Page 44 of Diluted Truths
I wasn’t ready to open myself up like that to someone. I was so close with Sarah, Oliver and Fai and I still had barely opened myself up to them. I was scared they wouldn’t like what they saw. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if that was how Will reacted.
It was those thoughts that slowly lured me to sleep in Will’s bed as I waited for him to come to bed himself.
Chapter 14Running Up That Hill by. Loveless
Will
Iknew I was an asshole for not telling Jackie about my family before we had left. I was worried she would view me differently after finding out and I wanted to delay it for as long as possible. I should have realized that something like this wouldn’t change her perspective of me and you can’t hide from who you are. Her light peeled back the darkness within me. She deserved to know the truth beforehand. Her only response was calling me an idiot. She isn’t wrong about that.
I did lie to her.
Maybe someday I’ll tell her about it, but I couldn’t now. That flight attendant didn’t assume she was my wife. In fact, I don’t think she would have known there was any connection between us, she was too busy flirting with me. After her third attempt at getting me to go into the airplane bathroom with her, I told her Jackie was my wife and that her behavior was inappropriate.
Could I have just said no to her?
Probably.
For some reason I wanted to claim Jackie as well. It was childish, but hearing her called Mrs. Bly did something to me.
“You seem different, William,” Sarah remarked as she sat across from me in the lounge of my mother’s house. After dinner, we retired in here to chat. Jackie was the first to head to bed, followed shortly by mymother. It was Bec, Sarah and I left. We had spent the last hour catching up on each other's lives.
“Right? I was thinking the same thing the second I saw him,” Bec responded. “Actually, since I saw Jackie.”
Sarah looked at me for a moment, probably trying to figure out what was going on with me. “Did you sleep with her?”
I sputtered out my water. “What? No I did not, and even if I did I wouldn’t tell you.”
“But you want to, don’t you?” Bec said.
I shrugged.
The answer was a resounding hell yes. It was becoming exceedingly difficult to keep my hands off of her. We had a moment in my room earlier where I could have sworn she was staring at my lips, almost daring me to kiss her. I wanted to, I was even leaning in to kiss her when Bec interrupted us. I haven’t decided if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I knew it!” Bec exclaimed. “This calls for another drink.”
Sarah and I laughed in unison as Bec ran to the bar that was in the lounge.
“Get me a whiskey, please!” Sarah yelled to my sister. The two met when Bec visited me during the second year of my doctorate and they became fast friends.
“Nothing for me,” I responded continuing to sip my water.
Sarah eyed me skeptically. “Since when do you turn down a stiff drink at the end of the day, William?”
Once again, I shrugged.
We both knew the answer. I didn’t drink when around Jackie. It had nothing to do with me not trusting her sobriety. I think it was my own weird way of supporting her. Luckily, Sarah dropped the subject just as Bec returned and handed Sarah her drink.
“So, where do we stand on Jackie and Will?” Bec asked Sarah.
I sighed and leaned my head back against my chair.
I was banned, and it sucked.
That’s where we stood.
“I like them,” Sarah responded, completely shocking me. I looked up so quickly I think I gave myself whiplash.
“Since when?” I asked my friend, confused on when or how she changed her mind.
