Chapter 9

David left the house after Belle had gotten dressed and walked into the kitchen. On the way out the back door he mumbled something about being gone for a couple of hours to run some 'errands'. She ran to the door to catch him before he got to his car.

"I'll have dinner ready in two hours. Will you be back then?"

"I should be."

"Okay, bye." Once back in the kitchen she went to work preparing dinner. She pulled out some fresh chicken breasts from the refrigerator and breaded them before popping them into the oven that was preheated. Some potatoes were peeled, cut up and placed in a pot to boil for mashing and she planned to cook some frozen corn later to also serve.

She hummed as she worked, looking forward to a nice dinner together at home. It had been weeks since they had done so and she figured they just needed to reconnect and the whole idea of Jeffrey would fade away. The time flew by quickly and she was feverishly moving about the kitchen, mashing potatoes and using the chicken drippings to make gravy. It was a meal her mom would make, some good home cooking and it always made her remember her parents when she made it. Would it be the same for her kids some day? Would they make this meal and know that it was a chicken recipe passed down from their grandmother?

The meal was ready and she looked at the clock, everything was ready in time for his return. The whole meal took two hours. The table was set, a bottle of wine was chilled and she had even lit a candle. It wasn't an anniversary but any time they could grab together was worth celebrating.

She sat down and waited as the minutes ticked away on the clock over the sink. Her thoughts of a nice meal together ticked away along with the second hand. A half-hour after the meal was ready to be served she heard his car pull into the driveway. Better late then never, she thought.

He walked into the kitchen and nodded to her and said "Hey. What's all this?"

"Dinner. I told you it would be ready a half-hour ago."

"Sorry, I must've forgotten. I ran to the gym," he replied holding up his gym bag to emphasize his excuse. "I'm going up to get a shower."

Her pangs of hunger couldn't be ignored and she decided to eat without him. Her hopes for a nice meal together to reconnect had been dashed. She fixed her plate and ate the food while it was still warm. While she ate the delicious meal she felt her irritation at his inconsiderate behavior give way to anger. Was he taking her for granted? Had he always been this inconsiderate and she chose to ignore it, to tolerate it? Would it be something she was willing to tolerate for the rest of her life? Her plate was empty when he finally walked into the kitchen, fresh from a shower and acting all innocent.

"I'm done. Your plate's on the counter. Heat it yourself." She let her irritation show.

"What the hell did I do?"

"Nothing. As usual."

Oblivious to her sarcasm he replied, "Then why the attitude and cold shoulder?"

"You knew I was hoping for a nice dinner together. I told you when it would be ready."

"I told you that I was going to the gym."

"No you didn't! You said errands! I didn't even see you take your gym bag!"

"I came in with it so obviously I took it," he retorted with an angry glare.

After a deep breath she said, "Yes, I saw you come in with it. It doesn't matter anymore. Dinner was ruined. Enjoy your meal alone. You seem to prefer it that way."

"What the hell is up with you?" he yelled after her when she walked out of the kitchen. She ignored his question and grabbed her keys before walking out the front door. She had no real reason to leave the house, except to find a way to cool down. David had done things like this so often but why didn't it bother her before? Why was it bothering her now?

She decided to go back in the house and grab a jacket from her room. Once up to her room she nearly tripped over David's gym bag. After kicking it across the room she opened it up. There was nothing in it except an unused towel. The clothes he had left the house with were on his body when he came home. Something didn't add up. Where were his gym clothes? She sifted through the hamper but didn't find any gym clothes. His navy-blue boxer briefs fell from the pile. When she picked them up she noticed a suspicious dried, white mark inside. Was that from when they had sex?

Then she remembered the extra-late meeting a few nights earlier and his weird behavior. Was it something to be concerned about or was it just her overactive imagination? She walked out of the bedroom, dropping his underwear in the doorway. When she got into her car she realized that she had forgotten her jacket but didn't care.

Not knowing where she was going or how long she would be gone, she drove. For a half an hour she meandered through the outskirts of the city with wild thoughts flying through her mind. If he was cheating on her would that surprise her? Would she be angry? She didn't feel angry; surprised maybe, but not angry.

She put her car in park and looked up at the house she was sitting in front of. It was the house she was going to help Jeffrey remodel. With the key Jeffrey had given her in hand, she walked up to the front door and let herself in. It was dark outside by that time so she was limited to walking through the rooms with overhead lights.

Her thoughts bounced between David's behavior and ideas for the project, yet she was getting nowhere on either subject. As she walked from the rundown kitchen to the foyer, a male voice startled her from her thoughts.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh! Dear God!" she exclaimed while jumping back. "Jeffrey! You scared the hell out of me!"

He laughed at her reaction. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to sneak around. It seems you were deep in thought."

"I guess I was. I'm sorry I yelled." Suddenly her thoughts shifted back to the night David had gotten home late and she startled him. What had he really been doing that night for him to react as he did to her? She was pulled back from those questions.

"You don't have to apologize. But by the look on your face, I suspect your deep contemplation has nothing to do with this house."

"Not all of it." Was she that transparent? Could he read her expressions that well?

"Would you like to talk to me about it? I'm a great listener."

"Thanks, but no. You don't need to be burdened with my problems."

"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to help. I don't want to pry. But it wouldn't be a burden if you wanted to talk it over with me. We can be friends with one another, right? That wouldn't be crossing the line, would it?"

"No. I guess it wouldn't."

"Come on then." He took her by the hand and led her to the staircase. "Have a seat and tell me what's bothering you."

She sat down and exhaled deeply. If she told Jeffrey would it be an opening that he wanted to get closer to her? Was it something that she wanted too? Yes, she knew it was so that wasn't going to help. Was that all this was? Was she fabricating a problem from nothing as an excuse to get closer to Jeffrey? But she had no idea that he would show up at the site. It wasn't like she drove directly to his house in Berkley Manor. Yet she did go to a place connected with him. Did she subconsciously want to see him?

"It's probably nothing," she said finally, frustrated with her rambling thoughts. "I feel so silly. Like the proverbial hysterical woman: in distress and all."

"Stop it," he said touching her arm. "If it's bothering you then it isn't nothing."

"Okay. The other night David got home really late after a dinner meeting. He has never gotten home that late from one before. It really shouldn't be an issue but he seemed jumpy and irritable when I approached him. Plus he took a shower before coming to bed, which seemed to me an odd thing to do after a meeting. It seemed like he was hiding something. Then today..." she trailed off realizing that she was going to discuss her sexual likes and activity with a man who could turn her on with a smile. Suddenly she was nervous.

"Today, what... ?" he asked, urging her to continue.

"It's kind of embarrassing," she replied looking away.

"So what?"

"So it's about sex. I'm about to admit something that may not be appropriate with a friend. Well a male friend at least." She paused to gather her thoughts to make sure they would make sense. "Okay. Sexually speaking, sometimes I like to be dominated. I even like to be cuffed and blindfolded once in awhile. I'm not heavily into B&D but..." she realized that she was rambling in her explanation and that her cheeks were on fire. His expression showed a mixture of surprise but interest. "Anyway, I like a strong man and sometimes I like to have him bend me to his will. But today when David did it... it wasn't enjoyable for me. It felt like he was punishing me.

"Then I thought, since he was home early, that we'd have a nice dinner together. But he left claiming to run errands and when he returned he had some dumb story about going to the gym. He went upstairs for a shower and later, after I tripped over his gym bag I opened it. There were no gym clothes in them nor in the hamper. He was sweaty and tired looking when he got home."

She took a deep breath and he waited to hear if there was more that she was going to add. "Plus his underwear had a white stain on it. It could've been from us having sex but..."

"But you suspect something, or someone else caused it."

"I'm probably imagining things."

"Belle," Jeffrey sighed while lightly grabbing her hand, "do you want to know what I think?"

"I don't know. Do I?"

"Let me put it another way: Like it or not I'm telling you what I think, because we're friends."

Belle laughed at his abrupt statement and her eyes focused on their hands that were touching.

"I don't think you're imagining things. If your gut says something's wrong, chances are something is wrong."

"That's what I was thinking. I don't know what to do."

"Nothing. Do nothing. Just watch for more warning signs or clues. You could always hire a P.I. to tail him if you want to know for sure."

"Isn't that a bit much?"

"Belle, you're planning to marry him. You need to know for sure or you will always wonder."

Right then she was wondering while Jeffrey held her hand. She was wondering how his hands would feel tracing all over her bare skin.

When her eyes met his she felt the last vestiges of her willpower dissipate. She leaned toward him and him toward her. The time it took for their lips to meet was mere seconds and yet it felt like an eternity.