Page 33 of Take Two

The sliding glass door opens and Tara, Vickie’s sister, comes in. “It was Violet the whole time,” Vickie announces.

“Oh, thank God,” Tara says. “I thought we had to work out.” Then she turns to her sister and says, “And you couldn’t figure this out before today?”

“I saw them at Central Park weeks ago,” Wakowski, the guy I met a few Friday nights ago, announces.

It’s a clear, hot summer day with a mild breeze, and so while everyone talks at once, Charlie takes me to the backyard. There’s an infinity pool overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

Charlie walks me to the bar. “There’s no alcohol here,” he whispers. “They have a separate bar inside.” He leans close to my ear and says, “So Uncle Fester doesn’t get tempted, even though I’ve told them a million times I’m fine. I can take you if you want something strong.”

I look around, and everyone is watching us. When they see me looking, they all avert their gaze at once. This would be the time when I would take a drink, the stronger the better, but not today.

“I’d rather have Charlie’s kisses than cocktails,” I say. I look up and gesture for him to lean down. “Charlie’s cock over everything,” I whisper in his ear. His head snaps up. I bite my bottom lip and nod. He blushes and laughs.

“You’re gonna get it, darlin’,” he promises, “but behave.”

“Behavin’ is borin’.” I try to effect his southern accent, but even to my ears, it sounds horrible. I turn to him, get on my tippy toes, and wrap my arms around his neck. “Besides, I haven’t seen you since Thursday, and I’ve missed you. And you feel so good.”

“I’ve missed you too, but how do your southern accents keep getting worse?” he says.

“Because I’m from New York,” I say with the best exaggerated New York accent I can muster. He grins, and when I hug him, he hugs me back but pulls away much too soon. He tucks my arm in his, and the two of us walk to the bar together. Charlie orders a soda, and I get a bottle of water.

We lean against the bar, and I look at the backyard. It’s huge with not only a pool but a play area for kids with swings, a sandbox, and a slide. Several kids are playing, and I spot Johnny and his little friend throwing sand at each other. Servers are passing around appetizers, and there’s also a taco truck parked on the side of the house.

The sun peeks from behind a cloud, and I pull my sunglasses from the top of my head to cover my eyes.

“You look pretty,” Charlie says while looking down and admiring my long white maxi dress. I have a large brown belt around my waist and white sandals with faux jewels on my feet. “Like a goddess.”

“And you look handsome as usual,” I retort. He’s in a plain white tee and a blue pair of swim trunks, but he’s the best-looking man here. “I have a question for you, though. Why is everyone staring at us?” I turn my head to find his mother, brother, and sister-in-law as well as several other people looking. They are clearly whispering about us. Vickie and his mother are smiling, but Colt’s expression remains stoic.

Charlie leans down and nuzzles my ear. Colt frowns, but his wife practically bounces on her heels in excitement. “I think everyone is tryin’ to figure out how Uncle Fester managed to get the prettiest and sexiest girl.” I put my drink down and put my arms around his neck again. He rests his forehead on mine. “They’re all jealous of me.”

“Uncle Fester is going to get so lucky tonight,” I promise. “I’m going to do nasty, filthy things to you, but maybe in the meantime we can excuse ourselves and you can bend me over somewhere,” I whisper.

“Are you kidding? The peanut gallery will probably follow us.” I turn my head and the same group of people are still watching us. I lift my glasses and rest them on top of my head. Vickie and Mary Leigh wave, but Colt does not. His eyes don’t leave me and Charlie for a second though, and I wonder what I could have done to make him go from friendly to so cold toward me.

Chapter 17

Violet

“So, how long has this been going on?” Vickie asks about half an hour later. She managed to pull me away from Charlie and drag me into the house. She goes to the other bar and orders a cocktail, and I wish I could have one, but I’ve already given Charlie my word. The last thing I want tonight is not to be able to kiss him. “And why didn’t either of youtell me?”

Just as the question leaves Vickie’s mouth, her sister and Mary Leigh find us in the house.

“Yes, how long?” Tara asks. Mary Leigh doesn’t ask, but I can tell she’s waiting to hear what I say next.

“It’s been a few weeks. Since the night he was going out on that date. I ran into him outside, and it was obvious the date did not go well. I asked him back to my place for pizza. We talked as friends.”

“Friends?” Tara says, sounding very unconvinced. “There was nothing friendly about those looks you were giving each other.”

Mary Leigh clears her throat, but she still smiles.

“Well, the following Friday he came over and made me dinner. That was like a first date.” I don’t say more than that. Not with his mother standing here.

Vickie must sense my reluctance because she says, “How about a workout tomorrow? And to think this was going on right under my nose and I had no idea.” I know she only wants to pump me for information. Tara groans but nods at the thought, but I guess her need to know about my dating life is important enough to work out for.

“Count me out,” Mary Leigh says. “There are some thangs a mother doesn’t need to know about her son.” She moves closer and surprises me when she takes one of my hands in hers. “He’s been through a lot, Violet,” she says, her voice shaky.

“He’s shared some of it with me.”