“He blames himself for some recent media incident he was involved in at a community center that supposedly drew the grandparents out of the woodwork,” I inform them.
“Must be the one involving that reporter,” Jordyn surprises me by saying as she leans over and grabs her iPad off the side table. “Remember me telling you, Lex? Mick decked the guy.”
I sit upright.Decked?Mick had a short fuse—he was hot-blooded in every sense of the word—but I’d never known him to instigate a fight. He had seen the damage of a fist on too many occasions. The only time he ever used his was when provoked to defend someone he cared about. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Jordyn’s fingers are still for a second. Then she glances up. “We didn’t think you’d want to know, considering how you go out of your way to avoid reading anything about him.”
I can’t fault my friends for that when it’s true. I never read the sports features in the paper, and I always turn off the sports news on TV.
“Here it is,” Jordyn announces, scanning the screen. “An unnamed source leaked his whereabouts to the press, and when the media crews pounced, he asked them to allow the kids to pass.”
That much, Mick told me.
“Further on, the article says, ‘Paul O’Malley, a freelance tabloid writer and celebrity blogger, allegedly ignored Peters’ entreaty and pushed through several boys, knocking one of them down in order to reach the former Chicago Bulls star. According to witnesses, Peters punched the blogger in the face, causing him to pitch backward and fall. O’Malley was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and later released with six stitches to his lip and swelling to his chin and jaw.’”
That much he didn’t.
“‘No police charges were filed against Peters,’” Jordyn continues. “However, O’Malley was quoted as saying he would ‘sue for the brutality’ he suffered.’” She spins the tablet around.
I hesitate before permitting my eyes to skim the inset. It’s a picture of O’Malley lying on a stretcher, which is probably overkill for his injuries but effective for sensationalizing a story and pursuing litigation. The larger image calls loudly to me, and I let my eyes drift there, too. The bill of Mick’s cap shadows most of his profile, but I can’t miss the livid set of his bristly jaw. He’s shielding several young males with his tall, broad frame and an outstretched arm. The other arm is wrapped protectively around one boy with enormous eyes widened in alarm. Intuition tells me,That’s Dwayde.
No wonder Mick feels responsible. He allowed the temper he struggled against to get the better of him, and it was captured for the world to see…for Dwayde’s grandparents to see. Not that I’m going to feel sorry for him. There are no soft edges left inside me for that.
I turn the iPad back around to Jordyn. “Obviously, he came to me assuming my own feelings of guilt would force me to help him out.”
“Pfft!” Jordyn says dismissively. “Mick came to you because he’s still hooked, and this excuse was easier on his ego.”
“You got it,” Lexie agrees.
Gawking, my head ping-pongs between the elegant brunette with the bobbed hair and violet-blue eyes and the cute, feisty redhead. “Are you both nuts?” I say, knowing they have to be if they believe that. “Mick is not the type to pine over any woman, especially someone like me.” The self-deprecating slam is out before I can call it back.
“Someone like you?” Jordyn questions, as if I’m the crazy one.
“Forget I said that.” I wave the remark away, though it still sticks to me. “I’m just so mad at myself for submitting to Mick’s manhandling. When he grabbed me, I should have—”
“Holy shit! Mick grabbed you?”
“Tempers flared and it got out of hand,” I say, wishing the memory didn’t still have a searing effect on my system.
Their eyes round with worry.
“He didn’t hurt me,” I assure them.Not physically, anyway.“He quickly let go, as if he’d gotten too close to a nuclear contaminant.”
“Or realized he was motivated by more than anger,” Jordyn offers.
I know better. Mick’s reaction was incited by temper. His parting shot left no doubt. Besides… “Whatever his reason doesn’t matter.” I take another long drink. “It’s that I let him touch me without putting up much of a fight.”
“This wasn’t just a teenage fling,” Lexie points out. “Maybe your body was reacting to the dictates of old feelings.”
“God, no!”
My vehement denial gains me two skeptical frowns. “No,” I repeat in a milder tone. I’m struggling enough as it is to rid myself of bad habits. I don’t need to add Mick to the list.Again. “It was temporary insanity…a hormonal response. That’s all. I do not have feelings for him,” I insist, uncertain whether I’m trying to convince my friends or myself.
“Are you sure?” Jordyn questions. “Because you know, once a dog, always a dog, right?”
“I know that and trust me, I’m sure.”
She holds my stare another moment. “Good. Then you can take the case and show Mick you don’t give a shit about him.”
