Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 559(@200wpm)___ 447(@250wpm)___ 372(@300wpm)
After we’ve both stopped moving and the room is filled with nothing but our ragged breathing, I kiss Marnie’s neck and suck on a nipple. I stroke her breast and nibble on her jawline, still not ready for whatever just happened to be over. When my lips finally meet Marnie’s again, we kiss so passionately, I feel dizzy. My heart is pounding so hard against my sternum, I’m surprised it's not creating hairline fractures in it.
What was that? I wouldn’t call it sex. It felt more like a spiritual awakening.
I slide off her and lie on my back, too overcome to speak. When silence persists, and neither of us has said a word, Marnie pads wordlessly into the bathroom. I hear the sound of the toilet flushing. The shower turning on. And through it all, I lie motionless and staring at the ceiling while trying to figure out what my body just confessed.
When Marnie returns to the bed, she’s naked, and her hair is wet and combed back. She slides into bed next to me and snuggles close. But still, neither of us speaks for what feels like an eternity.
After a while, Marnie asks, “Have you ever been in love?”
My heart stops. “Why do you ask?”
“Your mother told me she hasn’t seen you this happy in a long time. She said you were in love in college and suffered a broken heart and haven’t been the same since.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“That’s all she said. No details provided. Will you tell me what happened?”
I take a deep breath. “I had a girlfriend the last two years of college. I told her I wanted to marry her after law school, and she said she wanted that, too, so we moved in together. The summer before law school started, I found out she’d been fucking my best friend for several months. I lost my girlfriend—the woman I thought would become my wife—and my lifelong best friend, all in one fell swoop.”
“I’m so sorry. Talk about a double whammy.”
“Losing my friend was the worst part. I got over her, relatively quickly. Never got over him doing that to me. I’d trusted him with my life.”
“That’s horrible.”
“It’s okay. Time heals all wounds.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Absolutely. Looking back, it was for the best. Without a relationship to worry about, or a best friend constantly telling me to stop studying and come have some fun, I was able to throw myself completely into my studies in law school, and even double up by getting an MBA. I graduated at the top of my class, which meant I could get a job at the best firm in Seattle. And now, here I am, with an offer to work for Wayne Walters’ legal team, exactly the thing I’ve wanted since my earliest days of law school. If all that stuff hadn’t happened in college, who knows if I’d be in this position now. I’m guessing no. So, it was all for the best.”
Marnie looks skeptical. “I’d think getting betrayed by two people you trusted completely, at once, would leave a mark on a person.”
“I’m fine.”
“Are they still together?”
“No. They’re both married to other people. He’s got two kids. She’s got one. Or so I’ve heard from Auggie. He’s always got the scoop about everyone.”
“Were you friends with that guy before college?”
“Since preschool.”
“Oh my god, Max.”
“He’s the reason I don’t really have a lot of friends now. I made some friends in law school and at my firm. But law school is a pretty cut-throat environment, and then people scatter afterwards for all their various jobs. And work friends come and go, you know? But whatever. I’ve got Grayson and Auggie, so that’s good. I don’t have time to have lots of friends, anyway, so it’s all good.” I scowl when I detect pity in Marnie’s blue eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a puppy at a shelter.”
“I feel bad that happened to you.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s made me a stronger person. I’m better for it.”
Marnie shakes her head. “No wonder you have such a hard time letting down your guard and trusting people. I would, too, if that happened to me.”
I frown. “Who says I have a hard time letting down my guard and trusting people?”
Marnie scoffs. “You dispute the characterization?”
I think about it for a moment. “Well, no. Not really.” I scratch my chin. “I’ve just never thought of myself that way. And I’ve certainly never drawn a line from that incident to any current reluctance to trust.”
“Well, it seems like a straight line to me,” Marnie says. “Add the whole thing with your father at age fifteen, and I’m thoroughly impressed you’re not a serial killer.”
“That’s thanks to my mother. If it weren’t for her, I might have been the second coming of Ted Bundy.”