The Wives of Beverly Row 2: Lust Has a New Address (8 page)

“Do you think he wants me too?”

“There’s only one way to find out,” Ariel said, “and spying from the balcony is never going to give you the answers you want.”

Becky felt embarrassed. It was childish to spy from the balcony. She knew that. She knew too that she had to talk to Kyle about her feelings for him. She wanted him to be her real boyfriend, and if she wanted that, it was down to her to make it happen.

She went into her bedroom and threw on a pair of yoga pants and a shirt. She got her iPod and then went outside. It was a nice morning, not too hot, perfect for a run. But Becky didn’t want to go for a run. She wanted to know what Kyle was doing at Trudy’s house. She ran down to the end of her driveway and turned onto the row. Trudy’s house was two doors down. She slowed as she passed it. Kyle’s truck wasn’t parked outside anymore. He probably wasn’t in there. She tried calling him again but there was still no answer. She jogged in place on the sidewalk for a few seconds, peering in through the trees at the end of Trudy’s lawn, but there was nothing to see.

She ended up having a vigorous run. She channeled all of the pent up frustration she felt about Kyle into her body and got a good workout from it. When she got home she went in the shower and tried to think about something else, but she couldn’t. All she could think about was Trudy Luxton’s perfect breasts, her perfect ass.

XI

“S
WEETHEART, THERE’S PASTA IN THE FRIDGE
. All you have to do is heat it up.”

“Okay, mom. Where are you going?”

“Just grabbing a bite to eat with Veronica tonight.”

“At her house?”

“No, at a restaurant.”

“Is Hank going?”

“Listen, I don’t want Kyle coming over this late when I’m not home. It wouldn’t be proper.”

Becky sighed. “He probably wouldn’t answer his phone anyway.”

“Have you still not patched things up with him?”

“I haven’t seen him.”

“He’s probably just preoccupied, honey. Boys get like that.”

Becky nodded. She was watching TV and she got up and went into the kitchen. “Where did you say the pasta was?”

“It’s in there. Behind the milk.”

*

A
RIEL MET VERONICA AT A
little French place in Santa Monica that Ariel had told her about. It was casual enough for the two of them to go to without dates and the food was fantastic.

“How did you ever discover this place?” Veronica said when she joined Ariel at the table. They were overlooking the patio.

“I used to come here with Gabe.”

“And it doesn’t bring back painful memories?”

Ariel shrugged. “Being married to Gabe wasn’t ever really that painful.”

“Really. Didn’t you say he’d had his fair share of affairs?”

“Oh, he did, but it was all just emotional stuff he was going through at the time. Stuff from his childhood really messed him up.”

Veronica looked at Ariel suspiciously. “I don’t believe it!” she said.

“What?” Ariel said.

“You’re making excuses for him.”

“I am not.”

“You’ve been meeting up with him, haven’t you? I can tell immediately when a girl’s back with an old flame. All the terrible things are forgotten and everything’s sunshine and roses again.”

“Gabe and I are not back on!”

“Oh, really? I don’t believe you.”

Ariel covered her face with her hands. Then she laughed. “It’s complicated,” she said. “Let’s order some drinks.”

Veronica got the waiter’s attention and ordered a bottle of Chardonnay. “So spill the beans,” she said, bringing her attention back to Ariel.

“Gabe and I met up for lunch the other day.”

Veronica clapped her hands together. “I knew it,” she said. “Didn’t I tell you?”

“It was only lunch,” Ariel said.

“Same thing. It starts with lunch, then dinner, next thing you know the two of you are humping like you did when you first met as teenagers.”

Ariel pictured it. Veronica was right. If Gabe walked into the restaurant right then and there and asked her for sex, she’d have had a very hard time saying no to him. She wasn’t even sure what she would do. She knew he’d been an awful husband but you couldn’t hold everything a man did against him forever, especially when he was as charming as Gabe. The truth was, Ariel had been thinking about Gabe ever since their lunch date. She couldn’t believe Gabe’s father had abandoned him and his mother for three years and she’d never known about it. She thought she’d known everything there was to know about Gabe. It turned out there were whole aspects to him that she’d never even imagined. None of it excused the way he’d treated her during their marriage, the affairs and the dishonesty and the stealing, but it did get him back in her mind, under her skin in a way he hadn’t been since she’d broken up with him. And it provided some perspective. It colored things differently.

The waiter came and poured their wine and took their orders.

“Well,” Ariel said after he left, “since we’re sharing.”

“Go on,” Veronica said. “I can tell you’re not going to be a friend I can keep a lot of secrets from.”

“No I’m not, and I want to know the full story about you and Matt Harkness.”

Veronica looked flustered by the question. “What do you mean? I tried to set him up with you.”

“And I couldn’t go near him because he’s in love with you.”

“What?” Veronica said, her cheeks rising in a flush of pink.

“You heard me,” Ariel said.

The waiter brought over their salads. He offered them freshly ground pepper but they were too eager to continue their conversation to worry about pepper.

“He told you that?” Veronica said.

“More or less.”

Veronica put her fork down. She was looking right at Ariel. Her face told her that she was dying to hear more. “Tell me exactly what he said.”

“Alright,” Ariel said, “this is exactly what he told me. Basically that he’s been in love with you for years.”

“He did not say that.”

“Yes he did,” Ariel said. “He said there’s been a chemistry between the two of you for as long as he’s known you. That’s the reason he’s such good friends with Hank. Because he wants to be as close to you as possible.”

Ariel looked right at Veronica. Her eyes were tearing up.
Did she really have no idea Matt was in love with her
?

“He said that the two of you never crossed the line, you never did anything improper, but that basically the reason he broke up with Cathy was because she could tell he was in love with you.”

For once, Veronica was speechless. Tears welled up in her eyes and dropped down over her cheeks. “He’s in love with me?” she whispered.

“You had no idea?”

“I knew there was a chemistry, I knew there was
something
, but I thought it was all in my imagination. I figured I was just fantasizing about him all the time because I’ve always been so bored with Hank.”

“Sounds like there’s more to it than a fantasy.”

Veronica shook her head. “How can there ever be more to it? I’m happily married to Hank.”

“Happily married?”

“Well,” Veronica said, “I guess that depends on what you’d define as happily. But I’m secure, I’m safe with Hank.”

Ariel nodded. She knew as much as anyone about the trade-offs life demanded. Security instead of love, stability instead of excitement, safety instead of happiness, those were the decisions women were all too often forced to make.

“What are you going to do?” Ariel said.

“What do you mean?”

“You know exactly what I mean,” Ariel said. “Matt’s a babe, he’s stunning, and he’s in love with you.”

Veronica sighed. “I guess I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for years. I’m going to cherish my friendship with him, spend as much time with him as I can get away with, but stay loyal to my husband.”

Ariel nodded. She couldn’t argue with that. It was probably what she would have advised. Still though, she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed for Veronica. No one wanted to forgo a chance at real happiness. She knew
she
didn’t.

“You know I had to pass him up too,” Ariel said.

“What do you mean?”

“I could have slept with him the other night.”

“That was the idea,” Veronica said. “I was the one who hooked you up, remember?”

“Yes,” Ariel said, “but how could I sleep with him after he confessed to being in love with you?”

Veronica nodded. “You’re giving me more than I deserve,” she said.

“You’re my friend, Veronica. There are plenty of men out there that I can sleep with without spoiling the thing you’ve got going with Matt.”

“But I don’t have a thing going with Matt.”

“Sure you do,” Ariel said and winked. “You just don’t let it break above the surface, it’s all suppressed, it’s secret, even to you. I think that’s romantic.”

Veronica smiled. She reached out and touched Ariel on the hand.

“Speaking of romantic,” she said, “you want to hear an awful story?”

“You know I do,” Ariel said.

“It’s partly your fault, too.”

“What is?”

“After dinner the other night, after you left, Hank started asking what my secret fetish was.”

“Oh God!” Ariel said.

“Yes.”

“I’m so sorry I brought it up.”

“Don’t be, you didn’t mean any harm.”

“So what did you tell him?”

“I told him the truth. I told him I’d always had a thing for anal.”

“Oh God, Veronica, I’m
so
sorry for bringing that up.”

“So get this, he says he’s going to give me what I want.”

Ariel had to put her hand in front of her mouth to stop herself from laughing out loud. “He didn’t!”

“He did.”

“And how did that go?”

“You can imagine.”

“Not good?”

“He couldn’t get it inside me. He tried, he used lotion and lube, but I was too tight.”

“It’s not the easiest thing to do,” Ariel said.

“I know, but Hank took it all so personally. He’s a drama queen. He thought it meant he was a failure. He thought I was comparing him to my former lovers.”

“Were you?”

“Of course I was,” Veronica said, shaking her head. “I’ve been doing that for six years, and I
so
miss the passionate times I had in my younger years.”

“Well,” Ariel said, “maybe this thing with Matt is your chance to get some of that passion.”

Veronica looked at Ariel. She said nothing.

XII

A
S SOON AS HER MOTHER
left the house, Becky grabbed her phone and texted Kyle.

—We need to talk.

She waited by her phone for what seemed like an eternity. She stared at the screen. The TV was on but she couldn’t have even said what was playing. All she was doing was waiting for Kyle’s response. Her phone beeped and she grabbed it.

—When?

—Right now, she typed in a flash.

—My dad’s here, he wrote.

—I’m home alone. Come over.

She waited again. Fifteen seconds passed, thirty, sixty.
Please come over
, she thought as she stared at the screen. The phone beeped.

—Be there in ten.

Becky almost burst into tears of relief. She’d been so worried Kyle was going to turn her down. He wasn’t even her boyfriend, why should he care what she thought? He probably didn’t even know that she was upset about the whole Trudy thing. He probably didn’t even know Trudy had been flirting with him. Boy’s were so stupid sometimes.

She ran upstairs and into her mother’s room. She didn’t usually wear much make up but she put on her mother’s foundation and a little powder on her cheeks. She lined her eyes and put on mascara. She was probably overdoing it but she didn’t care. She’d heard some good advice in a movie recently and she intended to follow it: never bring a knife to a gunfight. She put on lipstick, her mother’s Chanel perfume, and one of her mother’s fancy, black lace bras and matching panties. She put her shirt and shorts back on over everything and was ready just in time to hear Kyle at the front door.

She ran down and opened it.

“Come on in,” she said. She felt a little shy. She’d overdone it with the makeup. He’d notice. He’d think she was stupid.

“You look great,” he said.

That gave her a little more confidence. “Thanks.”

She led him into the living room and turned off the TV.

“So what’s going on?” Kyle said.

Becky wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t know how she was supposed to broach the subject. She’d never had a boyfriend before. She wasn’t sure how this worked. She wanted Kyle to be hers, she didn’t want women like Trudy Luxton or anyone else flirting with him, but she didn’t want to appear controlling or paranoid.

“I wanted to say thanks for showing me around the school and introducing me to everyone.”

“Of course,” Kyle said. “I’m thrilled that you’re at our school.”

“I really appreciate it.”

“Well, you’re a really nice girl.”

Becky looked up at him. She was delighted he’d said that. She knew he was fond of her, she just didn’t know how she was supposed to take the relationship to the next level. They’d made out. They’d more than made out, they’d made each other orgasm. He’d fingered her. She’d sucked him off and swallowed his semen. Didn’t that count for anything anymore? What did a girl have to do to get a boy to commit?

“Well, basically,” she said, but she felt so shy that she didn’t finish the sentence.

“Basically what?” Kyle said. He was sitting next to her on the sofa and she could feel the weight of his presence. She didn’t know what he weighed but it was a lot more than her. He was a hulk of muscle and flesh and bone. She wanted to feel that weight on top of her. She wanted him to be hers.

“Basically I was wondering if you wanted to go steady?” she said.

He looked at her. He seemed surprised, conflicted maybe. Thoughts were rushing through his head. Becky didn’t know what those thoughts were, she wished she could read his mind but she couldn’t.
Why was he hesitating
?
What was he thinking about
?
He should have said yes by now
.

Without thinking she pulled her T-shirt up over her head and looked into his eyes. That seemed to snap him out of it. He was looking at her with so much intensity now. But he still wasn’t saying anything. Becky wished she hadn’t put herself on the line.
Why had she asked him to go steady
?
What if he didn’t want to have a sophomore as a girlfriend
?
Had she ruined her chances with him
?