“How did that make you feel?” I was a psychiatrist. I couldn’t help it.
“It was like looking at Lynn, but then it wasn’t, at the same time.” He heaved out a breath. “Regardless, it was a mistake. I should have walked right back out.”
“What happened?”
“She fucked the hell out of me. Best sex of my fucking life, man.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But after… You know those spiders that devour their mates after sex? I felt like that.”
“Like she was going to eat you?”
He snorted. “Like she was done with me and had no more need for me to exist. At. All. Like, ever.”
“Did it happen again after that time?”
He stared into his beer.
“It did, didn’t it?” I let out a noise that was somewhere between a bark and a grunt.
“I went back for seconds. And thirds. And a few more times when she needed something.”
“Like what? What did she need?”
“A way to get close to you,” he admitted.
I sat up straight.
“Right after that, I don’t know what happened but Lynn refused to talk to her anymore. So Shelly wanted to put herself in Lynn’s path—and yours, for that matter. So she would call me up when she wanted to go to a party or something. Sex was my payment.”
“Was it worth it?”
He knocked his knuckles on the table. “Man, if I had it to do all over again, I would have stayed far away from that pussy.”
I shook my head. “It’s all right. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“It’s not all right. Because that pussy is crazy.” His eyes suddenly grew wide as he stared over my shoulder. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath and closed his eyes. He squeezed them shut tightly, and then opened them and looked beyond me again. I refused to turn around, because I already knew who was there. “Shelly,” Malcolm said, just as a cloud of sweet-smelling perfume enveloped me. Then a pair of arms did the same.
“Hey, handsome,” Shelly said, her lips close to my ear. Her breath smelled like spearmint.
Shelly’s arms twined around my neck as her breasts pressed against my back. I grabbed her wrists and lifted her arms over my head, turning to face her. She pursed her lips and tilted her head at me. “Someone’s in a bad mood.” She pretended to pout.
Shelly was still wearing the brightly colored scarf and tan raincoat I’d seen earlier. She unwound the scarf from around her neck, then laid it on the table. “This is Lynn’s,” I said. I picked it up and ran the silky fabric through my fingers. I’d bought it for Lynn last Christmas.
“Yep,” she said, popping her lips on the end of the word. “Aren’t you going to invite me to join you?”
“No,” Malcolm muttered.
“Sure,” I said a little louder than Malcolm. I kicked a chair away from me, so Shelly could sit in it.
She covered my hand with hers and gave it a squeeze. “How have you been?”
“Fine.” I gently but forcefully pulled my hand back. If I showed any weakness around Shelly, she would pounce on me like that spider Malcolm had just mentioned. “You?”
“If I was any better, I’d have to be twins,” she said. “Wouldn’t be able to stand it, otherwise.” She turned to face Malcolm. “It’s been a long time,” she said. Then she took his beer and drank a sip of it.
“Not long enough,” Malcolm said calmly. He motioned to the waitress for another drink.
“So, what’s new?” Shelly asked. She kicked her feet like a happy kid at a party.
“Where is she?” I asked calmly, modulating my voice, although inside I felt like I was about to blow apart.