Simply Complicated (2 page)

He understood that being a parent was new to both of them and he tried to rationalize his feelings. Despite this understanding, what seemed to stand out in his mind was it had been several months since he and Monica were intimate together.

He was not blaming the baby nor was he really angry with Monica; he only knew that certain of his needs were not being met and he was trying very hard to not think about it.

Monica knew that Ken was getting frustrated so she arranged for her parents to watch Marci for an entire weekend. When Ken came home from work that day, he was surprised to see candles lit throughout the house and a sumptuous dinner on the table.

“Hey sweetheart,” he said as he kissed her on the neck.

“Hey baby. How was work?” she asked.

“Where is the baby?” Ken replied, looking around the house.

“She is at my parents’ house for the entire weekend. It’s just you and me tonight. Is that okay with you?” Monica asked, pulling off her robe to reveal her nakedness.

“Yes it is,” he said as he took her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

They spent the entire weekend rekindling their relationship and having fun together. Ken was happy and he felt re-energized when the baby returned home.

As time went on, Ken and Monica would often try to find time alone. They agreed that no matter how busy they became, they would always stay faithful and true to each other, and would put forth every effort to arrange a special date together at least once each month.

This arrangement worked well for a few years until Ken started working late in the evenings and on some weekends.

One evening, he and some colleagues visited the corner bar to celebrate picking up a big client they had been trying to acquire for quite some time. While there, Ken noticed a woman staring at him.

Initially, he tried to avoid eye contact with her but eventually, their eyes met and they both knew the other was looking.

As Ken and his colleagues prepared to leave, she approached him.

“Hello. I’m Susan Johnson and I couldn’t help but notice you looking at me. Do you want to have a drink with me at the bar?” she asked.

Ken sensed that she was trouble and tried to think of a way to graciously tell her no.

“Hello Susan, I’m Kenneth Thomas. It’s nice meeting you but I wasn’t staring at you. I just happened to glance your way and I noticed you looking at me. I’m sorry but I’m married and having a drink with you is not a good idea,” replied Ken, smiling politely.

Even though she kept insisting, he remained firm with his answer.

“If you ever want to feel single again give me a call,” she replied, smiling back.

Jake, one of Ken’s coworkers, immediately pulled out his business card and gave it to her. “If you’re ever interested in investing, give me a call,” he said.

Susan smiled and took his card. She then looked over to Ken, slipped her telephone number in his suit pocket, and walked away.

“Look who scored big tonight,” teased Jake.

“Hey man, if you’re not going to use the number then I will,” offered Rich.

“Come on, guys—cut it out,” said Ken.

He laughed and put the number on the table. Shortly after the conversation with Susan, they decided to leave the bar. Ken looked at the number and then over to the bar at Susan. He found himself picking up her number and heading out the door.

He knew it was risky keeping her number, but after looking at her again and finding himself getting excited, he convinced himself that there was nothing wrong with having her as a friend.

A few days after meeting her, Ken still could not get her out of his mind. There was something about her that turned him on. He wanted to call her but could never summon the nerve to do so.

One day while he was working at his office, there was a knock on his door. When he looked up he was startled to see Susan standing there.

“Hello Ken. How are you?” she asked, smiling provocatively.

He was surprised but extremely pleased to see her, “Susan! Wow! How are you? How did you find me?”

“I’m great!” she replied. “Remember your friend gave me his business card that evening? I assumed you worked at the same bank. I was in the area and thought I’d take a chance and see if you were at work. I wanted to come and apologize for my behavior the other night,” she said apologetically.

“I’m glad you stopped by. Come on in and have a seat. You look beautiful,” he smiled broadly and jumped up to pull out a chair.

“Thank you. You look pretty nice yourself. I was hoping you would have called me but I understand. You told me you were married and I can respect that. There aren’t that many honest men left. I didn’t mean to be so forward when we first met. I think I had too many drinks that night,” she explained.

“I didn’t think you were being that forward but I appreciate the apology anyway,” he gallantly offered.

“Well, thanks for forgiving me, kind sir,” she joked.

Ken chucked back, “Oh, I see you have jokes.”

“I love laughing and having fun. Life’s too short to not be happy,” her eyes sparkled as they shared a moment of hopeful laughter.

“I agree,” he said with a huge smile on his face.

“Well, I’ve wasted enough of your time. You take care of yourself, Ken,” she said as she stood to shake his hand.

“What’s your hurry? I was enjoying your company,” he replied, rising to escort her out the door.

“Well, if you must know, I’m having dinner with my fiancé tonight and I have a few things to do before I head home,” she explained.

“So you’re engaged? I should have known a woman as beautiful as you would be taken,” he said graciously.

“Yes I am, and thank you for the compliment. So now that you know I’m in a committed relationship does that mean we can be friends now?” she asked, attempting to get his number.

He replied cautiously. “That does change things. I need to be honest with you. I thought about calling you several times but I wasn’t sure how I could do that without you getting the wrong idea. I would love for us to be friends but I didn’t know how to say that without you thinking I was trying to sleep with you.”

“You could’ve said it just like that. I would have understood. So, are we friends?” Susan asked.

“Yes. And to prove that I trust you, here’s my cellular number,” he said as he wrote it down and handed it to her.

“Thanks for the trust and the number. I really need to go. Can I call you this week?” she asked happily.

“Sure! I would really like that,” said Ken.

When she left he felt happy that they were able to talk. He decided that he would wait for her to call him.

He and Susan talked nearly every day. He would call her from work and occasionally from his cellular phone. Each time they talked the conversations focused on him. Initially they discussed his hobbies, favorite sports, his family, and work. Once they started getting comfortable with each other, their conversations shifted to his secret fantasies and the things that turned him on sexually.
One evening he attempted to call her from his cellular phone but realized the battery was too low and the phone turned off. He decided to call her from his home phone.

Although they regularly spoke, they had yet to see each other since she came by his office. Every time they talked, she asked him when they were going to see each other. He knew he wanted to see her but he feared what might happen once they did.

He could not keep putting her off, nor did he really want to, so when she called him again he agreed to have lunch with her the next day.

The evening before they were scheduled to have lunch, Ken arrived home and found a note on the counter from Monica.

“Hey sweetheart. Marci and I will be staying at Mom and Dad’s house. He’s ill and Mom wants me to stay,”
her note read.

He called Monica at her parents’ house to see if everything was okay. She reassured him that things were fine.

He decided to shower and then eat dinner. Monica had left his dinner in the microwave as she did every night when he worked late. Ken smiled as he read the love note.

As he was warming up his food, his cellular phone rang. He did not recognize the number so didn’t answer. After a few minutes passed, his house telephone started ringing.

Thinking it was Monica, he answered right away. “Hey baby, is everything okay?” Ken asked.

“Wow—I’ve made it to ‘baby’ status already,” Susan said jokingly.

“Oh hey, Susan—I thought you were my wife calling. How did you get this number?” Ken asked nervously.

“You called me from it before and I locked it in my phone along with your home and office number. I didn’t think calling your cell this late was a problem. I tried reaching you at your office but you had already left and I know you wouldn’t want me to call your home number,” said Susan.

“What are you talking about? This is my home number that you called. I’m just glad Monica isn’t home. You need to delete this number from your cell phone so you won’t mix them up again,” replied Ken.

“I am so sorry. I thought I dialed your cell number. I would never intentionally call you at home. You have to believe me. I had planned on leaving a message for you on your cell. I just wanted you to know that I have to cancel our lunch plans tomorrow,” she told him.

“I believe you. I’m just glad that things worked out. Just make sure you delete the number,” he said.

“Let me make it up to you. I take it that your wife isn’t home. If you haven’t eaten dinner yet, would you like to meet somewhere tonight since we can’t meet for lunch tomorrow?” Susan asked.

“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.” Ken replied.

“Why?” asked Susan.

“It doesn’t seem right, that’s why,” responded Ken.

“It’s just dinner, Ken, that’s it. Come on—I don’t bite,” Susan teased. Ken agreed and they decided to meet at an Italian restaurant within the hour.

Ken was nervous at first but tried to justify what he was about to do.
I’m hungry. Besides, I often go out with friends in the evening. Susan is just another friend who wants to eat together,
he thought to himself.

He put on a pair of jeans and a black sweater and headed out the door. As he drove to the restaurant, he kept trying to convince himself that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. He made himself believe that Monica wouldn’t be upset with him having dinner with a friend.

When he arrived at the restaurant, Susan was already there. He barely recognized her. She wore tight jeans, a red silk blouse, and heels. Her hair was styled differently but she still looked good.

He had forgotten how beautiful she was. As he approached her, he wasn’t sure how he should greet her so he just sat down.

“You look very handsome—I like your cologne,” said Susan with a wide smile.

“You look nice too,” replied Ken. He was obviously nervous.

“So why are you here, Ken? I know your wife wouldn’t approve of your sneaking out of the house to have dinner with me.” Susan asked.

He was a little thrown off by her comment, especially since earlier she had tried to make him feel at ease about joining her that evening.

“It’s like you said; we’re just two friends having dinner together. It’s not like we’re going to have sex or anything. Besides, what about your fiancé? I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy with you sitting here with me,” said Ken, flustered.

“Why Ken—are you propositioning me to sleep with you? You should at least buy me a drink first,” teased Susan. “And I’m no longer engaged. We really didn’t have anything in common,” she added.

“No! That’s not what I’m doing,” replied Ken nervously. “I was only saying that we’re just having dinner together. That’s all. I’m not trying to get you into bed,” he said.

“That’s too bad because as good as you’re looking, I probably would have given it up,” said Susan as she rubbed his hand.

Ken didn’t know what to do so he took a drink of water.

“Let’s go somewhere more private and have a nightcap,” suggested Susan. She had started to get excited and hoped that maybe they would be intimate that night.

“We just arrived. Besides, we haven’t had dinner yet. That’s why we’re here, right?” questioned Ken.