Deception's Game (The Misses Book 2)

32

“You need me?” Beck was taken back by his statement. Of all the people who had come and gone in her life, Luke was the last person she expected to hear those words from.

“I understand your confusion. I was really drunk that night and I should not have put my hands on you.”

A tear escaped Beck’s eye. Just remembering the look on his face, the fear and the pain was more than she could bear. “How dare you?” She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself for the uncomfortable conversation she was sure would follow.

“Wait. Hear me out. I didn’t call to make excuses. I called to sincerely apologize.” Luke paused. He could hear low whimpering from Beck. This was harder than he thought it would be.

“I…I’m seeing a therapist and to acknowledge the pain I’ve caused and to genuinely speak my feelings to those people I have hurt is step one.”

“Well, I’m listening.” She growled.

“While most people who are violent have their own personal sob story. I’m not seeking sympathy with this tidbit of information. I am only trying to provide a little peek into my mindset. My mother was abused. She was a fragile woman who had multiple relationships behind my father’s back. He worked long hours and there was always some man in our home beating or slapping my mother around. At first, I thought it was a fetish, but it turned out to be poor life choices on her part. She soon developed PTSD. What’s crazy is when my father found out she was not only cheating with three men but being brutally abused by two of them, he hugged her. Then he asked for their addresses. She cried. She didn’t want her husband and my father to avenge her. Long story short, she blamed me for getting caught cheating and for my father divorcing her. He left me with her and started another family. So, I became my mother’s therapist, personal punching bag, cook, maid. After the beatings stopped, I still held her and brushed her hair when she had nightmares. That’s how my father and my mother taught me to deal with stress and things that are out of my control. “Luke stopped speaking. He felt like he had told more secrets about himself than he wanted to.

“You still there, Beck?” He asked.

Beck sighed and looked at the traffic slowing to a stop on the road. “I am.”

Luke cleared his throat. “Firstly, I am not gay. Yes, I enjoy an88l but with a woman. I wanted you to be a woman. Even though you were very upfront with me about being born a man. When I think about our conversations, they were so fluid. It was easy. I enjoyed being with you. But my mind always went back to how people saw us in public. That made me angry. They looked at us like a perfect couple when, in fact, you are a man.”

“Luke. Where, the f*ck, are you going with this?” Beck barked angrily.

“I digress. The point is, I was infatuated with the woman I wished you were. If I could separate you from the man in you, I thought you would be perfect. So, part of me was fighting to keep the woman while the other side was fighting to destroy the man.”

Deep down, she knew that. The way he never looked at her when they f****d. The way he always seemed to want to just get it over with, no matter the cost. He was always hesitant to put his hands near her manhood. These were things she had picked up on but worked hard to pretend like he was just an alpha male dominating her.

“I have a confession too. Since we are confessing. I only talked to you because you reminded me of a man that I loved dearly. I may have just been looking for him in you. I am glad you decided to get help. I forgive you, but I can’t forget. I will not be letting my guard down in your presence anytime soon. ” Her words left little stab wounds all over his heart. He was sure she was talking about Grayson. She dated him because him and his cousin resembled each other. A question he didn’t ask had been answered. She still had feelings for Grayson.

Luke filed that thought away for later use and wrapped up their conversation. “Well, I hope I was of some use to you. I am truly sorry. I will let you get back to your life. Have a good evening.”

After the call ended, there was a small weight lifted off of Beck’s chest. She thought that she would have to continue looking over her shoulders, wondering if he would attack her again. Letting out a sigh of relief, she rested her head on her steering wheel while waiting for the light to turn green.

----

Lana sat at the end of Reeza’s couch, stewing at the events that kept her misses licking the back of her ear. Not for one moment, did she think of telling her to stop. She almost felt obligated to continue. As she lightly moaned while Reeza kissed the back of her neck, Reeza whispered in her ear, “You don’t have to stop being friends with Beck.”

Startled, she turned towards her.”What?” Lana said quickly.

Reeza made her way off of the couch and checked her watch. “It’s getting late. I need to get going.”

“Misses,” Lana said, then stood up. She wasn’t going to let her go without clarifying her statement.

“I said what I said. I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to waste my energy anymore. Watching you sneak around with her while smiling in my face, eating my p***y. We aren’t a thing anyway, right?” Reeza sneered at Lana. Even though those words left her mouth, they still gave her goosebumps. She did care, but she cared more about Grayson.

“You don’t care? Where is this coming from?” Lana shook her head in disbelief. She should have been happy Reeza no longer wanted to keep them apart but she wasn’t. This was the feeling she felt during the meeting as if her misses had abandoned her. Her relationship had somehow diminished without a minute's notice.

Reeza picked up her purse. “I enjoyed our time together. I will not be in tomorrow so have a good weekend.” She walked away from Lana without looking at her.

“Misses?” Lana was speechless.

Reeza stopped at her office door and turned around, “Stop calling me, Misses.” Before Lana could respond she walked out the door. Lana worked to get her shoes back on and pick up her bags. Her body and mind told her to catch up with Reeza.

By the time she made it to the elevator, the door was closing. As she stood disheveled in the waiting area, she questioned what she had planned on saying to Reeza. “Was I going to beg her to keep me from Beck? What am I doing? This is good, right?” She whispered to herself, then crumbled to the floor. She never thought for a moment Reeza would let her go. She thought there was a fight to be had but Reeza so easily washed her hands of the situation.

After she pulled herself together, she made her way to the pickup zone. Since she was running late, the driver stood outside of the vehicle looking down at his phone. The moment he saw her, he prepared to open her door.

Lana got into the limo. Her thoughts were going a thousand miles per hour. She looked down at her phone and hesitated, then whispered, “Just like that? Uh?”. The moment she thought about Reeza’s words, “She knew we were together?” Lana quietly giggled. “Of course, she knew. Knowing her she had someone tailing me.” She leaned forward and covered her face. The tears that flowed were full of longing and regret. She kept whispering, “But why?” repeatedly.

As she licked her lips, her eyes widened. She took out an alcohol wipe and feverishly cleaned her lips. Not more than 3 hours had passed since she had kissed Beck. This was what she had loaned for the ability to love Beck in public. Now that it had been granted to her, she wanted to rethink her next move.