Page 6 of Be My Temptation (Temptation 2)
Kate sniffed and grabbed a new tissue. “It’s Brock. I caught him in a lie. A huge lie.”
“I know he’s not married. Did he cheat on you? If he did after what your husband put you through, I’ll twist off his left testicle and hand it to him.”
Kate sniffed and looked up. “That’s an oddly specific threat.”
“That’s because I mean it.”
Taking a deep breath, Kate folded another tissue in her hand. “He didn’t cheat. But he hasn’t been honest with me.”
Angie put a hand on Kate’s arm. “Is he broke?”
“No, as far as I know his company is doing really well.”
“Is he dying?”
Wiping away a tear with a tissue, Kate said, “I wouldn’t be angry with him if he were.”
Angie slapped her hand on her thigh. “He has kids he never told you about. If Mike knew about them and didn’t tell me, I’ll kill him.”
Kate smiled reluctantly. “No. No kids. Well, none that I know of. That’s my point. If you catch someone in a large lie, how do you know that they’re not lying to you about everything else?”
Angie sighed. “I give up—spill it. What did he lie about?”
Kate looked away. “It’s not really something I’m comfortable sharing the details of.”
“You had a threesome with someone he said was a stranger, but he already knew her and lied about it.” Angie looked half excited by her guess. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
Shaking her head, Kate said, “It’s more complicated than that.”
“More complicated than a threesome? Like an orgy?”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Seriously? An orgy?”
Angie shrugged. “Hey, I’m guessing wildly because you’re being vague. We’re friends, Kate. Just tell me. I won’t judge.”
Kate stood up and buried her hands in her coat pockets. “I was sort of seeing someone before I met Brock.”
“Nothing wrong with that.”
“He actually encouraged me to ask Brock out.”
“Okay, that’s a little strange.”
“And today I found proof that he was Brock.”
“Who?”
“The man I was seeing before him.”
“Whoa, you lost me. How could you not have known he was Brock?”
Kate grimaced. “Because I never met the other man in person?”
Angie stood and crossed the room to study Kate’s expression. “You look way too upset for this to be a joke, but let me see if I have this straight. You were talking to someone—online?”
Kate shrugged one shoulder. “Texting on a phone, mostly.”
“And he was Brock, but you didn’t know who you were talking to.”
Kate nodded. “Essentially.”
“And he told you to ask Brock out. Come on, that’s sweet.”
Folding her arms in front of her, Kate shook her head vehemently. “Not sweet. Totally fucked up. You have no idea how guilty I’ve felt this whole past month. I was getting ready to confess everything to Brock. But I don’t have to confess anything, because he was Mr. Elf.” As memories of what she had done with Mr. Elf came flooding back to her, Kate went bright red. “That bastard.”
“Mr. Elf? Kate, I don’t want to pressure you when you’re in this state, but you can’t leave until you tell me the rest of the story. Why were you talking to a man who called himself Mr. Elf in the first place?”
Suddenly hot, Kate took off her coat and dropped it on the chair beside her. “If I tell you something, you have to swear you’ll never tell anyone.”
Angie’s eyes rounded. “Who would I tell?”
“Swear.”
“Okay, okay. It stays between us.”
Once Kate started, the story poured out of her. She started with how she’d always written to Santa Claus with her mother, and how after her mom had passed away she’d vented her unhappiness in a letter to him. “I ended the letter by asking Santa for some pretty crude things for Christmas. I decided at the last minute not to mail it. When I got home I realized I had somehow lost it. The next morning I found a prepaid phone on my doorstep with a card that was signed ‘Head Elf in charge of the Naughty List.’ ”
Angie burst out laughing, then sobered when Kate didn’t laugh with her. “Sorry. Go on.”
“I was sad and angry and lonely. He started leaving gifts for me with instructions, and I did what he asked me to.”
“Like?”
Kate shrugged again. “Ben Wa balls. Stuff like that.”
“He’s the guy you said introduced you to toys?”
“Yes.”
“But you didn’t know who he was at the time?”
“Right.”
“Wow.” Angie raised her hands, biting her lip in an obvious attempt not to smile. “I’m just imaging how Brock must have felt when he found your letter. He must have thought he’d hit the lottery. Then he started sending you naughty gifts, and you liked them?”
Kate covered her face with her hands. “It was a game, and for a while it was fun. When I think about what he had me do, in front of Brock, in a way that Brock wouldn’t know, I could die. He knew. He knew exactly what I was doing. Oh, my God, he must have been laughing at me the whole time.”
“Laughing? Doubtful. More likely he was having difficulty hiding his perpetual hard-on. That was every man’s wet dream. He told you what to do to him, and you did it.”
“I can’t ever look at him again.”
Angie was quiet for a moment, then said, “I could be wrong, but when we talked about Mr. Elf—” Angie chuckled, then stopped and continued, “Sorry, I can’t say that with a straight face. When you mentioned the man who introduced you to sex toys, you sounded grateful to him.”
Kate lowered her hands. “I was. I felt like I was sinking before I met Mr. Elf. I know it sounds insane, but he jolted me out of a depression I didn’t realize I was falling into. He challenged me to do things I wouldn’t normally do, to not care what people thought of me. Mr. Elf was partly the reason why I said hi to you the first day we met. I used to be very shy. I normally would have looked away and walked by without saying anything.”
“So Brock did you a favor.”
Grudgingly, Kate nodded. “Yes, but he lied about it.”
“Did you ask him if he was Mr. Elf?”
“No, but come on, that’s a pretty big thing to keep to yourself.”
“I understand why you’re upset, but I don’t think you should break up with him over this.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
Angie smiled. “You’re beginning to sound like me.”
Kate half smiled at that comment. “Well, then you can blame me when your sons start saying it.” In a more serious tone, Kate added, “My ex-husband lied about everything. I don’t know if I can forgive Brock for this.”
“Brock didn’t technically lie. He didn’t tell you everything, but that’s not the same thing.”
“He played me, Angie.”
Angie sat back down on the couch. “Yes, but it was a game you admit was good for you. So, where’s the harm? He obviously cares about you. Anyone with two eyes can tell he’s in love with you—he’s even said it himself.”
Kate went to sit beside Angie on the couch again. “So, I just pretend I don’t know? I don’t think I can do that.”
Angie laughed and rubbed her hands together. “Oh, hell no. He thinks he outsmarted you. You need to give him a taste of his own medicine. Good, harmless fun, laced with a little bit of payback, sounds like just what he deserves.”
“How would I do that?”
“You need to text Mr. Elf.”
***
