Who to Trust

I saw him at the same time he saw me.  I hadn't known he would be here - at my boyfriend's house for a party - especially since it was very apparent that the two men really didn't like each other very much.  I was surprised at how the mere sight of him caused me to catch my breath, and made my heart race a little.  When he saw me he got that annoying little smirk on his face - he was glad to see me, if only for the opportunity to tease me or make me uncomfortable.

I successfully avoided him for almost an hour, and then suddenly found myself face to face with him, while he was talking to another mutual acquaintance, Dan.  It was too late then - I couldn't away without speaking, without appearing rude. 

"Hi guys - are you having a good time?"

"Well hello..." he said, making no effort to disguise just how pleased he was to have caught me.  "Very nice party, especially since you're here."

My turn to smirk and cut my eyes at him.  "I didn't know you were coming?".

"Well, I figured it's the least I could do, after Chris lost all that money last month..." - he looked at Dan and rolled his eyes jokingly.  "I figured he could use the support".

He caught the look of confusion on my face, but I thought better of asking what he meant, and tried to cover it with a smile and look like I knew what he was talking about.  But he wasn't fooled, and I decided I needed to get out of there before he asked me questions - questions I wouldn't know the answer to.  He and Chris were picking up their conversation about business, so I stood for a moment, looking in the other direction, surveying the crowd, and then tried to casually walk away w/out being noticed.  His hand caught my arm as I went to walk past him in the crowded yard, but he didn't look at me, just concluded his conversation with Chris while I stood motionless, debating whether to pull away, but as I hesitated, he turned his attention to me.  He looked at me skeptically, trying to read my face for some clue, and when I didn't say anything, he finally spoke, suddenly all serious.  "What do you know?" and I was taken aback - he really did think I knew something, but I didn't.  I shook my head, trying to figure out what to say, feeling flustered and confused.  "Come on - I saw that look.  Tell me what you know."

I took a deep breath to compose myself and looked into his eyes, trying to read him, but I could tell he wasn't bluffing.  He had seen my confusion.

Finally I sighed, "I really don't know anything.." He raised a suspicious eyebrow and waited for me to continue.  "I just don't remember him being upset about losing money?" I said, and I was being completely honest now, because I, too, was confused.  "It's just....I'm pretty sure I remember us going out to celebrate some deal he'd made last month? And really, that's as much as I know."

He seemed to believe me, and was looking thoughtful.  "When was that?" he asked.

"Umm.." I tried to recall the time, what else was happening, and suddenly felt like we were working together, having a bonding moment, and that he actually trusted me.  I don't know why, but this made me very happy - and relieved.  I didn't want him to think I wouldn't be honest with him.  "It was maybe two weekends ago?  He had been to New York for a few days, and he came back excited, and said we needed to celebrate."

"And he didn't tell you what you were celebrating?" the eyebrow was raised again, but this time he looked more hopeful - that I might remember something - and less suspicious.

"No, honestly, he doesn't talk about that stuff when he's with me, and I'm not all that interested.  It always sounds like those deals are pretty ruthless, and I don't want to hear about it."

This brought a genuine smile from him, and he seemed to relax.  He had been holding my wrist in his hand this whole time, and he finally released it, and reached up to absently brush my hair from my face as he laughed.  I hoped he couldn't see the affect this momentary physical contact had on me.  Again, my heart was beating faster, and I was sure my cheeks were flushed. 

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find out then, won't we?"  He said, smiling at me, studying my face for my response.  I took a deep breath and tried to read his face once more, was he teasing me?  I didn't think so, and I also knew he already knew I wouldn't refuse him.