Only Skin Deep by Mahalia Levey Page A

for her and followed her
out. At the nurse station he caught the unit clerk. “How do I get to the second
floor?”
    “Follow
the exit sign to the lobby. Then take the purple stripes on the tile floor to
the purple elevator, dark purple not the light blue stripes that look lavender,
unless you want to end up in the maternity ward. Once you reach the purple
elevator hit floor two and exit, follow the green tiles to the northwest wing
and look on the wall to see which direction the numbers are heading.” She
glanced up after finishing typing. “Need a repeat?”
    “Yes,”
Katrina answered.
    “I
got it.” He repeated verbatim her directions and took Katrina’s elbow, leading
her in the direction they needed to go.
    “That
was amazing, how’d you do that?”
    Once
settled in the elevator after following the hospital’s version of the yellow
brick road, he answered, “I have a knack for remembering things.”
    “That’s
cool.”
    “How
old are you Katrina?” With her young looks, he pegged her at just around
twenty-one.
    “I’m
twenty-one. Why?”
    How
could he say that through her, he’d find pieces of Deja she’d shielded from him? “No reason.” Derek moved aside as the elevator doors
opened and let her step off before him. On the wall a placard showed the room
sections. “We’re close.” Derek took the lead following the room numbers until
they reached Deja’s . From the hall, he heard her
arguing with someone, he assumed the doctor. He rapped on the door and leaned
his head inside. “There you are, Deja .” Censoring
himself was difficult. Calling her beautiful was second nature. Being discrete
was one thing, but a total three-sixty was another. The urge to hug her and
kiss the top of her head hit him hard as was the need to backhandedly berate
her for being pig-headed. Instead he opted for settling across the room.
“You’ll stay the night and another if the physicians believe you need to.” His
tone brooked no argument.
    Deja lifted her head from her bed. “Katrina? What are you
doing here?”
    “When
the hospital called, Mama said to come and make sure you were okay. She didn’t
want to bring the whole family.”
    Derek
sat quietly intrigued with how this scenario would play out. If asked would she
deny a relationship with him? Would he be an associate, or friend? In the end,
he decided to give the sisters some privacy and followed the doctor out.
    In
the hall, he received the information he needed from the doc and headed down
for a cup of coffee and a sandwich, checking his watch to gauge when he should
make his reappearance.
    They
had never talked about her family. They had never talked much about her. He
gave her the space she needed on the hope she’d let him into her life. Five
sisters and two brothers was a big immediate family. A good portion of Deja’s stress came from her parents financial issues. She’d
said her desire to become financially responsible for herself stemmed from her
childhood.
    He
couldn’t recall seeing many pictures of her family on her walls. Nor could he
remember seeing any photo albums lying about. Why? With that thought, he
trekked through the hospital back to her room. His woman confused him, but he
wouldn’t have her any other way. Arguing met his ears as he pushed the door
open and walked in. “I’m back.” Approaching the bed, he laid his hand on hers
and rubbed, needing the soothing touch more for himself. “How are you feeling?”
    “Like
shit. Katrina please go home. Your questions are
hurting my head. I just want some peace.”
    Katrina
sighed. Derek thought in resignation.
    “You
sure you don’t want me to stay overnight with you?”
    “Positive.
I won’t rest if you do. You never run out of things to talk about.”
    Derek
flashed Deja a look saying that was unnecessary.
    “I’m
sorry Kitt-kat , I’m not feeling myself.”
    “You
haven’t been feelin ’ yourself for a looong time,” Katrina muttered under her breath. “Nice to