Atonement(48)
My sister was a very good at hiding her drunkenness and although she was careful not to slur her words, I knew she was well past the legal limit. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at Liam’s. His condo is absolutely amazing! I am so jealous and I completely understand why you didn’t mind sharing Colin’s for that week Aubrey was staying at your townhouse. The view, the indoor patio…I’m in love!” she exclaimed with a great deal of enthusiasm.
“That’s great.”
I had to bite my tongue not to say anything else. I knew what the inside of Liam’s condo looked like because I’d been there. I’d slept in his bed and we’d had sex previous to me hooking up with his brother. I had so much to be ashamed about and my sister brought all this back to the forefront merely by mentioning what a great condo Liam possessed.
“So, you know I have to ask…have you slept with Colin? He sounded way too familiar when he picked up your phone. It’s extremely intimate when you think about it—I mean he had no idea it was me. I could have been another man for all he knew.”
I chuckled at that statement. “Um, honey, just because we are out of the country doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with my caller ID. Your ring tone and shiny happy face tipped him off it wasn’t my secret lover in the States named Bob.”
“I’m just saying…what’s going on between you two because if this is a strictly vacation-type deal then I would seriously reconsider it. I’m dating Liam and that means you are going to be seeing Colin quite often too. If nothing serious is going on then you shouldn’t make him believe something you have no intention of following through with—”
“It’s not just a holiday thing so you can save yourself a coronary,” I interrupted before I switched ears and walked further out onto the balcony. “We’ve really bonded and discovered we have more in common than we thought. I seriously like the guy and I am just in love with his body. And the sex…well, I don’t kiss and tell but I will give you a one word answer: amazing!”
“Whoa. Can I just say I am a bit jealous? It’s been forever for me and Liam wants to take it slow because he has a serious feeling I might be the one. Can you imagine? Not that I don’t find that cool and all but women need sex too and I think men sometimes forget that.” She paused before she inquired, “Did your affair start before you left Seattle?”
“No, it didn’t. Just because I was borrowing a bedroom in his condo doesn’t mean I was paying for it every night with *. He asked me to stay and I happily obliged but nothing was going on between us physically at the time.”
“Jeez, Deirdre, do you have to be so crass? You know how much I hate the ‘p’ word—it’s vulgar and unladylike,” Caitlyn responded in a haughty manner.
“Listen, Mom, sorry if I resent your attitude that what you and Liam have is so deep when he has the reputation of being a player to end all players yet what Colin and I have is just some sort of vacation fling that could possibly mean nothing. It’s outrageous, presumptuous and downright rude!” I explained in a no-nonsense voice while managing to keep my anger in check.
Caitlyn sighed out loud. “I really do think you are taking this way too seriously. I didn’t mean the statement the way it came out and no, I am not trying to act like our mother, or did you suddenly forget I’m younger than you?”
“Didn’t say you were but you have no right to question what kind of relationship I have with Colin either. It’s serious, we care about one another and this isn’t a vacation fling—you get me?”
“Course I get you. I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. Not to mention you still have Drew, remember him? You’ve kept that guy hangin’ on a string for years, Deirdre. Why don’t you just be honest with him and tell him you have absolutely no desire to get back together with him. As far as he’s concerned, he still talks about you like he’s in love with you and that’s not right.”
“Believe me he knows because I told him before I left. Listen to me carefully because I am getting tired of repeating myself: my relationship with Drew is very f*cking complicated. I’m not even going to bother getting into a discussion about it right now while I am on vacation with someone else. He hasn’t exactly kept it wrapped in cotton wool, you know. He gets around and he sleeps with whom ever he wants and not once have I complained because I know there is no him and me. Yes, we occasionally used to have our bootie calls but we’ve moved beyond it and I think it’s good someone like Aubrey is staying with him. It makes him realize there are plenty of other fish in the sea and I am far from the only woman out there,” I explained in a calm tone.