by Claire Angel
So, I waited. I waited for him to come back out and he was back there far longer than I thought he should have been. I was worried that Phillip had been a little bit more with it than I thought he was, and I had made things worse. I wanted to push Jesse a little bit, but not that far.
When he finally did come out, he wasn't looking up. He was looking down at the ground, sort of shuffling a little bit and I could tell that Jesse had a lot on his mind. I was most likely the culprit of that, but I found it extremely hard to feel guilty about it. I certainly didn't want to feel that way.
“Hey, you.”
He looked up at me and our eyes met for a moment before he looked away. Why did I feel like I did something wrong all of a sudden?
“I am going to take off Amber.”
That wasn't at all what I wanted to hear.
“Where are you going?”
“Well as you reminded me, I got a girlfriend back at the motel and I don't think she would like me staying out all night. You have a fiancé running around here somewhere. Don't you think it's best I leave?”
I wanted to tell him to stay, but I couldn't get it out. Just like before when I wanted to throw him down the gauntlet and let it be known no matter what the cost, I wasn't sure if I would do the same. He had a girlfriend. And I had a fiancé. He was my brother's best friend.
“Yeah, you're right. It is best if you leave.”
He agreed with a solemn look on his face and turned around heading off towards town. He didn't say another word and even though I wanted to call after him and make him stop, I didn't either.
“What are you doing here Steven? I thought we were going to meet up later for lunch?”
“We are, but I was hoping that you would want to go with us.”
“Us?”
“Your brother asked me if I wanted to go out and do some fishing. You know that's not something I usually do, but I feel like Phillip is trying to offer up the olive branch. I need to take it.”
It sounded to me like my brother was up to something and I certainly did not believe anything that came out of his mouth. I did not think for one moment that he was going to all of a sudden accept Steven. He didn't like him. He made that clear and I knew that this was just some plan he had to get between us.
“So, you want me to come with you?”
Steven agreed and I knew then that it was one of the reasons that I liked him so much. Whereas Jesse wanted to fight me every moment of every day, Steven just went along with things. It was a whole lot easier that way.
“Yeah, I think that would be best. You were right to ask me to come. I hope that Phillip is genuinely trying to get along with you, but it's hard for me to believe that. Sometimes he can really get you going, but I want to hope for the best.”
It was all a lie of course because I knew exactly what my brother was doing. He wasn't going to wake up one day and change his mind. He wasn't going to feel guilty. That's just how he was. He wasn’t made for those kinds of emotions.
My day at the spa was quickly changing and I told him to give me a minute to get my stuff. Phillip was going to be meeting them at the house and I pounded on my brother’s door to tell him that we were there. I wanted to go in there and threaten him a little bit, but I thought better of it.
He should know where I stand. The very fact that I was going, should be enough for him to get the picture.
Chapter 9
Jesse
When I got over to Phillip’s house with Mona, I could see that there were already extra people there. Namely Amber was there. She was out front on the porch waiting, like she was going to go with us. I should have known that she was.
“Who is that?” Mona saw Amber first and I could tell there was a bit of jealousy in her tone. She was not used to me being friends with a girl and when I had mentioned Amber in the past, Mona would always clam up. She did not want to talk about her. I couldn't blame her, but I knew that if Amber was coming out to the lake to do some fishing, things were about to get complicated.
“That is Phillip’s sister. She is the one who is getting married. I will introduce you.”
We got out of the rental truck and I tried my best to pretend like what had happened last night, had never happened. I didn't want to look at the spot where I had pushed Amber down into the grass and started to ravish her. If I wouldn’t have looked over and seen her brother staring at us, I wouldn’t have stopped.
Plans were made the day before and I hadn't even talked to Phillip today. I was still worried that he would remember what had happened the night before. I should have known better than to have done it in front of him, but I lost my cool. That seemed to be the name of the game with me lately. Every time I turned around; I was losing myself.
As we walked towards the porch, I noticed that the two women were checking each other out. I knew what exactly Mona was thinking, because her expressions were always an open book, but Amber was keeping her emotions a little closer to the chest. I wanted to know what was going on in her mind, but that was impossible to do so. I don't think I was ever going to know what she was truly thinking.
Phillip smiled at me and I knew that he had changed plans again. We were supposed to take Steven out, just me and him and try to get something incriminating on him. That had been the plan the day before according to Phillip, but he had gotten sloppy earlier and that had gone down-hill quite quickly. This time around, we were running out of time, and I was still just as committed to breaking up the marriage, as when we began. Maybe even more so now.
“Well, I guess we have two extra people with us, huh?”
“Yeah, it looks like it. Are we ready to go?”
I was just ready to get on the road because I knew that this was going to be an awkward ass day out. It was my own fault obviously. I should have known that Amber wasn't going to let me and her brother push Steven away. I was hoping deep down that she would secretly want it, and then she would go along with it, but apparently, that wasn't the case.
We piled into a couple of vehicles and I was honored with Steven riding with me to the lake. Mona didn’t seem to mind, and she flirted shamelessly with the doctor. Whatever kind of doctor he was. I still didn’t know and I really didn’t care.
***
The whole way up to the lake was pretty quiet. I tried to ignore the light talking going on between Mona and Steven, though after a little while I decided that I didn't mind it at all. Would it be so bad if the two of them fell in love and then I wouldn't have to do anything? It would then all take care of itself. I knew that it was a pipe dream, but it was one that I wanted to think about. As much as I wanted Steven out of the picture, I don't know if I wanted it done that way. Maybe Phillip was right in his method.
When we got there, I was out of the truck almost as soon as I shut the engine off. The truck was a big enough for everyone and even though it was Mona that was pressed up against me for so long, I still needed a little bit of a break. Steven droned on and on and on about things that I didn't give a damn about and I had tried to keep up. I even tried to pretend like I gave a shit, but that interaction had drained me completely.
The whole time he was sitting there talking, I was thinking about how I just felt up his girlfriend. I wondered if he would have even care or if it was okay that I had. Would it even change his expression? How was a person really that calm?
Mona stuck around in the truck for a while and ended up getting out of the passenger side. I thought that was telling, but I wasn't going to look into it too far. I liked Mona and we got along fine, but it was moments like that, where I realized where we really stood. If I really loved her that much, I would have been upset that she was flirting with Steven. But I was a blank. I didn't feel anything.
Amber was full of smiles and I could tell that she liked the fact that I was smashed into a truck with her boyfriend for the last hour and a half. Phillip’s truck wasn't big enough for the extra person. I had planned to follow him and Steven up. Now I was trying to figure out
how the hell I got stuck with the boyfriend. I had a feeling that she had planned it all somehow.
“Was the ride okay?”
Steve answered that it was just fine, but I was the one that Amber was looking at. She had the barest grin on her face and I didn't have to hear a word from her mouth to know how she felt. She liked me sharing that time with Steven. Maybe she thought that it would make me like him a little bit more, but the opposite had actually happened to. I was damn near close to the level of hate that Phillip had for her husband-to-be.
“It was great Amber. Just great.”
“Well buck up Jesse. I know that you always liked to go fishing. I thought you would be in a better mood.”
She was baiting me, because she knew that I wouldn't say anything. I think Amber also knew I felt so frustrated around her. It was her fault after all. There were so many other combinations that would have ended without her boyfriend in my truck, yet I know now who had pushed it to fruition. Any of those combinations would have been more advisable to the one that had been pushed by her. The woman had an agenda.
“I plan to get in a better mood. Once I get out there on the water, I won't have to worry about anything or be around other people’s mistakes.”
Amber had another grin on her face, but this time it was even bigger than before. The look she gave me, made me feel a little unsettled. Amber had something up her sleeve and I didn't like that at all. For a second, she had the exact same look that Phillip had and God, that really made me nervous. The last thing we needed was one of his level plans to get mixed up with one of Amber’s.
Chapter 10
Amber
I don't know what came over me, but I was more than a little upset with Jesse. Last night something that happened between us and right in the middle of it going really well, he just stopped. He got me wet and then walked away. That was a hard thing for me to forget about and now that he was acting all nonchalant about it, I felt like it was his turn. Maybe he needed to get teased a little bit.
When it was decided that Steven was going to ride in the truck with Jesse, I knew that it was be a bad idea, but I pushed it anyway. Instead of Steven riding with my brother like the plan was in the beginning, I told Phillip that I wanted to ride with him. We had something important to talk about.
The importance was very tiny at the end of the day, but the look that I was getting from Jessie made it all worth it. I kept getting dirty looks from his girlfriend Mona too, but I was trying to ignore her. She wasn't even on my level. I had known Jesse a lot longer than she had. Way before her and to me, she was just another blip on the screen. She certainly wasn't going to make me feel jealous.
We started walking towards the lake and I was thankful that Steven was in one of his moods where he liked to talk. That meant that I didn't have to and I could just listen to him talk it out for a while. Steven was nice and he was smart, but I never was too interested in what he had to say. That was normal for some couples, right?
Once we got to the lake I knew that I was going to have to up my game. It would have been easier to do if Mona wasn't around, but she was. For whatever reason, Jesse had decided to bring her along, so I was going to have to do everything right underneath her nose. It didn't make me feel good inside exactly, but I wasn’t near as bothered as I should have been.
Steven and Mona were off talking about some plants that she pointed out when we got there. I wasn't paying attention to that. I was far more interested in getting my clothes off and in getting into the water. I was willing to do so to give Jesse an eyeful. I wanted him to know intimately what it was that he had walked away from last night.
When I started to take my dress off, I didn't bother to do more than pull it over my head. I looked to the left slightly, to see if he was paying attention and I was warmed to know that he was. As much as he liked to talk shit, Jesse couldn't keep his eyes off of me. That was good enough for me.
I slid my hair down out of the ponytail and shook it out a little bit to let it fall down my shoulders. He had always liked my hair, had a thing for it where he played with it at night and that was what got his attention more than anything. I was practically naked in a little red bikini and it was my hair that did it for him.
Smiling over at Jesse like I was innocent somehow, I stepped back and then dove into the water. Coming out to the surface, it took a minute for my body to get used to the colder water. It wasn't cold enough to make me shiver, but pretty damn close. I pushed the water off my face and my hair back before I found Jesse looking my way.
“I thought we were fishing, not swimming?”
“Why can't we do both?”
“Because you're going to scare all the fish away.”
I just waved it off, and went under and came up a little bit further from the bank. If there was water in the area, I was going to be in it, and I could care less about fishing. I could go to the store and get fish if that's what I wanted to have for dinner.
For a moment, I had forgotten about Steven being there.
“Are you coming in?”
“I can't swim.”
I was genuinely shocked, because I honestly didn't know that. Why didn't I know the answer to that question?
“What?”
“I don't swim. I never have.”
I didn't know what to say and I couldn't imagine not swimming. I wanted to ask more questions, but it was clear that he wasn't comfortable talking about it. I don't know why, but for me, that was a game changer. How can I be married to a man that didn't know swimming?
My plan was backfiring quickly, and I wanted to salvage it. I had all of these thoughts that I was going to parade around Jesse with very little on and he was going to somehow ravish me where I stood. Of course, none of that came to pass and the urge to swim around the lake was a bit more enticing than the assuredly failed attempts I was going to make later.
When I did finally get back to the beach, they were all sitting around with their fishing poles in the water and I kept getting dirty looks from Mona. I was getting tired of Mona, so instead of sending one back like I wanted to, I asked her if she wanted to go freshen up in the lady’s room.
“It’s not far from here and we can fill up our water bottles.”
She wasn't so sure if she wanted to go with me or not. It was that reaction in general that made me wonder how much she knew about me and her boyfriend. Did she know about our history, and if she did, what did she even know because I wasn't even sure that I knew the history. There was always this tension, anticipation, and electricity between us, but nothing had ever really come to pass. We had all these stolen kisses that never came to anything, but longing and disappointment.
As we walked to the bathroom, I searched for something to ask her. I remember that Phillip had said a few things about her, though he talked about her more than Jesse did. Phillip had said something about she liked cats.
“So, Phillip tells me that you talked Jesse into getting a cat. That was a little surprising to hear that. I always thought he hated them.”
“I think he does, but I have one that I've had for twenty years that he tolerates some. You know how he is.”
There was more to the question then what I had mentioned. She wanted to know how well I knew her boyfriend and I wasn't sure what to tell her.
“I knew that he didn't like cats, but it's good to hear that he's getting over that. I had one when I was a freshman in college. I tried to keep that in the dorm room, but that was almost impossible. My brother took the cat in, and that stayed in his room with him and Jesse for a while. I don't think that had worked out too well though, because all I ever did was hear Jesse bitching about that.”
“I don't think he's ever said anything about Calico. Maybe it is the temperament of the cat or the owner.”
I smiled at her, because that's what she was doing to me even though there was nothing but poison coming out of her mouth. It was hard for me to have a mental duel with her. I wasn't used to it. Honestly, I found it qu
ite tiresome.
“Yes, well he always has been opinionated. Do you know him well?”
I almost respected her a little bit more, finally just asking out right. It was the right thing to do.
“I have known Jesse quite a while through Phillip. They have been pretty close for many years. So, yeah I guess you can say that I do.”
“Is there something that I should know?”
I paused for only a minute before I answered her.
“No, there isn’t anything else that I can think of.”
I was lying and she didn’t ask any further questions. I almost felt bad about it, almost.
But at the same time, I really didn’t care for her, so it made it a little bit easier to lie to her face.
Chapter 11
Jesse
Amber and Mona were talking for a while and I was far more worried about the two of them and what they were saying to each other, then I was about the plan that Philip had concocted. There were certain things that could be said that could cause problems for me later.
I needed to make sure that they weren’t talking about me or the past. There were certain things about the past that I needed to keep Mona in the dark about. I really didn't care, but I didn't want anything to get back to Phillip and I didn't want Mona to say the wrong thing to Amber
Phillip was trying to get information out of Steven, but he wasn't doing a very good job. Phillip was rather clear on what he was doing, and he was trying to get Steven to confess to something that was bad enough for Amber to leave him. Philip even tried to ply him with liquor, but that didn't seem to work either. The guy just kept on smiling.
“I am going to go check on the girls. I'll be back in a minute.”
Phillip gave me a dirty look, because he wanted me to help him, but I didn't know how to help the situation. It was a big mistake as far as I was concerned, and he was surely going to see the error of his ways pretty quickly.
