Her Protector

Chapter 11: White Lie

I woke up to a day off and a sweet message from Khalil.

KHALIL

|Good morning, beautiful. I couldn’t wait for you to call. I just want you to know you’re the last person I think of, the one I’m dreaming about, and my first thought each day. I can’t wait to see you again. Take care.

Ugh! Why was he like this? How am I supposed to go on a date with Ken when he is subtly professing his love for me? What if this was all just game? I decided to go with it. I really liked him. That didn’t mean I had to be exclusive right away, right? I was really looking forward to this date, but now I wanted to cancel and make plans with Khalil. I was searching for the words to reply with. I started texting and deleting several times.

KELIS

|It makes me feel special knowing how you feel. I’m looking forward to seeing you again too. You’re on my mind as well.

I was satisfied with that. He replied with a red heart emoji. I stretched in my bed and contemplated how to spend my day. I had a while until my date with Ken. Part of me really wanted to just cancel, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to just go out and have a good time. It had been so long since I’d been on a proper date. I got out of bead and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. As I came out, I heard my phone go off again. Thinking it was Khalil, I had a smile on my face as I went to for my phone.

KEN

|Hello, Kelis. I’m sure even this early in the morning you’re still just as beautiful. One day that face will be waking up next to me. Until then, I can’t wait to see you tonight. I have a special night planned for you.

It was Ken. My smile fell slightly, but I was kind of excited about tonight after receiving his message. With his sparse communication, it was easy to allow Khalil in. I didn’t really see how tonight would change my feelings for Khalil, but I didn’t want to completely give myself to him either. Who knows if I could really trust him? Some guys will put on the best face to manipulate a good woman and I wasn’t about to let that happen again.

KELIS

|Nice to hear from you, Ken. I wasn’t sure if I would. You’re pretty bold to assume you’d ever be waking up next to me though…

KEN

|I guess I kind of deserve that. I’m sorry I haven’t been communicating with you since we met. I’m a pretty busy guy, but I know that’s no excuse. I promise I will make it up to you tonight. You’re still coming, right?

KELIS

|I suppose I still have some time.

KEN

|I’ve got just the thing to get back in your good graces. See you tonight beautiful.

KELIS

|Ok.

Ken wasn’t really giving me the same vibe as Khalil. It felt like he wasn’t very interested in me, but if that were the case, I don’t think he would still be trying to see me. I decided to play hard to get with him. I wanted to see how far he would go to really make me feel special. All this talk about the future was not exciting when the present was so dull. Maybe that would all change after tonight.

I emerged from the bedroom to start my day. I planned to do some housework and find some time to talk to Khalil. I really didn’t want him trying to talk to me tonight. I already said I would be with my friend Rochelle so my back was covered. For now, I was going to have some breakfast and then get on these domestic duties.

…

I took a break to call Khalil. It was late afternoon and I was going to start getting ready for my date. The phone barely rang before he answered.

“Hi, Kelis.”

“Hi, Khalil. Are you busy?”

“I’m never too busy for you. How’s your day going so far?”

“It’s been ok. You’ve been on my mind a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Is that why you called?”

“Well, yeah, I just wanted to talk to you before I get with my friend. We’ll probably be really busy tonight.”

“Well, I appreciate that. I love to hear your voice…”

He said it in a way that made my body tingle. I was getting more comfortable expressing my feelings for Khalil. Every time I talked to him, I felt I had his full attention and it was so attractive. The conversation was short, but sweet. He reminded me that he has plans for me next weekend and couldn’t wait to see me Monday. I was more excited for Monday than I was for tonight. The way he pulled me close before we parted. It was a moment I kept reliving since it happened. His sweet scent and even sweeter voice in my ear.

“I’ll miss you until I can see you again, beautiful.”

“Me too. I’m actually looking forward to Monday for once, ha ha!” I laughed.

“You be safe tonight. I don’t want you coming back to me with injuries. Lift with your legs!”

“I’ll remember that. Have a good rest of your day, Khalil. I’ll be calling you tomorrow too.”

“I’ll be patiently waiting. You enjoy the rest of your day as well.”

We ended the call. I felt a little sadness for the first time living alone. I committed myself to being driven and reaching some significant goals before I ever thought about entertaining a relationship, but all this closeness with Khalil was very noticeable when I wasn’t talking to him or seeing him. I sighed and got up to start getting ready.

I had my outfit picked; A sleeveless blue bodycon dress with embellishment from the neck to the hem line, just above the knee, with side cut outs. It was definitely sexy. I paired that with some black and blue strappy heels and a silver clutch purse. Since I twisted my hair the night before, I untwisted and fluffed my hair out to shape it. My hair fell around my shoulders and was very big. I usually got a lot of compliments when I wore my hair this way. I was just about to start my makeup when Chelley called.

“Hey, Chelley! My alibi! What’s up?”

“Your alibi? I know we’re best friends, but I’m not going down for you unless I was there!”

“Ha ha! No crime is being committed, my friend. I haven’t gotten to tell you how much time I’ve been spending talking to the guy from the café. He asked me if I had plans this weekend and I lied and said I would be with you.”

“I thought you liked him?”

“I do! But Ken!”

“Oh, that’s right. Damn! I forgot that you have a date with him tonight! So, you’re not feeling him anymore?”

“Well, I never spoke to him again after seeing him at the bank. He’s texted me a few times to check if I’m still breathing and keeps acting like we’re going to be together after this date.”

“So, you haven’t spoken to him since Tuesday?”

“Nope!”

“That’s hella weird. Maybe he’s really busy? I mean, he’s still on for your date, right?”

“Yeah, he texted me today to make sure I would be there.”

“Well, girl, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. You haven’t really spent time with him. Maybe he’ll turn out to be better than that dusty boy you met at the café. Clearly they are in two different leagues.”

“You just said not to judge! You don’t know if Ken really has money or if Khalil really doesn’t!”

“You’re right, I did say that! Ok, well since you’ve already committed to this date you may as well have a good time. You can see café boy Monday, right?”

“His name is Khalil!”

“Someone’s overprotective!” she said in a singsong voice.

“Oh, shut up! Why did I call you!” I laughed.

“Because you love me and I give the best advice!”

“Only one of those statements is true! I’m going to finish getting ready.”

“If you need me, you know I will drop everything and come whoop up on somebody if I have to.”

“I’ll be fine. I’m driving myself there. I’ll fill you in on all the details tomorrow!”

“Ok, girl! Be safe!”

I checked the time on my phone. 4:30 PM. Thirty minutes and I was off to my night out with Ken. I was starting to get nervous since I really didn’t know what to expect.

KEN

|You getting ready for me, baby?