Cass storms out and slams the door behind her for good measure, as if I didn’t already know she’s pissed.
Great. Cass was right. I fucked everything up with her and know she meant every word she said.
As soon as I get rid of my wife, I’ll go to Cass’s house and camp out if I have to until she will hear me out. She has to forgive me, right?
It takes me three tries before I get all the buttons in the right hole on my shirt because I’m so flustered. After I slip my jacket back on, I head for the gym.
Camilla spots me around the same time I see her platinum hair across the room. She struts right through the dance floor in her flimsy, black dress, coming to a stop in front of me.
“Hi, baby,” she croons and starts to put her arms around me. I grab them to push her away before that happens.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap at her.
Her model perfect face falls and she says, “You left the invitation on the refrigerator. Remember when we had talked about coming together?”
“That was before you fucked Arnold,” I grumble. “You shouldn’t have come. Go home, Camilla.”
Squaring her shoulders, she says, “Not without you. I miss you, baby.”
I start to say I don’t miss her, but that would be a lie. Things were good before her affair, or at least I thought they were.
“You’re still wearing your wedding band,” she gasps as she grabs my hand. I grit my teeth but don’t jerk away from her. “I haven’t taken mine off either.” She wiggles her fingers in front of my face to show me.
“It’s just stuck,” I tell her.
Without another word, Camilla leans over, opening her mouth to stick several of my fingers, including the one with the ring into her mouth. Her teeth come down around the band, and then she pulls back and shows the gold to me from between her teeth. “Not stuck anymore.”
When she pulls the ring out of her mouth and holds it up, I grab it and cram it into my pocket while the urge to take a hot shower to wash her mouth off of me rises.
“Xavier, baby, I know you were angry at me and needed time to get revenge. Are you done sleeping around so we can be together again?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind? How could I ever forgive you?” I ask.
“You were never home; and even when you were, you acted like I was invisible!” she exclaims.
“So it’s my fault you wanted someone else’s dick. Got it. Thanks for clarifying that,” I huff.
“No, what happened with Arnold was my fault,” Camilla says. “But I thought you were cheating on me when you wouldn’t come home until midnight.”
“I was working!”
“How could I be sure?” she asks. “Arnold said you were awfully close with your secretary…”
“Oh, fuck him! I didn’t cheat on you,” I assure her. “Well, not until after I left you. And when have I ever lied to you?”
“So you weren’t lying when you promised to love me through good times and bad?” Camilla asks with a pout.
“I guess we should’ve had an exception clause. Affairs are not bad times; they’re game fucking over!”
“Then why were you still wearing your ring?” she asks.
“I don’t know!”
“Yes, you do.” Grabbing my hand and squeezing it in hers, she says, “Let’s just go home. I’ve got two plane tickets booked for us. We can leave tonight.”
“No,” I say, jerking my hand out of her grip and pushing her away from me. “I need to go see Cass.”
“Why?” Camilla asks. “Did you sleep with her? Is that why she ran out of here looking like a hot mess? I knew it! I knew she wanted to get her claws in you! Let’s go see her so I can remind her who you belong to!”
“I sure as hell don’t belong to you!” I tell her.
“You’re still my husband, and I’m your wife,” she says with her fist propped up on her hip. “We can make this work, Xavier. I know a great marriage counselor back home. I went to see your parents and they agreed that counseling is what we need to get us right back on track.”
“It’s not that easy,” I start, wanting to tell her that I’m falling in love with Cass and she’s who I want to be with.
“I can forgive you for screwing however many women you’ve been with. Why can’t you forgive me for just one? It was only one time! One mistake that I’ll regret for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t buy that for a second,” I tell her.
“I swear, baby. It was just that one day. It never happened again either, even after you left me.”
“Even if that’s true, I can’t go back to the way things were,” I explain. “I haven’t forgiven you yet.”
“It’s been six months! Time’s up. We’re going home. You have work Monday, and we’ll see the therapist first thing. Come on,” she says, taking my hand again. “Your parents are waiting up to see us before our flight.”
Removing my hand from hers yet again, I say, “I’m quitting my job in Seattle.”
“So? You can find another law firm if you’re not happy,” Camilla says.
“No. I want to quit practicing law to move back here and train.”
“Train?” she exclaims. “Train for what?”
“Getting back into the cage. Fighting.”
A burst of laughter is her response. “Don’t be silly, baby. Why would you want to mess up your gorgeous face? I couldn’t bear to see you get hurt like that. And what would your mom say about you giving up law to get hit over and over again? Or your dad about trying to ride his coattails in the cage? How embarrassing would it be if you’re not as good as your little sister?”
“I could always go back to law later on,” I point out.
“Would anyone hire you after having your head bashed
