Chapter 23 Daniel #3
“You need to teach me how be good wife, Claudia, so I marry good. Like you, okay?”
Elliot’s comments were borderline dangerous, yet my wife seemed drunk enough not to pick up on them. Maybe that was why he risked it to begin with, as he knew she wouldn’t catch up. Still, it didn’t make it any better, and my anger grew with each passing second.
Claudia laughed at Elliot’s “jokes” until she tossed her napkin on the table and stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, boys, I must go to the restroom. All that wine sure did its thing.” She let out another tipsy giggle and left the table.
I waited until she was far enough before turning my attention to Elliot, who was back to drinking his wine as if he hadn’t just crossed one long, red line of all kinds of things he should have steered clear of—starting with my wife.
“I understand that you’re angry with me, but it doesn’t give you the right to use Claudia as a pawn in this game,” I hissed in French.
Rage crossed his eyes before he slammed his glass on the table. “Oh, so she cannot be a pawn, but I can?” he snarled back, lips curling with each word.
“When have I ever used you as a pawn?”
His eyes went wide.
“You’re serious? Is using me like a sex toy and leaving right after not enough? Or do I need to go back to last summer, where you constantly used me as your masturbation material to get through your pitiful life?”
Shocked and at a loss for words, I gaped at him.
“What’s the matter, Daniel? Cat got your tongue?”
Gritting my teeth, I pointed at him. “It was never like that, and you know it.”
“Really? ’Cause from how fast you left the other night, it sure didn’t seem like it. Not to mention how you ended things on the beach, asshole.” Turning his head so I’d face his cheek, he crossed his arms.
Knowing this wasn’t the place to open up that conversation, I focused on the easiest thing to clarify.
“I said I’d call you.”
“Oh, ’cause men often do,” he huffed.
“I meant it.”
Rolling his eyes, he tsked. “Oh, really?”
Despite the loud music blaring in the background and us speaking French, I still looked around the table to ensure no one was listening to us before frowning back at him.
“Yes. I meant to call. I simply wanted to wait.”
“Until when? Christmas?”
Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I sighed. “No, Elliot, not until Christmas, but until you were done with your work. I… I didn’t want you to be distracted during the shows.”
His eyes met mine almost immediately, brows pinched close as a thin line appeared between them.
“You didn’t want to distract me?” The muscle in his jaw twitched.
“And what was showing up at my hotel room in the middle of the night to fuck me if not a distraction? You think I’ve thought about anything else since? ”
Was I pathetic for feeling a bit of joy over him saying that? Sure, he might have screamed at me, but he did admit to thinking about our sex, which was a good thing. I guess?
“Elliot—”
“Don’t Elliot me,” he snarled. “You’re a pig, and I hate you.”
Taken aback, I frowned at him.
“Surely, you don’t actually mean it. Do you?”
It was beyond me how my priorities were reduced to those of a child whenever it involved him. Instead of focusing on the real issue, I cared whether he truly hated me or not.
Elliot narrowed his eyes as he scowled at me, and my pulse increased while I waited for his answer. My need to know what he thought was nearly unbearable, causing my throat to dry out and my skin to sweat underneath my suit—
“The line to the bathroom was unreal!” Claudia whined as she slumped back into the chair, her body bumping with mine after she lost balance.
“Easy there,” I said, my hands on her arm to steady her.
“I think I’m a bit tipsy.” She giggled. “And it’s all because of you, mister.” She wiggled her finger at Elliot. “How many bottles did we drink? Two?”
A sleazy smile spread on Elliot’s lips. “Three.”
“Three?” She gasped. “I am a mother, for God’s sake, and you made us drink this much?” Laughing, she fixed the cleavage of her dress. “No wonder the room is spinning. Anyway, how about desserts?”
Already on her next mission, Claudia signaled for a waiter to come and clear the table for us when Elliot said her name, making us both look at him.
“What is it, honey?”
“There is something you need to know,” he said, his stare darting to me before going back to her.
Fear clenched at my throat, choking me with what I guessed was about to be a confession.
As seconds passed, my chest tightened, and my muscles turned rigid with uncertainty.
In just a few words, Elliot had the power to ruin me.
Utterly destroy my life. Feeling defeated and betrayed, I bowed my head and closed my eyes, as I couldn’t bear the look on Claudia’s face once she learned it all—
“I cannot stay for dessert.”
My eyes snapped open, and I quickly looked up in relief at Elliot, who seemed indifferent to my existence.
“Dinner was superbe, but I go now,” he said as he pulled out his wallet.
“Oh, don’t you dare. This dinner is on us,” Claudia insisted, placing her hand on my arm.
I noticed how Elliot caught this small gesture right before he got up. “Thank you.” He forced a weak smile and, without looking up, grabbed his jacket, which hung on the chair.
“Don’t be a stranger, okay? Make sure to call whenever you’re in the city,” Claudia said, while Elliot couldn’t have moved faster to get out of there.
With him gone and this dinner being over, I should have felt relief. But as I watched him walk away, my body yelled at me to get up and chase after him. Unsettledness made my skin itch, and unable to bear it, I got up.
“I just remembered I need to make a phone call,” I told Claudia, who looked at me with wonder.
“Oh… sure. I’ll just order us those desserts while you’re out.”
With my eyes still locked on where Elliot had disappeared to, I nodded and quickly moved.
I walked fast, not caring as I bumped into some waitress on my way out.
Once in the street, I looked right and left in search of him.
The sidewalk was busy, and the late hour didn’t help, but I managed to catch a glimpse of a denim jacket, the same one he had on tonight.
Thank God.
I started walking a bit faster, which turned into a full-on run until I was close enough to reach him. Elliot turned as soon as I wrapped my fingers around his arm, his look fierce, as if he knew I’d go after him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he snarled in French. “Let go.” He tried pulling away when I forced him close.
“We need to talk.”
“I have nothing to tell you—”
“But you do. And so do I,” I cut him off, because after that dinner, we both knew this was bullshit.
His mouth set in a hard line as he stared at me with pain, and knowing I was the one responsible for it killed me.
“I’ll come to your hotel tonight so we can talk. Okay?” When he didn’t answer, I nudged him closer. “Elliot?”
His jaw quivered, and he looked away from me. But then, he nodded.
“Fine.”
I forced it out of him, but I didn’t care if it meant I got what I wanted.
“Good.” I released his arm, and he was quick to step back. It seemed like he had something to say, but instead, he chose not to, turning around and walking away.
“Is everything okay?” Claudia asked after I returned to the table.
“Yes, but I’m afraid I’ll have to go back to the office. There’s a contract I must work on, and it will probably take all night.”
The ease with which the lie slipped past my lips was frightening.
But what was even more alarming was how much I was willing to do just to be with Elliot.
It was as if all the fear I’d felt last summer was replaced with an unsettling desire that gave me no rest. I knew it was wrong and unfair to Claudia and our marriage.
But then again, I never claimed to be a good person, just an obedient one, and perhaps I’d had just about enough of that.