“About time you could join us,” Rachel called out.
“Excellent teamwork out there,” Davidson said, taking Piper’s hand and guiding her out of the water.
“Thanks,” she said.
“It was all Piper. She knew just what to do,” Trevor said.
“You picked a good one in her. I’m impressed.”
His breath caught for a minute on the words, his sense of guilt welling up inside him. He liked Davidson, genuinely liked the man and what he stood for. He gave Trevor a shot fresh out of college when he’d been angry, but eager. He owed Davidson better than this manufactured story.
Unfortunately, the cost of being honest was far too high.
7
the camaraderie
PIPER NEEDED A NAP.
And a margarita.
Those ladies could come back and give her a full body massage, too. She’d even get naked in front of the whole damn house if she had to.
The distance they’d kayaked hadn’t been that far, even if you included crossing the lake to get back to Davidson’s house, but the exertion kicked her ass just the same.
It had to be even worse for Trevor, who’d done all the rowing and had to accept a loss on top of it.
He’d had a pinched look on his face since rowing onto the shore, which left Piper feeling like she’d let him down. He was the one who rolled them, but they were a team, and if he lost, they lost.
She opted to give him some space that afternoon after they got back. She showered, got dressed, and stepped out, joining Christina and Deanne on the deck where they sat on Adirondack chairs, drinking lemonade.
“Where did the guys get off to?” Piper asked, taking a seat next to Deanne.
“They’re down there by the water with Davidson. He started talking about fishing and they all wandered down with him giving us ladies a few blissful minutes without all the dick measuring,” Deanne handed her a glass of lemonade.
“Speaking of dicks, where’s she who shall not be named?” Piper said making the ladies laugh before, taking a sip of her drink and grabbing a chair of her own.
Lemon burst on her tongue…real lemon, not the fake stuff and she sighed in pure bliss.
Nice touch, Davidson. Nice touch.
“Maybe Steve drowned her in the lake. God knows I would,” Christina muttered.
“What’s up with her anyway?” Deanne asked.
“Maybe her thong is too tight,” Christina said.
“She had a thing with Trevor once,” Piper said.
Christina and Deanne both swung shocked looks at her, their mouths gaping open.
“No way!” Deanne said.
“Yeah, he told me yesterday.”
“He waited until yesterday to tell you? Seriously? I would have filleted Mike if he waited until we got here to tell me something like that,” Christina said.
“What Christina said,” Deanne said, raising her glass.
“I’m not worried about Trevor. It was in the past,” Piper said. Restless energy forced her out of her chair.
They weren’t a real couple, but she’d be lying to herself if she didn’t acknowledge that a streak of jealousy coursed through her every time she thought about the fact that that wretched woman had her hands on him, among her other body parts.
And why wouldn’t she? Men did it. Rachel had probably gotten her training of getting-all-things-desired young by riding a wave of lemmings as the most popular, most likely to succeed prom queen, and teenage minion puppet master.
Cut from the same cloth as all the vicious twits she’d had the unfortunate experience of knowing in high school.
Of course, Piper had to consider what version of Trevor Rachel got. Maybe Piper needed to be grateful.
“You’ve got a lot more to offer than she does anyway. You’re prettier and of course, it’s nice that one doesn’t need to carry holy water, a crucifix, and garlic around you, to boot.”
“Now that right there is a vote of confidence,” Piper said with a grin.
“I hope no matter how this all turns out, you and Trevor…” she turned to Christina, “and you and Mike will come to the wedding.”
“Well, isn’t this chummy,” Rachel said as she joined them on the deck. She leaned back against the railing and tossed her hair with a hand. “What? I’m not invited to the wedding?”
“God, no,” Deanna said.
Piper choked on her lemonade and sputtered, searching for a napkin.
“Wow, that was blunt,” Rachel returned.
“Blunt, do you recall the way you scoffed at my offered arm today on the lake? Seems like blunt is about the only language you understand,” Christina said.
“Well, in the spirit of being blunt…” she turned to Piper, “how long have you and Trevor really been dating?”
“We’ve been over this, Rachel.”
“Yes, we have. But I remembered something a little interesting. Trevor had his place completely renovated and then had a housewarming party. Three months ago. And you weren’t there. Kind of interesting.”
That wasn’t in the fucking binder.
Dammit all, she took on the challenge of being his girlfriend and even brought with her a virtually photographic memory. The least he could do was give her what she needed to memorize.
Three months ago, that would have been May. She’s a school teacher. May would be toward the end of the school year, but, but, but…shit she had nothing.
She couldn’t live with herself if she screwed Trevor up by tripping over something so stupid.
“Unfortunately, I missed a few social events at the end of the school year. The district decided to reorganize and we had several required meetings to get things in place.” Piper took another sip of her drink for her suddenly dry throat.
“Hmmm,” Rachel hummed. “You couldn’t spare a couple hours on a Saturday night to support, Trevor?”
Who the hell was she to question Piper’s dedication to Trevor? She had been relegated to one of Trevor’s many conquests, and Piper…Piper what? Piper wasn’t even a conquest. Mail order brides had more clout than Piper.
Wasn’t that just a kick in the ass?
“Teacher’s evenings are rarely their own. I have a career, I’m serious about it, and I was needed elsewhere. Trevor respects that.”
“Trevor has never even mentioned you,” Rachel said with a smirk.
“Why would he mention me to you? You were just a way for him to pass the time and it was a long time ago.”
Rachel stiffened up and her eyes narrowed to slits. “He’s never getting this promotion. He marched around Williams and Stensky for years banging everything with a pulse, everyone from executives to women in the mail room. He’s a vile, loathsome, man whore.”
“It’s hard being forgettable, but when it comes down to it, despite everything you do to call attention to yourself, he sees right through you. Davidson is a smart guy. I have a feeling he sees through you, too.”
“You bi—”
“What’s going on out here, ladies?” Trevor asked, stepping out onto the deck with Mike, Kent, and Davidson not far behind.
“Just a little ‘getting to know you’ session,” Piper said, leaning against the railing. She gave him a flirty grin.