Shaken Not Stirred (Mixology) (22 page)

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. I’ve never heard you try to get
out of something so hard before.”

“You’ve only known me a few months.”

A look of understanding crossed his face, and
I didn’t like it. There was nothing for him to understand. “I know
what this is about.”

“What? I’m sure you’re wrong.”

He shook his head in annoyance. “I’m not
wrong. This is because you’re insecure about our status as a
couple.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t fully understand, but I know that’s
what it is.”

“You’re not making any sense. Are you
implying I’m insecure because I’m not wearing an engagement ring or
something?”

“Maybe.”

“You are wrong. Completely and utterly
wrong.”

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing. I could name at least fifty things
I’d rather be doing tonight.” I sounded like a brat, but I didn’t
want to spend the evening socializing with Gabriel and Suzanne. I
couldn’t imagine a more awkward outing.

Colin ran his thumb over my hand. “You’re
going for me. It’s important to me.”

“Fine.” In hindsight, I probably should have
told him about his boss, but that sounded like the worst idea
possible back then. Well—not as bad as having actually had sex with
his boss and his boss’s wife. That was a much worse thought. “Let’s
go.”

Colin drove the short remaining distance to
the Fitzgeralds. I tried to tame my nerves, but it was hopeless. I
kept coming up with a hundred ways the night could be a complete
and utter disaster. Colin was quiet, and I knew he was probably
annoyed at me. I couldn’t blame him, but I also didn’t blame
myself.

I’d managed to calm my heartbeat to a
reasonable level by the time Colin opened the car door for me. We
walked up the wooden steps to the front door of the massive
three-story beach house. Colin hit the doorbell.

“Colin, hi!” Suzanne threw her arms around
Colin before turning her attention to me. “And you must be
Maddy.”

I stared at her. Was this the same Suzanne?
Instead of a tight black dress, she wore a pair of cream slacks and
a blue blouse. Her hair was pulled back in a neat chiffon, and her
nails were a neutral color. “Hi.” The one word was all I could
muster.

“Gabriel is out on the back porch. Why don’t
you head out there, Colin? We’ll meet you with some drinks in a few
minutes.” She took my arm.

Before I could so much as call out to Colin
for help, I was dragged off.

“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so
soon.” Her hand remained perched on my arm as we gazed out the
floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room.

“Trust me, neither did I.”

“You left in quite a hurry that night.”

“Could you blame me?” I looked right at her.
I couldn’t let her intimidate me. I wasn’t the one playing Susie
Homemaker by day and sex kitten by night. Susie Homemaker? Wow, she
nearly had the right name.

“Yes. It was very close-minded of you. You
didn’t even hear us out.”

“I got the gist. It was plenty.”

“Were you seeing Colin at the time? Did he
know you were out on a date with another man?”

“No. I was single.”

“Have you changed your mind?”

“No. Of course not.”

“I thought maybe you had. I mean, you did
show your face here. That had to have taken a certain level of
curiosity.” She walked over to a bar and took down four red
wineglasses.

“No, it took a boyfriend who wanted me to
come.”

“Boyfriend. A cute word isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Cute.”

“May I ask you one question? Then I promise
to drop the discussion of our past association.”

“I guess so.”

“Why did the proposition upset you? Clearly
you were attracted to Gabriel. Was it that you weren’t interested
in being intimate with a woman, or—”

I cut her off before she could make things
any more awkward. “No, it was more the idea that you two are
married.”

“Really? It’s all about monogamy?”

“At least partly.”

“I guess you do fit Colin.”

“Fit him?”

“He’s fixated on settling down.” I was pretty
sure she wanted to say more. I assumed it was along the lines of
boring, but thankfully, she didn’t continue. I couldn’t ignore the
“settling down” comment. Especially not after Colin’s ring
remark.

“Not with me. We’re just dating.” I shifted
nervously. How had the conversation gone from one about my sexual
interests to whether Colin and I were serious?

She smiled slightly condescendingly. The
smile wasn’t mean, it was more that she knew more than me and she
felt bad for my lack of insight. “We’ll see what you’re saying
after a few months abroad together.”

“Oh. I’m not sure if I’m going.”

“Of course you are. What woman would give up
rent-free living in Paris?”

Me, but I kept that thought to myself. I
really hadn’t decided yet. “I’ll decide when the time comes.”

“Listen, I don’t want us getting off on the
wrong foot. Let’s start over.” She held out her hand. “I’m Suzanne.
Nice to meet you, Colin’s girlfriend.”

Was she serious? I decided to go with it.
What other choice did I have? “Nice to meet you too.”

“Shall we go find the boys?” She handed me
two glasses and grabbed a bottle of wine.

“Sure.”

Colin smiled when he saw me. I grimaced. He
was busy smoking a cigar with Gabriel. Could it get more cliché?
Had I unwittingly woken up in the 1950s? Except that his boss had
asked me to participate in a sexual relationship with him and his
wife.

“Maddy, honey. Welcome.” Gabriel stepped over
to greet me with a half hug.

Honey? A hug? Forget the fifties, try the
Twilight Zone
.

“It’s so nice to see you again.” He was
laying it on thick.

“Likewise.” I smiled, placing the empty
glasses down on the table.

Gabriel opened the bottle and poured four
glasses. “Colin was just telling me that you bartend at the
Surfside Grille.”

I accepted a glass. “Yeah. I’ve been working
there a few months now.” Was he purposely making me feel like I was
hiding stuff from Colin? I took a large sip, hoping the alcohol
would make the rest of the evening more bearable.

“I’m sure you meet a lot of interesting
people there.”

I spit out my wine. I mean, spit out. It
conveniently (or non-conveniently depending on how you look at it)
landed on Gabriel’s blazer.

“I’m so sorry.” I reached over to help,
although without a towel, I didn’t know what help I’d be. I stopped
myself. Suzanne could take over the cleaning.

Colin grabbed my elbow, and I caught the look
of absolute horror on his face.

“Sorry,” I mouthed.

Dinner saved us from more awkwardness. Colin
had correctly predicted that the Fitzgeralds had brought in. The
food was from a local seafood place near the Grille. Ordinarily, I
would have dived in, but the pit in my stomach wouldn’t allow
it.

I selected the smallest piece of fish I could
find, and filled the rest of the plate with salad. If I was going
to waste food, it might as well be something that wouldn’t keep
anyway.

I listened to Colin and Gabriel talk work,
and started thinking the night might be salvageable. Lesson
learned, never let your guard down.

“Okay. Let’s put everyone out of their
misery.” Suzanne placed her napkin on the table.

“Misery?” Colin asked.

“I know we’ve unofficially decided to leave
Colin in the dark, but why should we?”

What happened to starting over? Damn it.

Colin paled. “What’s going on? What don’t I
know?”

“Maddy is actually acquainted with us.”
Gabriel smiled at me as he said it.

“You knew each other?” Colin looked at me for
the answer.

“I met Gabriel at the Grille.”

“What?” I could practically see the wheels
turning in his head. Colin was trying to figure out what I was
doing with a married man.

“We went on a date.” Gabriel continued and I
buried my face in my hands.

“When?”

“Right after labor day.”

“Wait a second…no.” He’d figured it out.
“He’s not the one you told me about when you agreed to go out with
me again?”

Gabriel laughed. “I guess you owe me one,
Colin. I scared her enough to send her running into your arms.”

“Meaning you asked my girlfriend to get with
both of you?” He gestured to Gabriel, who now held Suzanne’s hand
on top of the table.

“She seemed like the adventurous type.”
Gabriel winked at me.

“She wasn’t your girlfriend at the time,”
Suzanne said all sugary sweet.

“Is that something you do a lot?” Colin’s arm
had left my elbow and was now around my shoulders. I had a feeling
it was a reflex protective move.

“No. We’d been looking for a while…”

“Oh.” Colin started laughing.

“Do you find that funny?” Gabriel didn’t hide
the annoyance in his voice.

Relief colored his face. “No. It’s that this
is so much better than what I was thinking.”

“What were you thinking?” I asked.

“That you were getting ready to dump me.”

“Weren’t you the one accusing me of trying to
get a ring on my finger earlier?”

“Ohhh.” Suzanne giggled.

“Considering your reaction to my theory, it
dawned on me it might be the complete opposite.”

“I’m not dumping you.”

“I know. That’s why this is great.” He kissed
me.

I leaned back in surprise and relief. He
wasn’t upset? Colin really was more laid back than I gave him
credit for.

“I’ve spent this whole night worrying for
nothing.”

“I’d ask if you two wanted dessert, but maybe
you’d rather do that on your own.” Suzanne smiled.

“If you don’t mind, I think we’ll do just
that.” Colin pulled me against his side. “Thanks for having
us.”

“So I guess we’re leaving. Thanks for
dinner.”

Gabriel nodded. “Nice seeing you, Maddy.
Don’t be a stranger.”

“Uh, I’ll try not to be.” I accepted Colin’s
hand and stood up.

I didn’t object when Colin hurried us to the
door.

“Where’s the fire?” I slipped into my seat
before he could push me in. I’d never seen Colin in such a
rush.

“I want to get home. I just spent the last
two hours trying to come up with ways to convince you to stay with
me, and now I don’t have to use them.”

“You do realize that’s the second ‘don’t
leave’ speech you almost used on me.”

“Yes. But the keyword is ‘almost.’ I didn’t
have to use it either time.” He put his hand behind the headrest of
my seat as he pulled out of the drive.

“Is this a bad time to tell you I’m not
staying with you tonight?”

“What?” He slowed the car.

“It’s a joke.”

“I swear that humor of yours is going to kill
me one of these days.”

“You just need to find a way to know when I’m
joking.”

“I usually know, but not after a night like
this one.”

I double checked my bag to make sure I had my
glasses with me. “If you say so.”

“That was a crazy night.”

“You can say that again. I had to come
face-to-face with the couple that propositioned me.”

Colin laughed. “I still can’t believe it.
They seem like such conservative people.”

“I guess you don’t really know what someone’s
private life is like. Besides, it’s not like they do this a lot.
Maybe they’re trying to spice up their sex life.”

“We’re never going to need that.”

“Need what? An extra partner?” I ran my
fingers through Colin’s dark hair.

“No. I mean I’m not worried about our sex
life.”

“I’d hope not. It would be a bad sign if it
was getting stale already.”

“It’s not that I wouldn’t try other things
though, but I want it to be just us.”

“Other things?” I raised an eyebrow.

“How did Gabriel put it? You’re
adventurous.”

“He assumed that because I was giving some
guys a hard time at the bar.”

“Well, you know I’d have tractor sex if
you’re missing that.”

“Mention the word ‘tractor’ one more time and
you’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”

“Will I? I already passed your place.”

“I know.” I stretched out my legs. “But you
have a nice guest room.”

“I’ll follow you in there.”

“Yeah? You’d follow me?”

“I’d follow you anywhere, baby.”

“Save the lines. You know you’re getting
some.”

He grinned. “I know.”

“You rebounded from thinking I was dumping
you fast.”

“I did, didn’t I?” He parked and came around
to open my door.

“Did you really think I was going to break up
with you?”

He took my hand, hurrying me up the stairs.
He paused before unlocking the front door. “I didn’t know.
Sometimes you’re a hard girl to read.”

“I can say the same thing about you—except
you’re a guy.”

“How am I hard to read? I want you. Whether
it’s talking over coffee, curled up watching a movie, or having
amazing sex, I just want you. Don’t worry about reading anything
else.”

“Nothing is ever that simple. Usually the
things that seem the simplest on the surface are the most
complicated.”

“Maddy?” He took my face in his hands.

“Yeah?”

“This really is simple.” He kissed me,
pushing open the door at the same time.

Once inside, he closed the door and pushed me
up against it. “Where do you want to have sex?”

If I could have stepped back, I would have. I
was so startled by the question.

“Colin…”

“No. Tonight got me thinking. Maybe I’m not
making things adventurous enough.”

“Didn’t we already establish I wasn’t dumping
you?” I wrapped my arms around his neck, wanting him to start
kissing me again.

“Still, we need to mix things up.”

“We had sex in your office last week, doesn’t
that count?”

“That was desperation sex.”