It's Just Sex Ch. 04

I originally started this expecting it to run over 5 or 6 pages but somehow it grew into 72,000+ words and I ended up splitting it into seven parts, mainly for ease of reading. For that reason, I've placed it in Novels and Novellas rather than Romance or Loving Wives, either of which might also have been a suitable genre for it.

Please note all 7 parts are written and will be released to Literotica as and when I finish editing them (hopefully that will be weekly).

I make no apology for the fact that my characters are flawed; they make poor decisions and bad choices but somehow they manage to enjoy a happy ending. That's just how I like them. So, if you prefer your story's a little more sugar coated then perhaps this isn't for you.

Constructive criticism is, as always, welcome but please remember it is just a story, the people don't exist and the situations never happened.

At least not as far as I know.

Please enjoy.

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It's Just Sex - part 4

After the excitement and euphoria of my Friday night I found the reality of being alone in my small apartment for the rest of the week-end, reflecting on my decree absolute, a shock to my system. To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I had always believed that despite our separation Jon and I would somehow get back together but now we were divorced.

Dropping me off Deanna had said goodbye and continued on to her house; she had her husband, Selwyn, to regale with her adventures, leaving me by myself to spend Saturday and Sunday agonising over what I had done.

Closing the front door behind me I made myself a coffee and slumped onto my sofa to consider my actions of the previous night.

It wasn't as if I could blame what I had done on any one specific thing.

I had had quite a few glasses of wine but I hadn't been drunk.

Ok, I had received the letter telling me my divorce had been finalised so I was feeling more than a little down.

Then there was also the fact I hadn't had sex for several months, but it was only after I found out that Mark was a virgin that I really let my fantasies take control of my actions and willingly slept with him.

Now that I was home and thinking clearly I was concerned that, somehow, Jon would find out what I had been up to. Even though we were now properly divorced and he was seeing another woman I still loved him, that made my actions with Mark seem like a betrayal of that unrequited love.

Finishing my coffee, I took a long shower and, relaxing under the hot water, planned out my week-end.

There was no point sitting around worrying and becoming even more despondent so I decided to occupy my time as best I could. Cleaning the flat from top to bottom I also did the laundry, went grocery shopping and did anything else I could think of to avoid sitting around moping.

My problem was that by seven o'clock that evening I was done and seated on the sofa with a glass of wine I started to think about the previous night and my situation all over again.

'What if Jon found out?'

The one thought filled my brain as I sat there, reflecting on what I had done.

I hadn't intended looking for a man and had gone out of my way to ensure Deanna knew it was just going to be a girl's night out. But, in her in own inimitable way, she had turned it around and made it so much more.

Even then I had been a reluctant participant, unsure about how involved in her games I wanted to be until I found out Mark was a virgin.

That information, along with the alcohol I had consumed and the document I had received, had awakened a long-held fantasy of mine and I found myself willingly involved in what took place.

It was only afterwards, when I got home that morning, that I started to have regrets and now, sitting with time on my hands, things began to seem even bleaker.

I knew Deanna would have told her husband, Selwyn, about our night of debauchery, she had mentioned to me on several occasions that it turned him on knowing what she had been up to.

'But what if he then repeated it to Jon?'

Being divorced didn't stop me wanting him back. He was my soul mate and I still loved him regardless of everything that had happened between us. Even the fact he was now seeing another woman didn't stop my desire for him, just as being with Leon hadn't prevented me yearning for him back when we were at university.

Resisting the almost overwhelming urge to finish the bottle of wine I eventually took myself off to bed and, not for the first time, cried myself to sleep.

I was awake early on the Sunday and lay in bed staring at the ceiling, wondering what I was going to do with myself, before resignedly getting up and making myself a coffee. With the prospect of a depressing day staring me in the face I got up and put on my leggings and trainers before taking myself off for an easy 3-mile run.

It was something I had done a lot of when Jon and I were together but of late I had neglected my fitness routines and suffered for it with aching muscles by the time I got home.

After showering I got dressed and was just making my second coffee of the day when there was a knock at the door. I wasn't expecting anyone so I was puzzled as to who would be calling on a Sunday when I went to open it.

"Hey babe." Deanna greeted me with a grin, "Recovered from Friday?"

"Err.... yeah, just about." I replied, stepping aside to let her in.

"Oooh, just in time for coffee." Walking through the flat into the kitchen she noticed my cup.

"Would you like one?"

"Please hon."

I busied myself making another cup for her and then the pair of us made ourselves comfortable in the living room.

"So, how was Selwyn when you got home?"

Settling on the sofa I looked across at my friend and asked the question that had been on my mind.

She chuckled and smirked at me, "He was so turned on when I told him what we'd been up to, he dragged me straight up to bed."

"Lucky you.... wait, you.... you told him about me?"

"I'm sorry babe. I wasn't going to but it kind of slipped out about how much noise you were making in the next bedroom." Deanna blushed crimson, "And then, of course, he wanted to know everything."

"Shit!" Burying my face in my hands I went back to worrying about my ex finding out, "What if he tells Jon?"

"You're divorced, what does it matter now?"

"I... I want him back Dee. I love him. If he knows about last night he might...."

"I'm sure he won't tell him but for what it's worth I'm really sorry."

"I bloody well hope he doesn't."

For a minute we sat in silence drinking our coffee, Deanna staring at her shoes, while I considered what could happen if, or more likely when, my ex-husband found out about my indiscretion. The fact that he was screwing his young assistant, Jennifer Waites, never entered my head.

"Ok, out with it. What's bothering you?"

I'd finally had enough waiting for her to say whatever it was that was on her mind.

"Jon..... and Selwyn too, I guess."

I stiffened and sat up a little straighter, "What about them?"

"Look I know you're divorced and everything but I want you to know I'm sticking by my promise to you that I won't sleep with your husband unless you say it's ok."

She had the decency to look embarrassed as she said it but my stomach still tightened at her words and I had to suppress a flush of jealousy before I could reply.

"Like you said we're not together anymore. So, why should I care who he fucks."

"Don't be like that hon, I know how you feel about him and it's obvious you're going to care."

"Why are you asking anyway? Has he said something to you?"

A sudden thought entered my head that maybe Jon had told Deanna, or even Selwyn, how much he fancied her.

"No." She sounded uncertain, "I haven't seen him."

"Then what the fuck is this about?" I snapped at her, starting to feel a little confused.

"Its Selwyn!"

"What about him?"

"He wants you again and now you're not able to come to a party as you don't have a partner he.... well, he thought you and I might come to some sort of arrangement."

I sat back turning over her statement in my mind, analysing what she had just said.

Across from me Deanna just stared at me, biting her lip nervously and cradling her cup in her hands.

The minutes seemed interminable as we sat, neither of us speaking, with a growing sense of tension filling the air.

"I'm not sure that's a very good idea Dee." Finally, I broke the quiet that had settled over us.

"Oh!" She seemed surprised by my comment, "Can I ask why?"

"It's not that I don't like Selwyn. I do. It's just with things the way they are at the moment I don't want to give Jon any more ammunition to fire at me."

"Is that why you don't want him to know about Friday?"

"Yeah, he already hates me because I wanted to stop going to your parties. That's one of the main reasons why he divorced me. If he finds out I... I slept with a guy ten years my junior I'm sure he'll make me suffer in some way."

"I didn't know that. I thought you stopped coming because you separated and you got divorced because of Jennifer."

Now it was my turn to stare at the floor in embarrassment.

"Why did you want to stop? Was it something I said or did?" She asked quietly.

"What! No, not at all." I blustered, "It was just I felt it wasn't bringing Jon and I closer together anymore."

"So, you would consider coming back?"

"I don't have a partner, remember."

"But if you did have?" Deanna persisted, "Would you think about it then?"

"I don't know. It would depend on who I was with, amongst other things." Stalling for time I procrastinated, "I guess I'd have to think about it."

She considered my answer for a second as she finished her coffee,

"Well, it's a hypothetical question anyway." She chuckled, "You don't have a significant other to bring, do you?"

"Nope and I'm not likely to in the near future."

"I guess not." Deanna put her cup down and stood up, "Anyway I'd better go. I'll call you in the week and maybe we can meet up."

"I'll try but I'm pretty busy at work at the moment."

We hugged goodbye at the door and after she had gone I sat back down on the sofa trying to make some sense of the conversation we had just had.

'Had I managed to piss off my best friend?'

She hadn't seemed very happy when she left but I honestly wasn't sure I would go back to the parties even if I had an amenable partner. My original reason for agreeing had rebounded on me and, in the end, cost me my marriage.

The more I thought about everything the more miserable I felt.

Deciding I needed to get out and get away for the moment I drove across to see my parents. Staying for dinner I got home later than I intended and more or less went straight to bed, my objective of filling my day and forgetting my worries for a while at least partially successful.

Up till now my only consolation and distraction from my problems over the preceding weeks and months had been my work. Heading into the office on the Monday morning I was still feeling a little down and found myself determined to throw myself into my job to try to lift my spirits.

I had been with the company since both Jon and I had graduated and had, over time, worked my way up through the marketing department to become assistant to the director. My boss, had, for most of that time, been a wonderful older man, Henry Templeman.

A real gentleman he had been something of a father figure and mentor to me and I had had a lot of respect for him, so I had been heartbroken when he retired.

Our new marketing director, his replacement, had started the week previously and I had been fully occupied attending meetings with him and trying to bring him up to speed on our operation.

I knew it was going to take some time before he was fully integrated into the team and I had resigned myself, in the short term, to an increased workload as well as working with someone who was a little too suave and self-absorbed for my taste.

Our first few days working together had been fairly intense as he got to grips with the demands of his new position but it had been his demeanour away from work situations that I found unnerving. Coming across as a bit of a lady's man he appeared far too slick for my comfort and I expected that the upcoming week wouldn't be any different.

Walking in to the building at eight-thirty I was still reflecting on my disastrous weekend when I was startled by the voice coming out of his office.

"Good morning Taylor."

Looking in through the open door I was surprised to see my new boss looking up from his desk and smiling.

"How are you?" Oozing charm, he asked pleasantly.

"Oh... err... hi Darren." I managed to stammer a response, trying to recover from the shock of seeing him there, "I'm fine thanks. Would you like a coffee?"

"If you're making one. That would be great."

Giving him a smile in response I wandered off to the small kitchen area trying to collect my thoughts and focus on the week to come.

I had briefly met Darren Cunningham prior to his starting when our CEO brought him around and introduced him to everyone. I hadn't had long with him and I hadn't been overly impressed but decided to reserve judgement.

Now, after spending a week with him, I felt I knew him a little better.

He was without doubt a high-flyer. In his late thirties/early forties he had been head hunted by the company I worked for as part of a drive to increase their share of the market place.

The previous week hadn't been particularly revealing and other than the fact that I, along with the rest of the female workforce, found my tall, dark-haired and good-looking new boss attractive, I still knew little about him other than what my intuition warned me about.

I had found out he was looking for a house in the area but as yet he hadn't been very successful. So, for the moment he was currently living in a hotel but apart from that he seemed to keep his personal life very much to himself.

Not that I minded him being professional. But there were my doubts about his character to consider; he was a little to glib and egotistic for my taste.

Not that any of that mattered. No matter how alluring he was, given my situation, I wasn't looking for any sort of a relationship, especially when it might involve someone I worked with.

At the moment I was struggling, recently divorced and still in love with Jon I didn't have a clue as to where I was going with my life. That was more then enough for me to try to cope with.

Working closely together with him I found, as the days passed, Darren to be gradually becoming somewhat over friendly and, on occasion, a little bit smarmy, although he could certainly be extremely charming when he wanted to.

I put his manner down to his wanting to get to know people and everything we did. So, like any good assistant would, I did my best to try to accommodate him.

It meant that for the second week in a row I had to put my pathetic excuse for a personal life to one side and really focus on work during the day. However, during the evenings, when I was at home alone, all of my problems came back to haunt me.

I was taking a shortened lunch break on the Thursday when my phone rang, the caller ID telling me it was Deanna.

We hadn't spoken since the previous Sunday and as I looked at the screen I wondered if she was still angry with me.

"Hello Dee." I answered cautiously.

"Hi hon, do you fancy a drink after work tonight?" My friend's happy voice replied and my worry started to dissipate.

"Err.... you're not man hunting again are you?"

"No, we'll just have a quick glass of wine at six o'clock, then I have to get home."

"You're sure?"

Dee giggled down the phone, "Absolutely, I just want to have a chat."

"About anything in particular?"

"No, not really." Came back through the speaker, "It's just I haven't spoken to you in a few days and I wanted to see how you were."

"Well, it's not as if my social calendar is overflowing."

Tentatively agreeing I made arrangements to meet her at a nearby wine bar and, after saying goodbye, I went back to work, spending the rest of the afternoon wondering what she wanted to talk about.

It was just after six when I pushed open the door to The Wine Seller to find Deanna already sitting on a stool with several shopping bags by her feet and two glasses of chardonnay on the bar.

"Taylor." She shrieked, several people turning to look as she jumped down to hug me.

"Hi Dee." I replied, relieved that there clearly was no animosity left after our chat on Sunday.

"I've got you a glass of wine, now sit down and we can catch up."

Perching on the stool next to hers I took a sip of my drink and looked at her questioningly.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

She pouted, "I haven't seen you since Sunday. Can't I just want to have a gossip."

"Come on Dee there's got to be more to it than that?"

"Well, maybe just a tad."

I couldn't help but laugh, she was so transparent. Not that I really minded, I was simply glad to have my friend back.

"Ok, out with it."

"I did want to catch up as well." She pouted and I had to admit that at least her protest sounded sincere.

"What is it? What's so important?"

"After our discussion last Sunday Selwyn and I.... well, we wondered if you had thought anymore about coming back to the parties?"

"Even if I did Dee, I don't have a partner and, remember, your rule is couples only."

"Yeah I know that but...."

"But I'm on my own now."

She took a sip of her wine, "Yeah, you're divorced now. I know that but what if we found you someone?"

I shook my head, "No, I couldn't do it like that. The parties were something Jon and I did together and for a while it brought us back together, at least until his work got in the way again."

"He still loves you. You know that don't you?"

Her unexpected statement took me by surprise, "Who does?"

"Jon." Deanna bit her bottom lip nervously as she spoke, "He told Selwyn that he still loves you."

For a moment I froze, my heart starting to race and thumping urgently against my ribcage, as I tried to collect my thoughts.

'Did he really still love me?'

'Was there a chance for us to get back together?'

'What about Jennifer? Was he still fucking her?'

"And what about that little slut he's with?" I pushed the hopefulness aside and snapped angrily before taking a large mouthful of wine.

"According to what he told Selwyn he didn't take up with her until after your fight."

"Do you believe him?"

She shrugged and swirled her drink around her glass, "I don't see why not. He's got no reason to lie about it now."

"Well, I hope your husband put him right about me sleeping with him?"

Deanna looked down at her shoes, "Ah yeah about that...."

"What?"

"Selwyn kind of let slip about last Friday and what we got up to. So now Jon's even more convinced you were fucking around behind his back."

"Shit! He didn't did he?"

My heart sank at her news. I knew that in his anger my now ex-husband would use the fact I had slept with Mark, even though we were divorced, to validate his theory that I had been unfaithful.

"Sorry babe. I know you didn't want him to find out."

For a moment I went quiet, processing everything she had just told me.

"Look, I can't stay much longer, we're.... we're having our monthly party tomorrow. Maybe we can continue this at the week end or something."

Deanna said and downed the last of her wine.

"It's ok I need to get home as well." I lied, knowing all that waited for me at my flat was a miserable evening alone.

It was then, just as we were saying our goodbye's, that the door to the wine bar opened and Jon walked in with Jennifer Waites on his arm. If my life had been a mess before it was rapidly evolving into a much bigger one right before my eyes.