Good Morning, Patty

They both fucked up. But she seemed to be the only one acknowledging her part. Patrick had all but given himself a free pass because she was the one who cheated.

She wiped her tears from her face and looked into the mirror above the sink. My god, she looked a mess! Makeup completely ruined. Red, puffy eyes. A tear-stained face. She looked exactly how she felt.

Going into her purse, she found the contents needed to make herself presentable. In a short span of ten minutes, she'd erased the crying woman who first looked back at her. Once again, she was stunning.

She rejoined the party, but first she stopped by the kitchen to grab another flute of champagne. She then headed to the living room area where everyone else was.

And that's when she saw it. Patrick, dancing with another woman. A younger woman, probably in her mid-twenties.

What the actual fuck?!

Yes, she knew that Patrick dated. He probably had gotten laid a time or two, though Kendra hated the thought of that. But to see him bumping and grinding on some teeny bopper floozy right in front of her, like he was twenty goddamned years old, infuriated her beyond words.

Kendra was classy though. She wasn't the type of woman to fight over a man, especially not a child. Men fought over her.

For Patrick, he didn't even know he was being watched. When he returned to the party from grabbing his drink, a woman he was familiar with initiated a conversation with him. He knew her from his hiking group. The two of them spoke on occasion, but never at length.

That changed tonight. She'd always thought Patrick was cute for an older guy. The bits of gray in his otherwise dark hair made him look like a sexy professor. That led to them laughing, and him asking her to dance.

In truth, he wasn't "bumping and grinding." He was, however, dancing closely. So close, in fact, that he could smell her hair.

As Kendra stood there seething, Charlotte walked up behind her. She and her husband Dave had known Patrick and Kendra for some years now. They knew them as a couple, and they knew them as separated individuals. They were witnesses to Patrick's mental breakdown, to Kendra's infidelity, and their mess of a marriage.

"Hey girl." Charlotte said, gently touching Kendra on the shoulder. She couldn't help the undertone of sympathy that dripped from her voice as she saw what Kendra was looking at and knew how she was feeling.

"Hey." Kendra returned, not taking her eyes from the scene in front of her. Referencing the woman Patrick was dancing with, she asked, "Who's she?"

"You remember Patrice, don't you? She works with me. I introduced you that one time you came to pick me up."

"No. I don't remember her." Kendra answered icily. After a sip from her glass, she added, "You might wanna check her ID, though. You don't wanna be arrested for serving alcohol to a minor. Maybe get her a juice box or something."

Charlotte couldn't help but to laugh at that. "Don't be petty." She warned, unable to hide her amusement.

"I'm just saying."

Charlotte led Kendra away from watching Patrick have fun. No sense in standing there torturing herself.

Eventually, Patrick realized that Kendra hadn't left. He saw her when he walked past the French doors leading out to the balcony. She was outside, standing in the cold night, facing away from him and looking out into the back yard. Seeing his chance to give her a sincere apology, he approached.

"Hey." He said, his voice deep but soft.

She gave him a brief glance but didn't return a greeting.

With a sigh, he said, "Look, about what I said earlier..."

"Did you send your little playmate home?" she interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Your little dancing partner."

Patrick shrugged. "No. She just went to get a drink."

Kendra scoffed. "I think Charlotte might have some Capri Suns in the fridge."

It took him a second, but he had to stop himself from bursting out into laughter. "Wait a minute. Are you jealous?" he asked with a chuckle.

This time she really looked at him, and that smug smirk, and that devil-may-care look in his eyes. "Whatever."

He had to admit, seeing her jealous made him feel kind of good. He didn't think she could feel that emotion, at least not towards him.

He reached out and touched her shoulder. He half expected her to recoil from his touch, but she didn't.

"Can we please just call a truce?" he asked with sincerity. "I was an ass earlier. I know that. I had no right to lash out at you when you were just worried about me. I'm sorry."

Kendra rolled her eyes and smacked her lips, but then after a second nodded. She didn't want to fight with him.

Still, she had to slap him on the chest. But right after, she leaned into him and laid her forehead on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her.

The two of them returned to the party, this time together. From there, things began to get a bit fuzzy. More alcohol was involved. A lot of it.

There were games. Kendra and Patrick teamed up, like old times. There was laughter. There was dancing. There was a lot of fun.

And then, there was midnight. That countdown. The two of them looked at each other as they yelled in unison with the group, "TEN! NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN! SIX! FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!"

With that, they kissed. They kissed long and passionately. They kissed like they'd been denied each other for a lifetime. They kissed like it was their last moment on earth.

It felt like they made out for hours.

And then...and then...

He woke up, in bed with his wife.

---------------------------------------------

"How did I get here? I don't remember leaving the party." Patrick asked, looking around his old bedroom.

"I called us an Uber. We were both too drunk to drive."

Pointedly, he asked, "But not too drunk to have sex?"

She giggled, then looked down at the area of his cock (he was covering himself with the blankets). "No. You were more than ready for that."

"Ken..."

"Patty, relax." She said, her tone of voice less playful now. "I'm messing with you. Nothing happened."

"What?"

She shrugged. "We didn't have sex. We took an uber here because it was easier. Jessi is staying at your parents' house, so it's not like you had to rush home. The plan was to go back to Charlotte's together and pick up our cars in the morning."

Still confused, he asked, "But why are we almost naked? Why were we sleeping in the same bed."

"Because you vomited all over us." She said with a shake of her head, almost like she was amused by his antics. "I warned you about drinking so much."

Thinking back, he did now have a faint recollection of that. He remembered her high-pitched squeal of disgust as he projectile vomited beer at her.

"Sooo...after that..."

She sighed, and then finished his statement. "After that, we both stumbled into bed and fell asleep. That's it."

"Really?"

She snorted a small laugh. "Do you actually think I need to resort to date-raping men to get laid?"

Patrick couldn't help the deep sigh of relief that came from him. But truthfully, there was a small part of him that was...disappointed.

"I guess not." He said with a shrug.

Seeing his relief at them not having sex made Kendra feel a bit sad. It was a testament to how far they'd grown apart.

"Come on. Get up." She said, shaking that feeling off. She grabbed the blankets and snatched them away quickly, leaving him exposed on the bed. "We need to get showered so we can get going."

Patrick nodded in agreement, but just sat there. The two of them shared a longing look at each other. Then, with a sigh, Patrick got out of the bed and headed to the shower.

Kendra watched him disappear into the bathroom. It looked so natural, like this scene belonged here. She lied when she said nothing happened between them. No, they didn't have sex, but he did wrap himself around her and cuddled her all night. Yes, it was more muscle memory than anything, but the two of them lay together, their entire bodies touching. She listened to him softly snoring in her ear before she too dozed off.

It felt...right. She belonged in his arms. He belonged in her bed. He was just too stupid to realize it, just as she'd been.

With that, she made a decision. Grabbing her T shirt at the hem, she whipped it up and over her head. She also hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and snaked them down her hips and onto the floor.

"Hey. Scooch over." She said with a sly smile when she appeared in the bathroom completely naked.

The shocked look on Patrick's face was almost comical. He couldn't stop himself from sweeping the entire length of her body with his eyes.

Yes, he'd seen his wife naked plenty of times. But that felt like a lifetime ago. Now, it was like he was seeing her for the first time.

Outside of her clothes, Kendra wasn't the perfect goddess she portrayed to the world. Yes, she was beautiful, but she was only human. She had human flaws.

That bit of cellulite on her butt. The extra sag in her boobs. That small pouch on her stomach. The crow's feet at the edges of her eyes.

But that's the part of her that she wanted Patrick to see. She wanted to be vulnerable with him. She wanted him to see her for who she was. She didn't want to be some unattainable goddess to him. She wanted to be his wife again, and she was tired of playing this game the two of them had been playing.

Unable to speak, he complied with her wishes and made room for her. She stepped in front of him, occupying the space right beneath the nozzle. Just as she'd always done in the past when they showered together.

She didn't seduce him. She didn't try to turn him on. She just started washing herself, with her back to him, just as she would've done if he wasn't there.

Patrick openly ogled his wife. He watched the water cascade down her back, down her butt, down her thighs, and into the drain on the floor. He watched her soap herself and let the streams of water wash it away.

When she was done washing herself, she turned around to face him. Their eyes locked. Finally, she said, "When we finally have sex, you won't have to wonder if you did it. You're gonna know it. And I won't have to trick you into my bed. You'll come willingly, and you're gonna beg me for it."

There was a strange look that came across his face. it wasn't playful or lusty, as it should've been after a statement like that. It was actually...haunted.

And that, was the crux. That look, like he'd seen a ghost, was almost as if Sean were in the shower with the two of them. No matter how much Kendra wished it away, her actions with a younger man would forever plague anything she and Patrick could have together.

Patrick needed time. A lot of time. But the fact that he hadn't sought out divorce yet filled her with hope.

Kendra leaned in and kissed him. Nothing romantic, but a soft kiss. With a sad smile, she said, "If you ever decide to come back to me Patty, I'll be waiting for you. Just know that I'm sorry for what I did to you, and I love you."

With that, she stepped out the shower, leaving him alone with his thoughts.