Mr. Wonderful Lies (10 page)

I felt giddy, probably from the margaritas. Tossing him my best flirty look, I cleared my throat. “So you don’t
want
to be my slave?”

His eyes darkened and he tugged me closer. “Baby, you can enslave me any way you want.”

I inhaled deeply, loving the clean smell of him and feeling wild and adventurous from the alcohol in my system. “I think I could come up with a few things for you to do.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded, drawing closer and closer until we were mere inches apart. “I hate cleaning toilets. So that’d be your first job.”

We laughed, the sexually charged tension once again dissipating into playful banter. The still sober part of my brain wondered how long that was going to last. When would innuendo stop being enough?

The server arrived with our entrees, and Ollie arranged the food on the table to his satisfaction. “I actually have to make a trip south to see my folks tomorrow.”

“It’s always best to play the dutiful child, you know.”

“Oh, is that your philosophy?”

“Sure.”

“Where do your parents live?”

“Florida.”

“That is so not fair.”

I eyed the medium rare piece of meat on the plate he placed before me, thinking that there were a lot of things in life that weren’t fair. Like how I was mostly likely going to feel in the morning. It was probably just as well that Ollie wasn’t going to be around. I was going to be in no shape to see him.

“So I won’t be back until Sunday,” he said.

“I understand.” I cut my meat into tiny pieces. “I think I can survive on my own for a few days.”

“I don’t know. After the garbage disposal incident, I’m not even sure I can trust you to stay alive that long on your own.”

We took cheap potshots at each other until the margaritas I was drinking made me too punch drunk to keep up the pretense of wit. The restaurant was nearly empty, and I was shocked to realize it was nearly midnight.

“You know, I’ve got to drive four hours tomorrow morning.” Ollie threaded his fingers through my curly hair. “I should probably be getting you home.”

“I think I’ll just sleep the whole day while you’re gone.”

“Once I get there it’ll be nuts. I’ll try to call but I’m not sure how that’ll go.”

“Do they know you met an Internet hoochie?” I asked, managing to keep a straight face.

“God, I’m not even going to bring that up! I think I’ll just tell them I met an incredible girl in the produce department of the grocery store.”

“Sounds good,” I agreed. “That will become our official story.”

I barely remembered getting into Ollie’s SUV. He hummed along with the radio the entire way back to my house. I was warm and sleepy and basking in the happy glow of this newfound relationship.

“Here we are. Don’t move. I’ll help you out.”

“I’m not that bad,” I tried to argue, but he’d already gotten out and run around the vehicle.

“Careful, I don’t want my baby hurting herself.” Ollie reached around and undid my seatbelt before helping me gently to the pavement outside my townhouse. “Carrying you inside is looking like a tempting option here, Megan.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“I love it that you’re a lightweight.”

“Leave it to you to make a compliment sound insulting.”

He laughed. “Come on. Let’s go.”

The sharp night air revived me a little bit on our way up my steps. Thank God there were only five of them. I don’t think I would’ve made any more. He patiently held onto my shaky body while I tried to remember exactly what key worked in my front door.

It was quiet outside. The night sounds of the city were muffled by the ancient brick and stone walls of the Soulard buildings. We were still in January, and things wouldn’t really pick up for our little section of the city until people starting thinking about Mardi Gras.

“I’ve got it.” I turned the key and shoved my front door open.

An uncomfortable silence descended. I was in no condition to invite him in for a drink and we both knew it. But I couldn’t help wondering if he was disappointed or glad. It was disgusting really. Being around Ollie seemed to consistently reduce me to nothing more than a hormonally imbalanced teenager.

He took the guesswork out of the post date protocol. “I’d love to come inside with you, but I think you need to get some sleep and I’ve got an early drive.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

Before I could spend any more time wondering, he leaned down and took my mouth in a soft kiss. It was sweet, but it was over all too soon and I wanted more.

I paid the price for my wonderful Friday night date night on Saturday morning. I was sicker than a dog after three margaritas, more than my fair share of sweet potato casserole and the four bites of filet mignon I had managed to choke down. It’d been so long since I’d eaten beef, let alone rich medium rare steak, that I was lucky I could remain upright for any period of time. Combine that with alcohol I don’t generally drink and it’s a recipe for disaster.

I didn’t make it out of my bed until a little past one, and even then it was only to grab another bottle of water from the fridge.

“Good Lord, Megan! I was really hoping it wasn’t a hangover keeping you out of the gym this morning.” Anna gave me a towering frown.

I hadn’t even heard her let herself in. Squinting through the sunlight seeping around my blinds, I shot her a dirty look. “It’s not a hangover.” I reconsidered my answer. “Okay, maybe a little bit, but it’s more of a meatover.”

“What the hell is a meatover?”

“Ollie ordered me steak last night, and now I feel like I’m the one who went through the meat grinder.”

“You’re a vegetarian.” Anna said it like she was explaining things to a toddler.

“I know that.”

“Doesn’t he?”

“It’s never come up in conversation.”

She propped her hand on her hip. “And he didn’t think to ask before ordering your food?”

I groaned. “Will you quit yelling?”

“You’ve got a three beer limit, Megan, or did you forget to tell him that too?”

I repeated my lame excuse. “It never came up.”

The bed dipped as she sat down. “Okay, the first thing you need to do is compose an email to him about your basic personal habits because none of this ever seems to come up in conversation.”

“We do talk,” I insisted.

“Obviously, or I’d have been kicking his naked ass out of your house this very minute.”

I pulled the pillow off my head. “You wouldn’t have!”

“Oh I totally would have,” she snapped. “You never texted me!”

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah, I know. It never came up in conversation.”

“I was just excited. He took me to Ruth’s Chris.”

Anna’s eyebrows lifted. “Really?”

“Yes, he got one of those booths along the wall and we stayed until they practically kicked us out.”

“At least he’s got good taste,” she grudgingly admitted.

I heaved myself into a sitting position and reached for my water. Taking a few drinks to wash the cottony feeling from my mouth, I replayed last night’s events through my head. “I wore that dress you got me.”

“The one from Saks?”

“Yep, and the boots.”

“So he didn’t lie about his height.”

“Six feet plus.”

Anna crossed her legs and bobbed her foot, a testament to her inability to sit still for very long. “And?”

“He’s a really good kisser.”

A smile touched her pretty features. “That’s always good to know, isn’t it?”

“He hasn’t pushed me for sex even though I know he’d like to.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s a man, Megan. They all want to have sex. Thoughts of sex monopolize the male mind at least once every five seconds.”

“But he didn’t get rude or pushy about it. Remember Professor Jackass?”

She burst into a fit of giggles. “Or that accountant you dated? I thought he was going to start humping your leg right there in the restaurant.”

I flopped back down on a mound of pillows and laughed even though it made my head pound. I could vividly remember Trevor the accountant. He’d been a whiney, self-absorbed social drinker who had started trying to get into my pants from the first moment we met.

Anna shook her head. “Thank God Jared and I doubled with you guys.”

“I know. I couldn’t believe Jared had to have a private chat with him in the bar.”

Anna tugged on a lock of my hair. “You really know how to pick them.”

“At least I don’t secrete some kind of weird pheromone that turns them into stalkers that try to buy me creepy things like boats and racehorses.”

That shut her up. Jared and I had teased her more than once about her bizarre effect on men.

“So what are you going to do with the rest of your day?” Anna blatantly switched subjects.

“You’re looking at it, although I do need to get caught up on work.”

“Meaning Ollie has other plans for today.”

“He’s visiting his parents.”

“Um hmm, I see. And tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is brunch. It’s not an Ollie event day. But on that note, I don’t know what he’s doing tomorrow.”

She looked at her watch. “I’ve got to show property this afternoon and I still have to go home and shower.”

I hadn’t noticed, but she was wearing her workout clothes.

“If you need anything this afternoon, Jared’s at the gym.”

“Thanks.” I warily took my earlier thoughts about Jared from their place in a mental file drawer labeled
avoid
. “Did you happen to talk to him about what I said to you at lunch?”

There was a pause. I could tell she was cautiously deciding what she could say that wouldn’t violate the friend agreement. “Yes.”

“And?”

Anna’s expression turned pensive and she nibbled her full lower lip. I wondered if she were balancing the need to share something she thought I needed to hear with the possible violation of Jared’s trust.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, Anna.”

“No, you need to hear it. You were right about him feeling inadequate, although it’s a lot more complicated than you realize. Just cut him some slack okay. You’re not the only one going through relationship growing pains.”

Her words unleashed a torrent of raw emotions inside me. I barely heard her tell me she’d catch up with me at Norton’s in the morning before leaving through the front door.

Jared was going through relationship growing pains? Jared was a player. His relationships lasted two or three weeks, maybe a month at the max. Had he met some amazing chick he wanted to settle down with for a long-term fling? Or even more unbelievable, was he considering settling down for more than a fling?

I rolled over, clutching a pillow to my chest and trying to figure out why that idea was so horribly foreign to me. He was Jared. If he wanted to shack up with some woman long-term I should be happy for him. Or should I? Would having a significant other make it less likely that he’d be able to hang out with Anna and me? Would we have to add his new lady friend to our little group?

A vicious stab of jealously hit me with unexpected violence. I had no interest in befriending any of Jared’s bimbos. I didn’t want to talk to one or look at one or pretend I cared where she wanted to have the wedding she would inevitably try to plan. I didn’t want things to change between us. I wanted it to stay the same. It was supposed to be Anna, Megan, and Jared. We were buddies. Adding another woman to the group was unacceptable.

The weather dawned bright and warm on Sunday morning. I got up early since I’d had my fair share of sleeping in the day before. I didn’t take any special pains with my appearance, throwing on comfortable jeans and a pullover.

I piddled around my townhouse, cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors like a responsible grownup. Though I didn’t like to admit it, I kept waiting for Ollie to call. He hadn’t called all day Saturday either, though I’d gotten an email assuring me he’d had a wonderful time on Friday night. The lack of calls on Saturday didn’t surprise me overmuch since he’d been going to spend the day with family. But he hadn’t said anything about being out of touch on Sunday and doubts nibbled away at my confidence.

10 am rolled around and I opted to walk to Norton’s in order to better enjoy the sudden, spastic change in weather. Jared was already there, sitting at a table in the warm morning sun with a cup of black coffee. A welcoming smile lit his handsome face when he saw me enter the restaurant. I returned his smile, looking around for sign of Anna.

“She’s going to be late.” He guessed my question before I could ask it. “The client she showed property to last night put a contract on something, so she’s negotiating this morning.”

I bobbed my head, pulling out a chair and plopping down. That essentially meant we could expect Anna to breeze in for about thirty minutes and talk of nothing but this latest deal. Neither Jared or I really minded. Anna’s blatant enthusiasm for her job was part of her charm.

He shifted in his seat, his expression easing from smiling to concern. “I already ordered since I wasn’t sure when you’d make it. Anna said you were pretty sick yesterday. Are you feeling any better?”

My head bobbed up and down again and I wondered if he were thinking about the way we’d parted after the sink incident. I couldn’t get the conversation out of my mind. His accusations about sexy and responsible kept whirling around. I took my sunglasses off and set them on the table beside my phone and keys before putting my head in my hands for a few moments. I needed to center myself. It was just Jared. Things shouldn’t be so weird.

I heard the waiter approach. I tried to pull myself together, aware that I needed to achieve some kind of normal behavior. If I couldn’t, it was just going to get weirder and weirder and I didn’t want that. He was a good friend that I didn’t want to lose.

“Does the lady want to order?” the waiter asked, no doubt thinking I was still suffering from a wild Saturday night.

If only that’s what it was. I took a deep breath, prepared to put on a happy face and order my breakfast. After all, I was starving after eating almost nothing on Saturday.

“She’ll have the French Toast with a large orange juice.”

I froze in surprise at Jared’s smooth, confident answer on my behalf.

“Sausage or Bacon?”

“No meat, but add a side of fruit salad instead. And a glass of water too, please?”

“I’ll have that right out with yours, sir. Thank you.”

Jared had ordered my food. It wasn’t really a big deal because I almost always ordered the same thing when we came here. Normally I wouldn’t have batted an eyelash. Jared had ordered for both Anna and I in the past while we took a quick trip to the Ladies’ room or if we were late. So why was it such a big deal today?

It wasn’t hard to figure out. It was because of Ollie and the way he’d ordered all the wrong things without asking my opinion on Friday night. It occurred to me that Jared had known me a lot longer. That was why he already knew that I wanted fruit instead of meat with my breakfast. Ollie hadn’t been around long enough to figure out all of the little things.

I massaged my temples, trying to sort through the mish mash of feelings and emotions cluttering my brain. I wanted to make excuses for Ollie. I was almost hardwired to do it since I wanted so badly for our relationship to grow and flourish. But it was difficult to ignore the simple fact that Jared could order my food because not only had he observed closely, he’d asked questions. In fact, we’d had a couple of discussions about it because Jared’s a red-blooded, meat-eating American male who thinks I’m crazy but respects my decision anyway.

“Megan?”

I looked up in response to my softly spoken name. How could I not when his concern for me was a tangible thing between us.

“I know we left things kind of tense the other day and I’m sorry.” He fidgeted, restlessly running his fingers through his wavy hair. “But if you ever need anything, I want you to know that I’m here.”

The earnest expression on his face touched me. Was Anna right and he was really going through some sort of relationship growing pains with a stranger I’d never met? Was I going to lose this friendship forever?

The waiter brought our food, giving me something else to concentrate on. Grateful for the distraction, I watched from the corner of my eye as Jared dug into his Cajun-style eggs and potatoes while I picked at my French toast and fruit salad.

It was now or never. If I didn’t try to straighten this entire thing out before some other woman took him away from me, I would never get another chance. “What were you really asking the other day when we were talking about sexy and attractive and responsible?”

He paused, and I could practically hear his mental sigh. “I just think you judge a book by its cover too often, that’s all.”

Could all of this really be explained in one old cliché? “Because I don’t date guys who don’t meet the criteria on my list?”

“I think it’s easier to explain from a slightly different angle. What is it that attracts you to Ollie?”

The million dollar question. What
was
it anyway? “He’s easy to talk to, for starters.”

“What else?”

“He’s funny and we laugh at a lot of the same things, so there’s a lot of that witty back and forth that makes you feel like you really connect with someone.”

“And?” Jared pressed.

“We share a lot of the same personality traits.”

Jared frowned. “Like what? You haven’t really known him long enough to decide that, have you?”

Those words coming from Anna might have made me mad. Jared’s casual comment made me think. What
were
Ollie’s personality traits? “He’s not controlling, he likes to try new things…” I couldn’t really come up with anything else.

“Okay, what things does he like to do?” Jared asked gently. “Remember that stupid quiz you and Anna got out of Cosmo?”

“The one about couple identity?”

Jared nodded, sunlight glinting off the gold highlights in his short hair.

A knot formed in my stomach and I put my fork down before fiddling restlessly with my napkin. “Well, he listens to all kinds of music, but he likes Country. He likes reality television, hanging out with friends and going on float trips in the summer.”

“So where, in all of that, is there a stretch of common ground for the two of you to build your relationship? You hate Country music, you don’t watch much TV, and we both know float trips are just an excuse to drink the same beer in a new environment.”

“If both of us like to try new things, we’ll find new activities to do together,” I stubbornly insisted.

Jared chuckled. “You keep using that same phrase, about trying new things. What does that really mean? You always were mule-headed when it came to lost causes.”

“Hey! Don’t call me and Ollie a lost cause. We’ve barely started dating!”

I should’ve been hopping mad at the judgment in his words, but I wasn’t. Jared wasn’t trying to be mean. Anna was the one who was openly hostile toward my relationship with Ollie. I got the feeling Jared was just concerned and his friendship was something I didn’t want to lose because of my temper. So I lifted an eyebrow and let his accusation go. The bright smile he gave me in return caught me off guard, making my heart rate jump and my breath catch.

The waiter set our check on the table and Jared threw down a few bills before I could even pick up my purse. “Come take a walk with me. It’s nice out.”

“Where’s Anna?” I suddenly remembered that our other partner in crime had never managed to show up.

“You know Anna, she’s probably still negotiating. She’ll catch up when she’s convinced everybody to do what she wants.” Jared stood and gestured to the door. “So, how about it?”

We exited the restaurant and I followed Jared’s lead toward a small park several short blocks down the narrow street. Faded, crumbling brick buildings rose on either side of us. Their narrow windows were hung with bright curtains and held window boxes that would be full of flowers once the real warm up arrived. The few trees lining the street were bare of leaves. Spring was still several months off, though the weather felt almost spring-like. The sky was pale blue and the air was brisk. It was a nice day for a walk.

Tucked into the neighborhood surrounding the Soulard Market, the park was empty that Sunday morning. Jared took one of the gravel-lined walkways, passing a towering playground structure and some swings.

Deciding I had nothing to lose, I asked the question that had me burning with equal parts curiosity and dread. “So, are you seeing anyone?”

His blue eyes met mine. “Not really, why?”

“I just wondered if that was what sparked the whole sexy versus attractive thing the other day.” I kicked a stray stick with the toe of my Doc.

“How long have we known each other, Megan?”

Distracted by the sudden change of subject, I shrugged. “Three or four years?”

“Four and a half years ago, Anna brought you to my gym for the first time. I know the two of you had been friends for awhile before that, because I felt like I already knew you from listening to Anna talk about you.”

His words gave me a jolt. Had it been that long? How could he remember all of that so clearly?

“In all that time, have you ever seen me really date anyone, Megan?”

I thought back, choosing women from my memory bank and then setting them aside when I realized he hadn’t actually dated them. “You’ve been out with a few.”

“Once or twice maybe.”

The knot in my stomach grew tighter. “Why are you asking me this?”

“In college I pledged a fraternity my Freshman year. For the next four or five years, all the way through college and into my adult life, I had more casual sex than I care to recall.”

The blood drained from my face. I did not want to hear this.

“I want you to understand something.” He paused on the path and turned toward me. “The only thing I managed to get out of those years was a healthy respect for restraint and a reputation.”

A reputation?

“The biggest mistakes of my life were made during the first year the gym was open,” Jared admitted quietly. “I slept with a number of my clients, and that doesn’t go away. After awhile, people just assume you’re still doing it.”

We weren’t walking anymore. I was barely breathing.

“So what I want to ask is this: have you ever actually known me to do those things or be that person? Have you really
known
that I’m a player, or have you just taken everybody else’s word for it?”

I cleared my throat, turning and continuing down the path. “I never really thought that much about it. I know Anna used to tease you about all of your women.”

“She hasn’t done that in years, Megan. I asked her to stop.”

“Why?”

He seemed to clam up, his openness receding into a noncommittal shrug. “Partly because it was time, and partly because I want other things in life.”

I swallowed a thick lump that had just appeared in my throat. “You do?”

“Don’t you?”

“I guess that’s why I’m dating Ollie, isn’t it?”

He veered off the path, heading for another adjoining section of the park. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

“It is what I want,” I decided. “To find someone who’s like the second half of me, that person I don’t want to be without. I want to marry and have a family and stop being so lonely.” I was acutely embarrassed that I’d just admitted that to him. What kind of loser was I that I’d toss all of my most secret desires out there for him to sort through?

“There’s nothing wrong with that.” He touched my shoulder. “I think it’s what all of us want after we manage to grow up a little.”

I hesitantly went a step further. “Wanting those things with someone is why I go for attractive and not sexy.”

“Are we back to that again?”

“I just want more than a handsome face and a great body.”

He chuckled, eyes dancing in his chiseled face. “I still think you’re not giving sexy enough credit.”

“Maybe you just don’t understand how I feel. Look at you. Wherever you go you have beautiful women falling all over you. They make up excuses to talk to you, to touch you, to be with you. Maybe hanging onto sexy is just too stressful.”

Jared suddenly stopped walking, standing stock still in the middle of the path. His eyes took in every inch of my body from head to toe, lingering until I felt a blush heat my cheeks. What was his problem? I knew I didn’t look like Hungry or Desperate, but surely he could understand what it was I was trying to say about gorgeous men.