Best Friends Ch. 04

Bryan leaned over and sucked on the bottom lip that she was treating so rudely and ran his tongue over it. "Good night, Jaelyn," he said.

"Good night Bryan," she responded sleepily. They'd definitely worn each other out.

Bryan woke up to the sound of a light knocking at his door. He looked at his clock. It was nine in the morning; who the hell was that? He carefully shifted out of bed so as not to wake Jaelyn and threw on some shorts and a tank top. He shuffled to the door and opened it. Boy was he tired of surprises. He stared into the grey eyes of one of his good experiences over the summer -- Rhia.

"Rhia, what are you doing here?" he didn't mean to be rude, but that was the only thing that came out.

"I wanted to surprise you, hope you don't mind, your mom gave me your address. I mean we agreed to just be friends, but we never ruled out benefits -- mind if I come in?" she asked, brushing past him, making sure that she made deliberate contact with his body. When she walked in and saw Jaelyn lying in bed she froze, her face turning a bright pink that clashed with her fiery curls.

"Who's that?" she whispered, taken aback. Bryan cringed; he didn't like this situation one bit.

"Rhia, that's my girlfriend, Jaelyn," he answered glancing over at Jaelyn and praying she wouldn't wake up. She looked so pretty and peaceful lying there and he sure didn't want her angry at him again -- actually, considering the make up sex they'd have later... "Wow. This is awkward. Bryan, I'm so sorry. I really shouldn't have come here like this. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll leave right now. Sorry. Bye," Rhia stuttered, visibly flustered before rushing back out the door. Wow was right. Bryan relaxed. He took his clothes back off and got back in bed beside Jaelyn, wrapping his arms around her snuggly.

"Friends with benefits, huh?" she muttered her eyes still closed. Bryan chuckled, though he knew he should have been ashamed of himself.

~

Keith groaned. It had been two months since the incident with Bryan and his nose still seemed sore. He wished he was the type of person that could hold a grudge, but he wasn't -- especially when he knew he'd crossed the line. In fact, if he was completely honest with himself he respected Bryan for taking up for Jaelyn that way. He couldn't say he would have reacted like that if he'd been in Bryan's shoes; he probably would have laughed and put their business right on front street. If you were getting in Jaelyn's panties you must be doing something right and he would have admitted it proudly. Man he envied the bastard, though.

A knock at the door startled him out of his reverie and he dragged his eyes from the football game on television. Where was his roommate at when he needed him? The guy was forever on cruises and vacations etcetera. He didn't know how he completed his classes. Keith reluctantly got up and opened the door. It was Cindy. She looked rough. Her pretty green eyes were red and puffy and her face was blotchy as if she'd been crying for hours. He swallowed a big lump of guilt and opened the door so that she could come in.

"Cindy," he started.

"Oh you know my name," she said wryly, sniffling and hesitantly walking inside.

"Look, I'm sorry about that night. I shouldn't have treated you like that and you have every right to hate me," What was he saying? First he was forgiving the motherfucker that smashed his nose and now he was apologizing for giving some chick what she'd wanted all along -- he was turning into a full blown pussy. But staring at her, he knew he wasn't about to take the words back. She looked fucking miserable. She didn't sit down; she stood in the middle of the room and stared at him until he started to feel uncomfortable.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. Keith's stomach sank. Damn. No wonder she felt like shit. He thought about asking if she was sure it was his but the fact that she'd even stepped foot in his house to tell him meant everything. He was sure that if she'd had a choice, she would have never seen his face again. The fact that she'd braved it upped his respect for her considerably. Damn.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked after taking a long breath. To his horror she burst into tears. He immediately walked over to her and grabbed her into his arms. He'd have to go get his estrogen levels checked out, the reaction was so natural. "Shhh...don't cry," he murmured.

"I'm...just so happy you said 'we'," she said looking up at him, tears flowing down her face. After she calmed down a bit, she continued. "I don't believe in abortion Keith. I'm keeping the baby, I just couldn't have the baby and not let you know, though I really wanted to after --" she stopped. She didn't have to continue, Keith knew what she meant and suddenly he was determined to rectify that. First he had to take care of something else though.

"Cindy, I'm here for you, I support your decision. I know you have every reason to doubt me, every reason to cut me from your life, but I'm glad you didn't. It's not the baby's fault that we were irresponsible, I'll do my best to be a good dad," Keith meant it with all his heart. If his own father had witnessed what he'd been up to for the past few years he'd be rolling in his grave, but now, with the news that he'd just been hit with, he felt like a whole new person, he was scared as hell, but determined to do the right thing.

~

Jaelyn sighed. She was stuffed to the brink and was having an excellent holiday. She spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve at Bryan's house with his mother and little sister and they spent Christmas Day at her house with her family. They planned on spending New Year's Day there as well.

When she'd come home, she was surprised to feel a bit of awkwardness. In college, living on campus, it was almost a totally different world, college students got away with a lot more than people in the "real world". So when she was suddenly hit with the fact that Bryan was White (though it seemed silly), she got a little scared. Neither of their families made any comments, but there were curious glances that seemed to scream things like "do they know what they're doing?" or "are they actually serious?" She admitted that she could have been a bit paranoid; she'd never brought a guy home before, let alone a White guy. On top of that, she'd lost her virginity and though she didn't regret being with Bryan in that way, she couldn't help wondering if her parents would be disappointed in her if they knew. Her mother evidently noticed her discomfort. This evening after supper she'd knocked quietly on Jaelyn's bedroom door before entering. Jaelyn had stared at her mother, still beautiful and fit at forty two years of age. She watched as her mother sat beside her on the bed.

"You seem slightly uncomfortable tonight baby, is anything wrong?" Her mother had some sort of sixth sense when it came to her only child. It used to frustrate her, growing up she couldn't had anything if she'd wanted to, but today she was glad for the opportunity to put everything out in the open. Only she didn't know where to start. So she just said it.

"Bryan's White," she said. Her mother looked at her strangely before giggling.

"I'm sorry honey, I thought you knew that. Do they cut the lights off on that campus of yours?" Jaelyn smiled, her mother was cheesy but she did have a point.

"No I mean - I'm just now realizing that I'm in a serious relationship with a White guy, and wondering what that means. I mean on campus we can walk around together, hand in hand and it's not a big deal but here at home we walk around at the park or in the stores and we get stares. Plus I wonder what you all think about it, you know that I brought home a White guy," Jaelyn said. She knew her family wasn't racist and looked down upon anyone who was. Any person who disliked someone because of their race or any other physical difference was considered ignorant. Yet her family wasn't color blind either, they knew what it was to be Black in a predominantly White society, they knew that racism still existed and she wondered if the fact that she'd crossed the "race barrier" somehow changed her in their eyes.

"Honey, I admit that I was a bit surprised. I mean, we knew Bryan was a very good friend of yours, we knew he was White, but we didn't know that the first time we'd meet him, he would be introduced as your boyfriend. Yes I knew that when you were ready, you'd bring a guy home, no I did not think he would be White," her mother giggled again. "But you have a way of doing things your way, Jaelyn. I like that about you and I wouldn't expect you to be any different about falling in love, especially when falling in love isn't anything you can control. I have no problem with Bryan being White, nor does your father. I see that he is a good young man, and as long as he continues to treat you with the respect you deserve he's just fine with me. I can tell he makes you very happy and what parent wouldn't like seeing a smile on her daughter's face every day?" Jaelyn smiled, relieved.

"Thanks mom," she gave her mother a big hug.

"So you love him, huh?" her mother asked.

"Yes I do. I loved him as a best friend, and now I love him as a man. It's funny how simple it was for that transition to take place," Jaelyn said in wonder.

"Would you marry him?" Her mother asked.

"Yes, I would," Jaelyn hadn't even let her mind stray that far but now that the question was out, she knew without a doubt that if Bryan asked, she'd say yes in a heartbeat. Just thinking about him made her wish that they weren't staying in her parents' home so that she could pay him a little extra attention.

"Good, I would be heartbroken if my only daughter was sleeping with someone she didn't love and wouldn't marry," Her mother gave her a knowing look. She hadn't gotten away that easily. She took a deep breath and mentally cursed, the truth always comes to the light anyway. Inwardly she laughed, though she knew she had some explaining to do.

~

Bryan smiled. He knew he'd made a good impression with Jaelyn's family this past couple of days. The best part was he'd done it by simply being him self. When Jaelyn's father Darryl asked what his intentions were for his daughter in that serious I'm-a-father-and-I-will-kill-you type of way, with all of Jaelyn's uncles and male cousins in the room, Bryan was nervous as hell. All eyes turned to him, but he knew why he was with Jaelyn though and he answered honestly. He was a family oriented man and he planned to one day marry Jaelyn. Darryl simply smiled and said: "good answer" and they all continued playing the latest football video game on PS3 and eating the appetizers that were being served. Thinking about that moment, he fingered the precious object in his pocket that had been in Jaelyn's family for generations. Darryl had given it to him later on after he'd formally asked for Jaelyn's hand when they were alone. Now he waited in anticipation for New Year's Eve. He hoped -- he knew -- he prayed she'd say "yes".

The End