Center Courtship (41 page)

“I'm bad news, Elsu. Everyone keeps warning you against me, maybe you should listen to them.” I sat down on the bed and spread the blanket out over me.

I could tell my quick change of direction had frustrated him, but I wanted to turn him off. “How do you figure?” He went to his side of the bed and pulled the covers down and slid in. I noticed he was too long for the bed.

“Everything I've touched has caused problems this week. You broke up with Saraya, you lost Casper as a friend, someone burned your house down, you're stuck sleeping with me because of my truck.”

“None of that was your fault. I was going to break up with Saraya eventually. You just helped show me the way. If it hadn't been you Casper had attacked, it would have been some other girl, I would have beaten him up and he still wouldn't be my friend. I got confirmation that the house was lightning, Mae.”

“I just can't get over lightning in November.

“That's what I said, but apparently it's not as unlikely as it sounds.”

“Do you believe it?”

“I don't have any reason to doubt it. Apparently Casper stopped for a beer on the way to the house. The bartender and one of the waitresses at the place confirmed it. It wasn't him.”

“Lightning.”

“Yep.”

“Ok.”

“By the way, I hardly call sleeping with you being ‘stuck'. I think it's the best thing that's happened all week.”

“What if I snore?” I giggled.

“I'll poke you in the ribs with my elbow,” he smiled.

“What if you snore?”

“I don't snore,” he smiled.

“Uh huh, I find that hard to believe.”

We both laid down, I was on my back and Elsu was on his side so he could fold his knees to fit on the bed. “How do you sleep without being able to stretch out?”

“I used to keep a chest with a cushion on it at the foot of the bed. I'll be ok tonight. I'm used to it.”

I gave him a quick kiss and rolled to my left side. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Mae.” I felt him turn so he was facing the other side of the bed and his breathing quickly leveled out into an obvious sleeping rhythm.

I tried to sleep but every time I closed my eyes I saw Little José. The few times I fell asleep, I dreamt of that stupid truck. It wasn't stupid, it was mine. It was the first ‘big purchase' I had ever made. I tried to think of positive things but they somehow all morphed into the truck. I knew we had laid down at around three in the morning. When I finally had enough of wasting my time trying to force myself to sleep it was nearly seven. I got up and walked into the living room where I found Phil buttoning up his shirt. The blanket he had used was folded neatly and the pillow sat on top of it.

“Good morning,” I said. “Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thank you. I don't touch the stuff.”
Just when I thought I knew a person.
I started a pot for myself and sat down at the table. I have to admit, it was fun watching him move about the living room. He finally sat down and put on his shoes. I cringed thinking about the dirty socks he must have just put back on his feet.

“I'm sorry about last night, Phil. I can't seem to do anything right by Elsu.”

Phil looked up from tying his shoes briefly and shook his head. “How do you figure?”

“Oh, this whole week has been nothing but drama and destruction from day one. All my fault.” I heard the final gurgle on the coffee pot and got myself a cup.

“Not the way I look at it. Luck comes in groupings. You've just had some bad. You're due for some good.”

“I thought Elsu was my good, now I feel like I'm
his
bad.”

“Do you have any orange juice?” he asked as he laid his leather jacket across the back of one of the dining chairs.

“I have no idea what Magdalena put in there. All I had was beer, frozen pizzas and some past-due milk.”

Phil opened the refrigerator door and peered in. He pulled out a large container of OJ and grabbed himself a cup from the cabinet where he had seen me get my coffee mug. “All hail Magdalena,” he said as he raised the glass to me.

I smiled and took a sip of my coffee.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked when he sat down across from me.

“Not too bad, I can sleep anywhere.” He looked at his watch.

“What time is your cab coming?”

“Eight.” He had about forty-five minutes.

“Well, in that case, let me get dressed and I'll walk you down when it gets here. The way Elsu was snoring, he's going to be out for a while.”

Phil smiled and I went and grabbed a quick change of clothes and rushed to the bathroom. I swore when I was wealthy, I'd have a bedroom with an attached bathroom.

I got dressed, fixed my hair and brushed my teeth quickly. When I stepped into the living room, Phil was studying my DVD collection. I wasn't a movie watcher by nature. Once I'd seen it, I didn't need to see it again. There was one exception to that rule. One theme coursed its way through the shelf that THE Phil Handler was looking at. That theme was of course, Phil Handler. If he had starred in it, made a brief appearance in it, or even helped produce it, it was on that shelf.

“Just so you know, I'm a fan. I'm not psycho or anything. Ok, a little psycho, but you know. Psycho.” I smacked my forehead in embarrassment. I had reverted to the fan girl. I tried so hard to treat him like a normal human being, but all hope had gone out the window when I saw him looking at my digital shrine to his truly.

“No worries, Mae. I appreciate the support. Really, I do. Just as long as you don't do anything to hurt that man in there, I'm
cool with you.” He turned back to look at the shelves. “Which is your favorite?”

Really? I was supposed to tell
him
which was my favorite? “I can't pick just one, Phil. Honest. I've watched some more than others, but I've watched them all. Depending on a given mood, there are specific movies I go to.”

“That's a nice diplomatic answer,” he smiled.

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was five till eight. “Do you want to head down?”

Phil nodded and we stepped from the apartment. In the elevator we each took a corner. To say what I was feeling in my gut was messed up would have been an understatement. In fantasies, I would have hit the emergency stop button, knocked him to the floor, and had my way with him. In reality he would be a new friend and my heart was still lying in bed next to Elsu. “So this is awkward,” I finally said as I smiled at him.

“You think?” he grinned. Did he feel it too? I could only imagine the strange messages my body was secretly sending to his. “I do have to admit I'm shocked you two are already in bed together.”

The door to the elevator opened and I nearly tripped over the threshold at his statement.

“Oh, that was just for one night.”

“Yeah, but he wouldn't sleep with anyone before you. Girls weren't even allowed in his bedroom.”

“It's innocent. We haven't…you know,” I blushed.

“Oh, ok, that makes sense then. As of the last time we had discussed the subject, he was still innocent himself.”

We stepped out the front door and the taxi pulled up right on time.
Damn!
“Wait, what?”

“That boy's as virginal as a brand new baby, Mae. If you've figured out the trick to breaking him, you've got the magic touch. I'm not surprised Saraya had other guys. He was probably frustrating the shit out of her.”

“But he used to stay with Saraya at the hotel when she'd come to town.”

“Is that what he told you? He might have spent time with her in the hotels, but I doubt they did anything more than kissing. I doubt he ever even tried for second base.”

“Are you sure, Phil? You're not making this up, are you?”

“Why in the hell would I make it up? He's my best friend, I want him to be happy. You seem like a naturally good, sweet person and you're cute as hell. He's into you like nothing I've ever seen. I'm rooting for you. I'd never do anything to screw this up for him.”

I couldn't believe it. Was Phil lying or was Elsu, or Saraya, for that matter? We stepped toward the taxi. “So where's
your
bodyguard?” I asked him, concerned for his safety in the public airport.

“In my pocket,” he pulled out the stocking cap he had on the night before and lowered the pair of dark sunglasses that sat atop his head. “Unlike a certain giant we both know, I can blend into the crowd pretty easily.” We both laughed and Phil gave me a quick hug thanking me for my hospitality.
Nope, none of that automatic chemistry we had in my fantasies. But I was surprisingly ok with that.

“Tell Elsu I'll call him when I land and good luck on tonight's game.”

“I will. It was nice to meet you.”

He got in the cab and it pulled away. I stood watching it disappear and thought about what Phil had said. How could super-hot basketball-jock Elsu Benjamin still be a virgin? He had girls swarming around him at every turn. Surely one of them had caught his eye.

I headed back to the apartment and saw Colette exiting her apartment and heading to mine. I rushed to stop her from knocking for fear she'd wake all of my guests. “Colette! Don't knock!”

“Ok,” she stopped her fist before it hit the door.

“Elsu is in there and his housekeeper is my new roommate. They're both sleeping.”

“You slept with him?” She screeched.

“Yes, I mean no! I mean, it was just sleep. Nothing else.”

I unlocked the door and we both stepped in. Magdalena stood at the stove making breakfast.

“Good morning, Magdalena,” I said as Colette stepped cautiously forward.

“Good morning, Miss Mae. Do you like pancakes?”

My stomach grumbled. I hadn't had a homemade breakfast in years. “Magdalena, you don't need to make me breakfast. I have cereal.”

“It's my pleasure, ma'am,” she smiled with a twinkle in her eye. She looked at Colette after I introduced them to each other. “Would you like some too?” I noticed she had an electric griddle plugged in.
Where did she get that?

Colette didn't know what to say but nodded. The whole thing had to be confusing to her.

I sensed him before I saw him or felt him. Elsu wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his head in my neck. “Mmmm,” he groaned. “You smell heavenly.”

“You're up early,” I said as I bent my neck to give his head more nuzzle room.

“Yeah, I'll hopefully get a little nap later. Tonight's game might not be as good as last night's.”

“I forgot to congratulate you, Mr. MVP,” I said as I turned and gave him a quick hug.

“Thank you,” he said as he hugged me back.

The apartment door opened and Arnold walked through with his cane at his side again. “Good game, young man,” he said as he held out his hand to Elsu.

“Thank you, sir,” Elsu shook his hand and smiled. “Mae, I'm going to run up to my apartment and get dressed and see where my uncle and Millard ended up. I'll be back in time for some of those pancakes.”

Magdalena smiled over her shoulder as I watched the stack grow. I secretly hoped she had enough food for everyone.

Elsu left and in about fifteen minutes returned with Uncle Richard and Millard.

Not a minute later there was a knock at the door and Saul, Peter and Brent walked in the door. Maybe I could discuss a keycard entry system as part of Millard's planned security upgrade.

I was officially out of chairs. Miraculously, there were enough pancakes and bacon slices to go around, plus some. Magdalena's ability to make all the pancakes we needed out of what seemed like so little was a nearly biblical feat.

I found myself a seat on the couch as far away as I could get from the crowd that was in my kitchen. I was happy to see all of these people felt comfortable enough to come to my place, but the crowd control was, well, out of control. Elsu was discussing the previous night's game with Arnold and Colette and I couldn't keep my eyes off him. I wanted to kick everyone out so they would leave us alone. I couldn't get enough of him and everyone was hogging him. I thought about going to him and inserting myself onto his lap but I didn't want to come across as the needy girlfriend so I retreated to my bedroom and shut the door. I turned to go to my bed with my laptop when I heard a knock at the front door. “How many people are left in this building?” I whined as I opened the bedroom door to see Millard letting Detective Graven in.

The room fell silent at the sight of the uniformed officer in my living room. “Miss Rogers, I'm here to get your statement about last night.”

“What happened last night?” asked Colette.

“Someone killed Little José in the parking deck at the game,” I said flatly.

The entire room gasped. Magdalena must have thought I was talking about a person because she quickly did the sign of the cross in front of her chest. “Ok, everyone out! Millard, you can fill them in if they want filled in, otherwise if you don't live here, you need to leave. Except Elsu.” Magdalena retreated to her room and everyone else left.

Elsu held my hand tightly, there was no way I was letting him leave me.

We sat down in the living room, Elsu and I on the couch and Officer Graven in the recliner. He took my statement about my timeline from the night before.

“Ma'am, we have a few issues about last night.”

“Ok,” I said.

“The power outage also hit the parking deck.”

“Power outage? The guy at the game said wires were cut.”

“No, that's what was originally thought. It was some sort of power outage from outside Brothers Arena. It was the first time they had actually turned on all the power in the place at once. Apparently the power company wasn't ready for it.”

“That's why the gift shop wasn't out but the actual arena was?”