Mine, Not Hers (True Love Book 1) (15 page)

Katie

I feel ridiculous. Here we are, three grown women acting like seventh graders, seventh graders who can drive and order booze. We get to the hotel, and it’s crazy inside. There must be thousands of people at this function. Everyone is nicely dressed, and we look like the decorations committee at the prom. We rush to the elevators, and head up to Colleen and Tom’s room. She called to tell him that we were coming over, and he is thrilled. He tells her he’ll meet us in the lobby later.

“OK girls, what are we wearing?” She asks as we enter her hotel room. She opens her closet, and I swear there are at least five cocktail gowns hanging.

“What is all
that
?” I ask. “How long are you staying?”

She smiles and says, “You know me, I hate to have the wrong outfit. Poor Tom never questions me anymore. Choose a dress, and I’ll go throw on a little more makeup.”

Not the plan.

“I thought maybe you could do all the snooping? First of all, Melanie and I are not fitting into any of your dresses, and secondly, we don’t have badges. I don’t want to be conspicuous, even though that’s exactly what we are.”

That thought hits a nerve when I say it out loud. What am I doing? Spying on a woman who is a stranger? I’m not feeling like my best self, as Oprah would say.

“OK. I’ll go down with Tom and make the rounds. I’ll find out what I can and text you. If you change your mind, those dresses will accommodate your adorable figures.”

She heads to the bathroom. After she leaves, Melanie and I decide to hit the minibar,
hard
. We take out all the little bottles, some juice as a mixer, and make some interesting concoctions.

We may have to crash here on the floor tonight. I hope Tom’s company understands when it gets the bill.

“You know everything will turn out OK, right?” Melanie asks as sweetly as she can. I know she’s a little jaded when it comes to men, but I think she really believes in what Jason and I have. If he’s cheating on me, then her hope for all other men is gone.

“I know it will. I feel silly even dragging you girls through this. When it all turn outs to be nothing, we can laugh at my insanity,” I say as lightly as possible, but right now I don’t feel so jolly. We don’t say much else after that; we both just sit on the bed waiting for Colleen to give us some information. After about an hour, I turn on the TV. I can’t stand the waiting. I know there are a lot of people down there; I hope she can find her. Melanie and I are watching a reality show
when my phone buzzes with a text. I throw myself at the nightstand to get it. It’s from Colleen:
Finally found her. Getting some intel, BRB

That’s it? Now I do feel like heading down there myself and walking straight up to her and asking just who the hell she is.

“All right, I’m going down. I can’t stand it anymore,” I huff to Melanie.

“Do you want me to come, too? I’m sure if I hold my breath I can squeeze into one of those outfits.” Melanie laughs a little, but there’s no way. I throw on a knee-length black dress with small rhinestones around the neckline like a choker. I brush out my hair and twist it up with some bobby pins. I grab a pair of Colleen’s sky-high heels and rush out the door. I couldn’t care less about how I look; I just need to blend in.

Thankfully, when I enter the lobby, I see Colleen right away. I wave her down and she looks surprised. She quickly comes over to me through the maze of people.

“What the hell are you doing? Why did you come down? I just started talking to her!” Colleen looks frustrated, and I feel badly.

“Oh well, I’m here now, and she doesn't know me from Adam so you can introduce me as a colleague of Tom’s if you want.”

“OK, follow close. This crowd is out of hand.”

We wander back over to what looks like a row of information booths. The mystery woman is behind one, talking to a man who is very taken by her charms. We hover around until he grudgingly leaves, and Colleen starts back up with her. “Hi! Remember me? This is my husband’s colleague, Becky.”

She looks over at me, and her face goes white. It looks as if she’s seen a ghost, and the ghost is me. I get a sick feeling in my stomach. Something’s wrong; she knows me. She swallows hard, trying to compose herself, and she offers her hand.

“Hi, Cynthia Berry with Klineman Pharmaceuticals,” she says so quietly, I can barely hear her over the crowd. Adrenaline spikes in my system, and I suddenly feel empowered.

“What is it that you do?” I ask with a touch of unintended bitchiness in my voice. She looks taken aback, and excuses herself to go to the ladies room. She runs away from her booth and from us. She heads toward the back of the room, away from the restrooms.

“Oh my God, what the hell was that?” Colleen looks appalled. “What did you say to her?”

“Nothing! I just asked her what she does. That’s all. Did you see the look on her face when she saw me? Oh my God, I think I’m going to be sick.”

I kick off Colleen’s shoes, and sprint toward the elevators. If her room hadn’t been on the eleventh floor, I would have taken the stairs. Mercifully, the elevators are fast, and I run down the hall to her room. I knock once, and Melanie is quick to open the door. I push past her and just make it to the toilet.  All that wine and liquor today was probably not the best idea. I’m sweating profusely in this too-tight dress, so I unzip it and let it fall. I need to cool off. I turn on the shower, freezing cold, and hop in wearing my bra and panties. I left the bathroom door open, and I see Melanie standing stock-still. Her mouth is open and her eyes stare. Colleen comes into the room, and closes the bathroom door. I hear her talking to Melanie in a muffled voice.

I don’t want sympathy right now; I want answers. I turn off the shower, and I’m shivering. I grab a towel, and yank another one off the rack for my hair as I walk out of the bathroom. I’m dripping wet, and freezing. Melanie and Colleen look at me and start to laugh. That was not the entrance I was going for.

“What?” I scream.

Melanie is shaking, she’s laughing so hard, and she points to my chest. One of my boobs is exposed, and I see that I grabbed the bathmat instead of a towel. It just covers my stomach, and my lower half is completely bare. I can’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of my situation. It feels good to let it out. Colleen joins in, and the three of us sound like a pack of jackals howling at one other. I dry myself off, not giving a care in the world that I’m stark naked. I put my clothes back on.

“I’m so sorry about your dress, Coll; I’ll have it cleaned.”

She waves it off.

“Are you kidding me? That was worth the price of admission to this freak show!”

That begins new round of the giggles.

“OK, I’m good now. I feel better. What’d you find out?” I ask Colleen as I head to the minibar for a Coke this time, much better choice. Colleen crosses her legs as she sits on the bed. Melanie and I instinctively lean in like we’re listening to a ghost story at a sleepover.

“Well, some pretty interesting things, actually. She’s a sales rep for Klineman Pharmaceuticals, which sell powerful muscle relaxers and pain meds specifically aimed at the athletic industry.”

That makes me feel a little better. She’s just a salesperson who hounds Jason for his business. Still doesn't explain her actions, though.

Colleen continues, “I told her I was a spouse of a rep, just waiting for my husband to finish his schmoozing. She seemed to put aside her sales front, and laughed. She is stunning by the way. Holy crap. You should have seen the way the men were staring at her. I’m sure she has no trouble selling her drugs.”

I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Colleen sees my expression and immediately returns to her story. “I’m sorry! You know what I mean.”

“It’s OK Colleen, I have eyes. I saw her. I know she’s gorgeous. Just go on.” I pout.

“We started chatting. I was trying to get her into girl-talk mode. She’s from Boston, moved here for college and she’s single. That’s when I saw you come into the lobby and excused myself. I don’t know what that expression was on her face was about when you walked up. I had been watching her for a while and never saw her react that way to anyone.”

I don’t know what to think. Is she an old friend? Business associate? Why would she be so flirty with Jason? I get an idea.

“Colleen, is Tom still down there?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Do me a favor. Tell him to go to her booth and see if she’s still there. He’s gorgeous. If she’s the flirty type, she’ll make a move on him, especially if she’s trying to sell something.”

“That’s a great idea! I’ll tell him to hide his badge, and act like a doctor who could be interested in her products.”

Colleen sends a text to poor unwitting Tom. He’s so good to her he doesn't even question it.

“OK, let’s see how she does,” she says.

After about ten minutes, Tom texts Colleen:
You seriously want me to talk up this woman? There’s a line of guys panting to get to her table. She’s hot, but you’re hotter.

Colleen laughs. She’s not the least bit jealous. Tom has eyes only for her, just like I thought Jason had for me. She texts him back:
Yes! That’s the point! And you’re pretty damned hot yourself.

We wait again, this time it takes about twenty minutes before he texts Colleen back.
Nothing, not even a hair flip. She was professional with me, but not so much with the other men. She was getting plenty of offers, too. I even offered to buy her a drink, to see what that would do. She kindly declined, but no flirting. Am I losing it?

She must have recognized him as Colleen’s husband from a function the night before. If she didn’t throw herself at him, there’s a reason. This is getting me nowhere, and I’m bone-crushingly exhausted.

“Melanie, I think we should go. I’m tired.”

Poor Colleen looks defeated.

“Can I see you in the morning? Tom has plenty he can do tomorrow, golf and such. We can just hang out.” She has such a look of hope on her face.

“I’ll call you in the morning and let you know. I’m not sure what’s going on.”

I don’t mean to sound so depressed, but I can’t help it. I just want to know what’s happening with this woman.

Katie

When I get back home, Jason is in his office, reading.

“Hi, honey, where are your friends? I thought you were going to get back to me?”

He seems put off. He gets up from his chair and walks toward me. God, even after all this time, when he looks at me like he is right now, I melt. His eyes are dark, he has just a bit of stubble on his face, and he is wearing old jeans and a tight cotton T-shirt. Yikes, he’s hot. He comes to stand right in front of me and is looking down into my face. His look has changed from smolder to concern. I try my best to smile.

“Katie, what’s wrong? What happened? You don’t seem like yourself.”

His eyes search my face for a sign, any sign, of why I’m standing here like an idiot with a look like I’ve seen a ghost. I can’t say anything to him, not yet. We’ve never had a trust issue in our marriage, and those are tough to recover from, I hear. In reality, he’s done nothing wrong. I’ve had some erotic dreams of infidelity, and I’m jealous of a woman he potentially does business with. That’s all. I’m not going to let my marriage down because of some crazy fantasy in my head. I pull myself up by my emotional bootstraps and reach up to kiss him. That’s always the best way to throw him off.

“I know. It’s been a crazy day with Colleen and Melanie. We had some drinks in the afternoon, and I’m just really tired. I’m going to head up to bed, are you coming?”

“Yeah, I’ll be right up. Can I get you anything?”

He is always looking out for me.

“No, thanks, honey. Just you.”

I give him my best flirty smile and turn to head upstairs. I think he read that to mean sex, because he is hot on my heels all the way to our bedroom. I brush my teeth, and take off my clothes. I don’t even bother with my nightgown. He climbs in beside me after turning off the light. His body is up against me, and he’s warm. He is nuzzling my ear and humming a low tune. I know he’s trying to relax me, but it’s having the opposite effect. His strong hands massage my scalp as he kisses the back of my neck.

“Hey, baby, come here.”

He rolls me over to face him in the dark. I can just make out his face from the nightlight in the bathroom. His eyes are intense, as if he’s trying to see inside me.

“Are you sure nothing is on your mind? I feel like you’re somewhere else.”

I reach up and touch his beautiful face. I slowly run my fingers over his lips, and he begins to breathe faster. He kisses the tips of my fingers so lightly I can barely feel it. His hands run up and down the length of my back. He’s lightly skimming the surface and it’s making every nerve in my body stand on end. I pull his face to mine, and begin to lick his lips. They part, waiting for our tongues to touch but I’m staying on his lips. I love this man so much; it frightens me to the core to think about losing him. Tears roll down my cheeks, ands he stills.

“I knew something was wrong. Please, baby, talk to me! Is it something I’ve done? Are you upset with me?” He looks panicked.

“No, no, sweetheart. I just love you so much. I feel like I did the first time we ever made love. It’s amazing how you can still do that to me.”

He sighs a little; he knows I’m keeping something from him. He lifts his body up over me, holding himself up with his arms. The muscles on his arms are well-toned and rigid. I feel them tense as he controls himself over me as we kiss. He separates my legs with his so he can enter me. He places his mouth on my nipple as he slowly fills me up. The sensation is amazing. His tongue and his hips are perfectly synchronized. I arch my back to further press my breast into his mouth, and meet my clitoris to his body. He moans as we rock back and forth with steady rhythm. He puts his forehead against mine and whispers, “I love you so much, Katie, you know you’re mine forever. Come with me, baby. I want to feel you.”

His words are gasoline on an already burning fire. I grab his back and dig in my nails as we both come. He is grunting, panting and professing my name over and over. I squeeze and I can feel his cock spasm inside me. We roll onto our sides, but are still joined together. He falls sound asleep while still inside me after a sweet peck on my lips. I don’t think my sleep tonight will be quite so peaceful.