Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
*****
Max was uneasy about her day and the turn her friendship with Jack was taking. It was just two days ago that her and Geoff had found each other again.
Why did things have to get complicated all of a sudden? A part of her wished Jack had never come into her work this morning with his gorgeous, naked flesh and incredible intuition, making her sick with desire. Desire for a man who had offered her an open invitation she could never take up because she had taken vows. And she loved her husband. It wasn't perfect, but marriage never is.
In truth though, she didn't want to erase the day with Jack. She hadn't felt this alive in years. If ever. She needed to find clarity. She needed to see Geoff. With her strong history of over thinking, actually seeing her husband might help put things in perspective.
Getting into her car she drove to Conifer where she knew he'd be wrapping up service. She figured she'd pop in and have a cocktail while she waited for him to finish, and then they could go have a nightcap somewhere and talk. She pondered whether to tell him about Jack, and if she did, should she dilute the story a little? Make it less threatening.
She still hadn't made up her mind by the time she opened the restaurant door. She would have to play it by ear.
Her eyes travelled to the pass as she walked in, looking for Geoff's face. She spotted him through the pass his back to her, with a young blonde server whose name escaped her. The girl was touching his arm and looking into his face, intent on what he was saying. She threw her head back and laughed, trailing her hand down his arm and squeezing his hand before she turned and walked away. Geoff turned around, the broad smile on his face faltering as soon as he noticed Max.
The hair on her neck prickled upwards and her stomach did a flip flop. Something wasn't right. hat did that touch mean? There was something in his eyes in the moment before he caught himself that sent her internal alarms into a cacophony of noise, alerting her to something being wrong even if she didn't quite know what it was yet.
He caught himself quickly. So quickly, in fact, she questioned if she'd even seen anything at all. His carefree smile returned, and he moved to come out of the kitchen through the side door. He walked over and put his arms around her lowering his lips to hers. The connection did nothing to quite those alarms.
"Hey, I wasn't expecting you here tonight! To what do I owe this pleasure?" he said with enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm she noted.
She lifted her eyebrows as if to challenge him.
"I wanted to see if you'd join me for a drink when you're done. I have something I want to talk to you about."
Without skipping a beat, she added, "You can fill me in on what I saw with you and that young lady in the back a moment ago."
He didn't even blink. Just kept on smiling his charming smile.
"What, Jess? I was just telling her about something ridiculous Frank did earlier but yeah, I'd love to grab a drink with you. Just let me wrap up. Go ask Antonio to get you a drink I'll be up in a few minutes."
Before he walked away Max trailed her hand down his arm and ended with squeezing his hand in a perfect mimic of what Jess had just done moments earlier. "I can't wait to hear what Frank did."
His facade cracked and she knew she had finally shaken him. She wasn't crazy. She had seen something she wasn't intended to see.
***
Geoff hoped he looked casual as he strode back through the door of the kitchen. He felt anything but. His heart was racing. What the fuck was he doing? Flirting with her in the middle of the kitchen. He didn't even like her. There was just something about her adoration of him that made him feel so powerful.
Max knew something was up. She was incredibly intuitive. Something he was most certainly not. He had always needed things spelled out for him while she always seemed to know the inner workings of everything and everyone around her. Except the way men felt about her. She didn't have low self esteem, she just didn't see herself the way everyone else did.
Geoff took some breaths and formulated a plan as he closed off the line with Frank and James. He couldn't say it was nothing, but he couldn't tell her everything. He would lose her for sure. He quickly decided on a half truth that would put him in the dog house, but not be so bad he couldn't, hopefully, brush it over later. Like ripping off a bandaid. If a bandaid was a big fat lie.
He changed quickly so as not to be caught alone with Jess. He suspected she was hoping for some attention tonight. She walked in as he was following the last dishwasher out. She was pouting.
"Not tonight, Jess. My wife is waiting for me at the bar," he said, trying to brush past her.
As he pushed past her, she laid her elegantly long fingers on his package, forcing it into an instant hard on.
"I guess we will have to deal with that before you head out there huh?" she smiled a devilish smile.
Relishing the idea of fucking him right under his wife's nose.
He pushed her hand away and fixed his eyes on hers. He scooped his hand into his pants and grabbed his dick, tucking it up under his belt, concealing it almost perfectly.
"Every boy learns this trick in 7th grade." He winked and moved past her.
***
Geoff saw Max, turned on her stool and sipping a bourbon sour while gazing at the door he emerged from. He may as well get this over with. Walking confidently to his wife, he sat beside her and looked into her questioning eyes.
"You're right. I panicked and tried to cover. I owe you an honest explanation." He looked around. "Not here though. Let's head over to Hooch and grab a drink. We can talk."
Max's face softened a fraction, relieved he would not keep pretending it had been nothing.
She drained her drink and stood up, following him outside and down the road to the speak easy inspired lounge. It was quiet , with wide open, large center tables and small intimate corners that offered a fair amount of privacy. They chose the latter. They remained silent until they had their drinks in hand.
"So, you're right. I wouldn't have wanted you to see me talking with Jess like that. A few months ago she started flirting with me, and things weren't going well with us. So I saw no harm in flirting back."
He watched her face, but she was impossible to read, her face impassive.
"I'm trying to stop now, but it's challenging with work dynamics. I don't want to hurt her feelings. It's been nothing more than flirtation. A few innuendos, a little touch here and there. It made me feel good about myself, you know. I don't even like her. I mean she's super immature, I have nothing in common with her and I don't even find her attractive. It made me feel special that she liked me so I fed into it."
His face earnest. "I'm sorry Max. It was inappropriate, and I never even considered how you would feel about it. I'll talk to her and explain to her why it's not something we can continue. Hopefully she isn't offended."
Max leaned back, sipping her drink. She was hurt. While Geoff wasn't the most intuned person, she was wearing this one visibly. She looked up at him, her voice stronger than he had expected.
"I understand," she said, surprising him.
Her eyes remained on his. "Things weren't exactly good with us for a while. I can understand accepting validation from someone else like that. IF it was in fact just flirtatious behaviour and nothing more. I'm hurt because I was at home begging for any kind of attention and you were giving it out to some teenager at work."
He winced. Describing Jess as a teenager made him feel like a dirty old man.
"But I can move past it, provided it ends now," she continued, her eyes boring into his. "Has anything more ever happened with her? Kissing? Sexual touching in any way? Penetration? It's important you tell me anything now so we can rebuild our trust."
Her gaze holding his eyes, he felt exposed, but he covered it by lowering his face. She could see it on his face that something had already happened. This was where he'd have to get in trouble but hide the bigger stuff.
"We kissed once."
She inhaled.
"It was after service, about a month ago. We all went for drinks and she cornered me near the bathrooms. I was tipsy, and she made a move. I didn't stop her. I liked that she wanted me. I kissed her back. It only lasted like two minutes before I came to my senses and walked away."
He was keeping his lie simple. It was a true story, only in the real version, he'd ended up fucking her in the bathroom. He would not tell Max that part.
