Temptation

She was on the phone when he came into her living room. She was whispering directly into the mouthpiece of the cordless landline. He noticed her tense shoulders and stiff stance. Sensing his presence, she pulled the phone away from her ear without a “goodbye,” and clicked the red button. She turned to see him standing in her open doorway. They were going to a party that night and he was dressed in his causal yet fancy way, wearing dark jeans and plaid button down shirt. “What’s wrong?” He asked slowly.
“Nothing, it’s fine.” She replied taking in a deep breath clearing her negative emotions with ease, replacing them with her normal flirty smile she reserved for him. Nothing was fine, but she wasn’t ready to let him know that yet. “So are you ready to lose the bet tonight?” The mood instantly changed as the conversation was forgotten.
The bet was set. Elliot and Mallory had agreed, jokingly for Elliot, to go as long as possible without sex. Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder. They had been dating for a few months now and Mallory was worried their relationship was thriving only for the nights between the sheets. The winner would be granted the rights to anything they wanted from the other, no matter what it was.
There was absolutely no risk other than the playful torture Mallory inflicted on her boyfriend. Elliot took it all in his sly, mischievous smile that flashed across his face as if he was calculating a swift revenge on Mallory. She expected the revenge to come that night at the party, alcohol and dancing a combination that promised temptation.
“I’m not going to lose the bet, babe.” His smile promised her. Her pay back was coming. “We’re late.” Elliot stated grabbing her coat off the hook by the door. “Ready?” She nodded and let him ease her coat over her arms.
The bitter cold New York wind bit at their cheeks as they walked together to the party. Already playful, Mallory poked Elliot’s side smirking at him. His arm wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm as they made their way along the crowded sidewalk. “You’re going to crack.” Mallory told him, confidence radiating off of her like the sun. He shook his head blond hair falling into his eyes.
“I don’t think so. I don’t lose bets.” Elliot winked down at her. He squeezed her shoulder lightly as they got to the apartment building the party was being hosted at. They were quickly buzzed into the building and were accepted into the party already in full swing. Drinks were being made and beer was stacked in a corner partygoers shouting over each other to be heard. Amazingly there hadn’t been noise complaints yet but that was probably because all the neighbors were at the party.
“Elliot! Mal!” Someone from the center of the room was yelling for them. It was Elliot’s best friend Joel coming over to them. “Are one of you guys going to lose the bet tonight?”
“You told him?” Mallory slapped Elliot’s arm lightly. A small flush formed across her cheeks. It could have easily been passed off for remainder from the cold outside but Elliot knew better. His favorite past time was making her blush. It was so easy to do. Just flatter her and that cherry shading appeared on her face. He shrugged by way of response and Mal glared at him.
“He’s my best friend, you can’t tell me that you didn’t tell Cassie about the bet.” Elliot raised an eyebrow, slightly tilted his head. Mallory rolled her eyes. Of course, Cassie knew. She was Mal’s closest friend who had actually helped her out of the darkest time of her life. They were a small family. “See you can’t deny it.” He pulled her closer winking at her. Joel smirked and slinked off to dance with a girl who was already drunk. Mallory shook her head pulling away from him, swinging her hips to the beat of the music. She was going to put on a show for Elliot.
They danced closely as if they were attached at the hip. Only breaking to get drinks, through clouded minds they moved together, ignoring everyone else in the room. Mallory tried to drink away the phone call from earlier and tempt her boyfriend at the same time. She knew the perfect way to break his will. It happened very fast, she pulled the other girl out of nowhere it seemed. Elliot recognized her from previous parties. Then suddenly, Mallory was kissing the girl. He coughed out of shock. “Want some privacy?” he said laughing lightly at what was going on in front of him. “Or do you want me to get in on this?” Mallory broke the kiss with the girl who didn’t know what was going on. Mallory wasn’t even sure what she was doing anymore.
“If you joined it would defeat the purpose of kissing her.” Mallory winked at him as she pulled the girl’s face back onto her own. Elliot shifted his weight around. He didn’t know what to do. She was doing this to make him jealous, that much he knew. He decided to walk away and to find Joel who was talking to tall, leggy blond.
“What’s wrong? Lose the bet?” His friend looked away from the blond to say causally.
“Mal is making out with someone.” Elliot grabbed his friend’s drink and drowned the rest of it, tossing it back smoothly. “A woman.”
“Well, that wasn’t water.” Joel grabbed his glass back. “Is she really cheating on you in front of you?” His friend seemed unfazed by the gender Elliot just said.
“All in the name of the bet.” He concluded. Elliot sighed heavily wondering what he was doing. He needed to stop her but he felt like that would be a bad idea. There was something else going on, it had something to do with her phone call from earlier.  Joel shrugged.
“You should talk to her. Go. Stop stealing my drinks and take her to my bedroom and talk. This doesn’t sound like her.” He frowned in the direction of the now alone Mallory. She migrated to a couch; she was sitting with her head in her hands like a tired bird tucking its head into its wing. Elliot nodded and crossed the room again.
“We need to talk.” He told her causing her to look up in surprise, solemnly Mallory stood up in agreement with the statement. Without another word, Elliot walked out of the room down the hallway that led to his friend’s room. She followed him dutiful, making her way over to the bed where she plopped down ungracefully. “What was that?”
“A poor attempt to win the bet?” She offered too quickly but he didn’t buy it. Mallory knew he wouldn’t it was a bad lie even for her. There was much more explanation needed. “I just wanted to win the bet and it’s every man’s wet dream to see his girlfriend kissing another girl right?”
“Maybe, but normally they want to be in the middle of that.” Elliot said his voice cold. “Why? This wasn’t just for a stupid, pointless bet. What was that call that you got earlier?” He folded his arms standing over her.
“Nothing.” Again she said this too quickly and a little harsher than she had meant for it to sound. He knew he hit the root of the problem. “That call was nothing.” Mallory fidgeted with her blouse waiting for his response.
“Secrets don’t make a good relationship.” He told her feeling suddenly sober. “You can lie to me all you want, but if you keep that up I won’t stick around. I get that maybe you don’t want to talk about it just don’t pretend it’s nothing.” Elliot shook his head. “Making out with a random girl doesn’t happen just because you’re drunk and trying to win a bet with your boyfriend.”
“You won’t stick around even if I told you.” She snapped at him folding her arms over her chest. Elliot gave her a try me look by cocking his eyebrow at her. He wanted her to just tell him. By now he half expected to be that she was married with kids somewhere in New Jersey; his imagination was working against him. “It was Fox.” Elliot’s body reacted before he could, simultaneously relaxing and tensing. They both were remembering him and the time in her life that he represented.
Fox was the man in her life before Elliot. Mallory hadn’t told him the whole dirty affair that was Fox but Elliot knew a little bit about what happened. He was around for two years filling her life with heroin and rundown slums after college. Mal was so far gone that Elliot would still catch her hands tremor as the ghost of her nerves were remembered by the withdrawals of meth. The same tremor she was experiencing now. Cassie was the one to rescue Mallory from the shambles that had become her life. Cassie had gotten rid of Fox for what they all had thought was for good, until today. She picked Mallory up like she had been trash on the sidewalk and turned her back into her former self by giving her a steady job and cleaning her up.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Elliot knelt down in front of her. He tried to grab her arms but she pulled them away and stood up crossing the room. He stayed on his knees in front the bed as if he was praying to whatever god was listening. “We wouldn’t have gone out tonight. A quiet night at home, to talk about what’s going on now.”
“I thought that I was fine.” She told him as tears began to form. Mallory didn’t offer any information on what the conversation she had with her ex was about or how it caused her to behave so recklessly tonight. He assumed it was because this was the type of girl she had been with Fox. That she was encouraged to behave that way. Elliot never asked for details about that chapter in her life because that part of her was over. He never felt the need to bring up the past when it didn’t affect their future, but apparently he was wrong.
Elliot watched her silently for a moment. He didn’t know what to do, he made a movement towards her and she made and equal opposite movement. They were repelling magnets. Shifting in each other’s orbit but forces kept them from being closer than what they already were.
“I want to go home.” Mallory broke the silence. “I am going to go home.” Elliot nodded in agreement. It was the best idea she had all night.
“I’ll take you home.” He swallowed the lump that he didn’t know had formed to speak the words. “Come on.” Elliot stepped closer to her and she finally let him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder but she pulled away from his arm in favor of holding herself in attempt to keep her sanity from giving away. He clenched his hand into a fist and shoved it into his pocket. Mallory led the way out of the apartment and down to the streets that had become less crowded than before but only just. Elliot followed her closely unsure what was going on in her head.
Her mind was racing. Mallory couldn’t even follow her own stream of consciousness. It was a jumble of words and emotions, memories and regrets. So much was flooding back that it scared her. She couldn’t tell what she was feeling, remembering or that ghost ache for her former vices.
“Let me stay with you tonight.” Elliot told her half way back to her apartment. He didn’t like the idea of her being alone tonight. It worried him what she would do once he left her.
“No, I don’t want to be tempted to lose the bet.” She joked; it was Mallory’s failed attempt to ease the abnormal tension between the couple. For the first time, they were brought to reality, as a couple things weren’t always perfect.
“I’m serious. I’ll sleep on the couch, fully clothed.” He offered. Elliot wasn’t going to let her be alone tonight. At all costs, he would keep a watchful eye on her. “No temptation what-so-ever.” She was shaking her head. The two were going to be stubborn about their own views on how to handle the situation. “Please, humor me for my sanity.” Mallory paused on the sidewalk.
“Fine, you can sleep on the couch.” She couldn’t deny him this. He was much more lost in what was going on then she was. They made it up to her apartment. Elliot watched her move around the living room slowly finding a blanket for him to sleep with. He wondered if she was ever going to explain what Fox wanted with her.
“Are we going to talk about this?” He wondered aloud. Mallory stopped and turned to him. She blinked once then twice.
“What is there to talk about? He called and now I’m relieving everything we went through.” She told him without emotion, having a hard time controlling herself. She wanted to release the shaking that threatened to violently escape from her hands as she remembered the aftermath that was Fox’s destruction over her. Mallory went back to what she was doing pulling out blankets and pillows with out looking at Elliot. She cleaned and busied herself silently. Soon he was sick of it.
“Will you stop treating me like the bad guy here and just talk to me about what’s going on?” He snapped at her from the corner he was standing in. Mallory turned to him with a fiery filled look.
“I’m treating you like the bad guy? You’re the one treating me like a five year old. Making me let you stay over just so you can watch over me.” She retorted.
“No, I’m protecting you from yourself by staying over here. Don’t think that I don’t know what you want to do. You want to call him back and tell him that you want back in, correct.” Elliot fired back at her. Her body stiffened.
“Excuse me?” Mallory took a deep breath in attempt to calm her down. “Is that what you think I want to do? You think I want to go back to my shitty lifestyle of the past. You think that I would throw away the chances that my best friend gave me to clean myself up. Get out.”
“No, I am not leaving, Mal!” Elliot stood his ground. He didn’t so much as move a muscle.
“Do you trust me at all?” Mallory asked tears now falling down her cheeks. She couldn’t believe what he was accusing her of wanting. “Do you even know me?” Elliot relaxed his stance for a moment but he didn’t answer. “Silence. That’s all I needed, just get out!” She screamed at him. “Leave. Now!”
“I trust you, Mal. I just don’t trust him. I don’t trust him not to come calling. I don’t trust that you won’t fall back into the old temptations.” Elliot spoke softly to her, trying to make her understand what he was thinking.
“So you don’t trust my will power. Elliot it is really best if you just leave right now, please.” Mallory wiped away the fallen tears from her skin. He thought about it for a moment and walked out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Elliot walked part way down the hall before turning back to reenter her apartment and fix what he had done. He reached for the doorknob as the sound of the deadbolt slide to a close.
Elliot leaned against the door his hand on the knob. He pressed his forehead against the door. “I love you.” He whispered. “I’m sorry.” He took a deep breath as tears formed in his own eyes before walking away.
Mallory left her hand on the deadbolt, her own forehead pressed against the door, eyes closed. She could hear the door breathing. “I love you, too.”