Something Blue - Emily Giffin [15]
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five
The next day I awoke with a dry tequila mouth and a searing headache. I checked my watch; it was nearly noon. The night before seemed like a blurry dream. A blurry, good dream. I couldn't wait to see Marcus again. I got up, brushed my teeth, swept my hair up in a ponytail, added a hint of pink blush to my cheeks, put on a Juicy Couture lime-green skirt and a white tank, and sauntered out to find him.
He was in the den alone, watching television.
"Hiya," I said, taking a seat next to him on the couch.
He glanced over at me, squinted, and let out a hoarse, "Morning. Or afternoon, I guess." Then his eyes returned to the TV.
"Where is everyone?" I asked.
He told me that Claire went to brunch and that Hillary, our other housemate, hadn't returned home the night before.
"Maybe she got some action too," I said to break the ice.
"Yeah," he said. "Maybe."
I tried again. "So how do you feel?"
"Like ass," he said, changing the channel and still avoiding eye contact. "Those shots weren't such a hot idea."
"Ahh. I get it," I said. "We're blaming what happened on the alcohol, are we?"
He shook his head and struggled not to smile. "Always knew you were trouble, Darcy Rhone."
I liked that that was his impression, but at the same time I didn't want him to think that I was a slut, or that I often cheated on Dexter, so I set the record straight, told him that nothing like that had ever happened before. It was, in a technical sense, the truth.
"Yeah. Well. It won't happen again. Back to reality," Marcus said.
It hurt my feelings and bruised my ego that he was treating me with no particular gentleness. We had, after all, shared a night of passion. Passion that I hadn't experienced in years. Maybe not ever. I like to think of myself as a woman of the world, and I certainly had had sex in my share of interesting spots—including, but not limited to, a church parking lot, a cornfield, and the waiting room of my father's dentist office. But the thunderstorm hookup was a first, and I was annoyed that Marcus wasn't giving our liaison its proper due.
"So you're sorry it happened?" I asked.
"Of course I am."
I sighed and tried another angle. "So you… didn't enjoy it?"
He finally cracked, looked up at me, and grinned. "Totally beside the point, Rhone."
"Don't call me Rhone," I said. "You weren't calling me Rhone last night."
"Last night," he said, shaking his head, "was fucked up. I think it's best we drop the whole thing."
"No," I said.
He looked at me. "No?"
"No. I can't drop it," I said. "It happened. We can't take it back."
"I know we can't take it back, but we gotta forget it," he said. "It was a shitty thing to do. You're engaged… and Dex is my boy… It's done."
"Right," I said, giving him a suggestive once-over.
He looked away, then crossed his legs, man-style. "It was fucked up."
It made me mad that he was worrying about Dex, instead of me. "Marcus," I said.
"What?"
"I think we should talk about what happened. I think we should talk about why it happened." I wanted to test the waters, determine how much he liked me and whether I could have him again if I wanted him. Which I sort of did. Maybe once or twice more. I mean, once you cheat, is it that much worse to cheat two or three times?
"It happened because we drank too much."
"That's not why it happened. There was more to it than that. You weren't out there with Claire."
He cleared his throat, but said nothing.
"What if I'm not supposed to be with Dex?"
"Then you better call off the wedding."
"You want me to do that?" I asked.
"No. I didn't say that. You should marry Dex." His voice was just cold enough to make me want to break him.
"What if I'm supposed to be with you?" I asked, staring purposefully into his eyes.
He looked away. "Ain't gonna happen."
"Why not?"
"Can't happen."
"Why?"
"Because." He got up and shuffled into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of orange Gatorade. "It was a mistake. One of those things."
"You have no feelings for me whatsoever?" I asked. It was a trap.