Until Then (Cape Harbor 2)

They reached for their glasses at the same time, and Renee paused with hers midair. She waited for Theo to make a toast or say something to start their vacation off, but he drank and did so greedily.

“Thirsty?” she asked after taking a sip.

“I guess I was.” He finished the glass and motioned for a second. Renee thought about doing the same but wasn’t feeling it. The wine wasn’t what she wanted. When the bartender came back, she spoke up. “I’ll take a vodka tonic, please.” She slid her glass of wine to Theo and smiled.

“Vodka?”

She nodded. “I need something a little stronger.”

“Huh” was all Theo said as he picked up the glass in front of him. He downed it quickly. He ordered his third before Renee even had her tumbler of vodka.

She sipped her drink, growing more irritated the longer they sat at the bar. One drink, and then they should’ve been in their room, reconnecting. There was something wrong; she could feel it in her bones. Or maybe she wanted something to be wrong. Ever since she’d started hanging out with her old friends from Cape Harbor, she’d started second-guessing her life. She felt as if she were two different people. Renee versus Rennie, and she wanted to be Rennie.

After Theo finished his fourth glass, she asked for the check from the bartender. Theo started to balk, but she put her hand up. “We have plans, Theo.” Renee signed the bill, adding the charge to their room, and grabbed ahold of his arm. He was drunk, and she was pissed.

In the elevator, he leaned against her and professed his love for her very sloppily in her ear. Theo wasn’t known for holding his booze well, and wine was one of the worst. Renee knew once they entered their hotel room, he would pass out. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. There was a couple waiting to enter, and they gave a wide berth for Renee to help Theo navigate his exit. She smiled softly at them, only to have them scowl at her.

“Judgmental assholes,” she muttered when her back faced them.

“Who?” Theo asked with a slight slur.

“The people waiting to get on the elevator. They’re judging you because you’re drunk, but honestly, so am I.” They stopped in front of their door, and Renee fished the key card out of her purse.

“I’m not drunk, baby.” Theo pawed at her, grazing her breasts with his hand. “I’m going to make love to you,” he said rather loudly. She shushed him as she slid the plastic card into the metal key holder and pushed down on the handle to open the door. She held it open with her foot and slowly guided Theo in.

“Theo Wright, is that you?”

Renee turned toward the voice and saw the same couple who gave her and Theo a dirty look approaching them. Theo stumbled slightly, righted himself, and every ounce of color in his face drained. He tried to clear his throat, but it sounded more like someone was strangling him.

“Karen, Chad, wh . . . wha . . . what are you doing here?” he stammered.

It was Karen who spoke while eyeing Renee. “We’re on vacation, and who might you be?” The question was directed solely at Renee.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Theo cut her off. “Hotel staff,” he said. “She was just helping me to my room.”

Renee’s eyes went wide as his words settled in. He was looking at the ground, and this Karen person was glaring at her. Karen tilted her head to peek into their room. “Where’s Angela?”

Renee’s heart hit the floor. Her mouth ran dry, and tears threatened to expose themselves. “Who?” she asked any one of the three of them, although Chad had yet to say a single thing. Theo finally lifted his head and looked at Renee. His eyes spoke volumes to her. The tears she had been holding back flowed like a waterfall. She let the door go, and it slammed shut on Karen and Chad.

“Renee,” he said her name softly, but she wasn’t listening. She walked into the room, looked around at the beautiful scenery outside their large picture window. The desk clerk had been right; you could see people skiing down the mountain from their room.

On the table near the window sat a bottle of champagne, and next to it a dozen roses. For months, she’d questioned things around her. The hushed phone calls, missing important events, the excuses. Each time he chalked it up to work. Without a word to Theo, she grabbed the bottle of champagne and flung it toward the wall. The shattering was unsatisfying, and she sought out more things to destroy. The chair was next. She picked it up and heaved it at Theo. Even in his drunken stupor he was able to dodge the flying wood. The chair crashed into the wall and stayed fully intact when it landed on the floor. The only visible damage was the deep gash missing from the wallpaper.