The moment Candace walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind her she dialed Matt's line.
"Hey! Are you on your way now?" Matt asked the moment he received the call.
"How am I supposed to come over when you're with Bryan? How did you plan to explain my presence at your house to him?" Candace snapped at him as she threw down her bag on the bed.
"I'm with Bryan? How come I didn't know that?" Matt asked dryly.
"What do you mean by that? Do you realize I just made a fool of myself out there because of you?" Candace asked in annoyance.
"If I were with Bryan I would have told you so. I'm not with Bryan. I told him I can't meet with him," Matt said simply.
"But Jade said…" the rest of her words trailed off when Jade opened the door and walked into the room.
"I lied. Sorry," Jade offered with an apologetic smile.
"I will call you back," Candace told Matt before hanging up abruptly.
"I don't get why you have to lie and sneak around like a teenager," Jade said before Candace could attack her.
"I'm not lying or sneaking around! I'm keeping my business private and I don't appreciate you causing such unwarranted misunderstandings," Candace hissed at her.
"Lying that you're coming over to see me just so you can go somewhere else to meet with Matt. Is that what you call keeping your business private?" Jade asked as she folded her hands in front of her, completely unaffected by Candace's annoyance.
If there was one thing she had learned about Candace in the short duration of their friendship, it was the fact that Candace never held back in expressing her displeasure, but that didn't mean they were having a fight. Candace just wasn't the type to hold back.
"What's wrong with that? Does my business have to be everyone's business?" Candace asked, and Jade shrugged.
"And if something were to happen to you before you get to Matt's how would we know where you went to?" Jade asked, angling her head to the side to look at Candace.
"If something were to happen to me, Matt would definitely speak up," Candace said, and Jade tsk-tsked at that.
"Listen to yourself, Candace. You're not making any sense. For someone as exposed and experienced as yourself, I don't expect you to be acting like a naive teenager. What's the big deal in having a boyfriend that you're being so secretive?" Jade asked, and Candace scowled at her.
"Matt isn't my boyfriend," Candace said, choosing to ignore the jab about acting like a naive teenager.
"Really? He's not? What is he to you then?" Jade asked with mock curiosity, and Candace sighed in resignation, knowing she won't get out of this silly and annoying conversation without opening up.
"Why are you so interested in this anyway?" Candace asked, and Jade smiled.
"Because you're my friend. Because you're going to be my twin sister in-law. Because you're my future sister-in-law's cousin, because Matt is my family friend, because Matt cares about you and I know you do the same, because…."
"Because you're just so nosy and can't keep your nose off my business. Typical of Hanks as Harry would a say," Candace cut in, and Jade giggled.
"If you think you're going to provoke me out of getting an answer from you, you've got another thought coming. Come on, Candace," Jade said as she moved closer to her.
"Alright. Fine. Since you must know, I agreed to be his friend with benefit. We are not dating or anything. It's purely sexual," Candace said, and Jade's lips twitched in amusement.
"Matt asked you to be his friend with benefit?" Jade asked with a tinge of amusement in her tone.
Candace looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Yeah. You can't tell anyone, alright? We are not dating."
"Going by your reaction to the presence of another lady beside him last night, don't you think friends with benefit in respect to the both of you is the same as a normal adult relationship?" Jade asked wondering who they were both kidding.
"No, it's not. We are only having sex. No romance. No going out on dates," Candace explained.
"I guess you're both free to go out with other people?" Jade asked and Candace frowned.
"Of course, not! Matt is the only guy I've been with since Jero who was my first. Why would I want to see other guys? And why should he be with other girls?" Candace asked, and Jade grinned.
"You're both in a typical celebrity secret relationship. You're dating away from public eyes, but you are dating whether you think so or not. If you're going to lie about coming to see me next time, it's best you give me a heads up so I don't show up out of the blues like this next time," Jade said, and Candace looked at her with a frown.
"We are not saying. You're not going to tell anyone else about our conversation, are you?" Candace asked, and Jade shook her head.
"No. But I'd rather you are straight with me going forward. You should at least have someone you talk to about your movement. I could cover for you when you need me to," Jade offered.
"You've already ruined it all," Candace said with a scowl.
"I don't think either your dad or your brother cares about your meeting with Matt. Simply tell them you're going out and be gone," Jade said, and Candace looked at her doubtfully.
"Or we could say I was going to see Matt because we are to discuss some of the engagement party plans?" Candace suggested, and Jade laughed softly.
"Maybe you can tell that to Jamal, but definitely not to your dad or Harry. They've caught on already. By the way, I was going to ask. Who was that guy at the party last night and what did he want?" Jade asked curiously, and Candace's nose wrinkled in disgust.
"Just someone who recognized me from the club and stuff," Candace said with a casual shrug.
"Really? What did he say to you? What did you say to him?" Jade asked curiously.
"Don't worry about that, I handled it. I guess he was scared of Harry. He was really careful," Candace said, and Jade looked at her for a moment.
"You must have felt embarrassed," Jade said as she reached for Candace's hand and squeezed it softly.
"Well, I did. Initially. But then I remembered I had a solid army behind me, and I became more confident," Candace said, and Jade smiled.
"You should leave now if you plan to meet up with Matt today for your dick appointment and not be late for our hangout," Jade said as she tapped Candace's bum.
"My God, Jade! Why will you call it that?" Candace asked with mortification and Jade giggled.
"That's what you said it was, wasn't it? Purely sexual meeting equals dick appointment. You should get going," Jade said with a grin, and Candace giggled.
"Some times I can't believe you," Candace said with a shake of her head as she picked up her handbag.
"I will fill you in on the stuff with the case and Bryan's engagement later," Jade said as they both walked out of the bedroom and headed for the living room.
"I guess you're going to Lucy's to meet with Lucy and Sonia?" Aaron guessed with a teasing smile and Candace scowled at him.
"No. You guessed wrong. I'm going to see Matt this time. Since he's with Bryan we are going to discuss the engagement plans," Candace said, and both Aaron and Harry who were watching ESPN chuckled.
"Have fun with the engagement plans then," Aaron said, while Harry looked at her as she headed for the door.
"Aren't you taking the car?" Harry asked and before Candace could respond Jade cut in.
"I will suggest you don't drive since we have no plans of going back home sober!" Jade said with a wink and Candace giggled.
"Alright. No cars then. I will take a cab. See you later," Candace said before walking away.
Once she shut the door behind her, Aaron shook his head, "For someone who was exposed to such a rough life, she's still somewhat innocent and naive," Aaron said with an amused smile.
"About that, did she tell you what the guy at the party last night was talking to her about? Do you know the guy personally?" Jade asked, and Harry shook his head.
"I didn't ask her about it. He's part of our legal team. Why? What did he say to her?" Harry asked, and Jade told them what Candace had told her.
"Well, stuff like this is bound to happen. I was thinking that after we've handled Sara, I will introduce her officially to the press as my sister and have her say it out in the open that she was a stripper. That way there wouldn't be any need for anyone to look in her past. If you have no secrets, there will be nothing anyone can use against you," Harry said, and Aaron frowned.
"Do you think Candace is capable of that? She might not look or act it but she's really insecure and has low self esteem," Jade said, and Aaron nodded in agreement.
"I don't think she can do that," Aaron said.
"She can and she will. She just needs a little support and push. Don't worry, I will make sure of it. I will be right there with her when she makes the announcement. It wouldn't be done to shame her. It would help to free her from the burden of her past. That's the only way she can get past her insecurity and low selfesteem. No one can shame her with a past she has declared publicly," Harry said confidently.
"If you say so. I need to take a nap," Aaron said as he rose to leave for his bedroom.
The moment he left and they were alone in the living room, Harry pulled her to himself and kissed her slowly until she felt her head spin.
"That's to say I've missed you," Harry said, and Jade gazed up at him with dazed eyes.
"Well, I should say I missed you too," Jade said as she climbed into his thighs and covered his lips with hers.
She almost purred from lust and excitement when she realized he had a boner and she was sitting on top of it.
She moved on his lap and ground on his arousal making Harry groan as he pulled away, and this time he was the one with the dazed expression, "You switched that up from zero to a hundred in a second," Harry complained, and Jade grinned as she moved against his boner.
"Stop doing that! There's a kid in the house," Harry hissed at her in frustration and Jade giggled.
"Why don't we go to your bedroom?" Jade suggested as she batted her lashes at him.
"I can't take you in there when you're in such a naughty mood. I'm going to end up making love to you," Harry said as he carried her off his lap, making Jade's heart skip a beat.
"What if I ask you to do it?" Jade asked with a pout.
"Why do you want me to?" Harry asked curiously, and she shrugged.
"Because I want you? We don't have to have sex yet if you don't want to. But it wouldn't be asking for too much to neck and make out like silly teenagers, would it?" Jade suggested even though she knew Harry would say no as usual.
Harry eyed her for a moment before rising from his seat, "You know what? I don't see why not. Since I skipped all of that as a teenager, I should probably try it out now," Harry said to her surprise, and before she could react to that he carried her off the couch and headed for his bedroom.
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