Jane looks around just as the cacophony of moans around us grows. She nods.
“You’re right,” she says. “Let’s go elsewhere.”
With that, it’s settled. I take her hand and lead her to the entrance where we collect our things. Then, we step into the night air, which is bracing and cold. Jane pulls her coat more tightly around those narrow shoulders.
“Where to?” she asks.
A twinkle sparkles in my eye.
“The future,” I murmur. “Follow me.”I take the lead on the road, Jane following me in her little sedan. It’s a short thirty-minute drive to Roscoe’s even as my heart thumps the entire way. After all, what am I going to say? It’s one thing to be a member of a sex club, but it’s another to make love to your daughter’s best friend by accident.
But I don’t regret it one bit. She was so giving and lovely that I just want to do it again.
I park and admire Jane’s curves as she steps from her little Fiat. Even in a full-length trench coat, she’s utterly gorgeous and the excess fabric can’t hide it.
“Ready?” I ask, tilting my head towards the door.
She nods firmly, giving the sash on her belt a quick jerk.
“As much I’ll ever be.”
We enter, and the diner is oddly soothing. Fluorescent lights glare overhead, and there’s the comforting smell of hash browns and coffee wafting through the air even though it’s two a.m. Then again, maybe I’m just starved. We take a seat in one of the corner booths, the pleather cracked and old. Jane smiles hesitantly.
“So,” she begins.
“So,” I say with a smile.
She blushes and bites her lip.
“So Mr. Marshall, I mean Brent, why were you at the Cube?”
I nod and sit back a little, thinking about what I’m going to say.
“I go to the Cube because something’s lacking in my life. I know I look like a guy who has it all: money, a great job, my own company, and a sweet daughter. But something’s missing. Maybe I’m having a mid-life crisis, but no one needs me anymore. Kombuchaid practically runs itself. Harlow’s a grown woman with her own responsibilities. Even Gray doesn’t need me. Since getting married, my friend’s turned into a bit of a dud.”
She’s silent, and I push ahead.
“Every day is like Groundhog Day. There’s paperwork, meetings, strategic planning sessions, and more meetings. Every. Damn. Day.”
Jane blushes.
“I get it. I feel that way sometimes at the insurance agency. Everything’s on repeat and there’s no stopping it. But I had no idea that CEOs could feel that way too.”
I laugh.
“Well, I’m co-CEO with Gray, but I think that just makes it worse. He’s such a capable motherfucker that there’s very little for me to do now.” I swallow some coffee and continue. “I need something amazing in my life. Someone amazing.”
She quirks her head at me in a cute way.
“But what about all the women you date, Brent? Harlow keeps saying you’re so busy all the time with all these different women.”
I frown. “No, not really. I think my daughter is given to exaggeration, and the truth is that the women I know bore me. They’re so venal and materialistic that sometimes, I’m ashamed just to be seen with them. And being around Harlow and Gray is hard.”
“Why is that?” her voice softens with concern.
I gulp and then confess.
“I love them, I do, but it’s difficult to be around them because they have what I want. I want a partner in life, someone who makes me happy and who will give me more children. That’s my dream. Isn’t it terrible? I’m jealous of my own daughter’s happiness. What kind of asshole does that make me?”
But Jane merely takes my hand across the table, her look warm and accepting.
“I know what you mean,” she says in a quiet voice. “I’ve felt that way ever since they got married too.”
At that moment, our hash browns arrive, and the crispy scent is pure heaven. We dig in and I keep the conversation moving because it’s so easy to talk to Jane.
“The women my daughter mentioned? They don’t interest me. Most of the time, they remind me of my ex, Catherine, with their three B’s: bones, bitchiness, and boredom.”
Jane snort-laughs and blushes sweetly. “It can’t be that bad.”
But I shake my head over another forkful of hash browns.
“It is. That’s why I joined the Cube. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen at the club, but at least I’d be able to meet a different type of woman. Someone lush, who likes to explore. Someone with imagination, and a sense of daring. Someone like you.”
Now, Jane is scarlet.
“Brent, you have to stop.”
I’m silent for a moment.
“Do you want me to?”
She pauses and thinks but then shakes her head.
“No, I like it when you compliment me.”
I squeeze her hand.