Underestimated Too (26 page)

 “I’m not sure Marta will want to stay and keep
Nicky.” I tried, I did need Drew’s permission. He would be irate if I went
without asking him first.

“You’re so full of shit. Drew would never leave you
if Marta wasn’t going to be there with you. Come on. Go with us. When was the
last time you went to a movie?”

“I’ll call you back and let you know.”

“Okay, we’re leaving at six. Text me and let me know
what the master says.”

“Yeah, yeah, see you later.”

Why the hell was I so nervous about calling Drew?
Alicia was right. I didn’t need to ask. I’d just call him out of courtesy, let
him know what I was doing so he didn’t worry. I was almost twenty-nine years
old. I didn’t need to ask permission. Shoot. I couldn’t call him while they
were in the air. Drew wouldn’t land until seven. I did want to go. Would he be
mad? Of course he would.

Maybe it would be okay if they weren’t going
downtown. Drew shouldn’t mind if we stayed on this side of town. It took me two
hours to decide. I was going. There was no reason for me to stay home when
Alicia asked me to go out with her and Deidra for dinner and a movie.

I was glad I went. Deidra was a lot of fun outside
the office with an attitude that didn’t take any shit. We went to a little
Italian restaurant on the side of town that Drew wouldn’t object to, well, I
hoped anyway. I still hadn’t talked to him.

The waiter had just brought us another wine refill
when my phone finally rang. My heart literally stopped, knowing it was Drew.

“Hi, made it okay?”

“Yeah, we’re here, but I can’t talk right now. We’re
meeting the buyers for dinner. I just wanted to check in. I’ll call you when we
leave.”

“Drew,” I said, stopping him before he hung up on
me.

“What, Morgan. I’ve got to go.”

“I’m at dinner with Alicia and Deidra,” I spat out,
wanting it over with so I could enjoy the rest of my evening. Drew didn’t
speak. Silence lingered for at least twenty seconds.

“We’ll talk about it later. Go home after that.”

“We’re going to a movie,” I said, getting up and
walking towards the ladies room. I didn’t want them to hear him yell or take a
chance on hearing something he might say.

“Why didn’t you ask me?”

“You were in the air. It’s just us girls, Drew. I
need to get out once in a while.”

“You don’t think I let you out?”

“No, I don’t mean it like that. I just mean there is
nothing wrong with me having dinner with two friends.”

“Deidra is not your friend. She works for us. You
don’t just take off without asking me first.”

“Okay, now you’re being an ass. I don’t need your
permission to have dinner with friends. I’ll talk to you later.” I was the one
to hang up, and now I was pissed.

“Why the hell do I stay married to that man?” I
asked, rejoining my table, and chugging my glass of wine.

“Don’t look at me. I ask you that every day. Ask
Deidra. She’s the shrink.”

“Uh-uh, Deidra is not a shrink. Deidra stops being a
shrink at five o’clock. Don’t ask Deidra anything that pertains to shrinking,”
Deidra exclaimed, downing her own wine, and holding it up for a refill.

“Don’t you have to breast feed?” I asked Alicia,
holding her glass for more too.

“Nope, I have five bottles pumped. I’m good till
tomorrow afternoon.”

“Hey!” Deidra shouted excitedly. “Let’s ditch the
movie and go across the road.”

“Across the road?” I asked the dumb question. I knew
what was across the road. I heard the loud music when we crossed the road.

“Yeah, let’s go to the Swiggy’s and drink,” she coaxed.

“I can accept you not working after hours, but with
all due respect, you’ve been seeing my husband for months. You know I would be
locked up for years if I went to a bar.”

“We won’t tell him. Come on, live a little. You act
like you’re fifty. Let’s do it.” Alicia begged.

“Drew will call.”

“And you can’t answer in the movie. The way I see it
the movie lasted two and a half hours, giving us till eleven thirty. We’ll
leave before then, and he’ll never know.”

“You can’t condone this. You’re a psychiatrist,” I
argued, wanting Deidra to intervene, no, needing Deidra to intervene. Drew
would kill me. I was sure of it.

“I’m not telling you to go to a bar. I only
suggested it. You guys can do what you want, but I’m thinking a few more drinks
and some good music sounds better than a romance where we’re all going home
alone.”

“Why?” I asked Deidra.

“Why what?”

“I know why Alicia and I are going home alone. Why
are you?” I wanted to know. Deidra laughed.

“I’m not sure we should have this conversation. I
am
still your therapist.”

“So, why don’t you have someone? Are you gay too?”
Jesus,
Morgan
. It must have been the wine. I was being a little bold.

Deidra laughed again. “Are we going to the bar or
not?” she asked, evading my question.

“I better not, Drew would have a massive heart
attack.”

“Come on. What’s he going to do? Not talk to you?
He’ll get over it. We won’t stay long,” Alicia begged.

I wasn’t afraid of Drew not talking to me. That was
the least of my worries. If that’s all it was, I’d go in a heartbeat without
hesitation. That wasn’t the case with Drew. “One drink,” I caved. One drink
couldn’t hurt. I still wouldn’t lie to him and tell him we went to a movie. I
would tell him the truth.

We did walk across the street to the mid-sized bar,
drank one drink, and then one more. I did step into the bathroom to check on
Nicholas. He was sound asleep. Marta was ecstatic that I was out having a good
time, and she encouraged me to stay out as long as I wanted. Drew’s seven
missed calls didn’t go unnoticed. I wasn’t calling him back, not yet anyway. I
didn’t want him to hear the pop band, playing in the background.

By the time the three of us got good and drunk it
was nearly two in the morning. I hadn’t even realized it was that late, or that
I was that drunk.

“Oh, my god. It’s almost two in the morning,” I
exclaimed, retrieving my phone to check the time. The nine calls from Drew
didn’t go unnoticed, neither did the twelve text messages and five voicemails.  

The cab dropped me first since I was the closest. I
was drunk. I’m not sure I have ever been that drunk before. Deidra and Alicia laughed
at me when I couldn’t find one of my shoes. I never did find that shoe. I left
the one that I did have in the car. What was I going to do with one shoe?

Marta was still up and opened the door for me.

“Marta, I lost my shoe. Where do you think it could
be?” I slurred.

“I take you had a good time? That makes me very
happy, however, your husband has called here at least ten times.”

“I’m home now, Drew. See me?” I waved to the camera
over the stairs as Marta helped me ascend them. My cellphone rang from my
handbag. Stumbling up the stairs I laughed, trying to retrieve it and walk at
the same time.

“I’m good now, thanks, Marta,” I said, plopping to
my bed and answering my phone.

“Hi, lover.”

“Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Yes, no, well, maybe. What time is it, Drew?” I
slurred, then laughed.

“It’s almost three in the morning.”

“Oh, I better get to sleep. Nicky will be up soon.”

“Morgan, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m just going to lay here for a second. I’ll call
you back in a minute,” I decided, feeling sleep—or passing out, more like it—overtake
my body. I dropped my phone to my side, vaguely hearing Drew call my name.

My head was going to explode. What is that ringing?
It sounded like it was echoing inside my head.
Oh lord.
Jumping up, I
ran to the bathroom, covering my mouth with my hand, making it just in time.

Sitting on the floor, I heard my phone ringing from
my bed again. , I couldn’t feel like this today. My mother and Caroline would
be here in the afternoon. What the hell did I do? Ignoring my phone that was
starting to piss me off, I washed my face and brushed my teeth. It was almost
ten in the morning. I couldn’t believe I slept that late. Nicholas had been up
for two hours, and I never even heard him. Thank god for Marta. What would I do
without her?

“Jesus, Drew,” I finally answered. “Can you give me
time to get my balance?” I asked, rubbing my aching head. I needed drugs, very
strong pain killing drugs.

“Do you have any idea how many times I have called
you in the last twelve hours?” he furiously asked. “Do you have any idea how
many times you answered me?”

“What do you want? I’m not feeling the best right
now.”

“You know what I want. It’s a good damn thing I am
in New York, or you’d see firsthand what I want.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever. I’m going to hang up now. I kind
of have a headache.”

“Don’t you dare hang up on me, Morgan.”

“Why, Drew, because you’re going to treat me like
I’m ten and tell me how much trouble I’m in?”

“Oh, you have no idea how much trouble you’re in. I
want to be there so bad right now, you don’t even know.”

“Great, well, what would you like for me to do? You
want me to sit around here all day, worrying about how much trouble I am in? I
don’t want to do that. My mom is coming today. I’ll talk to you later. I’m
going to find my son and something for this headache.”

“Morgan, so help me if you hang—”

Click

That wasn’t going to be good. I just hung up on
Drew. Nobody hung up on Drew. I should care. I tried to care. I just didn’t. I
was over it. I had more fun than I’d had in a long time with Deidra and Alicia.
I did nothing wrong and Drew Kelley could go to hell. I didn’t care.

That was easier said than done. I did worry the
entire day. Even after my mind was occupied with my mother and Caroline, I
still worried. At least he had time to cool down. Surely he wouldn’t react with
my family being there.

Alicia came over with Vince and the baby in the
afternoon. Caroline and Vince played in the pool. My mother made a big fuss
over Nicholas, and I barely even got to hold him. I worried about Drew even
more after Marta and my mother prepared lunch for all of us. Handing Nicky over
to my mom, I walked away to answer my husband’s call.

“Hey,” I answered with a lot nicer tone than I had
earlier.

Drew’s tone wasn’t any better. He was pissed. “We’ll
be home around seven.”

“Tonight? I thought you weren’t coming until
tomorrow.”

“Change of plans, my love. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to it,” I halfheartedly
replied.

“I’m sure you are. I see you later.”

It would be fine. He wouldn’t do anything with
company, and he’d left worrying about me leaving him. He wasn’t going to hurt
me. Just relax Morgan. It’s fine.

That wasn’t easy. I tried my best to stay engaged
with my company, go over last minute details for Nicky’s first birthday party,
followed up on the decorators and caterer. Alicia left around six, wanting to be
home when Celeste arrived. Caroline, Nicky, my mom, and Marta settled in the
living room with a Disney movie. I left them for a much needed bath, wanting to
look nice for when Drew arrived in one more hour. UGH!!! I was so nervous.

Standing in front of the mirror, I applied makeup
and a spritz of perfume. I hadn’t even had time to dress yet when I jumped,
startled.

“You look edible,” Drew said from the door with
crossed arms.

“Hi,” I said turning to him.

“Hello. Come here.”

Damn, he looked edible too. When he wrapped me in
his arms, I breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t mad.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I countered, kissing his lips.

“Did you? I’m not sure you did. I’m thinking you had
quite a bit of fun without me. Am I right, Morgan?” he asked with a look that I
knew all too well.

“I did have fun, but I still missed you. Don’t do
this, Drew. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You didn’t? That’s funny because I’m not really
seeing it that way,” he taunted, circling me and sliding my black robe off my
shoulders. Kissing my bare shoulder with his hot lips, I closed my eyes, sucked
in unavailable air as I leaned into his chest. “What’s the matter, Morgan? You
want to be punished?” Drew asked, running his hand over my naked ass.

Jesus Christ. And there goes my traitor pussy, throbbing
like it has its own mind or something. What the fuck was wrong with me? Deidra
wasn’t doing shit to fix this fucked-upness. Yes. I wanted punishment. I wanted
to be punished right that second.

“Answer me, Morgan,” Drew demanded, twisting my
nipple between his fingers and kissing my neck with his ridiculous hot breath.