Page 24 of Infidelity Rules

I’m at Club Central watching Dezi and Elliot on the dance floor, but I can’t take my eyes off Todd, their utterly charming dance instructor.

He is most definitely commanding the room.

I’ve never seen anyone move their hips that way.

Sporting shiny pleather pants and a leopard print vest, I watch him saunter over to the DJ booth and put on salsa music.

“Gentlemen,” Todd booms at his students. “DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR HIPS ARE?”

He stops the music and turns to the couples on the floor, all in various stages of salsa-ing.

“The salsa. Cannot be danced. Without the hips,” he says, striding over to one poor guy who was stiff-legging his way through the basic steps, barely bending his knees.

“Ladies — bless you all — you know where your hips reside and what they do. Go twirl and let me introduce these gentlemen to their hips. And, apparently, their knees.”

I smile. Todd is hilarious and so good with his students. I now wish I had arrived on time for the lesson. Goodness knows I could use it.

“I think I’m finally getting it,” Dezi says to me as the lesson wraps up and Elliot twirls her around three times in rapid succession, tossing her into a deep dip.

“I’ll say. You two look great out there. You make it look so easy.”

“It’s all him,” Dezi says, grinning and tapping Elliot on the chest.

“Absolutely not true,” replies Elliot. “She makes me look good.”

“Well get back out there and boogie.” I shoo them away. “You’re fun to watch.”

“We will. We will. But I need a break. And I’m thirsty,” says Dezi.

“Well, that’s my cue to get you ladies some drinks,” says Elliot. “What will it be?”

“Gin and tonic,” we both say in unison as Elliot heads off in search of a bar.

“Thanks for coming out, Quinn. I’m glad you and Elliot are getting to know each other a bit better.”

“I’m happy to,” I say. “I like Elliot. And I need to make sure he’s good enough for you. That, and it’s always wise to make friends with the guy who keeps you in cheese.”

Dezi rolls her eyes at me. But then she gives me a funny look.

“What? Do I have something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Quinn, your eyes are all shiny and weird. What’s going on with you? Did you just see Marcus or something? It’s like you physically change whenever you’re around him.”

“What? No,” I say quickly, trying to swallow my smile. “But he’s stopping by here later,” I rattle on as Dezi’s eyes widen. “Just briefly on his way to the airport. I haven’t seen him in over a week and this is our only chance.”

“Quinn.” Dezi blows out a sigh, ruffling her pixie cut. “Elliot thinks you don’t have a boyfriend. That’s why we haven’t been double dating … what am I supposed to tell him?”

“Don’t worry about it. Marcus will keep his mouth shut. I keyed him in. And besides, we’ll say we’re just friends.”

Dezi snorts at this. “Friends? You and Marcus? Just friends?” she says, shaking her head. “The instant you two are in a room it’s like the rest of us are caught in the middle of a magic wand war between Harry Potter and his nemesis. Electricity just flies out of you both at warp speed.”

Frisson. Wild rumpus , I think to myself. Oh yeah.

“Just friends my ass,” says Dezi, grumbling. “Do not mess this up for me Quinn. I am not going to lie for you.”

“I would never ask you to. We’ll say we’re newly dating, which is true.”

“You need to get your romantic life together,” says Dezi, shaking her head and sighing. “You know I love you, but you are making this very awkward.”

“I’m sorry Dez. I know I can be a royal pain in the ass, but I don’t see how my love life is any of his business. And I don’t have a problem if you tell Elliot the truth about me and Marcus. Or about my preference for dating married men. I really don’t.”

“No way. I’m not ready to drop that bomb on him. Trust me, he would not react well at all.”

I shrug. “It’s your call. He’s your boyfriend. How long have you two been dating now?”

“Almost nine months. It’s hard to believe,” she says, her face lighting up. “I have never felt this way about anyone.”

“Well I, for one, am delighted to hear that,” says Elliot as he approaches with our drinks. “At least, I am if you were talking about me.” He hands Dezi her gin and tonic and pulls her tightly to his chest.

Dezi’s doll-like cheeks turn the most beautiful shade of petal pink.

“That’s the exact color your cheeks turned when I found you hiding in my pantry the other night,” says Elliot, laughing.

“What?” I say. “Do you two need a moment here?”

“No, no, no, we’re fine,” says Dezi, rolling her eyes at Elliot. “I was not HIDING in your pantry. I was eating Wasa crackers and didn’t want to wake you up. They are loud and crunchy. And I needed a midnight snack.”

“Well, I noticed you were gone and followed the sounds of crunching. It looked to me like you were hiding in my pantry.”

I watch this adorable exchange and smile.

“I was just eating crackers,” says Dezi. “And counting your spices. I have about six. You have over a hundred different spices. ONE HUNDRED. I got tired just trying to count them all.”

“I love to cook,” says Elliot, shrugging. “In fact, I think we need to throw a dinner party soon. Quinn, what do you think? You in?”

“Sure,” I say, searching Dezi’s face for confirmation. “As long as you’re the one doing the cooking, I’m game. And I’ll bring the wine.”

“Done,” says Elliot. “And now if you’ll excuse us for a few minutes, I need to get this one out on the dance floor.”

“Go, please,” I say, sipping my cocktail. “I’m fine here and I’d love to watch.”

Three songs later I’m still watching them dance when I feel him. Marcus . It never fails. The tiny hairs on my arms stand at attention and I can feel the heat of him, marching towards me.

Sure enough, there he is.

“Hello gorgeous,” he leans down and plants a kiss on my neck, then scoops me up into his arms. “I have missed you,” he says, burying his head in my hair. “You smell just like an orange creamsicle.”

“So much for pretending we’re just friends,” I say, laughing and kissing his face.

“Yeah. That was never very likely,” says Marcus, gently nibbling my ear. “Why can’t we just tell him the truth?”

“Which is what, exactly?”

“Which is that we’re dating,” he says, putting his arms around me. “And that we’re nuts about each other. And that we’re about to get the hell out of here and go get naked.”

I smirk and raise one eyebrow. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Marcus just nods and pulls me into him, hands on my hips. “Very,” he says, grazing my lips with his. “I never joke about getting naked.”

“Okay you two, break it up,” says Dezi, flicking cold water at us from the dregs of her drink.

“Oh hey,” I say. “I didn’t even notice you were back. Where’s Elliot?”

“Getting us another round,” says Dezi, shaking her head at me. “Just friends. Uh huh. Right. I knew you two couldn’t pull that off.”

“Of course not,” says Marcus, putting his arm around me. “Now, where is this man of yours?”

“He’s coming. But he has no clue about YOU,” Dezi looks at Marcus pointedly.

“I’m happy to make us both disappear,” says Marcus, winking at me.

“Absolutely not,” says Dezi. “You two stay right here and keep it PG. Well, PG13 at least. I suppose you were going to meet Elliot eventually, so we may as well get this over with.”

“You’re the boss,” says Marcus, as he leaves in search of bottled water.

“It’s going to be fine,” I say, reaching over to squeeze Dezi’s hand. “What are you so worried about?”

Dezi looks at me, fiddling with the gold necklace at her throat.

“Quinn. You date married men. On purpose. How am I supposed to explain that? You know I don’t care, I never have.

But I’m afraid Elliot’s judgment is clouded by what happened to his sister.

You heard him when we were having lobster rolls.

I just don’t know how he’s going to feel about it…

” she trails off. “I don’t know how he’s going to feel about me. ”

“Oh Dezi. Elliot loves you. And there’s nothing I can do to change that. But I don’t want to make things complicated for you. I really don’t. We can leave.”

“No, I don’t want you to go,” she says. “You’re my best friend. Elliot’s my boyfriend. I can’t keep trying to separate you. It is what it is at this point, right?”

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, wishing I could simply dump Marcus and make everything better for Dezi. But I can’t do that.

“And besides, I have to admit, you and Marcus are adorable,” she says, as if reading my mind. “I know I’ve only hung out with you two a few times, but he seems perfect for you, married or not.”

.....

Marcus returns with bottles of water and pulls me onto his lap. I’m melting into his firm chest when Elliot finally makes his way back with cocktails.

“Hey, I’m Elliot,” he says, striding right up to Marcus with a smile. “I didn’t know you were bringing somebody,” he says to me, shaking Marcus’s hand. “Unless, wait, you two didn’t just meet right now, did you?”

“We did,” says Marcus. “Just now. Couldn’t take my eyes off this one.” He gazes down at me.

“Oh, don’t listen to him,” says Dezi, playfully swatting Marcus on the shoulder. “Quinn just told me a moment ago that Marcus was going to stop by for a bit before he catches his flight.”

“Where are you off to?” asks Elliot. “Business or pleasure?”

“Definitely business,” says Marcus. “Especially since I’m the one flying the plane.”

At that, the two men start talking aviation and military and airplanes — a common insta-bond among men, it seems. That, and sports, of course.

“Look at that,” I say, grinning and nodding towards the men. “Those two have hit it off.”

“Well of course they have,” says Dezi. “But to what end? What’s going to happen between you and Marcus?”

“I have no idea, but you need to stop worrying so much. I’m sure Marcus and I will run our course as per my usual affairs.”

“But it’s different this time, for both of us,” Dezi replies. “I’m serious about Elliot. And you seem totally smitten with Marcus. Who has a wife , a fact you seem to conveniently ignore.”

“I’ve been dating married men a long time, Dezi. I’m used to this whole dance. I can handle this.”

“I’m worried about you this time,” she says, squeezing my hand. “You spend a lot of time together. It looks to me like you’re falling in love.”

Love . I’m about to speak but my throat feels too dry. I’ll admit, I have a whopper of a crush on Marcus. But love? But Dezi’s right, there is something different about us. Marcus just gets me and accepts me. All of me. The good, the bad. All of it. He’s like the male version of Dezi. But love ?

My phone blows up with text messages, interrupting my thoughts.

“You’d better check that,” says Dezi, nodding toward the phone as it continues to ping wildly.

I glance at the screen, then up at Dezi. “Zack,” I whisper.

Zack: Hey. Are you around? You haven’t been answering my texts.

Zack: I’d really like to talk to you. I promise it won’t take long. I want to apologize.

Zack: Is this what ghosting is?

Me: Hey. It’s okay. Really. I’m not ghosting you. Just trying to bow out and keep you out of trouble.

Zack: Too late for that. But it’s not your fault. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. And I’m sorry. I really am.

Me: Seriously, no worries. Stuff happens. I hope you two can work it out.

Zack: Really? That’s not what I want. Is that really what you want? Can I see you? Talk in person at least?

Me: I don’t think you’re supposed to be talking to me at all.

Zack: I know. It’s just … I need to see you.

Me: Zack. You’re married. And your wife knows. There’s nothing left to say.

“Hey gorgeous, are you talking to your other boyfriend again?” says Marcus, coming up behind me, his eyes twinkling. “And here I thought I was the only one,” he says, wrapping his arms around me, nibbling my neck.

“Very funny,” I say, quickly dropping my phone into my small bag. “You know full well you’re in competition,” I tease. “I haven’t decided quite yet who the front runner is.”

Elliot raises his eyebrows and looks at Dezi. Then at me.

“Have you been hiding not just one, but two boyfriends from us?” he asks.

“Actually, three,” I say with a smirk. “But who’s counting?”

“I am. I am most definitely counting,” replies Marcus as he lifts my hand to his lips. “I need to step up my game, apparently,” he says, winking at Elliot.

“Just ignore them,” says Dezi, shaking her head. “Come on, let’s dance.”

.....

A half-hour later Marcus says his goodbyes to Dezi and Elliot and gives me a long, lingering kiss. “Three days,” he says gruffly in my ear. “I’ll be back in three days and we’re going to my hotel. And then I’m buying you dinner. In that order.”