Page 26 of Say You Love Me

“I know, but it’s not just that. It’s…”

I steal a glance back over at Finity and the mystery man. I don’t want to alert Liam to the fact that they’re here. And the fact that I didn’t know they would be. I don’t want him to know the true extent of the strain between Finity and me.

The man sitting across from my wife has his hands stretched over the table, his legs extended under the table. It’s as though every part of him is unconsciously reaching for her.

“It’s…?” Liam prompts, waiting for me to keep talking.

I shrug again, turning my gaze back to my near-empty drink. “It’s that everything has changed. We don’t talk. We don’t…” I fall silent again.

“You don’t fuck?” I look up quickly as Liam rushes to explain. “It’s kind of obvious. You guys used to be all over each other to the point that it was sickening. No offense. And now it’s like there’s some sort of force pushing you apart, like you guys can’t even stand to be near each other.”

I drain the last of my drink and signal for the waitress to bring us more. “It’s all good. We’re just going through a rough patch.”

“Well, you know I’m here for you, right? You know I’m here to talk, listen, whatever you need.”

I push out a laugh. “Look at us, sharing our feelings and all that.”

“Yeah, yeah. But you know that I’m here, right. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Thankfully, after that strained exchange, Liam drops the subject and we carry on doing what we do best. Drinking and talking drivel. Though the entire time I’m distracted by my wife with another man. They’re having lunch together and he keeps reaching over to take fries from her plate. I want to slap his hand. He’s the one that does most of the talking while Finity laughs, looking more relaxed than I’ve seen her in months. She looks happy. She looks the way she used to when she was around me.

I can tell the guy has thought of fucking her often. You can see the desire in his eyes, the way he looks at her, the way he leans in when she speaks.

It fills me with burning jealousy. There’s a part of me, a horrible, caveman type part of me that wants to storm across, lay her over the table and fuck her right in front of him as though staking my claim on her body. I get so distracted by the thought, so distracted by imagining it in my head, imagining his response, her response, the way she would moan and move, that I ignore Liam to the point he throws a bunched-up napkin at my head.

“Where are you?” he asks.

I shake my head, pulling my eyes away from my wife and the man she’s with. “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

“It’s only early afternoon.” Liam glances in the direction of Finity’s table, knowing that whatever is there has been the source of my distraction. He can’t see her, however, and he leans across the table, peering around the partition separating us.

“Is that Fin?”

I nod as the waitress delivers the plate of loaded fries I ordered.

“Who’s she with?”

“Don’t know.”

“Are you going to go over there?”

“Nope.”

“Do you want me to go over there?”

“Nope.”

Liam looks at me quizzically. “The guy just reached out and held her hand.”

I whip my head to the side. He’s right. Whoever he is, he’s reached across the table and covered Finity’s hand with his own. She’s looking down at their joined hands as though his touch burns. He’s staring directly at her, some sort of pleading look in his eyes. I know that look. I’ve given that look. It’s a look of desperation, a look of longing. He wants her. It’s plain to see.

My visions of taking her on the table change, and this time he’s the one plowing into her. A mixture of anger and arousal battle within me with an intensity that scares me.

Why does the thought of this man and my wife both repulse and excite me?

I look away and Liam’s jaw twitches. He’s surprised I’m not storming over there and demanding to know who this guy is. Eventually I let my gaze move back to Finity.

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