Page 82 of Take Two

“You’re still in your workout clothes? Fine. Let’s do takeout. I’m already sore from that class anyway.” She throws her bag on the counter and pulls out a bottle of Riesling. She gets my corkscrew and drinks directly from the bottle. “Since I’m sure you don’t want any.”

I look at her and don’t say a word. “My life is falling apart. Spence has threatened to crush me in this divorce. That was the word he used. Crush,” she says, doing a bad imitation of his voice. “As long as he doesn’t murder me, I don’t care. We have no kids together. He sold the house out from under me, and I honestly hate him. I’m unemployed and living at home. I’ve officially hit rock bottom, Violet. Me. All I want now is a bunch of Chinese food, this bottle of wine, and a friend. And then another bottle of wine. I have no friends though, so I’ll settle for your scowling face.”

She takes two large sips, and I take a deep breath. If I can forgive Charlie’s brother, I can give my sister one hour of my time. I walk away from her and grab my Chinese takeout menus from my coffee table drawer. I plop them down next to her, and she lets out a breath of relief.

“And you have to pay for lunch because I’m broke,” she says. I grab my purse, pull out my credit card and drop it in front of her.

“Go crazy. Get whatever you want,” I say.

“The sex wasn’t even good,” she says between bites of shrimp lo mein. I take it out of her hand and give her my container of egg rolls. “We haven’t had any in almost six months, and before that it was boring. Not to mention, his dick is small.” She says it so nonchalantly. When I start to cough, she shrugs. She looks around the room, lowers her voice, and says, “I bet it’s good with Charlie.”

“No comment,” I say, but I can feel the blush spread across my body.

“Look at how your nipples just hardened.” I gasp and look down. “Tricked you, but you just proved my point. I want a big man with tattoos all over his body. Even on his neck. A thug but reformed.” she whispers as if that’s a sordid secret. “I want him to fuck me like I’m a whore in the bedroom and treat me like a queen in public. Spank me,” she admits. Her face has now turned red at her admission. “I don’t care about education or credentials or anything like that anymore. I’ve had that. I don’twant things. All I want is a good man with a kind heart and a huge dick.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s specific.” She nods and bites her bottom lip. I giggle and say, “Terri, you’re way too prissy for a man like that.”

“Yes, and I want him to love that about me but pretend to be annoyed by it. And I’d want him to cook for me. I don’t even care if the food is good or not. Just fix me a meal after a long day and tell me he missed me and that I’m the prettiest woman he’s ever seen. That’s all I want.”

“It’s nice to have,” I admit. “And incredibly hard to find.”

“I have this fantasy,” she begins.

“Oh, God,” I groan, already cringing.

She puts her food down in front of the kitchen sink. “I’ll be in the bathroom using the flat iron.” She grabs a piece of hair and pretends to straighten it. “I’ll be in nothing but his oversized tee and plain cotton panties. He’ll come in, stand behind me, and put his big, strong hands on my shoulders. Without saying a word, he’ll take the flat iron from me and put it away. Then, he’ll bend me over the sink.” She acts it out and sticks her ass out. “Pull down my panties, finger me until I nearly go blind before he puts that huge dick inside of me and fucks me until the house shakes.”

“I’m going to have nightmares after that demonstration,” I say. She grins and joins me at the island.

“And I want him to be proud of me. Tell all his friends that his woman’s not only beautiful but smart too.” I think of the speech Colt gave when he threw the party for Vickie. He put her on display because she always puts everyone first. I remember how she sobbed into his chest and how he held her. He might be an egomaniacal ass, but he’s an egomaniac who loves his wife.

“Spence never did that?” I already know the answer.

“And have anyone be smarter than him? Yeah, right. I’m just happy to be done with him and his entire family. No one other than his sister ever accepted me. She couldn’t stand him either, so maybe that’s why, but she told me once that his mother wanted him with a woman who would devote all her time to him.” She shrugs as if it doesn’t matter, but I remember how much she tried to get along with his mother and sister. “How are things with Charlie’s family?”

I roll my eyes because she should know I’m not going to answer that, but she just looks at me and waits. Feeling the need to unburden myself, I tell her about the tension between me and Colt and what happened over the weekend.

“Oh,” she says. “You know, I get it. I can see how he would be worried, especially since he’s lived through the addiction too. It’s hard on families, and the fact that he delayed his vacation, tracked you down and explained says a lot. I wouldn’t hold it against him if it were me,” she says. “Everyone makes mistakes. They all seemed nice, and Charlie is a keeper,” she sighs. “So handsome.”

“Stop talking about my man, okay,” I say. I go so far as to throw a soy sauce packet at her. She dodges and it falls to the floor behind her.

“Oh, stop. I’m happy for you. I’ve really missed you, Violet,” she says. “And I’m so sorry for being a shit sister and a shit human being to you. I hope you can forgive me, but you should know I’m never going to stop trying to win your forgiveness.”

I turn my head away from her and reach for the basil chicken, but Terri takes it from me, puts it down, and grabs my hands. “What if I make it up to you by naming my first child after you?”

I try to pull my hands back, but she holds on. “What if it’s a boy?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I would not let you do that to him. And who’s going to be the father? The nameless, faceless reformed thug with the neck tattoos that spanks you?”

“Don’t forget about the big dick, but from your lips to God’s ears,” she says with a laugh. Then she sobers up and says, “Please.”

“You’re so annoying,” I say. I finally manage to pull my hands from hers. “You really hurt me, Terri. I could understand if you didn’t believe me. Or even if you did and you decided to forgive him, but to twist everything and make me the villain really hurt. And for what? I never did anything to you. Spence always hated me, and I don’t know why. I also feel that you’re only now trying to make up with me because your marriage is over. If you had done this years ago, maybe, but it’s too late now.”

She stands and goes to the fridge. I think she’s going to get more wine, but she comes back with two bottles of water.

“I know I hurt you. I know it, and I’m not going to call it anything other than what it was. It was me being insecure and an asshole bitch,” she says.

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