The Dance Part 2

Chapter 249 Forgiven

Bam wasted no time in crossing the room to where his wife was uncomfortably close to another man. He only saw the man's arm wrapped around her waist. He only heard her throaty laugh over the music. It took every ounce of self-control not to rip his wife from the man's grasp. Instead he opted to cut in to their dance tapping Nato on the shoulder.

"Mind if I cut in?" Lila whipped around to see Bam standing there.

"Joshua! What are doing here?" Lila's surprise was evident and pleasantly so.

"You didn't think I was going to throw you to the wolves?" The comment and the icy stare were obviouly directed at Nato.

"Joshua, let me introduce you to my friend."

"Is that what people call them now? Friends?" Bam's tone sounded slightly condescending to Nato.

Nato was equally matched with Bam in looks and attitude. "Dude, just old friends. And if you trusted your wife, you wouldn't have a chip on your shoulder?"

"I trust my wife. It's guys like you I don't trust."

Lila interjected placing a hand on her husband's chest. She leaned closer to him and spoke under her breath "Joshua, you're embarassing me."

"I'm embarassing you? I'm not the one clinging to someone I'm not married to." As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted saying them but it was too late. He had said them. Outloud. And worst of all, he had said them in public.

He watched as Lila's eyes narrowed and her cheeks flushed red with anger. He knew that look. He had only seen it once before as a result of a long ago fight about another man, Bradley Kensington.

Lila turned to Nato and apologized for her husband's behavior and excused herself. She walked back to her table, grabbed her purse and attempted to leave.

"Lila, wait." Bam followed her out the door. Lila stopped momentarily to address him. She calmed herself before she said a word but she spoke with deliberate intention.

"How could you do that to me? I have given you no cause or reason to be jealous. I am not property Joshua. You may be married to me but you don't own me."

"Lila, I didn't mean that. It's been a long day and I'm tired. It was just a gut reaction. I wanted to be the one dancing with you tonight and I just saw him as a poor substitute for me."

"It's no excuse, Joshua. What we have...what we've been through...and still...this is your first reaction to everything. God forbid, I ever did cheat on you...."

"You never would."

"Then why was that your first thought?"

Bam didn't have an answer. "Can we just go home?"

"Yes, Joshua. You can go home. I, on the other hand, will be staying at the hotel tonight."

"What?" Bam stood in stunned silence as he watched his wife walk in the direction of the hotel. He couldn't move. It was like he had suddenly become rooted in dried cement. Since their wedding day, they had only spent time apart because of work, never because of anger. He knew if he continued to debate her, she would only become more stubborn.  Instead he chose to follow behind her at a safe distance ensuring she made it safely to the hotel.

After Bam watched her check-in to a room, he made his way to the bar only to find his nemesis sitting there. Nato recognized his voice as soon as he placed his order for a straight whiskey.

"Looks like both of us lost out tonight." Nato's comment to Bam was cocky.  Not one to be outdone, Bam spat back.

"She's still my wife." He held up his hand pointing to his wedding ring.

"You really were an ass to her tonight. You know, she rebuffed my poor attempt to rekindle that old spark. She made it perfectly clear she was happy with you." Nato chuckled over his beer. "God knows why."

Bam threw back his whiskey like it was water slamming the glass on the bar. The taste burned as it went down as he was clearly not accustomed to drinking. He ordered a second drink. "That's big of you to admit." Bam dropped his next drink down with no hesitation.

"She's always been a good woman. Even before she was married, she made pretty good decisions. She blew out of Juneau for college. Went to work in New York. Now look at her. Married. Kids. And still happy."

"You don't have to tell me about my wife." The bartender delivered a third straight whiskey to Bam.

Nato nursed his beer. "Somebody does. Why else are you down here and she's up there. And alone, if you haven't noticed."

"Her choice." Bam's speech had begun to slur as the effects of a third whiskey were starting to kick in on his empty stomach.

"You sure about that?" Nato felt a small tinge of regret. He should have left Lila alone but old habits were sometimes hard to break. Time had clearly moved on and so had Lila.

Although it was a feeble attempt to make amends for what happened earlier, Nato offered a suggestion. "If it were me, I would be begging her foregiveness." He pulled several bills out of his pocket signaling to the bartender he was covering Bam's tab also.

Nato got up to leave, slapped Bam on the back, and left without any other words. Bam finished off his last whiskey and managed to drag himself to the elevator. He soon found himself standing in front of room 307 and began knocking on the door.

The longer he knocked, the louder he got. An exasperated Lila finally opened the door to find a clearly intoxicated Bam standing in front of her. He swayed from side to side as he attempted to say something to Lila, but before he could say a word, she hissed at him, "Are you drunk?"

He shook his head no but she could tell he was not in control of himself. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into the room hastily. He stumbled in taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"Joshua Brown, you're drunk!"

He smiled awkwardly and professed, "No, I'm not." He shook his head side to side.
"I'm just a jackass."

It was an extremely rare occasion that her husband lost his sense of control. On top of her disappointment, now she had to contend with his over indulgence. She was still angry with him. "Tonight...I will agree with that."

Bam insisted he wouldn't go back home without her. "I'm not leaving without you tonight." 

She didn't have the heart to put him out of her room in the condition he was in.  It doesn't look like you are going anywhere in this condition."

He attempted to unbutton his shirt but the whiskey had worked fast on him. Lila sat next to him and helped undo each button on his shirt as he kept fumbling with them unable to undo them on his own.

She pushed him gently backwards on the bed pulling his boots off and moving his legs onto the bed. He rolled to his side mumbling apologies and professing his love to her. She crawled into the bed next to him gently removing his glasses and brushing the hair from his weather worn face. As angry as he had made her tonight, she loved him, only him, flaws and all.

Pink-Just Give Me A Reason