Page 28 of Whatever He Wants
“Yes!She wrote P-R-I-Z-E-N in big, green letters down the front!And you know what she does after?With a straight face, she looks me dead in the eye and asks me if she could try on another one!”
“Tell me you didn’t let her!”
“Of course I didn’t!I kept my eyes on her while I screamed for Katelyn.Then this lady looks atmelikeI’mthe one out-of-order and says, what’s wrong with you?”A laugh bursts out of June and I laugh with her.When she recovers, she continues.“So I say, no, what the hell is wrong withyou?You spray-painted a wedding dress that costs two grand!And she says… she says…” June struggles to hold back her laughter to get out the words.“She says,because marriage is prison!”
Both of us succumb to another round of laughter.
“More like she’s going to prison for vandalism,” I say when I catch my breath, wiping away tears from my eyes.
“You’re damn right.When Katelyn came over, the dumbass booked it, leaving her bag and ID cards.Katelyn handed everything over to the police.”
“That was something.I wonder why she did that?”
“Katelyn says she’ll try to find that out.I’ll update you.Just a shame her protest failed because she couldn’t spellprison.”
After another shared laugh, June asks how I’m doing.I almost tell her about my break-up with Matt but change my mind.I don’t want to bring down the mood, and I’m not ready to admit why Matt and I broke up.The story is too messy and sordid, and all three main characters are villains.Matt, the thief.Isaac, the blackmailer.Me, the traitor.
When the call ends, I head to the shower.The warm water relaxes me, and my mind drifts to Isaac.Even though he didn’t get back his watch, at least he didn’t kick me out last Friday like he threatened.I doubt he ever intended to do it.
I’ve been avoiding him, but I think he’s steering clear of me too.He’s been absent since that night in the basement.He probably thinks I rejected him because I never gave him the answer he wanted, and I defended Matt from him.That sucks.I don’t want to lose the good relationship we had before this mess, and I wish I could clear up the misunderstanding, but it’s dangerous.
My thoughts slip back to that night, and my body warms, remembering his hungry kisses on my neck, his thick fingers moving inside me, his hardness pressed between my legs.
Do you want me, Denise?
I was going to say yes.I was ready to tell Isaac I wanted him to fuck me, eager to let it happen.Then the universe intervened, using Matt to stop me and Isaac from making a big mistake.
Every night, I imagine what would’ve followed if Matt hadn’t interrupted.I always make myself come while fantasizing about Isaac inside me.If I admit the truth to Isaac that I didn’t reject him that night, he might try to make those fantasies come true.
And Matt’s gone now, no longer an obstacle.
There will be nothing stopping us.
I shove my face into the stream of warm water, hoping it washes away my dirty thoughts.
18
Isaac
For the rest of the week, I don’t intentionally avoid Denise.Winter is coming, my work schedule is packed, and it’s the perfect excuse to keep my distance.
While work keeps my mind off her, I’m still occasionally tormented by memories of her.Tasting her lips, her sexy gasps and moans, her tight heat on my fingers that made me desperate to be inside her.
Fuck Matt for coming home when he did.
Then again, his interruption saved me from future disappointment because Denise’s actions spoke volumes.She’s never letting Matt go.She stepped between me and that asshole, standing by him even after he showed he doesn’t deserve her.
I overhead them arguing when I went upstairs.It was muffled, and I was too upset to care what they were saying.They’ve been quiet ever since, and I suspect they’re avoiding me.I guess they’re back to being a happy fucking couple.
That thought unsettles me, especially whenever I see the basement light on.I’m reminded Denise is with Matt, and I’m tempted to do what I suggested that night—take her in front of him, proving to both of them she should be withme.
But that won’t work.Denise seems unwilling to look beyond who we’ve been to each other for the past eight years.She might want me, but she’ll stick with what’sacceptablein her eyes.Which I understand.I struggled with my feelings for her at first, but I eventually accepted what I couldn’t change.I’ll have to accept I can’t change her mind too, and return to my earlier plan.
Bury my feelings.
Keep my distance.
Move on.
