Society Girls: Matisse (5 page)

“I won’t lie to you. For
now, Waverly will come first to me. One day, maybe she won’t, but I
can’t promise that. I
can
promise to make you feel special and cared for
whenever we’re together.”

She takes over a minute to answer, and I’d
be lying if I said it didn’t scare me. Finally, she speaks and
gives me a little bit of hope. “I want to try.”

I do go to her then, pulling her into my
arms and kissing her lightly on the mouth. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I may not be able to do
this.”

“You’re willing to try, and I can’t ask for
more than that.”

“You realize this is all kind of surreal for
me, right? Two days ago, I was practically begging you to study
with me, and now you’re kissing me.”

“You’re my dream come true, literally. I
just needed a little bit of courage to let myself have you,” I tell
her, stepping back to look her up and down. When I get to her feet,
I can’t help but chuckle. “Were your shoes planning on biting
me?”

“No, but I might.”

I tilt my head to the side and pull down the
collar of my shirt. “Go ahead.”

“Who said anything about your neck,
Doc?”

I’m reaching for her when the alarm starts
going off, telling me there’s a medical emergency. “Dammit! I have
to go, Tees. It’s an emergency.”

“I know. Go! I’ll wait.”

“It could be hours,” I yell back to her.

“I’ll be here.”

I run down the hall, and stop short when I
see Tegan in Caleb’s arms as they exit the elevator. “She’s having
the baby, Kenny,” he tells me, panic in his voice.

“Put me down, Cal. I’m not going to fall
apart. I’ve done this before.”

“I know,” he says, holding her tighter. “I
wasn’t there last time, but I’m here now, and I want you in my
arms.”

“Carry her into the room,” I tell him,
motioning to the state of the art birthing room that wasn’t
necessary until the Society women started getting pregnant. Audrey
used it first, and after Tegan, Reina will be using it next. I
never thought I’d be performing births in this job, but then again,
nothing is what I expected when it comes to my job.

“Seriously, Cowboy, you have to put me down.
I can’t give birth in your arms.”

I nod to Caleb, and he lays her gently onto
the bed, kissing her forehead as he takes her hand. My nurses
surround her and start getting everything prepared as I ask her
what I need to know. Once we’ve determined that we have little
time, I get ready for my exam.

“Wait, we need Ethan! We can’t have the baby
without Ethan!”

“I’m not leaving you, Teeg,” Caleb
insists.

“I need my girls—they can’t go.”

“You want
me
to go?”

“Of course not. Someone has to get him,
though!”

I need them both to calm down, so I offer a
solution. “Matisse can go and get him. She’s in my office.” I turn
to one of the nurses. “Can you go and get her?”

“Why is Matisse in your office?” Tegan asks
me with a smirk on her face. Not even contractions can stop these
women from investigating.

“You’re about to have a baby.”

“Really? I had no clue, Kenny. Now answer
the damn question.”

“Matisse is in my office because we were
having a conversation when the alarm went off.”

“Did this conversation involve tongues and
mouths.”

“Yes. Those are both necessary for having a
conversation, Tegan.”

“Let me re-phrase. Were your tongues in each
other’s mouths?”

“No. We were interrupted,” Matisse says from
the door.

Is she seriously doing this now? I grab her
arm and pull her into the room next door. “Don’t do that here.”

“Do what?”

“Advertise what we do to my staff.”

“You sent one of
your
staff
to
collect me from your office. I don’t think she thought I was
waiting in there for a shot.”

“They know I’m tutoring you. Why couldn’t
you have just gone along with that for now?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says, seeming to
think about it before glaring at me. “Maybe because I didn’t think
I was some dirty secret, asshole.”

“You’re not. I just don’t like everyone
knowing our business.”

“And I don’t like hiding.”

This is not a conversation for right now,
and I have to get back in the other room. “Can you pick up
Ethan?”

“Excuse me?”

“Tegan needs Ethan here, and I said you’d
get him.”

“Anything else you’re offering me up for,
Kendrick?”

“I didn’t think you’d mind picking up her
son while she’s in labor.”

“I don’t. I’m happy to do it.”

“Then you should go.”

“Yeah, I really should.”

“That’s not what I meant. Do you have to
twist everything I say? Babies don’t adhere to schedules, so I
don’t know how much time you have to get Ethan.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“I can’t have this
discussion, or
any
discussion with you right now. We’ll talk later.”

I walk away before things escalate any
further. We’re both angry, and I don’t want to say things I’ll
regret later. I have a baby to deliver, and we’ll see what happens
after that.

* * *

Matisse

I slam my hands on the steering wheel at
every stoplight. I’m mad at Kendrick, but I’m also mad at myself
for potentially blowing things out of proportion. Tegan’s having a
baby, and the Doc and I aren’t even in a relationship yet. Maybe he
was just trying to keep things under wraps until we figured things
out. Or maybe he really did want to keep me hidden. Either way,
picking up Ethan’s more important than our fight.

One of Ainsley’s team texts me to let me
know she’s hacked the school’s system and added me to the approved
pick-up list, so I walk inside with a confident gait. The looks I
get from the school office staff make me feel less confident
inside, but I don’t let it show. Darcy’s only been training us for
a few months, but I’m proud of the fact I can hide my urge to gouge
their eyes out. So what if I have a Monroe piercing and some
tattoos? That doesn’t make me a bad person.

“Matisse?”

I turn and smile at Ethan. He’s the perfect
combination of Tegan and Caleb wrapped up in a teenage boy. “Hi, E.
Your mom’s having the baby.”

“No way! We have to go!”

I laugh as he pulls me outside and to my
car. He asks me all kinds of questions I have no answers for,
before finally giving up and checking his phone. When he lifts his
phone to take a pic of me driving, I glare at him. “What the hell
are you doing?”

“One of the guys saw you in the office, but
no one believed you were there for me. I needed proof.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. You’re hot, Matisse.”

“I’ll be sure to tell your mom you used me
to up your ‘cool factor’.”

“Um, you don’t have to do that. She’s having
a baby. She should only be thinking happy thoughts.”

“And you should be remembering how to treat
women. From what I’ve been told, you were raised better.”

“I’m sorry. I was raised
right, but something’s different now. I
feel
different.”

“It’s called hormones, and they pretty much
suck—both for girls and for guys. You’re going to act stupid, but
just try to remember that girls may pretend to like the ‘bad’ guy,
but the only guys worth their time are the ones who treat them
right.”

“I will, I promise. You won’t tell my mom I
was a jerk, right?”

“I think we can keep this time between us,
but don’t let me see it happen again.”

“You know, most of my guy friends are
jealous that I get to spend so much time around all you women, but
they have no idea. It’s like having a bunch of aunts who call you
on all your shit.”

“It probably is, but you can handle it.”

“Yeah, I can.”

As soon as we’re inside, Ethan runs for the
elevators, waiting impatiently for me to catch up so I can use my
eye scan to take us to the hospital wing downstairs. I don’t follow
him as he runs for his mom’s room, and I’m not sure if I should go
home or wait. I said I’d wait, but that was before Kendrick yelled
at me.

“Matisse, Kendrick asked me to order dinner
for you. Do you know what you want?” the nurse manning their
station asks me. I think her name is Liz.

“He did?”

“Yes. He said you’d be waiting for him in
his office, and he wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”

“We’re studying,” I blurt out, trying to
protect him, even though I’m still a little hurt by what happened
earlier.

“That’s not what he said.”

“It isn’t?”

“Nope. He said you were waiting for him
because he’s dating you.”

I try not to smile too wide, but I know I
fail. “Oh yeah. We are. Dating, I mean. I wasn’t sure if he’d told
anyone.”

“He told us all, and frankly, we’re really
happy about it. He needs someone fun, and it’s obvious to us all
that you care about him.”

“I do.”

“Good, now let’s call up for your food.”

Once the order’s placed, I retreat to his
office, and pull my tablet out of my purse. I have plenty of
studying to keep me busy while I wait. Most pressing right now,
besides science, is Librarian 101. Okay, it’s not really called
that, but Isa’s class is all about old-school research and critical
thinking. Looking down at my tablet in defeat, I realize it’s not
going to help me with this, but then I realize something that
will.

I stand up and get to the door just in time
for my meal to be delivered by another one of the nurses. “Oh,
thanks. Do you think I could eat it in the medical library?”

“Sure. We eat in there sometimes when
Kendrick has us studying up on something.”

“Great. When he’s done, can you let him know
where I am?”

“Of course. Enjoy your meal, and your
studying.”

I’ll definitely enjoy the
meal, but the studying—not so much. Failing
any
of these classes isn’t an option;
although, I wouldn’t want to fail even if it was. I like some
classes more than others, but I understand that they’re all
important, so I won’t ever half-ass one of them, no matter how
bored I am. Let the medical research begin.

Kendrick

“Here’s your girl,” I tell Tegan as the baby
slips into my hands.

The new mother slumps back against her
pillows and lets out a deep sigh. Sometimes second babies make a
fast appearance, but others like this one want to make their mommy
work a little harder. Tegan is covered in sweat, and will probably
pass out any minute. Caleb cuts the umbilical cord, and I expect
him to join us while we check his daughter out.

I’m wrong. When I look back to the bed, he’s
placing little kisses all over Tegan’s sweaty face and telling her
he loves her. She tries to reach up and touch his face, but her arm
drops. He picks it up and holds it in his own. That right there is
love in its most beautiful form—a man who loves his wife above all
else, and will make her feel cherished before checking on their
child. Children should always be important, but so should a spouse,
and it’s obvious that both of them know this.

I swaddle the little girl, and walk her over
to the bed. “She’s perfectly healthy,” I tell them.

“Thank you so much, Kenny. For
everything.”

“I won’t say it was my pleasure, but I’m
happy I could help you bring this little one into the world. Do you
have a name picked out for her?”

“Cynthia Stella Hall,” Tegan tells me.

“Very good. Her namesakes are outside, along
with everyone else. Shall I send them in first with Ethan?”

“Yes, please.”

I do as I’m asked, walking on weary legs to
my office. I’m not surprised to find it empty—it’s been six hours
since one of the nurses told us Ethan was here, and even longer
since I actually laid eyes on Matisse. Not to mention, we were
fighting at the time, and I pretty much dismissed her. Why would
she stay?

I grab my jacket and walk
to the elevator. “Kendrick, aren’t you forgetting something? Or
rather,
someone
?”
asks Liz, my head nurse.

“Matisse wasn’t in my office.”

“She’s studying in the library.”

I don’t even try to stop the smile that
stretches across my face. “Thanks, Liz. You’re the best.”

“I know,” she tells me with a laugh.

I force myself to walk, and not run, back
down the hall to the library. When I walk inside, I immediately
close and lock the door, turn off the cameras and audio recorders,
and dim the lights—all with my voice. I know she had to have heard
me, but Matisse doesn’t react. It’s not until I get closer to her
that I see the thin cords of her headphones. She’s listening to
music, but it’s not loud. Another interesting fact to file
away.

I don’t want to startle her, but if I don’t
get my hands and mouth on Matisse, I’m going to go insane. I’m
already halfway there as I watch her tilt her head to the side
while she chews on her pen. That shouldn’t be so sexy, but it is.
I’m still plotting my next move when her hand slips down between
her legs.

My mouth goes dry as I watch her open her
legs wider, her hand starting to move under her dress. Holy fuck!
She’s getting herself off in my medical library. She’s not getting
there alone, though. Not on my watch.

I move to her, pulling her headphones out,
and capturing her surprised squeal with my mouth. I lick into her
mouth as she moans. I can feel her hand moving faster, so I put one
of mine on her arm to stop her.

“Go away if you’re not going to help,” she
says, taking her mouth from mine with a frustrated sigh.