Chapter Two
Jules
Tom. Such a simple, short name for a man so
intriguing, I thought, and closed the door behind our dinner
guests. I felt hot, flushed for some reason.
I turned around to my husband, said, “That
was an interesting night, wasn’t it? That Tom guy…what do you think
of him?”
“ Well, pleasant enough,
very polite,” Christopher replied as he cleared up their guest’s
wine glasses off the dining table. “Is Susan dating him
seriously?”
“ It’s more casual she
said.”
I watched my husband, as I love to do. His
quiet, steady demeanor, the laugh lines around his eyes that never
quite smoothed out.
My husband wasn’t an intriguing man. I
didn’t think anyone had ever thought that about him. He was a solid
man, with capable hands and a warm heart who was a vet during the
day and cooked dinner for his friends and his wife at night.
I loved him to death.
I wondered if it would be weird bringing up
Tom again.
“ He gave me his card, you
know,” I said. “Before he left with Susan. Said he was considering
selling his house. He lives up on Alder Lane, beautiful property,
Susan told me.”
“ Susan would now, gossip
queen that she is,” Christopher said with a quick glance. “I saw
you two whispering in the kitchen. What was that about?”
I waved my hand. “Just girl talk.” I
laughed, but uneasiness crept up my spine. “She told me that she’s
trying to get him more interested in her, but that he’s very
guarded. She heard that he’s into really kinky stuff so she was
curious about dating him.”
I laughed to cover up how nervous I was.
“She told me that she is trying to get him into bed and he resists
her attempts. Isn’t that funny?”
Christopher paused, catching my gaze. “Kinky
stuff?”
“ You know, bondage, rough
sex. She said he’s a dominant, whatever that means.” I knew exactly
what it meant, and my heart beat in my throat.
“ I see,” my husband said
slowly. “And you were fascinated by that?”
“ Not really,” I lied. My
words hung in the air between us, and suddenly I felt cold and hot
at the same time.
“ And he gave you his
card?”
I nodded. I couldn’t shake the words that
Susan had whispered in my ear, what she’d said about Tom, about
his…sexual pasttimes. “I might give him a call tomorrow to arrange
a viewing of the house.”
My husband nodded, then made his way
upstairs to the bedroom. “I’m beat, honey. You coming too?”
“ In a minute, yes,” I
replied.
I grabbed my wine glass, drained the
remainder.
Alone, I gave myself permission to look at
Tom’s card with his address.
“ Call me,” he’d said. “Or
text. Let’s have coffee to discuss if it’s a good time to sell.”
His gaze had lingered, dark, stern, the corners on his mouth
slightly upturned, until I couldn’t meet his gaze
anymore.
He wasn’t a tall man, but still taller than
me, and he was built like a bull with wide shoulders and a barrel
chest. His handshake had been firm, warm, a moment too long.
My face had turned hot. No idea why. He was
just a guy looking for a real estate agent, shouldn’t feel awkward.
Selling houses was my job.
I crumbled up the card in my hand, tossed it
aside, and then followed my husband to the bedroom.
Christopher was in bed already, lights were
out. I quickly brushed my teeth, undressed and slipped into bed
with him. He drew me into his arms and I tried to relax against his
chest.
I stared into the dark, my heart beating in
my throat. Christopher knew what went on in my head, what I
couldn’t stop thinking about. But we didn’t talk about it, avoiding
to address what sometimes hung between us like the cloud that it
was.
For our love was sweet and kind and gentle.
We didn’t fuck, we truly made love. My husband was a selfless
lover, skillful with his fingers, his tongue. And I loved
everything about him. But after three years of being blissfully
married, he knew, he knew that there was a dark side to
David Sherman & Dan Cragg
Frances and Richard Lockridge