Consider this your spice warning😉
I hop out of the shower and wrap the thin, white towel around my body. Why do hotels rarely have decent towels? I pick my phone up off the counter and scroll through my notifications, looking for anything from Lynne but coming up empty.
The door opens and Darren walks in, his black t-shirt hugging his biceps. "Gotta pee."
"And they say the romance dies once you're married." I roll my eyes.
"I can be romantic."
"I'm sure you can." I laugh.
"Crazier things have happened."
"If you insist."
He kisses me softly before washing his hands. "Oh, what was going on with Lynne when she called during breakfast today?"
"She called to tell me she's pregnant."
"Good for her. God, we're gonna have a niece or nephew. That's so weird. We're gonna be Uncle Darren and Aunt Kori."
"Yeah. And then she freaked out on me saying that I'm only with you for your money and she works harder than I do and she's the one who deserves to be taking spontaneous vacations."
"She said that?"
I nod.
"I know she's never liked me and I know I fucked up and justified that dislike, but taking it out on you isn't okay." He shakes his head. "If I felt like you were after my money, I'd leave. It's not her place to make those accusations and act like she knows anything about our marriage."
"I know."
"I know she's your sister and this all really sucks, but just ignore her when she says shit like that."
"I know."
"I hate that she said those things to you."
"So do I."
"Do you want me to talk to her?"
I shake my head. "I think she just needs time to cool off. It's probably just the hormones."
"Hopefully that's all it is."
I wrap my hair in my towel and before I can even think about reaching for my clothes, Darren is looking me over. "What?" I glance down at my body, checking for anything that might be different.
"You look amazing."
For some reason, that makes me blush.
"Thanks."
He takes a step toward me and wraps his arms around my waist.
"What are you doing?"
"If it's okay with her, I'd like to have sex with my wife before dinner."
Do I hate him? Absolutely. Were the three rounds after breakfast the best sex of my life? Unfortunately.
"I don't know, I'm pretty hungry." I shrug.
"Well, I guess I can wait until she's had something to eat. Probably a good idea anyway, she's not as good when she's in a bad mood."
"Wanna bet?"
"Maybe I do."
"Okay." I pull his shirt off before kissing him.
His hands explore my body, the drops of water still on my skin in a few areas giving me an idea. I take his pants off and reach into the shower to turn the water on.
"What are you doing?"
"I don't know." I pull the towel off my head and step into the shower, dragging him in with me.
"I think you know exactly what you're doing."
"Do I?" I smirk.
"This seems calculated if you ask me."
"Yeah?"
He stares at my chest as drops of water roll down my body. "Yeah."
"Then I guess I get to go first." I put my hands on his shoulders and force him down onto his knees.
~*~
I finish blow-drying my hair and slip into a little pink sundress. Trusting Darren to pack my bag may not have been such a terrible decision after all. I apply some mascara and lip gloss and slide into a pair of black sandals. Darren wraps his arms around my waist as I put on the silver necklace with his initial on it that he bought me for my birthday.
"You look beautiful, babe." He kisses my cheek.
"Thanks."
"So I was thinking about dinner tonight and you had mentioned that place. What was it, The Lobster Pot?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"Well it turns out it's only a few miles from here. Wanna go tonight and then we can check out the rest of Provincetown for the night?"
"Yeah, that sounds fun."
"Are you almost ready?"
I nod as I slide on a silver bracelet holding a little charm with an engraving of our anniversary on it.
"Hey." He pulls me into him and gently kisses my lips.
Don't fall for him again, Kori. We always forgive him and then he always cheats again.
"I love you," he says quietly.
"I love you too."
While I hate that part of me is starting to believe it when I say that sentence, at least it's only a small part.
I grab his hand and he leads me into the hallway and out to the truck, opening my door for me. I thank him and hop in.
"I know I've already said it, but you really do look beautiful." He smiles as he starts the truck.
"Thanks. I hope there's no wait when we get there, I'm starving."
"I think we'll be okay."
The drive into Provincetown is quick and Darren parks on the side of the road a few blocks from the restaurant. We walk hand in hand along the sidewalk, far fewer people visiting than I had expected given the warm weather. There's a large neon sign up ahead with a giant lobster on it.
"I guess that's it." I point to it.
"Oh, wow. That's one way to help people find you."
We reach the restaurant and Darren holds the door open for me, something he's been doing more often lately. I thank him as I step through and take in my surroundings. Apparently the sidewalks were empty because everyone in the area is already here.
The short, brunette hostess smiles at us. "Hi, just to let you know we do have about a twenty minute wait right now."
"We actually have a reservation," Darren says.
"We do?" I raise my eyebrows.
He nods.
"What's the name?" the hostess asks.
"Williams."
"Oh, you called earlier."
"Yeah."
The hostess grabs a couple menus. "You guys can follow me."
Darren lets go of my hand before setting his on my lower back. His touch sends tingles through my spine.
We approach a table with a bouquet of bright red roses in a vase, the only one in the dining room with flowers. I want to ask him what he did but for what could be the very first time in our entire relationship, Darren's actions have left me speechless in a good way.
"Enjoy." The hostess smiles.
Darren pulls my chair out and helps me in. I thank him as he takes his seat across from me.
"You did all this?" I raise my eyebrows.
He nods. "This vacation wasn't my attempt at getting out of planning a date night."
Don't fall, Kori.
We're not falling.
"And I was thinking about something."
"What?"
"I know I ruined our anniversary by being an idiot and sleeping with Beverly."
Hearing her name leave his lips feels like water in my lungs.
"Thanks for that reminder." I roll my eyes as I take a look at the drinks portion of the menu.
"I'm just trying to be honest and not downplay anything."
"You're right, I'm sorry." I sigh. "I appreciate you taking accountability."
"I was thinking we could use tonight as our anniversary date night."
"We never got one of those, did we?"
He shakes his head as a server reaches us. I want nothing more than a very strong drink right now but I know I should take it easy.
"Hi, how are you guys doing tonight?" She smiles. "My name is Eve, I'll be taking care of you. Can I get you started with something to drink?"
"I'll have the peach Bellini." I smile.
"I'll take a Coors Light."
"Do you need a few more minutes with the menu?"
"Yeah." Darren nods.
"No problem. I'll be right back with your drinks."
"There's a card in that bouquet for you," Darren says to me.
I spot the envelope and pull it out, opening it immediately.
Happy anniversary to the most amazing girl in the world. This one year of being your husband has been the best year of my life. I love you, Kori.
I put the card back in the envelope, not trying to hide my smile.
"I have something for you." He pulls a small, black box out of his pocket and hands it to me.
"I didn't bring your gift."
"You're my gift."
"Don't be cute in public, I don't want to be that couple." I open the box to reveal a pair of white and silver flower earrings. I don't recognize the brand name but knowing Darren, they're expensive. I'll have to Google it later. "Darren, they're beautiful."
"Like you."
"Don't be cheesy, this isn't a romance novel."
He laughs as I start looking over the menu.
"I think I'm gonna get the lobster mac and cheese."
"That sounds good. I might do the lobster ravioli."
"If every restaurant we try has a menu that looks this good, we're gonna gain fifteen pounds on this trip."
"Works for me." He shrugs.
Our server returns with our drinks and hopefully doesn't judge me for immediately picking mine up and taking a sip.
"Thanks," Darren says.
"Are you guys ready to order or do we need another minute?"
"I think we're ready. I'm gonna get the lobster ravioli and she'll have the lobster mac and cheese."
"Oh, I love the mac and cheese." She smiles. "Any appetizers?"
"No, thanks."
"Okay, I'll get that in for you guys right away." She takes our menus and leaves the table.
"How's your drink?"
"Really good. Wanna try it?"
"Sure."
I pass him my glass and he takes a sip. "What do you think?"
"Very sweet."
"It's supposed to be sweet." I laugh.
"Right up your alley then."
We make it through dinner without any arguments, an accomplishment given the way things have been going recently. Darren has just gotten his card back when he goes silent.
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah." He nods.
"You look like you want to say something."
"Can we go somewhere else first?"
My heart starts to race. Was this dinner the latest memory that I'll look back on and realize it was only positive because it went to shit right after?
"It's nothing bad." He shakes his head. "Just nerves on my end."
"Nerves from what?"
"Can we just go somewhere quiet and talk?"
"I guess."
He grabs my flowers and we get up from the table and I lead the way out of the restaurant, his hand on my back again. Judging by the way my nerves have clamed, his touch has apparently gone back to bringing me comfort. We reach the sidewalk and he grabs my hand. He leads me through a row of shops and over to a bench overlooking the water.
"So what's going on?"
He lets go of my hand and looks out at the ocean. "I have something else for you."
"What did you do now?"
"I know this is a little backwards given the fact that we're married."
"What's a little backwards?"
"I don't know why I'm nervous." He laughs.
I grab his hand and give it a squeeze. "What's going on?"
"I love you more than anything."
"Darren, why do I feel like there's a 'but' here and I'm about to be dumped?"
"Kori, no." He kisses me. "That's not at all what's happening here."
"Then get to the point because you're freaking me out."
"You're the most amazing girl I've ever met and I'm so lucky that you chose me to spend your life with. I hate that I fucked up like I did and put myself in the position to lose you. I will never understand why you're still here."
"Why did you do it?"
"What?"
"Why did you cheat on me?"
"Because I'm an idiot."
"That's not a good enough answer this time. Ever since Beverly, I've been asking myself why I wasn't enough for you. I need an answer. I need to know what to change."
"Babe, there's nothing for you to change. I was insecure."
"Why? I thought I did enough to build you up."
"You did but it was deeper than that."
"Then what was it?" I wipe underneath my eyes, trying to stop the tears from rolling all the way down my face.
"Come here." He pulls me in for a hug and kisses my forehead. "I need to warn you that this is incredibly stupid."
"Okay, I've been warned. Spill."
"It started when I was sixteen." He shakes his head. "I asked a girl on a date. It was the very first time I ever asked anyone out and I didn't know what I was doing but I thought it would go well but it didn't. She laughed and she made fun of me for thinking I had a chance with her and all of her friends did the same. Weeks went by and I asked her why she turned me down. You know what she said?"
"What?"
"She said I was a nice guy. She said that was dorky. She said girls didn't want the nice guys because we didn't make them chase us. They wanted the guys who were on the football team and made them compete with other girls so they felt like they won something when they got them."
I let out a sigh.
"What?"
I shake my head.
"Kori, what?"
"She was right." I shrug. "I told Grace that I stayed after you cheated on me because I wanted to be the girl who got you to change for her. If I made you feel like I'd still love you if you were a better man, you wouldn't have cheated."
"That's not true because you did make me feel that way and I still did it. I didn't trust myself to be good enough to keep you if you didn't feel like you were chasing me."
"I don't want to chase you anymore, Darren."
"You don't have to."
"Then what now?"
"Now we fix it."
"You say that like it's easy."
"It won't be." He shakes his head. "I think we're off to a really good start with this trip."
"I want us to make a list of everything we're gonna do to keep this from falling apart."
"Okay."
"This can't fall apart again, Darren."
"It won't."
"You said you had something for me?"
"Yeah." He pulls a small, black box from his pocket, the second one of the night.
"What is that?"
"You can't laugh at me."
"I make no promises."
"Kori."
"Fine, I won't laugh at you."
"I'm not convinced." He laughs. "Whatever." He gets off the bench and drops to one knee in front of me. "I know promise rings are supposed to come before the engagement ring and the wedding band but I needed to do something to let you know that I'm serious about fixing this. There's not gonna be any more bullshit for us to deal with."
People start to gather and stare and I do my best to ignore the fact that they all think my husband is proposing.
"Will you give this another shot with me?"
I nod and kiss him. Everyone starts cheering and for the first time in a while, this relationship doesn't feel like a mistake.
Maybe Darren was right about this being fixable.
"Wanna go back to the hotel? Maybe go to bed early if you know what I mean?"
I nod. "Let's go."
He slides my newest ring onto my finger and grabs my flowers. I hold his free hand the entire way to the truck, only dropping it so he can get my door for me.
The drive is only ten minutes but there's no doubt in my mind that neither of us want to wait that long. I reach over and undo his pants.
"What are you doing?" he asks.
Instead of answering him, I lean over and take him into my mouth.
"Fuck," he groans. One of his hands grabs a chunk of my hair and pulls it hard. "God, Kori, you're so good at this."
I may not want to compete anymore, but hearing that sentence knowing how many girls have done this to him is definitely an ego boost.
"Baby, we're here."
I ignore him until he pulls me off of him with a laugh.
"We need to take this inside."
"Fine."
He takes a second to get his jeans buttoned and zipped again before we get out and I follow him inside. We walk quickly through the lobby and through the halls. I do my best not to complain when it takes him an eternity and a half to get the door open. The second we're inside, I'm up against the wall and our mouths are all over each other.
I let him lead me over to the bed, loving every second of his arms guiding my body down to the mattress until I'm flat on my back. He kisses me hard as he undoes his belt and jeans. I move to unzip my dress but he stops me.
"Keep it on."
"What?"
"Kori, if I don't get inside you now, there's a very real possibility that I'll finish in my jeans." He reaches one hand up between my legs and slides my thong out of the way, letting his fingers tease me as he does. I can't contain my moan. "Seems like you might, too." He smirks.
"Shut up and give me what we both want." I kiss him as he slides himself into me. "God, Darren."
"You can't say my name if you want this to last."
I try to contain my moans but when he pulls down the top of my dress and connects his mouth to my breast, I know it's useless. "Just like that."
For the rest of my life, I want sex to feel just like that.
A/N
I hope you loved this chapter and have a great weekend!
~SS💘