Friends Without Benefits Page 3

  “I know how much you love contemporary art.” Grace dunked the teabag in her mug up and down a few times.

  “Really, Grace. This must have cost a fortune. It’s too much.”

  “No, it’s not. You helped me a lot with the wedding.” She searched her bag for something else and handed her a string of what looked like marbles. “Plus, you’re my best friend.”

  Dex held it up to her neck and scrunched her nose. “A necklace?”

  Grace laughed. “Definitely not. They’re komboloi beads, made of amber. They’re supposed to keep your hands busy.”

  Dex held up the colorful string and let the marbles slide from side to side. “Oh. Nice.”

  “Or you can just hang them on the wall.” Grace stood and reached for her hand. “Leave that and come with me.” She pulled her into the office, sat in the chair behind the desk, and motioned for Dex to get the one in the corner. “I’ve got so many pictures to show you.” She put the camera card in the slot on the side of the laptop and fiddled with the mouse. “Do you know how to make these play?”

  Dex stood up. “Here. Let me drive.”

  Grace switched seats with her, and Dex had the pictures pulled up in just a few clicks.

  As Dex clicked through the massive number of pictures, her stomach started to twist. She saw pictures of Brent and Grace at the beach, Brent and Grace at dinner, Brent and Grace at the Acropolis.

  “Can you help me make a slide show out of these?”

  “Sure. Do you have some music you want to add to it?”

  “Yes. We bought some in Greece that would be perfect.” Grace ran out of the room and returned quickly with a CD.

  While the pictures copied to the laptop, Dex opened iTunes, and they created a playlist with the songs that Grace chose from the CD, as well as a few other favorites. When they were done, Dex merged the music with the pictures and let the show run, watching the entire trip again. Dex tried to seem interested as the pictures slid slowly across the screen, but the first time had been enough for her, and she zoned out during the last ten minutes. When the slideshow ended, she found Grace sitting forward in her chair staring at her.

  “What’s the matter with you?” Grace said and pressed her lips together. “You don’t seem interested in my trip at all.”

  Dex sat up and moved closer to the laptop. “What? Of course I am. I was just gauging the timing between pictures.” In all honesty, it was hard enough to see Grace’s spectacular honeymoon and all their happiness the first time, and she just couldn’t take watching the love in them again.

  “Are you sure that’s all?” She pulled her eyebrows together. “I hope you’re not mad about me leaving without saying good-bye. I tried to find you.”

  Dex shook her head as she saved the slideshow and shut down the laptop. Dex had made sure that didn’t happen, and it was probably good that Grace hadn’t found her, or she might have spilled her guts in front of Brent. It probably wouldn’t have made the slightest bit of difference to Grace, but Dex would’ve regretted it for life.

  “Did something happen while I was gone?”

  “No. Everything’s fine.” But everything wasn’t. She and Grace would never be fine again. Their relationship had changed significantly. Dex felt like an outsider now.

  “Okay, then.” Grace reached for her hand. “Come on. I’ll show you some of the other things I bought.” She led Dex into her bedroom.

  Dex stopped and scanned the room. It looked like an F3 tornado had come into the room, swept everything up into the air, and let it crash to the floor again. Clothes and bags were strewn everywhere.

  Grace seemed to notice her surprise. “Sorry. I haven’t had a chance to do anything since we got back.” She picked up a few stray pieces of clothing and tossed them into a pile on the floor next to the bed before she opened her unpacked suitcase perched on the upholstered bench at the bottom of the bed. She took out several bikini bathing suits, held them in her hand, and closed her eyes.

  “The beach was covered in golden sand, and the water was such a clear blue, the ocean floor was visible as far as I could see.” Her eyes sprang open. “I could see my feet the whole time I was in the water, and the snorkeling was perfection. One day we were surrounded by little yellow-finned fish. I have no idea what they were, but it was surreal, Dex.” She smiled as though she were reliving every moment. “And the sunbathing was wonderful. We had our own umbrella and lounge chairs every day. I thought of you a lot. Two women were under the umbrella next to us the whole time we were there. They’d just gotten married too.”

  She was quiet for a moment, and Dex wondered what exactly she’d thought about her while she watched the women. She took in a breath. “We swam in the ocean at sunset every night and then had drinks on the beach. We even made love on the beach.” She tossed the bathing suit into the pile. “But that’s totally overrated.” She lowered her voice and raised an eyebrow as though she was telling her the secret location of a sunken treasure ship. “Sand gets just about everywhere.”

  An image of Grace and Brent on the beach together flashed through Dex’s head, and she shook it from her thoughts.

  “And dinner was absolutely fabulous every night.” The pile of clothes on the floor was growing as Grace tossed more onto it. Thong underwear, sexy lingerie, short shorts, tight tops, and bikini bathing suits with minimal cover-ups. Clearly Grace had hoped for a very intimate honeymoon.

  “You did that every day?” Dex knew it was an unrealistic dream, but she’d love to find a woman she could share an adventure like that with someday. Not Greece. That was totally ruined for her now, but possibly Italy.

  Grace slapped the empty Louis Vuitton suitcase closed and rolled her eyes. “Not really. Brent drank a little too much once or twice and had a pretty good hangover the next day.” She dug through one of the beach bags that sat on the chair in the corner of the room. “But it was good most of the time.” She scrunched up her face. “They have some crazy customs. You wouldn’t believe what they did for us this one night. They brought grapes and flaming cheese before dinner. Then they danced around the table and gave me this beautiful necklace.” She pulled it out of the bag and tossed it to Dex.

  She caught it with one hand and let it swing from her fingers before she examined it. It was a pendant of Rhea, the goddess of fertility and motherhood. Dex had always been fascinated with mythology. She was sure Grace had no idea what the necklace represented.

  “With roast lamb, baked pasta, champagne, and candlelight, it was the perfect dinner. I must have gained at least ten pounds on the trip.” She glanced at her ass, at Dex, and then her ass again.

  “Nah. You look great.” Dex gave her the expected response. She might have gained a pound or two, but whether she had or not, the vacation would justify Grace’s next few weeks of crazy workout sessions. The weight would be gone in a week. Grace had a great job at the gym and got her membership for free. She’d gotten Dex in free on her friends-and-family discount as well, but she didn’t have time to go. Besides, she already did enough heavy lifting on the job.

  Grace was fortunate, like Dex, in that way. They could pretty much eat whatever they wanted and still stay slim. She glanced at the medallion again and wondered if that would still be the same once she and Brent started having children.

  “Are you and Brent going to have kids right away?” Oh, shit. Did I really ask that?

  Grace snapped her gaze back to Dex and blinked rapidly. The question must have surprised her as well. “Who said anything about kids?”

  “I just thought now that you’re married, having a family would be the next step.”

  “I have a lot of things to do before that ever happens. I’m not done having fun yet.” Grace was more like her mother than she liked to admit. Only her parents had created their family and then continued to do what they wanted while they left them in the care of relatives or babysitters while they went on their adventures.

  Dex tossed the necklace back to Grace. “Then you’d
better not wear that. Rhea is the goddess of fertility and motherhood.”

  The necklace slapped against Grace’s chest as she moved her hands and let it fall to the ground. “Oh my God. No wonder they told me to always wear it.” She picked it up between her thumb and index finger as though it were a dirty diaper and carried it to the trash.

  Dex chuckled. “Since when are you so superstitious?” Dex swiped it from her fingers and hung it on the corner of a picture frame on the dresser.

  “Since I don’t want babies right now. Do you think it’s easy keeping this figure? I can’t imagine getting back into shape after pushing a little human out.” She closed her eyes and shivered. “No. Absolutely not.”

  “Hang on to it. You may change your mind someday.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” She shook her head. “But not right now.”

  Her expression made Dex think all wasn’t perfect in the world of Grace and Brent. “You okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. I just didn’t know I was going to be forced into such domestic bliss so quickly.” She stared at the pile of dirty clothes on the floor from their honeymoon. Grace had always gotten an allowance from her parents and sent her clothes to the cleaners weekly.

  “Do you need help with laundry?”

  “Would you mind? I have no idea what to do with it. Brent says we need to rely on his salary now and put whatever money my parents give us into savings.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me.” Dex picked up the pile of laundry and started sorting through it. “You need four piles. Whites, lights, darks, and delicates.” She pointed to a pair of Brent’s boxers. “You’re in charge of those.”

  * * *

  When Grace got back home, Brent was in his usual position slouched half-mast, relaxing on the couch in front of the TV with his feet on the table. She took a breath and calmed herself before proceeding into the house.

  “Hey, babe. Where you been?” Brent said as he quickly removed his feet from the coffee table and replaced them with the bowl of salsa that had been sitting on his chest.

  “I went to the grocery store. And I saw that.” She hated it when he put his dirty shoes on the table.

  He gave her a big grin. “I thought Dex was coming over today.”

  Grace melted. She loved it when he smiled at her that way. “She did, but then she had to get back to work.” She forced herself not to run into the kitchen to grab a towel and cleaning spray to wipe down the table. It still irritated the fuck out of her when Brent put his feet on the table. He knew she hated it, yet he kept on doing it.

  “I bet she’s glad you’re back?”

  “I really don’t know if she is.” She tossed her purse onto the couch. “She acted totally uninterested when I was telling her about our honeymoon.”

  “She probably had enough of it from all the pictures you sent her. Looking at someone else’s trip is kind of boring.” He held up a bag of tortilla chips. “Want some?”

  “It is not.” She plucked a chip out of the bag and dipped it in the bowl of salsa. “And I didn’t send her that many.”

  “You sent her a bunch.” He glanced up from the TV for a minute. “Maybe she needs to go out and have some fun once in a while. She never really goes out with anyone, does she?”

  “No. Not really.” She went into the kitchen and set the bag of groceries on the counter. “I thought she was going to fall asleep halfway through the slideshow.”

  “You made a slideshow?” He popped up off the couch and followed her. “Like on the laptop?”

  She pulled her eyebrows together. “Yeah.” She took a couple of beers out of the six-pack before she put it in the refrigerator. Brent took them from her hand and screwed the tops off.

  “That’s awesome, babe. I want to see it.” He handed her one of the bottles and sprinted to the office.

  “Really?” She didn’t think he’d be this excited. She put the milk and vegetables into the refrigerator and the rest of the groceries in the pantry. She wasn’t in the mood for shopping today and had only picked up a few essentials. She’d go again later in the week.

  “Of course.” He came back out with the laptop. “I’ll hook it up to the TV.”

  “You can do that?” Dex hadn’t done that earlier. Another sign she wasn’t interested.

  “Yep. Where is it?” He plugged the cord into the laptop before he grabbed her by the waist, pulled her to him, and kissed her. “I can’t wait to see my beautiful bride in our tropical paradise.”

  “Stop.” Grace laughed and felt all warm inside. “She put it on the desktop.”

  “We need to go back next year,” he said as he clicked the file and expanded the slideshow to full-screen. Grace sat on the couch, and Brent flopped down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. “Showtime.”

  Chapter Four

  Dex had finished her last bid for the day and had ended up at a bar that she frequented from time to time with her work crew. It was a locals’ place that didn’t have a lot of flair. Warm, medium-colored walls and dim accent lighting in the ceiling accompanied by flattering pendant lights gave the place a comfortable dusky atmosphere at all times. A couple of pool tables were in the back, a jukebox lined the wall, and close to a dozen wooden tables and chairs sat in the center of the bar.

  The visit earlier with Grace had been a little too much for her to take. She sat down and ordered a beer and a shot of whiskey. Nothing was going to scrub all the honeymoon details Grace had shared from her mind. Specifically, the details of their lovemaking session on the beach, no matter how much sand was involved.

  The bartender slid the drinks in front of her. She drank the shot and forced herself to concentrate on the burn as the alcohol went down her throat. It was a momentary distraction from the pain plaguing her heart.

  Fuck! Why can’t I get her out of my head? She took a pull on her beer. Because she’s gorgeous and you’re in love with her, dumbass. After knowing Grace preferred men for all these years, why was she still in love with her? The knot in her stomach reappeared as she remembered how she’d asked Grace to reconsider marrying Brent the week before the wedding. The understanding in Grace’s eyes was clear when Dex had choked out her reasons, professing her love. Tears had immediately streamed down Grace’s cheeks, and Dex hadn’t been able to contain hers for much longer than Grace had. After capturing Dex in an embrace, they stood together through moments of silence and plenty of tears from both of them.

  Then Grace had released her, regained her composure, and told Dex that, although she loved her and that she would be in her heart forever, she was in love with Brent. Her feelings for him outweighed her feelings for Dex. It had been a huge blow. Dex had been holding out for a miracle to sweep in and change her destiny, but it hadn’t happened. Grace had made it perfectly clear that her feelings for Dex were purely platonic, and Dex had been forced to accept the reality of their situation. The day had been very emotional for both of them, but their conversation had been necessary to provide closure for her to move on, and now that was exactly what she intended to do.

  The place was unusually full tonight, with a surprisingly mixed crowd of people. The sexy blonde that slid onto the barstool next to her was the last person she’d expected to appear. The place had the usuals, as well as a few newcomers, but hot, single women weren’t usually among them.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” the blonde asked.

  “I’m good. But thanks.” Dex turned and stared into her startling blue eyes. They were almost the same color as the royal-blue dress she was wearing, which fit her curves spectacularly.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I sit next to you. This is my first time here.”

  Dex smiled. “You’re fine. So you’ve really never been here before?”

  “No. Just had a late appointment over this way and stopped in for a drink afterward. It’s been a rough day, and I’m not in the mood to get hit on.”

  Seemed reasonable enough. “I understand that.” Dex lifted her beer in acknowledgment. �
�I think you’re pretty safe here.” She took a drink.

  “I’m Candice,” the woman said as she shifted sideways in her barstool and crossed her legs.

  “Dex,” she said, trying to keep her focus on her beer instead of the long, lean legs displayed next to her.

  “Dex,” Candice repeated. “That’s an interesting name.”

  “You have no idea,” she said, shaking her head.

  Candice raised an eyebrow. “Care to elaborate?”

  Dex explained to her about the unconventional way her parents came up with her name. They seemed to pull names out of a hat for their children, naming them after sports figures, movie titles, or the evergreen they’d seen or been planting during the timeframe each child had been conceived. Candice just happened to be from Canada and had actually heard of the obscure Canadian hockey player Dex had been named after. She also chuckled a bit about people getting it confused with the serial killer TV show. Dex hadn’t gone into the torment she’d endured in her youth because of it. That would be too much information for a lovely stranger. With a brother named Ransom, after a crime-thriller movie, and an older sister named Juniper, her life could be pure hell at times. She’d been tempted more than once to take on a serial-killer persona just to get the kids off her back.

  The one Candice really found funny was her sister’s name, Juniper. From that point on, she began naming everyone who sat down at the bar after evergreens. The tall girl with the skinny legs and gobs of wild hair became Willow. The short, dark-haired guy with the flattop next to her became Hedge. The funniest was a tall, stocky, red-haired, bearded guy she named Redwood. He definitely fit the description. Dex had to admit it was kind of fun and had unexpectedly lightened her mood. The bartender smiled and shook his head. He’d overheard the whole conversation and seemed to be equally amused as he continued sliding drinks in front of them.

  After a few more drinks, they left the bar, and Dex walked Candice to her car. At least that was her intent, but they ended up in the darkened parking lot with Candice pressed against her Ford Explorer, making out instead. She reached inside Dex’s jacket and tugged her closer, indicating she was more than willing to go further. When Dex reached under Candice’s dress and found no panties, only wetness between her legs, she took what was offered, sliding her fingers through the silky warmth and pushing them inside. Candice clutched her, pressed her face into Dex’s shoulder, and moaned. Dex closed her eyes and found herself imagining Grace in her arms, under her hands, clenched around her fingers as they worked her arousal, and she went with it. Candice came hard against Dex’s hand before she slumped into her, apparently satisfied.