Chapter 3: Boy Loses Girl

Heather hated listening to Lyle tell this damn story to her sister and fiancé in the shitty little deli. She could see the gears turning in Smith’s head as they ate their sandwiches. He was sweet and kind and forgiving, but he wasn’t naive, and he wasn’t stupid.

He was smart enough to realize what all this meant. Of course, she had told him that she’d not always been a good girl in the past, but hadn’t gone into the details. He’d said her past didn’t matter, only their future.

Clearly, he knew something was up the first time they had sex. She wasn’t the kind of girl who could hold back and act innocent. Those days were over. After three years with Lyle, she’d become a different woman. He’d taught her a great deal. Too damn much.

But now, the evidence of her youthful stupidity was sitting right in front of them and spinning yarns about their life together. Fuck him. Yeah, it started out great, but all love affairs do, right up until you find out what a lying, duplicitous motherfucker a guy is.

Her mind wandered to that red car. Oh, how she’d loved that Mercedes. He’d bought it for her and put it in her name, and it was all hers. She’d been so proud of it. Nice things were fucking nice. No doubt. She still had it and would never, ever part with it.

And their life together was good, dammit. She went to school and worked her ass off, and he supported her so much. And he paid for every damn thing. He even catered her fucking work study group.

She had never cared for clothes prior to Lyle, but he’d explained that she was a grown up now and grown ups dressed a certain way. He did make her over, slowly, painstakingly, step-by-step. He turned her into a woman of style and made her feel like a queen. The fucking bastard.

And the lovemaking was fucking great, too. The asshole set her on fire every damn time. He was a thoughtful, gentle and passionate lover. A patient teacher.

She couldn’t deny the raw, visceral attraction she felt for Lyle, nor the exquisite pleasures he’d awoken in her willing body. It was a special time in her life that she would never forget, never want to.

The day she met his girls, Sophie and Scarlett, had taken her deeper still. After an initial hesitation, the teens had taken to their dad’s girlfriend like a big sister, if not a second mother. The relationship formed slowly as they learned to trust Heather.

Though their mother had custody most of the time, the girls spent a great deal of time with their dad on weekends, holidays, and vacations. And now, they spent that time with Heather, too.

The three young people bonded over a love of music, movies and shopping. Yes, Heather had become obsessed with shopping. It was so nice to have money.

Even the girls’ mom had become friends with Heather. She didn’t know what she’d expected when she first met Gloria, some kind of stuck-up rich bitch probably. However, the middle aged woman was nothing like that.

Gloria was nice, if not a little empty headed and stuck in her ways. After a very brief acquaintance, the older woman had started asking her for advice with the girls and for support with Lyle. In a way, she had conspired with his wife on numerous occasions in helping convince Lyle to let Gloria have her way a great deal.

She had become important, not just to Lyle, but to his whole family. She’d felt as if she’d become an integral part of that unconventional family. It was not like her family, and it had its own set of flaws. Yet, she loved them all, and she felt loved in return.

As for her family, money and success had always impressed old Kieran, so when she’d come home driving that red Mercedes, her dad just had to meet the man who bought it for her. Of course, Lyle charmed the pants off Kieran who thought the rich guy was the greatest person ever.

Her love for Lyle had blossomed as well, only getting deeper and deeper as the months passed. Making him happy was a top goal. Yes, school was her number one priority, but Lyle’s happiness was a very close second.

And they were happy. He made her laugh, and he brought her joy. Mostly, she was proud just to be with him. For the first time, even her father had taken notice of her.

She had thought that her man was happy, too. He treated her with respect and kindness, always. He actually had seemed to dote on her. He’d never brought up their arrangement again, although it was always just there under the surface. She felt as if they were happily married.

As she neared graduation, no mention was made of what would happen after. She deliberately didn’t bring it up, wanting Lyle to do something. Tell her he loved her. Beg her to stay. Something in that line.

Yet, the damn man remained silent, acting as if every day was the same as the one before. If he sensed her uneasiness and concern for the future, he didn’t show it.

Then the very careful wall of deceit he had constructed came tumbling down. Maybe he didn’t understand how close she had become with Gloria and how much information they now shared. Maybe he didn’t care.

One day in the early spring, Gloria had come into town and asked her to lunch. They’d met at the fancy club downtown where people of quality meet in southern cities. It always made Heather feel both important and out of place at the same time.