by Beth Rinyu
If Max’s sense of entitlement wasn’t enough for me to dislike him, my ex-fiancée, Alyssa, was. I was too wrapped up in work to realize Max was coming around a lot more when things started getting bad between Alyssa and me. Every time we would hang out with Chad, he would be there, giving her the attention she was lacking from me. I didn’t see how she would flirt back, almost as if she was begging me to take notice. Maybe I really didn’t care or maybe I never thought she would go as far as to sleep with him. I went through the whole gamut of emotions: jealously, hurt, anger, and finally acceptance. The only one I couldn’t come up with was forgiveness. Even Alyssa’s endless tears, apologies, and pleas couldn’t bring out that emotion inside of me. So I broke off our engagement and went on with life like it didn’t affect me. But seeing that prick today, standing in my office with that smug grin on his face, brought all those memories to the forefront of my mind. Then seeing him trying to put the moves on Faith made my stomach turn. Not that I had any claim to her, but she deserved much better than that. I tried to resign myself that Chad was a mutual friend to both of us and respected his stance on not choosing sides, but I never thought he would allow him to show up here.
“Hey!” Faith’s perky voice broke me from my inner turmoil of rehashing a past I’d just as soon forget. She was wearing her coat, her hair was wind-blown, but she still looked cute as hell standing in the doorway of my office. “This is for you.” She placed the cup she was holding on my desk, taking her coat off and draping it over her arm.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s a vanilla shake. It’s time you start living on the edge a little.”
“But—”
“Drink it!” she shouted as she walked out of my office, coming right back in, this time without her coat and a pen and notepad in her hand. “Okay, what did you need me for?” She plopped herself down in the chair opposite my desk.
I gave her a blank stare, and she widened her eyes.
“Um…don’t you remember? Just before lunch you asked how long I was going to be because you needed my help with something.”
“Oh that...just forget it.”
“Okay, and if Chad asks you why you texted me during lunch, will you just forget that too?”
A satisfying grin adorned my face. I needed to think of something to get away from Mr. Ego. I knew there was a reason I liked her so much. “Deal.”
“Okay then. I guess I’ll get back to work.” She started to get up before I stopped her.
“So what happened? You got sick of hearing about his six-figure job, his penthouse in Manhattan or the latest vehicle he’s driving?”
She threw her head back in frustration. “You have no idea! It was pure torture. I want to kill Chad for subjecting me to that.”
“Yeah, that guy’s a total ass!”
She let out a slight giggle.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I was just thinking. I’m gonna start a new club. The Max Reily is an obnoxious egomaniac club. Want to join?”
“Join? Hell, I’d be the president of that club.”
“Too late, the position’s already been filled.” She tapped her pen against her temple and narrowed her eyes. “But I’d be happy to have you serve as my vice president.”
“Hmm…that means I’d have to take orders from you?”
She watched carefully as I took a sip of the milkshake. “It looks like you already are.”
I shook my head and grinned. We were both unable to hold back our laughter just as Chad walked in, totally perplexed over the light moment Faith and I were sharing.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Faith responded with a hint of her beautiful smile.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, man?” Chad asked with an uncharacteristic seriousness to his tone.
Faith sensed it as well as she walked out and closed the door behind her.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know he was gonna show up here,” Chad started.
“He’s got balls. I’ll give him that much.”
“Yeah, he does. I’m starting to realize he really is a prick.”
“Took you long enough…guess all that weed is affecting your judgment.”
He chuckled. “I know I said I didn’t want to take sides when all that shit went down with Alyssa, but I hope you know I’ll always have your back before his as far as friendships go.”
“Good to know.”
He nodded and was frozen in thought. “Can you just answer one question?”
“Maybe.”
“Were you more pissed off that he showed up here or that he was putting the moves on Faith?”
My silence told him everything I already knew.
“That’s what I thought.” He flashed a triumphant smile before heading out the door.
***
The next few weeks consisted of early days and late night. I tried to stay on target and wrap up all of my projects that needed to be completed by the end of the year. Faith volunteered any free time she had to help out, but I didn’t take her up on her offer. I knew she was busy with her daughter and the upcoming holidays. I also knew it was easier to not think about her in a way I shouldn’t when there were other people around. I didn’t want to chance having a repeat performance of that night at her apartment if we were here alone after-hours or on a Saturday. We were at a good place again, both putting that night behind us and maintaining a professional relationship. She obviously was too drunk to remember the kiss that almost happened, which to me was more intense than the actual kiss at the bar.
My Saturday morning consisted of two hours at the gym and heading into the office to put the final touches on some new accounting software that needed to be rolled out to one of my clients by the first week of January. The silence in the office on the weekends was normally welcoming, but this morning it was deafening. My concentration was lacking, and I found myself staring into space more than my computer screen. I got up and looked out my office window. The bright December day was deceiving, with temperatures struggling to even make it out of the teens today. I rested my head against the cold glass of my window, staring down at the frozen lake my office overlooked, remembering all the times my mother would take me ice skating when I was younger. The familiar slow ache in my chest began to beckon. The same way it always would when I thought of her. She loved the holidays and always made sure I had the best of both worlds by celebrating a little bit of Christmas along with Chanukah. I was the most confused kid in Hebrew school, but I didn’t care.
My concentration level was so far gone at the moment. This never happened to me. I felt like I was in such a rut, and I didn’t know why. Maybe I just needed a change of scenery. Maybe I just needed to get laid. Maybe I’d finally respond to Phoebe’s never-ending texts. At this point I was game for anything.
“Hello!”
I was so deep in thought I jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. For a brief moment, my melancholic mood subsided at the sight of her beautiful smile.
“Faith, what are you doing here?”
“I was finishing up my Christmas shopping for Joey at the Judaica shop around the corner and realized once I got into my car I wouldn’t make it home if I didn’t stop off and go pee.” She covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. “Oops! Sorry, that was a little TMI. Sometimes I forget who I’m talking to.”
She lost me at Judaica shop. “Wait, you had to buy your daughter a Christmas present from the Jewish store?”
“Yes, she wants a dreidel. She’s still on her Jewish kick, and even though she’s not Jewish, I want her to be able to accept and embrace other religions.”
“You’re a good mom.” I admired her for allowing her daughter to be different.
“Yeah, tell that to the nuns at school. Apparently while the rest of the kindergarten class was rehearsing Every Christmas Is a Birthday for the Christmas pageant, my daughter busted out with the dreidel song instead.”
A genuine laugh escaped me. Something I hadn’t done in a long while and it actually felt good.
“Go ahead and laugh,” she said with a hint of a smile. “It’s bad enough all the other mothers think I’m a she-devil for having a child out of wedlock. I can only imagine what they’re saying about me now. They’re probably picking out a room in hell for me.”
“That’s why you should come to the other side. Jewish people don’t believe in hell.”
“Yes, so I’ve heard from Joey. That’s why she wants to be Jewish so badly. Those nuns brainwash you into believing if you breathe the wrong way you’re going to hell! I can’t wait to find a new place to live. A place that’s in a better school district so I can put her in public school instead.”
“Have you been looking?”
“Actually I have, and I thought I found the perfect place. Schools are good. Nice back yard. Neighborhood is good and the house is adorable.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
She shrugged and doubt washed all over her face. “Well, I just found out the other day the owner changed his mind about doing a straight rental. He wants someone who’d be willing to lease/purchase.”
“And?” I raised an eyebrow.
“That whole purchase part scares me. It’s a huge commitment. Mortgage is such an adult word to me, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to do adult where that’s concerned.”
“You still have to write out a check every month. So what’s the difference if you make it to your landlord or a mortgage company?”
She shrugged, still unsure of herself. “I guess. So you’re working today?”
“I was trying to, but my creativity is null.”
“If you need some help. I’m free for the rest of the day. Joey’s at her dad’s for the weekend.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I was just getting ready to get out of here. I can tell it’s just one of those days where I’m not gonna get anything accomplished work wise.”
“That’s good.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you need a break”
I raked my hand through my hair, overwhelmed by just thinking about my to-do list. “Yeah, well, tell that to Kioko Enterprises when they’re looking for their new accounting software in a few weeks.”
“K...I will!” She giggled as she reached into her purse for her gloves. “Try and enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
Her smile possessed me a little more each time I would see it spread across her face.
“Hey!” I stopped her just as she was about to exit. “Do you want to go grab some lunch?”
She blinked a few times in quick succession, apparently just as shocked by the invite as I was. I wasn’t even sure where that came from, but something deep inside me wasn’t ready for her to leave.
“Umm…yeah, sure! That’d be great.”
She smiled once again, and any doubts I had about my invitation were completely gone.
Chapter 20
Faith
I never thought hanging out with my boss on the weekend could be fun. But when my boss looked like he could be on the cover of GQ magazine, and when that same boss took me down the shore to one of my favorite restaurants for lunch without even knowing it was my favorite…I’d say my boss was pretty cool.
By the time we had finished lunch, Gabe had totally loosened up. It was so nice to see him out of work mode for a change. He was smiling and opening up to me a little about other things than work. I loved this cooler, casual side of him and wished he’d show it more often. He was handsome as hell in those perfect suits he wore to the office each day, but I was rather enjoying looking at his razor-stubble face and his perfect ass in the jeans he was wearing. As we exited the restaurant, I was ready to brave the cold December wind and take a walk on the beach. I was happy Gabe was up for the challenge too. It had been four long months since I’d heard the roar of the ocean and breathed in the salty air. I didn’t care if it was freezing. I needed a beach fix, even if just for a few minutes.
I zipped my coat to my chin and pulled my gloves on as we walked on to the desolate beach. The merciless wind and the velocity of the waves hammering onto the shore seemed to be in a power struggle with each other.
“Guess it’s not the best of days to be walking on the beach,” I shouted to be heard over the roar of the ocean. A lone seashell glistened in the surf as the bright sunlight beamed down upon it. I walked closer to the water’s edge to grab it for Joey. Just as I bent down to pick it up a wave pummeled the shoreline, catching me in its wrath, knocking me down and soaking me from the waist down before rolling back out to sea.
“Oh shit!” Gabe shouted. I could tell he was doing his best to stifle his laughter as he rushed over to me. If hypothermia wasn’t about to set in, I’d probably be laughing too. He took off his coat and wrapped it around me, but it was doing very little to shield me from the bitter cold.
“I cannot believe how stupid I am!” I was so angry at myself for allowing this to happen. “What the hell was I thinking when I got so close to the water?” I continued to yammer on as we walked off the beach with my jeans sticking to my legs. My feet slopped in my wet socks, and my favorite pair of UGGS was probably ruined thanks to my stupidity. We reached the car, and I cringed just thinking about the forty-five-minute drive home.
Gabe immediately turned my seat warmer on and the heat up. “It should start warming up in a few.” He looked over at me and finally released the laughter he’d been holding back. “I’m sorry, Faith, but—”
“This could only happen to me!” I sighed, throwing my head back on the seat, trying desperately to warm up.
I was so busy trying to forget the discomfort I was in that I wasn’t even paying attention to where Gabe was going. That was until we pulled into the driveway of a multilevel custom-built home with wraparound decks and floor-to-ceiling windows. When I was younger and we would vacation here in the summer, my mother would always refer to this area of the island as “old money.” I never understood what she meant by that until I was much older. These were the homes that were lovingly maintained and passed on from generation to generation. Unlike the ultramodern homes on the opposite end of the island that belonged to the nouveau riche.
“Umm...where are we going?” I asked. The last thing I wanted to do was pay someone a visit looking like a drowned rat.
“Getting you in dry clothes.”
I creased my eyebrows in confusion. “W-what? Whose house is this?”
“Technically, it’s my grandparents’, but after my grandfather died, my grandmother hardly uses it. So, my father and I spend more time here now.”
My jaw dropped as I looked up at the oceanfront beauty and then back at him. “This is your family’s house? This house here?” I was still in shock.
He nodded, chuckling over my astonishment. “Come on. Let’s get you warmed up before you get sick.”
I walked up the stairs to the first deck and looked out at the ocean just across the street while he opened the door. We walked inside, and I took everything in, feeling much like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I definitely wasn’t in the teeny-tiny summer rentals my parents would rent each summer anymore. This was the real deal. The homes I would look up at as I sat on the beach and fantasize about buying…if I ever won the lottery. It was an upside down home, with the bedrooms on the bottom floor and the living area on the upper level, allowing unobstructed views of the ocean from the rooms that were utilized most.
“This is just...” I shook my head, still finding it hard to believe I was inside one of those houses.
As I stood gazing out the wall of glass that overlooked the ocean, I didn’t even hear Gabe coming up behind me.
“Put these on, and I’ll throw your things in the dryer.”
“Hmm?” I was taken off guard. The last thing I wanted to do was strip down into his clothes because of my own stupidity. But when I thought of the alternative, my drenched jeans, sticking to my legs like skin on bologna, I gave
into my humiliation. I took the clothes from his hand, and he directed me to the bathroom. I couldn’t wait to get out of my wet clothing as I closed the door behind me. When I peeled off my jeans it dawned on me that my underwear was soaked too. Now what was I supposed to do? I refused to wear them wet, but there was no way in hell I was giving him my panties to dry along with my jeans. My phone startled me as it rang from my purse.
“Hello,” I answered in a whisper, upon seeing it was Sylvia, hoping she’d be able to give me some words of wisdom to get out of this dilemma I was in.
“Hello, Faith?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you whispering?”
“Umm…because I’m standing in the bathroom of my boss’s grandparents’ beach house in just my underwear.”
“What!” she exclaimed.
I explained to her the events that led up to my debacle. After getting in a good laugh, she came up with a solution.
“Is it that time of the month?”
“No. Why?”
“Well then just throw your panties in your purse and put on his sweatpants.”
