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She nods, and in a moment, I see her wall moving back up slightly. “Is Dr. Norwood going to be a problem?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“How?”
“I’ll talk to my father, see what he can do.”
“But won’t you have to tell them you slept with her?”
“Do you have a better idea? They vote on my fate, Charley. And if she has a vote…or she’s in anyone’s ear…” I trail off. “I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty split case. One vote could tip the scales.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she sighs as she pushes against my chest lightly, the sexy intimate moment we just had long forgotten. “I could have been better prepared. She wasn’t exactly neutral in there. I thought it was all in my head, but I knew she sounded like a jealous ex-girlfriend.” She shakes her head as she picks up her blouse and pulls it back on, the vulnerability she feels at being naked for this conversation evident by her body language.
“Tell you what? I had no idea she’d be on this investigation. She’s not even on the board, but sometimes they bring in other doctors for this part. But hold on a second, what did she say to you?”
“Nothing completely out of line, just some things that raised a flag, and now that I know that you fucked her, it all makes sense.”
“Okay…Charley? Can you let this go? I have a fucking past, I’m sorry!”
“Don’t be sorry.” She shrugs. “It just sucks that this person actually directly affects our relationship now.”
“How?” I ask narrowing my eyes. “This investigation has nothing to do with you and me being together. We are together whether I get fried or I walk.”I know she’s jealous and upset but I’m getting tired of this little attitude of hers.
Not everyone marries the first person they have sex with.
“Oh? You don’t think that her telling me that maybe there was some overlap between me and another woman doesn’t directly affect me? You don’t think that her asking if I can totally trust you isn’t blaring in my head right now?” She puts a hand up. “I do trust you. I don’t think you’d ever cheat on me or…” She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. It doesn’t mean I wanted to hear it. Then to hear that you broke up with her because the excitement wore off? It’s like she knew exactly what to say to me.”
“You know it’s more than that with us. We’ve been over this.”
“I know, Will,” she snaps. “I’m fully aware. I’m just…struggling with my feelings a little bit, okay? Give me a fucking break.” She moves towards our bedroom, I think as a way to end the conversation but I’m not having it. I’m behind her instantly and stand in my doorframe as she moves around the room. Within moments, she’s in a pair of sweatpants and my Harvard t-shirt that she wears more than I do now. She brings it to her nose before a pout finds her face and she pulls it off immediately. “I need a different one. That smells too much like me.”
I smile as I watch her rummage through one of my drawers and find another t-shirt. “I don’t know why you’re getting dressed, I’m just about to rip the clothes off of you,” I say moving towards her.
She puts a hand up, stopping me from moving any closer. “No. We haven’t solved anything.”
“What’s there to solve?”
“These feelings are so fucking foreign,” she says sadly as she sits on the bed, her head in her hands. “I didn’t even care that Matt slept with Bree. I’d met his ex-girlfriend—granted he was only twenty-two when we met but…” She winces. “He was kind of a ho before he met me.” She chuckles. “And nothing ever bothered me.” She looks at me and the first thing that catches my attention is how bright her eyes are as the tears intensify the color. “I didn’t know that I was the jealous type.” She looks down and fidgets with her hands.
“Hey,” I whisper against her skin, as I bring her face closer to mine. “It’s okay.”
“You’re pissed at me.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m not. I just don’t want you fixating on that.”
“Did you have any serious relationships before me?”
I let out a deep breath wondering why we can’t just drop this. “No, not really? I dated someone on and off all through college, but…it was college. She’s married now, I think. I don’t know.” I shrug and really, I don’t. We didn’t have some awful breakup, we just grew apart when we graduated. Truth was, I never felt as intense about anyone as Charlotte Pierce.
The one woman I really should have left alone.
“Charley, baby. I understand jealousy. I’ve always had a bit of a jealous streak. Of course, it got worse when I met you. But you know all about the issues in my family—with my brother. You know I’ve always been jealous of him. And that’s something I’ve dealt with all my life… even now. Although it’s not nearly as bad.” I narrow my eyes at her. “But withyou.Do you have any idea how hard it is to be in love with a woman you can’t touch? To be in love with a woman who has to sit in front of you three times a week with the man she actually does belong to? I was out of my mind with jealousy, Charley.”
My mind floats back to one of the few times I saw him kiss her, one of the few times I saw them at least mildly affectionate. He tucked a hair behind her ear, she giggled, playfully smacked his arm and he kissed her. I watched this display for thirty seconds before I realized I was awkwardly standing in the entrance to my office staring at them. I faked a phone call and told them I needed a few minutes before proceeding to angrily pace the length of my office, trying to calm down.
I hadn’t even touched her then.
“Charley, he sent me a tape of you having sex,” I say, the anger coursing through my veins like it was just yesterday.
