Reed
After dinner, Sela suddenly claimed to have developed a raging headache as I followed her back to the bedroom.
“It’s been a long day,” she said, sitting down at the edge of the bed. She closed her eyes. “You know, Reed, I think I would just like to take a bath and go to sleep. No swimming.”
I sat down next to her and began rubbing her slender, tan shoulders. “After a ten-hour flight, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
She sighed. “Mm… yes.”
I kissed the back of her neck. “Why don’t I run you a bath and join you?”
She shook her head. “No. Not with this pain.” She raised her hands to her temples. “I think it’s turning into a migraine.”
“Take some aspirin.”
She turned around and looked at me like I was an idiot. “I need something stronger than that. It’s a migraine.”
“Right. Well, I’m sure my mother has something stronger,” I said, standing up. “I’ll go check with her.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
I went upstairs to my parents’ bedroom, and was about to knock when I heard them arguing on the other side.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” hollered my mother. “You’re still with her – don’t lie to me!”
“Mimi, I don’t have time for this,” snapped Jack. “I told you I stopped seeing her over a year ago.”
She laughed bitterly. “Why should I believe you?”
Backing away from the door, I turned around and left. It was the same old song and dance with my stepdad, Jack, not being able to keep his dick in his pants. I learned years ago to just stay the hell out of it. The worst thing was – she’d always known about his escapades, even before they were married, yet she remained with him. If she couldn’t see he’d never change, then that was her problem. I wasn’t about to get involved, I had enough on my plate with Sela’s emotional meltdowns.
When I arrived back at the room, she was lying against the pillows, talking on her cell phone.
“I have to go,” she murmured, looking up. “I’ll see you when I fly back.”
“Who was that?” I asked when she dropped the phone onto the bed.
She shrugged. “My agent.”
“Oh. Well, unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything stronger for that migraine. Do you have some kind of a prescription for those types of headaches?”
She scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. “Not here. Don’t worry about it, Reed. Once I finish my bath and get some sleep, I’m sure I will feel better.”
I walked over and pulled her into my arms. “Are you sure you don’t want me to join you?”
Her cell phone began to vibrate.
She pushed me away, grabbed the phone, and read the message, her lips curling up in pleasure.
“What, did you win another free movie rental?” I asked dryly.
“No. Just my agent, again. She’s keeping me up-to-date on things.”
Her agent was a raging bitch named Delia LeFevre. She didn’t care much for me, and the feeling was mutual. Ever since I’d asked Sela to marry me, she’d been trying to talk her out of it. Claimed I was a player and would break her heart. But that was bullshit. I was a player, but that was before I’d slid my ring on Sela’s finger. Unlike my father, I was determined to be faithful and make our marriage work.
“Wonderful,” I muttered. “She’ll be bugging us all weekend, I’m sure.”
She studied me for a minute and then shoved the phone into her purse. “Reed, could you draw me a bath?” she asked, moving towards me. She slid her arms around my waist and rested her cheek against my chest. “Please?”
“Of course,” I said, rubbing her back.
“Thank you, my love.”
I raised my eyebrows. Love wasn’t in Sela’s vocabulary. The only time she ever mentioned the word was when I went down on her.
“Hey,” I said, tilting her chin up so I could stare into her eyes. I smiled. “I’ve really missed you.”
“Me too.”
Something about her response didn’t sit well. I wondered if she was still angry with me. “Is there anything wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, why?”
“You just seemed a little distant.”
“It’s been a long day.”
“You’d tell me if there was anything wrong?”
She shrugged. “Of course.”
Staring into her eyes, I lowered my mouth and kissed her softly. As I slid my tongue between her lips, she pulled away. “Reed, please… the bath?”
I sighed. “Fine.”
She opened up a smaller suitcase and handed me a bottle of bubble bath. “Thanks.”
I went into the bathroom and began filling the tub, pouring some of the pink liquid into the water. I thought about her body, wet and glistening with suds, and decided to try one last time to persuade her into letting me wash her back. Putting the bottle down, I turned and walked back into the bedroom. “What in the hell are you doing?” I demanded, stopping in my tracks.
She lifted her face from the line of white powder and rubbed her nose. “What does it look like?”
I clenched my jaw. “You said you gave that shit up.”
“I did, but…”
“But what?”
She stared at me for a minute and sighed. “For God’s sake – what’s the big deal? I’m an adult. I shouldn’t have to explain this or answer to anyone.”
I grabbed the tray of coke and stormed back into the bathroom.
“Reed!” she hollered, moving behind me, trying to grab my arm. “Give that back. I wasn’t finished!”
“Oh,” I sneered,” yes, you were.”
“Reed!”
I shook my head. “No, Sela, absolutely not. Not this shit, not here and definitely, not you.”
“You can’t tell me what to do!” she cried.
I emptied it into the toilet and flushed it. “Bullshit,” I said, slamming the lid down. “You know how I feel about drugs. We talked about this many times before!”
“You talked about it,” she hollered back, walking out of the bathroom. “I never promised anything.”
I followed her. “Obviously I was the only one coherent during that particular conversation. Sela,” I said, grabbing her by the shoulders, “listen, I forbid you to even consider doing that shit again, or any drug for that matter. You got that?”
She tried pushing me away. “Let me go.”
“Look at me,” I demanded. “Promise me that you’ll stop.”
“No, I won’t,” she said. “I only do it once in a while and… it helps me concentrate.”
“Helps you concentrate? That’s bullshit! Sela, you know that shit is not allowed in my parents’ home or in our home, for that matter.”
“Well, then maybe we shouldn’t ever live together,” she said, glaring up at me.
Her words crushed me. I released her. “You’d honestly choose drugs over me?”
She raised her chin defiantly. “No, but what I do choose is my freedom to decide what I want to do. I’m not a child and nobody will tell me the way to live my life. Not you or anyone else.”
I was so pissed, I wanted to throttle her. Instead, I decided to get the fuck out before I did something I’d surely regret. As I moved towards the door, she called after me.
“What?” I snapped.
She smiled sadly. “You’re being unreasonable.”
“Is that right?”
“Yes, just stop this, please.”
I sighed. “Sela…”
“Don’t leave me,” she pouted. “I don’t like being alone.”
“You’re not a child, huh? You’re certainly acting like one. You’d better think about your choices in life because I’m dead serious about the drugs, Sela. If you won’t give them up, then there is no way in hell it will work between us.”
She gave me a murderous look before she stormed back into the bathroom and slammed the door.