He squeezed her shoulder, “she hasn’t been a bitch at all.” Sophie laughed, even though she felt wildly out of control.
“You mustn’t say that Finn, it’s horrible. But I’m glad you’re having a good time together. I’ll be in in a minute.”
He kissed her on the head, took a can of something from the fridge and went back to the living room. Sophie got to her feet and paced. Biting her nails, regularly checking her phone, she paced and paced. Where was he? Where was her husband?
*****
Kaelan was doing what Sophie had been doing and driving home slowly, and with the same amount of distraction. He pulled up in their driveway and leaned his head on the steering wheel. Sophie had cut short her day with Jess. He wondered whether her friend knew what they were doing, what they’d done.
He knew he had to go in, but he really didn’t want to. He wasn’t certain how he felt. Partly, he was furious with Sophie for the things she’d said, partly, he felt frustrated that he wasn’t fucking Paula right now, and partly, he was relieved that his wife cared enough to say what she’d said.
Was going inside something to be feared or welcomed? There was only one way to find out.
He climbed wearily out of the car and strode up to their front door with much more calmness than he felt. It wasn’t closed properly, so he just pushed it open and went inside. Finn and Care were huddled up on the sofa.
Before he could move, Sophie hit him. She ran into him sobbing and clawing at him.
“You’re home, you’re home!” The kids were watching with astonishment, and while Kaelan was relieved that Soph wasn’t trying to kill him, he didn’t want Finn and Carys to worry.
“Course I’m home, you daft mare,” he joked, picking her up as if she was a feather and carrying her upstairs, “Where else would I be? Now let’s go play pirates…”
“Can I come?” Finn yelled, but Carys scotched that before Kaelan had to say anything. He was very grateful for that.
*****
Kaela threw her onto the bed, she bounced helplessly, and despite the tears and the ache in her guts she couldn’t stop laughing. “I was so scared Kael,” she croaked, “I thought…”
He sat on the end of the bed, “you thought I was with her.”
A choke welled up in her throat and tears tumbled onto the bed clothes. “Yyyyyeeeeeessss,” it hissed out of her like a hose turned on too quickly, “I thought you would…”
He sighed and put his hand on her thigh, “I wouldn’t do that. I asked you because I wanted to be sure you were okay with it, I thought that’s what we agreed, to be open about everything?”
She nodded and sniffed into her hanky. He pulled her close and she sank into him like a favourite sweater, loving the familiarity, the safety he gave her. They half-lay, half-sat like that for a while, saying nothing and everything at the same time.
Eventually, she needed to talk about it and she pushed herself away to sit with her back to the headboard. Kaelan stayed put. They heard the kids arguing downstairs and they rolled their eyes to each other, normal service was resumed.
She wanted to know everything, how he’d met her? Was something going on already? But before she could ask anything, Kaelan spoke: “I thought it would be okay Soph, I’m sorry that I texted you like that. Maybe we need to revisit the rules.”
“I don’t want an open marriage Kael, it’s just Howie and Cilla. That’s it. I thought we were clear about that. if we start having sex with other people, then it feels like we will lose something, lose our connection,” she was confused, so she had no idea how he was feeling.
“I don’t recall that we decided that, all I remember is that we needed to be honest about things,” he sounded defensive, even irritated.
“Was this woman someone that you know? Have you been with her before? I mean, how did this happen Kael? I’ve never even thought of you going to the club as an issue. Is this…”
He didn’t let her finish, “seriously Soph? You are seriously asking whether I’ve been seeing someone behind your back? That’s just fucking priceless,” he thumped the mattress and walked to the door, stopped half way and turned back to glare at her.
This was going wrong, she was losing him, losing control of things. A small part of her feared that he would walk out and go and find the slut. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean? What’s priceless?”
“You! Accusing me of fucking around, when you were doing things with Howie long before I knew about it.” She couldn’t reply for a second, his certainty about her misdemeanours with her lover gripped her insides like an icy fist, “not going to deny it? you can’t even keep to your own rules Sophie. I didn’t say anything because I thought we could manage this, now I’m starting to wonder.”
She scrambled off the bed wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, “Kael, I’m so sorry, please forgive me. I hated myself for it. I hated lying to you, but we didn’t go all the way, I couldn’t do that. Can you forgive me?” She ran to him and held on tight, head on his chest. When his arms didn’t go around her she was terrified that everything was lost, that he would leave her.
“I think you’re the one that’s having trouble managing this Soph, you have feelings for Howie, that’s the problem here. I can fuck Cilla, and even Paula,” Sophie felt a tremor go through her at this new name, this emergent threat, “and there’s no feeling there. I don’t have any connection, but I believe you do with him. I don’t think I can take that anymore.”
Sophie looked up into his face, the horror must have been obvious because his eyes softened and he draped his arms loosely around her. “It’s not true! I don’t have feelings for him, it’s just sex!” her voice was too loud so she moderated it, “I don’t love him Kael, I only love you, I could only ever love you.”
She snivelled then, laid her head back onto his hard chest and began to sob. He held her equally tightly, kissing her hair and whispering that everything would be alright. She wasn’t lying, she didn’t love Howie, she wasn’t entirely sure what it was with him, but it very definitely wasn’t love.
Kael took her back to the bed and they lay together. She stroked his arm and watched the clouds scudding across the sky through their window. When she’d thought that Kael was with someone else, Howie’s call had been irrelevant to her, meaningless, but now that things were okay she worried that he would be mad with her.
As soon as she got the chance, she would text him. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to doze off, the rise and fall of her husband’s breathing was like a silent lullaby.
Chapter 4: Normal
It was a beautiful Sunday morning and they’d decided to go out as a family, just them. Finn had won the ‘trip lottery’ and so he’d chosen the zoo. Carys wasn’t happy, but Sophie bribed her with a day out with Brenda next weekend, wherever they wanted to go. Potentially expensive, but worth it, she thought.
“Kael can you bring the picnic basket down from the bathroom cupboard please?”
“Yeah okay!”
She ushered Finn out into the car and bullied Carys to carry the blankets and sun cream, she wanted to have a quiet, normal day together. The zoo was an excellent choice, they could be together and still grab some time alone if necessary. She still hadn’t texted Howie back and he hadn’t tried to reach her again, it made her anxious.
“Shall I get the stuff from the kitchen to put in it?” Kael clumped down the stairs carrying the basket.
“Yes, please love,” she gave him a quick kiss and went out to join the kids. Kaelan locked up and they were on their way, it would be a good day together if it killed her, and as Finn and Care began their second quarrel of the day, she thought it probably would.
*****
“Hey, Dad look at this!” Finn ran over to the crocodile enclosure.
“Coming Finn, steady there, that barrier’s really low!” he exchanged a knowing look with a woman who was trying to corral her own children, “he doesn’t look real does he? Where’s he from?” he let Finn read
him the contents from the information plaque.
Sophie was taking a picture of an unsuspecting Carys, who was watching an emerald green snake coil itself around a dead tree branch in its glass tank. She winked at Kaelan when she saw him watching her, watching Carys. It was so lovely, to be doing something so ordinary, all of them, together, as a family.
“Can I have a toy crocodile from the shop later Dad? I saw some really cool ones on the way through, big ones, they float in the bath and roar.”
He cuffed his son gently around the head, “we’ll see, let’s just enjoy the zoo first, shall we?”
“Okay Dad.”
*****
Sophie loitered behind the rest of her family. She was enjoying being with them, she liked the zoo, she enjoyed seeing the animals, she also welcomed learning something from the museum every time they came. Even hearing Finn badgering Kael for toys made her smile. She knew it annoyed him, mainly because he was trying not to be a mindless consumer ever since he’d watched a documentary about minimalism, and watching him trying to explain the need to keep your house clutter-free was entertaining, especially when the audience was a nine-year-old boy.
She waited until they’d all wandered into the desert section before taking her phone out again. She closed down the gallery showing the picture of Carys, and then opened up her messages. She dashed off a quick text to Howie.
[Sophie}: Sorry missed ur call, home safe? X
He replied immediately: [Howie}: Yep, safe and sound, good trip. When can I see you? X
She checked to make sure that none of them had wandered back to find her, then told him that she would sort something out as soon as she could.
[Howie}: Good. Taking u out this time x
Oh shit, she wasn’t sure how Kael would feel about that. She wanted to, more than she liked to admit, but she wasn’t looking forward to having the conversation.
[Sophie]: OK gotta run, see u soon x
She erased the exchange, shut the phone down and went to find the others. She hadn’t been away from them long, she just hoped they hadn’t noticed.
*****
Kael felt the ground shift under him. He was holding Finn’s shoulders and watching the lions, or at least he was looking through the glass to the other side of their pen, where a woman was looking right back at him. She waved and he hoped that Sophie wouldn’t notice, but she did.
“Is that woman waving at us?”
“Where?” he said, deliberately looking past her.
“There!” she replied impatiently, on the other side of the enclosure, “see her?”
He squinted nervously and Finn shifted under him, his grip becoming uncomfortably firm, “yeah,” he didn’t want to keep anything from her, but he was afraid that mentioning Paula would ruin their family day. He processed all the variables and decided that honesty was the best policy. “Here you go bud, go and get yourself an ice cream,” he handed Finn some money, and then did the same for Carys when she complained about favoritism.
“That’s Paula, you remember, the woman from the club…”
Sophie leaned against a pillar and her expression was confused, he could see the gears whirring away, and then she got it. “Not the one who…? Really?” she looked over again with renewed interest, “maybe you’d better introduce us then,” and before he could stop her, she was striding off purposefully in Paula’s direction…
*****
“Hi, I’m Kaelan’s wife, you’re Paula I believe?” she held out her hand, which Paula took, even though she was obviously flummoxed, “it’s nice to meet you.” She wanted to stake out her territory, this woman had very nearly slept with Kael.
“That’s right, it’s nice to meet you too. Oh, this is my husband, Mark. Mark this is Kaelan from the club, and…Sophie is it?”
Sophie nodded, and there was an awkward silence while everyone inspected everyone else, trying to think of things to say. She had to admit Paula was gorgeous, completely different in colouring, dark to her blonde, tanned to her pale, although she was just as curvy as Sophie, maybe even more so.
“So, up for another game of doubles this week Kaelan? I’ll play with Elliot this time, make your job even easier.” As she said it she thrust out her tits, drawing Kaelan’s eye and making her own husband blush. Sophie would never have put the two of them together, he was thin and nerdy, with a receding hairline and an overhung lower jaw.
Then, under the weight of their inspection, he seemed to gain confidence from somewhere, “ah so this is the chap you told me about. Bloody good player from what Paul says. Wish I could get over there more, but work’s a bear at the moment, mind you I’m fucking shit at tennis at the best of times,” he let out a deep bellow that didn’t suit him at all and the ice was broken.
They chatted for a while, until the kids came back, minus the change, of course.
Paula was good with Carys, Sophie noted with a touch of jealousy, and then the two little groups went their separate ways. But before they did, Sophie watched her rival walking off. She was a hot little number alright, it was no wonder Kael wanted her.
Then Paula looked back and their eyes met. She smiled at Sophie and something passed between them. Suddenly, Sophie didn’t feel so threatened. Paula didn’t want to take him it seemed, she only wanted to have a little fun. Maybe Sophie could live with that? An idea came to her in a moment of inspiration, maybe there was a way that they could all win?
*****
“You’re serious about this?” Kaelan looked skeptical as he polished off his baked beans. They hadn’t planned on eating at the restaurant but Sophie said they were flush this month, so they could have an extra treat.
Finn was in the zoo shop, and Carys was outside on her phone talking to one of her friends, so Sophie seized the moment.
“Absolutely serious,” she reached across and held his hand, “she’s sexy, and in a relationship. I think she would give you a wild ride. I don’t want to be selfish and deny you that.”
He squeezed her hand but the skepticism remained, “you were pretty sure it was a bad idea before. What’s changed?”
“Me, her, everything. I don’t know, she was a faceless threat before, now I see her, I realise that all she wants is to fuck you,” she paid heed to his warning look and lowered her voice, “sorry, I just mean that I think she’s safe. And I want you to have some more experiences, I know that you aren’t feeling so good about Cilla a tthe moment.” Although he hadn’t said anything about his relationship with his boss for a while, Sophie gambled on it being because things weren’t that great.
Kael sighed as if in confirmation, and it strengthened her resolve, “I mean it Kael, I’m good with it, honestly. Go slow if you’re worried, then if things feel right, just go for it.”
She kissed his hand, and he brushed her silky blonde hair behind her ear.
“Okay, I’ll think about it,” he paused for a moment staring deep into her eyes, as if seeking the truth, “ah what the hell, I’ll see if she’s free to play around this week. I’ll go slow though, as you said, I don’t want any attachments.”
Sophie kissed him and stroked his face. She was delighted. Now she had the opening she needed to ask about the date with Howie. The only thing that troubled her was the mention of attachments, is that why he wasn’t talking about Cilla anymore? Had they formed an attachment? If so, that was something she didn’t want to think about, she ought to, she knew, she should think seriously about all of this, but right now the little victory of finding a way to see Howie was still buzzing around her system.
Chapter 5: Dogging
Sophie was about to reap the benefits for giving Kaelan the green light to be with Paula, he’d given her a pass to go out on a date with Howie, something that hadn’t happened since they’d taken things to the next level. Apart from the Skype session at work, Kaelan had seen everything she’d done with Howie. Tonight, she was hoping to have some fun after the official date, she didn’t tell Kael explicitly, but he’d always known about wha
t had happened before, so she assumed he would guess.
She thought back to their text exchange earlier in the day. He’d sent her some clothes by courier, and just before they’d arrived he’d texted her:
[Howie]: Sent u a present, some things to wear tonight. Can’t wait to c wot u choose x
[Sophie]: U shouldn’t have but glad u did x
[Howie]: Some of them are a bit sexy... SORRY x
[Sophie]: I’m sure they’re fine, but I’ll have to tell Kael that I bought them… x
A Shared Wife Stolen Page 4