Adjusting to our new schedule after our mini-vacation proved to be easier than I thought it would. Shane was true to his word and left me alone to my unnecessarily excessive study habits during the week. I wore headphones when I worked so I wasn't really aware of his comings and goings. Sometimes food would appear next to me, the soft brush of his lips as he kissed the top of my head, and on more than one occasion I would wake up in bed after passing out on the living room floor. I kept my promise to dedicate my weekend to him. We didn't do much: we'd go to the movies, or dinner, or we'd read and talk in bed for two days. And of course, screw each other's brains out. It was a good balance, and we both seemed to be getting what we needed.
"Oh Tess..." Shane called out in a playful tone and I tried to stifle my giggles. "Come out here, sweetheart. I have a present for you..."
I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent him a text.
Stop trying to draw out the enemy with promises of presents!
The moment he walked in the door from the gym I hurled snowballs at him rapid-fire from the top of the stairs, then sprinted off to hide before he registered what the hell was happening.
I heard a faint dinging sound, and then his booming laugh. "But it's such a nice present, soft and...fluffy!" Down the hall a door banged open, and he made a tsking sound with his mouth. "You can't hide from me forever, eventually I'm gonna get your fine ass."
Smirking to myself, I tortured him some more.
Then what are you going to do to my fine ass? BTW, Aunt Flo left town last night.
Another sound of his text alert, then a deafening silence before he started yelling. "Contessa Thomas, your period ended yesterday and you're just now telling me?! Get the fuck out here right now so I can tan the hell out of your hide!"
Ooh, you're all sexy and southern when you're mad. Maybe next time you won't be such a jerk about my books.
Shane was always so grumpy from the absence of sex when I was on my period. Usually on the last day I relented and we'd do it in the shower, which was my plan last night until he started scolding me about my textbooks being all over the house as soon as I walked in from class. He had texted while I was on my way to my accounting lecture this morning, apologizing for picking a fight and calling me a "pampered slob," so I skipped class to clean the house and wait for him.
I saw him enter the room from the cracked door in our armoire I was crouched in. He looked around cautiously, a pillow clutched in his hands. "I know you're in here, Contessa, this house isn't that big. Get out here and take your punishment like a good lil' girl." I grinned to myself as he peeked around the corner into the closet, he was right where I wanted him. I silently opened the door, pushed off on my feet and leapt on his back, effectively scaring the daylights out of him. "Shit!"
"Victory! Surrender to your tiny wife!" I pretended to choke him as he stood in front of the wall mirror with his arms crossed, glaring amusedly at the 5'4" ball of energy wrapped around his 6'4" giant body doing absolutely no damage to him whatsoever. I stopped my assault and rested my chin on top of his head. "You could at least pretend like I'm ferocious."
"Ferociously annoying, you lil' spider monkey. Why aren't you at school?"
"Eh, I have senioritis. Besides, I had to go and get you
this
," I reached into my back pocket and pulled out an envelope, dangling it in his face. He shot me a skeptical look as he took the envelope from my hands and opened it. His face instantly brightened as he pulled out the two Celtics/Rockets basketball tickets to the game in Boston the following weekend. "How did you get these? The game was sold out."
I played with his auburn hair, tugging it into a sloppy faux-hawk as I explained. "One of the guys who works for my dad has season tickets, and he traded these for some free tutoring sessions for his daughter. You get to go to the game and she won't fail algebra, it's a win-win for everyone."
"And what do you win, darlin'?"
"Hopefully your forgiveness, and a husband in a better mood."
He reached around with his long arm and patted me on the butt as I hopped off his back. He turned and leaned down, burying his handsome face into my neck as he murmured, "Thank you for the tickets, and I'm sorry I was an asshole last night."
"Yeah, for such a huge man you were kind of acting like a little bitch."
He smacked me hard on the ass and I yelped loudly, rubbing the throbbing cheek. "Watch your mouth, sweetheart. I haven't been inside you for almost a week and I'm real close to losin' it." He straightened to his full height and I was treated to his wolfish grin. "And I get you all to myself for an extra day. What am I gonna do with you?"
I shrugged. "Nothing, until five. I'm about to go to the mall with Sydney."
His smile instantly flipped into a scowl. "The hell you are. I need to fuck my wife."
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to roll my eyes at his whining. I lifted onto my toes and kissed his Adam's apple gently. "And you will, at five o'clock, and for the next two days straight I'm sure. I haven't seen her since, what, before finals? That's almost six weeks ago. I can barely even get her on the phone lately, she's spending all her time with Jeremy." My frown matched his. "I'm a little worried about her, Shane."
"I'm sure she's fine, sweetheart. You remember how we were when we first got together, you couldn't get us apart for anything."
"Yeah, but we were happy. Err, happyish, anyway. She doesn't sound like her normal happy-go-violent self."
Shane smoothed down the loose strands of hair from my ponytail, his calm touch soothing me somewhat. "Look, I'll go talk to Sam, okay? Since they're living together now maybe he knows what's goin' on." Sam moved into Sydney's condo in December when his lease was up on his apartment, they had long stopped the friends with benefits routine and seamlessly evolved into best friends. I hugged Shane around his tight waist. "You're the world's best husband, you know that?"
"Uh huh. Five o'clock, Tess, your ass better be in this house on your knees or on your back. If I have to come hunt you down you're gonna regret it." He pulled out his wallet and pressed his American Express into my hand. "Buy the sluttiest thing you can find, but don't get too attached to it. It'll probably end up in shreds on the floor ten seconds after you put it on."
Shaking my head, I pocketed the card. "Then what's the point in buying anything?"
A slow smirk spread on his face as he tapped his temple with his finger. "Spank bank. I gotta have somethin' to keep me occupied five days out of every month.
"Ugh. Pervert." I giggled until his kisses halted my laughing fit.
***
I walked around the galleria looking for Sydney, her text an hour ago said she would meet me outside of Nordstrom. I finally located her in a corner angrily whispering on the phone as her back was turned to me. I got at close to her as I could, not wanting to spook her but also totally trying to eavesdrop.
"Jesus, Jeremy. I'll only be gone a couple of hours...shopping, with Tess, like I told you a hundred times...no, if I was with Sam I would tell you I'm with Sam, you've got to stop acting so weird." She grunted at whatever his response was. "Then why don't you go and have another line and calm the fuck down," she replied snidely before turning suddenly, surprise on her face when she discovered me there. "I gotta go." She didn't say goodbye before she hung up, throwing her phone in her black Balenciaga handbag. I gave her a hug but she quickly pulled away. "Everything okay, Syd?"