by Chelle Sloan
Stupid need for hydration.
“I’m going to our nephew’s Christmas program at his school. Judging by the way you’re dressed, I’m guessing you’re not, even though I left you a note about it. Then again, that would require you caring about anyone other than yourself. I wonder if Cullen and Makenna even know your name anymore?”
I’m surprised her eyes don’t get stuck in the back of her head as she rolls them. I knew she wouldn’t go tonight… she has never taken an interest in my side of the family. So why did I leave her a note? Only a shrink with a comfortable couch and time to kill could explain that one.
“So where to tonight, wife? The monthly meeting of Gold Diggers Anonymous? I didn’t think they met on Thursdays.”
“You’re an ass.”
My laugh comes out hard and gruff. “Tell me something I don’t know. I mean… we could get a divorce. Just say the word and we can start the separation process tomorrow.”
She taps a manicured nail against her lips, pretending to think about my words.
“See… I think you want a divorce a little too much. Which means that your eyes are starting to roam. I think I’ll bide my time. It will be quicker than the separation period. And it will give me a bigger payout when you can’t keep your dick in your pants.”
I stare at Annika, wondering what happened to get us here. I’m also kind of impressed she knows Virginia divorce rules and regulations. But before I can give her too much credit, I have to shut my eyes and look away. Annika’s dress is like a damn disco ball, with sequins and gems catching every corner of light. I can only guess where, or who, she is going out with tonight looking like that, and even though I had a few clever digs about her plans, I honestly couldn’t give a flying fuck.
I don’t see her during the week, unless we have a function to attend. And lately, those seem to be every night considering it’s the holiday season. I’ve had my fill of Annika lately, which was why I was hoping to avoid her tonight before heading to Cullen’s program.
We’ve been together for a little over five years, married for the last three, and each day it gets harder and harder to remember why we got married in the first place. I want to say it’s because I loved her, and maybe at the time I did, but as the days go on, I can’t remember what it was that I fell in love with.
When we first got together, she made me feel alive. I wasn’t a shell of the man I had become after I left New York. Despite Mark’s warnings that I was getting myself into the very same situation, I didn’t care — Annika lit a spark in me that I thought had burned out.
The amazing sex didn’t hurt either.
We met in a hotel bar after a medical convention I was attending in town and we were in a room three hours later. That should have been a huge red flag about the type of woman I was about to get involved with. At the time, I couldn’t see anything past her million-dollar smile and her runway-worthy body.
It should have just been that one night, but I quickly became addicted to Annika. And I’m pretty sure she became addicted to the lifestyle I wanted to build here in Virginia.
The one thing that stuck from my marriage with Michelle was that in order to build my practice here in Virginia, every social function was important—every stupid one. Yes, this town might be known for its tourists and summer vacations, but there is a lot of old money around here. And I was determined to make my way into that world. Annika was the perfect woman to do that with. She fit perfectly at my side, much like many of the expensive, form-fitting dresses that she liked to show off. Ones courtesy of my credit card. Ones I happily bought for her because they looked good on her and better on our bedroom floor later that night.
I didn’t mind. I loved showing her off. Having a beautiful woman at your side can do wonders for your image, and mine was skyrocketing with Annika on my arm.
And the sex? Holy fuck. When I had Annika in my bed every night, the thoughts of nurses and break rooms were far from my mind. The woman was as wild as she was insatiable. At the beginning of our relationship, I was pretty sure my dick was going to fall off from overuse.
Oh, the good ol’ days.
Like all married couples, things simmered down over time. I had to put in hours at the office, and even more when we decided to open the clinic. She was pretty upset about that—what’s the point of being married to a doctor if you can’t be seen around town on a nightly basis in a new dress?
She probably would have gotten over that. It was the whole cutting off her credit card thing that sent her spiraling.
I was all for buying her beautiful things, and I was at the time more than comfortable in the financial department, but not five-thousand-dollar earbuds’ comfortable. I told her she needed to chill out on the spending or I was cutting off her credit card. She tried to argue that if I was home more, she would spend less. It was a never-ending battle.
She thought I was bluffing and continued to spend. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a fifty-thousand-dollar crocodile skin umbrella. I about had a damn heart attack when I saw that on the credit card bill.
So I canceled her credit cards. She realized I meant business when her card was declined after she tried to pick up the tab for a ten-person brunch with women she barely tolerates. You want to piss off a woman who only loves you for your money? Take away her black card.
And that’s when things started going downhill. And fast. I tried explaining that I just wanted to be more responsible with our money. She, the woman who has not worked a day in her life, tried to give me the whole “why have it if you can’t spend it” argument. She even tried crying and begging when I returned the crocodile umbrella.
That was when the arguments started and the sex stopped. Turns out, we agreed on very little when you take sex out of the equation.
Between cutting off her card and my increased hours to get the clinic off the ground, I truly started seeing Annika for who she really was.
Spoiled. Gold digger. Attention seeker.
Since then, we have completely fallen out of love. Hell, these days we barely like each other. But divorce isn’t in the cards. Well, it could be. It will just be a messy, complicated, pain in my ass due to Virginia requiring six months of separation before you can file for divorce.
And expensive. Really fucking expensive.
Though, there is one difference between this marriage and my last: This time I got a prenup.
With Innovative Medical being established before our marriage, I wanted to make sure that I, and the business, were protected. Even now I can’t believe Annika signed it without much of a fight. Probably because she thought her self-proclaimed “golden pussy” would keep me around forever.
Yes, she actually told me when we first started dating she had a golden pussy. Again, that should have raised a red flag.
However, in this prenup, if one of us were to cheat on the other, everything is null and void. All marital assets are back on the table. If she cheats, she gets nothing. If I cheat, she can take me for all I’m worth, including Innovative.
And it’s a lot.
So, despite the fact I love sex more than I love running, good scotch, and hot women, I have been frustratingly celibate for months.
And my dick knows it.
Shaking away the feeling of horniness and overall hatred of my situation, I gather my car keys and the bottle of water that is partially responsible for me having to deal with Annika tonight.
I knew I should have gone to the program straight from work.
And I don’t know what makes me ask the next question, but I do. I’ll analyze the why later when I’m three fingers of scotch deep.
“Are you happy?”
My words take her by surprise, and for a second, I think I see behind the fake eyelashes and mask of makeup. Before I know it, her cold eyes and fake smile return.
“I’d be happy if my husband wouldn’t spend so much time at work. I’d be really happy if he bought me things like he used to. And I’d be extremely fucking happy if I heard you
were back to fucking nurses so I can get the money that you are holding back on me.”
I walk toward her, which takes her a bit by surprise, as I lean in and kiss her cheek. It’s not a quick one. No, this one I’m making sure she will feel for the rest of the night. So she remembers what I’m about to say.
“And I’d be happy if my wife wasn’t a stuck-up bitch who could at least pretend to love me for more than my credit card. And if you are waiting for me to fuck up, you’ll need to keep waiting, wife. I’m in this for the long haul. And I don’t expect to lose.”
And with that, I take my keys and the damn bottle of water and head to my car. I have a music program to get to.
Chapter Six
Garrett
There was one good thing about my impromptu confrontation with Annika—I made it just in time for the program. Which, under that definition, means on time enough not to miss Cullen’s first school performance, but late enough to not have to make mundane chitchat with Mark and Charlie.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother. And my sister-in-law is an absolute angel for loving my former-Navy SEAL brother turned private security firm partner pain in the ass. But I know what kind of conversation would happen if I were to have arrived ten minutes earlier. It would have been a continuation of the one Mark and I had in my office just a few months ago. And pretty much every time I see him.
“How’s the practice?”
“Oh, Annika didn’t come?”
“Is everything OK?”
“You know you can talk to us.”
And I know I could. If I wanted to. What would be the point? I’ve made my bed. And I’m lying in it.
Alone.
I enter the school auditorium just as the lights are dimming and catch sight of Mark and Charlie, pointing to the seat they saved for me.
“Thanks for getting here early,” my brother digs.
“No problem, Twilight.”
My brother rolls his eyes at my use of his former SEAL call sign, but before he can send an insult back my way, the curtain opens to Cullen’s class standing on stage.
And yes, my brother’s call sign was Twilight and his son is named Cullen, after the former movie vampire. That is not a coincidence. That is my sister-in-law’s fucked-up sense of humor.
She’s fucking awesome.
I scan the group looking for Cullen, and luckily, he is right up front. While the other kids are waving their hands at their parents in the audience, my nephew is whispering into the ear of the little girl next to him.
That’s my boy.
I don’t have much time to be a proud uncle because my attention is immediately grabbed by the woman who walks on stage in front of the class.
“Holy shit. Who is that?” I don’t mean to, but I say it in a very loud whisper.
“The old guy is the music teacher. But I’m guessing you are talking about the blonde. That is Cullen’s teacher,” Mark whispers back. “I’ve only met her a few times. Charlie is ready to nominate her for sainthood.”
I don’t know anything about being a saint, but I’d definitely worship her body every day and twice on Sunday.
I take her all in, and I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had sex in a very long time, but I can’t stop staring at her. Blonde hair just past her shoulders. Breasts that look to be just big enough to fit in my hands. Curves that are subtle, but you know they exist underneath the long dress she’s wearing. One that shouldn’t be as sexy as she makes it and I’m sure comes with a helluva smaller price tag than anything Annika would ever be caught dead in.
Simply said: Cullen’s teacher is fucking hot.
I don’t remember what happens over the next thirty minutes. I’m pretty sure the kids sang a few Christmas carols. Don’t ask me which ones. I think I heard parents clapping. I might have clapped as well. I saw parents holding up phones to video their child’s performance, and that’s only because I saw them in my peripheral vision. I was too busy looking at the beauty who is Cullen’s teacher and casually adjusting myself because I’m getting slightly hard from the sight of her.
At least, that’s what I was looking at until I saw fingers snapping in front of my face, shaking me from my tunnel vision.
I look up from my seat to see a furious Charlie staring down at me, Mark standing behind her with Makenna on his hip and a smile on his face. I know that look. It’s the smile he used to give me when he knew our mom was about to lay into me for something.
“No. No, no, no! There will be none of that, Garrett Dixon! Calm your hormones, dear brother-in-law,” Charlie yells, grabbing me by my shirt so I have no choice but to stand up. I might tower over her at six foot one, but that doesn’t make her any less scary. The woman knows twenty different ways to kill someone. And those are just the ones she told me about.
“Paige Blackstone is an angel walking among us mortals. Cullen actually listens to her. Well, mostly. I only get two phone calls a week. And you want to know why that is? It’s because that woman was created by God to tame your nephew, who takes far too much after you and my husband for my liking. So, get this straight, Garrett Dixon… right now… You will not stare at her. You will not make suggestive comments to her. You will not go back to your old ways and treat her like you would some fuck-girl nurse. Do you understand me? Because if you fuck this up for me… I swear to God… I still have contacts who will make it look like my husband was an only child and who will convince everyone we know that it’s true.”
I nod and swallow hard as Charlie walks away, leaving me alone with my brother and niece.
“Your wife is absolutely terrifying.”
Mark laughs. “She is. And I fucking love it.”
Paige
“Good job, Miss Blackstone. Another stellar performance.”
I turn to look at Mr. Arthur, who, at the age of seventy-two, is the eldest member of the Jefferson Elementary staff. He’s been around for five principals, refused to get rid of his chalkboard when dry erase and smart boards were installed, and knows where all of the proverbial bodies are buried. And bless his heart, despite his age and slight hearing loss, he can still get kids excited about music, as well as hear all the gossip around the teacher’s lounge.
“You know I didn’t do anything. That was all the kids. And you, of course.”
He takes my hand, giving it a squeeze as a grandfather would. Or at least I assume so. I never met either of my grandfathers, but if I got to pick, I’d want mine to be exactly like Mr. Arthur.
“My dear, it’s teachers like you who make me come back each year. Your enthusiasm fills me with the energy to keep going. Despite some… well… more trying students.”
I chuckle, knowing exactly who he is talking about. And as if on cue, Cullen Dixon crashes into my leg.
“Hey there, Cullen! Great job tonight, buddy!”
“Thanks, Miss Blackstone! I sang all the words just like you told me to!”
He gives me a big wink, likely referring to the bribe I offered him in regard to the music program. This kid… I swear. I really want to laugh at his antics, because his personality is one you can’t not love. Sometimes it almost makes me forget that he hid my reading glasses yesterday for the fun of it. The only reason I got them back was that I offered him a Reese’s Cup.
“Cullen, are you bugging Miss Blackstone?”
Charlie’s voice cuts through the crowd, and I must say, this woman walking toward me is much different than the one I met on the first day of school. This woman looks put together and confident. Poised and alert.
Frankly speaking, it looks like she got consecutive hours of sleep and was able to take a nice, hot bath with a huge glass of wine.
“He’s no bug at all, Mrs. Dixon,” I say, giving Cullen a little squeeze as Mr. Arthur tips his head before walking away. “I’m really proud of this guy. He worked really hard to learn the words.”
“First off, I’ve told you to call me Charlie. And second, I don’t know how you got him to want to practice so
much. He’s never, and I mean never, been so determined for something. And that’s considering the time he staged a hunger strike when he was three because I took away his tablet.”
I laugh before leaning in to whisper, “I might have bribed him that he would get to be line leader next week if he learned the words and didn’t distract the other kids.”
Charlie’s eyes go wide, and for a second I don’t know if I overstepped with my choice of bribery. That’s until she drops her head down, her hands on her knees, nearly hyperventilating from laughter.
I don’t do it often. The bribery, that is. But after I saw the first few days of Mr. Arthur trying to teach the class the words to the song about everyone’s favorite snowman, and realizing that Cullen was trying to change the lyrics and get his classmates to sing those semi-inappropriate lyrics with him, I knew I needed to bring out the big guns.
He had his eye on being line leader since day one. Throw that in with a bag of jelly beans and I knew I had a winner.
I have never seen a boy so determined to learn a song in my life.
“You are an evil genius, and again, I love you,” Charlie says.
“Who do you love besides me, that is?”
Charlie’s husband, Mark I believe is his name, comes and stands next to Charlie, putting his arm around his wife’s waist.
“Mark, you remember my forever girl crush and the answer to our prayers?”
“How could I forget?” Mark says, flashing me a smile that makes me know exactly where Cullen gets his charm from. “Miss Blackstone, it’s nice to see you again. Great job tonight.”
I extend my hand to shake his. “Please, outside of the classroom, call me Paige. And I didn’t do anything; it was all the kids. And Cullen did wonderfully. He’s come so far this year.”
“That’s a very nice way of saying that he isn’t as big of a pain in the ass. And I appreciate it,” Mark says. “And my wife sings your praises each day. Thus making my life more pleasant. Thank you for everything.”
Before I can respond, my gaze is pulled to a man standing just behind Mark, and I don’t know if I would have noticed him except for the fact that he’s holding Makenna, Cullen’s sister, on his hip.