“What does that mean, Drew?”
“It means that I am going to give you your space and let you spend the time you think you need with Dawson. I have no right not to let you.”
“I don’t want you to let me go, Drew. I want you to give me some time.”
He looked sad. He moved his eyes from mine to my bare leg. He rubbed my leg and softly spoke.
“I have to let you go, Morgan. I can’t turn my back while you’re doing, what I know you will be doing with Dawson. I can’t. You do what you need to do, and I will understand one way or the other.”
I moved myself from his lap, walked over to the refrigerator, took out a beer and walked out to the deck. I had to. I was ready to explode on him. I put up with so much shit from that man, and he couldn’t chill out long enough for me to figure things out? Bull shit.
Drew followed me out. He could tell that I was pissed.
“Morgan?”
“You remember one God damn thing, Drew. I didn’t walk away. You let me go.”
“How am I supposed to feel, Morgan?”
“You know what? I have no clue. I don’t even know how I should feel. How the hell am I supposed to tell you how you feel?”
“I should just go. It’s obvious that we need a timeout from each other.”
“Yeah, you probably should, except there are no cabs, or phone call away, drivers around here,” I coolly said crossing my arms. I was done. What the fuck? This man should be kneeling at my feet, giving me everything I ask for.
“I can take care of myself,” he assured me.
Go for it…
“You do whatever you have to do,” I demanded. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t think he would really leave. Where the hell did he think he was going to go in the middle of nowhere? I couldn’t stop him. My proud ego refused to go after him. He would be back or call or something. I hoped.
He didn’t come back. I wanted to call Lauren and tell her to get her ass over to my house and bring every alcoholic beverage she could find. I couldn’t do that either. She had to get up with the chickens for work.
I went to the ringing doorbell after six beers. I laughed. I’m sure most of my humor was alcohol induced.
It was still funny. Poor bastard probably never even left my front yard.
I opened the door with a smirk.
Fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Hey,” I managed to spit out.
“You okay?” Dawson asked.
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I just presumed that you and your husband must have had a fight or something.”
I looked at him peculiarly. “Why would you presume that?”
“Can I come in?”
“Oh, sorry. Yes. Come in.”
“I just picked him up and gave him a ride into town.”
“You did?” I asked, stumbling a little.
“Are you drunk, Ry?”
“Yeah. I think maybe I am. Where was he going?”
“I don’t know, but he was on the phone arranging for someone to pick him up. I can’t imagine calling someone and telling them to send the plane, not just a plane. He said, the plane, like he owned it or something.”
“He kind of does,” It wasn’t a complete lie. He did kind of own it, as long as he was married to me.
“Did you guys have a fight?”
“Yes.”
“About what?”
Kind of nosey, eh?
“You, he read my email while I was in the shower.”
“Is he gone for good or just gone?”
“Dawson, please don’t do this. I can’t handle either one of you anymore. I’m ready to tell you both to go to hell,” I said walking away.
“Jesus Christ, Riley. Did he hit you?”
“What? No.” I said in disbelief. “Why would you say that?”
“How the hell did you get that enormous bruise on your back then?”
I didn’t know that I had a bruise. I couldn’t see my back, but I knew exactly what it was from.
Dawson lifted my shirt a little in the back. “Shit, Ry. What the hell did you do?”
“I fell on some rocks down by the beach,” I lied.
“Do you want some ice?”
“No. I didn’t even know that it was there. I’m fine.”
“You can’t feel that?”
“I can now that you pointed it out. Thanks a lot,” I smiled at him.
He smiled back with his perfect white toothy smile. Son of a bitch. How can you be this in love with two men?
“Did Drew know who you were?”
“Oh, he knew alright. I made sure of it?”
“Oh God, Daw. What did you say to him?”
Dawson shrugged his shoulders and puckered his lips. Shit. Those damned lips. Okay. I was drunk, that had to be the beer talking, either that or I was seriously beginning to lose my mind.
“Not much, just that he didn’t deserve you. I let him know that I knew all about his purchase, what he did to you. I made sure that he knew that I was the one there night after night when you woke screaming or crying because of him. And I told him that I love you and that I think that I am more stable and more of the man that you need.”
“What did he say?”