The sense of dejavu was overwhelming for Liza as she stood to the side of the crowded lobby of the Metropolitan Opera on Wednesday evening. It had been just shy of a year ago when she had been here with Josh, and Charles with Radha. She smiled to herself as she remembered stumbling out of the bathroom and into Charles, remembering how he had zipped her dress for her, his fingers trailing over her bare back. She recalled how desperately she had wanted to spin around in that hallway and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.
"Penny for your thoughts?" The man occupying her thoughts materialized in front of her, holding two glasses of champagne and looking like he had just stepped out of a James Bond movie. His black tux fit him like a glove, but Liza couldn't wait to help him out of it later.
"Just thinking about the last time we were here." She took a glass of champagne from him and sipped, her eyes sparkling back at him. "And thinking about how much I wanted to kiss you that night."
He leaned in and brushed his lips lightly against hers, tasting the champagne on her lips. "Probably not half as much as I wanted to kiss you. It took every ounce of willpower I had that night to not take your hand and run out of there. That dress was dangerous. This one is doing things for me, too." He said a little quieter, his voice husky, as his eyes dropped and raked over her body.
Liza did love this dress. Until this afternoon, she had been panicking about finding a dress to wear, so much so that Diana had finally gotten involved and made a call and taken Liza to her beloved dress shop in Midtown. She had proceeded to harangue Liza into trying on dresses of every shape, pattern and color, until Liza had finally settled on a royal blue number. It was floor length and off the shoulder, with a deep v neck. Liza had fallen in love with it on sight and had been speechless when Diana had insisted on purchasing it for her. She had said something about how Liza needed to start upgrading her wardrobe and stop wearing some of her hipster getups. Regardless, she had profusely thanked Diana the entire car ride back to the office, annoying Diana to the point that she had threatened to return the dress. It had been a memorable afternoon, to say the least, and Liza had truly enjoyed spending some time with Diana outside of the office.
"Diana picked it out."
"Remind me to give her a raise." He whispered huskily, running one hand lightly up her arm, cupping her neck as he leaned in for another kiss.
"Hey, kids, keep it PG." A voice behind them startled them, and they broke apart, turning to see Bob and Julie smiling at them from a few feet away. Liza turned slightly pink as Bob smirked at them. Julia rolled her eyes at her husband, stepping forward to kiss Charles on the cheek and pull Liza into a warm hug.
"You look beautiful, Liza! We're matching!" She looked down at her own navy blue sleeveless tea length dress and then back up at Liza.
"Yes, we are! Thank you so much for the invitation tonight." Liza leaned in to hug Bob affectionately. He had called Charles over the weekend, inviting he and Liza to the show tonight after one of the other partners at his firm had given him 4 tickets to tonight's show – Peter Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty.
"Of course. Julia loves the opera, don't you, sweetie? What about you, Liza? Ever been before?"
"Just once, last year. It was very memorable." She cast Charles a sidelong glance, and the happy couple exchanged a knowing smile.
"Well I'm so glad that the two of you could make it this evening." Said Julia. She was very much enjoying her budding friendship with Liza, who was a breath of fresh air in comparison to most of her other "society" friends. Bob had echoed her sentiments in a recent conversation, adding that he had never seen Charles happier than he had with Liza.
"Can I get a photograph of you all?" A skinny photographer stopped in front of them, gesturing for the four of them to gather together. Charles angled himself slightly behind Liza, his hand sliding around her waist. The photographer snapped a few pictures and took their names as the lobby lights flashed, indicating that it was time to take their seats. Charles let Bob and Julia lead the way up the stairs, he and Liza following. He placed his hand on the small of her back, his thumb lightly trailing over the bare skin on her back. Liza shivered as he did so, as he lit her skin on fire.
It's late in the evening when Charles and Liza finally pull up in the town car outside of the brownstone. It had been a wonderful production that both had thoroughly enjoyed. Charles had never been much of a fan, but it seemed that having Liza on his arm made quite a bit of difference. Or maybe it was watching her watch the production with rapt fascination. Either way, he made a mental note that tickets to the next season of shows might make a great gift for Liza.
Charles paid the babysitter and peeked his head into the girl's room, where they both were fast asleep. He turned off the hallway lights and opened the door to the bedroom, where Liza was leaning over to take off her heels.
"Don't take that dress off quite yet." He said, reaching over to dim the lights. "I want to dance with my girl." He pulled his phone out and tapped away for a moment before the first notes of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" came streaming quietly out of the speaker on his dresser. Reaching out, he smiled crookedly as Liza stood up, sliding her hand into his. He pulled her close, one hand sliding around her waist as the other clasped her hand to his chest. She slid her free arm around his shoulders, weaving her fingers into the hair on the back of his neck. They began to sway on the spot, turning in a circle as they looked into each other's eyes. Liza's heart swelled as the chorus of the song echoed in her ears, as she stared into Charles's piercing blue eyes. She laid her head against his chest, blinking back a tear. She still couldn't quite believe she was here, with the man that she had been slowly falling in love with for two years, and that she could see nothing but happiness on the horizon when she thought of a future for the two of them. Her heart was so full she thought it might explode.
As the music slowed and Liza rested her head just under his chin, Charles slid his arms around her, pulling her into a deep hug. He sensed her emotions, had seen her eyes fill with tears before she had dragged her eyes from his. He had a feeling they were tears of happiness but still felt an overwhelming need to comfort her, to make her feel safe. He kissed the top of her head before tilting her chin up to look at him. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, the damp spots on her cheeks where a tear or two had escaped, before lowering his lips to meet hers. He grazed them softly at first, barely brushing over them before settling into a long slow kiss. Liza shivered, a jolt of electricity rushing through her body, as she felt her mouth fuse with his, as she felt his fingers slowly tug on the zipper of her dress. She shrugged her arms out of the sleeves and reached up to push his tuxedo jacket off of his shoulders. Liza stepped out of her dress and moved back to him as he unknotted his bowtie, casting the black fabric aside. Liza deftly began to unbutton his shirt, kissing his chest and abs as she reached the last few buttons. Charles reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling Liza into a blazing kiss that made her see stars. Charles heard her moan through the kiss, and that was all he needed to pull her back onto the bed and begin to show her just how much she meant to him. He had no intent of letting her fall asleep anytime soon.
Saturday Morning
Charles climbed the steps to Liza and Maggie's apartment on Saturday morning, a definite spring in his step. He had just dropped the girls off to Pauline for the weekend and was free to spend the next two days uninterrupted with Liza.
He hadn't spoken to Pauline since the weekend prior. The girls had skyped with her for half an hour on Saturday morning. Charles hadn't been able to help but hover nearby, worried that Pauline might say something inappropriate to the girls. They hadn't fully discussed how they were going to field questions about the divorce from the girls, and he wasn't confident in her ability to keep her mouth shut. When the girls had started to bore of the conversation, he had sent them up to their playroom and asked Pauline for a few minutes to talk about the interview earlier in the week. She didn't apologize for what she had said but had agreed to try to keep things more focused on the book. She was being civil, so he decided not to say anything that would push her buttons. It wasn't worth it.
The door to the apartment was partially open and he could hear music playing inside. He poked his head inside tentatively. Maggie stood in her makeshift art studio in the corner by the kitchen, a blowtorch in her hand and a heavy black mask covering her face as she soldered one of her metal sculptures. He stepped in slowly, walking around the couch and hovered slightly behind her until she noticed him and switched off the blowtorch.
"I loved you in Flashdance." Maggie grinned back at him as she slid the helmet off of her head and set down the torch.
"Liza says the same thing every time I use that damn thing." She gestured for him to sit down at the island, pouring him a cup of coffee and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge for her.
"Speaking of, where is our girl?" They hadn't set a specific time to meet up, but he had figured she would be here.
"CrossFit. I know, I know." She smirked at Charles's amused expression.
"I didn't know she did CrossFit."
"Well, she hasn't gone in a while. From what I hear, she's been getting in plenty of exercise, though." She waggled her eyebrows at him and laughed as Charles turned red. "Don't worry, boy. You're going to hear a lot worse than that if you keep hanging around me. I take some getting used to."
"I tried CrossFit once with a buddy of mine. Thought I was going to die. I can't picture Liza doing burpees or lifting weights.
"Ahh, well, Josh actually got her into it. He used to drag her out of bed every Saturday morning for a class. She hated it at first, but she kinda got into it. Lauren and Kelsey asked her to go today." She saw a flicker of something, annoyance or jealously or anger, cross Charles's face as she mentioned Josh, and decided to take advantage of Liza's absence to address something with him.
"Charles, you need to get used to Josh being in her life. They're friends. He's one of my closest friends. I hope to count you as one of my closest friends, too, so it's just something you're going to have to adjust to."
He nodded. "I know, it's just new territory for me. I've never had to deal with an ex-boyfriend still hanging around, especially one that seems to be so ingrained in my girlfriend's life."
"Well, their split was more amiable than most."
"She's never really told me what happened. Just that they wanted different things."
"Yeah, he wanted a baby. She didn't." She paused, biting her lip as she saw the shocked look on his face. Shit, she thought, maybe I shouldn't have said that.
"I didn't realize that they were that serious."
"Well, I've already put my foot in my mouth, so I might as well just keep going. They had a pregnancy scare. A month or two before she went to the Hamptons with you for work. He kept pressing her about it, wanting to have a kid, so she decided to end it. Liza knew that chapter of her life was behind her, but it wasn't for Josh. She didn't want to hold him back and have him resent her down the road. So, she broke it off."
Charles paused, taking a sip of his coffee, processing what Maggie had just told him. Liza had never told him about this, and it definitely took him by surprise. It's only been a couple of months, he reminded himself as he felt all the familiar insecurities bubbling under the surface. She probably would tell him about it eventually. He knew the possibility of her getting pregnant was slim to none, but they had never talked about it. He was ashamed to admit he hadn't given much thought to preventative measures.
"Listen, Charles, Liza loves you, but she loves Josh too. He was a big part of the life that she's created, and she wants to stay friends with him. She's a good friend, I can attest to that."
"So can I."
"But she is in love with you. Truly, madly, deeply in love with you. I can see it. A blind man could see it."
"You think so?"
"I know so. And so do you." She smiled at him, reaching over to rest a hand on his. "If you hurt her, I will hunt you down and disfigure you so badly your children wouldn't recognize you." She deadpanned, her eyes meeting his. Then she started laughing.
"You're kind of terrifying, you know that? Brilliant, but terrifying." Charles chuckled, tossing back the rest of his coffee.
"Brilliant but terrifying. I like it. Maybe I'll have that inscribed on my tombstone."
Their tones lightened, and the duo spent the next half an hour chatting. When Liza dragged herself up the stairs and pushed open the door, she saw Charles standing with Maggie in her studio area, examining the stack of finished canvas's leaning up against the wall.
"You better watch out, Charles, or she'll guilt you into buying all of them. She has the skill. It's the Italian in her." She dropped her gym bag on the floor and walked over to them, leaning up to kiss Charles on the cheek.
"No guilt needed. I was thinking of getting one anyways. For the office. I think an original Maggie Amato would brighten up the place."
"Well, I'll leave you two goofs to talk art while I take a shower. That class kicked my butt today."
A few hours later Liza and Charles wandered out of the furniture store hand in hand, Charles having finally convinced Liza to let him buy her a new mattress. It would be delivered Tuesday.
"So, what would you like to do tonight, my dear?" He slid his arm around her shoulders as they strolled down the street. She bit her lip, looking up at him with slight hesitation.
"I thought we might go to Jersey."
"New Jersey?"
"Yeah, actually. My friend Michelle, she texted me this morning. She and her husband are throwing an impromptu dinner party tonight, and she wanted to know if I wanted to come."
"If you want to go, I'd be happy to come with. Does she, ah, know about me?"
Liza bite her lip again. "Umm, not exactly. She still thought that Josh and I were together. I haven't talked to her since before we broke up. But I let her know that I was seeing someone else, and she wants you to come."
They paused at a crosswalk, waiting for the traffic to clear before crossing the street.
"We never really talked about that, Liza. Your breakup. I mean, mine's been biographed in a novel, so there's not much more to tell. But we never talked about you and him."
Liza hesitated for a moment before pulling Charles to a nearby bench and sitting down. She had always planned on filling him in, but it had never come up and he had never asked until now. "The truth is, we wanted different things. I always knew that my relationship with Josh had an expiration date, but it started to get really serious. We, um, we had a scare. A pregnancy scare. And it brought up a lot of issues for us. Josh started to realize that he wanted a family, a baby. I've already done that. I've got Caitlin. I don't really want to go back to maternity clothes and midnight feedings and sleep deprivation." Charles smiled at her, encouraging her to continue. "So, I ended it. It was tough, but I couldn't continue in a relationship that was going nowhere. Especially considering my feelings for you." She reached out and squeezed his hand.
"I guess I never realized that you and he were so serious. He knew everything, then?"
"Yes. I told him pretty early on."
Charles nodded, not saying anything for a minute, and Liza continued. "I want you to know that I put off telling you for so long because my feelings for you were so strong, Charles. I was so scared of ruining what we might be. I think I was less scared to tell Josh because I knew that he and I were not going to be long term."
He nodded, reassured by the conviction in her voice. Liza had been nothing but honest with him since she had told him the truth, and he had no reason to not believe her.
"We never really talked about kids, either. I know that the chances are slim, but we haven't exactly been cautious."
Liza blushed, but patted him reassuringly on the knee. "Trust me, I have. If you want to know, I get a birth control shot, every 3 months, at my doctor's office. It's very effective. I get my next one in two weeks."
"Is that what you had when…?"
"No. I switched to this after I broke up with Josh."
"Okay. I'm just curious, I guess. I love you, and I love my girls, but I don't think I want to go back to those early days again."
"I totally agree. I want to look towards the future, not to the past." She stood up, reaching out to take his hand again. "Besides," she said, her eyes twinkling, "I like my sleep deprivation to come from an entirely different cause."
Hours later, Liza was winding her SUV through the sleepy streets of the suburban New Jersey neighborhood where she had lived for 15 years. She pulled over outside of a blue house with a white picket fence. The sun was just starting to set, casting a hazy glow over everything. Charles looked out the window, his brow furrowed.
"Is this where we're going? It doesn't look like anyone is home, Liza." He turned to look at her quizzically.
"This was my house. Where I raised Caitlin." She put the car in park, letting it idle. "I just wanted to show you this little part of me." Charles looked out the window for a minute, taking it in. He could imagine a younger Liza planting the now mature hydrangea bushes that were in full bloom along the white picket fence, could picture her swinging a toddler Caitlin on the swing set in the backyard, could picture her swinging on the front porch swing with a man that he had never met, never seen. Visions of her at book club and potluck dinners and PTA meetings flooded his brain for a moment, and he had to shake his head to clear them from his thoughts.
He turned to her, reaching over to take her hand. "Thank you for showing me this, Liza. It means a lot. I can picture you here."
"I can't. Not anymore. It feels like a lifetime ago, a different world." She leaned over to kiss him. "I much prefer my life now. However crazy and hectic and completely different from the suburbs of New Jersey it may be."
"Me too. But I like seeing this too."
"It's time to move on." She said it more to herself than to him, as she shifted back into drive and pulled back onto the road. "Their house is only a few blocks away. We'll be there in 2 minutes."
When she pulled into Michelle and Tom's driveway, she could see her blonde friend waiting on the porch for her.
"Oh goody, she's already lying in wait. This might be a long night." She added to Charles as they unbuckled their seatbelts. Chuckling, he leaned over and kissed her before they slid out of the car.
"You made it!" Michelle climbed down the front steps, crossing the lawn and pulling Liza into a hug. "It's been too long, Liza!"
"It definitely has." Liza patted her on the back before pulling away and turning towards Charles. She blushed a little as Michelle did the same, her jaw dropping slightly as she looked up at Charles. He towered over her, and he looked especially hot tonight, in his dark wash jeans and black button up. Liza thought he looked incredibly sexy in black.
"And you must be Charles Brooks. You're much taller than I thought you would be. The pictures don't do you justice."
Liza looked at her curiously. "What pictures?"
It was Michelle's turn to blush as she turned and led them back up the front porch steps. "Well, I might have done a little googling after you texted me earlier and told me that you and your new boyfriend Charles Brooks were coming tonight. There's a picture of you two from last week on the Page Six website. All dolled up like a couple of movie stars."
Charles smiled politely back at her as she talked, exchanging an amused glance with Liza. "It's lovely to meet you, Michelle. Your home is lovely."
"Wait until you see the trellis! Liza loves our trellis, don't you?"
Liza laughed and nodded. "Absolutely!"
"Charles, if you head out through those doors, I bet my husband Tom could use a hand at the grill. It's just us and a couple of neighbors tonight. I'm going to steal Liza away for a minute, if you don't mind."
"Of course not." He grinned at Liza once more before heading out to the deck. As soon as he was out of sight Michelle latched onto her arm and dragged her into the kitchen.
"Oh my god. Oh. My. God, Liza. He looks like he was carved out of stone. He is gorgeous!"
"Oh, stop, Michelle. He's not a piece of meat."
"I beg to differ. How long have you been seeing him? Where did you find him? Does he have a twin brother?"
"Down girl. You're married, remember?" Liza rolled her eyes and couldn't help but laugh at the look on Michelle's face. "We've been together for a couple of months now. And I actually, kind of work for him. He runs a publishing company, though you probably already know that if you google searched him."
"I couldn't help myself. Is that okay, you working for him and dating?"
"It's complicated, I'm not going to lie, but I think we're working it out."
"How's the sex?"
"Michelle!"
"What?! You can't bring a guy that looks like THAT here and not expect me to ask."
"You have no shame."
"An you haven't answered my question." Michelle arched an eyebrow and smirked at her, sipping on her wine.
Liza rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the grin that spread over her face. "It's uh, pretty incredible."
"I bet, with a body like that. Better than Josh?"
"Oh, god. You know, with Josh, it was all physical. It was amazing, but with Charles we just connect, you know? We're so in sync, and it's just, well, it's mind blowing."
"You really like this guy, don't you?"
"I love him, Michelle. More than I thought I ever would love anyone after the divorce. He's a perfect match for me, in every way. I'm so happy."
"Ohh, Liza, you deserve this so much. I'm so glad to see you like this. I know I said the same thing about you and Josh, but I could never see you having a future with him. But with this guy – he's who I was talking about the last time you came here. Your real partner."
"I think about a future with him all the time, Michelle. You were right, I just didn't want to admit it."
Michelle put an arm around her and handed Liza a glass of wine. "I'm so happy that you're happy. Now let's get out there and rescue your man from my husband so I can gape at him some more."
Liza laughed, tossing her head back and linking an arm with Michelle. She thought about how she had thought she was happy with Josh the last time she was here. But now, knowing what it felt like to have everyone know her truths, to be able to share all aspects of her life with the man she loved, well, that was a happiness that couldn't be beat.