“Is it just me,” I whisper, “or are you also feeling super horny right now?”
“Race you back to the room.” He hops up, and we speed-walk past families and other couples. “Felt good being outside for a minute, though. This is a special place.”
“Yeah. I’m really glad we came.”
21
Nina
I can’t say that I’ve ever gone into a double-date situation with high hopes, but my ambitious goal for tonight is merely to suffer through it without anyone getting punched or having a drink thrown in their face. Having packed for a romantic sexy weekend getaway with Vince, all of my outfits were selected with the objective of inspiring him to rip them off me. For this dinner, I’ve chosen to wear the most conservative of options—a pretty red flowery dress and sandals. Vince has ostensibly spent exactly zero seconds deciding what to wear or worrying about what the next couple of hours of our life will be like.
“You ready to go?” he asks as he sends off an email and slides his phone into his pocket. I stare at his hands. His beautiful, slightly rough, capable hands. I want them on me. “You look beautiful. I love you in red.”
“Thanks. Let’s get this over with, I guess.”
He takes my hand and kisses my cheek. “I think this is gonna be fun. Not as fun as what we did on the couch this afternoon, but you know. Entertaining.”
I grab him and hug him. He hasn’t proved to be much of a hugger before now, but I just want to press my body up against his and breathe him in. He gently rubs my back, and I feel the masculine warmth of him down to my bones. The epic montage of sex this afternoon was a chaos of disparate emotions that I don’t have the time or space to sort through, but right now I feel dangerously attached to him.
There’s nothing like having a Them to make you feel like an Us.
We’re both startled to hear the door to the room next to us slam shut. We were treated to the muffled sounds of the couple going at it off and on for the past hour, and I mean “going at it” in the bad way. Not the way Vince and I were going at it. That was the good way. The really good way. And we were not quiet.
Vince’s hand is on the doorknob, but he waits to turn it because we hear the adjacent door open and shut again and a man’s voice hiss, “Sadie! Wait for me!”
Our wide eyes lock together. My hand covers my mouth as he starts laughing.
“Oh shit,” he says quietly.
“Oh no. We should wait—”
He opens the door and ushers me out into the hallway. Sadie is waiting at the elevator, hands on her hips, foot tapping. Russell strides toward her, his body rigid. If Sadie’s got daddy issues, she clearly wants a spanking. And a summer cold. Because she’s wearing what appears to be a large napkin tied around her torso and white shorts that confirm my suspicion that she goes commando. I guess I shouldn’t talk. I was barely wearing anything when we drove up here. What is it about Vince that just makes women want to expose themselves?
Vince and I are about ten feet behind Russell. When Sadie looks back, her petulant face falls, and then her eyes narrow.
“Hey, guys. I was just rushing downstairs so we wouldn’t have to keep you waiting.”
“So considerate, as always,” says Vince.
Russell slows his pace and turns his head. “Oh hello.”
“Small world. I guess we’ve got the room next to yours,” says Vince.
I watch Sadie’s face and read her thoughts: What the fuck? Fuck, they heard us fighting. Fuck, we heard them fucking. Fuck, I should have worn an even smaller napkin. She reaches out for Russell’s hand. “Small world, indeed. Still getting my head wrapped around this whole situation. You guys have a nice afternoon? We found the most adorable antique stores. Russ really hit the jackpot.”
“It wasn’t exactly a windfall, but I found the perfect vintage brass lamp for my home office and a copy of an old Herbie Hancock record that’s in much better condition than the one I have now.”
“Oh yeah? Which album?” Vince seems genuinely curious.
“Speak Like a Child. It’s not one of his best-known.”
“Yeah, I’ve got that one. Transitional. I love that album—Mickey Roker on drums. Great drummer.”
As we all step into the elevator, Russell gives Vince the once-over. “You like Roker? He played on my favorite Dizzy Gillespie album.”
“Big 4?”
“How’d you guess?”
“I dunno, instinct. ‘September Song.’”
“Yes! That’s my favorite track.”
While they continue geeking out over classic jazz artists and vinyl, Sadie leans back and widens her eyes at me, smirking. I smile and shrug and wonder if maybe this dinner won’t be so terrible after all. Maybe we’ll all get along. We definitely have the potential to, so why not?
Russell certainly looks more easygoing than he used to. He’s wearing dark jeans with cuffs and a black T-shirt. She must be dressing him. The most casual garments I’d ever seen him in were chinos and summer weight button-down shirts. He’s even wearing contacts. He once told me he’d rather be blind than stick contact lenses on his eyeballs. I guess he’d rather stick contact lenses on his eyeballs than not get to see Sadie’s tramp stamp up close.
Vince and I sit across from Sadie and Russell at a table on the deck. We have a panoramic view of the lake and mountains, and it has taken us all about two minutes to power through a bottle of red after Vince cryptically toasted “to fate” and Sadie toasted “to karma.”
“So, what have you guys been up to?” Sadie asks. “Just hanging out?”
“Oh, you know,” Vince says. “Hanging out, staying in, going out, eating out… Attending to certain neglected areas in Nina’s life.” He looks right at Russell as he says this. I pinch his thigh. “How about you guys?”
I don’t think Russell got the reference, and I’m glad.
“Same, really,” Sadie says. “We eat out practically every night. He’s developed a taste for it.” She glances at me with her eyebrow slightly arched.
“We went to a new tapas restaurant in Queens last week. Fantastic.”
Oh, Russ. So blissfully unaware of anything outside your own limited interests.
Sadie, on the other hand. Her eyes are always wide open and watching everything. But it’s not a doe-eyed interest in the world. It’s plain to me that she’s studying everyone. Figuring things out, deciding what to do, how to play it. It must be exhausting.
“It was fantastic. Russ has really opened up my palate. And I always thought I had a good tongue.”
Vince rolls his eyes. His hand has been on my thigh ever since we sat down. He gives me a little squeeze.
“Actually, babe…the nose and the mind are more involved than the tongue in an evolved palate.”
Sadie playfully sticks her tongue out at Russell, revealing a tongue stud. So she has that going for her too. Having sex with me after having sex with her must be like riding the world’s greatest roller coaster and then hopping onto a rickety old merry-go-round.
I look around for the waiter and signal that we need more wine.
“Vince. Sadie tells me you’re a Realtor.”
“I’m a commercial real estate broker.”
“That must be interesting.”
“It can be. I just closed a deal on a gorgeous location in Brooklyn Heights, for a big up-and-coming chef. It should be an exciting new restaurant in a few months.”
“That so? Which chef would that be?”
“Clive Court. He owns Succulent, in the East Village.”
“Oh sure.” Russell nods and wipes his mouth with his napkin, swallowing his buttered bread. “We went there last year.” He gestures toward me. “Not my favorite.”
“I remember liking it a lot. Beautiful space.”
“Wow, you finally closed that deal, huh? He was working on that back when we were together,” she says to me.
“I think you mean back when you and Russell were together.” Vince sounds so lighthearted, it bare
ly registers as a dig.
Sadie smiles and tilts her head. “You’re right. You were so busy at that point, you barely had time for me.”
“Actually, you were the one who was always ‘busy with the new job.’”
“I was. Brooks was a real handful in the beginning.”
Russell clears his throat. “It’s true, actually. He was getting into a lot of trouble at school, but Sadie’s been a good influence on him. She really keeps him in line.”
“I’ll bet he doesn’t even realize how much. Poor kid,” Vince mutters.
The middle-aged hippie lady at the table next to ours keeps looking back at us, and I would not be at all surprised if she got up to burn sage all around us to raise our vibrations and clear the air. I would welcome that. Until then, I will have to do my part.
I pat Vince’s hand and smile at Sadie. “Brooks sounds interesting. How old is he?”
“He’s ten. He’s a great kid, actually. Really smart. You want to see pictures?”
“Of course.” I bet he’s a South Side Soc.
“He’s a really handsome little devil.”
“Complicated boy. But very shrewd,” says Russell. “Sadie speaks highly of your little brother,” he offers to Vince.
“Good” is his reply.
Sadie pulls out her phone and smiles innocently as she swipes through some photos. “His parents are super busy, but they’re all in Hawaii this week. Here, this is a great shot of him.” She turns her phone so I can see it and slowly swipes once she’s thoroughly enjoyed seeing the look on my face as I get a glimpse of the picture of her and Vince kissing each other. That photo is replaced by one of a dark-haired boy who’s looking up at the camera like he’s mesmerized by the person taking the picture.
“He is handsome,” I manage to say with barely any volume. “He looks like an old soul.” And a total Bob Sheldon from The Outsiders.
“That’s what I always say!” she exclaims, putting the phone away. “It’s too bad he didn’t get to be in your class.” She nudges Russell. “I bet he would have liked her, huh?”
“And vice versa,” he quips. “Nina always did have a soft spot for the bad boys. Tell me, Vince—which college did you go to?”
“Well, I used to tell people that I graduated from the College of Hard Knocks with a double major in Fuck You, if I got the sense they were being condescending. But since this is such a friendly double date…” He doesn’t say anything else, just finishes his glass of wine.
“Vince is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met,” I say, sounding just a tiny bit defensive.
Vince turns his head to me, grinning. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. You’ve got a sharp mind. Lightning fast, really.”
“Wow,” says Russell. “Sharp and lightning fast. That is impressive.”
“And it’s not even the most impressive thing about him,” I say, looking directly at Russell and Sadie.
Vince is quietly laughing and holding my hand, but it’s the second and third glasses of wine that get me through dinner.
After Sadie insists we all order dessert and coffee, she starts telling a seemingly innocuous story about Charlie that has Vince fuming. It seems to me that she is subtly egging him on, and they sound like a divorced couple with a child. And I just want to get the flork out of here.
“That’s not how it went down at all,” he says through clenched teeth.
“You aren’t actually suggesting that it’s my fault he broke the TV?”
“No, I just don’t think you handled it in the best way afterwards.”
“Well, you weren’t my employer. Your dad was, and he didn’t have any complaints.”
“No, he just got high blood pressure a few months after hiring you.”
“Oh. My. God. Vince. Can I talk to you in private?” She pushes her chair back.
“Nope.”
She looks directly at me.
I say in the gentlest, most easygoing voice I can conjure up, “Go ahead. It’s fine.”
He searches my eyes before coming to a decision. “Okay.” He nods toward the doors to the lobby. “We’ll be right over there. Be right back.” Vince kisses my cheek and slowly follows Sadie out of the restaurant, passing the confused busboy who is returning with our coffee.
Russell and I are silent and refrain from making eye contact until we are alone at the table.
“How are your parents?”
“They’re great.”
“Good.”
“They stopped by my apartment, actually, on their way to Florida. They met Vince. They loved him.”
“How nice.”
“How’s your early midlife crisis going?”
“It was going great until you showed up.”
“Oh really? That’s not what it looked or sounded like to me.”
“Looks and sounds can be deceiving.”
“Right. Like when you look like a totally nice guy and I hear you say that you love me, but then you go and—”
“Nina—let’s not.”
“Fine with me.”
“We’re almost out of the woods here. Let’s just give those two the opportunity to let off some steam, and then we can all go back to our romantic weekends.”
“Fantastic idea.”
After a beat, he says, “Interesting that you and I had the same idea. For this resort.”
“Yeah. I’m glad we both ended up here with the right person.”
“You think so? Sadie has told me a few things about your gentleman friend. I hope you know who you’ve gotten yourself involved with.”
Do not let that get into your head. Do not let it get into your head. “Oh yes, I am in this with eyes wide open.”
“And legs too, apparently.”
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
“Ahhh, you swear now. What a charming surprise.”
“Sometimes. Just for the summer. I do a lot of things that feel good now, as I am quite certain you do too.”
“Well, good for you. But I doubt your boy has told you everything about himself.”
“Did you know that people can have sex standing up—against a wall? And in the shower! And from behind? And with the woman on top, facing away from the—”
“I don’t know if you think you’re being funny, but you are not.”
“I don’t know if you realize you don’t have a sense of humor, but you don’t.”
“Okay. I was hoping we could both be adults about this, but…”
If he wants to believe I’m the nonadult here, that is fine with me. I snort-laugh. In a really mature way.
“Believe it or not, Nina, I do care about you. As a co-worker and as a friend.”
I can’t even snort-laugh at those words. He actually seems to believe them.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt. This thing with this guy is just a rebound. It won’t end well.”
This is a summer of firsts. I’ve never been gobsmacked before. I’ve always loved that term, never felt it. I am suddenly, completely smacked in the gob.
“Do you honestly not realize that you’re the bad guy in this scenario?”
He nods. “I’m fine with you thinking that.”
“Wow. Fantastic. Big of you.”
“The truth is, Nina, and I’m just going to say it now…since you wouldn’t hear it that day when you tossed my belongings out the window—you ended our relationship long before I did.”
“Uh-huh. Remind me how I did that?”
I see his Adam’s apple bob up and down once. His voice is strained. He speaks so quietly that my ears strain to hear him, even though I know exactly what he’s going to say before he says it: “You were never in love with me. You never really wanted to marry me. You just thought you should.” He doesn’t look at me. He doesn’t have to. He knows he’s right. He knows I know it’s true.
I feel the tip of my nose tingling, and my eyes get watery. For the first time in ages, I remember why I had so much respect for Russell. He can read pe
ople. He knows how to treat children who are angry or sad or hurting, when to point things out, when to let them figure things out for themselves. I didn’t think he was very good at dealing with grown-ups. Until now.
“Russell…” I have to clear my throat. “I just hope you’re happy now. I really do. I don’t want things to be weird for us when school starts.”
“Same here.” He doesn’t say if he’s happy or not, and I really can’t tell either way. “But I’m not kidding about that guy. He’s got a lot going for him, obviously, but there’s some unresolved anger there and it’s as plain as the tattoos on his arm.”
I don’t disagree, but I have to say something. “I love the tattoos on his arm.”
“I’m sure.” He lifts his coffee cup to his lips and says with a smirk, “I got a tattoo.”
“Shut up. You did not.”
“I did. Just a little one. I can’t show it to you. It’s in a private place, obviously.”
I have to ask. “What’s it of?”
“A line from an Amy Winehouse song.”
If I were drinking my coffee, I would have done a spit-take. “It is not.”
“It is. Sadie got me into her. I can’t believe I never listened to her before. She moves me in ways that…I never expected.”
I don’t ask him if he means Amy Winehouse or Sadie. He seems just as mystified by everything that’s going on as I am right now, and all I can think about is whether or not Vince is in the lobby feeling moved in ways that I could never move him.
22
Vince
Okay, so this dinner hasn’t been as entertaining or satisfying as I had expected it would be. All I can think about is how I’m going to have to do something pretty fucking awesome to make things up to Nina. Even as Sadie paces around in front of me here in this corner of the lobby, trying as always to make everything about her.
The Brooklyn Book Boyfriends Page 16