Over the Hedge: Part 2- The Finale (Lucky in Love) Read online

  The early Monday morning bustle around the office pulled me from my musings. Like any office setting, it wasn’t uncommon to hear fingers clicking away at keyboards, papers being shuffled, and the random pieces of conversation floating around in the air.

  My computer alerted me to an incoming message from Sean.

  Sean: Lunch at 1?

  Me: No, I’ll keep you posted… I’m tied up.

  Sean: Okay. I’ll grab something from the snack machine in the meantime. I <3 u

  Sean: I just learned that from one of the lab interns…lol

  Me: Silly man…later <3

  Sean was straight-laced and old school in so many ways. He rarely texts and preferred to call if he needed something. He wasn’t even up on the little shorthand that most people used while texting. It was cute that he was such a square. I got a kick out of the stories from his old college days. Brent swears he had to force Sean to think about anything other than going to class and maintaining his perfect GPA.

  It was the same with our relationship. I noticed a lot of how he interacted with me wasn’t like how I thought a twenty-seven-year-old should act. He wasn’t lying when he said he had never dated before. It was like Sean was following the rules of courtship from an outdated playbook.

  I heard the door to Dr. Barnes’s office open. A few seconds later he appeared around the barrier of my cubicle wall with a stack of papers in his hand. His clothes were in complete disarray, and there were ink marks all over his fingertips. I eyed him curiously wondering if he had spent the night in the office again.

  On more than one occasion I came into the office to find him passed out in his chair. Mrs. Barnes would come in a few hours later with a change of clothes and his toiletries. I smiled, recalling how she would lovingly scold him for not coming home. Dr. Barnes would complain she was treating him like a biology student trying to harness their first set of immortal cells. I realized he secretly loved the attention after I caught him bragging to another researcher about his wife doting on him.

  “Price, I need you to set up a meeting with your boyfriend and me for later this afternoon. I have a new protocol I would like to put in place before the conference next year,” Dr. Barnes ordered without looking up from his stack of papers.

  “Dr. Barnes, if you would like me to schedule a meeting with Dr. Colcord you could have just said so. There is no need to bring up the fact that we’re dating.” I lightly chastised.

  My meeting with the Human Resources rep went as expected. She clarified that Sean and I were always to maintain professionalism. Having Dr. Barnes continually referring to Sean as, ‘my boyfriend’ wasn’t something I wanted to become a habit.

  My tone must have been enough to get his attention because he moved the papers from in front of his nose and looked at me for a few uncomfortable seconds before answering.

  “Is that what you call him all the time?” he asked.

  “Well, no…I just…well.” I blanched at his retort. That wasn’t the response I was expecting. I squared my shoulders, still wrapping my mind around Dr. Barnes’s comment. “I want to ensure we keep our relationship professional during work hours.”

  Dr. Barnes looked at me thoughtfully for a few more awkward seconds and shook his head. “Hmm…you are a prude. I only allow Juliet to call me, ‘doctor’ on special occasions,” he said with a bemused expression and a wink for good measure.

  Did he just insinuate that he role plays with Mrs. Barnes?

  My mind would not allow me to answer that question.

  Of all the years I worked with the man, I never thought of Dr. Barnes as someone who took part in sexual intercourse. Yes, he had children, but I assumed he created them in a lab in his basement. He had enough trouble conducting healthy human interactions, so my mind had never dared to stray toward the unmentionable. The fact that he was my boss was another reason for me to refrain from those thoughts—not to mention he was old enough to be my grandfather. That was not the conversation I wanted to have with my boss; not now, not ever.

  “Pick your mouth up off the floor, Price. I’m sure you’ll let me know when you and Dr. Colcord are available,” he responded before walking out of my cubicle.

  With a visible shudder, I sat down and typed up a meeting request for Sean. Hitting send, I waited for him to confirm his attendance. He took five minutes to respond, but it was in the affirmative. Dr. Barnes had a few items on his schedule he could not miss and squeezing Sean in for a last-minute meeting was tricky. However, knowing Dr. Barnes, he would have skipped his other appointments without a thought in the world. Whatever this new protocol, he had in mind was important to him.

  I looked at the display screen on my vibrating cell phone and saw Crystal’s name.

  “Hey, Sis…what’s up?”

  “Hey to you too. Not much is going on. I was hoping you would go to lunch with me,” Crystal asked optimistically.

  “Oh, sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to leave the office for lunch, today. I’ll most likely be eating at my desk,” I answered remorsefully.

  “That’s okay, maybe next time.”

  “Definitely.” I scrolled through my calendar to see what was best. “We can do Wednesday or Thursday.”

  “Thursday sounds good.”

  I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I had downed two bottles of water already, and it was just eleven o’clock. I hopped up from the chair and walked toward the bathroom, keeping the phone to my ear.

  “Okay. I’ll put you on my calendar to ensure nothing takes your place. Dr. Barnes has been having a lot of meetings lately, and they usually require my presence to either take notes or keep the peace.”

  “I swear I would love to have him as a boss, even if it’s just for the entertainment factor.” Crystal laughed. She’d had the pleasure of meeting him a few times.

  “You say that, now. But, if you had to put up with some of his antics, you’d be singing a different tune. I need to create a self-recorded message with an apology for all the people he pisses-off in a single day.” I explained.

  I walked by Anna, another administrative assistant, and she tried to get my attention. I pointed in the direction of the bathroom door, hoping she would get the message.

  “Crystal, hold on a second. I’m walking into the bathroom stall right now.” I put the phone back to my ear and pushed the door open with my shoulder.

  As sisters, it wasn’t uncommon for us to use the bathroom while the other one was on the phone. Even as kids we would be in the bathroom at the same time; one brushing their teeth while the other took a shower or use the toilet. This was how we grew up, and it wasn’t that big of a deal.

  Sean, however, could not deal with sharing the bathroom. He tried to close the bathroom door on me while he was peeing. We were having a conversation, and I didn’t see the big deal in continuing it. He told me it was weird I was so comfortable continuing a conversation while he relieved his body. I had to explain to him how family did things like that all the time.

  It was another sign of how different our upbringings were. Sean was an only child raised by a single parent of the opposite sex. He was not used to everyday things like this. We were spending so much time together that little nuances about our personalities steadily popped up.

  Walking into the large handicapped stall, I placed the phone on top of the toilet paper holder so I could handle my business. I made sure I was extra vigilant about my hand movements and the placement of my phone. A couple of months ago, I unintentionally knocked my phone into the toilet. The time before, I dropped it on the floor, and it skittered into another stall.

  The second incident wouldn’t have been so bad if there wasn’t someone else already in there. I had apologized profusely to Sheila from Accounting for invading her privacy. The older woman had smiled fondly at my forlorn expression and reassured me that my outrageous clumsiness didn’t irritate her.

  Accidents happen.

  Those were the words she told me. Unfortunately, accidents h
appened way too often around me.

  Sean had laughed until tears ran from his eyes when I told him about the incident. He suggested I get parental supervision whenever I went to the bathroom from now on.

  “Okay, I’m all done.” I put the phone back to my ear. “Crystal, you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here. So, what happened that weekend with Momma and Daddy?” Crystal asked.

  “Don’t act like you don’t already know.” I was rewarded with a string of high-pitched giggles from my younger sister. I knew good and well my mother had already filled Crystal and Stacy in on all the details. I hadn’t talked to either one about it.

  “If God did nothing else right in my life, he did good by making me your little sister. How do you end up in these bizarre situations, Lashawnda?” Crystal asked, still laughing about our parents meeting a butt naked Sean for the first time.

  “Well, as funny as it seems, now, trust me when I tell you, we were not laughing at that moment,” I explained.

  “Yeah, I can only imagine. So, Daddy seems to like Sean. He allowed him to cut the grass.”

  “I wouldn’t use the word, ‘like’ just yet. He’s just observant right now, which I won’t complain about. I think Daddy is more upset with me for keeping Sean a secret from him more than he’s letting on.” I shook my head at the memory of my father’s disappointed face.

  “Well, at least he likes Sean enough to allow him over to the house.” Crystal’s voice was filled with something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  “Did something happen between Daddy and Brian?” I leaned against the stall door holding the phone with one hand.

  “Nothing bad happened…well, not too bad. I was venting to Momma about Brian coming home late at night, and Daddy walked in on the conversation. He told me if Brian steps foot in his house, he would give him a piece of his mind. You know that led to a heated discussion between him and Momma. She warned him to stay out of my relationship, and whatever decisions I made, had to be my own.” Crystal explained.

  I shook my head. “Well, she is right about the decision being your own. I don’t get why Momma was going to invite him to dinner.”

  “Girl, you know Momma. Then Brian came up with all these excuses why he wasn’t gonna make it.” Crystal let out an aggravated growl. I could tell she was tired of talking about this. “Anyway, what happened between you and Sean? I hear y’all were caught in the buff. Which means you finally gave up the goods.”

  I leaned back against the door with one hand over my heart as I filled Crystal in on the things my parents didn’t see. I tried not to get into too many details since I was at work. But the way Sean made love to me that weekend, I was unable to hold back my exuberance.

  “Crystal, I love him, and he loves me.” My soul rejoiced just being able to say the words out loud. “The last couple of months have been absolutely spectacular. We’ve shared so much together, and it’s only been a very short time. I know my heart, and I know I’ve found the one.”

  “Aww…Sis, I’m so happy for you. You deserve this.” Crystal gushed.

  “Thanks, Crystal. I am happy, and Sean’s amazing. We click on so many levels. And, the loving…oh gosh, Crystal, the loving is mind-blowing,” I said bouncing on the balls of my feet. “But, don’t get me wrong—he’s not perfect by any means. We’ve talked about his previous behavior toward women. I told him, I will work through just about anything in a relationship. I’ve seen Momma and Daddy go through tough times together. I am not expecting this to be some kind of utopia or a walk in the park. But cheating is where I draw the line.”

  “I’m with you there. Momma always told us once a man steps out on you, no matter how much you forgive him, you’ll never be able to trust him like you did before. And without trust, there is no love.” Crystal explained, using words that I’d heard repeatedly from my mother.

  Nodding my head in agreement, I turned toward the door. I thought I heard a noise.

  “Yeah, well, you know I’ve got enough insecurities I’m slowly getting over. Being single for so long honestly had me feeling like something was wrong with me why I couldn’t get a date to save my life. If I ever found out Sean fooled around with another woman, I don’t think I could forgive him at all,” I confessed. It was the last thing I wanted to think about, but we all had our limits, and that was mine.

  “So, um, how was it?” she asked.

  I bit my lip, still feeling as if I could taste Sean on my tongue from him kissing me this morning. We hadn’t gone a day without enjoying each other’s body since our first night. Two weeks of nothing but intense loving had made up for years of a dry spell. I thought I would complain about being sore or exhausted. Yet, at every heated glance and slide of his large hands on my body I was ready to jump his bones.

  “It was perfect.” My cheeks heated. I clamped down on my bottom lip to control the smile threatening to blossom on my face.

  “Oh, really?” I heard shuffling in the background and could only imagine Crystal settling in for all the details.

  “Okay, not to go too deep, but he gave me exactly what I wanted and everything I didn’t know I craved.” Just then a thought went through my mind. That lingering feeling that I tried pushing to the back of my head for the last three weeks. I let out a heavy sigh, desperately needing to talk to someone about this.

  “Oh no, what’s that sighing for? Please don’t tell me he’s into some extra freaky shit, and now, you’re considering joining him in on it because you’re in love. Please don’t tell me that.” Crystal’s voice was panicked as her words came out in an overly dramatic screech.

  “No!” I hollered into the phone. My brain did a quick play-by-play of all the extra freaky things Sean and I got into. Whatever freaky things he was with—I was with.

  I ran a hand across my brow, shifting in my stance as I was about to confess something no grown woman should ever confess in this day and age. I was way too smart to be having this conversation, but it was clear I wasn’t thinking, darn sure wasn’t thinking. Just reacting to the whims of my almost six-year sex deprived body.

  “So yeah, umm, we didn’t use any protection the entire weekend. And Sean didn’t once pull out,” I blurted out each word in a quick succession.

  “What!” Crystal screeched deafeningly.

  I took the phone away from my ear and ran a hand over my front, picking at the lace overlay on my silk top. Yes, the girl with enough common sense to design an entire research protocol from scratch forgot to have protected sex with a man who openly admitted that he was a man-whore in his past.

  “I know. I know,” I groaned.

  “What were you thinking?” Crystal’s question was obviously rhetorical, so I didn’t waste time giving her an answer. “It’s clear you weren’t thinking at all.”

  “Trust me, Sis you don’t have to go in on me. I’ve already gone in on myself, enough.” I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling the steady thump of my heart. “I have no excuses. Heck, I don’t even have a logical reason for not being careful. I just reacted in that moment to him. Every time he slid into me, I felt this unexplainable rush of euphoria, almost like being high or something. I promise you it was unlike anything I’d ever felt. Sis, it was nothing like being with Stephan. And, every time, I wanted it just like that.”

  “Hold the hell up,” Crystal barked into the phone. “You’re telling me you couldn’t take thirty seconds to protect yourself because of some cosmic bullshit you can’t explain?”

  “Maybe,” I offered weakly.

  “Girl, Sean’s penis might have magical powers for real if you’re talking like this,” she huffed out an irritated sigh. “Well, there’s no point in giving you hell after the fact. You seem to be off the high so I’m not even going to go in on you.”

  “Trust me, I’m fully cognizant of how dumb it was.”

  “Yeah, so dumb you did it repeatedly all weekend,” she added sarcastically.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going in on me,” I retorted pl
ayfully.

  “Hell, if you think I’m not going to bring up the only stupid decision you’ve ever made in your life you must not know me.” Crystal let out, with an evil lilt to her laughter. “You are so damn perfect. I have nothing on you. So I’m gonna take this mistake and run with it.”

  “Shut up Crystal.” I rolled my eyes at her cackling. “I’m not perfect.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Crystal snorted. “Old dickmatized ass was probably fucking and sucking with no regard for catching something or getting knocked up.”

  “Listen, that man had my mind lost in another dimension,” I confessed shamelessly.

  “Lord, I can’t wait for Stacy to hear this.” Crystal laughed even louder.

  I had to join in because Stacy’s reaction was bound to be hilarious. I hated that these two always accused me of being perfect. Now, I’m sure I wouldn’t live this down.

  Crystal sobered up from her laughter. “Seriously though, you know besides getting an incurable disease, you’ve just put yourself at risk for getting a living parasite.”

  “Okay, not the way I would describe getting pregnant.” I chuckled while shaking my head.

  “What? Isn’t that what they are. A fetus is a damn parasite.” Crystal scoffed, laughing at her own joke.

  “Well, any child created between Sean and me would be more than just some parasite,” I retorted.

  “Lashawnda Price, are you for real?” Her voice was shrill, to the point of squeaking.

  “Maybe.” I bit my lip, chewing hard at having to say the words out loud. Luckily, I didn’t have to because Crystal beat me to it.

  “Wait a minute, now.” She paused for dramatic effect. “You’re cool with the thought of Sean knocking you up?”

  I scratched the spot above my right eye, suddenly feeling self-conscious about verbalizing the thoughts that had been plaguing me the last two weeks. It was only about four months of dating and a little over six months of knowing each other. Whenever I dream of my future it was always with Sean standing next to me. Whenever I thought of children, it was only with the knowledge that he’d fathered them.