by Cherry Kay
He stretched in his seat, looking every bit content. “Pretty good game. You’re on a whole new level, I bet.”
She had lost. One of those rare moments. Well, that was an eye opener. And all those thoughts about his inanity dissipated.
“You’re not used to losing, are you?” Shaun teased, “Well neither am I. Anyway, since I won, I’m here to collect my winnings.”
She didn’t quite hear him as she was too engrossed with the fact that she had lost to him.
“Earth to Alexis, I want you to kiss me for a full minute,” he demanded.
She shook her head. “Are you for real?”
“I won for real,” he reasoned out, “as stupid as it sounds, you have to honor the bet.”
She looked horrified and he plainly smiled. The jerk! The twat! A lot of names were running through her head, when he stood up and walked for her kitchen to grab a glass of water. He was calmly drinking, as if forgetting she was there all along.
“Hey, I don’t like where this is going.”
“Bet’s a bet. If you can’t honor that, then I’ll have to think of something that goes beyond this. Watcha think? Cause if I lost, I sure as hell would honor your win.”
She stood up and walked to him soundlessly. He was eyeing her, not moving a muscle. She was now face to face with him, albeit inches shorter. She looked up and tiptoed, grabbing his face. Her hands were cold but he no longer noticed. This was the closest she had ever been to him. Suddenly, everything else didn’t matter.
Her heart was pounding and she willed herself to finish the task. His striking eyes were still open, as if waiting for her to laugh at him and tell him it was all a joke. It wasn’t. She kept her word. She tiptoed with all her might and landed her lips on his.
The kiss was soft, she could feel stubble growing on his upper lip, but she didn’t mind. He smelled fresh from a shower using some sports body wash. She felt her mouth part open as he responded eagerly. Then she pulled away, as if realizing it was all a mistake, her eyes wide open.
The kiss had lasted for a mere three seconds.
His eyes flew open. That was it? He felt underwhelmed, discontented. He had wanted more… she was across him, just a few inches away from him, and he suddenly wanted to grab her and have some more of her. He fought against the urge, knowing he was already breathing hard.
“I-- uh, I told you so,” she said feebly. Then she raised her chin up and went back to the couch to close her laptop.
He stood there for a few more seconds, watching her. She was nervous about the whole thing, he knew. It was kind of cute but he couldn’t bring himself to embarrass her even more.
“So…” he began, unconsciously massaging his neck.
“I still have classes tomorrow morning,” she suddenly said, not looking at him.
“I have practice too,” he stammered. He suddenly felt like he’d had his first kiss. The same feeling in fifth grade with Sally Gilbert while waiting for the bus to school. He saw his bag at the foot of the couch and he strode for it, grabbing it carelessly.
He took a breath. “You know what?” he said, “screw this. Don’t act all innocent on me. I know I can’t be the first guy you’ve kissed.”
She glared at him, controlling her pulse. “You aren’t. I’ve had better,” she said.
It was harshly said. He was used to her being all serious. But that was just plain cold. His jaw tensed. He had wanted to say something mean, but he couldn’t. He had run out of words. Or maybe not yet.
“Are you always this stuck-up?” he suddenly said.
“Excuse me?”
“You act like you know everything, oh, look at me, magnum cum laude-“
“It’s magna,” she corrected testily.
“Whatever. I still beat you in chess. And you can’t accept that fact that you had to do something you didn’t think you’d be doing.”
“Do you really want to get in my pants?” she said, “because you’re not getting it. I know your style. You’re doing this on purpose. Because you want something out of it.” She stood up now, her eyes narrowed.
He stopped in place. How did she find out? She couldn’t have, unless…
“It’s what jocks like you always want. Once an ass-hat, always an ass-hat.”
He felt a flood of relief. So she didn’t know. That was close. Too close! “I demanded that because there was no other way I could kiss you without you suing me for perversion or something!”
She immediately went quiet. “You- you wanted to kiss me?”
“Yes,” he admitted with a frown, “I have to go.” He turned his back and walked out without saying goodbye.
She stood in place for a few moments, dumbstruck at what had happened. What was supposed to be a fun night had turned out into an ugly little fight. She hated the feeling. She sank into her couch and stared at the chess board across her, lost in jumbled thoughts.
Shaun smiled as he got out of her apartment, knowing he had gotten to her. So Alexis was afraid of relationships. At least he got that figured out. It was only a matter of time now. He had never been a player, since he had had his first girlfriend. His reputation however, made him into one. As much as he enjoyed sex, he only did it with women he was in a relationship with.
Women weren’t meant to be played around with, his grandfather had told him this as soon as he learned about the birds and the bees. He took this to heart. Even his older brothers did. Even his own father did. Cheating was not part of the Bradford lineage. But a shrewd way to get to what you wanted was admirable. He walked to his car and his gaze lingered on her window. The light was still on from her living room.
He couldn’t help but want more of her kisses, though. He wondered if she had dated anyone else. She was definitely a catch, whichever guy was lucky to have her. He suddenly wished he could have her, keep her in his life. His game play had gotten better, he noticed. And they had been seeing each other for barely a month. Was it possible this was what Dan meant? He drove away, resisting the urge to return to her front door and ask for another kiss.
Chapter 7
He hadn’t heard from her in days. This was pretty bad. He was wasting time. He had tried texting, not calling so he wouldn’t seem so invasive. Besides, he thought she was still going to be uncomfortable (yet secretly thrilled) about her kissing him. He hadn’t stopped replaying it over and over again in his head, the whole scenario.
He should have asked for something else, right? But what else mattered that moment? He had toyed with the idea of kissing her even before that chess game. But the game paved the way for it. Just like dating her would pave the way to his major league dreams.
Dan Matthews would see how good he was while dating her, and she would be happy while dating him. Something bothered him however. He hadn’t expected to be so affected by a kiss. This is stupid, he told himself, I’m getting distracted from my actual goal. He was going to see her tonight, whether she liked it or not. The point was he had to be sincere, she was likeable even if it had been difficult at first. He hadn’t expected to like her even on the first date. She was snooty, stern and sexy. Maybe he had been attracted to her looks first, before her personality.
He smiled alone, shaking his head. Of course it had to be her looks. Why else would he try to date anyone, for that matter? But of course, this was a special case. She was a special case because she was the coach’s daughter. Note to self: never forget this. Never give up.
Someone tackled him to the ground. Dennis helped him up moments later.
“Focus, Bradford!” Dan Matthews shouted out.
He raised a palm to acknowledge what his coach had said.
Focus. That was it for today. Focus on this first and then focus on Alexis Matthews after.
***
She hadn’t responded in days. It wasn’t bad, was it? It wasn’t like he was going to lose interest in her because she sort of sent him out of her apartment? He had texted quite a few messages, maybe a total of ten in three days. Just the usua
l “how are you?” and “what are you doing?”
She knew she was still uncomfortable about kissing him, but she liked it, actually. That was the perfect part of the night, just a few seconds of silence, concentrated on nothing else but that kiss. The kiss was wonderful. The guy was wonderful too, for the briefest of moments.
Alexis knew she shouldn’t have agreed to that bet. It made her seem awkward and unsure about many things, even with kissing. And she had lost to someone she thought was frivolous. How was she to know that he was a smart-ass with chess? For all she knew, it was brain damage. But in the end, she admitted he really was smart, just in a different way.
Did she like him during the first date? He tried hard, that was for sure. She had been on a few dates while in college, none lasted after the first date. Yet, she and Shaun had quite a few lunches and nights-out already.
There were moments she hesitated but she went for it anyway. It was annoying that she had found the jock likeable. He was tactless and childish but he did have attractive features. Maybe that was why she hadn’t stopped dating him. For his looks? Alexis felt she had gone even shallower this time.
I should stop seeing him. He’s distracting me from my finals.
“Lex,” Janine called out.
She looked sideways and saw Janine staring at her. “What?”
“The whipped cream is overflowing.”
“Damn,” she muttered, grabbing a napkin and cleaning the edges of the cup.
“You okay?” Janine asked her.
Alexis nodded. “I was thinking about my paper,” she responded, flustered. Concentrate, Lex! She screamed this to herself.
“I get that too,” Janine smiled at her, “take it easy. You’ll still come out number one or number one.”
Alexis laughed softly at this, surprising Janine. Did she just hear Alexis chuckle?
She smiled as she turned her back. That Shaun Bradford guy actually knew what he was doing. Janine actually hoped this would last. She liked seeing Alexis laugh. It was a whole new side to Ms. Matthews.
“I’ll have one regular macchiato to go,” a deep voice said as Alexis was cleaning up the counter behind her.
She stopped wiping the machine down. The voice was familiar. She took a breath, willing for it not to be him. Please don’t be Shaun, please don’t be Shaun. It was. But her heart raced, seeing him standing in front of her in a plain white shirt and dark jeans. His sunglasses were hanging on his collar.
“One regular macchiato,” she repeated, not looking him in the eye, “anything else?”
“You could look at me, you know.”
She looked up, her facial expression defiant. “Anything else, sir?”
“No. What time do you get off from work?”
“I have classes.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You don’t even know my schedule- unless you’re stalking me,” Alexis retorted.
“I’d like to take you out for dinner,” he said.
She didn’t say anything, but she spun around and told Melody to make one regular macchiato. “Please wait for your name to be called.”
“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Shaun insisted.
“If you won’t say yes to him, I’ll take you out on a date, Alexis,” a voice from behind Shaun said.
Shaun spun around and saw an elderly gentleman with a tweed jacket and a hat that reminded Shaun of the 1950s. And who was this old sleazeball?
“Hi Professor Tillman,” Alexis greeted, trying to control her annoyance, “What’ll you be having?”
“Well, for starters, I’d like this tall young man to get out of my way,” the five foot six educator said, looking at Shaun through his thick glasses, “can’t take a hint she doesn’t want to date you, lad?” he said teasingly.
Shaun stepped back, unable to say anything. Well that was embarrassing. His face turned red. This was one of the many professors for his minors back then. He taught psychology or something?
“The usual order. Alexis, dear,” the professor began, “this gentleman here seems desperate for your presence. And I recall him to be quite the loud mouth while he attended UM. Give him a chance, won’t you?”
Alexis said nothing, but she remained congenial to the professor. The professor looked at Shaun, as if sizing him up before he ambled for his seat. Then he gave a wink at Shaun and Shaun realized the professor was rooting for him. He smiled and stepped back in front of Alexis.
“What?” Alexis said with annoyance.
“Dress nicely tonight,” he told her, “I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.”
***
The dinner went fairly well.
Alexis had been nervous, initially. Dress well? She hadn’t dressed like this in years. But the yellow toned floral A-line dress suited her wonderfully, Shaun noticed. She was so anxious that she drank a whole glass of wine in just a matter of seconds and he noticed this too.
They joked about Professor Tillman and Shaun told her how he nearly failed his minors from sleeping in class. Tillman had been nice but he had to take a rather difficult exam for finals, a different one from the rest of his schoolmates. He passed, barely. Tillman had laughed convivially at him as he submitted his paper.
The clock had turned ten in the evening and they were the only customers left in the quaint Italian restaurant. He called for the check and they left after finishing the last of their second bottle of wine. Alexis was a bit sleepy by now.
“You’re not used to drinking, are you?”
She smiled sleepily at him as she cozied up in the passenger seat. “Not really. It’s red wine that gets me all flabby.”
“Flabby?” Shaun laughed.
“Flabby like I have no control over myself,” Alexis told him as she started to close her eyes.
Shaun didn’t mind but he was smiling all the same. He could let her sleep and wake her up later.
***
He grunted a little as he carried her to her apartment. He’d opened the door ahead of time and was glad there were no bystanders or neighbors to bother him. He saw the couch and started for it, but decided it would be better if he put her in her bedroom.
Her bedroom door was ajar. Her room was sparse, clean, with hints of girly and nerd all at the same time. Shaun didn’t bother flinging her bedsheets aside. He gently put her down and she stirred a little as he did. He stared at her.
Alexis’ dress had shifted up to her thigh. He took a breath and shook his head, concentrating on her face instead. With liquor or no liquor, and even with barely there makeup, she was still something to be admired. Her oval face was framed by tumbling locks of dark hair. Her full lips were half-open, and he smiled, liking how she looked unguarded and at peace. In fact, she looked like a child, happy and content in her dreams.
Would he wait for her? Leave her here until she woke up? Just so she would wake up and say he had been a gentleman and had never touched her. Shaun sighed and decided he would stay on the couch for a while. Maybe until midnight, just to make sure she didn’t puke or anything. Did anyone even puke after drinking wine, he wondered.
He got her a glass of water and placed it on her nightstand, then he went out and dozed off for a few minutes, careful to set off an alarm in thirty minutes.
In her room, Alexis was having a dream.
“Can I get two slices of cake, momma?” she had asked as the interlude to their favorite song played.
“As much as you want, baby. Till you swear you won’t eat no cake anymore.”
The scene changed and she saw the car fly, as if her spirit had gone out of her body. They were all in the car, she knew it. But she couldn’t do anything to help them, to help herself.
“Mom!” she screamed aloud as the car landed on its roof at the expressway. She saw her mom hanging upside down still strapped to her chair, her eyes were wide open and blood was trailing out of her mother’s mouth.
“Mom!” she screamed again.
A police officer was shaking her, telling her
to get up, that they were all dead and she was the only one who had made it out of the wreckage.
Someone was shaking her awake, shaking her hard. She fought it off, those unseen forces trying to take her away from her parents.
“No, no, no…” she moaned again and again.
“Lex, wake up,” Shaun told her, holding both shoulders as she curled up, crying in bed.
Her eyes flew open, and tears were pooling in the corners of her eyes.
“It’s okay, I’m here,” he said again and again.
She forced herself to concentrate and she took deep breaths, closing her eyes, telling herself it was another bad dream. This was reality, she was in her room. She was alive. She was here, achieving things her parents could never see.
Shaun sat beside her, at the edge of the bed and found himself embracing her gently as she began to cry.
***
“So you were adopted at the age of ten?” Shaun asked, “by your uncle and aunt?”
Alexis nodded. She had calmed down by then, but Shaun knew she was still disturbed by her nightmare. She had been drinking copious amounts of water, in an effort to calm herself down or pee the bad memories out- well, if only she could.
“I’ve been fighting these bad dreams ever since. They worsen during the anniversary of their death and my survival.”
“I hope you aren’t blaming yourself.”
“I wanted so much cake,” she laughed a little, but her eyes still looked sad, “and mom promised me they would give me as much cake as I wanted. Funny thing is, I haven’t eaten chocolate cake since that day. I didn’t want to learn how to drive. That’s why I take buses.”
“You don’t need to take buses anymore. Besides, I can teach you how to drive. I’m a careful driver.’
“I know you are.”
“Have you seen a psychologist for this?”
“As a child,” Alexis replied, “they wanted me to take medications. I said, “screw this, I’ll manage.”
I think I did alright. As long as no one knows.”
“You were cracking all this time.”
“A little. But I’m doing okay.”