Rebound (31 page)

As we walked, Zipper yelled out, “Are
you okay, Perla?” I looked over. And nodded, ‘yes.’ I noted how
intensely Brady looked at me. The smug look on his face was a
definite mixture of lust and disgust. I wondered if Brady had
discussed me and Matt’s relationship with Brigit, a conversation
between lovers about his friend and his lover.

Matt sat down on the chair and pulled
me to sit on his lap. “Matt, I’m too heavy.” I whispered in his
ear. He looked back at me, silencing me with his stern gaze.
“Excuse me gentlemen. It seems Matt can’t bear for us to be more
than eight inches apart.” They all laughed and ribbed Matt for my
not-so-little joke.

“
So Perla. How has our boy
been treating you?” Asked Lark.

“
Oh, I heard you were the
‘boy’ in this group.” The men laughed and taunted Lark. I answered,
“He’s a great man, but I’m sure you know that.” Matt wrapped his
arms around my waist and I placed my hands over his hands, keeping
him there for security.

“
Yeah, but it’s only been
a couple of weeks for you. Try nineteen years of his crap.” He
grinned.

“
Hey, I’ve gotten you out
of a lot of trouble. You better say good things about me to my
girl.” His use of ‘my girl’ again didn’t bring the same excitement
as it did earlier today. I felt a little nauseas and feigned a
smile at the two friends whose eyes were squarely on me.

“
So Lark, you must hold a
lot of Matt’s secrets. Anything I should know?” I asked with humor
in my voice. Matt cleared his throat. Because he was behind me, I
didn’t see his facial expression, but I’m sure he gave him a stern
warning.

“
Matt’s an open book. What
you see is what you get, so no secrets. If I were to expose any of
his, then I’m revealing mine . . . and everyone else’s.” They all
chuckled, and I pretended to as well, but there was an ominous
feeling that coursed through my body and I tried not to shudder
from the chill.

“
Kent, I learned from Matt
that you travel quite a bit. How long will you be in
town?”

“
I actually fly out to
Miami in the morning. I’ve been spending most of my time there
because I’m working on a few projects.” I smiled and listened
intently.

“
Is that where you met
your date?” I asked.

“
Yeah. How did you know?”
He asked with surprise. I smiled.

“
She doesn’t look like a
typical Boston girl to me, more of a South Beach model. I didn’t
get to talk to her tonight, but she seems like a nice young lady.”
I lied.

“
Don’t be surprised if you
don’t see her again . . .” Matt started to say, at which time the
door to the private room opened, and the three missing supermodels
entered. “after tonight, that is.” I lightly slapped has hand. The
women glanced around the room to find their dates. Brigit looked at
me and gave me the most intense glare. I held her glare with an
indifferent face plastered on for greater effect.

“
Hey! Lay off. Not
everyone can be the committed type like you.” Kent said as he
winked at me. The women went to their respective partners. Brigit
walked toward Brady and put her arms all over him. I found it
interesting that he didn’t seem to reciprocate affection towards
her. When she went to give him a kiss on the lips, he moved his
head so that she caught him at the side of his mouth. I sensed that
there was friction between the two. It’s plausible that he didn’t
like to display affection publicly, or he was annoyed because she
was soused.

The men talked about their projects
and future plans. Lark and Kent traveled often and vacationed just
as much. The resentment swelled inside of me as I listened to these
very wealthy and accomplished men talk about travels and future
plans to travel to islands and countries that I would never get the
chance to experience. The women sat with bright eyes, eager to have
a taste for some of the high life that these men experience. From
what Matt said, I doubted these girls would get the chance to
travel to more than a couple of places before they’re dumped for
another sexy woman.

At some point the other couples
joined, pulling chairs from the dining table to enclose the gap. I
refused to look at Brady and Brigit. Zipper was the funniest of the
bunch telling a lot of stories about their youth and the mischief
that each got into. The funniest stories were pranks that they
played on each other, but all agreed that Matt was the best
prankster of all. I was surprised by that admission. In my opinion,
Matt seemed the most serious. When I first met him in his
examination room, he didn’t seem to have a jovial bone in his body.
With time I experienced his great sense of humor, but had no idea
he was such a prankster.

At some point Matt, whispered in my
ear, “Are you ready to head home?” I nodded, a ‘yes’. I was tired.
I was emotionally and physically spent. I just wanted to get into
bed and entwine myself with his body. He pushed my hips up to
standing, and he stood up right behind me.

“
Okay, men. I’m off. Some
of us have real jobs to go to in the morning. Thanks for the great
meal and the subpar company.” I splashed a brilliant smile, and
went to shake hands with everyone around the circle, extending my
farewells and ‘great meeting you’ to each of his friends. Lark gave
me a sly smile and looked me up from top to bottom and shook my
hand in goodbye. I waved to his date. I hugged Jenna and thanked
her for her graciousness. Zipper grabbed my hand and requested me
to “take care of him,” to which I agreed.

When I came to Brady, he stood up and
opened his arms into a hug. Despite my reservations, I obliged and
entered the void to hug him. He held me tight, my breasts crushed
by his muscular chest. I heard and felt him inhale my scent, “it
was nice seeing you, Perla.” I felt all the muscles on his chest,
arms flex, hands clutching as he held onto me, and I was repulsed.
I’m sure my full body was a cushier departure from his melons on a
stick girlfriend. I patted him hard like the boys do, eliminating
any signal of mutual sexual interest. I threw in a ‘me too’ to keep
it even more indifferent. I pulled away and extended a stiff hand
to Brigit whom remained seated, which she took limply. Kent stood
up as well and gave me a hug and said it was ‘nice to meet’ me. His
date sat on the arm of the chair and bid me a ‘goodbye’ wave with a
sheepish smile.

Matt took my hand and we walked out of
the room and into the main part of the restaurant. He said his
goodbyes to the staff. We retrieved our coats from the hostess.
Matt shook the manager’s hand and said his farewell. I smiled and
thanked him for a lovely meal. We walked, holding hands to the
parking ramp to retrieve his SUV. It was a brisk night. We’d spent
almost four hours indoors and it was nice to get some fresh
air.

“
Did you have a good
time?” He asked, hugging me close to him, kissing my
forehead.

“
I did. Your friends are
really nice and funny. I could see what you mean about Zipper. He’s
a very nice guy. No wonder you’re close to him. I liked Jenna too;
very friendly. She made me feel at ease.” I smiled up at him. We
arrived at his car and he opened for me before getting in on his
side. We made idle chit chat. I didn’t want to go into any major
discussions. It was too late to get in deep about where this
relationship was going brought about by Brigit’s words and
accusations, which swirled around in my head. “Are you okay to
drive?”

“
Yeah. I only do a two
drink maximum when I’m out with these guys. We’ve partied hard in
the past, and I didn’t like the aftereffects. Also you’re in the
car and I’ll do anything in my power to keep you safe.” He leaned
over and kissed me. My heartbeat quickened.

“
Well, you’re also tired,
so I can drive whenever you need me to. Or don’t you trust me?” I
gave him a sly smile.

“
I have no point of
reference for your driving skills, but I do trust you.” He squeezed
my knee. He pulled out of the parking space and drove toward his
apartment. When he was on the road to his place, he continued the
conversation, “I was wondering if you’re free on Saturday.” He
inquired.

“
Yeah. I have no plans. Do
you have something in mind?” I waited anxiously for his
response.

“
I thought I could take
you to meet my sister and her family. Stella invited me to dinner
at her place on Saturday. It’s your only day off and I’d like to
spend it with you too. I’m just concerned that it will be too much
too soon. I feel like I’d scare you off meeting some of my family
so soon after meeting my friends. You already seem a bit skittish
that I’m pushing too far too fast.”

I looked at him. “Matt, I told you. My
basis for relationships are books, magazines, and my friends
talking about their relationships. I enjoy what we have. However,
you must admit we’ve become inseparable and we know little of each
other. I didn’t even know that your sister’s name is Stella until
you just invited me.”

He thought about it before speaking.
“I’m sorry. I just feel like everything we do is so rushed. I
didn’t even know that I didn’t tell you about Stella. Her husband
is Craig. They’re both architects and work for the same company.
They have a little girl, Leona. She’s named after my mother, who is
also Leona. My father is Matthew, so I’m technically a junior.
Mathias is a family name on my mother’s side. My great grandfather
was named Mathias, but everyone has called me Matt, after my dad,
since I was born. My parents live in Florida for the winter. They
come back north in May before the Memorial Day weekend. We all go
up to our house in Maine where they stay for the Summer. You won’t
get to meet them until they come up and we’ll go to Maine and stay
at my cottage.” I was touched that he planned on my meeting his
parents and vacationing with him in Maine. “Is there anything else
you want to know.”

“
There’s a lot I’d like to
know, but time will allow for that.” I hope I emphasized “time”
enough for him to understand that I needed it and hoped we would
have it together. “My mother’s name was Marcella. My father’s name
is Patricio, but he likes being called Peto. My older sister is
Esmeralda, then there’s Rubi, and my brother Tomas. He died a
couple years after my mother.”

“
I’m sorry for your loss.”
He squeezed my hand.

“
Thank you.” I rubbed his
thumb gently. “My sisters aren’t married. They have boyfriends.
When I got divorced they started calling us the “Hermanas
Malditas”; the cursed sisters because we can’t make lasting love
happen. They thought it would make for a great telenovela. I
haven’t really stayed in touch recently. Each have children, whom I
adore. I think I told you that my sisters are older and left home
when I was a preteen, so we never had much of a sibling connection.
I pretty much felt like an only child.” He listened intently, and
it felt so comfortable to open up to him.

“
My brother Tomas, we
called him Tommy. Even though he ran the streets, was always there
for me. He was the best big brother any girl could have. He had
addiction issues, just like his biological mother. Our papa
couldn’t control him and he died from an overdose about nine years
ago when I was in college. He was the only sibling that attended
all my recitals and showcases until I quit dancing.” I took a
breath. “I’m rambling. I’m sorry. My ex-husband hated when I talked
so much in the car. He used to say that I’d make him more tired
than the drive. I talk too much when I’m tired.” I cleared my
throat and looked away.

“
I love listening to you,
and I appreciate your stories.” He looked over and squeezed my
hand. We spent the rest of the time in idle chit chat. When we
arrived at the building, we parked in the underground lot. Despite
being exhausted, we kissed while waiting for the
elevator.

At his apartment, we went through the
motions to get ready for bed. I put on my nightgown and slipped
into bed beside Matt. He was struggling to keep awake. He pulled me
close to his body and hugged me. “Can you spoon me?” He
asked.

“
Turn over.” He turned to
sleep on his right side. I wriggled beside him and snuggled in,
holding him close.

“
I love this nightgown,
but tomorrow you come to bed naked.” He said drowsily.

“
Goodnight, babe.” I
gently caressed his arm until I heard his heavy, sleeping breath. I
fell asleep soon after.

***

We spent Monday on the same high as we
have since getting together. We made love, went to work, ate a late
dinner, made love. I was apprehensive about telling him that I was
planning to go home on Tuesday. I woke up early and packed my bag,
placing it at the door. I hoped he would learn that this is my
signal that it’s time for me to go home. I made pancakes, eggs and
bacon. I brewed his favorite coffee blend, which woke him out of
his slumber. He walked to the counter rubbing his eye and
scratching his beard and neck.

“
Where’s my coffee,
woman?” I laughed as stood behind the counter.

“
Good morning, babe. I
made you some breakfast. Here’s your coffee, as you like
it.”

“
Is this consolation for
you leaving?” He took a sip from the mug that I set before
him.

“
Maybe?” I responded
meekly.

“
Why are you leaving?” A
tinge of disappointment was in his voice.