Seduction Ch. 06: Surprise!

As we walked into my house, I saw Sally standing outside, looking at us. That gossip! Now the whole neighborhood was going to know about Alex. Oh well, there was probably no hiding him from Bill anyway.

I went to the kitchen to make sandwiches and saw that I had no bread. I realized that Natalie must have taken everything that would spoil while I was away. I turned and looked at the kitchen table where we shared so many meals together, in the house that was filled with so much love, and I suddenly broke down. Alex heard me crying, rushed in and gave me a hug. I hugged him back and sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I just can't stay here. Everything reminds me of..."

Alex gently stroked my back and said, "Why don't you come stay with me for a few days. I have to work today. You have your car, so come whenever you want. The code for my door is 5926. Just relax and we can talk when I get home tonight. Okay?"

"Okay," I said. I went to the bedroom and saw that most of my casual clothes were missing but I found some T-shirts and shorts. Fortunately, Natalie had not packed all my underwear. I changed out of the clothes I had been wearing (or not wearing) all weekend. I threw what I could into a small bag and rushed out.

I drove to Alex's house and relaxed. I took a long bath in his Jacuzzi, sat on his deck and watched the lake. Then I made one of my favorite dishes - a white lasagna, made with mushrooms, cheese and Bechamel sauce. I was just taking it out of the oven when Alex walked in. I ran over to him, gave him a quick kiss, and said, "Hi, honey. I'm glad you're home!"

He laughed, and said, "Thank you! I feel like I'm in a 50's sitcom."

I curtsied. "June Cleaver at your service! Dinner is almost ready. Go get comfortable."

We had a nice time at dinner, just enjoying the food and talking about light things. Then I fixed us drinks and we sat on his couch to talk.

"Alex, thank you again for this weekend. It was wonderful, but I'm really screwed up. I told you that my husband was having an affair and was leaving me, but it turns out that I was wrong. My neighbor saw him going into my house with a young woman and drew the wrong conclusion. She's a terrible gossip! Now she saw me with you, so I can just imagine what she's telling the neighbors now. I don't know if Bill will even take me back after what we did. What do you think? I really want to hear a man's insight."

Alex sighed. "There must have been more to it than that. Why don't you tell me the story from the beginning."

Over the course of a few drinks, I told him the whole story. I told him how we had been married for five years and at the beginning everything seemed exciting and different. But as time went on, we got into a routine. "Wednesday, we eat spaghetti, Thursday meatloaf, Friday we would go out to a restaurant. We watched the same TV shows every week. Tuesday nights, there was nothing on we liked, so we would watch a movie on Netflix or maybe go out to a movie. Occasionally he would buy me flowers, but they were always carnations, because he knew they were my favorite. We made love three times a week. It was very familiar and comfortable - he always knew what I liked and would satisfy me, but it was all the same, you know.

"Now that I look back, I see how ridiculous my feelings were. Sex wasn't boring, it had been refined over time. When we first got together, the sex would be varied with different positions. But eventually we settled into doing those things that we liked the most. Our life wasn't routine, it was comfortable. Like an old pair of shoes that have molded to your feet so well that you don't even feel that they're there. And isn't that better than new shoes that are always pinching in a new place?

"I complained to my assistant that my marriage had gotten boring, so she and Bill planned a big surprise. Bill was going to take me to Paris! Bill is terrible at keeping secrets, and I could tell he was hiding something. Friday, they went to my house to pack our suitcases and my neighbor saw them. When I got home, she told me that Bill had spent an hour in my bedroom with a woman. Then Bill came home, and he told me he had skipped lunch because he was working on a project. I knew he was lying. At the restaurant, I confronted him. I told him I knew he was hiding something from me. I was already convinced he was having an affair; when he started talking about making changes, I just lost it. Well, you know the rest."

Alex took a sip of his drink and looked off into space. He said, "This weekend, we resolved to not talk about ourselves or anything serious. But now that you're opening up to me, I need to do the same. Beth, I've always been a womanizer. There have been many women in my bed. Married, single - it was all the same to me. I destroyed a couple of marriages, damaged others and hurt a lot of people. I was all about me.

"Then, a few years ago, I seduced a beautiful married woman. Kathy was smart, witty, loving and sensual. She and I only had sex on two separate occasions, but the last time was truly magical for me. We shared four hours of intense, passionate lovemaking. I couldn't get her out of my mind, no matter how many more women I bedded. I wanted to see her again, but I had no way of contacting her without arousing suspicion. I did manage some time alone with her, about three months later, but she rebuffed all my advances. It turned out that her husband had found out. She was trying to save her marriage, but wasn't sure if she could. She told me that I had to start thinking of other people and try to find someone I could care for. I didn't listen and continued my philandering. Last month my tomcatting ended up costing me my best friend. It came within a few minutes of costing him his marriage, too.

"I realized that Kathy was right. I'm thirty-three years old, and I need to find someone to share my life with. I swore off seduction and casual affairs.

"When you crashed into me Friday night, I intended to take you to your home. But you explained to me that you didn't want to go home and face your husband; that your husband was having an affair and was leaving you. I could see firsthand how much damage an affair can cause. I resolved to take care of you. When I took you home, I really meant for you to sleep in the guest room and have some time to yourself to decide what to do. Well, you know how that turned out."

He looked so forlorn that I moved closer and took his hand. "Alex, you gave me just what I needed. I don't know what would have happened if you had just dropped me off at a motel like I asked. I might have gone to a bar, started drinking and then gotten into real trouble. Instead, you made me feel desirable again. You turned what could have been a weekend of abject misery into one of the more pleasant times I've ever had. If it ends up destroying my marriage, it's all my fault. Or maybe nobody's fault. But certainly not yours."

"Well, you helped me too. You may not believe it, but I've never enjoyed so much time with a woman. I could just relax since I wasn't actively trying to seduce you. It made me appreciate what it would be like to be married. To be with someone all the time; someone with whom I could be comfortable doing anything or nothing. I think I would like that."

"Thank you, Alex. I know I'm not in your league, but..."

"Hold it right there! I admit I've had some spectacular beauties in my bed, but there were none I wanted to spend my life with. Supermodels aren't necessarily better lovers, or more fun to be with. When the lights go out, beauty disappears, and it will fade over time anyway. When making love, what matters is how much of yourself you are willing to give. You were terrific! This weekend opened my eyes to how wonderful a life with someone like you could be. You're beautiful enough for anyone, believe me!"

My eyes teared up. "Thank you, Alex. You're sweet."

"Listen here. You need to work on saving your marriage. You have something special with Bill and I don't want you to lose that. I don't know if I'm the best person to give you advice on that. I do know that some husbands who found out went nuclear, divorced their wives, and had nothing further to do with them. Others managed to hold it together, after a long struggle, but I don't know if their marriage ever returned to what it was before. But I must admit I don't know what happened to most of them.

"But if you do break up, I want you to give me a chance. Maybe we have something real.

"For tonight what do you want to do? You can go home, or to a motel, or you can stay here with me in the guest room. You'll have to tell Bill the truth about our having had sex over the weekend, but you can tell him that we had no more sex after you found out that he wasn't leaving you. Hey, married people usually sleep together without having sex. We can even try that. I've never actually done that before."

I had to laugh. "So that's your idea of married life? A nice dinner, conversation, maybe some TV, then we go to bed and not have sex?"

"Well, yeah," he chuckled. "You know what I mean. You said you only have sex three times a week. I think this weekend used up our quota for the whole month. Tonight, we just sleep. But first, check your email. Maybe you have a response from Bill."

I went downstairs to his office and logged on to my account. There was one from Bill. It read,

Re: I'M SORRY!!!!

Thank you for your email. I'm also in receipt of several emails suggesting that you spent the weekend in the company of another man. I think it's best if we do not communicate until after I get home, to avoid any further misunderstandings. I will try to enjoy the rest of my trip. I should be home Saturday afternoon. We can talk then. This is not something that can be discussed via e-mail.

I read it three times. Well, I figured he would find out about Alex. I'm glad Bill is very level-headed. He's right - this is a discussion we must have face to face. But I was saddened that he didn't sign it "Love."

I went upstairs and saw Alex watching TV. I told him what Bill wrote and he said, "I agree. You need to talk to him in person. Also, a few extra days will let emotions settle. Come sit with me and watch this show."

I snuggled up to him and put my head on his shoulder. He put his arm around me, and I sighed in contentment. We stayed that way throughout the whole show.

After the show was over, we went to the bedroom. We took off all our clothes and got under the covers. I gave him a tender kiss, turned away and pulled his arm around me. I fell asleep in his warm embrace.

I woke up a little before the alarm would have gone off. I carefully moved Alex's hand from my breast and got up. I went to the kitchen, put on an apron, and started to make breakfast. Up until now, I had made simple breakfasts, but today I had enough time to make something special. I was just plating it when Alex walked in, ready for work in his suit. He came behind me and kissed my neck. "I love your uniform," he said, as he rubbed my bare ass.

"Don't fondle the cook," I chided. "Pour us coffees and sit down. I hope you like Eggs Benedict."

"So, this is married life? I like it!"

"Well, no. If I had to work today, we would just have coffee and toast. But on weekends, I would try to make a nicer breakfast for us, or we would stop at a diner if we were doing something in the morning."

He dug in. "Oh, this is good! Thank you. What are you going to do today?"

"I'll probably call the office to make sure everything's okay. Maybe relax on the deck. I have a lot of thinking to do. Then I'll go grocery shopping. Will you be home for dinner?"

"As long as I have a beautiful woman waiting for me, I will," he said, smiling. "I'll be thinking of you all day."

We finished and I followed him to the door. I gave him a quick peck and said, "This is how married people say goodbye."

"No, it's not." He took me in his arms and gave me a long passionate kiss. "Whenever we separate, we never know if something bad will happen and we never see each other again. I want to make sure that our last kiss is memorable."

I felt tears in my eyes. "Thank you, honey. Now go."

As I cleaned up in the kitchen, I suddenly thought, "Wait! Have I been calling him 'honey'?"

I got dressed, took my coffee to the deck. I enjoyed the cool of the morning as I looked out over the shimmering lake. My mind kept going around in circles. I love Bill! But I had to admit I had developed very strong feelings about Alex. Is that necessarily a bad thing? I'm not even sure if I have a chance with Bill anyway.

An hour later I called the office. I asked Natalie if everything was going well. "Everything is fine here," she said. "But how are you doing? Are you home?"

"No," I admitted. "I'm staying at Alex's house."

"Girl, are you still sleeping with him? Are you crazy? Or have you given up on Bill?"

"No! Well, I am sleeping with him, but we're not having sex anymore. Nothing more than kissing. I'm just so comfortable here."

"Beth, even if you're not having sex, you're still cheating on Bill! You can say that the weekend was a mistake, because you thought he was leaving you, but you can't say that now."

"After last weekend, I don't know for sure that he's not leaving me. Bill sent me a very cold email. He said not to contact him, but that we'll talk when he gets home. Even if he doesn't divorce me, I don't think we'll ever be the same."

"Is Alex there now?"

"No, he's at work. He'll be back at six. I'm going to make Beef Stroganoff."

"So, you're acting as his wife for the week."

"I suppose so. Well, except for having sex, of course."

"'Of course.' Beth, think of what you're doing! You hurt Bill badly, but he loves you! Don't risk that over a guy you've known for four days. Bill will never forgive you if you become infatuated with another man. Look, I've got to go but think long and hard today about what you want."

I promised her that I would. But I just didn't know how Bill would react. I couldn't imagine how badly he must have felt, after spending so much time and money to give me what he thought I wanted, only to have me throw it all into his face and run off. Then, while he had to go alone on the vacation we were supposed to share, I took a vacation from our marriage. My own little orgy - I mean, if it's possible for two people to have an orgy, then we certainly did. I guess that every minute I spend with Alex, or even in his house, I'm extending that vacation, and adding to my betrayal. I really should just go home right now and wait for Bill.

On the other hand, I did promise Alex that I would fix him supper. And I shouldn't just leave without saying goodbye. After all, he was very good to me. If Bill can forgive me for my little "orgy," he can certainly forgive my staying a few days at a friend's house. Meanwhile, I decided to take advantage of the house while I was there. I went downstairs to where Alex had a small gym. I worked my upper body with his weight machine and then ran for 10 minutes on the treadmill. I was all sweaty, so I took off my clothes and hopped into the sauna for a bit to relax. I lay on a towel and felt the heat seep into my body, relaxing me. I started to rub the sweat into me and felt myself getting turned on. I played with my pussy as I thought back to my honeymoon. How we made love that night and stayed in the hotel room making love all the next day. I imagined Bill coming home from the trip. He has forgiven me, he's fucking me, I feel his strong body over me as he claims me for his own. I rubbed myself furiously as I imagine his cock plowing me. "That's it, honey," I cried out. "Arrgghh!" I roar as a powerful orgasm sweeps over me. "Oh, Alex, darling, that's so good!"

Wait, what did I say? When did I stop thinking of Bill and start thinking of Alex? I ran upstairs and took a shower. I had a lot of thinking to do.

When Alex came home that evening, he found me fully dressed, fixing supper. He came to kiss me, and I turned and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Please take your shoes off, honey," I said.

He chuckled, took off his shoes and put them next to mine by the door. "What's this all about?" he asked.

"Well, you wanted to know what married life is like. Yesterday, we were still in the honeymoon phase. We've been married for 10 years now, and we've settled into a comfortable domesticity. We love each other but don't throw ourselves at each other anymore. We also accommodate each other, which is why you agreed not to wear shoes in the house. So get comfortable and help me set the table."

"Yes, dear," he chuckled, and went to the bedroom. He came out dressed in shorts and a tee shirt and got the silverware. "What's for dinner?"

"Beef Stroganoff. I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will. I have the perfect wine for it."

"That would be lovely. There's garlic bread in the oven. Just store-bought, I'm afraid."

He helped carry the food to the table, poured the wine and we sat down. We clinked glasses and took sips. "Ooh, I love the wine," I gushed.

"Nothing but the best for you, my dear. Your Stroganoff is excellent. You're spoiling me!"

"Thank you, honey. So how was your day?"

He laughed, and we had a pleasant chat as we ate our dinners. After we finished, he helped me clear the table, put away the leftovers and load the dishwasher. We took our glasses of wine to the living room. I sat a few feet away from him with my feet tucked under me and we watched TV and chatted.

When he turned the set off, I took his hand and said, "Alex, you've been wonderful, but I must go home. I'm getting too fond of you. Bill has been a wonderful husband and doesn't deserve a wife that can't commit to him fully. I don't know if he'll forgive me, but I want to give my marriage my best shot."

"I was afraid this was coming," he said sadly. "Beth, you're too good a woman to turn your back on your husband. Let me just say that you opened my eyes to a world that could be mine, and I loved it - even the 'comfortable domesticity' part. If you and Bill do separate, give me a call. No promises - you can't save your marriage if you feel you have someone waiting in the wings, and we've only known each other a few days."

Even with tears in my eyes, I had to laugh. "Yeah, we haven't even had our first fight yet! Thank you for everything. I should go."

"You've had quite a bit of wine, and you're very emotional. Spend the night. You can use the guest room, if you want."

"Alright, but if I'm going to stay, I'll share your bed. I want to feel your warmth one last time."

We undressed and got into his bed. After he turned off the lights, he turned to me and kissed me. The kiss was intense - passionate, loving, tender. Our tongues caressed each other. He fondled my ass and pushed his hard cock against my thigh. I moaned as my pussy gushed, and I knew that he could take me, and I wouldn't object.

Instead, he pulled back. "Good night, dear," he said, smirking, and turned away.

"You bastard," I whispered. I put my arm around him and kissed his shoulder. Eventually, I fell asleep.

Alex was still sleeping when I got up in the morning. I quietly got dressed, found my suitcase, which I had already packed, and walked out the door. I didn't feel I was leaving without saying goodbye. After all, that kiss last night had been spectacular. I also understood that in his womanizing days, he would have had no qualms about fucking me all night. He was telling me that he cared enough about me to let me go.

I drove home and took a shower. I unpacked my suitcase, stripped our bed, and threw everything in the laundry. I took inventory in the kitchen and went out grocery shopping. I came home and thoroughly cleaned the house. I was nesting, trying to reclaim my home. I was exhausted when I went to bed. I hugged Bill's pillow to my chest as I tried to sleep alone for the first time in many years. It took me a long time.