Chapter Five

Valerie woke stiff and sore and in desperate need of coffee. The party went until well after midnight, and it surprised her none of the neighbors had called and complained about the noise. It wasn’t just the loud conversations and laughter that filled the night air, but Damien had blared music until finally surrendering to exhaustion and leading Holly downstairs to their bedroom. By that time, Jake had already called it a night and left, telling Valerie to call if she needed anything. She assured him she would be fine and told him to enjoy his Sunday. Truth was, after all the chaos of the past month, especially the last week after she decided to leave Brent, she needed the quietness of just being alone.

Slipping into a pair of flannel pajamas and her slippers, she trudged her way to the kitchen to make coffee hoping to open her eyes. As she passed the kitchen window, she heard people talking outside. Curious, she moved over to the window to investigate. Glancing out to the bright morning, she noticed a small group of college-aged kids leaning against a sports car, three boys and a girl, and it seemed the young men were giving the poor girl a hard time because she did not appear pleased at all as she tried to get around them to the car door. One boy caught Valerie’s eye, his slender physique firm and muscular, his short blond hair needing a good combing while his devilish grin expressed a slight darkness in his personality as he made sport of the girl.

Valerie couldn’t hear what they were saying, but from the smirks on the boys’ faces, it wasn’t flattering to the young girl. Of course, by the clothes the young woman chose, a spaghetti-string top without a bra by the way her breasts swung back and forth with her movements, as well as a pair of flimsy shorts that rode halfway up her ass revealing her tanned butt cheeks, kind of begged for the attention she was getting. By the over-flowing bag the girl carried, which seemed to have her bra hanging halfway out of it, and the pair of sandals she clutched in her hands, Valerie could only guess that she had probably gotten herself in a position she couldn’t back out of without ridicule, and the boys took full advantage of it, as boys are wont to do. Valerie wondered if the girl had spent the night with the three young men, and now they were reminding her of the night’s activities.

Shaking her head, Valerie chuckled at herself for her salacious thoughts and moved away from the scene outside, bringing her imagination to a stop. With the thoughts from last night’s conversation still running through her mind now added to what she witnessed outside, she realized it had definitely been too long since she had sex.

After getting the coffee set to brew, Valerie heard her phone ringing from the other room. Hitting the button that would create the magical substance to bring life to her tired mind, she moved into the living room and found her cell phone on the coffee table. Glancing at the screen as she picked it up, she bit back on a groan, dropping her arm to her side as she blew out a frustrated breath. Brent. Why the hell is he calling me now?

Knowing that her husband would continue to call if she didn’t answer, she lifted the phone back up and swiped the green arrow button. “What?” She saw no need to be polite or even civil at this point. Talking to him was the last thing she wanted to do, and the thought of it only caused a knot of anxiety in the pit of her stomach.

“You left,” he said, the shock heavy in his tone.

“I left you a week ago, Brent,” she said with a sigh. “Are you telling me you just now noticed? What? Laundry piling up?”

“I meant you left Sebastian,” he explained. “I called your school, and they said you resigned and left to accept a college position. You moved? You actually moved? Why the hell would you move? Your life is here.”

“No, Brent, my life was there,” she told him. “Now, my life is here. People do relocate, you know.”

“Valerie, why would you leave town without telling me? This isn’t just a getaway. You moved. We can’t fix this if you’re not here.”

“Who said I wanted to fix anything?” She turned and walked back to the kitchen. She desperately needed that coffee now. Or perhaps another strong drink. This was not how she wanted her Sunday to start. “I told you I was over it. Did you not believe me? What? You thought if you gave me a few days to simmer down, I’d come rushing back into your manipulating arms begging forgiveness for my independent ways?” She reached into the cabinet and pulled out a stark white mug just as the coffeemaker dinged that the magical substance was ready for consumption. Thank god. “Well, you can think again. I’m no longer your personal valet.” Reaching for the coffeepot, she filled her mug, the steam curling over the rim.

“Valerie, we need to work through this,” he said, desperation in his voice. “We’ve been married for five years. Why would you want to just throw that away?”

Picking up her cup with one hand, she turned and leaned back on the counter. “Maybe because I got tired of being your slave. You realize what a misogynistic ass you are, right? Not only toward me, but to all women. Well, I grew tired of having it aimed at me. Hire a maid. It’s about all you saw me as, anyway.”

“That’s not true,” he said. “Things just got busy, that’s all. Perhaps I wasn’t as attentive as I should have been or too demanding, but those are things we can work on together. We can fix this.”

“Brent, I’ve asked you to work on them for a year. This isn’t a spontaneous decision on my part, which only goes to prove you weren’t really listening to me to begin with. I’m sorry that it took me actually moving away for you to wake up suddenly, but there’s no going back now. It is what it is. I suggest you move on.”

“Is that what you’ve done?” he asked, his tone now turning into more of a sneer. “Moved on? That’s it, isn’t it? You moved up there because of another man. Who is he? How long have you been seeing him behind my back?”

Valerie rolled her eyes. How could one man be so fucking dense? “Believe that if you wish, Brent. It’s not true, of course, but if that’s what it takes to get you to leave me the hell alone, then by all means think the worst. It’ll be a better excuse to give your buddies for me not bringing them beers on poker nights than that you were an overbearing prick. Goodbye, Brent.” With a shake of her head, she ended the call before he could say anything else to piss her off and tossed her phone on the counter. Asshole.

With a deep breath and eyes closed, she lifted the coffee to her face, allowing the steam to bathe her skin before taking that tentative first sip, the scalding liquid burning her lips and throat as she swallowed. As she lowered the mug, the tension eased slightly from her taut shoulders, allowing her to relax slightly. Had that man actually accused her of running away to meet someone else? Was he truly that clueless?

With a bump of her ass, she pushed herself away from the counter, leaving her phone sitting there. She didn’t need to endure another Brent Tanner phone call.

As she passed by the window again, she glanced out to see the progress of the young woman, but the college kids had left. She wondered briefly if the girl the boys tormented had managed to escape with at least a little of her dignity in place, but somehow doubted it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Valerie noticed a dove flying by and decided coffee on the rooftop might just be the way to get her husband out of her mind. With a nod, she moved back to the kitchen, filled a carafe with the rest of her coffee, and headed for her front door, not even bothering to grab her robe, assuming no one else would be up there.

As she stepped out on the roof, she suddenly realized she should never assume anything as she noticed Holly sitting in one of the chairs, staring off at the trees behind the apartments. Panic gripped Valerie at first, but then she shrugged it off as she noticed the other woman sitting there in her robe. By the shapely legs stretched out toward the wall, Valerie guessed Holly had on little else under the robe and suddenly felt better about her own attire. Putting a smile on her face, she crossed the roof to where the redhead sat enjoying her own coffee.

“Gorgeous morning,” Valerie said as she reached the other woman. “I hope you don’t mind me crashing your solitude.”

Holly turned, smiling over at Valerie. Gesturing to the empty chair beside her, she said, “Not at all. Mornings should be enjoyed with others.”

Valerie moved over to the offered chair and sat down, setting the carafe on the ground between them. “I brought more coffee if you need a refill. No sense running out and having to run back downstairs for more, and after last night, I think I’m going to need more than one cup.”

Holly giggled as she nodded. “I can agree to that. How are you feeling this morning by the way? There were a lot of drinks poured last night.”

“That there were,” Valerie agreed. “But I feel fine. Tired, but otherwise all right. Of course, Brent, my dipshit husband, called this morning, which started the day off on the wrong foot, so I thought coming up here and basking in the sunshine might set things on a better course.”

“Nothing like the fresh air to clear away a sour experience,” Holly said as she lifted her cup to her lips. “My day started with a smirk.” She grinned at Valerie over the rim of her mug as she took a sip, bouncing her brows at Valerie.

“Oh, what happened?”

“I woke up to a text from Sally,” Holly told her. “You won’t believe what Ethan made her do last night.”