The Restoration Ch. 02

"Are you okay?" I asked again after a moment.

"I don't know," she said weakly.

She had stopped crying, and she seemed devoid of emotion. I held her for a long, long time, not talking, letting her feel what she needed to feel. Finally, Victoria pulled the plug, then sat up in the bath. I handed her a towel as she moved to get up.

"Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

"No."

I paused. "Okay, but I never asked you what I came in here to ask you," I said lamely.

"What was that?"

"Should I make plans to fix Ana's house again this year?"

Victoria looked surprised. "Yes. Of course. I know how happy it makes you, working with her. But don't fuck her."

"I wasn't ever planning to," I said truthfully.

"Good."

I left the bathroom, and went up to my guitar, playing loud as I tried to process what the hell had just happened.

The rest of that weekend, Victoria seemed like herself almost to a fault, as though she was trying hard to put up the appearance of normal. I was still having no luck getting through her shell, but I was ready to get back to work, and the following Monday, I went over to Ana's place for the first time since our ski weekend.

"Patrick!" Ana embraced me at the door, leaping into my arms and wrapping her legs around me, and I reached under her, grabbing her butt to hold her up. She kissed my cheek and held me tightly for a moment before wriggling free. She was wearing black leggings and a low-cut pink workout top. "I'm so glad to see you again."

"It's nice seeing you, too."

"I don't know how we let it go so long," she mused. "But it was nice having the chance to do some work on my own, and to spend some time to myself, now that I feel okay with being alone again. Let me show you the work I've done!"

Ana gave me a tour of the improvements she'd done over the past two months. The house had been thoroughly deep-cleaned and all the rooms were now painted, a tasteful melange of different 1920's period-appropriate colours. She'd had new window treatments installed and bought a new sofa as well. All the changes she'd done without me were more interior design than handy work, but I was fine with that -- I had no knack for design anyway. The house looked incredible.

"I'm so impressed," I gushed once we'd finished the tour. I sat down on Ana's new couch, and she threw herself into me, her head laying across my lap.

"Thanks," she said, looking up at me with her soulful dark eyes. "I'm proud of what I've done the past few months. I needed you and Victoria as a crutch over the past year, and I am so thankful for having met both of you, but I was ready to prove to myself that I could do it on my own."

"I'm so happy for you." I squeezed her. "Do you feel like you're moving on?"

"Part of me never will move on, and I'll always love Graham," she answered. "It's tragic and unfair what happened to him, and there's not a day that goes by where I don't wish he was still here with me. But my therapist was right. It took me about a year, and I don't feel like constantly identifying as a widow or wearing black all the time anymore. After the one-year anniversary, I stopped wearing my wedding ring. I'm a single woman now, not a devastated widow. I've healed."

"I'm so proud." I kissed her forehead as she purred happily. "Have you started dating?"

"Ugh." Ana groaned.

"That good, huh?"

"My single girlfriends sometimes complain that there aren't any good men out there, and while I wouldn't say I never used to believe them, I had my doubts," she explained. "I met Graham young and without any effort, and he was a great guy, so really, how hard could it be? But I've really learned over the past month that guys who are still single at 29 are single for a reason. Either they're emotionally damaged, undate-ably toxic, or they're just wanting to play the field and sleep around."

I smiled. "These things take time. Have you at least had your fling?"

"No, I have not." She spat out the words in frustration. "It's not for lack of trying. I've seen more unsolicited dick pics in the past month than I'd ever expected existed. These guys are so desperate. And I mean, I'm desperate too, but-"

"I won't tell anyone," I interrupted, smiling.

"It's okay. I've been making myself appear as fuckable as I think is safe to these guys, but they all manage to mess it up before they can seal the deal. For example, I had one guy a couple weeks ago that I met for a drink. He was charming and hot, and I decided to bang him. I was ready, he was cute, I wanted it. I wasn't trying to hide how turned on I was, or that we were going to fuck as soon as we got back to his place. And then, on the way home, he kept trying to undress me in the back of the frickin' cab while we were making out. I was like 'just wait a few minutes, buddy, I don't want the cabdriver seeing my tits', but he wouldn't take no for an answer, and his ignoring my boundaries really scared me. When we got to his apartment, I stayed in the cab and refused to leave, and the cabbie had to threaten to call the cops to get him to leave me alone."

"I'm sorry."

"Bah." She looked around the room. "That weekend up in Quebec with you guys completely reawakened my libido, and I don't know if I should thank you or curse you for it. I've been so horny. I feel like a teenager again."

I laughed. "We had fun, too. It got significantly dirtier than it's ever been with Steve and Katherine, but man, what a weekend."

She smiled. "I keep thinking about it. I don't know if I'd have been comfortable going any farther than that... but it's hot fantasizing about it." She didn't elaborate what 'that' she was referring to, and I decided not to ask.

"You're telling me," I answered.

"It's a shame you're already taken." She covered her mouth as soon as she'd said it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay," I lied. "If I were a single man, things might be different between us. But you'll find someone to make you happy again someday. I promise."

"It would be nice if I believed you. Let's get to work."

We got started on the day's project, which was stripping and refinishing some damaged cabinets in her kitchen. Ana was flirty with me in a way she'd never been before, and far more touchy-feely, putting her hands on me constantly, hugging me, breathing down my neck while I worked. And... I flirted back. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself. I touched her, too, and we kept up a running innuendo throughout the day. It wasn't over the top, but there was sexual tension in the air that had never been there before.

I felt serious temptation when she leaned over, working on her hands and knees in front of me, clearly not oblivious to the fact that her cleavage was on full display. I felt it when I touched the small of her back to get past her and heard her suck in her breath unconsciously. I felt it when she brushed against my ass walking by, when I knew full well there was enough space that she didn't have to get that close.

I was grateful when the day ended and I headed home, a good-night kiss from Ana still lingering on my cheek, and my semi-erect dick uncomfortably making its presence known in my work pants.

Victoria was already home, and she was lying flat on her back on the living room couch, nude from the waist down, her wand vibrator strategically nestled against her clit.

"Hi, Patrick," she called brightly. "If you can get inside me before I cum, you're welcome to fuck me."

I smiled as my cock hardened fully. "Sounds great."

I went over to her, sliding two fingers easily inside her wet hole and rubbing her g-spot as the vibrator rumbled its powerful surges on her button. With my free hand I pulled my cock out and started stroking.

"How's Ana?"

"She's good," I answered. "Really good. I think she's finally moved on."

"That's good to hear." Victoria started rocking her hips on the vibrator.

A moment passed.

"Did you fuck her today?" Victoria asked slyly.

"What? No!" I was offended.

"Good boy. Did you want to?"

Just then, I felt the telltale clenching of her muscles inside her pussy as she climaxed, holding her breath so as not to make any noise. I let her have her orgasm, then she relaxed, sighing deeply as I withdrew my fingers. Her legs slid down across my lap. A worn-out look of pleasure was on her face.

"Fifth one today," she remarked in disbelief.

"That's a lot. Is everything all right?" I ignored her previous question.

"I don't know." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "I don't want to think about it."

I shook my head, then slid inside her as Victoria put the vibrator back on her clit. With all the buildup from flirting with Ana, I came within a couple of minutes, and shortly after, Victoria climaxed again.

"Six!"

The next few weeks passed in a whirlwind of sexual temptation. Out of nowhere, Victoria was insatiable. I'd never seen my wife's libido so out of control, or had more sex, as long as we'd been together. Even when we were first dating and couldn't keep our hands off each other, it hadn't been like this. We were having sex every day, multiple times a day, and even then, Victoria's wand vibrator was spending every night on the charger by necessity.

She was horny all the time, not trying to hide it, fucking me as often as I could get it up. We had sex in the front hallway daily the moment she got home from work, because she couldn't bear to wait the extra seconds it would take to get to the bedroom. We had sex every night before going to bed, and first thing every morning before she left for work. Several times I woke up in the middle of the night to discover her masturbating. We had sex in a public restroom in the mall, and in the backseat of my car in a parking lot when she wasn't going to be able to make it home. She sent me selfies from work of her locked in a bathroom stall and fingering herself senseless. She continued to refuse every opportunity to talk to me about it, and I, while still confused, wasn't wanting to ruin a good thing while it was going.

I was also constantly being tempted by my pretty neighbour. I started to discover just what Ana had meant when she had told us about how dirty-minded she'd been before her husband died. Our workdays passed in a blur of innuendo, double entendres, and flirting, and while she never explicitly made a move on me, I got the impression that if I did, she wouldn't stop me. The work clothes she'd worn all last year were gone, replaced by tight, form-fitting workout clothes that showed off her body, and I know she noticed me staring from time to time.

I kept a lid on it, but mostly because Victoria was still giving me all the sex I could handle and then some. Having sex as soon as I got in the door from Ana's became a regular part of our routine, and Victoria kept asking questions and making comments that hinted she was still fantasizing about Ana and I hooking up. I enjoyed the innuendo in the moment, all the while wishing I could ask her where it was coming from.

In early April, Victoria told me that she was going to have to fly up to Thunder Bay for an active investigation into a large corporate tax-fraud scheme, and she'd be up there a week. Her job had always involved some travel, but it was rare for her to be gone more than one night at a time, and she mostly worked regionally in southern Ontario. She took it as a point of pride that she was being asked to join this investigation as a specialist, and she expected to be gone for a full week.

She left for the airport on Sunday night, and the following Monday I went back to work with Ana. I told her about the investigation, and about being a bachelor for the week, not that that's the word I used.

"We should hang out again!" she bubbled once she heard I'd be alone. "Stay for dinner and we'll have beers and watch a movie or something."

At the end of our working day, I went home to shower while Ana started putting dinner together. She was apparently a decent cook, and I was looking forward to eating some Portuguese food.

When I made it back to her house, she'd also showered and changed, and was now wearing a low-cut top with a short skirt, the kind of clothes a woman would wear to the bar when she was looking to score. I admired her body as she shyly regarded me on her doorstep, and I played nervously with my wedding ring, mentally reminding myself that I was married.

Dinner was uneventful but delicious, and after dinner, we curled up on Ana's couch.

"Thank you," I said to start. "I can cook for myself, but it's such a pain to do anything elaborate for one person when Victoria's not around."

"I get that," Ana responded. "I hadn't gone all out for a long time. I was just feeding myself to keep myself alive, and for the first several months after Graham died, I lived on TV dinners. But I've rediscovered my love for cooking again as I've gotten healthier."

"How are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm good!" she smiled. "Part of me will always grieve for the life I grew up dreaming about and now am not going to have. But over the past few months, I've moved on from mourning the past to being excited about the future."

"I'm so glad to hear that. Was it any specific thing pushing you over the edge?"

Ana nodded. "Tremblant. That weekend... oh, my God. I felt alive again and ready to live after that weekend. All of it, the skiing, the food, the wine, the naughtiness. But do you want to know what it was that made it so meaningful above all the rest of it?"

"Of course I do." I smiled at her.

"That hot tub was the first time in my life that I ever did something that was completely and utterly unlike me. My parents were and are conservative people. Sex is to be had quietly, behind closed doors, and never talked about. They didn't even like to kiss each other while my brother and sister and I were around. Graham was just as conservative and private. Our sex life was good most of the time up to the last year he was alive, but it was very vanilla, more vanilla than I'd probably have wanted if it was completely up to me.

"I told you that I was always a bit of a flirt, but it was always innocent, not actually leading anyone on. But being in that hot tub with you and Victoria was the first time I ever did something sexual that my parents, and my husband, would never have approved of. They would have judged me for it. That night, rather than judging myself in their place, instead I just pressed on and did what felt right, for me.

"The next morning, I woke up early and lay there for a long time thinking about it, until I heard you get up and go to the bathroom. I realized that this was the first time I'd ever done something that everyone that mattered to me would have disapproved of. But rather than feeling guilty about it, I wanted to do it again."

"I'm so proud of you," I interjected.

"Thanks, I'm proud of myself," she responded. "It's important to me, and to my future, to keep pushing myself forward, to see what else is out there that I might not have seen before. I'm not just half of a marriage, or half of a relationship that I've been in for as long as I can remember. There are other parts that make me who I am, and it's time I discovered them all."

"Do you think we crossed any lines?" I asked.

"That night? No. But the morning after?" She locked eyes on me.

"We got close," I admitted.

"We were tap-dancing right on the edge of the line," Ana said softly. "Did you tell Victoria what happened?"

"Nope. I think if we'd gone any farther, it could have been cheating, and I would have had to say something. But I feel like we stopped just in time. We didn't do anything together that we hadn't done the night before with her there, leading the way."

"I agree." Ana looked at me for a long time, gazing into my eyes. "I shouldn't say what I want to say to you right now."

"Shouldn't you?" I asked.

I stared back at her. Our eyes were locked together. Her face had an intensity I hadn't seen before, boring deeply into my soul. She licked her lips unconsciously, and I, as though guided by an overwhelming force I couldn't understand, leaned in and gently, slowly kissed her. Our lips touched, briefly, and I felt myself growing instantly hard.

She pulled away, opening her eyes. She had a far-off, dreamlike glaze on her face.

"Oh, wow."

She leaned up and kissed me again, harder, more aggressively, grasping the back of my neck. I heard her moan into my mouth, and noticed her legs spread wide. I could see up her miniskirt to a pair of baby blue panties, and suddenly I panicked.

"We probably shouldn't do this," I said, pulling out of the kiss.

"I know we shouldn't." She was still seeming dazed, a far-off look in her eyes. Her nipples had become pokey through her top. "It's not fair to Victoria. I like her, she's been wonderful to me, almost as much as you have. This isn't right. But... how can it be wrong, when it feels so right?"

'Do you want me to leave?" I asked.

"No..." She sat up. "We can still watch that movie. I just... don't know if continually tempting each other is a good idea."

"It's a terrible idea," I volunteered. "But that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying it."

"I want to make some bad decisions with you tonight, Patrick." She eyed me again, moving to the other end of the couch. I could still easily see up her skirt, and I noticed a tiny wet spot on her panties.

"I want to, too. I'm counting on both of us to make sure we don't."

I sat glued to the other end of the couch from Ana as she put the movie on, and we each stayed good, remaining on our own sides, barely speaking or looking at each other. When the movie ended, I said goodnight, deliberately avoided hugging her, and headed back home.

I went straight up to my room, planning on jerking off as soon as I got there. When I flipped the light on, though, I noticed the light on in Ana's bathroom. I could see a figure behind the frosted window we had installed together, and then, suddenly, the window sash was removed. Ana set it down and saw me laying on my bed, where she smiled shyly at me, quickly tying off the sash cords the way I'd shown her.

What is she doing?

I watched her, shocked, as she disappeared out of sight for a moment, then came back, nude. She winked at me, then turned on her shower and climbed in, leaving the shower curtain open. Her eyes were locked onto mine.

I was hard as a rock, and while I wasn't at all sure I wanted to show her how hard I was quite yet, I quickly removed my shirt, watching her nod with approval as she fully wet her long dark hair.

I noticed as she turned to face me that she was now bare between her legs -- she'd obviously shaved since I last saw her nude. I could almost make out her hairless cleft at a distance, and I dreamed for a moment what it must be like to be between her labia. I then watched her lock eyes on me, grab her hand-held showerhead, and focus the spray between her legs. A look of pleasure spread across her face; a look I hadn't seen since the last time I'd seen her masturbating with a jet of water.

Okay, this is happening. Fuck.

I unzipped my fly and pulled out my cock, then looked back at Ana. She nodded in approval as I started to stroke, then mimicked pulling pants down. I got the hint and dropped my jeans and underwear, throwing them to the floor, as she nodded enthusiastically. She started to gently cup her breast and tweak her nipple with her free hand, and rock her hips against the spray. I loved watching her body move, sensually, slowly. Her olive skin was deeply flushed, and the look on her face was pure, overwhelming pleasure.

I was already close, feeling like months of temptation was about to explode out of me. I slowed down my hand, stroking deliberately up and down, edging myself, trying hard not to cum too quickly. I kept my eyes trained on Ana, who was staring at me without breaking her gaze. Her free hand had moved down to her bare slit, where it was holding her outer labia spread apart, the better to focus the massaging water on her clit.