by Remi Wild
Eric slaps the bar and turns to me, flashing me an excited grin. “Bartender, we need eight shots of tequila.”
“Oh, boy,” I mutter. I’m doomed.
We drop our shots, and hit the dance floor. Eric yanks me into his arms, holding me tight as we grind against each other. Exploring each other with our hands, we slowly sway to the fast-moving beat.
Absorbed in each other, we dance the night away. Mel and Leo dance up next to us, grinding against us, urging us to break it up and get crazy. We pry ourselves apart and join them, dancing and laughing.
I’m stunned to realize that this feels exactly like it did when we were in college, as if not a bad moment passed between us.
I’m amazed that this turned out for the better.
It could’ve been bad.
A twinge of guilt nags me; I’m partially responsible for the last three years of strained silences and damaged friendships.
It wasn’t intentional, but still…
Eric and Leo were inseparable until I came along. Eric broke guy code to be with me—he was willing to give up his best friend, and he did, but not because he wanted to, but because Leo went on to break guy code in the worst way, when he proclaimed his undying love to me while giving his drunken best man toast to the groom at our wedding.
It was a shock to Eric because Leo had maintained that he was in complete support of Eric, of us, but apparently, he wasn’t. They’ve been at odds ever since.
The whole situation has been awkward, but frankly, I’m with Melanie: I want my friends the way they were.
Hearing Eric laugh with Leo is music to my ears, and it only makes me want him more. Grabbing his hand, I drag him towards the bathroom. What I have to say to him, can’t wait.
Inside the stall, our lips are everywhere, kissing, sucking, needing. Somehow, we manage to contort ourselves, just so. His pants are undone, my skirt is pushed up, and he lifts me while I wrap my legs around his waist.
His hands grip my ass, squeezing, teasing. One hand moves along the line of my thong and tears it from my waist as he slides into me, slamming me against the wall of the flimsy stall—the whole thing creeks and groans as he pounds into me.
I say a fast prayer, asking that we don’t take down the wall, and then hang on, enjoying the ride.
Someone in the next stall is laughing.
Someone is cheering.
Can’t make out the words…I’m…so…close…
Releasing an elated growl, Eric comes as I grind harder, pushing myself to the same end while biting his shoulder to muffle my typical orgasmic scream. It’s so hard to be quiet, but it’s not like they don’t know what we’re doing in here, so I let it go, screaming. I mean, what the hell, right?
Breathless, Eric leans into me, pinning me against the wall, kissing me hard as my legs fall. His lips are all over me, but then he stops, sighs, kisses my nose, and pulls away. Smoothing our clothes, we casually exit the stall and are greeted with applause. Rushing from the bathroom, we’re laughing like teenagers riding a sexual high. We hit the dance floor, joining Mel and Leo as if nothing happened.
Chapter Five
We’ve had a blast, but by ten o’clock, the club is packed, and we both want to escape. Mostly we need to be alone and naked. Now, as Eric and I hop into a cab, we can’t keep our hands off each other. He pulls from my lips briefly, to tell the cabbie our address.
Climbing onto his lap, I grab at his fly, desperate for more, even though we’re in a cab.
The cabbie bangs on the glass. “No screwing in my car, you two.”
Giggling, I crawl off Eric’s lap, but he turns to me, leaning in for more. There is an unnamed aggression in our kissing, like we’ve released a huge burden and need to satiate an epic hangry. His hands are everywhere. I’m dying to be naked, dying for him to have his way with me—and vice versa.
The cab arrives at our house. We stumble from the car, and into each other’s arms, joined at the lips while trying to make our way to the front door.
Somehow, we make it into the house, but crash land inside the door, collapsing into a horny heap on the floor. Chia, who normally greets us with excitement has left us as if she’s ashamed to see us this way.
Within seconds we’re naked, devouring each other, fighting each other’s lips to be the aggressor. Pinning my arms above my head, he enters me, hard and fast, but then stops, relishing in the feel, the heat.
Our eyes connect just before his lips take mine and the thrill level explodes. He moves slightly, and I come undone, shrieking as I grind against him, desperate for him to give me more, give me everything.
He releases my hands, and I grab his face, pulling his lips to mine as he slams into me just a couple of times, and then stops, angling his hips, pushing himself into me, deeper. Tipping his head back he roars as he comes, I pump him for every last drop.
Our bodies relax, almost as if a full-body sigh has been released. My head rolls from side to side across the floor. Body and soul, I’m floating on a cloud, Heaven.
Blanketing me with his body, he reaches for my lips, kissing me tenderly. My heart aches with the intense love I have for this man—he is literally my other half, my whole world.
“God, I love you, Eric,” I breathe between kisses.
He pulls back and gazes deep into my eyes, into my soul. “I love you, more,” he says with a saucy grin, and I swear his baby blues look glassy, as if he’s every bit as affected by this moment as I am. He takes my lips, kissing me slow and sensual, teasing me with his tongue, nibbling on my quivering lips.
My weightless body has become one with the floor. I could die happy, right here, right now.
How did I get this lucky? You hear about it, and read about it, and Hollywood tries to take a convincing swing at it, but being in love isn’t something you can easily explain. I only know that I fall more in love with this man every day.
My heart and soul craves his presence, and when I am not with him, I think about being with him. When he comes home from work, my body aches for him—it’s a need I can’t explain and will absolutely fight to keep.
Fiona and her six-inch, fuck-me pumps invades my mind, but I push her out. Forcing my thoughts back to the delicious man between my legs, I grin.
Nope.
Not having it.
She and every other woman in the world can fantasize all they want, but they can’t have him. This man is all mine, heart and soul. As I think the words, a sick knot sneaks into my stomach, reminding me of the agony I would experience if I lost him. It’s unimaginable, but I wouldn’t be the first woman who was in love with a man who left her, and it wouldn’t be the first time someone cheated on me.
Would Eric cheat on me?
Would he leave me?
Because at this exact moment, I can’t fathom the idea. He would never, has never, hurt me.
I feel him throb as he begins to move against me. This time we go slow, making love, kissing, touching, connecting…
Waking up, wrapped in Eric’s arms is like a dream. I pull back slightly from his embrace, resting my chin on his chest as I seek out his eyes in the dark. He is awake—I sense him smiling, that sweet adoring smile. “Hey, baby,” he coos.
“I love that you let me crush you and don’t wake me.” It really is thoughtful.
He chuckles, but there is a knowing tone to it. I laugh, rolling my eyes, waiting for what I know comes next. “I want to be on the road in twenty.”
“It’s still dark outside.” I groan, wanting to snuggle back in and sleep.
“It won’t be dark for long.” He nudges me to move. “If we hurry, we’ll make sunrise.”
Groaning, I roll over and out of bed, heading to the shower. He’s so predictable, but I adore our getaway spot. It’s our thing, has been since college.
***
The colors dance upon the water from the rising sun, creating a reflective illusion, like something created by Monet. We’ve been on the water for nearly an hour, trying to catch somet
hing, but neither of us has had any luck. My stomach growls, it’s loud and whiny.
“Shh,” Eric hisses.
Rolling my eyes, I giggle, reeling in my line. “I need food.”
Sighing with resolve, but clearly frustrated, Eric pulls in his reel and climbs onto the seat next to me, pulling me into his embrace. I unwrap a granola bar, take a bite, and hold it up for him to also take a bite. We snuggle like this, sipping our coffee, sharing a bar, watching the sunrise over the trees.
“I’ll never get bored of this,” I say, as a contented breath escapes me. It’s so relaxing out here, so quiet. We spend enough time here, that it has become like home…a weekend without it would not be the same—it’s restorative and with our stressful jobs, we need this. Many epic sunrises and sunsets have been spent on this tiny fishing boat, on this lake, our Utopia.
His arm tightens around me. “I just love having you all to myself,” he says.
Glancing up at him, I grin, but notice a slight frown. He’s had time to think, to ponder the events from yesterday. “Are you really ok with everything that went down, I mean, with Leo? I swear I…”
“It’s ok, I know you would never do anything…Mel just likes stirring shit up, on occasion.” He releases a heavy sigh as if trying to find the words for what he wants to say. “Look, I won’t lie, I panicked when I got the text. It was short-lived because I know you love me, but I couldn’t help but wonder what brought it on—why the Leo dig? It’s like you were, or Mel was…trying to get at me for something…intentionally.” I can’t lie to this man, he sees it in my eyes, he knows there’s something wrong. “What’s going on, Becky?”
Pulling from his embrace, I sit cross-legged facing him, twirling my fingers nervously. I don’t know how to tell him about Fiona without coming off as a needy bitch.
I’m seriously struggling with the words, when he cups my chin and forces me to look him in the eye. Like a big baby, tears begin to pour from me as I try but fail to suck back the sobs. He waits for me to compose myself, reaching over to hand me a towel.
After a minute or so, I catch my breath, prepared to do this. There can be no secrets between us, no lies—it can’t be any other way. “Yesterday, when I came to meet you at the office, I stopped in the bathroom…while I was in the stall, I heard a woman on the phone, telling her friend that she was going to lunch with a married man…that she was planning to sleep with him…that he had cancelled lunch with his wife, and she wanted the chance to be alone with him…to…sway him…” I search Eric’s eyes, willing him to catch on.
As the realization of who I’m talking about hits him, his eyes bulge with horror. He stutters, “Not...Fiona?” I nod, his eyes grow wider as he points at his own chest. “Me?” I nod again. “Shit,” he hisses.
“Yup.”
He recovers, leaning forward and pulling me back into his arms. “Oh, babe, I’m sorry. That had to be awful to hear, and then finding us at the restaurant?” He chuckles, disbelieving.
“I told Mel…it’s why she went stupid.”
As he pulls away, he nods, getting it all now. “Look, Becky, I have to work with Fiona, that can’t be helped. Now that I know this though…Jeez.” He pauses, tilting his head as a thought occurs to him. “Umm, I invited her over for dinner next Friday…You two seemed to hit it off…I had no idea…I’ll cancel.”
“No, don’t cancel. Look, at one time or another we may have to deal with this thing. If you weren’t just so freaking hot…” I grin, teasingly. “I feel a hundred-percent better, now that you know about this and we’re cool. I would have talked to you about it last night, but Melanie messed with that plan.”
“Yeah, but it’s going to be awkward.”
“Meh. I’m sure Fiona will move on once she knows you’re not up for grabs.”
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely!”
He huffs, “Melanie…”
“Yeah…She’s right about one thing: it’s time you and Leo put the wedding behind you. Leo and I work together and it’s only ever been work…” Taken aback, I laugh at my blatant hypocrisy. “Now we’re even, I guess. You couldn’t have been okay with me working with Leo…”
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You’re just doing your job. To be honest, I got used to it, and I trust you—I know you wouldn’t break your promise to me, or your vows.”
There has never been a need to assure him of my devotion to us, to our marriage—he knows he has me. “Last night was fun—it was great hanging out again—I missed that…I had a blast, but it was so much better once you got there and joined in. It felt like old times, you know?”
He nods, a half-grin curls his sexy lips. “I particularly liked our visit to the restroom.”
So, it wasn’t our first stint in a bathroom stall. “Ha-ha, I was referring to you and Leo making up, and you know it.”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss him—he was my best friend…”
“He was just drunk and stupid…I still don’t believe he meant it. I mean this is Leo we’re talking about…”
“At the time, it felt more like a blatant attack, and the fact that he did it at our wedding…”
“He can’t take it back…you guys used to be inseparable…before me.”
“Before you, I didn’t know how good life could be.”
“Awwwww,” I coo, melting a little.
He takes my hand and kisses my fingers, one at a time, peering at me through hooded eyes, teasing me with that coy grin. The throbbing between my legs starts, but I restrain myself, giggling. We’ve never gotten out of hand on the boat—too many other fishermen passing by, most of them we know…it wouldn’t be right, but man am I tempted.
Chapter Six
A morning of unsuccessful fishing is always followed by an afternoon lounge by our pool and then bar-b-que. I’m with Eric, so this makes for the perfect Saturday. Neither of us really have any energy after last night’s epic sex-fest. I feel amazing, weak, but amazing.
Giddy, I’m floating from moment to moment on invisible clouds. I am literally that happy with my marriage.
God, I adore Eric.
No one could make me happier.
Also, super stoked that Leo and Eric have decided to bury the hatchet. Leo only wanted me once his best friend fell in love. I’m not sure whether it was lust or just the fact that his friend won me. Or maybe it really was just an alcohol induced pity-party—we’ve all had those.
Leo and I only dated for a few months and not exclusively—at least, I was exclusive, but he was dedicated to any woman within a five-mile radius. He’s always been a skirt-chaser, even when he was professing his undying love for me, he had another woman, ready and waiting. It’s gross, and it’s the main reason I fell for Eric—he’s the total opposite of Leo in every way.
Mostly, Eric represented everything that I wanted out of life—a husband, a partner, a best friend, and the physical attraction is out of this world. I was never that into Leo. Yeah, the sex was awesome, but it didn’t exactly leave me in the same condition I’m in today—totally and completely head over heels in love-lust.
Still, as friends, we had a blast. Leo has always been a free spirit. But he has a huge heart and at times it’s like talking to a girlfriend. I know he’d do anything for us, even when we weren’t on speaking terms. Even though I had promised to not socialize with him, we still had short conversations at work because with Leo it is so easy to talk. He literally isn’t shocked by anything, and he’s up for it all.
The fact that Eric will be hanging out with Leo again is fantastic. Eric spends too much time on work, and the only people he hangs with are me, Mel, family, and a couple of co-workers. He hasn’t had a bestie since Leo. I so hope they can fully patch things up—Eric could use a reprieve from the seriousness of lawyering.
My phone starts to chirp, so I blindly reach out, patting the cushion until I have it in hand.
It’s a text, from Leo.
Bringing replacement phone by…
A frustrated sigh escapes my lips.
“What’s up,” Eric asks, chilling behind his shades.
“Leo’s bringing a replacement phone…Yesterday, I accidentally bumped into him and dropped my phone. He wants to replace it, even though I told him that I had a spare…”
“Well, why don’t you text Melanie, we can all hang?”
What the—what?
I swing to him, blown away. “Really?”
He still doesn’t move; his body is totally focused on the chill. “Yeah. I meant when I said; I want to move on…”
I laugh, surprised by his sincere embracing of Leo. I honestly never imagined they’d reconcile. “OK.” I text Melanie and extend the invite to Leo to chill by the pool. “They’re both in.”
“Cool.” As he says it, his phone starts to ring—it’s his office ringtone.
“Shit,” I whisper under my breath.
He sits up and takes the call, rising to walk and talk for privacy.
It’s probably Fiona.
I’m positive it’s her.
No one else would bother him at home. The only case he’s focused on is the one they are working on together…
It’s definitely Fiona.
The color drains from my face and my heart sinks. That claw of insecurity grips my stomach again, forcing my nasty insecurities out of the closet. I do try to keep them locked away, but sometimes it’s unavoidable—like when a total bombshell is stalking my husband like he’s the hottest thing on the menu. Well he is, but he’s all mine.
Focusing on his ripped body, I admire his finely chiseled back, and his tight round ass that fills out his swim shorts perfectly. Lusting after my husband is a gift, I don’t take it lightly, and I’m totally committed to the craft.
Couldn’t even imagine being married to someone I didn’t find attractive…I couldn’t do it. But, with the intense passion comes the green-eyed monster, a monster I hide from Eric at all costs. In his absence, she occasionally rears her ugly head.
Plopping back on the lounger, I focus on the heat of the sun, and try to forget all about Fiona. Until yesterday, I was totally secure with our marriage, with myself.