Motown Throwdown (12 page)

“What?” he asks shrugging under the sheet. “It could happen. You need to check it out doc, I swear something’s wrong with it.”

“Yeah, there is,” I tell him. “It’s called erectile dysfunction.”

“Shh!” he says low. “That is not what it is!”

“If a male has too much sex without a break his penis like any other organ can lack the oxygen it needs to recover---“ I start but then he whips the sheet off and holy hard dick!

“Now that you’ve gotten a look, what’s the cure?”

“Cure?” I stumble and oh god I licked my lips.

“Yeah the cure for this twenty-four-hour-seven-day-a-week boner. Personally I think it’s you but, I’d like your professional opinion.”

Blinking at him then back to his dick I realized first, that I couldn’t speak and second, that I wanted to cure him. I wanted to put him on bed rest and cure him all damn day long. “Normally an inspection like this would crush my ego but you’re feeling it, doc. You need this dick in your life so I’m giving you two choices. Come back, sing to me and let me court you or, see this big dick every Thursday,” oh god he was stroking it… “Either way I’ll be inside you right where you want me.” Rushing over and putting my hand over his mouth it’s the gleam in his eyes that get me, that always get me.

“This is my job, Rome,” I whisper. “College was one thing, alright? But you can’t keep---“

“Yeah, doc,” he says moving my hand away. “I can. Stop fighting this, what else do I have to do?”

“Do? This is fucked up, even for you.”

“I want you,” he moans quietly. “I’m desperate to ---“

“Then find a notch to fuck,” I snap at him. “Why do you have to go to extremes like this? Just level with me, for once!” then my pager beeps and I let out a deep breath. “Don’t move,” I order him.

“Couldn’t if I tried,” he smiles back.

Stomping over to the nurse’s station, I see a request to treat a repeat patient. Scrolling down I see, it’s Venessa. Grabbing her chart I rush one curtain over and when I enter she looks up and smiles at me. “Sup, doc!” she says holding a bloody hand out.

Closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose I was spared from stating the obvious because Rogan did it for me.

“Yeah we heard,” he says rolling his eyes. Then even louder he speaks so Rome and anyone else listening can hear him too. “Step up your game, son!”

“Player, please,” says Rome from the next curtain over and I wanted to die. “I’ve got it under control.”

“No really, he does, doc,” says Venessa handing Rogan her phone. “While that cues up, mind stitching me up? I have a pulse in my thumb.”

“What happened?” I ask pulling my tray over.

“Sliced it good on a can of Del Monte,” she says rolling her eyes. “This is why I don’t cook.”

Cleaning the wound, numbing it and stitching took about ten minutes and the second the gloves come off Rogan was handing me the phone. Hitting play, I listen as Rome instructs Rogan on how he wanted to be beaten. With Tony and Max holding him still, my eyes went wide when Rogan attacked. Rome didn’t fight back he just…took it. The next clip was of Max doing the same and then there was Venessa…

Narrowing my eyes on her she holds her hand up and points innocently to the liar next door and whispers, “His idea.”

“Ice, Ibuprofen and rest,” I tell her. Then looking at Rogan and her both I tell them, “You’re on my list.” Before tossing the phone back.

“Doc!” she says playing the victim. “If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t want to!” It’s true, she was totally nuts but it didn’t bother Rogan.  In fact I knew he approved as he high fived his wife. They really were the perfect pair.

Giving the nurse her discharge instructions, I count to ten before opening his curtain again. I cannot believe he would go to all that trouble just to see me. I also cannot believe I was flattered.

I really cannot believe I fell for it.

My tutor always lit up when she saw me. Unless I’d pissed her off the week prior or during some random meeting, she always reserved that smile for me. Pushing her glasses up on her nose in that cute way she does, I drop my books down and decided that I was done fucking around. Last week watching that movie with her did something to me. I liked being still with her. I liked that we didn’t fight but I didn’t like that she expected me to crush her every time I showed up.

That wasn’t me. I didn’t want to be that guy anymore. Holding her was the most calm I’ve felt since I was a kid. My head was always racing, my hands always moving and then when I was near her, pure calm. When I kissed her forehead her eyes closed which meant she liked it, she liked me. That’s how I knew this would work.

“Got plans tonight?” I ask casually.

“Uh,” she hedges and I can’t blame her. I’ve asked her this before and rode her about said plans. Then found her and ruined those plans.

“Yes actually, I’m going cosmic bowling on a blind date, of all things.”

“Blind as in…”

“I have no idea who he is other than he’ll be wearing a t-shirt that says ‘welcome to the dork side, we have pi’.”

“You’re serious,” I laugh. When her face falls she pushes away from the table and says,

“I wouldn’t expect you to get it. See you next week.”

Actually, I do get it.

When she came back in I had to school my features. I was busted and if I laughed she’d kill me. Although, I did feel like shit for causing her trouble at work, she needed to know I was serious. After giving Venessa and Rogan a lecture, she opened my curtain and closed her eyes in pain.

Taking a seat next to me, she pulls the sheet back, sees I’m still hard and lets out a deep sigh. “You purposely hurt yourself so that you could see me?” she asks quietly.

“Yeah, but it was her idea to take video,” I tell her pointing over to the next curtain that housed Venessa. “I just needed to be near you.”

“Rome,” she starts. “This could never work---“

“Kandace,” I whisper for her ears only, “I waited ten years to make this right.”

“Then apologize and stop---“

“I tried that but it’s obvious I hurt you a lot more than you’re letting on. I don’t give a shit about a little pain if it means I get time with you. I used to go to a lot of trouble to see you, remember that?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “All the time, actually. But then you’d ruin it by hurting me and I’m not that kid anymore.”

“Neither am I.”

Then, smiling up at me, she peeks under the sheet again. “Unbelievable,” she says sitting back.

“Hey it’s not me, this is all you,” I tell her. “Because of you I have a serious medical condition.”

“No more visits at work,” she scolds me. “I take my job very seriously.”

“I take
you
very seriously,” I counter feeling very sure of myself. “I don’t mind working for it, it would be a first for me but hey---.”

“Stop it!” she snaps actually pissed off now. “I can’t believe this behavior got you laid in school. Grow up!”

“
Everything
got me laid in school,” I snap back getting pissed off myself. I knew better than to revert back to this but she wasn’t finding me charming and I was freaking out. “You should remember you rode my ass about it every fucking time I saw you. Never met anyone more jealous, doc.”

“I was jealous,” she says standing up brushing off her coat. “Then again, I thought you were different. Unlike you, I can admit when I’m wrong. How’d all that pussy you loved to brag about work out for you, Rome? Huh?”

“I never had any complaints,” I say throwing the notches back in her face to hurt her. “Not one, doc. I was
that
good. Don’t act innocent it’s not like you were complaining when you came all over my hand.”

Tossing the curtain back she got her parting shot in and I got the point, didn’t mean that I liked it though. “You’re right, I didn’t complain. Desperation does weird things to people. But I’m pretty sure there was one that stuck.”

“Knock it off, doc.” I warn her when I see where this is going. “Don’t take it there.”

“I mean it was really only one itty bitty complaint but still…”

“Don’t,” I growl getting in her face.

“I don’t know, Rome, rape sounds like a complaint from where I’m standing. Then again I just had your fingers so what the fuck do I know?”

“Fuck you,” I start but she shuts me right down by getting in my face. As in toe to toe, ready to hit me, in my face.

“No, fuck
you
. Did you enjoy throwing those girls in my face knowing it killed me? None of them gave a fuck about you, but
I
did. What did I get in return? Heartbroken, humiliated, cast aside. I always went to bat for you, always. You listen to me now,” she says pushing me back on to the bed. “You throw those lost years in my face but guess what? I lost them too! I fucking waited for you! You keep throwing that shit in my face, hurting me with it and I will do the same to you. You don’t get to break my heart anymore. Ten years later and I’m still a joke to you, aren’t I? I must be if the punchline is ‘I nailed everything
but
Kandace.’ Do me a favor and forget about me until your balls drop. Actually just do what you did in school and pretend I don’t exist.”

Then she walked out and left me there naked and ashamed. “I don’t like you right now,” says Venessa from the other side.

“That makes two of us,” I whisper.

“Shoulda hit you harder,” says Rogan. “You’re a real prick.”

Covering my face with my arms I had to wonder if this night could get any worse. The answer was yes because when Rogan came in and hit me upside the head and said “That’s from my wife.” I realized I was fucking pathetic. I knew better than to do this with an audience. Fuck, you’d think by now I’d know better than to open my mouth at all.

I couldn’t believe I was actually going to do this. Me, on a blind date. A couple of girls from my chem lab said they loved it so I figured why not? It was like a dating site only for Wayne State Students and it catered to your likes and dislikes. After a few days of banter with the guy, I agreed to go cosmic bowling in Ferndale. Only I can’t bowl for shit.

Asking me what I’d be wearing I told him my ‘Welcome to the Dark Side We Have Cookies’ Darth Vader t-shirt and when he responded with his pi t-shirt I couldn’t stop the grin that came on. Finally, a guy who would get me.

Walking in, the colors were so distracting that I had to put my glasses on to see. Wandering the lanes I couldn’t find him and after several minutes I started to lose my nerve. Wanting to slap my forehead at overlooking an actual place to meet inside, I was in utter disbelief when I ran directly into Roman.

“Whoa,” he says steadying me.

“What---“ I start but then look down at his shirt and my mouth falls open. He was wearing the t-shirt. Anger, hurt and embarrassment stole my excitement away. Of course to him this would be funny. The geek on a blind date with a fellow geek, hilarity ensues!

“Easy now, Teach,” he says steering me away from the crowd.

“Why would you do this to me?” I ask him. Did you see him, pay him a few bucks to give you the shirt and then waited to fuck with me?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” he says sincerely.

“Oh yes you most certainly fucking would!” I yell back and even stomped my foot.

“Keep your voice down,” he says. “I made a profile after the movie. I wanted to hang out with you. Now we’re hanging out.”

“How did you even know about my profile?” I whisper.

“There’s not much about you I don’t know, Teach,” he says smiling. “Now, are we going to bowl or what?”

That night I had a blast and it didn’t hit me until the next time I saw him that he chose a location twenty minutes away from campus,
thereby reducing the chance of anyone he knew seeing us. 
Because the following day when I did see him, yeah… cue in Groundhog Day.

Rome stopped coming into the hospital but upped his game when he had the crew from Lush calling and begging me to let him out of the dog house. Does no one understand accountability anymore? Jules said he’d served his time and to let him make his peace with me but she doesn’t know our rocky past. Then again, if I wanted to move forward then I had to allow him the chance to also.