February Sucks - The Umpteenth One

Thank you to the wonderful KitDeLuca164 for granting me permission on their story. Easily beating out my previous favorites just in sheer volume of nuance and new perspectives on the original. Yes it got an amount of flak, but neither rightfully or wrongfully so. It is expected on a site like this.

So, time to do the gentlemanly thing to do and write a story much more hated and worse that such negativity will be directed towards me.

Those of you that read my other Feb Sux related post should already understand where I fall on how I want these characters to end up, what I look for, and how I want it to be done.

In order to understand this story, you of course, have to read theirs in order to understand my decisions and scenarios.

https://www.literotica.com/s/february-sucks-the-details-matter

Without further ado, let's go! Enjoy this addition in the February Sucksverse! We know this won't be the last one ;)

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Jim took a deep breath and parked his car in the driveway of their home. With line out of the house to go get Emma and Tommy, he decided he'd get settled in the meantime. He had just taken a leap of faith into the chasm that was their marriage. He went about putting his things away and getting himself ready for when his family returned. When all was finished, he sat on the couch and waited.

Linda, for her part, had been dreading the ride home. Jim hadn't called which may have been a good sign. But the uncertainty of it all did nothing to calm her nerves. The only distraction she had was their two wonderful children telling her all about their day. She took solace in that. Despite her failure as a wife, she knew she was a great mother.

Rounding the corner of their little neighborhood, her heart skipped a beat and tears came to her eyes as she saw Jim's car. Elation and tears came to her as she sniffed to calm herself. He was home. At least his car was and that was a good enough sign.

"Daddy's home!" Their little Emma shouted excitedly as she rushed to get out of her child safety seat. Quick to match her daughters excitement, Linda exited their van and went to pick Tommy from the backseat, Emma already running towards the door of their home and knocking, too little to reach up and ring the doorbell.

Jim got up from his seat. Not too excitedly as he needed to take a deep breath and steeled himself for the future. Opening the door, he was greeted by a tight hug around his legs and like any good father, picked her up to give her a mighty hug.

As he hugged his little girl, and saw his wife walk up with their son in her arms, he knew he made the right decision coming home. Linda offered a soft smile, a blush at her cheeks as the man she loved beyond all doubt stood in the doorway. It was a look no other man could pull and she was grateful beyond everything to have him back. Now they could truly set things behind them and move forward as a family.

That night, parental duties prevented any sort of conversation between the two from taking place. The kids were in the mood for pizza and if they were both being honest, so were they. Emotionally exhausted, neither of them had the energy to cook. So pizza it was. Laughs about Jim's business trip were had, Linda's work around the house, and the kids' school activities were all a part of their dinner ritual. Linda even had the courage to say grace at the start of dinner. Not to any deity in particular, but specifically to Jim's courage and the safety of their family.

That night, with both their kids in bed, did they finally have the time to address the elephant in the room.

"I'm so glad you're back Jim. Now we can finally move on as a happy family." She said as she laid her head against his chest.

"Yea. Now we can." He held her close.

Linda was done saying sorry. She had come to regret it, and especially after her tirade the night before. Jim knew this for a fact. She had no regret for what she said, only for the miscalculation of how much it'd hurt him.

With little else to say, she held his hand in hers and she guided him to the bed. Laying her man down. This sexual reconciliation was a long time coming. Jim may not have been the perfect physical male specimen like Marc, but his touch and loving could never be paralleled in turn. It was what she had been looking forward to getting back to. The foreplay, the matching breaths, the caresses, the kissing, and all the little details that served as an affirmation to their love for each other. This was a high in and of itself that simply could not be matched. And she couldn't be more eager to be this way with her husband again.

Jim tried as best as he could to push all thoughts of Marc away from their coupling. He had been as hard as he'd ever been considering the trip and the thoughts that had plagued his mind. Laying on the bed, he let Linda ride him. His hands went to her hips to keep balanced. Eye contact was a must, especially now of all times. To her, she was gazing into the man she loved with vocal confirmations of his ability to make love to her, whilst he in turn was watching her and looking for every pattern her features made when she became excited. He was still testing her, even if he did his best to move on. Closing the distance between them, she reached down to kiss him passionately.

Not long thereafter, had they finished their coupling, that they were in each others arms. Jim's breathing was steady while her's was calm. She kept planting kisses on his neck and jawline.

"I'm so happy you're back Dear Jim." She cooed.

"It's where I belong." He said, kissing her forehead, before falling asleep.

"Are we going to be alright?" She asked, needing validation and confirmation from him.

"We'll be fine." He smiled softly.

She looked up at him, with a smile of her own, and after waiting a while for him to be in a deep sleep, she went on to finger herself next to him. He may have finished powerfully in her, but she had yet to get hers. She was happy that the status quo was returning. She finally got that feeling of being loved by her husband back. She even climaxed with him, and in that moment, she was happy to have done so next to her husband. Happy that they were one again.

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Weeks passed, and their family routine was going back to normal. After school activities, family outings, work and duties began to fill the gaps in the void that was the February incident. Jim was putting his all into being the best husband and father he could. Truly putting his wife and kids above himself. Almost as if to atone for the near sin he'd committed in even contemplating a divorce.

"I grabbed a once in a fucking lifetime chance to live out a fantasy you bastard!"

Most husbands would have wrought fire and brimstone upon their wives for what she had done. Jim was not most husbands. He was adamant in making sure it never happened again by trying his best to make everything about their life a fantasy.

He began to lovebomb his wife with gifts of jewelry, books, and flowers for their garden. Something in particular he'd even been trying was referring to their home as their family's kingdom with them as monarchs, and their kids as prince and princess. All an elaborate way to be what Linda needed and wanted.

It reeked of desperation, despite their kids finding it sweet. Linda couldn't help but feel smothered by this sudden change of affection towards their dynamic. She knew he was trying hard. Too hard in fact. She played along but it only served to get her back into the mentality of only being able to be a suburban housewife even more. Especially with medieval undertones seeping their way into their house.

Don't get her wrong. Linda absolutely loved Jim and the effort didn't go unnoticed. She simply couldn't communicate with him this feeling of being overwhelmed. Especially considering how hard she had made it for him to pull himself up by the bootstraps with that final ultimatum. But she knew it was necessary to kick him out of his pity party and to fast track their reconciliation. Only now that the fast track was here, it felt so...unnatural.

Making love was everything she remembered it to be. Sex had died down from what it had been when they were dating and when they were on their honeymoon. Bravado and impressions no longer mattered, especially after having kids. It was certainly one of the reasons Marc had been so alluring. It was something new and unobtainable until it presented itself to her. Time and age had also played a factor. Both, though very far from cenile, were no longer at the peak of their prime. And sad to say but even Jim's peak could never have hoped to compete with Marc's that night.

So even if the love and care was obviously there, the sexual needs were still unbalanced. By no means was he a slob of any kind. He had that gut every father eventually grew. The affectionately coined 'dad-bod' that she loved. This didn't mean he was a dud in the bedroom, with as attentive and as familiar with her body as he was, he could make her cum again and again. But nothing that rocked her world like Marc did. Jim could have kept up when they were newlyweds, but work, bills and responsibilities had dampened his energy. Whereas being a housewife gave her the time to maintain her shape and progress naturally with age in a physique that she was satisfied with. Thus the imbalance was still there.

Thankfully for her, when she had time to herself, she could always go back to her Ipad and read the passages almost religiously. Pleasing herself as she replayed those memories of her and Marc. How she felt everything sexual a woman had the right to experience from a lover and to herself. She had especially gotten into the habit of licking her fingers after every solo session in remembrance and honor to Marc. His scent and presence very much still in her mind.

Jim truly hoped he was making strides in his uphill battle to get back on track in his marriage. His kids were happy, his wife was happy, all was right with the world. So why wasn't he? Stupid question, but he knew he couldn't have shake the vitriol that Linda had had when he confronted her about the details. And it was everything she said that was in his mind that prevented him from being truly happy. He thought back to her ultimatum.

"When you get back in town tomorrow, please don't come home unless you're ready to forgive me and be my husband and all that entails."

"You either come home as my husband and not some tormented, bitter, moping roommate, or you will check in at a local hotel and call me."

"I won't spend another minute with a man that loathes me,"

He never loathed her. He couldn't. It was because of how deeply he cared and loved her that it hurt so damn much. Had he simply just managed a way to better manage his anger? His paranoia? For fear that if he kept it up, he would lose her? Fuck.

Jim took a deep breath. This was something he needed to discuss with her. He still wanted to be with her, but at the very least had to get her to acknowledge the fear she had put him in. How strong-arming him into forgiving her could have done more damage than it brought good. How could she have come to respect him if he feared her after all she'd done to him? Marc LaValliere aside, communication on the matter was key.

Checking his watch, he saw that it was halfway through the workday. This had been eating at his mind long enough, and he decided to grab the bull by the horns. He went ahead and told his boss he wasn't feeling too well and was going to take the rest of the day off. And like that, Jim drove home.

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Linda had been reading the passage in her Ipad about the the final fucking her and Marc had done the night before she left. Every gratuitous detail of much of physical sexual specimen the tight end had been right there on the paper. By now, the screen was marked with the scent of her climax with every urgent flipping of the page. All for the sake of reliving such memories. With one final scream of delight, Linda's body shook at the thought of her NFL Fairy Tale and a sleep took a deep hold of her. All her house duties were done, it was the middle of the day, and her Dear Jim were at work. She found herself at peace, and secure to have let the following nap take her.

Jim had gotten home not half an hour after she had knocked out. So the sounds of the door opening and his footsteps up the stairs to their bedroom weren't disturbing her slumber whatsoever.

He entered their bedroom and was surprised by her naked form lazily and dreamily laying on their bed. He smiled at how she looked and was about to leave to give her time to sleep, when he noticed the Ipad in her hand. Curiously, he picked it up and skimmed through the page she had been on.

Confusion turned to despair. His heart sank as he understood exactly what he was reading. His gaze turned to her, his eyes brimming with tears and anger. Rage came to mind. Followed by sorrow. Ultimately, he left their bedroom and headed downstairs to the couch to further read the damn Ipad.

This torment, his torment would end soon enough.

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Linda woke up from her dreamless sleep to the sound of things moving downstairs. She quickly looked at her surroundings and although it wasn't clear, she knew she must have overslept. Only when she looked at the clock that read 6:09 did she realize how much.

The kids! She thought urgently.

Putting on her silk nightgown, she rushed downstairs to find only Jim. Setting up suitcases oddly enough. It had been too quiet when she woke up. Usually she would hear the faint conversations or the loud and excited shouts of their children. But here, it was just Jim.

"Where are the kids?" She asked first and foremost. Jim offered what would be the last smile in their married life.

"They're with my parents." He zipped a bag up. Somehow, that didn't make her feel at ease.

"What's all this?" She asked worriedly. She was awaking more and more as the scene before her unfolded. Gone was her tiredness as the alarms in her head were going off. What was he doing?

"I'm packing." Jim responded emptily. Smile gone. He reached for the coffee table to hold up her Ipad. Linda fell speechless for a moment. She could still salvage this. She thought desperately.

"Jim, I can explain-" He cut her off.

"I know you can. You did in fact." He fought it. By God he fought his voice from breaking as he opened up her Ipad. He looked her up and down. Not with disgust. But with disdain. "I never stood a fucking chance." He did not say it to her. Mostly as an affirmation to himself just to cope with realizing it. He went over to sit on the couch. Linda still stood still, shaken to her core.

"I went to L.W." He pulled out a yellow envelope. "I'm done." He tossed it onto the coffee table. Linda hiccupped at the sight of it as her face flushed and tears stained her eyes.

"No." She said simply, rushing to sit in front of him. "We can fix this Jim." Desperation seeped in her voice. "We can go to counseling. Couples therapy!" She urged. "I can help you accept this-" He cut her off again.

"Just stop it, Linda!" He raised his voice, causing her to flinch and move back. Even he moved back as well. Creating further distance between them. "The problem here isn't not understanding! I just read your fucking sex diary! This entire time, I've had a more than reasonable amount of patience and understanding! Every reaction of mine was suited to your fucking fairy tale!" He never let go of the Ipad. "Whether it was from you or your friends, or from L fucking W, I had to be the reasonable one to your betrayal! When this entire time it was your wrongs that we should have talked about."

Her anger was rising again, and she began to get defensive.

"Ok fine! You want to talk about my wrongs! Let's!" She turned her full fury onto him. "It was the best fucking night of my life! You don't want to move past it! What I did was the worst thing a wife could ever do to her husband, but it fucking happened! You're still hung up on it and you're willing to put our kid's future and jeopardy because you can't grow the fuck up?" She jabbed her finger against his chest, to which he simply swiped it away.

"No! You don't get to use Tommy and Emma as your shield when you were committed to your fucking night with the asshole!" This line came full circle from the night they'd return. And he should have pressed her further on the matter back then. Oh well. "Everything I've done so far was for you and the kids! Staying, understanding, and accepting it. And this entire time you've been hiding the truth from me!"

"I hid it because I knew you couldn't handle it!" What propelled her to say next, even she knew was a low blow. "You think everything that he is and that you aren't is something that you can grasp, Jim?! My god, sometimes when we fuck it feels like more of an obligation! With him it was never an obligation! It was a desperate fucking need where I could be everything a woman is supposed to be! Satisfied?" Her own waterfall of tears falling down her cheeks.

He couldn't look her in the eye. He simply avoided eye contact altogether. Seeing this sent her bawling. What was it with her vindictive vitriol that made her want to keep emasculating him?

"Jim..." She cried. "Look at me, Jim." She reached to take hold of his face and turn him towards her. "I'm so sorry..." He just looked defeated. Why on Earth would she even stay with him? That was the real fucking question here. In her own words, she had a chance to be with some NFL player worth millions. He wasn't even the asshole he could wish him to be to at the very least he could take solace in hating him as a piece of shit. No. Even that last conversation he was privy to was a facade, just like their marriage so far. So why the hell would she stay with him? "I love you."

It was a desperate plea. A useless affirmation. Although it was far from empty, it was like throwing a pebble at a steel fortress in hopes to breach it. He slowly took her hands in his to remove them from their hold. He couldn't go on having this pity party forever, he thought. He was done reacting, he had to take action in his own hands. Now.

"I know you do..." He sobbed. "But you're not sorry. Even now, you would do it all over again..." Despite having it in writing, where she proclaimed her regret for that night and her love and total devotion to him, the journal gave him a wholly different insight of her deepest darkest. It was the breaking point. He looked down at the envelope as he returned her hands back, letting go, "Sign them." He stood up to finish the last of the packing.

"No." She said calmly. Or rather flatly. This was it. But she wasn't going to let this happen. Not if she could help it. "I'm not signing anything." She stood up to face him. He sized her up. He may not have been some NFL tight end, but he still had his height over her.

"Sign the papers Linda." Was that a threat?

"No! Fuck your papers!" If it were up to her, she would still have her husband and her passionate time with Marc. Not even a month ago was she the one to have threatened him with divorce. She had even resigned herself to it. But him coming back was their second wind. "You came back! That means something! We don't have to separate!" She sniffled. She was damned if she was going to lose her husband after just getting him back.

"I am not competing with him, Linda." He said stoically. "Lord knows, you've made it abundantly clear I can't."