The Science of Loving (42 page)

I slid my shirt off with a smile, relishing the way her eyes devoured me as they followed my hands to my fly. She was an open book. When she realized I was watching her watch me, she reddened, covering her face with her hands, embarrassed.

“Stop looking at me.”

“I like looking at you.” Toeing off my shoes, I removed my trousers and returned to her warmth, enjoying all that softness. “And I love you looking at me the way you were just now, like I’m something special.”

Motherfucker!
I was getting ready to fuck us both cross-eyed when the theme from
The Exorcist
erupted. She began shoving me off. “Ignore it babe.”

“I can’t, it’s Mom.”

As she went to retrieve her cell, I couldn’t help but notice that her garters framed her ass perfectly, just as I’d imagined.
Fuck—
well, at least she got the ringtone right.

“Hey Mom… I’m fine… Really… No… No, we don’t know, they haven’t caught him… It’s okay, I’m not alone… I’m staying with Mat… I can’t stay with you. We always end up fighting… Yes, we do… Of course I love you… Mom… Mom…” Angie looked at me helplessly, getting more and more agitated. “Mom… Please…”

The woman I loved began caving in right before my eyes. That’s the only way I could describe it. She turned away, sort of folding in on herself, her shoulders rounding as she hugged herself—
oh, hell no, this shit ends right now.

I strode over, trapping her against me, firmly taking the phone out of her hand. “Stephanie, Mat…”

“Oh, my God, Mat, give me the phone.”

I mouthed no, tightening my hold. “No I don’t think I will. You’re upsetting her… Like I give a shit. Look, here’s the deal. Angie’s living with me now… Actually, Jack’s okay with it… As I was saying, Angie’s mine, and if you want to continue having a relationship with her, you’ll have to deal with me… Oh, but I can, and I will… From now on, you will treat Angie with respect. If you can’t be supportive, and think of anything nice to say then you’ll shut the fuck up ‘cause she deserves better than what you’ve been giving her. Oh, and since we both know I got your number, I will be present for all future visits… Uh huh… Try me.”
Fucking cunt
. I hung up, feeling a little guilty at how much I enjoyed that.

“Oh God. Mat, what are you doing?”

“Protecting my woman. And. You. Are. Mine. Every time you’re with her, you come home a mess.” I gripped her chin, forcing her to look at me. “I mean it Angie, I won’t allow anyone, not even your mother, to hurt you or put you down.”

I tensed, expecting a fight, but she surprised me. Whispering thanks, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she went soft. I held and rocked her until I noticed her chilled skin. “Go put something warm on and we can catch up on current events with Jon Stewart and Cobert.”

She sniffed. “You do realize that’s comedy, not real journalism.”

“Just because an event is shown through a humorous lens, doesn’t make it untrue… Go.” I gave her a gentle push, eying her retreating ass with regret as I collected our clothes strewn about the living room.

“You sure you don’t want to come with? Running’s good for the mind.”

Running, right.
“No, you go ahead. I’ll just slow you down, or trip and you’ll laugh.”

“Would I laugh?” I could see the grin he was fighting.

“You already are. Besides, I still have to analyze the data Les sent me.”

“Okay babe, I’ll be back in a couple of hours or so. Don’t go anywhere.”

“Yes Daddy.”

“Ooh kinky… We’ll explore that when I get back.” He promised, delivering a heated, lingering kiss that reminded me what his idea of a good breakfast was. When he finally let me draw a breath, I was a hot, wet, puddle of goo. And my face got prickly when his smile told me he knew exactly where my mind went. Grinning, he grabbed the front of the tee shirt I’d swiped from him, and dragged me in for another hard kiss, slipping his hands inside his stolen boxers to cup my ass. He’d just laughed earlier when I told him he could have them back in a prisoner exchange for my kidnapped panties.

I fired up my laptop to the sound of the downstairs fire door banging shut; refilling my coffee while it booted up, adding two extra spoonfuls of sugar—he liked his coffee strong—then settled down to work.

Time became meaningless, anticipation growing as I waited for my eureka moment. I could feel it coming. It’s like fishing. It started with a nibble, a gentle vibration running up the line. You pull on it, just a little, testing, teasing. Waiting. If you made your move too soon, you’d spook your prey. Focus on the line, on the tip of the rod. Wait for the strike, the sudden tug, the brief dip at the end of the pole. Set the hook with a jerk. It’s a big one. You can tell by the way the line’s playing out, the pull overcoming the drag and the reel buzzes. You have to be careful now or the line will snap—

Typing furiously, my mind was too busy dancing to notice the persistent buzzing at first—
they’d just have to wait—
by the time I finished entering the last period, the buzzer was sounding continuously.
Rude much
…
Oh shit maybe Mat forgot his keys.

I saw the intercom button just as I was about to stab the door release. “Yes?”

“Angelina, I’ve been ringing for the last ten minutes.”

Shit. “Hey Mom, I’m working. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was worried after last night’s phone call. Are you going to let me in, or are we just going to talk through the box?”

“Oh, sorry.” I pushed the door release and sent the elevator down, waiting nervously for her arrival. Perhaps once she saw Mat’s place, saw how talented he was, she'd lighten up. The elevator clanked to a halt, its doors separating to reveal my mother looking somewhat disheveled. I was stunned. I'd ever seen her with as much as a hair out of place.

“Hey Mom, come in.” I kissed the air next to her cheek then guided her to the sofa. “There’s still some coffee in the pot if you’d like.”

“That would be lovely,” she said, looking around with obvious surprise.

“I know. Isn’t this place great? Wait till you see the bathroom,” I said, handing her a cup.

“I must admit, it’s unexpected.”

“Mat’s really talented.” She looked at me skeptically as I waved. “All of this is his creation. You should see it at night with the special lighting.”

“Mat.” She spat. “Where is he?”

“He went out for a run, he’ll be home soon.”

“I can’t believe you’re still moving in with him after the way he spoke to me.”

“Don’t start Mom.”

“Who’s starting? I’m just saying, if he’s willing to treat your mother like that, how long do you think it will be before he’s treating you the same? You can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his mother.”

“Mat treats his mother like she walks on water. You guys just got off on the wrong foot. If you gave him a chance, I’m sure you’d see how wonderful he is.”

“Perhaps, he’s certainly attractive. Still, it’s a shame about his business.”

“Mom, you really need to consider the source. You’re getting your information from a criminal.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Avery, he’s been blackmailing one of Mat’s partners.”

“Is that what Mat told you? Really Angie, you trust a man you just met more than your own mother?”

“In this, yes. Besides I learned this from his other partner.”

“Yes, and I’m sure he has just as much to lose as Mat does if their business goes under.”

“God Mom, their business isn’t going under. Avery’s lying. Talk about trusting someone you’ve just met.”

“There’s no point in talking about this anymore, I can see your mind is made up. Let’s go shopping. We can go to Whorton Plaza and have lunch at Nordstroms.”

“I can’t. I promised Mat I wouldn’t go out.”

“See, he’s already trying to control you.”

“No Mom, he isn’t. He’s trying to protect me. They still haven’t caught the guy who attacked me.”

“Oh Angelina, I’m so glad you’re all right. I know, we should go away. We could go on a cruise.”

“What about my job? We’re on the verge of getting some real answers.”

“Well, it’s not like it won’t be here when you get back. Who knows, maybe a break will give you new perspective.”

“And Mat?

“Yes, what about Mat?” The fire door clattered shut. He stood glaring, half-naked, drenched in sweat with his beefy arms crossed over his bunched chest.

Mom ignored him, speaking as if he weren't standing right there. “If he truly cares, he’ll wait. If he doesn’t, it’s best to find out now.”

“The only person going anywhere, Stephanie, is you. Please leave,” Mat growled softly—
oh crap—
his stare was as cold as a granite statue, a very angry granite statue.

“I’m not letting you take my daughter from me.”

“Jesus Stephanie, she’s her own person. I can’t take her from you.” Exasperation was clearly written across his face. “But as her man, I will protect her. So until her attacker is caught, she isn’t going anywhere without me. Which means you need to either get with the program, or step off.”

God, I hated this—my eyes ping-ponged back and forth between them—I felt like the only bone between two dogs. “Okay, I’ve had about enough. You both need to stop.” I turned to Mat. “This is my mother; she will always be my mother, so suck it up.” Then to Mom. “This is my boyfriend. He’s not going anywhere and neither am I. This is his home—”

“Our home babe.”

“—and you need to stop all the snide remarks. You two don’t have to like each other, but I do expect you treat each other with respect.” I shook, I was so mad. “‘Cause Mom, if you force me to make a choice, Mat will win, hands down. And Mat, I love my mom no matter how dysfunctional our relationship. And, although I know it’s unfair, I will resent you if I have to make that choice. So both of you better, by god, find a way to get along.” I stormed out of the room, slamming the bedroom door behind me. Here I’d finally made an exit Les would’ve been proud of, and I was too pissed-off to enjoy it.

Angie left a stunned silence in her wake—
sweetness has a temper after all—
I started chuckling. “Damn, I guess she told us. Why are you so dead set against me?”

“Perhaps I’m envious. God, that sounds awful.” She shook her head, crossing to the window and hugged herself. In that moment, she looked so much like her daughter that it creeped me out for a second. “Her father didn’t want to marry me, you know. After I got pregnant, I told him I’d have an abortion if he didn’t, and from the moment she was born, the two of them were inseparable. He doted on her and she worshiped him—not that I cared, I got what I wanted. But now you’re doting on her, and she looks at you the same way and it just makes me sick.”

“Jesus Stephanie, I don’t even know how to respond to that.”

She snorted. “Of course, I couldn’t have a normal child. Oh no, not my little overachiever, she took gifted to a whole new level. Everyone looked at her with such awe, such wonder… The world loves child prodigies. How was I supposed to compete with that?”

“You’re not supposed to. She’s your daughter for Christ’s sake, not your competition.”

Spinning, Stephanie snarled. “No, she was a means to an end. Jack got his princess and I got the country club; only now, he’s reneging on the deal. After Twenty-six years he expects me to just walk away while she gets everything: Wealth, her Prince Charming—”
Shit, she’s a fucking psycho.
“—and everyone’s falling all over themselves to help her, guide her. That should be me!”

There was a gasp. Angie was standing on the threshold. I didn't know how long she’d been there, but obviously, long enough
.
I gathered her in my arms, and was relieved when she sank into me. She was shaking so hard, I was surprised she wasn't lying in a thousand pieces on the floor. “I would like you to go Mother. Now. Please… Just go.”

“Angelina, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded, it came out all wrong.”

“No, I believe it came out exactly right,” she said quietly. “And it’s not like I was completely unaware; people have tried to warn me. I just thought—hoped—that you acted out love, not your own selfishness. Now you can leave on your own, or I can throw you out.”