Indebted:Part 1(8)

I grab my time card, and Brianna pops up beside me, phone in hand. "Oh  my god, you made the news Kendra! Can you believe it? Tell me  everything. You got to ride in a helicopter, are you kidding me? Why  didn't you call me? Did you stay the night? Tell me, tell me!" She's so  giddy I want to smack her.



I glance at the news article she has open on her phone. Sure enough,  there's a picture of me walking arm-in-arm with prince charming himself,  the helicopter sitting in the background like a movie prop. More like I  was the prop. I grab her phone and skim the article, apparently the  charity event was for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I feel like I've  been kicked in the gut. Ever since mama died from her heart attack, that  foundation has been important to me. I make a donation every year,  despite the fact that I'm scraping by. I remember all the peacocking and  self-congratulatory speeches from the night before. After hours of  sitting there, I still hadn't heard a single word about what charity the  fundraiser was for. My mood flashes back to darkness. Leave it to a  bunch of rich people to turn a charity event that should mean something  into an infomercial about themselves.



"Well? Are you gonna leave me hanging here?" Brianna interrupts my  thoughts. "I want details. Don't leave anything out. Were there any  celebrities?"



"No, and I don't really want to talk about it." Matthew's mocking smile flashes in my mind, and my eyes brim back up with tears.



"Hey, what happened?" She touches my arm. "Are you ok?"



I nod and head out to the dining area. We grab some rags and spray  bottles and head out to the booths to wipe down all the tables before  the dinner rush comes in. It also gives us a chance to talk without the  curious ears of prep cooks listening in.



"Spill it."



"It just wasn't fun. It started out ok, but then we ran into his ex, and she's straight up bat-shit."



"Really? Did she talk to you?"



"Yeah, she kinda threatened me actually. Like I said, she's off her meds  or something. And the speeches these people sit through, oh my god, I  thought I was an expert in sitting through boring lectures after so much  college, but this was ridiculous. They just talk, so people will look  at them, but they don't say anything."



"Ok, that sucks, but what happened with you and Matthew? Stop holding back."         

     



 



"At first, he was so great. He looked like a movie star, and he handled his ex pretty good. Then we started making out."



"Now we're talking!" Brianna stops pretending to work and focuses on me.



"I just didn't want to keep going. I know I don't mean anything to him,  and that's not how I want my first time going down. Anyway, he's just  like the rest of those rich assholes. He thought he was entitled to  everything, just because he has money and then he pretty much laughed in  my face when I told him I'm a virgin."



"Ugh, what a dick. I'm sorry it ended like that, hon."



"Sounds like he needs some sense slapped into him," a baritone voice rumbles behind us.



We both jump around at the unexpected intrusion on our conversation.  It's him! Matthew is holding a bouquet of white lilies looking sheepish.  I don't move, his eyes have me locked in place, plus I don't trust my  knees right now. Damn, I hate that he has this effect on me.



"What are you doing here?"



"Kendra, I was very rude last night."



"You can say that again."



"I was a dick. I wanted to show you how sorry I am." He holds the  flowers out to me, and I clutch them gently. No one has ever brought me  flowers before. I guess it comes with never having had any boyfriends.  Where am I supposed to put these anyway? In the kitchen? This is exactly  the sort of impractical thinking that shows how different our lives  are.



"Well, you said it, so thanks for the flowers," I answer curtly. I don't  have any intention of letting this guy hurt me twice in only twelve  hours.



Matthew rubs the back of his neck. "Let me make it up to you, please? We  started off on the wrong foot. Marjorie has a way of bringing out my  nasty side, I'm afraid. It's one of the many reasons we aren't together  anymore."



I realize that Brianna is still standing beside us, watching us like  characters on her TV. Why doesn't she just get herself a bowl of  popcorn? Matthew and I both look at her, and she obliviously stares back  at us waiting for us to continue. "Brianna, come on." I urge her to  give us some privacy. I mean I love the girl like my sister, but she  needs some boundaries. She sighs exaggeratedly and oh-so-slowly puts  some distance between herself and us.



Turning my attention back to Matthew, I find my voice. "Look, you can't  blame your behavior on Marjorie. No matter how terrible she is, it's no  excuse."



"Well, she is that," he murmurs.



"Thank you for the flowers and the apology. I really need to get back to work now."



"I want to take you out. I can't stop thinking about you, and I know I  don't deserve anymore of your time, but I can promise you that if you  let me take you out we can really get to know each other. The guy you  saw last night isn't the full picture, Kendra, and there's something  about you that makes me want to share more."



"Awww, Kendra! Do it!" Brianna interrupts from the 12-foot gap she's  inched between us. I give her the look, and she backs off a bit more.



I want to get to know more. However, I don't have time for games, and I  can't help but feel that he's playing me for a fool. I shouldn't go out  with him after he disrespected me, but the idea of refusing him hurts  more than that. "Ok," I finally concede. Matthew smiles broadly.



"Yay!" Brianna squeals from 15-feet away. Seriously?



"I'm going to be in the city for a bit. Can I take you out tonight?"



Tonight? I need time to get ready, and I still have schoolwork. I can't  do it. "No, I'm sorry that's impossible." I watch clouds roll in over  his brilliant blue eyes. "I can do tomorrow though," I offer.



"Tomorrow it is. Are you free in the afternoon?"



"Uh, yeah, I guess so."



"Great. I'll pick you up at 3 o'clock then." He smiles and leans in  before I can even think and gives me a quick kiss before walking away so  fast that it's almost like he evaporates into the air.         

     



 



"Oh my god, you kissed Matthew fucking Blackwell!" Kendra yells loud enough that I'm sure everyone in the kitchen heard her.



"Shhh. Jeez, Brianna, cool it."



"Oh listen to you, Miss calm, cool and collected over here. Tell me you  aren't just a fucking puddle right now. Oh my god, he's so hot." She  isn't wrong, I'm melting from his brief touch. "So, tell me what  happened? Where are you going? This is so exciting!" She jumps from foot  to foot.



Honestly, I'm not really sure what's going to happen, but I can't wait to find out.





  Chapter 5: The Date



Who goes on a date at 3 o'clock in the afternoon? Children who go on  playdates and seniors who don't want to be late for their 4 o'clock  supper. I can't imagine what he has planned for us, but as long as we  don't run into Marjorie it's bound to be better than our last date. The  photograph of them on his mantle flashes in my mind. I'm not sure I  totally buy his reason for keeping it up on display like that. As much  as I don't like her, I can see how she would get mixed signals from  that. I can see why she can't get over him, there's something about him  that sucks me in like a black hole.



I've never cared about any man like this, and I don't think that's only  because of my lack of experience. It's more than that. Matthew's gaze  makes me feel like the eye of a hurricane, perfectly calm in the center  of mind-bending chaos. I only hope falling for him doesn't turn out to  be just as damaging.



I had such a hard time figuring out what to wear on this date. Telling  me he'll pick me up at 3 o'clock doesn't give me a lot of information  about what to wear. In the end, I went with a sweet, teal blouse and my  slim cut black capri dress pants with sandals. I figure there's little  chance that we're going anywhere too stately at this time of day. I grab  my purse and a light sweater out of the messy front closet when Janelle  comes stumbling down toward the bathroom. Even at this hour, she's  still wearing her fuchsia, plaid pajama pants, and a stained, gray  t-shirt. Her hair looks like a chia pet all strewn in every direction  like it's defying gravity just for spite. She stops cold, scratching her  thigh and checks me out.



"Going on a job interview or something?"



"No, why?"



"I dunno, you don't usually wear make-up and shit."



"I have a date." I smile as the words cross my lips. I like the way they sound.



"You? Seriously? Crazy." She keeps stumbling on her journey to the  bathroom. It's one of the longer conversations that we've had as  roommates.