And now that the women were adults with jobs, they were free to do whatever they dang well liked to their hair, and pay the money out of their own pockets to have it done.
Hers, however, ended up looking like an episode of When Good Hair Goes Bad when she grew it longer. She’d tried it once when her sisters were in their teens, letting her hair grow out and getting it straightened and styled, at their insistence.
Once.
They’d sworn they could help her fix her hair and keep it looking gorgeous, in a style that would be easy to care for.
Nope. She’d made it three months before going to the hairdresser and begging her to cut it close again. It made her life easier. Especially her mornings. And she dang sure had enough problems in her life, her hair didn’t need to be one of them.
It was faster first thing at the ass-crack of morning to have short, natural hair. All she had to do was dry it off with a towel. If her sisters wanted to spend all that time and money on their hair, they were welcomed to it.
I do have a couple of wigs I could use.
That was another thing about natural hair. She could go swimming and not worry about her hair. She could shower and not worry about her hair.
And she could change hairstyles just by putting on a wig.
The more she thought about it, however, the more she realized something. Beck had fallen for her for who she was now. If her natural hair was a problem, he’d have to deal with it.
It was part of her, of who she was.
She remembered Sunday mornings when she was little, her momma spending time braiding her hair out, a weekly ritual they’d had. As she’d outgrown that, she’d opted for short and natural, not having the money for anything else.
And then they’d lost their momma, and she damn sure didn’t have money or the time for wasting on her hair. Not when keeping a roof over their heads and the lights on and food in the fridge was more important.
After finally deciding on eyeshadow, she finished and took one last look in the mirror.
I’m not a bad-looking woman for my age, I suppose.
She turned sideways and tried sucking in her gut, smoothing down the front of the dress with her hands. She knew she could get a pair of those uncomfortable undergarments that sucked everything in.
Again, it wasn’t who she was.
If Beck really wanted her, he’d need to deal with her, the real her and not some prettified version of who she was.
Then again, if he’d fallen for her while she had been dressed in work clothes with no makeup on, there was a good chance he’d like her dressed up.
* * * *
Beck had to run home to shower and change. All he had with him at Dewi’s in the way of clothes were jeans and shirts.
He wanted to wear a suit for Nami. He had wanted to take her someplace upscale, but suspected that wouldn’t be in her budget. So he’d go wherever she wanted to go, but he’d dress up to do it.
Even if it was just some pizza parlor somewhere. He didn’t care. She was worth it to him to put his best foot forward considering they hadn’t met under the best of circumstances.
As he got ready, struggling three times and finally dominating his recalcitrant necktie, he couldn’t get Nami’s gorgeous face out of his mind. From her short hair, which accentuated the wonderful, round shape of her face, to her full lips, her gorgeous brown eyes, her delicious mocha skin…
Aaaand there went his cock.
Pretty much every morning lately had started out with him rubbing one out in the shower while thinking about Nami. If he’d had a waterproof case for his phone, he’d have it in there with him, staring at her picture while he did it.
He adjusted himself and grabbed the suit jacket, putting it on and checking himself in the mirror. It felt more like a flock of bats instead of butterflies in his stomach.
Please let her like me. Please let her stay with me. Please let her want me.
Something he wasn’t used to—feeling helpless. Over the situation, over his emotions for her, over any of this. He was used to being in control, or at least a step behind Dewi, who was always in control of pretty much every situation.
This foreign territory did not suit him at all.
He wanted Nami, and he wanted her now.
Forcing himself to wait would be the most difficult fight of his life. But he knew if he didn’t wait, didn’t make sure, he’d spend the rest of his life in doubt.
He arrived right at seven o’clock. She must have been waiting for him, because she opened the apartment door before he even made it all the way up the walk.
The smile she gave him took another twist of his self-control to keep from pushing her inside and making love to her right then.
No. Patience.
“You look beautiful,” he said. She did, too. That dress was the perfect color on her.
Then again, anything was the perfect color on her as far as he was concerned.
“Thank you,” she said. “You clean up well, too. I like when a man goes through a little effort.”
“That’s because you’re worth the effort,” he said. “Since you want to go Dutch,” he said, “I’ll let you pick where you want to eat.”
She cocked her head at him. “If you were paying, where would we be going?”
“Well, anywhere you wanted, but I wouldn’t let you say no to a restaurant just because of the price.” He opened and held the passenger door for her.
They ended up at an Olive Garden. He was glad they were able to get a booth in the back, where they could talk with a little more privacy. After their drink orders were in, he couldn’t help staring across the table at her, his chin propped in his palm.
An amused smile crossed her face. “What?”
“Sorry. I’m just really happy to finally be alone with you.”
She glanced around. “We’re at a restaurant.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care. It’s just the two of us, and now we can talk.”
* * * *
He looked like a love-struck puppy. Something about it was absolutely adorable.
I really like him.
She hated making that admission to herself that soon, before she’d even had a chance to make sure he wasn’t a serial killer, or a drug dealer, or had a checkered past that would make her walk away from him without a second thought.
Or if he picked his nose or something.
Well, maybe not without a second thought. She’d give him plenty of thoughts if things didn’t work out between them, but she’d learned her lesson. Her family had to come first. Until the day Da’von was completely on his own and self-sufficient, she wouldn’t put herself first.
They talked—a lot. Not only was he easy to talk to, they had a lot of the same tastes in music, TV and books.
The last part was something she was very pleased to discover. She’d spent lots of times in libraries with her siblings over the years, then later, on her own. And now that she wasn’t scratching for every spare penny, she’d installed the Kindle app on her phone and could read on that, too.
Time seemed to pass too quickly. It was nearly ten when they finally made their way out to the parking lot and he opened the passenger door for her, holding it and helping her in.
More bonus points.
Why do I get the feeling there’s some sort of massive shoe that’s going to drop?
He drove her back to her place and they sat there talking for another fifteen minutes before she realized if she didn’t get her butt inside that one or both of her siblings might catch her out there with him.
“Well, I need to get inside. It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. But thank you for a wonderful evening.”
“Can I take you out tomorrow night? Go to see a movie?”
No dangled on the tip of her tongue until she finally dragged it back. “Yes. Not real late, though.”
“This time, my treat.”
“Okay. If you’re determined.”
“I am. You pick the movie and
let me know what time to pick you up.”
Nami did some quick calculations. Malyah always had dinner with a couple of friends of hers from college on Sunday nights. Da’von would be studying for his Monday classes, usually over at Lu’ana’s. They liked to go out to dinner on Sunday evenings, and Da’von would babysit for them.
“Okay then.” She sat there for a moment, not wanting to get out, not wanting to leave him yet. Then she leaned in and kissed him, fighting the urge to invite him in for more.
He got out and opened her door for her, something she knew would quickly spoil her. She couldn’t remember the last time someone besides Da’von had done that for her.
And that was only because she’d darn near beaten it into him that a gentleman always opened and held doors for ladies.
When Beck walked her up to the front door, she struggled to find a reason, a good reason, to invite him in without taking him right to bed.
As he looked down into her eyes, she understood that if she let this man in her bed, she’d never let him out again.
All the more reason for me to take it slow.
“So you text me tomorrow,” he said, “and let me know when to pick you up.”
“Any preference what we see?”
He smiled. “No, as long as I’m sitting next to you when we see it.”
He waited until she was inside and had the door closed. From inside, she watched through the viewfinder as he got into his car and pulled out of the parking lot. A deep pang of longing swept through her. The feeling that him leaving was wrong.
That where he belonged was with her. That where she belonged was by his side.
Quit being foolish.
Tomorrow night they could enjoy more time together.
She kicked off her shoes, picked them up, and smiled all the way down the hall to her bedroom.
It might be a long night, but at least she’d have fond thoughts of him while she laid there waiting for sleep.
* * * *
Beck drove back to Dewi’s feeling happy and horny.
Either emotion ones he could easily deal with. That Nami had agreed to seeing a movie tomorrow meant one step closer to being able to claim her.
He didn’t even care what movie they saw tomorrow night. All he’d have eyes for would be the woman sitting next to him.
One more step closer. All I have to do is hold on to my patience.
Chapter Seventeen
Malyah was, of course, still home when Beck arrived to pick Nami up Sunday evening. Fortunately, Nami scooted out of the apartment with a quick shout-out that she was leaving before Malyah could try to meet Beck.
Nami wasn’t ready for that yet.
Beck barely had time to get around to the passenger side of the car to open the door for her. “Let’s go,” she said as she quickly climbed in.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, except I don’t want to play twenty questions with a nosy sister, that’s what.”
“Ah.”
Nami glanced back as they pulled out of the parking lot to see the blinds on Malyah’s room falling back into place.
Darn it.
Well, there would likely be questions when she returned home later. It wasn’t Nami’s usual pattern of behavior to go out so often and her siblings darn well knew it.
But Beck…
She settled into her seat. “Hope you don’t mind the movie I picked.”
“Honestly? It doesn’t matter.”
“Why?” She looked over at him, his smile sending her pulse racing.
“Because all I care about is getting to spend more time with you.”
“Some women might take that the wrong way, you know.”
“You’re not just some woman to me. I meant what I said. I plan on waiting you out, as long as it takes, until you’re comfortable with me.”
She reached over and rested her hand on his thigh. “You want to know something that scares the crap out of me?”
“What?”
“I’m comfortable with you already. And that’s not like me.”
“Why does it scare you?”
“Because I don’t want to make a mistake.”
He laid his hand over hers and gently squeezed. “And I don’t want you to think of me as a mistake. That’s why I’m willing to take it at whatever pace you want.”
It was hard to think with her hand on his thigh, feeling the hard, warm muscles beneath the fabric of his slacks. He hadn’t worn a suit tonight, but he had put on dress slacks and a long-sleeved, button-up dress shirt with a tie.
A for effort, buddy.
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“Glad I can get A’s in something. I wasn’t the world’s best student.”
Her throat dried up, panic setting in. Did I say that out loud? She didn’t think she had.
He stopped for a red light and brought her hand up to his mouth, kissing her palm, his gaze boring into hers. “My, what big eyes you have.” His devilish smirk would be deadly to her defenses. She knew if he wanted to seduce her, she wouldn’t have the willpower to say no to him.
He winked.
She swallowed hard.
He put her hand back on his thigh and when the light turned green, hit the gas again without further comment.
Holy. Crap.
* * * *
Nami was glad Beck paid for the movie, because after the fact, she couldn’t have told anyone who starred in it, what it was about, or even the title.
She’d spent the time snuggled against Beck’s side and glad the theatre had armrests that swung up and out of the way. They’d started out holding hands, and it wasn’t long before she wanted to sit closer, his arm comfortably draped around her shoulders, her hand on his thigh.
When the movie ended, she didn’t move until the final credits scrolled up and off the screen. Then she turned to look at him.
He smiled. “We could always buy tickets and watch another one.”
That was tempting. Too tempting. “No, I really need to get home. I have to work tomorrow morning and that alarm goes off awfully early.” She gently poked him in the chest. “No bus stalking.”
“No, I promise.” He looked a little melancholy. “Besides, Dewi and Martin are heading out of town for a couple of days to deal with some stuff in Georgia, and I have to hold down the fort here.”
“Why do I get the feeling there’s more to what you do than meets the eye?”
“Because there is. And no, we’re not the mob.” He smiled. “But it’s no lie to say Dewi’s family has spent well over a hundred years building their fortune. They’re hard workers, take things seriously. If you end up becoming a part of the family, yes, I can reveal all to you then, as long as you promise to keep our secrets.”
“Still sounds like the mob, I have to tell you.” She was only half kidding.
He seemed to be considering his words. “Do you think someone like Donald Trump goes out and gives away all his business knowledge and secrets? Or successful investment brokers. Do you think they go telling their competition their strategies? Or Internet security firms?”
That wasn’t something she’d ever considered. “Okay. I see your point. Legal businesses do have secrets. I’ll stop worrying.”
“I’ll admit, we have a large organization when you think about all the extended family who stay involved.” He smiled. “In a way it’s nice, because with all our resources, we can almost always find out what we need to make decisions.”
“Like hunting down that deadbeat baby daddy?”
“Exactly like that. See? We use our powers for good, not evil.”
Beck could make her laugh, which was another point in his favor. “Superpowers, huh?”
“Well, if I had those, trust me, I’d have your calendar filled every night for the near future.”
“I’m sure you would.”
One eyebrow arched in a delicious way. “Can I take you out tomorrow night? Dinner?”
“No, let’s go out later in the week.” She mentally scanned her schedule. “Wednesday?” Reggie had some after-hours work social thing to go to, and Da’von would be babysitting for them.
“Wednesday it is.” He stood, offering her his hand to help her up. When they walked out to the car, before he opened the passenger door for her he took both her hands in his and drew her close. “I will take you home, because I am a gentleman.” He smiled, devastating her reserve and nearly pulling her under. “But any time you want to come back to my place and spend the night with me, just know that I am offering you a standing invitation, any time. I will never say no to you.”
Her breath caught in her throat, her heart and other places lower down her body wanting to scream yes at the top of her lungs.
That damn stubborn brain of hers spoiled the party. “Not yet, but I will keep that in mind.”
He kissed her on the forehead, lingering, her eyes dropping closed as she breathed in his scent.
“That’s all I’m asking. To keep me in mind.”
Opening the car door for her, he helped her in, his thumb stroking across her knuckles before letting go and closing the door.
* * * *
Fortunately, Malyah’s car wasn’t in the parking lot when Beck drove Nami home. “You sure I can’t convince you to spend the night at my place?” Beck lightly teased.
Oh, how she wanted to. His tone of voice ripped at her heart, shredded her soul.
Unfortunately for Beck, she’d had too many years of practice at putting others’ needs before her own.
“I need to make sure Da’von gets up and off to class in the morning.” She leaned in and kissed him, willing her spine to turn to steel and not melt back into something a little wimpier than overcooked spaghetti. She stroked Beck’s cheek. “If you love me, you’ll let me do this my way.”
Geek Chic (Bleacke Shifters Book 2) Page 13