‘Yeah, he does that,’ Megan agreed. ‘He just can’t help it.’
‘And he does it well,’ Mary added. ‘It’s fucking scary the way he can read you.’
Megan chuckled. ‘Get ready,’ she warned Mary. ‘Because it will get quite annoying sometimes.’
This time, Mary smiled. ‘I can imagine it will. Any tips?’
Megan laughed first, quickly followed by Rachel and Kristie.
‘Easiest thing is don’t try to hide anything from him. He will read you like a lit billboard if you do,’ Megan said.
Right at that moment, Quaddra and Tyler appeared by the French doors that led back into the house. They were looking around, clearly searching the garden and the pool area when they both seemed to clock the four women by the pool at the same time. And they both went rigid as soon as they saw the group.
‘Oh fuck!’ Quaddra said, looking at Tyler. ‘They’ve ambushed Mary.’
‘Oh, that’s not good,’ Tyler said back. ‘Megan can be a real bitch sometimes.’
‘You’re telling me? We’ve got to go rescue her.’
But as both of them took their first hurried steps in the direction of the group, they saw and heard all four women laugh… together.
‘What the fuck?’ Tyler said, as he and Quaddra slowed down a touch. ‘Are they… bonding?’
Quaddra did look rather puzzled. ‘It… looks like it.’
‘What? That quickly? And with Megan in “bitch boss mode”?’
‘I’m as confused as you are, Tyler.’
‘Damn,’ Tyler commented. ‘Mary has got to have some amazing people skills to defeat that firing squad that fast. Most women would be crying by now, not laughing.’
‘Yeah,’ Quaddra smiled, a glint of admiration in his eyes. ‘She’s a keeper.’
Fifty-Four
‘I love you!’ Quaddra said it first – four months into their relationship.
The words had come out in a papery whisper, and just as they were done having sex, but not immediately afterwards… not in the heat of the moment. Quaddra had lain by Mary’s side for several minutes, regaining his breath, and getting his thoughts and the courage together.
He would’ve said it earlier… much earlier, in fact. Probably just a month after he and Mary started dating, but he truly didn’t want to scare her away. They had talked about her marriage and her divorce… not in great depth, but enough for him to understand that to Mary ‘love’ had become more than just a scary word. It had become a scary feeling – something that could so easily mutate from a glittery fairytale into a devastating nightmare in the blink of an eye.
But Quaddra had fallen head over heels for Mary. He knew that she already knew it, but he wanted her to know that he wasn’t afraid to say it – not to her, or anyone else.
‘I love you!’ he said it again, this time gazing deeply into Mary’s eyes, and as he did, he saw something change in them. Was it fear? Happiness? Sadness? Indifference? Despite all his people skills, Quaddra couldn’t tell.
Silence took over the room for a long moment.
‘Honey,’ Mary finally cut through it, her tone seemingly firm, but Quaddra picked up a slight quiver in her voice. ‘That’s just pillow talk.’ She gave him a peck on the lips before trying to joke it all away. ‘I’m good in bed, what can I say?’
As Mary tried to turn away, Quaddra placed a soft hand on her shoulder. ‘Mary.’
She paused, doing her best to fight the tears that were about to well in her eyes. It took a second before she was able to look at him again.
‘You don’t have to say it back… though I hope that one day you might, but I want you to know that I do love you with every atom of my being, and that I’m not afraid.’
Mary laid silent by Quaddra’s side for a long while before getting out of bed and taking a couple of steps in the direction of the bathroom.
Quaddra pulled himself up onto a sitting position, as a knot began tying itself around his heart before choking at his throat because he had lied. He’d just told Mary that he wasn’t afraid, but the truth was that he was petrified, but not of saying that he loved her. He could scream that from the rooftops. He was terrified of losing Mary… and right then, he believed that his love for her had done just that.
