Page 66 of Takedown

“Love you too, cheapskate. And do you think nineteen fifties Mellie can make me breakfast?”

35

“I have something to show you, love,” Adam says. His facial expression gives nothing away. His blue eyes are clear as always, but my husband does not offer me a smile. He doesn’t give me his trademark playful smirk either.

I minimize my spreadsheet and close my laptop. My eyes follow Adam while he walks to the bedroom. I get up to follow him, but only make it halfway down the hall until he comes out carrying my old tote bag. My eyes widen in shock when I see it, and I reach for it, but Adam pulls it away.

“Uh-uh, love,” he says. “Your days with this bag of dicks are over.”

A laugh escapes, and I cover my mouth with my hand, but Adam doesn’t laugh back. In fact, he looks irritated. Something flashes in his eyes, and his jaw ticks. He opens the bag, but I lunge for it. He takes one step back and holds the bag over his head, making it impossible for me to get it.

He pulls out an unopened box and peels off a sticky note from it. “Let’s hope this one does a better job of getting out the cobwebs than what’s his name did the other night. Ananda.” He crumples the note in his hand and tosses it on the floor before he slowly pulls the long, purple dildo out of the box.

“Care to explain, wife?” His voice is low, almost deadly, and I inadvertently take a step back.

I cross my arms and meet his hard stare. “Care to explain why you’re going through my stuff, husband?”

He smiles, showing off his perfect, white teeth. “I like it when you call me husband, and no, I don’t care to explain. Not beyond finding this bag shoved in the back of the closet.”

“Neither do I.” I cross my arms and stare in his face.

He waves the dildo around and says, “Explain.”

“I think a dildo is pretty self-explanatory.”

“Oh, so you’re going to be a smart ass. I meant the note, dammit.” He grinds his teeth and his jaw ticks again. I don’t answer, and he speaks. “My imagination is running wild, Mel. If I’m reading between the lines, Ananda got you a dildo because you fucked some guy who didn’t know how to satisfy you. Is that right?”

I leave his question unanswered and walk to the fridge. I pull out a cold bottle of water and pray that he drops the subject. It won’t matter to him that this happened way before we got married. Before we were anything. I curse myself for not hiding the bag better. I finally close the fridge door and turn around, only to practically collide with his chest.

I walk around him and sit on the couch. As soon as I do, he approaches and sits so close to me, our thighs touch. He rummages through the bag and pulls everything out.

“Look at this one.” He turns it on, and the pink vibrator starts to shake. “And this one.” He turns on the switch and the vibrating tongue starts to dart in and out. “And this is my personal favorite.” He holds the dildo Ananda gave me in the air. “This is the one that came with the note.”

I shrug and put the bottle of water to my lips. He inches closer, throws an arm across my shoulders, and kisses my cheek. “It’s kind of funny, love. I’m not mad. I mean, if you needed to get off, all you had to do was knock on my door.” He smiles at me and I relax, laying my head on his shoulder.

“I haven’t used that stuff in months.”

“I do a good job of keeping you satisfied.”

I laugh at his arrogance. He bends down and kisses my temple, and I sigh.

“You do. You’re the best at that.”

“I guess whoever forced Ananda to get you this purple beauty couldn’t get the job done.” He laughs out loud, and so do I.

I’m so relieved that he’s not being irrational about it, I say, “Not even close.” I let out another laugh. Adam doesn’t say anything back, but I sigh at the feel of his fingertips on my arm. “It was over in record time. It was all a big nothing. Not memorable at all.”

“When?” One word, but that single word makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The gentle touch on my arm stops, and he’s gone completely rigid. “When?” he repeats again when I don’t answer.

“Over two years ago. It was maybe a month after you moved in here. We weren’t anything. I’d only seen you maybe twice at that point.” You could hear a pin drop in the living room. He stands abruptly, grabs the bag, and starts to walk away.

“Adam? Come on—” I start to follow him, but I jump in surprise when he punches a wall.

“You went out and fucked a guy, Mel? I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you, and you go out and do this?” He runs a hand through his hair and starts to pace.

“Adam, we weren’t together. We weren’t anything! And don’t yell at me.” I lunge for the bag, but he sidesteps me and holds the bag over his head.

My argument does nothing to calm him down. He closes the space between us and looms in front of me. I put my hands on my hips and stare in his face. His blue eyes are like a storm. His nostrils flare, he takes an abrupt step back and yanks the door open.

---