Cruel & Beautiful

by A. M. Hargrove

  “Don’t be. I’m sorry I slept so late.”

  He starts pulling things out of the cabinets. “Would you like some eggs?”

  “You know, bacon and toast would be great. And some coffee, please.”

  After passing me a mug of java, he pops some bread in the toaster. When it’s done he butters it and asks me if I want jelly on it. I decline. Then he hands me a plate with the toast and a pile of bacon on it. I sip my coffee and delight in my toast and bacon.

  “I wish bacon was a healthy food option,” I say, biting into a piece of the stuff.

  “That would be nice, right?”

  “It’s the best.” I polish my plate clean and stick it in the dishwasher when I’m finished.

  “Oh, you have an appointment today at one. Is that okay?”

  My brow furrows because I’m lost. What kind of an appointment?

  “Remember? Birth control?”

  “Oh, damn. Face palm. I forgot. Yes, that’s great. Thanks for pulling the strings for me. Do you know who I’ll be seeing?”

  “Not really. She’s a friend of a friend.”

  “Nice. So, what’s our agenda today?”

  “Other than your appointment and the game, we’re open. Anything you want to do?”

  I waggle my brows and he chuckles.

  “Yeah, why don’t we wait for round two until after your appointment? They’ll most likely do a gynecological exam on you.”

  Oh. This is weird. It’s not something I would normally discuss with my date, or with a guy for that matter. My cheeks heat up.

  “Cate, I know you feel awkward about this, but you don’t have to. It’s not something I … I guess what I’m trying to say is dealing with this type of thing isn’t uncomfortable for me so I don’t want you to be uneasy about it. I know I take this all for granted and it may be asking a bit too much of you.”

  Damned right it is. This is freaking weird. Can I stick my head under the sofa right now?

  “I can tell I’m making matters worse. I’ll just shut up.”

  Good idea. “I think I’ll shower,” I say. So I can wash all remaining traces and evidence of you away now. Jeez. Why did I consent to this? What the hell was I thinking? Ok, Forbes, get it together. This is a hell of a lot better than a baby, right?

  When I turn to walk to the bathroom, a pair of arms snatches me and I find I’m caught against what feels like a concrete wall. Drew’s head drops down next to my ear, and he murmurs, “Please don’t be shy about this. It’s all normal stuff. Your body is beautiful to me, all the tiny pieces of it.” Then he nuzzles me with his nose before releasing me. He’s right. This is silly. He’s seen all the tiny pieces of me, too. There isn’t any reason for me to be shy now.

  Turning in his arms, I loop my hands behind his neck and smile. “It’s going to take some getting used to is all. I’ve never openly discussed this stuff.”

  “I get it. Now go shower and we’ll figure out what to do today.”

  While I shower, I decide I want to see Drew’s hospital. I’m interested in what he does every day. So he gives me a tour and then he takes me to the clinic early so he can show me around because he sees patients here, too. “You really like it here, at this hospital and all, don’t you?” I ask.

  “Yeah, it’s worked out great for me.”

  “And you never considered going back to Charleston for school or residency?”

  “You know, I did for a time. But then I had an awesome relationship with my professors in med school here and everything was sort of set up for me, so I thought why ruin a great thing?”

  Mulling this over I have to ask him. “So how will this work for your fellowship? You say you want to do oncology, right?”

  “Exactly. Maybe then I’ll go back to Charleston. They have a great oncology program and then it might be time to spread my wings. With oncology nowadays, all the major cancer centers are linked one way or another so it’s not like it used to be.”

  “That makes it better for greater opportunity then.”

  “Yes!” he answers.

  By now, we’re getting close to my appointment time so I suggest we head to that department. When I’m finished, Drew is waiting for me.

  “How’d it go?”

  “Great. I have a prescription for the pill. The doctor said it was the best option for me. Can you drop me by a pharmacy where I can also get refills back at school?”

  “Sure.”

  He takes me to one of those chain pharmacies and as soon as we verify it won’t be a problem, I get my birth control.

  We leave and on the way to the car, Drew pulls me into his side. “So, when can you start on these?”

  “I’m supposed to wait until after my next period.”

  “When’s that due?”

  “This week.”

  I am awarded with a beaming smile that makes me melt. Right then, my stomach growls.

  “Hmm. Someone’s hungry.”

  Damn stomach. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Let’s eat. I’ll need some food and we won’t eat dinner until after the game.”

  He takes me to a cute little pub downtown. The hostess seats us and makes doe eyes at Drew the whole time. During lunch, Drew’s phone rings, and when he checks it, he doesn’t answer. But he also doesn’t say who it is. I wonder why. I want to ask him but I don’t want to be nosy, either. Then our waitress keeps stopping by and the only way she could be any more obvious about her attraction toward him would be if she actually drooled at our table. I want to say something clever, but I don’t want him to think I’m jealous. It’s times like these I wish Jenna were in my hip pocket.

  He must finally notice that I’m sort of pouting because he asks, “Is all okay over there?”

  “Fine.” My clipped tone indicates otherwise.

  He sets his fork down and looks at me. “Did I do something, Cate? And don’t make me try to be one of those mind readers, please.”

  Shit, he’s right. I can’t very well blame him for the way others treat him. Smiling, I say, “No, I’m fine. Truly.”

  “You’re sure? Because a minute ago you looked like your beer had kerosene in it.”

  “I’m sure.”

  He lifts my hand and brushes his lips over my knuckles. It happens at exactly the time our mooning waitress shows up. She shoots me a dirty look and in turn, I fire off a smug one at her. Then I lay my hand over his and say loud enough so she can hear, “I think we should have dessert at home.”

  “Is there anything else I can get you or will a check be all?” the waitress asks as she glares at me.

  “Oh, I think we’re quite finished here,” I say sweetly. “Aren’t we, honey?”

  “Yeah.” Drew puts some cash on the table and he stands.

  “You aren’t going to wait for the check?”

  “This is more than enough. Let’s go!”

  Eyes as blue as the sky on a crisp fall day stare at me and he’s completely erased all of my insecurities about him with that single, encompassing look. A hand extends out to me and I take hold of it. It takes everything I have not to throw myself at him and kiss him.

  We walk arm in arm to his car and by the time we get home, my hand is in his pants and we act like two teenagers making out in the car. “Cate, I ah,” and that’s all he says before he sinks his hands in my hair and kisses me. We both pant and claw at each other and I think it’s me who suggests going inside.

  “Good idea.” He gets out and rushes to my door, where he helps me out as well. Then he all but drags me to the front door. I stop and think about a quote I read somewhere, sometime about it not being the journey but what you did along the way. And being with Drew reminds me of that. I want to remember every single second of the time we spend together because being with him is that fabulous. I want to inhale his touch, his embrace, his kiss, his beauty, every tiny thing about him. I want to engrave them into my brain so every minute detail is committed to memory, because one day, when I’m old and senile, I want to
be able to rely on those memories and pull them forth and with a smile, be happy they were all mine.

  His mouth is against mine when he asks, “Whatever put that satisfied look on your face?”

  “Thinking about you.”

  Without moving his mouth, he says, “Well, let me add to it then.”

  “Be mine and Louise’s guest.”

  He doesn’t refuse my offer.

  A couple of hours later, we sit in the parking lot of the ice rink. He turns to me and smiles, but then his face becomes serious. “Jesus, Cate, don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you’d give me the world with your body right here and now.”

  I wasn’t aware I was staring at him like that. But it’s true. I would do exactly what he said, without compunction or hesitation, if I could. And I never imagined any guy would ever make me feel like this. Whatever we have going on between us is getting deeper. On the one hand I love it, but on the other, it scares me to death.

  He must see that it frightens me because the next words out of his mouth soothe me. His voice is low when he breathes them. “Don’t. Don’t let it scare you away. You are the one person I want to explore. Let’s explore us, Cate. This is the real thing. I know it is.” His mouth crashes into mine, bruising it, and taking my breath away. He’s right. I can’t deny this—whatever it is between us and I can’t push him away, nor do I want to. This may be our one chance in a lifetime to find our own chunk of happiness.

  “I won’t let it scare me, Drew.”

  “Good. Now kiss me for good luck.”

  When we enter the ice rink, I instantly spy Caroline. She’s sitting in the same area we sat last time. She sees me, too, and waves. Drew tells me he’ll catch me after the game.

  “Cate, I’m so glad you’re here!” Caroline says, when I take the seat next to hers.

  “So am I. Do you think they’ll win?”

  “I hope so. Sam’s been talking about this game all week. I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

  I can’t help but laugh. Then I look up and see HockeyHo entering. “Oh my.” We both giggle.

  Caroline sucks in her breath and I raise my brows. “Would you look at that?”

  I cough to cover my bark of laughter. “What the hell? It’s getting close to Thanksgiving. Does she not realize we don’t live in Florida?”

  “Guess not,” Caroline sputters between giggles.

  HockeyHo is wearing a bikini top festooned in feathers.

  “Maybe she thought the shirt with Drew’s number on it wasn’t enough.” I’m just fascinated by her brazen behavior.

  “Oh, dear. Check out her hat.”

  She’s wearing one of those straw cowboy hats and on the front is pasted a sign that reads, “I’m in love with Drew McKnight.” Then on her ass she has written, “Drew’s #1 Fan.”

  “Have you seen her ass?”

  Caroline is doubled over. “She won’t give up. I give her credit for perseverance.”

  “Yeah, or just pure stupidity.”

  The guys take the ice and HockeyHo goes crazy. I can’t help but roll my eyes. Drew looks up at the stands and he appears to be quite mortified when he sees her. I give him a thumbs up. Sam punches him on the arm and the rest of the team starts giving him hell. Poor guy. I have to feel sorry for him. But dayam, that chick is a kook.

  During the game, HockeyHo plasters herself and her double D’s that threaten to pop out of her bikini top against the glass and it looks like she’s dry humping it. Where do people like this come from? I’m at a loss.

  Drew plays magnificently, and HockeyHo plays the part of the hooker cheerleader. Unfortunately, I’m so caught up in her, I miss one of Drew’s goals. Damn her! When the game finally ends, Caroline and I run down to where the team is and congratulate them. Drew leans over and kisses me. HockeyHo is not happy.

  Caroline and I wait near the entrance to the locker room, but HockeyHo sidles up to us. I’m not sure if she thinks she actually has a chance with Drew or not. It’s embarrassing to watch her. The guys funnel out of the locker room at last and when Drew spots her, he is reluctant to move. I make it easy on him and run into his arms.

  “Babe, that was awesome. Congrats on another win.” He lifts me up and kisses me, and not just a shorty either. When he releases me, I say in his ear, “Just keep talking to me all sexy-like, so she doesn’t get a chance to butt in.”

  His hand is in my hair, but HockyHo, having no couth, butts in anyway.

  “Hey Drew. How about let’s go out to celebrate?” HockeyHo is definitely slow on the uptake.

  “Huh? No, I’m going home with my girlfriend and we’re going to have sex.” Then he whispers to me, “Sorry, but I think it’s gonna take everything I’ve got to get rid of her.”

  “I don’t think a woman who dresses like that is ever going to take the hint.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  Then HockeyHo says, “Well, next time then,” and sashays out of there.

  We all can only stand and stare at her. What else can we say?

  Finally Sam asks if we’re headed to dinner and we all decide to grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant the team frequents. Some of them are already here when we arrive and Drew introduces me. It’s fun to watch the guys banter about the game. But I notice that Drew doesn’t hand it out as much as the others.

  Caroline and I sit together and I ask about it. “Do they always act like this?”

  “Oh, today isn’t as bad as usual. Most times they are like twelve-year-olds on the playground at school. It’s ridiculous. I give Sam a hard time about it. It’s nice to have another girl around, let me tell you.”

  “It must be the testosterone thing.”

  “Yeah, but consider yourself lucky. Drew is better than most of them. I think he’s much more modest. But the others—when they bring a date, oh god, it’s awful. You would think they were playing king of the mountain.”

  We share a good laugh.

  “It looks like you keep Sam in control, though.”

  “Oh, you better believe it. If he starts acting like one of them, I have to jerk a knot in his drawers really fast. Once, I went out of town to visit my family in Michigan, and when I came back, he had reverted to being a Neanderthal. It was ridiculous. He was in the doghouse for a week. I do not put up with that crap at all.”

  Drew pops over to us and asks, “What has you two laughing so hard?”

  “You guys and the way you act,” I say.

  “What’s wrong with it?”

  “It only reminds me of Mikey Farrell in elementary school.” Then I explain that Mikey was the class clown who was constantly getting sent to the principal’s office.

  The look on Drew’s face is priceless. Then it morphs into something completely different. His gaze becomes hot and smoky; he rips my chair away from the table, puts his hands on my sides, and lifts me out of my chair. “Does this remind you of Mikey Farrell?” And his lips crush mine in an intoxicating kiss. I’m so shocked by his actions, my mouth opens, and he takes advantage of the opportunity by sliding his tongue into the cavern of my mouth. In the background, the inevitable catcalls can be heard, but they barely register as I wind my arms around his neck.

  “Get a room!”

  “Take her home, bro!”

  “Do her! Do her!”

  He finally releases me and says, “We need to get out of here.”

  My head spins from his kiss and I can only nod. I glance to the left of his shoulder to see Caroline giving me the thumbs up.

  “My purse,” I say weakly.

  “Got it,” is his response.

  Giving Caroline a small wave goodbye, I let Drew lead me out of there. We’re half-naked by the time we get home and I’m glad we make it safely. That would be difficult to explain if we had gotten into a wreck. I need to ditch the underwear so these times in the car make it easier on us.

  ANOTHER PAIR OF EYES MEETS mine as I slide into the limo. I don’t h
ave a chance to ask or choose another seat as Ted sandwiches me in and closes the door.

  “Where should I drop you?” he asks.

  Flustered, I spout off my address, wondering how I can move from between Ted and the woman I remember packing up and leaving the first day I was at his office. She sits with her legs tucked beneath her. The black dress she wears blends into the interior of the car but it’s the sparkling studded choker she has on that draws my attention. I don’t remember seeing her at the party. And that piece of jewelry is so spectacular, I know I would have remembered.

  Ted informs the driver of my address by pushing a button on a console near his seat. When he turns back to me, his smile is warm and inviting.

  “The party a little too much for you?” he asks glancing down at my dress.

  I follow his eyes to my once immaculate white dress which now bears crease marks and looks slightly less perfect than when I put it on.

  “I’m just tired.” A part of me worries I smell of sex even though I don’t detect anything myself.

  The woman next to me has no notion of personal space. She crawls over my lap and presses her face to Ted’s. I’m so uncomfortable with half her body still suspended over mine that I try to push myself back into the leather seat.

  “Now, Pet,” he says, but I don’t glance in their direction. I’m sure my cheeks are super-heated much like the core of a nuclear reactor. “Sit over there and be a good girl.”

  Is he kidding? But no, she does exactly as he requests. Pulling back, she sits up before moving to the seat perpendicular to ours on all fours like a cat.

  “She’s not here to play?” the woman purrs.

  I feel Ted’s eyes on me but I refuse to look at either of them. I feel like I’m intruding on something that is totally out of my league.

  “We’re giving Cate here a ride. That’s it.”

  I can practically feel her pout by the little mewling sounds she makes. Dear god, is this the Twilight Zone? I don’t realize I’ve moved, putting more space between us until Ted asks, “Comfortable?”

  Chancing a glance at him, I nod. “Sorry, I probably should have taken a cab. I didn’t know you had company.”

  His lips slyly curl. “It’s really no trouble at all.” He winks, then adds, “I enjoyed dancing with you tonight.”