Not Broken-The Happily Ever After

by Meka James

  She walked over with her tiny cup of coffee and curled up on the couch. “Not sure. Maybe a few furniture stores since I need stuff for the new place.”

  “I thought you said you got most of the furniture.”

  “I did, but I sold it.” She turned her face up in disgust. “I couldn’t be sure he and that whore of his didn’t have their bodies on it. I just refused to let him have it.” She stopped and laughed. “Boy, he was pissed when he found out I’d sold it.”

  I shook my head and laughed. Shawn walked over with one of his books and took a seat in my lap. I started reading it too him as best I could since he liked to flip the pages before I’d finished it.

  She blew on her coffee and took a sip. “Where were you yesterday morning?”

  “Huh?”

  “When I left for work, your car was gone, so where were you off to first thing in the morning?”

  I went back to attempting Shawn’s story. I could feel Dorian’s eyes watching me closely. I shrugged.

  “Nowhere particular. I was just…” I stopped and tried to figure out what to say. Dorian and I had managed to be civil to each other while she was here, but I still didn’t feel comfortable talking to her about personal topics. I couldn’t be sure when she’d turn things on me. “I just needed to get out of the house.”

  That wasn’t the first time I’d felt claustrophobic here. There’d been plenty of times when the thoughts and feelings became too much, and I’d really felt like I was losing my mind. Those nights I’d end up curled in a ball on the very couch where she now sat, with a bottle of wine, doing my best to drown out the noise. Leaving the house and going to Malcolm was an impulsive act I was still trying to wrap my head around.

  “Well, I must say, you’ve put up with me longer than I thought you would. But I guess now I’m running you from your house.”

  I turned to look at her, but she looked down at her cup as she took another drink.

  “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You heard me. What are you planning? You’ve been uncharacteristically nice to me as of late, and I have to say, it’s starting to be a little unsettling.” Shawn crawled away, and I got up from my spot on the floor to sit on the other couch.

  “What are you talking about? Why do you always think I’m plotting against you?”

  “Seriously, Dorian?”

  She rolled her eyes in response. My phone started ringing just as I was going to question her more. I headed into the kitchen to retrieve it from the counter. A flurry of nervous activity started in my stomach when I saw Malcolm’s number on my screen.

  “Hello.”

  “Good morning, gorgeous.”

  I smiled at his greeting. “You’re in a good mood this morning.”

  “Any reason I shouldn’t be?”

  For him, maybe not, but I was a whole other story. Last night I struggled to sleep. I spent most of the night tossing and turning. I couldn’t shake the feeling in my stomach that something bad was going to happen. I didn’t know if it was because my nerves were still rattled from everything that happened with Malcolm or what. I had been nervous the whole time Macy was over, and had been thankful our conversations never turned to Mal. I hated feeling so unsettled and completely off kilter.

  “Guess not.” I leaned back against the counter and watched as Dorian got down on the floor to read to Shawn. “So, what’s up?”

  “Do you think your folks would babysit tonight?”

  “Um, not sure. It’s kinda last minute. Why?”

  “I’d like to take you out.”

  “Like on a date?”

  He laughed. “Yes, baby, on a date. Isn’t that what normal couples do? Go out, enjoy each other’s company? That sort of thing.”

  I started chewing on my thumbnail as I mulled over his words. “Are we, though?”

  “Are we what?”

  “A normal couple?”

  There was a brief silence before he answered. “Now that I think about it, no, we’re not. We’re extraordinary.”

  My loud laughter at his comment drew looks from Dorian and Shawn. Malcolm. My sweet, funny Malcolm could always find ways to bring a smile to my face. My Malcolm.

  “It’s a date, Ginger. A do-over if you’ll let me. A new beginning.”

  With all my erratic behavior, he was the one asking for a do-over. He was trying his best to stand by me, the least I could do was hold up my end and really give things a chance.

  “Let me call them to see if they can, and I’ll call you back.”

  Dorian came walking over, holding Shawn at arm’s length. “He smells.”

  She handed him to me and walked away. I hung up with Malcolm then took Shawn upstairs to get changed and dressed for the day.

  “Why don’t you ever ask me to babysit?”

  I turned to see Dorian propped up in the doorway as I’d finished getting Shawn ready. “You’re joking right?”

  She frowned. “No. I handle million-dollar deals. You doubt my ability to handle a toddler?”

  “Um, yeah. You handed him off to me because he had a poopy diaper. I’m supposed to leave him with you?”

  She shrugged. “You were home, so why did I need to suffer through that diaper change? I’m not incapable, I just rather not if there’s another option.”

  I shook my head. “Right. Well, you want to be helpful, watch him while I shower.”

  I waited for Dorian to back out of the garage before I followed suit. Macy’d texted me while I was in the shower, asking if I wanted to come over to hang out again. Since I didn’t have any plans, Shawn and I were headed for a playdate. On the drive over, I called my parents. I didn’t know why I’d doubted their willingness to keep him. If they had it their way, I’d only have Shawn on the weekends. They loved being grandparents, so much so they even left an open babysitting offer to Macy, which she and Mitch took advantage of for weekly date night. I stayed on the phone, chatting with Mom until Dorian arrived at their house.

  I was getting ready to call Malcolm back when I pulled into Macy’s driveway and saw his truck parked there. I sat back against my seat, staring at the black Land Rover. I held my hands up and noticed them shaking. He’d said he was okay with me taking the Plan B, but what if he was angry? I couldn’t undo it now. I’d messaged my gynecologist about getting a prescription for birth control to avoid any more slip ups should we—was I really thinking about having sex with him again?

  Malcolm had just asked me out. He wasn’t angry. He couldn’t be angry. Shawn’s squealing from the backseat kicked me into action. I couldn’t sit out in my car all day, and I’d agreed to go out with him so avoiding him would not be an option.

  “Hey, Lee,” Mitch greeted when he opened the door. He pulled me into a light hug. “And how are you today?” He asked Shawn as he ruffled his hair.

  He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt and a pair of tan slacks. Just inside the foyer sat two sets of golf clubs.

  “Hey, Mitch. I didn’t know you golfed.”

  He looked back at the clubs. “Isn’t that the national pastime of all doctors?” He joked. “Your friend is kicking me out. One of my colleagues has been asking me to do a round with him and a few others, so I’m finally taking him up on it.”

  He held his arms out for Shawn, who eagerly went to him. “Ready to fly?”

  “Plane!” Shawn answered excitedly.

  Mitch went running down the hall, holding Shawn, waving him from side to side so he could fly. As I got closer to the living room, I heard Malcolm’s voice as he talked to Macy. He was already standing, holding Shawn when I walked into the room. He was dressed in a similar fashion as Mitch, wearing a dark green and gray striped polo shirt and a pair of gray slacks. His dreads were pulled back. My face heated up as I remembered how good they looked hanging loose around his bare shoulders.

  He walked over and slipped his free arm around my waist. His
hand rested right at the top of my ass. I couldn’t stop myself from inhaling. A mix of sweet and spice, that blended together in a most unique and amazing way. If sexy had a scent, Malcolm would be it. How was it possible my entire body temperature went up at least ten degrees just by him standing close to me? And everything south of the border rushed to life at the memories of our night together.

  “Hey, wasn’t expecting to see you here.” He leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

  I looked over at Macy. This felt like some sort of set up on her part. Like she wanted to see how we acted around each other. “Macy asked me to come hang out for a little while.”

  He looked at his sister and gave a clipped laugh. Shawn squirmed to get down. Malcolm released me so he could put him down. Shawn walked over to where London sat on her playmat with Mitch.

  “Did you get to talk to your parents?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I was getting ready to call you when I pulled up here. We’re all set.”

  “All set for what?” Macy asked.

  I turned my attention to her. “You look terrible,” I blurted out.

  My poor friend wore no makeup and actually looked green. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she wore a pair of yoga pants and what looked to be one of Mitch’s shirts. On the table beside her was a bottle of ginger ale and a box of crackers.

  “Gee, thanks. This kid is kicking my a...butt.”

  “Yes, thanks for coming, Lee,” Mitch added. “I was going to cancel today, but she wouldn’t let me. Something about me being a helicopter husband.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. Mitch blew her a kiss in response before giving London a peck on the cheek.

  “We should get going,” he said to Malcolm.

  “Okay.” Mal turned and placed his hands on my waist, pulling me to him. My entire body tingled with awareness of him. “I’ll pick you up at six.”

  I placed my hands on his muscular chest. God, he smelled good, and I had to stop myself from taking another big inhale to breathe in more of his scent. “Okay.”

  He smiled then leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before saying his goodbyes. I watched as they left, admiring how nice his ass looked in those pants.

  “Oh my god! You had sex with my brother!” Macy accused right after she heard the door close.

  “What!” How in the hell could she possibly know that?

  “Don’t deny it. You were eye fu...f-ing him the minute you walked in. Now I know why you were acting all nervous yesterday.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I walked over to take a seat beside the kids on the floor. “And I was not acting nervous.”

  “Please. Your beet red face tells me you know exactly what I’m talking about. Ewww, Lee, like I’m not sick enough already.” She reached over to grab a cracker. “I guess you two worked through whatever was going on...wait he wasn’t being all pissy about not getting laid, was he? Because I swear to god I’ll kick his ass morning sickness or not!”

  “What! No! No, Macy it wasn’t that at all.”

  She frowned at me. I got up to help Shawn get in the jumperoo, since he was trying to climb in it. I picked up London and carried her with me to the couch after he was situated.

  “So, what then?” she asked, repositioning herself when London crawled from my lap to hers. Macy gave her one of the crackers to chew on.

  After all our years of friendship, I knew when she was prepared to let things go and when she wasn’t. This was the latter. She was my best friend, yet I’d been so closed off that I couldn’t even bring myself to confide in her.

  “It’s me okay. I...I have issues. Panic attacks.”

  “Oh my god, Lee! Since when?”

  I looked over and gave her a weak smile. “For a while now. Since right after…everything.” I started twirling the ring around my finger.

  She slid over on the couch to sit closer to me then reached out for my hand. “You never said anything.”

  “Didn’t want anyone to know. So…the thing with me and Mal…I had one while he was around. Then, basically, I got mad at him for seeing me like that.”

  It was a seriously edited version of events, but I felt somewhat relieved at letting her know a little of what was going on with me.

  Chapter 36

  Malcolm

  Ginger wasn’t standing at the door when I parked my truck. She’d normally be standing on her porch waiting, yet I stood on the other side of the mahogany door waiting for her to answer it. I was getting ready to knock when I heard the click of the lock followed by the rewarding sight of her.

  Ginger stood chewing on her bottom lip, then graced me with a nervous smile. “Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

  My eyes traveled the length of her body. She wore one of those dresses that looked like a button-down shirt. The dark blue color looked great against her skin tone. It was loose fitting, but the thin brown belt helped to accentuate her waist. The dress stopped mid-thigh, and she wore a pair of knee-high brown boots. Women in boots; I always thought it was a sexy look, the way they seemed to elongate the legs, and gave their asses a little more lift. I was a sucker for a woman in a nice pair of boots, but my Ginger in them was on a whole other level.

  She started smoothing down the front of the dress. “Is this okay? I can change. Actually, I did already three times, but if you don’t like it—”

  My laughter cut off her nervous rambling. “Baby, you look fine. Better than fine.” I stepped forward and placed my hands on her waist. “But if you like, we can go inside, you can try on more outfits while I watch, but then I don’t guarantee we’d make it out of the house.”

  Innuendos were risky, because I didn’t want her to think I was expecting anything sexual from her tonight. I wanted things to be easy and fun, just us hanging out like old times, and flirting was part of that.

  She smiled. “Let me get my purse.”

  She turned to walk away, and I took pleasure in watching the seductive sway of her hips. I had high hopes for tonight. Progress had been made. She’d opened up to me more in the last few days and I wanted to keep that going. I wanted her to trust me, trust in my feelings for her.

  “All set.” Ginger reached behind the door, and the porch light came on. “So, where are we going?” she asked after she locked her front door.

  “The Last Laugh.”

  “What’s that?”

  I opened her car door. “It’s a comedy club, lounge type of place. They have open mic night on Saturday. Hopefully, they’ll have some funny people tonight.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  I ran my finger along her jawline. I wanted to kiss her. The moment she’d opened the door, I’d wanted to kiss her, but I wasn’t sure I trusted myself.

  “Buckle up.” I stepped away and shut her door. “Best behavior, Malcolm,” I reminded myself as I walked around to the driver’s side.

  “Were you just talking to yourself?” she asked with a laugh.

  “What? No. Maybe.” We laughed as I cranked up my truck. “You have control of the radio.”

  Ginger started pressing buttons on the touch screen console, trying to find a station she liked. “What did you say?”

  I cast a side glance at her. “I didn’t say anything.”

  “When you were talking to yourself. What did you say?”

  I gave a short laugh. “I was reminding myself to be on my best behavior.”

  “Why would you need to do that?”

  I looked over at her, and let my gaze traveled down to her legs. I reached for her hand, and brought it to my lips as I returned my eyes to the road. “Because I have a dirty mind, and a very active imagination.”

  “Oh.”

  “You asked.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her nod.

  “What if I rather have your normal behavior? I don’t want you to treat me differently, Mal.”

  I thought about how to respond
. Things were different, she was different, so it was inevitable that how I treated her would change. “I get that, but you can’t expect me not to take a different approach.”

  “Mal—”

  “Let me finish. You’re not just Macy’s friend any more, Ginger. You’re my girlfriend. I now can act on all those dirty things that run through my head about you. Mostly.”

  “Why ‘mostly?’”

  I looked over and smiled. “Not sure on your flexibility yet.”

  Her face filled with color as she quickly turned to look out the window. After a few minutes, she turned back to me. “Is that the only reason?”

  Reaching over, I held her hand. I didn’t want to lie to her, but I also didn’t want to get into a heavy conversation right now. Tonight was about having fun and getting to know each other again. “Ginger, if you want to talk about this right now, we can. My vote, however, would be to wait. I want us to have a good time tonight, and if we head down this path, you could get upset.”

  She bit down on her lip, dropping her gaze to our joined hands and nodded. “Okay. I don’t want to ruin tonight.”

  I gave her hand a light squeeze. “Don’t say stuff like that. You aren’t ruining anything. Got that?”

  She smiled and nodded again.

  The rest of the car ride we talked about safer topics, other than when she informed me Macy had picked up on the fact we’d slept together. That didn’t bother me nearly as much as finding out that Ginger had told Macy about her panic attacks. Or rather the reason why she’d told Macy. Ginger had kept her attacks a guarded secret for so long, so I wasn’t entirely comfortable with her sharing that information as a way to get my sister off my back.

  However, it was Ginger’s secret to tell, to whomever, and whenever she saw fit. Voicing my thoughts otherwise served no purpose, therefore I kept my feelings to myself.

  I pulled up to the valet station when we arrived at Last Laugh. I unclipped the car keys from the rest on the ring and handed them to the young guy who had opened Ginger’s door.

  I held my hand out for her. “Let’s go have some fun.”

  The hostess led us over to one of the high back, curved booths. “Watch your step,” she warned, pointing to the raised platform it sat on. “Enjoy your evening.”