Chapter 10
Thandie~
While murder hadn’t been on my list of things to do this morning, it was still early, plenty of time to strangle Beck, then bury his body afterwards. Granted, the man wasn’t small, but challenges didn’t scare me. Plus, being a criminal attorney, I had no doubt that I’d get away with it.
When Kelly was met with silence, she said, “Yeah, someone better start talking.”
Before I could say anything, Beck was spilling all the business. “I’ve had a thing for Thandie since you first introduced us, but because she was your best friend, I didn’t want to muddy the waters.”
“So, what changed?” Kelly asked, clearly upset about having been left out of the loop.
“I discovered that she felt the same way,” Beck answered, shrugging like it was no big deal.
Looking between us, she asked, “And how did you find that out?”
“Kell-”
“I ran into Beck at The Fantasy Factory,” I finally told her, cutting off whatever Beck had been about to say. “I was there for a night out, and he was there for a bachelor party. One thing led to another, and now...well, I guess we’re dating now.”
“You guess?” Beck echoed. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Well, we hadn’t actually discussed it,” I reminded him. “So, I’m just playing off what you said about getting yourself a girlfriend last night.”
“What’s there to discuss, Thandie,” he bit out. “If that stripper hadn’t maimed herself, then you would have woken up in my bed this morning.’
“You guys had a stripper with you?” Kelly asked, her face a scrunched mess of confusion. “And she maimed herself?”
Ignoring her, I said, “Even if that had been the case, waking up in a man’s bed doesn’t automatically lead to a relationship, Beck. If that were the case-”
“Do not finish that sentence,” he threatened. “I do not want to hear about your sex life before me. I mean it, Thandie.”
“Oh, look at that,” Kelly squeaked. “I think that’s Brodrick calling me.”
She was lying, of course.
However, no matter how spoiled Kelly McKenna was, she knew her brother well, and since it wasn’t often that Beck acted out of pocket, she was smart enough to take his tone seriously.
She was also not going to throw herself on the sword for me unless I asked her to, which I wouldn’t.
The last thing that I’d ever do was come between Kelly and Beck, and I hoped that they knew that, too.
“Yeah, so...I’m going to go take this call in the other room,” Kelly lied as she stood up from the couch, her personal crisis on hold for the moment.
Once she cleared the room, Beck was sitting next to me. “Did I not make myself clear enough last night?” he asked, thoroughly annoyed with me.
“I’d have to be stupid to believe anything that a man said during sex,” I replied pointedly. “Plus, when you consider how we were roleplaying, I didn’t want to make the mistake of reading too much into anything that we did last night.”
His head reared back in surprise. “Roleplaying? Who the fuck was roleplaying?”
“You know what I mean, Beck.”
Grabbing my chin in his fingers, he said, “Let’s get something straight here, Thandie. While I can admit that last night was new for me, there was no roleplaying involved on my end. Remember, that was your fantasy, not mine.”
“Even so, we’re not kids, Beck,” I replied, doing my best not to get too excited too soon. “I just...I’m just trying to be pragmatic here. I don’t want you feeling that you’re...that you’re obligated to make this more because I’m Kelly’s best friend.”
“Did you not hear me earlier? I’ve had a thing for you since the moment that we met,” he said, making my heart skip a beat. “That wasn’t for Kelly’s benefit, baby. It’s the truth. Everything since the moment that I touched you last night has been the truth.”
“So, we’re really doing this?” I asked, still trying to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. “You and me? This is...is real?”
“Yeah, it’s real,” he said, finally letting go of my chin.
“In fact, it’s about as real as it gets.
You’re not some woman that I picked up at a bar or met at a medical conference, Thandie.
I know you. I’ve known you for years, and so I don’t need to take things slow with you. I already know enough.”
“And you’re prepared for having a Black girlfriend?” I asked, and while it was an uncomfortable topic for a lot of people, I needed to ask.
Beck’s blue eyes glowed with a quiet anger that actually made me feel better.
“Do not ever ask me that question again, Thandie,” he answered.
“No matter what you might think of me, my profession, or my law-abiding ways, I can and will always protect you. Even if we weren’t dating, I’d never stand for that shit, and you know it. ”
“The world is still an ugly place, Beck,” I told him. “And knowing a Black woman is a lot different from dating her.”
I had to grab onto his shoulders when Beck grabbed my hips, then dumped me on his lap.
“I’m not stupid, Thandie,” he said. “I’m also not na?ve, and I’m very aware of what kind of world we live in.
Still, there isn’t anything or anyone out there that can change how I feel about you, and if I’m ever failing to protect you from all the ugly out there, then just let me know, and I’ll try harder. ”
Swoon.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I said, “You’re making it really hard not to fall for you, Dr. McKenna.”
“That’s the plan, Counselor,” he chuckled as he held me tighter.
“So, what happens next?”
“If it won’t scare you away, then we move you into my place by the end of the month,” he said, and I was pretty sure that he was serious. “We also go shopping for a new bed. We need to make sure that we have one that’s compatible with all of our new hobbies.”
I let out a laugh, but before I could say anything to that, Kelly’s piercing screech was vibrating throughout the room, and she really was all energy. Kelly McKenna was the very definition of live emotion, and I just couldn’t love her more.
“Oh, my God!” she gushed as she clapped her hands together. “Look at the two of you!”
“Christ, can you drop it down an octave,” Beck winced. “I think you made my ears bleed.”
“Oh, shut up,” she laughed as she walked around to sit next to us on the couch. “Let me be happy for you two.”
“You don’t think that this will make things awkward?” I asked warily. “Especially, if things end up not working out?”
“Oh, please,” she scoffed. “Like my brother would ever let that happen.”
Beck just held me tighter as I asked, “Meaning?”
“Meaning that you might as well start planning your wedding to my brother now,” she retorted. “Beck never would have made a move on you if he didn’t see you as his forever.”
I immediately turned to face Beck. “Propose to all your girlfriends, I see.”
Before he could say anything, Kelly was saying, “You’re not a girlfriend, Thandie. You’re family, and because you’re family, there’s no way that Beck isn’t all-the-way serious about you.”
“That sounds oddly incestuous,” I muttered, wishing that she’d chosen different wording.
“We’ll roleplay stepbrother and stepsister later,” Beck quipped, making me smack his arm while Kelly let out a horrified gasp.
“Can you please not?” she choked out. “While I’m more than happy for the two of you, that is stuff that I do not need to know.”
Ignoring that, Beck said, “Well, now that you know all the business, do you want to tell us what’s really going on with you and Brodrick?”
After a few seconds of silence, she answered, “Nothing.”
“You called us on a Sunday morning, crying hysterically, for nothing?” I asked pointedly.
Kelly slumped against the couch, looking defeated. “He really did just hurt my feelings.”
When Beck glanced my way, I knew that we were both thinking the same thing. Because I was her best friend, and because he was her brother, we both knew that shark week was upon her, and while I’d never dismiss my best friend’s feelings, being a woman myself, PMS was real.
However, instead of saying that, I tried a different tactic. “How about Beck and I make dinner for the families tonight, and we’ll use our new relationship as an excuse to patch things up with you and Brodrick?
True to Kelly fashion, she said, “I guess, but we still have invitations to pick out, so...”
Looking at me, Beck said, “Yeah, we’re definitely eloping, baby.”
Luckily for him, I was okay with that.