The Wives of Beverly Row 3: Lust Has a New Address (7 page)

“Something’s going on between you and Trudy Luxton. I know it. I saw you going over to her place last night. You’ve been going over there every chance you get.”

“No I haven’t.”

“Don’t lie to me Kyle. I’m not your wife. I’m your friend. We shouldn’t be keeping things from each other. Not yet. Not at this stage of our relationship.”

Kyle sighed. He sat down on the bed. Becky looked at him. He looked troubled, like he had something difficult to tell her. She knew then that she was right. The pain of it was outweighed by the satisfaction she got from having discovered the truth. Even more important than having a boyfriend was her ability to maintain her self-respect, and for Becky that meant not letting any man, no matter how perfect, cheat on her. She went over and sat down next to him.

“Just tell me everything,” she said. “It’s not the end of the world. We’re just kids.”

He looked up at her, into her eyes. “You’re so smart,” he said.

She nodded. She was still waiting for him to spill the beans.

“I’ve been a complete jerk,” Kyle said. “I cheated on you with Trudy. You’re right.”

Becky said nothing. Even if she’d wanted to hear the truth, it still hurt.

“I didn’t want to cheat on you,” Kyle said. “I didn’t have any intention of doing anything with any other girl in the world. I really didn’t.”

“But it happened anyway.”

“Becky. When you and I got intimate, when we did the things we did together, I was so happy I felt like I could have floated away into the clouds.”

“Then why did you cheat?”

“I don’t know, Becky. I honestly don’t. I have such strong feelings for you. I’m so attracted to you. There isn’t a girl in our school I’d rather date than you. I really wanted a future with you. I swear it.”

“But how can you say that now?”

“The thing with Trudy, I don’t want to make excuses, but it really did just happen before I even knew it. You remember that day I went over there to take her photo?”

“Of course I do. I hated that you were going over there.”

“Well, I got there, and she was dressed all sexy.”

“I knew it,” Becky said.

“And she just knew exactly what to do to me, Becky. It was almost like she hypnotized me. All I had in mind was taking photos, and the next thing I knew I’d had sex with her. It was unreal.”

“I bet it was,” Becky said. She wasn’t impressed with Kyle’s explanation but she knew it was probably the truth. She saw Trudy coming at him a mile away and she knew enough about boys to know that they didn’t have much resistance when a woman came on to them like that.

“I know this sounds like a cliché,” Kyle said, “but it basically was over before I even knew it had begun.”

“And then you went back for more last night,” Becky said.

Kyle looked at her and she knew he didn’t have any explanation for that. “Yes, I did. And I admit it, I pretty much knew what was going to happen last night and I went over anyway. I wanted it.”

Becky nodded and listened. She was quiet. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“The thing is,” Kyle said, “you want to know what I was thinking as I did those things with Trudy?”

“What?”

“I was thinking that I could use everything I learned with Trudy on you.”

“That’s weird.”

“No, listen,” Kyle continued. “She’s experienced. She knows about sex. I don’t know anything. I was thinking, whatever she told me to do, whatever she really liked, I could then do it to you, and you’d love it.”

Becky listened. It was actually a pretty smart idea. “Well,” she said, “it did feel really good when you went down on me.”

“Right,” Kyle said, “it was
amazing
.”

“It
was
amazing,” Becky said.

“So I was thinking,” Kyle continued, “that we could take everything I learn from Trudy, and we could use that to pleasure each other.”

Becky looked at him. She knew it was a crazy idea, she knew that wasn’t how monogamous relationships worked, but something about the idea thrilled her. It was the fact that she and Kyle together would be using Trudy. They’d be the ones getting all the benefit, taking all her knowledge and then using it to make their own sex life better. It would be something that she and Kyle could have, that they could share, that would be all theirs.

And it would be kinky as hell!

“Show me what she taught you last night,” Becky said.

Kyle looked at her. “Right now? My mom’s downstairs!”

“Okay,” Becky said, “but tonight, you’re going to take me up to our spot in your truck, and you’re going to show me
everything
.”

XII

A
RIEL STOOD IN FRONT OF
the enormous, four-hundred-year-old canvas and took a deep breath. She was really doing it, she was going ahead with Gabe’s plan and getting herself involved in what could possibly be the most dangerous and foolhardy project of her life. And the thing was, despite all the risk, all of the danger of their project, she was thrilled. She couldn’t wait to test herself, test her skill against this canvas.

She picked up the brush and examined it. Gabe had thought of everything. Even the brushes were ancient, made of the same hog-bristles that Rembrandt had used. The handles had been sharpened with a paring knife. It was another unusual technique that Rembrandt had pioneered, using the sharpened end of the brush to scratch into the primer or make markings in the paint. Gabe had thought of everything, right down to the tiniest detail.

She opened the pot of glue-chalk gesso and began putting down the first layer of primer. It was essential to prepare the canvas properly. When she’d layered on the primer she went over to the window and waited for it to dry. She watched the waves of the Pacific rolling in onto the beach. It was an overcast day and there weren’t many people outside.

As she was sanding and smoothing the first primer layer Gabe came in.

“Hard at it?” he said.

“You’ve really gone all out,” Ariel said. “You’ve thought of everything.”

“This is going to work,” he said.

“You’ve even sharpened the brush handles.”

“Hey, I can do my homework as well as the best of them.”

It was true. He’d really impressed her with the quality of the preparations. This was what it took to defraud an art museum out of five million dollars.

“So what have you done so far?” Gabe said.

Ariel smiled. She knew he was eager. He was expecting to see an outline of the boat or something. To recreate this painting it was going to take a lot of time. There wouldn’t be much to see for a while.

“Well,” she said, “I put on the first layer of primer.”

“Oh yeah, the primer,” he said. He must have known about all that as he’d sourced the correct compounds for priming the canvas himself.

“It’s going to take a while to do this right,” she said.

“I know,” Gabe said. “I know how long it will take.”

“And then to let it all cure, it’s not going to be fast.”

Gabe nodded. “It’s going to be worth it though,” he said. “When it’s done.”

Ariel walked over to him. “If you don’t mind my asking,” she said, “what possessed you to go to all this trouble, to take this massive risk? You’re making a small fortune at the gallery right now, aren’t you?”

“It’s not really about the money.” Gabe said, “It’s about the challenge. The thrill of the chase, you know what I mean? I just want to get one over on the establishment.”

Ariel smiled. Gabe had always been a gambler. “You never were one to play it safe, were you.”

Gabe watched as Ariel put another few layers of primer on the canvas, each one progressively smoother and finer than the last.

“So how’s it going with your new girlfriend?” Ariel said at last.

She knew she was being nosy but she wanted to hear what he thought of it. After all, Lucy and girls like her were the reason her own marriage had broken down.

“I don’t know,” Gabe said. “To be honest, it’s just a fling. It’s gone on longer than I think it needs to.”

“I was surprised that you were still going out with her. What’s it been, like six months?”

“Longer. I’m just afraid to break up with her now because I’m her employer!”

Ariel shook her head. “You always knew how to make things complicated.”

Gabe looked sad then. “I should have just appreciated what I had,” he said, “and enjoyed it.”

“Yes, you should have,” Ariel said.

Gabe came up to her and kissed her on the forehead. Then he left.

Ariel watched him leave. It seemed he’d really changed in the past year. He never used to talk to her like that. He’d never been so vulnerable or emotional. She layered on some more primer and then looked at the computer screen image of the original painting. She was trying to work out what colors of paint lay beneath the surface. Often, the paint you covered up was as important, or even more important, than the final layers that were visible on the surface.

XIII

L
ATER THAT EVENING WHILE ARIEL
was finishing up at the warehouse Gabe called her.

“What’s up?” she said.

“I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink tonight?”

“Oh,” Ariel said. She was surprised. “I don’t know, Gabe.” She paused for a moment, uncertain what to say. She’d enjoyed screwing his brains out, but she still wanted to keep things slow.

Gabe spoke, just to fill the awkward silence. “I was just close by and I thought maybe you wanted to get a bite to eat,” he said.

“I don’t know,” she said again. “Can I take a rain check, Gabe?”

“Sure,” Gabe said. She could tell he felt embarrassed for calling but she didn’t know what else to say. She didn’t want to rush into anything with him. They’d been married a long time and it really had been a difficult process getting divorced. For the first time in her adult life she felt she could enjoy her freedom and make real plans for her future.

She put her phone in her purse and gathered up the rest of her stuff. The canvas could sit like that for a day or two for the layers of primer harden. She turned on a fan to keep air in the room circulating and then left. She had four steel doors to lock on her way from the studio to the parking lot. Gabe was taking security very seriously.

She got into her car and turned the ignition. She’d been intending on going straight home, Becky was there watching a movie and she felt a little bad that she hadn’t prepared any dinner. Becky had had a frozen pizza. But as she drove down Santa Monica Boulevard past Third Street she had a sudden urge to go to a bar. Gabe had put the idea in her mind and while she didn’t want to meet up with him for a drink she did feel like meeting
someone
.

She was a single woman now, she was a grown adult, she could go to a bar and meet someone if she wanted.
Why couldn’t she?
It wasn’t something she’d ever done before but as she found a parking spot she began to feel very excited about going to a bar by herself for what was probably the first time in over twenty years.

She found a really nice looking wine bar called Bodega. It seemed pretty busy with people sipping expensive wines and enjoying fancy appetizers. She looked at her reflection in the glass door. She thought she looked fine. She felt a flutter of nerves as she stepped inside.
What was she doing?
She felt like a teenager again. She was trying to pick up!

She stepped inside and immediately felt overcome with self-consciousness. Everyone in there seemed to be with friends. They were all laughing and talking and drinking. She felt conspicuous having no date and no friends to sit with. She walked straight through the main area of the bar and into the women’s washroom. There were a few women inside touching up their makeup. Ariel joined them and made sure she looked presentable. Then she went back out to the bar feeling a little more confident.

There was an opening at the bar and she went over and took a seat.

“What can I get you?” the bartender said.

Ariel looked up at him. The place really was cool. Exposed brick walls gave it a hip, industrial feel. The wine on the shelves around the bar looked very impressive. She’d never seen so many options.

“I don’t know,” she said. “What red wine do you recommend?”

The bartender smiled and held up the bottle that was already in his hand. “Do you like dry?”

“Love it.”

“Then you’re going to love this,” he said and poured her a glass.

Ariel had no idea what the wine was but she didn’t really care. It all tasted the same in the end.

“Put that on my tab,” a man sitting close to Ariel at the bar said.

Was it really as easy as that to get picked up?
Ariel thought. She looked over at the man who’d bought her the drink. She almost fell off her seat. It was Jake Medeiros.

Ariel hadn’t seen Jake since that awful pool party where he’d practically drowned Zola. She’d stormed out after making a big scene in front of all his friends and she’d been carefully avoiding him ever since. She didn’t like him one bit and she had no interest in talking to him now.

“Ariel,” Jake said.

He was leaning back on his bar stool looking like he owned the place. Ariel had to admit he was pretty dashing in a navy suit that looked like it came from Tom Ford or somewhere equally expensive. The top few buttons of his shirt were open and she could see his tanned, well-built chest and collar bones.

“Jake,” she said and lifted her glass to him.

He nodded and took a sip of the whiskey he was drinking.

“Well,” she said, “I think I’ll leave.”

Jake got up from his seat immediately and came over to her.

“Please,” he said, “don’t rush off just because of me. I know I owe you an apology.”

Ariel was surprised. She hadn’t expected him to be polite, or to offer an apology of any kind.

“It’s not me you owe an apology to. It’s your wife.”

“I know,” he said. “And believe me, Zola and I are working on our issues. And boy do we have issues.”

“I’ll say.”

Jake looked saddened, as if the thought of his marriage made him unhappy.

“Anyway, I wanted to clear the air and tell you that I’m very sorry for my behavior the other week. It really wasn’t acceptable and I regret that it happened.”