Reasonable Doubt 2(5)

“I’ve never lied to you, Aubrey,” he said sternly. “You asked me before if I’d ever lied to you and that answer is still the same. I don’t talk about my life before Durham with anyone, but yes, I did once have a wife and she showed up to my office on her own. I didn’t call her, I never will, and I haven’t called her since I left New York. Our case is extremely complicated and I prefer not to think about it.”

“I don’t care,” I said. “You’re still wrong. You still neglected to tell me about her for six months. Six. Months!”

“At what point was I supposed to bring that shit up?” His face turned red. “In between fucking you over the phone? When I was begging your lying ass to meet me in person? When I was unknowingly helping you with your fucking homework?”

“How about before you fucked me?” I hated that being around him pulled emotions out of me. I couldn’t pretend to act unaffected if I tried. “How about then?”

He clenched his jaw, but he didn’t say a word.

“That’s what I thought,” I said, knowing that I’d won this. “Now, I’m sure you and your lovely D-cup breasted date have a room reserved across the street, so if you don’t mind—”

“There’s nothing going on between me and my soon to be ex-wife,” he said harshly. “Nothing. And I do have a room reserved across the street. I’ve had the same one reserved for the past four nights with four different women, but I’ve been unable to fuck any of them because I can’t seem to stop thinking about my incompetent-ass-intern and how I only want to fuck her.”

Silence.

“Do you...” I shook my head. “Do you honestly think saying shit like that is a turn-on?”

“Yes...” He trailed his fingers underneath my dress, slightly brushing his thumb against the crotch of my soaked panties. “And apparently you do too...”

“Me being wet just means that I can’t control my body’s reaction to you. It doesn’t mean that I want to have sex with you. I hate you.”

“I’m pretty sure that you don’t.” He slipped his hand around my waist and pulled me close—making my breathing slow.

“Get your hands off me...”

“Say it more convincingly and I will.” He waited for my request, raising his eyebrow, but I couldn’t bring myself to say those words.

We stood staring at each other for several minutes, letting that raw, palpable tension build between us before I finally broke the silence.

“I think you should get back to your date...” My voice was a whisper. “You’ve said all you had to say so...What more could you possibly want from me?”

“In this moment?” He trailed his finger against my collarbone.

“In general...” I turned my cheek before he could kiss me. “I’m never sleeping with you again, I’ll be formally resigning by the end of the week, and I think we need to end our so-called friendship for good.”

“You mean that?” he whispered.

“Yes, I mean that.” I ignored the feel of his hand squeezing my ass. “I want to be friends with someone who’s interested in more than my pussy.”

“I’m interested in your mouth, too.”

I had no response for that, and he must’ve sensed it because he tightened his grip on my waist.

“I know how hard it is for you to tell the truth,” he said softly, “so I need you to be completely honest when I ask you these next few questions. Can you do that?”

I nodded, breathlessly, and he leaned closer to my lips. “You don’t enjoy fucking me?”

“That’s not the issue.”

“That’s not the answer. Tell me.”

I ignored the loud beating in my chest. “I do enjoy it...”

“Are you really resigning?” He kissed me.

“No...I just—” I sucked in a breath as his hand cupped my right breast, as he squeezed it. Hard.

“You just what?”

“I want to be reassigned to another lawyer, and I don’t want to see you any more than I have to...”

He stared into my eyes for a long time, not saying a word as he finally let me go. “That’s how you truly feel?”

“Seeing as I’m the only one between us who actually feels anything, yes. Yes, that is how I really feel about you.”

He blinked. Then he suddenly pulled me back into his arms and crushed his lips onto mine.

“Why are you such a fucking liar, Aubrey?” He hissed. Pushing me against the vanity, he bit down on my bottom lip and snatched the feathered headband out of my hair.

Keeping his lips on mine, he pushed my dress up my waist—ripping off my panties with one pull.