The Morning After

 

Sunlight stole through the blinds over her windowpane and danced in the corners of her bedroom. Kelly yawned and cracked her eyelids open. Regret flooded her before she’d gotten a good grasp on consciousness, but it was a different kind of feeling than she was used to.

The oh-God-what-did-I-do-last-night had been replaced by why-the-heck-didn’t-we-do-it-last-night. It was a strange sensation, but as she strengthened her grip on reality, Kelly realized it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.

There was something to say about not jumping immediately into bed with a man. Her connection to Benjamin had only grown stronger after witnessing his firmness in rejecting her. Perhaps a bit of his ‘curiosity’ had rubbed on her too. Or perhaps the challenge of testing his boundaries to their limit appealed to her.

She got up and went through her morning routine, choosing a red blouse and a black high-waist pants as her armor for the day. She’d survived the craziness of last night, but Kelly would have to face a different kind of battlefield in the office.

Rumors were stinky little demons. She couldn’t hide out in the Business Admin section all day again. Eventually, she would have to emerge and face the music—and the questions—that her co-workers would slam her way.

Kelly sighed and put the finishing touches on her makeup when her eyes landed on the watch box sitting comfortably on her vanity dresser. What had Benjamin been thinking to give her that? Should she go down and open a security deposit box to keep it in until he was ready for it? The watch was far too valuable to have it lying around…

She paused.

There was that word again. ‘Valuable’.

She shook her head and walked out the door. Benjamin was closing his front door as well and he smiled when he spotted her. Kelly’s first instinct was to duck her head and scramble along.

It had been much easier to play the vixen in the darkness when testosterone was flying high and her reproductive organs were throbbing. Now, in the light of day with her mind geared up for work, Kelly didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Hey,” Benjamin said confidently, coming down the stairs toward her.

“Hey,” Kelly replied, her gaze in the opposite direction.

He stopped right beside her, his presence filling the stairwell. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent—yummy.

“Do you need a ride?” he asked.

“No, I’m good.”

“Ride with me.”

It wasn’t a question this time.

“You’re obnoxiously bossy.”

He arched an eyebrow, his blue eyes captivating. “Well… I am your boss.”

Kelly lifted her chin, but followed him to his SUV and climbed in.

“Did Bianca reach safely yesterday?” she asked as Benjamin started the car.

“Yeah. She’ll spend a few days with her mom before she returns to college.”

If Bianca hadn’t let her in on Benjamin’s family history, the phrase would have flown right over her head. This time, she picked up on the meaning behind his words.

“Wait…” Kelly leaned forward. “We’re going in the opposite direction. The Yasser Center is that way.”

“Have you eaten breakfast yet? I haven’t.” Benjamin parked in front of a pink and green cement building with the words ‘Sugar Fix’ emblazoned on the front. “I’ll be right back.”

Before she could utter a word, he jumped out of the car and returned minutes later with two huge fried jacks stuffed with eggs, ham and cheese and wrapped in foil.

“Could you hold these for me?” he asked as he slid the meal into her hands and set the bottles of orange juice in the cup holders.

Benjamin drove to a park where they watched the Caribbean Sea and ate their breakfast, conversing easily about their favorite genres of music and their shared love for exercising.

To be safe, Kelly asked him to drop her off a couple blocks from work so they weren’t seen arriving together. She had to threaten to jump out of the moving car before Benjamin agreed to let her walk.

When Kelly finally entered the office, Rene sprung from her chair and launched at her. “I started another rumor about the messenger getting married to the cafeteria lady downstairs.”

Kelly frowned. “Is he?”

“I don’t know, but at least it will cut the whispers about you and Clayton in half.”

“Thanks… I guess?”

“So what happened?”

“I ended it,” Kelly said simply, not quite prepared to divulge how far she’d gone with their boss yesterday.

“Good for you!” She added beneath her breath. “But not for me. Now I owe Randal fifty bucks.”

“You bet that I’d go back to Clayton?”

“You have to admit. You’ve done so before.”

“I’m over it… or at least I’m trying to be. Now, it’s time for someone who’s actually single.”

“And normal.” Renesha reminded, slanting her a look. “No sex on a stick, rich C.E.O.’s allowed.”

Kelly giggled nervously. “Okay.”

Rene stared at her with narrowed eyes, but she paid her friend little heed as she spotted Benjamin in the distance. He was walking down the hall with a file in hand—probably on his way to Errol’s office when Harley sidled up to him and wiggled a wrapped package under his nose.

The snake

Rene sighed, reclaiming Kelly’s attention. “Is it really over between you and Clayton?”

“Yes. How many times do I have to say so?” She walked to her office and sat down. “Now you’re the only one left. Cut the dead weight or accept it and marry Randal.”

“On that note, I’ll get back to my desk.”

Kelly waved her friend away and worked until it was time to return home. As usual, Benjamin stayed at the office later than anyone else. Kelly was waiting by her door to hear his footsteps when he came home.

Her heart leapt when she realized that he’d stopped on the landing near her door. Expecting him to knock, she let her hair loose from its ponytail and shrugged off her blouse so only her loose, cotton undershirt showed.

She wore no bra. Easy access.

To her disappointment, Benjamin’s footsteps continued up the stairs. Her smartphone beeped and she picked up to find a text from him.

BEN: Sleep well

She clutched the phone to her chest and let out a little squeal. At least he’d been thinking of her. That was something.

Kelly waited all week for Benjamin to cave in and crawl downstairs so that they could bypass the romantic fluff and slide straight into spending a torrid, passionate night together.

He held firm and, instead, picked her up for work every morning, bought her breakfast, and spent a few minutes chatting about their day, their pasts, and their random thoughts while facing the Caribbean Sea.

Kelly found herself getting up earlier and earlier so that they could spend more time in the mornings together. She began waiting for Benjamin’s nightly text so that they could talk until she fell asleep.

The sneaking suspicion that he was dating her without her permission slipped into her head, but Kelly didn’t have a good enough reason to protest. She enjoyed spending time with him. His conversations were intelligent and engaging, his attention always respectful and sincere.

 When they were together, they simply… fit.

Without the dressings of the club or mind-blowing sex (or any sex at all), Kelly had expected such a friendship to be repetitive and tedious. On the contrary, she craved every moment together.

Early Saturday morning, Kelly prepared for any surprises that Benjamin would spring on her. She gripped the hem of her blue lace dress, flinging it around like a little girl at a dance. She looked especially pretty today. Benjamin would appreciate the effort.

Like clockwork, a knock came at her door. Her heart leapt and Kelly pranced to turn the knob.

“Hi!” she said her voice extra-cheerful. “Where are we…?” The words got stuck in her throat when she saw the brood standing outside her doorway. “L-Leshawna?”

“Hello, Ms. Banner,” Clayton’s wife said, her expression unreadable. The infant in her arms gazed at Kelly with big brown eyes—a similar shade and shape to Clayton’s.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, wondering if she should slam the door shut and call the police. No, Leshawna wouldn’t murder her in front of her kids. She wasn’t that angry. Right?

Shuffling backward, Kelly invited the mother in. Sweat broke out on her forehead and she wiped her damp palms on the fabric of her dress. As the children settled easily into her sofa, she scrambled to put on the fan and aim it at them.

Their precious faces, so much like Clayton’s, stabbed her in the gut. The clouds over her eyes parted completely and she felt intense regret at playing a part in ruining these innocent lives. 

In her most oblivious moments, Kelly had considered storming over to Clayton’s house and insisting that Leshawna quit trapping her man and stealing their happiness. The sentiment now filled her with shame.

She could never apologize enough to this woman. Not in a million years.