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“Hi Lydia... Um, we haven't caught up in a while, and I wanted to see how Madness was the other night. Sorry we couldn't make it.” Elizabeth flinched as she left the voice mail, fearing she was opening a can of worms, but what could she do? Besides Jane, Charlotte was her very best friend, and she wanted to help. “Anyway, I'm taking off for the weekend, but call me if you get a chance. See you.”
She ended the call and exhaled loudly. She had a rock lodged in the pit of her stomach, a sure sign this was going to turn out poorly.
Her Thursday was half over, and with the stress of finding a dress finally gone, she felt more relaxed. One of the shops she’d gone to with Charlotte yesterday had the perfect black dress, and she was thrilled. Initially she’d shied away from it, thinking it wasn't quite right, but Charlotte insisted she try it on, and Elizabeth was so glad she did. It was elegant but understated, and she had a pair of strappy black heels that would complement it nicely.
After work she headed to softball, wishing Will was there to cheer her on. He’d stayed at her place last night, and after spending eight nights in a row curled up with him, it had been difficult to say goodbye knowing she'd be sleeping alone tonight.
She’d woken before her alarm clock sounded this morning, and after only a moment’s hesitation, she’d slid down his body and confidently took him into her mouth, teasing and coaxing him to wake up. She knew the moment he did; his entire body shuddered, and he hardened remarkably fast in her mouth. His hands tangled in her hair and he gasped.
“Elizabeth, love–what—Lizzy…”
She smiled at the memory, thrilled that she’d reduced her very well-educated and well-spoken Harvard man to a panting pile of incoherent mush. And because he felt it only right to return the favor, it was also a very good way to start the day.
The reserve team lost to the oceanographic team, but Elizabeth played well. As she rode her bike home from the ball field, she thought about the weekend ahead. She was mostly packed already, and only had a few things to toss into her bag before she left.
She’d called Georgiana yesterday afternoon to find out about her interview in Mashpee, which Georgiana felt had gone very well. They’d also talked about going to Boston together on Friday, and Elizabeth had suggested taking the bus, but then realized that coming back to the Cape would pose a problem; Will's Porsche was a two-seater.
“That's okay,” Georgie had said, “we can come back to the Cape in his SUV.”
Of course, his SUV.“Why didn't I know he has an SUV?”
“Probably because he usually drives it in the winter when he garages the Porsche. All that crap they put on the roads kills the paint, and the Porsche is his baby.”
It made sense, of course, but it still surprised her. She forgot, sometimes, that he was wealthy, except for when he was pulling SUVs out of thin air, or impulsively buying her expensive jewelry.
They agreed to take the six o’clock bus. Georgie would take an Uber to Elizabeth's house from New Seabury, pick her up, and then they'd go on to the bus station together. As Elizabeth puttered around her house now, double-checking her bags to make sure she had everything, her cell phone rang. Her stomach tumbled when she saw it was Lydia.
“Hey, Lydia,” she said, forcing a cheery tone.
“Hey, Lizzy, what's up?”
“Oh, not much. Just going through my bags, making sure I have everything for the weekend.”
“Where are you going this time? Willy whisking you away to another island somewhere?”
Elizabeth forced a laugh. “No. We have a fundraiser thing to go to Saturday night, so I'll be in Boston for the weekend with him.”
“What are you wearing?”
“I found a great dress at a shop in Mashpee. It's black-tie, so I wanted to get something nice.”
“Sweet. Willy in a tux! That's not so bad, huh?”
“Not bad at all. So, how was Madness? Was it mobbed?”
“Um, it was good. You know, typical Madness. I met Charlotte's friend, George. He's...he was nice. He seems like a nice guy. You've met him, right? He's kind of hot.”
“I've met him. He's used my darkroom a couple of times.”
“Oh, that's right, the whole photography thing. Cool. So…is Charlotte really into him? I mean, it was hard to tell. She didn't dance with him much, so I couldn't really tell if they’re dating, like, seriously, you know?”
“She seems to like him a lot. They’ve spent a lot of time together.” Elizabeth could tell Lydia was digging for information.That’s not a good sign.
“Well, you'd never know it. I mean, he was pretty flirtatious with me, so I just assumed they weren't, like,togethertogether. There were a lot of girls checking him out. I mean, he's the whole package: he's a photographer, he rides a motorcycle, he has a fabulous body... He's just got it going on, you know?”
Elizabeth closed her eyes.How does she know he rides a motorcycle?“I think Charlotte thinks they’re a couple, and have been for a little over a month now.”
