Unforgivable Sin

by Isabel Lucero

  “Troy, darling, is everything okay?” Lorraine asks as she walks towards me.

  “Everything is perfectly fine, Lorraine. I just wanted to make sure my phone was off, so it wouldn’t disturb our evening.”

  She smiles, causing a few wrinkles to appear around her eyes. Grasping my tie at the knot, she runs her hand down to the bottom. “Oh, that’s nice of you.”

  “I just want to be sure all my attention is on the most beautiful woman in the room.”

  Her smile grows and she leans in to kiss me on the cheek. When she pulls away, she makes sure to rub any lipstick off my face.

  “Well, are you ready?” she asks.

  “More than ready,” I answer with a smile.

  We walk from her hotel room down to the ballroom where she and her soon to be ex-husband are hosting a party. They are both partners in a law firm, and are celebrating fifteen years in business.

  Lorraine caught her husband cheating on her in his office, and then found out that it had been going on for a year. She hired me to be her date for the party because she knew her husband would be here with his mistress and now girlfriend. Even though Lorraine has to be almost twenty years older than me, I feel a connection to her. Maybe it’s the, we’ve-both-caught-our-significant-others-cheating-on-us connection. Who knows? I know how much it sucks to not only be cheated on, but to actually see it with your own eyes. When she told me the story, I was more than happy to be her hired boyfriend for the night.

  We walk through the doorway, Lorraine holding onto my arm, and a smile plastered on her face. I can tell she’s trying to be strong and not let anyone know about the hurt she’s feeling. She spots her husband and a frown mars her face. I follow her line of sight and see an older man in a brown suit talking to a woman wearing an ugly gold dress. It’s littered with large, brightly colored jewels of some sort. The woman laughs at something the man says and tenderly touches his cheek with an adoring smile.

  Lorraine finally looks away with a look of despair on her face. I cup her cheek in my palm and smile. “Do you trust me?”

  She hesitates momentarily before giving me a small smile. “Yes.”

  I pull her arm into the crook of my elbow, her brown skin glistens across the white sleeve of my suit. Her classy, yet sexy-for-her-age, black cocktail dress shimmers when the lights above hit it. I lead her towards her husband. I feel her feet falter and she shoots me a nervous look.

  “Don’t worry,” I say with a smile and a wink.

  Making sure to walk past her husband, I stop several feet ahead of him and his lady friend, in a small alcove in the corner. I know damn well that he’ll have a perfect view of us while nobody else should be the wiser.

  “I thought we could use some… privacy,” I say with a grin.

  Lorraine giggles as she playfully swats my arm. “And what are we going to do with this privacy?”

  “Let me do all the work,” I say before leaning in and placing small kisses along the side of her neck.

  I hear her breath catch and then her hand grips my bicep. I pull away after a few seconds and smile at her. My right hand moves to caress the side of her face before my thumb gently touches her lips. They part slightly, and I notice her eyes have become hooded. With my left hand, I grip her waist and pull her into me. I lean down slowly, my lips brushing across hers.

  “You really are the most beautiful woman in this room. Don’t ever doubt yourself.”

  I kiss her lips, only for a few seconds, but long enough in hopes that her soon to be ex has witnessed us. When I straighten back up, I look over to my left and learn that he did indeed witness our little, private show.

  “Thank you,” Lorraine whispers quietly.

  “Come on,” I say, resting my hand on her lower back. “Let’s mingle.”

  After thirty minutes of talking with her friends and colleagues, I make my way to one of the bars and order a drink for us both. While I’m waiting, I feel someone brush against my arm. Turning to look, I notice that her husband has joined me.

  I look him up and down before turning my attention back to the bartender.

  He clears his throat before speaking. “Are you a friend of Lorraine’s?”

  I turn back slowly. “You could say that,” I answer with a smirk. “Who are you?”

  “I’m her husband,” he says, hoping to catch me off guard.

  “Oh. I think you mean you’re the guy she’s leaving because she caught him fucking somebody else in his office.” I give him a smug smile. “Where’s your mistress?”

  He narrows his eyes slightly before looking around the room. I’m not sure if he’s looking for Lorraine or his new girlfriend.

  “Lorraine is a kind and beautiful woman. I’m sorry that your girlfriend falls flat in comparison. Maybe you’re just now realizing that, but that’s not my problem. Lorraine deserves better than you.”

  The bartender slides my drinks towards me, and I pick them up and walk away. The rest of the night, Lorraine and I notice that her husband, Jim, can’t seem to stop watching us. To Lorraine’s delight, he seems to be ignoring his girlfriend in order to see what we’re up to. We make sure to give him a little show when we know he’s watching.

  I’m glad that Lorraine now seems to be enjoying herself, and not concerned with watching him anymore. I guess it’s true, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.

  Once the party is over, I walk Lorraine back up to the room she’s staying in and we say our good-byes.

  “Thank you so much, Troy. I don’t think I would have been able to get through this night without you.”

  “I’m glad you asked me to come, and I’m happy you were able to enjoy yourself.”

  “I certainly did. If you ever need a lawyer, come find me,” she says with a smile.

  I laugh. “I hope I never do, but I’m glad that you’d be in my corner. Good-night, Lorraine,” I say before I kiss her cheek.

  “Good-night, Troy. Drive safe.”

  Once I’m situated inside my black Escalade, I pull my phone out and check to see if Emilie left any voicemails. She didn’t, but I notice that she sent a text about an hour and a half after her phone call.

  Emilie: I tried returning your call.

  Looking at the dashboard clock, I notice that it’s a little after eleven pm. She may be asleep already. I send a text asking if she’s still awake before driving home. By the time I pull into the driveway, I haven’t received a text back from her.

  As I’m about to push the garage door opener, I notice something sitting on my doorstep. I narrow my eyes trying to get a good look, but the one outside light isn’t bright enough. I turn the car off and walk to the front door. It’s a gift bag with a balloon attached to it. The balloon says Thank You.

  I unlock the front door and carry it inside. Once in the living room, I pull out the tissue paper from the bag and pull out a glass heart that says I miss you. Similar to the one that Carla had given to me years before. I reach in for the small card that sits inside.

  Thank you for the ride. I know you didn’t want to and certainly didn’t have to, but I appreciate it. I miss you, Troy. I miss our friendship. Please let me take you to lunch

  –Carla

  She left a number at the bottom of the card. I inspect the heart before placing it back inside the bag and leaving it on the couch.

  I never thought Carla would be back in my life and wanting to be my friend. Was she insane? Why would I want to be friends with her? Not only did she cheat on me, but she lied over and over about it. Once I found out from my cousin that they had been together more than once, she kept lying about it. She wanted me to believe it was a one-time mistake in hopes that it would be easier for me to forgive her. Wrong. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was only once. She fucked my cousin in my bed while I was at work just months before our wedding!

  I’m not a complete asshole, though. I do feel bad that she’s lost both her parents. But I don’t think going to lunch with her is a good idea. I have Emil
ie to think about. If she were to find out that I went to lunch with the woman who’s responsible for my trust issues, then she’d really think I was living in the past.

  I text Jace knowing he’ll still be awake.

  Me: Guy’s night tomorrow?

  Jace: I’m down.

  I text Kade, Marc, and Nico the same thing and then strip off my suit and take a hot shower.

  “The guys are having a guy’s night tonight, so let’s have a girl’s night!” Adrienne exclaims.

  “What are they gonna do?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” she shrugs. “Troy texted Jace last night and asked if he wanted to go out. I guess the other guys are going, too.”

  I try not to let irrational thoughts enter my mind, like Troy going out and finding somebody else who doesn’t care that he’s an escort, or even just finding someone to fuck for the night.

  “You know you aren’t good at hiding your emotions. I can see it all over your face. What’s wrong?” Adrienne asks.

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Emilie Mae. You know I know better,” she says, lifting her eyebrow at me.

  “Okay, okay. I know I don’t have a right to care, but I’m just nervous that Troy’s gonna go out and find someone to… be with. Plus, he’s going with the GQ crew. Just imagine all the horny bitches throwing themselves at the guys tonight. Ugh.”

  Adrienne almost spits her coffee out. “GQ crew?”

  “Yeah. Those damn sexy bastards.”

  “Well those horny bitches better keep their horniness aimed at the single guys.”

  “Troy is single!” I screech.

  “Well… shit.”

  I let my head flop back behind my chair and let out a groan. “We keep playing fucking phone tag. I called and texted him last night and he didn’t respond until I was already asleep. I was going crazy thinking about what he could have been doing. He was probably out escorting someone to a good fucking time. Bastard.”

  “You don’t know that,” Adrienne says, placing her coffee cup on my desk.

  “That’s the problem. I never know what he’s up to when he’s not with me. I always think the worst.”

  “Well, stop thinking about it for tonight. We can go out and have our own fun, and then maybe Troy will worry about what you’ll be doing.”

  “I doubt he’ll give a shit, but okay, let’s do it. I get off at four-thirty and that’ll give me plenty of time to get home and get ready.”

  “Yay!” Adrienne squeals.

  We get up and leave my office and head to the front. Chris, Lindsey, and the new girl, Audrey are handling the crowd with ease. I was lucky that Audrey came along wanting a job, and having experience after Shelia quit. I’m not surprised that she quit considering everything that went down between Vivian, Jace, and Adrienne. Plus, with her having had been a client of Jace’s before, that just made things awkward.

  “How’s the new girl coming along?” Adrienne asks.

  “Good. She knows what she’s doing.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad I don’t have to see Shelia here. Not that she was a bad person, but you know. I don’t want to be around someone who fucked my boyfriend.”

  I laugh. “I understand completely! Plus, she’s friends with Vivian. I have to judge her for that.”

  “True,” Adrienne agrees with a laugh.

  The bell above the door rings and I look up and recognize the lady as the one who came in last night. She smiles and waves.

  “Who’s that?” Adrienne asks.

  “She was in here last night ogling Chris, but she’s been in a few times before. I talked to her a little bit last night. She seems nice enough.”

  “Possible friend material?” Adrienne asks quietly.

  I let out a short laugh. “Maybe. You know we only have each other and people we work with. Are we bitches or something?”

  “What? No! We’re fucking awesome,” Adrienne exclaims with a smile. “It’s other people that suck.”

  “True.”

  The lady walks up to where Adrienne and I are standing, at the end of the front counter.

  “Got anymore cupcakes for me to try?” she asks with a smile.

  “Of course! We have a few different kinds up there.”

  “Good. I’ll go take a look. I work down the street, and couldn’t wait to come down here and get another one. I may have a problem,” she laughs.

  “You and me both!” I laugh with her. “Oh, this is my friend, Adrienne,” I say as I gesture with my arm in Adrienne’s direction.

  “Hi, Adrienne. I’m Christine,” she says shaking her hand. “Oh, I just realized I didn’t even tell you my name before,” she says looking at me. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s fine,” I say with a smile. “So you work on the same block?”

  “Yeah, at a little bookstore around the corner.”

  “Oh, that’s nice. I don’t think I’ve ever been there,” I say.

  “Yeah, that’s how small it is,” she replies with a small laugh.

  “Do you like it?” Adrienne asks.

  “Sure.” She gives a small shrug. “It’s easy. It can get a little boring, but I know there are harder and more stressful jobs.”

  Both Adrienne and I nod. Adrienne probably has the most stressful job out of all of us, but of course, she won’t complain. She loves it.

  “Well, I gotta get out of here,” Adrienne announces with a smile. “It was nice meeting you, Christine. Em, I’ll see you later.”

  “Yep!”

  “Bye, Adrienne,” Christine responds, cheerily.

  I walk behind the counter and take Christine’s order. She orders a red velvet cupcake, a double chocolate cupcake, and a bottle of water.

  “I might order some more to go before I leave,” she says with smile. “Gonna be a long night of movie watching, and junk food eating.”

  “Sounds like a good night to me,” I laugh.

  “Typical night for me,” she replies with a semi sad smile.

  Without thinking twice, I decide to extend an invitation. It’s always nice to meet new people, and she seems nice and like she could use a friend or two. “Adrienne and I are gonna go out and have a girl’s night. Do you want to come?”

  “Really? I haven’t been out in so long. That might be fun. What are you guys gonna do?” She shakes her head. “You know what? It doesn’t matter. Anything would be better than what I have planned,” she laughs.

  “Okay, well, let’s exchange numbers and we can figure out where to meet up and stuff later.”

  “Sounds good. Thank you for inviting me,” she says, scribbling her number on her receipt.

  “No problem. You haven’t hired any escorts lately, have you?” I ask before realizing she won’t understand the joke.

  She looks up at me with her brows furrowed. “Huh?”

  “Nothing, it was a bad joke,” I laugh. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you later.”

  “Okay.” She smiles and takes her stuff to a nearby table.

  I go back to the office for the last hour of my shift, and then happily leave when four-thirty hits.

  Four hours later when Adrienne arrives at my house, I’m dressed and ready to leave.

  “Hey, sexy lady!” Adrienne says when she walks in.

  “Hey, yourself. Nice dress. When’d you get that?”

  “About two weeks ago. I saw it in the window of this store and had to have it. I’m finally able to wear it!”

  She’s wearing a strapless, black, cocktail dress that stops above the knees. It has a white lace overlay on the top front, and she found the perfect white lace shoes to go with it.

  “Did Jace see you leave the house in that?” I ask, teasingly.

  “Oh shush,” she says with a laugh.

  “You look all fancy, and I look like a club rat,” I say, re-thinking my tight, black dress.

  “No you don’t! You have three-quarter sleeves.”

  “That are sheer and see-through. And it�
��s sheer here and here,” I say, pointing out the small thigh/hip area.

  “So what! It’s sexy, and it’s not like you can see a whole lot. You know we’ve seen way worse at these clubs. There’s sexy and trashy, you are definitely sexy! Ooh, let’s take a picture.”

  She pulls her phone out. “Okay, one of you alone first.”

  I pose and she snaps the photo.

  “Okay, your turn,” I say as I steal the phone and click away.

  “Now, let’s try to take one together,” she says as she holds it as far away from us as she can.

  I go to grab my purse as she looks through the photos.

  “I sent them to Jace,” she says with a mischievous grin. “He’s with Troy and I know he’ll show him.”

  “Why would he show Troy?”

  “Because I told him to,” she says with a shrug. “Now he’ll see how sexy you look and know we’re gonna be out on the town, too.”

  Her phone dings and she reads a text message with a ridiculous grin on her face.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Jace says we’re trouble waiting to happen and to be safe.” It dings again. “He says Troy wants to know where we’re going.”

  “Pft. Don’t tell him.”

  “I won’t. Did you ever get to talk to him?”

  “No. But I will soon.”

  “Before Christmas?”

  “Yes, yes, before Christmas. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I invited Christine to come with us tonight.”

  “The cupcake girl? Wait, are you sure about this? She hasn’t fucked any of our guys has she?”

  I bust out laughing. “Oh my gosh! I totally asked her if she had hired any escorts lately. She gave me the most confused look ever.”

  Adrienne starts laughing. “Well, shit. We need to ask this question now whenever we meet new people.”

  “That’s so terrible,” I say with a laugh. “Fucking man whores.”

  “Hey!” Adrienne yells with a playful scowl.

  “Sorry, and ex man whores.”

  She laughs and hits me in the arm. “Bitch.”