by Lola Wilder
For the next hour or so, she and Adir engaged in small talk with his buddies. Even though they played at being platonic, as the night wore on, their glances lingered longer, their touches became more flirtatious, and as the drinks continued to flow, Kate found herself instigating the flirtation instead of the other way around.
She was the one who moved closer to him when they sat next to one another, and when she reached across the table to get her drink, she lingered long enough to give him a full view of her ass.
Kate figured she was doing a pretty good job of it because eventually, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the room.
"Here. Come on."
Kate feigned reluctance, but the flirtation wasn't enough anymore. She wanted more too, and she didn't care what that said about her.
He ended up leading her downstairs, where the lights were dimmed and soft music played from behind a closed door.
"I told you at the restaurant...the real action happens behind closed doors."
For a brief moment, she felt a pang of guilt. Was this the person she really wanted to be? Wasn’t all this meaningless sex the very reason she'd dumped Adir in the first place? She pulled her hand away from him, stopping short of following him all the way into the room. "Wait, Adir, I...I don't know about this."
He turned to look at her, dropping his voice to a sensual growl. "You never used to be so shy, Kitty-Kat. Well...maybe at first, but once you loosened up..."
He opened the door, and for a moment, Kate had the urge to barrel back upstairs, but when she heard laughter coming from inside, she frowned, peering around him.
Inside, a large table had been set up to one side of the room. Four or five other men sat at the table, cigar smoke wafting up to form a thick haze in the dim light, bouts of celebratory laughter interrupting the plinking of poker chips as they hit the table.
"Come on," Adir said, holding his hand out to her. "Let's see if you still have that killer instinct."
Nine
A poker party! She snorted at the realization. Now this, she could handle. Poker had been Adir and Kate’s other past time and she used to love the game. She hadn’t played in years, and found herself excited to play tonight. After some quick introductions, Kate settled into one of the chairs at the table, dejectedly fiddling with her chips while she waited. Again, she'd misread all of Adir's signals. Apparently all of this had just been a game to him. He was just acting the way he always had to get a rise out of her. That was what it was about--he was turned on just by the fact that he could still get her excited for him.
Kate sighed. The alcohol had given her a headache, and the guilt she'd been suppressing was coming to the surface. It was bad enough she was at a party hosted by her ex, but now was she really going to gamble with money that they couldn’t afford to lose? She could just feel David's hostility if he ever found out. This right here might be the end of everything between them.
While Adir was occupied with the others, Kate started to get that panicked feeling. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all. No matter what troubles she and her husband were having, did she so blatantly want to go against him or what they had built? Suddenly, she felt like she was cheating on him even though she hadn't done anything yet other than a little harmless flirting...in her ex’s favorite dress...in his house...ugh, she thought to herself.
"Hey, just in time. Our final victim for the night has arrived and from what I hear, he's got deep pockets!"
As Adir ushered the man into the room, Kate's face burned with a mixture of shock and guilt, which was mirrored on the face of her husband staring back at her.
"Everyone, this is David. David, this is everyone.”
The regulars at the table moved over and made room for David at the table. Adir plunked down a cold Bells Black Note Stout in front of him
What the hell, Kate thought. He must come here often if Adir has his favorite fucking beer in his fridge.
Kate was speechless and from the look on David's face, she could tell he was just as confused.
Adir slapped him on the back. "Meet my old friend, Kate. David, Kate, Kate, David,"
David stood up from the table with the excuse that he had to go to the bathroom, and Kate followed him. They waited until Adir and the others were out of earshot before he tore into her. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing! What, did you follow me here? You sure as hell didn't care where I was going earlier."
"Of course I didn't! ...How do you even know this guy anyway?"
"Adir...is Adiraez. Adiraez Stone."
David narrowed his eyes at her. It took a few moments for the name to register, but when it did, there was a flash of recognition in his eyes. "Wait. You mean your ex, Adiraez?"
Kate nodded.
David threw his arms up in the air, circling around her while the information sunk in. "And what the hell are you doing here at your ex-boyfriend's house, anyway?"
"What are you doing here? From what he said, it sounds like you've been keeping your own nasty little secrets too, David."
"Don't you dare start with me,” David said, giving Kate the icy look she’d grown all too accustomed to.
"Is that how it's going to be now? Because you've obviously done a lot worse than not telling me where you're going. Like an idiot, I’m thinking you really are working late, but obviously you’ve been running off to some weekly poker game. And after all the grief you've been giving me for the credit card bills, the mortgage payments...are you kidding me?"
Kate had to stop herself and take a couple of deep breaths. She could see some of the others looking at them funny and the last thing she wanted was for Adir to find out exactly who his good pal David was. That would be enough embarrassment to last her a lifetime. Here she was, supposedly happily married yet neither spouse even knew what the other was up to, which made her marriage look like the total failure that it was turning out to be. She rolled her eyes at the thought of it.
"Katie..." he said, trying to soften the mood. But Kate was sick of it; sick of the way he treated her, like he was superior to her, like she was some child who needed discipline.
"Don't even bother," she whispered. "Why don't we just go on pretending we don't know one another, huh? It's been working fine for us for months, hasn't it? I'd say we're both getting pretty good at it by now, wouldn't you?"
Before David could respond, Adir came back into the room, handing each of them a drink, and then put a hand on each of their shoulders.
Ten
"So, are you two ready for a little gambling? Although I should warn you David, my little Kitty-Kat here may look innocent enough, but she shows no mercy when it comes to poker. Isn't that right, beautiful?"
Adir hugged Kate against his chest for a moment and when she looked over at her husband, she had to stifle her vindictive laughter after seeing the jealousy that flashed behind his eyes.
Before David could take the seat beside her, Adir slid in between the two of them, taking a brief moment to pull the chair out for Kate. As she got settled into her seat, Kate snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye and saw David's jealousy only continue to grow. He scraped the chair out from under the table and lowered himself into the seat, never taking his eyes off Kate and Adir.
The game settled into an easy rhythm, with several hands played before Kate started to feel even somewhat comfortable. They were playing Texas Hold’em, a poker game that she had played on a regular basis all throughout college and had done well enough so that it paid all of her tuition as well as covered her rent, food and gave her some extra spending money. She knew she’d been good enough to go pro if she’d wanted to, but the thought of telling her parents she was dropping out of college to play professional poker was something she could never bring herself to do. However, tonight she was off her game. With every bet she placed, she second-guessed herself, and she knew it was only because David was watching her like a hawk.
If he wasn't here, y
ou know you would be cleaning up, she told herself. Don't let him stop you from having fun. He's been doing it for months already. Enough is enough.
When it was time for Kate to make her next bet, she tapped her cards on the table for a moment, then placed them face down, counted through her chips, and slid a tall stack to the center of the table. Her bet elicited whispers around the table with various people chuckling or taking in deep breaths. She looked up at David, raising one eyebrow but not flinching.
Adir’s eyes grew wide with amusement. "What did I tell you? The lady's not afraid to take a chance, boys."
Kate's heart raced as she waited for the final bets to be placed and then for David to deal the final card. When he turned it over, Kate held her breath for a moment but when she saw the card, she had to stifle her grin.
"Woah ho ho!" Adir shouted, leaning back in his chair. "Looks like someone's been practicing."
Not even close. She hadn’t been at a poker table in at least five years. The truth was that she was playing aggressively in part because she was so pissed at David. But hey, whatever worked. Kate sat back and waited for her winnings to come to her. Fourteen hundred dollars...holy shit, Kate thought to herself as she tried hard to stifle the grin she knew was spreading across her face. That was enough to cover the mortgage and the last credit card bill. She forgot how thrilling it was to play cards like this; the tingling in her scalp as she waited for her cards to be dealt to her; that feeling of nervousness in the pit of her stomach as she waited for the others to bet, and the thrill of the final reveal of the cards. It was almost as intoxicating as sex, and since she hadn't had any of that lately, this was the next best thing.
She didn't think it could get much better, until she looked across the table and met David's gaze. Gone was the anger, the hurt at being kept in the dark; the guilt that he himself had been found out. She saw something there; a look she hadn't seen in a long time; a look she had only caught the faintest glimpse of when he first walked into the room, before he recognized the hot chick in the black dress as his wife. He looked like he was fighting the urge to smile and the way his eyes were twinkling when he looked at her…if she didn’t know better, she’d think that he was impressed and possibly even attracted to her.
She reached for her drink and took a quick sip to cool herself down. Unable to break his gaze, Kate held it, drinking in the smoldering look of desire in the way his chest rose and fell in a labored rhythm. The way his eyes were closed ever so slightly like no one else was in the room and he was focusing solely on her. The way he subtly licked his lips, making them look even more plump and full. He hadn't looked at her in that way for weeks...months...and it was exactly what she needed.
Eleven
"So what do you say kids? Another hand?" Adir said, shuffling the deck.
"No way," one of the other players said, tossing his cards to Adir before standing to leave.
"Me neither, Adir my man. Your girl here is just too damn good. This game just got too rich for my blood."
Adir jumped up, slapping his buddies on the back. He turned around and winked at Kate as he ushered them out of the room. Kate stood too, stretching her legs and taking in a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. The adrenaline was coursing through her entire body. She could feel every inch of her skin tingling with the thrill; not just of winning but of seeing how Adir’s interest in her had obviously made David jealous and seemed to turn him on.
She headed over to the small bar at one side of the room and grabbed a bottle of vodka from the glass shelf. She turned around, snatching a clean glass from below the bar and plunked it on the counter.
David had gotten up, too and now joined her, leaning on the bar with his forearms as he studied her face. He didn't say anything for a few moments and when she finally dared to look at him, she saw that same fire, that burning desire alight in his eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, smiling for what seemed like the first time in a long time and shaking his head at her. "And what have you done with my wife?"
Kate smirked, tilting the bottle back. But her hand shook so much that she nearly spilled the booze on the counter. Reaching forward to take the bottle from her, David's hand touched hers, and when it did, she felt an electric charge, the same one from when they were first dating, one that had been missing for months now.
They locked eyes, unable to look away from one another, David watching her the entire time he poured her drink.
"I've been here all along. Maybe you just haven't noticed."
For a brief moment, she could see a flash of regret in his eyes, but as he handed her the drink and Kate allowed her fingers to trail up his arm before accepting, the desire came back, more pronounced than ever.
"You're right. I haven't. But I'm noticing now. And so is he." He gestured over his shoulder to Adir, who had come back into the room and was heading toward them.
Kate raised one eyebrow and smiled devilishly. "Oh? Does that bother you?"
"So, I see you two are still here and getting to know one another. You still up for something a little more risqué?" Adir asked with a devilish grin, sliding his arm around Kate.
"What did you have in mind?" Kate said, playing up the femme fatale for her husband's sake as much as for her own.
"You remember the old days, right Kitty-Kat?"
"I certainly do."
"Do I even want to know?" David said, watching Kate as she sauntered around the bar to join the two.
"Oh it's only a little bit bad," she said, tracing David’s jaw with her fingertip as she passed by him. "But it'll make you feel so good."
Adir's booming laughter filled the room as they headed back toward the table with David following behind them.
They settled around the table and David's gaze darted from one back to the other, obviously not too comfortable not being in control. As Kate took the cards and started shuffling, she could see she had his full attention and she was going to milk it for all it was worth.
"The game is strip poker, gentlemen. Shoes, socks, belts--none of those things count so you might as well take them off now.
"Seriously? That doesn't seem very fair to me." David said, but Kate knew exactly how to get him to comply.
She pulled her chair out, propping one high-heeled foot on the seat to show off her shapely legs. "House rules, mister."
She leaned forward slowly, allowing her ample breasts to fall forward for both men to see before pressing them against her leg as she leaned down, trailing her fingernails down to reach the strap secured to her shoe.
"Yes m'a'am," Adir said, kicking off his shoes and yanking off both his socks and belt without argument.
Kate tilted her chin down, looking up at her husband from under heavy lidded eyes and pouting her full lips out in mock sadness. "You're not going to bow out are you, David? This won't be any fun without you."
He stood there for a moment, his broad shoulders rising and falling rhythmically as he watched her tease. "You know what?" he said suddenly. "I think I will."
For a brief moment, Kate felt the sting of rejection in the pit of her stomach as she watched David back away slowly. He planted himself in one of the lounger chairs across from the table and crossed his arms over his chest.
"But that doesn't mean I don't want to watch," he said with a sexy grin.
Twelve
For once, David managed to surprise Kate. She raised one eyebrow in his direction, and when he winked at her, her body throbbed in anticipation. As she continued to remove her high-heels, she switched feet, making sure to arch her back so her ass was on full display for him. He leaned back and seemed to be enjoying the show. His legs were set wide apart, with one hand on the armrest and the other sitting on his thigh, right above the unmistakable bulge in his pants.
Kate kicked off her shoes, slowly walking around the table to take a seat, sashaying her hips in the process. Adir had been watching her too, and he pulled her chair out for her, waiting for her to lower herself into it before pla
nting one hand on either shoulder. His hands were warm, firm. Unable to control how her body reacted, Kate could feel a heat tingling in her thighs, a desire she longed to have quenched. Soon.
"So," she said, looking up at Adir, whose gaze was focused squarely on her breasts, which he seemed to have the perfect vantage point. She sat up a little straighter to tease him with a better view. "It looks like it's just you and me...as long as you don't mind an audience."
Adir leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "I guess the more, the merrier," he said as he gave a nervous laugh.
Kate split the deck and quickly flicked the cards together as she shuffled them, surprised to see not jealousy but a mixture of awe and desire in David's eyes. She had to admit, she kind of wanted him to jump up and take a run at Adir, fighting over her to show her he felt some bit of possessiveness over her. Instead, she watched his hand slowly drifted to his crotch as he began to massage himself through his pants. Kate knew that this time, she was in control and David liked it that way...and much to her surprise, so did she. She could feel her panties getting wet and she had to take a deep breath so she could focus on the task at hand. After all, if this was what it took to stoke the passion between her and David again, well, then so be it.
"So, what's the game tonight? Texas Hold 'em? A little Five Card Stud?"
"I was thinking something a little different," Kate said, swishing the cards together before dealing. "How about a little Follow the Queen?"