Story 7
Susan kissed her husband Jim and her daughter Linda good-bye, and watched them head out to the car. She went to her wreck of a kitchen to take care of the breakfast dishes.
The contractors wouldn't be back until tomorrow to continue the work on the kitchen remodel. The floor had been torn up, but the cabinets and counters were still in place. She opened the door to the new deck to catch the autumn breezes, and smiled at the thought of them coming back, especially Tom, the young man.
The dishes done, she closed the door again and went upstairs. She made the bed, straightened up her daughter's room, and got ready for a shower. She got the water going, and was just taking off her robe when there was a knock on the door.
Wondering who it might be this early in the day, she turned off the water and headed back down, pulling her robe back on, and tying it tight.
At the door, she looked through the peephole. It was her next door neighbor, Matthew, She and her family had lived there for only a few months, and didn't know the neighbors well. But she opened the door with a smile.
"Hi! What brings you over this morning?"
"Can I come in for a few? I need to talk with you about something important," he said, not returning her smile. "I know this may be a bad time, but..."
"Well, er, I guess so."
There was something about his manner this morning, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"I was just about to grab a shower...." But she stood aside and let him in. She knew he'd had a rough few months, and clearly needed to talk today.
"Thanks," he said, closing the door behind him. He stepped past her then, very close, and walked into the living room. She must have imagined the deep breath he took as he passed close to her.
"How are things?" Susan asked, following him, "Everything okay at home?"
Matt turned in the middle of the room to face her. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts.
"Susan, I wanted to talk with you about the work you've had done on your house."
"Has it been a problem? I know the contractors have been starting early, but I didn't think they were being a bother. They're done with the back deck, from now on it'll be indoor work."
She realized she was babbling, but there was something a little off putting about Matt today. Normally an easygoing type, he seemed very tense, nearly wired. She thought she knew what must be bothering him.
"Have they been leaving trash in your yard?"
"The workers have been fine. But..." He let his words trail off as he pulled a photograph out of his breast pocket and handed it to her.
She looked at it, and felt her knees go weak. The picture was of her and Tom, kissing, his hand clearly on her breast, under her sheer blouse. She took an awkward step back and half fell onto the arm of the overstuffed chair behind her.
"Oh my god," The words came out as a hoarse whisper.
It had been a week ago, to the day. The three-man crew had stopped for lunch, and while the other two had left, Tom stayed. He was 23, an athlete built young man and very hot. Susan was 34, in pretty good shape, and rather lonely. They had hit it off from the first. The other two men were older, and called Tom 'the kid' but she didn't see him that way. She'd caught him looking at her many times, as she walked through the kitchen, or while she was working in the garden.
She had taken to wearing shorter skirts around the house, tight or shear blouses, enjoying the attention. It was exciting, showing off her smooth legs, her firm, fairly large breasts. She had started to experiment with her hair, sometimes wearing the long dark tresses up, sometimes down.
This day, the two of them were on the nearly completed back deck. Standing closer together than they needed to, he was discussing what still needed to be done. The next thing she knew, they were kissing, hot, almost frenzied kisses, his hands up her shirt, her hands on his tight ass, pulling him closer, grinding her pelvis against his.
"I... I thought about stopping," she said haltingly to Matt, "I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't. I didn't want to."
She sighed heavily, not really wanting to admit this but feeling compelled to, as she stared at the picture in her hand, "And it was just about the best sex I ever had. Oh god! What was I thinking?"
"Does your husband know about this, Susan?" He was watching her with a hungry look, running his gaze over her body, not bothering to hide it. Wrapped up in her shock, she didn't notice his look.
The hand holding the picture shook.
"No," she said in a small voice that trembled, "he doesn't. He'd kill me."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You know, I've been talking with Jim a lot recently, and I'm getting to like him. He's a very good guy."
She nodded at that, not yet meeting his avid gaze.
"I'm sure he would be interested in what you do when you're at home, alone."
She swallowed hard, and looked up at Matt. This time she saw the look in his eyes. She paled, realizing what he wanted, what his price was for keeping this secret.
"Y-you can't tell him," she stammered, "you can't show him this!" She waved the photo at him.
"Why not? Don't you think he has a right to know?"
"He'll kill me," she repeated, "he'll leave me and take our daughter!"
Matt just watched her, saying nothing.
"It was... it was a mistake!" she cried, "A moment of weakness!"
"I can see that he would make things really hard for you. I see you really love your daughter."
Head bowed again, she whispered, "She's my life."
She took a deep, shuddering breath,. "He can be very jealous... oh god!" She hid her face in her hands, "what am I going to do?"
"I don't have to tell him, you know."
Susan looked up, suddenly wary. She heard the tone in his voice, and knew what it said. "What?"
"No, I don't," he said, almost airily.
Knowing- but fearing the answer, she asked the question anyway, "What do you want?"
"Well, Susan, for a start, you can drop that bathrobe."
Her jaw dropped, eyes wide. She couldn't believe she was really hearing this.
"You know I've found you attractive since the day you moved in."
"I... I'd noticed."
"That black tank top you were wearing, those cut off jeans..." He smiled at the memory, clearly something he had gone over many times.
"Yes, I remember, it was a hot day." She couldn't face those eyes, the open hunger in them, anymore. She looked away, down, anywhere but at him.
"Until I saw you that day last week, I thought Jim was a lucky man." He stepped closer, to stand right in front of her, "You know my wife left me."
She nodded with a sigh, remembering. It had been messy, only a month after she and her family had moved in. She'd heard them yelling and carrying on in the middle of the night more than once.
"I remember that, too. It's been hard on you."
"Yes. But I think you can help. Open your robe, Susan."
"I can't! How can this help matters?! Two wrongs don't make a right!"
"No, they don't. All right then."
He turned away, moving away from her. "What time does Jim get home again?"
"Oh god."
Matt turned back to look at her, letting his eyes roam her body again, before reaching for a picture of Lindsay, "She really is precious, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is precious to me. Please!"
Tears started rolling down her cheeks, "I'll give you anything you want, but I can't do this! Please, I made a mistake!"
"A very big one. You should be more careful. Now you have an important decision or two to make. Like whether or not you're going to open that robe."
"Oh god," she struggled to pull herself together.
"One." He sat down on a chair across from her.
"Two." She stood up, facing him, and took two steps to close the distance between them.
"Three." Her hands move shakily to the tie holding the garment closed.
"Mmmmm, yes. Let me see what I have been dreaming about."