Chapter 312 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“Seeing as they both got out at the same time, who is the winner?” Benne’s father asked, once his sons climbed out of the pool with Celsie’s father.

“Who else, but Benne? He would have won had he not gone back to help Andrew,” Benne’s mother pointed out.

“And my husband would have won had he not hurt his shoulder,” Celsie’s mother defended her husband as she went to her husband.

“Unfortunately that wasn’t anyone’s fault, so no one can be blamed for that. Benne on the other hand gave up his chance to help him,” Benne’s mother said matter of factly, but Celsie’s mom wasn’t listening to her.

“Are you okay, darling? How bad is it?” She asked with concern as touched the arm her husband was favoring.

“I’m okay, babe. Nothing a good massage won’t fix,” he assured her with a wink that relieved her, before facing the guys.

“Thanks, boys,” he said as he slapped Benne’s back, and then Bryan’s back.

“I need to get out of these clothes. I’ll be right back,” Benne announced as he started to head for the house, but he stopped when he noticed that the deflated balloon was trailing behind him, and he crouched down to untie the string from his ankle.

“Can I have your balloon, please?” Jamal asked Celsie’s dad whose inflated balloon was still trailing behind him.

“Sure,” he said as Celsie crouched down to untie the string and handed the balloon to Jamal.

“We should all go inside, you need to change out of your clothes too,” Sonia said as she linked her arm with Bryan’s arm and led him towards the house, while the others followed, and Celsie ran to meet up with Benne.

The elders laughed as they talked about the ridiculous contest, and once they all got inside the house they agreed to all gather in the den thirty minutes later.

“That was a good game you played out there,” Celsie said with a wide smile as she and Benne walked into his bedroom.

“Yeah. You made us run around like kids. Well done,” Benne said in a flat tone as he took off his clothes and walked over to the bathroom.

The smile on her face faltered, “Is something wrong? Are you mad at me?” Celsie asked with a slight frown as she followed him.

“I’m not mad. But I’m also not impressed either. It’s fine. We played your game and humored you. I’m sure everyone had fun. That’s all that matters after all, isn’t it?” Benne asked without looking at her as he dropped the wet clothes into the laundry basket beside the door and shut the door behind him so that she wouldn’t follow, leaving Celsie standing outside with a concerned frown on her face.

“Is there something you want me to get you while you bathe?” She called out tentatively, but Benne didn’t respond.

She chose to believe that he didn’t respond because he did not hear her voice over the sound of the running shower. Realizing that he would need clothes to change into once he gets out of the shower, she walked into his walk-in closet and looked around the place.

Everything looked so manly and organized, and she noticed that the colors of the clothes were mostly either white, black, gray, or different shades of blue. She looked around until she found the section where his casual clothes were neatly arranged, and she picked out black sweatpants and a biro blue tank top for him.

Once she picked those out, she opened his drawer and also picked out underwear for him before going to lay them on the bed.

Benne opened the bathroom door just as she finished laying out the clothes, and his gaze went to where she was standing by the bed, looking at him uncertainly.

He stood there with a towel tied around his waist as he just stared at her. He tried to ignore the guilt rising within him for making her worry unnecessarily. She deserved this much for making him play such a ridiculous game. He had earned the right to be petty after being subjected to such a childish game.

“I’m sorry I made you…”

“There is nothing to apologize for. You did nothing wrong,” Benne cut in before she could finish.

“But you just said…”

“I told you that I’m not mad. I’ll get over whatever displeasure I’m feeling. Thanks for picking out my clothes,” Benne said as he picked the clothes from the bed and walked into his closet, leaving Celsie standing in the middle of the room with a worried frown.

She hadn’t expected that he would be upset over the game when he had played so well. Why was he angry? He had been laughing with her dad and Bryan a while ago, so what changed between now had then? She wondered as she stood there, trying to figure out what to do while she waited for him to come out and talk to her.

“What can I do to make you feel better quicker?” She asked as she took off her glasses and hung them over the front of her shirt.

The corners of Benne’s lips twitched, but since he had his back to her she couldn’t see his face. Answer and put her out of her misery, or not answer yet? Benne asked himself as he pulled on the briefs and sweatpants she had picked for him, and he sprayed some antiperspirant under his armpit.

Celsie’s heart felt painfully tight when he still didn’t answer her question. It made her feel like she couldn’t breathe, so she took in a deep breath as she slowly approached the closet where he was now pulling on his shirt.

“Benne, this is making me feel really uncomfortable and I don’t want to work on eggshells around you. I don’t want us to fight either, so please…”

Benne frowned when he heard a slight tremor in her voice, and he turned to look at her and noticed that she had taken off her glasses and her eyes were gleaming with unshed tears.

“Shit!” He swore as he quickly went to her and pulled her close, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was overdoing it. I’m not really mad. I was only trying to get back at you for making me play such a silly game,” Benne said apologetically as the first tear dropped from her eyes.

“You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to cry,” Celsie said with a sniffle.

“I’m just telling you the truth now because I don’t want to see you cry. I really didn’t mean any of it. I was just putting up a show,” Benne pleaded as he brushed off the teardrop with his thumb.

“You are telling me the truth right now, right? Does that mean the game wasn’t ridiculous?” Celsie asked looking into his eyes, and Benne would have laughed had she not looked so serious.

“Of course, I’m telling you the truth. But the game was completely ridiculous, and to be honest, I didn’t like the idea at first, but it turned out to be fun. I didn’t really play such games growing up, so doing it now wasn’t so bad,” Benne assured her as he kissed her forehead.

Seeing that he was being honest, Celsie sighed, “I guess it really works after all,” she said in her normal voice as she pulled away from Benne, making him raise a brow.

“What works?” Benne asked in confusion.

“Feminine wiles. The tears to be precise,” Celsie said with a grin as she blinked at him.

“What? You faked that?” Benne asked in disbelief, and she giggled as she wore her glasses.

“It was either that, or I was going to start crying for real. I figured I do the fake tears first and see your reaction before the real one comes along,” she said, and Benne chuckled.

“Damn! And I fell for it just like I fell for you,” Benne said as he pulled her close for a kiss.

“Nice line. I suppose I’m not as innocent as you think after all,” Celsie said with a giggle as she kissed him back, and then she pulled back to look at him with a serious expression on her face.

“Don’t do that next time. The tears might have been fake, but I felt really terrible here,” Celsie said pointing to the left part of her chest.

“Here?” Benne asked, cupping her left boob, and she laughed.

“No! That’s not what I was pointing at, don’t be silly!” Celsie said, trying to slap his hand off as he kept groping her boob.

“But you pointed to this. I should make it feel better since I made it hurt, let’s see,” Benne said as he reached under her crop top, and Celsie giggled some more as she tried to move away from his reach, but his other arm went around her waist, keeping her close to him.

“I was talking about my heart, not my boob!” She said amidst her laughter.

“And if I remember correctly your heart is somewhere under this boob, isn’t it?” Benne asked with a naughty grin as he kissed her.

“Bennnnnnn…” Celsie moaned into his mouth when he played with her nipple, and he chuckled since he knew just how sensitive her nipples were.

“I’m glad you are no longer allowing them to lie waste,” Benne said with a chuckle as he broke the kiss and pulled away from her.

“Allowing what lie waste?” She asked in confusion wondering what he was talking about.

“You don’t remember what you said that first night, do you?” Benne asked, and when she just stared at him blankly, he grinned.

“Who knew my nipples could be that sensitive yet I’ve been allowing them to lie waste for so long? Does that ring any bell?”

“Oh, God! Don’t tell me I said that to a total stranger,” Celsie pleaded, and Benne laughed.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell. It’s going to remain just between us both,” he assured her with a wink as he led her out of the closet and into the bedroom.

“Benne?”

“Yeah?” Benne asked, turning to look at her.

“I know that misunderstandings are a natural part of every human relationship, but if and whenever I offend you as I know I will likely do in the future, can you not stay mad at me for too long?” Celsie asked, looking directly into his hazel eyes.

“How long can I be mad for?” Benne asked, and Celsie pursed her lips.

“Five minutes tops.”

Benne sighed. This was a tricky question since he knew that there were different levels of offenses, “I will try. Can you do me the same favor?”

“I will try.”

“But you do know that offenses vary, right?” Benne pointed out in case she hadn’t thought of that.

“This promise is based on trust. Let’s hope that neither of us commits an unforgivable offense.”

“Are you okay?” Bryan asked Sonia after they entered his bedroom.

“Sure. Why?” She asked looking at him curiously.

“Nothing. I just figured that you might have been upset after seeing Celsie’s dad that way. I wanted to be sure you’re okay,” he said with concern, and Sonia smiled when she realized what he was talking about.

Having lost her biological father because he drowned to death, he was concerned that seeing Celsie’s father that way must have also upset her and brought back painful memories.

“Aww! I’m fine. Although I was worried, but thankfully you listened to me and jumped in there to help. So I’m okay. Thank you,” she said as she raised herself on her toes and kissed his lip.

“The least I can do is save the life of the second man you love after me. I come first, right?” Bryan asked with a grin, and Sonia giggled.

“Why? Do you want to compete with him too?” She asked with a teasing smile.

“We both know that I’m nothing like Benne. He wouldn’t stand a chance with me, and because you care about him, I wouldn’t want his feelings to get hurt when I win. So I have to decline for your sake,” Bryan said with a wink and she giggled as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to himself.

“Don’t! You’re going to make me wet,” she screamed, trying to get away from him but he held on to her.

“Wet? What’s wrong with being wet?” Bryan asked, wriggling his brows suggestively and she giggled.

“Get your mind out of the gutters, Bryan Delgado!” She chided but stopped resisting when she grabbed his ass.

“Now that we are both wet. We should get out of these clothes together,” he said with a wink, and she shook her head in amusement.

“Can’t. Every other dress I have in my luggage box is going to make your mom uncomfortable…”

“Who cares about that?” Bryan asked incredulously.

“I do. You should too. I know that she is nice and willing to accept me the way I am, but I’m not going to overdo it either. I also have to respect her since I’m a visitor here,” Sonia pointed out, and he sighed.

“You’re such a good girl, Sonia Bardi,” he said with a taunting smile, and she giggled.

“Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll find more than enough clothes to change into in the closet,” he assured her as he kissed the tip of her nose.

“I’m still not doing anything with you!”

“Who talked about doing anything? I don’t want to do anything with you either… But if you change your mind, then I just might change mine too,” Bryan said with a grin, and she laughed again.

This man made her laugh so effortlessly. Sonia felt her heart swell with love for him as she gazed into his eyes “I love you so much, Bryan,” she said unable to keep her thoughts to herself.

“And I’m sure you know that I love you too… Even more.”

“I’m not sure about you loving me more than I love you, but let’s get you out of these wet clothes and warm you up before we debate the subject,” Sonia suggested as she reached for the hem of his t-shirt and raised it.

Bryan laughed when she raised the shirt over his head and kissed his nipple, “What did I do to deserve someone as naughty as you?”

“I keep wondering the same thing,” Sonia said as she ran her hands over his cool body as he took off the shirt.

“We have less than twenty-five minutes,” Bryan reminded her as he glanced at the wall clock hanging on one end of the wall.

“Then you should hurry up,” Sonia said as she walked away from him to the closet.

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