February Almost Sucked

Linda felt her eyes widening as her lust-filled fog dissipated rapidly.

Marc looked surprised as well. "Lin, come on."

"Lin?" She wondered at the pet name. "No, I can't do this."

Marc's expression became unreadable, "Listen. You are not the first woman to get cold feet. I get it, this isn't normal. But that's half the fun. Just throw some caution to the wind. I promise you won't regret it. I'm told I am an excellent lover."

"Lover." she repeated the word back to him. Her husband was her lover. Her only lover. And he despised cheaters. He... despised cheaters. She recalled the stories he told of his college girlfriend who'd cheated, of all things, with a football player and how it had done so much damage to his trust. When they were dating, she'd worked so hard to mend his heart and now...

She felt suddenly light headed and her face was ashen. She needed to talk to Jim, now. It was then she realized she hadn't brought her purse, or her phone. It was then she also realized she had no idea where she was in the city.

"I... I need to go." She said, turning to leave.

She felt Marc's hand grab her arm and twirl her around. "Listen. I've never once failed to land a woman I set my eyes on, and you won't be the first. You don't have anything with you. Just stay with me, and we will have a good time. I'll take you home in the morning."

The man's attractiveness was plummeting by the millisecond. "No. This was a mistake. I'm not staying. Now, please, let me go, unless you are planning to rape me." She asked coldly.

Her last sentence seemed to jolt the footballer with reason and he let go of her arm like it was on fire. Linda quickly picked her coat off the floor, turned and walked out of the bedroom, then out of the apartment, and back towards the elevator.

She knew she was not close to the club, nor the hotel. But she had no sense of how long she'd been gone, nor what time it was. She walked up to the front desk that was now manned by a single woman who looked to be several years younger than her. The woman had seen her go up and had given her the knowing look she'd seen from all of the staff as she'd been escorted in.

The woman's expression was one of surprise as Linda walked up to the desk.

"Well, you're a first." She said. "I've never seen someone come back so fast after going up with Mr. LaValliere. Just a quickie?"

Linda blushed with embarrassment. Rather than answer she asked, "Can I make a phone call, or perhaps two? And, do you happen to know the time?"

The lady nodded. "It's 10:12." She'd been gone for over an hour. Most of that was spent on the drive across town to the apartment. "Who do you want to call?"

Linda gave the woman Jim's cell number. It rang for a couple minutes before it went to voicemail. The receptionist tried one more time before shrugging to Linda. Linda gave her Dee's number, which rang only a few times before Dee answered.

"Hello?"

The receptionist handed the receiver to Linda. "Dee, it's Linda."

"Hey babe. How's the stud? You calling to gloat?"

"Dee. Stop." Linda said curtly. "Are you all still at the club? Is Jim with you?"

Dee laughed, clearly under some inebriation. "No, hon. Jim isn't still here. We are still dancing though."

Linda clenched her jaw. "Where did he go?"

"No idea. Home? Maybe to the hotel room?"

Her jaw clenched even tighter. "Did he say anything?"

"Oh yeah, a lot. He was pissed. Really angry. But he'll get over it. He loves you. You should put him out of your mind and go have some fun. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Linda ignored her friend's goading. "Dee, can you pick me up?"

"Me? No. I'm smashed. If you insist on going somewhere just have LaValliere drive you. Or call an Uber."

"I don't have my purse, or my phone."

"That sucks. Guess you will have to earn your keep for the night. It's a good thing that LaValliere is such a stud, huh? Just spend the night with him."

Linda was starting to move past pissed into angry. Were she not in such a public place, she would have given Dee a few choice words to get her to stop.

"Dee, I need help. Please."

The phone was quiet for a moment and she could hear the sounds of the music and chattering of conversation in the background.

"Fine. I can't believe you are throwing this away. I hope you at least got to see his cock."

"Dee..."

"I'll call you an Uber to drive you home. What's the address and where do you want to go?"

Linda asked for it from the receptionist, then passed it on, along with her home address. She waited a few minutes as she heard Dee tapping the phone.

"It'll be there in 5 minutes. Shit that's a long trip. You are going to owe me."

"I'll pay you back Dee, absolutely. Can you do me one more favor?"

"I guess."

"Can one of you go up to the hotel and check if Jim is there? If he is, can you tell him that I'm on my way home? I need to see him tonight and I have no way to contact him."

She heard Dee sigh in annoyance, then speak to her group of friends. "Phil is going to check. I can't believe you are squandering this."

"Thanks, Dee" Linda responded in genuine gratitude, but with a note of sarcasm that said she was unimpressed with how dismissive one of her best friends was being about the whole situation.

"The uber is a red sedan, they have your name."

"Okay, bye."

Linda hung up and looked out the front doors. There was no sign of the vehicle yet, but she knew it should only be a few more minutes. She handed the receiver back to the receptionist, thanking her for the help.

"I'm impressed with you." the younger woman said. "I've never seen anyone turn down a night with him."

"I almost didn't." Linda said wryly. The secretary shrugged and went back to her screen. It was not more than two minutes later she saw a red car pull up in front of the building. She went to walk out when the elevator in the lobby dinged and LaValliere stepped out.

He looked annoyed, and that emotion only deepened when he saw Linda. She moved to walk out the door but he called out to her. "Lin. You are making a mistake if you walk out that door."

She paused, looked at him, then without saying another word, pushed the door open and walked out into the cold, dark night.

The driver called out to her as she walked up.

"Linda?"

"That's me." she said as she got into the back seat.

As she buckled herself in, the driver pulled away and started the long trek back to her house. There was very little conversation between the two as they traveled. A few off-hand comments and exchanges that were instantly forgettable. Just after 11:30, the car pulled up to the house she shared with Jim. It was entirely dark, but she could see his car in the driveway.

She thanked the driver and apologized for the fact she couldn't give him a tip. He was understanding, it wasn't the first time he'd driven someone home who had nothing but their clothes. She walked up to the front door, reaching for the secret key hidden behind the eaves of their porch roof. She unlocked the door and walked in.

"Jim?" she called out. There was no answer. She started with the living room and it was there she found him sitting in the dark staring at nothing. He looked up at her when she walked into the room.

She stood still, watching him, and him watching her. It was much too dark for her to see his expression, but she could imagine it was not a pleasant one.

She walked, silently up to him then slowly knelt before him. As she was about to speak he beat her to the punch.

"So was he a good fuck?"

She felt her blood run cold at the contempt and anger she heard in his voice.

"I didn't fuck him. Thankfully." Linda replied quietly.

"But you were going to."

She didn't respond. Jim continued. "I'm not sure I believe you didn't fuck him. You certainly had plenty of time."

She winced. "I made a lot of mistakes in the last several hours. I don't blame you for not believing me." He didn't respond, but he did look away from her. "I am sorry." She started again. "I was an utter fool. I will tell you whatever you want to know, and I will be truthful."

She could almost feel the rage in him as his eyes snapped back to hers. They were dark and brooding, expressionless in the darkness of their home.

"Did you kiss him?"

"Yes."

"More than once?"

"Yes."

"Did you do anything beyond kissing?"

"Yes."

"What?"

She paused, taking a deep breath. "He felt my breasts and had me half out of my dress."

"Which half?"

"The top. He saw my breasts."

"You didn't go further than that?"

"No."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You shouldn't. I will try to prove it to you."

"How?"

"I'll show you the times. Where I was and when."

"Why did you walk out on me?"

"Because I was thinking with my vagina."

"I didn't know women did that."

"I didn't either."

"What made you stop?"

"You. Our kids. Your college girlfriend cheating on you. Thinking about what I was doing to you. Thinking about how I'd feel if I were in your shoes. The clothes I'm wearing that I picked out for you. The hotel room that you paid for that I wasn't in. That you actually might div..." her breath caught. "That you might divorce me. That nothing was worth that and I was treating the situation like I was a single woman, not a married mother of two. And that's just the start."

Jim was quiet. She grabbed his hands and looked at his darkened face. "I fucked up."

"Yes you did."

"Why don't you go get some sleep." She suggested. "We can talk more tomorrow. I'll take the couch tonight."

Jim was quiet and as still as a statue for several minutes. She noticed his breathing was ragged; like he'd been crying. They stayed like that, him sitting there, unmoving, and her kneeling in front of him. It felt like an eternity before he started to move. He stood up without saying anything and she breathed out, feeling a sudden wave of sadness over what she'd done to the one person she loved more than anyone else.

Linda was surprised when he reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. He took her and led her into their bedroom where he stood her in front of the bed. She didn't offer in resistance or question what he was planning. She watched him reach around to her back and unzip her dress.

The contrast struck her. Under two hours prior she'd almost let another man have access to her body. At the time she'd felt excitement at the prospect, but when her dress was being peeled from her skin, she felt a cacophony of emotions that she could summarize as 'revulsion'. But now, here, with her husband doing the same thing, she felt pangs of negative emotions. Guilt, shame, the hurt she'd inflicted on him. But those emotions didn't override the comfort and love that she associated with his touch.

In moments she was standing before him completely naked. Even though it was not even a little sexual, and nowhere near as lust-filled or taboo as her moments with Marc, it felt right. The house was cold. Too cold for her and she felt a shiver from her toes to her shoulders. But she felt almost proud to show herself to her husband.

Jim stood back looking at her for a moment, then said, "Lay down on the bed and spread your legs for me."

She did exactly as he'd asked. She felt her body opening for him. She was shocked when he pulled his phone out and turned on the small light. He knelt between her legs and examined her reproductive organs. His purpose was suddenly apparent to her. She felt embarrassed by the remnants of her arousal that would be evident on her sex. She felt his fingers gently touch her and open her up to examination. Jim looked for several minutes, then the light turned off.

"You really didn't fuck him?"

"No."

He crawled up, still dressed in his dress shirt and slacks and pushed himself into her body, pulling her into a hug and kissing her on the lips. She pushed her hips into him to let him know how badly she wanted him to take her and cleanse her of her near transgression.

When Jim pulled back she had tears in her eyes. "I know I... Jim. I went way, way too far. But I'm here with you, now. I understand if you don't want to, but I'm yours. You can take me if you want."

Jim was out of his clothes in a flash and dove into her body with a force and ferocity she'd not often seen in him. Throughout their relationship, he was a gentle, passionate lover. He lived for her pleasure and pulled it out of her with slow ministrations and careful touches all over her body. But this night was not the norm. He was reclaiming her, and more. He was not just reveling in the fact that he got her while Marc "The Asshole" LaValliere was laying in a cold bed without this gorgeous creature. Jim was also informing her that there would be no more hints of straying in their relationship. She was his, and she would know it. He poured his lust into her and she responded in kind, bringing him passion and pleasure as best she could. And when they reached their peak, she received his seed only for the whole process to start again, ending at the same climatic point. The sun was starting to rise, well past 7 o'clock by the time they disentangled their nude forms from each other.

Linda was exhausted when Jim was finally done with her. She watched as he rolled to his side and passed out. But she still had something on her mind. Something she had to do before her brain would let her rest for a few hours before their children were brought home.

She left the room, finding her phone, then returned to their bed and snuggled up to Jim while she typed. She found the addresses she needed, but had to estimate the start times. Working backward from what she knew she thought she had it down to around a range of 10 to 15 minutes when she'd walked out on her husband. The memories were exceedingly unpleasant, but she needed to do this before she lost it from her mind.

She sent Jim a message, detailing the time she estimated they'd left. The limo she'd taken. The address, distance, and travel time from the club to LaValliere's apartment. Linda wrote down the time she spent in his room, the time she spent going back down to the front-desk, the conversation with Dee (which she hoped she could get a date record of). She grabbed Jim's phone and sent herself a picture of his call history, which most recently included the two calls from the hotel she'd tried to place. Then she gave him times for when the Uber had picked her up to when it had dropped her off, as well as a simple description of the vehicle.

With all that written out, she found she'd spent less than ten minutes in LaValliere's apartment. It didn't entirely absolve her; the ride to his place in the limo was more than enough time for her to have taken things much further than she'd admitted to last night. She needed to ensure she convinced him of the truth if he had any subsequent questions. She was open in her message pointing out those two timings and the flaws in her recollection of events. Brutal honesty. That's what she needed. She ended her note with another short apology and reaffirmation of her love for Jim and how she'd utterly failed to live up to that love in those weak moments.

With that, she set the phone down and passed out.

Linda didn't know how long she slept, but when she woke she could tell it was already dusk out. At least, she assumed it was dusk and hoped she'd not slept all the way through Saturday to Sunday morning. A quick glance at her phone showed 5:47 PM on Saturday evening. She turned and reached over to Jim's side of the bed to discover he wasn't there.

She had a lingering feeling of panic. Linda quickly looked back at her phone and confirmed that Jim had seen her messages to him. She got up, wrapping herself in a sheer, silk robe and walked out of the room. She found Jim, much to her relief, sitting in the living room watching some TV.

She walked over to him and slinked down next to him.

"Anything interesting on?"

He shook his head.

"Couldn't sleep any longer?"

"Kinda. I needed to sit up and just... think." She was quiet, saying nothing. After several minutes Jim said, "Thank you for sending me those times."

"You're welcome. I don't know if they present a solid case for myself, but I hope it at least helps a little."

"I believe you." He said after a long sigh. Linda almost stopped breathing as he said those words. "Part of me almost doesn't want to believe you. That was one of the worst moments of my entire life, Linda."

"I'm sorry."

"I am glad you came home though. Very glad." He continued without acknowledging her apology.

"Me too." She had a thought, she wanted to say it but felt it had the possibility of making things worse. But she remembered her mantra; brutal honesty. "I... I'm not sure I want to say this, but I think I kind of got off last night knowing that we had blue-balled Marc LaValliere."

Jim smiled, then chuckled heartily. It was a peaceful soothing sound; it felt like an eternity since she'd seen him smile. She felt his arm wrap around her and he pulled head to his, planting a kiss on the side of her head. "I like that. I don't want to do it ever again though."

She smiled, sadly, "Same."

They watched the TV for a few minutes before she felt him stirring. She could sense he wanted to ask her something uncomfortable and was struggling with it.

"You can talk to me, Jim."

He looked at her and clenched his jaw tightly before speaking, "Do you regret you didn't get to take Asshole for a ride?"

"No," she answered immediately. "I wish I'd never gone with him at all. I feel like I need to get a new skin to get rid of his... contamination. I don't know... I don't feel clean thinking about it." He nodded, a faint smile on his lips. It was her turn to leave a question on her lips for a moment, before she forced it out.

"Do you think you can ever forgive me?"

Jim sighed. "Yes, I definitely can. Knowing we left him without some bimbo to fuck last night helps, but I still feel so humiliated about last night. It could have been much worse."

"Would you have divorced me if I'd gone through with it?"

He looked into her eyes. "You know the answer to that..."

"Yes I do, but I want to hear it."

"It would have been an absolute miracle for our marriage to survive had you let him have sex with you."

She turned her torso and wrapped her arms around him, burying her head in his chest and let out a small sob at the thought. "I don't understand how I lost sight of that. I came so close to ruine."

"I don't understand either."

A thought occurred to her hearing him say that. "Maybe I should look into doing some counseling."

"You mean like marriage counseling?"

She pulled her head off his chest and looked into his eyes. "If you think we need it, I'd be willing to do it. But I meant more, understanding why I allowed my brain to turn off. Because I never want that to happen ever again."

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'll keep marriage counseling on the back-burner though."

"I'll call around Monday." she said, resolutely.

Jim nodded. "Good."

"Speaking of schedules," Linda switched topics. "Weren't we supposed to get the kids several hours ago?"

"I called Mrs. Porter this morning. I didn't tell her anything, but asked if she'd be willing to keep them one more night. She was enthusiastic in favor of that idea. I told her we'd be by tomorrow in the afternoon to get them. Which, I suppose means no staying up till nearly seven in the morning for us."

"That sounds wise. Thank you for taking care of that."

"You are welcome, hon."

The remainder of Saturday was a quiet, calm affair for the two of them. They were supposed to be in a hotel, enjoying city life again that night, but both of them found contentment being safely at home. That night she offered herself to her husband again, begging him to continue to reinforce his claim to her. She wanted him to take out whatever anger, rage, and doubt he had on her body. And that's exactly what he did. Their session that night was not nearly as long as the previous night's. But it was just as explosive and primal. She felt used by the end. She'd had her brains thoroughly screwed. She didn't make an effort to clean herself when they'd finished either. She was explicit for Jim, reveling in his genetic material, playing with it and trying to shove it back inside her.