Page 74 of Forever Yours

During one of the many soul-searching discussions we had that weekend, I had told her about David, my suspicions that Ash was right, and that I thought David was good-looking.

“Di and I are trying it.”

I was confused. “Trying what?”

“An open relationship.”

She said it so candidly, I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.

“Pardon?”

Arms braced, she leaned over the table. “An open relationship. It’s where you’re committed to each other but are allowed to have sex with other people.”

To say I was shocked was an understatement. My sweet friend Jessi, who still slept with a teddy bear, was a swinger.

“No.”

The thought of another man touching Julien—kissing him, fucking him—made me murderous. The thought of being intimate with another man felt wrong on so many levels. Sex and love were interconnected for me. I couldn’t do the former without feeling the latter. Besides, my heart, body, and soul belonged to Julien. No one else. End of story.

“But—”

“No.”

Sitting back down, she shrugged. “Just wanted to throw that out there for you to consider.”

“Considered and rejected.”

Our waitress came back with the check and my to-go order. Jessi placed it in the middle of the table. Our way of deciding who would pay for meals was to play a game of slapjack.

“Ready?”

Our hands hovered over the paper, and we counted down from three at the same time. The loud slap of two hands hitting the table made a few of the diners look questioningly over at us.

I held the check up in victory. “Better luck next time.”

“Dammit. I never win at that game.”

I gave the waitress two twenties and told her to keep the change. She actually cracked a smile, then again, I had just given her a twenty-five-dollar tip.

“You want to take a walk before heading back?” I asked as soon as we got outside.

I would be glad when fall came, bringing with it the cooler temperatures and lower humidity. This muggy heat beating down on us didn’t help with how uncomfortable it made all the nicks and bruises feel. My sweat was like pouring lemon juice onto a paper cut times a thousand.

Jessi checked her watch. “I’ve got an hour before my Uber.”

We strolled across the street to the park. The summer sun had baked the grass in the pitch to a nice brown. I used to come watch Julien kick the ball around with his friends on Saturday mornings, or we would walk the paved path that circled the pond, just talking and enjoying being together.

“Hold on,” I told her when we got near the picnic tables.

One table in particular held significance for Julien and me. I ran my hand down the weathered wood, remembering the day he saw me coming out of Ruby’s and caught up to me right as I was about to drive off. It was the day before I left for Texas to visit Mom. Julien and I talked every night that summer while I was away. And when I came back, he kissed me for the first time. In a way, that picnic table represented our beginning.

Taking out my phone, I snapped a picture of it.

Me: Good memories.

I attached the photo, then added:Thinking of you. Missing you. Loving you always. Forever Yours.

CHAPTER 21

---