The Science of Loving

by Candace Vianna

  “Yeah, I get that a lot.” Mat grinned back. “I’m Mat, and this is my girlfriend, Angie.” Girlfriend. Just hearing him say that made me giddy. I have a boyfriend! I have a hot boyfriend!

  “Hey, Mat,” Shelly interrupted my happy thoughts. “You want another round?”

  “No thanks,” Mat said flatly as Tony’s eyes widen.

  When I turned to see what had Tony’s eyes popping out of his head, I found Shelly looking at Mat with obvious invitation. She was leaning forward, her arms crossed on the bar pushing up her fake boobs to spill over the top of her tight shirt. She smirked, boldly perusing my battered and baggy appearance when she caught my eye. Oh, I don’t think so.

  “So, honey,” I said, smiling sweetly. “I guess we should get going, got all that packing to do.”

  “Yeah, okay baby. Nice meeting you guys.” Mat nodded.

  I felt like a total shit watching Angie wilt. I knew my earlier morning douchery was probably adding to her pain as she moved stiffly hanging up her clothes. “Hey babe, let me do that while you have a soak in the tub.”

  “By myself? I’ll drown without my booster seat.”

  “You’re hurting, and I’m not sure your booster seat can resist misbehaving when you’re all wet and slippery. How ‘bout a hot shower-massage.”

  I steered her into the bath. While she got naked, I slid out the reclining spa bench from its hidden drawer inside the enclosure. I eased Angie down, but I couldn't resist following her to brush light kisses on her bruised skin. I struggled to keep the anger at the sight of her injuries from turning into full-blown rage. I stepped out and selected one of the shower’s preset programs. The lights soften and water started dribbling down the walls as the system purged the cold water from its lines. Even bruised, Angie was beautiful: Lying supine, steam kissed, her troubled eyes glittering darkly under the dim lights.

  Stowing the rest of Angie’s clothes didn’t take long; she obviously, wasn’t a clotheshorse. I almost missed the last suitcase hiding in the corner—holy shit—inside was a rainbow colored, treasure trove of silk, lace and shiny satins. I reverently fingered slips of material adorned with sweet little bows and flowers, dangling tiny thongs and sexy bras before my wondering eyes. This was better than Christmas. By the time I’d put away the last pair of slippery stockings, a goofy grin had taken permanent residence on my face.

  Hoping she'd take the hint, I left a silky, lavender kimono and matching nightie on the bed and went to I make dinner. After uncorking a bottle of red to breathe, I pulled open the refrigerator—shit—only by my quick catlike reflexes saved my toes as I caught a beer mid swan dive, trapping it against my body. The fridge’s insides were trashed. Several bottles laid tumbled on their sides, and the edge of one of the shelves was knocked clean off its supports. Damn… I felt like a total jerk. I shouldn’t have been so rough this morning, but the thought of almost losing her made me go a little crazy.

  Damn. Danny was here; no one else was brave enough or stupid enough to lean on my buzzer like that. I punched the door release and sent the lift down then went back to sorting out the fridge. Voices, as in more than one, drifted above the elevator’s hum. Motherfucker. I’d better warn Angie. Danny’d brought the whole family.

  I returned to the living room mourning the pretty kimono I’d glumly traded for yoga pants and a sweatshirt. It was my own damn fault for getting my hopes up. I should’ve known they’d show up. I was kind of surprised they waited this long.

  “So, I take it Angie’s feeling better?” Danny said, staring into the wrecked refrigerator. “You might want to fix that before Jack gets here,” she whispered, bumping me with her shoulder as she joined my folks seated at the bar. Fuck’em. Yes, I had sex in my kitchen with my woman. Get over it.

  “How is she?” Mom asked while I sorted out the fridge.

  “She’s fine Mammy. Better than fine considering she’s all banged up.” I ignored Danny’s smirk. “I’m the one freaking out. I think she’s kinda proud of herself for fighting back. I’m just glad she knew how to change a tire. The thought of what would’ve happened if she hadn’t had that tire iron in her hand scares the shit out of me.”

  Dad nodded. “Yeah, we’re lucky things didn’t go down differently.”

  “Jack?” I asked when the door buzzed again.

  “Or Les, or Bob.” Danny answered, sending down the elevator.

  “What about Les and Bob?” Angie started blushing when she noticed me tidying the refrigerator.

  Mom sucked in a breath when she got a good look at the damage, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Oh, come here mija.”

  “I’ll bet the other guy looks worse,” Angie said, grinning. She didn't even flinch when Mom swept her into a bosomy hug while Dad stood next to her rubbing little circles on her back.

  “Good for you, mija. When they catch him, I hope they put him away for a long time.”

  “Yeah, I hope some hairy prison ape with halitosis and a bad rash makes him his bitch,” Les said. Bob and Jack kept a wary distance as she charged out of the elevator. “Hey Rambette.”

  “Hey guys. Is the lab burning down without me?”

  “Naw, Bob hid all the matches, but the grapevines on fire.” Les's eyes widen. “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! You look like you just finished a guest appearance on Jerry Springer.”

  “Hey Angie.” When Bob hugged her awkwardly, as if she were made of glass, I felt like an even bigger ass.

  “Hey Daddy. Miss me already?”

  “Always, baby girl.”

  “So it’s true?” Les asked, motioning imperiously at my head. “Come on, you know the drill.” Sheesh, I bent to let her finger my scalp.

  “Depends… What have you heard?” I grinned down at her.

  “That some bald Neanderthal clubbed Angie stupid then dragged her back to his cave to dust his stalactites.”

  Angie blushed. “Naw, I’m just here for the grotto… Oh my God, you guys, you have got to check out the bathroom.” She grabbed Les’s hand excitedly as the rest of us followed at a more dignified pace.

  After the show, we settled comfortably in the living room and Les started giving the low down from what apparently, was a very active gossip mill. “Well, so far I’ve heard: That you’re in intensive care, that you’re a federal witness and Mat’s really a trained killer hired to protect you. That you’d been robbed, raped, carjacked. That Bob discovered an underage male prostitution ring at the spa, and their pimp beat you up as a warning.” Les glanced at Jack reddening. I think she just realized that also involved his wife. “Sorry… Oh, and my favorite: Your attacker was one of Mat’s jealous ex-boyfriends—I may have started that one.” She added with a wink.

  “Nice.” Danny grinned. Shit, I knew those two would hit it off. “I guess you haven’t heard anything from the police yet.”

  “It just happened last night.”

  “Well if this was CSI,” Danny complained, “they’d already have DNA results and a person of interest.”

  “Right, cause that’s not a fictional TV drama or anything,” Angie said.

  “Well, how long does that stuff take?”

  “For DNA typing? It depends on how many samples have to be analyzed. The actual process takes about 40 to 50 hours.”

  “And, that’s not considering any backlog or administrative delays,” Les added.

  “Why does it take so long?”

  “Because it’s not just a matter of running one test,” Angie said, “It’s a process: First you have to extract a sample and determine if there is any DNA present. If there is, you need to know how much you have, so you know how much to replicate to get a high enough concentration for testing. Then you have to tag important parts before sticking it into a genetic analyzer. And you have to do it multiple times on both the unknown, and a control sample to keep your statistical uncertainty within an acceptable level.”

  “Damn, that’s hot,” I said.

  “If you think that’s hot, you should see her fist a pipet
te.” Les joked.

  The bed jostled. “Angie… wakey, wakey.” Kisses trailed down my face as minty breath warmed my skin. I groaned rolling over. I ached. What was with the James kids always waking me up.

  Oh my God, I’m living with a man! Not dating, I have a live-in boyfriend. I grinned. “Morning handsome.”

  “Same back at ya, beautiful. Gotta get up now.”

  I captured his neck, trying to drag him down on top of me. “Or, you could come back to bed.”

  “No can do, lover. We have to go into the office and do business stuff.”

  “Okay, see ya when you get home.” I rolled back over, stuffing my head under a pillow.

  “Oh, I don’t think so, sweetness. You’re coming with me.”

  “You realize it’s highly unprofessional bringing your girlfriend to work.”

  “Good thing I’m the boss. Now get up, I don’t want to be late.”

  “How can you be late? You’re the boss.”

  “Morning meeting with a client and Mel will spit in my coffee if I’m late.”

  “What makes you think I won’t spit in your coffee?”

  “I’ll swap spit with you anytime baby.”

  I covered my mouth when Mat swooped in for a kiss. “Must brush teeth first.”

  “Hurry up.” Mat smooched my forehead before leaving me to get ready.

  Thirty minutes later, I was doing my best not to spill coffee down the front of my grey sweater set as Mat pulled into his parking spot. “So tell me about this client.”

  “He owns a winery in Temecula. Right now it’s strictly an agricultural and industrial operation, but he wants to transform it into an event destination by adding a bed and breakfast, restaurant, tasting rooms, and event hall.”

  “Wow that sounds really cool.”

  “Yeah, I could create something really stunning.” Mat stopped me with a look before coming around to get my door.

  “You just wanted to ogle my legs.” I accused, my pencil skirt riding up as I stepped out of the car.

  “And your point is?” he said, slinging both our briefcases over his shoulder, his other hand placed possessively on my back. Was it wrong this show of dominance made me want to jump his bones?

  Mat greeted his receptionist, letting her know I'd be working out of his office on the way the coffee pot.

  Tom was filling his cup when we entered the break room. “I don’t want to be in your way, I can easily work in here.”

  “How do you expect us to have hot office sex if you’re not in my office?” I glanced at Tom as Mat grinned, watching my cheeks bloom. He enjoyed embarrassing me. Ass.

  “Good morning Angie.” Tom put an arm around my shoulders. “Call me when you’re ready to dump this adolescent and go out with a grownup.”

  I ducked my head smiling self-consciously. “Thanks Tom, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Mat pulled me away from him. “Tom… Tom… How many times do I have to tell you, mature and responsible is boring. Women want the excitement of impetuous youth.”

  “We do?” I asked, looking up into his eyes.

  “Yeah baby, you do.” He squeezed me before looking back at Tom. “So quit trying to talk sense to my woman. I don’t need her finding out how much of a jackass I really am.”

  “I’m sure she already knows. Speaking of jackasses, I had a long talk with Max the other night.”

  “So spill.”

  Tom glanced at me. Taking the hint, I reached for my laptop bag. “Why don’t I go get set up in your office.”

  Mat’s arm tightened around me. “She knows what’s going on.”

  “Alrighty then.” Tom nodded. “Remember a while back, Max hit that deer with his car? Well, that night he was being wined and dined by a rep for one of the developers we later rejected. He thinks he must’ve had too much to drink because he blacked out and doesn’t remember going home. When he crawled out of bed the next day, severely hung-over, he found his car wrecked in his garage with a note to call Avery.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Max. He can drink pretty much everyone under the table.”

  “I know; it doesn’t make sense.” Tom agreed. “So Avery informed him he was involved in a hit and run, killing a motorcyclist, and he’s been blackmailing him ever since.”

  “Holy Shit.”

  “So what’s he going to do about it?”

  “I have no idea. I’m, and by that, I mean we… are staying as far away from this as we can. We don’t know anything, we haven’t heard anything.”

  “Christ.”

  “Mat?” Mel called from the doorway. “Your clients are here.”

  “Thanks Mel, can you set them up in the small conference room and get them some coffee, please?”

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” Mat took my hand. “C’mon sweetheart, I want you in my office.”

  His office was incomparable to my closet sized domain with its broken furniture and dingy windows. Bathed in sunlight from a bank of windows running the length of the back wall, it looked more like an art studio. An impressive executive desk held pride of place as you entered, and on the right, a conversation area with a sofa and coffee table were situated against a short wall concealing a larger room containing a hi-tech workspace with a fancy computer and three flat screen monitors, a drafting table, a workbench and shelves cluttered with models.

  “Wow, this is nice.”

  “You take the big desk. I only use it to check my email. I have to get to my meeting. Don’t be afraid to ask Mel for anything you need.” He nipped my lower lip then kissed me sweetly, murmuring, “Plan on testing the sturdiness of that desk when I get back.”

  I sorted through my email trying not to think of all the things a sturdy desk might be used for. Delete… Delete… A note from Les:

  “Rambo, you lucky bitch, drag your horny ass outta bed… attached is the latest raws waiting to be analyzed. So get your massive intellect in gear and let me know what stains you want next… Your faithful Minion.”

  I opened the attachment and lost myself in columns of stained bars and graphs, happily sinking into the dancing patterns as twining secrets whispered at the edge of my consciousness. This was my favorite part, sifting through the data in search of clues. It was an exercise of pure intellect where I became so focused that a kind of euphoria set in, a peaceful clarity where nothing else existed.

  “Hey,” I flinched, ripped from my meditations—God dammit! I’d almost had it. I was almost there. “Would you like a cup of coffee?” When Mel’s smile faltered, I realized I was glaring at her. Shit, she was just trying to be nice. Unlike my minions, she didn't know interrupting my cogitations could release the Hyde to my Dr. Jeckle.

  I plastered on a smile. Taking a cleansing breath, I forced down my irritation. “Sorry, my mind was elsewhere. Sure, coffee would be great.”

  “I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important,” she said uneasily on the way to the break room. “Oh, FYI, Mat turns into a troll when he’s creating. He’s libel to bite your head off if you bother him.”

  “Good to know.”

  We got our coffee and Mel set a box of cookies on the table. “With all the bad news, we really didn’t have a chance to talk yesterday.” Mel began. “I’ve been working here for three years and never once has Mat brought a girl around.”

  “I’m only here because Mat’s afraid to leave me alone. They haven’t caught the guy who jumped me the other night.”

  “Uh huh.” Why didn’t anyone believe me? “So that’s why he moved you into his place?”

  “Everyone’s going a little nuts over this. I’ve even been barred me from my lab in case this wasn’t some random crime.”

  “There you are.” Mat kissed me as he snagged a cookie from the box. “I figured you’d be all engrossed in science madness.”

  “I was; Mel’s lucky to be alive.” I laughed. “I hear you get the same way when you’re designing.”

  “Oh Angie I’m sorry… I didn’t realize.”
Guilt darkened my cheeks at Mel’s stricken expression.

  “That’s all right. Most of the time I’m pretty harmless.”

  “Unless someone messes with her ride. Then she beats the crap out of them.” Mat grinned at Mel. “Good thing her car’s been impounded.”

  “Why? Do you bare my first love, my faithful steed who’s always there for me, evil intent?” I sniffed, wiping away an imaginary tear. “You shouldn’t feel threatened by all that hot steely muscle, the way it eagerly vibrates when get it revved up and how perfectly its smooth leather cups my behind. You’re still third in my affections.”

  “I rate as high as third?”

  “Of course, right behind your bathroom.”

  “Isn’t that the truth.” Mel grinned. “Sorry boss, but the girl’s got standards.”

  He rose to his feet, holding out his hand. “I think I’d be more comfortable continuing this discussion in private, over my desk. Perhaps we can figure out how I can better measure up.” He was using The Voice, and the challenge in his eyes sent a wave of prickling heat from my chest to the top of my head.

  “So, how’d the meeting go?”

  “They loved me,” Mat said, as I walked ahead of him.

  “Of course they did.”

  He shut and very deliberately locked his office door then began methodically clearing off the top of his desk, shutting my laptop, carefully setting it aside.

  “Come over here, sweetness.” His tone coiled, tugging at things low in my body as sweet fear fluttered in my chest, freezing me in place. He regarded me darkly. “Is there a problem, Angelina?” Oh shit, I force my feet to move. “Answer me, sweetness.”

  Licking my lips, I looked up at him. “No, no problem.”

  “Come over here, sweetness.” She was rooted in place with the cutest deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face—honey, I'll take a backseat to your car, or better yet, take you in the backseat of your car, but rating me below my bathroom? Hell no. “Is there a problem, Angelina?” She jerked into motion. “Answer me, sweetness.” Her eyes widen—that’s right sweetness, scary Mat’s come out to play.