a big deal for me. It’s a means to an end. It’s a way to make harmony within a marriage, and it’s a way to ease stress. Sure, it’s nice, but I’ve never experienced the earth-shattering, soul-stealing pleasure that my friends talk about when we all get together. I’ve never had that, but something tells me that I could potentially have it with Ethan, and I want it. I want him.
When I get out of the shower, I wrap a towel around myself and apply a curl-taming product to my hair. My phone rings in the other room. I look down to make sure the towel has me covered, and then rush out. I find Ethan holding my ringing phone as he walks toward the bathroom door. He stops short when he sees that I’m in nothing but a towel.
“Can you see who it is?” I ask as I grab my robe from the back of the bedroom door.
He looks down at the screen. “Camille?”
A grin spreads across my face. I motion for him to pass me the phone as I pull the towel out from under my robe and tie it shut. He places the phone in my hand, his gaze so hot it nearly scorches me.
“Camille!” I say excitedly after swiping the screen to accept the call.
“Girl, you had better be glad you answered,” she says.
“Everything okay?”
“Well, I heard a rumor that you’re shacked up with some lumberjack-looking dude who raises attack ducks.” She pauses a beat. Then she says, “And I just want to know one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Is it true?”
I roll my eyes where Ethan can see me. I cover the mouthpiece and whisper to him, “My best friend from back home.”
“Did she just call me a lumberjack-looking dude?” he asks.
I shrug. “I think so.”
But he’s not offended. Instead, he grins at me.
“He is not a lumberjack-looking dude, Camille,” I protest.
“Aha!” she cries. “So there is a dude.” She squeals, and I can imagine her kicking her feet.
I watch him as he steps into a pair of work jeans, pulls them up over his hips and buttons them. “There most certainly is a dude,” I reply. I lick my lips, and Ethan rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning.
“Wait!” she cries. “Is he there now?”
“Yep.” I let my eyes drag up and down his body. “He’s standing in front of me with nothing on but a pair of work jeans. And he is so pretty…”
“Tell me more.” She sounds almost giddy with excitement.
“He has a twelve-pack.”
“You mean six-pack?” she replies.
“Nope. I mean twelve-pack. He has muscles on top of muscles.”
“I am not a piece of meat,” he growls at me.
“But the best thing about him is his eyes,” I continue, and I’m surprised when I hear my own voice going soft. “And the way he looks at me? That just does it for me.”
He blushes a little, but he doesn’t move a muscle.
“When did you meet him?”
“Believe it or not, I met him when we were both thirteen. He was my best friend. Then we lost touch, I met Charles, and Ethan got married too.”
“Oh, dear Lord. Please tell me you’re not seeing a married man.”
If I were, she’d drive up here just to kick my ass, and I’m well aware of that.
“No, his wife died in a tragic accident a little over five years ago.”
He sits down on the edge of the bed and puts his socks on, but I can tell that I have all his attention.
“And get this, Camille,” I say. I stare directly into his eyes as I say it, and I don’t look away. “I think I’m falling in love with him. I know it’s quick, but when I’m with him, it just feels so right. I don’t even know how to explain it.”
“Girl, I think you got it bad.”
I nod. “I do got it bad.”
“How does he feel about you? Is he feeling the same way?”
“I don’t know how he feels.”
He nods. “He feels the same,” he whispers.
“I think we might be on the exact same page. Or at least I hope we are.” I let out a heavy sigh. I’ve never been this honest with anyone. And I’m not referring to my conversation with Camille.
“Okay, I need to see it to believe it. He sounds too good to be true.”
“Well, come on down. You and Rachel should come down this weekend. Stay the whole weekend. It’ll be fun.”
I hear her talking over her shoulder to her wife, Rachel, whom I also