Chapter 12 #2
I looked at him talking to me like we were business associates discussing logistics. Like his heartbeat hadn't been underneath me just a few hours ago.
I matched his energy. Cold. Short and straight to the point. "Okay," I said.
We finished eating in silence.
---
I went upstairs and the dress was laid out on my bed.
Black fitted dress, expensive, but simple.
The kind of thing a woman would wears to sign marriage documents.
He'd picked it himself. That detail hit different now that I understood he was paying attention to me in ways he wasn't supposed to be.
I loved dark colors and very minimal things. Not basic, just kit flashy.
I got dressed, did my hair and makeup basic.
I only had a few things to work with so I put pink blush on my nose and cheeks.
Then, I did my signature lip combo. Brown liner with glossy pink fillers.
Simple yes, but when I looked at myself in the mirror, I was bad as hell.
I almost didn’t look like I was headed to sign my damn life away to a mean ass, crazy ass killer.
When I came back downstairs, he was waiting by the front door like he'd been counting down the minutes.
He looked at me. Just took me in for a long moment.
I watched his jaw clench and something flash across his face before he locked it back down.
He matched my style. He was wearing a black, fitter but casual shirt that looked expensive as hell.
Black slacks, and some Dior sneakers to match his Dior belt.
He’d put on his Cartier frame glasses and the nigga was looking and smelling like generational wealth. For real.
"You ready?" he asked. Cold. Professional. Like last night was a dream. Like this morning when he almost smiled didn't happen.
I wanted to tell him no. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't ready for any of this. But what I said was, "Yeah. Let's go. It's not like I have a choice anyway."
The words came out sharp. A dig. A reminder that this was still forced, still something being done to me rather than with me. I knew that last line was gone piss him off. If he wanted to play hard, then I would do the same.
He went completely still. I watched his whole body tense up. He looked at me and something in his expression shifted. Like my words landed somewhere they weren't supposed to. Like I'd just reminded him that at the end of the day, I was here against my will.
He didn't say anything. Just turned and walked toward the truck.
I followed behind him, already regretting the dig.
Because that was the thing — I did have a choice now.
In some things anyway. Last night proved that.
Although he did force me to stay in his room.
He didn't force me to put my head on his chest. I did that.
I chose that. But admitting that meant admitting something I wasn't ready to admit out loud. Again, this man had kidnapped me and was forcing a whole new life on me. I shouldn’t be having any feelings for him other than hate.
So I kept my mouth shut and got in the truck.
---
The courthouse was busy with regular people handling regular legal shit. Kaseem had his hand on the small of my back when we walked through the doors, guiding me through the crowd.
I was trying to focus on where we were going when I heard her voice.
"Kaseem! Oh my God, what are you doing here? And why haven’t I heard from you?”
I turned and saw her at the same time he did. She was pretty. The kind of pretty that came from money and time invested in herself. Designer everything. The kind of girl who looked like she belonged exactly where she was. She had to work here or was handing important business here.
She walked straight toward us, completely ignoring me like I wasn't even there. Like I was furniture or part of the building. Her whole face lit up like she'd just seen the best thing happen to her all week.
"It’s been forever," she said, and she reached out and touched his arm like she had the right to. Like her hands belonged on him. "What's going on? Why are you at the courthouse?"
Kaseem's face didn't change but his entire energy shifted. It was immediate. He pulled his arm away from her touch and stepped closer to me instead. Close enough that our shoulders were almost touching.
"I'm busy right now," he said. His voice had that cold edge to it. The one he used when he was done with someone. Final. "You need to chill. You see I’m with someone.”
The girl blinked like he'd just slapped her. She looked at me for the first time, really looked at me, like she was trying to figure out who the hell I was and why I mattered enough for him to turn her away.
Before she could say anything else, Kaseem moved.
He put his hand on my waist and pulled me closer, keeping his arm around me in a way that left absolutely no room for interpretation.
In a way that said without saying a single word that I was his.
That whatever she thought she had with him was over before it ever started.
"Come on," he said to me, and he was already guiding me forward.
I looked back one time and watched the girl's face turn red.
Watched her realize that she'd just been rejected in public for someone else. She stood there like she was about to say something, then she just turned around and walked away mad. This was awkward as hell because now I needed to know what that was all about and he kept moving like it didn’t even happen.
We got to the courthouse office and went through all the motions.
Signing paperwork and documents. They told us the marriage license alone didn’t make us legally married yet.
First, we had to get approved and receive the license.
After that, there was supposed to be a seventy two hour waiting period before the wedding ceremony could happen, unless it got waived.
Then we’d have an officiant marry us, sign the paperwork and send it back to the county to be filed.
Once that happened, the marriage would become official in the state of Texas.
Basically… once we walked out this courthouse, all we had left to do was actually say ‘I do.’
The whole time we were signing, I couldn't stop thinking about the way he pulled me close. The way he didn't even hesitate when that girl tried to touch him. The way he made it clear that I mattered more than whatever he had going on with her.
When we finished, the woman said congratulations and smiled. Kaseem nodded. I said thank you. But neither one of us was looking at each other. We were both caught up in what happened in that hallway.
We walked back out toward the truck and the silence between us was heavy. Different from the silence at breakfast. This one had weight to it. This one meant something.
"That was..." I started but I didn't know how to finish the thought.
"What shordie did was disrespectful as hell and I’m sorry.
Her pops is a friend of the family as I used to fuck around with her from time to time.
It was never nothing serious. Although I don’t owe you no explanation.
I want you to know that I don’t fuck with what she just tried to do.
”he said, opening the truck door for me. "That's handled."
But I was worried about it. Not about the other girl. About what it meant that he cared enough to handle it. About what it meant that he didn't want her thinking she had a chance with him when I was standing right there. So did this mean he was feeling something for me too?
Damn I hated this feeling. I had a man of my own who I knew was worried sick about me. I needed to at least call him and let him know I’ve decided I’m not ready for anything serious. That way he won’t be thinking about me or thinking to come and look for me.
I got in the truck and he closed the door and walked around to the other side.
When he got in, he didn't have the driver to start the engine right away.
He just sat there looking out the window in deep thought.
His jaw clenched, staring out at the parking lot like he was working through something in his head.
"We good?" I asked, and my voice was smaller than I wanted it to be.
He looked over at me and something in his expression softened just barely before he locked it back down.
"Yeah," he said. "We good."
But we both knew we weren't good. We were something else entirely now. Something that didn't have a name yet. Something that had started with him laying with me last night. Then, him pulling me close in front of a girl who thought she had a claim on him.
He had the driver start the truck and we pulled out of the parking lot. The whole ride back to the compound neither one of us said a word. But his hand found its way to my thigh about halfway through, and I didn't move it away.
I just sat there with my hand on top of his, almost legally married now to a man who was supposed to be a transaction but starting to feel like something completely different.