No One Has To Know

Chapter 1

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

There are days where I really miss being married.

I miss the closeness, the intimacy that builds up knowing someone so closely you know what they look like when they brush their teeth.

The inside jokes that don’t even need words, just a shared glance across a crowded room that have you both laughing til you’re crying.

And yes, the sex.

The sex with my ex-wife was never the problem. Even in the dying years of our marriage, in amongst the petty arguments and microaggressions, we still fucked regularly. Maybe hating each other even made the sex hotter?

That’s messed up, right?

Coming home to an empty house every night, that sucks too.

The silence gets to me sometimes. Lying in an empty bed is the pits.

And on those nights where you’ve jerked off to yet more porn, and you feel like a washed-up loser, you can’t help but question whether or not becoming single was the worst decision of your life.

But right now, watching my ex-wife fuss and fume over the trunk of her car, stacking suitcases and holding out an irritated hand the second I move anywhere near close enough to help, I’m reminded that maybe being divorced isn’t all that bad.

“Theo, stop infantilizing me. I have got this, my god,” Mella snaps, and I lean back against the door of my house with a shrug.

“No one’s infantilizing you, we’re just trying to help,” I say, and meet my daughter’s eyes. Laurie rolls them obligingly, her manicured fingers gripping the top of the car door as she hovers, waiting for her mother to finish packing so they can leave.

“Mom, just put some on the back seat,” Laurie says, and Mella throws back her head with a flash of shiny black hair.

“And you’re just as bad as him.” That accusatory finger darts in my direction again.

“Well, she is right,” I say, pointing to the suitcases that will not bend to my ex-wife’s whim no matter how much she punches and prods. “It’s not like anyone’s sitting in the back.”

Mella’s face flushes red, and she pushes her hair from her brow, which is sweaty despite the cool fall breeze that’s sprung up.

“I am actually picking someone up in Vermont, if you must know.” She inhales heavily through her nose and fixes me with her big blue eyes. “I’m taking him to meet my parents this weekend.”

Ah. That explains the mood.

Laurie’s gaze flashes to mine with mild alarm, but I simply smile and shrug.

“Mella, for the love of all things holy, let me pack the damn trunk before you’re forced to meet your new beau with chipped nails.

” I give her a warm smile, the one that always had her grinning and blushing when we were together, and even now, as she’s tense and anxious, her shoulders relax and her jaw visibly unclenches.

With a sigh and a wave of her hand, she gestures to the trunk.

“Fine. You were always better at these things than me.” She stands back, crossing her arms over her chest, watching critically as I shift the suitcases, turning them so they’re all standing side-on.

“The trunk will never close like-” Mella’s critical gaze drops as I close the trunk with a loud thud. “That.” She exhales heavily, then quickly fixes her face with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” I stand back, tucking my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Now, you better hit the road or you’ll get caught in all that traffic.”

“Traffic?” Laurie asks, wrinkling her nose. “Why would there be traffic?”

“Fall colors, peanut.” I gesture at the surrounding trees, brilliant red and gold leaves swishing softly in the breeze. “There’ll be tourists everywhere.”

“Great.” Laurie grimaces, then quickly leaves her place by the car to wrap me in one last hug. “You sure you’ll be OK? I feel bad leaving when I just got home.”

“I’ll be fine.” I run a hand over her blonde hair, and kiss her forehead. “I’ll see you when you get back next week. Your grandparents will be dying to hear all about how you’re doing at college.”

“Alright. But next week when I get back, it’s you, me and apple pie at Stanton’s.”

I laugh and nod. “It’s a date.”

Laurie presses another quick kiss to my cheek,heading back to the car and throwing me a wave before dropping into her seat.

Mella turns to me with an uncertain look, tucking her shoulder-length hair behind her ear. “I feel bad that I’m taking her away from you.”

“You’re not taking her away, she’s been dying to go see your parents.”

Mella looks over her shoulder at the car, and sighs softly. “Can you believe our girl’s in her second year of college?”

“Nope. Yesterday she was a toddler who wouldn’t let go of my legs the minute I walked in the door.”

Mella laughs softly, turning back to me with a shake of her head. “Time sure flies.”

“Yes, it does.”

We gaze at each other, and for just a second, maybe we both see the people we were all those years ago, when our family was small and new.

Before the yelling and the arguing and the finger-pointing started.

But it passes quickly, as it always does, and now we’re just two people in our mid-40s, looking at someone we once loved, but who is now as good as a stranger.

Weird feeling.

I clear my throat and nod at the car. “Go on, you’ve got a drive ahead of you.” I raise my eyebrows with a smile. “And someone waiting on you.”

“He’s nice.” Mella seems surprised that she said that, and quickly averts her gaze.

“I’m glad.” And I’m not even lying. I am glad.

Mella mutters a quick Bye, and darts to her car, dropping into her seat and gunning the engine.

Before she’s left the driveway, music starts to blare from the car’s speakers, and I can’t help but grin when I recognize one of Laurie’s latest K-Pop obsessions.

The sound fades into the distance as they drive down my street, and then I’m alone in my drive again.

Yes, I’m glad. And maybe also a little jealous.

The sun is streaming into my kitchen, and I stand barefoot on the hardwood floor as I pour myself a coffee.

I look out at the trees that border my yard, and wonder what I should do for the rest of the afternoon.

I have papers to grade, and a thesis to work on.

And I should really hit the gym. Laurie’s arrival a few days ago completely up-ended my workout routine, and I am way too old to not notice taking a few days off.

Getting older really sucks sometimes.

The doorbell surprises me, and with a laugh I head down the hall. Of course Laurie forgot something. She always does. Like clockwork.

I open the door, ready to chide her with a, You’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on, and stop short. Because it’s not Laurie at the door. It’s a pretty young woman with long, coppery-auburn hair and light brown eyes, a big smile on her face.

“Amber, what are you doing here?”

Amber shrugs, her hands tucked away behind her back. “I was kind of hoping to see Laurie if she’s home, too.”

“Sorry, honey, you just missed her.” I gesture down the street. “She’s gone to Connecticut with her mom, to see her grandparents.”

“Oh, shoot.” Amber frowns, puffing out a sigh. “I’ve missed her so much. We’ve only been able to FaceTime a few times since we went back.”

I regard my daughter’s best friend with sympathy. “Oh, that’s too bad, honey. She’ll be back Tuesday though.”

Amber’s face brightens. “Great! Maybe I can see her then.”

“I am sure she will make time for you.” I expect this young woman to say a friendly goodbye, and flounce off down my drive in her short skirt and thigh-high socks. But she doesn’t. She just stands there, smiling at me.

“You doing anything exciting this weekend?” She asks.

I lean against the door frame and shake my head. “Not really, just going to be hanging out at home, maybe heading to the gym. You know, exciting old guy stuff.”

Amber rolls her eyes with a giggle. “You are not old.”

The compliment sounds nice coming from a woman who just celebrated her 20th birthday, but I laugh and shake my head. “I am disgustingly old compared to you, and do disgustingly boring things accordingly.”

“I have never seen an old man with muscles like yours,” Amber counters, and quickly bites her lip. “Sorry, that probably sounded a little forward.”

Goddamn, this girl is gonna make me blush. You need to get out more, old man. I wave my hand dismissively with an embarrassed chuckle.

“Hey, coming from a pretty girl like you, I’ll take it.” I take a sip of my coffee to stop myself from saying anything else that could be even creepier. “And you? You and your parents doing anything exciting this weekend?”

“My parents are out of town.” Amber tugs on the sleeve of her rusty brown sweater, pulling it down over her wrist. “My brother has some giant football game in Boston, so they’ve all gone down for that.”

“You didn’t want to go?”

Amber wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. “I hate football. And I hate Boston.”

“Fair enough.” My feet are getting cold, and as much as talking to someone is nice, I know I should let this girl go and have fun. “Well, you take care, honey. I’ll tell Laurie to call you when she gets home.”

“Uh, Mr Rembrook,” Amber says quickly as I take a step back into my house.

“Before I went to college you mentioned some books that you thought would be useful, engineering textbooks I think? But then I totally flaked and forgot to come get them. Could we, I don’t know, only if I’m not bothering you, but could I maybe come in and grab those?

” Her big brown eyes gaze up at me, lined with thick black lashes, and god, when did this girl turn from a gangly teenager singing too loud in my kitchen into the young woman in front of me?

Time really flew. Yes, Theo, she was a teenager in your kitchen a few years ago. Fucking stop ogling her. Pervert.

“Of course, honey, come on in. Let me get them for you.” I stand aside, letting her pass. I close the door behind us, following her as she walks through the house she knows probably as well as her own, and takes a left into my office.