“You know, Ken used to teach computer science over at USF before he started working for Dewi’s family. If your brother ever needs any help with his classwork, I’m sure Ken would be happy to offer any guidance he could.”
Nami gently squeezed his hands. “I appreciate that offer. I’ll make sure to pass it along, once we’ve eased him into whatever this is that you and I have.” She disengaged her hands from his and slowly sat back. Despite her wearing a playful smile, Beck wanted to howl with disappointment, lunge across the table, and grab her hands again.
Wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
She glanced at her watch. “Oh, wow. I didn’t realize it was almost eleven. I really need to head home.”
When she stood, Beck did as well. “Thank you again for this, Nami.”
“I have one more question for you.” She shouldered her purse, crossing her arms over her chest. “Who was that guy you and Dewi were chasing that day on my bus? What was that about?”
Beck had already prepared an answer for that. Again, not exactly a lie, just not the entire truth. “He’s a dead-beat dad to one of our extended family. Chronic baby daddy. The momma of not one, but two of his babies found out just how much he’d been catting around, so she asked if we could help her track him down so she could hold him responsible for child support.”
“Serve him with papers?”
“Basically. She couldn’t afford to hire a private investigator, so she asked us for help finding him and bringing him to her so she could hold him responsible.”
“Oh.” He could tell Nami thought there might be more to the story than that, but she seemed willing to believe him. “So you weren’t like goons going to break his kneecap or something?”
He smiled. “No.” Last he’d heard from Badger, James Palver’s bones remained unbroken. “All we did was help out a friend. She’s in government subsidized housing, having trouble making ends meet with a baby and a toddler.”
What Linda Small did to James now that he was stuck living with her full-time, however, remained to be seen.
Nami’s expression softened, her body language opening up a little. “Well, I’ve basically been there. Although not from being pregnant, so I guess that’s something. We got a little from Social Security in death benefits for my siblings. WIC, food stamps. Lived in the projects for too many years because there wasn’t enough money to go anywhere else. At least driving a bus, I was able to get them health care. That was something.”
“You’re a good woman,” he said, closing the distance between them. “I really respect what you’ve done. Some people would have given up.”
“I never give up on my family.”
He smiled. “Then that’s something else we have in common.”
Chapter Fifteen
After paying her respects and bidding good-night to the others, Beck walked Nami outside to her car.
“So, may I pick you up tomorrow night and take you out to dinner? My treat.”
Nami leaned against her car and stared up at him. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable letting you pay for my dinner this soon.”
“Then at least let me pick you up. Please?”
What harm could come of that? They were out in the middle of nowhere. If Beck had wanted to harm her, he easily could have done something tonight, with his friends to give him an alibi.
But he’d been nothing but a perfect gentleman.
“Seven o’clock,” she finally said. “I’ll text you my address.”
His beaming smile nearly broke her heart and melted her panties off her at the same time. “Thank you. And the texting and calling thing, you can feel free to text or call me as much as you want. Or if you need me, day or night. If I’m in a meeting or something, I will reply as soon as I can.”
“Deal.” She stood there, Beck obviously in no rush to move, either. “Why did we meet here instead of your place?”
“I’m staying here until Martin gets a place of his own. I’m letting him use my house in Lutz until he closes on a house shortly. We use the office here, and I’m here almost every day, anyway, and they have plenty of guest rooms. I lived here for a while before I got my own house. I felt it fairer to offer my place to Martin, since he uprooted his life to move to Florida and take the job with us.”
“Ken doesn’t have a problem with his fiancée’s ex staying in the same house?”
“Ken and I are friends. Dewi and I never hid our past from him. There was no reason to. I respect Ken. I know people might look at him and see a computer geek, but believe me, he’s a lot tougher than most people realize.”
Nami realized she was stalling. She didn’t want to peel herself away from Beck. Not yet.
But she had to get home and go to sleep, although she suspected sleep would be fleeting and restless tonight as she replayed the evening in her head. “How about a good night hug?” she asked.
He positively beamed. “I’d like that.”
She set her purse on the roof of her car and stepped in, hugging him, feeling how perfectly her body seemed to mold against his. Her head rested against his chest at the perfect height for her to hear his heart racing inside his chest.
Mine.
That faint word bored straight through her body, to her clit.
His arms encircled her, held her tightly.
The last thing she wanted to do was break this contact with him. This was the absolutely most perfect hug she’d ever felt in her life.
She looked up to find herself staring into his blue eyes. In the moonlight, they looked like a deep blue.
Before she could chicken out, she raised up on her toes, slid her left hand around behind his neck, and pulled him down for a long, deep kiss that stole her breath away. He tasted the same as he had that first time, on the bus, and it was like she now craved him. A drug. A need.
Mine.
When she finally broke contact with him, the thought that diving into his bed at that moment was a damn good idea finally made her take a breath and try to pull herself together.
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Beck,” she whispered, voice trembling. “The only promise I can make you right now is that I will give you a chance. But I warn you, if you violate my trust, even once, you will never see me again. Do I make myself clear?”
He nodded. “Absolutely.”
She couldn’t help it. She wanted one more taste of him. Another kiss, this time forcing herself not to deepen it the way she wanted.
The man was sin on a stick, and she couldn’t help but feel the hard bulge in his slacks from the way she was pressed against her.
That made her smile as she released him and stepped back. Maybe he wouldn’t be the only one rubbing one out tonight.
“I do have another rule,” she said.
“And that is?”
“If you want this chance, we have to be exclusive while we’re trying it out. I’m not talking no going out with friends, but we don’t date anyone else. We also don’t sleep with anyone else. Not,” she quickly added, “that you and I will be sleeping together right away, either. Understand?”
“Understood, and whole-heartedly agreed.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow night at seven,” she said. “I’ll text you my address when I get home.”
“I’ll be waiting.
He helped her into her car, closing the door for her and standing on the front porch until she’d made the turn onto the driveway and headed through the trees once more. As the house disappeared from sight, she thought she heard a howl, even through her closed windows.
Must be some coyote getting his jollies on in these woods. Lately, the news had frequently covered reports of coyotes moving into the Tampa Bay area.
* * * *
Beck stood on the front porch and waited until her taillights were out of sight.
Then he threw back his head and let out a long, loud, joyous howl that brought the others out onto the front porch.
Dewi crossed her arms over her
chest. “Well,” she snarked, “since she’s not still here, I’m guessing you didn’t claim her.”
He grinned. “I’m picking her up for dinner tomorrow night at seven.”
“What?” Badger asked. “She not drivin’ her bus tomorrow?”
Beck felt his face redden. “She asked me not to ride her bus anymore. But…” He grinned. “She wants to take things slow, but also said while we’re doing that, she wants to be exclusive.”
“Well, that’s the way to speed things up,” Martin drawled.
“Come on,” Beck said. “Hey, it’s progress, okay?”
“True,” Ken said. “It is progress. We’ll give you that. Snail’s pace comes to mind.”
“I was going to say glacial,” Dewi offered.
“Is there anything slower than glacial?” Martin asked.
“Wow, glad you guys are my friends,” Beck said.
Dewi grinned and stepped forward to hug him. “Congratulations,” she said. “You’re going steady. It is progress.” She poked him in the chest. “Now don’t go backward, and don’t screw it up.”
“I won’t, believe me.”
* * * *
Nami drove home in a daze, still unable to process everything that had happened to her that day.
She wanted more from her life. She wanted happiness.
She wanted Beck.
She’d be lying if she denied it.
But what about Da’von?
Then again, her brother was nineteen. Not many more months until he turned twenty. He was getting good grades, studying hard. Maybe having someone stable in his life like Beck would be a good thing. Having an extended family with a positive influence.
How’s he going to react to a man in my life?
To be fair, her divorce wasn’t totally the fault of her ex-husband, Michael. Yes, he’d been ill-prepared to deal to raise three children that weren’t his. And Da’von hadn’t made it easy on Michael. He was old enough to realize the man wasn’t his father, but was going to compete for his affection with Nami.
She hadn’t fought the divorce, either. Especially since Michael had paid for it, and the marriage had only lasted thirteen months.
Why couldn’t I date someone? Dating isn’t a promise of forever. Ease my way into it.
Beck had insisted he was willing to take things slowly. As slowly as she wanted.
It would be nice not to be alone anymore.
Friends were great, and she had some great friends, no doubt about that.
But friends didn’t hold her at night.
Friends weren’t someone to share her innermost thoughts with.
Friends weren’t people to get freaky with in bed. Well, not her friends.
Malyah and Da’von were already home when she pulled into the apartment complex’s parking lot. Malyah’s car was there, and she could see the glow of her sister’s bedroom light through the closed blinds.
Before she got out of her car, Nami texted Beck.
Home safe and sound. Here’s my address.
She added it and sent the message.
Before she could even unbuckle her seat belt, he replied.
Thank you. And thank you for tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow night at 7. Sleep tight.
She smiled as she read it. No annoying text-speak abbreviations. And he’d used punctuation. Yes, she’d sometimes use short-hand with her siblings or close friends in text, but it drove her nuts if someone she didn’t know well wrote their text messages like they were illiterate.
One more point in the man’s favor, and he didn’t even realize it.
Smiling, she got out of her car, locked it, and headed inside.
* * * *
“So why are you glowing today, huh?” Lara asked Nami when she walked into the back room at the dress shop.
Nami didn’t want to deny it. “I might have met me a guy.”
Lara frowned. “Either you did, or you didn’t. Which is it?”
“I met me a guy, who wants to go out with me.”
“Okay.” Lara held up both hands, motioning at her to make with more details.
“I went over to have dinner with him and some of his coworkers last night. Very nice people. He asked if he could pick me up and take me out to dinner tonight, and I said yes.”
“I take it he’s gainfully employed?”
“It would appear so.”
Lara’s lips curved, just a little, the hint of a smile. “And you think maybe there’s something between you two?”
“He’s cute. Even for a white guy,” she jokingly added. “Big guy.” Nami kicked herself that she didn’t take a picture of him last night with her phone. “Nice guy. Intelligent, and gorgeous blue eyes.”
“I’m a sucker for blue eyes, chica. Keep talking.”
“We met on my bus—”
“Wait a minute! This isn’t creepy kiss guy, is it?”
Oops. Nami forgot she had told Lara about that. “Yes and no.”
“Well, either he is or he isn’t.”
“It is the same guy, but he’s not creepy.” She filled in details. Hell, wasn’t like she could make Beck look worse to Lara.
Fortunately, when Nami finished the story, Lara looked astounded. “Aww! That is the most romantic thing I think I’ve heard in my life! He looked for you?”
“Exactly.” She settled in her usual place. “I’m going out to dinner with him again tonight. This time, he’s picking me up.”
“Okay, all joking aside, you give me his information. And after your date, you let me know you’re okay, or I’m calling the cops. Got it?”
“I got it. And thank you, I will.”
“You tell the kids yet?”
That was Lara’s pet phrase for Nami’s siblings.
“No. I didn’t really tell them about last night, either. Just that I was going out to dinner. I’m not sure how Da’von will feel about me dating.”
“So you’re gonna be a chicken and not tell him?”
“I’m not being a chicken.” Lara arched an eyebrow at her. “Okay, yes, I’m being a chicken, but it’s not like it’s a big deal, okay?”
“If it’s not a big deal, why not tell them?”
“Because I’d like to go out with him a couple of times to make sure how I feel about him before bringing him in and disrupting their lives.”
“Doll, listen. Lu’ana is an adult with a family. Malyah is an adult with a life. She lives at home still because it makes her life and yours easier, but she has a life. Da’von is a man. He needs to learn you are an adult with a life. I get it, I know you had a rough patch with him a while ago, but didn’t you say he’s pulled it together again?”
“Yeah.” She threw her head back. “I’m scared.”
“Of creepy bus guy?”
When Nami looked, she spotted the playful grin on her friend’s face. “He’s not creepy.”
“Determined, then.” Lara laughed. “For the record, I do think it’s sweet. I’ll reserve final judgment until I meet him, though.” She wagged a finger at Nami. “Remember, I get veto power as your friend.”
Another old joke between them. “Sure you do, honey. Sure you do.”
* * * *
Nami thought she’d never sleep the night before, but it had shocked her when her alarm woke her at her usual time and she realized not only had she enjoyed a full night’s sleep, but it had been the best night’s sleep she’d had in a while.
And during the busy day, as she, Lara, and two other employees worked their way through an extremely hectic Saturday schedule, Nami realized she wasn’t obsessing over Beck the way she had been before last night.
Maybe having a few questions answered helped.
She didn’t know.
But by the time they’d finished with the last appointment of the day at five, Nami felt exhausted in the good way. Saturdays were always their busiest day because many times that was the only free time people had to get to the shop for fittings or shopping.
As Nami sat in
her car behind the dress shop and waited for the AC to cool it down, she texted Beck.
Heading home from the shop to get ready. We still on?
He replied a moment later.
I will be there at 7. Have been looking forward to it all day. :)
Nami smiled as she read his message over and over again. Finally, she replied.
I’ve been looking forward to it, too.
See you then. Have a safe drive home.
She wanted to sit there and stare at her phone but realized that wasn’t going to get her home and get her ready. So she shoved the phone into her purse and backed out of the parking lot.
Chapter Sixteen
Much to Nami’s relief, neither Da’von nor Malyah were home when she got home. Introducing them to Beck wasn’t something she wanted to do yet. Not until she felt a little more certain about where things were going.
Explaining the circumstances of their initial meeting might also be a little uncomfortable. Waiting to do all that would be better.
Cowardly, but better.
She had just enough time to grab her shower and stand in front of her closet and nervously debate what she wanted to wear.
Wasn’t like she had some svelte, gorgeous figure like that Dewi did, but she knew how to rock the body she’d been given. Finally, after agonizing over it, she chose a pretty, royal blue dress that she hadn’t had a reason to wear in too damn long.
Luckily, it still fit.
She went and used the other bathroom to put her makeup on since the mirror in hers was steamed over. As she tried to decide what eyeshadow to use, she stared at her reflection.
She kept her hair cropped short, and there were little strands of grey popping up here and there. She’d never had time to mess around with letting it grow out and then trying to straighten it. She also didn’t want to spend the money on it, and hadn’t had the patience to deal with it. She wasn’t blessed with hair like Malyah and Lu’ana, who both had locks that looked gorgeous longer, straightened, and styled.
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