I waved that ridiculous notion away, removed the cork, and re-filled my glass. “I just can’t believe the nerve of that bastard. Here, I’ve been sitting at home like a good little wife, pining for him in every way possible, and the entire time he was living it up and screwing not just one woman, but two,” I said, holding up my fingers while I tried not to tip over.
Darcy nodded. “He’s certainly enjoying his cake.”
I snorted. “Cake? He’s enjoying his cake and his…his…skank pie!”
She chuckled. “So, how was your sex life the last month when this was going on? Was he coming home and giving it to you, too?”
I choked on my wine.
“Sorry,” she said, cringing.
“No, it’s okay,” I said, clearing my throat. “Well, last night was the first time we’d had sex in over a month.”
“Was that normal?”
I shrugged. “Not really, I just thought he was working too much and exhausted. I guess I was right. He was definitely working hard. Just not the kind of work I was aware of.”
She tapped her long manicured nails on the end table. “Since you’re not taking him back, what are you going to do about money?”
“I haven’t even thought about that. It sounds like we’re already strapped financially.”
“Yeah, but you mentioned he’s getting a large bonus?”
“Supposedly. But I can’t count on him and I’m certainly not asking him for anything. Especially now that I know how he earned it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Bullshit, he owes you.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m serious about that. I don’t want anything from him.”
“Well, you’ll need to get a job then,” she said, leaning back into the sofa.
“I know.”
She sighed. “I’m sure you’ll find something.”
“I hope so, but, honestly, look at me. I’m in my early thirties, I haven’t had a job since high school and I certainly don’t look like you.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Look like me? What does that have to do with anything?”
“You’re just so polished and professional looking. Your entire look says ‘career woman’, my look says, ‘housewife’.”
She grinned. “Oh, sweetie, we can certainly take care of that.”
“Right.”
Darcy leaned forward. “Seriously. I’m personally bringing you in to see my hairdresser, and as far as clothing goes, I’ll loan you the money until you can pay me back. Problem solved.”
“I can’t accept that,” I said. “It’s too much.”
“It’s not too much. Quit being so stubborn and accept my offer. I know you’re good with paying me back.”
Tears filled my eyes. “Darcy, I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re such a good friend.”
She squeezed my hand. “Honey, it goes both ways. You’ve been there for me and I’m just returning the favor. That’s what friends do.”
“Well,” I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Now,” she said, grabbing the television remote. “Let’s watch some sappy movie, gorge ourselves with pizza, and pass out before the clock strikes midnight.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled. “Sounds like our old slumber parties.”
She nodded. “Except both of us still believed in prince charming and living happily ever after.”
I turned towards the television and sighed. “I won’t make that same mistake twice.”
Chapter Eight
Darcy left early on Sunday while I shuffled through the house, trying to find ibuprofen for my scorching headache. Finding only one capsule left, I chugged it down with water and tried to rest. Fortunately by the time the kids came home, my headache was somewhat manageable.
“Where’s dad?” asked Jeremy while I made them a quick lunch. “Working again?”
I took a deep breath. “Actually, he’s staying with grandma and grandpa for a while.”
“That’s kind of weird, why?” asked Regan.
I smiled, sadly. “Your dad and I are having some issues. We thought it was better if he stayed with his parents for a while.”
“What do you mean by issues?” asked Regan with a frown. “What kind of problems could you two possibly have? You’re like the perfect married couple.”
“Everyone has problems,” I said. “Although ours is a little too personal to discuss right now.”
“Personal? Like as in sexual?” asked Jeremy.
“Oh, God, that’s gross,” shuddered Regan.
A little surprised by his directness, I said, “The truth of the matter is, we are having problems about honesty.”
“So, dad lied to you about something?” he asked.
I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, my headache coming back in full force. “I can’t talk about this right now. Let’s just say your dad and I are having problems and that it’s nothing to concern yourselves with. Both of us love you dearly and this separation has nothing to do with you.”
“Separation?” squeaked Regan. “Are you two getting divorced?”
“I really don’t know what’s going to happen. Just don’t worry about it right now, honey, please?”
“They’re getting divorced,” said Jeremy, matter-of-factly. “Separation almost always leads to divorce between couples. So does infidelity. Mom, did dad cheat on you?”
He’s not even thirteen! How in the hell does he know about infidelity and divorce? I wondered, staring at the intellectual Martian disguising himself in my son’s body. I chose to ignore his question, however, especially seeing the horrified expression on Regan’s face.
I stood up straighter. “As I was saying, it’s about honesty, and frankly, I don’t know if we are getting divorced. I’m still trying to get a handle on it myself.”
“Well…” said Jeremy.
“Kids, let’s not worry about it right now, okay?” I said. “Please, just… drop it.”
“But,” stammered Jeremy.
“Jeremy, enough,” I warned. Then I handed them both their sandwiches and escaped out of the kitchen.
“They’re getting divorced,” echoed Jeremy’s voice as I padded down the hallway in my pink fuzzy slippers.
***
Thankfully, Scott stayed away from the house the following week, although he tried calling me several times. When I ignored him, he began calling the kids’ phones.
“Dad wants to talk to you,” said Jeremy, handing me his cell phone.
Dammit.
“Hello?” I muttered.
“Why aren’t you answering your phone?” asked Scott.
I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. “Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t answer it because it was you on the other end?”
“What, now you’re not talking to me?”
“Actually, to be frank, I’d prefer not to.”
He sighed. “When can I come home?”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
He paused. “This is ridiculous. It’s been a week, let me come back.”
He sounded like a child. “You honestly don’t understand why you can’t just come home? Seriously?”
“We went over this and I explained why I did what I did. I know it doesn’t make it right, but I was doing it for the family – to keep us off the streets.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you honestly think that’s acceptable?”
Or that I’m that naive?
He sighed. “No, but dammit, I love you! And I don’t want to lose what we have.”
Time to bring out the big guns. “I found the deleted emails.”
He didn’t say anything.
I tapped my foot angrily, waiting for his response. “Scott, did you hear me?”
He cleared his throat. “What, now you’re going through my stuff?”
I laughed, bitterly. “What did you expect?”
“Lindsey, those emails mean nothing. They’re just words and pictures.”
More lies. Every
time I turned around, there seemed to be one more, just hitting me in the face. I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. “Oh, really, is that so? I loved your responses, by the way – how horny these women made you, and how you couldn’t wait to be with them.”
“I know what it says but I didn’t mean any of it.”
“It’s bad enough that I caught you screwing around on me, but the lies – you just can’t stop, can you?”
“I love you, okay? I made a mistake and I’m willing to put it behind us, if you can.”
I groaned. “I can’t just sweep this under the carpet, Scott, and I definitely can’t forget about it. I mean, Jesus, I walked in and saw it actually happening. It’s etched in my mind.”
“Counseling, we can go to counseling.”
I sighed. “I can’t see how a counselor is going to erase the images of your dick in someone else’s mouth.”
“Just don’t give up on us, Lindsey. I love you,” he whispered, hoarsely.
“I have to go,” I said, feeling like I was about to start crying all over again myself.
“Wait, how about dinner, tomorrow?” he pleaded.
“No. In fact, don’t call me for a while. If you want to speak to your kids, that’s fine, but I need some space to mull things over. Please respect that.”
I hung up before he could tell me any more lies.
Chapter Nine
The following Monday, nine days after I’d kicked Scott out, Darcy decided to intervene.
“You need to get on with life and if you’re not going to accept money from Scott, you need to take charge and get a job.”
“But…”
“Listen, I made a hair appointment for you. Tonight. Don’t argue,” she said when I began to protest. “You can always pay me back later.”
I sighed. “Okay.”
“I’ll pick you up around six. We’ll get that out of the way and then later in the week, we’ll go shop for clothes.”
“You know, I just can’t thank you enough, Darce.”
“You can thank me by introducing me to that hot neighbor of yours, unless you really do have your sights on him,” she giggled.
“I’ve just had my heart ripped to shreds and am not looking to jump into anything, even if it’s meaningless sex. Besides, look at me. I’m not exactly his type.”
“What do you mean?”
I sighed. “I’m not very athletic, I have no style whatsoever, and I’m in a very complicated relationship with my good-for-nothing-but-fucking-other-women, husband.”
She burst out laughing. “Bullshit. You’re a voluptuous, sexy redhead who could use a giant confidence boost. In fact, he might be able to give you that boost you need.”
I snorted. “Right.”
“What happened to that confident girl I knew back in high school? The one all the guys were sniffing around.”
“I have no idea. I’ve never met her.”
“Oh, that’s bullshit. You definitely still have it. You just need to find it, sister.”
I sighed. “I’m not really interested in finding anything but a job right now, and a way to cope with all of this crap.”
“A little confidence goes a long way and I’m going to try my best to you get there.”
I stared at my chipped nails and cringed. “Let me guess, I’m your new project.”
“Damn straight. We’re going to ace this project, too. Just you wait and see.”
“Right,” I said.
“Have some faith.”
“My faith isn’t so great these days, so I’ll leave that to you.”
After hanging up, the kids left for school and I sat on the porch with my mail. As I began sorting through the bills, Jake’s front door opened and I watched as he walked a sexy brunette out to her car. He was gloriously naked from the waist up and wore a smile that indicated he’d just gotten laid. When he leaned into her driver’s side window and kissed her, I quickly turned away.
This is ridiculous, I thought, feeling a stab of envy. I’m a married woman.
As I was trying to sort out my odd reaction, the car pulled away and he went inside, taking his perfectly ripped muscles with him. Fifteen minutes later, he stepped back outside, dressed in his usual running attire, catching my attention once again.
“Hey!” he called out, noticing me this time.
I raised my hand and waved back. Then I turned back to my mail.
“Sorry I haven’t had a chance to stop over lately to see how you’re holding up.”
I looked up to find him climbing the steps to my porch.
I shrugged. “I’m doing fine, thank you.”
He smiled. “I was just getting ready to run. Do you jog?”
I burst out laughing and motioned towards my body. “Does it look like I run?”
“You obviously keep in shape by doing something. I was just thinking that it would be nice to have someone to run with. It would definitely give me more of a challenge.”
“Sorry, but I seriously doubt I’d be a challenge for you.”
He grinned. “You’d be surprised.”
“Well, I’m busy right now, maybe tomorrow?” I asked.
He nodded. “Okay. I have to work late, tonight, so how about around ten o’clock tomorrow morning? If you’re not too busy, that is.”
“That’s fine. To tell you the truth, I could really use the exercise. I’m not much of a runner, though, so don’t expect too much. In fact, I promise that I won’t get angry if you leave me in your dust.”
“I’d never do that,” he laughed.
I smiled. “I’m just saying…”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
I glanced at his incredibly handsome face, noticing a thin white scar near his eye. It took nothing away from his appearance, if anything making him more appealing in a dangerously sexy way. “The cut near your chin,” I pointed, “looks much better.”
He nodded. “I heal fairly quickly. Good thing, too,” he said, lifting his shirt to show me another scar that went from his navel to somewhere beneath his shorts. “This one looked like a lawnmower attacked me when it happened.”
My eyes traveled from his sexy six-pack to his shorts and I could feel my cheeks heat up. “So, um, how did that happen?”
He traced a finger over the scar. “Car accident. Fortunately, I wasn’t maimed below the belt.”
Fortunately, for the cute brunette, I thought.
“I’d show you the rest, but you’d probably slap me,” he said, lowering his shirt with a devilish grin.
I laughed and tried to push the image of him standing naked in front of me out of my mind.
He looked up towards the sky. “I suppose I’d better get going before it gets too hot.”
“I hear it’s going to be another scorcher.”
“Me too,” he said. “Well, I’ll catch you later, Lindsey.”
“Definitely.”
Then he was gone, running up the street while I watched with my tongue hanging out. He’d probably spent most of the night pleasuring that other woman and wasn’t interested in a drab housewife, but it didn’t keep me from enjoying the view from behind.
Sighing, I stood up as my cell phone started ringing again, and frowned. Scott. He just wouldn’t give up.
I ignored the call and instead, picked up my mail and went back inside thinking that now might be a good idea to get on the stationary bike; it had been collecting dust for the past five years.
Changing into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, I glanced at myself in the full-length mirror. I had a little pooch and my bubble-butt certainly wasn’t as firm as it used to be. But, when I turned sideways, however, I decided that I didn’t look half bad, considering my lack of effort. With a new sense of commitment, I tied my auburn hair back, grabbed a bottle of water, and went to work. Ten minutes later, however, I was huffing and puffing, sweating my ass off and feeling like I was going to die. I began to panic as I thought about tomorrow when I’d be jogging alongside Captain America.<
br />
Crap, was I in trouble.
Chapter Ten
Darcy arrived to pick me up later that day while the kids sat in the kitchen and worked on their homework.
“Where are you two going?” asked Regan, as she tapped her pencil.
I cleared my throat. “I’m going to get my hair done.”
Regan smirked and raised her hands in the air. “There is a God.”
“Thanks,” I said, pulling one of her blonde locks.
“Mom, even professional stylists don’t cut their own hair,” she said.
“Yeah, mom,” added Darcy.
“Don’t side with her,” I warned. “She’ll be talking you into getting my legs waxed, next.”
“Or bikini line,” giggled Darcy.
Catching that statement as he walked by, Jeremy grimaced. “Thanks for that hideous image, Darcy.”
Before Darcy could reply, I grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the house, hollering, “See you kids later!”
“You know, now that you’re back on the market, you should think about getting a ‘Brazilian’ down there. Men just love those, in fact…”
I shook my head and got into the car, thankful I couldn’t hear the rest of what she was saying.
“Or –,”she said, getting into the driver’s seat.
I interrupted her. “Enough about my crotch! As far as I’m concerned, I won’t be inviting visitors anytime soon.”
She started the engine. “Never say never. I’m just saying that it’s harder to find a cave when it’s obscured by a dense jungle.”
I bit back a smile. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
She pointed down to her skirt. “Maybe, but you don’t need a map to find the entrance to this party.”
I sighed. “I hope you find a man soon, you really need to get laid.”
She snorted. “You’re preaching to the choir, sister.”
We arrived at the salon early, so I took a few minutes to glance at the makeup and nail polish displayed in the entryway. Then, when I noticed the prices of Salon Cheveux’s haircuts and color options, I cringed; it was definitely way out of my budget.
“Excited?” giggled Darcy, when the receptionist called my name.
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