Torrid Affair (24 page)

O
ne night
with Nate wasn't enough. I needed more than a few hours. I wanted to fall asleep in his arms and wake up entwined with him. 

I wanted a lifetime.

The following morning, I was sitting in the diner, my gaze lost in the memories of the previous night. It was early still, but the breakfast rush had left. The other waiters chatted about the previous shift while I distracted myself with refilling the ketchup bottles. I didn’t want to join in their conversations. Not when I couldn't hide the smile on my face. 

My phone buzzed in my apron, and my smile grew wider when I noticed his code name on the screen. 

Nicole: Good morning. 

Me: Hi.

Nicole: How are you?

Me: Fine. Missing you. 

Nicole: Tell me. 

Me: I love you. 

Nicole: I need to be with you again. 

Me: I know. 

Nicole: I want a weekend with you. 

Me: That would be a dream. 

Nicole: Can you visit your mom? Alone? 

I gnawed my lips, wondering how I’d pull that off. My mother resided in an assisted living home in Florida. Julian and I used to visit her yearly, until he started working for Dennis.

Me: Maybe. I don't see why not. But what will you tell Delaney?

Nicole: I have a conference in Houston for eight days the second week of September. 

Me: My mother is in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Nicole: Leave it to me. Just have Julian agree that you're going alone, and I'll do the rest. 

Later that night, I made sure to call my mother just as I arrived home. She was explaining to me how she had won Bingo night three weeks in a row. 

“That's great, Mom,” I said as I hung my key on the hook near the door. 

“Betty Ann will be picking me up soon,” she said slowly.

“Okay. I'll call you tomorrow so you can tell me if you won.” I walked over to the couch where Julian was sitting and kissed his lips. Most of the time I kissed his cheek as I greeted him. His eyes pulled away from the TV and glanced up at me.  

“Okay, take care, sweetie. I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Mom.”

“Give a kiss to Julian for me.”

“He sends his love. Bye.” I tossed the phone on the coffee table and tucked my feet on the couch. 

“How's your mom doing?” Julian asked. 

“She's good. I miss her like crazy sometimes.”

Julian rested his hand on my lap, but his gaze was focused on the television. 

“Do you have any vacation days?” I asked nonchalantly. 

“Not really since I just started.”

I sighed. “Right. Maybe in a few months.”

I had planted the seed. 

* * *

L
abor day weekend
, Delaney, Nate, and Caleb drove out to her parents’ house in Savannah for the weekend. At first, Nate was hesitant and didn’t want to go, but I persuaded him. If he played the part of a happy husband, Delaney wouldn’t think anything strange was going on. It was horrible that we both lived this way. Lying to the ones we were supposed to love the most in order to keep them away from what we were really doing. Plus, it gave me a chance to convince Julian that I should go see my mother.

Saturday morning, Julian awoke to find me on the couch. My hands were wrapped around a coffee mug, and my gaze was lost on the area rug. When he walked past me, I sighed.

“Morning,” he greeted me.

“Hey.” My voice was low.

“What’s the matter, Brie?” Julian grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

“Nothing.”

“Are you sure?” He looked over at me. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I’m fine.” I took a sip of my coffee. “I was just thinking about my mom. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”

“We can go for Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah.” I nodded slowly. “That’s not until November, though.”

“Can you take time off from work?” he asked and I nodded. “Why don’t you fly down and see her?”

It was wrong that I had coerced my husband this way, and it was horrible that I planned to actually spend that time with Nate, but I’d stopped caring a long time ago what was right or wrong. I was living for me. And Nate brought me joy.

“You’d be okay with that?”

“Sure.” He threw his arm around my neck and pulled me closer to him. “I’m busy with work now anyway.”

I knew from Nate that was a lie, but I suspected Julian had found someone to keep him busy at work.

When Julian focused his attention back on the television, I snuck out of the living room and into the bathroom. I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket, and I let the water run in the sink as I sent Nate a text message.

Me: Yo.

It was our code word in the event Delaney was nearby.

Nicole: Hi, babe.

He replied right away and a smile grew on my face.

Me: I talked to Julian. I’m going to see my mom. We’ll talk more about it when you get home.

Nicole: I get to spend a weekend with you?

Me: Yes.

Nicole: I’m going to devour you.

Me: Behave! We’ll talk when you get back.

I deleted his messages like I had done every time we texted and slid my phone in my back pocket. I was really doing this. A whole weekend when Nate and I didn’t have to worry about anyone interrupting us.

* * *

I
kissed
Julian good-bye and hopped on a plane to Ft. Lauderdale. My heart raced as I waved to him from the security check-in line. Nate had spent the previous week in Houston and promised me he would meet me at the hotel. My flight from Charlotte was a little over an hour, and once I arrived and checked in at the hotel, I took a cab to my mother’s facility.

My heart broke into a million pieces when I spotted her sitting outside in the picnic area. She was with a few other members, and playing cards were scattered around the small table. I followed the nurse who brought me to them.

“Ms. Hansen, your daughter is here to see you.”

My mother lowered her cards, and a smile broke out on her face. “Oh, my sweet baby girl.” Her hands clapped together.

My eyes swelled with tears, and I dropped down to give her a hug. “Hi, Mom.” When my mother had her stroke, her left side remained paralyzed. She couldn’t walk for long periods without a walker, and she couldn’t raise her arm above her head. There were bigger challenges with getting her the help she needed financially, but she was still here with me.

We made our way to the cafeteria, and she proudly showed me off to some friends along the way. Once we sat at the table, she looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Call it mother’s intuition, but my mother was able to read me like a book. “Something seems different about you. Are you and Julian having issues?”

I chuckled to keep myself from crying. “Everything is fine, Mom.”

“You’re a bad liar.”

“You have enough to deal with.”

“Sweetie, I sleep till ten, I watch TV, play cards with the ladies, try to do some aerobics to help with my arm, and I play bingo once a week.” My mother crossed her arms at the table. “I don’t have anything to deal with. You made sure my life was as peaceful as possible. Now, tell your mother what’s the matter.”

I smiled. “Seriously, Mom. Everything is fine.”

My mother reached out and grasped my hand. “I know you hide things because you think it will hurt me, but I’m your mother. I made you and therefore I know you. And if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. But if there is one piece of advice I want you to take away, it’s that life is short. Days will turn into months, and months will turn into years. Don’t let years pass you by before you look back and realize you never knew what happiness was. If I could go back and change things, I would kick your father to the curb and focus solely on you.”

I brushed a tear away and leaned forward to kiss my mother on the cheek. “I love you, Mom.”

She held a hand to my face and cupped my cheek. “Whatever is going on, make sure you’re happy. If not, then what’s the point?”

Julian would never be the man who made me truly happy. We were both forced to grow up too quickly, and I believed we both resented one another because of it. But Julian was getting the help he needed, and once I was sure he wouldn’t relapse, I’d ask him for a divorce.

It was time for both of us to move on.

* * *

L
ater that night
, I was back in the hotel at the Hyatt waiting for Nate to call. He had flown to Houston as originally planned for work and then caught a flight to Ft. Lauderdale. I spent most of the night pacing the room as I awaited his arrival.

The soft tap on the door caused me to jump. I tightened the robe around my waist and rushed to answer. Pulling the door back, I hid behind it to let Nate in.

“Hi.” I smiled as I shut the door.

Parking his rolling suitcase and dropping his small duffle bag to the floor, he closed the gap between us. His mouth claimed mine, and I moaned in ecstasy. Nate kissed my lips, my cheeks, my neck.

“This doesn’t seem real,” he muttered as he hugged me tightly.

“It’s real. Even if it’s only for forty-eight hours. It’s just us.”

I pushed Nate further into the room. When the backs of his knees hit the bed, I tapped on his chest. “Sit,” I demanded.

His eyes scanned me head to toe and stopped when he noticed me tugging on the sash to my robe. I slid the soft material off my shoulders, exposing the lace lingerie I had picked up for this weekend.

“Fuck,” he grunted.

“You like?” I twirled around slowly.

“Come here.” Nate reached out for me.

I shook my head slowly. “There’s no need to rush.” I dropped to my knees before him. “Plus, there’s something I’ve been craving.”

“Brielle, you’re not . . .”

I nodded readily, hungry for him. I unbuttoned his jeans and stroked his cock. It hardened at my touch. Seductively, I licked my lips and brought my mouth to the turgid tip, the skin soft on my warm, wet tongue. From the corner of my eye, I saw Nate clench the comforter. My tongue massaged him as he slid in and out. I took him deeper with each stroke. I held his base and pulled him out, rotating my tongue around his head as I sucked my saliva off his silky skin.

“Holy fuck, Brielle,” he moaned.

Looking up at him, I sucked in his shaft as deep as it would go. He hit the back of my throat, and my muscles contracted. My fingernails dug into his thighs. Nate brushed my hair to the side and moaned how beautiful I looked. His breath grew quicker, and I knew he was close, so I sucked harder.

“I’m going to come,” he mumbled, but I didn’t pull away. “Fuck, Brie,” he moaned and his warm, velvet liquid gushed down my throat.

Once he was finished, I sat back on my knees and peered up at him. His eyes were dazed, and a grin greeted me.

“Good?” I asked innocently.