Lacey spent the whole afternoon getting ready. This was going to be the first time she had been in any real sort of group in a long time, aside from work. A lot of her and Sasha’s and Abel’s mutual friends were going to be there. Basically, all of the people she had spent the last three or four years avoiding completely. She imagined the party stopping when she walked in. People would whisper behind their hands. Someone would point at her and laugh. The whole town would rise against her and run her out of the state. Abel would get so distraught that he’d drink everything in the bar and swing from the chandelier.

“You look so pretty,” said Dana.

“Thanks, you. I actually think I did a pretty good job.” What was the saying? Fake it until you make it? She knew that her good looks didn’t make her a confident person, but they sure weren’t hurting matters today. It felt great to have a reason to get all dolled up, even if it was just to help people rehearse a dinner. Of all the qualities Lacey did not want to have, self-pity was at the top of the list. She willed herself to smile again, cocking a hip and giving herself a sultry look in the mirror.

“I wish I could come!” said Dana, executing a series of impromptu jumping jacks.

There was a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it!” said Dana.

“If it’s Abel, tell him I’ll be out in a minute!” she called to Dana’s back.

Lacey was blotting her lipstick when she heard Dana laughing harder than she had ever heard her laugh before. It literally sounded like she was being driven out of her mind with fun. She went down the short hall wondering what she was about to see.

It was the last thing she expected. Abel, wearing a tuxedo with a bunny tail attached to the seat, shaking his impressive posterior for Dana, who was delirious with glee. Her face was red and her eyes were bugging out. She pointed wordlessly at Abel, who used the opportunity to shimmy even harder.

Anita was standing behind him with a confused look on her face. “Lacey?” she said. “I everything okay?”

“Wow,” said Lacey. “This is quite a scene. Hey Anita, feel free to step around Princess Fluffy and come on in. He’s fine. Just don’t make any sudden moves.”

Abel bowed to Dana and handed the rabbit tail to her. “You hold onto that for me tonight. Don’t put it on. It’ll make you crazy, trust me.”

Lacey gave Anita the usual round of instructions and kissed Dana goodbye. Outside, Abel gave her a hug and whistled. “You look incredible.”

“Thanks,” said Lacey.

“Is that babysitter someone you’ve had for very long?” said Abel.

“Yes. Anita’s great.”

“Okay. Good to know.”

Once they were in the car, however, Abel turned quiet and surly. He looked like a prince straight out of a fairy tale, except for the scowl and the clenched teeth. Lacey got the feeling that he knew. Maybe he had gone and taken some sneaky DNA test or something. He certainly could have taken a sample of hers during their midnight romping. She thought she had been convincing when she told him he wasn’t the father, but maybe part of him just knew. He saw Dana and part of him felt that something was different. He knew there was a connection that he couldn’t explain.

The guilt made the butterflies in her stomach, already agitated, start to turn through a series of barrel rolls and swan dives.

“Abel, is everything okay?” she said when they got to the reception venue.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He got out and closed the door without saying another word.

She got out and took his arm. Together, they strolled into the building. Sasha and Norman had chosen to rent the entire top floor of the town’s nicest hotel. It looked like most of the town is there, and they might as well have been. Norman had spared no expense on food, booze, or anything else. Lacey reminded herself that this was not even the main show, it was just the rehearsal.

What would it be like to have so much money that it was like money ceased to exist?

Lacey knew what it would feel like for her. Unlimited choices. Unlimited freedom. Distant places. Adventure. She looked at Abel, who had left her to greet people and was letting his legions of fans slap him on the back and takes pictures of themselves with him. He was a man with unlimited choices. Unlimited freedom outside of his football schedule. He could provide for her and Dana, giving them all the time they would need to work on their own passions.

She wanted to be his passion. She already knew that she was his. Why was this so hard?

If only she knew how to reach for him. To tell him what she wanted and to stop feeling the fear of his reaction when she finally told him the reason that she had not gone to the conservatory.

His mood had improved as soon as they got there, which was a huge relief. Abel always recharged when he was around other people at happy occasions. It seemed to get him out of his own head. It probably didn’t hurt that he had a drink in his hand from minute one either.

As the night wore one, he drank more, and returned to her side more frequently. She could tell that everyone was watching them, wondering what the status of their relationship was. Lacey could admit that she was enjoying the jealousy in the eyes of all the other girls. Any of them would have paid a million bucks to be on his arm. It occurred to her that Abel could probably pay someone a million bucks to be on his arm, just on a whim.

Abel seemed to know it too. Whenever he caught someone staring at him, he’d say, “Let’s see how she likes this.” Then he would kiss Lacey on the cheek or pinch her butt. She loved being the center of attention, which was new to her. She had always been happiest out on the edge of a party, or locked into a deep conversation with one or two people.

Still, the whole night felt like what it was: a rehearsal. They were each playing a part. Lacey was starring in the role of confused woman who is the envy of every girl in town, which was still really fun, even though it was a pantomime.

Abel was playing the part of a man who could not keep his hands off of her. He was driving her crazy. Memories of the night in her bed kept rushing over her, making her want to drag him down under one of the tables and give it to him.

“You are so gorgeous,” he said. “I’m not sure what you’ve done to me, but I can’t stop thinking about you. It’s like I can’t get close enough to you to feel satisfied, even when you’re right here next to me.” He leaned down and whispered. “Even when you were under me.”

“Smooth talker,” said Lacey. “I bet any of these girls in here would love to hear those words.”

“Too bad for them,” said Abel. “Compared to you, everyone else is just a moldy crust of bread.”

Lacey laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

He pulled her close and kissed her. She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. There were gasps and murmurs from the people around them.

“You are coming to the parking lot with me,” he said after breaking the kiss and taking her hand. She pulled her hand away from a moment just to get a long look at him. It was impossible to imagine a hotter man. It was like Zeus had carved him up on Mount Olympus, flung him down to earth, and said, “Your only purpose is to go get Lacey’s blood rushing through her body.” She wanted to eat him alive, and it looked like maybe he was about to give her the chance.

“What are you staring at?” he said with a smile.

“Ah, you wouldn’t understand. You can’t see you the way I do.” She put out her hand and let him pull her out of the room.

They clung to each other in the elevator. He pushed her against the wall and pulled her skirt up, putting one hand between her legs and grabbing her ass with the other. She moaned and turned around, pushing her ass onto his crotch, which was wide-awake and ready to go.

When the elevator doors opened, they hurried to the parking lot. They had parked the furthest distance away since they both liked to walk. There were only a few cars parked nearby, and the place was empty. Something about the possibility of being discovered thrilled her. She’d never done anything like this before.

Abel pushed her against his vehicle and grinded himself against her. He grabbed her wrists and held them at her sides while he kissed her neck, not letting her go.

“Please,” she said. “Don’t stop.”

“I want you,” he said.

“You’ve got me,” said Lacey. “You can have me however you want.”

“I wanted you then.”

“I know,” she said. “Please don’t think about that now, keep going.”

He put his knee between her legs and pushed them apart. Lacey shivered with his touch. He reached under her skirt and pulled her panties to the side, then unzipped himself. She was ready and he was inside her in an instant, rocking her against the side of the car. She bit her lip and fought the urge to scream. There could never be anything better than this. How long would she deny herself, knowing that he wanted her this badly, all the time?

She felt him slowing down, then withdrawing.

“What’s wrong?” she said. “You’ve got to keep going.”

Abel a step back and zipped himself up. “I will, on one condition.”

“Abel.”

“Do we have a deal?”

“Yes.” She pulled her dress back down. “Let’s get it over with.”

“You have to level with me. You have to tell me the truth.”

“About what?”

“You know what. Dana. Tell me.”

Lacey put her hands in her hair and looked at the moon. She was scared, but there was something liberating in the fact that, a couple of minutes from now, she would have no secrets from him. There was a peace in knowing that, whatever his reaction, she would not have this particular burden on her soul. There really couldn’t be any progress or closure as long as she remained on the wrong side of the lie.

“You know how I told you that I’d been with a few guys before you?” said Lacey.

Abel nodded. “Yes.”

“It wasn’t true. You were the only one. You still are, for that matter.”

“Okay. So she’s mine. Dana.” Abel stroked his chin and stared at her.

“Yes. Dana is your daughter.” It was out. No turning back now. Lacey closed her eyes. This was the part when he would scream at her, storm out, bar her from the wedding, tell the whole town how she had done him wrong, and she’d be every bit the pariah her parents had made her feel like she was. Then he would fight her for custody and win, just because he had the money to give Dana a better life.

“I knew that already,” said Abel. “I felt it. I couldn’t explain it to anyone who wasn’t a parent, but I knew right away that I felt the same way about Dana as you did.”

“Then what are you asking?” said Lacey.

“I wanted to hear you say it, but there’s an easy explanation for Dana. Babies only get made in one way.” He winked. “But I was talking about wanting answers long before I knew about Dana, let alone the fact that I might have a kid out there somewhere.”

“I loved you,” said Lacey. “And the last thing I could have lived with was the thought of you not having a future.”

“We’ve all got a future. It comes whether we like it or not.”

“Football was everything to you. You said such an amazing opportunity and I knew you had to go.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” said Abel. “And I’m not sure I’d agree that football was everything. You were everything to me.”

“But I wasn’t going to be the payoff that being a professional athlete was. I had to let you go. And because you weren’t going to go on your own, I had to make you go. So that you wouldn’t get stuck here with me and the baby. I didn’t want you to sacrifice your future and get stuck here in this town like I did. It would have killed me, and I don’t care what you think you know about yourself, I think it would have killed you as well. Can you imagine turning on Monday Night Football, knowing that you are better than the guys on the field, but you stayed in the middle of nowhere so you could take care of a baby?”

“It wasn’t your decision to make,” said Abel. “You should have included me. I deserved a choice.”

“I’m the one who was pregnant,” said Lacey.

“You know what I mean. It wasn’t your decision to make alone. You should have told me. You know it. I just don’t understand how you could have kept it from me,” said Abel.

“I did it for you. I did it all to protect your success and your future.” Lacey held her hands up hopelessly.

“You keep saying that, but is there anything about me that makes you think I need protecting?” His voice was serious, but his eyes had gone soft. Abel was smiling on the inside.

“Maybe not. But what’s done is done.” Lacey fiddled with the hem of her dress.

“Pull that back up,” said Abel, stepping closer. “You kept your end of the bargain. Now I’m going to keep mine.”

Lacey started to breath faster when she realized what he meant. “Are you sure?”

“Turn around,” he said. “Lift your dress up for me.”

Lacey did, then experienced an unbearable moment of waiting. What if he was walking away? Then she felt his hands tighten around her hips as he slipped inside of her. He put one hand on the back of her neck and the other wrapped around her waist as he thrust into her, over and over. This time there was no way for her to stay quiet. She whimpered and moaned. When she climaxed, it was like a meteor shower had gone off behind eyes. At any moment she expected a parking lot attendant or valet to surprise them and call the cops.

“I don’t know about you,” said Abel in her ear, “But I’m in no mood to go back to the party.”

“Me either,” said Lacey.

They got in the car. He was quiet as he drove her home. They were both feeling the afterglow, but there was no changing the fact that something had changed between them. Lacey could sense it.

“Do you want to come in?” she said when they arrived.

“You know, I don’t think so,” he said. “But kiss Dana good night for me. Lacey, I had a great time tonight and I’m glad you came clean with me. But I’m not going to lie: I’m still pretty upset and I don’t know what I’m going to do next. I need to feel like I can trust you to tell me everything, and I definitely trust you less, even though I’m glad we talked. Have a good night. I really don’t know what comes next.”

He patted her knee and turned forward, staring out the windshield.

Lacey got out of the car, certain that she would never see him again.