Felicia Ch. 04

Her relief was short-lived when the voice that she had been dreading whispered in her ear, "Hey, Fe. What's up?"

Clint plopped down in the seat beside her and took up the dutiful task of taking his textbook and notebook out of his bag. Fe pretended like she hadn't heard his greeting and went back to copying the notes from the PowerPoint presentation, not even bothering to look in his direction. Once Clint was settled, he noticed that his buddy hadn't returned his greeting or even acknowledged that he was in the room. It was very unusual that any girl ignored him, much less a girl he barely knew. Was she still upset about Tuesday when he saw her book? Granted, he had replayed the scene in his head as many times as Fe had, trying to get past the looks of awkwardness and distress. But a couple of days had passed and he was over it. Was she? He shook his head clear of his thoughts and figured the only way to know was to ask her.

"So...are you still mad about the book from Tuesday? Look, I'm really sorry. I was just curious."

Fe's dark brown skin turned red, even if it wasn't visible. Why were guys always so blunt? "You're curious about what?" Fe asked back. She was careful to avoid the fact that although she wasn't mad that he read the title, she was still horribly embarrassed.

"I was curious as what a beautiful girl like you likes to read."

Fe turned bright red again. He thought she was pretty? Not just pretty but beautiful. That was the nicest comment a near-stranger had ever given her. But, she had to nip it in the bud. Joel was her...

"Look, you're really nice and cute, but-"

"Thank you."

Clint's bright smile at her compliment almost made her brain turn to Jell-O. She had focus and tell him that although she wasn't officially taken, she was pregnant by her best friend in the whole world. But Clint began talking again before she could.

"I want to show you something."

Clint dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He began fiddling with it until he found what he was looking for. He smiled at the screen and then leaned over and showed Fe what he had been looking at. It was the picture of a cute little girl. She looked about 2 or 3 and she was wearing a bright yellow sundress with a bright pink flower in her hair. She was clearly mixed and her curly hair flew wildly around her head. There was something else Fe noticed. She had the same color eyes as Clint. Not just the color, but the flecks of gold that she had seen in Clint's eyes. Could it be? As if reading her thoughts Clint explained.

"This is my daughter, Maya. She 3 and she lives with her mom in Atlanta."

Fe stuttered on her words for a second before she finally whispered out, "She's beautiful."

Clint smiled that dimpled smile again, looked at the picture and put the phone back in his pocket. "She is, isn't she?"

Before Fe could ask him how I happened, Clint began speaking again. "We were 17 and seniors in high school. Alicia (Maya's mother) and I had been dating on and off since we were freshmen. She was always so ashamed of the fact that her friends teased her about liking white boys. They loved calling us "Oreo". The school we went to, out of about 900 students, there were only about five white kids in the whole school. But I loved her and didn't care what anyone thought. I just wanted to be with her. Our senior year, one night after a party she and I started messing around and we fucked-- "Clint looked at her and blushed a little. He hadn't meant to use such colorful language in front of Fe. Fe chuckled softly but said nothing. "We had sexual relations without a condom. I know it was stupid but we were kids and didn't know better. On Thanksgiving Day, she came over my house and told me her period was late. I told her she was overreacting even thought I was scared out of my mind too. The next day, we went to the pharmacy and bought at least three different pregnancy tests. Each and every one was positive. We didn't know what to do."

Fe sat back and listened to his plight. She was feeling the same way she felt then but knew their story had a happy ending. However, she let him continue with the story.

"We waited all the way until Christmas vacation to finally tell our parents. That was hard considering she was throwing up profusely every day and was starting to gain a little weight. When we told them, her dad screamed she was a slut, my mom cried, and my brother thought it was the funniest thing he had ever been a witness to. Once the initial shock and horror wore off, our families found a way to deal with it. The day Maya was born though; everyone forgot why they were even upset that Alicia had gotten pregnant. She was the most perfect little baby in the whole world and she was all ours."

Clint thought about the day of his daughter's birth and couldn't help but smile his gorgeous smile again. Fe didn't think she'd ever get tired of that sight. Then his face turned a little more serious. "Fortunately, she didn't have the baby until after graduation. But by then, everything had changed. I was still talking about going to college and making something out of myself so Maya could have a wonderful life. But Alicia felt that my time would be better spent getting a job and supporting her and the baby. That wasn't how I imagined spending the rest of my life, working a dead-end job to make ends meet. So, when Maya was only a couple of months old, we split up."

Fe could see his heart breaking again as he relived those days past and reached out and gently took his large hand in hers to give him some type of comfort. Clint snapped back to the present and looked down at their hands touching and then up to Fe's face. He felt an electric shock he hadn't felt in awhile.

"It hurt really badly then. I lost both of my girls at the same time. Granted, I try to see Maya every chance I get but it's not the same. The day when I saw your book, it brought back all those memories and I just know how complicated and difficult of a situation you're in. "

Their lips touched. Fe didn't know why but right then she had the almost magnetic urge to kiss his sweet lips. She was glad she did. Wrapped in the cloak of darkness, she and Clint were able to share a kiss that rivaled some of the sappiest movies. Clint slipped his pink tongue into her mouth and swirled it around hers, making her melt in her seat. Clint resisted the urge to reach up and touch something, knowing he'd be pressing his luck if he got out of hand. It was the best feeling he had had in a long time and he wanted it to last.

Unfortunately, the lights came up and the two of them were forced to break their union. They sat staring at each other for a few more seconds before finally packing all their things to leave. Fe stood to leave, knowing that he probably thought she was a slut for making out with him on only the second time they had met. She began to walk but then felt something holding her in place. Clint grabbed her wrist from behind, causing her to turn around. He slipped a sheet of paper in her hand and stood up himself.

"When you want to be uncomplicated, even for a little while, give me a call." His voice came out in the same husky tone he used when they met just a couple of days ago, the voice the seemed to flow through her entire body.

He winked one of those beautiful grey eyes with flecks of gold in them and turned and walked away. Fe knew she was in trouble.