Distracted (5 page)

Bryson

“Where’s whatsherface?”

I could tell Kennedy had a little attitude about her the second she showed up to my house though I couldn’t figure out why. She seemed fine this morning when she picked out my clothes for the game, but now that she was looking through the recently delivered racks of women’s clothing, her whole demeanor had switched. You would’ve thought the clothes had done her wrong with how aggressively she was sorting through them.

I watched her closely as I told her, “She’s on her way. I set her up with a bunch of appointments to get all freshened up for the trip.” I figured it was the least I could do since I hadn’t given her much attention other than the occasional heart eyes emoji in the comments of her Instagram pictures. But all it took was that and a few DMs to convince her to join me for the weekend.

She yanked a dress from the rack, laying it on the couch as she tossed out, “
Hmph
. Must be nice.”

I watched her for a few moments longer as she opened a box of Louboutin pumps, staring at them in awe before closing it and setting it next to the dress.

“You like those?”

She shot me a glare. “Is that even a real question?”

I walked over to the couch, opening the box myself and pulling one of the shoes out as I tried to figured out what was so special about them. I mean, they were just shoes.

“What’s up with you women and designer shoes anyway? Most of us guys would rather have you barefoot and preg…”

She cut me off, “Nope. Nope. Nope. Not gonna go there. Not falling into that trap.”

She made herself busy straightening out the dress she picked out for my date as I took a step closer and pried deeper. “Let me guess. You’re one of those,
My body, my cho…
”

She held a hand up to stop me again. “Bryson, stop while you’re ahead. Please.”

I stepped right behind her, tempted to wrap my arms around her waist as I teased, “Why stop me? I’m on a roll and you know it.”

She stepped to her left to respond, “No. All you’re
doing
is undermining the potential of women by acting like they don’t have the power.”

I found her again, this time stepping in front of her the second she turned around. “All the power is in the pussy. You and I both know that.” Her eyes were fixated on mine and there was no denying the flicker of interest.

I licked my lips ready to make a move, but she spoke again. “My pussy may be powerful, but it’s not all I’m worth.”

“So it’s bomb then, huh?” I teased.
She rolled her eyes, stepping away to reply, “That’s none of your business.”

I filled the gap once again, this time unable to keep my hands to myself as I wrapped my arms around her thin waist. “What if I make it my business?”

She rested her hands on my chest, giving me a little push just as the doorbell rang. “
Your
business… is waiting for you at the door.”

I didn’t really wanna go answer it; wanted to savor this moment of lighthearted back and forth banter with Kennedy. But when the doorbell rang again and I looked down to her left hand that was still near my chest, I knew this was as good as it was gonna get.

&

“I don’t like it.”

I threw my hands up as Monica turned down yet another one of Kennedy’s masterpieces. We had been at it for what felt like hours as we tried to find something for her to wear to the movie premiere, but nothing seemed to please her.

That CoverGirl contract from a few years back must’ve went straight to her head.

I tried to hide my annoyance as I told her, “Monica, if you keep this up, we’ll miss our flight. Just pick something.”

She whined, “It’s not that simple, Bryson. I have an image to protect.” Out of my peripheral I saw Kennedy roll her eyes. But she kept quiet, sifting through the racks for yet another option.

“You weren’t thinking about your image when you posted all those thirst traps on Instagram. So why are you so worried about it now?”

She had the nerve to get an attitude as if I was lying. “Excuse me! Those were for my brand.”

“Could’ve fooled me…”

Kennedy stopped to smile before she went back to the rack.

“Well maybe if you got a
real
stylist in here, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Oh shit.

I heard the distinct click of hangers smashing together before Kennedy said, “The stylist doesn’t bring the outfit to life, the person who’s wearing it does. So maybe you need to check yourself before you worry about
my
credentials.” I hardly expected to see Kennedy clap back, but I was honestly impressed.

Hell, that shit actually turned me on.

But instead of focusing on that, I had to set the record straight. “Kennedy’s right, Monica. You can either pick one of the options she’s already laid out for you, or just stay your ass here cause I’m done going back and forth about this.” She looked ready to argue back, but I dared her with my eyes to say something.

She growled, throwing her hands down as she said, “Fine! I’ll take this dress and this… ensemble.”

“And tell her thank you.” Now both women were looking at me.

Monica’s was wearing a scowl as she asked, “What?”

“Tell Kennedy thank you for picking out these wonderful options for you to choose from. She did you a favor, ya know.”

Monica acted like the idea was crazy, brushing me off as she said, “Bryson, you have got to be kidding me.”

“Didn’t your mama raise you with any manners? I mean, you wouldn’t be able to tell from that booty pic you posted, but…” That got her attention.

“Thank you, Kennedy.” She said it so low I could hardly hear her.

I thought about making her repeat herself until Kennedy replied, “You’re welcome.”

Kennedy

Took a shift at the club. I’ll be back before sunrise. Love, Hubby :).

I sighed at the note that was attached to a new floral arrangement, smaller than usual but still perfect in taste. Though I wished Landon would stop pulling shifts at that damn strip club, I couldn’t help but acknowledge how perfect he was. Handsome as all get out, provider by nature, socially-conscious career, good with kids, could cook almost better than me; everything you could ask for in a husband.

But my mind was beyond occupied with the devil himself.

I felt crazy as hell for even allowing my thoughts of him to get so intense, but it was like there was nothing I could do to fight it; especially after spending more time with him. The more time I spent, the deeper I fell into a trap I had no business even being around.

Get it together, Kennedy.

I changed out of my clothes into pajamas, hoping there wasn’t even a hint of Bryson’s intoxicating scent from the multiple hugs he tried to justify before he headed to the airport with his little chick. I sniffed my shirt just to check and sure enough there it was. All freshly-showered, and manly,
and
… I tossed it into the laundry basket before I could melt.

I felt so stupid for being even remotely attracted to Bryson. I mean, he was fine, sure… and rich and…

Did I say fine already?

But other than that he was a misogynist, he was arrogant, and he just assumed every girl would give up the goodies to him because of his stature. It was pathetic, really, that all that caramel, tattooed fineness was going to waste on such a…
dog
.

That’s exactly what Bryson was.

A damn dog.

And you’re getting ready to marry a real man in Landon.

Instead of staying in my thoughts, I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, wash my face, and tie my hair for the night. Then I snuggled in bed with my laptop so I could fall asleep to something on Netflix.

It didn’t take long before my head was nodding off and my eyes were glazing over. I was just getting ready to throw in the towel and shut my computer when it began to ring, signaling an incoming FaceTime call.

Bryson Harris.

I panicked, first looking down at my chest that had been braless since I came home, then touching my head that was covered in a scarf, and finally adjusting my glasses that I only wore at night when I was tired of my contacts.

I can’t let him see me like this!

I pulled my scarf from my head, brushing my hair down with my fingers before hitting the key to answer the call. Once it connected, I could tell he was already in bed too, his chest tattoos on full display and his durag tied tight.

Fine. Ass.

His smile was pleasant as he said, “Hey you.”

I tried to clear my throat before I addressed him. “Bryson. What’s going on? Is something wrong?” Considering it was well past two in the morning, that was the only logical explanation for the call.

His bare muscles flexed as he laughed. “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to… talk to you.”

Talk to me?

He’s on a weekend getaway and wanted to “talk to me”?

“Where’s Monica?”

“Man, I ditched her the second we landed. That girl was gettin’ on my gotdamn nerves.” I couldn’t help but laugh considering I had been thinking the same thing once she showed up to his house, though I was actually grateful when she did show up as Bryson was getting a little too close for me to control.

“Makes sense. Well now who are you going to take?” I was sure it was far from slim-pickings for him, even last minute.

“That’s actually why I was calling. I wanted to see if you would… fly out and come with me.” My heart leaped from my chest.

It was flattering as hell that he had even thought to invite me, but
…
“Bryson, no. Come on now.” I was already spending more than enough time with him. And joining him on his trip was hardly necessary.

“Why not? And don’t say because it’s late notice.”

“How about because I have a fiancé? Engaged people don’t go on dates. You do realize that, right?” I always thought stuff like that was common knowledge, but apparently not.

He brushed me off. “Oh, Kennedy. Save that shit. If you were
really
engaged, you wouldn’t have answered my call at this hour.”

I shouldn’t have...

“No. If you respected my engagement, you wouldn’t be
calling
at this hour. But you’re my boss. I have to answer.” I really hated how much power he had in this situation, especially after our earlier conversation.

He smiled as if he was having an epiphany before he said, “Well as your boss, I’m telling you to get your ass to LA ASAP.” The panic returned. There was no way in hell I was gonna fly out to LA just to… please Bryson.

“Bryson, that’s not fair and you know it.”

He challenged me, “I’ll respect your engagement if you respect me as your boss.”

“Bryson…”

His goofy little smile returned. “I’ll send you the flight information in a minute. See you tomorrow, Kennedy.”

&

The flight from Philly to Los Angeles wasn’t long enough.

In fact, no amount of time would’ve prepared me for the last minute flight out at Bryson’s request. It was like even though he and I both knew I shouldn’t be here, he made it his mission to test every inch of my moral capacity.

I sighed just thinking about it as I dragged my carry-on bag through the terminals before making my way towards the pick-up area where a driver was supposed to be waiting for me. But instead, I only found Bryson’s tall frame terribly disguised in a hoodie, baseball cap, and sunglasses.
I suppose since people were use to seeing celebrities in this particular airport, his presence wasn’t that big of a deal. But his effort to hide himself was humorous at best. He even held a sign with my name on it as if I wouldn’t recognize him.

“Kennedy! Over here!”

I rolled my eyes as I approached him. “You don’t really think you’re incognito, do you?”

“Shhh! Come on before they figure it out.” I laughed as he took my bag and lead me outside to where a car was waiting.

After handing my bag off to the chauffeur, he opened the door for me, letting me climb in first then following. We rode off in silence as I watched the city pass us by through the window.

“So how was your flight out?”

“It was fine. Oh! I need to call Landon and tell him I made it.” Though he wasn’t too enthused about the last minute trip, he still understood it being part of the job.

“That’s his name? Landon… Montgomery, right?” I finally turned his way.

“Yeah. How’d you know that?” I asked as I dialed Landon’s number and pressed call.

“Uh… background checks. We had to know everything about you before we put you on.”

“Right.” I held up my hand to put Bryson on hold just as Landon picked up.
“Hey babe… Yeah, I made it safe and sound… Okay, I’ll keep in touch... Yes, I promise, Landon…  Okay… Okay, love you too. Bye.”

I could feel Bryson’s eyes all over me as I pressed end, prompting me to ask, “What?”

His face was stern as he said, “Give me your phone.”

“
What?
” I asked again for new reasons.

“Give me your phone. You won’t need it.”

Okay, this dude is trippin’.

“Bryson, I’m not giving you my phone. That’s ridiculous and you know it.” Between keeping in touch with Landon, emergencies, and social media, there was no way I was handing over my pride and joy.

“Just listen to me, Kennedy. I’ll give it back in the morning. I promise.” I eyed him for a long time, trying to figure out his motive. Maybe he expected his company to be present instead of wrapped up in the virtual world. Or maybe he just… expected a certain level of privacy in situations like this.

That I could respect.

I powered my phone off and handed it over, watching as he put it in the pocket of his sweatpants like it was his own.

“Thatta girl. Now let’s have some fun.”