The Sin, The Sun, & The Shame

by Leigh Mcknight

  It didn’t take Mitch long to walk back to his hotel. When he entered his suite, he wasn’t surprised that his wife was nowhere in sight. And from the looks of things, she hadn’t returned since she left. Mitch quickly removed his clothes and shoes. After brushing his teeth, he stepped into the spray of the shower and allowed the cool water to wash away the sweat, the guilt, the sin, and the shame that seemed to cling to his body. Closing his eyes, he leaned into the water and as his mind recaptured the events of the night, he wondering how he could have allowed something like that to happen. Sophia was gorgeous, sexy, and naughty and he had been intrigued by it. If his own wife were a quarter of the woman Sophia was toward him, what took place between he and Sophia tonight would never have happened. He knew that with every fiber of his being. There was something to be said about a person not being satisfied at home.

  Sophia’s zest for life and her fiery spirit energized him in a way that he couldn’t explain—in a way that he had not experienced before, and the strange thing was that he found himself attracted to it, perhaps a little too much. She’s the kind of girl who could become addictive, Mitch thought.

  Mitch twisted off the shower and toweled himself off. He walked nude back into the bedroom, collapsed in the sheets and within minutes, he was asleep.

  * * *

  Kanile emptied her glass and placed it on the table she shared with her companions. They all seemed just as tired as she was, but none of them would admit it. The group included Jason and his second wife, Anita, their cousin Mark, his girlfriend Michelle and her sister Naomi. Observing them, Kanile shook her head shamefully. Yes, they had definitely had a great time all night, but she had witnessed some things that made her feel terrible about how she had been treating Mitch.

  She kept recalling how much Anita had literally begged Jason to buy her a drink and the fact that Mark simply ignored Michelle’s requests, but drank whatever her sister brought to the table, was just unacceptable. These women were falling all over Jason and Mark when they didn’t seem to care about them. Mitch, on the other hand, would have been waiting on her hand and foot. I had better learn to appreciate what I have, Kanile thought.

  Glancing at her watch, Kanile saw that it was after five in the morning. Last night had been something else. Sure, the dancing and the drinks had been great with her new friends, but Kanile had to admit that compared to Michelle and Anita, she was living the life of a pampered queen. She felt terrible.

  Grabbing her purse, she hurriedly told her companions it was time for her to go. It was due time she apologized to Mitch and treat him the way he deserved to be treated. Mitch was not the kind of man who’d sit down and take her abuse forever, and she certainly didn’t want to lose her man to another woman.

  Kanile hurried towards the bank of elevators in the hotel’s lobby. She knew she’d find Mitch sound asleep in their suite. Guilt swept through her as she thought about the boring night that he must have had, alone and lonely in the room. She could just kick herself for how selfish and stubborn she had been.

  Exiting the elevator on their floor, Kanile shook her head dejectedly; she needed to make Mitch know how much she appreciated him. She couldn’t run the risk of him finding pleasure or appreciation in the arms of another woman!

  CHAPTER 5

  Mitch awoke to the smell of coffee and bacon.

  “Mitch,” he heard Kanile call out his name. “Wake up sleepy head.”

  “Good morning to you too,” Mitch said, unsmiling and without opening his eyes, he added, sternly, “You’re not gonna start this day off unjustly taking out your frustrations on me by berating me. It’s not gonna happen. You’ve been making my life hell and I’m not gonna do this with you anymore. If you can’t accept that I’m doing my best, there’s nothing else I can say. Just go on and do what you have to do.” The words had tumbled out of Mitch’s mouth before he closed his eyes again.

  “I’m not going to give you a hard time, baby. I love you,” Kanile said softly.

  Mitch felt a gentle kiss on his lips and his body jerked involuntarily. Quickly, he opened his eyes and was startled to see Kanile bending over him, smiling.

  “What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, smiling into her husband’s eyes. “You look as though you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Mitch sat up in bed, the covers falling from his chest down to his waist, remembering his anger and disappointment with his wife’s behavior on last evening. Only now, he was even angrier and disappointed with himself because of what he had done last night with Sophia. Sophia, he thought. She was back in his mind again. A total stranger. A beautiful and loving stranger, but still a stranger. Mitch ran a hand down his face. What have I done? He thought, staring at Kanile. Mitch had never cheated on his wife before last night. But, back in the suite, secure in the knowledge that his dirty little secret would be just that, a dirty little secret, and he would never see Sophia again. He had to admit that Sophia touched something inside him that no one else had, not even his wife, and the sex had been incredible. For the brief moments they were together, it was as if it were just the two of them, alone in the world.

  Realizing what he was thinking, he quickly shook his head to clear it of those thoughts. He never wanted to think of Sophia again—ever. Why would he when he was still so much in love with his wife.

  In a quick movement, Kanile pulled back the drapes, flooding the room with the late morning sunlight. She slightly opened the patio door allowing the sound of the waves crashing against the shore to float into their suite.

  “I ordered breakfast for us. See,” she offered. “Sausage, eggs over light, strong black coffee, toast and your favorite, grape jelly.” She showed him the display of breakfast that sat on the serving table in their room near their bed. “Come have some breakfast with me.”

  “You’re in a good mood. Can I ask what brought this on?” Mitch wanted to know.

  “That’s it exactly. I am in a good mood. Now come on. Get out of bed and let’s eat. Breakfast is getting cold.” Mitch gave Kanile a strange look but he obeyed, tossing back the covers and getting out of bed. “What?” She gave him a little laugh. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I’m just wondering who are you and what have you done with my wife.”

  Kanile gave a little chuckle. That was the first time that she had laughed with him in a while.

  “Honey, I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you. Of course you didn’t deserve it and I’m truly sorry that I wasn’t there for you as I should have been. But if you will forgive me, I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Mitch was staring at his wife. She noticed. “Honey, I said I’m sorry. Why are you looking at me like I have three heads or something?”

  “I was just thinking what a complicated woman you are,” he replied, going over to the table and taking a seat where Kanile had arranged the placement of their breakfast.

  Kanile walked around the table to where Mitch was sitting. She bent down behind his chair, dropped her hands to his bare chest, allowing them to glide down to his navel. “And you love every inch of my complicated self, don’t you?” she teased, reminding him of the old Kanile that he loved so much.

  “There has never been any doubt about that. It’s just that as long as we have known each other, I still don’t know where you are coming from sometime.”

  “I know, but--” Kanile began, with regret lacing her voice.

  “We’re just gonna have to do better,” Mitch interrupted hastily, “because all this arguing gets to be too much.”

  She silenced him with a soft kiss and then whispered against his mouth. “Shut up and eat.” Kanile walked back around the table and took her seat across from her husband.

  Mitch looked at his wife’s smiling face for a moment.

  “You’re looking damn good this morning, baby,” he said, looking at her and appreciating what he saw.

  He winked at her before he reached across the table and took one of her hands in his. He leaned across the table and pressed his lip
s against her fingers. “I’ve missed you.”

  “I know baby but all that is history now. Your wife is back.”

  Mitch looked at Kanile for a long moment and then he smiled. After buttering a piece of toast, he spread grape jelly on it and before he took a bite, he offered one to her.

  During breakfast, Kanile talked about the people she had met and she apologized for not spending more time with him. “I promise to make it up to you,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she turned her head to find him staring unblinking at her. “Are you still angry at me?”

  “No, not anymore.”

  “I’m really sorry, Mitch. I know I hurt you with my words sometime, and I’m wrong to do that. Like I said, I’m gonna do better. That’s a promise.”

  Mitch got up from the table, walked around to his wife’s chair, and he thanked her with a deep, passionate kiss, just like the ones they shared before coming to the beach. Kanile ended the kiss with a suggestive look in her eyes.

  “Let’s skip the rest of our breakfast. I want you. I want you now,” she said, getting up from the table and began peeling off her robe, exposing her shapely body. Mitch complied avidly by lifting her from the floor and carrying her over to the bed. He laid Kanile down on the bed and took her mouth in a savage kiss.

  While his tongue ravaged her mouth, his hands ravaged her body. They groaned and whimpered out of pure pleasure, but nothing compared to the electric sensations Mitch’s fingers evoked when they slid into the wet triangle between Kanile’s thighs. After using his fingers on her and kissing her until her lips began to feel bruised, they made incredible, fervent, ground moving love.

  Afterwards, Kanile said, half-smiling while trying to catch her breath, “Oh my goodness! What’s gotten into you? If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you were thinking of someone else just then.” She turned over on her back and looked dreamily at the ceiling. “I’ve got to make you angry more often, babe. That was incredible.”

  Mitch wasn’t gonna touch that comment. Besides, his head felt like someone had hit him with a hammer. And, groggy from lovemaking, two thoughts occupied his mind. Why had he been such a fool last night and made love with a stranger and why hadn’t his wife behaved this way all along?

  The next few hours passed in a blur. Mitch and Kanile stayed in bed most of the day, making love between meals.

  “Why are you so good to me?” she asked, running her fingers across his forehead.

  “I don’t know. Maybe because of all the little things I love about you.”

  “Good answer,” Kanile said and they chuckled.

  A short time before sunset, an exhausted Kanile untangled herself from her husband, pulled herself out of bed, dragging Mitch along with her into the bathroom where they stepped into the shower together.

  “Oh doggone it,” she groaned, letting her head fall on her husband’s chest.

  Mitch had already begun lathering his body with the hotel soap that was available to them.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, pushing her back so he could look in her face.

  “I’m out of soap. You know I’ve got to have my special soap.” She held up a sliver of what was left of her favorite scented soap, unlike the kind that the hotel offered.

  “You want me to go out now and get soap?”

  “I packed only the one bar that I had left and it’s just about gone. See.” She lifted it up to show him again. “I meant to pick up some before we got here.”

  “Hotel soap won’t do for just one shower? We could go out later and get you some.”

  “Honey, I hate their soap. You know that,” she said, looking sheepishly at him.

  “Alright, alright.” Mitch said, dripping as he stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and after drying off, he slipped into a pair of pants and a pullover sweater. He went down to the lobby and after checking with the hotel clerk about the location of a bath and body shop, he left the hotel.

  Mitch drove the short distance to the bath and body shop. He parked near the shop, removed his seatbelt, and got out of the car. Whistling happily, wanting to make the purchase and get back to his beautiful wife who was waiting for him, as he was approaching the door to the Bath and Body Works store, a familiar voice called out to him, interrupting his reverie.

  “Hello, Mitch.”

  Mitch turned to see Sophia across the street, waiting for the stop light to change so that she could cross over to where he was. Mitch’s eyes popped out of his head, his jaw dropped, and his body became frozen.

  The light changed and Mitch stared unbelieving at the young woman walking across the street towards him. The adrenaline was pumping like a speeding locomotive through his veins. He took a deep breath. The closer Sophia got to Mitch, he wondered just how old she really was… or rather, how young she was. He studied her as she approached him. When she reached Mitch, before he could alter her movements, she bounced into his arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him on the mouth.

  “Hello, Mitch,” she cooed, smiling up in his face.

  “Sophia,” Mitch began, nervously, his entire body getting cold and clammy. He pulled Sophia’s arms from around his neck and he backed away from her. He studied Sophia for a moment. She was flawlessly dressed in white shorts with a matching halter top and beige sandals, looking like she had just stepped from the pages of a fashion magazine. In the light of day and without wearing makeup, Sophia looked to be about eighteen, nineteen at the most. Mitch couldn’t believe his eyes. He also didn’t want to be in an embrace with a woman less than half his own age, but more importantly, he didn’t want to be seen in the company of any other woman. He was a married man, a very happily married man.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked, glancing around to see whose eyes might be staring at them.

  A huge smile on her face, Sophia said, happily, “I am so happy to see you. I was hoping we would see each other again.” Then, smiling wickedly at him, she added. “Last night was hot. I enjoyed our time together so much.”

  Sophia quickly went into Mitch’s arms and kissed him again, thrusting her tongue deeply into his mouth. Mitch hurriedly removed her arms from around his neck, moved back away from her, and looked around, again.

  “Yeah, last night was great,” Mitch mumbled, “and it is nice seeing you again, but I’m in a hurry. You take care, alright.” Mitch walked toward the door of the store to make a purchase for Kanile and he hoped Sophia would go on about her business, but no such luck. Sophia followed Mitch and caught his arm to go into the store with him. Mitch stopped just outside the door, removed her hand from his arm, and looked intently at her.

  “Where are you going? I’ve told you I’m in a hurry and I don’t have time for this today.”

  Sophia’s heart froze. She denied the ache that floated in her chest. She didn’t understand why Mitch was being so mean to her, so blunt, so cold, the complete opposite of how he treated her last night. Sophia felt an eerie sensation, like the breath of the devil himself. She swallowed hard against the tears she felt were getting close to the surface. Fixing him with a stare with hurt touching her beautiful eyes, she was trembling when she asked, “What’s wrong, Mitch? I know you enjoyed being with me last night. I could feel it and so did you. We made a connection. You can brush it off or ignore it all you want but the reality is that feelings were there and they were real.”

  The Bath and Body Works store wasn’t far from the hotel where Mitch and Kanile were staying and Kanile liked the beach and taking long walks. Mitch didn’t want to run the risk of his wife running into him and Sophia.

  “What are you doing? You know we can’t be here like this. I’m married, Sophia, and I am in love with my wife. You know that and you know we can’t be doing this, especially not in public.” He used his hands to make a sweeping gesture. “And,” he looked away, “last night was a mistake, a terrible mistake. I’m sorry if you expected more but there’s nothing I can do about that. Now, go on, get outta here.”

  So
phia’s heart was pounding painfully in her chest as she held his gaze. She couldn’t believe this was the same man. Mitch met her gaze with an even stare. He took a deep breath. Then the more he despised himself for his behavior, the more the frown on his face deepened.

  “You have to understand that I don’t want to be ugly with you and whatever happened between us last night, it wasn’t important. We were just two people who apparently needed each other and we took advantage of that. That’s all it was. You have to forget it and get on with your life.” He gave her a dark and angry look.

  “I don’t want to forget you, Mitch.” Sophia quickly wrapped her arms around Mitch’s neck again, intending to kiss him again.

  Mitch ripped Sophia’s arms away and firmly held onto her hands. “You have to.”

  “Mitch, please don’t do this.”

  “Grow up and stop behaving like a child.” He let go of her hand and ran his hand across his forehead to remove the perspiration. Mitch was having difficulties swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. He looked up toward the sky for a moment before returning his eyes to meet hers. “You are a beautiful young lady. You shouldn’t have any problems finding a nice young man to love you the way you deserve to be loved, but,” he finished his statement in a softer tone, “it can’t be me. Last night was great. I enjoyed it, but it’s over. I’m sorry.”

  “Why?” She reached for him again and again he held her hands, restraining her.

  “Sophia, what are you? Twelve?” Mitch asked rhetorically but Sophia responded.

  “No.”

  “Have you been listening to anything I’ve said?” he said, sarcastically, squeezing her small hands tightly. “What are you not getting?” He cleared his throat and took a deep, calming breath. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you. I really don’t. I think you’re a nice girl, a really sweet girl, but I have a wife who I love very much. She loves me and there is no room in my life for anyone else. I’m sorry, but I’m done with this conversation. “You got that?” He released her hands so violently that time that Sophia almost fell.