“I hope you didn’t miss work for me,” Jessica said, tugging at her gown.
“I don’t actually work,” Olivia replied. “You want something to eat?”
“What do you mean you don’t work?” Jessica asked.
“Darren wanted me to stay home so…”
“So, what?” Jessica asked.
Olivia was one of the smartest people that she knew and had been so enthusiastic about getting a law degree and becoming one of the country’s best attorneys. Staying home and catering to a man was way out of character for her.
“So, I stay at home. You’d be surprised at how much work it is staying home all day.”
“Are you fulfilled?” Jessica quizzed.
“Yeah,” Olivia replied, opening the refrigerator to avoid Jessica’s prying eyes. “Did you say you were hungry?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Oh, well, if you get hungry let me know.”
Jessica frowned.
“I can cook for myself,” she said.
“I know, but you’re a guest.”
Olivia closed the refrigerator and busied herself with wiping off the countertops.
“What happened to your arm?” Jessica asked, noticing a bruise on Olivia’s elbow.
Olivia looked down at her arm and cursed herself for not noticing the bruise herself. She shook her head.
“It’s nothing. I hit it on the doorframe.”
Jessica could have sworn that the bruising resembled fingertip impressions, but she decided not to press the issue. She’d been raise in a home with an abusive father and was sometimes too quick to assume that all men were abusive.
“I’m going to head to the grocery store and to run a few errands soon. You want to tag along?” Olivia asked.
“I’m actually still kind of tired. I’ll probably lie back down,” Jessica replied.
“It might be nice to get some fresh air.”
“Maybe I’ll take a walk later,” Jessica said before heading upstairs.
Chapter 7
Jessica looked out of the window and watched as Olivia pulled out of the driveway. Something about her friend had changed. It was almost as if her spirit had been broken. She had a feeling that it had a lot to do with Darren, but she couldn’t decide if Olivia had changed for better or for worse.
She turned off the TV in the guest room and crept into Olivia’s and Darren’s bedroom. She intended to gather their laundry so that she could wash and fold it before Olivia returned home, but she couldn’t help but to snoop around a bit.
She tip toed into the walk-in closet, as if someone else were home, and flipped on the light. She ran her fingers over the women’s clothes that hung on the left side, then over the men’s clothes that hung on the right.
She looked through Olivia’s clothes, taking note of what was cute and what wasn’t. She even held a few things up against her body, imagining what they’d look like on her.
Olivia had so much; a handsome man that had a great career and was a good cook, a beautiful home, a nice job and beautiful, expensive clothes. She had it all and Jessica felt like once again, she was starting from the bottom with nothing to show for her many failed relationships.
After looking through the clothes Jessica started to look on the shelves. Most of the things were what you’d expect to find on someone’s closet shelf. There were shoe boxes with paperwork and pictures inside.
She pulled one of the boxes down and looked inside. She found pictures of herself and Olivia as teenagers and the other half that completed the heart that she still wore around her neck. She put that box back and opened another box.
This one contained Olivia’s birth certificate, social security card and some life insurance policies. She found it a bit odd that Darren would receive over half a million dollars if Olivia was to die, but Olivia would only receive two hundred and fifty thousand dollars if he died.
She put everything back where she’d found it in the closet and closed the door as she walked out.
She walked over to the dark brown dresser and opened one of the top drawers. Inside were boxer briefs and black socks. She reached into the drawer to see if anything was hidden underneath the clothes there but found nothing of interest. She opened Olivia’s underwear drawer and reached inside and again found nothing.
She moved over to the nightstands and searched through the small drawers but the most interesting thing she found was a purple vibrator on what she assumed was Olivia’s side of the bed and a small, shiny handgun on what she assumed was Darren’s side.
Jessica closed the drawers, gathered the few clothing items that had been left on the bathroom floor, tossed them into the cloth hamper and took the hamper down into the basement. She walked past the little workout area that Darren had set up and started a load of laundry.
***
Jessica had gotten the laundry washed, folded and had left it on Olivia and Darren’s bed by the time Olivia made it back home.
“You got any more bags in the car?” she asked as Olivia brought some plastic bags into the kitchen.
“Just a few.”
“I’ll get them,” she said before heading out to the car.
Jessica brought the rest of the bags into the house and sat them down on the counter. Olivia was putting things into the refrigerator so she decided to put away the things that belonged in the cabinet.
“What the…” Jessica mumbled as she stared into the cabinet.
All of the canned goods were turned the same way, the product names and pictures facing forward and they appeared to be in alphabetical order.
“I’ll do that,” Olivia told her, slamming the refrigerator door.
“I can do it,” Jessica assured her.
Olivia, not one for confrontation, allowed Jessica to place the food into the cabinets, although she knew that she’d have to go back and rearrange them when Jessica wasn’t around.
Bzzzzzzzz.
“Is that the dryer?” Olivia asked at the familiar buzzing sound.
“Yeah. I washed all of the dirty clothes from your bedroom,” Jessica said proudly.
Don’t,” Olivia stated firmly.
“What?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.”
“Darren doesn’t like people touching his clothes,” Olivia explained.
She hated the thought of Jessica being in her bedroom touching her and Darren’s things, especially his things.
“Oh, I didn’t know,” Jessica replied.
Olivia appeared to be on edge as she headed down into the basement. She got the load of laundry out of the dryer and folded it just the way Darren liked before taking the clothes up to their bedroom.
She refolded everything that Jessica had left on the bed and put it away. She looked around the bedroom looking for anything that was slightly out of place so that she could put it back where it belonged. If something was moved even a centimeter out of place Darren would notice and he wouldn’t like it.
To the naked eye a centimeter was hard to notice but for Darren it was very noticeable and very annoying. Satisfied that everything was back as it was supposed to be, Olivia headed downstairs to start on dinner.
Chapter 8
Darren sniffed the cotton t-shirt as he pulled it over his head.
“Who washed this?” he asked.
“Jess,” Olivia nervously replied.
“Did you ask her to?” he asked.
“No.”
“She came into my bedroom?” he asked.
“I think she was just trying to be helpful,” Olivia replied.
“You think?” he asked, taking her face into his hand and squeezing her cheeks together.
“I ran to the store and I guess she thought it would be a nice thing to do.”
“You think, you guess,” he mimicked her with a snarl. “This is your house so you should know what’s going on in it.”
Olivia nodded her understanding.
“I don’t want her in my bedroom again, you understand?”
“Yes.”
He released her and headed downstairs.
Olivia knew that she had to get down into the kitchen quickly but she had to look in the mirror first. She hoped he hadn’t left any marks on her, but if he had she wanted to get them covered before Jessica noticed them.
***
Jessica was setting the table when Darren joined her in the kitchen. Her back was turned to him and she didn’t notice him standing and watching her at first. It wasn’t until she headed back over to the drawer in search of silverware that she saw him.
“You have sisters?” he finally asked.
“No.”
“Well that explains it.”
“Explains what?” Jessica asked.
“How you got so beautiful.”
Jessica appreciated the compliment
“Thanks,” she said as Olivia joined them.
“Are you ready to eat?” Olivia asked Darren.
“Yes,” he replied, taking his seat.
Olivia uncorked a bottle of wine and sat it down on the table. She cut into the pot roast and prepared all three plates, making sure to prepare Darren’s first.
“Do you need anything else?” she asked.
“No,” Darren told her.
Olivia sat down and waited until Darren had taken a couple of bites of his food before taking a bite of her own.
“How was work, babe?” she asked.
“Good,” he replied dryly. “Thanks for the clean clothes,” he said, directing his attention to Jessica.
“You’re welcome. I didn’t know that you don’t like people touching your clothes, or I wouldn’t have done it,” Jessica told him while pouring him.
Darren feigned confusion.
“As long as I have clean clothes, I’m good,” he assured her.
Jessica gave Olivia a strange look before changing the subject.
“This is pretty good, Ollie. But I can’t believe you got her to give up her job,” Jessica stated.
“It’s a woman’s job to take care of home and a man’s job to provide for his family, don’t you think?” he asked.
“Well, yeah, but I don’t see why a woman can’t peruse her passion and share household responsibilities with her husband,” Jessica replied.
“That kind of thinking explains why you’re not married,” he said. “No offense,” he quickly added.
Jessica was offended and if he wasn’t Olivia’s husband she would have told him about himself.
“That could be,” she said before taking a sip of her wine.
“What do you do?” he asked.
Jessica looked down at her plate. She didn’t really do anything. She didn’t have a career and she’d never really been passionate about anything in particular.
“Nothing, really.”
“You haven’t discovered your passion yet?” he asked.
“I guess not,” she said, not sure if he was being condescending or not.
“What’d you want to be as a child?” he asked.
Loved, she thought. Being orphaned at the age of seven had left her with a void that she was starting to think she’d never fill.
“I don’t know.”
“You ever think about being a wife and maybe a mother?” he asked.
Jessica shrugged.
“Maybe.”
“Jess will figure it out. Some people don’t realize their dreams until later in life,” Olivia chimed in.
“I guess if I find a husband I won’t need a passion,” Jessica said with a sarcastic grin.
She was starting to see Darren for the prick that he was. The attraction that she’d had just the day before was gone. He was an asshole and she had no idea what Olivia had ever seen in him, besides his nice looks.
She quickly finished her dinner and headed upstairs, relieved to be out of Darren’s presence.
Chapter 9
Jessica waited until Darren had left for work before she went down to the kitchen.
“Good morning,” she greeted her friend.
Olivia looked up as she pushed the dishwasher closed and smiled.
“Good morning. How’d you sleep?” she asked.
“Pretty good.”
“You want something to eat?” she asked.
Jessica was hungry but she didn’t want Olivia waiting on her liked hired help.
“A little bit,” she replied.
“What do you want?” Olivia asked.
“Whatever.”
Olivia smiled.
“You still like blueberry pancakes?” she asked.
“What kind of a question is that?”
Olivia laughed as she gathered the ingredients to make one of Jessica’s favorite meals.
Jessica had tried to think of a nice way to ask Olivia a question that was offensive but she couldn’t think of one so she just asked.
“What in the hell did you see in Darren?”
“Huh?” Olivia asked.
“I mean, he’s not bad on the eyes but he’s….” she was searching her mind for a nice way to call him a male chauvinist pig.
“He can come off the wrong way sometimes but he’s a good man,” Olivia replied. “You just have to get to know him a little better.”
Jessica had no intentions of doing that.
“So, you’re happy?” she asked.
“Of course,” Olivia replied, avoiding Jessica’s eyes.
Jessica wanted to ask if she was really happy, but she could tell that Olivia was becoming uncomfortable so she dropped it, for the time being.
“I suppose I should get online or grab a newspaper and start looking for a job,” she said, changing the subject.
“You should come to lunch with me later,” Olivia suggested.
“We can eat here,” Jessica replied, not wanting her friend to spend unnecessary money on her.
“I have lunch with a couple of friends every Wednesday,” Olivia explained.
“Oh. Well, in that case, count me in.”
Olivia smiled as she sat a plate of blueberry pancakes and bacon down in front of Jessica. She was glad that she hadn’t needed to press the issue. She didn’t want to leave Jessica home alone again for fear that she’d do something else that Darren didn’t like.
Chapter 10
Olivia spotted Marcel the moment they walked into the crowded restaurant. She quickly walked over to him and hugged him.
“Where’s Nina?” she asked before Nina appeared from the bathroom.
The women shared a quick embrace before Marcel took Olivia’s hand and lifted it into the air.
“You are looking fierce, Miss Diva!” he complimented her, stepping back so that he could get a better look at her ensemble.
The distressed jeans and knee high boots were so sexy on her small yet curvy frame.
“You know how to talk to a lady,” Olivia said with a wide smile.
“And who is this goddess giving me my life?” he asked, turning his attention to Jessica.
“This is Jessica,” Olivia replied, disappointed in herself for not introducing everyone right away.
“Well, hello,” he said, snapping his fingers. “I am Marcel, and you are killing those jeans, honey.”
Jessica couldn’t help but laugh at how loud and flamboyant he was. She’d never had a gay friend and wondered how Darren felt about Olivia having one. She was sure that Darren’s narrow mind caused him to be bothered by a man like Marcel, who didn’t seem to have a straight bone in his body.
“It’s nice to meet you, Marcel,” Jessica told him.
“Likewise, honey. We got a table right over here,” he said, pointing toward the table that he and Nina had marked with their bags.
Nina led the way back over to the table and sat down.
“I’m going to the ladies room,” Jessica told them as Olivia and Marcel sat down as well.
Nina watched Jessica’s small butt as she made her way toward
the back of the restaurant. She wasn’t an especially thick woman but Jessica did possess an effortless sex appeal. It was damn near oozing from her pores.
Nina wasn’t a lesbian but she had to admire Jessica’s caramel skin that looked lickable and the way her words dripped from her lips like honey. She even noticed Marcel checking out Jessica’s small, perky breasts, although he’d admit it.
“Why do you have that woman in your house around your man?” Nina nearly screamed once Jessica had disappeared into the bathroom.
“Because she needed somewhere to stay,” Olivia replied, visibly annoyed.
“Umm, have you never heard of a hotel, a women’s shelter or anywhere but down the hall from your man?” she asked.
Olivia waved her hand at Nina as the waitress approached their table.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to Shae’s Eatery. Can I get you started with something to drink?” the short, dark haired woman asked Olivia. Marcel and Nina already had drinks.
“I’ll have water with lemon,” Olivia replied.
“And the other young lady?” the waitress asked.
“Uh, she’ll have water with lemon as well,” Olivia told her.
Olivia waited until they were alone again before speaking.
“Jessica is my friend and I could never turn a friend in need away,” she explained.
“That’s nice and all, but I don’t know if I’d be able to have such an attractive woman sleeping down the hall from my man. Friend or not,” Nina said.
Olivia was glad when she spotted Jessica headed back to the table because she was tired of pretending that she wasn’t worried about Darren having sex with Jessica. It was a thought that crossed her mind multiple times a day.
She liked to believe that he loved her enough not to ever betray her in that manner, but you never could tell. She’d just have to take things one day at a time and see how it all played out.
“So Miss Jessica, how long will you be in town?” Marcel asked.
“I think I’m going to stay,” she replied.
Nina gave Olivia a knowing look, then diverted her gaze.