleil was currently in the suite by herself, after their couple's massage, Siraj left Soleil behind like he had planned. However, Soleil didn't know that, that was only half of his plan.

While she was getting pampered, Siraj had set up a scavenger hunt. Each station that Soleil had gone to in the spa, there was a different heart shaped paper for her with a clue.

He even had gone as far as sending her to one of the restaurants in the resort for lunch, with the tab already paid for. Soleil found the gesture extremely cute and well thought out. It was now reaching nighttime and Soleil was anxious to see her man for a little rendezvous.

The last clue she had found sent her back to the room, a bouquet of roses waiting for her on the bed along with another clue as to where he would be. Her vacation was off to a good start, she needed the pampering after the week she had. She would try to take her therapist's advice and clear her mind, she wanted to go back home with a free mind. She owed it to herself.

"I know, Siraj is really sweet," Soleil pouted, running her fingers through her loose wave hair after thoroughly brushing it out and making sure there weren't any tangles. She grabbed her lash wand and brushed out her lashes, making sure they were clean of any buildup. "Are you guys doing anything tonight?"

"Yeah he's making me dinner, my day was pretty much chill. He took care of all the house chores, dealt with Kinsley—very relaxing day for me," Selah explained, as Soleil hummed, putting her things away.

"Aww, that's nice. Glad you were able to enjoy some 'me' time, I hope y'all have a good time tonight. I'm about to head out, don't want to keep him waiting too long," Soleil told her, walking out of the bathroom with her small makeup bag in hand. She placed it down in her already opened suitcase, before grabbing her Chanel slides.

"Okay, Boop, you too. I'll probably call you later when the clock strikes twelve—what time is it there?"

"It's seven,"

"Okay, so an hour behind. If I don't call, I'll text—you know I have to be the first," The two shared a laugh, Soleil nodding in agreement as if she could see her.

"Love you sissy," Soleil said, turning off the lights.

"Love you too, Boop," Selah replied, before the call disconnected. Soleil walked out of the room and walked down the hall to get onto the elevator. As she waited for the elevator to descend, she took a few boomerangs and posted it on her story.

After the elevator reached the lobby, she walked off and waved to the concierges at the front desk as she passed by. She walked towards the beach where Siraj hinted that he would be.

She walked for a few minutes, briefly stopping to take off her slides as it was difficult to walk in the sand with them. From a distance she could see Siraj with his back facing her as he stood looking down at something in his hand.

Soleil quietly ran towards him, a huge smile now gracing her face as she took notice of the picnic he set up.

"Hi handsome," Soleil wrapped her arms around him from the back. Siraj turned around to face her, his camera in hand.

"Hey," he slyly grinned, leaning down to kiss her. "You look pretty," he complimented her, looking over her short, black, crocheted two piece.

"Thank you," she blushed, carefully sitting down on the blanket. Siraj sat down across from her, grabbing the picnic basket. "You're very creative,"

"Preciate it baby, how you feeling now?"

"I feel really good," Soleil beamed, stretching her upper body.

"Yeah? Hopefully you feel great by the end of the night," he shot her a quick glance, she bit down on her lip, trying to keep herself from blushing so hard.

"So," Soleil paused, getting more comfortable on the blanket. "What did you do today while you had me on my li'l scavenger hunt?"

Siraj passed the takeout food over to her, along with the plastic utensils. He smirked, reaching into the picnic basket again. "I been following you all day, my love, we were never really apart,"

"It's giving Joe,"

Siraj laughed, opening the plastic lid to his takeout plate. "Just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly and you didn't get lost—you wanna tell me about yo' li'l boyfriend at the restaurant?" he teased her, referring to the old man that approached Soleil's table and carried quite a lengthy conversation with her, until his daughter finally caught up to him.

"Oh my gosh, stop! I was cringing so hard, I was like why this old ass man flirting wit' me?" Soleil burst out laughing, lightly slapping her thigh. "He asked me what I was doing all alone, and I'm like sir, I'm here wit' my boyfriend—he'll be back,"

"I started to get up and approach y'all after I noticed he wouldn't leave, but then that woman came,"

"Yea' that was his daughter. She was so embarrassed," Soleil laughed harder, poking her fork into the steak after cutting it up. "You are spending the day wit' me tomorrow, right? Or are you sending me on another scavenger hunt?"

"Of course love, I just felt like you needed that alone time today, to loosen up. Don't worry, you got me all to yourself for the rest of the trip," Siraj assured her, forking some pasta into his mouth.

The next half hour, Soleil and Siraj sat on the beach and ate their food, partaking in humorous conversations. After they were done, they got up and casually strolled hand in hand along the beach, putting their feet in the water.

They let a comfortable silence fall over them, enjoying the view of the ripples in the ocean. The slight breeze hitting against their skins.

Every once in a while, Siraj would look down at Soleil. She hadn't taken her eyes off on the ocean, a concentrated look on her face as if she were in deep thought about something.

"You okay?" Siraj finally asked her, slipping behind her, snaking his hands around her waist.

"Yeah, just reflecting,"

"Care to share, about exactly what you're reflecting on?"

"Just...how I've been managing shit lately. How I've been handling my emotions, handling certain situations. I know now is not the time to really do that, I'm supposed to be enjoying myself, but being out here...it's peaceful—and it kind of makes me realize that I haven't had much of that lately," she vented, coming to a halt and turning around to face Siraj.

"I understand," Siraj responded, licking over his lips. He kept his hands around her waist, pulling her closer as they held prolonged eye contact. "Are you thinking of, I don't know, making changes?"

"I just feel like, maybe, I need to start being more vocal about my feelings on things. I let chaos go on in my life for so long, I'ma peaceful person so I deserve peace, right?"

"Absolutely, out of all the people in my life, Soleil, I think you're probably the most peaceful person I know. You don't be in drama, from what I observed, people bring drama to you and bother you. You never go looking for trouble, and you always try to avoid conflict. When people deserve to get cussed out, you spare them," Siraj said, slowly rubbing his hands up and down on her sides.

"Yeah...do you think I should change that?" Soleil curiously asked him, feeling as if changes needed to be made in regards to how she handled situations.

Siraj deeply inhaled, before slowly exhaling. He grabbed both of her hands, intertwining their fingers. "I think that's a conversation you need to have wit' yourself, sweetheart. But if you want my honest opinion, then yes. You've been letting people walk all over you, not setting boundaries—biting your tongue and holding your feelings in, you can't do that love," he preached, Soleil looking down at their entangled fingers.

"Have you been talking to your therapist?"

"I had a session with her a few days ago,"

"But have you been talking to her prior than that?" Siraj tilted his head, giving her a stern look. Soleil remained quiet and shook her head. "Come on bae, I know it's easier said than done, but you gotta start opening up more,"

"I am—" Soleil tried to say until Siraj hummed, shaking his head. Soleil slumped her shoulders and tipped her head back as she started to groan a little.

Siraj gently grabbed the sides of her face, making her look at him. "I know how you are, Anäis. You'll talk about the issue for about five minutes and then brush it off, once you start to become overwhelmed. That's not healthy, sweetheart,"

"You tend to shut down, so you won't have to deal wit' your emotions head on. That may play a factor in why you're having a hard time voicing your frustration wit' people. Until you're able to deal wit' the internal issues you deal wit', you're going to always struggle wit' setting boundaries,"

Soleil rolled her eyes, gently swatting his arms away. "You might as well be my therapist, the way you be reading me," she scoffed, folding her arms under her chest.

"It's a mutual thing, but do you understand baby?"

Soleil dramatically sighed, slightly nodding in response.

"Don't do that, I want you to be able to heal sweetheart. You're vocal wit' me, but you gotta have that same energy wit' everyone else. I think it's easier for you to tell me how you feel or what's on your mind because I stress to you how important communication is,"

Soleil dropped her arms to her side, smoothing out her shorts. "Can we get ice cream?" she clasped her hands together, looking over her shoulder as they both heard loud laughter coming from a distance away.

Siraj slowly ran his tongue over his bottom lip, sizing her up. "What?" she raised an eyebrow, watching him intently eye her.

"Nothing," he waved her off, slowly backing away towards their picnic spot. Soleil narrowed her eyes at him, remaining in her spot. "Stay right there," he pointed at where she was standing.

"Why?"

Siraj reached down to grab his camera as he finally approached the blanket. He powered it on, beginning to fiddle around with the lense. Soleil sucked her teeth followed by a laugh. "Man, come on, Siraj," she groaned.

"Girl, stop hogging all that beauty," Siraj mugged her, causing her to crack up. She turned away and started to walk away, as Siraj followed her. "Come on, bae, you never let me take pics of you. You knew what this was when you fell in love,"

"Nigga, bye!" she cackled, throwing her head back. "You fell in love wit' me first, all I had to do was snatch yo' soul one good time and you been stuck ever since,"

Siraj lowered the camera, shooting her a funny look. "Nah, it was definitely the other way around. All I had to do was look at you ma, you was weak in the knees," he teased her as Soleil flicked him off.

Siraj snapped a few photos of her, but Soleil quickly threw her hand up, trying to block her face. "Stop playing wit' me, who you hiding from? Stop treating me like yo' sneaky link," he continued to joke with her, while Soleil was unable to control her laughter. "I like yo' laugh,"

"I laugh like the joker,"