“You love him, not his image, Sylvia. Loving him means you have to trust he’ll return it.”
“Langston said Matthias is in love with me, but unless Matthias says it—”
“Kevin rarely tells me he loves me.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because my gas tank is always filled. I never have to scrape my windows in the winter. If I fall asleep on the couch I wake up covered in a blanket. Men say it with their actions not always with their words.”
“I’m not looking for some big ass declaration of love…it’s just—”
“Sylvia, when his arms are around you how do you feel?”
“Protected.”
“That’s love. And we have three hours to get your lovely ass packed and moved into your new amazing condo before your man’s basketball game comes on.”
“Will you help me decorate his place for Christmas?”
“You’re lucky Kevin got stuck catering that big ass party today.”
* * * *
A little after midnight Matthias breathed in deep as he walked into his home. He wanted to rush to the bedroom, but instead he strode to the bar and mixed himself a drink. A little Grey Goose with cranberry would hit the spot.
The sweet pink concoction slipped nicely down his throat as he looked out the window with his hand on his statue. Anything to feel the cuts and curves for a moment. He needed to prepare before he saw Silly again.
She’d decorated his place for Christmas. That was sweet. Nothing too elaborate, but he now had a tree and some stockings were up. He’d have to fill them tomorrow for her.
“Matthias?” A petrified whisper came from behind him.
He turned to see Silly standing with a baseball bat across the room ready to hit him out of the park.
“I have a baseball bat?” Matthias asked, more shocked by the sports equipment then the fact Silly was about to smash in his skull like a pumpkin on Halloween.
“Are you trying to scare the crap out of me? You said you weren’t going to be home until tomorrow.” Silly didn’t drop her stance.
“I beat Kobe at home,” he said unafraid as he walked towards her. “Drop the bat.”
“Oh…sorry,” Silly said, finally coming out of the batter’s box. “It’s mine. You can’t do that.”
“Show up in my own home unannounced?”
“At three o’clock in the morning yes. You trying to kill me?”
“It’s only twelve forty and you’re the one with the weapon. But back to the game,” Matthias continued too excited to care.
“I saw. You beat him. Good job.”
“I’ve never beaten him at home.”
“I know.”
“It’s because of you. I hopped on a plane and came home because it was you.”
“Me?”
Matthias pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard. “You. I won because of you. You are my wingman.”
“You’re drunk.”
Maybe the six drinks on the plane wasn’t a good idea. “A little, but I wasn’t in the game.”
“Good to know.”
“I had to see you. I had to hold you. It’s not the sex.”
“I’m not sure if that’s an insult.” Silly pulled out of his embrace and walked him to the bedroom. Matthias kept his arm wrapped around her waist and leaned on her for support.
“It’s not like I haven’t been fantasizing about tearing your ass up. Girl if you knew what I pulled out of my subconscious about you and me. Mmm.” His lips found her neck as she pushed him on the bed. “You too?” He smiled and she pulled off his shirt.
“You called me with quite a few fantasies, Matthias.”
“Silly, did I get you wet?”
“Sleep my inebriated friend.”
“I have all the condoms left in my bag. You shouldn’t have packed them. I’m a good boy now. All yours.”
Silly pulled back the covers and laid him down. She then unbuckled his belt and undid his pants.
“You are so much better in real life.”
“Not tonight, drunky Mcdrunkerton.”
“Ah, please, Silly Girl.”
“Sober up.”
“You gotta let me at least snuggle.”
“Snuggle? You’ve lost your damn mind haven’t you?”
Matthias reached for her and pulled her to his chest. “I won in the Staples Center and I wasn’t playing the Clippers.”
“Congratulations.”
Matthias curled to his side pulling Silly tight against his body and passed out happier than he’d been in years.
* * * *
On New Year’s Eve Sylvia left the condo at five. Matthias pouted when she left, but she reminded him it was all his fault.
Sylvia sat in the meeting and heard who was doing what. They were closing off the Bloch Building and just keeping the main atrium and café open. There was no reason to spread out more. The party included a small auction and a band was setting up for dancing. With round tables around the edges of the room as well as in the café with white tablecloths, napkins, and all the finest serving-wear, the museum had been transformed.
Part of Sylvia was imagining what it would be like to sit down and have the fine meal that would be served as the festivities were going on. Maybe with her hand on Matthias’ thigh while her hair was pulled up in a French twist and she wore one of the beautiful red or ice blue dresses that the women always wore. It was the closest Sylvia would ever come to an Oscar night event.
Maybe next year, if Matthias and her were still together. It was crazy she could actually think that way. They had been inseparable lately. She’d been teaching him how to cook when he was home. Sylvia feared what would happen when school started up in a week. Her schedule was so hectic she wasn’t sure Matthias would accept it, but he’d have to. She could not let his life consume her. She’d done that before and that was why she was still in undergrad. All it would do would make them both hate each other.
“You got that Sylvia?” Mike asked.
“Yeah, I’m on the south entrance to start, then roaming to break people.”
“Oh, so you were listening?” Mike chided.
“Either that or you’re predictable,” Sylvia snipped.
She wasn’t sure if DeShawn had been running his mouth, but she’d been noticing a lot of under the breath talking recently around her and she wasn’t going to stand for it. With Matthias in the room she’d have to keep a straight face and pretend she wasn’t daydreaming of being an invited guest.
“With your boyfriend in attendance I wasn’t sure if I should lock you into the parking duties.”
Sylvia’s face flushed red and she was ready to burst.
“Look…I have never not been…”
“Sylvia, I’m just picking on you. We all know you worship at the altar of the great Matthias Jessup,” Mike said, and Sylvia realized DeShawn hadn’t talked. The whole room stared at her. “That’s why you swapped with DeShawn, right? Just promise me that you will do your job and not fawn over him all night. The last thing the museum needs is a benefactor chased away by a star struck fan.”
“I’ll do my best,” Sylvia said, still guarded and unsure if this was real.
Did no one know she’d been dating Matthias for the last few weeks? It was not that Sylvia didn’t want to tell the world that she was Matthias’ girl. She just wanted him to be the one to spill it first. She didn’t have a rep that could be damaged.
“Good.”
Mike handed Sylvia the guest list and scanners for the tickets. For this being a fundraiser, it was crazy how many hoops the people would have to jump through. Thanks to 9/11 and the local celebrity guest list they had to put in metal detectors and everyone had been trained in wanding the people as they entered. Sadly, Sylvia was in charge of supervising and watching all the pretty people as they came in on the south entrance.
The entry way had four people to run the scanners while Sylvia held the guest list for any disputes. Six people were wor
king the metal detectors and two more were behind with the wands. For the most part Sylvia just watched the beautiful dresses as the women cleared security and passed their coats to their dates to check.
When Sharee showed up Sylvia held her breath. She wrapped her arms around her clipboard clutched against her chest as if it was made of Kevlar. The beautiful fire-red cashmere coat seemed to float from Sharee’s shoulders to reveal one of the best dresses of the evening.
Sharee expertly posed with her date for the local paparazzi. Her dress was low cut and showed her perfect cleavage nicely. Only her right arm was covered with a full sleeve made of varying shades of fabric as if flames were licking their way down her arm. On Sylvia it would have been tacky, but somehow on Sharee it was elegant. Maybe it was the way she carried herself. She was “the ball” and she was letting everyone know it.
“Silly,” Sharee said, and Sylvia lost the ability to speak. “You work here?”
Sylvia could hear the condemnation in her voice. The smart ass inside her wanted to say no, I just love wearing black polyblends.
“Yes, Ms. Jessup.” Sylvia stayed formal, unsure of who was watching her at that moment.
In her peripheral vision she kept an eye on the doors. She prayed for an irate guest that demanded they be allowed in or an alarm to go off that would require her immediate attention. But no, the doors continued to run smoothly.
Sharee’s date returned and placed his hand on her back making her turn, and Sylvia could finally breathe without Sharee’s light brown eyes on her.
He whispered something as he nuzzled against her ear.
“Yes, but let me introduce you to Matthias’ new woman first.”
Sylvia could feel the room start to spin around her. Her knees were locked and her feet became planted in cement. Someone could run in with a bomb right now and she didn’t think she could move a muscle.
She felt so inferior to Sharee at this moment. Standing in her standard issue black pant suit, starched white shirt, and black Payless shoes she had used a black marker to color the scuffmarks.
Sharee placed her left hand on Sylvia’s shoulder and Sylvia couldn’t help but notice the large emerald cut ruby on her index finger.
“This is Sylvia right?” Sharee introduced.
“Hello Sylvia, I’m Jerome,” he said extending his hand, which Sylvia shook slightly.
Jerome was shorter than Matthias, like the rest of non-mutant society, but was still at least six foot tall. His caramel colored skin was smooth without any defect. Sylvia had never seen that on anyone, let alone a man. His eyes were a golden hazel with dark brown lashes. Unlike Matthias, Jerome had a full head of hair cut tight. In his tux he was a vision, but Sylvia didn’t even twitch looking at him.
At that moment Matthias came in still wearing his black dress coat. It must have started snowing because white flakes peppered his shoulders. Relief washed over her at the sight of him, and when he looked up and saw her he smiled, melting her knees and releasing her feet from their cement prison.
He shrugged off his coat and hung it over his arm. His tux defined his body so nicely Sylvia knew it was custom made for him. The cuts hugged his body perfectly. On his lapel a blue ribbon to end child abuse was tacked on with a pin he’d gotten from the hospital.
“Hey, look at you so large and in charge,” he said as he walked over to the group.
“We should get a million easy off this fundraiser,” Sharee said.
They had been doing this so long Sharee thought that Matthias was talking to her. Sylvia smiled.
“Sounds good, who’s this?” Matthias asked as he glared at Jerome.
“This is my date, Dr. Hillard.”
“A doctor huh? What’s your specialty?”
“Plastic surgeon,” Jerome said as he protectively placed his arm around Sharee’s waist.
“Why are you with Sharee? She’s already perfect in every way.”
Sylvia felt as if she was invisible between Matthias and Jerome peacocking for Sharee’s attention.
“I met her when she was recruiting for The Smile Project, she talked me into donating my skills to the cause.”
“She’s good at that,” Matthias said with a low growl. “Getting men to do her bidding, among other things.”
Sylvia bit her bottom lip to stop herself from saying something that might cause a scene. Sharee was his friend she told herself, just a friend.
Unfortunately one of the biggest stars in the world walked through the door causing a scene Sylvia wasn’t prepared for.
“Matthias Jessup,” Destiny Shaw called to Matthias as if she owned him.
“Hello Destiny,” Matthias said as she struck a pose by his side and camera flashes went off like automatic weapons.
“I told you to call me Desi,” she cooed in Matthias’ ear.
“Are you the new hot couple,” one reporter called out.
“Destiny, Matthias over here,” another barked.
“Destiny how long are you in town for?” Another asked.
“Oh, I just came to town for this little soiree to support an amazing cause close to my dear friend Matthias’ heart.” Destiny’s long fingers with electric blue nails clutched Matthias’ lapel.
“We need everyone’s help to keep the Children’s Hospital on the cutting edge of medical treatment. The money raised tonight is going to help children without insurance. Destiny’s a sweetheart and agreed to buy a brand new PET scanner for the hospital.”
Matthias beamed at Destiny as he squeezed her tight to his body.
Sharee looked over at Sylvia as Sylvia tried to hide the hurt in her eyes, but “a woman knows”, especially one that had been hurt by Matthias before. Sylvia looked down at her clipboard and walked away as if there was something wrong at the door, besides the fact some jackass let in the frickin’ Queen of Sheba to steal her man.
As Sylvia rotated giving breaks to other guards, she felt like a damn moron. She kept away from Matthias afraid she would snap if he talked to her and the last thing she needed right now was to lose her job. He better have meant it that she could get her apartment back, because the thought of being homeless again was too much for her to handle.
Simone had showed up about halfway through the night and was escorting Matthias around to all the news outlets making sure he made it into all the right pictures. Most of which involved Destiny. When Simone noticed Sylvia standing guard she shuttered and turned Matthias away as if Sylvia carried the plague.
Sylvia didn’t smile during the live auction like the rest of the guards did. Instead she stood at her post as if she were a Beefeater at Winsor Castle. Sharee came by her once, but Sylvia made an excuse and left before she could say anything. She had been worried that everyone knew about her and Matthias, now she was pleased that it never got out.
When she finished giving a break to Thomas, Sylvia walked towards the break room, but instead headed down the Sculpture Hall. She wasn’t hungry, she didn’t need to sit down, she needed to be alone and cry and she had almost two hours before she could leave.
* * * *
Matthias looked across the room, but Silly wasn’t anywhere to be found. Looking at his phone he saw it was ten minutes to midnight. Matthias knew he had to find her. Thank God Simone finally left him alone and went on to find her own way to spend the night.
“It’s almost midnight.” Destiny was back at his side.
“I’m aware,” he growled at her. “You’re the one who can’t seem to figure out the time of day.”
“What did I do?”
A photographer came up right at that moment and Matthias laughed like she’d said something funny.
“You’re adorable, but let me introduce you to John Carmichael the CEO of the hospital so you can make arrangements for that scanner you’re buying.”
He linked his arm with hers and pulled her away from the paparazzi.
“Back off or you’ll be paying for a new wing, not just a half million dollar piece of equipment,” Matthias
warned as he found his way to John.
“Baby I’ll pay for whatever you want because you and me together could parlay us into millions.”
The last thing Matthias wanted was some dumb ass reality show chronicling their “love” and how they made it work with two demanding careers. There was no other money to be made by becoming a couple.
“John, this is the woman of the hour, Destiny Shaw. Sadly, I need to take off before I become a pumpkin, but she’d love to discuss the details of her donation with you.”
Matthias took off but only found Sharee sitting with her new man, snuggling close.
“Sharee…”
“Yes,” she growled while throwing Matthias a nasty glare he’d seen a thousand times before.
“Have you seen Silly?”
“Seriously? You’re asking me that? Right now?”
Sharee’s man sat back in his chair mean mugging Matthias, but he didn’t have time for that shit right now.
“Matthias, if that girl talks to you again I’d be surprised,” Sharee stated and turned back to her man.
“What’da mean?”
“Go away, Matthias.”
Fine, Matthias thought. He was more than capable of finding Silly on his own.
But he wasn’t. He had no idea what he was doing. Since Silly had come into his life he’d felt less capable in the real world. On the court he’d been playing his best basketball in his life, but off, Silly had shown him how dependent he was on others. And not in a good way. She’d shown him how debilitating his dependence could make him. Here he was trying to find Silly and all he could think was he didn’t know where to even start and, ironically, he needed Silly to show him how.
“Excuse me,” Matthias said as he looked at a guard standing steadfast by the wall. He’d noticed that the person had kept cutting their eyes at him then turning back to the room whenever Matthias looked back.
“Yes sir,” the petrified guard replied.
“Do you know Sill…Sylvia?”
“Yes. She didn’t…do anything did she?”
Silly Girl Page 15