Chapter 385 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I… I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I know that you were drunk, and I should have stopped you. I’m sorry for not stopping you. I was caught off guard,” Harry explained, and even as the words left his mouth, he cursed himself for taking the cowardly way out.

Caught off guard? Yes, she had caught him off guard no doubt, but he had kissed her in return, hadn’t he? What was there to be ashamed or embarrassed about? “I also remember that you kissed me back,” Jade said, wanting to see how he would excuse that.

Harry shut his eyes, “That’s more reason why I feel embarrassed. I don’t know what came over me. I should have known better than that. You were drunk, and my action is inexcusable,” Harry said, and Jade sighed.

Okay. Maybe she had learned something from kissing him while pretending to be drunk. She had learned that they had chemistry. And she knew that even if she tried to say she had done it of her own volition and not because she was under the influence of alcohol, Harry being Harry, would likely not believe her.

The only way to know for sure if he had avoided her and the topic because he was embarrassed for kissing a drunk lady or because the kiss had affected him more than he wanted to admit, was by kissing him for real. No alcohol. Just a passionate woman in her senses kissing a man she was sexually attracted to.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed. I’m the one who kissed you because I wanted to. I took advantage of you. I’m sorry,” Jade apologized.

Although Harry heard what she said about kissing him because she wanted to, he didn’t bother to ask her to elaborate on it. No, he didn’t want to know about why she would want to kiss him.

“You were drunk. There is no need for you to apologize,” Harry assured her dismissively and then feigned a yawn, “We should go to bed now. I have to be up early,” Harry said awkwardly.

“Yeah. Sure. Take care of yourself. Goodnight,” Jade said, knowing that he was running away. She intended to see just how much longer he could run, and how far his strength would carry him.

“You too. Try to get some sleep. And don’t forget to let me know if you need my help,” Harry said, and Jade smiled.

Of course. There was no way she was going to forget something like that.

It was past two in the morning by the time Benne walked into his bedroom. His gaze moved to the bed, and he noticed that Celsie was already fast asleep. She had left the light on.

He quietly took off his shoes and put on his bedroom flip flop before walking as noiselessly as he could to the bathroom. He took off his clothes and dumped them in the laundry basket, and then stepped into the shower.

He tried to be as quiet as he could, and once he was done in the shower, he walked into the closet, lightly spritzed his body with his body spray, and put on a pair of clean boxers before turning off the light and joining her in bed.

The moment he raised the duvet and got under it, Celsie snuggled closer to his side of the bed, surprising him, “I thought you were not going to come to bed,” she said sleepily.

“I thought you were asleep,” Benne said as he adjusted to accommodate her so that she was lying on her side, facing him while he was lying on his back with her head resting on his left arm.

“I was,” Celsie sighed contentedly.

“Sorry I woke you up,” Benne said apologetically.

“I wanted to be awake when you got back. That’s why I left the light on,” She said as she sniffed his body and ran her hand over his bare torso.

“Sorry I took so long. Bryan refused to concede defeat,” Benne said apologetically as he patted her back so that she would go back to sleep.

“It’s fine. I’m glad you’re here now,” she said as she played with one of his nipples.

Benne tried to distract his body by thinking about anything else other than what she was doing. His nipples were very sensitive, and he could already feel a tent growing in his boxers. He wasn’t going to touch her in any sexual way. For both her sake and his, he was going to resist every sexual urge or desire.

“Everybody is going back tomorrow. We will go back to being alone,” Celsie said, and Benne looked down at her.

“I suppose you like that?”

She nodded, “Hm-hm. Although I will miss them, but yes, I like it. And I like your body too. It feels so cool and smells very nice too. I want to lick you,” she said, and as though to prove it, she flicked her tongue over his skin, making Benne suck in a breath.

“You should sleep now,” Benne suggested as he kissed her forehead and closed his eyes, willing himself to go to sleep. He wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his hands to himself for much longer if she continued to touch him that way.

“I spoke with your dad earlier,” Celsie said after a minute.

“You did? What did you both talk about?” Benne asked without opening his eyes, trying to relax his body.

“About my mom,” Celsie said, choosing not to talk about what Desmond had said about his relationship with Evelyn. She didn’t want to talk about anything marriage-related that would remind them of the awkwardness and tension of their conversation the previous day.

“She called me insensitive,” Celsie said flatly, and this time Benne opened his eyes.

“Why would she say something like that to you?” Benne asked, feeling a little pang of annoyance on her behalf. Thankfully the topic was enough to calm the tension between his legs.

“She was mad at me for telling Lucas about Rachel before talking to them first. She implied that I was trying to make him feel guilty, and then when I reacted and said it wasn’t easy for me either, she said I’ve always been insensitive,” Celsie said, and Benne pulled away from her and sat up.

Okay, now he was angry. He knew he shouldn’t be mad since he had seen just how sorry Janet had felt, and he had even consoled her when she cried, but he couldn’t help his annoyance. He was mad at her. How could she have said something that hurtful to Celsie? Celsie didn’t deserve any of that, whether or not she meant it. That she was putting up a brave front for her family didn’t mean they should also ignore her feelings.

Benne tried to calm down by reminding himself that they were his family, and sometimes misunderstandings like these were bound to happen. He couldn’t let her know that he was upset, so he schooled his face to look neutral as he switched on the light so that he could look into her face.

Judging by how stiff his body had suddenly become, Celsie could tell that he was upset but was trying hard not to show it, “I’m okay now,” she tried to assure him as she also sat up.

“I’m sorry she said that to you,” Benne said as he reached out to pat the side of her head.

“At first, I was really upset. No, I was more than upset, actually. I was very angry with her. I was mad because, deep down, I’ve always blamed them for not paying enough attention to me. Not once did they notice that I was not fine. Not one of them noticed. But despite blaming them, I never once made them feel like it was their fault because I didn’t want them to live with that guilt. I kept it all to myself. So I was mad that my own mother said those words to me. I didn’t care whether or not she meant it. I was just mad that she, of all people, was the one who said it,” Celsie confessed.

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