Chapter 444 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“Your boss is here laughing with you, so it’s not such a bad thing,” Benne said, and Celsie eyed him with disapproval.

“Since I started dating you, I go to bed late at night. I’m not getting enough sleep,” Celsie complained.

“But I stay up late with you. You don’t hear me complaining or blaming you,” Benne pointed out.

“You have no right to complain, not when it’s your usual lifestyle. Did you forget that you were my neighbor before you became my boyfriend, and I can count the number of times you went out late in the evening?” She asked, and Benne wriggled his brows at her.

“So you were keeping tabs on me?” He asked with a naughty smile, and she laughed.

“I wasn’t. That reminds me, who did you go out to meet that night I asked you to drive me to the pharmacy, and you were in a hurry to meet with someone? Was it Anita?” She asked curiously.

“No. I was with Harry both times I was out,” Benne said, and she scowled.

“I’m sure you both met up after work to laugh at my expense after making a fool of me during work hours.”

“Nah. Harry never really supported this. He only made fun of you because you lied to him, not because he wanted to mess with you,” Benne assured her.

“By the way, what does Harry have against lies?” She asked, recalling the disapproval on Harry’s face when she lied to him earlier that day and what he had said.

“Hmm. I don’t know the exact details, but I know it has something to do with his high school best friend. Harry’s best friend did something awful, and because Harry trusted him and believed his words, he supported him until the truth was revealed. Then Harry tried to explain that he knew nothing about his best friend’s deceit, but no one was willing to listen to him because of how he had supported his friend so confidently, and his best friend made things worse for Harry by insisting that Harry was in on it with him. They were both sent to juvenile court, and luckily for Harry, he was found innocent,” Benne explained as he drove through the gate.

“Oh! I can see how that must have affected him. It’s a wonder he still trusts people,” Celsie said, and Benne nodded as he parked the car.

“Yeah. That’s why I try my best to always be straight with him,” Benne said as he reached over to her side to open the door before opening his own door and getting out of the car.

“Let’s see if the kid is still up,” Benne said as they both headed for the door.

They could hear the sound of the television before they got to the Den, and they both exchanged a look before Benne pushed the door open, and they saw the kid sound asleep on the couch as Benne had predicted, with his head on Samantha’s thighs, and his legs on Adolf’s thighs.

Samantha, Adolf, as well as two other female staff who were in the Den were all fast asleep.

“I will take him upstairs. You can turn off the television and send them to their rooms,” Benne suggested as he walked over to the couch and lifted Jamal.

“Where is he going to sleep? The guest room is farther down the hall from us and the staff quarter. He shouldn’t sleep alone there,” Celsie pointed out, and Benne looked at her.

“So, what do you suggest we do?”

“Maybe he can have the bedroom closest to yours. That way, it’s easier to keep an eye on him over the night,” Celsie suggested, and Benne gave her a nod while wondering if she knew how motherly she sounded as he walked away with Jamal’s sleeping form.

Celsie quickly turned off the television after she had roused the others from sleep and made sure they had all returned to their quarters, and then she went upstairs to find Benne.

She stopped by the half-open doorway when she saw him tucking the blanket around Jamal, and her heart skipped a beat at that homely image of him. Benne seemed very much at home doing that, and it looked like the most natural picture in the world.

Could someone like him really want to be with her knowing she didn’t want kids? She mused and flashed him a smile when he straightened and noticed her presence.

“What do you want to do now?” He asked in a whisper as he gently led her out of the bedroom and shut the door behind them.

“I just want to freshen up and then go to bed. I’m exhausted,” Celsie said with a yawn. She was yet to have a proper night’s sleep since she arrived at Benne’s house.

Benne gave her a nod as he led her into their bedroom, “It’s been a long day. Why don’t you freshen up while I straighten out the bed?” Benne suggested, and Celsie nodded as she dropped her handbag on the couch.

Remembering that she had not checked her phone for the past couple of hours, she pulled it out of her handbag and unlocked it when she noticed her phone’s notification light was on. She clicked on it to see a missed call from Lucas.

“I missed Lucas’ call earlier,” she said as she contemplated whether or not she should return his call since it was very late already, and she didn’t want to disturb his sleep.

“How many?” Benne asked as he undressed.

“It’s just one.”

“It’s late. You can return his call tomorrow or send him a text. I believe if it were very important, he would have called more than once or even called me to reach you,” Benne said as though he could read her mind, and Celsie nodded.

“I should send a text,” Celsie said and went on to do so before preparing for bed.

As she lay beside Benne on the bed, some moment later, the last thought on her mind as she slowly drifted off to sleep was how she had been confronted with different kinds of drama every day since Benne made their relationship public. She wasn’t sure whether or not she was looking forward to the drama that would come the next day, but for Benne, she was willing to face it all head on.

“I love you, Ace,” she said sleepily as she snuggled closer to him.

“Sweet dreams, Jewel. And I love you more.”

This

*****

Lucas opened his eyes when he felt someone’s lips pressed to his temple, and he wasn’t surprised to see that it was Miley. As a matter of fact he felt relieved and kind of happy to see her looking into his face with a bright smile on her face, and her eyes gleaming with excitement as usual.

“Good morning, handsome. Thanks for not leaving,” she greeted cheerfully as she watched him sit up on the couch, and then she sat next to him.

Lucas let his gaze travel over her, from her sleep tousled hair to the skimpy nightdress she was wearing and he realized that she had changed out of the clothes she had worn the previous night.

Or did Amy undress her? He doubted that Amy would have dressed her up in such a flimsy night dress when she knew there was a man in the apartment with them.

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