Nora Jennings - Summer 2024
People had already begun to arrive for my housewarming party. Most of the guests lived in the city, so they had seized the opportunity to spend an afternoon by my pool, enjoying one of the last sunny Summer weekends of the year in their bathing suits.
I kept myself busy with frequent trips to the kitchen, bringing out snacks and using it as an excuse to stay covered in my shorts, T-shirt, and apron. The heat clung to me, the fabric of my t-shirt sticking uncomfortably to my back, but the thought of changing into a swimsuit made me feel exposed and vulnerable.
I could hardly believe that just a few weeks ago, I had felt confident enough to strut around Rob in a tiny bikini. But the pictures he sent me last Sunday had sent my insecurities into overdrive. In them, I could see Emma wearing the panties I had taken off and given him, which on her slight frame looked like they were meant for an entirely separate species. In short I felt like an ugly cow.
So here I was, in my kitchen, wearing my damp clothes. I could hear the laughter from the garden, the sounds of my friends frolicking in the water, and smell the sunblock in the air. But the knot in my stomach would not go away.
Rob was not answering my texts or calls, and I could not understand how things had escalated that quickly. He had been so much better at regulating his mood swings lately. Just two weeks ago, when I had pushed his boundaries too far, he had asked for space to reflect, handling it like an adult. And now he was back to his childish antics.
His good looks and natural charm made it easy for people to overlook his occasional erratic behavior, myself included. But when it was just the two of us, working together on the house, I had seen glimpses of the Rob I wanted him to be. He seemed to have a better handle on his unpredictable temper compared to when I first met him or right after his father's passing. It was why his outburst last night was so confusing. Had he not moved past this?
Helen walked into the room, her hair was still wet from the pool. "Nor! You've been gone for a while!" She was beaming, her usual bright self always managing to cheer me up. "You should go have fun! I can take over for you."
She could read me like a book, there was no point in being coy with her. "Thanks." I still needed a moment to muster my courage. "Do you have any news from Rob? Is he coming?"
I saw the surprise flash across her face. "He didn't tell you?" I shook my head, my heart racing. "Ugh,that's typical. He texted James earlier. He'll be a little late, he's picking up someone."
A date? Crap. That was not how I had pictured the weekend at all. I wanted to build an association between us in our friends' minds, to normalize our spending time together, as if our relationship was unspoken but obvious.
Now he was bringing a date at my own housewarming party. So much for that.
At least it would be fun to spend some time with Emma in a more normal context, after the erotic charge of our phone call last night.
"Oh right, he mentioned something like that. Must've slipped my mind." The airhead look did not suit me, and Helen was not buying it.
She raised her eyebrows. "Yeah right... Anyways, get out of here, go talk to people, everyone wants to see you!" With that she gently pushed me out of the kitchen and onto the patio.
Just like that, I was back in the sun, surrounded by my friends. But Helen had been right, people did want to talk to me. For the next few minutes, my boy troubles were all but forgotten, and I was back in my natural elements, mingling, enjoying the conversation, basking in the compliments lavished on my house and garden.
Eventually I found myself talking to Corey. I had invited him to signal that our shared friends did not need to feel awkward when planning events. My original idea had been to show that things were good between Corey and I, and that I was with Rob now, in our own weird way. That was what I had called to tell him last night.
But Emma answering his phone had thrown me for a loop, and after my orgasm, I had not kept the speech I had prepared for Rob in mind. Not that he would have listened anyways.
Corey looked good, with his tall lean frame now sporting a nice tan. His eyes flicked over me, pausing just long enough to make my stomach tighten. The weight I had put on had not escaped him, and from the look on his face, I knew he was not impressed. Maybe that made it easier for him to deal with me?
"Hi Corey! So glad you could make it!" I was sounding just a little bit too cheerful for someone talking to their ex of two years. " I'd hate to think things were weird between us."
He shrugged. "Yeah, thanks for the invite. You've got a nice house." His voice dropped somewhat. "Didn't we visit it together?"
Well that was awkward, another thing I had forgotten about. "Uh I guess, I'm not sure. We visited so many houses together." We really had not. "And then I visited a bunch on my own, it all blurs together, you know." No it did not. I had fallen in love with this house the moment we pulled into the dilapidated driveway.
Today was really not going according to plan. I tried to smooth things over. "Anyway, I'm glad we're able to be adults about all this. I hope we can stay friends." I cringed. What was wrong with me?
But luckily for me, Corey's attention was not on me anymore. He had caught sight of something on the patio, which made him chuckle. "How's that for adult?" He nodded towards the house, urging me to look behind me.
I turned around, and my jaw dropped to the floor.
Rob had finally arrived, and he had already changed. He looked amazing, his blonde hair and the gilded rims of his aviators shining in the afternoon sun. He was wearing swim trunks, and as usual when he dropped his shirt, he caught everyone's attention. But that was normal for him, expected.
The real surprise was his date, wrapped around his arm.
Lydia's bikini gracefully complimented her tall, athletic figure. Her long black hair was styled in a single, thick braid that wrapped over her shoulder and rested on her toned, flat stomach. Her perfectly smooth brown skin made an incredible contrast with Rob's bright complexion. Together, they looked like they belonged on the cover of a magazine.
"Is that Lydia?" Corey's words dripped with derision, snapping me out of my daze.
"Fuck!" I had been trying so hard to keep my cool all afternoon, but I just could not hold it in anymore.
I was frozen in place as the two of them made their way towards us, smiling as if nothing was wrong with this situation.
"Hi Nora!" Lydia sounded enthusiastic, as if she had no idea about the cruel trick Rob was playing on me. "You've got a lovely house. I'm so excited to be here!"
There was not even a trace of malice in her tone, her outward friendliness seemed genuine. But why would she need to get one over on me? She had already won. She was on the arm of the man I had been crushing on for years, looking like she belonged in the catalog her swimsuit came from. Meanwhile I felt like the women they would use for detergent ads, holding a laundry basket, looking 'relatable'.
"Lydia! Glad to have you here! What a nice surprise." This was killing me.
"Oh God! Rob! You didn't tell Nora you were bringing me?" She playfully slapped his bare shoulder. This was supposed to be a cute apology for the intrusion, but all I could think about was the stolen physical contact between them. It should have been mine.
