“Honey, when have you ever not been serious about the male species? Don’t look like at me like I just murdered your puppy. You know I’m all about the causal fuck. I just want you to be careful.”
I gave a short laugh pretending I was totally fine with casual fucking. I wanted to explain to Brenda that even though I knew Kean was the wrong choice whatever was happening between us felt like something more.
Brenda gave me a sly look. “I bet Melany is freaking out. All that money and smoking hot to boot. She is probably wishing she could get a piece of his dick or his wallet.”
The mention of Melany taking interest in Kean’s dick had my appetite hitting the road. I pushed my plate to the side. “I haven’t heard from Melany since she mentioned she was living it up in Cancun with some man named Estaban. She dumped Chris, the guy our age who flew her over there.”
“I swear that woman changes men faster than I change underwear. But to each her own. And the same goes for you, my friend. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.” Brenda shoved a fork full of salad in her mouth and asked, “How is old Stuart taking the news?”
“Stuart doesn’t know. Other than you, I’m not planning on telling anyone, yet. Kean is big on privacy and with Shawna pressing me to write about his personal life I’m worried about the news getting back to her. If she finds out, I know she will remove me from the story and expose him anyways to bring in money. If I tell Stuart he may tell Shawna. He hates Kean. Did you know they attended the same high school?”
Brenda eyes grew big. She paused chewing. “Seriously? And Stuart never mentioned it before? That’s odd. You would think he would have volunteered the information in the meeting room when Shawna first assigned the articles.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not sitting well with me. I’ve been pissed with Stuart since I found out.”
We both grew quiet.
Brenda closed her lips around another bite of salad while I contemplated telling her about the threats. She had always been street smart. I’m sure she would have advice on how to handle them. She would also be an additional set of eyes on my back, which couldn’t hurt at this point.
“There is something else.”
“Holy shit, you’re pregnant with his baby!” Brenda yelled.
A couple of people sitting at tables nearby turned to gape at us.
“What? Shhhh. God, no. Don’t say things like that.” Although Kean and I had been using condoms, I made a mental note to check my pill case.
“I’ve been receiving threats.”
Brenda set her fork down as her brows furrowed. “Threats?”
“Kean has some things in his past that need to be left alone. Someone mailed me information about him and his father along with a couple of warnings. They want me to write about them. You know, include them in my assignment for all the world to read.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“It depends on what you mean by serious. If it means a huge centipede left in a box at my front door along with a warning then yeah, it’s serious.”
“Oh my God, Ciaran, why didn’t you tell me? What did the cops say?”
“I didn’t call the police.”
Brenda raised her eyebrows like I was insane. “Why not?”
“Brenda, I can’t report it. If I do there is a chance the information will get out to the public and that’s what this person making the threats wants. I won’t let that happen. And I’m not going to write about it either. It may mean I lose my job but I can’t do it. It isn’t right.”
“So what? Some psycho is going to take you out because you are not doing what they want and you’re just going to sit back and let them? Ciaran, this is scary shit. Do you think maybe it’s Shawna who is behind it? You said she is putting pressure on you to write about Kean’s life.”
“I’ve thought about Shawna, but it doesn’t make sense. Why not include whatever she knows in the magazine herself? And then Stuart dropped a bombshell the other night at dinner. He told me Kean sexually assaulted a student when they were in high school.”
“Dr. Bennett assaulted someone? Fuck, Ciaran. How is he even a doctor with an assault on his record?”
“Kean was only suspended for a couple of weeks before they let him return to school. The girl’s parents dropped the charges and according to Stuart, Kean’s dad paid to have it all kept quiet. You know, Stuart could be the one sending them. In the same box as the centipede was the incident report from Kean’s high school. I received it after Stuart told me about the attack. He was pretty insistent I expose Kean for it out of retribution for his actions.”
“But that also doesn’t make sense. Why would Stuart tell you about it and then send it to you? It would point right back at him. Stuart seems so harmless anyways. That chump wouldn’t hurt a fly. What has Kean said about all this?”
“I haven’t told him.”
Brenda sucked in a sharp breath. “Ciaran, why haven’t you told him? This is important and it involves him. It concerns his life.”
“I know, I know. I need to tell him but I’m not sure how to go about it. He hates discussing anything personal and when I tried to bring up the topic of his father, he got really angry.”
“You have to tell him. Even if you’re not in a serious relationship he needs to know someone is trying to use you to get to him.”
I knew I needed to let Kean in on what had been happening, but I was nervous about approaching the topic. I’d hoped he would bring up his past without any coaxing from me. What if I brought it up first and he refused to let me in? It would crush me. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to recover from it. Even so, I was almost out of time. The deadline for the final draft of my article was in a few short days.
Trying to hide my relationship woes, I shifted my attention to my lap.
“Don’t be upset,” Brenda said. “If Kean cares about you at all, he will understand and be willing to help figure out who is behind all this.”
I nodded and smiled at my navy blue skirt as I attempted to tuck away my fears.
“You know what we need?”
“What?” I asked, forcing my eyes back to hers.
“We need a little mindless fun. Some drinkies, some little snackies and a bunch of shake your butt music.”
Watching the excitement dance in Brenda’s eyes, I laughed. A girl’s night sounded great.
When Kean had dropped me off at my building this morning, he had informed me he was scheduled for a late night at the hospital and wasn’t sure if he would get the chance to call. Brenda coming over would not only keep me company but stop my mind from obsessing over every little thing.
“Kean will be tied up with work until late. Can you stay the night? I’m not feeling like being alone.”
Brenda grinned. “Only if you let me spoon you, babe.”
I burst out laughing. It looked like Brenda and I were going to blow off some steam.
……………………..
“Where the hell are you?” Brenda whined.
“Sorry. I had to stop by the store to pick up wine and snacks. I bought two types of corn chips and three different cheeses so I could make us a plate of gooey nachos. Are you already at my apartment?”
“Yes. I just let myself in.”
“Okay, I’m down the block. I should be there in about five minutes or so.” I hung up and dropped my cell phone into my purse as I hurried down the sidewalk.
Several months ago, I had lost my only key to the apartment. At the time, my roommate – who had the only other key – had been out of town for work. I had to pay an extra hundred bucks to the apartment complex for maintenance to come unlock the door with their master key. I also had to wait three hours for them to arrive. After the ordeal, I decided a cheaper option was to make an extra key for Brenda just in case of an emergency. It came in super handy for additional reasons besides a lockout. For example, when I was hosting girls night and my bestie was on time but I wasn’t, she could simply let herself in.
Tonight was going to be a blast.
I missed hanging out with Brenda. Lately it seemed like we were both so busy. We hadn’t spent quality time together in forever.