Take This Man (5 page)

Jason
lifted an eyebrow. “Be nice,” he purred. He was dressed casually but
impeccably, as always. Today it was preppy chic—he might have stepped right out
of an L.L. Bean catalog. It was a marvel how he managed to eat a sloppy pulled
pork sandwich without getting even a speck of sauce on himself. Elyse, though
she’d stuffed a wad of napkins in her neckline, still succeeded in getting
mustard down her front.

“Coop’s
meeting with his attorneys this afternoon, so he’ll be busy the rest of the
day. He wants us to have dinner, though. I told him to call me, and I’ll let
him know what my plans are.”

He
looked at Elyse, a question in his expression.

“I
don’t need you to babysit me,” she informed him. “You go ahead and do whatever
you like.”

“I
dragged you along on this trip,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel I’m
abandoning you.”

“I
don’t feel abandoned. After all, you’re here eating lunch with me, after which
I am going to whip your ass at miniature golf.” Daddy’s offered not only
barbecue and soft-serve, but an impressive miniature golf course as well.

“In
your dreams.”

Elyse
chewed a bite of her hot dog, the spicy mustard tingling on her tongue. “So
tell me,” she said once she swallowed, “how did your breakfast with Coop go?”

“Well,
he didn’t choke to death on his English muffin, if that’s what you’re hoping to
hear.” Jason’s tone was sardonic.

She
snapped her fingers in mock disappointment. “Darn it.” Not that she actually
wanted Coop dead. She only wished he’d decide to move to Tibet and become a
monk. Or maybe get abducted by aliens, and become some three-eyed Martian’s
pet.

Jason
turned serious. “Actually, it went well. Coop’s sorry about hurting Debra, but
he realizes it was wrong to marry her in the first place. This divorce is best
for both of them.”

“Uh-huh.”
Elyse tried to keep the judgment out of her voice. Jason knew how she felt. Now
he needed someone to listen.

“He’d
like to keep things as civil as possible. Mediation, if Debra agrees to it.”

She
nodded. “That sounds like the best option.” She waited. “Is he being honest
about why he really wants the divorce?”

Jason
stiffened and her heart sank like a cement block. “He doesn’t want to get me
involved. Things might get messy.”

“He
doesn’t have to involve you to admit he’s gay.” Elyse didn’t understand it. How
could a man as intelligent as Jason, as worldly and aware, be so damn stupid
when it came to Cooper Caddiman?

She
pressed on. “Don’t you think he owes it to his wife to tell the truth? So she
doesn’t think it’s something
she
did wrong?”

“He’s
not blaming her,” Jason insisted. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, and pushed
the remainder of his sandwich aside. “I told you, he’s trying to keep things
friendly.”

“It
won’t stay friendly if she learns the truth from somebody else. If Coop can’t
tell her he’s gay, does it mean he can’t even admit it to himself?”

Jason
gave a defeated sigh. “I didn’t say we’d worked everything out.”

“I
know you don’t want to hear all this,” Elyse told him. “But remember, you asked
me to come along to help you keep your head on straight.”

“I
know.”

“I
just don’t want him to think he can keep you on the side, his dirty little
secret. You deserve better.”

“I
know. But it’s not that easy—”

“You
keep saying that. But you did it. Other people do it. It’s not like he has to
worry about losing custody of his kids. There are no kids. This is his chance
to be up front and honest,
finally
, and he’s—”

“I
know. I know.” Jason held up his hand to forestall her from saying more.

“Sorry.”
Shit
. She’d told herself not to harangue him. But damn it, she was
worried. She didn’t trust Coop.

“No,
don’t be.” Jason smiled, but it was strained. “You’re right. Which goes to show
it’s a good thing you came along with me.” He frowned. “Coop and I have a lot
to discuss over dinner tonight.”

“Come
to think of it,” he said a moment later, his face enlivening with mischief, “I’m
not the only one who met with an old flame today, am I?”

Elyse
groaned. Jason had texted her this morning while she was having a weak moment.
She confessed in her return message to running into Adam.

“It
was awful,” she admitted. “We were horrible to each other, nearly had a public
fight.” She let go a breath. “He thinks we’re a couple. You and me.”

Jason’s
eyes widened. “Well, you told him the truth, didn’t you?”

“
No
.”
Elyse got pissed off all over again, remembering Adam’s accusations. “He thinks
I dumped him because you have more money. Like I’m some greedy bitch. The
stupid ass. He thinks
I’m
the bad guy,” she said. “Can you believe that?”

If
she expected Jason to look outraged on her behalf, she was disappointed.

“And
you think
he
is.”

She
blinked in uncertainty. “Well, yeah.”

Her
friend let go a sigh. “Maybe there are no bad guys. Just a lot confused people.”

But
Elyse didn’t buy that, and said so.

“I
was there, too, honey,” he reminded her. “But you don’t hate my guts.”

She
lowered her eyes to her half-eaten hot dog. “That’s different.”
I wasn’t in
love with you.

“You
should have told him the truth about us, Leelee.”

“Come
on,” she scoffed. “I’m not going to out you at a burger joint in the middle of
town.”

“What
do I care? Tell the whole world I’m a big ol’ queer—it makes no difference to
me.”

And
that was the difference between Jason and Coop. Jason lived in the truth, while
Cooper huddled in the closet. Her friend had suffered for his honesty—his
family had not dealt at all well with the news of his sexual orientation. In
fact, they dealt with it by pretending they never heard it. Though not actually
banishing their son…
why, after all, cause an unpleasant scene?
…they
distanced themselves from him as much as possible. Which was fine with him.

Elyse
felt humbled, thinking about the choices Jason had made to become his “authentic
self.” Compared to him, she seemed backward, bogged down by memories of the
past and fear of the future.

Too
much thinking. Her head was starting to throb. She finished off her meal in a
few quick bites while Jason stole her remaining french fries, and then said, “Let’s
go play mini golf. It’s time for me to kick your ass.”

****

That
evening Jason went off to have dinner with his precious Coop, and Elyse sat
alone in her hotel room. She wasn’t really hungry, but decided to pop out to
get a salad—something healthy, to make up for lunchtime’s barbeque bust-out.

Someone
knocked at her door. It could only be Jason. Damn it, Coop must have flaked out
on him, for him to be back already. Elyse hurried to open the door, ready to
console her friend.

Adam
stood in the threshold.

“What
are you doing here?” Her heart slammed in her chest.

“I
wanted to say I’m sorry.” He shifted from one foot to the other. “I shouldn’t
have been such a prick before.”

“You
didn’t have to come here for that. You already apologized.”

His
shoulders twitched uneasily, and then straightened. He met her stare dead on. “I
wanted to do it right this time.”

Elyse
gazed at him. He no longer had on the work boots, jeans, and company-logo-emblazoned
T-shirt he wore this morning. He had gone home, showered and shaved, and
changed into black dress pants and a long-sleeved button-down shirt. Elyse
caught the whiff of something woodsy, some kind of after-shave or cologne. His
hair was still a bit damp.

“Are
you on your way somewhere?” she asked.

He
blinked at her. “No.”

So
he’d done all that, just to come over to apologize. Elyse felt something soften
inside her. Even as part of her was screaming
No, don’t do it!
she
stepped back, out of the doorway. “Come on in.”

Adam
stepped inside and briefly glanced around the room, his discomfort as apparent
here as in the hall. “I thought you and Devereaux would be sharing a room.” The
corner of his mouth lifted. “What’s the matter, does he snore? Or do you hog
the bed?”

“You
tell me,” she snapped. She should have known she and Adam couldn’t occupy the
same space and have a civil conversation. Not anymore. “It wasn’t that long ago
we
shared a bed. If I remember right, you were the one that took up most
of the space. And snored.” She glared at him.

“Shit,”
he muttered, his mouth twisting down, his hands curling into fists at his side.
“I did it again. Fuck, I’m sorry. I should have never come. I should go.” He
looked at her, his cheeks dark with embarrassment. “I
am
sorry. Really.”

“Wait
a minute.” The same part of her that warned not to invite him in now cried,
Let
him go, Elyse. Please, let him go.

But
of course she ignored it. “Jason and I aren’t sharing a room because we’re not
together. We’re not a couple. We’ve haven’t been since…”
since that night
.

Actually,
they were never a couple. But Elyse wasn’t ready to explain that to Adam. Even
if Jason had said he didn’t mind her letting Adam know that he was “a big ol’
queer,” she still didn’t feel it was her secret to tell.

She’d
already told Adam enough—more, even, than he deserved to know. But why? Did she
want him to have a higher opinion of her? What for, when he already had her
pegged as a gold digger?

“We’re
friends now,” she told him. “Very close friends.”

Adam
lifted his eyebrows. “Very close.”

“Yes.”
Elyse gritted her teeth, ready to shove him out the door if he made one more
smart-assed comment. “As a matter of fact, Jason is my best friend.”

Adam
curled and relaxed his fingers. He looked at her sideways. “I used to be your
best friend.”

“I
thought so once, yeah,” Elyse said. “But now I know we were never really
friends.”

He
actually looked hurt. “I want to be,” he said, his voice soft. “I want to be
your friend now.”

She
couldn’t have answered even if she’d known what to say. Her throat was as dry
as straw.

“Have
you eaten already?” he asked.

She
shook her head.

“Have
dinner with me tonight.” He shifted nervously, as though afraid she might
refuse.

She
should
refuse. They couldn’t be together for more than a few minutes
without saying something horrible and cruel to each other. But as Elyse looked
at Adam’s face now, so open and real, she realized she wanted to be his friend.
Or at least not hate him anymore. Where had all the hate gotten her? Exactly
nowhere.

Jason
was right. She
was
stuck in the past. Maybe if she took this step with
Adam, she’d get unstuck.

“All
right.” She gestured down at her clothing. Though she’d changed her
mustard-spattered shirt after lunch, her worn jeans and T-shirt were much too
casual. “You look nice. Let me change into something else. Give me ten minutes.”

“You
don’t have to, you’re fine,” Adam told her, his eyes skimming her.

“I’ll
be right back. Have a seat.” She grabbed a few things from her suitcase, a
flush blooming on her skin as she felt his gaze follow her.

Elyse
hurried to the bathroom and emerged fifteen minutes later, made-up, and hair
freed from its ever-present ponytail to sweep her shoulders. She wore a swingy
black skirt and hose, and a form-fitting red top she hadn’t worn since the last
time Jason had dragged her out on the town. Since Jason had approved of the
outfit, she knew it was enough to impress Adam.

And
why did she want to impress him? They weren’t going on a date, for God’s sake.
They were only having dinner, sharing a meal in an attempt to be civil to each
other. To put the past behind them.

Adam
was seated in a narrow armchair that didn’t look sturdy enough to support a
grown man. He stood when she entered the room. Heat rose in her, moving from
her belly to her chest, flowing to her breasts, filling out her nipples. It spread
up her neck into her face, bringing roses to her cheeks and plumping her lips.

The
heat moved downward as well. Her legs trembled as she approached him, her
fingers and toes tingled. And her pussy grew meltingly soft, creamy, and slick.
Her clit engorged and rubbed teasingly, torturously against her panties as she
walked.

No.
No. And no. She shouldn’t be having this reaction to him. It was all wrong. She
stopped halfway across the room, trembling, knowing exactly what would happen
if she didn’t turn around
right now
and lock herself in the bathroom.