by Nia Arthurs
“He’s trying, okay?”
“Trying? He’s got a good gig with a woman willing to pay all his bills. Why would he give that up?”
“Alright, you’ve made your point. We’re both incredibly stupid women who do incredibly dumb things and love incredibly flawed men. Is that what you were fishing for?”
“Mm-hm.” Kelly moaned as the masseuse worked out the kinks in her neck. She allowed the thoughts of her grandmother to flow out of her and instead imagined what sleeping with Benjamin would be like.
From his appearance and mannerisms she guessed he was a generous lover, though she could be wrong. It was hard to tell a man’s style in the bedroom from the airs he put on in public. She’d learned the hard way that excessive swagger could be covering ineptitude.
Hopefully, that wasn’t the case with her boss.
A sliver of doubt snaked into her core. What if he rejected her as Rene warned? What would the consequences of his displeasure be if she didn’t perform or look the way he expected? Kelly was fairly confident in her nakedness and in her knowledge of sexual intimacy, but there was a possibility the experience wouldn’t live up to the hype.
She groaned. “You see what you did, Rene? You’re making me overthink things with Benjamin. Watch how stiff I am… ruining my massage.”
“That means I did something right.”
“Humph.”
The girls finished their massage in quiet and then washed off in the pool that was located in the middle of the spa’s luscious garden. Fortunately, the ice between them thawed, and they received the rest of their pampering with laughter and conversation.
When the taxi dropped her home later that evening, Kelly was glowing. Her nails were done, her skin was soft as a flower, and her mood was right. She was ready for some action.
Instead of stopping on her floor, she walked the rest of the way to Benjamin’s penthouse and knocked on the door. Excitement bubbled in her chest. She was nearly delirious with anticipation.
If he picked up on her hints and all things went well…
The door swung open before she could complete the thought. Kelly took a calming breath when she saw Benjamin in the doorway. He wore a pair of faded blue jersey shorts and a white tee. His tattoo peeked out beneath his sleeve, the cross drawing her eye.
Kelly decided that she preferred the laid back Benjamin sporting a five o’clock shadow and mussed hair to the hot businessman getup he wore in a professional setting.
“Kelly,” his blue eyes widened, “what are you doing here?”
She licked her lips and cocked her hips to the side, allowing the hint of décolletage in her plunging scoop neck blouse and the exaggerated curve of her waist to draw his eyes. She saw when his gaze dipped down, but it didn’t stay there and promptly returned to her face.
Rats
Discouraged, but pushing past the initial rejection, she pouted. “I hate to bother you, but could you help me change my light bulb?”
It was lame, she knew, but Kelly did not have the patience to be subtle. She needed Benjamin in her apartment. Pronto.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Actually, I was—”
“Who’s at the door, Benji?” A patter of footsteps followed the question. A beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair and blue eyes stepped into view. She leaned on Benjamin and sent Kelly a thoughtful glance.
Oh, Lord. Kelly paled. He does have a Tiffany!
The Proposition
Whether one called it racism or preference, Kelly liked her men tall, dark-skinned, and handsome. Sure good-looking guys existed in all races, but she didn’t need to look elsewhere with so many black brothers available.
The fact that Benjamin Levy had caught her attention could be drawn up to sexual curiosity rather than a true emotional connection. Anything physical between them would remain at the surface-level of intimacy.
It was why she’d been down with making a move on her boss and exploring ‘the other side’ for one night. It was also one of the reasons she expected Benjamin to join her.
I might as well forget that now.
Kelly stared at the girl hanging on Benjamin’s arm. She was gorgeous. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, her nose was slim, her cheeks pale, and her lips plump. She had a sweet vibe—a gift of youth that Kelly could never reclaim.
Her brain pounded a warning. Get out. Get out. Get out.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Kelly turned to walk down the stairs, cursing herself for stupidly trying to seduce her boss.
Now that a white girl was in the picture, she might as well forget it. If ‘Tiffany’ was anything close to Benjamin’s preferences, Kelly could never fulfill any of the desires he’d want in a sexual partner.
Maybe seeing him with a white woman was the jolt she needed to come back to reality. She was disappointed, but on the bright side, at least she wouldn’t be putting herself in an awkward position at work.
“Wait.” Benjamin tore out of his house and stopped in front of her. “Why don’t you join us?”
Join her boss and his girlfriend? Kelly wasn’t in the mood—at least not for polite conversation with the star of some of her very inappropriate thoughts. She would go home, regroup and come back to work a changed woman.
“No thanks.”
“I insist.” Benjamin held her hand so that sparks fluttered up her arm and whooshed through her chest. Stunned by the contact and her body’s reaction to it, Kelly allowed him to lead her into his apartment.
“Hey!” White Girl surprised Kelly by wrapping her arms around her and hugging her tight. Unfamiliar with such candid embraces, she stood stiffly. “I’m Bianca.” The chick grinned when she leaned back. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
So her boss liked them extra-chirpy.
The observation confirmed how mismatched they would be. She’d made the right choice in abandoning any thoughts of bedding Benjamin.
Okay. Maybe the thoughts weren’t fully abandoned, but she would get over it eventually.
“We were just about to eat,” Benjamin said, indicating a pizza box on the black glass dining table.
“It’s got everything,” Bianca informed her. “Belizean pizzas taste so good. It’s insane.”
It’s insane, Kelly quietly mocked. The woman looked to be around twenty years old. She would have guessed it anyway from the stick-like figure, privileged white girl twang and the University sweatshirt she wore.
“I really don’t mean to intrude,” Kelly said. Now that her senses had returned, she wanted to leave and tuck herself into bed. Alone. Or maybe not. Should she call Clayton?
“It’s no intrusion,” Bianca said, grasping her shoulders and forcing Kelly to take a seat around the dining table. “He’s a big bore anyway. All he cares about is business and basketball. I’m glad to see another friendly face.”
She stared, unblinking. They’d been standing in the same space for all of five seconds. How had Bianca determined that Kelly was a friendly faced when, for all intents and purposes, she’d marched up the stairs intent on sleeping with her man?
And what was wrong with her? If Kelly had all six foot two of Benjamin Levy to herself, she would never share him!
“Please forgive my sister,” Benjamin said, coming around the table with a soda bottle and a stack of glass cups. “She’s been cooped up in the hospital for too long so she’s forgotten how to pull back on the word flow.”
“I’m sorry… what? Did you say?”
“Didn’t you know?” Bianca reached out and crooked her elbow around Benjamin. “I think we look alike.”
Kelly’s eyes bounced between the two of them. To be fair, she thought all Caucasians sort of looked alike.
“You’re his sister?”
“That’s right.” Bianca whipped her hair off so that Kelly yelped. “And a proud survivor of ovarian cancer, baby!” The stubbles of dark hair on her extremely white scalp drew Kelly’s gaze.
Regret swum through her. What kind of horrors had
this young girl been through? Her earlier animosity melting like wax, Kelly scrambled to make up for her bad attitude by smiling genuinely at Bianca.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she said, returning the blonde wig to her head. “It’s coming back in patches so I’m trying out different hairstyles in the meanwhile. I’ll be staying with Benji for a few days and the blonde wig is too hot so I’ve got to find a new one. Hey, maybe you could help me pick out my next wig while I’m here.”
“Bee, let’s not sucker Kelly into any commitments—”
Kelly cut Benjamin off. “I’d love to.”
“See!” Bianca squealed and Kelly now understood why her zest for life was so bright. “By the way, I love your name. So beautiful! Do you mind if I call you ‘Kel’? You can call me Bee.”
“Go right ahead—uh—Bee.”
Bianca tore a piece of pizza and waved it in the air. “Benji, we should invite Kel on the trip tomorrow.” Instead of waiting for her brother’s permission, Bianca turned to her. “We’re going to San Pedro to snorkel near the barrier reef. You have to come.”
“I’ve already taken care of everything,” Benjamin said. “All you’d have to bring is yourself.”
A free trip to the islands sounded heavenly, but Kelly hesitated to say ‘yes’. Her outside relationship with her boss was supposed to be a purely physical thing. The more time she spent getting to know Benjamin Levy as a person and not a prime slab of hunky meat, the harder it would be to keep herself in check.
“Benji,” Bianca moaned, “you have to convince her. I came to Belize just so I could have fun this weekend and it won’t be fun without her.”
“I’m sure you’d have fun either way. The reef is amazing.” Kelly nodded. “There’s a place you can stop in before you reach the reef that has nurse sharks and dolphins. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard it’s an awesome experience.”
“See! She’s already making the trip better.” Bianca pulled on her brother’s arm. “Benji…”
“Come on, Bee. I can’t force her. How about I fly out some of your other friends to join us. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“You can do that,” Bianca said. “But it won’t be the same without Kel.” Bianca’s expressive blue eyes, an identical hue to Benjamin’s, zoomed in on Kelly. “I know we just met, but I can tell that you’re an awesome person.”
“You’re too sweet,” Kelly laughed, her heart melting. She was getting used to Bianca’s effervescent personality. “How can I say no?”
“Yes!” Bianca stomped her legs and waved her arms in the air. The dance was dorky and weird, but… kind of cute. To Bianca every moment was a celebration and her vigor was contagious.
“Go and call all the friends that are willing to come last minute.” Benjamin nodded at his sister. “Tell them to be ready at seven. I’ll have a driver pick them up and take them to the charter.”
“It will only be Jenna and Courtney,” Bianca said and then she turned to Kelly. “Sickness sure can clear a crowd, but at least I know who my real friends are.”
“Preach!” Kelly lifted her arms.
“I like that!” Bianca laughed and imitated her pose. “Preach!”
“Shall I do it also?” Benjamin raised his hands over his head.
“Don’t you dare!” Bianca glared at her brother and jumped up and down. “I’m so excited. I’ll go call them now.” She skipped down the hallway to what Kelly assumed was her bedroom.
“I’m sorry for backing you into a corner like this.”
“It’s no problem. I didn’t have any plans this weekend anyway.” Kelly clasped her hands together. “Bianca’s spirit is so… fiery. It’s hard to imagine how difficult it must have been to battle cancer, but she seems stronger for it.”
“Yeah.” Benjamin blew out a breath and stared thoughtfully at the table. “It was brutal. Especially when Dad got sick too. Bianca was beside herself. For a minute, I thought I’d lose them both.”
Her heart tugged her toward him, but she threw an invisible lasso at the organ and hauled it back. She was not going to fall for Benjamin Levy just because he’d lost his father and seemed to be wrapped around his little sister’s pinky finger. She would not be swayed by his manly smile, his muscular arms, or the tattoo on his arm.
Kelly would conquer her boss and get him out of her system once and for all, but that plan would have to wait until after this weekend. As soon as Monday rolled around, Benjamin Levy was fair game.
Take Me In Paradise
Jenna and Courtney, Bianca’s friends, were much more reserved than their host—something for which Kelly was inestimably grateful. Bianca was a darling, but she could only handle one person with such high energy at a time.
As the teenagers chatted on the bench further down the boat, Kelly fixed her dark glasses over her eyes and tucked a tendril of hair that lifted on the sharp breeze. The tang of the sea filled the air and the Caribbean water frothed white bubbles as their vessel tore through the waves.
She crossed her legs, admiring the span of her black and white tribal print maxi-dress. Her nightclub and gym gear excluded, Kelly usually covered up when walking around in public—a direct consequence of her grandmother’s lectures on modesty.
It seemed some lessons were too ingrained in her psyche to shake loose.
Her leather sandals accentuated the glow of her pedicured feet and her toned arms danced with leather and cotton bracelets. The outfit was understated, but flattering and classy. Benjamin seemed to agree. He had given her an appreciative smile when he’d picked her up at her apartment earlier.
Not that she cared.
“Hey,” the object of her thoughts leaned over, “are you okay?”
She nodded, free to admire him behind the thickness of her dark glasses. Like Kelly, Benjamin wore designer sunshades. The glasses rocketed his sex appeal and she noticed several of the other female tourists on the boat checking him out.
Apart from his handsome features, fitted T-shirt and Bermudan shorts, Benjamin exuded charm even when he was sitting down with his hands casually draped on the bench behind her.
“Let me know if you want to exchange places,” he said, gesturing to the sunlight beginning to sneak past the boat’s roof. “I don’t want you to get sunburned.”
She grinned and pinched her skin. “Thanks for your concern, but this melanin really loves the sun.”
Laughter rang out, cutting their exchange short. They turned to watch Bianca who had chosen to sit closer to the bow of the boat as she chatted with her friends. The young woman wore a large hat over her baldhead, along with shorts and a loose tank-top.
Bianca noticed them watching. Her big blue eyes widened and she waved with gusto. Kelly found herself waving back with a similarly goofy grin on her face. She quickly fixed her expression and set her hands back in her lap.
Benjamin had caught the entire thing, his blue eyes probably changing to a deeper hue behind his glasses. She prayed he wouldn’t make a comment, but knew it was coming.
And it did.
“Are you always so concerned with your appearance?”
“Are you always so nosy?”
“Since I was born.”
“I should have guessed.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She tapped her chin. “What were you like as a child?”
“Now you’re changing the subject.”
“Take the bait, Mr. Levy.”
He scratched his cheek, the slight rasp of his beard drawing her attention. He hadn’t shaved since yesterday and Kelly heartily approved of the rugged look.
“Are you really interested in hearing about my childhood or was it a cheap attempt at distracting me?”
“I’ll take the cheap attempt.” She winked. “But now I’m genuinely interested.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve heard I was rambunctious, energetic, a typical kid. I used to prank my older brother all the time—whipped cream on
his hand, dangling spiders… you name it. He never saw it coming. He’d get me back by punching me senseless. We drove our mom completely nuts.”
“That sounds… pretty violent.”
“I’m exaggerating for effect.” He chuckled. “Dad usually stepped in before things got too far between Brandon and me.”
“Do all your siblings’ names start with ‘B’?”
“What can I say? Our mom thought it would be fun.”
“Was it?”
“Not particularly.”
She chuckled, moved by the lightness in their exchange. This was the first time in a long time that she’d stopped to have an intelligent conversation with a man. If Benjamin had ulterior motives, he was a pro at hiding them for Kelly felt he was sincerely interested in sharing and listening to her.
“What about you?” he asked. “What were you like growing up?”
“Rebellious,” Kelly admitted. “There wasn’t much my grandmother and mom could tell me that I didn’t have an answer for. The amount of whippings I got—” She smiled and shook her head. “But the more they said ‘no’, the more I wanted to disobey.”
“Give me an example.”
She tilted her head. “They were simple things. I climbed to the top of the mango tree even when they said I could fall. I stuck my finger in the power socket to see if it would shock me for real.”
“What a handful.”
“That’s an understatement. My teenage years…” she blew out a breath. “Not the best. There was a lot of fighting before my mom died. The last thing I said before she left that day was that I hated her.” Emotions clogged her throat. “It’s one of my biggest regrets.”
“Regrets, huh?” He nodded. “I’ve got a stack of those myself.”
The pair sat in silence, mired in the chains of their past. Yet they did not linger there. The cerulean blue sky called them out of their brooding depths. The cheerful roar of nearby conversations mingled with the whirr of the boat’s motor, daring them to return to the present.
Kelly chuckled and awkwardly shuffled her feet. “I don’t know why I keep unloading personal information on you. That’s unlike me.”
