Come Together

by Jessica Hawkins

  “Look, I think he’s just really desperate. He doesn’t know what to do with himself.”

  “What?” I snapped.

  “You have to understand – he’s confused. He thought you loved him.”

  I began to feel light-headed as her words sank in. “Does that mean you’ve – you’ve slept with him recently?”

  “What?” she exclaimed. “With Bill?”

  “Bill? No, I’m talking about David. What are you talking about?”

  “Like I said, I’m not comfortable with this. This is between you and Bill.”

  “I don’t understand. Did you or did you not sleep with David?”

  Her eyes darted away from mine, looking anywhere but at me. “No,” she exhaled. “We kissed once, that was it. I saw Bill earlier tonight. He said he freaked and lied to you, and he begged me to play along. He said it was ultimately in your best interest. That it’d help you realize what you’re getting into.”

  I rolled my lips together as tears of relief threatened. He didn’t sleep with her. He didn’t lie to me. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

  She nodded. “It’s really a favor to Bill. He deserves loads better. In fact, you and David just might be perfect together.” She turned back to her group, effectively dismissing me.

  Maybe it was the alcohol or the fact that I’d had a tough week, but in that moment, her comment weaseled its way under my skin. “Excuse me?”

  “Go away, seriously, Liv. I have morals, unlike you, that I’m not willing to compromise by lying. That doesn’t mean I want to be friendly with you. I think what you did was pretty selfish and disgusting.” Selfish and disgusting. I wondered if those were the things Bill, Lucy and Andrew called me when they were together.

  “Mind your own fucking business,” I told her. “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Are you kidding?” she asked, turning to face me again. “I know that you let David have sex with you while you were married. Which was really stupid because you gave up everything for someone who’s pretty much unattainable.”

  “Unattainable?”

  “Guy like him, he’ll never settle down. He’ll get tired of you too.”

  “You think David got tired of you?”

  “Of me?” She laughed. “No, I mean all the other girls. He just follows his dick. He wasn’t getting it from me, and you were obviously an easy target.”

  My mouth was agape when Gretchen bumped me aside. “He could have screwed you in a second if he wanted to,” Gretchen sneered.

  “Gretchen, seriously? What do you know?”

  “I know that a guy who’s interested doesn’t go on four dates without making a single move.”

  “Like you’ve ever made it to four dates? Everyone knows you’re a slut!”

  I snapped. Before I knew what was happening, I had tossed my drink in her face, drenching her in a sticky concoction of vodka and soda. And a lemon rind, which bounced off her chest and landed in her cleavage.

  She screamed so loud that Gretchen and I hopped back two steps. She lunged, sending Gretchen and me back further before her friend stepped between us to restrain her. “Are you kidding me?” she screamed at us. “You’re both trash! Stay the fuck away from me and my sister!”

  Gretchen and I retreated hastily and grabbed Ava and Bethany, who were standing with their mouths open, to run upstairs.

  When we had run a block down the street, Gretchen stopped and burst into laughter. I looked at her, horrified, before joining in and soon all four of us were in hysterics.

  “Did you see the look on her face?” Bethany cried. “She was livid!”

  “I feel awful,” I said between fits of laughter, “but she had it coming.”

  “Maybe we are trashy sluts,” Gretchen put in. “But I’d rather be that than an annoying, judgmental bitch.”

  “Amen,” Bethany agreed.

  “Oh my God,” I said, exhaling. “Can we please go somewhere else? I’m too pumped to go home. Brian Ayers texted me this afternoon. He invited David and me to some party at a bar around here. Should we go there?”

  Gretchen made a face.

  “Come on,” I goaded. “Try to play nice.”

  “This from a girl who just dumped a cocktail on her best friend’s sister.”

  They giggled as I rolled my eyes and messaged Brian.

  After I’d sent the text, I stared at the phone as we walked, trying to think of what I wanted to say to David. Eventually I just slipped it back in my purse.

  Brian, like the gentleman he was, greeted us out front. “Well, I will certainly be the hero of the evening with four beautiful women on my arm.”

  “Thank you, Brian,” I said, accepting his elbow. He offered his other one to Gretchen, who frowned. She pretended she hadn’t seen it, giving Ava the opportunity to step in instead.

  While I waited for a drink at the bar, I noted that Ava and Brian seemed to hit it off. Watching them laugh and flirt made me miss David more. When I approached them, Ava was recounting our night, and Brian put an arm around me.

  “This one doesn’t take shit,” he told Ava before turning to me. “I knew you had edge, remember?” I smiled and nodded as I recalled his affinity for my leather dress at the Meet & Greet party back in May.

  Ava excused herself to the restroom. I looked for Gretchen and spotted her deep in conversation with Bethany and two men in suits.

  “She doesn’t waste any time, does she?” Brian commented.

  “What is it about her that bugs you?”

  “Nothing, honey. Just not my type.”

  “Why not? You said you like smart girls, which she is, and there’s no denying that she’s gorgeous.”

  “What you say is true, Liv. But she’s also high-maintenance and snobby.”

  “Let me get this straight. Pretty girl tries to kiss you, you turn her down.”

  “Yes.”

  “Because she’s high-maintenance and snobby?”

  He sighed, still watching her. “Look at her. She’s beautiful. Why does she wear all that makeup and dress like that? She doesn’t need it. I want a girl who’s comfortable in her own skin.”

  I didn’t respond but peered at him.

  “She’s pissed I didn’t fall for her charms,” he continued. “She’s very smooth, I’ll admit, but it doesn’t work on me. It’s not genuine.”

  I turned back to look at Gretchen. It made sense as to why she’d called him names. Not many men had turned her down since Greg broke her heart in college. Brian had wounded her pride. “She is genuine,” I told him. “She’s good. She’s a catch. So I guess you both lose.”

  “You know very well that she has a new boyfriend, so what does it matter?”

  “True. And it’s an old boyfriend anyway. They dated in college.”

  “Oh? And they’re back together?”

  “Yes. Back then, he broke up with her suddenly and left for Japan that weekend. She was a mess, but I guess now he wants to work things out.”

  I glanced at him. He wiped the shock from his face quickly, but not before I’d caught it. “I see,” he said. “Well, good on them. Where’s David?” he asked. “I thought he’d join you.”

  “Girls’ night,” I explained.

  “I was most shocked when I found out about you two.”

  “You and everyone else.” I sighed.

  “Isn’t it going well?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But you know, divorce is tough on everyone involved.”

  He nodded pensively. “I like to tease Dylan, but, actually, I noticed the way he is with you right away. Different, but in a good way.”

  My face softened. “Really?”

  He smiled down at me. “Really. You bring out something good in him. The circumstances suck, but you are a terrific match.”

  My next question tumbled out of my mouth. “You don’t think I’m just another one of his girls?”

  “Olivia,” he said with surprise. “Absolutely not. Any man with sense about him ca
n see that you aren’t the trifling type. And David has a great deal of sense. He doesn’t always use it when it comes to women, I’ll admit, but maybe that’s because he was keeping busy until you came along.”

  I realized that I was smiling. Putting it that way bothered me less than thinking he’d slept his way through Chicago.

  “And really,” Brian added, “your husband is abominable.”

  I laughed. “You just saw the worst side of him.” I rose on the balls of my feet and thanked Brian with a kiss on the cheek. When I came down, I was met with Gretchen’s grimace.

  “Is Greg still picking us up?” I asked her.

  “I thought so. He was supposed to be here already.”

  “Perhaps,” Brian cut in, “he came, saw you flirting with those gentlemen over there and rightly high-tailed it out of here.” He motioned to where Bethany still stood with the suits.

  Gretchen gave him a blatant scowl.

  “That’s attractive,” he noted sarcastically.

  “Oh, fuck off, Brian,” she retorted.

  “I’m not sorry that I prefer your smile over your scowl.”

  She reddened and looked confused for a moment before scowling harder. He only laughed before sauntering away.

  “He is so infuriating.”

  “Don’t let him get to you.”

  “He doesn’t get to me,” she said, flipping some hair over her shoulder. “I couldn’t care less what – oh, there’s Greg.” She ran off.

  Brian had moved to the end of the bar, and I noticed how his eyes narrowed in Gretchen and Greg’s direction. Sheesh, they really don’t like each other. Gretchen waved me over so Greg could give us a ride back.

  I pulled out my cell phone and looked at the picture I had taken of David’s profile. I was somewhere between buzzed and drunk, and I missed him acutely. I’d spent months trying to stay away from him. Now I didn’t have to. I shouldn’t have to miss him ever; it wasn’t fair. I missed our weekend. I missed his smile. I wanted it back. I was only a short cab ride away from his bed, from his warmth. I needed to see him.

  When I told Gretchen I wasn’t coming back with her, she hailed me a cab, put me in and shut the door before I had a chance to say goodnight. She either didn’t want me thrashing next to her in bed, or she believed I was making the right choice.

  I was only calmed once we pulled up to the place that was, for all intents and purposes, my new home. It was late; past one o’clock in the morning, so my elevator ride was uninterrupted. I was thankful, because my need for David was growing quickly, and all I wanted was to feel him any way I could have him. Was it too soon for me to be sneaking into his apartment uninvited? I didn’t care.

  I unlocked the door and eased it shut behind me. I took one step with my right foot and removed my left shoe. Then I stepped forward with my left and did the same with my right shoe. I went directly to the bedroom, dropped both heels and climbed over David, who was sleeping on his side. I pulled down the comforter and touched his hot skin.

  “David,” I whispered, running my hand over his chest and down his stomach. He sighed and jerked beneath me. My hand continued down, gliding under the elastic of his boxer briefs and wrapping around him.

  He groaned, and his eyes opened. “Hey,” he grated, and I quieted him with a kiss. Without disconnecting our mouths, I shifted to straddle him, and he immediately flipped onto his back.

  He went to speak, but I cut him off. “I want you to fuck it all out of me, David,” I whispered and deepened the kiss.

  He didn’t ask. His big hands just went straight to my hips to squeeze me against him. I moaned because he was hard, and after days without him, I didn’t think I’d last two seconds. He hiked up my dress, pulled it over my head and removed my bra with surprising swiftness. I straightened up, and his hands went straight to my breasts. I reached between us, freed him of his underwear, shifted my thong and sank onto him.

  I was prepared to ride him in his half-asleep state, but suddenly he was fucking me hard. He was fucking it all out of me like I’d asked, giving me the gift of temporary oblivion. I bounced forward with his furious upward thrusts, and his hands jumped to my waist, pushing me down to meet him faster. I came quicker than I ever had. He kept his pace until he was gushing into me, growling from his chest. His hold remained strong as his head dropped back to the pillow, and his hips slowed to a gradual stop.

  When he finally let go, I collapsed next to him on the bed. He pulled my back close against his front.

  “David – ” I whispered.

  “Sleep,” he grunted in my ear, and his breathing evened, so I did as he said.

  CHAPTER 15

  A CHICAGO DOG was the perfect antidote for my mild hangover and tasted even more delicious because of my late night workout.

  “Liv,” Jenny sang from her reception desk when Serena and I returned from lunch. “You got a delivery!” On her desk sat a long, rectangular box with a perfect red ribbon fastened to the top.

  Serena immediately scurried over to investigate, but I just looked at the box from across the room. Both pairs of eyes were on me when Serena asked, “Well, are you going to open it, or are you just going to stare at it?”

  I went to Jenny’s desk and tugged one end of the ribbon before hesitantly lifting the lid. Inside were twelve perfectly formed, long-stemmed roses. The best roses, I was sure, in the whole city of Chicago, because their sender wouldn’t accept otherwise.

  “What’s the card say?” Jenny prodded.

  “Looking forward to our date tonight.” Love, David.

  That morning, I’d woken up to a note on David’s pillow. It explained that he’d left early for a full day and that he was taking me out for dinner to talk. He’d ‘pick me up’ at his apartment later, like he’d promised.

  Jenny’s confused voice brought me back to the moment. “I didn’t realize Bill was so romantic,” she said.

  I was tired of pretending, and I didn’t want to anymore. In that moment, my chest swelled with love for David, and he was all I cared about. I shrugged. “They’re not from Bill.” I picked up the box and left them gaping behind me.

  In my office, I set them on my desk, close to me as I worked.

  “Thought you might need this,” Serena said from the doorway a few minutes later.

  I glanced up. “Thanks,” I said, taking the vase full of water from her. I set to filling it with the flowers as she watched.

  “They’re beautiful,” she commented. I looked her up and down as I worked, waiting for her question. “Who are they from?”

  I laughed. “You are so not subtle.”

  “We’re, like, dying to know! What’s going on?” She lowered her voice and inclined her head at me. “Are you having an affair?”

  “Do you think I would tell you guys if I was? Blabbermouths,” I muttered.

  “Come on,” she urged.

  “I’m not ready to talk about it, but when I am, Serena, you will be the first to know. Can you gather me some assignments for the plane ride to Dallas tomorrow?”

  “Sure thing, Miss Germaine,” she said, smiling to herself.

  ~

  Luckily for me, Gretchen was always prepared for a last-minute date. Since the shopping I’d done with David was mostly for work attire, I stopped by her place to borrow a dress. I was in the mood to wear something sexy, and there wasn’t more exciting news to Gretchen. Her little black dress collection rivaled any starlet’s.

  Back at David’s apartment, I held the dress up to myself in the mirror. It had a sweetheart neckline and the upper back was made up of just three vertical straps. It was tight and somewhat revealing. Perfect for a first official date. Even though we were far beyond that, my nerves buzzed. And as always when I thought of David, excitement sparked between my legs.

  I fixed my hair into a soft chignon, leaving some pieces free to frame my face. Gretchen had teased that I should distract him by wearing red lipstick, even though I’d told her I needed his full attention. I was unprepar
ed, unsure of how our conversation would go, but certain that David would lead it as always. I took Gretchen’s advice anyway, and was just gliding on the lipstick when I heard the front door. I grabbed my clutch and threw my coat over my arm, a black cashmere wrap with leather trim.

  The bedroom was at one end of a hallway that opened into the living room. The living room bled into the kitchen, separated by a marble countertop that doubled as a breakfast bar. From where I stood at the mouth of the hallway, I could see David leaning his hips forward against the bar, facing the living room, a sweating beer bottle in one hand.

  He was as imposing as always when confined by walls and distinguished and sexy in a black suit. He scrubbed the beginnings of his five o’clock shadow, and his hair was disheveled, begging for my fingers to play in it.

  He hadn’t noticed me yet; he looked deep in thought between pulls of his beer. I took in the grim expression that only amplified his dark, severe features. It made him even more devastatingly handsome. I wouldn’t expect anything less, though. I’d been a fool to believe that time away from him might give me any clarity when just looking at him made me breathless. I was suddenly nervous. It was a moment before I built up the courage to step into the room, and his head snapped in my direction.

  He took a deep breath and stared at me as I advanced. “Olivia,” he said, letting my name roll off his tongue the way I loved. Only, it was different now that I had tasted that tongue and inhaled my own name from his mouth. Or maybe it was something on his end that made it sound different, an acknowledgement of our time together. It was sweeter.

  Though my instinct was to touch him, there was an air about him that dissuaded me, so I stopped some feet away. His eyes never left me for a moment.

  “Thank you for the beautiful roses,” I said.

  “I bet that got the girls talking.”

  “It did,” I said with a shy smile, “but I don’t care. I loved them anyway.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you ready, or – ”

  “I’m ready.”

  “Okay.” I tucked some hair behind my ear and waited for him to move.

  He turned his body to me and stepped forward, reaching out to run his thumb over my cheek. “You’re absolutely stunning,” he said. “But you’ll freeze.”