ROMANCING HER PROTECTOR (13 page)

Matty had some business interest with the school, as she had already assumed he did, she

wasn’t about to give Alex the hook to hang him out to dry with.

Alex looked at her. Matty, surprised by Shay’s coldness, could see the hurt in Alex’s

eyes. Everybody took Alex as this tough witch who had no feelings, when the opposite, he

knew, was true. “I wasn’t trying to pry into anybody’s business,” Alex finally said. “It was a

simple question.”

“And I answered it, didn’t I?”

“Shay, that’s enough,” Matty said firmly, but Alex called him off.

“No need, Matty, I’m used to it. All I’ve ever done was help her, but alas I’m always

the bad guy.” She said this and then looked at Matty, the pain in her eyes searing him. “Could

I please see you outside,” she asked them. Then she looked, once again, at Shay. “Glad to

see you’re going to be all right, Shanita,” she said and left.

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Bitch,” she said as she left.

Matty looked at them, but especially Shay. “Why were you so rude to your dean?” he

wanted to know.

“She’s awful, Matty,” Jessica said, “you just don’t know. None of the kids ‘round

here like her.”

This bit of news seemed to surprise Matty. “Why don’t they like her?”

“Because she’s a horty-tordy bitch, that’s why,” Jessica volunteered.

“We know you have to deal with her, Matty,” Shay said, “but she just gets on my

nerve, that’s all. Always thinks she’s better.”

“For real, though,” Jessica agreed.

Matty exhaled, and then left the room.

Jessica looked at her. “You don’t think he and Dr. Graham . . . are . . . do you?”

“Like how should I know?” Shay said truthfully, agitatedly, and then laid down on the

gurney. The last thing she needed tonight was more drama to worry about.

Matty walked outside of the clinic to find Alex standing in the parking lot. She was

smoking a cigarette, something he knew she occasionally did whenever her stress level went

too high. He removed the cigarette from her hand, tossed it to the ground, and doused it with

the bottom of his shoe.

“So you left me for her,” Alex said, folding her arms, unable to conceal her pain. “For

that
tart?”

Matty, however, remained cool. “You left me, remember?”

“I never left--”

“When you decided to bang football coach, you left me, Alex. I even considered taking

you back, but you continued that affair. So don’t you dare rewrite our history.”

“But
her
, Matty? She’s just a kid!”

Although he knew Shay to be a lot more mature than her years, he wasn’t about to get

into that with Alex.

When Alex realized he wasn’t going to discuss his relationship with Shay, she moved

on. “So where does this leave us?” she wanted to know.

“Exactly where it left us when you decided to sleep with football coach.”

“His name is Peter. Peter Dial.”

Peter Dial, the brand new newlywed, he wanted to say. But he couldn’t hurt Alex like

that.

“Nothing’s changed, Alex,” he said, instead. “We’re still over. I took you to that ball

because I still care about you and always will, but that part of our relationship is finished.”

“You love the girl?” she asked him pointblank.

Matty merely stared at her, and his silence, it seemed to Alex, spoke volumes. Her

heart dropped. He actually loved that child. Just the thought of it, that he had truly moved on,

caused her to panic. She couldn’t lose Matty, especially not now. She was aging all alone.

And Peter didn’t want her, either, he had, in fact, just married some younger woman within a

week of their breakup. Which meant, she knew, that Peter had been fooling around on her

during the entire time she was fooling around, with same Peter, on Matty.

“Anyway,” Matty said, giving her the keys to his Mercedes, “you take the car, go back

to your party. I’ve got to get back to Shay.”

“Matty, I’m pregnant,” Alex said so quickly, so suddenly, that it floored him. She even

shocked herself. She and Matty hadn’t had sex in nearly two months. How in the world was

she going to explain a two-month-plus premature baby to him?

But, in her mind, it wouldn’t matter by then. Matty would have already married her

and been committed to her. And even if he questioned the baby’s timing, and possibly total

African-American features, and wanted DNA and the whole nine yards, she’d still bet that he

wouldn’t leave her. He’d be angry, and would battle her about it, but he wouldn’t leave her.

Matty was the best man she’d ever known. She couldn’t lose him now.

But his reaction wasn’t what she expected. He simply stood there, floored, yes, but not

in a way that bespoke a man ready to do the right thing.

“You heard me, Matty,” she said, amazed by his lack of reaction.

“I heard you.”

“And?”

“And when the baby comes,” Matty said, attempting to remain calm although her news

had unhinged him, “and we take the paternity test, if it’s my child--”

“If?” she said, offended.

“If it’s my child, I’ll take care of my child. Now excuse me, but I need to get back to

Shay.”

And he left. Just like that. Alex just stood there, barely able to breathe. She quickly

pulled out another cigarette and attempted to light up, her liter false-starting nearly three times

before the flame came. She took a deep drag and then exhaled. Perhaps if she could have

gotten him in bed with her tonight, and then sprang the pregnancy news on him, he’d be more

believing.

But Matty was no fool and she should have known better. Peter, he knew, had a better

chance of being the daddy than he did, especially when Peter, during his altercation with Matty

that day, made it clear that he was not only sexing Alex, but sexing her two or three times

daily. Which, of course, caused Matty and Alex to get into it again. She should have known

better than to think he’d easily believe that any child she was carrying was his.

She got into his Mercedes that was double-parked in front of the clinic, her heart

pounding. Her father always said if plan A didn’t work, re-work and then present plan B.

“Plan B it was,” she said aloud, although she knew it would be nothing short of a hail

Mary pass, a nuclear option, a gamble to end all gambles. Either Matty was going to fall for it

hook, line and sinker, or he was going to believe it the most incredible, most nonsensical

scheme since all of those Tupac sightings.

EIGHT

It was a two-bedroom condo with a beautiful ocean view and although Jessica was elated

for her, Shay wasn’t feeling it. The entire week since that night of the assault was kind of a

blur for her. First, Matty had her transported from the clinic at Franklin and taken to some

fancy hospital in Baltimore where she was admitted for nearly a week. She had to endure

every test imaginable to ensure nothing was broken, no internal bleeding, on and on and on.

Then, to make matters worse, on the day of her release Matty was still stuck in Chicago

on major league business and wouldn’t be back until later that night. Which meant Jordy had

to be the one to pick her up from the hospital. Only Jordy, didn’t take her to the dorm, where

she absolutely expected to go, but to some fancy condo right there in Baltimore. Owned, of

course, by Matty.

“It’s yours, Shay,” Jordy said, attempting to hand her the keys, but she only shook her

head.

“No, thanks,” she said. She wasn’t about to move into his condo, she didn’t care how

beautiful it was. “I’m going back to the dorm.”

“The dorm?” Jessica said, astounded. Ever since that incident with Hector, she had

been at Shay’s side, a fact Shay liked, even though she wasn’t quite sure about it. “Why you

wanna go back there?”

“Because I do, Jess, that’s why.”

“Girl, I don’t know why you’re trippin’.”

“I’m not living in his condo.”

“He bought this for you, Shay,” Jordy pointed out. “He won’t live here. This will be

your place. He lives in his own home, a home, as you know, is more than adequate for him.”

“But why I got to stay here? What’s wrong with the dorm?”

“Mr. Driscoll believes you’ll be far more comfortable here.”

“Yeah, so he can keep an eye on me, right?”

Jordy told Matty that Shay wouldn’t go for it, but Matty insisted. “He wants the best

for you, Shay.”

“Then he should let me stay where I wanna stay. With Jess.”

“I can move in with you,” Jessica volunteered, which had been her intention from the

moment she saw the place. “Then that way you won’t feel like no. . .” Jessica wanted to say

hoe
or
slut
or
trick
, but she held her tongue. “So alone,” she said instead. “I can stay with

you.”

Shay looked at Jordy. Jordy hesitated. “I’m not sure if Mr. Driscoll would be open to

it,” he said.

“And why not?” Shay wanted to know. Because a roommate might hear him banging

the mess out of her, she wanted to add, but she couldn’t be that crude to Matty. He wasn’t

like that and she wasn’t going to act as if he was. But the thought of this, of him buying

something as extravagant as a home for her, was going faster than she was willing to go right

now. Maybe with Jessica around, with a roommate, it wouldn’t feel so outrageous.

“We can certainly ask him,” Jordy finally said and pulled out his cell phone. When

Matty came on line, he explained the situation.

“Wouldn’t it be great?” Jessica was asking Shay while Jordy talked to Matty on the

phone.

“I don’t know, Jess, if it’s a good idea at all. I mean, he’s already helping me out in so

many ways. Now this too?”

“What you mean this too? He was paying your dorm fees, wasn’t he?”

“Dorm fees and buying a condo for me are like night and day and you know it.”

She knew it, but she would love to live here, too. But she held her tongue.

Jordy closed his cell phone and walked over to Shay.

“You asked him?” Shay asked.

“I asked him,” Jordy said.

“And?” Jessica asked.

“He was in a meeting and couldn’t really talk the way he wanted to, but the bottom line

is that he said no.”

This floored Jessica. “What, he don’t think I’m good enough to live here with Shay?”

she wanted to know.

But Shay was already standing up. “Then fine, Jordy,” she said, heading for the door,

Jessica following behind her. “You tell him thanks, but no thanks.” Shay said as she and her

roommate hurried out.

***

into her studies, after a week’s absence, but was already falling asleep. Jessica was seated on

her own bed, with her headphones in, studying too. Only Jessica was a natural student and

always managed to get good grades. Shay had to work harder for hers.

It was Jessica who sat her Economics book down and went to open the door. Both she

and Shay expected it to be one of Jessica’s beaus, they were always dropping by, but when the

door was opened and Matty walked in, both were equally stunned.

Shay was stunned and elated to see him, although she knew he wasn’t pleased with her

decision to forgo the condo offer. She sat up. “Hi,” she said. “You’re back.”

“Just got back.”

“Hello, Matty,” Jessica said.

“Hello, Jessica.”

“So what’s up?” Shay asked him, although she had a pretty good idea. He looked so

tired, as if he came back in town and immediately headed this way.

“I need you to pack your bags,” he said without beating around the bush.

Jessica sat back on her bed Indian-style, her eyes riveted on Matty.

“I already told Jordy I’m staying here,” Shay said.

“I don’t want you to stay here.”

“But that’s what I want.”

Matty was ready to fire back, Shay could tell it, but he held back. Looked at Jessica,

instead. “Jessica, will you please excuse us,” he asked.

Jessica really didn’t want to excuse anybody, but maybe Matty could talk some sense

into the girl. And maybe Shay would say okay, but only if Jess could come along. And that

uppity Matty Driscoll would have no choice. She stepped outside of the dorm room, and then

put her ear to the door.

Matty walked over to Shay’s bed, and sat on its edge. “What’s the matter?” he asked

her. It had been a rough week for both of them, and the drain was showing all over his

exhausted face.

“I don’t understand why I need to leave the dorm, Matty. I don’t see why you think

it’s so . . .”

“Real? Because that’s what it is, Shanita. Some maniac nearly rapes you, tries to kill

you from what some of those witnesses said, and you don’t understand why I would be

concerned?”

“I understand it, but it’s just that what happened to me was a freak thing. Hector was

just trippin’. That’s not something that happens all the time.”