He slips it onto my finger, and it fits perfectly, as if it were made for me. We are silent as he holds my hand in his, looking down at the ring on my finger. There’s tension in the air, but not in a bad way. It’s thick with an emotion I can’t necessarily place. It’s just weight all around me. There’s something comforting about it. I wonder if he can feel it too.
This is supposed to be a business deal between us, but right now, that’s not at all what this feels like.
6
Lonnie
Seeing Savanna with the ring on her finger hits me like a fist to the chest. I’ve never been the kind of guy to settle down. Not that I’ve never wanted to, I’ve just never found the right woman who made me want the domestic life. But seeing Savanna again… something has changed. I feel it in every fiber of my body. I’m also not the kind of guy who get emotional about much, but right now, there are no words to describe how I feel.
I pay for the ring and we leave. As I drive, I keep glancing at the ring, sparkling on her finger. I keep catching her glancing at it as well. She takes my breath away. We drive downtown to the office in silence, and I wonder if she feels that something has shifted between us too.
When we get back to the office, we each go to our own offices, says a terse goodbye as not to attract much attention. I sit down at my desk, the sun streaked across the room. There’s so much work to be done, and this little trek today will no doubt put me behind, but still, I can’t seem to get my head in the game.
I can still smell her on my fingers. I put them up to my nose and breathe in her sweet scent. It’s addictive. It sets off fireworks in my head. Each time I smell her, my body wakes up. I can’t stop. Without realizing it, I keep bringing my fingers to my nose. I need it like air, like a drug.
My dick is a rock in my slacks. I get up and go to my private bathroom and lock the door in case Mick is around. I don’t want to be interrupted.
I unzip my pants and roll down my boxer briefs a bit, letting my erection free, finally. I stroke my cock slowly, wanting this feeling to last. I brace myself on the sink with one hand, pumping my cock with my other. Twisting slowly from base to tip, paying extra attention to the head and the sensitive spot just below the ridge. I picture Savanna in the passenger seat of my car, her legs spread for me, her pussy so hot and wet on my fingers. I pump a little faster, remembering how she lifted up her ass to give me better access. I think about her finger, dipping into her pussy and then tracing my lips with her sweet, sweet juices. Sucking her finger clean. My dick is weeping now with precum, and I focus on the head, jerking it in short strokes. Her sounds from earlier fill my head, and I hold my fist still, and fuck into it, imagining it’s Savanna’s tight pussy.
My mind drifts to the look on her face when she saw the ring and when I slipped it on her finger.
My dick explodes suddenly and I’m coming so hard I have to steady myself against the sink to keep from falling over. My mind can’t form a straight thought for a moment. My eyes can’t see. I’m lust blind.
When the world comes back into focus, I realize that when she saw that ring for the first time and I slipped it onto her finger, everything changed in that moment. This stopped being a business deal between us.
I sigh, zip up my pants and wash my hands. Looking in the mirror, I don’t recognize myself. There’s something agonized about my expression. Am I really falling for this girl?
I adjust my tie and head out of the bathroom. I need to get back to work. Maybe if I can bury myself in work, I can get my focus back and stop thinking about Savanna for longer than five minutes.
As I walk back into my office, I notice someone sitting outside by the reception desk. I know I didn’t have any appointments for the day. I made sure of it so there would be plenty of time for Savanna to pick out her ring.
When I get closer, I realize it’s Stan. Shit. Does Savanna know her dad is here? She must have broken the news to him about the new job. My shoulders tense when I see my former best friend. He stands when our eyes meet. As I leave my office to greet him, he smooths his suit jacket and adjusts his cuffs. I reach out to shake his hand. We wear matching neutral expressions. Both the seasoned poker players that we need to be in court. It works well in this situation, too.
He reaches his hand out as well, but I’m not sure yet if he plans to shake my hand with it or punch me. I’m not sure he knows what he’s planning either at first. In the end, he shakes my hand, but with a grip firmer than necessary.
“I hear my daughter is working for you,” he says. His jaw clenches at the end of his words.
He cuts right to the point. Stan has never been the type to dance around an issue. It’s what makes him such a good lawyer.
“It’s true,” I say.
Stan takes a step back. There’s a quiet unease in the way he starts to pace the floor.
“My wife and I would like to invite you over for dinner,” he says.
Not Rina, but his wife, as if we haven’t known each other most of our lives. Like he hasn’t been my best friend since college.
The invitation is so sudden and out of nowhere, I find myself stammering. “I don’t know if my schedule—”
He cuts me off with a sigh. “Rina asked me to invite you. She misses you.” He hesitates. “I do too. Things ended poorly all those years ago.”
It’s my turn to cut him off. He’s clearly uncomfortable opening up. This is the first time the olive branch has been extended between us since we parted ways that day he and Rina asked me not to come around anymore.
I smile and say, “I’d love to come to dinner. Forget what happened in the past. It’s not important.”
Stan seems relieved. He steps forward with his arms extended and we hug briefly.
He tells me the time and date for dinner before he leaves my waiting room and I agree to be there. I wonder if Savanna will be at that dinner as well, but I don’t ask.
I watch as Stan walks toward Savanna’s office. The other offices in the suite are partitioned by glass, so I see everything. I watch her pale when she sees her dad. She’s doing everything she can to hide the ring on her hand. I can tell she’s freaked out. So am I. How would we even start to explain that situation? I want to know what Stan is saying because it’s impossible to read his lips from where I’m standing.
When Stan leaves, Savanna looks over at me like she could feel me watching her. She stands, all elegance and grace, even though I can tell she’s shaken. She walks out to meet me at reception.
“That was intense,” she says
“What did he say?”
“Not much, really. Which surprises the hell out of me. He just complimented my office and said he was proud of me for working so hard.”
My whole body sighs with relief. At least he didn’t notice the ring.
I take Savanna by the hand and go back to my office with its solid wood walls and plenty of privacy in case her dad shows up again. I close the door and immediately wrap my arms around her, slipping my hand in hers. I can feel the shape of the ring on her finger. She stops shaking the moment I press her body against mine.
“Everything is going to be fine,” I assure her.
* * *
We decide to go to lunch at a deli down the street so we can go over the details of the marriage before Mr. Sapline arrives. We need to make this relationship believable. He needs to have no doubts that we are husband and wife.
That’s how the conversation starts at first. It’s very formal, with bullet points and underlined words. Then I find myself forgetting to take notes and just enjoying all the little bits of information I learn about her. Her likes and dislikes. I learn that her favorite drink is a Long Island iced tea, her favorite food comes from a truck and is served on a stick. The furthest place she’s ever traveled is the Oregon coast. She likes buying makeup but doesn’t wear much of it. She loves dogs despite being allergic to them, and she’s been known to snuggle and pet random dogs on the street even though she breaks into hives moments lat
er. “For the right dog,” she tells me, a brilliant smile breaking across her face, “it’s worth a dose of Benadryl.”
There are things about her that surprise the hell out of me and things that we have in common. I would never have guessed that she’s huge Boston Bruins hockey fan just like me, and she likes the New York Giants, just like me as well. Suddenly she’s hotter than ever before. A girly girl and a tom boy all wrapped up into one. There’s nothing sexier than that.
It’s all the things a husband should know about a wife and I’m soaking up every bit of information.
She seems surprised that I would rather spend a day lying around on the beach eating street tacos than dining in Michelin starred restaurants, and that the only lavish thing I own is my car. I live in a pretty modest home even though I could afford something much more ostentatious, but that’s just not me. I prefer comfort over elaborate luxury.
By the end of lunch my face hurts from smiling so much. I can’t remember the last time—if there was ever a time—I enjoyed the company of a woman this much. And it turns out sports are not the only things we have in common. The longer we sit here getting to know each other, the more I love about her. There’s no denying our compatibility.
“It sounds like we’re a perfect match for each other,” I say.
“It does, doesn’t it?”
She blushes and smiles beautifully. I wish we could stay here and talk forever. But there’s so much to get done before Mr. Sapline gets to the office.
7
Savanna
I can’t believe how much Lonnie and I have in common. I knew we got along well when I was younger, but I had no idea just how much we are alike. I wonder if I’m this way because of his influence growing up. We must have watched sports together at my parents’ house when I was younger. I know I didn’t get that from my father. We’re just so perfect for each other. We could be great if it wasn’t for my parents and this giant secret between us.
The next evening I pull into the driveway of my mom and dad’s house. I park and take the ring off my finger, leaving it in the center consul of my car. I really don’t want to take it off. I love the feel of it on my finger and it already feels comfortable there. I feel naked without it.
My dad had asked me to come to dinner to catch up when he’d stopped at the firm. I’m sure they just want to grill me about my job with Lonnie. I don’t want to tell them too many details before they tell me why they all had a falling out all those years ago. I really can’t imagine the cause of the rift at all. Right now, all I want is to get through this evening together. The less drama, the better.
I go up the stairs to the mansion I grew up in. When I was younger, I never thought much of it. It was just home to me. Then I moved into a cramped apartment with roommates and I started to really recognize the privilege I had. Now the place seems massive. Too much house for only two people.
When I get into the house, I toss my keys and purse onto the small table next to the door and make my way into the dining room where I know they’ll be waiting for me. I’m ten minutes late and they are sticklers for punctuality. My dad will give me a lecture all about making good impressions. I can recite it in my head already: “Savanna, you don’t want to be the lawyer the judge remembers as the one who walked into chambers ten minutes after everyone else. Impressions matter, Savanna.”
I turn the corner into the dining room and freeze. Because sitting at the table, with my mom and dad, is Lonnie. Why didn’t he tell me he was coming over for dinner? Why didn’t my parents mention it? If they had, I would’ve dressed up a bit rather than throwing on this stretched out sweater and old worn-out jeans. He looks a little surprised to see me too. He, like always, is dressed very elegantly. Not a full suit and tie like at work, but he still wears a sports coat with a crisp button-down shirt. The top button is casually left undone. I guess, like my dad, that’s his version of casual. Always the professional.
My mom stands up from the impeccable table treatment. She’s wearing pearls and a casual dress with sensible heels. She’s pulled out the good china and gold table runner that she only uses for special occasions. And here I thought we were just having a simple meal. I guess with Lonnie here they feel the need to impress.
My mom wraps me into a big hug. She smells like Chanel, the scent of my childhood that instantly brings memories of laughter and love and home. I may be mad about how they treated Lonnie, dismissing him so easily the way they did, but they were good parents—a bit overprotective, but always caring.
“Look at us all together again,” she says with her big, white porcelain veneer smile. “Just like when you were young. Don’t you remember that, when Lonnie was always over for dinner?”
Of course I remember. I was in love with him.
I glance over at Lonnie. His face is neutral, pleasant. I wonder what he’s thinking. How could he not be mad at them for abandoning him? He smiles and winks at me, not looking upset at all. If he’s not, then I’m going to try to let it go too. I have to look away to keep my feelings for him from being too obvious.
We sit down to eat. The whole thing is awkward. There’s so much sexual tension between Lonnie and me that I’m afraid everyone else can feel it too. Sometimes when I look at him, I forget my parents are here. I’m glad they’re usually oblivious to everything in their personal life—never when it comes to work, of course, but definitely when it comes to me.
We eat, but I’m not hungry. I’m too nervous. I can’t remember the last time we were all together like this. I remember coming home from college my first year and Lonnie was simply…gone. No explanation offered, and it just seemed that he was erased from our lives. Erased from my parents’ memories. Well, I certainly never forgot about him. Things seem to be a little warmer between them all, but I can’t even imagine what they would say if they found out about this fake marriage.
We finish our dinner and my dad pours us drinks. He’s always made the best martinis, which is what my mom and I have, while he and Lonnie sip at his expensive scotch.
“Why don’t we take our drinks to the hot tub,” my mom suggests.
“I don’t have a suit,” I tell her.
I used to keep clothes at their house for this very reason, but when I moved to the city, I came to pick everything up.
“I still have one of your old ones here,” she says. “Lonnie can wear a pair of your dad’s trunks.”
I open my mouth to argue. My mom has a way of shushing people without saying a word. Just a simple motion of the hand.
“It’s a beautiful evening, I won’t take no for an answer.”
She never does. It’s what makes her a great lawyer, just like my dad.
I sigh, knowing there’s no sense in arguing.
I follow her upstairs to my old room. It looks just as it did when I left it when I was a teen going off to college. Same posters of the bands I used to listen to then but who I can’t stand now, same bottles of perfume and makeup that should probably be tossed out after all this time. In my dresser I find the old one-piece bathing suit she was talking about. It’s navy blue with white stripes going down the sides. It has a sporty look to it. I remember I used to wear it to go to the public pool when I was on the swim team at school. I was sixteen then, and my boobs and hips were much smaller. I put it on, but it barely fits. My chest spills out in a mountain of cleavage. I didn’t think it was possible for a sporty one piece to look provocative, but somehow it manages to do just that.
“It’s a little small,” my mom says, trying to make it sound better than it is. “It’ll work for now.”
I look at myself in the mirror. Oh well. It’s nothing Lonnie hasn’t seen before.
8
Lonnie
I swore to myself, when Savanna walked through the door of her parents’ house, that I would behave myself. I was sure I could, but she looked so amazing in just a casual sweater and jeans that fit her perfectly. I love when she wears her sexy office attire—it gives me naughty secretary fanta
sy thoughts—but seeing her so relaxed in her everyday clothes … there’s just something effortless and beautiful about it. God, it’s going to be hard for me to keep my hands to myself.
I’m sitting in the hot tub with Stan, sipping scotch, when Savanna walks out in her one-piece bathing suit. Damn, it’s a good thing my dick is hidden by the bubbling water. There would be no hiding my hard-on otherwise.
I watch her walk toward me with owl-like focus. The bathing suit it too small, making her cleavage look good enough to eat. I can see the full outline of her pussy. It’s bordering on erotic, even though it’s not the type of bathing suit that would usually make me have those thoughts.
Her mom laughs and Savanna’s face turns red.
“Her bathing suit may be a bit older than I thought,” Rina says.
I swear I could come right now. Looking at her is driving me crazy. I want to fuck her so bad, but I know I have to control myself around her parents.
Savanna sits next to me in the hot tub. Her leg brushes against mine. I fight the urge to groan and slip my hand under the water to touch her. Instead, I grip my drink with all my strength and look at Stan. We talk about contracts and mergers. He gives me advice about Mr. Sapline, and I do my best to forget about the goddess sitting next to me.
It’s getting late and I’m tired. I’m about to call it night when suddenly all the lights go out and the bubbles in the hot tub stop, leaving us in complete darkness and silence except for a dog barking in the distance.
“What’s going on?” Rina asks. She gets out of the hot tub and wraps herself in a towel.
“It’s probably just the breaker.” Stan gets out too.
I start to stand but Rina says, “You two stay here. We’ll go check it out. I’m sure we just have a few too many appliances running in the kitchen.”
Married to my Dad’s Best Friend Page 5
