| |
They returned to the apartment building after the game to find Matt waiting for them in the lobby. “How did you two manage to avoid getting arrested?” he asked, following them down the hall to Amanda’s.
“Arrested for what?” Amanda asked indignantly.
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe being on the field, evading the authorities, lying to the police? Did I leave anything out? You two made the TV news.”
“Oh, please.” Amanda dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “It was a case of mistaken identity. We had witnesses.”
“Uh, huh. The dyslexic drunks sitting behind you?”
“It’s not our fault they got confused and forgot how to spell... amongst other things. We’re innocent.” Amanda fluffed her hair for effect and unlocked her door.
Matt coughed. “If you’re innocent, then I’m the pope.”
“Well, I’m not kissing your ring. In fact, you can kiss my...” Amanda let her door slam and Matt turned to Sady with a grin.
“Nothing to say?”
She flipped her eyes to her damp hair and hoped he didn’t notice. “Uh, I think she covered it, and what she didn’t? I’m taking the fifth.”
“You’ve been using that one a lot lately. Which reminds me, about that dancing...”
They entered the elevator and Sady ignored him, pushing the button for their floor. The elevator moved up a few floors, then came to a stop. “Did you break it?” Matt asked. He pushed the buttons and nothing happened. “Yup, you broke it.”
He used the emergency phone and listened for a minute. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic,” he told Sady. “We might be here a while. They are looking into the matter. In the meantime, stay put.” Sady made a rude remark. He looked at her with a raised brow. “I hope you didn't talk like that during story hour at your library.”
Sady laughed, “Are you kidding me? I could take lessons from them!” He slid to the floor and patted the spot next to him. Sady sat reluctantly and after a while became restless.
“Calm down,” he said, reaching over to take her hand. About fifteen minutes later the elevator shuddered and groaned, moved down several feet, then stopped, and the doors opened.
Great- they were between floors. Sady thought over the options and decided nightmare number two was the lesser of two evils. “Give me a boost will you?” she asked Matt. “I'm not thrilled at trying to squeeze through the bottom opening. Too much potential for falling down the shaft, you know?” She reached for the opening, waiting for him to help.
“Whoa, hold on there Tinkerbell,” Matt said seriously. “If you think the last sight I want of you is watching your lower half being separated from your upper half think again. You're not going anywhere until this thing opens where it should.”
Sady took a deep breath trying not to betray her nervousness. Then the doors closed without warning, the elevator skyrocketed to the tenth floor, and opened at the right spot.
“Run for your life,” Sady yelled as she bolted from the elevator. Matt smiled and sauntered out of the car. “Hurry up,” she hissed frantically. “Or you might get trapped in there forever.” She flapped both hands and bugged her eyes.
“Are you claustrophobic?” he asked in surprise.
“No... maybe,” she replied.
“You are! Why didn’t you say so?”
“It’s a little late now, don’t you think?” She avoided his eyes.
“Hey, I’m sorry, Sady. I wouldn’t have joked if I’d known,” he said.
“That’s okay.” She dug for her keys in her back, but her back and forth sway betrayed her agitation. Matt took her bag and her elbow, then steered her down the hall to his apartment.
“What are you doing?” she asked as he opened his door and pushed her into his apartment.
“Inviting you for dinner. I hope you like Chinese.” He pulled out his phone without waiting for her reply.
She looked around his apartment while he ordered. There were a few personal pictures of Matt and his family. Then she realized she didn’t know much about his personal life so she asked him while they ate.
“Average,” he told her. Parents alive, still married, and living in another state.
Her nose crinkled. “And those adventures you told me the night Leon left those pictures?”
“All lies,” he admitted. “I didn’t think you were listening.”
“Let that be a lesson. I was getting ready to write a bestseller about the exploits of a foolish young boy and his cousin,” she teased. He distracted her when he reached across the table. She saw what he was doing and smacked his hand. “What are you doing?”
“I'm eating dessert. The fortune cookies,” he replied rubbing his hand.
“Oh, no. Not all of them. You have to share. Fifty/fifty split?” she offered.
“Well, I paid for them... “
“And I'm a guest,” She finished, grabbing the cookies and lobbing two them at him. He caught them with a grin.
She opened her first cookie. You will soon meet the man of your dreams. Sady laughed, and he frowned. She gave him a questioning look.
“That cookie's expired,” he said.
“Hey, just be glad you didn't get that one,” she teased.
She peeled out the rest of the papers. Don't take risks because you are in a hurry. “That means be careful of the elevators,” she solemnly warned him.
Use wisdom and you will be rich. She snorted at the sage advice. “Aren’t there any advising me to drown my sorrows?”
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked, and she nodded. “Beer?” Head shake. “Stronger than beer?” She shrugged slightly. “A lot stronger?” She smiled, and he went to his kitchen and returned with a bottle and two glasses.
He poured a glass and parked her on his couch realizing the elevator episode upset her more than she let on. After he put away the leftovers he sat on the couch, setting his glass and the bottle on the coffee table.
“How long have you had claustrophobia?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure when it started. But I had it under control until... recently.” It was the first time she revealed how her recent stalker episode affected her.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” he offered, including the Knights in his offer.
She shook her head. “I’ll be okay, in a while.” She took a sip and made a face. “What is that?”
“Why, do you want more?” She held up her glass, and he topped it off. “You might want to be careful,” he warned. She wrinkled her nose at him and took another sip. A half hour later she finished her second glass and sat back to watch TV.
Matt checked a short time later and laughed quietly. She fell asleep in the corner of his couch. He left her there while he finished his drink, stopping after one. He shook her shoulder but already knew from experience she would not wake up, so he pulled a spare pillow and blanket from his hall closet. After settling her on the couch, he rolled her onto her side so she could pull her legs up and not have them hanging off the end.
***
Sady woke up disoriented. She bolted upright up with a start at the unfamiliar surroundings which proved to be a mistake. With a moan she grabbed her head and lay back down. She heard a noise, and peeked over to see Matt watching from the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee. He raised it with a smile.
“You think this is funny?” she whispered in misery, still holding her head. He lost the smile and shook his head.
“What did you poison me with last night?” she hissed.
“That was the something stronger you requested,” he replied.
Sady tried to stick her tongue out at him but even that hurt. He disappeared for a minute then returned with a tray. She cracked one eye. “What are you planning on doing to me?” she whispered. He handed her an ice pack, which she eased onto her head. A minute later he helped her sit up and handed her a couple pills. She frowned at them. “What are they? Never mind. Even death is better than this.”
Matt opened her hand and dropped them. “They will make you feel better, I promise. Put them in your mouth,” he ordered. She glared at him but obeyed. He held up a glass of water so she could swallow the pills. Then he helped her back down onto the pillow.
The next time she awakened she didn't sit up, but opened one eye. Feeling better she opened the other eye, and saw Matt sitting in a chair across the room, working on his laptop. She must have made a movement because he immediately looked up from his screen. “Better now?” he asked. Sady cautiously touched her head and eased up into a sitting position.
She gave a small nod. “My head didn't just explode, so that's good,” she told him. Then she frowned, “Just how much did I drink last night?”
Matt assured her, “Don't worry. It wasn't all that much, but you haven't been eating right this past week have you?”
Now that Sady knew her head wouldn't fall off and roll across the room she shook it slowly. “Food and evening gowns don’t mix.”
“Think you can handle breakfast?” he asked.
“Coffee and toast for now.” He brought her a tray, and she chewed slowly. Finally she looked down and realized she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday.
“I need to have a shower and change. After my coffee kicks in.” She flopped down again and covered her head with the blanket.
A half hour later Matt pulled it back and asked, “Are you alive in there?”
“I’m working on it. Help me up and point me to the door. I think I can take it from there.” She picked up her shoes and bag, then headed to his front door. Turning back with a sweet smile she thanked him before leaving.