Center Courtship (43 page)

I heard a strange sound escape from his body. His shoulders tensed and he stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Why did he want to know if he was going to just leave me? I listened to see if he left the apartment but I couldn't hear the main door if he had.

My phone vibrated on my nightstand and I saw it was my mom. Her timing was impeccable. I was already in a pissed
mood, how much worse could it get? I grabbed it and tucked my head into my knees to talk to her.

“Hello mom,” I said.

“Honey, Max just called and told me about that truck of yours. I am so sorry.”

I wasn't sure if I should believe her or not, but she seemed relatively sincere, for her. I stood up and started pacing my room, trying to figure out where this conversation was really going.

“Thank you mom,” I said.

“Maybe it was for the best, now you can get a safe car from this century.”
Sigh.

“Yes mom, maybe I can. Would you like me to get a nice desk job in some high rise while I'm at it?”

“Don't back talk, I'm trying to be nice,” she said. Maybe she just didn't know what that word meant.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “Was that all you wanted?”

“Max said you get two tickets to all of the home games. Will you be using them tonight? Christopher and Candice would like to sit up front.”

“I don't know mom, I'll be using one of them, I think.” I looked to the door where Elsu had exited. Was I still going? Was I even wanted?

“You can't go to all of them, Mae. It will make you look desperate.”

“No, it will look like I'm supporting my boyfriend.”

“Stop with that boyfriend nonsense, Mae. You need to snap out of it!”
with technology as advanced as it was, why could I not reach through the phone and strangle someone yet?

I walked to the window by my bed and stared out to where my empty carport sat. I finally replied to my mom, “I'm not stopping and it's not nonsense! I think he really likes me mom, and I really like him, too. I'd really appreciate it if you could support me in this.” I was sincere now, as much as she drove me nuts, she was still my mom and I wanted her approval.

“He's using you for something, Mae. I can see it in those creepy eyes of his. Who has eyes like that? Some weird brown color.”

“I call them caramel, mom. I think he has beautiful eyes.”

“Beautiful? Don't let him hear you say that. You sound like a love struck fan girl.”

“Maybe I am mom, maybe I am.”

We hung up soon after and I turned to put the phone back on the nightstand to see Elsu standing at the foot of my bed. “I thought you left,” I said.

“Why would I leave?”

“Why would you stay?” He rounded the corner of the bed quickly and tucked me safely into him. Maybe someday I'd believe.

“You're going to have to do a lot more than that to make me want to leave,” he said. “I have beautiful eyes?” He let go of me and looked down with a smug look on his face.

“I already told you that, don't let it go to your head! That thing's already big enough.”

He wrapped his arms around me once more, our bodies feeding off of each other's heat. I never wanted him to let go. “I should listen in on your conversations more often. Now I know you like me, but you only ‘think' I like you?” I snuggled into his chest and smiled. “I have some work to do if you only ‘think' I like you,” he whispered into the top of my head.

“If that work involves more of these hugs, then yes you do.” I grinned as I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. Just a week ago, I hated hugs. I hated to be touched. Now I did nothing but crave his touch constantly. We stood that way for a few moments. My ear on his heart, a hypnotic melody that in that moment marked time only for me.

“I need to tell you something, and I don't want you to take it the wrong way, or yell at me, or get angry, or anything that I think you're going to do, ok?”

I stepped back from our embrace and looked up into those eyes. What could he have possibly done that he would think I would get that upset over?

“I'm scared now,” I said.

“Sit, please.” He motioned to the bed.

I sat, but he stayed standing.

“You know Millard?” he started.

“Ummm, yeah?”

“I hired him from a firm out of North Carolina that helps place former military men and women in jobs where they can continue to put their training to good use.”

“Ok, scratch scared and replace that with confused.”

“I just called that firm, Mae. I've hired you a bodyguard. She will be here Tuesday evening.”

I was stunned. I stared at him, my jaw agape. Did he just hire someone to babysit me?

“Before you go all batshit on me, hear me out. It's temporary. Until we get that asshole. The police aren't going to do anything until you've been hurt and by then it could be too late. I can't leave you here alone if I don't know you're safe. This is the only thing I could think of.”

How did he turn my stunned disbelief into ‘
yeah, that sounds like a good idea, I'd love to have a full time nanny'
with one explanation? The only word that was keeping me even somewhat sane was ‘temporary.'

“You can't spend all that money on me, Elsu. Let me pay you back.” What the heck was I offering? I knew I couldn't afford to pay someone's salary.

“Mae, stop worrying about money. This is about safety.”

“Can I still do stuff?”

“Like what stuff?”

“Go to the store? Go with Colette to get a beer after work?”

“Yes! That's why I want you to have her! I want you safe no matter what you're doing! She will be on duty just like Millard. I can't promise she'll be as assistive as Millard is. She's not a servant, she's a bodyguard.”

“I wouldn't want a servant, anyway. Where will she stay? Magdalena is in my spare room!”

Elsu's face told me he hadn't thought of that. “I'll figure it out. Magdalena can move in with me. She can sleep with my uncle.” I thought I saw him shiver as the words came out.

“Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok, I'll accept the bodyguard. The
temporary
bodyguard.” I stood up and looked at Elsu.

“Is there a trick? Shouldn't you be yelling at me for controlling your life?”

“Yeah, I probably should be. But I agree, I need protection right now, so maybe this isn't a bad idea. Plus if this is what it will take for me to keep you, I'll do it.” I reached up and pulled his face toward me. His lips mere inches from mine. “But you have to promise me something,” I said.

“Anything.”

“No flirting with my bodyguard!”

“You'll never have to worry about that!” He leaned in and kissed me. He kept kissing and I stepped back until the back of my legs were against the edge of the mattress. We both fell onto the bed and began making out like two teenagers in love. We both knew it wasn't going to go any further than that for now and I couldn't be happier. As much as I was falling for this man, I still wasn't ready to give him everything yet. I'd confront him about his own virginity later. Right now, I just wanted to feel his lips on mine and his body keeping me warm.

Dear Reader,

I hope you've enjoyed your time with Mae, Elsu, and her group of friends (and enemies) in Massillon. I also hope the journey for you as a reader was as enjoyable as the writing journey has been for me. There are more stories to come and I can't wait to share them with you.

Many people have asked how they can support me as an author. There are several ways. If you're reading this, there's a good chance you've already done the most important one. That is, just reading my story. To imagine that someone I've never met is somewhere in this world reading words I've written (and hopefully enjoying them) is an unimaginable high I don't think I'll ever come down from, and I don't believe it will ever get old.

There are other, more ‘solid' ways you can help a writer. Reviews. Did you know that how well a book shows up on websites such as Amazon and Goodreads is based on the number (and quality) of its reviews? So the more, the merrier! I'd love for you to take a moment and let others know what you thought of Center Courtship on websites that ask for reviews.

I've attempted to make myself known in the big bad world of social media. You can check me out on:

Facebook–
www.facebook.com/lizabrownauthor

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www.instagram.com/liza.brown.author

Twitter–
www.twitter.com/lizabrownauthor

But the nicest thing you could do is to send me an email
[email protected]
and share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely yours,

Liza Brown is a new author from Massillon, Ohio. She loves to use her surroundings to help create the settings of her books. As a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers, she loves to support the team in any way she can both at games and from her living room couch. Liza has been married to ‘the other' Dan Brown since 1998. She is mom to one beautiful girl, two black dachshunds, and two calico cats. She enjoys spending time with her family, writing, and listening to classic rock.