Free THE AFFAIR by Dyanne Davis

place, not wanted by anyone. That is, until he was in college and the beautiful woman with hair the color of warm cinnamon sat down next to him and stared.
    “ Hi, you have the most beautiful eyes, ” she’d said to him. “ I just wanted to tell you that.”
    Those words were carved into his soul. He remembered he’d smiled at her, stunned, and immediately fallen in love.
    “ Oh my God, I thought your eyes were beautiful, but your smile would light up the world. My name’s Michelle, by the way. What’s yours?”
    “Larry,” he’d managed to stammer out, sure that this had to be a prank. Where had this beautiful woman come from and why the hell had she chosen to talk to him? “You have beautiful hair, I love the color,” he’d whispered softly not daring to tell her how beautiful he thought she was.
    “Thanks,” Michelle replied. “I dye it. Since you love the color, I hope they never stop making it.”
    Larry closed his eyes tight against the pain he was feeling now. It hadn’t been a prank. Later she’d told him that she’d been watching him and felt drawn to him. She’d told him he was meant to be in her life. He hadn’t minded that one bit.
    After months of dating, they’d made love. It was the first time for both of them, something that surprised them both. It ended so quickly that no one had to tell him Michelle had not enjoyed it.
    He’d assumed it would get better for her with time. Hell, it had been all that he had hoped for, only magnified about a million times. For him it had only gotten better with time.
    Even now, as angry as he was with her, the thought of her made him hard. He loved touching her, all the silky moist spots that he knew were reserved only for him. He loved the feel of the hot juices that flowed out of her body over his hand. He’d done every damn thing he could think to do to please his wife.
    He could still see the look on her face when he brought home the porno tapes. She didn’t object, she just wasn’t pleased. And when he’d suggested that they try some of the things they’d seen, the look of disgust on her face had been enough to make him forget the idea. He was too afraid of losing her.
    He knew that was the reason he’d never insisted on discussing their problem more fully. If it was said out in the open, she might stop loving him, stop touching him, not allow him to touch her.
    No, for several years they’d both pretended that nothing was wrong. Who knew for sure? Maybe there wasn’t. Neither of them had ever been with anyone else. Maybe that was the way it was with all married couples.
    In every other manner they were in synch. They laughed together and had fun. After several years their lovemaking improved. Mick even began to enjoy his touches.
    He could tell when his wife began to enjoy making love with him. She’d pulled him to her and begun caressing his body, teasing him, telling him to make love to her, to let her make love to him.
    It should have been enough. It was just that he’d never been able to rock her world as she rocked his. He didn’t just want her to enjoy making love with him, he wanted her pleasure to be so intense that she screamed out with it, calling his name as she came. He wanted that more than anything. No, that wasn’t true. More than anything he wanted his marriage to continue. He wanted his wife to continue loving him as she always had.
    He thought of Viola, the woman Michelle had hit and the look on Michelle’s face after weeks of fighting. He’d put his foot down, demanding that she not go see the woman or get in touch with her in any manner. He was relieved when at last she’d acquiesced.
    Larry took a slower sip of the drink in his hand. Had she really acquiesced? Her exact words had been, “Do whatever the hell you want. You always do.”
    He’d not thought about it at the time. He’d been too busy making sure that Michelle was protected, too happy to hear that she was going to listen to him, allow him to handle