I WAKE up the next morning, calling out of work by taking a personal day. I haven't taken a day off in years. I had no reason to. I didn't have anyone to take vacations with, or play hooky while spending the day under a blanket on a cold snowy morning. I had plenty of days stored up and this feels like the perfect time to use one. I know Jesse doesn’t work on Fridays, so I want to spend the entire day making up for last night. Maybe, I'll take her someplace nice where we can snuggle close and I can apologize to her properly. Preferably using my body.
I walk into Nell's to see Jess in jeans that perfectly hug her curvy ass and a tight long-sleeve purple shirt. Her thick brown hair falls around her shoulders, barely curling under at the ends. She doesn't look like the sex kitten she has the last few times we have been out, but she still looks amazing. She looks relaxed and carefree, compared to the slightly nervous and uneasy woman I figured would show up this morning. And let me tell you, this looks so damn good on her. Maybe something I said to her actually penetrated last night.
She stands at the counter laughing with Kara while the two guys waiting in line smile in her direction. Her laugh is infectious. I can’t blame them for staring. I was staring too. However, I can stop them before they get any ideas about making a move. Even though I'm quite sure where we stand this morning, it doesn't stop me from walking up behind her, brushing her hair away from her neck and planting a lingering kiss just below her ear. Thankfully, she doesn't slap me, but I can feel her tense. I pretend not to notice it. She may not want it, but I need to touch her.
"Come on, let's go sit down and talk." I drape an arm over her shoulder giving the two guys watching a knowing nod as we walk past. We sit down at my usual table closest to the counter.
"You okay?" I ask as Jesse starts chewing on the edge of her thumb nail like she so often does. I reach forward grabbing her hand and pull it way from her mouth. She drops it to the table and tries to slide it away, but I refuse to let go. I hear the bell over the door, but I'm too focused on this little hand-holding war that I'm having with Jess to even give it a second thought.
"Well, isn't this cozy." I see Sarah standing beside our table. I'm not talking present day Sarah either. I'm talking Sarah from seven years ago. Tight red dress, black fuck-me heels, blonde hair. It's slightly shorter than it was back in those days, but it's definitely blonde again. The flash from the past causes me to spring to my feet, releasing Jesse's hand.
"Sarah?" I ask genuinely confused. I haven't seen this woman in years, and I would be lying if I said my stomach didn't jump at the very thought of her standing in front of me. She lets out a distantly familiar laugh and I'm stunned, shocked, and worst of all, hopeful. She pushes up to her tip toes to kiss me chastely on the lips, before leveling her glare on Jesse.
"Hey honey, care to introduce me to your little friend?" She grins an evil smile.
I look down at Jess still sitting and now chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes are wide with amazement, and maybe even a little fear. I look between Jess and Sarah for a second while I try to figure out what dimension I'm currently in. Jesse finally drops her eyes to her lap when Sarah wraps an arm around my waist. Her touch is cold and calculated, not at all like the woman who appears to be standing in front of me. I move quickly jumping out of her reach.
"What the fuck?" I bat her hands away when she tries to grab me again.
"Brett, stop being so silly. Introduce me to your friend." I stand still, blinking and knowing that any second the world is going to stop spinning. There is no other explanation for this absurdity.
"Hi, I'm Jesse," she says, standing to her feet and looking up at all 6'1" of Sarah in heels.
"Well, aren't you cute?" Sarah pauses to look at me. "Very interesting choice. She isn't at all who I expected when I found out you were cheating on me."
"Cheating on you?" I have to clarify because I know I couldn't have heard her correctly.
"I believe we spoke last night, Jesse. Remember, you admitted to being the slut who is sleeping with my husband?" Jesse leans back, trying to dodge the verbal slap, but it lands exactly where Sarah planned. And Sarah doesn't let it sit long before she throws another blow.
"The kids have been missing you."
"Wow, that's interesting! I wasn't aware we even had kids." She ignores me completely and continues to follow her carefully crafted script.
"Samantha got her class photo back yesterday. She cried herself to sleep last night when you didn't come home for her to show it to you." She pulls a school picture of a little girl I know looks exactly like me out of her purse. She has green eyes, long dark pig tails, and towers over all of her class mates. I can actually feel the breath get sucked out of the room as I glance to Jess, who is standing with her eyes glued to the picture laying on the table. Just as I start to lose it, I see the one thing that causes me to go speechless. On Sarah’s left ring finger, I catch the sparkle of a diamond. I know it's the one I placed there all those years ago. The one that has been sitting in her jewelry box for over four years. I've wanted nothing more than to see those rings adorn her finger again, but it enrages me to see them on the hand of this fraud.