F*ck Marriage(31)

We both look up at the same time to where Pearl is arm in arm with Woods, talking to a vendor. She has chosen a white ensemble—probably to remind everyone of her upcoming wedding— with teal heels and a chunky gold chain around her neck. Her diamond ring can be seen clear across the room.

“Ow-ow,” Annalise says. “Her bling is blinding me.” Annalise’s ring can rival Pearl’s, but I appreciate the support.

“You don’t need a ring like that when you start out,” she says. “You earn the larger carats by being married and having to put up with their bullshit.”

I laugh. “You cussed!”

She blushes. “Yeah, sorry. I just get worked up sometimes. And there’s always been something about you that makes me feel free to say what I want.”

“Ha!”

“He still loves you, you know.” She looks at me sideways, a slight brightening of her eyes. “See, there I go again…”

“Woods?” I ask, surprised.

“Who else, dummy? He can’t keep his eyes off of you.”

I follow Annalise’s gaze to where Woods and Pearl are, and true enough, his eyes are trained on me. It both thrills and mortifies me—him being with Pearl and watching me so blatantly.

“He’s a cheater,” I say. “Maybe he’s bored with Pearl and remembers how flexible I am.”

Annalise lets out a chortling laugh that draws the eyes of several bystanders. She covers her ruby red lips with a hand and makes surprised eyes at me. I laugh because her eyes are already so big.

“You know not every man who cheats is a cheater.”

“The fuck, Annalise?” I say. “Did you read that in the Positive Southerner handbook?”

She swats me playfully on the arm. “It’s the same for women. And I wouldn’t be lying if I said that when I was mad with Ned when he was working all the time, I didn’t consider finding me a twenty-two-year-old with a six-pack.”

“Of beer or muscle?”

“Girl, don’t be dumb. Beer.”

I shake my head. Wherever I go, women have different opinions of cheating and how it should be dealt with. I have a feeling Annalise would sweep it under the rug as long as Ned bought her a new bauble.

“For real though, Billie. Woods always looked at you like you were a cold glass of something he wanted to put his mouth on. You were just too busy to notice.”

I immediately deflate. She’s not saying anything I haven’t thought myself. I have a tendency to have tunnel vision, and back then I was solely focused on Rhubarb—aka myself.

“He’s gonna flirt with you tonight,” she says. “Mark my words. In those liquid sex pants of yours. You’ll see. If he mentions the pants, you’ll know his mind is in them.”

I open my mouth to say something, but Annalise’s expression changes. “Shh-shhh.” Annalise grabs my arm and squeezes. I watch in fascination as her features rearrange to resemble an entirely different woman.

Pearl and Woods are walking toward us. Woods, I notice, is staring straight at me. Annalise greets them first in her southern drawl, which is heavier than it was just five seconds ago. I’m preparing for her to “bless their hearts,” which causes me to giggle nervously.

“Hey, y’all. So glad you decided to come out this year. I was wondering when I’d see you again.” I’m inordinately grateful for her in this moment, the ease with which she glides through the awkward situation.

Pearl is trying to act normal, but I see the way she eyes me when I’m not looking, cataloging my hair, my outfit, my demeanor. I know her well enough to know that when she’s insecure, her eyes grow even wider than normal, and she stops making eye contact. We chat about the blogosphere for a few minutes, and they catch me up on some of the drama: the bloggers who’ve sold, the ones who are making twice as much as what they used to. While Pearl and Annalise splinter off into their own conversation, Woods turns to me.

“Pants,” he says.

My mouth wants to drop open, but I keep it smugly turned up; an indifferent grin.

“The way they look on or taking them off?” I ask.

Now it’s his turn to look shocked.

“I suppose one thing leads to the other…”

I can’t help but laugh. Still the same charming, flirtatious Woods.

Pearl is struggling to stay focused on what Annalise is saying while also trying to eavesdrop on us. I remember this about her from the old days: we’d go to an event and she’d come back with gossip from almost everyone who was there.

“How do you know all of this?” I’d ask her.

“I’m always involved in five conversations at once, even if people don’t know I am.”

I wonder if Woods knows this little detail about his soon-to-be bride.

“You going to be around tonight to get a drink?” he asks under his breath.

I lift my eyebrows in surprise. Is he really asking me to get a drink with his fiancée right there?

Is it me or does her whole body stiffen?

I lick my lips before I speak, trying to buy time to formulate a good answer. “I ... uh ... no. I’m having drinks with Annalise and a couple of the girls.”

His disappointment is palatable. “Where?”

I glance at Pearl. “Are you shitting me right now, Woods?” I hiss.