I force yet another smile and give him a slow nod.
“Great, see you in about an hour.” He jogs off toward the rest of the group.
“Come.”
I dig my feet farther into the sand. “I’ll come when I’m damn good and ready.”
“You’ll see your boyfriend soon enough. For now you need to come home with your husband.”
I find my feet in seconds, toe to toe with him. “I’m going to forget you said that because I. Love. You. I’ve been helping Declan study. Period! The difference between us is I would rather be with you. I choose you, even when you break my fucking heart.” I pivot, trudging my way back to the house.
*
I lock myself in our room for the next hour and thankfully Trick lets me be. The visit to the beach was to once again lay claim to me … another pissing contest, only Declan doesn’t get it. He acknowledges I’m a married woman and shows no interest in me beyond friendship. Why my egomaniac husband can’t see that is beyond me. For someone who shows insane talent for recognizing detail, he only sees what he wants to see when it comes to me.
When my hour is up, I breeze past Trick in the kitchen and head out the front door. He catches up to me before I reach the path to Declan’s. Without saying anything, he takes my hand. I don’t squeeze back; instead, I let my fingers fall limp in his, like a child not wanting to hold their parent’s hand across the street.
“Welcome!” Colby says with a huge grin as we walk up the back stairs.
Declan and Wes flip the fish on the grill and Mallory jumps up, still wearing her bikini.
“Hey, Trick. Haven’t seen you at yoga lately.” She adjusts the ties to her top, hiking up her cleavage.
“I’ll be there tomorrow.” He smiles, and I don’t look at him long enough to see if he’s focused in on the Weiner Mobile. Mallory’s rack will probably be the next thing his hand just has to draw.
“You finish the picture of Darby?” Wes asks while cracking open a beer.
“Yes, I’m done with my drawing.”
Drawing. More of his sneaky semantics.
“So what do you think, Darby?” Colby asks.
There’s no need to look at Trick. I can feel his body go rigid next to mine.
“It’s … unexpected.” I plaster on a fake smile.
“Can’t wait to see it.” Wes adds.
“It’s a nude.” My plastered smile doesn’t flinch. I shrug. “But it’s really amazing, incredible detail. I wouldn’t mind you having a look if it’s okay with Trick.”
All eyes shift to Trick. “It’s personal.” The slipping of control vibrates in his tone.
“That’s cool.” Colby pats Trick on the shoulder. “Well, we’re just glad you finished up and could join the party.”
We eat lunch and listen to our neighbors chat about surfing, drinking, and occasionally school. I act engaged with their conversation, but Trick has more trouble playing the part. What we don’t do is acknowledge each other. Mallory seems to be the only one with suspicion in her eyes. Probably because she’s so in tune to every move Trick makes. I can see why she and Colby are still in the engagement stage—he’s oblivious to her blatant, wandering eyes.
“If you two want to spend the afternoon together I’m pretty much caught up on studying so …”
I say, “I’ll stay.” At the same time Trick says, “We would.” The awkwardness thickens to the point of suffocation.
Declan’s eyes pinball between us. If there was any uncertainty if the newlyweds are getting along, there isn’t now. I drop my façade and walk down the beach, slipping off my sandals.
“Thanks for lunch. I’ll check with you tomorrow, Declan.”
The rest of the group hollers their goodbyes. I don’t have to look back to know Trick is making quick strides to catch up.
He grabs my hand. “How nice of you to choose your husband over your student.”
I yank my hand from his. “Really? Are you sure that’s what you’re going with? The husband card? Well guess what? The husband card has been denied, just like the wife card was denied for the past week. I’m tired of you pissing on me to prove a point to Declan. He’s not trying to get into my pants. He’s not trying to steal me away from you, and he’s definitely not locked up in his room drawing me NAKED!”
Another out-of-my-skin moment. There should be a sense of pride from not playing the Darby the Doormat role, but I’m not confrontational by nature, except occasionally with my father. I love Trick, and I even love his protective side, but I don’t care for the side that doesn’t trust me.
“I’m not cheating on you,” he says with an unsteady defeat in his voice.
“Yeah? Well I’m not cheating on you either, and I’m not shutting you out of my life. I haven’t done anything to lose your trust.”