CHAPTER 11
Ari
My imagination was working overtime as I stood with Ben by my side in the long line of moviegoers to get some popcorn, soda, and candy. Ben was occupied with his new iPad, playing some kind of video game. The tablet was another one of his birthday presents—I’d given it to him at lunch—and within an hour, he had totally mastered it, filling it with all his favorite apps and games. Kids today were whizzes when it came to technology.
My mind was on Sarah and I kept flashing back to the mind-blowing sex we had earlier, still stunned that I took her on the bed. Another epic orgasm. She did things to me that no other woman had done before. I was insanely attracted to her. And more than just to her lithe body. I liked her quirky personality and felt there was depth to her, something that had eluded me when it came to women. She was the first woman I opened up to about my ex as the others had never lasted beyond a short time in a hotel room or the pied à terre I kept close to my apartment. Since my divorce, find, feel, fuck, and forget had been my credo. I wanted no involvement. Sarah was the first woman I wanted to spend time with, and I hoped she could accept and understand my rigid terms. I glanced down at my precious son. Nothing in the world meant more to me than him. I had one mission in life: to protect him. My ex had hurt him—hurt us both—and only now, were we recovering from the deep wounds. Ben saw a child psychologist regularly and I was seeing a shrink to deal with the past and the future. As a result of my terribly failed marriage, I had a terrible fear of commitment. Something my shrink and I were working on. Sarah represented some kind of breakthrough. She was the first woman I wanted to see again. And she was the first woman I’d invited to my home since my divorce and was going to introduce to my family. I hadn’t, perhaps foolishly, told Ben I had invited her to his birthday dinner nor had I told my mother or sister. A ripple of anxiety coursed through me as I neared the front of the concession line. What would they think of her? Or, for that matter, think of me having a girl at the house? In particular, my sister’s reaction worried me. She was fiercely judgmental and protective—of both Ben and me. Never wanting me to end up with someone like Cassandra again, she had strong opinions of what kind of woman I should be with. And truthfully, now that Ben’s life and mine were finally both on course again and we were functioning well, I suspected she didn’t even want me to get married again. The dynamics of the evening ahead worried me, but worry succumbed quickly to a much stronger emotion. Anticipation. The image of Sarah in her beautiful new dress filled my imagination. Then it gave way to me slowly taking it off her. Her beautiful lean body with its sinewy muscles and long limbs danced in my head. I imagined it wrapped around me, ready for penetration. At the thought of fucking her brains out again, my cock flexed against my jeans.
“Daddy, can I get some red licorice?” asked my son, breaking into my erotic fantasy as we at last reached the front of the line.
“Sure. Anything you want, birthday boy,” I replied with a smile, ruffling my hand through his silky, sun-streaked hair.
A few minutes later, we were all set—with an extra-large tub of popcorn, two root beers, and a bag of Twizzlers. We headed toward the theater playing our movie. Lots of moms and their kids surrounded us. I was used to being one of the lone fathers who brought their kids to the cineplex. Being a single dad wasn’t easy. And then there were the divorcées…
As we neared the theater entrance, a high-pitched voice calling out my name captured my attention. I turned my head and instantly recognized the woman sauntering my way. A cute freckle-faced little girl was by her side. The child’s name was Jordan and she was in Ben’s class at the private day school I sent him to. Her mother’s name was Lisa. She was a former casting agent, who had married a Wall Street hedge fund manager, subsequently gotten a divorce when she discovered him cheating with his secretary, and made out like a bandit. A big smile lit up her Botoxed face. She’d always had a thing for me, and now that I was available (so she thought), she constantly hinted at us going out. Though our kids were good friends, I had no interest in her—the short, surgically enhanced busty blonde was not my type and I wasn’t ready—so I kept our relationship casual and limited to school functions, soccer games in the park, and unexpected but inevitable encounters like this.
“Why, Ari, how lovely to see you?” she cooed, seductively running a hand through her mane of bottle-blond hair.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Ben walking ahead with Jordan, showing her his new iPad. Knowing where he was, I returned my attention to Lisa, trying to keep things short and sweet.
“Hi.” Like I said, short and sweet.
“What movie are you seeing?”
I told her we were seeing the new Superman movie that had opened this weekend. To my relief, she was seeing some animated film that Ben had already seen.
“I think our movies end around the same time. Let’s grab a bite afterward.”
It was an invitation, not an inquiry. She was pushy and always hitting on me. I politely told her it was Ben’s birthday and that we had plans. I didn’t tell her we were going to Dylan’s Candy Bar because I knew she would tag along.
She flashed another flirtatious smile and played with the big sparkling diamond that hung from a chain around her neck. Her former wedding ring.
“Well, then next time.”
There was never going to be a next time. I was never going to go out with her. Unexpectedly, the image of Sarah flashed into my head again. She was so different from Lisa and all the other women who were after me. She wasn’t after me at all. Given how much I looked forward to seeing her later, it seemed to be the other way around. I hoped Lisa wouldn’t notice the erection that was straining against my jeans. Least of all think it was thanks to her. I inwardly chuckled.
Before I could excuse myself, Lisa aggressively grabbed my arm and held me back.
“Oh, before you leave, Ari, I just want to ask you a question.”
“Shoot.” I was losing my patience with her and wanted to catch up with Ben.
“I saw someone at the Bergdorf’s spa earlier who looked SO much like Cassandra.”
At the mention of my ex’s name, my heart skipped a beat. Every muscle in my body tensed and my hands trembled. I almost dropped the tub of popcorn, but caught it in time.
“That’s impossible,” I stammered. Only three people knew that Cassandra was still alive—my sister, my mother, and myself. The rest of the world, like Ben, thought she was dead—killed in a horrible car crash in the Hamptons.
“Does she have a twin sister? Seriously, Ari, the resemblance was so striking. Slightly curvier, and her hair was long and dark instead of blond and short.” Lisa knew my ex-wife well, having cast her in hundreds of commercials in her modeling heyday.
“No, she doesn’t. She was an only child.”
My chest tightened painfully and beneath my T-shirt, I was sweating. I felt like I was on the verge of an anxiety attack—something I hadn’t had for a long time thanks to the help of my shrink.
My companion popped a kernel of popcorn into her mouth and then shrugged her shoulders. “Well, you know what they say. Everyone has a twin.”
“Yeah, right.” I spat out the words. “Listen, Lisa, good seeing you. I need to catch up with Ben.”
My eyes darted his way. He was almost at the entrance to the theater.
Lisa licked her injected plump lips. “Well, see you soon and enjoy your movie.”
With my evil-ex wreaking havoc on my body, the latter wasn’t happening. My mind pondered the unlikely but terrifying possibility that Cassandra was back in town. Was Ben’s recurring monster dream last night a premonition? My heart pulsing with dread, I caught up with my precious son.