You've Lost That Loving Feeling

My emotional numbness disappeared, and despair swept over me. I wept until I was out of tears; then, finally, I slept.

I slept fitfully, my deep sleep interrupted by dreams of Andrea. It was like a series of disconnected scenes, really. I'd dream of kissing her breasts, then me smashing the vase, followed by Andrea's long legs wrapped around me as we made love and her moans of pleasure as she came, then a last dream with me, sitting naked in a chair as Lisa and Andrea pointed at my dick and laughed at it.

A couple of times I managed to semi-consciously waken enough to find the room's toilet and empty my bladder, but as soon as I went back to bed and my head hit the pillow I fell right back to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

To my surprise, I slept from Friday night all the way through Saturday. Just like Johnny Cash sang in an old country song, I woke up Sunday morning with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt. I ordered coffee, toast, and scrambled eggs from room service, then while I was waiting, I made a list of the things I intended to get from the house before I'd stumbled onto Dwight and Andrea's untimely embrace. I emailed the list it to Andrea, asking only that she call a delivery service to bring me my stuff at the hotel and not to bother me.

I was reading headlines on my phone and was pleased to see '#LightningWilsonAssault' was trending on the news channels and on social media. I noted with grim satisfaction that TCZ was getting the job done. I couldn't wait to see what their researchers would find.

As I was reading, a headline flashed that ESPN had released a statement announcing Dwight Wilson was suspended from his duties, pending an internal investigation into recent allegations of illegal violence. Sucks to be you, Dwight, I thought to myself vindictively. Turns out that revenge IS sweet, after all. Who knew? Andrea's ex had it coming, and I was just getting warmed up.

Breakfast arrived; having not eaten for more than 16 hours, I savored each bite. My headache began to fade; a post-breakfast hot shower made it disappear completely.

The rest of the day I did absolutely nothing, trying to keep my emotions at bay. I racked up about $120 in pay-per-view movies and kept ordering room service. For once, I was able to get a dessert and eat the entire thing without having to share it with Andrea and that insatiable sweet tooth of hers. That made me sad, it was one of the things I loved about her. Hell, from the moment I'd met her I'd loved every damned thing about her, right up until I discovered her plans to cheat on me. Shit.

A delivery service brought my requested items in the late afternoon, so now I was all set. Aside from my daughter Chloe, there was nothing in that damned house that I cared about any longer. Interestingly, the delivery driver informed me the paparazzi were now camped out in front of the house, now dubbed 'Lightning's Love Nest', hoping to grab an in flagrante photo of Dwight or Andrea. This was getting ugly, and I wasn't sorry.

~~~~~~~~~~

Monday morning I was in Tara Young's office, and she wasted no time. The first thing she did was draft the restraining order against Dwight Wilson, restricting him from coming within 500 yards of me, my wife, and my daughter, and our home. If Lightning had any intentions of getting together with my wife now, he'd have to do it shouting from 5 football fields away.

Because by now the nation had seen the tape where Dwight had so readily cleaned my clock, Tara assured me a judge approving them was a slam-dunk. Once filed the documents would be public record, but I went ahead and sent an advance copy to my friends at TCZ who were doing a great job holding up their end of the bargain.

As to the divorce papers, I told Tara to go scorched earth and ask for everything, including sole custody of Chloe. I didn't give a shit about the money, hell, I'd put most of it into Chloe's college fund, and donate the rest to charity. I just wanted to hurt Andrea, and I wanted my kid. Four hours later the papers were drawn up, I signed, and Andrea would be served the next day. Like they used to say in the old Western movies, "Read 'em and weep, sodbuster."

I checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the San Jose International Airport, and as we passed the L'évêque Hotel I remembered the night Andrea and I had spent there, alone in room 538.

She'd been the matron of honor and I'd been the best man at Terri and Zach's wedding, and from the moment I met her at the rehearsal dinner I was consumed with her. She was gorgeous, 6'3" in her bare feet with olive skin and long black hair, just unbelievably stunning.

At the wedding reception I was at Andrea like a fox in a henhouse, making sure I was her only dance partner all night. When we finally kissed on the dance floor, it was so hot I think we blew the air conditioner out. We'd spent the rest of the night making crazy love, and for me it was definitely love, not just sex. I don't think I left a single part of her amazing body untouched or unkissed.

After that night we started seriously dating; it was only later we'd discovered Andrea's prescriptions had screwed up her birth control, resulting in her getting pregnant with Chloe.

Of course, I wanted to marry Andrea immediately, (duh!) but she freaked out at the idea of it because I was 18 years younger. I worked my ass off to persuade her I was worth marrying, and eventually did. Now, sadly, my love story seemed to have ended. I boarded a flight to Seattle to keep my promise of visiting Uncle Shaun and Cherry.

The only upside was seeing all the televisions in the airport featuring a fast-breaking headlines news crawl about Dwight Wilson being charged with battery, and the protective restraining order being filed against him. I could almost hear his career being flushed down the toilet.

I had intended to take a cab to Shaun and Cherry's house, but was delighted to see them waiting for me by the luggage pickup. There was definitely a family resemblance; Shaun looked like a 52-year-old version of me. His wife Cherry was his second wife after he'd lost his first wife Amanda to cancer. Cherry was Chinese, tall for an Asian woman, about 5'7', her body squarely in the BBW category.

They'd met in some tourist-town diner of all places, where after my aunt Amanda's passing Shaun was working as a dishwasher -- crazy, I know - and Cherry was a hot young waitress half his age. Despite the age difference, they'd fallen in love, gotten married, and now had two children, my cousins 7-year-old Ezra, and 4-year-old Vivienne.

I'd spent so much of the last few days sleeping that I was pretty antsy; the kids were with Cherry's parents, so after dropping my luggage off at their house, Shaun and Cherry took me around to see the various sights Seattle had to offer. The whole time we drove around, it all came pouring out of me -- my own mother knowing Andrea was unhappy but keeping it a secret, Lisa Martin's lies, Andrea deception and cover story about spending the weekend with Terri, Dwight's backhanding me, me filing for divorce, and yes, I even told them about my penis sized being mocked.

Cherry was really angry about that last bit. She'd been in a relationship with a guy named Mammoth who'd had a big dick and not only was he a lousy lover, he'd also physically abused her. She told me if my Uncle Shaun's penis was any indicator of what mine was like, there was a magic wand between my legs and Andrea was a fucking idiot. Hearing that from a woman as hot as Cherry made me feel better about myself; Shaun seemed embarrassed but flattered as well, the lucky bastard.

During the course of our tour, Shaun proposed to help me make a clean break from California and move to Seattle permanently, and get a job up here. He told me he'd introduce me to a golf buddy of his, Alan Chesterfield, the CEO of Emerald City Horizons. It was a public relations firm, and had an opening for an account executive role that I'd be perfect for. The more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea.

One thing was certain, I needed to find a place of my own pretty soon. While Ezra and Vivienne may have slept like logs, I didn't, and through the adjoining wall involuntarily learned more about Cherry and Shaun's kinky sex life than I cared to. Overhearing my uncle spanking his wife while she begged for his dick caused me more than a few restless nights. These typically ended with me rubbing one out, fantasizing it was me spanking Andrea for all the pain she'd caused me.

The mornings after were almost worse, because at breakfast Shaun and Cherry were like honeymooners, sneaking in teasing caresses and quick kisses between serving orange juice, bacon and eggs. Ezra and Vivienne were oblivious to it, but it was easy to see if their parents had been alone, they'd be fucking on the breakfast table. I certainly knew the signs because Andrea and I had been that way once, before Lisa Martin and Dwight Wilson had ruined our marriage.

Speaking of human garbage, a few days into my stay with the Seattle lovebirds I got a call from my TCZ friends with some good news. Their researchers had dug up a lot of dirt on ol' Lightning Wilson; it turned out the man had legal troubles in four different states and the District of Columbia. That news cheered me up considerably, but it was short-lived. Two hours later Andrea showed up, unannounced, at Cherry and Shaun's front door.

~~~~~~~~~~

I was in the living room, on the floor with Ezra and Vivienne building Lego houses when the doorbell rang. I heard a disgusted tone in Cherry's voice, as if she'd found fresh dog poop on the doorstep. "Andrea! What are you doing here?"

Ignoring Cherry's unwelcoming tone, Andrea was all business. "Hello, Cherry. I'm sorry to bother you, but MaryAnne told me my husband had come up to visit, and I wanted to speak to him. Is Daniel here?" I guessed it was Shaun who'd ratted me out to my mother, given their relationship. Damn that man and his sex appeal!

I stood up to go face Andrea as Cherry replied in a cold voice, "Daniel's here, but why do you need to speak with him? Your marriage is done, you chose your ex-husband over him. What else is there to say to him?"

Andrea calmly replied, "That's not true, I never chose Dwight. I made a mistake and listened to the wrong people about my ex-husband, but I would never leave Daniel for him."

I could hear that Cherry's blood was up, and she snapped back, "Bullshit. Your husband told us you were planning on spending the weekend riding your ex's big dick! That sure as hell sounds to me like you leaving Daniel!"

"Cherry, please, let me see him," suddenly conciliatory, Andrea pleaded, "if nothing else, we need to discuss what's going to happen with Chloe. He's asking for full custody, but she's my baby. Chloe needs both her parents!"

Cherry wasn't letting up, and fired back, "You weren't thinking about Chloe when you were planning to cheat, why are you doing it now?" No wonder Shaun loved her, the woman was savage! I stepped around the corner before she could fire another verbal salvo.

"It's OK, Cherry, let her in. I'll talk to her," I said in a calm voice that didn't match my feelings. Ezra and Vivienne didn't need to hear adults screaming at each other.

Andrea looked at me, and began crying. I had to admit, while still beautiful, it was a shitty-looking beauty. Her hair was unruly, her eyes were red. She was wearing no makeup, and looked every minute of her 49 years. I'd been hiding the pain of how much I'd missed my wife, but seeing her made it come roaring back.

Then Andrea surprised me by rushing up and throwing her arms around me, saying "I'm so sorry" repeatedly in between sobs. The scent of her made me forget everything else, and for a moment I had my loving wife back. Then the moment faded, and I gently pushed her away.

"Hello, Andrea." That was about all I was capable of, given this was the first time I'd seen her face-to-face since Dwight had laid me out, and my throat was suddenly choked up.

Shaun came down from the second floor and looked at the three of us, making a quick assessment of the situation. Sensing my emotional chaos, he stepped up and took Andrea by the arm. In a kind voice, he told her, "Andrea, nice to see you, please come in." I guess Shaun still viewed Andrea as family, and was treating her as such. He was a better man than me, that was for sure.

Cherry came up behind me and took my arm, whispering "Come on, Daniel, just get this over with so the bitch will leave."

The four of us went into the living room and sat down, Andrea in a stuffed chair and the three of us on the sofa facing her, me in the middle, Cherry and Shaun protectively seated to my left and right. Cherry wasted no time and jumped right in.

"My husband's 22 years older than me. When I went back to work, even though we were newly-married he was a little nervous about me working with younger male coworkers. You know what he did to deal with it? He'd come by and take me out to lunch, bring me flowers every now and then, and went out of his way to make it very visible to my coworkers with that I was his wife.

"You know what he didn't do? Sit at home and convince himself I'd cheat on him, then proceed to cheat on me, which is what you did, Andrea." Inwardly I flinched. When Cherry said my wife's name, her tone was dripping with contempt. But that was only the beginning of Andrea's dressing-down.

Cherry seemed to get angrier with every sentence. "The trouble with beautiful women like you is you've never had to fight for a damned thing in your whole life! After Shaun and I got married, I told him in no uncertain terms that he was MY man and if I ever saw a woman making a move on him, I'd cut the bitch's eyes out. But not you, oh no!"

Her eyes boring into Andrea's, Cherry pointed at me. "When you thought Daniel was cheating on you, what did you about it? Not a damned thing, that's what! You could have fucking fought for your marriage, but Daniel wasn't worth fighting for, was he? Instead, you started things up again with your ex, who in fact HAD cheated on you! YOU DISGUST ME!" Spittle was literally flying out of Cherry's mouth as she barked out those last words, and even I was a little intimidated by her intensity.

Andrea looked completely crushed by Cherry's outburst, while I was even more impressed with the fierceness of this woman my uncle married. No way would she ever cheat on him! Damn!

But Cherry was not finished. "Daniel is a good man with a good heart," she went on, I'm sure he's not perfect, but he loved you like crazy! Hell, he still does, not that you fucking deserve it. He's been up here for a week moaning about losing you. Any day now, my mother and I are going to drag him down to the Chinatown International District and find him a woman who'll appreciate him AND his 'baby carrot'!"

Realizing I'd told Shaun and Cherry the whole story, Andrea put her face in her hands and began to sob, loudly now. From behind her hands I heard her muffled voice whimper, "Daniel, I'm SO sorry!"

Despite my enjoyment of Cherry's harsh tongue-lashing, I took an opportunity to give Andrea a reprieve. "Cherry, Shaun, I'd like some private time with my wife now, please."

The two of them nodded. As they were leaving, Cherry got a wicked glimpse in her eye, leaned down and told me, "I meant what I said, if you want to taste a little Chinese fortune cookie, Mom and I will be glad to help you find some." She'd said it in a stage-whisper to make sure Andrea heard it. Damn, my hot young aunt was ruthless!

Once we were alone, I turned back to Andrea, and updated her on her lover. "Just so you know, your big-dicked celebrity sweetheart is still the same asshole he's always been." Then, just to be a jerk I added, "Or should I call him your fiancé now?" Yes, that remark may have been a low blow, but it made me feel better.

Inwardly gleeful, I told her, "My friends at The Celebrity Zone tell me he's not only got legal woes in California, but he's also facing paternity suits in Arizona, Georgia, and Hawaii, and he's also being sued for alienation of affection by his Hawaiian baby-mama's ex-husband for wrecking their marriage." Was I kicking Andrea while she was down? Hell yes, I was. Was I sorry? Nope.

I gleefully went on with the bad news. "Dwight's also got an outstanding DUI warrant in DC, which explains why he never covered the Washington football team home games; he would have been arrested as soon as he got off the plane. He's also got eleven different investor lawsuits filed against him from that failed fast-food chain he was majority owner of."

I stopped and took a few deep breaths, hopefully allowing Andrea to soak up all the good news. Then I asked her, "So, Andrea, you still think cheating on me with Dwight was a good idea?" I admit, my anger at Andrea's betrayal and my hatred for Dwight Wilson compelled me to twist the emotional knife, and I was enjoying it.

Taking a deep breath to control her emotions, Andrea explained, "Daniel, it was all my fault. I was in a bad place and made some terrible choices. Lisa influenced me into believing you were cheating on me because I was aging, and that our lack of intimacy was because you were tired of me. Your mother tried to warn me none of that was true, but I stupidly didn't believe her. Being insecure and lonely, instead of talking to you I isolated myself emotionally. Dwight, meanwhile, kept telling me he'd been a fool letting me go and hinted at us getting back together. He'd send little gifts and cards, writing things that flattered me."

Bitterly, I remarked, "None of which I ever saw, because I was working so much to provide for you and Chloe, right?"

Andrea nodded, "I hid them, yes. It's no excuse, but they made me feel better."

I snapped caustically, "Yeah, better enough to want to fuck him."

"Daniel," she protested, "I swear I never slept with him, I was just thinking about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, well, that just makes it all better that you only thought about cheating on me, but thought enough to lie about having a girl's weekend with Terri to cover it up. You put a fuck-ton of effort into hiding something that you say you were only thinking about."

I narrowed my gaze accusingly. "You weren't undecided, you'd already fucked him, hadn't you? It sounds more like you just couldn't decide to leave me for him or not! Well, I made up your mind for you, now Dwight can have you all to himself. I hope you two are happy."

Andrea cried out, "Daniel, I never slept with him! We went for lunch and kissed a few times, but never anything more. I wouldn't allow it!" I think I saw her hands start to shake, but I refused to go easy on her.

Derisively I shot back, "Look, Andrea, I don't believe anything you're telling me. What I do believe is you and Lisa love Dwight's big cock. I'm surprised Lisa didn't talk you into a threesome!"

Looking at the floor, Andrea turned silent for a few seconds before taking a breath and responding, "I understand you being angry and not believing me, but I swear on my mother's grave the only thing I lied about was the girl's weekend. I made that up as an excuse in case I decided to meet Dwight, and if I decided not to, I was just going to tell you the girl's weekend was cancelled."

I shook my head, defeated. "So you're admitting that first, Lisa persuaded you to give up on me; second, that she pushed you to rekindle your relationship with Dwight, and, lastly, she was encouraging to sleep with him, to the point where you were one decision away from fucking him."

"Daniel, that's not exactly how it... " I didn't let her finish.

"BULLSHIT!" I snapped, "That's exactly what it was, Andrea. The worst part of all this mess was you actively hiding this from me! You acted as judge and jury, convicting me of ignoring you and cheating without even talking to me about it!"