10. Second Thoughts

On Wednesday morning Rod waited for Mackenzie outside her Wills & Trusts classroom. He'd had no luck tracking her down all week. She hadn't been in her office or in the library. He would have called her, but he–despite all their time together–had forgotten to ask for her number. He could have asked Cooper for it, but hated to look like the idiot he was for not having it. He'd even driven to her apartment the night before but she hadn't been home and her roommate had no idea when to expect her.

Rod saw Mac before she saw him. Unfortunately, she was with Mike. Regardless, he approached them. "Hey, Mackenzie," Rod said with a small smile, then as an afterthought he turned to Mike. "Stanton."

Mac initially looked surprised by his sudden appearance but she quickly adopted a cool, unreadable expression. While Stanton, as usual, just looked angry. Rod thought about the argument he'd had with Mike yesterday morning. Unlike Cooper, he doubted Stanton would ever come around–particularly to his having a relationship with Mac.

"Have you got a minute, Mackenzie?" Rod said choosing to ignore her companion.

"She's busy," Mike interrupted curtly.

Mac touched Mike on the arm and turned to him. "It's okay. I'll catch up with you later."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Mike searched her eyes. Rage filled him as he realized Mac was seriously considering hearing the jerk out. There was nothing he could do about it right now so, with a glare towards Rod, he reluctantly walked away.

Rod wanted to make a smart remark to Mike's departing back in the worst way, but he remembered just in time that discretion–particularly in this case–may well be the better part of valor. Instead he turned his full attention on Mackenzie.

"You've been a hard lady to find the past couple of days," he told her with a tilt of his head.

"I've been busy," Mac responded with coolness.

"I bet," Rod acknowledged, disregarding her tone. "What do you have planned for the next hour or so?"

"I've got a lot of work to catch up on," she answered, her tone unchanged.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"No." Mac realized she was hungry. She just didn't want to admit it to him.

"You do realize it's the most important meal of the day." He deliberately chose a tone of innocent superiority hoping to elicit some kind of a response.

She didn't disappoint. "What are you, my kindergarten teacher?"

"No, ma'am," he dead-panned, "just a humble man desperate to spend a little time with a beautiful woman... So can I buy you breakfast?"

Try as she might, Mac couldn't help but laugh. He was just too charming. She had been so upset about the conversation she heard in the bathroom that she had decided not to see him again. But when she told Cooper about it, he reminded her that she had only heard one side of the story and that things may not be what they appear. She hoped he was right because her undeniable attraction to Rod was quickly weakening her resolve.

"Okay, Mr. Calloway. Let's eat."

Rod smiled for the first time in three days. He leaned close and kissed her on the cheek before whispering in her ear, "I've missed you."

Mac felt her will weaken even further. Heaven help me, she thought as she followed him out to his car.

XXXXXXXX

While they waited for their breakfast, Rod tried to make conversation. But unlike their earlier times together, today there was no easy companionship. Something was troubling Mackenzie and he wanted to fix it.

"Are you okay, Mac?"

She found it amusing that unlike everyone else, he only called her "Mac" when he really wanted to get her attention. She wasn't ready, however, to give in to his demand. "Fine. Why?"

"You just seem withdrawn, as if you'd rather be sitting in the Dean's class or in the dentist's chair rather than having breakfast right here, with someone who cares."

"I'm just tired." Her voice and expression remained distant.

Rod took her hand. "Anything I can do?"

"You could stay away from other woman," she thought. Instead, she removed her hand and definitively answered, "No."

Mac was relieved when the waiter brought their breakfast. She didn't like the direction this conversation was taking. Rod sensed her unease and let the subject drop. The two ate in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before he tried again with a new topic for discussion. "I drove home early on Saturday morning and spent some time with my family."

Mac's interest level in their conversation rose instantly. Maybe he would tell her about his weekend without her having to ask. "Where's home?"

"Greenwich."

"Have you lived there long?"

"Most of my life," Rod smiled and tilted his head. He had her interest now and he planned to keep it. "How about you?"

"Bridgeport," Mac answered taking a sip of her juice, "but that's only been the last few years."

"How come?"

"My dad is career Navy." She shrugged. "He's an admiral now but still travels a lot. However, growing up it seemed we never remained in the same place long."

Rod sensed that Mackenzie craved stability. "That must have been tough. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No." Mac's expression turned inward.

"I'm sorry." Rod related to her loneliness. He'd been an only child for eight years. There was such an age difference between him and the others that he still on occasion felt that way. Fortunately, the older they got the less he felt like that. "Brothers and sisters are a great blessing."

"What are they like?" Mac was curious. Most young men didn't talk that way about their siblings.

"I have twin sisters, Sydney and Alexandra, who are seventeen; and a little brother, Christopher, who is fourteen."

Rod's expression told her exactly how he felt about them. She wanted him to feel that way about her.

"I went home on Saturday to watch my brother's football game but the twins talked me into taking them to lunch and shopping afterwards... Well, the girls shopped while Topher and I hit the arcade... I must have the word 'SUCKER' tattooed across my forehead in capital letters."

Mac laughed, the expression on his face told her that his protest wasn't heartfelt and that he really relished their hold on him. "They're lucky to have you."

"Thank you." Rod reached for a drink of juice. She had never before paid him a direct compliment.

Mac was taken back by his apparent discomfort. "What did you do the rest of the weekend?"

"Mostly I studied. I did stop by a 1L party for a short time on Saturday night."

At the mention of the party, Mackenzie froze as she realized that on some level she didn't want to know anything about it. However, that feeling was replaced very rapidly by a compulsion to know everything about it. "I heard it was quite the hot party."

"I suppose. If by 'hot' you mean there were a lot of people in a very small space..."

At first glance, it seemed the party didn't leave quite the impression on Rod as it did on his female classmates. But Mac needed to be sure. "Yeah, that's usually the case… Why? Didn't you have a good time?"

"It was okay." With a shrug of his shoulders he added, "You know, it was just a typical Fall party: a lot of drinking and plenty of sizing up as everyone tried to figure out who's the smartest and who will end up with whom."

"What about you? Did you meet someone you want to end up with?"

"At the party?" He was confused. Did she really not recognize that he was only interested in her?

"Yeah."

Rod leaned forward and, with his elbows firmly on the table, rested his chin on his clasped hands. He met Mac's questioning gaze and held it. "I wasn't looking. I'm already taken..."

Mac, too, could not look away. On second thought... she decided that for now she'd give him the benefit of the doubt. But she wouldn't give him her heart.