Chapter 96 Free Spirit
The next day, Carter dropped by the house, and they took on a moderately steep mountain trail not far from where she usually practiced.
Emily was a little concerned about Carter going too fast for her, but he kept a steady pace, not trying to show off or get too far ahead. This was her first ride since getting her license, and as usual it took her mind off other, less pleasant matters.
They stopped in front of a picnic bench to have some water and take in the view.
“This is awesome,” Carter said, looking over the mountainous landscape, “You’re right, I never want to leave here. I might have a job lined up teaching Tae Kwon Do. Maybe I’ll teach some skiing in the winter, and I’ll be set.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Emily said, “I can see you fitting right in here.”
She had always thought it was so cool that Carter did martial arts, even though it wasn’t the most lucrative source of income. He was an all around sporty guy who valued his freedom, maybe a little too highly since he never seemed to want to commit to a particular job or a steady girlfriend. Now that she saw him with more adult eyes, Emily wondered if it was the other way around and no one wanted to commit to him.
“What about you, Emily?” he asked. “Are you going to settle down here? I thought you were more of a free spirit.”
“I am a free spirit,” she said, slightly offended that he would imply otherwise. “I can still be free with someone I love.”
They got back to the city a couple of hours later, and Carter rode with her all the way home so she would be “supervised” under the condition of her license.
Stopping to say goodbye to him on the driveway, Emily saw the front door of the house open, and Byron appeared on the doorstep. He should have been in L.A. still, but he must have taken an earlier flight. He looked a little sleep-deprived but extremely handsome nonetheless, wearing a light linen shirt with short sleeves that showed off his biceps.
Emily got off her bike and rushed over to embrace him, but although he kissed her in greeting, his lips were little more than tepid.
When she introduced Carter, both men seemed quite friendly to each other, but Emily detected Byron’s jealousy acting up in the slightest micro-expressions of his face.
“Is everything okay?” she asked once Carter left and they went into the house.
“Fine,” Byron said, fussing with his suitcases. He was in the middle of unpacking.
“Come on,” Emily said, “I know something is up. Are you upset because I went riding with Carter?”
“Not particularly,” he replied, not meeting her eye. “Although I am a bit disappointed. I thought I would take you on your first ride after getting your learners’.”
“Oh, I didn’t know,” Emily said. “It’s just that I ran into Carter at the motorcycle shop. He’s a friend from back east.”
He didn’t answer, working rapidly to sort through his clothes.
“I don’t know why I should even explain myself,” Emily said, “when you’re acting like a jealous boyfriend.”
“Okay.” Byron paused in his sorting. “If you really want me to say it, you were supposed to be busy all weekend. That’s why you couldn’t go to L.A. with me.”
“I was busy!” Emily said, getting more and more irritated. “But you know how important the motorcycle is to me. It’s the only thing that relieves my stress. I just took a few hours off, that’s different than taking a whole weekend.”
“You’re right,” Byron said, his eyes downcast, “I forgot. I’m sorry if I overreacted. How have you been feeling lately?”
“Okay,” she said, “Haven’t had any new panic attacks at least.”
“That’s good,” Byron said.
But she could tell something was still bugging him, and she was too angry about his unfounded jealousy to talk about it further. When they went to bed, the kiss goodnight was barely lukewarm. Emily was a little concerned. This had never happened to them before.
In her next session with Dr. Williams she brought up the topic.
“I have a friend,” she said, “who has a jealous boyfriend. Maybe you have some advice I can pass on to her?”
“Okay,” Dr. Williams said, “What exactly happened?”
He probably knew that the ‘friend’ was her, but she didn’t want to say it outright since Dr. Williams was also Byron’s therapist.
“My friend went on a motorcycle ride with a guy she has known for a long time, a friend from her home town. Now her boyfriend is acting a little cold, even though he says he’s fine.”
“I see,” said the doctor. “He’s clearly not fine. Maybe there needs to be a talk. Your friend needs to try to see it from his perspective and let him know that she understands how he feels, then tell him her view on what happened.”
“I’ll try that,” Emily said, “I mean, my friend will try that.”
