her forehead, like she's trying to block out the sun, then her head turns towards me. My throat dries out when her eyes flutter, and my breath catches in my chest when they pull themselves open. Becky’s brown eyes don't look anywhere else, they immediately find me and lock on like a missle.
“Good morning, baby,” she says, with a gorgeous smile that makes me want to drop the whole thing.
I return a smile, although it’s half-hearted, and answer, “Good morning. Have a good time last night?”
It sounds suspicious although I didn't mean for it to, and it proves my point. The longer you hold that kind of thing inside, the more it seeps out, casting negative connotations onto everything you say. It has to come out.
“Oh yeah, we had a great time,” Becky says. “I missed you, though. You should come with us next time.”
“Hmm, yeah, maybe I will.” This is it. The moment has arrived, and there's no going back now. After I say this, we’ll either be perfect or reduced to ruins. There will be no in between.
“You okay, babe? You look stressed,” Becky asks, giving me an in. I swallow hard.
“Yeah, umm. Becky, there's something we need to talk about.”
“Okay,” Becky says, sitting up in bed. “What’s up?”
“Uhh, I need you to tell me something. I need to know if there's anything going on between you and Dr. Bishop.”
24
~ Sean ~
“Umm, excuse me?”
Uh-oh. She looks pissed. Becky’s forehead shifts, releasing a barrage of grooves and wrinkles that let me know she's not happy with the question. This was the risk I had to be willing to take in order to get the answers I desire. So, I surge forward.
“Listen, I’m not trying to be rude, or cause a fight,” I begin, doing my best to lay down a soft foundation for the conversation to sit upon. “But, I’ve been having these suspicions lately, and it’s been eating away at me for a little while now. I didn't want to go another day without addressing the problem, so here I am, putting it all out there. I just need to know if there's anything going on between you two.”
Becky shifts her weight in the bed. The furrow in her brown stays there for a second, before slowly fading away as Becky puts her back against the headboard and pulls her knees into her chest. She looks troubled, and I suddenly feel sick to my stomach. Before she says it, I know what her next words will be, and I have to brace myself. I asked the question, and now the truth is about to reach into my chest and tear my heart out.
“It’s crazy that you’d ask,” Becky says. Her eyes slowly move down to the bed. “Umm, Dr. Bishop did ask me out recently. I should've told you about it, Sean, but I didn't think there was any reason to talk about it, because I said no.”
I feel my heart thudding in my chest as I realize what Becky just said. She told him no? Did I hear that right?
“What?” I ask. “You told him no?”
Becky nods her head. “Yeah, of course I did. You think I’d entertain an asshole like Dean Bishop? Did you hear how he treated his wife? The guy’s a pig. You thought something was going on between us? Like, you thought I was sleeping with him?”
I have to fight a huge smile off my face, because now that I know Becky hasn't been sleeping with Dr. Bishop, I have to explain how I could be suspicious of such a thing.
“Okay, first of all, can I just say that I love you so much. You turned him down, and that means so much to me. I love you, Becky,” I say, but Becky’s face holds a frown.
“Yeah, I love you, too, but I think you owe me an explanation,” Becky snips. “Why would you think something like that? What have I done to make you think I’d cheat on you with anybody?”
“You haven't done anything, really. It’s just that I’d been feeling really insecure, and I guess I convinced myself that you weren't satisfied.”
“I wasn't satisfied? Why would you think that, Sean?”
I let out a breath, knowing I have no choice but to be open with Becky now. About everything.
“Listen, this is really hard for me to say. Like, really hard,” I start. “But, about a month or so ago, I noticed that you just didn't seem satisfied by me… sexually. I started