“Lex, nice game. I could see that second goal when you crossed midfield.”
“I figured. What the hell are you doing, Mal?”
“Favor for a friend,” he responded.
“I think I told him to stay the hell out of my business.”
Lu, sandwiched between the two men, shifted uncomfortably. Malcolm looked down at her as if he’d forgotten she was there. Grabbing her arm, he looked back at Lex.
“I’m going to see Dr. Knight home. Hopefully, we’ll talk soon,” Malcolm said, turning her back the way they had come.
“I’ll take her,” Lex said, surprising everyone.
“No, I brought her. I’ll take her home,” Malcolm said as he led her past Lex, whom she had avoided looking at thus far.
“Really, Mal, I want to take her.”
Again, Malcolm showed no reaction. Lu felt the tension between the two of them and knew that she needed to do something to stop the showdown. She had a vague image of each man grabbing an arm and pulling her in two different directions.
Lu took her first look. Lex leaned against the wall, one leg propped up so that his leg bent. Straight from the shower, although the way he sweated, it could have been sweat, his hair slicked back, he smelled of soap and anger. He had on a pair of faded, worn jeans, a T-shirt, and warm-up jacket. On his feet was a pair of slides that Lu had always associated with soccer players. She took him in but didn’t look at him.
“It’s OK, Mr. Helms. Lex will get me home,” she said.
“Don’t worry, Malcolm. I’m not going to let anything happen to my baby mama.” With that, he picked up his bag, reached for her arm, and led her away.
33
Seething and red with mortification, Lu followed Lex through the stadium and out into the night. Lex could feel the rage emitting from her pores, but he continued on, not stopping until he reached his car. Opening her door, he released her hand and tucked her safely inside. Walking around the back of the car, he opened the truck, placed his bag inside and lowered his forehead to lean against it. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he tried to get ahold of this incessant anger and pulsating jealousy that coursed through his veins. Looking up to Malcolm Helms and seeing Lu next to him had sent his exhilaration and adrenaline from the win spiraling into a vortex of emotion that he was unable to decipher. Thinking that he had everything tamped down, he closed the trunk and made his way to the driver’s seat.
He sat down and put the key in the ignition. As he placed it in drive, Lu reached over and slammed the gearshift into park.
“What the hell is wrong with you? How could you say that to me?” Lu’s face, flush with anger, bore into his.
“What? Calling you my baby mama?” He asked sarcastically.
“Yes!” she yelled.
“Isn’t that what you are?”
“I don’t appreciate you throwing colloquial phrases at me like that. For you to describe me as some typical cleat chaser who purposefully got pregnant degrades me and your daughter.” Her indignation reverberated through the car.
Lex laughed. “Oh, I’m so sorry that you are offended that I compared you to some average girl. Did I offend the super-brain Lu?”
Lu leaned over the console, right in his face. “I am so much more than that and you know it. You want to be mad at me for what happened, fine. You want to pretend like I don’t exist while you force me to move to a new country so you can have access to your daughter, fine. But don’t you dare insult me in front of a colleague or degrade me and my daughter. That I will not stand for. Do you understand me?”
Lex pushed forward, moving directly toward her face so they were mere inches apart. “You stole nine years from me. You denied me my daughter. You don’t get to make demands! Do you understand me?” He grabbed her around her arms and gently pushed her back into her seat. Reaching around her, he pulled the seat belt over and buckled her in. Throwing the car into drive, he pulled out of the lot and headed toward her house.
“Who’s with Nina?” he asked, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.
“Mrs. Auberly,” she mumbled as she looked out the car window, opposite his direction.
Shit swirled through Lex’s mind. The issues bombarded him, and he had a hard time trying to figure out what to tackle first. This had been his burden since his father’s funeral. He had no idea which problem needed his attention first. Right now, the problem he’d refused to deal with for eight months, the biggest issue, continued to pop up on his radar every moment of the last week. It was as if the dam of resentment and anger he’d built with the sticks of disappointment and hurt were cracking under the barrage that was Lu’s presence. The why behind his refusal to talk to her was no mystery. Confronted with her again, he knew he couldn’t continue to ignore her.