Page 75 of The Husband Game

“You married a man you had, and I quote, ‘the best sex of my life’ with, decided to move in with him, share a bed with him, then voluntarily chose to never have sex with him again. That’s all you, babe.”

Charlie whined and made a face at the camera. “I did.”

Taylor laughed. “Like I said, you’re an idiot.”

“You’re probably right,” he said, grudgingly. “I’m going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Or, you know, not suck, unfortunately.”

The camera shook as Taylor picked up his phone and plate, then propped the phone up so they could keep talking while he ate.

Charlie sighed noisily. “Damn it, I miss dick.”

“So I shouldn’t tell you about the way Jamie bent me over the bed this morning?” Taylor said with a wicked little gleam in his eye. “And I had to bite my arm to keep from shouting loud enough for Ava to hear us—”

Charlie covered his ears. “No. No you should not tell me. That’s cruel.”

On screen, Charlie could see Taylor laughing and he cautiously lowered his hands.

“Sorry.” Taylor had the good grace to look slightly sheepish. “I’m sure it’s frustrating. I know I wouldn’t have lasted half as long if I’d been in that situation with Jamie.”

“I … I’m trying so hard to be good,” Charlie said with a pout.

“I know you are. I just think maybe you have to admit the situation has changed.”

Charlie made a face. “That’s what my therapist said.”

“Well …” Taylor lifted a fork to his mouth and gave him a look like he was an idiot.

Charlie probably was an idiot. But he didn’t have to admit that aloud.

Taylor rolled his eyes like he knew what Charlie was thinking. The worst part was, he probably did. “So what did she say?”

“Well, I mean we talked about my eating first.”

Charlie pulled a new leather-bound journal out of his bag and held it up.

He’d splurged on it.

It was a little thing, but he’d gone so long without having nice little treats and with the amount of spending money Dustin had given him, what he’d spent had been a small drop in the bucket.

But oh how Charlie loved the feel of the buttery smooth leather and the beautiful paper. It had felt like a joy rather than a chore to note down the meals that made him feel good.

“She had you write down your positive meal experiences, right? You mentioned it last week.”

“Yeah. And breakfasts have been great all week,” he said proudly. “Dustin and I sometimes eat together, but either way we fix our own thing. He usually does eggs and stuff and I either make oats or Greek yogurt. It’s nice because I can afford to get tons of fresh berries, which you know I love.”

Taylor smiled. “I do.”

When the two of them had been living together, they’d both been on crazy tight budgets and food was so expensive. Charlie had made do with frozen fruit. Which was good, but nothing like fresh seasonal produce.

“You should have seen me the other day,” Charlie said with a laugh. “I was totally giddy ordering things through the grocery delivery service Dustin uses. All of the fresh fruits and veggies! Seafood! No budget limit!”

“That’s awesome.”

“Lunches are usually good too. Dustin eats out with friends after morning training or whatever, so I’m usually on my own on the weekends. I’ve been fixing myself salads with protein to take to work and eat in the courtyard there and when I’m home I come out here to eat on the patio. It’s peaceful and I can take my time. I don’t feel rushed or anything. I can quietly savor my food and listen to my body about how much it needs. If I want a little more, I can go grab something. If I want less, I can toss it without having someone give me That Look.”

Taylor gave him an understanding glance.

They’d talked about that before, what it felt like when Charlie ate with other people around. The weight of their stares felt so judgmental. Like they were critiquing how much or how little he ate. How gluttonous he was if he did have more or how wasteful he was if he only ate a little.

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