Page 87 of Games We Play
Don’t try to spin this so you were using me when you went through your ridiculous promiscuity phase.Sloan would rather drink herself to death than listen to that. If anything, Sloan had been using Maxine as much as the other way around. That’s what made it so great that night! And absolutely necessary for them to never do it again.
“Doesn’t matter,” Sloan said. “I don’t need that distraction in my life while I take care of business. I can try finding another girlfriend after this is…” She laughed. “No I won’t. I’ll go right back to my old ways.”
It was Erica’s turn to say something. “At least you’ll be keeping every high-end escort in America in business. I left a big blow to them this past year when I finally settled down.”
“How droll that beautiful humor of yours is, Mann,” Sloan said.
“Am I lying, though?”
Was that a smack to Sloan’s ego, or Erica once again showing that she didn’t know when to quit? “God fucking knows! Right now the only way I’m recovering from this is if I take that bastard to the cleaners and live the best fucking life I can. I’m almost in my forties. What the fuck have I got to lose at this point? Maybe I’ll be that badass bitch in her late fifties who fucks women half her age and lives on the beach in southern California.”
Maxine shook her head. “You’ll get lonely before long. You sure you don’t want to try getting Leah back?”
“Why would I? She made up her mind. If she wants out…”
“You said so yourself,” Erica interjected, “she told you that she loved you. Love doesn’t die because you find out an unfortunate truth.” She sat back in her seat. “Thank God, too. Otherwise I’d be as single as ever too.”
“Yes, yes, we’re all idiots at love in our own, special ways.” Maxine smacked the back of Erica’s shoulder. “At least you’ve got one thing going for you that Erica didn’t, though.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re gay… Leah’s gay… time to get your lady back.”
Sloan sighed.Do I really want that?Not an hour had gone by without thinking about Leah, the woman she slowly opened her mind to dating over the long term. Her first girlfriend since college. Her first shot at love since she realized her marriage was a sham.
I jumped right into it. Why?Because they were so unrealistically compatible. Sloan wanted to take out her frustrations with her marriage on a woman who loved getting a little rough in the bedroom. By chance, she ended up with Leah, the very woman who was willing to make Sloan’s domination dreams come true.In the end, though, I can’t healthily give her what she wants. Everything I do in the bedroom has been tainted by Aaron.
“Hey, we’re not saying it’s going to be easy,” Maxine said. “But we may know a few tips for you to get her back without totally embarrassing yourself.”
“Why do you have to say it like that?”
“Because, whether you mean to or not, you do a bang-up job of embarrassing yourself.”
“Thanks.”
Maxine motioned to the big bag beneath Erica’s chair. “If you want to get her back, though, there’s probably something you should know first.”
Sloan was afraid to say anything. Even when Erica pulled out a small stack of folders from the depths of her bag. They looked like certified background checks.
“Don’t tell me you did the same digging my husband did,” Sloan said. “I already know she’s got a Honduran grandmother. Or maybe it was Venezuelan. Honestly, I don’t remember, but I can’t say I give a shit.”
The background check landed in front of Sloan. “My head of security did it for me,” Erica said. “Trust me. He has access to documents and personnel you’ve never heard of.”
“Why did you do this?”
“Oh, I run background checks on everyone I do business with, and their lovers. Never know what you might find.”
Sloan was still not in a hurry to flip the folder open. “Why?”
“Why, what? Why am I sharing this with you?” Erica stole her drink back. She had no issue putting her mouth where Sloan’s had been a moment before.Thanks for the power play, Mann.Did she pick that up when she posed as a man, or was that her shitty nature too? “Maybe it’s because I would’ve wanted to know this about my girlfriend, had it been an issue. Who knows? Maybe it’ll help you figure out an angle to get her back.”
“It’s a little shocking,” Maxine admitted. “For some reason we thought you already knew. We’re guessing she never told you.”
“I swear to God, if it has to do with her medical history…”
“I mean, technically…”
Sloan sucked in her breath and flipped open the cover of the folder. She was not prepared to find out what her girlfriend had been hiding for years.
