“You know what? I think I will have a bite, after all.”
She set down her purse and picked up her menu while Leroy took the seat across from her.
Adrienne scanned the list of entrees. If Darrell had shown up, she would have ordered a salad, but this was Leroy. She had no reason to impress him, so she got what she wanted.
Chicken Marsala for her, stuffed flounder for him.
Halfway through the meal, Adrienne felt Leroy’s leg brush lightly against hers under the table.
Was he getting fresh with her?
She let it slide.
“You look good,” Leroy said, leaning back in his seat. His brown eyes were bright with sincerity.
Adrienne smiled slightly. “Thank you.”
“He sure missed out.”
“I appreciate that.”
It felt nice to relax, to stop caring whether her new hairstyle was still intact or her perfume had worn off.
It was nice to put her elbows on the table and answer texts and emails while she ate her chicken, and to burp without saying, “Excuse me.”
After all, it was just Leroy. They had been married eight years and he had seen her at her worst. And it was funny how some things with Leroy were still a natural reflex for her, like handing him a napkin and telling him he had crumbs in his beard. How she ordered water for him because he never seemed to remember that scotch wasn’t a good thing to chase your food with.
His food half-eaten, Leroy asked, “Was dinner all you had planned, or was there something else?”
He had that shit-eating grin on his face like he already knew the answer.
Adrienne didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “No, there was nothing else.”
Leroy looked her up and down then, from her come-fuck-me heels to her cleavage-baring fuck-me dress. He knew. He had to know.
Adrienne was serving pussy on a platter tonight and it was obvious.
“I’m merely saying, if there was something else on the agenda, like bowling or miniature golf, I’ve got some time on my hands.”
No, it had been neither, but she had intended to show her athletic ability tonight, and it was a shame that it wasn’t going to happen now.
The quick shifting of her eyes gave Adrienne away.
Leroy crossed his arms over his chest. “What? Were ya’ll going to his place or yours?”
“Fuck you, Leroy.”
“So, you were going to get a room?” Leroy was on a roll now.
“Fuck you, Leroy.”
Leroy leaned forward and whispered, “I could rent a room, you know, with a view.”
Adrienne sucked her teeth. “You’re too damn cheap for that. You forget I know you, Leroy.”
If Adrienne didn’t know better, she’d say that Leroy had planned the entire thing to make her look bad, but it was hard to believe that even he would stoop that low.
Adrienne dabbed at the corners of her mouth and threw the napkin on the table.