Wet: Part 2

by Rivera, S. Jackson

  “I wanted her to know she might have won the pud, but you won the third best-looking man on the planet.” He closed his eyes, but then he opened one to peek at her, acting cautious. He grinned when he saw the smile she’d been fighting finally steal the show on her beautiful lips.

  “I’m sorry, Rhees. I didn’t consider how it would hurt you if you misunderstood my intention. It was petty, and it was mean, and truth be told, I should have thanked her instead.” He deemed it wisest to omit he had.

  “Why would you thank her for hurting me the way she did?” Her smile had jumped ship and he knew he’d made the right choice in not telling her he did go back to thank Kylee. She blinked a few tears away from her shiny eyes.

  “Because, Rhees. I’m sorry she hurt you—I am. I get the strongest urge to hurt anyone who’s ever caused you pain, even if it was only a broken fingernail. But that girl is the best thing that ever happened to me.” He gently dried the tears on her cheeks with his thumbs and then he kissed each of her eyes.

  “Dear, sweet Dani Girl.” He put his arms around her in a tight hug. “That dumb girl, Ky-leech, is part of your past, and your past makes you who you are today. Who you are today is the reason I’ve changed. I will be forever grateful to her for what she’s done . . . for me.” He leaned back to watch her expression as a slow smirkish grin broke on his face. “The bitch!”

  Chapter 14

  Private time had become precious to Rhees and Paul. Their days were filled with work, surrounded by students and guests. Paul still couldn’t eat at a restaurant, hang at a bar, or walk down the street, without girls trying to talk to him, flirt with him, or flat-out proposition him. Even as Rhees stood at his side, her hand in his, or his arms around her waist—his tongue down her throat. All for display, and yet it rarely made a difference. Sometimes they needed a break from being on show all the time.

  Except for one abandoned, dilapidated building thirty yards north, Randy’s house and then Paul’s shop were the last buildings on the ocean side of the street at the north end of town. A house and then Paul’s apartment building were kitty-corner to the shop and a few more homes were across the street. One lone bar sat a hundred yards farther north on the public beach, but never drew more than an intimate crowd after sunset.

  The topography of the island went on another five miles, but remained uninhabited, except for a small development of summer homes on the north tip, accessible only by private boat or water taxi. Paradise Divers was perfectly situated for the privacy Rhees and Paul preferred some nights.

  Oceanside didn’t always feel as comfortable since Regina and Tracy had suddenly developed a rare case of homebody-ness, once Paul started spending more time there. The deck had become Rhees and Paul’s refuge. In the beginning, Regina and Tracy would show up at the shop after hours as well, looking for the new couple, using lame excuses, hoping to hang out, but it was easier for Paul to scare them off from his property than it was to run them out of their own home.

  Regina, for as well as she knew him, didn’t know Paul was only pretending to be foul-tempered to get rid of them—at least, Rhees believed he was only pretending. The shop not only afforded them the privacy they desired, it was also practical for so many of the things they liked to do.

  The deck was great for dancing, the ocean was great for swimming, and the mat was great for reading. They could talk for hours without interruption. They kept sheets and pillows in the extra room, and they’d decided the deck was the best place for a good night’s sleep without having to worry about roommates eavesdropping, listening through walls for squeaky beds that never squeaked.

  oOo

  Rhees screamed, waking with a start. A flash lighted the sky, bright as day, and shortly after, another deafening bang, the loudest thunder Rhees had ever heard cracked around them. Lately, she and Paul had slept on the deck more nights than they’d spent at her apartment.

  “We need to move.” Paul was up and had the mat and all the bedding in his arms faster than she thought possible. “It’s going to rain. We need to find cover.”

  Rhees ran under the gazebo thinking that’s what he meant. Paul made it to the covered walkway before he realized Rhees wasn’t behind him.

  “Rhees? Come on. I said we need cover.”

  “I have cover.” Just then, the sky opened up and dumped water—it was nothing like rain. It was more like a bucket brigade had formed above her and started dumping buckets of water over the deck. The gazebo roof gave her no shelter whatsoever. The water gushed sideways, drenching her in two seconds. She screamed at the shock of the first assault.

  She ran to Paul, where he stood pressed against the wall, laughing very non-gallantly. “Sorry. I didn’t think. You couldn’t possibly have known. We’ve officially started the rainy season.”

  “It’s August,” she yelled over the loud downpour. Another crack of lightning lit the sky. Paul threw his arms around her, bracing her just as the thunder shook them both to the core. She screamed anyway. The water leeched from her clothes to his and they were both drenched.

  “Welcome to the tropics.” He laughed some more. Her life experience had been so encapsulated, limited. “It’ll rain a lot. Mostly during the night, like this, until about December. We can’t stand here all night.”

  “My apartment is so far away. We’ll need our scuba gear to get there.”

  “Yeah,” he yelled back, smiling at her sense of humor.

  “Your apartment is closer.”

  He shook his head, adamantly, suddenly bothered about something. “I don’t want you in my bed.” Even though he held her close to keep their soaked bodies warm, they had to talk loudly to be heard over the storm.

  “You always say that. Why not?”

  He shrugged and acted uneasy.

  “Paul. What’s wrong?” she demanded.

  “Too many memories. I’m not mixing you in with those.”

  She nodded her understanding. “My apartment it is, then. I really will need my fins.” She laughed while he considered for a moment.

  “In here.” He reached into his pocket for his keys and opened the door to The Room That Had No Purpose. He’d officially named the extra room after hearing her call it that several times. Once inside, both of them dropped their shoulders at the same time when they realized their mat was wet.

  “Luckily, I have some extra sheets right here.” Sure enough, a pile of folded sheets lay on the table. She gave him a questioning look. He offered the only explanation he could, “I like clean sheets.”

  She laughed at his response. “I know that, but it doesn’t explain why there’re three sets sitting in a room no one uses.”

  “We sleep on the deck all the time.” He shrugged. “I started keeping a few sets on hand.”

  They dried off with towels from the office and settled in, using every set of the sheets, folded over several times to make a passable mat on top of the table. It was narrower than the mat, but Paul didn’t mind the excuse to be extra cozy with her. She didn’t complain either.

  oOo

  Brita sounded obnoxious and Rhees braced herself. She thought the old Coitus Club would have disbanded by now, but it continued to hang on.

  “I just saw Paul at the ferry. He met a gorgeous woman when she disembarked and he kissed her cheek. They headed toward Rhees’ apartment.” Brita faked sounding secretive, but Rhees heard every word, and Brita obviously knew it.

  “She was beautiful, like she stepped out of a fashion magazine. Skinny! Long, shiny black hair, swept to one side, white see-through blouse with a black bra, skinny jeans, red high, high heels, and red lips to match,” Brita recounted. “You’d think he’d have the respect to take her someplace other than Rhees’ own apartment.”

  “But Rhees would probably see him if he tried to sneak a woman to his own apartment. He’s safer cheating on her a
t Oceanside. It’s not like Rhees is going to go all the way there by herself. Rhees never goes anywhere without him,” Dorene said.

  Rhees’ heart skipped a few beats. Was it true? Or was this just another jab at her from Paul’s old, jealous girlfriends? She tried to ignore it. She trusted him—he’d never given her cause to be jealous—except for the Kylee incident over a month ago, and that turned out to be innocent.

  She couldn’t help herself. She headed toward her apartment. She reached the top of the stairs as Paul and the beautiful stranger were coming out. He was about to lock the door behind them, but stopped when he saw her.

  “Rhees!” He sounded much too guilty. “I didn’t expect you.”

  “Obviously.”

  “Um . . .” He glanced at the stunning woman, looking for help, but she gave him nothing. “This is Fahtima.”

  Rhees glared. She felt weak in the knees and nauseated.

  “Um, Faht’s been giving me a hand.”

  Rhees increased the intensity of her glare, but then she had to sit down at the top of the stairs before she fainted.

  Paul hurried over to her. “Are you all right? You look ill.”

  Rhees tried to brush him away. She didn’t want him touching her. He sighed with understanding and walked back to Fahtima.

  “Faht,” he said, “thanks for your help. Once again, you’ve done a great job.”

  “It’s my pleasure, Paul. I’m always available to help you, my favorite customer.” She kissed him on both cheeks and turned to leave. She didn’t say anything as she walked past Rhees and headed down the stairs, but Rhees could see cold resentment in her glare.

  “Pfft!” Rhees rolled her eyes and looked out over the treetops, trying to let herself go numb so she’d stop hurting so much.

  Paul moved to the stairs and sat down next to her. “Rhees?” he asked tentatively. She refused to look at him. “It’s not what you think.”

  “You’re saying you didn’t sleep with her?”

  He glanced down, looking guilty.

  “I knew it!” She tried to keep her voice level, but failed. “It’s over. You’re tired of me—I get it. But couldn’t you at least have had the decency to do it someplace other than our bed?”

  “Rhees! I did—Yes, I’ve been with her before—before you. It isn’t what you think, today. I know how you’d think that, but—”

  “Don’t! I knew this day would come. I’m surprised we lasted this long.”

  “Rhees, come inside and take a look.”

  “What do you want me to see? The red lipstick stains all over my pillow, like the redonkulous stains on your face? Do you need me to change the sheets for you? Make the bed?”

  Paul looked up at the sky with a deadpan face and twitched his mouth.

  “Just go take a fucking look! . . . Please?”

  “No! I never want to go in my bedroom again. I thought that’s why we never sleep at your apartment, in your bed. You didn’t want me sleeping in your old memories.”

  He dropped his head and pursed his lips while they sat in silence. Finally, his eyes rose to look at her while his head still hung down, a wicked grin on his face. He stood and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

  “Put me down!” she snarled vehemently, but he swatted her butt for it.

  He carried her into the apartment, unlocked her bedroom door, carried her into the room, and threw her onto the bed.

  “Faht was here today, purely for professional purposes.”

  Rhees’ scowl intensified.

  “Not that kind of professional. She’s an interior decorator. She decorated my apartment years ago—it’s been years since we—I’ve never, in my entire life, needed to pay for sex. It’s always been too readily available to me.” They locked into a staring contest, he waiting for her to believe him, her refusing to. “Though, people have offered to pay me.”

  She tried not to laugh, but lost the battle. Rhees looked around the room, taking in the differences. In the corner where her bag once stored her clothes, a free-standing closet rod stood with a shelf across the top for smaller items. All of her clothes were neatly hung. The simple twin bed had been replaced with a more couch-like, daybed. The double bed now faced the other direction so the view from the pillows no longer looked directly on the toilet.

  The walls were now decorated with art and new curtains hung on the windows. It looked very nice compared to the barely functional, sterile room it was before.

  Paul sat quietly on the daybed and watched Rhees take it all in.

  “I’m sorry.” Rhees felt terrible. “I should have trusted you. You’ve never given me a reason to be worried about . . . what I thought. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Nawt! I understand exactly why you would think what you did. I do. I can’t expect to change opinions about me overnight, opinions I worked extremely hard to form, by the way, for years.” He tried to laugh it all off, but Rhees knew she’d really hurt him. “I’m a pig, Rhees, and I know it.”

  She sat quietly for a minute. “It’s not my opinion that matters. I wish you would change your opinion of yourself.”

  He didn’t have a response.

  “You got me a new mattress?” She bounced to check it out, trying to change the subject.

  “Us. Yeah, I got us a new mattress.” He grinned as if he had a private joke. “Your old mattress was a torture contraption. Now that we’re into the rainy season, we’re sleeping here more. I felt a mattress would be a good investment.”

  “Nice sheets. You got new sheets too?”

  “Yeah, I have a thing, it’s kind of a big—” She remembered him saying he had a thing about nice sheets before, but that isn’t the image that popped into her mind.

  “I’ve seen your thing, remember?”

  He snorted incredulously. “I cannot believe you just said that to me.”

  She shrugged mischievously, surprised at how much easier that subject matter seemed to be getting with him. She looked down—maybe not as easy as it felt a second ago.

  “Well, you saw my thing when He was on vacation. He’s even more glorious when it’s time to go to work—” Paul appeared to be in thought. “Or maybe it’s the other way around—He’s working when I’m going to the bathroom, but it’s a vacation when He—” Paul suddenly looked like he remembered something important. His voice went up an octave. “Aw . . . maaan! You and I should never have this conversation again, understand?”

  Rhees didn’t know if she felt more relieved or disappointed.

  “Rhees, did I jump the gun here, or am I not going to be around to enjoy the new, comfortable and luxurious bed?”

  “I thought I was the pig.”

  Paul looked at her, confused.

  “You said I was the little pig, and you were the big bad wolf.”

  He practically flew to the bed and pounced on her. He lay on top of her, his lower body to the side to avoid a problem, but he had her pinned.

  “Whoa!” she said, still shocked by his fast and unexpected movement.

  “Just don’t ever forget that.” He held his face close to hers, gazing into her eyes as if looking for something, she didn’t know what, but all the hurt and anxiety was gone. He finally rolled so that he lay to her side with his arm around her. They both looked around the room again.

  “What do you think? Do you like it? Everything looks nice, don’t you think? You hate it, don’t you?”

  She giggled at his attempts to validate his latest project. He could be such an insecure baby sometimes. He startled her when he slapped the mattress.

  “What about the mattress? Do you think you could stand to sleep on this baby for the rest of your li—” He stopped midsentence, and she looked to see why. He had a frown on his face. He returned h
er gaze, still a serious look on his face, before he forced a smile and recalculated the way to pose his question.

  “Is this better than before, or should I call Faht, have her bring the old mattress back?”

  Rhees took her turn to frown, as she reached up to wipe the lipstick off of his face. “I think I can manage to suffer with this one. If that’s the price I have to pay for sharing my bed with such a rickety old man.”

  “Watch it!” he growled. “I may be trying to grow up, but I’m never going to get old!”

  “I think it goes the other way around.” She giggled. “You can choose to not grow up, but there’s no controlling the getting old part.”

  “You’re the one who just had another birthday. You’re going to catch up to me if you’re not careful.”

  “But I get to be twenty-nine for a while, remember?”

  He smirked. “I remember too much.” He had a devilish look on his face again. “Only four more.” He rolled to hover over her again.

  “Who’s counting?” she asked.

  He raised a brow, but then feigned confusion. “Let’s see, twenty-nine comes after twenty-five?”

  “I thought you remembered everything,” she teased.

  “Unfortunately.” He lay back down and looked around the room again. “But it’s better to play dumb sometimes. It’s easier to do when I’m thinking with my other head.”

  “What?”

  He jumped off the bed. “I keep going down the wrong path. It’s time to go.”

  “But I want to stay a little longer and enjoy this new surprise.”

  “No.” He sounded too serious.

  She didn’t move, hoping he would change his mind.

  “Hey. Little pig,” Paul barked. “The wolf is hungry. It’s time to go!”

  oOo

  They were on their way back to the shop and Paul laughed, unexpectedly.

  “Redonkulous?”