With or Without You

"Yes baby," Fred said, as he continued driving to their home. He was wearing a brand-new suit and had his hair nicely styled. He, too, had taken off early from his office. Needless to say, his boss had once again been unhappy, but Fred had his priorities set and family came before office and bonus. However, he promised his boss he would travel to the Fort Wayne project site this coming week. That somewhat pacified his boss.

"Stay focused, Fred, there are people like Francis waiting in the wings," Wheelman grumbled unhappily. He was looking forward to a big bonus from the management, but Fred seemed to be veering off course.

The hint was not lost upon Fred, but he knew this was more of a bluff coming from his boss, as people like Francis were way behind him when it came to being a successful negotiator with the clients. Nevertheless, the boss had to be humored and kept happy, so he put in Fort Wayne in his next week's tour schedule.

"Dad, you better come home early, it's urgent," Jane said in an alarmed tone.

"What's up?"

"It's Mom."

"What about her, baby?"

"She's getting ready to go on a date. Mom has a boyfriend!" Jane replied in a conspiratorial tone.

Fred realized his wife had not told her kids with whom she was going out. He smiled and joined the game.

"Well babe, your mom is entitled to a life of her own," Fred replied in mock seriousness.

"How can you say that Dad, she's Mom, our Mom!"

"I don't care what you think Dad, if you love me and Jason, then just come home."

Jane stomped back into the kitchen and sat beside her brother who was playing some silly game on the mobile and seemingly indifferent to the worldly affairs happening around him.

In the meantime, Sharon looked at herself one final time in the mirror. She had chosen to wear an off-shoulder silk cocktail dress with a neckline giving a glimpse of her cleavage. The hemline ended just above her knees. Her long legs and well-toned muscles were her asset and she was well aware of it. The strapless bra and seamless panties kept her undergarments subtle. After a final look in the mirror, Sharon went downstairs to the living room.

Jason watched his mother coming down the stairs with a half open mouth, the mobile game forgotten. He had never seen her looking so smart and beautiful, ever. After all, she was Mom, and was normally wearing stuff that all mom's wear.

"Wow," Jason finally managed to say, his eyes still saucer sized.

"Mom's going on a date," Jane informed her brother.

"Wow," Jason said again, his mind finding it difficult to accept that Moms could actually go on a date, especially their mom.

"I just informed Dad," Jane continued in a triumphant note.

Just then their door bell chimed.

Jane began breathing heavy as she moved towards the main door, not sure if that was her dad or her Mother's boyfriend.

With a final deep breath, she flung open the door and came face to face with her smiling dad.

She looked him up from top to bottom, taking in the new set of threads and trendy haircut, as realization slowly set in.

"Mom, your date is here," she called out before breaking into a giggle.

"Thanks, dear," Sharon replied as she walked up to her husband and gave him a gentle kiss.

"We'll be a bit late in coming back, so don't stay up for us, dear, and do not irritate Ms. Morrison."

"Take your time guys, take all the time you need," Jane replied with a happy smirk.

"Why will be they late? We have school tomorrow," Jason asked in a concerned tone.

Jane rolled up her eyes. "Go to sleep little brother."

***

Sharon looked admiringly at her husband as they drove to their restaurant, taking in the stylish outfit and neat haircut.

"You're looking handsome, dear."

"It's the effect of the beautiful company I am in," Fred replied in a light bantering tone.

Sharon flushed at the compliment. She was enjoying this new avatar of her husband. It had been ages since they had been together anywhere, just the two of them, and she planned to enjoy every moment of it.

That evening at Tony's, the band was playing music for the twist. Fred took his wife by her hand and led her to the dance floor as the band began playing the classical "Let's Twist Again," and soon they were shaking their legs to the rhythm of the beat.

Time flew by with the two alternating between the dance floor and their table to grab a quick break with some wine before making it back to the dance floor again. Fred looked lovingly at his wife as she gracefully swayed to the music. He was sure he had done the right thing by cutting down on the excess hours he was putting into his work, even though that was not going down well with his boss. Next week he would have to definitely make a trip to the Fort Wayne project works.

He continued looking at his wife before pulling her close.

"Baby, I have this hotel room booked for us across the street. Why don't we take the party there?" he whispered in a conspiratorial tone.

"Fred!" Sharon squealed out in delight and then hugged her husband, "Yes, Yes."

***

It was well past midnight when the two reached home, Sharon's face flushed with happiness. The music and dance had been excellent, and the sex that followed in the hotel room had been sensational. She had orgasmed three times and her ass penetration meant that she had to hold her husband's arm to keep herself steady when they made their way to the hotel's parking lot.

The two quickly showered and jumped into their bed like two crazy teenagers. Sharon snuggled up to her husband and pressed herself close to his body. He had really outdone himself, and she hoped he would continue to surprise her in a similar fashion again and again.

***

The next morning, Sharon somehow managed to wake up in time and get the morning routine going. Her body was glowing with the after effects of the previous evenings outing, and her pussy was tingling in anticipation of the coming evening as she planned to send the kids to their room early and jump her husband. She had loved the way his tongue had played with her most sensitive place in the hotel room and was decidedly going to have a rerun tonight; after all, once is never enough.

Just then her phone that was lying on the kitchen table buzzed, indicating an incoming WhatsApp message. Sharon glanced down on the kitchen table and froze. It was a message from Jim.

"Just got a message from my boss about some new orders that need to be discussed with your office people. Looking forward to seeing you next Thursday."

The memories of that crazy night came flooding back as though the floodgates had been opened. With a trembling hand, Sharon picked up the mobile, turned around so that her back was to her husband and quickly deleted the message.

She began feeling nauseous and sat down gingerly and continued packing the lunch boxes.

What she had done was wrong, and she felt the guilt. Even worse was the fact that she had actually enjoyed having sex with someone other than her husband. It was not that Jim's cock was bigger or thicker than her husband's; well, yes, it was different in size and length and Jim's love techniques were also different, but that would be applicable to every time a woman and a man copulated.

But to like it?

Why did she like it? After all, she had cheated on her husband and her family. Did Jim perform sexually better than her husband? Did he do things that her husband could not do to her? She did not have answers to her questions. She stifled a sob and continued doing the lunch boxes.

***

The sudden change in his wife's mood was not lost on Fred, who continued to scroll down the morning news on his mobile, although he had lost all interest in them. The buzzing of his wife's mobile had distracted him and he had seen the change in expression in his wife's face from the corner of his eyes and then her grabbing the phone and quickly turning around. He didn't like the various permutations and combinations that were running in his mind to account for this sudden mood change. In fact, there was only one highly probable explanation for some of the changes he had been seeing for the past while, all happening after that first morning return flight Sharon had taken from Milwaukee.

It was there and then, sitting at the kitchen table, that Fred decided he had to visit Milwaukee, and his visit had to coincide with his wife's trip there. It was Milwaukee that held the answers, he was sure of that.

***

That day, Sharon was reticent and silent at the office, so much so, that her close colleagues came up to ask her if all was well. Sharon just smiled back and said nothing. She could hardly tell her office colleagues that she was sleeping with a client to whom she was somehow irresistibly attracted, and that the guilt was eating her soul.

Jim's prediction became true that afternoon when their boss called a quick meeting of the marketing and accounts team. Their Milwaukee client wanted to place a new order, but had asked for some price revisions. It was going to be a big volume purchase for their upcoming new project, and they felt even if Sharon's company rolled down their rates a bit, given the volume of the purchases, they would still be making a handsome profit, and they would even get to improve their bottom line at their new construction project.

Their boss was okay for it, but wanted the accounts and marketing team to show him the revised profitability numbers. Sharon would then have to meet their clients at their office that coming Thursday.

Sharon silently absorbed the news. This meant she would be with Jim again.

***

At the same time as Sharon was attending the meeting for planning her next Milwaukee trip, Fred was meeting his boss regarding the Fort Wayne project.

Mr. Wheelman looked at him with his steely eyes. Fred was one of his star performers and he was expecting a lot from him. For the past few weeks he had been working in a rather perfunctory manner. He no longer displayed that go-getter attitude. In the past, he wouldn't have minded staying back late to close some technical issues, or even move from one project location to another. Now, things were seemingly different and Fred had become more of a stickler to time. It had been quite some time since he stayed back late to close some urgent technical issues. Lately, he would be asking to leave office early every now and then.

"Fred, the Fort Wayne project has issues that need your attention, your full undivided attention. You don't seem to be around. I mean, yes you are here at the office but not with the same zest and enthusiasm that we admire you for. What's come over you?"

"We are slipping behind schedules and the management is not happy. If this slag in schedules continue, I'll be forced to make changes in team leaderships. Sullivan is getting some good reports and is snapping at your heels."

"I hope you understand what I mean," Wheelman continued, watching, no glaring, at Fred through his cigar smoke.

"The bastard," Fred thought to himself. "All he's interested is in getting a fat bonus by completing projects ahead of schedule, and if rumors' are to be believed then that is what his trophy wife liked best about him. She was twenty years younger than Wheelman, and liked to spend and party, something that her earlier husband couldn't provide."

Wheelman had just one and only one priority in life, and that was money. Perhaps he had been blindly following the same path in the past, but now his family was his prime priority. No doubt money was important, but as he had come to realize lately, a family needed quality time and attention. An investment of time and energy in family gives better returns in the long run than all the mutual funds and stock market options put together.

Fred put on his best sincere smile before replying.

"Boss, you needn't worry from my side. I know I slacked out a bit, but I'm going to close the Fort Wayne project well before our clients could have even dreamed, and I even plan to travel to Milwaukee to meet our prospective clients about whom you had spoken to me and Sullivan."

The idea to visit Milwaukee had just popped into his mind, as that client had not been spoken about with him by Wheelman. Wheelman lived for bonuses, so Jim was sure he would fall for it and this way he could get some answers to the questions nagging his mind. He knew Sharon would be there, because she had texted him her coming trip plan.

Mr. Wheelman beamed back happily at Fred. That was what he wanted to hear. Perhaps he did the right thing by dropping Sullivan's name.

***

That evening, Fred informed his family about his travel plans for the week, omitting to mention the trip to Milwaukee. In fact, he said that he would be in Fort Wayne that whole week.

He watched his wife take in the news of him being away the whole week. He was hoping that she wouldn't cancel her Milwaukee trip because of the kids. She looked indecisive, and from the look on her face there was something going on in her mind. He decided to pre-empt her.

"Maybe your mom can come over for a couple of days. I'm sure a few days won't inconvenience them," he said.

"I still don't like the idea of leaving the kids alone, even with their grandma. You know how the kids can get at times," she replied in an uncertain tone.

Fred turned to the kids, "You two will get to spend a couple of days with your grandmother here at home only if you promise to behave. You guys promise that"

"We will, we will," screamed the kids in unison.

Fred looked at his wife and shrugged.

***

The next morning, Fred flew down to Fort Wayne and immediately got busy with the IT installation work going on, keeping his marital worries in abeyance. He planned to make his boss a really happy man by the time he flew out of Fort Wayne to Milwaukee. He called home every evening as was the norm and spoke to Sharon and the kids. During those family talks, he could feel Sharon a bit detached. In the past she would ask him if he had met anyone interesting in a friendly, bantering tone, but now that was missing; her tone was not the same unflappable type.

The days rolled by and it was finally it was time for him to go to Milwaukee and see the truth for himself. Before doing that he called up his boss and gave him the good news. Their project was well on course to being finished ahead of schedule. Wheelman was pleased and he heaped praises on Fred and promises of a handsome bonus coming his way once the project was finished. Fred didn't respond to the monetary emoluments being promised to him. His mind was already elsewhere.

***

Sharon looked on as Jim pressed his companies case for a reduction in purchase prices. Her mind was wandering and was only half listening to the talk. She took in his face, the strong jaw, eyes that were somehow always smiling and that cute dimple. Was this all that took for her to start their affair? He was good looking, charming and good company, but why was she doing this? Was it the illicitness of the whole thing?

As the meeting progressed, Sharon added her inputs every now and then but mostly kept fighting with her inner turmoil, trying to rationalize where she was going. There is nothing wrong in some attraction happening with someone you meet who has a pleasant personality, but she had crossed the line a married woman should never cross. Why did she feel so powerless? This was stupid of her, really stupid. She was flying in harm's way and really needed to get a grip on her emotions.

Finally, the meeting drew to a close and everyone moved to the adjoining room where coffee and snacks were being served. Sharon moved amongst the crowd, sharing pleasantries till she came face to face with Jim.

"That was a bloody good presentation from me, wasn't it?" he said with a boyish smile. Sharon could feel the warmth building up inside her as she looked at his face with those cute dimples forming on his cheeks.

Sharon got hold of herself and looked directly into his eyes. "Jim, we need to talk."

Jim quizzically raised an eyebrow.

"First I want you to meet the woman of my life this evening, and then I'm all yours," he replied with mock seriousness, lifting his arms in mock surrender. Sharon couldn't help feeling a tinge of jealousy. Who was she? He had never spoken to her about any woman in his life before.

"When do I get to meet her?" she finally asked.

Sharon felt awkward about meeting Jim's mystery woman and also embarrassed realizing that while she had been having an emotional and physical affair with Jim, he had also been at the same time seeing another woman, a woman whom he placed on a higher pedestal then her. It made her feel jealous.

"This evening, at my place, right after we leave office," Jim replied back and then continued to monopolize her attention with some of his latest anecdotes.

***

Fred looked at his phone clock for the umpteenth time. He was sitting in a rented car in a parking lot across the entrance of the hotel where Sharon stayed during her trips. He had arrived that morning and had immediately proceeded to their client's office. As luck would have it, the person in charge of their IT division turned out to have gone to the college as Jim, graduating two years earlier. They hit it off instantly, and by the end of their meeting Fred was pretty sure he would be able to get this contract for his company. He took a short rest in his hotel room and then rented a car to stake out his wife's hotel.

Around quarter to six, he saw a Volkswagen draw up at the parking lot and his wife got out of the car. She was wearing her business suit and was looking extremely beautiful and professional at the same time. The man driving the car also got out and joined his wife, and the two together walked inside the hotel. The man was tall and decent looking, maybe a few years younger than Jim. They didn't hold hands or sneak looks at each other; however, their mannerism clearly indicated that they were comfortable in each other's company and had perhaps been out together before.

A knot began forming in his stomach as he realized his suspicions were coming true. Was this the guy with whom his wife was having an affair? At a first glance, he saw nothing wrong or seedy about him, in fact he looked like a typical middle-class urbanite.

Fred contemplated on what his next step should be. One thing was sure, and that was he was not going to create any untoward scene at the hotel. He thought of his children at home, anxiously waiting for their parents to return, and if he were to have a showdown here and the police were called in by the hotel staff, he would be in trouble.

He also had to know for sure. How? The answer lay in catching them both in the hotel room. Then he remembered he had this thick official looking envelope in his bag with him. He decided to bluff the receptionist by waving it in front of him and saying that this was needed to be urgently given to Sharon Miller and he required her to sign on the receipt. If he acted decently enough, the receptionist would give him the room number.

Fred took the envelope in his hand, stepped out of the car and walked into the hotel, moving towards reception. Just then, he saw his wife's boyfriend sitting in the lounge sipping coffee and reading his mobile. That meant they were not together in the hotel room. Fred changed plans quickly, and instead he asked the receptionist about the discounts available for doing some block booking for his office people, coming over to attend a seminar and then quickly made it back to his car.

His mind was now in an overdrive. "Maybe they plan to go out for dinner and then return for a fuck feast later in the evening. That perhaps explained why his wife preferred to travel back by the morning flight, after a good rest, no doubt. Or were they just friends and he was letting his imagination run wild?"