Chapter 19 - The Walk of Shame

Will smiled and greeted them all introducing Bryan and his date. The waitress came through and got the party's orders and left.

Thoko watched silently as Will charmed her friends. He seemed so familiar. It was like she knew him from before.

Sandra squealed. "Oh my God! T! He is so like your boyfriend from college. Um, what was his name again?" Her brown eyes sparkled.

"Nate!" The other two girls shouted then squealed. They all looked at Thoko who shook her head and said she didn't remember him.

"Was he hot?" Thoko asked.

"Yes! He was! You didn't, like, really, notice until you saw him play basketball and then we'd all go drool- I mean watch him play on evenings when we weren't busy." Cyndrella sighed wistfully.

Will laughed. He'd heard a version of this story from Uncle Nate. This was uncanny! "I'll take that as a compliment especially since we're related." The waitress came back with their drinks.

"Really?" Stormie asked sipping her mojito.

"Really, he's my uncle." Will grinned.

"Wait, how old is Nathaniel Woodcome?" Cyndrella asked.

Will smiled. "Older than you ladies. My guess is you're all about 27 years old?"

They nodded, except for Thoko. They had all graduate college four years ago but Thoko was the youngest.

"Well, you're all spring chickens compared to him. He'll be thirty- four this year." Will casually announced.

The three women gasped. They turned to look at Thoko. She laughed. "Oh shit! Obviously, I never let that one slip. Wow…he must have been worth it. I don't remember him but from your reactions, I must've scooped a real hot one." She turned to Will with mischief in her eye. "How good-looking is your uncle?"

"He'd probably be able to convince all four of you to go home with him."

Thoko nodded. "Nice! Well, it's good to know I can get a good-looking man." She checked her watch. "Girls, it's been great. I need to soberly sneak back to my house before my husband realizes I broke curfew." She stood up.

Will stood up and turned to the woman Bryan was talking to. "Officer Ramirez, always a pleasure."

Bryan pouted and kissed her cheek. Officer Ramirez mock-saluted Will and stayed seated.

Guiltily the ladies stood up to leave. "No seriously, enjoy VIP. You can stay."

Will turned to the bouncer. "Please make sure our guests get everything they want." The bouncer nodded. The women looked at Thoko who shrugged.

She hugged her friends and told them to call her when they got home. They agreed to. As the boys were about to step out the club owner caught them at the door. They shook hands and spoke for a while catching the interest of a few more women.

"Thokozani! How dare you step into my club without looking for me girl!" The club owner Rachel Hall exclaimed.

Thokozani smiled sheepishly. Rachel looked between the boys and Thoko; she grinned. Thoko shook her head.

Rachel laughed. "Always good to have a Woodcombe man in the house. You're generous just like your daddy & you got good taste in women, just like her man. So were you babysitting these two or what?"

"We're taking her home." Bryan chipped in.

"Finally Jameson junior speaks. Ya'll make sure she's tucked in real good. Nathan'll kill you if she loses a hair on her head. I'll send your uncle the bill for her friends in VIP." Rachel teased.

"I've got the bill just put it on my card." Will handed over the black credit card with embarrassment.

"You're a good boy. I'll have the bill delivered to you on Monday by courier." Will winced at Rachel's words. She sighed. "Oh fine, tomorrow then." Will smiled as she handed him back his card.

"Thanks, Aunt Rachel! We'll come back soon." Will kissed her cheek as did Bryan. The two women hugged and promised to do lunch.

"I can catch a cab." Thoko offered. Will put his arm around her shoulders and shook his head.

"Sorry, we're taking you home. I have a feeling you're very important to Uncle Nate so you're stuck with us."

Bryan unlocked his truck and they all hopped in but of course, Will made sure Mrs. Musa was comfortably seated before getting in. Bryan drove to school like everything was normal and made small talk.

"So Mrs. M, have you met any of the other teachers from Africa yet?"

Thoko shook her head. Everyone seemed American or European to her except for some of the cleaning staff. "I got here when they all were still on vacation. When they came back they were preparing for the year. Perhaps soon."

After a few more simple topics were discussed they arrived at the school gates. Thoko opened the left passenger window and smiled at the guard. "Hi Mrs. Musa, these boys are dropping me off."

The guard looked into the truck. Then he looked back at her. She looked barely over eighteen herself but her voice checked positive as a member of the teaching staff who lived on campus.

He smiled sheepishly and a dimple appeared on his left cheek. "They're students, ma'am." He had run the plates through the system as soon as the car pulled up.

Thoko nodded. "Who don't live on campus. They offered me a ride home. They're also seniors. If you think there has been reportable behavior please make the report. I would like to get home before my husband gets angry."

Voice analysis showed she was guilty but her fear registered as genuine when she mentioned her husband. There was something about the other male passenger which he couldn't pin. It was like he knew him but looking at the kid, he knew he didn't.

Bryan started laughing. "You think we're going to bang the teacher? Shit, I'd love to but she's married and she doesn't look like she's into kids. My aunt asked if we could make sure she got home safe and we're dropping her off then we're going to my house."

The guard nodded and glanced at his clipboard. "Aunt hunh?"

"Rachel Hall. We told her we'd take her friend home." Will explained.

The guard nodded once more and the school gates opened. As they drove in both boys sighed in relief; lying to a guard was virtually impossible. While they hadn't lied they hadn't told the truth either.

"Why didn't you mention your uncle? He's the real reason you're dropping me off." Thoko asked suddenly curious.

"Because," Will muttered. He could feel himself losing control and he didn't like it. It'd been eight months since he'd had Uncle Nate wired into his body and it was like having two minds sometimes. "Where exactly do you live?"

They'd had the op in January to make sure his body could handle it. Most times he forgot but times like now he couldn't tell if he was upset or he was picking up on Uncle Nate's bad mood. The unfair part was that Uncle Nate could read his mind like a book but getting into Uncle Nate's mind was like hacking into a hacker's computer, there were more firewalls inside than outside.

Thoko gave directions and Bryan followed them. After a few minutes, they pulled up to the last house before the campus woods. No wonder he had been going nuts every time they ran past this house during off-season practice.

She'd been here all along. Will wondered how far he would be living from her and hoped it would be close. Thoko thanked the boys and got out of the car. She walked into the house and waved before shutting the door.

"Fuck me, she is hot." Bryan breathed leaning against the steering wheel. "Thank God she doesn't wear stuff like that at school. That ass man."

Will grinned. He didn't like the fact that Bryan was appreciating her goods but he understood. "Told you. Let's get home. I've got practice with JV in..." he checked his watch. "Almost eight hours."

"It's only midnight?" Bryan asked yawning. Will nodded and asked if Bryan wanted him to drive. Bryan jumped out of the truck leaving the door open. A growling sound could be heard from the woods. Will got out and into the driver's seat. The growling died down. "She's got dogs?"

Will grinned. "Yeah-no looks like someone's keeping an eye on her." Those were wolves in the woods. 'Just what exactly was she to Uncle Nate? Why would he feel a physical pull to her? He'd have to have a chat with Uncle Nate later.'

They got to Bryan's just before 1 am and the lights were still on. Will pulled into the garage and parked the truck.

As he locked the car Bryan opened the house door by placing his hand on the pad. It clicked open to reveal Tyson pouring himself a glass of water. He wore a short robe over a pair of black boxers. He checked the clock across the room just above the patio door.