and the sad reality is that yes, some people have affairs.” Now Lishelle faces me. “I am in no way saying you should have an affair. But then, that’s not my decision to make. If things are rough with Charles and you’ve tried all you can and you need to get some sex on the side…” She shrugs. “I’ll support you, whatever you decide.”
“Wonders never cease,” Claudia mutters.
“Annelise is a grown woman, and we’re not her parents. We’re her friends.”
As Lishelle and Claudia banter back and forth about what’s morally right, my mind drifts to Dominic. I can’t stop thinking about him. Even last night, when I was so pissed with Charles about Arizona, I began comforting myself with thoughts of Dominic. I’ll bet he wouldn’t balk at the idea of going to a sex spa. I’ll bet he couldn’t pack his bags fast enough.
That’s exactly what I imagined last night as Charles lay with his back to me, snoring. I thought of me and Dominic walking into a magnificent room at a resort tucked away in an Arizona desert, with a fire already going in the living room’s fireplace. Of course, there was a bottle of champagne chilling, and excited, Dom took my hand and hurried into the room with me. We both laughed like teenagers. Then he scooped me in his arms and twirled me around, and I clung to him, knowing that within minutes we’d be naked and having the best sex of our lives.
In my dream, once the twirling stopped, Dominic laid a heavy kiss on me, his tongue twisting with mine. I grabbed at his shirt, ripping it in my haste to get it off. Then I went for his jeans, unzipping them and shimmying them down his hips with his briefs. I moaned in delight at the sight of his penis—large and solid and angling to my right.
I took it in my hands, stroked him as I kissed the tip. Stroked him as I added my tongue, tasting the flavor of salt. Then I ran my tongue in circles around the top of his cock.
“Christ, Annie…”
Pressing my fingers into his ass, I took him into my mouth as far as I could. In and out I moved around him the way my pussy would.
Dominic tangled his fingers in my hair. “I can’t take this. I don’t want to come yet.”
He tugged me to my feet and pulled my simple black dress over my head. When he saw I was wearing nothing underneath, not even panties, his eyes roamed over me with heated appreciation. Then he kicked off his jeans and dropped to his knees, giving me not even a moment to catch my breath as he sucked my clit into his mouth and devoured it with his hot tongue.
With Charles beside me, it was too risky to get the vibrator, but I pushed two fingers as far as I could inside my body with one hand, while with the other I massaged my nub until I was panting.
“Oh, Dom…”
I stole a quick glance at Charles, wondering if my moans had wakened him. They hadn’t.
I slipped another finger into my pussy, imagining Dominic pushing his tongue inside me as far as he could go. I imagined gripping his head, staring into his eyes as he twirled his hot tongue over my clit.
And, fuck, I started to come. I had to bite down on my bottom lip to quiet my moans, certain I’d wake Charles.
But Charles never stirred.
“Annelise!” I feel an urgent slap on my hand.
“Huh?” I say, confused for a moment as to where I am. And then I remember. I’m with my friends. In a restaurant. And I’ve just wet my panties remembering my hot fantasy of last night with Greek God, Dominic.
“You look totally flushed,” Claudia says. “Are you all right?”
I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Holy shit, I can’t believe I just zoned out like that. Here! And now I have to scramble to remember what we were talking about.
“You do look a little…something,” Lishelle tells me.
I take a huge gulp of my drink. And then I remember. We were discussing the pros and cons of me cheating with Dominic. Of course, I already have—in my mind.
“I’m probably all talk, anyway,” I assure Claudia. I drag a hand over my face in an attempt to regain my composure. I really am flushed. “There’s a big part of me that believes I’ll burn in hell for even thinking I might want to have an affair.”
“Maybe you should try something else, but still drastic,” Claudia counters.
I look at Claudia. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Like…like going to a swingers’ club or something. That ought to get Charles’s attention.”
“A swingers’ club?” Lishelle jerks her head in Claudia’s direction so fast it’s a wonder her neck doesn’t break. “Where did that come from?”
“Yeah, where did that come from?” I echo, though I remember Claudia telling me about Adam’s craving for weird sex these days.
Claudia gulps her mimosa before speaking. “It was just…I saw something on HBO about swingers’ clubs a while ago. Just an idea. Something different.”
“I have a hard enough time trying to get Charles to have sex with me,” I point out. “I don’t want to watch him get hot and bothered for anyone else.”
“Of course. Forget I even said it.”
“Honestly, it’s not like there’s anything I haven’t tried. I even rented porn in hopes that it would turn him on. He didn’t even stay up to watch it with me.”
“That would get Adam off,” Claudia mutters.
“Do you think he’s having an affair?” Lishelle asks me point blank. “Because when David stopped having sex with me—” Lishelle stops speaking, her eyes narrowing as she turns to Claudia. I look at her, too. She’s quietly crying.
“Okay,” Lishelle says. “What’s going on, babe?”
“I’m being testy and miserable, and it has nothing to do with you, Annie.”
“I’m not mad at you, honey,” I tell her. “Please don’t cry.”
“That’s not it.”
“It’s not about the dresses, is it?” Lishelle asks. “Because if you want violet—”
“It’s not the dresses.” Claudia blows her nose in her napkin.
“I’m starting to worry here, Claudia,” I tell her.
“I did something last night,” Claudia begins quietly. “And I feel so awful. So dirty. But Adam ambushed me with this. He told me how much it would turn him on if I did it.” Claudia squeezes her eyes shut. “Oh, God…”
My heart is racing, that’s how concerned I am for her. “What, hon? What did he make you do?”
Claudia inhales a deep breath, and glances around to make sure no one is within earshot. “After his speech, he took me to some utility room. He wanted to make out, like he always does. And that was fine. He gets off doing it in risqué places. But then…”
“What?” Lishelle asks.
Claudia sniffles. “Then some guy comes in. No, not just some guy—the bartender I told you about who helped us make our own personal drink for our wedding?”
I nod. “Right.”
“Apparently this guy was working the party last night. And Adam arranged for him to meet us in the utility room so we could have a threesome.”
I’m so stunned by Claudia’s words, it’s like there’s no one else in the restaurant. All the noises I’d been aware of moments before—laughter and chatting and a baby crying—it doesn’t exist anymore, I’m so focused on this situation with Claudia.
Lishelle is the first one to speak. “You had sex with a stranger?”
“I