Stone Cold Fox (67)
“Careful,” I warned. I couldn’t go down that road no matter how much fun it looked.
“Being all right is boring. You’re far from boring,” he said.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I scoffed, jerking away from him, afraid he knew everything about me, could smell it on me. Collin was watching. So was Gale. Haven, too. Mother would have been watching as well. Gleefully, I’m sure. Dave jerked me back into his body. I allowed it so I could enjoy the last few seconds. The song had to be almost over, and after our dance I never wanted to speak to him again.
It wouldn’t be worth it. Would it?
“I know you broke into Gale’s apartment,” Dave said.
“Who cares? Gale knows, too. Did you talk to her about it?”
“Nah. None of my business. I didn’t even put two and two together until it came to me where I’d seen you before. Tagged in all of Collin Case’s photos. A pretty quick engagement, no?”
“Just under a year is perfectly civilized for normal people who pursue monogamous relationships,” I said, knowing neither of us were particularly normal. “Collin and I knew what we wanted. We’re adults.”
“But you can’t really get to know a person in that short amount of time.”
He dipped me next and I really went for it. Might as well. I threw my head back so dramatically that we received a smattering of applause for our performance. Dave whipped me back upright and we locked eyes again.
Okay, this had to end. I saw Haven gnawing on the straw of her diet G&T, watching us intently, probably frothing at the mouth at the mere glimmer of an affair, which would result in a swift kick of my ass right out the Case family doors if she had her way. I couldn’t give her the satisfaction.
I looked again for Collin. He was having a stiff drink at the bar. I’d clearly driven him to it, so I needed to get out of there and make amends with a cheeky public caress at the front of his trousers.
“Isn’t that part of the fun of marriage? That’s when you get to know each other. When you’re really in it,” I challenged Dave. “And you either make it or you don’t.”
“Isn’t that playing with fire?”
“Maybe. But I’m not afraid of getting burned.”
The song ended on my lie, and I left Dave on the dance floor.
Of course I was afraid of getting burned in my marriage to Collin. Sure, the prenup was favorable to the untrained eye, but it wouldn’t mean hanging up my hat for good, which is all I wanted to do. I had to stay with Collin. I wanted to stay with Collin. If I played by the rules, there wouldn’t be any problems, beyond extreme boredom, which was somewhat of an Achilles’ heel of mine. I could see myself struggling with the rules. Gale provoking me, seemingly forever a fixture in my marriage unless I did something about it. A grim and yet somehow gripping prospect. Dave. Desiring a full-blown dick-down courtesy of the hottest man I may have ever laid eyes on. A disaster waiting to happen if I wasn’t careful. Even Syl. Perhaps I was cut out for a female friendship after all, I just hadn’t found the right woman to convince me until her. But what if she couldn’t be trusted? The temptations were firing from all angles, but I had told myself that after Collin and I were married, my rabble-rousing would have to come to a close. Stay the course. Be a good wife. Reap all the benefits. Lonely and boring, but safe, which was the whole point of the ruse anyway.
God. Mother would definitely be laughing if she could see me now. I was so irritated with myself for thinking of her at all on my wedding day. The opposite of my North Star. I would not go south like her. I needed to distract myself from such a depressing state of mind, but Collin was taking shots with his friends, already sloppy, singing along to Neil Diamond. He’d be of little comfort. I really wanted to talk to Syl. I didn’t know what I could reasonably tell her, but her presence could be soothing. I scanned the room for my friend, noticing that Gale was still watching me. Observing me with a half smile and a half-drunk glass of champagne in her hand. Sinister energy as per usual. Did she know I was searching for Syl? Did she think I was looking for her? None of it mattered because Syl had already left.
I was on my own. As always.
CHAPTER
14
COLLIN AND I went to the Maldives for our honeymoon. We woke up every morning to a shimmering blend of teal, cerulean and turquoise waters, gently knocking against the dock poles of our overwater bungalow. I had a different bikini for every day—iridescent, animal print, floral, more animal print, of course. Giant hats and sunnies and constant SPF to keep that moneymaker fresh. When golden hour struck each evening, the pinks and the purples only emphasizing my outrageous tan, Collin was an excellent Instagram-husband, taking thirst-trap photos of me in front of all the breathtaking scenery. He took extra care to capture my essence from my best angles—not terribly difficult, as they’re all pretty fantastic. I even allowed for a few newlywed selfies, since those would be obligatory to post as well. My caption game was on point, drawing near-constant DMs from people who wanted to “collaborate.” No, thank you. Delete.
The point of it all?
I knew that Gale Wallace-Leicester would see every post on my feed—and in my stories, with a fake account so I wouldn’t outright catch her stalking. Nothing felt better than that. I also innocently wondered if Dave was checking in, too. My dance with Dave at the reception aside, Collin and I actually had a wonderful time together on our trip, leading me to believe any foul moods or brain fog he had been experiencing was all due to wedding stress, like he’d said it was. Now the wedding was over so we could finally be ourselves.