Beth surveyed the circle, eyes twinkling as she focused on her husband. “I never slept with someone whose name I didn’t even know.”
Don’s jaw dropped open, and he shook his head at her, laughing. He stood up, as did Justine. Beth slammed herself into her husband’s vacated chair and Don snuck behind Justine and flung himself into her space on the couch. Justine shrugged her shoulders, smiling with feigned innocence.
Marienne saw the gleam of defiance in Justine’s eyes and followed her stare. It led straight to Daniel. His lips were pursed, his eyes dark. He held Justine’s gaze a moment then stared at his beer. He looked hurt and angry, a look that broke Marienne’s heart.
“Let’s see.” Justine tapped her chin, the smug smile still in place. “I never baked a cake.”
The second Marienne stood up Justine planted herself in her spot, looking pleased. She grabbed her beer bottle from the coffee table and took a long, slow drink.
The evening began to wind down soon after that. Beth and Darla reminded Marienne that they all needed to be beautiful the next morning for the wedding photos. Everyone said their goodbyes and so-nice-to-meet-you’s as Daniel and Justine made their way to the back door.
“You want to take any food home?” Marienne asked as Daniel and Justine shook the other’s hands.
“No,” Justine said. “I’ve got enough cosmo calories to work off tomorrow. But thanks for having us tonight, it was fun.”
Marienne smiled. “We’d never have a party and not invite you two.”
Justine turned toward the door, and Marienne’s eyes shifted to Daniel. He’d been quiet for the past half hour. He was distracted, eyes still dark, hands even more fidgety than usual. He raked his hair and rubbed his eyebrows.
“You sure you don’t want to take some food?” She reached out to touch his arm. He startled. His eyes met hers, and his expression softened.
“No, thanks. I’m good. Everything was lovely, as always.”
Her hand was still on his forearm, her eyes questioning.
He kissed her cheek. “Good night.” His hand pressed against her upper back as his hair grazed her cheek.
“Good night.” Her breath caught in her throat.
He waved as he walked out the door.
“If you change your mind about the food, stop by on Sunday. We’ll be eating leftovers for a week.”
“Will do.”
Marienne closed the back door and locked it.
“What’s wrong?” Beth said, placing a handful of empty beer bottles into the recycling bin
“Nothing. I don’t think Daniel had a very good night.”
“I think he got pissed off when Justine revealed that she’d slept with guys whose names she didn’t know. I kinda felt bad that I’d said that particular ‘I never’,” Beth said. “I assumed only idiot boy over here would stand up.” She gestured to her husband.
“Thanks, dear.” Don kissed her.
“Get a room.” Darla scowled.
“Look,” Frank said. “You marry a woman who looks like Justine, and you gotta know she’s been around the block. I mean, Jesus.”
Phil and Don nodded, while Darla and Beth rolled their eyes and said in unison, “Men.”
They all laughed, except Marienne. The look in Daniel’s eyes haunted her. She went to get the last chafing tray from the dining room and Darla followed.
“So,” Darla kept her voice low. “All these years you’ve been talking about your neighbor you never once mentioned how hot he is.”
Marienne smiled. “Did I leave that out?”
“You did. He’s certainly fond of you. Anything I should know?”
Marienne’s eyes widened. “What? No. Of course not.”
“That’s too bad.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Daniel and Justine crossed the backyard without a single word. Only the jingling of Justine’s keychain broke the silence that hung between them.
He watched as she tossed her keys onto the kitchen table.
She poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down. “Interesting party after all.”
“Interesting?” His voice was louder than he intended. “That’s your word for it?”
“Yes,” she said. “That’s my word for it. I’m not one of your students, you know. You can’t critique every word I say. You’re not grading me on my performance.”
“Well, if I were, I’d have to say you put on quite a performance tonight.”
“You’re such a prude.” She strolled out of the room.
He followed her upstairs. “I’m a prude? What, because I know the names of all my sex partners?”
She shrugged, looking him straight in the eye. “Well, maybe if you’d had more fun back then you’d be more fun now.”
“Fun? That’s your idea of fun? Fucking people whose names you don’t know?”
She batted her tipsy eyes. “Seems to me the gentlemen at tonight’s party would all have fucked me before they knew my name, judging by the way they looked at me.”
She was trying to goad him, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help it. He took the bait.
“What?” His voice betrayed his anger more than he wanted.
“You heard me. And you saw it. Every guy in that room wanted to fuck me. Why wouldn’t they? Did you see their wives? You get to come home to this.” She waved her hands over her body. “Can you imagine coming home to miss conservative lawyer every night? You think she ever rides her husband like an animal? Because I’m guessing she’s a missionary gal every time, which is probably once a week and maybe an extra bonus on Saturdays if they both won their cases.”
Her laughter grated on him.
She kicked off her shoes. “And the other one? My God, she has the body of a twelve-year-old boy. But who knows, maybe her husband is into that.” She laughed again.
Daniel gaped at her.
“And Marienne.” She snorted and Daniel’s nostrils flared. “Can you imagine what it must be like having sex with Marienne?” A look of distaste crossed her face.
Daniel wanted to say yes, he very much could imagine what it might be like to have sex with Marienne, that he’d thought about it countless times, but he remained silent.
Justine shook her head. “Nope, can’t picture it. If it wasn’t for the fact that they had Ella, I’m not sure I’d even believe that Marienne had ever had sex with Frank. And you know he’s getting some on the side.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Oh please.” Justine unwrapped her sweater and tossed it into the hamper. “Don’t be so naïve. Frank’s in the city ‘til all hours, hobnobbing with clients. Do you honestly think he’s pining for Marienne? I’d bet anything he’s got quite a bit of action going on to supplement his home life.” She peeled off her jeans and draped them on the vanity chair. “Especially since they had Ella. That had to be the final straw. She got so huge while she was pregnant. Then all that breastfeeding. I can’t imagine any guy wanting to be with her, unless maybe the guy was looking for a substitute for his mommy.”
Daniel’s anger soared to new heights. Her words made him physically ill. “Not everyone thinks of sex as a hobby, like you.” He shifted the conversation back to Justine. This argument was supposed to be about her behavior, her choices.
“At least I have a hobby. When was the last time you wrote anything?” She flopped onto the bed, wearing her bra and panties.
He didn’t want to answer. His writing was his business, and he didn’t want her intruding. He didn’t even want to look at her.
Justine took advantage of his silence. “You could have taken the job editing that screenplay.” Her voice was needling. “The asshole who wrote it has gone on to make two films in the past eighteen months. He was at the fucking Academy Awards. You may not have a great novel in you, but you can write well enough to polish someone else’s ideas.” She removed her watch and bracelet and let them clatter onto the nightstand. “If you’d taken that assignment we’d be spending our weekends at Hollywood parties instead of the occasional snore fest at your pompous department chair’s stupid SoHo loft.”
Daniel seethed. She looked so perfect, her hair and complexion flawless, her body poised, yet every word she uttered made her uglier. He had to get away from her. Had to clear his head before he said something he might later regret.
“I’m going for a walk.” He strode out of the room.
“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer to take a shower and jerk off?”
“Maybe later,” he said, as obnoxiously as he could manage, though his face burned at her suggestion. “I’ll wait ‘til after you’ve finished up with your toys and gone to sleep.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she said, and he knew he’d gotten to her.
“At least I’ll still know the name of the person I’m fucking.” He cringed at his own words as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge and walked out into the darkness.
****
Marienne flipped off the kitchen light and was about to go up to bed. She glanced out the window and, to her surprise, saw Daniel striding across the lawn. He walked down her driveway toward the street. His head was down and he was moving fast, clearly upset. She knew he was going to the park.
She almost called after him, but thought better of it.
It’s not your place. Let him go.
She did, however, turn her kitchen light back on and continue cleaning. If she happened to still be awake when he returned home, and she happened to see him, then maybe she’d see if he was okay. She started scrubbing the sink.
You’re ridiculous.
She scolded herself an hour later as she stared at her spotless kitchen. The timer on the dishwasher indicated there were only twenty minutes left until the cycle finished. She glanced at the clock. It was nearly two am.
She made a deal with herself. She would take two Tylenol, go sit on the porch, and drink a glass of ice water in an attempt to ward off a hangover. When the dishwasher finished she’d unload it. Then she’d go to bed.
Totally practical. Don’t want a hangover for the wedding, and breakfast will go faster if the dishwasher is already unloaded.
She went outside to hope against hope that Daniel might take the same path back through her yard when he made his way home.
After fifteen minutes of worrying and utter boredom Marienne was about to give up. She could feel a large mosquito bite starting to swell on her ankle. She berated herself for being foolish enough to sit outside on the off chance that Daniel might happen through her backyard, and the even more minute chance he’d want to talk to her if he did.
As she was about to go inside, she heard the crunch of gravel from footsteps coming up alongside her house.
“Daniel?” she called into the darkness, as she saw his tall silhouette emerge from the shadow.
“Jesus.” His hand flew to his chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”
She knew she shouldn’t laugh, but she couldn’t help it. The last thing she had wanted to do was frighten him, but now she could see she’d done exactly that. “I’m sorry.” Her voice squeaked and more laughter tumbled out of her.
****
Daniel’s hands raked through his hair and he bent forward to catch his breath. His fright evaporated at the sound of Marienne’s contagious giggles. Within seconds he was laughing.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” He moved toward her. She looked lovely, backlit by the glow that emanated from the house, hair loose around her shoulders, pale skin luminous in the moonlight, shoulders quivering as she tried to contain her laughter. He felt a strong impulse to kiss her, which took him totally off guard. The neighbor’s dog barked, startling them both, and stopping him from striding toward her, taking her in his arms and making what he thought would be the hugest of all possible mistakes.
“I was just having some water.” Marienne pointed to the glass on the stone ledge.
He looked at her, one eyebrow raised.
She sighed. “And I was waiting to see if you’d walk back through my yard.”
“Back through?”
“I was at the sink. I saw you walk by earlier.”
“You waited up for me?”
“Well, I was cleaning the kitchen and waiting for the dishwasher to finish.” She was a terrible liar. “Yes, I waited up. You looked upset. I wanted to make sure you were all right.” Her dark, round eyes met his.
He stepped toward her. “That was totally unnecessary. And it’s absolutely the nicest thing I can remember anyone doing for me in a very long time.” He hugged her, tentatively, gauging her response.
She lifted herself onto her toes, her small hands pressed into his back, and he relaxed in her arms. He breathed in the aroma of her hair, laced as always with her familiar scent. Eyes closed he allowed her warmth to pass through him. The desire to kiss her remained strong, all the more so now that she was pressed against him, but the need to hug her, and be hugged by her, took precedence. He held her tighter and placed a gentle kiss on the side of her head before he pulled away.
“Are you okay?” she asked, breathless, he assumed, from being squeezed so hard.
“I’ll be fine. I’m just a big baby.”
“No you’re not.”
“Yeah, I kind of am. I let a silly game bother me and then Justine and I had a huge argument, and I was even more stupid to let that get to me. Jesus, I’ve had enough fights with Justine to know better than that.” He shook his head and kicked at the ground.