Fragile Hearts (7 page)

I can't believe I'm in the parking lot of
Bandy's Bar and learning the basics of hot kissing. Right now, I don't care if
all the patrons of the bar decide to exit. All I want to do is kiss Tyce. He's
a good teacher and I'm learning fast.

Suddenly, he breaks our contact and leans his
forehead against mine. "Oh, God, Morgan, we've got to get out of here. I
swear you're driving me crazy."

On the drive back to my dorm, no one says anything,
and I turn around once to see Lucy has a satisfied smirk on her face. When Tyce
pulls to the curb, she opens the back of the king cab and jumps out. With a
huge grin, she says, "Catch you two later." She winks at us.

Tyce doesn't move to open his door. I stare
straight ahead.

He says, "Morgan, there are things about me
you don't know."

I turn to stare at his profile.

His chest is heaving. Suddenly, he opens his
door and jumps out. He pulls my wheelchair out of the truck bed and then lifts
me into it. Neither of us talk and I wonder if he's sorry for kissing me. I
push the lever of my chair. I just want to disappear inside my room. Tyce is
behind me. When we reach the door, my hands are shaking so bad I can't find my keys
in my purse.

"Here, let me do that." Tyce lifts my
purse from my lap and shuffles through it until he locates the key chain.
Finally, he opens the door. Before I have a chance to roll inside, he crouches
in front of me. "I'm not coming in and I think you know why."

I suddenly feel brave and ask, "Why?"

He runs a hand through his hair and I stare at
the tat on is forearm. "God, Morgan. Things could happen between us."

"Is that bad?"

"No. Yes. Hell, you're an innocent and I've
been around the block a few times. And I've got things in my past you should
know, but, God help me, I can't tell you right now."

I reach my hand and stroke the stubble on his
jaw. He turns his head and kisses my palm.

"I'm not the man for you, Morgan. As much as
I want to be, I'm not." He kisses me lightly, not like the sensual kisses
in the parking lot. Suddenly, he stands. "I'll catch up with you
tomorrow." He waits for me to enter my room. As soon as I'm inside, he
closes the door.

The next day in class, Lucy's in my face.
"What happened last night after I left? Maybe I shouldn't ask, but the way
Tyce was kissing you in the parking lot…hell, anyone would want to know."

I had purposefully entered class late to put off
the inevitable questions from Lucy. The teacher begins talking and Lucy says
under her breath, "Crap."

A couple of times I glance over at Tina and both
times she's staring daggers at me. After class, I decide to hang around, even
if it makes me late for my next class. I don't want a confrontation with the
wicked bitch.

Lucy reads my mind. "Maybe she and her cronies
will be gone by the time we leave."

"Lucy, you need to go so you're not late to
your next class."

"Hell, girl. I'm not leaving you to the
likes of bitch woman. Besides, even if she wasn't a threat, I'm not about to
leave until you spill the beans about what happened after I left."

"You aren't going to leave this alone, are
you?"

"Does a bear poopoo in the woods? Hell no,
I'm not going to leave this alone. Did you go to bed with Tyce?"

"No!"

Lucy looks disappointed. "Wow. The way he
was kissing you, I figured you two would be doing the dirty within the
hour."

"Lucy!"

"What? You know I have a potty mouth. Don't
act so shocked."

I sigh with resignation. "We kissed in the
parking lot and then he took me home and basically said I was too good for him
and he didn't want to taint me."

"Whoa. Did you tell him you wanted to be
tainted?"

"Sort of. But it didn't do any good. He
left anyway."

"Hmm. I wonder what's holding him back when
he's obviously head-over-heels for you."

"Are you kidding, Lucy. I'm in a freakin'
wheelchair. I have a scarred face. I've never even been kissed before. I hate
being in public. My social skills are nonexistent. Shall I go on?"

Lucy frowns. "All minor inconveniences in
the face of true love."

I shake my head. "You're crazy."

"Maybe so..." her voice trails and
then she asks, "Are we still on for visiting Kaylee?"

"As far as I know."

Lucy glances around. "Most of the next
class has arrived. Guess we better head out."

In the hallway, Tina is leaning against a wall
talking to a guy who's almost drooling over her. Lucy stands between me and
Tina as we pass. I almost grin at her protectiveness. Just when I think we're
in the clear, bubble-head rushes to my other side.

"Hey, Morgan. It's too bad you left Bandy's
Bar so early. Things always start happening after eleven. Maybe you'll want to
join us next weekend."

I'm shocked at her invitation and apparently
Lucy is too, because she says, "Your sudden invitation doesn't have
anything to do with Tyce ditching you and your friends to spend time with
Morgan, does it?"

I can't believe Lucy's boldness.

Tina smiles sweetly. "Of course not. We
just want to extend our friendship to the handicapped girl."

Lucy makes a choking noise and takes a step
toward Tina. I grab her hand to stop her. I have the feeling she's about to rearrange
Tina's nose. I find my voice and I'm amazed at how calm I sound. "Thanks
for the invitation, but this
handicapped
girl has an aversion to
spending time with
airheads.
She's afraid their stupidity might be
contagious."

For a second, both Lucy and Tina stare at me
with blank expressions, and then Lucy starts laughing so hard her eyes water.
"Oh, that's good. That's really good. Contagious airheads—perfect analogy."

Tina leans over and whispers in my ear.
"Tyce needs a whole woman; you'll never satisfy him. Get my meaning?"

Lucy stops laughing and leans down, speaking in
Tina's ear. "Too late, vampire woman. Morgan's already taken him to heaven
and back. Get my meaning?"

Tina straightens and sends us both a look meant
to kill, and then hurries away.

I push my chair to the nearest bathroom and
enter. Lucy follows and asks, "Are you mad at me?"

I turn around and glare at her. "What do
you think! You just lied to Tina about something so…so…"

"Intimate?"

"Yes, intimate. She's going to be out to
get me now."

"Good."

"What? Why would you say that?"

Lucy grins. "Because you're awesome when you're
backed into a corner. Believe me; you're going to be the winner in this battle.
Contagious airhead? That was awesome!"

I'm still angry with Lucy, but I can't help but
grin. "It just rolled off my tongue."

I haven't seen Tyce all day and he and Lucy and
I are supposed to visit Kaylee. I'm skipping swim practice so I can see her. Lucy
shows up at my dorm at four and she asks if Tyce is coming.

"I have no idea. I think he's avoiding me
and I just know it's because of last night." I bite the inside of my cheek
because I want to cry.

I can see Lucy wants to say something to relieve
my anxiety, but she can't seem to find the words. She shrugs and says,
"Maybe."

There's a knock on my door. Lucy grins.
"And maybe not."

"Will you get it?" My voice is just
above a whisper.

"Sure, hon." Lucy opens the door and
gushes, "Hi Tyce. Good to see you. Where have you been all day?"

My heart is slamming my ribs.

"I had stuff to take care of."

Lucy replies, "Well, that sure clears
things up."

Tyce steps inside the room and our eyes meet.
I'm feeling something akin to electricity running through me. "Hi,
Tyce." My voice sounds breathless and I hate appearing so vulnerable.

He gives me a slow smile and I remember his lips
on mine. "Hi, Morgan. Sorry I'm a little late."

"Not a problem." Our small talk is
killing me. I think it's killing Lucy, too.

Lucy says, "Come on, you two. My ears can't
take anymore of this mind-bending conversation."

Tyce frowns at Lucy, but only says, "Should
we take my truck or do you want to walk?"

Lucy blurts, "Walk in this cold weather, no
way."

At Tyce's truck, I nudge Lucy to sit next to him
so she can act as a shield between us, but she ignores me and climbs into the
king cab.

Tyce interrupts my glare at Lucy by lifting me
onto the seat and I want to place my arms around his neck and touch my lips to
his again. I know he can feel my heart pounding, so I refuse to meet his gaze.
While he's putting my wheelchair in the truck bed, Lucy leans forward and says,
"You two are so hot you sizzle."

I refuse to answer or look at her. My body is still
going crazy at being so close to Tyce and I try to focus on being angry at
Lucy.

It only takes five minutes to reach Kaylee's
home. Tyce says, "I'll ring the intercom while you girls stay warm in the
truck." He quickly closes his door.

I'm still trying to be angry at Lucy. She laughs
and says, "You guys are so funny. You haven't even made it to first base
and look how you're acting. I can only imagine what a home run would do."

"I don't think it would be wise to even make
first base."

"Yeah, well the way things are going, that's
a distinct possibility."

Tyce opens the door and says in a concerned
tone, "Julie just informed me that Kaylee isn't doing well and the doctor
is with her now. She can't have visitors."

Gasping, I place my hand over my mouth.

Lucy says, "Oh, God, I hope she's going to
be okay."

Tyce climbs back into the truck and slams his
door. "Why does shit happen?"

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. He's
grinding his jaw and looking really angry. He jerks the key and starts the
ignition and then drives faster than usual back to my dorm. Without a word, he
brakes hard, jumps from the cab, retrieves my wheelchair, lifts me into it, and
follows me and Lucy to my dorm door. He says curtly, "Lucy, do you need a
ride home?"

"Ah, no, but thanks anyway."

He glances at me and says, "Goodbye,
Morgan," then turns and stalks back to his truck. His tires squeal as he
pulls from the curb.

Lucy and I stare at each other. Lucy says,
"I think he's got more on his mind than Kaylee."

Over the next couple of weeks, I see Tyce
several times, mostly while changing classes. He's polite, but standoffish. I'm
regretting what happened between us because I think it's ruined our friendship.
To keep from falling apart, I throw myself into swimming and weight lifting.

Whenever I see Tyce, I ask about Kaylee. He just
says she's sick, but stable. I tried calling her a few times, but her cell
phone just rang. I left messages that she never returned. I've been considering
going to her house and seeing if the nurse will let me in.

Now, as I leave swim practice, I'm surprised to
see Tyce leaning against the side of the gym building. My heart jumps and I get
goose bumps. Today, he doesn't look like he's carrying the weight of the world
on his shoulders.

He says, "Hi, Morgan. I thought you'd like
to hear the latest news about Kaylee."

From the tone of his voice and his smile, I know
it's going to be good news. He says, "A donor has been found."

"That's fantastic! When's the surgery? Will
we be able to visit Kaylee in the hospital?"

"I'm not sure to both questions."

"Well, I'll be spending Christmas break
with my parents, so if you find out anything, will you call my cell phone."

"Okay."

Tyce doesn't say anything else, so I ask,
"Hey, what are you doing during Christmas? Got any big plans?"

"No. Nothing."

He's not being very communicative and I can't
think of anything else to say. I'm about to bid him goodbye when he says,
"Morgan, I know I've been an ass for awhile, but there are things…anyway,
I'm sorry."

"Hey, friends overlook things. Would you
like to get together with me and Lucy and share a pizza tonight?"

He gives me a sad smile. "I'm afraid I'll
have to pass on that. I've got some heavy studying to do."

I'm hurt because I know he's trying to let me
down easy. "It's okay. I understand. Well, I guess I better get to my dorm.
See you around." I start to push the lever on my chair, but Tyce places
his hand over mine to stop me. He bends over me and his eyes capture mine. I'm
lost in the depths of a blue sea that goes on forever.

"Morgan, you are the sweetest girl I've
ever known, but the two of us as a couple would never work. I just want you to
know, though, that the reason it wouldn't work is because of me, not you. The
man who steals your heart will be the luckiest guy on earth." Slowly he
leans forward and kisses my forehead before quickly standing and walking away.

I watch him leave.
Too late, Tyce, you're
the one who's stolen my heart.

Lucy comes over for pizza and we watch
Casablanca
while pigging out. I tell her about Kaylee's good news and she's really happy
for the girl. I keep the bad news of Tyce basically dumping me to myself.

After the movie, we talk about school and
recount the encounter with Tina. Bitch girl has basically been ignoring us and
we're not completely sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Lucy reaches for the final piece of pizza.
"You want me to cut it in half?"

"Naw. You go for it. I'm going for more
Pepsi, though. You want a refill?"

"Yeah. Pizza and Pepsi; the perfect
combination."

"When do you leave for home?"

Lucy chews and swallows. "As soon as my
last class is over, I'm outta' here. How about you?"

"My mom is picking me up the day after
classes let out."

"I'm going to miss you?"

"Ditto, girl."

"What about Tyce. Did he tell you what he's
doing for Christmas break?"

"We haven't talked a lot lately, but when I
saw him today and asked, he was vague and didn't really answer. I'm not sure
what he's doing." I blink quickly when I feel tears threatening.

Lucy reaches to pat my hand. "What I've said
before still stands. That man is crazy about you, but he's got some kind of
demon that keeps him from telling you."

"Lucy, you're a hopeless romantic."

Lucy grins. "Truer words were never spoken.
Let's watch
Pretty Woman."