I don't even know this motherfucker, but I want to throw the table across the room at the thought of him putting his hand on her. "That kind of shit
is
serious, Carly. Not to mention illegal. If he touches you again, I'll fucking kick his ass."
"Jack, it's okay. He leaves me alone most of the time. He's just a horny old pervert. I don't think I'll have to worry about him saying shit to me again."
I work up to ask more questions, ones that are probably best left unasked, when the waiter brings our food. I don't even feel like eating anymore.
"Jack, please," Carly says. "Don't be like this."
I finish off the glass of brandy and pour another larger one. I down it in one drink.
"Like what?" I ask dryly.
"Please don't take this out on me. Don't think for one second that I'd
let
him do anything to me. If I'd known you were gonna act like this, I wouldn't have told you."
Carly's looking at me like I'm an alien.
I rub my chin and drop my head. "I'm sorry I reacted that way," I say. "I just don't like the thought of someone else putting their hands on you."
"Jack," she says sternly, "you don't have to worry about anyone doing anything to me. Acting like an asshole to me doesn't show that you love me, it shows me you don't trust me."
"I know," I sigh. "I know. I
do
trust you. I'm sorry. Forgive me?"
She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me for a second before giving me the peace offering of her smile. "Okay, but only because you look so sweet when you apologize."
I scowl at her and pick up my fork. The food is good and the conversation stays light while we eat. The server arrives a bit later to clear the mostly empty plates.
"Would you like dessert?" he asks. I look at Carly and she nods. I order one slice of cake and ask the waiter to bring two forks. I wanna watch her mouth as I feed her sweet cake.
"What did you order?" she asks.
"Don't worry, you'll love it," I reassure her.
"You look very handsome tonight, very sexy. I don't think I've told you that yet," she says.
"Do I?" I ask.
"Yep. Unfortunately, I'm not the only one who's realized it. That woman over there keeps staring at you," she nods her head to a table slightly to her left.
"Don't care," I say dismissively. "There's only one pair of eyes I care about and that's your wild ones."
"My eyes are wild?" she asks with a grin.
"They
are
wild and they drive me wild. They're like honey over chocolate." It's the corniest thing I can think of to describe them, but it's not inaccurate.
"If you say so," she laughs.
I nod at her and watch her eyes go to the couple opposite us again.
"Those people are still looking at us," she mutters. "They've been staring since we sat down and it's starting to get on my nerves."
I finally relent and turn around in my chair to see what she's talking about. The woman smiles at me, a sexy, wanting smile.
"
Do you know he
r?
" Carly asks, her voice a little higher, bordering on shrill.
"No, do you know
him
?" The man is looking at Carly like she's gonna be his dessert.
"No," she says, just as the man rises from his table and heads toward us. "Shit!" she whispers. "He's coming over here."
He's tall and lean with a dark tan and short, spiky blonde hair. He stands next to Carly and adjusts his tie.
"Can we help you?" I ask, looking up at him. He leans down and puts one arm on her chair. I look at it and then back at him. The beast inside me that claims Carly wakes up.
"I'm Will. My wife, Janie," he points at the brunette he left at the table, "and I were wondering if you two would like to join us in the bar after dinner."
"I'm afraid we're gonna have to decline your offer," I say with a forced politeness. If his hand gets any closer to Carly's shoulder, I know I'm gonna lose it.
"That's a real shame," Will says, turning to look at her. His face is long and has a pinched, tight look, as though he's had plastic surgery. He has blue eyes that are so blue, they must be contacts. Carly smiles awkwardly at him and then looks away and into her glass of brandy before shooting me a look that shows how uncomfortable she is.
Will lets his eyes linger on her for a little too long before extending his hand to me. I take it, through some will I have to muster from deep in my gut, and give it a small shake. Will walks back to his table and takes his seat. I watch Will shake his head in a curt 'no' to his wife.
"Oh my god, are they
swingers
?" Carly whispers.
"I think so," I answer. "Either that, or he thought he could get you away from me long enough to fuck you. He kept looking at you in that dress."
"Jack, are you
jealous
of him?"
I look at her sternly, flexing my jaw. "Not jealous, I just don't like it when someone thinks they can do shit like that to my girlfriend. Like that asshole Nick or your fucking piece of shit boss." I hear the words come out of my mouth, exactly what I
shouldn't
say, but I've got a little buzz from the brandy and the anger. I see instantly that I went too far, that I've been unfair.
"I told you, nobody else matters to me," she insists. "Besides, his wife obviously wants to fuck you, too, but you don't see me blaming you for that." She takes the napkin from her lap and tosses it on the table as she stands. "I'm going to the restroom."
"Carly-" I start, but I know I've been a prick and she needs a minute. I sit back at the table and watch her walk toward the bathroom. What the fuck was I thinking? Why did I treat her that way? I sip the brandy instead of downing it. I love this woman and I know she loves me. I know she doesn't want anyone else, so why did I make her feel like I think she'd want that asshole? I can't make her pay for Rachel's mistake.
The woman from the table, Janie, gives me a little wave as she walks toward the bathroom. I watch as she goes inside. What if she says something to Carly? Should I go after her? I debate it, knowing Carly can handle herself, but I'm anxious to head off any trouble.
My gaze is broken as Will walks back to the table and sits down in Carly's seat. I stare at him, not believing the balls on this guy.
"Didn't I make myself clear?" I threaten.
"Listen, I don't want to interrupt your date," Will says. "I just wanted to tell you that my wife won't stop talking about you."
"Well, then I'd say you've got a problem with your wife, buddy." I take a sip of my drink and eye him.
"I've got a problem, alright. She's insatiable." He smiles at me like this is something to be proud of.
"You two actually do this," I say, gesturing from his table to mine, "come up to strangers and ask whatever it is you're getting at?"
"We rarely approach strangers, unless they seem open to it, that is."
"Well, we
aren't
open to it."
Will picks up Carly's glass of brandy and turns it in his hand, looking at the imprint of her lips on the glass. He runs his thumb over it slowly. “She looks like she might be.”
"You'd better put that glass down and get the fuck across this restaurant before I knock you on your motherfucking ass," I warn. My heartbeat increases and my arms tense up.
"She's a beautiful girl," he continues, sitting the glass back on the table. "I like them a little thick, but just a little. Just like her."
I reach across the table and grab him by the shirt collar. Glasses rattle and fall to the floor as the candles go out in puffs of white smoke.
"I said, we're not interested. You look at her again and I'll break your fucking face. She's mine, not to be shared or handed off. You fucking got that?" His eyes are wide and he puts his hands up. A suited man is hurrying toward our table with a look of panic on his face. I let go of his shirt and he topples out of the chair to the floor. I lean back across the table and straighten my own shirt.
"I'm fine," Will mutters, waving his hand dismissively to the man in the suit. He gets to his feet, adjusts his dinner jacket and walks back to his table just as his wife opens the bathroom door. Carly follows behind her looking smug.
"Sir," the man in the suit says, "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."
Carly takes in the collateral damage of the glasses and looks at me in surprise. "What the hell happened, Jack?"
I glance toward Will and Janie's table and see she's attempting to talk to him while looking at us.
"
Sir
," the man in the suit insists.
"We're leaving," I mutter, grabbing Carly by the hand. "Put the dinner and any damage on my bill. My name is Robert Webster."
Carly keeps looking back and forth between the floor and the swinger couple. "Jack, what happened?" she asks again.
"I'll tell you when we're outside." She accepts that and follows me to the coat room. I feel the eyes of the staff on us as we get into our coats and walk out.
I fight the urge to kick something as we walk past a line of flower bins that are overfilled with those same orange roses.
"Jack, tell me what happened," Carly begs.
"He thought we'd be interested in joining them, having sex with them." She walks quickly and catches up to walk beside me. "He wanted to fuck you while I fucked his wife, or some such shit."
"Ew, god," Carly groans, taking my hand. "Did you hit him?"
"No, but not because I didn't want to." We're walking quickly and the light of the cabin is just up ahead.
"His wife approached me in the bathroom. Said her husband could do things to me that I'd never dream of."
That stops me in my tracks. I gape at her. "What did you say?"
"What the fuck do you think I said?" Carly rolls her eyes. "I said you had a dick like an anaconda and there was nothing he could do that you couldn't do better."
I grab her and kiss her hard. She grins against my mouth and twists her fingers in my hair. "I love you, Jack. I don't care who or what comes along, all I want is you."
"Do you promise?" I ask.
"I promise."
Moonlight picks up the diamond earrings and her eyes at the same time, both of them twinkling as she looks at me. I kiss her gently then, tasting the distant flavor of the brandy on her lips.
"Now make love to me, like
you
promised," she whispers.
Carly takes my hand and leads me toward the cabin without another word. I fulfill my promise three times.