Center Courtship (31 page)

“Like I deserve?”

“Women deserve to be treated like princesses. He couldn't do that?”

“I don't know. I wasn't with him long enough to find out.”

“So this guy who seems perfect in just about every way. You gave up on him just like that?”

“It sounds like it, doesn't it?”

“And this jackass who made you break up with him? He has what kind of power over you?”

“He's hated me since day one. He's in charge of Els…” I didn't want to say Elsu's name. “My ex making money for everyone.”

“He makes money for everyone? What kind of world is that?”

“He has…teammates. He's apparently one of the more important ones.”

“Ahhh…I think I understand.”

My meal arrived and I ate. When I finished my meal I looked over and noticed the man had left without my noticing.
“Ma'am,” said the waitress as she came to check on me. “That man paid for your meal.”

I sighed but smiled. I left her a tip worth about what I would have paid for my meal and got up to leave. As I opened the door, to exit the building, the door was grabbed on the outside and I stood face-to-face with Carl, Millard and Elsu.

“Mae!” Elsu followed me to my truck. “Stop!”

“Elsu, I can't be seen with you. Please, just go eat your breakfast. Or brunch.”

“I can't eat, Mae. My stomach is in knots.”

“So is mine, but this is the way it has to be. You had to know I was here. Little José is hard to miss.”

“Yeah, I knew you were here. That's why I came here. I need to talk to you. Carl needs to talk to you.”

“Carl? I want nothing to say to him! It's his fault…” I covered my mouth.

“What's his fault?”

“You need to ask him. But why does he need to talk to me?”

“He has some things he wants to discuss with you.”

“I can only imagine what he has to talk to me about.” He placed his hand on my arm and I flinched. The dang bruises.

Elsu looked at my coat-covered arms and bit his lip. “Please, come in.”

I regretfully followed him back into the restaurant and found Millard and Carl sitting at the same table I had just left.

Millard stood to move to the other side of the table but I sat down next to Carl before he had a chance to make the switch. “You can sit with Elsu, ma'am,” said Millard.

“I'm not allowed to sit next to Elsu,” I said flatly.

“Who told you that?” asked Carl feigning innocence.

I glared at him and sat back to stare at him further. “Really?”

“What's going on?” asked Elsu finally.

“Elsu, baby…” said Carl in an awful tone. “Why did you drag poor Mae back in here? You two broke up, seeing her has to hurt.”

“No, seeing her doesn't hurt.
Not
seeing her is what hurts.” My heart melted.

Carl's phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket.

“Hello?”

“…really?”

“…when was this?”

“…a little while ago?”

“…I don't know, it could have been,” Carl looked at me with a scowl.

“…is she?”

“…actually she's here with us now, sir.”

The three of us not privy to the call looked at him oddly.

“…but sir,” he started spinning his packet of silverware.

“…it's not a good idea, sir. I've seen this before, sir.”

He ripped the sticky piece of paper off the napkin that covered the cutlery and started picking at the napkin.

“…yes sir, I did.”

Carl soon had a pile of shredded napkin sitting in front of him.

“…but sir, the game.”

Since the napkin could no longer be disfigured, Carl began removing the label from the bottle of ketchup.

“…are you sure? Like I said, I've seen this kind of thing before, sir. I've got a hist…”

He picked up the knife and started scraping his fingernail down the serrated edge.

“…no sir, right away sir, my apologies sir, I'll do my best. Goodbye sir.”

“What the hell was that about?” asked Elsu.

“I'll be right back,” said Carl as he stood and left the restaurant in a huff.

The waitress came to take our order and she did a double take when she saw I had returned. “You're back.”

“I'm not eating, just talking.”

“I'll get you another coffee,” she smiled and took Elsu and Millard's drink orders before walking away.

“Mae,” stormed Carl as he returned to our table with a briefcase in his hand. “That was my boss, apparently you had a conversation with him.”

“I did? When?”

“Here, in the restaurant.”

“I did? OH! I didn't even know who I was talking to!”

“Well apparently he figured out enough from your discussion to know who
you
were.”

“How did you talk to someone without knowing who you were talking to?” asked Elsu.

I pointed to the foliage that sat next to Carl. “He was sitting on the other side of the hedge there. He overheard me talking to my phone while I listened to my voicemails. I guess I said more than I realized.”

“Really?” asked Carl angrily. “Well now I'm supposed to get you two back together, pronto.”

“Really now?” I asked him.

“So you are the one responsible for me losing sleep last night?” asked Elsu.

“Way to protect the team captain,” I said to Carl.

“The fact that you did it is what is wrong with this picture,” said Carl. “She was willing to break up with you because I suggested it.”

“You didn't SUGGEST it, Carl. You threatened my friends if I didn't!”

“YOU WHAT?” yelled Elsu who didn't even care that the restaurant was staring at him now.

“I did NOT threaten your friends!”

“The pictures, Carl. The video, Carl. Tell Elsu what you told me yesterday!”

“He came to you yesterday?” asked Elsu.

“After you left, yep.”

“What pictures, Mae? You're just making this up.”

“Seriously? You think I don't have the pictures?”

“I took the pictures back, Mae,” he smacked himself in the forehead for giving himself away. “I mean…”

“Shut up, you weasel.” I reached into my purse and pulled out the pictures and showed them to Elsu.

“Apparently, Casper's championship ring was stolen the night of the party. Carl said it was Aaron and Greg. He has video of them exchanging something. If I didn't leave you, he was going to file charges so all three of us would look bad.”

“He didn't lose the ring,” said Elsu angrily. “He…Wait, you told Mae WHAT?” he yelled at Carl.

“She's making all of this up, Elsu…doll.”

“Shut the fuck up, NOW! I've already told you to mind your place in this team. You are here for PR. How will it look when the public finds out you screwed with us?”

“How are they going to react when they find out you gave up Saraya for
this
!” he looked at me like I was a pile of trash.

“
This?”
Elsu stood and Millard quickly got between him and Carl.

“Sir, please…”

“I had to go get her contract, once she signs it, I'll leave.”

“My what?” I asked.

Elsu sat back down and Carl exhaled. “Contract. You're going to be a basketball star's girlfriend. There's a contract.”

“Contract for what?”

He reached into the briefcase he had retrieved from the car and pulled out some papers. “As the girlfriend of a team member, there are certain standards one should strive for.”

“Wait, you were trying to get me to break up with Elsu and you already had these contracts ready to go?”

“I honestly didn't think you'd do it, Mae. I had a feeling it was going to come to this.”

“Saraya never had to sign a contract,” said Elsu stiffly.

“She was never seen giving oral to a piece of asparagus either, now was she?”

Millard chuckled. We all looked at him. “Sorry.”

“What does the contract say?” I pulled the top one to me. It seemed official enough, team letterhead and everything. Some lawyer's name in big print underneath.

“Hold on a second,” said Elsu as he took the pages and held them out of my reach. “What are
you
saying by looking at them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are we back together?”

“Oh, I don't know, are we? I mean, I'd like to be, if you'll forgive me,” I said quietly.

Elsu stood up and came to my side of the table where he held out his hand to me. I stood and he wrapped me in his arms. I'd never wanted a hug so badly.

“Carl,” said Elsu. “Please switch me seats.”

Carl grumbled but stood and went to sit beside Millard. Elsu sat and I looked at him as I still stood. “I'm sorry,” I said.

“You're not the one who needs to apologize,” he looked to Carl.

“Fine, I'm
sorry.
”

I didn't believe him, but didn't care, either. I had my man back and I was starting to be happy again. I sat down and Elsu held my hand as Carl scooted the paperwork back toward me.

The waitress brought the men their meals and I looked at the papers. “What the heck?”

“The first one is a list of do's-and-don't's that you need to follow. If you care about Elsu, this is what needs to be done. This list outlines behavior, fashion choices, cars you drive, food you eat, physical appearance, et cetera. The other paper is a list of restaurants and stores you should avoid.” All of my favorites were listed.

“I can't go to Walmart? McDonalds? What the hell?”

“Carl,” said Elsu as he pushed the papers across the table. “I'm not having her do any of this. I'm attracted to her as she is. What you see in front of you is what made me want to start seeing her. Not what you think she should be. No one is changing her.”

“These aren't my rules, Elsu. These are pretty common across the board.”

“Screw the board, she's not doing this.” He picked the papers up and tore them into pieces. “I mean, unless you
want
to.” I shook my head and smiled at him.

“Where's my seat?” I heard a familiar voice from behind us. I turned to see Saraya standing with spiked heels, fishnet stockings and a leopard print skin-tight dress. Her phone was still in her hand. She looked at me and cracked her gum. “What are
you
doing here?” she asked as she signaled a waitress to help her get a chair from the table next to us.
So incapable.

“I could ask you the same thing,” said Elsu. His voice was harsh. I felt his warm arm wrap around my waist.

“I have your schedule on my phone, sweetheart. I had to text Carl to find out where you were since you won't reply to my messages.” She looked at the chair that was now sitting at the
end of the table and then to me. “Can I please sit beside my boyfriend?”

“Ummm,” I looked to Elsu and then back.

“Move!” She took my arm and jerked me roughly to stand and sat down in my chair.

“Saraya, I am done repeating myself to you. We. Are. Done. Keep your hands off of her!”

“I know you don't mean that, sweetheart. We're not done until I say we're done.” She leaned toward him and gave him a one-sided kiss on the mouth.

The vision of her lips on his made me fume. I wanted to pull her hair or claw her face or punch her in the throat or remove her limbs from her body.

Elsu pushed her away and stood up, taking his chair and moving it so it was between me and Carl, leaving Saraya alone on her side of the table. “Why did you think you should be here? You've never been to one of these before.”

“I could never make your meetings before. I had it in my phone and I'm in town for the game anyway, so here I am. I never got a text saying it was canceled.” She picked up my glass of iced tea, sniffed it and made a face. She then placed it on the empty table behind her.
How does someone act like that and think it's normal behavior?

“You don't need to go to the game, Saraya. We. Are. Done.”

“Well, you owe me the money for my clothes that were lost in the fire,” she said as she continued to chew obnoxiously and began examining her fingernails.

Elsu stood up and retrieved my tea from the neighboring table and placed it in front of me. “
I
bought those for you, Saraya. I don't owe you anything.”

“They were mine, so I should get their monetary value.”

“That's not how it works,” said Elsu, his hand went to my leg and I felt a squeeze of frustration on my thigh. I covered his hand and squeezed him back.

“Then you need to replace them. I
will
get my lawyer.”

“For what? You never took possession of them, you never wore them, they still had tags on, for crying out loud! Saraya, give it up! Go back to your boyfriends.”

“
You're
my boyfriend, Elsu. I miss you.” She leaned forward and stared at him. I wanted to slap the smug look right off her face. “You can't tell me you haven't thought about me since Thursday.”

“You're right, I can't say I haven't thought of you. I've thought ‘why didn't I do this sooner?'” He wrapped his arm around me and Saraya's eyes were like lasers to my shoulder as she eyed his hand.

“It's a good thing those clothes didn't survive, they wouldn't have fit
her
anyway. I didn't know you were into fat chicks.”

Millard stood immediately and walked to stand between Saraya and I. I think he saw my hand ball into a fist. I so badly wanted to knock those white teeth out of that perfect mouth of hers. “Don't worry, I wouldn't have worn them anyway, I prefer not to dress like a hussy.”

“What did she say to me?” yelled Saraya to Elsu. “You're not going to defend me?”

“You need to leave right now,” said Elsu through gritted teeth. “Because I have a feeling she's just getting started.”