To Even the Score

When two people find out their partners are cheating on them, they don't do the same thing to get back at them, do they? Surely not...

The following is a short story. If you prefer longer works, I have two other Loving Wives stories you'll find on my Submissions page.

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The first time I saw him, he was sitting in the hallway of my apartment building with his face in his hands, his legs drawn up, as if trying to compact himself. I passed him with my suitcase, the carry-on that was supposed to last me three days but only lasted me a couple of hours. I'd missed my flight, and there was no use waiting for another since there wouldn't be another until tomorrow. I'd missed the most important speakers at the conference. Might as well come home, and so that's what I'd done.

I was sticking my key into the lock when the stranger looked up, his eyes bloodshot red. It made me very uneasy.

"Don't," was all he said.

"Don't?"

"Don't go in there."

I scrutinized him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was some homeless tweaker, but he couldn't be. He was dressed nicely, and his hair was brushed neatly, a little on the longer side, but it seemed intentional.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Just... Just don't."

"Do you need me to call someone?" I asked, trying not to sound alarmed. This guy was starting to creep me out.

"No."

"Oo-kay then." I turned the lock, turned the doorknob, and turned my life upside down when I walked into my apartment.

"Fuck!"

I stopped in my tracks, my heart beating erratically.

"Oh god," a voice responded. A woman's voice.

"So good, baby," Damien purred. I knew that voice. He was fucking someone, except that someone was not me--his fiancée. I felt my stomach drop, as if someone had taken me to a cliff and dropped me from the top, telling me to go fuck myself on the way down.

I walked out of the apartment, wheeling my suitcase with me back outside. I closed the front door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

"I told you not to go in there," the stranger said, his expression tight. He'd been crying.

"Is that your girlfriend in there?" I asked, swallowing hard. Maybe I was going to cry, too.

"Wife, actually."

"That... that's shitty," I said, and slid down to the floor, my back against the front door. I didn't think I could stand for this one.

"Your husband?" he asked.

"Fiancé," I said, sighing. I'd have to cancel the wedding.

"Lucky."

I'd have to cancel the fucking wedding.

"Right, that's how I'm feeling right now," I snapped. "Lucky."

"Did you pay for the wedding already?" he asked. I glanced at him, at the stupid, infuriating way that he looked kind of like Damien, his hair black as night, eyes sparkling blue, and I wanted to hurl.

"Yup."

"That sucks," he said, and then looked down at his hands, as if he expected them to grow a mouth and tell him what to do. "I'm, uh, Hudson. Like the river."

"Cat, like the animal."

"Short for Catherine?"

"Wow, you're such a good guesser," I said sarcastically.

"You're mean," he said, and I saw him crack a small smile. I didn't want to smile, but one ended up forming on my lips anyway. I smiled. Like a pathetic fucking idiot, I smiled at this stranger whose wife was fucking my fiancé.

"I'm really not," I said, laughing because it was such a lie. I was mean. I was an absolute bitch sometimes.

"It's okay," he said. "I like mean girls."

"No one likes mean girls."

"I do."

Our eyes met. He didn't look as distraught as he had when I'd first passed him in the hall. But it was still likely the worst day of his life.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

He looked above me, at the door. "A few days."

"So you've had some time to process this."

Hudson shrugged, looking back down at his hands. "I don't think I've processed it, actually. I still don't know if I believe it."

"Well, I heard them," I said. "I'd start believing it, if I were you."

His brows knit together. "I'm trying."

I sighed. "I'm gonna have to call so many vendors."

Hudson nodded. "Think you'll get your money back?"

"Maybe some," I mused. "But most of them have a huge fee for canceling in their contracts."

"When's the date?"

"Four months from now. May twentieth."

"Well, the florist should be easy to cancel. Those flowers haven't even grown yet."

"That's a good point," I said, leaning my head back against the door. "Maybe she'll feel sorry for me."

"Yeah. Maybe."

I turned to look at Hudson. "Are you gonna get a divorce?"

He kept staring down at his hands, his gaze so intense that I imagined him as Superman for a minute with laser beams shooting through his eyes. He had the dark hair and the blue eyes and broad shoulders, so he certainly looked the part.

"Yes," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry."

Those intense eyes flashed to mine. "Don't say that."

I frowned. "Why? I'm not allowed to feel a little sorry that my piece of shit fiancé--"

"No," Hudson said. "This isn't your fault."

"I didn't say it was."

"Then don't apologize."

"Sheesh," I muttered. "I'm just trying to be sympathetic here."

He tilted his head to the side, giving me a look I couldn't quite read.

"I'm sorry my wife is fucking your fiancé."

My heart felt like it had just been squeezed too hard.

"Okay, point taken," I said. "I take it back. I'm not sorry. Fuck them both."

"That's more like it."

I hugged my knees. "What are you doing just sitting out here, Hudson? Do you want to catch her coming out of the apartment?"

He shook his head. "I just wanted to confirm my suspicions. I never... I didn't have a plan."

"Why are you still here, then? You're letting her ruin a perfectly nice day. Go for a walk. Clear your head. Get out of here and call an attorney or something."

"I was going to leave, but then this woman named Cat showed up and now I kind of want to know what she's about."

My cheeks warmed the slightest. "She's really boring."

His eyes flicked to mine. "I don't know. I think she's pretty interesting."

"You don't know that. You know nothing about her."

"I know she's mean."

That got another smile out of me. "Yeah, I guess she's that."

Hudson held my gaze, smiling back at me. Looking at him, I wondered how anyone could be dumb enough to cheat on him. He was sitting there in a plain t-shirt and jeans, but he looked really, really fucking good. The way he filled out those clothes was... well, a little too nice.

A blush bloomed across my cheeks the more we stared at each other.

"Wish we hadn't had to meet like this," he said.

"Right? This is literally the worst way to meet a guy."

He grinned, flashing a beautiful set of teeth that had probably seen braces a decade or two ago.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Thirty-four. You?"

"Twenty-nine."

His gaze lingered on my face. "What do you do, Cat?"

"I work in insurance claims."

"Sounds boring."

I snorted. "You have no idea."

"I'm in a boring line of work, too."

"Oh, yeah? What do you do?"

"I'm a librarian."

I laughed. He stared back at me, completely serious.

"Wait, really?"

He nodded. "Really."

"That's... okay, don't laugh, but that's kind of hot."

He laughed anyway. "No, it's not."

"No, hear me out," I said. "You're a sexy librarian."

"You think I'm sexy?"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Don't act like you don't know you're attractive."

"I don't know, Cat. I was too busy looking at you."

Okay, smooth. Heat was crawling up the nape of my neck.

"Yeah?" I said stupidly.

"Yeah. And please feel free to call me a pig if you want to, but you are really, really fucking hot, Cat. You've got this sultry, mysterious aura about you. Your fiancé is a fucking idiot."

"Thanks," I said, then added, "Pig."

Hudson chuckled. "I like you."

I crawled over beside him, leaving my suitcase by the door.

"Want to get drunk?" I asked.

"Out here?"

"Why not?"

"We don't have any alcohol."

"I'll go get some," I said, and already made a movement to get up. His hand reached out and closed around my wrist, pulling me gently back down.

"Don't," he said, and got to his feet. "I'll do it. Where's the alcohol?"

"Is that such a good idea?" I asked, looking up at him. "Won't you want to kill him?"

"They deserve each other," he said coldly.

"There's a wine cooler in the kitchen. Across from the dishwasher."

"I'll be right back," he said, and carefully opened the front door. In a minute or so, he returned with two bottles of wine.

"Why don't you have anything besides wine?" he asked, screwing off the wrapper of one. He began to take off his shoe.

"Uh, we only like wine, I guess," I said, eyeing him warily. "Why are you taking your shoes off?"

"Correction," he said, putting the butt of the wine bottle into the shoe. "A shoe. Singular. I only need one to open a wine bottle."

"I would have told you where the wine opener was."

"But you didn't," he said, and hit the shoe against the wall. The cork popped out.

"Impressive," I said. He passed the wine bottle to me, picking up the other bottle. He did the same, popping it open.

"Cheers." We clinked our wine bottles and drank. He drank considerably longer than I did, red wine trickling down the corner of his mouth. When he finished, he'd drunk half the bottle.

"You got a little, uh... something," I said, pointing to his chin. He wiped it with the back of his hand, and gave me an unexpected grin.

"Feeling better?" I asked, amused.

"Yes." He sighed and added, "No."

Then he laughed.

"I guess I need to drink as much as you to get happy."

"I'm not happy. I'm just... I don't care, Cat."

"You don't care that your wife is fucking my fiancé?"

"Do you?"

I drank... and drank, and drank, and drank until half the bottle was in my belly. Then I answered, "Nope. Guess I don't care either. I do kind of want revenge though. How do we get back at them?"

"I don't really know," he said, and put his thinking face on. It was pretty cute.

"What does she hate?"

"She hates when I wear this shirt," he said, and I saw nothing wrong with it. A Star Wars shirt. Not exactly "revenge," in my honest opinion.

"Right, well, we're not exactly ruining her fucking day with a shirt," I said. "Let's do something terrible to even the score."

A beat passed as his gaze met mine. His stare was intense, almost disarming. I knew what he was going to say before he said it, but hearing it still sent tingles through my body.

"You mean, like what they're doing right now?"

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Hudson and I quietly snuck into the apartment, undressing in the hallway.

"Is this a good idea?" I whispered.

"No," he replied in a low voice, and brought his mouth down to mine, kissing me against the wall.

As far as first kisses go... Wow. This one jumped right to the top. He kissed me like I was the most desirable woman in the world, like he needed me to literally breathe. His lips were hot and pliant, yet firm and yielding. I whimpered, wrapping my arms around his neck as he guided me into the apartment, his mouth moving effortlessly with mine. He tasted like wine and bad decisions, but I didn't really care because this was a wine and bad decisions kind of situation.

We tumbled onto the couch, his hands making quick work of unzipping and unbuttoning my silky pants. My hands gripped his shirt, pulling it off him. His lips left mine for just a moment, but I felt the absence of him immediately, like kissing him was as necessary as breathing for me, too. I squirmed beneath him, staring up at this stranger who I knew almost nothing about.

Hudson.

I felt the force of his presence, like he was the river he shared a name with. His arms were powerful, corded with muscle, and his chest was wide and hard. My hands spanned his waist, the way his hips tapered down making me tremble from anticipation. He was beautiful and I couldn't figure out why anyone would cheat on a man like him, but at the moment, I wasn't exactly complaining. He was mine to enjoy, if only for now.

It didn't take very long to completely undress. All our movements were hurried, but it had nothing to do with the fact that our partners were in the other room. Something about the way Hudson looked at me told me that he wanted this because he wanted me. This wasn't just about revenge.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked, hoping to every power in the universe that he did.

"Yes," he said, grabbing his pants and pulling a small square foil packet out of his wallet. "I have no idea how old this thing is."

"It'll have to do," I said breathlessly.

He sat back and that's when I saw him--all of him. He was rock hard, thick, and veiny. The tip was swollen purple and I watched as he tore off the foil and hurriedly rolled down the condom over his cock.

"You sure about this?" he asked, already leaning forward and lining his cock up to my wet, slick entrance.

I nodded. "Please."

He groaned and I smirked.

"Do you want me to beg?" I guessed.

"Fuck yes, I do."

I rolled my hips, sliding his cock up and down my needy pussy. "Please, Hudson. I need you. Please fuck me."

"God, you're so perfect," he said, and without any warning, he slammed into me. We both let out a moan in satisfaction, our eyes meeting. He stared down at me with those beautiful eyes, as hypnotizing and clear as blue Caribbean waters.

"This is a terrible idea," he said, but his hips were pulling back just to push back again. I moaned a little louder to encourage him, forgetting for a second that Damien and Hudson's wife were in the other room. It just felt so fucking good.

"I don't care," I said, my back arching as he followed my words with more slow strokes. "Oh, please. Please don't stop."

"You're--Jesus, you're really tight, Cat," he growled.

"Faster, Hudson. Please."

He grabbed one of my legs and hitched it over his shoulder, changing the angle. I let out a surprised gasp as he began to fuck me, pounding me into that couch that I'd bought with my fiancé. My fingernails dug into Hudson's back, clawing at him as he slammed into me over and over again, making me get tighter and tighter as I got closer to an orgasm that I knew was going to absolutely shatter me.

"More," I whimpered, not even sure what I was asking for.

But Hudson understood. More he had no problem giving me. His lips captured mine in a searing kiss as he grabbed my other leg, throwing it over his shoulder to bend me in half, fucking me at an angle that immediately had me crying out his name. He'd somehow found my g-spot, and he was more than aware. He pounded into me, making my pussy positively drip as I squirted all over him.

"You're gonna fucking come for me," he said. It wasn't a question. It was a command.

"Y-Yes," I cried out, my muscles all tense and locking as my head went light. I was dizzy with desire, so, so, so fucking close to tipping over the edge.

"Come for me, Cat," he said, as his hips slapped against mine. "Fucking come for me now."

I exploded. My body tensed and the pleasure spiked through every last nerve in my body. My pussy spasmed all over his thick cock, and it didn't take him very long to follow, groaning out my name as he came. He panted over me, holding himself up to keep from collapsing on me, but I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him down.

"Hudson?" A feminine voice shrieked.

We turned and standing at the doorway was a thin, leggy redhead. Her wild curly hair was a mess and she was wearing my silk bathrobe.

"Hi, Lydia," Hudson said casually. Her mouth hung open in shock.

Damien appeared at the door, wearing a pair of boxers he'd probably just barely put on. He took in the scene, his mouth falling open when he caught sight of me--under another man.

"Cat--"

"Fuck you," I said. "The wedding's off, Damien. We're done."

"Now, wait just a minute, Cat. Who the fuck is this?" Damien said, gesturing to Hudson.

"My husband," Lydia said, still shocked. "H-How? Why?"

"You fucked that piece of trash," Hudson said icily. "I don't think you have any right to question my actions."

Lydia's eyes filled with tears. "Hudson, I can explain."

"Why don't you get the fuck out of my apartment instead?" I suggested from beneath her husband. He was still inside me and something about getting back at the woman who was sleeping with my fiancé did it for me. I squirmed, squeezing Hudson's cock with my tight pussy walls. He glanced at me, his cheeks turning a beautiful, delicate shade of pink. I felt him thicken inside of me.

"I want you to go, too, Damien," I said.

"Wait, that's your husband?" Damien gestured to Hudson. Lydia wiped her cheeks and nodded.

"Get out," I repeated. "Both of you. Now."

"Cat--" Damien tried again, but Hudson cut him off.

"You heard the lady. Get your shit and go. Or I will beat the ever-loving shit out of you."

Damien was the young Leo DiCaprio type. He was thin, a little on the lean side, and not very tall, but he could usually make up for it with his pretty face. Hudson, though? He was easily a head taller than him, and built like a literal fucking superhero. He could beat the ever-loving shit out of Damien.

They left. Grabbed their clothes and their shit, and within three minutes, Hudson's wife and my fiancé were out the door.

"I like it when you're mean," Hudson said, smiling down at me.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, peering up into his beautiful blue eyes, and decided that I did, too.

"Would it be mean of me to ask for a do-over?" I asked.

"A do-over?"

"Yeah. I'm still wet and you're still hard, so I'm assuming we have everything we need to make it possible."

Hudson laughed and kissed me.

"We'll have as many do-overs as you want, Cat like the animal."

"Perfect, Hudson like the river."

Then we did just that, but it wasn't to even the score anymore. We did it because we wanted to, because we could. For the next couple of hours, I learned just what a sexy librarian with a striking resemblance to Superman could do, and I showed him that mean insurance adjusters weren't as uptight as they looked.

When it was all over, we looked into each other's eyes and we both knew.

The end of our relationships was the beginning of a new one.

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Author's note: As always, whenever I post to Loving Wives, I'd just like to remind you all that I do not condone cheating. This is a fictional situation, written for your entertainment, free of charge. Your feedback is welcome, whether negative or positive, but please no abusive language.

Special thanks to Cheryl Terra (MsCherylTerra), Jason Caldwell (bebop3), and EarlyMorningLight for reading and providing valuable feedback. A thanks must also go out to my supporters. You know who you are!