Granny cleared her throat, and he shook off the trance he was in, lowering his head with shame.
“I mean… you look beautiful.” Kemper complimented me.
“Thank you. You are looking pretty sharp yourself.” I reached for his suit collar and tugged on it playfully. “Granny, are you sure you are going to be okay with the kids here? I know after the last time?—”
“Chile, ain’t nobody worried about that psycho woman. I got something for her this time, and this place is surrounded by a new privacy fence and armed guards. We are good. Go out, have some fun for me.” She waved us to the doors.
“Okay, thank you. I will see you later.” I leaned in to kiss her cheek. Kemper tossed an arm around my waist, leading me out the door. I felt like we were being watched the minute we stepped outside, which left me leery. When I peered around, there wasn’t anyone there, so I brushed it off and let him usher me to his black Mercedes waiting at the curb.
“Mmm, this is nice. You must be a top-notch detective to be able to afford this,” I said, allowing him to pull the passenger’s door open for me.
“Something like that.” He closed it and rounded the front of the car to get in the driver’s seat.
“Are you looking forward to this movie? I heard it got some good reviews.” He glanced my way before pulling away from the curb.
“I am looking forward to anything with some normalcy at this point.” I laughed nervously, and my head sank back into the soft headrest.
“Yeah, you’ve had an eventful few months,” he acknowledged, cutting his eyes my way as he drove. “Crazy how all that happened. I’m glad the kids are safe, but it’s wild that Kitana disappeared like that.”
“Not really. She was a nut and a half. She knew what was best for her,” I declared, growing uncomfortable with the topic of discussion.
Kemper watched me a little too closely. I didn’t dare look into the lasers aimed at me. He was a cop, even when he wasn’t. That was part of the reason our dates were so few and far between. I liked him, but it was more like he was a space filler. I was still in limbo with Ledge, and we hadn’t talked about us in months. He had fallen back and been in daddy mode. I was starting to wonder if he was even interested in getting back together since he didn’t bring it up. At night, when I tossed and turned in bed and the kids were with me, I wondered what it was that he was doing or who he was doing it with.
“It’s a blessing that she dropped them off the way that she did and that you all were familiar with the laundry mat that they were left at.” Kemper hinted.
I wasn’t sure where he was going with this. I just needed him to leave it alone. Sniffing around Ledge or anything else would not end well for him. That was another reason I’d been spending time with him, I wanted to make sure he didn’t try to pursue this case and dig any deeper than necessary. We had the perfect cover story, and Kitana was long dead and gone.
“Yes, it is. Can we not talk about that? I would rather enjoy the night rather than relive one of the worst of my life,” I muttered.
“Yeah, I understand,” he replied, checking his rearview mirror.
We grabbed food and sat in the parking lot of the movie theater to eat before going in. The movie lasted about an hour and a half, and then we were driving back toward my house. He seemed a little tight to me, and I wasn’t sure when it had happened. Something was on his mind, but he didn’t want to say anything to me.
“So where do you see this thing between us going? Is this some friendship type thing, or are you interested? I mean, I have two kids, their father is involved in their lives, but at the endof the day, I am their mother. I’ve never done this before with anyone. Ledge and I have been together for almost seven years now. This is new to me.”
Craning his neck so that he faced me, empathy splattered over his features. I watched his eyes soften in a way that was endearing.
“So let me get to know you then,” he teased, running his tongue over his sensual ass lips.
That shit was sexy. A small simper formed on mine. Maybe he wasn’t all cop. I had to give him a chance.
“Where did you grow up? What were your parents and family like?” he questioned.
“Um, I was raised by my grandmother. That was her back at the house.”
Kemper couldn’t keep his eyes off the rearview mirror. I wasn’t sure why he was looking there until I peeped the car that seemed to be following us at every turn.
“Is something wrong?” I questioned, peeping his uneasiness.
As we neared the house, the car only seemed to get closer behind us. When Kemper wheeled his vehicle in through the security gate, they rolled in right behind us, and I knew right then that it was Ledge. This was his security after all, so he had all access to the grounds. Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I silently counted down to the bullshit that was about to go down.
The nerve of this nigga irked my soul. He could go do whatever, whenever, with whoever, but I wasn’t allowed to do the same. Kemper was already in his mirror, watching Ledge, who was more than likely scoping him too. Ledge was a predator at the end of the day; that much I knew. He was also protective. Because of the line of work he was in, he was always cautious. There was no way he was about to leave me exposed out here for anyone to take advantage of.
“Is this normal procedure?” Kemper questioned, falling back in his seat calmly.
“He’s… protective, and paranoid,” I concluded, sighing.
Ledge was unpredictable, and I didn’t need that shit right now.
