me that often enough.”
I shake my head ruefully. “I did—probably too much.”
“No, I needed a reality check. I got one, believe me.”
We’re quiet for a few moments; I think we’re both at a loss for words to say. We’re both dealing with our own demons, dealing with our own shortcomings in our marriage. I tap her hip with my hand. “You ready?”
She stands and grabs my hands, pulling me up so that I’m face to face with her. “I am. I haven’t been to the movies in a long time, and it’s been even longer since I’ve been with you.”
I lean in, giving her a kiss. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”
Chapter Fifteen
SKETCH
“T hat was the shittiest movie I have ever seen in my life,” I grumble.
Nina giggles at my side, cuddling closer as I sling my arm over her shoulder. We’re walking along the river walk, and the breeze is cool off the water. “At least the company was good.” She leans up and brushes a kiss against my jaw line, running her nose along the beginnings of my beard.
“That it was, but the movie was shit.”
She giggles again, moving slightly away from me. Our fingers intertwine, and we walk in silence before her voice interrupts. “I remember when we used to come down here, ya know, when we were young and broke, when we were first married.”
I lick my lips and a smile breaks across my face. “Oh yeah, I remember that too. I always tried to get you to let me fuck you up against the retaining wall.” I shoot her a grin that I know is pure bad boy. “Wanna give it a try tonight?”
Her head shakes, and she circles her hand around my bicep. “Not tonight, it’s cold and I’m not sure I want to be known as the Montessori teacher who lost her job because she and her husband had a kinky public tryst.”
She’s opened the door with her words, and I think I’m going to step through it. Before, we lost each other because we didn’t talk about things. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen this time. “Speaking of kinky. Were you serious about what you texted me today?” My voice has dropped an octave lower, because frankly, thinking about putting piercings in her nipples turns me the fuck on, but it’s got to be something she wants to do for her.
“This is so embarrassing.” She lets go of my hand and covers her face with it. “It’s so easy to be flirty with you over text, but when I’m with you, I have so many things in my head I want to say that never make it out of my mouth.”
I stop walking and wait for her to stop too. She doesn’t face me, but she turns towards the water and leans up against the guardrail. I can tell this is difficult for her, and I don’t want to push. “Say whatever you want to say. Don’t worry that it’s gonna shock me or turn me off. Babe, if you knew the stuff women have been telling me for years, you’d be ashamed for the female race. They all know I’m married.”
“And now you’re hotter than you’ve ever been. Tell me, has Jackie hit on you? What about Trix?”
“Didn’t matter if they did, and no matter, I’ve always loved you. The women I work with I respect, they respect me. It would have been easy for me to use one of them, but I don’t shit where I work, if you get what I mean? It would be easy for me to have used any of those women who came in and came onto me, but it would have felt really fuckin’ wrong for me to do that.” I run my hand through my hair. “I still have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning. Knowing that I still love you and didn’t want to give up on us, I couldn’t do it. As much as I want to be a hard ass, I’ve loved you since I was fourteen. There’s only so much I can be a hard ass about.”
I can hear the intake of breath; I can feel the stiffening of her body. She finally turns to look at me. “Devin, I…” she licks her lips, “I forgot that. I forgot how much you love me, and I think I forgot how much I love you. Seeing that woman at the shop
I shake my head ruefully. “I did—probably too much.”
“No, I needed a reality check. I got one, believe me.”
We’re quiet for a few moments; I think we’re both at a loss for words to say. We’re both dealing with our own demons, dealing with our own shortcomings in our marriage. I tap her hip with my hand. “You ready?”
She stands and grabs my hands, pulling me up so that I’m face to face with her. “I am. I haven’t been to the movies in a long time, and it’s been even longer since I’ve been with you.”
I lean in, giving her a kiss. “Let’s go, or we’ll be late.”
Chapter Fifteen
SKETCH
“T hat was the shittiest movie I have ever seen in my life,” I grumble.
Nina giggles at my side, cuddling closer as I sling my arm over her shoulder. We’re walking along the river walk, and the breeze is cool off the water. “At least the company was good.” She leans up and brushes a kiss against my jaw line, running her nose along the beginnings of my beard.
“That it was, but the movie was shit.”
She giggles again, moving slightly away from me. Our fingers intertwine, and we walk in silence before her voice interrupts. “I remember when we used to come down here, ya know, when we were young and broke, when we were first married.”
I lick my lips and a smile breaks across my face. “Oh yeah, I remember that too. I always tried to get you to let me fuck you up against the retaining wall.” I shoot her a grin that I know is pure bad boy. “Wanna give it a try tonight?”
Her head shakes, and she circles her hand around my bicep. “Not tonight, it’s cold and I’m not sure I want to be known as the Montessori teacher who lost her job because she and her husband had a kinky public tryst.”
She’s opened the door with her words, and I think I’m going to step through it. Before, we lost each other because we didn’t talk about things. I want to make sure that doesn’t happen this time. “Speaking of kinky. Were you serious about what you texted me today?” My voice has dropped an octave lower, because frankly, thinking about putting piercings in her nipples turns me the fuck on, but it’s got to be something she wants to do for her.
“This is so embarrassing.” She lets go of my hand and covers her face with it. “It’s so easy to be flirty with you over text, but when I’m with you, I have so many things in my head I want to say that never make it out of my mouth.”
I stop walking and wait for her to stop too. She doesn’t face me, but she turns towards the water and leans up against the guardrail. I can tell this is difficult for her, and I don’t want to push. “Say whatever you want to say. Don’t worry that it’s gonna shock me or turn me off. Babe, if you knew the stuff women have been telling me for years, you’d be ashamed for the female race. They all know I’m married.”
“And now you’re hotter than you’ve ever been. Tell me, has Jackie hit on you? What about Trix?”
“Didn’t matter if they did, and no matter, I’ve always loved you. The women I work with I respect, they respect me. It would have been easy for me to use one of them, but I don’t shit where I work, if you get what I mean? It would be easy for me to have used any of those women who came in and came onto me, but it would have felt really fuckin’ wrong for me to do that.” I run my hand through my hair. “I still have to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning. Knowing that I still love you and didn’t want to give up on us, I couldn’t do it. As much as I want to be a hard ass, I’ve loved you since I was fourteen. There’s only so much I can be a hard ass about.”
I can hear the intake of breath; I can feel the stiffening of her body. She finally turns to look at me. “Devin, I…” she licks her lips, “I forgot that. I forgot how much you love me, and I think I forgot how much I love you. Seeing that woman at the shop
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