“Things change, and despite what you think, I do love her and nothing you can say will ever change that.” Devin’s tone is steady, and his eyes are pinned to Pete, with his hand still in mine.
“Time will tell, in the meantime, you still have my number, use it for when you tire of her.” Pete sneers, stands, and walks away.
Chapter Twenty
Devin
Well that was embarrassing. Thankful that no one else overheard the tense conversation or was sitting already at the table, I take a deep breath and turn to Connie who has unshed tears in her eyes. Her hand is still in mine and she’s biting her lower lip again.
“Are you okay?” I ask her, leaning toward her.
She shakes her head. “That was someone you’ve been with in the past, I assume?”
“Yes.” I answer with a nod.
“How recent?” she asks.
“A few months, maybe? His brother is an intern for my dad’s office and always comes with him.”
“And you guys…were nothing serious?”
“I will tell you this, I’ve not had any serious relationships with any of the men that I’ve been involved with. Being bi, or gay is not part of my father’s agenda. I would not be allowed to be in a relationship openly with a man. That’s why it’s all been discreet. But I don’t want you to listen to anything that he was saying.”
“Kind of hard not to, when what he says is true.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Well, we have an expiration date, and then there is the topic that we talked about earlier, about you and other…men.” She lowers her voice after looking around.
“Can I ask you a question and expect that you will be absolutely honest?” Do I want to know the answer to this? Will it change everything to hear what she says?
“Yes, I’ll always be honest, you should know that by now,” she tells me.
“Does it bother you, me being with another man?” I hold my breath in anticipation of her answer.
She doesn’t immediately answer me, but I see the warring of her mind in her posture, the fact that she won’t look at me, and that she’s pulled her hand from mine.
“Con, if you’re not okay with it, then I won’t.” I tell her.
“Ah, there are the newlyweds! Congrats on the marriage, you sure as heck surprised all of us!” One of my mother’s friends comes up to the table and pulls out a chair.
I see Connie blow out a breath and fix her frown to a smile as she turns her gaze to our new table companion.
“Thank you,” she says, as if we weren’t about to have a serious conversation about sex.
“And Constance, is your family here this evening?” She asks.
“No ma’am, they’re not big on large events. They’ll attend some smaller ones here and there. But they have their plates pretty full.”
“Oh nonsense. Half of us come here for the free food and booze, isn’t that right, mister?” The woman elbows me.
“That’s actually quite true.” I say looking between the women. “It’s the main reason that I do.”
A waiter with a cart places plates full of food on the tables and my mother’s friend stands up quickly.
“I better get to my seat before my husband eats my plate, very nice to meet you Constance. You kids enjoy the free food!” she winks and walks away.
We ate and mingled a little bit but, the evening wouldn’t be complete without some slow dancing. My parents like to put on a full event and never leave out anything you would expect from an event. And so far, we’ve checked each mark off of the list for tonight.
She sways in my arms to the beat with her cheek resting on my shoulder. My arms are fastened around her waist tightly as we move around the small space we’ve commandeered on the dance floor.
“Can we finish our conversation from earlier?” I ask quietly.
“I don’t think this is the right place to have such a conversation,” she replies.
“True, but I don’t want to waste a moment, I don’t want to have anything lingering.”
“Why?” She picks up her head and looks up at me.
“What if it is something that can change the future of our situation?”
“The future of our situation is easy. I’m your fake wife. I’m your beard. I am here to satisfy a specific role and at one point that role will end.” Her tone is even – without any emotion
“What if it doesn’t?” I ask for what I feel is the millionth time.
“Everything ends.” She says sadly.
Why does she feel that it is the case? What makes her think that there’s no happy ending?
We’re walking into the apartment when she finally breaks the silence.
“So, I think it’s going great, you?”
“My parents seem to like you.”
“I think that they do too.” She nods.
“What about you?” I ask.
“What about me?” she looks at me with confusion.
“Do you like me?” I figure why the hell not.
“Of course, that’s a weird question” she shrugs.
We both remove our jackets, when I turn around, she’s leaning against the back of the couch. I approach her, place my hands on the edge of the couch on both sides of her caging her.
“No Connie. Do you like me?" I pause. "Because, I’m finding that I like holding your hand, that I like kissing you, and that I like being wrapped up in you while we’re in public.”
I’ve shocked her. She stares at me not exactly knowing what to say, but isn’t pushing me away.
“I’m going to kiss you again.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“I’m giving you the chance to tell me no.”
“What if I don’t want to?” she whispers.
My hands go to her back as her hands go to the nape of my neck, her fingers running through my hair. Our lips press together, our tongues tangle and our breaths become one.
Without breaking our connection, I turn her and move her in the direction of the bedroom.
Chapter Twenty-One
Connie
My mind is racing, we’re making out. Not just a peck, but full on making out. My tongue is in his mouth, his in mine. Our hands running all over each other as he steers me to his bedroom.
We’ve crossed the boundaries and I’m not going stop it from happening. All the pent-up tension from all of the events, constant touching, and the kisses that weren’t supposed to mean anything. But they are more and more.
Someone knocks on the front door. Quietly at first, then louder as we continue to ignore it.
Knock! Knock! Knock! Pound! Pound! Pound!
“Ugh!” He groans. “Ignore it.”
“Devin! I know you’re in there! Answer the door!” a voice yells from the front door sounding like his father.
His movements freeze from the voice and I hear him expel a “fuck.”
I take the opportunity to break free from his embrace and rush from his room to mine. I press my back against the door and let out a shaky breath.