Chapter 6

The weeks seemed to fly by. Beth never brought up her mother, so I never told her of the talk I had with my sister. I figured it would be a nice surprise.

Beth proved herself to be the total package. She was beautiful, intelligent, graceful, athletic, quick witted, funny, and drop-dead gorgeous. She could be so modest yet oh so bold, child-like yet wise beyond her years. We became inseparable.

We joined a local fitness center. Mostly, we would play racquetball and run on their indoor track. I typically won on the court but she dominated me on the track. They had an indoor pool and a steam room. When she would come out in one of her bikinis, everyone would stare. At first, she was taken aback by this. "Haven't these people ever seen a black girl before?"

I answered, "Not one as beautiful as you."

That compliment won me a hug and a kiss. "Guess we need to let them know I'm taken", she whispered in my ear. I pulled her in tighter and we kissed again. Hard to believe that this amazing beauty was all mine.

When I had to go to Chicago on business, instead of flying as usual, I drove out the day before, taking her with me. I sat her up with the full spa treatment while I was at my meeting and then we spent two days hanging out checking out the museums and restaurants. It was so easy to forget her age, except when it came to going out. A fake-id would definitely come in handy.

It was just before Beth's sixteenth birthday that I received the paper work which made me her official guardian. I only had to call my sister once during the process. She hadn't signed the papers yet for some reason. When I got her on the phone, she explained to me how she hadn't gotten around to it yet, what with the stress of giving up her only daughter [bullshit] compounded with all the money problems she was currently having [ding ding ding we have a winner]. When I asked her how much she needed, she told me a loan of $5000 dollars would probably be enough. I told her I would have my lawyer fly down on the next available flight with the cash. "You can have it all as my gift, once you sign the papers." It's not like she would ever pay it back anyways.

When a personal chef showed up with bags of groceries that night, Beth knew something was up. As hard as she tried, I would not give in – just that it was a "special night". She tried bribery, pouting, even acting as if she didn't care, but I did not give in. "It's a surprise."

I told her that "It is definitely something that I have been waiting for. I assume you will like it. At least I hope so." As a tease, I added "If not, too bad for you." She hit me with a pillow and moved over to the chair which was clearly meant as my punishment. I sprawled out on the couch, "Oh this is so much nicer. Finally, some room to spread out."

She gave me her best dirty look trying hard not to break into a smile. "Better get used to it, 'cuz that's where you'll be sleeping tonight." I threw the pillow at her which she caught and threw right back. She grabbed another and started whacking me with it. When she saw that I wasn't responding, she hit me one last time and walked to the kitchen. "I am going to see if our guest needs anything. I am sure he will appreciate me."

"Yea, cause I am paying him", I smirked. That comment got me the middle finger pose. I responded with "I love you too, baby."

I heard her mumble something followed with "brat", as she left the room.

I lay there for a while, savory the smells of tonight's dinner. Our chef came highly recommended. So far, he was living up to his reputation. I went out to the kitchen to see how things were going. Beth was going to set up in the dining room, but I suggested we eat on the floor by the fire. She sat everything out on the counter, including a bottle of wine, then excused herself and left me to chat with the chef. He had lobster salad, the lobster flown in fresh from Maine. He had baby carrots cooked in some sort of butter herb sauce. He had whipped potatoes loaded with cheese and bacon. And finally, he had "braised pheasant marsala" made with wine and mushrooms. As if that wasn't enough, he had a couple freshly made chocolate mousses chilling in the fridge.

As he finished up our meal, I got a fire going in the fireplace in the living room. Just as our chef started to carry it all into the living room, Beth appeared. She looked amazing. She had on her white silk robe that barely covered her bottom with white five inch stilettos. She wore white fishnet thigh high stockings held up by a white garter belt. Her hair hung down thick and shiny, just the way I liked it. Her makeup was flawless. Her full lips were a deep red. The "smokey" eye makeup she was shown just a few weeks earlier was applied perfectly to her dark skin. It was quite the transformation from the girl who showed up on my doorstep just a few months earlier.