Safe Place Series: A BWWM Small Town Romance (Dangerous Bonds Book 2)

by Shani Greene-Dowdell

We gave each other the side eye when Bruiser trekked behind her, knowing another one of their tiffs were about to go down.

  Jayne loudly clasped her hands together and asked, “When are the dancers coming?”

  “Dancers? I thought you said there weren’t going to be any dancers,” Kemara whined and glared at me with a warning that said, ‘no nasty man better come in here dancing on me.’

  I assured her, “No one will dance on you unless you want it.”

  “Awe girl, we know you’re sprung on Channing. We already told the dancers to only dance with the girls that we guide them to,” Jayne said to Kemara as she counted the dollars she pulled out of her purse. “We’re good on tips,” she hollered with a big grin on her face.

  “I think that’s them now,” I said as a wave of male energy entered the room in the form of five muscular men of all shades and body types from tall, slender and vanilla… to medium height, tanned with stocky muscles… to super tall, rippling muscles and dark chocolate.

  Jayne went over to the men and, of course, she had to sample them all by rubbing their muscles and making sure they were aware of the rules of not engaging the women who weren’t interested in it. I overheard them agreeing to get permission before they touched anyone, but that they could dance in front of anyone as long as there was no contact.

  I was a good sport and allowed one of my old coworkers, Joanie, to put me in a chair in the middle of the room and blindfold me.

  “Oh, my God,” I said anxiously anticipating what would happen next as I waited for the dancers to begin.

  “Tameka, are you okay with this?” Kemara checked.

  I nodded slowly, and the music switched over to Ginuwine’s “Pony.” Before I knew anything, I was whisked out of my chair with my legs wrapped around a very tall man’s waist, and his sensual movements had me simulating riding his pony. His rippling muscles could be felt grinding against my stomach as he wrapped my legs around him and took off the blindfold. He was indeed the super tall, dark chocolate guy, and his handsome face, complimented by piercing grey eyes, made him look absolutely yummy.

  “Owww!” I yelled as he rotated my body around until my hands were on his legs and my bottom was in the air. “No!!” I screamed for him to stop as he pretended to kiss my backside before sliding me to the floor where Mr. Vanilla caught me and flipped me to my feet. He helped me back to my chair and started a strip tease that had all of the women, minus Kemara, calling for him to come their way. Well, all of the women that weren’t occupied by the other four dancers.

  Alise walked back in the room, looking as if she’d seen a ghost when she saw what was going on with the dancers. I scanned the room for Bruiser, and he was back in the corner adjusting his collar as he bit down on his bottom lip and watched Alise. I didn’t get a chance to ask her what happened outside, but their energy left little unsaid. It was a high-key energy that obviously wasn’t picked up on by Mr. Vanilla who laid eyes on Alise, and she immediately became his target.

  Mr. Vanilla started rolling his hips filled with seduction as he made his way over to Alise. She tried to look away, so he wouldn’t come her way, but it was too late. He had her in his crosshairs.

  Alise glanced at the man and giggled at his dance moves, and he took her laughter as an invitation to get closer to her. The music switched over to “Mine” by Bazzi, and I couldn’t help but notice the shift between Alise and Mr. Vanilla. They were giving each other all types of sexual energy.

  My attention was swept away to Mr. Stocky as he lay flat on his stomach, snaking toward me. When he reached me, he slid my sandals off and began rubbing my feet, giving me a foot massage that was good enough to give him my next paycheck.

  I relaxed in my seat and began to think about Jeb as Tank’s “When We…” started wafting from the speakers. Mr. Stocky looked up at me and smiled as he caressed my feet, and I closed my eyes to remember Jeb’s smile just as a commotion broke out.

  “That’s enough of that! Back away from her,” Bruiser’s voice boomed through the room and the music halted. “What do you think you’re doing, Alise?” he growled, turning his ire to Alise.

  I looked over to see one of Mr. Vanilla’s hands on Alise’s leg that was raised in the air as she sat on the chair. Thankfully, she was wearing jeans, or all of her goodies would have been exposed in the position he had her in.

  “You need to back off Bru—” Alise started talking to Bruiser, but Mr. Vanilla stood up and butted in.

  “Who are you, her bodyguard?”

  “Actually, he is a party pooper,” Alise said.

  “Let’s go, Alise. You’re trying to piss me off,” Bruiser said as he took her by the hand and guided her out of the seat.

  “I don’t need you to stand up! My legs work fine on their own!” She rose out of her seat and marched toward the door as if she were a child on punishment being pulled out of a party by their parents.

  I walked after her. “Alise, are you okay? What’s going on? Why is Bruiser acting like that about the dancer?” I would have asked Bruiser, but with the way they’d been acting toward each other, it felt like this was more than a bodyguard vs. client situation. “Are you two…?”

  “No! We’re not involved in that way.”

  “We’re not?” Bruiser asked, stepping in front of her and grabbing her by the neck before he lowered his mouth onto hers, and his lips were all over hers with enough force to leave them bruised.

  I gasped, feeling as if I should do something to help her get him off of her, until her hands grasped at his shirt and pulled him closer. She kissed him back, opening her mouth to deepen their tongue embrace. They stood there kissing as I walked back inside, now looking as if I was the one who’d seen a ghost.

  “What was that about?” Jayne asked after fighting her way away from Mr. Vanilla who obviously had moved on and found another victim for his sensual assaults.

  “Bruiser. Alise… They’re…”

  “You don’t even have to say it. Those two are definitely getting it on,” Jayne said and turned around looking for one of the dancers. “Mr. Vanilla, get back over here and finish what you started,” she yelled over the music that had restarted with another Tank hit, “Dirty.”

  I laughed as I watched everyone enjoy themselves. Kemara had made it clear she didn’t want anyone to touch her, but she did look as if she was amused by the festivities. I went to sit beside Kemara, taking her hand into mine to appreciate the moment with my sister. I thought about how much I loved her and all of my closest friends who seemed to be enjoying themselves to the fullest, and the fact that they were happy about my happiness made the night even sweeter.

  ***

  Jeb

  One More Night

  I sat in my hotel room after a full night of celebrating. Channing and Bruiser really outdid themselves for my bachelor party, though Bruiser left right before the party kicked off saying he had to go check on Alise to make sure she was safe.

  During the party, there was a moment when one of my high school buddies, Xander, attempted to get me one final lap dance before I entered the married life. A beautiful brunette shimmied in front of me for a few seconds and dropped her bottom on me, gyrating as if she invented seduction.

  All of the guys were going wild for this moment. Some even thought I would take one last ride in the sack as a single man, but after the song was over, I said, “Thanks for the dance, sweetheart,” and helped the beauty out of my lap.

  “Awe man, do you have to be a party pooper,” Xander said, looking deflated.

  “I’m afraid I have to be just that. I’m here to have fun, not fuck a random woman. Tameka will hand me my balls if she finds out I’m out here getting with strippers,” I said. “Where’s the rest of the beer?”

  Channing pointed to the cooler on the floor by the refrigerator. “The beer’s in the cooler in the kitchen.”

  “You really have gotten soft on me, bro,” Xander said. “What do you think she’s doing tonight?”

  Channin
g’s hand came down on Xander’s shoulder. “Xan, my wife and his future wife are being faithful. I can guarantee you that.” He paused for a second. “At least they better be,” Channing added and laughed.

  “Man, look at the sweet little bottom on that girl. Tell me you don’t want her,” Xander said to me as his eyes squinted, and he licked his lips.

  “He doesn’t want to bang her, Xan. Why don’t you go let her dance with you and see where it goes?” Channing replied.

  “Suit yourself, man.” Xander walked off in the direction of the dancer. “Come on, baby, I got a place for us to go for privacy…” he began talking to her as they walked away toward the back of the hotel’s ballroom.

  “Thanks, man,” I said to Channing. “Ever since I reconnected with Xander today, he’s been on me about getting my last dip in the ocean of women. I’m definitely not interested.”

  “I know, and anytime,” Channing said, patting me on the back. “So tomorrow is the big day.”

  “Yes, the best day of my life is only a few hours away,” I said.

  Channing and I sat by the bar talking with a few friends. We were laughing at a joke about me kissing Amy Batts when we were six years old.

  “Yeah, her father came out of the house to lecture me for hours about touching his daughter,” I was saying when someone roughly clasped my shoulder.

  “I had to come see this shit for myself since no one invited me to this bullshit bachelor party,” Dirty Neil said as he sloshed some tobacco around in his mouth. “I heard you been looking for me, Jeb,” he said, and his voice came off as a loud roar that was far louder than the music playing.

  Channing stepped up beside me and said, “You must be drunk, Neil. It’s best you leave before you get your ass whipped.”

  “No, I got this,” I told Channing then turned to Neil. “You got some nerve to bring your crusty ass in here after you stepped to my woman the way you did.”

  Neil raised his hand to punch me, but before he could land it, I hit him with a blow so hard that he dropped on the first punch.

  “Stay away from me! And you’d better not even think of coming near Tameka again!” I said as I kneeled down over him, ready to pounce.

  Channing pulled me back while Xander and a few of the other men grabbed Neil and dragged him to the door. “You’re fucking up my night,” Xander said as he took him away.

  I grabbed my beer, downed it, and left the party heading to my hotel where Tameka had me housed for the night out of tradition. I wanted to go home, but I also needed to clear my head in silence.

  I sat in the room reflecting on the night. I was celebrating my last night as a single man, so it was fitting that I ended it defending my wife.

  The sound of someone knocking on my hotel room door pulled me out of my thoughts.

  “Coming!” I shouted as I trotted to the door. When I peeped through the hole,

  I jerked my head back and wondered what he, of all people, was doing here. I flung the door open and said, “Dad?”

  “Hi, Son, I know I’m the last person you expected to show up here.”

  “Actually, you are.”

  Dad appeared to have aged a few years since the last time I saw him at the bar, making me momentarily forget about all of the issues we had with each other as I became concerned about his wellbeing.

  “Are you okay, Dad?” I asked.

  “Son, I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping much lately.”

  “Well, what’s going on? What brings you here?”

  “Us.”

  “Us?”

  “Yeah, us. I’ve been thinking a lot since we last talked, a lot, and what keeps coming up in my mind is how my brother is in jail for hurting Channing’s wife because she is a black woman. I’ve always been a firm believer that races should keep to their own with no intermixing, so it’s going to be hard for me to turn away from my beliefs.”

  “Dad, I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “Wait…” He raised his hand to halt me from speaking any further. “Hear me out. I never had the kind of hatred in my heart that my big brother had toward other races. I don’t wish to harm anyone; I just think people should marry their own kind. But maybe I could work on looking at it the way you have.” He looked at me, and I saw a tiny piece of him opening up to the possibility of change.

  “Are you serious, Dad?” I had to know.

  “It’s not like I’m getting any younger, and you’re all I have.” I saw the pride in his eyes that I saw the first time I changed a tire, the first homerun I hit, and the first time I got in a street brawl and won. “And besides, there is no denying that the girl makes you happy,” he said, cracking the tiniest of a smile.

  “She does make me happy. She’s more than her skin color, you know? She’s a beautiful woman who would give her last to a perfect stranger. She would give the best advice to her friends and her enemies. She is a lover and a fighter. Actually, you’d be surprised to find out how much you two are alike.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, for one, she didn’t want to date me at first because of my race.”

  “Oh,” Dad said, looking amused to know Tameka had reservations about dating a white man.

  “Yeah, she almost didn’t give me a chance because I was white, but I convinced her that we belong together, because in my heart I know we do,” I said, smiling.

  “Son, I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I want you and Tameka to come to the house for dinner, so I can try to get to know her,” he said.

  “Are you sure about that, Dad? I refuse to bring her over there to be insulted. If you want her to come, you have to promise to be on your best behavior because as her husband I will protect her in every way.”

  “Son, you know better than anyone that my house is my sanctuary, so I wouldn’t invite a black person there unless I had good intentions. The thing is, I have given this a lot of thought and prayer, and I don’t want my heart to sour like my brother who is rotting away in a jail cell.” He looked as if he had more to say but was reluctant to do so. “Besides, Tameka called and talked to me earlier today.”

  “She did what?” My mouth dropped open in shock, and I couldn’t believe Tameka had taken it upon herself to call my father, while at the same time, it had her name written all over it. For my woman, taking charge and trying to fix a broken situation was her nature.

  “Yes, and I’m going to be honest and say I’m not one hundred percent sure you getting married to her is a good idea, but I can see why you love her. She’s fearless, and she loves you. No man can turn down a love like that.” Dad paused and stared at me, and the unspoken message was clear. He wished Mom was here, and so did I.

  “I definitely couldn’t. If you understood how much she meant to me, you would never speak an ill word about her. She brings me life, and her kids are just as wonderful as she is.”

  “Oh, don’t remind me about the kids,” Dad said with an exhausted look covering his worn face. “I can only have one breakthrough at a time.” He chuckled awkwardly.

  “Well, little Kevin and Eva are a package deal with Tameka. I will be their stepfather officially tomorrow. And I would love for you to be there, but only if you’re ready. Our wedding day will be filled with nothing but positivity, so if you’re not ready I’ll respect it if you stay home.”

  “It’s over at Oak Bowery, huh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah, Channing told me that.” He paused for a moment and started fiddling with his shirt button. “How do her parents and friends feel about all of this?” Dad asked as if he were searching for at least one ally in his mixed feelings about me and Tameka getting married.

  “They are accepting. I hang out with them all the time, and there are no issues. The only issue we have right now is you.”

  “Have you run into any of the guys from the brotherhood? Have any of them said anything to you?” he asked as is face tensed, and his brow raised in curiosity.

&nbs
p; “Dirty Neil came to my bachelor party tonight, and we exchanged a few blows. Other than that, no one has said anything to me.”

  “God! I told him to leave you alone. He’s one crazy bastard,” Dad said. “At least the other ones know to stay away because you’d beat their ass.”

  “That could be the reason.” I laughed. “Or it could be that they don’t want to get involved. I told everyone why I was leaving when I left, so there is absolutely no reason they should bother me now. I don’t want to be a part of a group that would condone kidnapping a woman and attempting to murder her, simply because someone close to us was in love with her.”

  “Son, there are a lot of things you just won’t understand, and neither will I.”

  “Well, do you understand how your behavior toward Tameka is just a watered down version of Uncle Chad? It’s still hate; you’re just not physically violent.”

  “I understand, and I want to change it.”

  “Really, you’re not just saying that?”

  “I had my day of doing things I’ve had to atone for. God knows all the wrong I’ve done, but after a certain point, I didn’t want to do harm to others anymore. I still hold my beliefs about races sticking together because I feel it’s the only way we will survive; the only way to preserve the white race. But—” He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath. “I’m willing to try to see it another way.”

  “It’s not the only way to survive, Dad. The world is going to get browner.” Especially when I get my seed inside of Tameka. I smiled as my thoughts ran away from me. “We all have to learn to live together without judging people by their skin color,” I added.

  “You’re smiling, so I assume you think that’s a good thing.”

  “It’ll be a damn good thing when we can all get along without being concerned with what color is doing what. That’s what I know.”

  “Where did I go wrong with you?” Dad asked as he smiled.

  “I searched out the truth and did right, Dad. So think about whether you really want to be a part of me and Tameka’s life, and when you make your decision let me know. I hope you decide to have an open mind because nothing would make me happier than to have you at my wedding tomorrow, but I understand if you need more time.”