Convenience and Compatibility (28 page)

“Shit Adam’s not answering. Let me try
Greg.”

Surreal as the moment is, I inwardly cringe
at the thought of Greg seeing me like this. Tara gets on the phone
with him, and before I can say anything, it’s a done deal.

“He was just leaving work. He’s just around
the corner. He’ll be here in a moment.”

I stand up and walk away from where we are
sitting.

“Mallory, where are you going? Greg will be
here soon.”

“I need to get away from here Tara.” I bark
at her, not meaning to sound rude, but she doesn’t know my life
depends on it.

We walk up the road to the corner and I see
Greg’s black SUV come barreling down the street. I sigh with relief
that we can get the fuck out of here, but I’m also embarrassed that
Greg will see in the state I’m in. There’s puke all over me.

Like a man on a mission, he pulls in front of
us and hops out of his vehicle, making a beeline straight for
me.

I hold my hands out, “Don’t touch me!”

Greg stops in his tracks, shock on his face,
and I feel bad.

“I have puke all over me.” I explain a little
softer.

Greg rolls his eyes and opens the door for
me. Tara climbs in the back and Greg gets in, turning the heat on,
probably in response to my shaking.

I realize the car smells to high heaven and I
feel disgusting with the puke down the front of me. I peel my shirt
off and use the clean areas to wipe the vomit off my stomach that
has soaked through the fabric. I wrap it on itself and put my
seatbelt on.

I look over to Greg. “Ready.” I chatter.

Greg momentarily looks down at my bra, then
takes his suit jacket off, laying it over the front of me. He takes
off toward the freeway, and I roll down the window and close my
eyes. The wind on my face coupled with the heat on full blast is
the perfect combination. By the time we get to the apartment, I
have calmed down.

Greg parks and I turn to him, about to thank
him, when he walks over and opens Tara and my doors. He puts his
hand protectively around me and escorts me to the apartment. We get
inside and I head straight to the bathroom. To my surprise Greg
follows me, closing the door behind him.

“Greg, I’m going to take a shower.” I
chatter, unable to control my shaking.

“I’m not leaving you alone. Come on, let’s
get you cleaned up.”

Greg starts unbuttoning his shirt and I
realize where this is headed.

“Greg, you don’t have to. I’m better
now.”

“Don’t flatter yourself Mallory, I’ve seen it
before.”

He ignores me and reaches around, starting
the shower. I stand there in shock as I watch him get naked, not
really registering that this is happening. Then he takes his jacket
from me, and throws it aside. I comply as he unfastens my bra and
takes off my shoes, socks, and bottoms all in one swoop.

We get in the shower and Greg tackles the
vomit in my hair with the spray wand. He gets the chunks out, then
adds shampoo and washes it, followed by conditioner. Next he cleans
the rest of my body, not just the areas covered by vomit. He cleans
my chest, under my arms, my crotch, my feet. He then turns off the
water and dries me off. I brush my teeth as he dries himself off
and we walk to my bedroom.

I turn to him after he shuts the door behind
us. “I’m good now. Thank you.”

He looks at me, but doesn’t say anything,
doesn’t move. “Okay.”

“Greg… I.”

“It’s okay Mallory. I’m leaving.”

Greg opens the door and leaves, shutting the
door behind him. I find some sweats and pull them on along with
socks and a sweatshirt. For some reason I can’t seem to get warm.
There’s a light knock on my door and I’m sure Greg is back, but
instead Tara slips into the room.

“Mallory, are you alright?”

“Yea, can we talk tomorrow? I really need to
go to bed.”

Chapter 19

I’m awakened by talking in the living room,
through the wall by the head of my bed. I listen carefully to Tara
talking to someone with a deep voice – Adam? There isn’t much light
coming through the blinds; that could either mean it’s early, or
it’s just a normal cloudy day in Seattle. I keep my eyes closed and
listen; trying to make out the conversation. All I hear are
mumbles: Tara’s high voice, followed by the deep voice, then
walking down the hallway and another deep voice with a slightly
different pitch.

I jolt out of bed. Dean must be here!

Luckily I still have my sweats on as I jump
out of bed and rush out the door. I turn the corner into the living
room to see Greg sitting on the sofa, blankets around him, drinking
coffee. He looks up at me and smiles, his face lighting up as he
starts to say something.

“Good morning sunshine!” I turn my head to
see Adam and Tara from the dining table, having breakfast. “Looks
like you had a rough night.”

Tara elbows him and looks at me concerned.
“How are you feeling?”

“Um, okay.” I walk into the kitchen and brush
my hair with my fingers; I’m sure I look fantastic this morning. I
start making tea and no one says anything more to me. They know
better than to bother me before I start my first cup.

I glance at Greg on the sofa and he’s
watching the news, sipping his coffee. I guess he was the voice I
mistook for Dean’s. A pillow is next to him on the sofa and his
hair is messy – he must have slept over.

Adam kisses Tara and puts on his coat. “Take
care Mallory. I’ll talk to you later Greg.” Tara watches him leave
and I look over to Greg. Shouldn’t he have work today as well?

Greg answers my unspoken question, “I’m
taking the day off.”

“Well I’m off to take a shower.” Tara walks
past me, a mischievous smile on her face.

I roll my eyes, she’s so predictable. I sit
next to Greg and he turns the TV off, turning to look at me.

“I bet you think I’m pathetic.”

I’m surprised he’s said this. This is the
last thing I’m thinking right now. Confused, yes – pathetic,
no.

“Not at all. What do you mean?”

“That I would sleep out here all night.”

“Why did you sleep here?”

Greg looks away and takes a sip of coffee. He
has my full attention while I’m waiting for his explanation.

“I was worried about you and I wanted to be
here in case you needed anything.”

“Oh.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Okay….”

“Are you pregnant?” Greg is completely
serious but I can’t help but laugh.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“You were just so sick last night, I wasn’t
sure why.”

I’m touched that Greg would want to take care
of me, thinking I was pregnant with another man’s baby. He may be a
player, but he’s always been a gentleman.

“And what if I was?” I whisper.

“Then I would go beat the shit out of that
asshole.”

I smile – I bet he would. “You’re so
predictable Greg.”

“So what was the matter last night?”

It’s my turn to bide some time. I take a
drink of my tea and reposition the string from the tea bag.

“I saw Dean at the restaurant, with his
potentially probable baby and baby-momma.”

“Um, what?”

Embarrassingly I explain the debacle I got
myself into. “Dean had an ex from three years ago, and supposedly
she was pregnant with his baby and never told anyone. Well… she
told Dean the other night that her baby was his.”

“Wow… that’s scary.”

I guffaw. “I bet you’re scared. Imagine how
many babies you could have out there that you don’t know about
yet.”

Greg furrows his brows, suddenly serious and
a little stern. “That’s not fair Mallory. In fact, I haven’t slept
with anyone since you broke up with me.”

“Really Greg?” I ask sarcastically and roll
my eyes.

Greg raises his eyebrows at me. “Really.”

“Why not?” I’m genuinely interested now.

“I don’t know.” His eyes come back to mine
and drift down to my lips before he looks away and takes a drink of
coffee.

“What are your plans today Mallory?”

“I don’t know. I have none.”

“Then you’re spending the day with me.”

“Greg… and if I agree to spend the day with
you, what do you have in mind?”

“I’ll get back to you about that. Come on…
what do you say? I promise it will be fun.”

“Okay.” I nod, giving up. I don’t want to
argue, and part of me wants to be with him, doesn’t want to be
alone today. Worrying about the inappropriateness of our time
together is better than thinking about Dean.

“Okay?” He seems surprised. “Wow, that was
easy. I’ll be back as soon as I can, I just want to go home and
take a shower and change.” Greg gets up quickly with only his
boxers and T-shirt on. I watch him walk over to the kitchen and put
his coffee cup in the sink. Even though we took a shower together
last night, I wasn’t really that aware of his body. Suddenly I’m
finding myself all hot and bothered at his calf and shoulder
muscles as he saunters away. This man’s body does something to my
psyche and it’s hard to forget how it used to worship me.

He comes back to the sofa and I watch as he
put his clothes on. I can’t help myself. He leaves his shirt
untucked and sits down to put his shoes on.

“Where should I put the bedding?”

“Don’t worry about it. When do you think
you’ll be back?”

“Give me an hour?”

“K.”

Greg gets up and walks to the door. “Don’t
change your mind while I’m gone, okay?”

“I won’t, promise.”

The door shuts behind him and Tara comes out
of the bedroom as if on cue.

“Where’d Greg go?” Tara sits down with her
coffee and looks expectantly at me.

“He’s coming back soon.”

“Oh. Now tell me about this baby thing with
Dean.”

“You heard that, huh?”

“Mallory, these walls are paper thin. But
yea, sorry. I was listening.”

“Tara…”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry. Now spill it.”

Oh, where do I start? I proceed to explain
the other night to her, with Amanda coming over and Dean being
upset. How we had decided to let the lawyers handle things, which
is why seeing him with her and the child at dinner was such a
shock.

“Wow Mallory. That’s crazy shit.”

“Tell me about it. I mean, what are the odds
that he would be there last night?”

Tara shrugs and I continue.

“The more I think about it, I’m feeling
pretty confident about taking off for a while.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I just need to get away from everything –
men specifically.”

“For how long?”

It’s my turn to shrug now.

“Where would you go?”

“Actually, I recently found this Immersion
Spanish language school in Mexico that I’m excited about. I think
that sounds like the perfect place.”

“Mallory, no. Is it that bad?”

“Yes. Did you not see me last night? I don’t
want to be reminded of him right now. I’m also afraid of spending
time with Greg. I have this inability to stay away from him and I’m
not sure that is the healthiest thing right now.”

“Well if you think so.” But she doesn’t sound
convinced that I’m making the right decision. “But I think you
belong with Greg. I’m sure he still wants to be with you – look how
he came to your rescue last night. He’s perfect Mallory; treats you
right and he’s best friends with Adam. Imagine us in ten years with
kids living down the street from each other.”

“But I can’t be with Greg just because it’s
convenient Tara.”

It’s at this point that I really hear what
I’m saying. Was Greg just a relationship based off of convenience?
And maybe sex? It hits me that I’ve been letting my friends and my
boyfriends control me. Wow, I’m pathetic.

“Why not Mallory? Maybe convenience is just
another way of saying compatibility.”

“I don’t know Tara. Don’t say anything to
Greg or Adam about this.”

Tara nods and that is all we mention of
it.

I put Greg’s bedding away and grab my laptop,
finding the bookmark for the school. It takes just a few clicks and
I am registered to start in two weeks. I buy my flight and do next
what I have been dreading the most – calling work.

Luckily Jasmine is the charge nurse today and
I tell her what is going on. She says I can take up to a six month
sabbatical and still have a job when I return. I explain that I
think it’s best if I resign. She tells me how much she will miss
me, but recognizes that I need to leave. After all, she has met the
She-Bitch Jeanette Collins. I swear her to secrecy and hang up.

I look at the clock; it has been almost an
hour and I know Greg will return any moment. I start filling out
the form online when he buzzes through the intercom. Tara buzzes
him in and I frantically finish the resignation form. I hit send
when he walks through the door. Perfect timing.

I gasp a little when I look up and see him
walk towards me and I wonder if you can be in love with two people
at once. He’s wearing dark jeans, a T-shirt and a leather jacket
tight against his biceps, his gold necklace peeking from under his
shirt with a bit of chest hair. I check my mouth for drool before
closing the laptop. Greg sits next to me on the couch and puts an
arm around me. He smells fresh and I notice that his hair is still
wet from his shower. I want to reach out and touch the dark curls,
running my fingers through them and pulling his mouth to mine.
Instead I smile at him, wondering how I’m going to keep my hands
off him when I don’t have an excuse not to.

“Sorry, Greg. I’m not ready yet. I haven’t
really started.”

“What have you been doing?”

“Just tying up some loose ends.”

I walk away so he cannot ask me anymore
questions. I put on some makeup and brush my hair out. I put on a
pair of jeans, a T shirt and the stilettos that I wore on my
birthday. The pair that Greg bought me for no particular reason
last summer. I know that he will see them and remember.