Page 13 of Worship
I close the curtain and take a seat on the bench, analyzing the conversation again. The heat I’m feeling is just my perspective because I’m attracted to him.It’s wishful thinking.
I’m horrible. The man was looking for a friend, and I reacted like a horny teenager. He could’ve easily meant a thousand different things by what he said. But why would he need my forgiveness for calling me? Unless he was planning on doing something bad to me. I look in the mirror of the changing room to verify my blush.I’m a dirty, dirty whore.
ILOOK DOWN AT MYphone, grinning like a fool. I almost forgot what the chase felt like. That’s what I’m doing…chasing her. I’m going to fuck Gretchen Andrews. I’m going to sink into her balls-deep and tell her all my dirty secrets and awful thoughts. And I’ll give her reason to satisfy the attraction she feels because I’ve known it’s there, all this time.
It’s hard not to notice the buzz between us. I’ve ignored it like a good husband does. But my marriage is a sham, a fucking joke that’s been laughed at behind my back. So now, I’ll do what I want, to whom I want. Starting with Gretchen.
There’s something about her candor that draws me in and holds me fucking hostage. Even now, I called her with bad intentions and she has me talking about my parents. Asking to hear about her. Doesn’t matter that I made her promise to forgive me. She won’t. Not after we cross the line. She’ll hate me. It’ll be deserving, but I’d rather her hate me and have her for only a minute becauseeveryone’s a liar.Even Gretchen.
I head to the shower, wash, and dress for the day. Heading downstairs, I hear the cutest sounds coming from the kitchen. My grin plants on my face in anticipation of what I’m about to see as I enter the kitchen. Rose is feeding Ella, but with each spoonful, Ella smacks the table for more. Ella’s little legs kick in and out as she laughs at her own enthusiasm.
“She’s an eater like her daddy.” I chuckle along with them.
Rose nods her agreement, and I open my phone to check some emails, grabbing my coffee.
“Mr. King, will you be joining us at the park today?”
I try and go most days, scheduling free time in my day to meet them. I’ve been a tiny bit busier lately since coming back from the accident. Money doesn’t make itself.
“It’s the best part of my day,” I say with a wink to Ella.
Her hands are covered in the applesauce she’s enjoying so much, and my eyes crinkle from my smile.
“I’ll just get her cleaned up and we can plan to leave in a half hour.”
“Sounds like a plan, Rose. Thank you.”
I lean in to kiss Ella’s head, and she smears her messy hand over my face. I pull back laughing, running my finger across my cheek to scoop up the mess and pop it in my mouth. “Delicious!” I growl at her, attacking her chubby cheeks with raspberries. Her squeals and belly laughs fill the room. Ella’s joy is contagious, and I laugh with her.
In this moment I’m happy. Truly happy. Moments like this make me angrier though, because they highlight the shitty, grimy parts more.
My day with Ella passed faster than I would’ve liked. We parked it, lunched, and played on the floor at home with too many toys that make an obnoxious amount of sound. It’s unnerving. I remind myself to remove some of those batteries later.
Currently, Rose is putting her down for the night, and the rumble in my stomach reminds me that I haven’t eaten dinner. But I have to meet a client later for drinks, so I waited knowing I could set out a bit earlier and grab a bite before meeting him.
I say my goodbye to Rose, letting her know I’ll be home late, and head out. I showered and changed after Ella’s dinner, cleaning up enough to be presentable.
Walking down the steps to my waiting car, I pull out my phone to dial Dom.
“What?” he answers with a yell, and I laugh loudly as George opens my door and I duck to enter the car
“Whatever, dick. Vuoi cenare?”Do you want to have dinner?
We only flow in and out of Italian when it’s just me and him; I’m thankful we were able to hold on to pieces of our heritage, even in the absence of our parents.
“Non stanotte, ho dei piani con Drew.”Not tonight, I have plans with Drew.
“Have a good time. Sunday dinner still on?”
We do it every Sunday night; Drew cooks for us, which means she orders from the restaurant and one of us picks it up. I pull the phone away from my mouth and tell George to head to my favorite spot downtown.
“Yeah, tell Dante?”
We started including him the moment we found out about our long-lost brother from another mother.
“Will do.” I start to hang up, but Dom’s voice catches my attention.
“And don’t show up without my niece. Drew will have your head.” He’s not lying.
