Chapter 35
Calida
I was surprised to see Dorian when she entered the kitchen in the morning as I was cleaning up after breakfast.
“Thought you liked to sleep in on the weekends.”
“Good morning to you, too.” She walked over to her espresso machine and started fixing herself a cup of coffee. She’d brought that contraption back with her after her trip to North Carolina. It was one of the many wedding gifts she’d fought Daniel over simply because she knew he really wanted them.
Shawn walked over from his play area, and reached his arms up so she could hold him. She picked him up and gave him a brief hug before putting him down again. He started to fuss.
“Give me a sec, kid. This machine requires two hands.”
I grabbed one of his juice cups from the drying rack and filled it with water then picked him up to take him back to his toys.
“So, why are you up early?” I called over my shoulder.
“Mom wanted to go shopping, and you know Dad breaks out in hives at the idea.”
I laughed and nodded my agreement to that statement. I cleared a spot on the floor to sit and watch Shawn as he played. “Where you guys headed?”
She walked over with her tiny cup of coffee and curled up on the couch. “Not sure. Maybe a few furniture stores since I need stuff for the new place.”
“I thought you said you got most of the furniture.”
“I did, but I sold it.” She turned her face up in disgust. “I couldn’t be sure he and that whore of his didn’t have their bodies on it. I just refused to let him have it.” She stopped and laughed. “Boy, he was pissed when he found out I’d sold it.”
I shook my head and laughed. Shawn walked over with one of his books and took a seat in my lap. I started reading it too him as best I could since he liked to flip the pages before I’d finished it.
She blew on her coffee and took a sip. “Where were you yesterday morning?”
“Huh?”
“When I left for work, your car was gone, so where were you off to first thing in the morning?”
I went back to attempting Shawn’s story. I could feel Dorian’s eyes watching me closely. I shrugged.
“Nowhere particular. I was just…” I stopped and tried to figure out what to say. Dorian and I had managed to be civil to each other while she was here, but I still didn’t feel comfortable talking to her about personal topics. I couldn’t be sure when she’d turn things on me. “I just needed to get out of the house.”
That wasn’t the first time I’d felt claustrophobic here. There’d been plenty of times when the thoughts and feelings became too much, and I’d really felt like I was losing my mind. Those nights I’d end up curled in a ball on the very couch where she now sat, with a bottle of wine, doing my best to drown out the noise. Leaving the house and going to Malcolm was an impulsive act I was still trying to wrap my head around.
“Well, I must say, you’ve put up with me longer than I thought you would. But I guess now I’m running you from your house.”
I turned to look at her, but she looked down at her cup as she took another drink.
“Okay, what’s going on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You heard me. What are you planning? You’ve been uncharacteristically nice to me as of late, and I have to say, it’s starting to be a little unsettling.” Shawn crawled away, and I got up from my spot on the floor to sit on the other couch.
“What are you talking about? Why do you always think I’m plotting against you?”
“Seriously, Dorian?”
She rolled her eyes in response. My phone started ringing just as I was going to question her more. I headed into the kitchen to retrieve it from the counter. A flurry of nervous activity started in my stomach when I saw Malcolm’s number on my screen.
“Hello.”
“Good morning, gorgeous.”
I smiled at his greeting. “You’re in a good mood this morning.”
“Any reason I shouldn’t be?”
For him, maybe not, but I was a whole other story. Last night I struggled to sleep. I spent most of the night tossing and turning. I couldn’t shake the feeling in my stomach that something bad was going to happen. I didn’t know if it was because my nerves were still rattled from everything that happened with Malcolm or what. I had been nervous the whole time Macy was over, and had been thankful our conversations never turned to Mal. I hated feeling so unsettled and completely off kilter.
“Guess not.” I leaned back against the counter and watched as Dorian got down on the floor to read to Shawn. “So, what’s up?”
“Do you think your folks would babysit tonight?”
“Um, not sure. It’s kinda last minute. Why?”
“I’d like to take you out.”
“Like on a date?”
He laughed. “Yes, baby, on a date. Isn’t that what normal couples do? Go out, enjoy each other’s company? That sort of thing.”
I started chewing on my thumbnail as I mulled over his words. “Are we, though?”
“Are we what?”
“A normal couple?”
There was a brief silence before he answered. “Now that I think about it, no, we’re not. We’re extraordinary.”
My loud laughter at his comment drew looks from Dorian and Shawn. Malcolm. My sweet, funny Malcolm could always find ways to bring a smile to my face. My Malcolm.
“It’s a date, Ginger. A do-over if you’ll let me. A new beginning.”
With all my erratic behavior, he was the one asking for a do-over. He was trying his best to stand by me, the least I could do was hold up my end and really give things a chance.
“Let me call them to see if they can, and I’ll call you back.”
Dorian came walking over, holding Shawn at arm’s length. “He smells.”
She handed him to me and walked away. I hung up with Malcolm then took Shawn upstairs to get changed and dressed for the day.
“Why don’t you ever ask me to babysit?”
I turned to see Dorian propped up in the doorway as I’d finished getting Shawn ready. “You’re joking right?”
She frowned. “No. I handle million-dollar deals. You doubt my ability to handle a toddler?”
“Um, yeah. You handed him off to me because he had a poopy diaper. I’m supposed to leave him with you?”
She shrugged. “You were home, so why did I need to suffer through that diaper change? I’m not incapable, I just rather not if there’s another option.”
I shook my head. “Right. Well, you want to be helpful, watch him while I shower.”
I waited for Dorian to back out of the garage before I followed suit. Macy’d texted me while I was in the shower, asking if I wanted to come over to hang out again. Since I didn’t have any plans, Shawn and I were headed for a playdate. On the drive over, I called my parents. I didn’t know why I’d doubted their willingness to keep him. If they had it their way, I’d only have Shawn on the weekends. They loved being grandparents, so much so they even left an open babysitting offer to Macy, which she and Mitch took advantage of for weekly date night. I stayed on the phone, chatting with Mom until Dorian arrived at their house.
I was getting ready to call Malcolm back when I pulled into Macy’s driveway and saw his truck parked there. I sat back against my seat, staring at the black Land Rover. I held my hands up and noticed them shaking. He’d said he was okay with me taking the Plan B, but what if he was angry? I couldn’t undo it now. I’d messaged my gynecologist about getting a prescription for birth control to avoid any more slip ups should we—was I really thinking about having sex with him again?
Malcolm had just asked me out. He wasn’t angry. He couldn’t be angry. Shawn’s squealing from the backseat kicked me into action. I couldn’t sit out in my car all day, and I’d agreed to go out with him so avoiding him would not be an option.
“Hey, Lee,” Mitch greeted when he opened the door. He pulled me into a light hug. “And how are you today?” He asked Shawn as he ruffled his hair.
He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt and a pair of tan slacks. Just inside the foyer sat two sets of golf clubs.
“Hey, Mitch. I didn’t know you golfed.”
He looked back at the clubs. “Isn’t that the national pastime of all doctors?” He joked. “Your friend is kicking me out. One of my colleagues has been asking me to do a round with him and a few others, so I’m finally taking him up on it.”
He held his arms out for Shawn, who eagerly went to him. “Ready to fly?”
“Plane!” Shawn answered excitedly.
Mitch went running down the hall, holding Shawn, waving him from side to side so he could fly. As I got closer to the living room, I heard Malcolm’s voice as he talked to Macy. He was already standing, holding Shawn when I walked into the room. He was dressed in a similar fashion as Mitch, wearing a dark green and gray striped polo shirt and a pair of gray slacks. His dreads were pulled back. My face heated up as I remembered how good they looked hanging loose around his bare shoulders.
He walked over and slipped his free arm around my waist. His hand rested right at the top of my ass. I couldn’t stop myself from inhaling. A mix of sweet and spice, that blended together in a most unique and amazing way. If sexy had a scent, Malcolm would be it. How was it possible my entire body temperature went up at least ten degrees just by him standing close to me? And everything south of the border rushed to life at the memories of our night together.
“Hey, wasn’t expecting to see you here.” He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips.
I looked over at Macy. This felt like some sort of set up on her part. Like she wanted to see how we acted around each other. “Macy asked me to come hang out for a little while.”
He looked at his sister and gave a clipped laugh. Shawn squirmed to get down. Malcolm released me so he could put him down. Shawn walked over to where London sat on her playmat with Mitch.
“Did you get to talk to your parents?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I was getting ready to call you when I pulled up here. We’re all set.”
“All set for what?” Macy asked.
I turned my attention to her. “You look terrible,” I blurted out.
My poor friend wore no makeup and actually looked green. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore a pair of yoga pants and what looked to be one of Mitch’s shirts. On the table beside her was a bottle of ginger ale and a box of crackers.
“Gee, thanks. This kid is kicking my a...butt.”
“Yes, thanks for coming, Lee,” Mitch added. “I was going to cancel today, but she wouldn’t let me. Something about me being a helicopter husband.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. Mitch blew her a kiss in response before giving London a peck on the cheek.
“We should get going,” he said to Malcolm.
“Okay.” Mal turned and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me to him. My entire body tingled with awareness of him. “I’ll pick you up at six.”
I placed my hands on his muscular chest. God, he smelled good, and I had to stop myself from taking another big inhale to breathe in more of his scent. “Okay.”
He smiled then leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before saying his goodbyes. I watched as they left, admiring how nice his ass looked in those pants.
“Oh my god! You had sex with my brother!” Macy accused right after she heard the door close.
“What!” How in the hell could she possibly know that?
“Don’t deny it. You were eye fu...f-ing him the minute you walked in. Now I know why you were acting all nervous yesterday.”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” I walked over to take a seat beside the kids on the floor. “And I was not acting nervous.”
“Please. Your beet red face tells me you know exactly what I’m talking about. Ewww, Lee, like I’m not sick enough already.” She reached over to grab a cracker. “I guess you two worked through whatever was going on...wait he wasn’t being all pissy about not getting laid, was he? Because I swear to god I’ll kick his ass morning sickness or not!”
“What! No! No, Macy it wasn’t that at all.”
She frowned at me. I got up to help Shawn get in the jumperoo, since he was trying to climb in it. I picked up London and carried her with me to the couch after he was situated.
“So, what then?” she asked, repositioning herself when London crawled from my lap to hers. Macy gave her one of the crackers to chew on.
After all our years of friendship, I knew when she was prepared to let things go and when she wasn’t. This was the latter. She was my best friend, yet I’d been so closed off that I couldn’t even bring myself to confide in her.
“It’s me okay. I...I have issues. Panic attacks.”
“Oh my god, Lee! Since when?”
I looked over and gave her a weak smile. “For a while now. Since right after…everything.” I started twirling the ring around my finger.
She slid over on the couch to sit closer to me then reached out for my hand. “You never said anything.”
“Didn’t want anyone to know. So…the thing with me and Mal…I had one while he was around. Then, basically, I got mad at him for seeing me like that.”
It was a seriously edited version of events, but I felt somewhat relieved at letting her know a little of what was going on with me.