Tall, Dark & Obnoxious

Episode EIGHT

Pat

Shaking her head obstinately, Pat felt stupid because she knew what Max must be thinking. As much as it shouldn't matter what he thought about this scenario, she didn't want anyone to think for a moment that she wasn't over her asshole ex-husband. Because she was. Absolutely over him.

"I told you." She wiped at her tears as he let go of one side of her face, but his other hand still cupped the other side of her face. "I've been over him for a long time."

"Then why you crying over him? And why'd you answer his call if he's such an asshole?"

Feeling her face scrunch again just thinking about, Pat couldn't even look at him now. "It's so humiliating."

"What's humiliating?" Max asked, sounding a little hot.

"Am I really that bad?" she squeaked, feeling so weak, but it was something she wondered for so long. "It's no secret many think me difficult." Max's expression changed to a softer one, but she wasn't trying to guilt him. She just needed him to understand the real reason for these stupid tears. "Charles risked everything because I was that hard to live with. For the longest time, I've had to live with the fact that the man preferred to risk ruining his life than have to live with me."

"What do you mean ruined his life?" Max's concerned eyes searched hers. "He had an affair, baby. Lots of men—"

"He lost his license to practice law forever." Pat attempted to speak clearly even through her sniveling. "Something he'd worked so hard to get. He was a brilliant prosecutor with such a promising future, Max. He didn't just have an affair either. He had a child with her and married her while he was still married to me. He was living a double life, and he knew what the risks were when he embezzled money from my father's campaign funds to finance his other life, because I wasn't enough woman for him. Between the embezzlement and bigamy charges, he could've done some hard time. His marriage to the other woman was invalid since he was already married. He knew it, but apparently, she didn't. So, he knew the risks he was facing. In the end, he lost her and custody of his child as well. But it was still all worth the risk just to get away from me as often as he did."

Her face scrunched up again, and it felt almost impossible to talk for the boulder lodged in her throat now. This time Max hugged her, and it wasn't until that moment in his strong arms pressed against his big hard body and she'd calmed, that she gave any thought to him calling her baby. The distraction of that relieved a little of the discomfort she was feeling from her aching throat, but the knot she was feeling in her belly was for an altogether different reason now.

"I like that you're uptight, Patricia." She sniffled against his chest, feeling her heartbeat speed up. "Suits you well. It's hilarious how worked up you get over things. Some guys . . . lots of assholes full of themselves, get a hard-on juggling more than one woman." He pulled away to look at her and wiped some of her tears away. "How brilliant can this douche be not to see what he had? You're the brilliant one, and on top of that, you're fucking beautiful, babe." He kissed the top of her head then the side of her face as Pat's heart continued to pound away. "Fuck everybody who labels you difficult. It's what makes you, you. Just because you were too much woman for him to handle . . ." Their eyes met, and he held her gaze for a moment. "I wouldn't change a thing about you."

His eyes dropped to her lips and then he kissed them, softly, gently, and with such tenderness that, despite her qualms about anything happening between them, Pat knew she was a goner. Everything she'd said about this being out of the question flew out the window with that one kiss. Giving into it, because she was so done missing out on life just because she never took risks, she inhaled deeply in between kisses and wrapped her arms around his neck.