Catwomen Caught Ch. 02: After the Party

I looked her straight in the face. I saw the anger drain out. Remorse and guilt replaced it.

"I know Richard."

I just shook my head. "Do you know Alicia? Do you really?"

I saw her eyes flare up again.

"You may not have physically cheated Richard. But you weren't there WITH me. Do you remember the last night I ever asked you for sex? Do you?"

I shook my head.

"It was on my birthday. I bought myself some lingerie from Victoria's Secret. It was sexy as hell. I bathed in scented bubbles, getting wet thinking about the night we were about to have. I rubbed my entire body in lotion that smelled like Eucalyptus. I had CFM pumps and everything. I spent an hour on my hair and makeup. Do you remember that night?"

I did remember that night. It was the day I had to fire Frank. He was a good buddy of mine. He was one of my assistant managers when I ran Olive Garden. We became good friends over the years. When I moved up, I moved him up.

He was accused of sleeping with one of his subordinates. I defended him vehemently. I just knew he would never do anything so reckless. However, the girl had text messages. Damning text messages. When they came to light, the board was on my ass. I was the one who had promoted him. I was the one who was backing him. I was the one who was left to deal with it. Or they would deal with me.

So as you can imagine, I wasn't in the best of moods that night. I didn't forget her birthday though. I'd made reservations at her favorite restaurant. I was prepared to eat dinner out. However, the only thing Alicia wanted that night was dessert.

"We made love that night Alicia. I remember that."

She shook her head sadly. "We had sex Greg. At least I did. You didn't even cum. Then, when I tried to cuddle you, you pushed me off and said that you were tired. So I gave you space."

Her voice choked in her throat, and she swallowed to clear it. I knew she wasn't done yet, so I waited for her to continue.

"Then I woke up in the middle of the night. I saw you, in front of your computer. I saw you jerking off! To some plastic looking bimbo!"

The words came out of her with force. Then, she crumbled. Her body shook as she tried to cry quietly, but failing. I sat next to her, unable to form words. I began to get some level of understanding. To hear her, to get her side of things, opened up my eyes. Before tonight, she was an evil slut. Now, I wasn't sure what she was.

"I get it Alicia. Okay? I took you for granted."

"Do you really get it Richard? Do you know how much that devastated me? Do you know how much it hurts to know that at your very best, you aren't enough of a woman to keep your husband satisfied? Huh? I don't' think you do. After that I told myself that I wasn't going to ask you for sex anymore. I wanted you to ask me for it. But you never did."

"So, that's why you fucked Dominic? Did he make you feel like a woman?"

She sniffled next to me and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

"Yes Richard. He and Susie did."

WTF!

"Susie and I got drunk once in high school. We...did things that night. In the morning we were so embarrassed. We just blamed it on the alcohol and we pretended as if it didn't happen. Well, a little over a decade later, I come crying to her. After a few weeks of feeling like the unsexist woman on the earth, I came to her house. I was feeling so low. So broken. I told her I needed to get drunk, so she broke out the good stuff. And we drank. And drank. The feelings of inadequacy started to mask over, but they didn't go away."

"How did you end up in bed with her and Glass Joe?"

"Dominic came home from work and found us sloppy drunk. Susie told him about my issues. He started to tell me how beautiful I was. How sexy he found me. Susie told him that she agreed with him. That's when the story came out about us in High school. He became so turned on by it. He told us to kiss. We were so drunk that we did. It started off as a joke kiss, but before I knew it we were making out. When I finally broke the kiss, I turned and saw him there. When he leaned in, I didn't resist. From there, it just escalated."

"How many times did you fuck them?"

She turned to look up at the now dark sky above us and whispered, "Twice."

That stung. The drunken incident was bad enough. I was already trying to recover from that blow. But to know that she went back again was something else entirely.

"So, at the party. In the kitchen. What were you and Dominic talking about?"

Her eyes flashed anger and a bit of guilt as she recalled it.

"He was drunk. He was telling me how sexy my costume was and that he wanted me to come over their house that night for some fun. He made some crude joke about his two "pussies". I was scared that someone would overhear him, so I was trying to get him to shut up without making him louder. I told him that I made a mistake, and that the three of us couldn't do that anymore. Then he started to get a little bit aggressive. He began to...rub on me. That's when you came in."

"Yeah. I got my panties in a bunch. Isn't that what you said to me?"

She bit her lip and shook her head. "I was being mean Greg. Having Dominic hit on me like that reminded me that you didn't appreciate me."

"Were you planning to go to his house later for some fun? Since he appreciated you"

She shook her head and looked into my eyes.

"No. I was hoping that you would finally ask me. I chose the Catwoman outfit because I knew that you liked Michelle Pfeiffer in "Batman Returns". You once told me about the crush you had on her because of that costume. I saw your eyes when looked at me in it. I saw that you were finally lusting after me. Me. I almost skipped the party altogether to get what I've been craving for so long. I wish I did. I hoped that when we got home, you would take me. Then Dominic happened." She said his name like she was spitting it out.

"Well, he wouldn't have happened if you didn't fuck him. Why didn't you just talk to me Alicia?"

Once again, she shook her head sadly and sniffled. "I don't know Greg. I wish I did. God knows I do."

"Well, I guess there is enough blame to go around."

She turned to me with hope in her eyes.

"So what do we do now Greg? I don't wanna lose you. I love you so much. I would give anything for us to get past this."

My mind was whirling. Could I get past this? Could I forgive my wife, considering that I played a part in our unhappiness? Let bygones be bygones?

"I don't know Alicia. So much has happened. It would take a lot for us begin healing from this."

The glimmer of hope was getting stronger in her. She wiped her tears and grabbed me by the arm.

"Honey. I will do ANYTHING! Please. Give me a chance to prove to you how much I love you."

I looked into her eyes and saw the hope. I began to feel it too. It would take a long time, but it is possible that we could heal each other. If we both fought long and hard enough, there was a chance.

"Okay Alicia. But it would take a few things . First, we have to go to counseling. That is a must. We obviously have a lot of things to work through. We need to figure out how to communicate with each other."

She kissed me on the cheek and hugged me around the neck. "Yes honey. Anything you say."

"Secondly, you have to stop being friends with Susie."

That's when I saw the light die in her eyes. And I felt it die in my heart.

"W-what did you say?"

"I said that you have to stop being friends with Susie."

"Greg, why would you ask me to do that?"

I sat back and looked at her incredulously.

"You can't be serious Alicia. You cheated on me with her and her husband. What did you think I would do about that? Just trust that it wouldn't happen again? Every time you were with her, or talking to her, don't you know what I would be thinking? Feeling? How can I heal with that salt being rubbed in my wound regularly."

She pushed away from me, like I slapped her. Her eyes welled up with new tears. Seconds ticked by with us just looking at each other.

"You want me to choose between my best friend and my husband? I-I can't do that Greg. Please, don't make me do that!"

I can't describe the pain that hit me at that moment. Strangely, it was actually worse than the pain of catching her cheating. This time, there was no rage to mask over it for me. I felt like my heart was being squeezed in my chest. Crushed under the weight of a realization that was too much to bare.

The fact that she couldn't choose me over her best friend was crushing. All consuming. Extinction level catastrophe.

The woman, the one that I loved more than anyone else in the world, didn't love me the same way. I wasn't her one and only love. I was one of them. I shared the throne in her heart with another.

Dominic faded to the background. I couldn't give a fuck less about him now. He was the LEAST of my trouble.

"Greg. Please, don't."

"Make your choice Alicia."

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EPILOGUE:

RICHARD NARRATING:

I would love to tell you guys that Alicia chose her husband over her friend. I wish that I could give you a flowery tale of happily ever after where they run off into the sunset together. I wish.

Alicia was unable to sever her ties with Susie. That bond was apparently too strong. It rivaled her love for Greg, so much so that she was unwilling to relinquish it even at the expense of her marriage. Sad.

They were divorced a little less than a year later. It took that long because Alicia did everything in her limited power to stop it. Even to the point of lowering her dignity. I never thought I would see someone as proud as her do it, but she showed up to his job and BEGGED him not to leave her. In front of everyone. BEGGED HIM. It was a heart-breaking plea that made everyone who witnessed it uncomfortable. Even I secretly hoped that he would give her another chance. But Greg could not see anyway back together as long as she refused to give her friendship up. He felt he shouldn't have to share his throne in her heart.

In essence, he was right. No spouse should have to share.

Now, a year later, wounds still run deep. There was no winner here. The two of them cope as best as they can for the kids. They try not to belittle each other in front of their young ones. However, I have endured many nights as a shoulder for my friend to cry on.

One good thing happened though. This Halloween he brought a date to my party. She was not dressed as Catwoman. She may be a rebound girl and not the next "great one", but finding a rebound is still a step forward. In real life, people don't just get over the loss of love. It is a step-by-step process. The heart heals in slow increments, not all at once.

Alicia, Dominic, and Susie did not show up to the party. They stopped hanging out with the rest of us. Susie still supports her friend, and still blames Greg for being unfair and trying to force her to make "an impossible choice". In my opinion, if that choice was impossible then Alicia wasn't in the marriage as much as a wife should be.

She said that she was willing to do anything. It is funny how people throw words like that around. Do anything. But what they really mean is that they will do anything that is comfortable. I'm sure that she was willing to act as his sex slave, or play the loving housewife. You know, the things that she already wanted to do. But when "anything" cost her something great, her marriage wasn't worth the sacrifice.

He's better off without her, in my opinion.

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AUTHORS NOTE

I want to start off by thanking my awesome editor. He was truly a BIG help with this story. I was having trouble finding a direction for it since the first one came out so easily. Nonethewiser did great work. His help with some of the additions that he suggested were timeless.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Harry in Va. I took a shot at you in the story, but it was done in fun. I truly don't consider a story complete until I get a controversial comment from you. You always hate my stories, but you always read. Please take it as a compliment, and not as an insult.

Thank you all for reading.