Three Cheats to the Wind

Thanks for selecting my latest story. There's no sex, so if that's what you're looking to read you may be disappointed. All those reported to have engaged in sex are over 18.

A special thanks to my editors and beta readers. Any errors are all mine from final edits. Please feel free to comment at the end. I enjoy learning what the readers think.

Three Cheats to the Wind

I put in a lot of hours to be sure things were in order before my two-week vacation. I sat back in my desk chair and turned to admire the scenery through the window behind my desk when I heard the unmistakable sweet voice of my assistant.

"Well, Luc, are you ready for the big day?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Melanie. It's not like I haven't done this before."

"Make this one stick, would ya, boss? You don't need to set a record for the most times married in a decade."

I smiled. "You pickin' on me?"

"Maybe a little. But you're too good a guy to deal with all this sh... damn, sorry... crap you've gone through."

"Call it what it is, Mel. It's been a ton of bull."

"Are you ready to take off? Is there anything you need me to cover?"

"No, I think we've gone over everything. Thanks for suggesting I take off after Wednesday for a Saturday wedding. Tonight I can just stop at the pub and relax before being buried in details this Thursday and Friday. I'm glad we're keeping this wedding small."

"So, will you report me to HR if your assistant gives you a big hug?"

"I never have before!"

Melanie had become one of my closest friends and has been very special to me since the day I hired her shortly after I accepted the position at Personal Wealth Financial nearly ten years ago. I'll never forget when I interviewed her for her job. Her resume made her the top contender, but when she came into my office I observed a somewhat homely, skinny girl who seemed shy and reserved. It didn't take long for me to notice the redness around her nose and slightly dark eyes. The poor girl was sick as a dog but still fought through to make her interview.

I was impressed enough to have her come back for a second interview. It was then that I met a real dynamo with personality overflowing. True, she was not outwardly attractive. She was skinny as a rail and didn't seem to have enough of a butt to hold her slacks up. Yet I learned she was full of confidence and personality, and she exuded a beauty some of the prettiest girls I knew could learn from. Her husband was a lucky man.

*****

I decided to kick back for a few hours at my favorite pub near my home in Kirkland, Washington, and grab a light dinner. Kaylee, the bartender, has filled many roles for me over the years. Her lovely red hair framed the rugged face of the woman who was my second mom, confidant, sounding board, and caring friend. When she was young, I'm sure she was fairly attractive, but hard living and smoking had taken its toll on her late-forties features. But she was a beautiful person to me, she had seen me at my worst and always seemed to have the right words when I needed them.

The pub was sparsely filled and had the familiar smell of fried food and the atmosphere of raw emotions being soothed. As I sauntered up to the bar, Kaylee looked toward me and smiled.

"Mr. 'Three-Cheats-to-the-Wind!' How's my favorite customer?"

"Better than I deserve, Kaylee. Are you still chained to that man of yours or are you ready to run off with me?"

"What, and ruin the big day this Saturday for your lovely bride? So, the usual, Luc?"

"Yep."

As Kaylee scurried off to the tap, I noticed an attractive woman seated alone three stools down from me. I guessed that she was approaching something north of thirty-five. She was biting her lower lip and sporting a slight grin that seemed to result from my banter with Kaylee. I decided to be neighborly and greet her.

"Hi."

Her forehead creased and suspicious eyes glared as she took stock of me. "You don't look drunk."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's the most interesting greeting anyone has ever thrown my way. No, I'm not drunk."

"The bartender said you were three sheets to the wind. I assumed that meant she thought you were drunk."

"Oh," I chuckled. "That's her nickname for me, but it's not three sheets. It's three cheats."

"Great. Another guy who can't keep it in his pants."

She seemed to bite down on her lip a little harder and the scowl on her face told me this was personal to her. Just as I was about to speak, Kaylee placed my beer in front of me and came to my rescue.

"Lady, Luc here is one of the nicest and most faithful men I've ever met. He wasn't the cheater."

Sadness clouded her face and her lips quivered. "Sorry."

I was pretty sure tears were close to making their appearance so I nervously stuck out my hand to greet her hoping to avoid the emotional flow that seemed imminent.

"No problem. I'm Luc."

She gave my hand a quick frantic handshake as if she were afraid of human contact.

"No, I am sorry. I guess you can call me Been-Cheated-on-Too-Many-Times-to-Count, or Linda for short."

"Glad to meet you, Linda-for-Short. Sorry. Sore subject?"

Her mood lightened considerably with my stupid joke. I hate making a woman cry and the change in her disposition was a welcomed development.

"Yeah, definitely a sore subject. But something tells me your three-cheat experience has quite a story behind it."

"I guess, but I'm not sure you want to hear about it."

"Go on, Luc. Tell her your story," Kaylee interjected. "It's fascinating."

Linda pretend-pouted at me. "Please?"

"You two aren't going to give me a choice, are you?"

"Nope," they replied in unison.

"Okay, okay. Let's see, where should I start?"

Harper

Life doesn't always turn out the way we expect. I knew my marriage was over well before our first anniversary. Funny thing is, I wasn't all that upset by the end of the marriage, but my confidence had taken a beating.

I first dated Harper during our senior year of high school. I was an eighteen-year-old virgin, and she was also eighteen and far from pure. I didn't really seek her out, but we were thrust together by a group of friends. I should have declined, but my little head beat my big head for that decision. My teammates cornered me in the locker room after a game.

"Luc, when are you gonna quit hangin' with the blimp and get a girl worthy of our quarterback?"

"Chuck, you talk about Aubrey like that again and I'll lay you out. She's not a blimp, just a little cushy. But I like her and, even though we're not dating, she's my best friend."

"Fine, but you need a real girl that puts out. We gotta get that cherry of yours busted."

"I don't need your help getting laid. Back off!"

Ted stepped in to calm me down. "Hey, Luc, sorry. It's just, well, Harper was telling my girlfriend that she'd really like to get with you."

"Harper may be gorgeous, but she likes getting with anyone who wears pants. That's not what I'm after."

"She's not really like that. She's nice and she has a thing for you. Come to my party tomorrow night. She'll be there. Just see if there's some chemistry. What can it hurt?"

The guys were really cruel when it came to my friend, Aubrey. She wasn't the sleek, bone-thin model type, but she was exactly what I liked. She had a "girl-next-door" wholesome face that I knew would stay gorgeous even into middle age and beyond. We didn't really date, but you couldn't tell the difference because we were always together.

Truth is, I found her exceptionally beautiful both outside and inside. If I had my way, I'd want us to be each other's first lover, but she had a moral core I admired and I tried to emulate it. We grew up in the church together and I wanted to be faithful to my beliefs. Unfortunately those damn hormones of a teenage boy were crumbling the weak defenses I'd built around my chastity.

Face it... I wanted to get laid.

At Ted's party, Harper sought me out like a heat-seeking missile latching onto its target.

"Luc! Ted said you'd be here."

"Hey, Harper. You're lookin' good."

"Good enough to eat?"

"Uh, well, I don't..."

"Relax, Luc. I'm just messin' with ya."

She wasn't messin' with me. We were playing tonsil hockey within the hour, and before the night was half over my sexual expertise had changed on many levels. I was firmly in a state of lust.

Aubrey knew right away. She seemed hurt but resigned herself to my decent into the dark side. Several weeks later she started dating Dennis, the center from our team. Knowing Aubrey would take things slow, I teased them both that, as quarterback, I had my hands in Dennis' crotch more than Aubrey. She was not amused, and Dennis told me to cool it. I apologized to them both and felt rather sheepish afterwards. The way they called me out made me ashamed of my changing attitudes, but, after all, I was a dumb teenage boy.

I started to drift from Aubrey and Dennis. In hindsight, I was living in a darkness that made the light surrounding them uncomfortable for me. I wanted to have fun, and being near them was dampening my enjoyment.

Harper and I dated and explored one another for the remainder of the school year and the following summer. I loved our sexual relationship. She was hot and knew how to use her well-developed talents. She was also easy to talk with and we found we had a lot of common interests and views. After several months of sexual bliss, I started falling for her.

In the fall, Harper planned to attend Washington State while I was on my way to Indiana to study at Purdue on a football scholarship. As much as I was growing to love her, I knew long distance would be tough for us both. We agreed not to be exclusive and to get together whenever we were both home.

My hormones and party instincts ruled my life for the first two years of college. True to our word, Harper and I hooked up when we were home. We never discussed what happened when we were apart, and that seemed to be wise on both our part. I found I was measuring every girl I got with against Harper, and none of them made the grade. I was missing her more and more and couldn't wait until I saw her again. I started calling her more frequently and I sensed she was feeling the same way I did. My love for her was growing even though we were separated by thousands of miles.

Some level of maturity and responsibility kicked in around my junior year. The values I was taught as a kid were flooding my conscience, and I was tired of the emptiness that seemed to be a part of my promiscuous lifestyle. From that point on I was only intimate with Harper and I starting thinking of how to propose.

The summer prior to our senior year, I needed to see where Harper's head was regarding our relationship.

"Baby, can we talk about something?"

"Sure, Luc. Are you okay? You're looking kinda serious."

"Well, I am. I've been thinking a lot and, I guess the first two years of college I was... well... a bit wild with the girls. I always loved you and knew we'd be together again, but... I was horny and girls were so... sorta... available. Were you the same with guys?"

"I... I hooked up a few times for fun, but I always wished it was with you. I mean, no one else could compare, ya know?"

"Yeah, I know. I figured you were gettin with guys, and that's okay. It's what we agreed on. But this year for me was different. It started to feel like I was cheating and I realized I wanted to be a one-woman-man with you. I wanted you to know that I haven't as much as kissed a girl since we were together last summer. I'm hoping, maybe, that you could promise me you feel the same way."

"I only love you, Luc."

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would... I mean... will you marry me?"

Harper jumped into my lap and bounced up and down, shouting, "Yes, yes, yes..."

We made love, and then laid next to each other and started sharing our dreams for our life together. Suddenly, she sat up with a concerned look on her face. "You don't want to get married now before our senior year, do you?"

"No. Maybe a few months after we graduate."

Harper seemed relieved by that. I assumed she was thinking of what would be practical, but it still bothered me a little. I also realized I never really did get an answer regarding her more recent faithfulness, yet she waved some magic wand that made me believe she was true only to me. It was a minor thorn in my mind at that point, but it came back to haunt me.

After graduation, Harper got a job with a real estate firm while I started my career at Personal Wealth Financial Planning. We were married in December that same year, and I thought I was happy. I was determined to go back to the faith I had growing up, but it became obvious that Harper had no interest in spiritual matters.

I was starting to realize that living with someone gives you a whole lot more insight into what they are really like.

I didn't need to wait too long after the wedding for the first warning sign. Harper talked me into cutting short our honeymoon in California wine country so we could attend a New Year's Eve party with a lot of her friends, most of whom she knew from college. I hardly saw my new bride all night. The party was at a dance hall all of us had chipped in to rent. Harper flitted around the room gabbing with everyone. On occasion, I had no idea where she was. Several of her girlfriends kept me busy, almost like it was their assignment for the night.

I had to carry a passed-out Harper to the car and into our apartment. She was very attentive and apologetic for her behavior at the party, so I let it slide. But over the following year, things built up in my mind that I couldn't come to grips with.

She had lots of evening appointments, she was less than forthcoming on the details of her work and her life, and I felt at times like her friends took top position in her list of priorities. How could I be married for less than a year, and yet still feel so alone?

A year passed, and it was time for another New Year's Eve bash at the same venue. I really didn't want to go, but I also felt obligated to see what Harper did when she was alone with her friends. I figured I had a better chance of seeing the real Harper if she didn't think I was there, so I begged off at the last minute claiming an upset stomach. Harper almost seemed relieved that I was staying home.

I let the party go on for a few hours, and then showed up at about ten. I tried to stay out of sight once I arrived. It didn't take me long to see Harper across the room. She had a group of six guys standing around her and all were taking turns giving her heavy, passionate kisses. Then I saw her drag one of them by the hand into a hallway that went to small practice rooms for the dance classes. The others were hanging back, giving each other high-fives, and looking very much like they were standing in a waiting line. I stood there a little while wondering what to do, and determined I had to see what was going to happen.

I marched across the room, but I didn't escape the notice of Harper's friend, Amy.

"Luc! Harper said you were home sick."

"Outta my way, Amy."

"Luc, please, don't go back there."

I grabbed her by the arms and looked her square in the eyes. "Why? What will I see?"

Amy started to tremble in fear. She could see the anger building in me and I did little to hide it.

"Luc, you won't like it. Please, don't. She really does love you."

I pushed her aside and went after my wife. There, in the practice room, was my wife making out and starting to get undressed with the guy she dragged willingly to the room. I wanted to barge in and go all "Chuck Norris" on them. Instead, without being noticed I snapped a few pictures on my phone and left to go home.

Once in the apartment, I printed one of the pictures and left it on the table with my wedding ring. I packed enough clothing for a week and went to the Holiday Inn.

It was weird. I sat in the room feeling like I was supposed to cry or to lash out in anger. Instead, it felt more like I finally had answers to all those questions that had been building in my mind.

I kept her in the dark for a few days while I took the time to find a small furnished apartment, then called to arrange to come over so we could talk.

"Luc! Where the hell are you? How could you just leave like that?"

"I'll be over tonight to talk."

"Luc, please. I'm sorry for what you saw. It was..."

"Shut up, Harper. We'll talk tonight. I'll be there at seven."

I hung up and searched for some kind of emotion to grasp. Emptiness certainly rushed in. A bit of anger and a healthy dose of ego damage was flooding in too, but I had an overwhelming sense of relief. Sure, I wasted a little over a year on her. Somehow my discovery of the real Harper was justifying what my growing suspicions were telling me—our relationship was never really right.

My mind went back to a conversation my dad and I had years ago. We were talking about love and relationships and I asked how I'd recognize when I'd found the right woman. His words now rang in my ears. "It's different with everyone, but when you kiss her, maybe your knees will go weak, or perhaps you'll feel a glow as if you were filled with electricity. Maybe it manifests itself in some other way, it doesn't matter. You'll know."

I couldn't remember feeling that type of confirmation with Haley. Sure, our kisses were filled with heat, but I now recognized that was purely physical. I never sensed the real connection my dad talked about.

So, to my surprise, I was... okay. I was still disappointed at her behavior, but I was coping just fine.

I walked into the apartment at seven without knocking. Harper sat at the kitchen table staring down at the damning picture and my ring.

Calmly and clearly resigned to the inevitable, she greeted me with the words that summed it all up.

"We're through, aren't we?"

I sat across from her. "Yes."

"Aren't you gonna scream or rant or something?"

"Why? Should I?"

"I would."

"It seems I've finally seen the real you, Harper. And, truth be told, we're not right for each other. Even more revealing, at least to me, is that I don't think I ever really loved you the way people in a marriage should love each other. I don't think you love me that way either. Let's part, keep things civil, and move on. Okay?"

I was surprised she wasn't more emotional. She just shrugged her shoulders, which clearly told me what she was thinking even more convincingly than her next words.

"I guess I wasn't really ready to be married. I wanted to be ready. You're the kind of guy I want to settle down with and I wanted to be the girl and wife that you wanted. I really did. You're right. It's just not me."

Today Back at the Bar

Linda seemed deep in thought as I finished the Harper portion of my story.

"Wow. I guess you dodged a bullet when you realized the truth so early in your marriage. I didn't figure out my marriage was a lie until our fourteenth year."

"Don't take this wrong because you're really a beautiful woman, but I can see the pain in your face when you talk about it. I guess no matter how long it takes, learning the truth can hurt like hell, but at least you can move forward—maybe a little wiser."

With my elbow on the bar, I rested my head against my hand and looked into her eyes. "Something tells me I think I need to hear your story too."

"I'm getting better, but, yeah, I'll share my tale sometime. But we're only one cheat into your story and I gotta hear it all."

"If you have to. It ends better than it started, so maybe that will offer you some encouragement."

Linda looked away for a moment and appeared deep in thought.

"Do you still see Harper?"

"On occasion. She was diagnosed with MS not long after our divorce. It made her grow up fast. She's holding up well and ended up marrying a nice guy. They seem to be good for each other."