Wet Part 3 (25 page)

oOo

Later that day, Bathroom Girl walked into the office while Rhees and Claire worked on their computers.

“Hi,” she said enthusiastically. “I’m looking for the infamous and very good-looking, Paul Weaver.”

Her accent sounded French.

“What do you want with him?” Rhees was surprised with Claire’s quick, condescending response.

“Could you tell him Ronnie is here? That’s short for Veronique. He’ll know who you are talking about. He told me I’d be a good fit for him—I mean, for his shop.” She grinned coyly, as if she’d innocently made the slip—by accident—on purpose. “He asked me to get my dive master here, and I would never refuse that man,
anything
.”

“Oh.” Rhees tried to smile as she stood to face the girl. “He’s busy right now, but I can get you registered.”

“No. I want to talk to
him
. I want him to register me.”

Claire stood too and rested her elbows on the counter. She reeked with intolerance for the slut on the other side. “We’re full right now, not taking new students at the moment.”

“No, Claire. Um, we had that cancellation, remember?” Rhees gave Claire a warning glance, to which Claire conceded. Rhees didn’t want Ronnie there any more than Claire, but they were running a business, a business that was now half hers. She needed to act like a professional, not a big, jealous baby. “We have a spot.”

“Paul’s busy,” Claire saved the conversation. “And
very
married.”

“He said that, but his wife was nowhere to be found, you know, when we spent the night together.” The harlot actually smirked. “Believe me. He’ll be happy to see me
again
.”

Rhees felt a stab in her heart. She would have been—should have been with him. The reason she hadn’t, stung. He couldn’t stand being around her anymore. Now, this woman stood, right in her face, making an innuendo about sleeping with Paul, her husband. He’d promised—no, he actually hadn’t promised when she’d asked about it just that morning. He’d only told her that he hadn’t been with anyone else since May. She wanted to believe him, but her insecurity rose up a notch or two.

“Well, like we said, Paul’s busy.” Claire glared at Ronnie. “He’ll just send you back here to us. We take care of all the registrations.”

Rhees grabbed the clipboard with the right paperwork and handed it to the girl. “Just fill this out and we’ll get you started.” She didn’t have it in her to force a smile this time.

“He’s very convincing. I’m eager to work with him. He seems like such a good diver,” Ronnie rambled on as she filled out the forms. “I’m sure he’s the best instructor on the island.”

“It’s amazing you could tell, just by talking to him,
for how long
?” Claire had read Rhees’ mind, but Claire actually said rude things out loud.

Ronnie waved her hands in the air with a laugh. “Well, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about, so self-assured, and good looking.”

“He’s married,” Claire said, again, dryly. Her expression matched Rhees’ when Ronnie actually shrugged, making it clear that it didn’t matter.

“I’m afraid Paul doesn’t actually teach the course.” Rhees had to clear her throat. “This shop is what some people call a dive college. He’s the owner. He supervises the training.”

“Oh. I was under the impression . . .” Ronnie looked up from her paperwork. She seemed disappointed, almost to the point of having second thoughts. “If he’s supervising, that means he’s here
every day, right?”

“Yes, of course.” Rhees strained to sound enthusiastic. She didn’t want Ronnie around, and she wished she hadn’t been so quick to shut Claire’s rejection down—but a paying student.

“Okay, then,” Ronnie sounded too relieved as she handed the clipboard back to Rhees. “That’s all I need to work my magic.”

“Skank,” Claire said under her breath.

“What?” Ronnie asked.

“She said, um . . .
thank
. . . you,” Rhees tried to cover for Claire, “for filling out the form and joining us here at Paradise.”

Ronnie leaned over the counter and spoke in a hushed tone, “So, what’s the story with the wife? How stupid could she be? I mean, to let a man that fine, walk around unguarded.”

Claire reached over and took Rhees’ left hand, setting it on the counter to make sure Ronnie didn’t miss the ridiculously large diamond on her ring finger. Rhees never imagined she would love her gargantuan wedding ring as much as she did at that moment, or be so grateful, that because of her marital problems, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to put the large diamond section in the safe yet. She could have kissed Claire.

“Steer clear of Paul,” Claire said.

Ronnie looked the ring over and made a face that reflected respect, but to the ring, not necessarily the woman wearing it. She finally looked up at Rhees and checked her out from head to . . . as far down as she could see her behind the counter. When she finished scrutinizing Rhees, a strange glint flickered across her face, as if to say she didn’t think the competition too stiff.

“Good looking
and
rich,” she said, glaring at Rhees as if challenging her to a duel.

Rhees had been dealing with the occasional girl brazenly trying to steal Paul’s attention, right out from under her, since the first night he’d walked her home. Over time, Paul’s dedicated attention to only her had
mostly
cured her from worrying too much, but she worried now.

Rhees looked over the paperwork to make sure Ronnie hadn’t missed anything, at least she pretended to. Her concentration was shot and the writing was nothing but a blur. Ronnie extended her hand to Claire.

“I’m happy to meet you.”

“I’m Claire,” Rhees’ friend sneered, and then flashed Ronnie the phoniest smile Rhees had ever seen.

Ronnie turned to Rhees with her own fake smile, pretending not to know already. “And you are?”

“Rhees.”

“Mrs. Weaver.” Claire made it clear to the new girl. “Mrs.
Paul
Weaver.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ronnie’s insincere voice and smile didn’t falter as she reached for Rhees’ hand. Rhees hesitated before reciprocating, and Ronnie held her hand longer than necessary, sizing her up again.

“That girl is trouble,” Claire said when Ronnie walked out. “Watch your back.”

“It’s not
my
back I’m worried about.” Rhees knew Paul would never agree to lock himself in his room for the next few weeks. She could never ask him to, being the only person he’d ever confided in about his childhood.

oOo

Rhees waited that evening while Paul found a hundred unnecessary things to do to prolong leaving the shop, as if he dreaded having to finally face her. He’d avoided her all day, again, so she determined she’d stop trying to get him to talk about it, hoping he’d finally relax and come around. She didn’t know if it would work, but chasing him around wasn’t working, attempting to catch him long enough to make him talk it out, thinking that she could finally say the right words, in the right way, that would make it all better.

Her stomach churned, her nerves were frazzled, she was shaky, and it reminded her of the dance club performances in high school. She finally got tired of waiting for him to avoid her any longer.

“Can this wait until tomorrow?” She wasn’t hungry at all, but she knew he had to be. Hunger and Paul didn’t mix well. “Dinner takes forever. We should get going, don’t you think?”

She saw him wince. He hated the sound of her voice now too, apparently. He put his hands on his hips and avoided eye contact.

“Mitch and Shanni are meeting up with us at Jungo’s for dinner. It’s just down the road so I thought we’d wait, and head from here.”

“Oh.” It would have been nice to know that earlier. He must have seen the concern on her face.

“You look fine. You can shower after dinner.”

But Jungo’s is one of the nicer restaurants on the island,
she thought. She was going to feel out of place in her shorts and T-shirt over a swimming suit, but she held firm to her new resolve. She wasn’t about to push him on anything until he finally stopped acting like he was about to crawl out of his skin around her. She sat down on the bench in the gazebo, pulled the brush out of her pack, and started to work on her dive hair.

“I said you look fine.” His voice sounded gentler than the crusty grumbling he’d been giving her lately. His eyes looked softer too, regretful, if she wasn’t mistaken. “You’re beautiful . . . as always.”

She stopped brushing and paused for a second before tucking the brush back into her pack. Those simple words were the best interaction she’d had with him since he’d crawled into her bed and pulled her into his arms the night before. 

“Shall we go?” he asked as he held his hand out to her. She hesitated, wondering, afraid of assuming the gesture meant more than it did. She took his hand and he pulled, helping her up from the bench, and leaving them looking into each other’s eyes when she stood. The moment of silence seemed to last a very long time as each of them searched for something from the other.

“Shall we go?” he finally asked again, and she nodded. 

oOo

Rhees had only eaten at the restaurant once before, when it had been just the two of them, Paul and her. Tucked back in the jungle, Jungo’s sat off and away from town, accessed only by a hundred and fifty-yard meandering path. The decor reminded Rhees of the Emerald Starfish, the way it had been built around a theme. The walls were made to look like they were hewn from rock, giving it a cave-like feeling with a grass hut-style roof. There was no breeze, but all the vegetation and shade kept it cool.

It didn’t take long for her to understand why they were having dinner with Mitch and Shanni. The whole thing felt too convenient. Dinner with Paul’s friends was his shield against her, a successful attempt to fill in the time they might otherwise use to rehash their problems.

Paul engaged Mitch in conversation all night, out of character for him, the best listener in the world, but every time the conversation started to move toward more recent times, Paul was the one to take it back to pre-Rhees. Shanni piped in every now and then, having hooked up with Mitch sometime during the two men’s friendship, but Rhees had nothing to add to the reminiscing of their shared past. She could do nothing but listen with a smile.

Mitch had been Paul’s friend for years and they’d all come to the island together. Ginger had been part of their foursome when they first arrived, but she left shortly after. She was the subject of most of their stories, and one after another, they laughed at all the incredible, problematic situations she’d gotten them into.

Rhees had heard the name before, but didn’t know much about her before hearing the shocking stories that night. Shanni never once attempted to show anything but disdain for their former traveling companion, so it surprised Rhees to find out that Ginger was Mitch’s cousin. That helped her understand the fondness in Mitch’s tone regarding the family member, but she didn’t understand Paul’s apparent fondness for the eccentric, possibly mentally unstable, teetering on sociopathic, woman, leaving Rhees to feel a little threatened by the past Paul and Ginger had shared.

Rhees felt herself deflate even more when Ronnie and two other unfamiliar girls walked into the restaurant during dessert. Rhees brooded as she watched Ronnie so obviously staring at Paul for the next twenty minutes until the check came. She’d noticed Paul glance over at Ronnie a few times, but only with his scowly eyes, which gave Rhees a little confidence, but not enough.

“Take Rhees home for me,” Paul said as he grabbed the check and slipped his credit card inside the folder. “Ronnie said she’s been trying to convince her friends to sign up with Paradise. I’m going to go talk to them for a few minutes. Maybe I can convince them.”

“I’ll wait for you,” Rhees said.

“No.” Paul left no room for discussion and Rhees saw some unspoken message pass between him and Mitch. Shanni looked at Rhees like she understood as well. “I won’t be long.”

“No problem,” Mitch said in his Irish brogue. He slipped his arm tightly into the crook of Shanni and Rhees’ elbows, and escorted them out of the restaurant, giving Rhees no chance to object. She turned back and watched Paul stroll over to Ronnie and her friends’ table, saw how Ronnie’s eye lit up, but she didn’t get to see how Paul reacted to the
I know you’re married, but I don’t care
look she gave him.

Mitch had dragged her around the corner where she could no longer see anything but a bunch of jungle plants, the rock pathway, and water, the water that had filled her eyes.

oOo

Paul didn’t say anything as Rhees unlocked the door to let him into the apartment, an hour and fifteen minutes later, not really that long considering the walking distance between Oceanside and Jungo’s, but based on his past, Rhees knew it was long enough. She reminded herself, it didn’t matter.

She ignored him but sensed Paul’s confusion as he watched her climb into the twin bed—that was already messy, because she’d already been trying to get to sleep on the twin, instead of their bed. She was making a point. She’d given her conditions about it, if he were to do what she feared he had, with Ronnie.

She reminded herself again. It didn’t matter. She still loved him, and didn’t want to figure out how to live without him, but he’d have to get very clean before she’d let him touch her again. Shower or no shower, she knew he had no intention of touching her, so she could have slept in their bed. She didn’t want to, even though she knew how much he hated sleeping alone.

Paul gave up, shaking his head, and without a word, slipped into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He finally climbed into the double bed, and the room fell silent for about an hour.

She didn’t hear his normal sleep breathing pattern, so she knew he was still awake too.

“I haven’t changed my mind about keeping promises. It was just business.”

“Fine.”

“I’m not going to break my promise. Vows are promises too.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He made a frustrated, surrendering groan, but that’s all they said the rest of the night, even though neither of them slept. She had a lot she wanted to say, but she stuck to her plan not to nag him.