The Wrong Husband

by B. M. Hardin

  He didn’t look better than Eddie though, but he did have a sort of swag about him that would make a woman notice him before they would notice my husband.

  My husband was simple.

  Even when he wore his suits, they were always pretty simple.

  He was basic.

  Normal.

  But Polo was a different story.

  He always looked good in whatever he wore and he wasn’t afraid to make the style his own or play around with colors.

  He definitely caught your eye that was for sure.

  And if the way that he looked didn’t make you notice him, his personality would.

  He was funny.

  Very witty and used his vocabulary in a way that I’d seen blow the minds of every woman that he had a conversation with.

  I’d watched him weave his web of deceit time and time again and women fell for it every single time.

  But that’s just who he was.

  A womanizer.

  Nothing more. Nothing less.

  I pulled off and drove like a bat out of hell and headed to the park.

  I couldn’t wait to talk to Micki.

  “Hey girl,” she said at the sight of me and we both smiled at the kids as all five of them ran towards the playground.

  Micki had three kids and one of which was my nephew.

  Though we were friends first, she used to date my little brother and although things didn’t work out between them, we’d still remained the best of friends.

  “So what’s been going on with you lately?”

  “Same ole, same ole. What about you? Is Eddie hitting that thing like he used to yet?” Micki laughed.

  As I said, we told each other everything.

  “Actually, things couldn’t be better with Eddie and I. We are fine but—,” I started to say and Micki waited for me to finish.

  “Polo has been flirting with me,” I confessed to her.

  “Well, it’s about damn time,” she replied.

  I looked at her confused.

  “Girl don’t play. Chile, I peeped it a long time ago. He’s had a thing for you for years. I could see it in his eyes when he looked at you. I could see how his body tensed up if you got too close to him as though he was scared to inhale the scent of your skin out of fear of wanting to jump your bones or something. It’s always been obvious to me. The only people that couldn’t see it were you and Eddie,” Micki said.

  I tried to think back to the previous years to see if there was any truth to what she was saying, but I just couldn’t see it.

  Polo had never done anything to indicate that he had some kind of thing for me until recently.

  We’d been alone plenty of times and he was always around, but never had he made a pass at me or seemed uncomfortable by my presence.

  “At one point I thought that maybe you guys had some kind of affair or something going on and he was just whipped by the booty, but I figured that you would have told me if you guys had sex or something. So now he’s making it clear Sassi?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Well, what are you going to do about it? Have you told Eddie?”

  “Yeah, well, no. I mean, I mentioned it and he said that he was going to talk to Polo.”

  “Well what I want to know is would you?”

  “Would I what?”

  “Would you do Polo?”

  I looked at her and rolled my eyes.

  “What? I can’t answer that Micki.”

  “Sure you can. Would you do Polo? You gotta’ give it to him, not only is he fine, but we’ve heard about how good he is in bed. So, if you weren’t with Eddie, would you do him?”

  I thought about her question, and I was disappointed by my answer, so I kept it to myself.

  “I plead the fifth,” I giggled.

  “Um huh, I bet you do.”

  ~***~

  “Excuse me,” Polo said touching the small of my back.

  “Really Polo? Stop it.”

  “ What? I said excuse me,” he said, reaching for the bottle of wine on the counter.

  He lingered for a second too long, breathing on my neck and my left ear.

  He chuckled softly.

  “You have no idea what I would do to you,” he said softly.

  “Not a damn thing. And if you keep it up, I’m going to tell Eddie.”

  “Go ahead. Who do you think he’s going to believe? Me or you?”

  Hell, he had a point there.

  “Just stop okay.”

  “For now. But one of these days…”

  And then headed back out of the kitchen.

  I stood at the sink and internally scowled myself.

  Why did I have goosebumps?

  Why did I have butterflies in the pit of my belly?

  It was as though a surge of energy had shot from my chest, rolled around in my belly and then thumped me on my throbbing clit.

  I wasn’t aroused, but I was something.

  Maybe it was because Eddie and I hadn’t had sex in a while.

  He’d stopped taking the pills because he’d said that they were giving him headaches.

  He also said that another side effect of them was that days after taking one it would be hard for him to pee.

  But he wouldn’t even think about touching me without them, or let me touch him.

  I’d tried, but he would refuse.

  I told him to try it without one of them, just once.

  Maybe the pills had his stamina back where it needed to be and he might even discover that he no longer needed any assistance.

  But he wouldn’t do it no matter how much I begged.

  He just said that he would take one of the pills soon and asked if I could wait until then for sex.

  I really wondered if Eddie would believe Polo over me.

  I was his wife, but Polo was his best friend.

  I truly didn’t know if he would take my word over his.

  That alone was a sad case all in itself.

  “Whoo!” I jumped at his touch.

  “What’s wrong baby? I scared you?” Eddie said.

  “A little. I was daydreaming.”

  “Oh really? About what?”

  “You.”

  At least it wasn’t a lie.

  Eddie smiled.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I loved you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “How much?”

  “More than you will ever know.”

  That was the realest thing I’d said in a long time.

  I did love him and the love that I had for him is what gave me the strength to keep pressing on.

  “Are you going to be tired later? Or do you want me to pop a pill in a few?” Eddie whispered in my ear and then licked it.

  Tickled, I nodded my head yes.

  Those pills had given him a little boost of confidence too and regularly he was being all nasty and stuff.

  He was finally becoming a little more comfortable with admitting that he needed the assistance.

  At first he wouldn’t even say the word “pill”.

  He was only in his thirties, so I was sure that it bothered him but it was what it was.

  Maybe one day he would get his mojo back and if he didn’t, thank heavens for modern medicine.

  “Ugh, get a room,” Polo said, walking in and looking in the cabinet for more alcohol.

  Eddie immediately moved away from me and started talking to him.

  “You don’t need anything else to drink because you need to be able to drive home,” I said to Polo with condemning eyes.

  He sat the bottle down on the counter.

  “You’re right. I need to get ready to go anyway.”

  He sat his glass down beside it and then he and Eddie high fived.

  “Why do you drink so much anyway?” Eddie quizzed him.

  “That’s what people do when they’re unhappy. They drink.”

  And with that he reached walked o
ver and gave me a pound and patted Eddie on the shoulder.

  Eddie walked him to the door and when he returned to the kitchen, he smiled.

  “I’m going to take the pill and run you a bath. I’ll see you when you get done,” he said and headed to our bedroom.

  I finished the dishes and finished straightening up the kitchen and once I was all done, I picked up my phone from the table.

  I had two messages, so I checked them.

  Both were from Polo.

  “I drink because I’m unhappy. I’m unhappy because I can’t have you.”

  That was his first message.

  The second message said:

  “Erase these messages.”

  And just as he’d suggested, I erased them.

  Oh hell…

  What was I getting myself into?

  ~***~

  “Are you writing again?” Eddie asked.

  I had been finding anytime that I could to start writing.

  I’d even managed to apply for a few writing jobs, but since I hadn’t heard anything yet, I was working hard at trying to write a book.

  Things were moving slowly, but day by day, I was finding new things to write about and it seemed as though everywhere I turned, I found some type of inspiration.

  “Yes, only for a little while longer.”

  “No, come on baby. You said that a little while ago.”

  “I know, I’m just really into it.”

  “For what? It ain’t like you don’t already have a real job. Writing that little book is getting all of our quality time. Hubby before hobby baby. Hubby before hobby.”

  For some reason, Eddie’s words stung my heart like a thousand bees.

  This little book?

  Hubby before hobby?

  I knew that he wasn’t intentionally trying to be mean but at the moment he did sound unsupportive as hell.

  I’d been telling him for years that writing was where my heart is but I guess he had said how he really felt about it.

  But I closed the laptop and headed to give him the time that he’d asked for.

  Our relationship was in a decent place and there wasn’t any reason to start an argument.

  The kids were already asleep so for the next two hours I cuddled with Eddie.

  I pretended to watch the movie with him until he fell asleep.

  As soon as I heard him snore, I slid out of bed and headed back into the living room.

  But I’d be damned if I didn’t get one hell of a surprise.

  Polo was sitting there.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I used my spare key to get in.”

  “That’s not what I asked you. I asked you what you were doing here,” I said with an attitude.

  Of course he had a key to our place and we had one to his; though we hardly ever went over there because he always came to us.

  I was surprised that I hadn’t even heard him come in, nor had he called to say that he was coming.

  Polo just looked at me and didn’t respond.

  I couldn’t tell if he was drunk or not, but I was sure that he probably was.

  “Eddie is asleep so you can let yourself out,” I said to him and headed to the desk but discovered that my laptop wasn’t there.

  “I got dropped off over here. It’s closer than my house and I didn’t want this new chick that I’m seeing to know where I lived. I’d been drinking at the restaurant and she wouldn’t let me drive myself. So, I had her bring me here.”

  I didn’t give him any eye contact.

  Actually, I was still looking for my laptop.

  “Oh, it’s right here,” he said.

  I looked at him to see that my laptop was beside him.

  “I read it. It’s amazing. I can’t wait until you’re done. I always knew that you would make a great writer,” he praised me and I walked over to him.

  Hearing him say those words made my heart smile.

  “Really Polo?”

  “Yeah, you’re gonna be great at this writing thing. I always knew it. So, here, write your heart out,” he said handing me the laptop.

  “Thank you.”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve always wondered when you were going to go for it. I can’t wait to see the finished product. Or see you name on a best-sellers list. I want an autographed copy.”

  “Sure.”

  Wow.

  Even Polo was more supportive than Eddie.

  Now that through me for a loop.

  We chatted about writing for a little while longer.

  “So is it cool if I crash on the couch?”

  He asked taking off his shoes and stretching out before I even answered.

  I didn’t even respond.

  I simply headed to get him a blanket.

  I reached it towards him and just as he took it he touched my hand.

  What was this that I was feeling?

  “Thank you.”

  His hand touched mine for a second longer and then he took the blanket, covered himself up, and turned his back to me.

  “Polo, nothing can happen between us.”

  Without turning back around to face me, he responded.

  “If you say so.”

  Taking the laptop with me, I placed it on the dresser, glanced at Eddie and then headed to the bathroom.

  I locked the bathroom door, turned on the shower, and then laid on the bathroom floor.

  Finding my spot, I touched myself like never before, but for the first time I didn’t imagine as though I was having really good sex with my husband.

  I imagined that I was having sex with Polo instead.

  ~***~

  “When will you be coming back home?”

  “Well, I was going to come before heading to France to visit my father. But he decided that we should meet up in Paris, since that was where I was heading next. He and his new wife wanted to go there too,” Patrice said with disgust.

  She hated the fact that her father remarried, but he deserved to live out the rest of his days with someone, in love, in my opinion.

  “Oh. Well, I miss you.”

  “Miss you too.”

  “I have so much to tell you.”

  “About Polo? Micki beat you to it. I talked to her the other day and she told me.”

  “Dang. Can I at least share my own problem?”

  Micki always had talked too much.

  “I don’t like Polo. I never have. So, I say stay away from him.”

  “You don’t like him because he is a male version of you.”

  “No. I just don’t like him. Something about him.”

  “You barely like Eddie.”

  “I like him more than Polo.”

  She always said that. Personally, I thought that secretly she’d always hoped that Polo showed her some kind of interest, but he hadn’t.

  “Well, if you decide to give him the booty, I hope it’s even worse than having sex with Eddie,” Patrice said.

  I didn’t bother to tell her that Eddie and I had been having good sex lately.

  She would just find something negative to say about that too.

  We conversed for a few more seconds and then we got off of the phone.

  I was about to go on my lunch break, and a small girl wearing a hat and carrying balloons and flowers came in.

  I smiled thinking that they were from Eddie, but reading the card, they were from Polo.

  “Just something to make you smile.”

  And they had done just yet.

  This was definitely not appropriate, but I found myself smiling anyway.

  “Nice flowers.”

  I looked up to see Eddie.

  What was he doing here?

  “I came to take you to lunch. Who are the flowers from?”

  I had to think of a lie fast so I said that my boss had given them to me as a thank you for all of my hard work.

  I wasn’t sure if Eddie bought the story or not, but he didn’t say anything.
r />   I balled up the small card from Polo and dropped it in the trash can.

  Yikes!

  That could have gone a lot different…

  ~***~

  “Hey.”

  I was so uncomfortable.

  “Hey.”

  “Can I tell you something?”

  I looked at Polo.

  It seemed as though every time he opened his mouth nonsense fell out of it.

  “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  He was on my mind, a lot, lately, and not in a friendly way; in a nasty, freaky way.

  I was so ashamed.

  I felt so bad and dirty and it was hard for me to keep it all together.

  I found myself asking why did he have to be my husband’s best friend?

  And because he’d helped Eddie trick me into loving him, was my reality that I should have really married my husband’s best friend instead?

  I looked at Polo as he headed back over to sit down beside my husband.

  It was Easter, and all of our family and friends were here.

  I watched Polo as he talked and as he sipped from his glass.

  I was definitely seeing him in a different light and I hated it.

  I hated feeling some kind of way about him that I knew that I wasn’t supposed to feel.

  Polo and I were sneaking and texting, all day, every day.

  Eddie was too busy most of the time to even noticed.

  And it seemed as though every day Polo was surprising me with some of the things that he said and some of his thoughts.

  He showered me with encouragement and every day that we texted for hours on end, we seemed to grow closer and closer.

  And I was terrified of what could possibly be the outcome.

  Shaking it off, I headed to join them.

  I sat beside Eddie’s mother as she talked.

  For the most part, Eddie’s mother and I had never had a problem.

  She was quite fond of me and I’ll admit, she was a pretty good mother-in-law too.

  “Hey darling, so Eddie tells me that you have been writing lately,” she said.

  “Yep and I wish she would stop.”

  I looked at Eddie with hatred in my eyes.

  “All she do is write. Half of the time I have to remind her that she has a husband and kids. That laptop is getting all of her time and attention. I blame you for buying that thing Polo,” Eddie said.

  Ugh, his lack of support with my writing was really starting get on my nerves.

  Bastard!