Page 26 of Pickled
The metaphor had been completely unintentional. I was way too tired to pull off something that witty. My coffee sloshed onto my bare leg as I pulled into Lisa’s driveway. “I’m here.” I grabbed a napkin from the glove box and dabbed at the coffee.
“Cool. See you in a minute. Your gremlin is excited to see you.” She hung up, then appeared in the doorway of her stacked townhome. She was wearing head-to-toe Lululemon and a sporty visor.
“Sweet old lady hat.” I tapped the front of her visor as I stepped into the cool foyer of her house.
She laughed and adjusted the brim. “A couple of my patients asked me to play with them today.” Lisa was the Azalea Bay Club’s physiotherapist.
“On your day off? That’s pretty demanding.”
Lisa shrugged. “I don’t mind. Ariana and Gabby are both in camp today, so it will be a family day at the courts.”
I was off the hook. “I didn’t know thatyouplayed tennis.”
“I wouldn’t call it playing.” She winked. “But the girls need me to return the ball when they’re practicing.” Lisa slung her arm over my shoulder and led me into the bright white kitchen. “Why didn’t you tell me you used to play? I know your entire skin care routine, but not that you were a tennis star?”
“Star is a little excessive.” I stifled a yawn. “It’s no big deal. I played a little in college, but that feels like another lifetime. Basically, I basically forgot about it.” Or blocked it out.
“I get that. I forget what life was like before these two came along.” She held up a jug of green sludge. “Would you like some greens?”
“Sure.” I hadn’t eaten anything since the steaks with Gideon, and the coffee was starting to send me to jitter-town. Lisa poured me a glass and popped in a stainless-steel straw.
“Is Oscar the Grouch the main ingredient?” I eyed the glass dubiously before I took a sip. It was only half as disgusting as I’d imagined. “I taste lemon, not gr…” I stifled another yawn. “Grass.”
Lisa looked me up and down as though seeing me for the very first time. “Piper Jones. What did you get up to last night?”
“What are you talking about?” I focused intently on the drink, squeezing the metal straw as though I could dent it with my fingertips, hoping that my cheeks didn’t look as hot as they felt.
Lisa glanced at the door to the basement. A round of laughter filtered up the stairs, followed by giggles. Satisfied that thereweren’t any little ears listening, she leaned on the counter. “I’ve known you for years, Pipes, and I’ve never seen you look so obviously… JBF.”
“JBF?” I looked up from the sludge.
“Just been…” She pumped her eyebrows. “You know…” She gave another look at the door and leaned in to whisper, “Fucked.”
“JBF?” I put on my bestI’m so innocentvoice. Which, judging by Lisa’s smirk, was about as convincing as a friendly alligator. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I’d barely had time to change my clothes, let alone shower. While Lisa sipped her smoothie, I stole an inconspicuous sniff of my armpit.
“Mmmhmmm.” She rolled her eyes at me. “I know it when I see it. Was it good?”
How did she know I’d just had the best sex of my life? Behind Lisa, I caught a glimpse of myself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. The woman looking back was different. She looked younger, sparklier, and her hair was a complete fucking disaster. Maybe I wasn’t hiding my postorgasmic haze as well as I thought I was. I smoothed some of the flyaways. “I shouldn’t say anything…” My voice trailed off.
Lisa held up her finger, pausing the conversation. She ran across the kitchen and yelled down the stairs. “Girls, we have to leave in twenty minutes. Get your stuff together.” Then she grabbed my hand and led me to the patio.
“Spill, Pipes.” The metal chair scraped on the concrete as she pulled out one for me. “I’ve been married for years. Gerry and I are great together, but I’ll never have a first kiss or a first…” Her cheeks flushed. “You know, ever again. I need to live vicariously through you.”
I did know. The warmth of Gideon’s breath on my earlobe had made me shiver. I didn’t think that there could be a better sensation. That was until he pressed inside me, filling me in the best way possible. Both of those moments were firsts that I’d never forget. The shiver and the stretch. Unfortunately for me, they were also “lasts,” but that would make the memories even sweeter. “It was a mistake.”
“What do you mean by mistake. Are you okay?” She leaned on the table. A gust of wind sent ripples across the surface of the community pool.
“That sounded dramatic.” I swiped my tangled mess of hair into a ponytail, hoping to tone down the JBF factor. “I can’t have a relationship right now, and neither can he, so it was a onetime thing.”
Lisa’s eyes sparkled. “You should make more mistakes. You’re fucking glowing.”
I couldn’t help but smile, but wiped “the tell” from my face as soon as I felt it. Any thoughts of Gideon needed to be neutral, not warm and fuzzy. “It didn’t mean anything.” I said it more for me than for Lisa. I swirled the straw in the gross drink, avoiding Lisa’s eyes.
“Pipes, tell me exactly why you can’t have a relationship?” Lisa’s brow knitted.
As I listed off the reasons, I pointed to each finger on my hand. “I’ve got too much going on. I work all the time, and I already feel like I don’t have enough time with Olive. I can’t imagine trying to dateandspend enough time with her. I already feel guilty about working so much and having to send her to after-school programs.” Six fingers. That had to be more than enough to justify my position.
“I get that,” Lisa said. “But what if you met someone who wanted a family? What if you met a guy who could drive her to figure skating lessons, who could show her how to swing a golf club, who could make dinner so that when you get home, you don’t have to do that too. I get that dating sucks, but you need a life too. Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to give up on doing things for yourself. You need a man who can do all thatandmake you look like…” She pointed at me and swirled her finger. “This.”
