The Driven

Chapter 18

Thea

Hank was clearly feeling bad, it was obvious since he took some days off work. Thea stayed at home herself and tried to make sense of what happened between them. How she didn't figure out anything that came from Amber was going to put her in trouble annoyed her.

Jamal didn't notice that she didn't spend the night at home. No calls, no text, just an excuse of being busy when she asked. She had lied to him that she slept at the office trying to finish one of her pieces, he didn't ask but she provided the details anyway.

It shocked her that she didn't feel bad about having sex with Hank. When she woke up that evening, she'd felt different but couldn't explain why because she thought it was all a dream. Then she'd walked to the bathroom and caught sight of her body in the mirror, Hank had given her bite marks everywhere. She was overly pale normally, so the red marks stood out and everything that happened that night surfaced wherever they were buried in her subconscious.

They didn't just have a brief sex. They had taken showers together, eaten off each other's mouth and body, and Thea felt hot just thinking about it. She had never been that intimate with anyone before, not even her husband.

Amber called her later in the day to know how it went, and she lied that she'd left when Jamal didn't show up. The place was a great idea for couples and it was truly the best place to spice up her sex life with Jamal, but her husband didn't show up.

Thea could admit now that her marriage wasn't as great as she made it seem to everyone. Jamal never reciprocated any of her affections. He was always at work and Amber was right, he wasn't cheating on her but he didn't like being home.

Thea knew deep down that he probably didn't want to be married, it annoyed her because he was the one that proposed. She never pressured him for a ring, he had done it all on his own and still made a mess of everything. In extension making her someone that cheated on her husband.

Thea was tired of trying but she didn't want to make hasty decisions. They could go for couple's therapy and try to sort things out. She needed to hear him say he didn't want her or their marriage to her face.

Thea dressed for an outing with her cousin. Ava was now seeing some guy she refused to introduce to her and Thea wasn't interested in forcing it. She was happy about her relationship status because Ava had stopped pressing her about Hank. She picked her cousin from her house and they went to a restaurant.

"Where's your hunk?" she asked as they tasted the wine options the waiter poured them.

"He's at work, you know Jamal and work."

"I meant your driver, he didn't quit did he?"

"Not yet, but he gave in his notice. He's leaving by the end of the month." Thea went with the Malbec when the waiter told her it was great with brisket.

"Are you serious?"

"Yea." Thea tried to make her face impassive. She wasn't wearing makeup so if she turned red from thinking about their night, Ava would know that something was up.

"I'm going to miss him."

"I'll tell him that." Thea ate her brisket and took sips of wine in between. "I have a question for you."

Ava looked at her and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Never better. It's an hypothetical question."

"I'm listening."

"What will you do if you have a husband that hasn't had sex with you since you got married?"

"This isn't about you, is it?"

Thea's heart beat faster. "No, why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Why would a husband not have sex with his wife? It's not possible."

"Right? They never had sex while dating also and they've been married for years now."

"I'm just going to confront him. I wouldn't have gone years without sex anyway, what about their wedding night?"

"Hypothetically, they both got drunk and fell asleep."

"I understand that, what about the day after?"

Thea shrugged.

"It's not possible, Thea. You think there's a man alive that won't have sex with his wife? For years? The fact that they never had sex while dating should even make him desperate after the wedding."

"That was the same thing I thought."

"And is the wife a virgin? What's stopping her from initiating something?"

"Hypothetically, she tried but it was always met with a cold shoulder."

"Maybe she should try harder. The husband could also be infertile or has the tiniest penis." She wiggled her pinky and laughed.

"Could that be a reason?"

"No, silly. I dated this guy one time with tiny dick and his head game was a ten. We used so much sex toys also that I forgot how small he was. Tiny dick or not, everyone wants sex so your hypothetical question is not possible."

"You think?"

"I know it's not possible. Let's take you for example, your husband works like an ant and you visit him at work to get your quickies."

"Yea."

"See my point?"

"I get you. I read about couples that don't have sex so you might be wrong."

"They used to and something changed that. Your hypothetical case says they've never had sex, sounds like a marriage of convenience to me."

"I know I've never asked for your opinion, but what do you think about my marriage?"

"You really don't want to know, Thea."

She laughed. "Tell me."

"You could do better, that's all I'm going to say."

"Jamal is perfect."

"Yes, perfect like your dad. Don't you think it's weird that you married a man exactly like your dad?"

"Jamal isn't like dad. Dad never married, never wanted a wife and he fertilized some random egg at the fertility clinic. I don't have a mom and he somehow thinks it's alright."

"Your dad loved his work more than anyone, so does Jamal."

"I see the similarities but they're still so different."

"It's okay anyway, studies show we pick partners like our parents."

Ava's words freaked her out. Thea never saw the similarities, it was always there but she never took notice. She ate the dessert and was deeply in thought. Ava knowing she had said something close to the truth, made her escape with an incoherent excuse.

Thea went home doubting all her life decisions. Why did it take her so long to see things for what they really were?