“Olivia is going out of town for a few days.”
“How is this a surprise for me?” He reached into the drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. “What’s this?”
“Read it.”
She read the paper and he anxiously waited for her reaction. “Vegas. You got us tickets to Vegas. Why?”
“I remember we had fun when we went.”
“No, we didn’t.”
“I thought you liked Vegas?”
He remembered they had spent their time in a cabana around the pool making out. She said they could have stayed up in the room making out where it was cooler.
“No, you like Vegas.”
“But I thought—”
“Where’s Olivia going?”
“A women’s conference with our church.”
She looked shocked at his response. “What did you say?”
“She’s going on a four day cruise with the women’s group from our church.”
“I thought that’s what you said. Since when do you go to church?”
“Since I married Olivia.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe it. You’re a church boy.”
“Not exactly. I go to church because that’s what Olivia likes.” She immediately thought about Sean and wondered if he was telling the truth about slipping up. Maybe he had a love nest somewhere in the city that he shared with a woman.
“I’m sleeping with a church boy. I thought there was a rule about that?”
“That was the old church. Things are different now. Even the preacher has a girlfriend on the side.”
“Really?”
“What church are you going to?”
“Mount Moriah Tabernacle.”
“Where is it?”
“Queens.”
“I’m shocked. How often do you go?”
She was asking questions so that when she talked to Sean she could compare notes. Maybe the church Sean attended was old school. If he knew about the new rules, then maybe they could become friends with benefits. She thought about his lips and how soft they would feel gliding across her body. And after fifteen years, she imagined the power he had stored up just waiting for the right woman. He was probably an amazing lover. After all, he said his fiancée didn’t break up with him because the sex was bad, but because he had become celibate. Why couldn’t she have a permanent boyfriend on the side? Eric had a wife.
“Most Sundays,” he replied.
“Is that why we don’t see each other on Sundays.”
“That and because we spend the rest of the day with our family.”