“I’m taking the job in Florida, Mia. My pappy already said that I could live with him. I leave the day after tomorrow.”
Just like that, he rolls over and turns off the lamp on his side of the bed and that was the end of the conversation and the beginning of the end of our marriage.
“Just a bunch of little what-the-fuck moments that made up the whole mess,” I respond, shaking the bad memories away.
“You changed drastically after that time you spent in Hocking Hills with Chris, what happened?”
Letting out a long sigh, I confide, “It all started after our last anniversary when we went hiking and stayed in that cabin. The actual day of our anniversary was amazing. The sex was good, we couldn’t get enough of each other. It was a day out of a romance novel.” I let out a small laugh at the obscurity of it and continue “We fell asleep in each other’s arms. The next morning, I rolled over, and he sat up quickly and got out of bed like we were strangers. I seriously felt like I was a one-night stand at that point. When I asked him why he was in such a hurry, he said I have to get back to my routine or I’m going to be worthless at work tomorrow.”
“Are you serious? Just like that?” Brie asks.
I nod my head. “I took a long shower after that and got dressed. When I went out to the screened-in porch to read, so he could get back to his routine, and he stormed out after me screaming What the fuck is your deal? Well, I laid into him about how he’d made me feel and how hurt I was. That’s when he threw it in my face that I was a stay-at-home mom and didn’t work so I had no idea what stresses he had to deal with and that I needed to quit acting so spoiled. I was devastated. The entire ride home was completely awkward.”
“I don’t get that. You brought in just as much money as he did. You worked for your uncle’s online store. You babysat for friends. I don’t understand how he can say that. You were bringing home two grand or better every month. Even after you sold your event planning business,” Ella states.
I sigh heavily. “It doesn’t matter. I was nothing but a live-in convenience for him—a baby mama and a live-in maid. Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. I’d always go out of my way to make sure that he had an amazing birthday or Christmas, but never once while we were married, did he ever go out of his way for me. He actually went as far as to complain about a shirt I gave him for Christmas and then turned around and yelled at Garrett for being ungrateful. Every year it was the same bullshit. He would always throw it in my face that he had moved here to be with me and that he wasn’t happy here. He would always tell me that one day he was going to move back home. He couldn’t stand the cold winters. When he told me about the job offer, I finally snapped and told him to go if he was that miserable. A few nights later was when he was on my case about wearing my red nightgown to bed and after that fight, he said he was taking the job, then rolled over and went to bed. Two days later, he was gone. Garrett asked me if he could call him one day to tell him about the science experiment they did at school, so I dialed his number for Garrett. Chris got heated with Garrett for inconveniencing him, so I grabbed the phone and asked Garrett to go check on his sister. After I told him off, I heard his skank’s voice.”
“Are you serious?” Ella asks with shock and disgust lacing her voice.
“Yeah.”
“She’s everything you’re not…” I heard Chris’s voice play over and over in my head.
“Mia?” Liam’s says, pulling me out of my thoughts. I turn to look at him. He is so damn sexy it should be illegal.
“I’m sorry, I must have gotten distracted. What did you say?”
“I asked if you need another Creamy Pussy, Screaming Orgasm, or Sex on the Beach?”
“Best offer I’ve had in a long time!” I joke, but if I am being honest, I’m not really joking. Liquid courage, helping me to be socially awkward since I was old enough to drink.
“Can I interest you in anything else?”
“I. Um.” Lost for words our eyes lock together, but the gaze is short-lived by the thumping beat of a fast-paced song that comes out of the speakers. I hear Liam let out a groan, like he doesn’t want to go but has to. All the guys working walk up to the dance floor and start a choreographed dance. My eyes fixate on one guy in particular; Liam sure knows how to move his rock-hard muscular body to that seductive, yet thumping rhythm. The men look like they must practice this routine for hours; they are so precise, so on target. I am lost in the moment, just mesmerized by Liam’s body and the way it moves. As the song wraps up and the men start disbursing, Liam comes back over to our table.
“Is there anything else I can get you gorgeous beauties?” Liam questions us, but more specifically, he is looking directly at me as he asks.
I glance around the table at my girls and they all nod that they are good. I flash a smile at Liam. “I think we’re good. Thanks.”
Liam walks away and I can’t help but stare. I hate to see him striding off, but the way his jeans hug his ass, I can’t help but appreciate the view.
Brie leans into me. “Like what you see? I can hook you two up, just say the words.”
“I’m single and human. I can look, right?”
“Yeah, look for a way in,” Brie says, and I smack her playfully.
A couple of hours later, the girls start leaving with their fiancés one by one. My brother Cal comes in to pick up Brie and they’re getting ready to take off.
“We can drop you off,” Brie says.
“No. Really, it’s fine. I’ll take a cab. You guys are going in the opposite direction of me anyway. You shouldn’t have to go out of your way.”
“Sis, it’s no big deal, we can do it,” Cal says.
“I can drop you off. I’m heading that way in about fifteen minutes if you’re okay with that.” Liam’s voice catches us from behind.
“I don’t want to inconvenience you.”
“Really, I insist. I don’t want you taking a cab at this hour, and Uber doesn’t really do drop-offs to villages in the middle of nowhere,” Liam says.
“I don’t want to burden you.”
“Really, it’s on my way home.”
“How do you know where I live?” I ask him confused.
“Don’t you live near your dad?”
“How did you know that?”
“Well, Cal and Carter are really good friends of mine. They love talking about their niece and nephew. So naturally I hear all about them and their adventures with Paw-Paw.”
I smile because I know that Garrett and my dad are extremely close. The two of them do just about everything together; fishing, camping, karate, sports, you name it. Garrett will tell you himself that Paw-Paw is his best friend. It’s a shame that his own father doesn’t want to do stuff like that with him. Ugh! Snap out of it, Mia, I scold myself. He chose her over our marriage and our kids. When I met his new girlfriend face-to-face during the divorce proceedings, her evil comment to me was, Wow, you even look like a washed-up has-been. No wonder he wanted someone better.
I swallow the bile that rises up in my throat at that memory.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t…” I start to explain.