by Kitty Berry
Elliot roars in laughter. “You know my wife, answer that yourself. And that was thoughtful of you. You know, after the fact.”
I nod. I do know Courtney. Very well, and in the biblical sense. I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to though, seeing how it’s been a bone of contention between us in the past, so I don’t mention that fact aloud. She and I fucked with Ace and Bridget for a bit while we were also fucking alone behind their backs. I thought I was in love with her and had been pissed and disappointed when she’d turned me down. Courtney was having an awakening of some kind and thought she needed to change her ways. She was convinced that she was a slut and all men, including myself and her current husband, had thought of her as nothing more than a whore with great pussy to give. She was correct on the great pussy, but wrong on every other account.
But, at the time, she couldn’t see that. So, after dumping my ass, she and her sister, Bridget, ran off to Jonesie’s island paradise where Elliot had been holing up to nurse his own broken heart after Amanda and he hadn’t worked out. Fast forward through my wise-ass comments that led Elliot to believe Courtney and I were fucking again, Elliot vanishing to rid the world of a man who abused Courtney as a young girl, returning, and them rekindling their romance, and here we are.
“Sorry. I can talk to her in a few days or so, maybe sooner.”
Elliot waves me off. “She’ll get over it. I had to tell her that I was meeting you, though. She heard us talking. I’m not going to start my marriage by lying to my wife. And she wanted to come to kick your ass. The girls are really mad at you over the Jordan breakup by text drama.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that I might have made a few errors in judgment where Jordan and this job are concerned. You were smart not to do the same this time with your wife.”
“You think?”
“Shut the fuck up!”
Elliot smiles, and the waitress returns with my much-needed coffee and food.
“You boys gonna be okay for a second? I’m alone on the floor and I just sat a table of three bickering brothers over there. Something about the oldest pulling his shit together for his kids and putting the bottle away. I think his wife died,” she overshares.
We turn to see three men in their mid to late twenties, the oldest is maybe in his early thirties, all with similar facial features and coloring. Clearly related by their looks and the comfortable male ribbing they’re raining down on each other.
Elliot nods at me, and I smile. I know he means to tell me that we’re tight like that. He and Ace might not be my brothers by blood, but they are family to me all the same.
As the men raise their eyes to us, we turn our attention elsewhere and instantly tuck in to eat our food in silence until they forget we’re here.
“You’re still edgy, man,” Elliot points out. “I’m not sure if I should ask this, but what’s doing it? Jordan or the lack of sex?”
“One in the same, but,” I clear my throat, raise my coffee to hide my smirk as I state, “I had a wet dream about her last night.”
Elliot chokes and spits out his mouthful of coffee. “Jesus. Black, honestly, the TMI sometimes.”
He continues to laugh as I roll my eyes.
One of the men, the oldest perhaps, walks by our table on his way to the restroom and smiles at Elliot as they make eye contact. He looks tired, exhausted, in fact, and there’s a sadness and turmoil behind his eyes.
“Oh, like you don’t pull it any time Courtney isn’t home.”
“No, I mean, yeah. Don’t fucking ever tell her this, but…I still like watching porn and jacking off. It’s nothing against her, it’s just different and I don’t know…I don’t need to explain why I like it to you, right?”
“No, I get it, but girls don’t understand that it consumes a large portion of a guy’s life? Don’t they masturbate? Jordan used to do it while I watched.”
“Christ, again with the oversharing and making me see my sister-in-law petting the cat is really not okay.”
The man stops at our table on his way back to his own when he hears our conversation. He laughs. “I’m guessing you’re not referring to her new pet, huh, man?”
Elliot laughs. “Fraid not.”
The man nods. “You guys from around here? I don’t recognize you.”
“Nah, New York most recently for me. Florida before that. I just moved to this area.”
“All that talk about the revitalization in Falls Village bring you here? That’s where I’m from. Heading back now.”
Elliot and I make eye contact, then I roll my eyes again and ignore the man standing at our table. “Whatever. Anyway, to answer your question, it’s both. I was in obvious need of an orgasm which took the edge off my balls this morning, but the bigger problem is Jordan.”
The stranger shakes his head at my comment and heads back to his table without introducing himself. Fine by me. I have all the friends I can handle, and I don’t need anyone blowing my cover in Falls Village as Ian.
Elliot sighs and nods then takes another bite of his omelet. “She misses you, too.”
“Jordan? Yeah, sure she does. She still at the B and B with Tony the stripper? I saw him on my way out of the house.”
“You did?”
“Not the brightest guy, huh?”
Elliot chuckles. “That’s an understatement.”
“But from what I’ve learned, Brian’s a smart dude. You have reason to be worried, Elliot. He’s pissed and wants revenge. I think he’s going to try to sleep with your wife.”
Elliot jumps from the table. “The fuck is that?”
The trio of brothers stop eating to look our way again and my eye catches with who I guess is the youngest. It doesn’t take me more than a minute to place why I know his face.
I raise an eyebrow at Elliot, silently warning him that we can’t continue to make a scene. “Sit down and calm the fuck down. I didn’t say Courtney wants to fuck him. He’s been posting shit on his social media accounts for a long time about an eye for an eye, making you pay, and giving you what you deserve.”
“He mentions me?”
“No, but it’s obvious. I mean, unless there was another guy other than you and Todd that’s still alive. The comments about the one of you that’s already gotten his who is dead, I’m guessing that’s Todd. He’s said shit about teaching the remaining one a lesson.”
Elliot shakes his head. “I don’t think so.” Then he catches me glancing in the direction of the table of brothers again.
“You recognize one of them from town?”
“No. But one of them is Matthew James.”
“Fuck,” Elliot says, recognizing the name and looking in the man’s direction. “Are you sure?”
I send him a sarcastic glare. Is he serious? Of course, I’m sure. I know more about everything than some people know about one topic. “Yeah, I’m sure. He did a movie with your sister.”
“I know. It’s fine, though. He still wouldn’t know me. I didn’t go to the opening and I’ve hardly ever been pictured with her.”
I take another look at the man known in Hollywood as your classic fuck-up. I don’t usually give much attention to gossip rags, but Courtney had one up in the attic in a box. I got bored and started leafing through it. An article hypothesized that he was on the run from a one-night stand who publicly spoke out and claimed her pregnancy was his doing. I guess he ran to Falls Village to avoid accepting the consequences of his actions.
Matthew James likes to drink and from what the waitress overheard; by the looks of him, so does the man who stopped at our table. I hope they don’t come into the bar I’ve been hanging out at with Brian Edwards and recognize me.
“So what are you going to do about Amanda’s ex? You need me?”
“Nah, I’m planning on letting him hang himself. He’s got a big mouth and an even bigger case of bravado. He’ll fall right into my trap and incriminate himself by the end of the week.”
“I’m not letting my wife leave my
sight until then. That fucker isn’t getting anywhere near her.”
I smile. As if Courtney would even see the man if he did. I’ve been in her company; she doesn’t realize men other than Elliot even exist any longer.
We finish our meal, pay our check, and turn to leave. On our way past the table of brothers, we overhear part of their conversation.
“I can’t believe you pulled off this campaign in only a few weeks,” one of the men states. “And you’re not even the best looking one of us. I win that award. You saw the meme I sent about our birth months being the type of sibling we are, right? March birthdays are for the most attractive.”
The other two men groan then one says, “Not sure how you fit on that plane from la-la land with a head that big.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t an issue. Now my dick, on the other hand…”
“Oh, you mean the one that made you need to run back here?”
“Don’t be a douche, Mason. I’ve wrapped my junk every fucking time, sometimes doubling up. She’s lying, that baby isn’t mine…if she’s even pregnant.”
“It must really suck to never be able to trust anyone,” the man whose name is Mason says with a far-off look in his eyes.
“Mace,” the other of the three soothes. “Man, it’ll be okay. It’ll get easier with time. You’ll fall in love again someday. Ella wouldn’t want you to be alone.”
“Max,” Mason warns. “Don’t.”
“I don’t think I’m going to go back,” Matthew James says. “All I want from life right now is to find a nice small-town girl to have a normal relationship with. I’ve been thinking about re-opening the theater if Max and Mallory pull this revitalization off.”
Elliot and I make eye contact when we make the connection between these brothers and Mallory James, the girl spearheading the revitalization of Falls Village, then we tuck our heads down and quietly leave the diner.
I climb into Elliot’s car. “Dump me off at the end of Waterland Isle. I’m going to head to the hotel where Brian is and see if he wants to hang out down at the hotel bar. See if I can get him to loosen up a bit then start oversharing like he enjoys.”
Elliot does as I ask, pulling over in a commuter lot and letting me out like some random vagabond hitchhiker and we promise to be in touch soon. After he pulls away, I walk the mile to the hotel where Brian Edwards is staying and remind myself that I need to think of him as Carl.
The hotel lobby is next to empty, the only people there are the few employees who need to be and a woman on her way out. Her shoulder threatens to brush mine, but I manage to leap out of her way. It must strike her as odd, and she glances over her other shoulder to examine me as a man flies out of the elevator in hot pursuit of her.
“Devil,” he calls while zipping his pants. “Wait!”
I watch as the man chases the woman he seems to have given a very appropriate nickname to, before turning toward the employee at the desk. “Is Mr. DeMato in his room?”
The hotel employee lifts his chin in the direction of the hotel bar, and I see Brian sitting there with a drink already empty in front of him.
I head in his direction and notice that he’s drunk as I sit next to him. That empty drink must be this fourth or fifth by the stench of booze coming from his pores and the slight swaying of his body on the stool. “Hey, man. Whatcha up to? I stopped by to see if you wanted to hang out, maybe see if there were any hot pieces of ass looking for a couple of guys to hang out with.”
He startles, not having been alert enough to have seen me as I approached. “Oh, hey! Hey, Ian!” he turns toward the bartender. “My friend Ian is here.”
I laugh and make eye contact with the man behind the bar. “How many we on?”
“That’s five. I cut him off.”
“Thanks,” I say to the bartender then turn back to Carl. “Let’s get you up to your room.”
“Promise me you’ll be gentle,” he jokes. “I don’t usually let strange men take me to my room.”
I roll my eyes and shrug off the stares from the bartender. I’m confidant in my sexuality. Then I wrap my arm under Carl and hurl him from the stool.
We get to his room and he slides the keycard from his pocket then waves it in front of the door. That’s when I see the wall above his bed.
Chapter Three
There are pictures on every inch of space of the wall above the headboard. I can decipher some of Amanda with Justin, others with Elliot from the doorway. As I move farther into the room, I assume the third man pictured must be Todd. I also spot a few of Courtney and Elliot. On closer inspection, I take notice of the big red Xs that slash across the ones of Todd, as if Brian’s mission with him has been accomplished.
“What, um, what’s going on here, pal?” I ask, trying to sound curious and not judgmental. “It’s looking like a college chick’s dorm.”
Carl, or Brian, moans and flops onto his bed, his hands cover his face as he lowers his head. “Just some friends,” he lies.
I raise an eyebrow and move in closer, putting a hand on his shoulders as they begin to shake. “Hey,” I soothe. “It’s okay. You can tell me what’s going on. We’re friends, right?”
“I had friends once. A life and a job. I lost everything when she left me.”
“Who’s she?” I ask, nodding at the wall. “The blonde or the brunette? They’re both with that same guy.”
Carl scoffs. “That’s Montgomery. He helped her ruin my life.”
“Okay,” I draw out the word as if I don’t understand what he’s trying to tell me. “Maybe you should start at the beginning.”
Carl heaves in a deep sigh, then admits his subterfuge. “My name isn’t Carl. It’s Brian Edwards, and she’s my ex-wife. The blonde. Amanda.”
I nod but don’t comment so he’ll keep talking.
“I took her for granted and she left me.” He begins to sob into his hands. “I couldn’t get her pregnant and she left me.”
I walk over to the mini fridge and retrieve a bottle of water. I turn the cap then hand it to him opened. He reaches out and takes a huge gulp then turns his hand over for the top. He struggles with his fine motor skills, so I take it from him and secure it before placing it on the table beside his bed.
“We met not long after she graduated from Florida State. Go Seminoles!” He chuckles. “It happened so fast. I should have known it wouldn’t last.”
I nod, but did I believe that? I used to think no couple was built to last. That the institution of marriage was some bullshit social experience that worked for some based on luck, not love. After meeting Jordan Collins, I’m not so sure if I was correct. I’d even venture to say, it might be the first time that I wasn’t. With the divorce rate being at an all-time high, it shouldn’t be the way I’m thinking. But since Jordan entered my life, I’ve changed in many ways.
“And it didn’t. She never loved me.” He laughs, but it’s not a happy sound. “She never got over him.” He nods to the wall. “Not even after he died.”
“Oh, ah…” I begin with my eyes widening to make him think I’m questioning his hand in the matter.
He laughs. “You should see your face. No, I didn’t kill the man that fucked my wife and did the one thing I couldn’t.”
Now I furrow a brow in mock confusion.
“He knocked her up.”
“Wow, I’m sorry.”
Brian waves me off and goes on to tell me how he and Amanda met. “She was so beautiful. I noticed her the minute she walked into the diner that night. Well, morning, actually. She was alone and crying. There were no empty tables, but I was alone and asked her to sit with me.”
Brian Edwards hadn’t been able to sleep. He was stressed out about his job and his mother was on yet another one of her drinking benders. The pressures of trying to make something of himself while hiding the fact that he cared for his alcoholic mother, whom his father refused to take to task and keep her under control, was proving to be too much for the young college graduate scheduled to work clos
e to sixty-hour weeks. One business trip to Florida had changed all of that. Or it had for a while.
Brian found himself in a diner at three a.m. when a beautiful girl walked through the door in tears and nowhere to sit. She caught his eye, and he stood and asked her to join him, said he wasn’t using the other side of his booth and that she could sit and eat while he drank his coffee and looked through his papers.
She nodded, and the hostess sat her down with a paper placemat with the map of Florida on it and utensils wrapped in a napkin. “Thanks,” she hiccupped through a sob. “Can I have a coffee too, please. Oh,” she reached out to the hostess, “tell the waitress to do my order separate.”
Brian shook his head in the negative when she wasn’t looking.
“I won’t bother you. Thanks for the seat. I couldn’t sleep and I can’t be in my apartment right now.”
“No problem. I’m actually happy for the company. I could use a break. The words are literally jumping off the paper at me.”
She chuckled, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Whatcha reading about?”
“Nothing interesting. Numbers and stats. I’m here for a conference for work. I’m in business. Accounting and Analytics. Boring shit, really.”
She sobbed a silent cry, then nodded. “I just graduated, but I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up. Where are you from?”
“Boston. I went to Richmond, then Northeastern. I’m working in Boston now. You?”
“I grew up here. Went to school here, too. I’ll probably die here alone.”
Brian studied her for a moment, understanding that something had recently happened to put her in the melancholy mood. “What’s got you going all Eeyore?”
Her eyes rose to his, but then the waitress showed up with her coffee and a menu. “You need a minute, or do you know what you want?”
“Oh, I’m not hungry. Just the coffee for me.”
Brian looked up at her from under his lashes then caught the eye of the waitress. He cleared his throat, then placed his order that he planned to share, but not knowing what she liked, he ordered close to one of everything suited for breakfast. “I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll have the four-egg omelet with tomatoes, spinach, and cheese, toast with butter on the side, and an order of home fries. A small stack with sausage and bacon, too, please.”
