{"id":457,"date":"2011-05-31T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2011-05-30T19:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=457"},"modified":"2013-09-27T16:25:46","modified_gmt":"2013-09-27T23:25:46","slug":"spicy-salsa-and-a-disastrous-evening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=457","title":{"rendered":"Season 2: Episode 14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Ana turned slowly towards the voice, heart beating a mile a minute and her mouth suddenly dry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look great,\u201d the voice said, She felt eyes running over the length of her body and shivered involuntarily.<\/p>\n

She should have guessed whom this event was for; everything about it had his stamp on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Marc,\u201d she said, finally meeting his eyes.<\/p>\n

He looked well, but Ana felt only pure revulsion seeing him now. She couldn\u2019t believe this man had consumed her thoughts and her heart for so long. He walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, running his hand down her back, lingering a few seconds too long. Ana wanted to brush him off, but she was frozen, numb.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve done a great job,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful party. Fortuitous you could do it at such short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded, her thoughts only on how to extract herself from the situation before it got out of hand. She didn\u2019t trust Marc. Hell, he\u2019d probably orchestrated the whole thing to get back at her! Things had been going so wonderfully with Tom and she didn\u2019t want this \u2013 whatever this<\/i> was \u2013 to ruin it. She wondered if Tom had noticed who the client was and, if not, how she could prevent him from finding out.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t have to think about it too long.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna, can we grab some more of the\u2026\u201d Tom stopped mid sentence as he noticed Marc upon entering the room. \u201cWhat is he doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

Marc strode over and held out his hand. \u201cGood to see you. Tim, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook Marc\u2019s hand, not bothering to correct the mistake, but Ana could see the muscles in Tom\u2019s jaw tighten.<\/p>\n

The door opened again and Marc\u2019s wife, Cynthia, walked in. \u201cDarling, the guests are waiting.\u201d She looked at Ana quizzically, trying to place her. \u201cWe\u2019ve met, haven\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the last straw for Tom. He ripped off his waiter\u2019s apron and threw it on the floor. \u201cShe worked for your husband. Ask him about their affair sometime.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stormed through the door and left the three of them standing there, speechless. Cynthia visibly paled and walked over to Marc. She slapped him across the face, hard. Ana could see her hands shaking ever so slightly. She took a deep breath and smoothed an imaginary stray hair back into place.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said. The guests are waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned to Ana and looked at her coolly. \u201cI think we\u2019ll be able to manage from here. My husband\u2019s assistant will arrange payment.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that she took Marc\u2019s hand, plastered a smile on her face and walked back into the party. Ana sank to the floor, tears welling in her eyes. The door opened again, this time Mia, wondering where Tom and the extra Champagne had got to.<\/p>\n

She gasped when she saw Ana and rushed over to her. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana looked up, her eyes wide. \u201cI have to find Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Tom strode out into the road, flagging down a cab.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere to?\u201d the driver asked, wearily. It was another slow night.<\/p>\n

Tom thought. He didn\u2019t want to go home, Ana would likely go straight there and he didn\u2019t want to see her at the moment. He needed some time to think. He pulled out his phone and dialled a number. The person on the other end was surprised to hear from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you at home,\u201d he said. \u201cCan I come over?\u201d<\/p>\n

He directed the taxi driver and sank back in his seat, mind reeling. He thought he was over the fact that Ana had an affair with her boss. He\u2019d dealt with it and he\u2019d forgiven her. At least, he thought he had. The rage that overtook him when he saw them together tonight indicated otherwise.<\/p>\n

His mobile phone rang shrill.<\/p>\n

Ana.<\/p>\n

He declined the call and punched out a short message.<\/p>\n

Need some time. Will call tomorrow.<\/i><\/p>\n

Was he doing the right thing, marrying Ana when, obviously, he hadn\u2019t forgiven her? Could he ever truly forgive her?<\/p>\n

The taxi arrived at his destination and he paid the driver, mumbling thanks as he got out of the car. It was cold and he pulled his jacket closer around him, pushing open the front gate and knocking on the door. It swung open and the familiar face broke into a wide grin.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, stranger,\u201d she said, pulling him into a hug.<\/p>\n

Tom gave in to her warm embrace and was gratified that it was as comforting as he\u2019d remembered. She still smelled the same, he thought, feeling her soft hair against his cheek. She held him at arm\u2019s length and looked at him with a bemused expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on. I suspect you need a drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

A bottle of red wine later and he\u2019d filled her in on the whole story. She hadn\u2019t yet said a word as she stood up to get a new bottle from the wine rack. In the haze of the alcohol he couldn\u2019t help noticing the contour of her jeans and the way her casual jumper clung to the curves of her body. Lilly. His high school sweetheart. They\u2019d thought they were going to be together forever, but they\u2019d been so young then. And times change. The break-up had been painful but amicable. She moved to London for university and he resolved he\u2019d never find anyone like her again. They\u2019d seen each other a few times since she\u2019d moved back two years ago, and she\u2019d hinted they could be something more than just friends. But then he\u2019d met Ana, who was just about as different from Lilly as could be, but had the same effect on his heart. Tom never told Ana the full details about Lilly. He didn\u2019t think it was really necessary \u2013 what was in the past was, well, in the past.<\/p>\n

Lilly turned and caught him staring, giving him the same bemused look she had at the door. She opened the bottle of red and topped up his glass, disappearing into the kitchen briefly before returning with homemade salsa and corn chips. Tom gratefully tucked in, not realising how hungry he was. The salsa was delectable \u2013 spicy, tangy \u2013 bursting with flavour. Way better than any shop-bought stuff he\u2019d tried.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d asked Lilly, pulling her feet up on the couch and sipping her wine thoughtfully.<\/p>\n

Tom shrugged, licking his fingers, enjoying the way the chilli made his lips sing. Suddenly he didn\u2019t want to think about Ana. He just wanted to be in the company of someone with whom he could be himself. Where it was just\u2026 easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I stay tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilly looked at him for a long time before slowly shaking her head.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t mean\u2026\u201d his voice trailed off as her hand rested lightly on his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that I don\u2019t miss you, Tom. I\u2019ve wanted you to call for such a long time and tell me it was a mistake.\u00a0 But\u2026\u201d she removed her hand and ran it through her hair. \u201cYou\u2019re upset. And you love Ana. You would regret this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom felt like a fool. When he\u2019d said he wanted to stay, he hadn\u2019t meant it in that way. Or had he? He just didn\u2019t know any more.<\/p>\n

He wearily lifted himself off the couch. \u201cI should go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lilly walked him to the door and kissed him softly on the cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Bye Tom.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled at her ruefully and hunched his shoulders against the cold, turning up his collar as he walked back out into the night to find a cab to take him home.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ana turned slowly towards the voice, heart beating a mile a minute and her mouth suddenly dry. \u201cYou look great,\u201d the voice said, She felt eyes running over the length of her body and shivered involuntarily. She should have guessed whom this event was for; everything about it had his stamp on it. \u201cHello Marc,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[198],"tags":[178],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=457"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1207,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions\/1207"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}