Breaking the Ice Ch. 02

Note: I should have mentioned last chapter that, if you're a new reader, make sure to read Into the Fire first. I appreciate the kind words and suggestions from everyone! I'll be on vacation for the next couple of weeks, and I'm going to try to get the next chapter out tomorrow...but if I don't, I'll see y'all in May. Thanks again, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Girl tell me how you feel, what your fantasy oh
I see us on a beach down in Mexico
You can put your feet up, be my senorita
We ain't gotta rush just take it slow
You'll be in the high life
Soaking up the sunlight
Anything you want is yours
I'll have you living life like you should
You say you never had it so good

B.o.B. was blasting through my headphones as I finished my run on the treadmill. The gym on campus was mostly empty, as it was the last day of finals and some students had tests all day. I had completed my last class earlier in the morning and, after taking a much needed nap at my apartment, needed to blow off some steam. I'd studied hard, too hard, and was looking forward to the next month off for winter break.

As I finished the last quarter mile of my five mile run I pushed the Stop button, leaning over the bar to catch my breath. I found that running was a good cathartic activity, and lately when I let my mind wander it was filled with surprisingly good thoughts. I hopped off with my towel, dabbing as much sweat from my forehead as I could when I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Hey there, Tess."

I took my earbuds out and greeted Justin, the TA in one of my seminars. With over a hundred students in the course I had no idea he even knew who I was. "Hey, how are you?"

"Good, good. All done with finals?"

"Sure am, try not to give me too bad of a grade, please?" He flashed me a flirtatious smile and squeezed my upper arm. "Don't worry about that, you always do great work. I'm glad I ran into you. I've been wanting to ask you out all semester, but, you know, they kind of frown upon TAs dating students. But now that classes are done, do you maybe want to go grab some coffee?"

"That's a nice offer, but I've heard her husband has a real mean, jealous streak." Shane appeared next to me, kissing the top of my head as Justin's face started to turn red. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were married."

I leaned into his side as he handed me a bottle of water. "That's okay, it was a few days ago."

"Congratulations. No hard feelings?" Shane scowled as I elbowed him in the ribs and gave Justin a genuine smile. "None at all. Have a good break, okay?"

"You too." Justin headed to the back of the gym towards the locker rooms as wrapped my arms around my husband's waist. "You are so unbelievably rude."

"He's just lucky he walked out of here with two unbroken arms, touchin' my woman." I raised on my toes to kiss him as he captured my bottom lip, biting it gently. "Mine."

"So possessive."

"Fuckin' right, Mrs. Thomas." We had gotten married at the courthouse the day after we got our license. There were no flowers, no string quartet, and no white dress. We were in and out in half an hour, stopping by our favorite café for lunch before we spent the rest of the night – and most of the next day – in bed. We had that disgustingly sweet newlywed happiness I'd seen in movies and read about in books but never thought I'd have in my life. "How much longer do we have to wait until we get an actual ring on that finger? Maybe then other guys will stop hitting on my wife."

I had already purchased his wedding ring, I was planning on surprising him on Christmas morning - a white gold band twisted into Celtic knots, three inset emeralds strewn throughout, reminiscent of his green eyes. "I just want to wait until we tell my dad and your parents. I don't want to surprise them like that, with no preparation beforehand. As soon as we get back from Texas next week, we'll go get rings, okay?"

He grumbled quietly but conceded, steering us toward the exit. "Fine, but I'm not promisin' I won't murder the next guy who hits on you. What else do we have to do before we leave tomorrow?"

"We set up Austin's dogwalker, and the car is all packed...can we stop by my parent's house before we go home? I need to grab some books."

He shot me a stern look. "Tess, you promised. No working."

"I'm not going to do any work, but I don't know the next time I'll be able to get over there and I need them for next semester." I entwined my fingers with his as we crossed the parking lot to our separate cars, as he drove to meet me for a workout after I finished my exam. "Pretty please?"

"Darlin', I just love it when you beg. Go, I'll meet you at home. Don't take too long." The eroticism hidden in his voice made my skin tingle. "Do you want to eat out tonight?"

"As opposed to all the other nights you don't eat out?"

"Dirty girl." He smacked me on the ass before I got into my car. "I'm gonna fuck that mouth of yours as soon as you get in the house."

"Then I'll be sure to start stripping as soon as I reach the porch." He bent down to kiss me goodbye. "Good girl. I love you."

"Right back at ya, Mr. Thomas." He shut the door, tapping on the window with his fingertips before heading to his truck and letting me pull off.

***

I parked my Subaru in the garage of my parents red brick colonial, a little confused to discover my father's car in there as well, since it was in the early evening of a work day. I went through the door that led to the kitchen from the garage, throwing my keys on the counter, a sense of unease washing over me. I hadn't been back since my mom's wake, and my father was in the process of renovating. The once all white kitchen was now home to mahogany cabinets with dark granite, the walls painted a muted beige. There was a new island where the sink was moved, three barstools on the opposite side. It was more masculine and warm, and a surprising change from the sterile environment prior.

Though not as startling as the woman who walked out of the pantry.

She was reading the label on a box of quinoa, reading glasses perched on her bare, olive-toned face. Her black hair was twisted into an elegant bun, and she wore a colorful, paisley apron over her black pinstriped pantsuit. She finally looked up, a bright smile spreading across her face when she saw me. "Uh...hi?"

"Oh my gosh..." She came around the island to where I was standing, a waft of Chanel no. 5 floating past my nose as she gathered my hands in hers, holding them firmly. "You are even more beautiful than your pictures! Oh, and I look an absolute mess."

"I'm sure I look worse? I just finished at the gym." I didn't know what else to say to her. My dad strolled in at that moment, cutting our introduction short. "Ah, Contessa, this is a pleasant surprise. I see you've met Ronnie."

"In the process of." She gave me a hug, catching me off-guard with the sudden show of affection. "Byron, she is absolutely beautiful."

"Yes, she is." He placed a kiss her on her temple and went to the wine fridge to select a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. "We are about to sit down to dinner, would you care to join us?"

"I don't want to interrupt, I just came to grab some books." Ronnie's face lit up when my father made the suggestion. "Oh, yes! Please stay. I've made entirely too much food for the two of us, and I want to hear all about you. Your dad is always raving about how wonderful you are."

He is? "I just have to make a phone call, excuse me." I walked past them as my dad poured her a glass of wine, whatever she was saying making him laugh. I dug out my cell from the pocket of my hoodie and called Shane, who picked up after the second ring. "Why are you not naked in our bed right now, woman?"

"Because my vagina needs a break, you sex addict. Also, I'm with my dad, and whom I am going to assume is his new girlfriend."

"Huh. She nice?"

"She seems to be. He's not at work, and he looks happy. I don't think I've ever seen him happy, it's strange." I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "The whole thing is strange. They want me to stay for dinner."

"Good, you should. I'll finish getting stuff done here. Go hang out with them, get to know her. Then come home and tell me all about it." His voice made me calm, quieting the doubts in my mind like a wave putting out a fire. "Okay. I love you."

"Right back at ya, Mrs. Thomas." I ended the call and headed back to the kitchen, where my dad was standing behind Ronnie while she stirred something on the stove. I cleared my throat awkwardly, the blatant display of affection freaking me out. "I'm just going to run up and take a shower, if that's okay."

"Take your time Contessa, we won't start without you." I headed up the stairs to my old room, reflecting on how odd it was for my dad to be dating...but he certainly couldn't do any worse than my mother.

***

"Dinner is terrific, Ronnie." We were dining on roasted salmon over a quinoa and kale salad. It really was delicious, and I was appreciative of a home cooked meal; neither of my parents ever cooked, opting to employ chef after chef who suffered through my mother's judgmental wrath. I could hear her harsh tone in my mind: You call this food?...you have to cook low-fat for Contessa, she's way too fat...I can't believe you would even make this foul meal in my home, you're fired!

Ronnie, however, seemed like a friendly woman, animatingly sharing the story of how she met my dad during a business meeting at her law firm. They held hands throughout our meal, my dad gazing at her adoringly, laughing at her jokes. It was kind of adorable, a far cry from the cold relationship he'd had with Monica. "Byron tells me you're travelling to Texas tomorrow with your boyfriend. Which city is he from?"

"Austin. I'm excited to meet his family."

"Meeting the parents is a very big step, Contessa," he turned to Ronnie, "her boyfriend Shane is a very nice young man."

I set my napkin on the table and blew out a huge breath. "Husband, actually. We got married." Ronnie's mouth dropped open slightly as my dad's face remained emotionless. "About a week ago. It was impulsive, and I wanted to tell you in person. I think we're going to do a vow renewal ceremony this summer, after I graduate...you can even give me away, if you want."

Ronnie put on an encouraging face. "Congratulations Contessa, that's wonderful. Isn't it, Byron?" He coughed and set his silverware down. "It...is, and I would be honored to give you away." I started to tear up, touched that he wanted to be involve. "If you'll give me a few days I'll have a post-nuptial agreement drawn up for you."

I sighed heavily, annoyed at my father back on his business mode. "Dad...no. He doesn't care about money."

"It's not just for your protection Contessa, but for his as well. I had a private investigator look into him when you two started dating. His holdings aren't as substantial of yours, of course, but through wise investments and two or three flipped properties, a quarter of a million dollars isn't anything to sneeze at. Especially since his ex-wife walked away with practically nothing."

I froze, as if he had just thrown a bucket of ice water at my face, and then slapped me with the empty metal bucket. "His what?"

"His ex-wife, Carrie something or other. Granted, they've been divorced for five years, but she still could have demanded a settlement." Ronnie grabbed his hand and shook her head, whispering quietly. "Byron."

He finally saw the flabbergasted expression on my face. "Oh. Contessa, I'm sorry, I thought you knew about this."

"Excuse me." I snatched my phone from the table and stalked into the kitchen, the shock wearing off and quickly turning into a fiery ball of anger. I punched in his number, again he picked up almost immediately. "When are you bringin' your fine ass home?"

"I don't know, when were you going to tell me you've been married before?"

There was a pregnant pause. "How did you –"

"Find out? My dad hired a private investigator on you months ago, but I'm more concerned about why I'm finding this out through him and not you."

"Sweetheart, I can explain."

"Don't." I cut him off and hung up, sending him to voicemail when he called back. I drummed my nails on the counter, contemplating my next move. I went to the wine drawer next to the fridge and pulled out two bottles of merlot before heading back to the dining room. They stood as I approached the table. "Thank you for dinner, and it was lovely to meet you, Ronnie. I'm sorry you didn't the chance to meet Shane, since I'm going to take these, go home and kill him."

My dad gave me a wry smile. "Call if you need me to post bail."

"I will." Ronnie gave me a gentle hug, and this time I hugged back. "Go easy on him, honey. Men do dumb things sometimes."

"No kidding." I waved goodbye and went to my car, sitting for a few minutes, brimming with ire. Fucking asshole. There was no way I was going back to North Haven, if only for his own safety. I backed out of the garage and headed for my old apartment. I figured he'd come looking for me eventually, and I planned on being really, really drunk when he did.

***

I had polished off one bottle of wine and had just poured a glass from the second when Shane came through the unlocked door, tossing his keys in the catch-all and looking positively miserable. Good. He didn't say anything, not that there was anything for him to say. He took a step toward me as I backed away. "Don't you come anywhere near me right now." He stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sweetheart..."

"Don't you fucking 'sweetheart' me."

"I was going to tell you."

"Bullshit. You had six months to tell me." My head was hazy from all the wine and crying I had indulged in before he got here. "Why? Why wouldn't you tell me you were married before?"

"Carrie and I were still good friends after we broke up. She surprised me during a guys' trip in Vegas, and we got stupid drunk, and...we talked about trying to make it work when we got back to Texas, but...we got divorced a couple of months later. That's it, I swear." I grabbed the newly opened bottle and left the kitchen, headed to the bedroom with Shane hot on my heels. "Tess, get back here and talk to me."

"No. Get the fuck out before you end up with a second divorce." He grabbed my arm and twisted me around to face him. "That's not how this works. We're married now, you don't just get to tell me to leave any time you don't want to talk about something."

I shoved at his chest, not budging him in the slightest. "You don't get to tell me what to do! You had months, months, to tell me this, and then you walk in here all nonchalant like, oh I was just married for a couple of months, no big deal. You freaked out when I didn't tell you about my issues, and I'm just supposed to cool like that when you had another fucking wife?!"

"I know! I should have told you, and you have no idea how sorry I am. I was married to her for about four seconds. You're my wife, and I love you. I didn't want to hurt you, you're the only girl I want to be with."

I huffed sarcastically. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure. Did you tell her the same thing on your wedding night?"

"Contessa..."

"Did you tell her you love her and want to be with her, too? Did you tell her she was yours? Did you call her Mrs. Thomas when you fucked her, too?"

He slammed his hand on the wall to halt my insulting diatribe. "I get you're mad as hell right now, but you need to watch your fucking mouth."

I shot daggers at him, taking a swig from the wine bottle. "You know what? Go, don't go, I don't care, just leave me alone." I stomped off to my old bedroom, slamming the door and locking it. I sank to the floor and spent the rest of the night alternating between drinking and sobbing my eyes out.

***

I awoke early the next morning, hating my life and cursing myself for drinking almost two bottles of wine. My head hurt, my stomach hurt. My heart hurt the most. Shane was still asleep on the couch in the living room when I woke up, so I opted to cry in the shower for twenty minutes. When my tears dried up I got out and shrugged on my robe, figuring I should probably go wake him up and talk to him. I stopped by the bedroom to get dressed first and he was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting. He held out two painkillers and a bottle of water for me, I thanked him softly as I swallowed them. We looked at each other, having no idea where to start. His eyes were red, as if he'd spent the night crying, too. "I'm sorry."

I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue. "I didn't tell you because I was afraid you wouldn't stay if you knew. It's not somethin' I'm proud of. It was a stupid mistake that ended badly, and I hate thinkin' about it."

"I honestly don't care that you were married. I care that you didn't tell me. You're always on me about opening up and talking to you and you deliberately kept this from me." He nodded in agreement. "You're right, I should have told you. Just...please don't leave."

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away. "I'm wasn't planning on leaving. You're my husband, and I love you....but I am really fucking pissed at you right now. So if there is anything else, anything at all, you need to tell me."

"That's it sweetheart, I promise." I dropped my arms to my sides, feeling exhausted inside and out. "We should get ready, we have to be at the airport in a few hours."

He wrinkled his forehead as if he were confused by what I was saying. "Are you sure you still want to go? We could just cancel our flight."

"No, we can't. Christmas is in three days and we said we would be there, it's rude to cancel on such short notice. I'm not going to make a scene at your parents, if that's what you're worried about."

"It's not that." He stretched out his arm and grazed my hipbone with his thumb. "Come here."

"You're not going fix this with sex, Shane."

"I'm not tryin' to fix it, I just want to be close to my wife. I'm scared you're gonna bolt."

I exhaled and closed my eyes, allowing him to untie the knot in my robe, letting it fall off of my shoulders and onto the floor. "I already told you, I'm not going anywhere."

"Show me." He hitched one of my legs onto the bed, his hand coming between my thighs to pet the opening of my sex. "Get wet for me." He gently pushed two fingers inside of me, stroking the sensitive tissue. His thumb pressed flat against my clit as he kissed my inner thigh, rotating in circles as his digits fucked me carefully. My head dropped back as I whimpered, bucking slowly against his hand, my body betraying me by craving his touch. "Come for me."

I held my heavy breasts in my palms, pinching the erect nipples as I came soundlessly, rippling around his fingers. He rested his chin on my stomach, looking up into my eyes as he withdrew. "I'm not going to push you. You have every right to be pissed, as long as it take. Just let me know when you forgive me, okay?"

I swallowed back a sob, I hated being mad at him. He stood and gave me a paltry kiss on the cheek. "I'll let you get dressed." I caught his hand before he walked away, wanting to tell him I loved him, and it didn't matter. All I could get out was, "I'll be ready in a few minutes." He squeezed my fingers and walked out, and I was left alone once again.

***

We spent the seven hour flight and subsequent two hour drive to his parents mostly in silence. He didn't push me to talk about it, and I didn't want to delve into it anymore. I held his hand the whole day to reassure him that everything would be okay. Occasionally he would kiss my knuckles and ask if I was alright, and that was the extent of our conversation. By the time we pulled up to his parent's home it was well past dark and we were spent. He pulled our rental car up to one side of the closed two car garage and cut the engine, as we sat in the dark in, sulking. I tugged on the sleeve of his sweater to get his attention. "Are you okay?"