Those We Trust

by Victoria Ellis

  I let her choose a simple rose gold chain necklace and a larger, beaded bracelet and ring me up. The total is over two hundred dollars and I kind of want to tell her to put it all back, I’m not going. No fancy dinner party is worth spending an obscene amount of money for one night’s worth of clothes that I’ll never wear again. The young girl pops her bubble gum, and tilts her head to the side, telling me with her body language that she doesn’t have all day. I swipe my card, suddenly nauseous. Simon and I make more than enough money between my practice and his clients, but I still like to be frugal. I think about Mara again—I’m sure she has no problem spending money on clothes to make herself look and feel good. I decide I won’t be mad at myself about this purchase. I never spend money like this on myself.

  ~

  I spend the rest of day willing time to go faster until it’s finally six. I haven’t been this excited for a night out in a long time, probably because Simon and I seldom have nights out. We have nights in, on the couch, watching The Real Housewives.

  Simon’s already dressed and ready by the time I walk in. He looks dashing. I forgot how hot my husband looks in a suit. I feel my body grow a bit warmer as I look him up and down.

  “Well don’t you look good, Mr. Paulson.” I set my things down and throw my arms around his neck.

  “Just trying to keep up with you, Abs.” Simon looks down at me and gives me a small kiss on the lips. I tell him to let me go so I can get myself ready. He does as I say and pours himself some wine. He smiles. “Just a little pregame.”

  ~

  In our bathroom I try to make more of an effort with my face. I silently curse my mother for never teaching me about makeup. My sister was more of a tomboy, too. We just didn’t see the purpose. I bet Mara would be able to give me a few pointers. I darken my eyes more than usual and slip into my new dress. I admire myself in the mirror, not used to feeling so confident. It’s a nice change.

  After clasping my jewelry and changing into my pumps, I meet Simon right where I left him. His eyes light up now, and he tells me I’m beautiful. I feel a bit let down that he doesn’t find me sexy but remind myself that maybe sexy is a word of the past. I do a twirl and laugh as he takes me in his hands, sliding them up from either side of my hips around to my backside. “Best looking date at the party, what a lucky guy I am.”

  I like that he says that. I am happy for the reassurance.

  ~

  Mara opens the door and I instantly lose every single ounce of confidence I built up today. She looks absolutely stunning. She seemingly tried to be formal with a high-neck cocktail dress, but she couldn’t resist choosing a totally sheer option. The only coverage is a thin strip of black around her chest and bottom half. I don’t even look at Simon—I have no desire to see the look on his face. She’s wearing heels easily two inches higher than mine and it makes her already long, slender legs look somehow even more incredible.

  It feels like the three of us our standing there for an eternity before James pops up behind Mara. “Aren’t you going to invite this dazzling couple in?” Mara motions us past her and the dining room table and if I had any breath left in me, it would have been taken away. The long dining room table is decorated to the tens. A shimmering silver table cloth, a white runner lying atop, covers its entirety. There’s a gorgeous spread of appetizers from a cheese plate, to grapes, to a chocolate fondue fountain complete with strawberries, angel food cake, and marshmallows to dip. Not one inch of the table is left bare. I look over at James, and he’s beaming from ear to ear. “What do you guys think?” I can tell he’s proud of his creation.

  “James, you have completely outdone yourself, my man!” Simon exclaims.

  I nod in encouragement. “I see why you’re the head chef of the best restaurant in the city.”

  He blushes at that comment. “You two are far too kind. It is great though, isn’t it?” James says and we all laugh.

  I cannot get over Mara’s outfit. I could never pull something of that caliber off. I’m impressed with Simon; I haven’t caught him gawking even once yet. I glance back over to the table as James and Mara pour our first drinks of the evening. Everything’s been laid out with so much thought, so meticulously. I make a mental note that if James ever comes to see me, I should definitely prescribe something for his OCD. I’m half kidding. James is a wonderful guy and they’ve put a lot of effort into this night for the four of us. I’m grateful we’ve become friends so quickly.

  The four of us talk over Mara’s expensive wine and James’s delicious food as we wait for his main course, the grand finale. James lets us know that we only have a few more minutes and the food should be ready to be served. The guys make their way out to the garage to talk cars while Mara gives me a mini home tour now that they’ve settled in a bit.

  “It’s nowhere close to being done so no judging!” She playfully nudges my arm with her elbow and I take in how modern her taste is. She must think our home is trash. I remind myself that Mara doesn’t seem to be a judgmental person. The walls and carpeting throughout the home are a very light gray, almost white. The entire home, from what I have seen, is like a Pier One catalog. I can’t even fathom how much it costs to decorate the little they’ve done so far. We make our way to the enormous new library.

  “You love classics, I see,” I say, taking the books in one by one. Catcher in the Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman, The Great Gatsby, and Fahrenheit 451. It’s like a high school English class threw up in here. In a good way, of course.

  “I easily have over four hundred books here,” Mara says while admiring her shelves. “The rest are still packed away. It’s taken a bit longer than I thought to get everything out and in its rightful place.”

  “Let me know if I can ever help you with anything, I’d be glad to come over and chit chat while we organize.”

  “That would be really nice, Abbey. I’m going to take you up on that so you better not be saying it just to be nice.” We laugh and the guys come in just as the oven timer goes off.

  ~

  Dinner is superb. James was so excited to explain the meal to the three of us. He prepared a delicious entree of pork chops with fig and grape agrodolce. I have a fairly extensive vocabulary and I had no idea what agrodolce was until tonight. James informed us that the meal was cooked in balsamic vinegar and just the right amount of honey to sweeten it up a bit. The man knows what he’s doing in the kitchen. I devour my food, as does Simon. Mara isn’t quite as enthusiastic; I assume because she gets these types of meals frequently.

  No sooner than we’re finished with our last bites, Mara is standing up. “No dinner party with friends is complete without a party game!”

  I hate party games. Being the center of attention is terrifying. I’m much better one-on-one and I secretly hope we aren’t about to play charades. Mara and James move us to the living room and Mara explains the rules of the game she chose. She calls it, “The Couples Game” and references The Newlywed Game show and how its similar. I sigh in relief—at least it isn’t too horrible.

  James passes each of us a white board and Mara reads the first question. We’re told to write our answers and flip our boards upside down so our spouse can’t see our answers.

  Mara’s first question is for James and me: “What is your dream vacation?”

  James and I write down what our dream vacations are, while Mara and Simon try and guess what we’re going to say. I don’t even know what my own dream vacation is. Simon and I don’t travel much anymore. We’ve talked about a few big bucket list destinations, but we haven’t really settled on anything. “Okay, flip!” Mara yells. Her face is flushed from the wine.

  James reveals he wants to go to Italy and Mara guesses right, of course. One point for the Taylors. I flip my board over and show my sign, Greece. Simon looks at me confused. “Greece? We haven’t ever talked about Greece!” He laughs but I get a little annoyed.

  “Simon, I am certain we’ve spoken about Greece.” He turns his board arou
nd and Hawaii is written in big black letters. I roll my eyes and erase my board.

  “Okay,” James says, “This question is for Mara and Simon: how do you take your eggs?” James immediately falls into hysterics and I yell, “No fair! Of course the chef knows how his wife likes her eggs cooked!” We break out into laughter and we all write our answers. Mara and Simon both chose over easy, James and I turn our boards out and we wrote the same. We each get a point. I look at Simon and wink. “We’re still in it, baby.”

  “What is one item you’d be lost without?” James and I take a second to think; Mara and Simon are quick to write their answers. We flip our boards around. James’s board says Mara (of course). I said coffee, because for real, I could not make it through my day without it. Mara and Simon flip their boards around and they both wrote “Me” on theirs. They look at each other’s answers and burst out into laughter. I silently swear to myself. Of course they have matching answers.

  “Favorite subject in high school?” James reads. James guesses correctly again with English. Of course she said English. How masochistic. I get this one right, history and art. Simon has always said he loved both.

  “Okay, everyone. I have a question for my wife,” Simon announces. He’s been sitting quietly for a moment, unlike him, writing on his whiteboard. He flips his board around and the three of us are visibly confused - there wasn’t a question yet. The board reads, I was hoping my wife would join me for a romantic night downtown. What do you say, Abs? Dinner, drinks, and the fanciest hotel room overlooking the lake that an investment banker’s money can buy? I instantly blush but I’m already rosy and warm from the wine. Simon could not be more perfect tonight. I smile, walking over to him and taking a seat on his lap. “I say, yes.” I give Simon a long, passionate kiss. Even though Mara is my friend, our friend, a small part of me hopes it stings her a bit. I hope the little voice in my head warning me about her is wrong, especially after forming such a good connection with her, but sometimes she’s shady.

  I look over to Mara and James but Mara isn’t there; she’s gotten up and is refilling her wine glass. James claps and gives Simon a thumbs up, “Damn, guy! I should take a page out of your book.” I stay perched on Simon’s lap and Mara eventually comes back out. I swear she and Simon exchange a look but I attribute it to the wine.

  I’m on my fourth glass; it goes down smooth and makes me feel light as air. I stand up and make my way over to the powder room. I glance out the window as I pass it, just in time to see a man looking into the house. It all happens so quickly—I scream and drop my glass. Simon, Mara, and James all come running and by the time I look back up from the mess I made, the man is gone.

  “There was a man staring into your house, Mara! He was standing right out in the middle of your front yard. I swear it, I saw him.” I feel a bit dizzy now and I need to sit down. Simon can tell and he brings me a chair while James cleans up the broken glass.

  “Are you sure, Abs?” Mara says. “I freaked myself out when we first moved in. The light from inside hit the window just right and I saw my own reflection. It was out of the corner of my eye and I flipped thinking it was someone spying on me.”

  “No, Mara. I saw a man. I looked straight out at him. I couldn’t totally make him out because it’s so dark, but I’m positive he had a man’s stature. I think he was wearing a big jacket, too. I can’t be sure though.”

  Mara gives me a hug and goes to the refrigerator to get me some water, clearly thinking I had too much to drink and was seeing things. Why is no one freaking out that a man was watching us? I sit with my head in my hands, upset for ruining the rest of the night and our game, but also not wanting to look back out into the dark and see him again. After a few minutes, Simon comes over with my coat in hand.

  “I think it’s about time for us to get back, we’re about at our curfew my lady.” Simon helps me into my coat and we thank Mara and Simon for the evening. On our way out the door, I apologize again for cutting things short and make them promise me that they don’t think I’m crazy.

  “Don’t be silly, Abbey,” Mara reassures me.

  We bid each other good night and Simon and I walk across the street back to our home. I glance over my shoulder as we walk, knowing that someone is out there, watching us. A chill runs through my body and it isn’t from the light spring air.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mara

  I rest in bed after the perfect evening that sweet James tried creating for the four of us. It would have been absolutely perfect had it not been for Simon’s stupid ass stunt with the whiteboard. I was hoping my wife would join me for a romantic night downtown. What do you say, Abs? I mimic his distasteful voice in my head. You stupid ass. I sucked your dick earlier and got nothing in return and you have the audacity to ask your wife on a date in front of me? Hope you wash my spit off your cock before you fuck her tonight, Simon.

  I am pissed. Rightfully so, too. What kind of man allows another dude’s wife suck him off and then, not even four hours later, does an unthinkable act like that? I’m so mad at Simon that I want to make him pay for how he’s made me feel tonight. The only way I can think of is to fuck my husband’s brains out. Something that Simon wants so bad but he’s just too much of a goddamn loser to do it. I know this will get him where it hurts.

  James is almost asleep and has his earbuds in, listening to 2000s pop hits. He says it’s the only thing that can put him to sleep. I slide my hand under the covers and onto his dick. He’s soft but almost instantly grows hard when he feels my fingers wrap around him. He opens his eyes and looks at me, smiling sweetly. I jump on top of him, furious at Simon and ready to give James the fuck of his life. He should actually thank Simon for what he did to me.

  I straddle James and take him into my mouth, deep. He moans uncontrollably and I suck him just long enough to get him wet so he can slide smoothly inside of me. He tries pushing my head down so I’ll continue but I’ve already sucked one dick today, I don’t want to waste my time. I raise my hips and come down onto him and immediately start moving back and forth; he likes when I circle my hips too, said it drives him crazy. I screw my husband hard and fast while thinking about how mad I am at my lover. How I can’t stand him but I want it to be him that I’m on top of right now.

  When I’ve had enough of this position I turn around, not allowing him to slip out even for a second, and ride him that way, too. The feeling is incredible and I ride him like I’ll never fuck again. Each time I bring my body in an upwards motion and slam myself back down onto him, I can feel him pulsating.

  All I can think about is being mad, being jealous and envious and how bad I want to kill both of them, all the while every single bone in my body craving Simon. But James is who I have tonight. Any dick will do.

  I want Simon to hurt how I hurt so I reach over, without James realizing it, and grab my phone from where I was lying. I open the voice recorder app, hit the big red start button, and allow it to record all the moans and screams coming from James and me. I play it up a bit for dramatic effect; he needs to know how this could have been him but he decided to be a moron tonight.

  James and I continue for what seems like hours. I don’t stop and James can last forever. He comes and immediately gets hard again for me. I do love that about him - he’s so fucking into me it’s almost disgusting. My phone recorder has long since timed out, and the two of us come together at last and I roll off of him. I’m so tired I don’t care about the mess or how he kept his earbuds in the entire time. I fucked my husband to “Baby One More Time” and “Genie in a Bottle,” and I feel totally okay about it.

  ~

  The next morning I wake up to James bringing me a tray into our bedroom. “Wake up, sleepy head, I’ve made you breakfast in bed to say thank you for last night. You seriously know how to make a man feel good, M.”

  I sit up a bit and he slides the tray over me. He’s made biscuits and gravy, bacon, toast, and prepared fresh fruit. He’s completed the ensemble with orange juice an
d a single flower in a tiny vase.

  He laughs. “I figure I need to start stepping it up a bit after the way Simon asked Abbey on a date night.”

  If only you knew, James.

  By the time I finally finish breakfast and make my way downstairs, James is packing up his work things and I focus in on his routine. I can’t help but think about how incredibly boring his inner dialogue must be. Poor James. He’s a good guy, he’s just no Simon. Simon does it for me in every single possible way. I was so upset with him last night but after a good fuck and a long sleep, I’ve decided I’m over it.

  Abbey looked so pathetic last night trying to be more like me. Did she think it wasn’t written all over her face? She hasn’t ever stepped foot in a store that would sell a dress like the one she wore, but it still couldn’t outdo my own. I have to admit though, with her making an effort in her appearance, she looked better than I’ve ever seen her. Simon should be thanking me for that, too. He tried his best not to stare at me all night, but we locked eyes multiple times and I could tell he thought I looked good. He wished he were with me instead of her. He’s an easy read. And what the hell was with her causing a scene and crying about seeing a man out the front window? Her job must be making her paranoid. Perhaps she needs to schedule herself for a visit.