“You’re looking good, Alli,” he tells me. Even his voice is disgusting to me now. “You’re working out.”
“I’ve always worked out, Rick,” I remind him sharply. “You just never noticed. It’s hard to notice your wife when you’ve always got a girlfriend on the side.”
He doesn’t appear to hear my barb.
He steps closer. “Yes, you do look good.” At his words, he actually runs his thumb along my elbow. I yank away, then stand in shock, staring at him.
“What the hell, Rick?” I demand. “Don’t touch me.”
Rick just stares at me, then laughs. “And there’s the ice queen that I divorced. Don’t touch me, Rick. Not tonight, Rick. I have a migraine, Rick. And you wonder why I went outside of our marriage to get fulfillment? It’s because you never satisfied me, Allison. A man needs fulfillment.”
I stare at him, in utter shock and disgust.
“Somehow, Rick, that’s not the way I remember it at all. In fact, I remember ha**ng s*x two or three times a week, many of those times when I was drop-dead tired, but I never complained. I remember going away for weekends- just the two of us- where we had plentiful sex. I even thought it was good sex at the time, but since you’ve been gone, I’ve discovered that sex with you was never good. I just didn’t know any better. But I do now. You can’t blame your cheating ways on me. It’s your fault, not mine.”
Rick stares at me calmly, seemingly unfazed by my biting words.
“You know, when you get bitchy, the crow’s feet around your eyes really start to show up. You should avoid doing that if you want to hide the tired hag that you actually are.”
I am beyond pissed now, but by this point, Sophie has climbed out of the water and is coming our way. I know that I can’t say anything in reply and Rick knows it too. He smirks at me.
Colby walks behind Sophie, his eyes on my face. He can tell that I’m agitated. He narrows his eyes.
“Daddy!” Sophie calls. “Did you see my Butterfly?”
Rick gives me one last glare before turning around.
“Yes, I did. It’s coming along famously. And this must be the swim coach I’m paying for.”
Ugh. Leave it to Rick to reduce everything to money. How did I stay with him for so long? I want to literally slap myself in the forehead.
“Hello, sir,” Colby says, sticking out his hand. “I’m Colby. And yes, I’m the swim coach. Your daughter is doing fabulously. I think you’ll be pleased at her progress.”
“I’m sure,” Rick says coolly. He shakes Colby’s hand, but briefly. Then he turns to Sophie, very pointedly ignoring Colby by turning his back on him.
And I know why.
Rick is a very shallow, very insecure man. Being in the presence of a young and amazingly fit and handsome guy like Colby is wreaking havoc on Rick’s self-confidence. Particularly since Colby is still in his swim trunks. There’s not an ounce of fat on him and he’s got a rippling six-pack across his abdomen. And I know for a fact that Rick has a beer gut that he is very, very self-conscious of. Colby is tall and lean and beautiful and Rick is aging as we speak. This situation almost makes up for Rick’s jab about my crow’s feet.
Almost.
“Sophie, let’s go get your stuff. Vanessa is waiting for us- we’ve got dinner reservations in town.”
And they turn and walk away. Rick doesn’t say another thing to me and enters my house like it is still his own. I grit my teeth.
“Are you alright?” Colby asks, glancing at my face. “Your ex is a real asshat.”
I smile at the term. “Yes, he is. Now imagine being married to that piece of asshat for the past fifteen years.”
Colby shakes his head. “Temporary insanity?”
He grins.
“Can fifteen years be classified as temporary?” I answer.
Colby shrugs. “I guess it depends on perspective. If you look at the long scheme of things, then fifteen years is temporary if you’re looking at an entire lifespan. Just think. If you had played your cards right, you could still be with that gem.”
I shudder. Literally shudder. Colby laughs and puts his hand on my arm.
“But you’re not with him. Because you played your cards right. And here you are with me.”
Yes, because I’m paying you, I think. But I don’t say that. I smile instead.
“You’re right. I should most definitely count my blessings. Would you like a beer or something? I’m going in to say goodbye to Sophie, but I’ll be back in a second.”
Colby smiles. “I have no place to be,” he announces. “I had a cancelation for tonight, so my evening is free. Would you like to hang out and watch movies?”
I stare at him.
“Just me and you, hanging out, like friends?” I ask.
He grins again and I’d like to lick his lips.
“Aren’t we friends?”
I stare at him again. “I guess so. I hadn’t thought of it that way. But I guess we are.”
“And don’t friends hang out?” Colby reasons. “I’m not Shade right now, I’m Colby.”
I nod slowly. “Of course. Colby and Allison can be friends. Shade and Alli Cat can’t, because they are client and clientele.”
“Now you’re getting it,” Colby answers, chuckling. “It’s how I separate the crazy in my life.”
I have to laugh. “I’m going to have to take lessons,” I answer. “Because the crazy in my life is getting out of hand.”
Colby (not Shade!) takes a seat as I pad into the house, pulling on a shirt as I go. I don’t feel the need to have Rick the Dick ogle me again. I still want to bathe in iodine from the first time.
I find Rick strolling down the hallway, away from my bedroom.
“What are you doing?” I ask suspiciously. “You have no need to be in my bedroom.”
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Rick answers with a scowl. “I was hunting for my favorite silver cufflinks- the ones my mother gave to me for my college graduation. They mysteriously vanished when I moved out.”