Perfect Strangers (7 page)

Chapter 11

The next morning Veronica awoke alone again in her bed. She blinked and stretched, glancing over at the clock: 9:41. She'd slept later than she had anticipated. But at the same time, she felt more rested than she had in years. Throwing the covers off of her, she donned her dressing gown and went downstairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen looked tidy, and there was a note on the table:

"Hey honey,

Didnt want to wake you but I made you some breakfast. Its in the oven.

Love, Greg"

Veronica put the note down, smiling lightly, and opened the oven. Inside was a plate with eggs, toast, and bacon on it. She took it out and sat down at the kitchen table to eat. As she munched on her food she thought about what she was going to do today.

She probably wasn't going to do any chores, that was for sure. But there was another walking meeting at noon. The image of Jason staring at her beside her car flashed in her mind and she shook her head to clear it. She needed to figure things out between them. They hadn't spoken since the water tower (of course, how
could
they?) and she needed to set things straight with him before either of them got hurt.

She wanted to apologize, that was the main thing. She'd led him on and that was wrong of her. He had probably already had ideas about what was going to happen at the water tower, and she did nothing to stop it. Besides, she was
married
. So it wasn't like anything could come of it anyways. It was a one-time mistake and something that she needed to take care of before anything bad happened.

Veronica popped the last bite of toast in her mouth and got up. She washed the plate and went to go take a shower. When she was finished she put on some music and did some menial cleaning, more out of habit than anything else, until it was time to leave.

When it was a quarter to noon, Veronica got on her shoes and coat and left to go to the meeting. This time the group was gathering at a conservation area just outside of town. They been there before, and each time Veronica felt as though she were lost when they walked through it. It was a beautiful area, full of trees and small clearings, and today would be a gorgeous day to explore it.

She drove to the site and turned into the parking lot. She scanned the cars to see if Jason's was there, and her stomach did a somersault when she saw it. She parked on the opposite end of the lot and left the car, trying to think of other things as she walked toward the group.

Nancy was close to the rear and she greeted Veronica. The two women briefly hugged and Veronica gave a casual look around, trying to spot Jason. She saw him standing near the front of the group, leather jacket on, attention entirely focused on the book he was reading.

Veronica watched him. The noise around her dulled to a buzz as she studied his face, the way he stood. He raised his hand to his mouth and licked his thumb, slowly turning the page, eyes scanning over the lines of text. Veronica heard her name as though from far away, and then a hand on her arm brought her back to the present. She turned and saw Nancy looking at her.

"I asked you how you were doing," Nancy said.

Veronica forced a smile.

"Oh, I'm okay," Veronica lied. "How about you? How're your kids?"

Nancy started talking about her children's marks in school but Veronica wasn't paying attention. She wanted to turn away but knew that she couldn't. In the middle of Nancy's spiel, Doug called out to the crowd.

"Okay everybody, I think we're all here and ready to go!" he said.

The group started moving forwards and Veronica grabbed a chance to look Jason's way again. He was tucking his book back into his jacket, seemingly unaware that Veronica was even there. Nancy was still talking and Veronica nodded politely every now and again, still not paying attention.

There was no opportunity to go up to speak to Jason while the group moved as one. An hour into the walk they all stopped to take a break, having reached a picnic area with tables and outhouses. The group dispersed as small pockets formed, some sitting at the picnic tables, some waiting in line to relieve their bladders.

Nancy wandered off to talk to other people, leaving Veronica on her own. She watched as Jason leaned up against a tree, pulling out his book and turning to his marked page. She could feel her heart starting to pound again. Taking a deep breath, she tried walking casually over to him, stopping a few feet away.

"Hi," she said. Jason looked up from his book and seemed completely unsurprised.

"Hello," he said in reply.

"What're you reading?" she asked, indicating the book in his hands. He glanced down at it for a second.

"Watership Down," he said.

"Oh, I've never read that. Is it any good?"

The ghost of a smile appeared.

"Yeah, it's good," he said.

Neither one spoke for a second. Veronica tried smiling but it felt strange on her face. Finally she said, "Look, um, can we talk? About what happened the other night?"

The smile vanished from his lips.

"Sure," he said, marking his page and stowing the book away.

"Um," Veronica tried to begin, turning her head to clear her thoughts. But as she did she saw Nancy, on the other side of the clearing, looking at her. Veronica quickly looked away. She looked up at Jason and he partially raised his eyebrows. "Mind if we talk somewhere private?" she asked. "I don't feel comfortable here."

"No problem," Jason replied, and he got up off the tree. The two walked away from the crowd, down one of the paths that branched out from the clearing. They didn't speak as they walked, and when they were far enough away that they couldn't see or hear the others, Veronica finally broke the silence.

"Look, about the other night," she began, "I don't know what I was thinking. I think that when you asked me to come to the water tower with you I was just in a weird place and you were so ... mysterious. And I think I knew, in some part of me, what was going to happen, but I just wanted to see what it would be like to not be living my normal life. To see what it was like on the other side of that fence."

Jason didn't say anything, so Veronica went on.

"But, I think that what happened between us will have to stay with that night. I'm a married woman, Jason. I can't afford to risk everything that I have, everything that I've built for so long and worked so hard to achieve. I just can't afford to let that all of that go just because I spent one night with a guy I think is interesting."

She finally stopped talking and Jason took a deep breath.

"All right," he said. "If that's what you want, then that's what we'll do."

"Oh," Veronica said. "Okay. Good."

The two kept walking, neither one speaking for a few minutes. Finally Jason spoke up again.

"What do you want, Veronica?" he asked. "What do you want in your life?"

Veronica paused at the question. She'd spent the past two nights sleeping alone, and yesterday she'd finally broken out of that mould she had found herself in and spent a day doing what she wanted. But at the same time, she'd been married for 13 years, and that wasn't the kind of thing you threw away in one night. Because of one night.

"I want what I have with Greg," she finally said.

"Why?"

"Why?" she repeated. "Because I'm happy. Or I
— I could be happy."

"I remember you telling me about how much work you do around the house and how your husband does none of it. And how you wanted that to change."

"He's started doing some things," she countered. "We had a fight … that night after the water tower, and I told him how I felt and he's promised to make things better."

"Has he?"

"Yes."

"And you told him how you
felt
?" Jason repeated.

"Yes, I told him about how I did all of the work around the house and how he did none and how I've been feeling so repressed and controlled. And then we fought and I ended up going to bed alone, while he slept on the couch. He slept there last night, too."

Veronica turned to look at Jason and saw him already looking at her, his eyes slightly narrowed, a definite smile on his face.

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad to hear that things are starting to change."

The two stopped walking and turned to look at each other.

"Thank you," Veronica said.

"I think you deserve more than what you've been given," Jason said, and he took a step forward, placing his hands on her sides. She didn't quite step back, their eyes locked together. "I think there's something in you that needs to break out. Something that's been trapped a long, long time."

Veronica saw his head starting to tilt and she knew what was going to happen, but still she didn't move. He slowly moved towards her, his breath warm as she felt it caressing her lips. And just before her eyelids closed she felt Jason's lips softly press against hers, a moan escaping her.

She felt herself rising, as though her feet were lifting off from the ground. Jason's arms moved around to her back and she lifted her own to him, draping them around his neck. Their lips pressed closer together, parting and allowing their tongues to meet. They danced together inside of their mouths, moving as one, while Veronica's breathing became heavier.

She squeezed her fingers and felt Jason's jacket, the hard material that covered his body. A heat was forming inside of her belly and she moved her hands down, sliding them underneath and over his t-shirt instead. There she felt his back, the muscles hard, writhing as his hands moved over her own body.

Just then, a voice not far off called their names.

"Veronica! Jason!"

The two opened their eyes and quickly pulled away from one another, Veronica almost panting while Jason shook his head and regained composure. She saw him adjust his jeans out of the corner of her eye just as Nancy come out from behind a bend. She stopped when she saw them and Veronica hoped her face wasn't too flushed.

"There you two are
… where did you go?"

"Oh," Veronica said, swallowing, "just looking at the scenery. Talking."

Jason didn't say anything as Nancy eyed him.

"Well, we're ready to leave. Come on."

"Great," Veronica said, and the three of them started back the way they'd come, with Nancy in the lead. Veronica gave a sideways glance at Jason, who looked back at her. His expression was blank, but after a second she saw that ghost of a smile appear on his lips. No one said anything until they got back to the group.

Chapter 12

When the three of them arrived back, the rest of the group was milling about in a large cluster, ready to continue on their walk. Doug saw the newcomers and clapped his hands together.

"Great, thank you Nancy!" he called out, then turned to address the group. "Now that we're all here again, we can continue on with our walk! Let's go, everybody!"

The group started moving as Jason slowly separated from the two women. Veronica willed herself not to look his way as he made his way to the outside of the crowd, keeping a distance from everybody else. Veronica turned to Nancy instead.

"Sorry we kept the group waiting," she said.

"It's okay," Nancy said, keeping her gaze facing forward. She wasn't smiling.

Veronica didn't know what else to say, so they walked in silence, the cracking of twigs and small pockets of conversation coming up here and there.

About an hour later, as the walk came to a close and they approached the parking lot, Veronica said goodbye to Nancy and made her way to her car. She took her time getting there, casually trying to look around to see what Jason was doing. She found him at his own car, seemingly unaware of her existence. She watched as he opened the door and got in, bringing his engine to life.

Veronica felt a hollow echo inside of her chest. She tore her eyes from him and dug around in her purse instead, trying to find her keys. Just as she fished them out and went to unlock her door, Jason's car pulled up next to her. She had a flash of déjà vu as he rolled down his window.

"Hey," he called out over the rumble of his engine. Veronica peered down into the window to look at him.

"Hi," she said back.

He was silent for a second. And then, "Great walk today."

Veronica frowned slightly.

"Yes, it was."

"I think the next one could be better, though," he went on. "And I'm sure there are places where it would be difficult to be found."

Veronica's heartbeat picked up. She swallowed.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm sure you're right."

Jason smiled that ghost of a smile.

"I'll see you later," he said, and without waiting for a reply he sped off. Veronica watched him turn out of the parking lot and drive out of sight. She took a deep breath and let it out, then turned to unlock her car door.

~~~

After that, Veronica's life began to change into something she wasn't expecting. She and Jason saw each other at the next walk, and in the first half he had managed to pull her away, out of the group without others noticing. From there they snuck off of the trail, Jason in the lead. When they were alone and the group was far away, it was like something in them both snapped and their lips came together like magnets.

They grabbed a hold of one another, their hands quickly stripping the other of their clothes. It was quick, sexy work, the only sounds being that of their breath coming in hard through their noses. When Jason undid Veronica's jeans he dropped down to his knees and buried his face between her thighs. She almost let out a moan but clamped her lips together, trying desperately to keep quiet.

He grabbed onto her behind, pulling at the muscle, holding her close to him. Her fingers found their way to his head where she ran them through his short hair, thick waves of pleasure moving through her body. He stood up and they kissed again, Veronica able to taste herself on his lips.

He undid his own pants and she felt his hardness press up against her. Taking her in his strong arms he lowered the both of them down onto the earthen floor, and there they made love. Their entwined mouths stifled the cries that threatened to come, their bodies two sweaty, writhing masses interlocked in the most intimate way.

When Veronica came it was like her body was being released of all its tensions. Jason kept moving in her, drawing her orgasm out, prolonging it until he came as well. Their bodies slowed down but they remained where they were, holding each other, breathing deeply and feeling their hot skin pressed together.

When they had finished and gotten dressed again, they snuck back onto the path and dashed ahead, keeping as quiet as possible. They joined the group from behind, luckily not having been noticed by anyone. From there they separated again, Jason moving off to the side, Veronica blending into the crowd.

Several times a week did the group meet up, and each time Veronica and Jason found themselves sneaking away, hiding from curious eyes and making hot, sweaty love. Their locations varied depending on where the walk was taking place, but they weren't very discerning: public washrooms; behind buildings; in a copse of trees. Every place afforded them new opportunities to explore each other's bodies, to sate their lustful desire for one another.

One day, after making love, Jason gave Veronica a folded piece of paper. She opened it up and saw a phone number
— his phone number. He said that she should call if she ever wanted to meet up outside of group meetings. Veronica's heart felt swollen, and she said that she would, putting the number in her purse. They kissed and Veronica felt the ground leave her feet as Jason picked her up, holding her tight.

~~~

At home, Veronica was glad to find out that things between her and Greg were steadily improving. He was helping out around the house more, and as the weeks passed she found her anger with him slowly dissipate. He wasn't that bad of a guy, when it came down to it. And besides, she had something else in her life that was making her happy, even if Greg didn't know about it.

One night, at dinner, Greg asked if he could join her in their bed. At first Veronica didn't know if that was a good idea -- she had become used to sleeping on her own, and introducing Greg back into her life in that way might make things complicated. But he really seemed to have changed. They hadn't fought once since that day, and she had begun seeing in him the things that made her love him all those years ago, when they were still young.

She said yes, and that night Greg and she went to bed together for the first time in almost a month. They changed into their pajamas together and got in under the covers. Greg came up and spooned Veronica from behind, a hand draped over her stomach, like he used to do. She felt the warmth of his body and it was comfortable, being held in bed after so many nights alone.

She felt his head nuzzle into her shoulder and his lips kissed her there, softly. She could feel the stubble of his cheeks as he pushed her hair away, kissing up towards her neck. Veronica closed her eyes. His hand began sliding up and down her stomach, his hips already grinding into her from behind.

As his kisses reached the side of her neck he grabbed onto one of her breasts, squeezing it through her t-shirt. She felt the familiar hardness pressing into her from behind, Greg's breathing becoming heavy as he fondled her breast, pinching at her nipples.

His kisses came heavier as he moved around to Veronica's mouth. She turned her head and their lips met, his tongue penetrating into her mouth with borderline ferocity. He grabbed onto her other breast and gave that one the same treatment, his hardness digging into her ass, pushing up into her unaroused body.

His hand left her chest and quickly found the waistband of her panties. He hooked his fingers in and pulled them down, sliding the fabric out from underneath Veronica's body. When they were off he did the same with his own underwear. Veronica felt him springing up against her thigh, a cold smear running along her skin.

He started shuffling his weight over her, climbing on top of her body as Veronica rolled complacently onto her back. She spread her legs and in the darkness felt him try to find his way into his destination. At last he made it and she winced as he pushed into her. He kissed her again, his breathing hard as he kept insisting his body enter hers.

When he was finally inside of her he ground his hips frantically. She heard him grunt, his body hot, her own in slight pain and discomfort. The image of her and Jason flashed in her mind, Jason's hold on her firm but tender, his body lovely, masculine. Being with Greg right now was nothing like that.

Veronica heard Greg groan and his body shuddered as he suddenly released himself inside of her. She felt her body flood with warmth as he collapsed on top of her, panting heavily, his head down beside her own. After a minute he rolled off of her, reaching over and grabbing onto her breast again, massaging it once more.

Veronica closed her legs as she heard Greg's breathing begin to subside.

"I'm just going to go clean up," she said, sliding out of bed away from his body and his hand. She went to the bathroom and wiped away as much of the mess as she could, dropping the Kleenex in the toilet.

When she came back she could hear Greg snoring, already asleep. She stopped where she was, listening to him in the dark. Instead of joining him in the bed, she grabbed her dressing gown and put it on, cinching it shut at the waist. Tip-toeing to the door, she left the room and went downstairs. There she sat in her chair and turned on the light, picking up her book. Snuggling up in a sitting position, she turned to her place and started reading.

~~~

"What's the matter, my dear? Aren't you enjoying your mutton?"

Lady Violet snapped out of the daydream she was having and looked up across the long table at her husband. He had both knife and fork in hand and was chewing voraciously on the large piece of meat in his mouth.

"Is it too well-done for you? I can have the chef do it again if you'd like."

"No, it's fine," Violet replied, and she looked down at the elegant fine china in front of her. On it was a rare and bloody slice of mutton, surrounded by vegetables and mashed potatoes. She cut a piece of the meat off and put it in her mouth. It tasted bland but she smiled to appease her husband, who was watching her intently.

"It's delicious," she said, and he nodded.

"Good, yes, best mutton money can buy!"

Lady Violet chewed the meat slowly as she returned to her thoughts. It had been two weeks since her rescue from the pirate ship and all she had been able to think about was that one moment, that fateful second when she and Emmanuel were together, not as kidnapper and captive but as man and woman, as two lovers held in embrace.

Now that she had returned to her old ways of life, she became starkly aware of just how different things had become to her. Whereas before she would think nothing of wearing fancy outfits and talking down to her servants, now the clothing felt too stiff, the servants too much like her equal. She no longer enjoyed the forced conversations at dinner parties, the constant intellectual rivalry amongst the men who claimed to be friends. Instead she longed for the rugged camaraderie that the pirates had had, all the drinking and yelling and engaging in legitimate, manly fun.

And what was more, ever since she'd been rescued, she felt as though her feelings toward Roland had changed. He was her dear husband, and had been for six long years now. But even though he cared for her just as dearly as he had before, she wasn't sure that she felt the same way about him.

For instance, whenever they walked together in the park, Violet found herself becoming bored too easily, longing for the raucous nature of the pirate ship. Their meals together felt cold and detached, and dinner parties became almost a chore to her mind.

What's more, Roland's touch felt almost to be that of a stranger's. Violet no longer felt the connection she had once had with her husband. Her thoughts, and her heart, kept returning to the man on the ship, Emmanuel. That man had offered her a glimpse into a different life. And that man had stolen her heart and left her, cold and alone, to await the return of a life she had once lead.

Violet put down her knife and fork, unable to eat any more.

"Dear," she said across the long table, "I believe I'm not feeling very well. I think I may go up to bed to lie down for a while."

"Of course, my love. You have been looking somewhat pale as of late. I'll send a servant up with a hot towel shortly."

"Thank you dear," she said, and she stood up as a servant behind her pulled her chair back.

Lady Violet left the table and walked through the well-decorated hallways, up the large oak steps to the master bedroom. She passed by several servants on the way, each standing stiff at attention and awaiting any orders she may have. She didn't converse with any of them, however. She simply needed a moment alone, a moment away from Roland and everything around her.

Lady Violet turned the doorknob of the master bedroom and stepped inside, keeping her head low. She closed the door behind her and when she lifted her gaze she saw Emmanuel standing by the bed, his clothing torn in places, his hair a disheveled mess.

Lady Violet almost screamed but managed to suppress it just in time. Emmanuel held out his hand, as though attempting to tame a wild animal. His expression was one of both fear and determination.

"Lady Violet," he said, and the low rumble of his voice sent waves of nostalgia through her.

She felt herself begin to swoon, and Emmanuel was at her side in a second. One hand was on her back, supporting her, and the other was running lightly over her forehead.

"M'lady," he said softly. "Please do not faint. I am not here to harm you."

"Emmanuel," she whispered softly, and the two looked deeply into each other's eyes.