Chapter 386 – Beginning with a Daring Encounter

“I understand. You have every right to be mad,” Benne said as he took both her hands in his.

Celsie took a deep breath, “Yeah. I was mad, but I don’t think I’m mad anymore. Your dad talked to me, and then I felt better. Although it still hurts that my mother said that to me, but I’m not mad at her anymore. It’s possible to feel hurt but not be mad, right?” Celsie asked, and Benne nodded as he raised her hands to his lips and kissed her palms.

“Yes. It’s very possible. I don’t know what my dad said to you, but I’m glad you are no longer mad. What can I do to make you feel better?” Benne asked as he held on to her hands, and Celsie smiled, feeling very lighthearted.

“I think you are like your dad in a lot of ways,” she said without answering his question.

“Really? What makes you think so?” Benne asked curiously.

“You’re both excellent listeners. You’re both patient, thoughtful, caring, loving, wise…”

“Why do you sound like you’re almost half as in love with my dad as you are with me?” Benne cut in, and Celsie giggled.

“Not almost,” Celsie corrected with a grin and giggled when he scowled at her, “And you were right about the gift. He loved it. He even wore it right there,” Celsie said with a proud smile.

“Who wouldn’t love a gift coming from a beautiful lady such as you?” Benne asked, and a blush stained Celsie’s cheeks while Benne watched her with an affectionately amused glance.

“Ace,” Celsie said as she met his gaze, and Benne raised a questioning brow.

“What’s that?”

“That’s my nickname for you. I will call you Ace,” Celsie said with a shy smile, and Benne chuckled.

“Ace,” he repeated as though testing the sound of the word, “Why Ace?”

“Because you’re an absolute genius when it comes to making me happy,” Celsie said, and this time Benne looked at her with serious eyes.

“Are you sure I make you happy?”

Celsie nodded, “More than you can imagine,” she assured him.

“It’s good to hear that. I think I like it,” Benne said as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead, “So are you going to call me Ace just when we are alone, or will you do that in the presence of others?” He asked, knowing how much she was embarrassed by public displays of affection.

Knowing how much he liked public displays of affection, Celsie shrugged, “I won’t call you that in official settings since you are my boss, but I can call you that in public as long as it is outside the work zone,” Celsie said, and Benne nodded as his eyes fell on the wall clock which was hanging on the wall directly opposite the bed.

“That is fair enough. We need to sleep now, Jewel. It’s almost three,” Benne said as he turned off the light and pulled her to himself so that they were both lying on the bed in their former position.

“What about you? Do I make you happy?” Celsie asked curiously.

“Your existence in itself makes me happy,” Benne said as he kissed her forehead, “Now sleep,” he ordered softly, and Celsie smiled as she kissed his chest.

“Goodnight, Ace,” she whispered softly.

Benne smiled, “Sweet dreams, Jewel.”

Long before Celsie became fully awake, she could sense something was wrong. Her body just didn’t feel right, and she was feeling a kind of wetness between her thighs.

She moaned softly when she felt a slight discomfort in her lower abdomen and struggled between waking up and continuing to sleep since she was exhausted and had just barely fallen asleep.

She sat bolt upright when it suddenly occurred to her sleep muddled brain what was wrong. It was her menstruation. Her period started when she was lying next to Benne on the bed! She thought in alarm. And she knew without a doubt that the sheets were stained since she had somehow adjusted in her sleep and was lying on her back now.

Her period wasn’t supposed to start until the next day, so why now? She had chosen to shop for her menstrual hygiene products the previous day to avoid such an embarrassment yet this still happened, she thought in distress.

Because of her sudden movement, Benne was jolted awake too, and he sat up immediately and switched on the light.

“What is the problem?” Benne asked with concern in his eyes as he looked at her, wondering if she had a nightmare like the other time.

Celsie looked at him, her face red with embarrassment. She didn’t know how to explain the situation to him. Although it wasn’t supposed to be a big deal since he was her boyfriend, it was a very big deal to her. Things like this still embarrassed her very much.

She knew that she was stained already, but how was she going to check to see how stained the sheet was when he was watching her?

Seeing the discomfort in her eyes, Benne frowned slightly, “Are you okay?”

She shook her head, “I think I might have stained the sheets,” she said in a small voice without meeting his gaze, and Benne looked at her in confusion for only a moment before what she was talking about dawned on him.

“Oh!” He exclaimed softly, “It started this morning?” Benne asked, and Celsie’s ears burned with embarrassment as she gave him a nod. She wasn’t used to talking to the opposite sex about something like this.

Seeing how embarrassed she looked, Benne shook his head as he raised the duvet, making Celsie’s face flush a deeper shade of red when she saw a red spot on the sheet between them.

“It’s barely noticeable. Do you have the things you need to clean up?” Benne asked as he got off the bed, acting like it was every day he woke up with menstrual stains on his sheets.

“Yes,” Celsie said without getting off the bed, even though she knew that the longer she sat there, the deeper the stains she was going to leave on the mattress. She just couldn’t bring herself to stand up.

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