Conrad lead his wife towards the hot tub. It was sheer luck that the private jacuzzi had been unoccupied but Conrad used it to his advantage, paying extra to ensure that no one would disturb them. Things with Victoria were so different and new suddenly that he would pay any amount to prevent anything from spooking her.

"We'll have privacy here, I made sure of it." He told her as he pressed his hand to her lower back, leading her into the hot tub.

"Is that a trick you learned from your time with Lydia?" She asked. She didn't understand why the words spilled from her mouth. She hadn't wanted to, but at the same time she needed to know if he was serious about them being together.

"Victoria, you know Lydia couldn't go anywhere near water without worrying that the chemicals would turn her bottled blonde green." He said, gripping her hair. He had always loved that Victoria never pretended to be someone she wasn't. She didn't dye her hair or fall victim to any of the cosmetics procedures that so many women in the Hamptons did. He suspected that was one of the reasons she blew most women out of the water, because Victoria was always Victoria.

"So you learned this with Ashley." She pressed on, giving him a small laugh and a smile that showed both of her dimples.

Conrad sat down, grabbing his wife's hips and pulling her down so she was straddling him.

"I know what you're doing, but you're wasting your time." He said calmly.

"And what, pray tell am I doing?" She asked.

"You're poking the bear. You finally let me in and now you're scared and vulnerable. If you provoke me and I lash out then you kill two birds with one stone. You will be able to say you opened your heart to me and that although it didn't work, it was my fault it failed. It's pointless though, I'm not giving up on you. I learned that lesson one too many times." She scoffed, but she wasn't really mad. He was right, and they both knew it. As always, she had been testing him. But this time felt so different. Their old fights usually boiled down to one distinct difference between them. Conrad had been unfaithful, but had never given his heart to anyone besides her. Victoria, on the other hand had. It both angered and hurt to realize that when it came to infidelity, she was the worst offender.

"So you think you have some sixth sense about me now?" She asked. A part of her wanted to be angry with him, but she just didn't have it in her. She was tired of pushing him away.

"I don't pretend to have a sixth sense. What I do have, however is a Vic sense." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, obviously proud of his joke. She rolled her eyes at him. His joke was in no way funny, but it was touching.

"You're crazy."

"Crazy for you." He grabbed her hips and pressed her further down, forcing her to feel exactly how he felt about her. "See what you do to me?" He expected her to be offended, maybe even slap him. Instead she grabbed the back of his neck, desperately pressing her lips to his. She ran her tongue across his lower lip. He couldn't help but assume he had said or done something right, because she was urgent for his touch. It reminded him of their first time together. No matter how much time had lapsed since then, he could never forget how urgent everything was to her. It was as if she were racing, not to get it over with but to experience the entire thing. Years later, when she had explained what she had suffered through at the hands of her stepfather he realized that her urgency was her trying to work past it, to wipe the slate clean in a way. Of course, it wasn't until a few years ago that she had explained what Jimmy had done to her. He had been horrified. It also deeply ashamed that she hadn't told him in their years together. It made her urgency their first night even more heartbreaking.

She glanced around nervously, wanting to make sure no one would stumble upon them. Although they had a reputation for being the "golden couple," she didn't want anyone catching them.

"I paid for privacy, my dear. You don't have to keep looking over your shoulder. But if you're worried we can go back to the room-" Victoria glanced around nervously, but moved her hands to untie her husbands swimming trunks. As she kissed him, she pushed her swimsuit to the side, muffling his moans with a kiss and she lowered herself onto him.

Conrad couldn't believe his wife's take charge attitude. He couldn't believe how exciting it was that her bathing suit was still on. They both tried half heartedly to muffle the moans as she pushed him deeper and deeper into her until neither could take it any longer. Afterwards, she let her forehead rest against his chest. She made no attempt to fix the ebony strands that fell against both sides of her face. Even after all this time, she was embarrassed. She wasn't the type to act so impulsively and she couldn't even blame Conrad. This had been entirely her fault. She had taken exactly what she wanted, when she wanted it.

"No need to be bashful," Conrad said as he rubbed her shoulders. He was actually grateful for their troubled past because he know had a much better understanding of what Victoria both wanted and needed.

"What do you say we go back to the room and get ready?"

"Ready for what?" She asked, finally looking up. He could still see the pink flush that had spread across her face.

"My dear, I'm taking you out tonight." He said as they got out of the hot tub.